Month: August 2021

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said liquor and meat should not be consumed in Mathura on the occasion of Janmashtami.

“Saints and public representatives are of the view that liquor and meat shouldn’t be consumed here (in Mathura). The administration should make plans for counselling and training of those involved in such activities in order to shift them to some other trade,” Adityanath stated.

“The people who are engaged in the sale of liquor and meat activities may set up small stalls to sell milk in order to revive the glory of Mathura, which has been known for producing a huge quantity of milk in the state,” he added.

Earlier on Monday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura.

The UP CM offered prayers in the temple and attended ‘Krishnotsav’ organised by the temple. Speaking on the occasion, he said that the celebration of festivals like Janmashtami is a symbol of our spiritual and cultural heritage that needs to be preserved.

Later in the day, the UP CM also attended the Janmashtami programme at Lucknow and extended the greetings for the festival to the people there. (ANI)

During the last fortnight, Indian intelligence agencies have issued as many as 10 alerts regarding terrorists crossing the border and planning something “big” in the Kashmir valley.

On August 15, the government in Afghanistan had collapsed and the Taliban took over the country. It is learnt that the sympathisers of the Taliban who are targeting India are now active.

According to a senior official, personnel of intelligence agencies active in Jammu and Kashmir got intel reports from their counterparts active in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) region regarding the movement of terrorists who are planning to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir.

“In the last 15 days around 10 alerts were issued regarding suspects who might be involved in terror activities were noticed near border areas. We have informed concerned security agencies to be on alert to avoid any untoward incident,” added the official.

The intelligence agencies have intercepted the movement of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), and other terrorists in the valley. The security agencies have been alerted on possible grenade attacks, any high-value target, security personnel, Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack, and any public places in Srinagar.

One of the intel reports mentioned that five terrorists of JeM along with a guide reached Jandrot in PoK and might enter the country from Mendhar area of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir.

“We have witnessed a sudden surge in activities on social media. Several unverified videos addressing youth in the valley have gone viral in the region. We are keeping watch on such activities and requesting people to report such videos. Any plan to derail peace in the valley will fall flat,” said the official.

All intelligence agencies have been put on high alert after they learnt about a meeting between Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed and Taliban leaders in Kandhar during the third week of August. The meeting was attended by a group of Taliban leaders where JeM sought their support in ‘India-Centric’ operations. Sources further reveal that the political situation in Pakistan was also discussed at the meeting. (ANI)

Indian shooter Singhraj Adana clinched a bronze medal in the P1 – Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 final here at Asaka Shooting Range on Tuesday.

This is Indian’s shooting contingent second medal at the Tokyo Paralympics after the 19-year-old Avani Lekhara became the first woman from the country to win a gold medal on Monday. China’s Chao Yang created a Paralympic record with 237.9 points to win silver while another Chinese Xing Huang grabbed silver with 237.5 points.

Singhraj Adana started the better of the two Indians in the final as he was placed in the top 3 during the first 10 shots while amassing 99.6 points. Manish who topped the qualification, had a very jittery start to the final as he gathered 97.2 in the 1st competition stage. In the second stage, he became the second competitor to be eliminated.

Adana meanwhile held his nerves better in the elimination round to see off a scare from the Chinese. Taking his 19th shot Singhraj was dropped out of the medal position after he aimed 9.1 and with the 20th shot of 9.6, he got into the top three as Lou shot a very poor 8.6. In his last two shots, the Indian aimed at 10.0 and 10.0 but it was just not good enough to topple down the top two Chinese pair.

Earlier in the day, Manish and Singhraj qualified for the medal round in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1, here at the Asaka Shooting Range on Tuesday. Manish Narwal amassed 575 -21x points at an average of 9.583 after shooting 60 shots on the target. He finished in the first position in the qualifying round just edging China’s Xiaolong Lou on the number of X’s(575 -15x). Meanwhile, Singhraj Adana gathered 569 -18x to finish 6th in the qualifications. (ANI)

Indian Army has organised Jashn-E-Janoob, a sports festival to motivate the youths of Kashmir towards sports activities, in a bid to reduce militancy in the area.

The 15-day long event – Jashn-E-Janoob – was concluded on Tuesday. A score of youngsters has participated in the festival and demonstrated various sports including kabaddi, running, and Sky Martial Arts.

“These kinds of events are good for the people of Kashmir because they give them exposure and motivation to do something in life. Sports is the best way to all the hazardous things out of the mind. I appeal to all the parents to send their child to sports, along with the education,” Hanis Shabir, a martial artist told ANI.

While another hailed the government and said that the athletes presented in the event are very much supported by the government and the district administration.

During the festival, the 111 feet tallest flag also hoisted by, GoC Chinar Corps and IGP Kashmir in installed in the sports stadium Shopian.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Lieutenant General DP Pandey, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Srinagar-based Chinar Corps (15 Corps) congratulated people for not enjoying the festival and said that there could be the next Olympian from south Kashmir.

“I congratulate to the people for enjoying this festival. I also congratulate the civil administrations and who collectively along with 1000 athletes, sportsmen concluded this South Kashmir Sports Festival,” the GoC Chinar Corps said.

He also said that he believes that next Parvez Rasool, PV Sindhu, Chanu Saikhom Mirabai, and Neeraj Chopra will be from here and made the country pound. (ANI)

Fourteen persons were arrested by the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police from Jamtara in Jharkhand on Tuesday on allegations of online fraud.

According to the Delhi Police, a raid was conducted in Jamtara from where these 14 accused have been arrested.
“They targetted bank executives and sometimes pretended to provide offers from e-shopping companies,” the police said.

As per the police, the 14 arrested accused include prime suspects Ghulam Ansari and Altaf.

“Property worth Rs 2 crore and SUV worth Rs 20 lakh have been seized from the accused,” said the Delhi Police. (ANI)

India reported 30,941 new COVID-19 cases and 350 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday.

The new fatalities pushed the COVID death toll in the country to 4,38,560.
Notably, of the total new cases recorded in the country, Kerala reported 19,622 new COVID cases and 132 deaths on Monday.

On Sunday, India reported 42,909 new COVID-19 cases and 380 related fatalities.

As many as 36,275 patients recovered in the country from the disease in the last 24 hours taking the total recoveries to 3,19,59,680. The current recovery rate is at 97.53 per cent.

The active number of COVID cases stands at 3,70,640 which accounts for 1.13 per cent of the total cases.

The total number of samples tested till today is 52.15 crore. The current positivity rate is at 2.22 per cent.

Under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive, India has administered over 64.05 crore vaccine doses so far, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday. (ANI)

There are nearly 10 million children in Afghanistan “in desperate need of humanitarian aid”, said UNICEF Afghanistan Representative, Herve Ludovic De Lys, adding that these children are deprived of their right to a healthy and protected childhood.

“Those least responsible for this crisis, are paying the highest price — including the children killed and injured in a series of atrocities in Kabul since last Thursday”, the senior UN Children’s Fund official told correspondents.
“Again, today, I heard of more unsettling reports – of unaccompanied children across the country…more reports of grave violations, including children being recruited by armed groups…All this in a year in which more than 550 children have been killed, and more than 1400 injured.”

He said that against a backdrop of conflict and insecurity, children are living in communities that are running out of water because of drought.

“They’re missing life-saving vaccines, including against polio, a disease that can paralyze children for life. Many are so malnourished they lie in hospital beds too weak to grasp an outstretched finger,” he said.

“These children are deprived of their right to a healthy and protected childhood”, he added.

Earlier on Monday, a UN shipment carrying lifesaving medical supplies reached Afghanistan by air. It was the first UN shipment since the Taliban takeover on August 15.

Announcing the news, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the successful airlift meant that it could “partially replenish” health facilities’ reserves and ensure that services can continue, for now.

Some 12.5 metric tonnes of supplies arrived in the northern airport of Mazar-i-Sharif, aboard a plane provided by the Government of Pakistan, UN News reported.

The WHO said that the shipment consisted of enough trauma and emergency health kits to cover the basic health needs of more than 200,000 people, as well as provide 3500 surgical procedures and treat 6500 trauma patients.

The supplies will be delivered immediately to 40 health facilities in 29 provinces across Afghanistan, the UN agency added.

The plane was loaded with the supplies earlier on Monday by WHO’s logistics team at the International Humanitarian City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

It is the first of three flights planned with Pakistan International Airlines to fill urgent shortages in medicines and medical supplies in Afghanistan.

“The support of the Pakistani people has been timely and life-saving,” said Dr Ahmed Al Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. While WHO is working with partners to ensure more shipments to the country, the agency said a reliable humanitarian air bridge is urgently required, to scale up the collective humanitarian effort.

Tens of millions of vulnerable Afghans remain in the country and the work of meeting their needs is now just beginning, said the agency adding that the world cannot now divert its attention from the people of Afghanistan at this critical time.

Adding his voice to the appeal, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi has urged the international community to help the many millions in need in Afghanistan and in neighbouring countries.

In an appeal on Monday for long-term solutions for Afghans whose lives have been blighted by 40 years of war, the UN Refugee chief said that although thousands had managed to escape via Kabul airport, “there will still be millions who need the international community to act”.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) have called on the Taliban to honour their pledge to protect Afghan women and girls, and to respect and fulfil the human rights enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. (ANI)

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that Washington expects that the Taliban must ‘follow through’ on its commitments.

These developments came after the Taliban previously made clear that “they would like to see an American diplomatic presence remain in Kabul,” Pakistan Today reported citing Ned Price.
“We have heard a range of statements from the Taliban. Some of them have been positive, some of them have been constructive but ultimately what we will be looking for, what our international partners will be looking for are deeds, not words,” Price added.

Price also said that the US is not coordinating with the Haqqani network in Afghanistan.

The US had designated the Haqqani Network as a terrorist group in 2012, is now a part of the government in Afghanistan post the Taliban takeover of the war-torn country, said Jason Criss Howk, writing in Clearance Jobs.

During the discussion, Price also reaffirmed that the US military is leaving by August 31, as reported by Pakistan Times.

US is “handing the [Hamid Karzai International] airport back to the Afghan people. What we are doing is trying to lay the diplomatic groundwork and the technical groundwork,” he said.

After the hostile takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban has re-imposed repressive laws and retrograde policies on Afghan women that defined its 1996-2001 rule when they enforced their version of Islamic Sharia law.

Experts believe that Afghan women are most likely to face an uncertain future under the terrorist group regime.

Sajjan Gohel, a security and terrorism analyst also said that women are scared out of the Taliban minds. (ANI)

As part of the ongoing Mission SAGAR, INS Airavat arrived at Ho Chi Minh City Port in Vietnam with COVID Relief Material on 30 August, the Ministry of Defence informed on Monday.

The ship is carrying 100 Metric Tons of Liquid Medical Oxygen in 05 ISO Containers and 300 Oxygen Concentrators of 10 LPM capacity each based on the requirement projected by the Government of Vietnam in its fight against the ongoing COVID19 pandemic.
“INS Airavat reaches Vietnam with oxygen supplies. Indo-Pacific approach in practice,” External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar tweeted.

INS Airavat, an indigenously built Landing Ship Tank (Large) under the Eastern Naval Command based at Visakhapatnam, is on a deployment to South East Asia for trans-shipment of COVID Relief aid.

A defence ministry release stated the ship had earlier entered Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta, Indonesia on 24 August, 2021 and disembarked 10 Liquid Medical Oxygen Containers requested by the Government of Indonesia.

As part of the Government of India’s vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region), the Indian Navy has been proactively engaging with countries in the region and has been at the forefront of numerous humanitarian missions spanning the entire extent of the Indian Ocean including South/ South East Asia and East Africa.

India and Vietnam enjoy a strong traditional bond of friendship and have been working together towards a safer maritime domain. The two navies cooperate in various areas including a composite training programme in the fields of the submarine, aviation and technical training, and regularly carry out joint naval exercises in the form of bilateral exercises.

The current deployment of the ship aims to further strengthen the strategic relationship. The ship will depart Ho Chi Minh City post disembarkation of the medical supplies and as part of the ongoing Mission SAGAR continue onwards to deliver medical supplies to other friendly nations in the region. (ANI)

After winning a gold medal at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics, javelin thrower Sumit Antil on Monday said that he is satisfied with his performance but wanted to touch the 70m mark.

“I wanted to touch the 70m mark, but I am very happy with my performance. In one competition, I was able to break the World Record thrice. And I was also able to win the gold medal, I cannot express how I am feeling right now, I am just numb, to be honest,” Antil told ANI.
India’s Sumit Antil very comprehensively won gold in the men’s javelin throw (Sport Class F64) at National Stadium in Tokyo. Sumit dominated the show from the word go as he improved the World Record three times in the final. He threw a monstrous throw of 68.55m in his fifth attempt to climb on the top of the podium.

“This is my first Paralympics so the pressure was there on me, people had expectations from me. Pressure was there and hence I was not able to sleep for two nights. Yesterday, I did not sleep at all but I am very happy with my performance,” said Sumit.

“I want to thank my family, SAI and PCI. I also want to thank the entire country for supporting me. My coaches also played a big role and I am grateful to him for guiding me,” he added.

Sumit who went first in the field gave an almost uphill task to all contenders as he started the final by breaking his own World Record with a throw of 66.95m. The previous World Record was 62.88m, which Sumit improved by almost 4 meters in his very first attempt.

Sumit looked like a man on a mission as he threw javelin for another World Record in the second attempt of the final for 68.08m. The Indian improved the previous best which he created on his first attempt by 1.13 meters. He then threw 65.27m and 66.71m in the third and fourth attempts. For his fifth attempt, the Indian again went big and this time again shattered the World Record with a throw of 68.55m. (ANI)