Month: March 2022

With exit polls predicting a victory of the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, party’s state co-in charge Raghav Chadha on Thursday said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal “is the hope of crores of people” and if people give an opportunity, he will be seen in a “bigger role of Prime Minister” after the next Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to ANI ahead of counting of votes in five states on Thursday, Raghav Chadha said AAP has emerged major national force and will be a “natural and national” replacement of Congress.

“Arvind Kejriwal is the hope of crores of people. If God is willing and people give an opportunity, he will definitely be seen in a bigger role – that of the Prime Minister – soon. AAP will emerge as a major national political force,” Chadha told ANI.

He was replying to a query concerning the next Lok Sabha polls in 2024.

Chadha said AAP is not even 10 years old and will have governments in Punjab and Delhi.

“Punjab polls show that AAP has emerged as a national political force. It took BJP ten years to form its first government in a state. It is not even ten years since AAP’s inception and we are forming government in two states. AAP will be Congress’ national and natural replacement,” he added.

Exit polls on Monday predicted a clear victory for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab with the scale of the party’s victory varying across various surveys.

Several surveys predicted Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, which is in power in Delhi, getting a landslide victory.

The surveys also predicted that the ruling Congress will finish a distant second in the state followed by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) which had allied with Bahujan Samaj Party. The BJP and its allies are not predicted to do well, according to the surveys.

If the results come as per the prediction of exit polls, it will be the first time that AAP will come to power in Punjab.

Polling was held in the state on February 20 and the results will be declared on March 10. (ANI)

Setting out a new all-time-high record, the price of precious 24 carats yellow metal on Wednesday reached 105,500 Nepali Rupees as a result of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict that entered the fourteenth day today.

Earlier, the price of gold had touched the high point of 103,500 (Nepali Rupees) when the COVID pandemic was crumbling the world economy. On Wednesday, the price increased by a whopping Rs 2500 per tola.

“The price of gold is increasing day by day. As the price is soaring high, the number of footfalls and sales has dipped down, the market is facing setbacks due to the rise in price because of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. As price soars, the flow of customers is receding and the demand remains low,” Puja Bhandari, one of the gold merchants in New Road of Kathmandu told ANI.

As the price of gold has high exchange value and is considered an investment, people now are vying to sell their possession. Nestled in between India and China, the price of gold is a determinant of Nepal’s transaction that occurs dominantly in both countries.

With Russia and Ukraine in a state of war, the price of each and every commodity and essential has already increased across the globe. As people rush to secure their funds by investing in gold the demand has soared within a short time shooting up the price.

The latest regulation of the central bank of Nepal, the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) also has resulted in the price of yellow stone being dearer. Earlier this month NRB limited the import of gold to 10 kg per day.

Issuing a circular to banks and financial institutions on March 6 NRB slashed the import quota by half. Earlier, 20 kg of gold could be imported daily. The central bank has halved the import quota of gold being alert at a large amount of foreign currency spent for the purpose.

Traders, on the other hand, have been demanding to take up the quota to 30 kg of gold daily. Nepal has imported gold worth Rs 23.26 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal year. This is 90 per cent more than the same period last year.

The central bank has been imposing restrictions on imports of various commodities in recent times as foreign exchange reserves have been steadily declining. As the market is at standstill with trade nose-diving down experts warn that this would impact Nepal’s revenue generation.

Dharma Sundar Bajracharya, Secretary-General of Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver dealer’s association told ANI, “If the jewelry market didn’t remain afloat then the taxes being levied on traders would not go to the government coffers. These traders also have been paying a handsome amount of money as revenue to the government, in case that channel is disrupted then it would hamper the collections to some extent.” (ANI)

Russia skipped the hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which was taking the case of Ukraine regarding the act of genocide by Russia in the ongoing war and Russia termed the lawsuit as ‘absurd’.

The ICJ in The Hague was hearing Ukraine’s application to initiate a case on genocide against Russia, with Kyiv denying that acts of genocide have been committed in the people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DPR and LPR). The Russian delegation was not present at the ICJ session.

“On March 7-8, UN International Court of Justice in The Hague held a hearing on the request for provisional measures presented by Ukraine in an unsubstantiated lawsuit against Russia. In light of the apparent absurdity of the lawsuit, we decided not to attend it,” said the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Permanent Representative of President of Ukraine in Crimea, Anton Korynevich, told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday that Kyiv intends to prove the groundlessness of Russia’s accusations of genocide against Ukraine.

“Ukraine’s case is straightforward. Russia accuses Ukraine of committing genocide. Ukraine denies that claim in the strongest possible terms and we will prove it,” Korynevich said.

Ukraine on February 27 filed an Application instituting proceedings against the Russian Federation before the ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

Korynevich at the ICJ hearing slammed Russia for “disrespecting the international law.”

“Not the first time that Ukraine experienced first-hand Russia’s disrespect for international law. Now the world understands its disrespect & the hate of its cruelty…Putin lies & citizens of Ukraine die,” he remarked at the ICJ.

Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions, Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics followed by the announcement of a “special military operation” to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine. (ANI)

Ahead of Tibetan Uprising Day on March 10, China conducted a major military drill near Tibet bordering India.

Authorities in the Shigatse Military Division “conducted a combat readiness exercise under the background of real combat” close to the politically sensitive anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising of March 10, 1959, according to Chinese state media.

State media reported the drill was “an actual combat readiness pulling the drill in the hinterland of the (Tibetan) plateau at an altitude of 4300 meters.”

“This military drill shows that after more than 60 years, China’s occupation of Tibet remains a threat not only to the survival of Tibetan culture but to the safety of India and other countries in the free world,” said the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), an advocacy group that promotes human rights and democratic freedoms for the Tibetan people.

“In the case of Ukraine, the world is seeing what happens when authoritarian governments invade their smaller neighbours, just as China did to Tibet decades ago. The global community must stand up for Tibetans before China’s repressive rule spreads any farther,” added ICT.

The Shigatse Military Division oversees the strategically important Tibetan borders with India. Chinese authorities have been building infrastructure along this region to indicate the existence of continued tension with India.

State media said the most recent exercise in Shigatse will be followed by the next step during which “the regiment will conduct segmented drills and key training on team cooperation, enemy information collection, terrain research and judgment, etc., and continuously improve the level of actual combat training of the troops.”

March 10 will mark the 63rd anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising against China’s occupation of Tibet. Chinese forces eventually crushed the uprising and forced the Dalai Lama into exile in India, where he remains to this day.

Under China’s rule, Tibet is now the least-free country on Earth in a tie with South Sudan and Syria, according to recent rankings from the watchdog group Freedom House. (ANI)

European Union on Wednesday announced new sanctions against Russia and Belarus targeting Russian leaders, oligarchs, their family members, and the maritime sector.

The measures will also disconnect three Belarus banks from the SWIFT financial messaging system.
Today’s decision builds on the wide-ranging and unprecedented packages of measures the EU has been taking in response to Russia’s acts of aggression on Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

For Belarus, the measures introduce SWIFT prohibitions similar to those in the Russian regime, clarify that crypto-assets fall under the scope of “transferable securities” and further expand the existing financial restrictions by mirroring the measures already in place regarding Russia sanctions, added European Commission press release.

As guardian of the EU Treaties, the European Commission is in charge of monitoring the enforcement of EU sanctions across the Union.

The agreed measures will restrict the provision of SWIFT services to Belagroprombank, Bank Dabrabyt, and the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus, as well as their Belarusian subsidiaries, added the release.

It will prohibit transactions with the Central Bank of Belarus related to the management of reserves or assets, and the provision of public financing for trade with and investment in Belarus.

For Russia, the amendment introduced new restrictions on the export of maritime navigation and radio communication technology, adds the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping to the list of state-owned enterprises subject to financing limitations and introduces a prior information sharing provision for exports of maritime safety equipment, read the release.

In addition, it also extended the exemption relating to the acceptance of deposits exceeding Euro 100.000 in EU banks to Swiss and EEA nationals.

Finally, the EU confirmed the common understanding that loans and credit can be provided by any means, including crypto assets, as well as further clarified the notion of “transferable securities”, so as to clearly include crypto-assets, and thus ensure the proper implementation of the restrictions in place, read the release.

Furthermore, an additional 160 individuals have been listed in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.

The listed individuals include 14 oligarchs and prominent businesspeople involved in key economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Russian Federation and 146 members of the Russian Federation Council.

Altogether, EU restrictive measures now apply to a total of 862 individuals and 53 entities. (ANI)

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has granted Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) to Serum Institute of India’s (SII) COVID-19 vaccine Covovax for adults and for children above the age of 12 years.

“Novavax in global trials has demonstrated more than 90 per cent efficacy. Serum Institute of India’s brand Covovax has completed bridging studies in India and has been granted Emergency Use Authorisation by DCGI for adults and for children above the age of 12. Younger age groups will follow shortly,” tweeted SII CEO Adar Poonawala.

Recently, the Subject expert committee has recommended the emergency use authorisation to Covovax for the age group of 12 to 17.

Earlier, the DCGI approved Covovax for restricted use in an emergency situation for adults last year on December 28.

After emergency use authorisation from DCGI Covovax will become the fourth vaccine that can be administered for the age group of 12-17 years old.

This vaccine has not been still included in the Country’s vaccination programme.

Covovax also granted emergency use listing by WHO. It is manufactured by technology transfer from Novavax and is approved by the European Medicines Agency for conditional marketing. (ANI)

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that the municipal polls in Delhi have been deferred as the BJP has accepted defeat and is running away, adding that the Election Commission should not have come under the pressure of the BJP.

“The municipal polls in Delhi have been deferred as the BJP has accepted defeat and is running away. In our survey, out of 272 seats, 250 seats were coming up. Now more than 260 will come. But the Election Commission should not have come under the pressure of BJP,” Kejriwal tweeted.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that BJP know that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will win over 250 seats and are making an excuse of unification of Municipal Corporation of Delhi

“Election Commission is afraid of the central government, BJP has pressurized EC and on its diktats, EC didn’t announce MCD election dates. BJP is anxious about losing elections. They know AAP will win over 250 seats and are making an excuse of the unification of MCDs,” Sisodia.

Earlier today, State Election Commissioner SK Srivastava said it has deferred the announcement of Municipal Corporation of Delhi election dates after the central government raised a few issues that are yet to be legally examined by the Election Commission.

Addressing the press conference, the State Election Commissioner said, “I have received some communication from the central government at 4.30 PM, so I am not able to announce the dates right now”

“As central government raised few issues that are yet to be legally examined by us, we will not be able to announce MCD election dates as of now. We will take some more days. We have to conduct the elections before May 18,” Srivastava added.

He further said that they were about to announce the dates, but now it will take another five to seven days to announce them.

“We are not postponing the elections. If at all unification of municipal corporations take place before May 18, then we have to examine the situation. That is why we need time as of now to seek legal opinion on it,” said Srivastava. (ANI)

Asma Shafique, a Pakistani student of Sumy State Medical College on Wednesday thanked the Indian Government for her safe evacuation amid the Russia-Ukraine war which entered the fourteenth day today.

“Hi, my name is Asma Shafique from Pakistan. I am really grateful and thankful to the Red Cross Society, the Indian Government and the Indian Embassy for safely evacuating us from our places and letting us go to the borders and reach our destinations safely. Thank You,” she said.

Pakistani student of Sumy State Medical College is en route western Ukraine with fellow batchmates for further evacuation from the country.

“We are Indian students from Sumy State University, Ukraine. We have been evacuated yesterday from Sumy safely with full security and currently, we are moving towards Lviv border along my friend from Pakistan,” said an Indian student.

The evacuation process of Indian students from Ukraine under ‘Operation Ganga’ has brought about 18 thousand Indians through special flights so far.

This comes against the backdrop of Russian forces launching military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent entities. (ANI)

An Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu and the Nepal-India Women Friendship Society (NIWFS) for the distribution of LPG gas stoves, gas cylinders and accessories to underprivileged households in three districts under the financial assistance of NR 20.49 million of the Government of India.

The MoU was signed on the occasion of women’s international day, under India-Nepal Development Cooperation in districts — Sarlahi, Rautahat and Saptari of Madhesh Pradesh. 3000 LPG gas stoves, gas cylinders and accessories are being given through NIWFS in these three districts with the grant assistance of NR 20.49 million, said the Embassy in its statement.

This scheme is one of the 75 projects being inaugurated this year in Nepal as part of “India@75 Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” which celebrates 75 years of India’s independence. The project is inspired by Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) which is a flagship scheme with an objective to make clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to the rural and deprived households that were otherwise using traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, cow-dung cakes among others.

Since 2003, India has taken up over 523 HICDPs in Nepal in various sectors health, education, drinking water & irrigation, electrification, etc., and has completed 467 projects. Amongst these, 81 projects have been undertaken in Province 2, including 19 projects in Sarlahi; 5 projects in Rautahat and 9 projects in Saptari Districts. In addition to these, 87 ambulances to various health posts and 3 school buses have been gifted in these three districts by the Government of India.

As close neighbours, India and Nepal share wide-ranging & multi-sectoral cooperation. The implementation of this project reflects the continued support of the Government of India in bolstering the efforts of the Government of Nepal’s upliftment of its people, said the Embassy in its statement. (ANI)

Sviatoslav Yurash, Ukraine’s youngest Member of Parliament praised India for the humanitarian measures taken to help those affected by the Russian military operation against Ukraine and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for speaking with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the current situation in Ukraine.

“India is one of those countries which will decide the fate of this century. As far as the Indian position on the Russian relationship is concerned, thankful for the call PM Modi made to our President. We’re thankful for the humanitarian steps that India has been making,” said the MP in an interview with ANI.

The Ukrainian MP also asserted that India has a strategic partnership with Russia however, India needs to reconsider that position amid the ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine.

“As far as India-Russia is concerned, you have a treaty on strategic friendship and partnership,I think that needs to be reconsidered in light of not just Ukraine but all misdeeds that Putin’s regime has been doing for the last 20 years. Russia needs to be punished by India,” he added.

Replying to a question whether the MP sees peace returning soon in Ukraine, he noted, “Depends on Kremlin. If Kremlin decides to continue pushing, we’ll continue fighting. Fighting for fundamental rights that we want to safeguard as our ancestors had safeguarded. Not going to abandon all that we won.”

Earlier, the Ukrainian MP was also seen guarding the post and carrying a gun. Commenting on that picture, the MP asserted, “Fact of the matter is, with Kyiv besieged and Ukraine needs to mobilize and try to defend against Russian invasion, everybody is a soldier now. Everybody needs to find their place.”

The MP also appreciated the steps that Western nations are taking amid the war between Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian MP, when asked whether Ukraine feels that it is betrayed by its partner (Western nations), said, “We understand the West does the right thing after exhausting other options. The reality is, it takes time for those institutions to spring into action. We don’t have time, so we’re fighting Russian invaders.”

“As far as the West is concerned, we have received a lot of aid, we have received a lot of help and we are thankful for that. But again nothing is enough, nothing is too much and all are welcome,” he added.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after recognizing the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics.

Russia continues to maintain that it started the “military operations” in Ukraine to save the residents of eastern Ukraine and “demilitarise” and “denazify” the political leadership of the country. (ANI)