Left, Right & Centre

Six months ahead of the state elections, the power crisis in Punjab has emerged as a major challenge for Chief Minister Amarinder Singh who is already facing criticism for not delivering on pre-poll promises. Adding to the political heat on him amid protests by opposition parties, farmers and other consumers against the power cuts in the state, former minister Navjot Singh has, for the past many weeks, been hitting out at his own party's government.

Fuel prices, cooking oil prices and now, even milk prices are up in the midst of the pandemic when countless citizens are trying to make ends meet. What about the election promises of this government? A few years down the road, just where are we? We debate on Left, Right and Centre.

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organisation (WHO), today said nations blocking Covishield are not following a logical decision. "There's no logic in blocking Covishield," Ms Swaminathan told NDTV. "The Delta plus variant is not a variant of concern for WHO for now," she said.

The technology used in Sunday's drone strikes on an Air Force base at Jammu airport indicate "state-support" and involvement of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, Lt General DP Pandey, Corps Commander of the 15 Corps in Srinagar, told NDTV on Wednesday. General Pandey said the Army is "well aware these assets and tech - like drones and drone warfare - are state-supported systems" and that such threats may continue and even increase. He stressed, however, that the armed forces will look to stay ahead of such threats and is exploring options and proactive solutions to address any and all challenges to national security.

The Covovax shot developed by American vaccine-maker Novavax may be cleared for use in India between July and September, which would make it the fifth vaccine in the country. The vaccine would cost a "low single dollar" price per dose but is likely to be costlier than Covishield, the company's CEO said today in an exclusive interview. Stanley Erck, the president and CEO of Novavax, also said that while Covovax is known to work on Covid variants, the data of its effectiveness against the Delta variant is not known yet.

Navjot Singh Sidhu was leaving for Delhi to meet Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi, but there was no meeting. Back in Chandigarh, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh faced another challenger today: Arvind Kejriwal, who effectively launched his party's election campaign with a series of ambitious promises.

Three fresh cases have been registered against Twitter executives in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. Earlier on June 16, Twitter and its executives were booked by UP cops for not removing a video from the micro-blogging site relating to an incident in Ghaziabad.

Ronnie Screwvala shares life's lessons in new book "Skill it. Kill it. Up your game". Listen to what he has to say about getting a professional edge.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said he has "extended support to Chirag Paswan". Ditched by his own, will Chirag Paswan forge new partnerships?

After Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, even Bahujan Samajwadi Party Chief Mayawati ruled out any tie-ups for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. Meanwhile, AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi is also looking to contest 100 seats in the state. Will the divided colours of the opposition play to the BJP's advantage?