Quad leaders to launch Cancer Moonshot initiative with focus on cervical cancer in Indo-Pacific
At this week’s leaders’ conference, the Quad grouping of Australia, the US, India, and Japan—will reveal an ambitious project to prevent, detect, and treat cancer, with an initial focus on cervical cancer throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Biden will serve as the host of the Quad Leaders' Summit, which will also be attended by PM Modi, Fumio Kishida of Japan, and Anthony Albanese of Australia.
The "Cancer Moonshot," which will be unveiled at a special event on the fringes of the Quad Leaders' Summit in Wilmington, Delaware, on September 21, was hailed by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Thursday as a "very significant" initiative that will bring a human element to the "otherwise geopolitically dominated" Quad agenda.
This is a top concern. The Quad hopes to apply cutting-edge techniques to prevent, detect, treat, and lessen the impact of cancer on patients and their families through this historic initiative, Misri said at a press conference prior to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US on Saturday. "Our initial goal is to work together to lessen the incidence of cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific area," he declared.
The Quad project seems to be designed to expand upon the Cancer Moonshot, which former US President Barack Obama started in 2016. President Joe Biden and his wife Jill brought the program back to life with the intention of averting over four million cancer-related deaths in the US by 2047 and enhancing the quality of life for those who are affected by the disease.
More than 95 new programs, policies, and resources have been made possible by the US Cancer Moonshot. Originally coined to describe the act of sending a spaceship to the moon, the term "moonshot" now denotes extremely difficult and creative initiatives.
According to Misri, the Quad will publish a separate factsheet on the Cancer Moonshot that will list all of the initiative's components. He continued by saying that a major focus of the Quad meeting's agenda will be achieving health security, public goods delivery, and sustainable development goals.
The Indo-Pacific region has long been the center of attention for the Quad. The organization came up with the audacious plan to provide one billion vaccination shots to nations in the Indo-Pacific region during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Quad extended this project in late 2022 to include study on pandemic and health emergency preparedness.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
