Month: April 2022

The first solar eclipse of this year will be witnessed in some parts of the world on Saturday, April 30, 2022.

A solar eclipse is a phenomenon in which the moon passes between the sun and the earth, casting a dark shadow on the earth that can completely or partially block sunlight in some areas.
According to data released by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), there is another occurrence of an astronomical phenomenon known as the Black Moon taking place. The Black Moon blocks sunlight for some time during the day.

TIME AND DATE OF ECLIPSE?

The first partial solar eclipse of 2022 will start at 12.15 am on May 1, 2022, according to Indian Standard Time (IST).

The maximum time for people of India will be around 2.11 am IST, but people living outside India can witness this phenomenon at 02:45 pm EDT and lasts till 04:41 pm EDT.

The eclipse will end at 04:07 am IST on May 1, 2022.

WHERE IS THE ECLIPSE VISIBLE?

The visibility of the Solar Eclipse can be observed in the locations that include parts of the southern hemisphere and those residing in South America, Chile, Uruguay, southwestern Bolivia, Peru, and specific areas of southwestern Brazil and Argentina. NASA has also confirmed the visualization over the South Pacific and parts of Antarctica.

HOW TO VIEW THE ECLIPSE ONLINE?

The Eclipse won’t be viewable in India, but you can watch the online streaming with NASA Orthographic Maps, Google Interactive Maps, and NASA Animations. (ANI)

Reiterating to fulfill the BJP’s poll promise of implementing the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday said that the state government will constitute a committee taking into consideration all the stakeholders and specialists.

Addressing the media during his Delhi visit, Dhami said, “We will soon constitute a committee on the Uniform Civil Code. After the committee is formed, we will take all the stakeholders and specialists into consideration who will prepare the draft. Based on the draft, UCC will be implemented in Uttarakhand.”
The Uniform Civil Code is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply to all citizens equally regardless of their religion, sex, gender and sexual orientation. Currently, the personal laws of various communities are governed by their religious scriptures.

The code comes under Article 44 of the Constitution which lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India. Notably, in BJP’s 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto, BJP promised the implementation of UCC if it comes to power.

Talking about the Char Dham Yatra verification drive run by the state government, Dhami said that it is being done to avoid any law and order problems because of the miscreants during the Yatra.

“We will run a verification drive in Uttarakhand because our state is the centre of religion, spiritualism and culture. It is the home of the Himalayas and Ganga. We also share two international borders and are peaceful. The law and order situation should not deteriorate,” he said.

“To make sure that this does not happen, we have run a verification campaign in which the names of numerous suspicious persons have emerged,” Dhami added.

Notably, the Yatra is scheduled to be held from May 3.

Amid the looming power crisis in various parts of the country, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister said that his government is constantly working to provide electricity to the people of the state.

“We are constantly working to resolve the issue of power crisis. We had improved the electricity condition in the previous weeks. We are working to make the situation right in Uttarakhand which is not right in the entire country. We are working on providing electricity to the people of the state,” he said.

Earlier today, a joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts was held in New Delhi. Detailing the event, Dhami said that they received guidance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We got the guidance of PM Modi. We are working well in Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand has become the first state to provide the facility of virtual hearing for the differently-abled ones who cannot reach the courts to record their statements,” he said. (ANI)

Amid rising cases of forced disappearances in the country, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) chairperson Hina Jilani on Friday asked the Shehbaz Sharif’s government not to take the issues of human rights violations lightly.

The report said the PTI government failed to get the long-awaited bill passed to criminalise enforced disappearance as a separate autonomous offence despite making commitments since 2018, Dawn reported.
It further explained that the highest number of enforced disappearances (1,108) reported by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance in 2021 was in Balochistan while the highest number of pending cases – 1,417 – were reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In February, a large group of protesters held a week-long sit-in in Islamabad against enforced disappearances in Balochistan.

Ms Jilani and HRCP Secretary General Harris Khalique, along with members of the commission, launched the report.

Highlighting the issue of freedom of expression, the report pointed out that at least in nine cases, journalists were intimidated or silenced.

“Although the Prime Minister met a three-member delegation from the sit-in, no progress was made towards recovering their family members,” read the report, adding two students from the University of Balochistan allegedly disappeared in November, stated Dawn.

The report also threw light on the lynching of a Sri Lankan factory manager in Sialkot by a mob on allegations of blasphemy and the savage murder of human rights defender Nazim Jokhio allegedly by PPP lawmakers.

The HRCP asked the government to take steps for protecting the freedom of expression and rights of vulnerable and excluded groups.

“With 5,279 rape cases and 478 honour killings and the macabre murder of Noor Mukhaddam in Islamabad, women’s rights activists rightly spoke of a ‘femicide emergency’ in Pakistan in 2021,” the report said.

It further pointed out delays in court cases and said by year-end there were over 2.14 million cases pending in the judiciary against the 2.15 million in 2020, a slight fall in the backlog of cases.

The HRCP report said a total of 172 laws were enacted by parliament and provincial assemblies: 58 federal and 114 provincial laws.

The report said UN human rights experts called on Pakistan to halt evictions of residents from Gujjar nullah and Orangi nullah in Karachi, and separately appealed for the release of Stephen Masih, a Pakistani Christian from Sialkot detained for two years on blasphemy charges.

Death plenty was awarded to at least 125 convicts in 2021, including three women, a fall from at least 177 people in 2020, it added.

According to Dawn, the transgender community continues to be marginalised both socially and economically. In Karachi alone, more than 200 threatening video and audio messages sent to transgender persons were reported, creating a sense of fear and insecurity among the community.

Children between the ages of six and 15 years, both boys and girls, remained as susceptible to abuse and violence as other marginalised groups, the report quoted, citing sources.

Moreover, in January, Islamic State militants kidnapped and killed 11 coal miners from the Shia Hazara community, which led to a multiple-day protest against the incident by the community in Quetta, demanding that the then Prime Minister Imran Khan visit their camp. However, Mr Khan termed their demand ‘blackmailing’ and refused to visit them.

In August, the Prime Minister officially launched the much-disputed Single National Curriculum (SNC) for primary schools and seminaries, claiming that this initiative would reduce educational disparities.

However, the SNC drew strong criticism from education experts and human rights defenders for its lack of inclusivity, over-emphasis on Islamic religious content at the expense of religious minorities and poor pedagogy, read the report.

Islamabad’s state terror and crimes against humanity are most unconscionable. In fact, violence against women and girls, including rape, murder, acid attacks, domestic violence, and forced marriage, is quite endemic throughout Pakistan. (ANI)

The Mumbai Customs, on Friday, busted a drug syndicate smuggling drugs from the United States and operating in Mumbai, and arrested three people involved in the trade of drugs from the Western country.

The arrested persons have been identified as being in their late 40s.
Appreciating the efforts of the Customs officials, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted, “Being alert to prevent the drug menace! Well done.”

A Customs official said that the efforts to nab the fourth and the last person involved in the supply chain is underway.

“The case is under investigation to nab the last person in the supply chain,” the official said.

A senior Customs official informed of the intelligence that said that a courier package originating from America was carrying narcotics drugs. Eyes were kept by the officers of the Airport Special Cargo Commissionerate at the International courier terminal.

“The package was intercepted and 910 grams of Marijuana originating in California was found concealed in an Air Purifier,” he said.

Following the interception of the first package, intelligence was developed and also with the help of data analytics, Indian Customs at the International Courier Terminal of CSMI Airport in Mumbai intercepted three more parcels originating from North America from April 22 to 25.

An intensive search of the parcels led to the recovery of high-quality hydroponics marijuana weighing 27.478 kilograms which were hidden in various household items like an outdoor waterfall, fake wood leather chair, and propane gas fire pit table.

“Such high-quality marijuana of North American origin commands a high price in excess of Rs 3,000 per gram in the local illicit markets. The seized narcotics could collectively command a price in excess of Rs 8 crore in local illicit markets,” he said.

The details of these detections and seizures were kept secret and surveillance was mounted by Customs officers disguised as auto-rickshaw drivers and delivery men.

The process of ‘controlled delivery’ of dummy parcels of identical shapes and looks, so that the actual recipient could not deny his involvement, was also undertaken with the help of the Police.

Sustained surveillance of targeted addresses was carried out by undercover Customs officers in the guise of auto drivers and delivery men so as to execute the operation in a meticulous and flawless manner.

During the dummy delivery, in one of the cases, it was found that the person receiving the parcel was sending it to another address, where the residents would call another person to collect the package. The third person who came to collect the package was found to be the mastermind of the operation. During the course of the search at his residence, another 20 kilograms of marijuana, 120 grams of hashish and some other narcotics substances which are being tested have been found. Three persons have been arrested so far.

Further investigation into the matter is underway. (ANI)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized Rs 5551.27 crore of Xiaomi Technology India Pvt Ltd– a wholly-owned subsidiary of China-based Xiaomi group– under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in connection with illegal remittances made by the firm in February this year, the agency said on Saturday.

The seized amount of Rs 5551.27 crore is lying in the bank accounts of Xiaomi Technology India Pvt Ltd, which started its operations in India in 2014 and started remitting the money in 2015.
The Company has remitted foreign currency equivalent to Rs 5551.27 crore to three foreign-based entities which include one Xiaomi group entity in the guise of Royalty, said the ED.

“Such huge amounts in the name of Royalties were remitted on the instructions of their Chinese parent group entities. The amount remitted to other two US-based unrelated entities were also for the ultimate benefit of the Xiaomi group entities,” said the ED.

Xiaomi India is a trader and distributor of mobile phones in India under the brand name MI. Xiaomi India procures the completely manufactured mobile sets and other products from the manufacturers in India.

“Xiaomi India has not availed any service from the three foreign-based entities to whom such amounts have been transferred. Under the cover of various unrelated documentary facade created amongst the group entities, the company remitted this amount in the guise of royalty abroad which constitutes a violation of Section 4 of the FEMA,” said the federal agency.

ED further added that Xiaomi India also provided misleading information to the banks while remitting the money abroad. (ANI)

According to the global organization, Save the Children, many people in Afghanistan are facing a severe food crisis during Ramzan and the most vulnerable are children.

This comes as Afghanistan continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis and food shortages after the Taliban took over the country in August last year.
Without enough food and the right nutrition, they can become malnourished which can lead to illness, infections, stunting, and death, reported Tolo News.

The organization has conducted interviews with many Afghans and they revealed that they are not able to buy food. They also complained about the high price of food.

The report says since the Islamic Emirate’s takeover in August 2021, living costs and food prices have skyrocketed, and it cited World Bank findings saying that incomes are likely to have fallen by around a third in the last few months of 2021.

An increasing number of families are jobless and destitute and are resorting to desperate measures to feed their children, as per the media portal. (ANI)

A public interest litigation (PIL) has been moved before the Delhi High court against the construction, operation, and maintenance of upcoming commercial shops, retail space and food court and multi-level car parking facility by demolishing the Primary school (in existence since 1927) at Bank Street, Karol Bagh, New Delhi.

The petition has been filed by the lawyer and activist Amit Sahni against North Delhi Municipal corporation (NDMC), Delhi Government, Delhi Commission for protection of child rights (DCPCR) and OMTECH construction and I infrastructure Ltd.
The petition has been listed for May 2, 2022, for hearing before the bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi.

The petitioner has submitted that the NDMC has in October 2021 proposed to construct the multi-level parking by demolishing the building of the Municipal school. The land of the school measuring 4200 sq. Metres was sold to OMTECH for Rs 181 Crores under the garb of directions issued by the Delhi High Court for the construction of Multilevel Parking thereon.

The petition stated that in 2019 the NDMC stopped using the school building by shifting the students to another school in Shiv Nagar, measuring only 1420 sq metres which is much smaller in size than the previous one and does not have infrastructure like playground and green area, etc.

Further, it stated that the Shiv Nagar School is overcrowded as after the COVID-19 pandemic most of the parents are not able to afford private schools and send their children to government schools.

It is also stated in the petition that respondent OMTECH is advertising the project as a commercial building with a food court, shops, and offices. As per the advertisement, the parking will be underground and would be for 500 vehicles only. That would be insufficient for the parking need of the area.

The petition said the NDMC and Delhi Government are duty-bound to provide free and compulsory education to children below the age of 14 and DCPCR is a statutory body for the protection of Child Rights. NDMC has sold the said school land in violation and directions passed by the High court and the Supreme Court and Delhi Government and DCPCR are not taking any action. This would adversely affect the constitutional rights of the deprived sections of society whose children study in government schools. (ANI)

New mommy in B-town, actor Priyanka Chopra, on Saturday shared some extremely hot photos in her latest post, leaving her followers awestruck.

In her recent Instagram post, the ‘Mary Kom’ star can be seen wearing a lime-coloured co-ord bikini set, relaxing in the pool at her LA abode.
“Instagram Vs Reality” she captioned the post

Priyanka looked really stunning and alluring and fans filled the comment section with fire and heart emoticons including her husband Nick Jonas who dropped a fire emoji and the comment ‘Damn’.

It was recently revealed that the actor couple duo Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas had named their daughter, who was born in January this year via surrogacy, as ‘Malti Marie’.

On the work front, Priyanka Chopra’s next films include Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Jee Le Zaraa,’ Amazon’s ‘Citadel,’ and Anthony Mackie’s ‘Ending Things.’ (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi singled out states for being slow in abolishing obsolete laws, urging the Chief Ministers on Saturday to speed up the legislative reform to help the people come out of the web of legislation.

PM Modi on Saturday addressed a joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi.
Speaking on the intricacies of laws for the people, PM Modi said the Centre has so far abolished 1450 of the total 1800 identified obsolete legislation. But only 75 laws have been abolished by the state, stated PM Modi.

“In 2015, we identified about 1,800 laws which had become irrelevant. Out of these, 1,450 such laws were abolished. But only 75 such laws have been abolished by the states,” PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister also urged the Chief Ministers to speed up the process to remove irrelevant laws from the statutory books to help people come out of the web of legislation.

“Today, there are about 3.5 lakh prisoners in the country who are under-trial. Most of these people are from poor or ordinary families,” he pointed out.

“In every district, there is a committee headed by the District Judge, so that these cases can be reviewed and wherever possible, such prisoners may be released on bail. I would appeal to all Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts to give priority to these matters on the basis of humanitarian sensibility and law,” said PM Modi.

He called upon the Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts to prioritize “these matters on the basis of humanitarian sensibility and law”.

The Prime Minister said mediation is also an important tool for the settlement of pending cases in the courts, especially at the local level, adding that there is an age-old tradition of settlement of disputes through mediation in the society.

He said that the government has introduced the Mediation Bill in Parliament as umbrella legislation. “With our rich legal expertise, we can become a global leader in mediation. We can present a model to the whole world,” he said.

Earlier this week, PM Modi had blamed the state governments for not lowering the value-added tax (VAT) on fuel.

“In order to reduce the burden of rising petrol and diesel prices, the central government reduced the excise duty last November. We had urged the states to reduce their taxes. Some states reduced the tax and provided benefits to the consumers but some didn’t do so,” said the Prime Minister during his interactions with Chief Ministers of several states over rising cases of COVID-19.

Naming Opposition-ruled states, PM Modi had said, “Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Jharkhand, and Tamil Nadu did not follow the advice of Central government and people in these states are burdened with price rise.” (ANI)

General Manoj Pande on Saturday took over as the new Chief of Army Staff from General Manoj Mukund Naravane, who is superannuating today.

He is the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to become the Chief of Army Staff.
Gen Pande took over the charge from Gen Naravane in a brief ceremony at the South Black. Pande, who belongs to the 117 Engineers Regiment of the Indian Army, would be the 29th Army Chief.

He was commissioned on December 24, 1982, in the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers) of the Indian Army.

During his long and distinguished service spanning over 39 years, he has served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.

His son is a pilot in the Indian Air Force in the transport aircraft stream.

Gen Pande held various important command and staff appointments which include a Mountain Division in the high-altitude area in Ladakh along the Pakistan border and Command of a Corps, deployed along the LAC and in the Counter Insurgency Operations area of Eastern Command. (ANI)