Month: December 2020

Mom-to-be actor Kareena Kapoor Khan on Thursday shared her very first Instagram reel that featured her glowing and enjoying the winter sun.

The ‘Jab We Met’ actor is seen holding a dressed in a red and blue coloured sweatshirt with a cup of coffee in her hand in the reel.

“Breakfast with Beboo…#feelitreelit,” she captioned the video.

The expecting mother chose to tie her hair in her signature bun while she basks in the winter sun with a reddish glow on her face.

The reel received several comments from the fans of the 40-yar-old actor including actors Jacqueline Fernandez and Arjun Kapoor.

The ‘Omkara,’ actor is expecting her second baby with her superstar husband Saif Ali Khan. (ANI)

India’s COVID-19 tally breached the 95-lakh mark on Thursday with 35,551 new infections in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s data.

The overall coronavirus cases now stands at 95,34,965, including 4,22,943 active cases and 89,73,373 recoveries. With 526 new deaths, the cumulative toll mounted to 1,38,648.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the total number of tests for COVID-19 conducted in the country reached 14,35,57,647, of these, 11,11,698 COVID-19 tests were done yesterday.

Today is the 26th day when India reported less than 50,000 cases in a day. The last time daily new cases crossed the 50,000-threshold was on November 7.

Maharashtra has the maximum number of active cases in the country with 88,537 active cases in the state, the Union Health Ministry said. A total of 16,95,208 people have also recovered from coronavirus infection in the state, while 47,357 people have lost their lives due to it, it said.

Delhi has 30,302 active COVID-19 cases currently. The national capital reported 5,38,680 recoveries and 9,342 death till Wednesday morning, said the Union Health Ministry. (ANI)

By Joymala Bagchi

The elderly farmers protesting at Nirankari Samagam Ground in Delhi’s Burari on Thursday said they have no hopes from the meeting with the Centre scheduled later in the day to resolve their issues.

A delegation of farmers is scheduled to meet Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday.

Speaking to ANI in the wee hours of the eighth day of protest, 69-year-old Gyan Singh from Punjab said, “Earlier also several such meetings happened but no solutions came in our favour. We have no hopes from the meetings today. The government must think about our interest else we will stay here longer.”

Balbinder Singh, 76, who also came from Punjab said that farmers will leave the national capital immediately if their demands are accepted by the Centre.

“Our decision completely depends on how the government is settling the issue. We’ll stay here till our issues are resolved,” Balbinder Singh.

“Our issues are not limited to the demand for minimum support price (MSP) but the entire bill,” said Kalabjit Singh, the 70-year-old farmer from Mansa district of Punjab.

Many farmers here complained that earlier they sold maize for Rs 1,700 to 1,800 but now they sell it for Rs 700 which they said has put their survival in jeopardy.

According to reports, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh are scheduled to meet today ahead of talks of farmers with the Centre.

Meanwhile, farmers’ leaders have departed from Singhu border for their meeting the government on farm laws.

“35 leaders are going to meet the government. We are educated farmers. We know what is good for us. We want these laws to be withdrawn,” said a farmer.

The government had held the third round of talks with farmer representatives on Tuesday. During the talks, the Centre has offered to set up a committee, which the farmers’ unions rejected, and instead demanded a special session of parliament to repeal what they have called “black laws” made to favour corporate bodies. Farmers said they’ll continue their protest till their issues are resolved.

Tomar said the meeting on Tuesday was good where farmer unions were urged to share specific issues related to farm Acts which will be discussed during the fourth round of meeting on December 3 and added that “it remains to be seen to what extent issues can be resolved”.

However, the Union Agriculture Minister had maintained that the farm laws are in the interest of farmers and the reforms have been done after a long wait and the government is ready to address their concerns.

Notably, farmers have warned that Thursday’s talks are the “last chance” for the government to take a decision on the laws.

“Tomorrow is the last chance for the government to take a decision to repeal the laws, otherwise this movement will become huge and the government will fall,” Pratibha Shinde of the Lok Sangharsh Morcha said.

Apart from Tomar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash were also present in the meeting held with farmer leaders on Tuesday.

Several farmers from different parts of the country like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are also marching towards Delhi to join the protest against new farm laws.

The farmers are protesting against The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. (ANI)

The farmers’ protest against the three agricultural sector laws passed by the central government in the last monsoon session entered the eighth day on Thursday with demonstrations on Sant Nirankari Samagam ground in Burari on the outskirts of Delhi and other border areas.

A delegation of farmers will meet Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday, said Spokesperson, Bharatiya Kisan Union.

“A delegation of farmers will meet the Agriculture Minister on Thursday. If the government wants, it can resolve the issues. All farmer organisations across the country should take to the streets now,” said Rakesh Tikait, Spokesperson, Bharatiya Kisan Union.

Meanwhile, a group of farmers from Rajasthan joined the protest at Singhu (Delhi-Haryana) border on Thursday.

A farmer told ANI that around 500 more farmers from Rajasthan are reaching Delhi soon.

“The Prime Minister said many times that minimum support price will be protected, so what’s the problem in putting it in writing? Farmers will go back once their demands are met,” said a protesting farmer at the Singhu border.

The government had held the third round of talks with farmer representatives on Tuesday. During the talks, the Centre offered to set up a committee, which the farmers’ unions rejected, and instead demanded a special session of parliament to repeal what they have called “black laws” made to favour corporate bodies. Farmers said they’ll continue their protest till their issues are resolved.

Tomar said the meeting on Tuesday was “good” and farmer unions were urged to share specific issues related to farm Acts which will be discussed during the fourth round of meeting on December 3 and added that “it remains to be seen to what extent issues can be resolved”.

However, the Union Agriculture Minister had maintained that the farm laws are in the interest of farmers and the reforms have been done after a long wait and the government is ready to address their concerns.

Notably, farmers have warned that Thursday’s talks are the “last chance” for the government to take a decision on the laws.

“Thursday is the last chance for the government to take a decision to repeal the laws. Otherwise this movement will become huge and the government will fall,” Pratibha Shinde of the Lok Sangharsh Morcha said.

Apart from Tomar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash were also present in the meeting held with farmer leaders on Tuesday.

Several farmers from different parts of the country like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are also marching towards Delhi to join the protest against new farm laws.

The farmers are protesting against The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. (ANI)

The US government has issued an order to block cotton imports from a Xinjiang governmental organisation in China due to the ongoing human rights abuses of Uyghurs, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday.

“The US Department of Homeland Security announced today that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel at all US ports of entry will detain shipments containing cotton and cotton products originating from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC),” the release said on Wednesday.

The Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Trade directed the issuance of a Withhold Release Order (WRO) against cotton products made by the XPCC based on information that reasonably indicates the use of forced labour, including convict labour, the release said.

“The WRO applies to all cotton and cotton products produced by the XPCC and its subordinate and affiliated entities as well as any products that are made in whole or in part with or derived from that cotton, such as apparel, garments, and textiles,” the release added.

The WRO on XPCC cotton products is the sixth enforcement action that the CBP has announced in the past three months against goods made by forced labour from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, according to the release.

A sizeable Muslim population in Xinjiang has been incarcerating in an expanding network of “political re-education” camps, according to US officials and UN experts.

However, China regularly denies such mistreatment and says the camps provide vocational training.

People in the internment camps are reportedly subjected to forced political indoctrination, torture, beatings and denial of food and medicine, besides being prohibited from practising their religion or speaking their language. (ANI)

The Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a massive exercise to test its air defence missiles including the indigenous Akash air defence system and the Igla handheld launchers.

IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal, HS Arora witnessed the Surface to Air Guided Weapons Firing as a part of Combined Guided Weapons Firing 2020 at Air Force Station Suryalanka on December 1.

The exercise was conducted from November 23 to December 2. The indigenous Akash Missile System along with Russian short-range Igla missiles were fired and engaged the Manoeuverable Expendable Aerial Target (MEAT) providing near realistic training to the combat crew.

While the country continues to face the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IAF continues to hone its operational capabilities with an eye on the prevailing security situation.

In his address to the air warriors, HS Arora commended the participating combat squadrons for their professionalism and also appreciated the efforts put in by the station for organising this exercise with requisite COVID-19 precautions. He also urged all the air warriors to be ready to apply all lessons learnt in the Combined Guided Weapons Firing (CGWF) 2020 to any emerging operational scenario. (ANI)

The government has directed Wikipedia to remove a link from their platform that has shown a wrong map of Jammu and Kashmir, sources said.

The order was issued by the Ministry of Electronics and IT under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, they said.

This matter was flagged by a Twitter user through a tweet calling upon the government to take strict action.

The Twitter user Chhatrasal Singh had highlighted the Wikipedia page on India-Bhutan relationship where the map incorrectly depicted the boundary of Jammu Kashmir.

Taking cognizance of this, the Minister of Electronics and Information technology swiftly issued an order on November 27 directing Wikipedia to remove the page as it is a violation of territorial integrity and sovereignty of India.

Sources said if Wikipedia does not follow the directions, the Government can take serious legal action against it including blocking access to the entire platforms as per Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. So far, Wikipedia has not corrected the map. (ANI)

Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday said that the next meeting of the leadership of the opposition alliance will be held on December 8 in Islamabad where it will devise its further strategy.

The Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief paid a visit to the Gilani House on Tuesday to congratulate former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his sons over the successful public meeting of the PDM, reported Dawn.

While talking to media at a joint presser with Gilani, he said that the final decision in connection with the ‘long march’ on the federal capital would also be taken in the PDM’s Islamabad meeting.

He also reiterated that Prime Minister Imran Khan had become “irrelevant” to all sorts of political and administrative decisions being taken in the country, adding that the PDM was fighting for the rights of the people.

While responding to the Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders allegation that the opposition’s agitation had hit the country’s economy, he said the growth rate in the tenure of the previous (PML-N) government was 5.5 per cent and the target for the next year was six per cent, but during the tenure of the two years of the PTI government, it plummeted to 0.4 per cent.

He also rejected Imran Khan’s claim that the economy was improving, Dawn reported.

He further regretted that the prices of life-saving medicines had been increasing rapidly, while the ratio of unemployment in the country was also rising with every passing day.

Meanwhile, Gilani said that the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) was thankful to Rehman, and that the PDM event was successful despite all hurdles created by the government, and further claimed that the government ministers were now admitting that their approach was wrong.

He added that party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would represent the party in the PDM’s Lahore rally scheduled for December 13, despite the latter testing positive for Covid-19.

This comes after the fifth power show of the PDM began on Monday amid the government’s desperate attempts to obstruct it.

The PDM has held four similar rallies in Peshawar, Gujranwala, Karachi, and Quetta since October 16. (ANI)

Haryana Agriculture Minister JP Dalal on Wednesday said that there are many foreign powers like China and Pakistan who want to destabilise the country in the name of farmers.

Dalal, who was talking to media persons in Hisar, said time should be given to implementing the new farm laws and if there is a problem, it can be addressed.

“This is not about farmers. In the name of farmers, many people, foreign powers are there, China, Pakistan or enemy countries, they want to destabilise (the country),” he said.

He said if farmers have apprehensions about the new farm laws, they should see the results in “one year, two years, three years”.

“If there is any adverse impact, you agitate and call for change and we will accept it. If the doctor has given you medicine, you are not prepared to take it and say you will die immediately after taking it, the right to decide is not like that,” he said.

He said that Prime Minister is not “an imposed king” and has the mandate of people. The minister also referred to the support received by BJP in Bihar assembly polls and in by-polls in Madhya Pradesh which were held after the two new agriculture laws were enacted and one law amended.

Answering a question about the alleged threat of blockade of Delhi, he said farmers should work with wisdom and have a dialogue. He said Delhi is the country’s capital and not “Lahore or Karachi”.

“I appeal to farmers to work with wisdom and have a dialogue. It is not a good thing if they stop the water of Delhi, block borders. It is not Lahore or Karachi, it is the capital of the country,” he said.

The farmers are protesting in border areas of Delhi against recently enacted farm laws. (ANI)