Indian fisherman shot dead by Lankan navy

Mar 7: A 22-year-old Indian fisherman was shot dead today allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy while he was fishing in a mechanised boat at a short distance off Katchatheevu islet, fisheries department officials said.

The incident occurred this evening when Bridgo, from Thangachimadam in central Rameswaram of Tamil Nadu, was fishing near the islet along with others and the Sri Lankan naval personnel arrived at the spot and opened fire, Fisheries Department Assistant Director Kulanchinathan said.

Bridgo was shot in the neck and died on the spot, he said, adding another fisherman, Saravanan (22), suffered injuries in his leg in the firing while others who went along with them escaped unhurt and returned to the shore at 12.30 AM.

Rameswaram Fishermen Association President P Sesuraja told PTI that more than 2,000 fishermen were fishing well within Indian waters when the Sri Lankan naval personnel came to the spot taking them by surprise.

The Lankan navy officials did not even fire a warning shot, he alleged.

Kulanchinathan said the body has been brought to the Rameswaram hospital and a case has been registered at the Jetty police station.

Meanwhile, tension prevailed in the area as fishermen from Thangachimadam coastal hamlet gathered in front of the hospital to protest the firing by the Sri Lankan navy.

The Tamil Nadu government had yesterday protested the "escalation" in apprehension of its fishermen by Sri Lanka and said the Centre did "not seem to put adequate pressure" on Colombo regarding the matter.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister K Palaniswami had referred to the arrest of 32 Indian fishermen by the Lankan authorities in the last few days and said these incidents were causing hardship and mental agony to the fishermen community.

Noting that currently there were 85 fishermen and 128 fishing boats in Lankan custody, he had urged Modi to direct the External Affairs Ministry officials concerned to take concrete action through diplomatic channels to secure their release.

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AstraZeneca to withdraw Covid-19 vaccine globally as demand dips after admitting side effects

News Network

May 8,2024

AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a "surplus of available updated vaccines" since the pandemic.

The company also said it would proceed to withdraw the vaccine Vaxzevria's marketing authorizations within Europe.

"As multiple, variant Covid-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines," the company said, adding that this had led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied.

According to media reports, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker has previously admitted in court documents that the vaccine causes side-effects such as blood clots and low blood platelet counts.

The firm's application to withdraw the vaccine was made on March 5 and came into effect on May 7, according to the Telegraph, which first reported the development.

London-listed AstraZeneca began moving into respiratory syncytial virus vaccines and obesity drugs through several deals last year after a slowdown in growth as COVID-19 medicine sales declined.

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