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Happy Birthday Jennie Kim: Wishes pour in from fans for Blackpink queen

The South Korean group Blackpink enjoys massive fan following across the globe. One of its most popular member and K-pop singer Jennie Kim is celebrating her 25th birthday on Saturday (January 16). Each Blackpink member is treated with much love and affection. Jennie's birthday is even more special as she recently became the first female singer whose song has hit 600 million views on YouTube. Jennie is also famous for her dressing style. On her special day, fans are sending her heartfelt wishes. Fans are sharing pictures and videos of the Blackpink girl. https://twitter.com/Efraim79892510/status/1350269412759113728 https://twitter.com/hankkk24045045/status/1350271327874158593 https://twitter.com/ArahDhevana/status/1350268714755743746 https://twitter.com/Mary91601226/status/1350267382078398465 https://twitter.com/AlcasidChris/status/1350267756852088833 Read the full article

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Acute itching in eczema patients linked to environmental allergens

New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that allergens in the environment often are to blame for episodes of acute itch in eczema patients. It further indicates that the itching often doesn't respond to antihistamines because the itch signals are being carried to the brain along a previously unrecognized pathway that current drugs don't target. The new findings, published in the journal Cell, point to a possible new target and strategy to help eczema patients cope with those episodes of acute, severe itch. "Years ago, we used to think that itch and pain were carried along the same subway lines in the nerves to the brain, but it turned out they weren't, and these new findings show there's another pathway entirely that's causing these episodes of acute itching in eczema patients," said principal investigator Brian S. Kim, MD, a dermatologist and an associate professor of medicine. "The itch can be maddening. Patients may rate their chronic itch at around a 5 on a scale of 10, but that goes up to 10 during acute itch flares. Now that we know those acute flares are being transmitted in an entirely different way, we can target that pathway, and maybe we can help those patients," added Kim. The typical pathway for itching in eczema patients involves cells in the skin that are activated and then release histamine, which can be inhibited with antihistamine drugs. Read the full article

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VIDEO: PM Modi gets emotional during India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive launch

Prime Minister Narendra Modi got extremely emotional during the launch of India's mega COVID-19 vaccination drive via video conferencing on Saturday (January 16). The main aim of this nation-wide vaccine drive is to first inoculate millions of healthcare and frontline workers and then hand it out to estimated 3 crore people by the end of phase one. At the launch, PM Modi congratulated the countrymen on this land-mark occasion and said how normally it takes many years to develop a vaccine but in such a short span of time, not one, but two have been developed by India to fight this novel virus. “Everyone was asking as to when the vaccine will be available. It is available now. I congratulate all the countrymen on this occasion,” PM Modi said. “Normally, it takes many years to make a vaccine but in such a short span of time, not one, but two ‘#MadeinIndia‘ vaccines are ready. Meanwhile, the work on other vaccines is progressing at a fast pace,” he further added. However, he also got very emotional at the tail-end of his speech while narrating the hardships faced by the healthcare and frontline workers during this global pandemic. "This disease kept people away from their families. The mothers cried for their children & had to stay away. People could not meet their elderly admitted at hospitals. We could not bid adieu to those with proper rituals who died due to the coronavirus," PM Modi said. Read the full article

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Two members from WHO origin tracing team tests positive before going Wuhan

GENEVA- Two members of the international expert team of the World Health Organization (WHO) scheduled to fly from Singapore to China's Wuhan on Thursday have been tested positive for IgM antibodies, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday. At the 6th Meeting of the Emergency Committee on COVID-19, Tedros said that the other 13 members of the team to study the origins of the novel coronavirus have arrived in Wuhan as scheduled. "The other two are still in Singapore after they tested positive for IgM antibodies, but negative for PCR. They are now being retested for both IgM and IgG, and we are waiting for results," the WHO chief said. A positive IgM antibody indicates that a person may have been infected and that the immune system has started responding to the virus. This should be followed up with PCR testing, and a negative result means that person was probably not infected at the time their sample was collected. IgG antibody test will see whether the person being tested was infected with COVID-19 in the past and the immune system has developed antibodies to protect from future infection. The team members who have arrived in Wuhan will be in quarantine for the next two weeks, and will begin working remotely with counterparts in China, Tedros said. They will then continue their work on the ground for another two weeks, Tedros said. A Read the full article

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Minimum temperature likely to fall by 2-3 degree celsius in NorthWest India

New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday announced that minimum temperature is very likely to fall by two to four degrees Celsius in most parts of northwest India during the next two days. IMD also said "Dense to very dense fog at isolated/few pockets very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, north Rajasthan, West Bengal & Sikkim and Bihar during the next 3 days. Cold Wave/Severe Cold Wave conditions at isolated pockets are also very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and East Madhya Pradesh during next 2 days. The agency further said a cyclonic circulation lies over southwest Bay of Bengal off Tamil Nadu coast in mid-tropospheric levels and a trough runs from cyclonic circulation over central parts of South Arabian Sea and adjoining Equatorial Indian Ocean to Comorin area in lower tropospheric levels. IMD predicted that under its influence scattered to fairly widespread rainfall with moderate thunderstorm and lightning is very likely over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Kerala, Mahe and Lakshadweep area during next two days and reduction in rainfall activities over these regions thereafter. "Conditions are becoming favourable for the cessation of Northeast monsoon rains over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Kerala, Mahe, adjoining areas of coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, Rayalaseema and South Interior Karnataka around January 19, 2021," it added. Read the full article

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2020 tied for warmest year on record, NASA analysis shows

Washington: Earth's global average surface temperature in 2020 tied with 2016 as the warmest year on record, according to an analysis by NASA. Continuing the planet's long-term warming trend, the year's globally averaged temperature was 1.84 degrees Fahrenheit (1.02 degrees Celsius) warmer than the baseline 1951-1980 mean, according to scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. 2020 edged out 2016 by a very small amount, within the margin of error of the analysis, making the years effectively tied for the warmest year on record. "The last seven years have been the warmest seven years on record, typifying the ongoing and dramatic warming trend," said GISS Director Gavin Schmidt. "Whether one year is a record or not is not really that important - the important things are long-term trends. With these trends, and as the human impact on the climate increases, we have to expect that records will continue to be broken," Schmidt added. A Warming, Changing World Tracking global temperature trends provides a critical indicator of the impact of human activities - specifically, greenhouse gas emissions - on our planet. Earth's average temperature has risen more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.2 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century. Rising temperatures are causing phenomena such as loss of sea ice and ice sheet mass, sea level rise, longer and more intense heat waves, and shifts in plant and animal habitats. Read the full article

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UN Relief and Works Agency relief agency contacts Biden office for resuming funds

GAZA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- A United Nations official announced on Thursday that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) holds contacts with U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's office on resuming the U.S. financial support to the Palestinian refugees. Commissioner-General of the UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini told a news conference in Gaza that the contacts are held with Biden's office, and "we are optimistic about the resumption of relations with the new U.S. administration." He added that the agency looks forward to the U.S. financial allocations to restore its previous status during the next stage, as soon as the new administration assumes its duties. Lazzarini told reporters that the UNRWA will continue all services and employment programs for Palestinian refugees. UNRWA, one of the United Nations agencies, provides humanitarian services to over 5.6 million Palestinian refugees. The agency's officials have repeatedly announced that the UNRWA is passing through a severe financial crisis, which began when United States President Donald Trump decided to cut 360 million U.S. dollars from the agency in early 2018, which represented 30 percent of UNRWA's budget. Read the full article

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COVID-19: Global caseload crosses 93 Million; high deaths among Blacks & Latinos in US

Baltimore: The worldwide number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has surpassed 93 million, Johns Hopkins University reported. The exact number of the coronavirus cases stood at 93,018,040 as of 01:20 GMT on Friday. More than 1.99 million people have died of the disease, the university added. The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11. The biggest number of cases so far have been registered in the United States, India and Brazil. Racial, ethnic disparities in COVID-19 impact on life expectancy in US Separately, another study has quantified the disparate impacts of COVID-19 on life expectancy in the United States on the basis of racial and ethnic disparities. A disproportionate number of US COVID-19 deaths have occurred among the Black and Latino populations. To better quantify the racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 mortality, Theresa Andrasfay and Noreen Goldman estimated the effects of COVID-19 on life expectancies at birth in the United States based on projections of total COVID-19 deaths through December 31, 2020. The authors estimated life expectancy in 2020 to be approximately 1.1 years lower than expected in the absence of COVID-19. Black and Latino life expectancies were projected to decline by approximately 2.1 and 3.1 years, respectively, whereas the projected decline in White life expectancy was 0.7 years. Consequently, the Black-White gap in life expectancy would increase from 3.6 Read the full article

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No Foreign Chief Guest at 2021 Republic Day celebrations- A First in 55 Years

New Delhi: In view of the ongoing pandemic, there will be no foreign head of state or government during this year's Republic Day celebration, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on Thursday. MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava during a press meeting said that this marks the first time in 55 years, wherein India will not receive a foreign dignitary. "Due to the global COVID19 situation, it has been decided that this year there will not be any foreign head of state or government as the chief guest for our Republic Day event," Anurag Srivastava, MEA Spokesperson said. https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1349704567328440321 Earlier, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was invited as the chief guest for 2021 Republic day celebrations, however, due to an uptick of corona cases and rapid spread of new UK-variant infections in Britain, Johnson on Jan 5, cancelled his India trip. The Centre has also taken cognizance of the spread of mutant variant along with COVID-19 cases in the country and has ordered fewer events during the parade. The government has set a cap of 25,000 spectators at Rajpath in 2021, much lower than an average 100,000 people who gather each year to cheer the soldiers and performers who participate in the grand affair of Republic Day celebrations. Also, children who are younger than 15 years will be prohibited to attend the ceremony. For the first time in independent India’s history, the republic day parade will not culminate at Red Fort. Read the full article

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No Foreign Chief Guest at 2021 Republic Day celebrations- A First in 55 Years

New Delhi: In view of the ongoing pandemic, there will be no foreign head of state or government during this year's Republic Day celebration, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on Thursday. MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava during a press meeting said that this marks the first time in 55 years, wherein India will not receive a foreign dignitary. "Due to the global COVID19 situation, it has been decided that this year there will not be any foreign head of state or government as the chief guest for our Republic Day event," Anurag Srivastava, MEA Spokesperson said. https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1349704567328440321 Earlier, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was invited as the chief guest for 2021 Republic day celebrations, however, due to an uptick of corona cases and rapid spread of new UK-variant infections in Britain, Johnson on Jan 5, cancelled his India trip. The Centre has also taken cognizance of the spread of mutant variant along with COVID-19 cases in the country and has ordered fewer events during the parade. The government has set a cap of 25,000 spectators at Rajpath in 2021, much lower than an average 100,000 people who gather each year to cheer the soldiers and performers who participate in the grand affair of Republic Day celebrations. Also, children who are younger than 15 years will be prohibited to attend the ceremony. For the first time in independent India’s history, the republic day parade will not culminate at Red Fort. Read the full article

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Chinese astronomers release giant 2D map of universe

h BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- An international research team has released a giant 2D map of the universe, the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences said Thursday. Conducted by the Beijing-Arizona Sky Survey (BASS) of the NAOC and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), the study paves the way for the upcoming new-generation dark energy spectroscopic survey. Nearly 200 researchers from the NAOC and the DESI jointly observed galaxies and analyzed the data over the past six years. They stitched together the observed images and formed a giant 2D map of the universe. The map covers half of the sky, digitally sprawls over 10 trillion pixels and contains about 2 billion objects, said Zou Hu with the NAOC. Astronomical observations reveal that the universe is expanding and appears to be accelerating. The power driving the expansion is called dark energy by astronomers, according to Zhao Gongbo, deputy director of the NAOC, also a team member of the DESI. Dark energy accounts for about 68 percent of the universe and remains a mystery, Zhao said. By measuring large-scale redshifts of galaxies, which are usually considered as evidence of cosmic expansion, astronomers can describe the 3D distribution of the cosmic materials and reveal how dark energy impacts cosmic expansion. Read the full article

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WATCH: Mohammed Azharuddeen smashes 37-ball ton as Kerala beat Mumbai in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Indian cricketer Mohammed Azharuddeen shamed a 37-ball ton to boost Kerala to an emphatic eight-wicket win over Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday (January 14). The 26-year-old showcased tremendous batting and played an unbeaten knock of 137 runs off just 54 balls to successfully guide Kerala in their chase to a massive total of 197 runs. In the chase, Kerala got off to a scintillating start when openers Robin and Azharuddeen started playing aggressively from the get go. The pair kept the scoreboard ticking Kerala went past 100 runs in an instant. Meanwhile, Azharuddeen secured his half-century in just 20 balls. During the 10th over of the game, SZ Mulani found the breakthrough and sent Robin (33) back to the dressing room with an excellent delivery. Sanju Samson walked in next to replace the dismissed batsman. Despite the fall of wicket, Kerala kept on going with the same pace as they kept hitting the Mumbai bowlers for boundaries, with Azharuddeen completing his 100. Tushar U Deshpande next picked up Samson's wicket, who scored 22 runs from 12 deliveries. Sachin Baby walked in next to partner Azharuddeen and took the team over the line in the 16th over. HERE ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS: https://twitter.com/BCCIdomestic/status/1349409644100292615 Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Mumbai got off to a good start as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Aditya Tare played brilliantly. Read the full article

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First-degree relative with kidney disease increases risk by three-fold

In a large population-based family study, family history of kidney disease was strongly associated with increased risk of chronic kidney disease. In this large population-based family study recently published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, researchers investigated the familial aggregation of CKD by comparing the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in individuals with an affected first-degree relative to that in the general population. Participants with an affected first-degree relative were observed to have a threefold higher risk of CKD compared to that in the general population, independent of BMI, hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, history of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and smoking status. The authors of this study observed a 1.56 fold higher risk in those with an affected spouse, suggesting that shared environmental factors and/or assortative mating play a role. Heritability of eGFR was considerable (44 per cent), whereas heritability of UAE was moderate (20 per cent). Heritability of kidney-related markers and serum electrolytes ranged between 20 and 50 per cent. These results indicate an important role for genetic factors in modulating susceptibility to kidney disease in the general population. Read the full article

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Snapchat permanently bans President Donald Trump's account

Washington: Snapchat has decided to permanently ban US President Donald Trump's account over his role in inciting the Capitol violence, a week after Twitter, Facebook and Instagram imposed bans on his personal account on their respective platforms. CNN quoted a Snapchat spokesperson as saying, "Last week we announced an indefinite suspension of President Trump's Snapchat account, and have been assessing what long term action is in the best interest of our Snapchat community." The platform said it made the decision after the President's account repeatedly violated the company's community guidelines over the past several months. "In the interest of public safety, and based on his attempts to spread misinformation, hate speech, and incite violence, which are clear violations of our guidelines, we have made the decision to permanently terminate his account," the spokesperson added. On January 7, Facebook announced its decision to suspend Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely. On January 12, video-sharing app YouTube said it was barring new content from being posted on President Donald Trump's channel for at least a week over a violation of its policies. Twitter had also banned personal account of Trump from its platform completely. On January 6, a group of Donald Trump's loyalists stormed the US Capitol building, clashing with the police, damaging property, seizing the inauguration stage and occupying the rotunda. Read the full article

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Donald Trump Becomes first President in US history to be impeached twice

Washington: The US House of Representatives on Wednesday (local time) impeached President Donald Trump for "inciting" last week's deadly violence at Capitol Hill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed the impeachment making Trump the first US president to be impeached twice. Congress voted 232 to 197 on the single article of impeachment charging Trump with "incitement of insurrection". Trump is now facing a trial in the Senate. According to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, the trial is unlikely to be held before January 20, the inauguration of incoming president Joe Biden McConnell in a statement released after the vote said that even if the Senate convened this week, "no final verdict would be reached until after President Trump had left office". A total of 10 Republicans broke ranks with the GOP to join their Democrat colleagues to vote in the impeachment resolution, in contrast to the year 2020, when not a single Republican voted for Trump's impeachment. The 10 GOP members include Dan Newhouse of Washington, John Katko of New York, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Fred Upton of Michigan, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Peter Meijer of Michigan, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Tom Rice of South Carolina, David Valadao of California, CNN reported. After exercising his vote, Kinzinger said, "I think this is one of those votes that transcends any kind of political implication if the moment. Read the full article

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'Want to protect privacy of our child': Anushka Sharma, Virat Kohli send strong message to paparazzi

Just two days after Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma and Team India cricketer Virat Kohli welcomed their first child in the form of a baby girl, the couple decided to send a strong appeal to all the paparazzi in Mumbai to refrain from clicking their daughter's photo because they want to protect her privacy. The 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' star and the Indian captain have released a note to the paparazzi fraternity in Mumbai too. Anushka and Virat in their note said, "Hi, Thank you for all the love that you have given us for all these years. We are happy to celebrate this momentous occasion with you. As parents, we have a simple request to make to you. We want to protect the privacy of our child and we need your help and support." The couple added, "While we will always ensure that you get all the content you need featuring us, we would request you to kindly not take or carry any content that has our child." "We know that you will understand where we are coming from and we thank you for the same." India skipper Virat Kohli and wife Anushka Sharma were blessed with a baby girl on January 11. Kohli shared the news via Twitter and said both baby and mother are healthy. His tweet read, ”We are thrilled to share with you that we have been blessed with a baby girl this afternoon. We thank you all for your love, prayers and good wishes. Anushka and the baby are both healthy and we are feeling beyond blessed to start this new chapter of our lives. Read the full article

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Theatres reopen in Kerala, Tamil Nadu after nine months on Pongal

After nine months of being closed, theatres are set to open in Kerala and Tamil Nadu from today. The halls were closed in view of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, the previous year. Fans have already started to flock to the theatres as the Vijay starrer Master becomes the first blockbuster movie to theatrically release post-pandemic. Several theatres were reported house full even with the 50 percent occupancy rule in place to ensure COVID norms are followed. Fans of the actor gathered outside cinema theatres in Koyambedu, Chennai. The film is releasing on Pongal which is celebrated with pomp and show in the Southern part of the country. Vijay has a huge fan following in the state and the producers expect that the film will be a huge success. Master was originally scheduled to release on April 9, 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic. However, the producers of the movie were adamant about a theatrical release and waited nine months for the same. The Tamil Nadu govt recently rolled back its decision to allow 100percent occupancies at movie theatres and set the occupancy limit at 50 percent. Long queues of people were seen outside a film theatre in Madurai earlier today. Kerala has also followed the same pattern with theatres adhering to the  50 percent occupancy rule. Sanitisation drive was conducted in theatres in Kochi before people started arriving. Read the full article