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London, March 24 (IANS) Being vaccinated against Covid halves people's risk of developing long Covid, according to new research conducted on more than 860,000 patients.

The findings showed that overweight people, women, smokers and those over the age of 40 are also more likely to suffer from long Covid.

In addition, people with comorbidities such as asthma, COPD, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, immunosuppression, anxiety and depression are also associated with increased risk of long Covid.

And patients who are hospitalised during their acute Covid infection are also more likely to experience long Covid.

"Conversely, it was reassuring to see that people who had been vaccinated had significantly less risk - almost half the risk - of developing long Covid compared to unvaccinated participants," said Prof Vassilios Vassiliou, from the University of East Anglia.

The findings, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, are based on data from 41 studies around the world, involving a total of 860,783 patients.

"Long Covid is a complex condition that develops during or after having Covid, and it is classified as such when symptoms continue for more than 12 weeks," Vassiliou said.

"Long Covid affects people in different ways. Breathlessness, a cough, heart palpitations, headaches, and severe fatigue are among the most prevalent symptoms.

"Other symptoms may include chest pain or tightness, brain fog, insomnia, dizziness, joint pain, depression and anxiety, tinnitus, loss of appetite, headaches, and changes to sense of smell or taste," Vassiliou said.

The study will help define the full demographic characteristics and the risk factors for developing long Covid.

Furthermore, the findings will help authorities develop a better strategy for optimising any modifiable risk factors, with public health promotion campaigns, encouraging smoking cessation, vaccination and healthy weight management in the target population, the researchers said.

--IANS
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New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) Congress MP Rahul Gandhi after being convicted by Surat court faces disqualification as an MP and may not be able to contest elections if the sentence is not suspended by higher courts.

The Representation of the People Act, 1951 Disqualification on Imprisonment provides that a person will be disqualified if convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more. The person is disqualified for the period of imprisonment and a further six years.

But, there is an exception for sitting members provided in the Act. "There is an exception for sitting members; they have been provided a period of three months from the date of conviction to appeal; the disqualification will not be applicable until the appeal is decided," says the Act.

A Surat district court in Gujarat on Thursday convicted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case against him over his alleged 'Modi surname' remark in 2019.

Gandhi was convicted under IPC sections 499 and 500. The maximum possible punishment under this section is two years.

The Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate H.H. Varma sentenced him to two years in jail and also imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 after finding him guilty; however, on Rahul Gandhi's plea, his sentence has been suspended and bail has been granted to enable him to move an appeal against his conviction within 30 days.

BJP MLA and former Gujarat Minister Purnesh Modi had filed the case against Rahul Gandhi for his alleged "how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?" remark.

--IANS
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Beijing, March 23 (IANS) For the first time in 19 years, Beijing witnessed a drop in its population drop in 2022, according to a media report.

Citing official data, the CNN report on Thursday said the Chinese capital's population of permanent residents fell from 21.88 million in 2021 to 21.84 million in 2022.

Meanwhile, the number of migrants in Beijing also dipped in the same period.

The last time Beijing saw more deaths than births was 2003, when the fatal severe respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak emerged in southern China and ultimately infected more than 8,000 people around the world.

The data revealed that 2022's drop is a relatively small one, with the population's natural growth rate dipping to -0.05 per thousand residents.

Meanwhile, China's national population also shrank last year for the first time since the great famine in 1961.

The CNN report says that there are a combination of factors behind the drop -- the far-reaching consequences of the one-child policy China introduced in the 1980s (but has since abandoned); changing attitudes toward marriage and family among Chinese youth; entrenched gender inequality and the challenges of raising children in China's expensive cities.

--IANS
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Los Angeles March 23 (IANS) Actress Amanda Bynes has reportedly shown progress in her condition following her latest psychotic episode.

The actress has started to make improvements after she was brought to a mental hospital on March 19, according to a new report. Despite her improvements, Amanda will likely be committed at least another week at the hospital before she is well enough for discharge.

Additionally, more details about the days leading to Amanda's psychiatric hold have been disclosed, reports showbiz.com.

According to TMZ, the actress could've been living on the streets for several days before her hospitalisation.

Sources close to the 36-year-old star say that they're still putting the pieces together but at this point, they believe that she had been wandering the streets several days before she was found naked and alone.

The actress' car was reportedly towed on March 15 in Long Beach, about 40 miles from her home and 25 miles from downtown LA, where she was found on Sunday, March 19.

From Long Beach, the sources speculate that Amanda hitchhiked or took public transport to get around. She was spotted in Hollywood on March 18, appearing out of it but still clothed at the time. At one point, she got a ride to Beverly Hills from a stranger, but then asked to return to Hollywood.

An eyewitness recently recounted seeing Amanda wandering the streets naked.

The source told Entertainment Tonight: "Amanda was wandering alone on Hollywood Blvd. at around 1 a.m. No one really recognised her or noticed her. She was walking tensely and by herself."

"A woman started walking with her and tried to help her. Amanda asked the woman to hold her. Amanda seemed to be in a loving, wholesome mood [but] seemed as though she was out of it."

The eyewitness went on to claim that the former child star "did not want" to return home because she had been "kicked out" by her on-and-off boyfriend Paul Michael and had wanted to be dropped off at a friend's house, but the friend did not answer the door.

The eyewitness added: "She asked to be dropped off at her friend's place in Beverly Hills. When the woman went to drop her off, Amanda's friend did not answer."

"Amanda said she did not want to go home and noted that her boyfriend kicked her out. Amanda then asked to be dropped back off on Hollywood Blvd., and the woman obliged.

Meanwhile, another fan previously shared a video she took with Amanda days before her hospitalisation. In the video, the fan said she met the actress by chance in Hollywood on St. Patrick's Day, which was on Friday, March 17.

The former Nickelodeon star looked dispirited as she held onto the female fan's arm during a stroll. The fan also claimed that she gave the actress some money. "She was sweet, gave her some money and talked. Sometimes ppl just (need) sb to talk to," she wrote of their encounter.

--IANS
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London, March 23 (IANS) Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has apologised for misleading Parliament in a scandal over parties held at Downing Street during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Johnson made the apology on Wednesday during a marathon grilling session of the cross-party Committee of Privileges in the House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament, reports Xinhua news agency.

With a Bible in his hands, he said: "Hand on heart, I did not lie to the House."

The former Prime Minister admitted social distancing had not been "perfect" at gatherings in Downing Street during Covid lockdowns.

But he said they were "essential" work events, which he claimed were allowed.

Johnson was forced to resign in July last year over a string of scandals, including 'Partygate'.

When revelations of the parties at Downing Street in 2020 and 2021 first emerged in late 2021, Johnson initially said that no rules had been broken.

He later apologised and said there had been "misjudgments", as he mistook those parties for work events.

Responding to a claim on Wednesday that it should have been obvious that such parties broke Covid-19 rules, Johnson said it "must have been equally obvious" to dozens of other senior officials, including incumbent Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

In new evidence published by the parliamentary committee a few hours before the hearing, a government official said Johnson had the opportunity to stop the partying but "allowed the culture to continue".

The committee will now consider Johnson's testimony along with other evidence, before publishing its verdict on the case by the summer.

Johnson could be suspended from the House of Commons if the committee rules that he misled lawmakers deliberately -- a move that might trigger a by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency.

--IANS
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New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) As unified payments interface (UPI)-based transactions continue to break all records, India's e-commerce market is projected to grow from $83 billion in 2022 to $150 billion in 2026, as cash transactions decline further, a report showed on Thursday.

UPI recorded the biggest year-on-year growth of 74.1 per cent in transaction volume as of January 2023 and digital wallets grew from 5 per cent in 2019 to 35 per cent of POS value in 2022 stimulated by UPI, according to the '2023 Global Payments Report' by global financial technology leader FIS.

With cash use declining from 71 per cent of POS transaction value in 2019 to just 27 per cent in 2022, India has emerged as a global leader in payments with the development of its next-generation real-time payments (RTP) infrastructure.

UPI has helped e-commerce account-to-account (A2A) payments grow to $12 billion, up 53 per cent from 2021 to 2022, the findings showed.

"UPI is driving consumers away from cash and helping to drive financial inclusion all at the same time, and is making India a leader in payments across not just the region, but the globe," said Phil Pomford, General Manager APAC, Worldpay Merchant Solutions at FIS.

The development of real-time payment schemes by other central banks -- and, critically, the cooperation between those central banks -- is also helping to fuel cross-border commerce, providing merchants with a significant opportunity for growth moving forward, he added.

While cash is still there, increasingly a majority of peer to peer transactions are done through UPI.

According to the data, cash is expected to decline by 34 per cent in transaction value by 2026 and digital wallets are expected to rise in transaction value by 88 per cent by 2026.

In the online space, the ecommerce market size is expected to grow by 82 per cent by 2026 providing a greater boost to digital payments.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das said earlier this month that payments through UPI grew exponentially in the past 12 months, with daily transactions crossing 36 crore, from 24 crore in February 2022. In value terms, these transactions were worth Rs 6.27 lakh crore.

--IANS
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Lucknow, March 23 (IANS) Rashtriya Parv Evam Utsav Samiti, an RSS-backed unit, has organised a signature campaign demanding the declaration of 'Ramcharitmanas' - the epic based on Ramayana and composed by 16th-century Bhakti poet Tulsidas - as a "national book".

The campaign was initiated on the first day of Chaitra Navratri, which marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year.

In a statement, the Samiti said that the event was primarily organised to throw light on the importance of the Hindu New Year and the importance of religion as a way of life.

The campaign attains importance against the backdrop of Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya's controversial remarks alleging that certain verses of Ramcharitmanas were derogatory to certain sections of society, including the backward classes.

--IANS
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Panaji, March 22 (IANS) Goa Water Resources Minister Subhash Shirodkar on Wednesday said the state government would construct six more dams, adding that the process has already started and urged the people not to oppose such public-oriented projects.

Speaking to IANS, Shirodkar said that his department is identifying two places in South Goa, while four places in North Goa are already decided and the process of obtaining permission has started.

"In South Goa we will do site inspection at Kajumol-Darbandora and Manke in Shiroda constituency. While four dams will come in Sattari taluka," Shirodkar said, adding Goa has seven existing dams.

"It was a visionary decision of the first chief minister, late Bhausaheb Bandodkar to build a dam at Salaulim. People should not oppose this type of public-oriented project," Shirodkar said.

He said that the Water Resources Department is spread across all over Goa.

"People should preserve water and make use of it responsibly. The government is able to supply water across Goa," he said.

He also stressed on the need to preserve the drains, rivers, streams, ponds.

The minister also said that dams will help to preserve rain water which otherwise flows into the sea.

--IANS
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By Quaid Najmi
Mumbai, March 22 (IANS) It was on the auspicious Gudi Padwa festival in 2007 that Pune gynaecologist Dr Ganesh Rakh had started his small Medicare Hospital in a modest, three-storied building in Hadapsar locality.



His mission was clear - 'Save the Girl Child' - which he started doing in a big and unique way from 2012 onwards, and the hospital's journey completed 16 years on Wednesday (March 22, 2023).

"All deliveries of any female infant in my Medicare Hospital are absolutely free of cost for the parents, whether they are paupers or prosperous. Even all the post-delivery care, follow-up treatment, emergency surgeries in case of complications etc are also complimentary for the girl child and her mom," Dr Rakh told IANS.

The three-winged Medicare Hospital straddling three buildings has an interesting story of its origins and how their owners - the landladies - directly and indirectly helped Dr Rakh's unparalleled mission.

The first building is owned by a Muslim lady - Shagufta Mushtak Khan, 40 and her husband is employed as a tanker-driver.

The second building belongs to a Hindu lady - Anuradha Sadashiv Gopale, 70, whose husband is a retired schoolteacher.

The third building is owned by a Christian lady - Jennifer Eric Menezes, 56, and her husband is a para-gliding pilot.

"I rented the first building, from Shagufta Madam in 2007, where 'Medicare Hospital' was born in a small way. The second building came up in 2009 and Anuradha Madam made me her first tenant as the hospital had started flourishing slowly. In 2014, Jennifer Madam rented her building to me, when the 'Save Girl Child' mission was taking its first baby-steps," said a beaming Dr Rakh.

While the landlady Khan charges Rs 32K rent per month, Gopale takes Rs 44K and Menezes rakes in Rs 40K each month.

Dr Rakh acknowledges warmly, that "without these three genteel-ladies, hailing from different religious-social-economic-cultural backgrounds, the Medicare Hospital dream would have been stillborn".

To ensure hassle-free operations, the three buildings are now 'inter-connected' and function as a single-entity, with the trio of landladies, their husbands and families going all out to support the 'Save Girl Child' initiative.

"They have witnessed the 'birth', 'childhood' and 'teen' of Medicare Hospital, my tribulations after I announced totally free deliveries for the girl-child born here and they stood behind me like three mountains during any crises," Dr Rakh said with pride, as he along with family and the entire staff stood outside to celebrate the hospital's 16th anniversary-cum-Gudi Padwa this afternoon.

He recalled instances when he was down to the last penny, with no money to pay staff salaries, electricity bills, domestic grocery bills and of course, the rentals of the three landladies.

"However, the three women never ever reminded me or pressured me or gave me an ultimatum." They are also lenient about hiking the rents, they spare me an annual increase and instead hike it every 3-4 years, but only after discussing with me and my family," said a grateful Dr Rakh.

Nevertheless, at times, Sadashiv Gopale played truant, but his wife sternly stood behind Dr Rakh to ward off any crises.

"Sadashiv Sir was my high school teacher for English... He retains the old strictness... Occasionally, when the rentals were delayed, he would hound me... Fortunately, his wife Anuradha would rescue me from his onslaught," Dr Rakh chuckled.

From January 3, 2012 till March 21, 2023, Medicare Hospital has performed 2,470 deliveries of girls without charging a single paise from the parents.

With a strength of 16-beds, the hospital has all other facilities like an OPD, consultations, a path-lab, labour room, operation theatres, delivery rooms, two deluxe rooms, two general wards, a creche, pharmacy, plus separate residential quarters for staff, nurses, medicos and even interns.

Initially ridiculed as the 'Mad Doctor', today Dr Rakh has a huge following of over a million people with many hospitals, doctors, nurses, participating or contributing in their own ways to the 'Beti Bachao' Mission.

His fame spread abroad and he was invited to Africa and other countries for similar initiatives, and will soon travel to Europe, the US, Gulf and Far East to conduct 'Save Girl Child' programmes.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

--IANS
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Guwahati, March 16 (IANS) With an allocation of Rs 200 crore in the Budget, the Assam government on Thursday announced launching the Mission for Prevention of Child Marriage.

While presenting the budget in the assembly, Assam Finance Minister Ajanta Neog said that high maternal and infant mortality rates are major health care issues in this part of the country.

"Child marriage has been one of the prominent reasons for these. The state government has launched a mass drive against the violators of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) 2006 earlier this year. The government is committed to launch this state mission with a target of making Assam free of incidents of child marriage by the end of 2026," she said.

All Gram Panchayat Secretaries in Assam are being designated as Child Marriage Prevention Officers. They will ensure prohibition of child marriages, the protection of the victims as well as prosecution of the offenders by lodging FIRs.

"Our district police forces will continue to conduct intensive drives every six months to take necessary action against offenders. The Mission will work in a time-bound manner and will link all programs and services that are working for women and children," Neog added.

Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said: "Every six months, at least 4,000-6,000 people will be arrested. After that, we're going to launch a mission for the victims' rehabilitation."

He also said that a 24-hour phone centre will be established, and several NGOs will promote "positive action against child marriage".

Sarma made it clear that the state government's action against child marriage will continue with more vigour.

"This is not communal and we want to approach the issue completely from a humanitarian point of view," he added.

However, the Opposition was critical about state government's mission with the Congress leader Debabrata Saikia saying: "The conviction rate on child marriage act is just five per cent."

--IANS
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