29th March 2022 News: Covishield dosage gap to stay at 12-16 weeks

HT Daily News Wrap

Bharat Bandh strike has led to a partial disruption of banking and transport services, Covishield dosage gap to stay at 12-16 weeks, There will be heat waves across northwest India over the next 2-3 days & other top news in this bulletin.
India’s first major protest after the conclusion of a crucial round of state polls – the Bharat Bandh strike – led to a partial disruption of banking and transport services on Monday as the two-day agitation kicked off. The 48-hour protest entered the second day on Tuesday, and the impact is likely to continue. The strike has been called by a group of trade unions who have been voicing concern over several government policies, calling them “anti-worker and anti-farmer”. The interval between two doses of the Covishield vaccine against Covid-19 will remain at 12-16 weeks, the health ministry has decided, despite an expert panel’s recommendation that the gap should be reduced to 8-16 weeks. “The health ministry is not revising the gap between the two doses of Covishield for the time being,” a central government official aware of the matter said on condition of anonymity. There will be heatwaves across northwest India over the next 2-3 days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted on Monday, which is likely a result of scarce rainfall in March. The rainfall deficit in March so far stands at 72% to 88% over northwest India, 85% over central India, 59% over east and northeast India, and 14% over the south peninsula, weather bureau data show. In its seasonal forecast on March 1, the met department had predicted normal rainfall (83%-117%) in March across the country. The Ukraine crisis is set to top the agenda when Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov travels to India for a short visit this week after meetings in China, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. The Indian side will also host UK foreign secretary Liz Truss on March 31, the day when Lavrov is expected to arrive in New Delhi. Truss is expected to raise the Ukraine crisis with her Indian interlocutors as part of Britain’s ongoing efforts to support the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Mohammed Shami made a brilliant start to his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 campaign as he rattled the Lucknow Super Giants batters with his clinical display. Riding on his efforts, Gujarat Titans restricted Super Giants to 158/6 in 20 overs as Shami scalped three wickets in his four overs. He started the contest with an excellent delivery to get rid of SuperGiants captain KL Rahul at the Wankhede Stadium. The day after slapping Chris Rock on the Oscars stage and upending the 94th Academy Awards, Will Smith issued an apology to the comedian, to the academy and to viewers at home, saying he was “out of line” and that his actions are “not indicative of the man I want to be.” “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness,” Smith wrote on Instagram.