Month: September 2020

A video has surfaced on social media in which a group of young People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers are seen sobbing while heading towards the India-China border at Ladakh to face the Indian Army, amid the tensions between the two countries.

On September 20, Pakistani comedian Zaid Hamid posted a video on Facebook, wherein several PLA recruits are seen crying on a bus as they are being transferred to the border area in Ladakh. The troops are struggling to sing the words to the PLA song “Green Flowers in the Army”, Taiwan News reported.

The video was originally posted on the WeChat page of Fuyang City Weekly, before it was removed. The original footage shows 10 new troops from Fuyang City’s Yingzhou district in Anhui province of China.

All the fresh recruits were reportedly college students and five of them had “proactively volunteered to serve in Tibet,” which borders the Ladakh region, where the standoff between Indian and Chinese armies took place at Galwan valley in June. That faceoff led to the death of 20 Indian troops.

The video was reportedly shot at Fuyang Railway Station while the troops were preparing to head to a military camp in Hebei province, according to Taiwan News.

A Chinese user who goes by the handle @waynescene reposted the video on Twitter on September 20 and wrote, “They were told that they would be going to the front lines after they got on the bus. The cannon fodder are crying!”

Meanwhile, India and China, which held the sixth round of Senior Commanders’ meeting on Monday following border tensions in eastern Ladakh, have agreed to avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments, stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground and avoid taking any actions that may complicate the situation.

Sources said that during the talks, China asked India to vacate the positions taken over by it on the south bank of Pangong Tso after August 29. But India insisted that China should move back to the positions which existed before April-May 2020 timeframe in the Eastern Ladakh sector, sources added.

The meeting started at around 10 am and went on till 11 pm on Monday.

The talks happened at a time when India has occupied six major hill features on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which are helping the Indian Army to be in dominating positions on heights. (ANI)

Russia is ready to offer its ‘Sputnik V’ COVID-19 vaccine free of charge for voluntary vaccination of the staff of United Nations (UN) and its offices and the country will soon hold a virtual conference for those nations keen in cooperation in the development of anti-coronavirus vaccines, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Delivering his remarks through a pre-recorded video for the 75th session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Putin described the ‘Sputnik V’ vaccine, the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, as “safe, reliable and effective”. He said the Russian government is ready to share experience and continue collaborating with countries and international entities including the supply of the ‘Sputnik V’ vaccine.

“Building on the scientific, industrial and clinical experience of its doctors Russia has promptly developed a range of test systems and medicines to detect and treat the coronavirus, as well as registered the world’s first vaccine, Sputnik V,” he said.

“I would like to reiterate that we are completely open to partner relations and willing to cooperate. In this context, we are proposing to hold an online high-level conference shortly for countries interested in cooperation in the development of anti-coronavirus vaccines,” he added.

Russia is sure that all capacities of the global pharmaceutical industry need to be employed so as to provide free access to vaccination for the population of all states in the foreseeable future, Putin remarked.

“We are ready to share experience and continue cooperating with all states and international entities, including in supplying the Russian vaccine which has proved reliable, safe and effective, to other countries,” he said.

Underlining that the world is experiencing a whole new challenge due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Russian President stressed the need for new innovative solutions to revive the global economy which has taken a hit due to the crisis.

“Experts are yet to fully assess the scale of the social and economic shock caused by the pandemic and all its long-term consequences. However, it is already evident that it will take a really, really long time to restore the global economy. Furthermore, even proven anti-crisis measures will not always work. We will need new innovative solutions,” he said.

He added, “Russia is ready to provide the UN with all the necessary qualified assistance, in particular, we are offering to provide our vaccine, free of charge, for the voluntary vaccination of the staff of the UN and its offices. We have received requests from our UN colleagues in this respect, and we will respond to those.”

Putin outlined Russia’s active contribution to global and regional counter-COVID-19 efforts, saying the country provided assistance to most affected nations both bilaterally and within multilateral formats.

He called on the need to “qualitatively strengthen” the capability of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“…We first of all take into account the central coordinating role of the WHO, which is part of the UN system. We believe it essential to qualitatively strengthen WHO capability. This work has already begun, and Russia is genuinely motivated to engage in it,” the Russian President remarked.

Calling for reforms of the UN Security Council in the backdrop of a “complicated, multipolar and multidimensional” world, Putin said the body should be more inclusive of the interests of all countries.

“Our logic is that the Security Council should be more inclusive of the interests of all countries, as well as the diversity of their positions, base its work on the principle of the broadest possible consensus among states and, at the same time, continue to serve as the cornerstone of global governance, which cannot be achieved unless the permanent members of the Security Council retain their veto power,” he said.

Putin stated that Russia is mulling to hold an in-person G5 summit in the future and said “many partners” have backed the initiative.

“It would aim at reaffirming the key principles of behaviour in international affairs, elaborating ways to effectively address today’s most burning issues. It is encouraging that our partners have supported the initiative. We expect to hold such summit – in person – as soon as the epidemiological situation makes it possible,” he further said. (ANI)

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Bengaluru Police on Wednesday said that they have summoned actor Diganth Manchale for further questioning in connection with a case related to alleged drug abuse in the Kannada film industry. Earlier, actor Sanjana Galrani and Ragini Dwivedi have been arrested in this case.

“We have called Diganth. Certain field level enquiry was done on the basis of his earlier statement given during the previous questioning and few other people were enquired. Now he is being called again for further enquiry in the matter,” CCB officials said.

On September 8, Kannada film actor Sanjana Galrani along with her mother were detained by the CCB, Bengaluru for their alleged involvement in a drug case, the police said. The mother-daughter duo was sent to the CCB office situated in the Chamrajpet area of the city for further interrogation.

Actors Diganth Manchale and Aindrita Ray were questioned on September 16 in connection with a case related to alleged drug abuse in the Kannada film industry.

Earlier, searches were conducted at the house of Aditya Alva – son of former Minister Jeevaraj Alva – in connection with the ongoing investigation in the drug case in Karnataka.

On September 7, Kannada actor Ragini Dwivedi was also arrested in this case and was produced in court, which sent her to 5-day custody. (ANI)

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday announced the names of 11 members who will be retiring from the Upper House after completing their term in November, this year.

“Today, we bid farewell to some of our colleagues from the state of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand namely Dr Chhatrapal Singh Yadav, Javed Ali Khan, PL Punia, Ravi Prakash Verma, Raja Ram, Ram Gopal Yadav, Veer Singh, Hardeep Singh Puri, Neeraj Shekhar, Arun Singh and Raj Babbar who would be retiring in the month of November,” Naidu said in Rajya Sabha.

“While retirement marks the completion of the terms of Rajya Sabha members, it also infuses them a sense of fulfillment and contentment of having to serve the people of this country. The retiring members have contributed significantly to this house. They have dedicated to the cause of democracy. Though many would come re-elected those who would not, the house will miss them,” he added.

Naidu said that the retiring members will continue to serve the cause of the people and strengthen democracy.

“They have retired but not tired. They will continue to serve the people and will address the cause of people. I wish them good health and happiness and many more years of service to the nation. I hope that they will strengthen democracy by serving the cause of people,” he said.

Each member of the Rajya Sabha is elected for a term of six years. One-third of the members retire every second year and fresh elections are held to elect new members. (ANI)

While the construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya continues, the contributions have kept on pouring in from across the world, the latest being a USD 1,500 contribution made by an NRI.

Prakash Gupta, office-in-charge, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra told reporters here that till date crores of rupees have been received from devotees for the temple construction.

“Crores of rupees have been received for temple construction till date. Recently an NRI has sent a cheque of USD 1,500 as his contribution,” Gupta said.

The official further said that for every contribution the Trust receives through the post they send back a receipt and prasad, with the major contributors also getting an additional thank you note from its officials.

“For every cheque that we receive through the post, we send back a receipt and prasad. We also send a thank you letter to those who send large amounts along with these, we have been getting contributions regularly ranging from Rs 101 to lakhs,” Gupta said.

On September 4, the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) has handed over the approved design of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple being constructed in Ayodhya to the Ram Temple Trust. The Trust had on August 20 said that the construction of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir has “begun” and the engineers had begun testing the soil at the site.

In February this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the constitution of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, to oversee the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya. (ANI)

India and China, which held the sixth round of Senior Commanders’ meeting on Monday following border tensions in eastern Ladakh, have agreed to avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments, stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground and avoid taking any actions that may complicate the situation.

The two sides also agreed to strengthen communication on the ground and to hold the next round of Military Commander-Level Meeting as soon as possible.

A joint press statement on Tuesday said that the two sides had candid and in-depth exchange of views on “stabilizing the situation along the LAC in the India – China border areas”.

It said that the two sides agreed to take practical measures to properly solve problems on the ground.

“They agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen communication on the ground, avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments, stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any actions that may complicate the situation,” the statement said.

“The two sides also agreed to hold the 7th round of Military Commander-Level Meeting as soon as possible, take practical measures to properly solve problems on the ground, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border area,” it added.

The sixth Corps Commander-Level Meeting started on Monday at around 10 am and went on till 11 pm.

Sources had said that during the meeting India insisted that China should move back to the positions which existed before April-May 2020 timeframe in the eastern Ladakh sector.

They said China asked India to vacate the positions taken over by it on the south bank of Pangong Tso after August 29.

14 Corps Chief Lt Gen Harinder Singh and his likely successor Lt Gen PGK Menon along with a Joint Secretary from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) attended the meeting from the Indian side at Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The Corps Commanders of the two sides met after more than a month as both sides had been engaged in at least three firing incidents that have taken place along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The Corps Commanders met at the Moldo but opposite Chushul on the Indian side.

Prior to the meeting, the agenda and issues of the Indian side were discussed and finalised during a high-level meeting attended by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, last week on Friday.

The talks happened at a time when the Indian side has also occupied six major hill features which are helping the Indian Army to be in dominating positions on heights. (ANI)

With a spike of 75,083 new cases and 1,053 deaths, India’s COVID-19 count crossed 55-lakh on Tuesday, according to the Union Health Ministry.

The total case tally stands at 55,62,664 including 9,75,861 active cases and 44,97,868 cured and discharged or migrated patients.

With 1,053 deaths the toll due to the disease stands at 88,935 in the country.

Meanwhile, Union Health Ministry said that India has reported the highest rate of COVID-19 recoveries in the world, which has crossed 80 per cent mark.

Addressing the Health Ministry press briefing on the COVID-19 situation, Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Union Health Ministry said, “We get swayed by the narrative that India has over 50 lakh cases, but we forget that nearly 45 lakh people have already recovered. India has the highest recoveries, 44.9 lakh in the world. India contributes 17.7 per cent share in the total COVID-19 cases (globally). However, in terms of recovered cases, India shares 19.5 per cent of the total recovered cases (globally).”

Maharashtra continues to be the worst-affected State in the country as it reported 18,390 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the state to 12,42,770.

The total cases include 2,72,410 active cases, 9,36,554 discharged cases, and 33,407 deaths. The recovery rate in the state is 75.36 per cent, while the case fatality rate is 2.69 per cent.

Karnataka is the second-most affected by the disease currently with 6,974 new COVID-19 cases, 9,073 discharges and 83 deaths on Tuesday.

The total number of cases in the state now stands at 5,33,850 including 93,153 active cases, 4,32,450 discharges and 8,228 deaths.

Andhra Pradesh reported 7,553 new coronavirus cases, 10,555 recoveries and 51 deaths, taking total cases to 6,39,302 including 5,62,376 recoveries, 5,461 deaths and 71,465 active cases in the state.

A total of 3,816 new COVID-19 cases (out of 59,013 tests), 3,097 recoveries and 37 deaths were reported today in Delhi, taking total cases to 2,53,075 including 2,16,401 recoveries and 5,051 deaths. Number of active cases stands at 31,623.

Meanwhile, as per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 6,53,25,779 samples have been tested across the country up to September 21 for COVID-19. Out of these, 9,33,185 samples were tested yesterday.

A total of 874 new COVID-19 cases and 1,107 recovered cases were reported in Uttarakhand today. The total positive cases in the state now at 42,651 including 11,831 active cases, 30,107 recovered cases and 512 deaths till date.

Manipur reported 270 new COVID-19 cases, 49 recoveries and 1 death, taking total cases to 9,280 till date, including 6,887 recoveries, 60 deaths and 2,333 active cases so far.

Gujarat Health Department informed that 1,402 new COVID-19 cases, 1,321 discharged cases and16 deaths were reported in the state.

Positive cases tally rose to 1,26,169 till date, including 16,402 active cases, 1,06,412 cured/discharged and 3,355 deaths.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir reported 1,235 new COVID-19 cases and 1,619 recoveries today, taking the total tally in the union territory to 66,261, including 43,734 recoveries and 1,042 deaths while active cases stand at 21,485.

As many as 1,795 new COVID-19 cases, 2,892 recoveries and 29 deaths were reported in Haryana, taking total cases to 1,14,870 including 93,776 recoveries, 1,206 deaths and 19,888 active cases.

West Bengal reported 3,182 new COVID-19 cases, 3,047 discharges and 62 deaths today. The total cases in the state rose to 2,31,484, including 2,02,030 discharges and 4,483 deaths while active cases stand at 24,971, according to the Department of Health and Family Welfare.

Punjab reported 1,498 new COVID-19 cases, 1,718 recoveries and 66 deaths today, taking total cases to 1,01,341 including 77,127 discharges, 2,926 deaths and 21,288 active cases.

Similarly, Chandigarh reports 266 new COVID-19 cases today, taking the total number of cases to 10,546 including 2,622 active cases, 127 deaths and 7,794 cured cases.

Tamil Nadu reported 5,337 new COVID-19 cases, 5,406 discharges and 76 deaths today, taking total number of positive cases to 5,52,674 till date, including 4,97,377 discharged cases, 46,350 active cases and 8,947 deaths.

Kerala reported 4,125 new coronavirus cases and 19 deaths on Tuesday, taking active cases to 40,382 and death toll to 572, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

Rajasthan Health Department informed that the state has reported 1,912 new COVID-19 cases, 1,528 recoveries and 15 deaths today, taking active cases to 18,614, recoveries to 98,812 and death toll to 1,367.

Earlier in the day, Union Health Ministry said that as the requirement for oxygen support is one of the key treatment procedures for COVID-19 patients, the government has made all efforts to ensure the availability of oxygen supply in various states and districts across India. (ANI)

A noted Pashtun leader and Chairman of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Mahmood Khan Achakzai on Tuesday said that the Army should not meddle in the country’s politics as it violates the very essence of the Constitution.

Speaking to MJ TV, Achakzai said, “If a person chooses to be a part of the Army then he should not meddle in country’s politics.”

He said, “There are more powerful armies in the world and everywhere it is a rule that if a person opts the army he/she doesn’t involve themselves in politics. It is written in our Constitution even. But because of this, the law has become a joke.”

He further said that the Army should follow the Constitution as “Pashtuns, Balochis, Sindhis, Punjabis are all different and don’t know each other. But it is the Constitution that has kept all of us connected. If the Constitution’s sanctity is lost then the base of Pakistan will be shaken.”

He, however, was quick to add that “Without the intelligence agencies the country can not survive but they should not involve in politics.”

“We want our country to be run by people who care for the public,” he added.

Earlier in the day, Dawn reported Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa and head of the Inter-Services Intelligence Lt Gen Faiz Hameed meeting with key opposition figures days before their multiparty conference counselled them to refrain from dragging the military into political issues.

The meeting was attended by 15 opposition figures including Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Jamaat-i-Islami emir Sirajul Haq, ANP’s Amir Haider Hoti, JUI-F’s Asad Mahmood, PML-N leaders Khawaja Asif and Ahsan Iqbal, PPP’s Senator Sherry Rehman and other government ministers.

The meeting came after former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif criticized the army, saying there was “a state above the state in the country”. (ANI)