The News Journal

Cyrus Poonawalla, the founder of Indian Covid vaccine Covishield’s maker Serum Institute of India (SII), is the world’s richest billionaire in the healthcare sector this year. This is according to Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List of 2022. With a massive net worth of $26 billion, Cyrus Poonawalla is the overall the fourth richest Indian, with his wealth growing by 41% from last year. This spike in the wealth of this billionaire is primarily attributed to the wide usage of the Covid-19 vaccines produced by the SII. In 2020, Serum Institute’s founder Poonawalla had a net worth of $8.2 billion, which has risen by $17.8 billion over the last two covid hit years. For the uninitiated, Poonawalla had founded the Serum Institute in 1966. Over these five decades, SII has grown to become the world’s largest vaccine maker, producing over 1.5 billion doses of vaccines that counter measles, polio and flu among others, as per HBL. Cyrus Poonawalla's son Adar Poonawalla is the current CEO of SII....

Finland and Sweden’s expected applications to join Nato will prove “hugely symbolic” by dividing Europe into separate security zones, leading analysts have said. Russia will now be confronted with hostile states stretching from the Arctic down to the Black Sea and potentially leading to future confrontation, strategy experts have told The National . But the inclusion of the two Nordic countries will significantly boost the alliance’s military strength, with both possessing highly capable militaries and “very, very good soldiers”, said Ed Arnold of the Rusi think tank. “This is a very political time for the alliance, showing that it's still relevant, gaining new members who are strong in defence and security,” he added. “This is not just a military decision, it's a hugely symbolic political move.” With Russia haemorrhaging troops and equipment during the Ukraine invasion, Moscow is unlikely to be able to retaliate in the short term. This is because Russia has withdrawn forces f...

The UAE’s first two astronauts have graduated from Nasa’s basic training programme and are now eligible for space missions led by the US space agency. Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi were awarded their Nasa astronaut pins on Sunday, which signify that they are ready for missions to the International Space Station and beyond. Both of them will now begin training for the Nasa-SpaceX Crew-6 mission, a six-month science trip to the orbiting laboratory. Only one of them will fly to space, while the other will be the back-up astronaut for the mission. “It's an exceptional feeling when 20 months of assiduous training pays off,” said Dr Al Neyadi, a former IT professional who will likely be the astronaut to fly on the upcoming space mission. “A big thank you to MBRSC (Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre and the Nasa team, my colleague Hazzaa and everyone who supported me in being awarded the Nasa astronaut pin. “Our training continues towards achieving bigger goals.” Maj Al Mansouri, a...

Eminent storyteller and CEO of Applause Entertainment – Sameer Nair weighed in on a new-age web show event at Vidnet 2022 in conversation with the legendary film critic and journalist Rajeev Masand. With the rise of game-changing production studios and content houses, the recipe to blockbuster content has been upturned. India has entered an era of creative storytelling where filmmakers and writers are treated as the heroes, and web-shows and movies are block busters based on the plots. The focus in storytelling is now more on proactive content as against lazy content with a known face to save the project. During a fireside chat with the well-known film critic and journalist Rajeev Masand, held recently at Vidnet Summit 2022, eminent storyteller and CEO of Applause Entertainment, Sameer Nair burnished his thought leadership and affirmed the new commandments to successful content while he addressed an audience comprising of writers, new age filmmakers and industry leaders. Uncovering som...

Tata Steel Ltd will look to grow organically, and the steel giant is under “no pressure” to look at fresh acquisitions during this decade, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director T V Narendran said. Mr Narendran said that the Jamshedpur-based behemoth will fuel its growth ambitions to more than double its output, relying on organic growth at its existing sites. “Most of our growth in the last few years has been through the inorganic route (acquisitions). Currently, we are in a position where all our growth ambitions can be met through organic growth in our existing sites. “We don't really need to acquire any new assets to grow (output) to 40-50 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) from the present level of 20 MTPA… We will rely more on organic growth during this decade,” Mr Narendran said in an interview. Tata Steel had reported production of 19.06 million tonnes in the 2021-2022 fiscal. The steel behemoth had acquired Bhushan Steel in 2018, followed by Usha Martin in 2019. It is...

A grand jury has indicted Frank James, the man suspected in the mass shooting on the subway in Brooklyn. The two counts include a federal terrorism charge, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. James is accused of setting off smoke grenades and firing a gun on a crowded train in Sunset Park on April 12, leaving more than two dozen people hurt. James, 62, was arrested on April 13 and formally charged with a federal count of enacting terror on April 14. The judge ordered James to be held without bail. His court appearance took about six minutes. Lawyers representing James have claimed federal agents improperly questioned him. They also accused the FBI of taking DNA samples from James and directing him to sign documents without alerting his lawyers.

The Congress on Sunday slammed the Madhya Pradesh government's orders which stated that the investigation agencies mandatorily need to acquire prior permission of the chief minister to inquest corruption charges against officials of all-India services. Congress leader Kamal Nath accused the BJP of making 'elaborate arrangements to protect the corrupt.' "Those who used to give the slogan 'Na Khaunga and Na Khane Dunga' at the time of elections and those who used to talk about putting the corrupt in 10 feet deep pit, all of them together have made elaborate arrangements to protect the corrupt," the Congress leader wrote in a tweet. Notably, the General Administration Department of the Madhya Pradesh Government issued an order on Thursday stating that prior permission of the chief minister of the state would be required to initiate a probe against officers of All India Services (IAS, IPS, IFS etc.) under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The order was passed ...