DailyBrief: Prashant Kishor is the news again for his predictions; and Drug made from human bones is pushing this African country into a crisis
Prashant Kishor's prophesied predictions possess potential pertinence but punctuated with prudence; and Sierra Leone has declared a national emergency after its youth are digging up graves for bones.
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Market Watch
The benchmark indices started off with record highs but Sensex settled 58.80 points lower at 74,683.70. Nifty closesed 24.50 points lower at 22,641.80.
Sectorally,auto, capital goods, FMCG, energy, infra, oil and gas and pharma recorded losses while banks, metals and realty indices gained.
Prashant Kishor is the news again
Political strategist Prashant Kishor has made some audacious forecasts regarding the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) performance in the upcoming elections.
Watch his entire interview:
Prediction for the South India: Prashant Kishor predicts that the BJP will be the number one party in Odisha and is likely to make significant gains in West Bengalv and even emerge as the single largest party.
India Today has countered most of Kishor's predictions in the South. Despite a double-digit vote share prediction for the BJP in Tamil Nadu, experts see no seat gains for the party in the state.
In Telangana, the BJP is expected to grow but the gains may not be massive.
Experts anticipate that the BJP, in alliance with the TDP and Jana Sena, is likely to win big in Andhra Pradesh, with the NDA potentially securing 18-19 of the 25 seats. This is in line with Prashant Kishor's prediction that YSRCP should brace itself for a defeat.
Regarding Kerala, experts and polls suggest that the BJP will increase its vote share but is unlikely to win any seats.
Karnataka is seen as crucial for the BJP in the South, with the party unlikely to better its 2019 tally but aiming to retain a significant number of seats.
Playing down BJP’s chances in rest of the country, Prashant Kishor said that the party is unlikely to cross the 370-mark on its own. This in contrast to how the party has up drumming up its chances of crossing 400 on its own.
Pessimistic about oppositon’s chances: Opposition's poll strategy against the BJP, noting that they had three realistic chances to challenge the BJP's dominance but failed due to laziness and flawed strategies. He emphasized the missed opportunities of the Opposition, especially the Congress, to prevent the BJP from gaining pole position in the upcoming elections.
Prediction for Bihar: Prashant Kishor is laying the groundwork for a new political party in Bihar through his Jan Suraaj Padyatra, indicating a potential space for a new political formation in the state due to high anti-incumbency.
…And the parties are not happy: Prashant Kishor's proposal for Rahul Gandhi to step back from leading the Congress party has been met with derision. Congress leader Ajoy Kumar has labelled Kishor as an RSS man masquerading as a political analyst.
After Kishor predicted YSRCP's defeat in Andhra Pradesh, YSRCP leader Botcha Satyanarayana said that Prashant Kishor would praise anyone who pays him. This could be a case of sour grapes or political positioning by Prashant Kishor dumped the YSRCP party to work with the opposition party TDP.
Clip du jour
This stunning video of what the solar eclipse looks like when you’re facing Earth from space:
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Sierra Leone declares emergency over drug “Kush” - Made from Human Bones
[Warning: Graphic visuals]
President Julius Maada Bio of the Western African country Sierra Leone has taken decisive action by declaring drug abuse, particularly the consumption of kush, a synthetic drug consisting of bones of human dead bodies, as a national emergency.
Kush has emerged as a significant public health concern in Sierra Leone, leading to widespread addiction and fatalities.
What is Kush?: Kush, often sought after as a means of escapism, has proven to be highly addictive and has resulted in numerous hospitalizations and deaths across the country.
Reports suggest that the composition of kush includes substances such as fentanyl, tramadol, and formaldehyde, contributing to its dangerous nature.
Of particular concern are rumours indicating that formalin, a component of kush, may be sourced from human bones, taken from exhumed bodies, prompting municipal authorities in Freetown to deploy police patrols to safeguard cemeteries from grave robberies.
Why bones? One discredited theory is that the sulfur content in bones, when ground up adds to the drugs effect, but experts say the sulfur content in human bones is too low to produce any such effect.
A more reasonable theory is that addicts are digging up bodies to use the formalin on the bodies (a solution of formaldehyde and water used to preserve bodies) to add to the drug.
Another theory is that the use of bones is more related to sensationalism or myth, to enhance the drug's notoriety or mystique among users.
Side effects of Kush:
In response, Sierra Leone has established a task force dedicated to addressing drug abuse through a multifaceted approach encompassing prevention, treatment, social services, law enforcement, and community engagement.
The aim is to dismantle the drug trafficking networks fueling the Kush crisis and provide support to affected individuals and communities.
The severity of the Kush crisis in Sierra Leone has also drawn attention from neighbouring West African countries, with Guinea and Liberia also grappling with a surge in consumption and associated deaths.
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