Latest News: Israel-Gaza conflict continues; HC pulls up Mamata; Singapore new variant row

Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu Says He Is ‘determined’ To Continue Gaza Operation

As heavy fighting continues between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he is “determined to continue this operation until its aim is met”. This comes despite US President Joe Biden’s call for a ‘de-escalation' of hostilities in Gaza, leading to the first public rift between the two close allies.

In a statement from his office, the Israeli Prime Minister said that he “greatly appreciates the support of the American president,” but said Israel would push ahead “to return the calm and security to you, citizens of Israel”. 

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ICMR Approves First Self-use Rapid COVID-19 Test 'Coviself'; Mylab Kit Prices Out

A day after the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) issued home testing guidelines, Pune-based Mylab Discovery Solutions on Thursday announced India's first self-use Rapid test 'Coviself', approved by ICMR. Issuing a press release, each Coviself test kit provided with all testing materials, instructions to use (IFU) leaflet and a biohazard bag to safely dispose after testing and is priced at Rs 250. Mylab was the same company that had developed India's first  RTPCR test a year ago.

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Haryana Dy CM Speaks To Dr Reddy's Laboratories For Sputnik V Vaccine Production In State

Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Wednesday said that he has spoken to Dr. Reddy's Laboratories about the possibility of manufacturing COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V in Haryana. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories is coordinating with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to sell 250 million vials of COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V in India. 

'I spoke to the Managing Director of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories to explore if Sputnik vaccine manufacturing can be given to any plant in Haryana,' said Chautala when asked about the going vaccine drive during a news conference. 

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'Stone Pelting Gandhian Way Of Protest?': Calcutta HC Questions Mamata Banerjee's Conduct

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday raised questions on the conduct of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and state law minister Moloy Ghatak when the trial court was hearing the bail application of accused TMC members in the Narada Scam Case.

"Is stone-pelting Gandhian way?..CM's presence at CBI office wasn't required," said a division bench of the high court headed by Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal.

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Singapore Orders Twitter & Facebook To Issue Corrections On 'new Variant' As Row Escalates

Further clarifying the non-existence of a new 'Singapore variant' of COVID-19, the Singapore Ministry of Health on Thursday, directed social media giants Twitter and Facebook to issue corrections of the statement. Citing the Protection from Online Falsehoods & Manipulation Act (POFMA), the Singapore government stated, 'There's no new "Singapore" variant of COVID-19. Neither is there evidence of any variant that is ‘extremely dangerous for kids’. Strain that's prevalent in recent weeks is B.1.617.2 variant which originated from India'. This development comes over an online row between Delhi CM Kejriwal, MEA and Singapore.

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