Month: September 2020

Construction of residential quarters for migrant pandits in the Vessu area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district is now in full swing under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relief package for Kashmiri migrants in the union territory.

Three out of the five planned buildings have been completed and they have been allotted to migrant pandit government employees.

“The newly constructed buildings are very good. The process had slowed down for a few months due to COVID-19 and the labourers had gone to their hometowns. Now they have come back and construction is happening at a very good speed. Many families live here now and are very happy to be living with their community,” Vijay Raina, the local Sarpanch told ANI.

He further said, “Ever since the abrogation of Article 370, development has been taking place at a never-seen-before speed. There is no more political interference and the very rapid advancement is taking place. I do not think development is taking place this fast anywhere else in the country, be it the construction of roads or water supply. Those who had never seen electricity before now have it 24/7. I am very grateful to the government,” he added.

The new buildings are being constructed under the Centre’s Prime Minister’s Employment Package (PMEP)

Not only are these new residential buildings providing homes for migrant pandits in the union territory, but it is also giving employment opportunities to labourers who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Along with about 60 other labourers I came from Bihar to work here after the COVID-19 lockdown was eased. We are able to earn money and are very happy. For now, we don’t have to worry about the future,” Sharafat Ali, a labourer said . (ANI)

Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill that reduces the salary payable to Members of Parliament by 30 per cent for one year commencing April 1, 2020.

The Salary, Allowances, and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020, will replace an ordinance brought earlier by the government as part of measures to mobilise resources for fighting COVID-19.

The bill was introduced in the lower house on Monday.

The Union Cabinet had also approved the temporary suspension of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) Fund during 2020-21 and 2021-22 in the wake of COVID-19.

Participating in the debate, leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that MPLADS fund should be restored as soon as possible.

“We should pass a resolution that we should get MPLADS fund. I don’t know the intention behind scrapping MPLADS funds. Eighty-three per cent of MPLADS funds is being spent in villages. All MPs accepted that their salaries be deducted by 30 per cent. I am fervently appealing that the MPLADS funds should be restored as soon as possible,” he said.

Navneet Ravi Rana, Independent MP from Amravati, was among members who said that MPLADS fund should not be suspended.

“Please take our salaries, but please do not cut MPLADS funds meant for development works,” she said.

Replying to the debate on the bill, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the government needs to take some extraordinary decisions in the face of the unprecedented situation created by COVID-19.

“The scope of this ordinance and Bill is to reduce salaries of members by 30 per cent. I am thankful to all the members who have supported the bill. This is not the question of a small or big amount. The question is charity should begin from home. I am happy that charity has begun from Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha,” Joshi said.

“When unprecedented things happen, we need to take some extraordinary decisions. We should be role models for others. You have raised the issue regarding MPLADS funds. We have taken so many measures under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi to contain COVID-19. Many world organisations also hailed our efforts,” he said.

He said the government has announced Rs 20 lakh crore special package and Rs 1.76 lakh crore Garib Kalyan Yojana for various sections to deal with the situation created by COVID-19.

“We have increased MNREGA wages. Whatever decision has been taken regarding MPLADS, it is temporary for two years,” he said. (ANI)

After the Chinese Army’s attempts to occupy dormant heights in Southern Pangong Tso area were foiled by the Indian security forces, Indian agencies are keeping a close watch on their movements opposite other sectors, especially Arunachal Pradesh, where the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been moving troops in the depth areas.

Sources said the movement of Chinese troops in their depth areas (around 20 kms from LAC) has been seen in the last few days using the roads built by them in the area where they have built infrastructure through glaciated areas as well.

“A strict vigil is being maintained in almost all the sectors with China from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh as the Chinese suffered a setback in the southern Pangong Tso area and may try to make fresh attempts to ingress into newer dormant areas,” government sources told ANI.

In the Arunachal Pradesh sector, the Indian security forces have been keeping a close watch on Chinese military movements in the areas opposite the Asaphila area, and also opposite the Tuting axis and the Fish Tail-2 area, they said.

Looking at the Chinese activities in the area, the Indian side has also strengthened its positions on the LAC in all the sectors.

The Chinese Army patrols are also being seen regularly and are coming very close to Indian areas.

Sources say the top security brass of the country have also held discussions on the situation in and around the Doklam area in Bhutan where the Chinese Army has built up significantly in the recent past.

Sources said even though the Chinese side had agreed to hold the next round of Corps Commander-level talks, they have not yet confirmed the time and date for the meet and there has been no change on the ground since the meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries.

The two countries have been engaged in a standoff position since April-May timeframe and the Chinese have refused to vacate areas in the Finger area and other friction points in the Eastern Ladakh area.

Multiple rounds of talks have also failed to yield any significant result in defusing the tensions and now the Indian side has prepared itself for long term deployment in the high mountainous region. (ANI)

Refusing to grant bail to actor Rhea Chakraborty in connection with a drug case related to the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, a special (Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act) court in Mumbai has held that if she is released on bail she may alert others and they may destroy evidence.

Additional Sessions Judge GB Gurao, while disposing of the bail plea on September 11, observed that the investigation is at a preliminary stage and if the accused is released on bail then she may tamper with the prosecution evidence.

“In addition according to the prosecution accused has taken the names of other persons. The investigation in respect of those persons is in process. If the accused is released on bail then she will alert those persons and they will destroy the evidence. There is a possibility of tampering of evidence,” the order said.

The special NDPS court noted that the prosecution has explained that accused demanded police protection to come to the Narcotics Control Bureau office from her house, after which one lady cop was accompanying the accused.

“Statement of the accused was recorded on September 6,7 and 8. The prosecution revealed the role of the accused on the basis of said statement and thereafter, she was arrested in the crime. Therefore, at this stage, when the investigation is at a preliminary stage, it can not be said that the statement is forcefully recorded and inadmissible in evidence,” the order said.

“Section 27-A of the NDPS Act as discussed above is in respect of the illicit trafficking of drug, considering the punishment prescribed for the offence punishable under this section offence is non-bailable,” it added.

The court also observed that the NCB has recovered WhatsApp chat and other electronic evidence and that some amount was transferred via credit card of the accused. It also noted that a commercial quantity of LSD was recovery from accused Anuj Keshwani.

Apart from Rhea, the court had on September 11 also rejected the bail plea of Rhea’s brother Showik, Abdul Basit, Zaid Vilatra, Dipesh Sawant and Samuel Miranda, who were also arrested by the NCB in the case.

Rhea, in her bail application, had said that the NCB has not disclosed any connection between Chakraborty and any drug peddler and claimed that during her custody, she was coerced into making incriminatory confessions and that statement was retracted on September 8 itself. (ANI)

A new review published in Frontiers in Public Health suggests that COVID-19, the illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, will likely become seasonal in countries with temperate climates, but only when herd immunity is attained.

Until that time, COVID-19 will continue to circulate across the seasons. These conclusions highlight the absolute importance of public health measures needed just now to control the virus.

“COVID-19 is here to stay and it will continue to cause outbreaks year-round until herd immunity is achieved. Therefore, the public will need to learn to live with it and continue practicing the best prevention measures, including wearing of masks, physical distancing, hand hygiene and avoidance of gatherings,” said senior author of the study Dr. Hassan Zaraket, of the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.

Collaborating author Dr. Hadi Yassine, of Qatar University in Doha, affirms and states that there could be multiple waves of COVID-19 before herd immunity is achieved.

We know that many respiratory viruses follow seasonal patterns, especially in temperate regions. For instance, influenza and several types of coronaviruses that cause common cold are known to peak in winter in temperate regions but circulate year-round in tropical regions.

The authors reviewed these seasonal viruses, examining the viral and host factors that control their seasonality as well as the latest knowledge on the stability and transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

The researchers explain that virus survival in the air and on surfaces, people’s susceptibility to infections, and human behaviors, such as indoor crowding, differ across the seasons due to changes in temperature and humidity. These factors influence transmission of respiratory viruses at different times of the year.

However, in comparison to other respiratory viruses such as the flu, COVID-19 has a higher rate of transmission (R0), at least partly due to circulation in a largely immunologically naive population.

This means that unlike the flu and other respiratory viruses, the factors governing seasonality of viruses cannot yet halt the spread of COVID-19 in the summer months. But, once herd immunity is attained through natural infections and vaccinations, the R0 should drop substantially, making the virus more susceptible to seasonal factors.

Such seasonality has been reported for other coronaviruses, including those that emerged more recently such as NL63 and HKU1, which follow the same circulation pattern like influenza.

“This remains a novel virus and despite the fast-growing body of science about it there are still things that are unknown. Whether our predictions hold true or not remains to be seen in the future. But we think it’s highly likely, given what we know so far, COVID-19 will eventually become seasonal, like other coronaviruses,” adds Zaraket.

“The highest global COVID-19 infection rate per capita was recorded in the Gulf states, regardless of the hot summer season. Although this is majorly attributed to the rapid virus spread in closed communities, it affirms the need for rigorous control measures to limit virus spread, until herd immunity is achieved,” Dr. Yassine said. (ANI)

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for public hangings and chemical castration of rapists after a woman was raped in front of her children on a highway in Lahore last week.

“They [rapists] should be given exemplary punishments. In my opinion, they should be hanged at the chowk [intersection],” Al Jazeera quoted Khan as saying.

“The way murders are graded as first degree, second degree and third degree, rape should also be graded this way, and the first grade rapists should be castrated and (made) incapable completely,” he added.

Last week, the woman was attacked when her car broke down near the eastern city of Lahore in Punjab Province.

Unidentified assailants attacked her as she stopped her vehicle, smashing her car window before raping her in a nearby field in front of her children, Al Jazeera reported.

She was also robbed of her cash and jewellery.

The incident pulled a number of protesters out on the streets in several cities, including Islamabad and Karachi, condemning attacks on women.

Al Jazeera reported that Lahore police chief Umar Sheikh faced an angry backlash and calls for his resignation after the incident last week, after suggesting the rape was partially the victim’s fault.

On September 10, the police took as many as 15 people for questioning.

Till now, two people have been arrested. (ANI)

In another crackdown on China, the United States has banned cotton, hair products, computer components, and some textiles from China’s Xinjiang province which are made “using forced labour”.

United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Monday (local time) said that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken decisive action to withhold the release of certain goods into the US linked to forced labour in China.

Taking to Twitter, Pompeo said, “The @realDonaldTrump Administration is cracking down on the CCP’s human rights abuses against the Uyghur people and other ethnic and religious minorities. @DHSgov has taken decisive action to withhold release of certain goods into the US linked to forced labor in China.”

“By taking this action, DHS is combating illegal and inhumane forced labor, a type of modern slavery, used to make goods that the Chinese government then tries to import into the United States. When China attempts to import these goods into our supply chains, it also disadvantages American workers and businesses,” said Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli.

“President Trump and this Department have, and always will, put American workers and businesses first and protect American citizens from participating in these egregious human rights violations,” Cuccinelli said.

“The Trump Administration will not stand idly by and allow foreign companies to subject vulnerable workers to forced labor while harming American businesses that respect human rights and the rule of law,” said Acting CBP Commissioner Mark A. Morgan.

“Today’s Withhold Release Orders send a clear message to the international community that we will not tolerate the illicit, inhumane, and exploitative practices of forced labor in U.S. supply chains.”

The list of Withhold Release Orders (WRO) issued by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) include products made with labour from the Lop County No. 4 Vocational Skills Education and Training Center, hair products made in the Lop County Hair Product Industrial Park; apparel produced by Yili Zhuowan Garment Manufacturing Co. and Baoding LYSZD Trade and Business Co.; cotton produced and processed by Xinjiang Junggar Cotton and Linen Co. in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Besides, Computer parts made by Hefei Bitland Information Technology Co. in Anhui have also been banned as “Hefei Bitland uses both prison and forced labor to produce electronics.”

“The series of actions CBP has taken against imports from China demonstrates the pervasive use of unethical and inhumane labor conditions in China, and CBP will not turn a blind eye,” said Brenda Smith, Executive Assistant Commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade.

“Allowing goods produced using forced labor into the US supply chain undermines the integrity of our imports. American consumers deserve and demand better,” Smith added.

Earlier, the DHS had announced the ban on cotton, hair products, computer components, and some textiles from China’s Xinjiang province which are made “using forced labour”.

This comes days after a bipartisan group of US Senators asked the CEO of Disney, Bob Chapek, to explain the company’s cooperation with the Chinese authorities in Xinjiang during the production of the “Mulan” live-action remake.

China has been criticised globally for cracking down on the Uyghurs by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and sending members of the community to undergo some form of forcible re-education or indoctrination. (ANI)

The US Embassy in Pakistan issued an advisory to its citizens travelling to the Asian country to exercise caution due to the increase in street crimes in the nation’s capital.

“The US Embassy in Islamabad has received reports of a recent increase in street crimes in Islamabad. Most incidents have taken place in sectors G-6, F-6, F-7, F-10, I-9 and I-10. These street crimes have included muggings, armed robberies and thefts of mobile phones, purses and automobiles,” read a security alert from the US Embassy.

It added, “US citizens are reminded that police response times to reported crimes can vary. US citizens travelling within these sectors and especially while visiting markets should exercise caution and remain alert. Embassy operations are normal.”

The alert urged Americans to keep a low profile and not to display “any signs of wealth” such as wearing expensive jewellery or watches.

The US Department of State’s travel advisory has placed Pakistan in ‘Level 3’ category (reconsider travel) as of September 8.

“Reconsider travel to Pakistan due to COVID-19 and terrorism. Some areas have increased risk,” the advisory said.

“Terrorist groups continue plotting attacks in Pakistan. A local history of terrorism and ongoing ideological aspirations of violence by extremist elements have led to indiscriminate attacks on civilians as well as local military and police targets,” it added.

The advisory further said that terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targetting transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls, military installations, airports, universities, tourist locations, schools, hospitals, places of worship and government facilities. Terrorists have targetted US diplomats and diplomatic facilities in the past. (ANI)

With KFC making an entry into Jammu and Kashmir, the food lovers in the Valley are thrilled about the prospect of getting more such multinational food companies into the Union Territory.

“This is a great initiative, as we know this place has been under unrest and marred with unemployment. The entry of such outlets will generate employment of all kinds. It is great that we will be able to get the experience of such food joints. Otherwise, we have to step outside Kashmir for such things,” Auqib, one of the customers at KFC, told ANI.

Auqib felt that more such multinational food companies should follow suit to boost tourism.

Speaking to ANI, Ajaz Shah, KFC’s franchise owner in Kashmir said, “We are getting a very good response. Previously, people used to go outside of Kashmir to eat KFC. Even my friends used to eat KFC after reaching New Delhi. Then I thought of opening the franchise here. It was tough to get the approval for everything but all went well, at last, we somehow manage to do it.”

“After us, many other popular food outlets like Pizza Hut may open up. Other small venues will come forward,” he added.

Another customer named Zainu-ud-Din feels it a positive step for the residents and the Union Territory.

“We would like to have more such popular outlets here. It will help with employment and tourism. Now that KFC has opened up, I have come here for the first time. Earlier, I had visited the outlet in Delhi,” he said. (ANI)