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Showing posts from May 15, 2018

Gates Foundation Issues RFP for Universal Flu Vaccine Development Grand Challenge

PHILANTHROPY NEWS DIGEST MAY 15, 2018 THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION HAS ISSUED AN REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR RESEARCH THAT WILL LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIVERSAL INFLUENZA VACCINE. THIS YEAR MARKS THE ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE MOST SEVERE INFLUENZA PANDEMIC IN RECORDED HISTORY, WHICH KILLED AN ESTIMATED 50 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE — MORE THAN THE TOTAL DEATHS CAUSED BY THE FIRST WORLD WAR. THE SUBSEQUENT INFLUENZA PANDEMICS OF 1957, 1968, 1977, AND 2009, THOUGH MILDER THAN THE 1918 PANDEMIC, DEMONSTRATED THE POTENTIAL OF INFLUENZA VIRUSES TO CAUSE EXCESSIVE MORBIDITY, MORTALITY, AND, MORE GENERALLY, SEVERE DISRUPTIONS OF HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS. CLEARLY, THE THREAT OF PANDEMIC INFLUENZA IS VERY REAL. ALSO, INFLUENZA VIRUSES POSE A SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO HUMANKIND, WITH SEASONAL INFLUENZA DISEASE LEADING TO AN ESTIMATED 290,000 TO 650,000 DEATHS EACH YEAR. PART OF THE FOUNDATION'S GRAND CHALLENGES PROGRAM, THE GOAL OF THE FOUNDATION'S ENDING THE PANDEMIC THR

FB suspends 200 apps

The Telegraph Reuters, May 15, 2018 New York:  Facebook Inc has so far suspended around 200 apps in the first stage of its review into apps that had access to large quantities of user data, in a response to a scandal around political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. The apps were suspended pending a thorough investigation into whether they misused any data, said Ime Archibong, Facebook's vice president of product partnerships. Facebook said it has looked into thousands of apps till date as part of an investigation that Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg announced on March 21. Zuckerberg had said the social network will investigate all apps that had access to large amounts of information before the company curtailed data access in 2014. "There is a lot more work to be done to find all the apps that may have misused people's Facebook data and it will take time," Archibong said. "We have large teams of internal and external experts working har

India Holds Bill Gates Accountable For His Vaccine Crimes

WRITTEN BY:  WORLDTRUTH                        MAY 14, 2018 Christina England Activist Post As Bill Gates faces a lawsuit for the illegal testing of tribal children in India, it appears that his crimes against humanity have finally caught up with him. A recent report published by Health Impact News has reported that the Gates Foundation has found itself facing a pending lawsuit, due to an investigation that is being carried out by the Supreme Courts of India. Health Impact News stated: While fraud and corruption are revealed on almost a daily basis now in the vaccine industry, the U.S. mainstream media continues to largely ignore such stories. Outside the U.S., however, the vaccine empires are beginning to crumble, and English versions of the news in mainstream media outlets are available via the Internet. One such country is India, where the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and their vaccine empire are under fire, including a pending lawsuit currently being in

LeT operative’s arrest brings to fore D-Company’s terror links

Hindustan Times Manish K Pathak,  May 14, 2018 Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested Faisal from Jogeshwari (West) based on a tip-off from the Kolkata Special Task Force. The arrest of 32-year-old Faisal Hasan Mirza has once again put a spotlight Dawood Ibrahim and his D-Company’s links to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the dreaded terrorist outfit run by Hafiz Saeed. Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested Faisal from Jogeshwari (West) based on a tip-off from the Kolkata Special Task Force which alleges that Faisal’s distant relative Farooque Devadiwala, a lieutenant of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, had provided Faisal the logistics, including money and airline tickets, to travel between India,Dubai and Karachi. Mirza was in constant touch with Devadiwala, who is based in Sharjah, UAE. Devadiwala was allegedly providing logistic support to push Indian youth to join Lashkar-e Taiba (LeT). He is in direct contact with the Indian Mujahideen co-founder Amir Reza Kha

As Land Acquisition Continues Unabated, Gujarat Farmers Seek Permission to Die

The Wire Damayantee Dhar 14/MAY/2018 Fearing that their land will be taken away by the government, over 5,000 farmers from Bhavnagar have sought permission for mass euthanasia along with their families.  On April 1, about 100 heavily armed police personnel marched into a nondescript village, Badi in Ghogha taluka of Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district, and fired tear gas shells and lathi-charged locals, injuring about ten persons, including women, and detained more than 50. All of this was to disperse about 11,000 farmers who were sitting in protest to try and keep their land, which is to be taken over by the Gujarat Thermal Power Corporation (GPCL). For the past four months, Badi and its neighbouring 11 villages, where villagers depend largely on farming for their livelihood, have turned into something of a conflict zone. Since February this year, police have been camping in agricultural fields in these villages. To add to that, from April 1 this year, the Bhavnagar polic

European spy chiefs warn of hybrid threats from Russia, IS

The Hindu MAY 14, 2018 17:14  AP Hans-Georg Maassen, head of the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, right, talks MI5 head Andrew Parker during symposium on hybrid threat scenarios in Berlin on Monday . Mr. Maassen said authorities are particularly concerned about the possible funding of extremist groups aiming to divide European societies, and he called for greater awareness of hybrid attacks to counter such threats. European intelligence chiefs warned on Monday that  Russia  is actively seeking to undermine their democracies by disinformation, cyberattacks and more traditional means of espionage. The heads of Britain and Germany’s domestic intelligence agencies, as well as the  European Union  and NATO’s top security officials, pinpointed Moscow as the prime source of hybrid threats to Europe, citing attempts to manipulate elections, steal sensitive data and spark a coup in Montenegro. They also cited the nerve agent attack against a former R

PNB-Nirav Modi fraud case: Who is Usha Ananthasubramanian?

Money Control By Beena Parmar May 14, 2018 08:12  Set for superannuation on September 30, 2018, the former PNB chief CEO and managing director currently heading Allahabad Bank, will soon be on her way out much earlier Usha Ananthasubramanian, the latest newsmaker in one of the biggest banking frauds in India, has probably seen the most ups and downs in the latter part of her 36-year old banking career. She has been named by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the charge sheet relating to the Rs 13,000 crore-plus fraud at PNB unearthed in mid-February. Set for superannuation on September 30, 2018, the former chief executive officer of   Punjab National Bank  (PNB) and current managing director of  Allahabad Bank , could be on her way out much earlier. After the charge sheet, the finance ministry has directed both Allahabad Bank and PNB’s boards to  “divest” the powers  and responsibilities of those named in it. Allahabad Bank has called for a board meeting t

Walmart’s Flipkart acquisition ‘credit positive’, says Moody’s

Live Mint By AFP May 14 2018 Moody’s sees Flipkart generating losses for the next few years but cited India’s ‘compelling features’, including its demography and 7% GDP growth as reasons for the credit positive outlook on the Flipkart -Walmart deal Walmart’s acquisition of 77% stake in Flipkart is “credit positive” for the US retail giant, though the Indian e-commerce firm is expected to continue to make losses for the next few years, said rating agency Moody’s in its Credit Outlook report issued on Monday. On 9 May,    Walmart Inc  said it is buying a 77% stake in Indian e-commerce retailer Flipkart for about $16 billion, but it is yet to disclose financing plans. Moody’s said it expects the deal to initially weaken Walmart’s credit metrics, with retained cash flow (RCF) to net debt ratio likely dropping to the low-30% range from 40% currently and debt to EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) ratio likely to double from 1.6 times currently