Month: April 2022

Summers are here and the prices of lemons have already started surging in Rajkot due to a shortage in supplies and a rise in the demand for the citrus fruit.

Lemons are currently being sold at Rs 200 per kg, as compared to the previous rates of Rs 50-60 per kg.

“The price of lemon is touching Rs 200/kg. It was around Rs 50-60/kg earlier. We have to fit everything into a budget. But this increase in price is affecting our ‘kitchen budget’. We don’t know when will the prices go down,” a customer told ANI.

As the temperature increases, people prefer to include lemon in their diet as they are a rich source of Vitamin C and help in staying hydrated while promoting digestion. The increased consumption and shortage of supply have skyrocketed the prices of lemons.

“Prices of almost every vegetable have increased. But this is more than we had expected. It is difficult for a middle-class customer to buy such expensive vegetables. We are unable to buy lemons in a large quantity like we used to buy earlier. This increase is almost double the prices we were paying last year in the month of March, don’t know what will happen in April-May,” said Himanshu, a buyer.

“Earlier, we used to buy one kg of lemons per week but now we have to reduce it to 250 or 500 grams due to price surge. It has affected our expenses,” said Pinal Patel, another buyer.

The surge in price has also affected the traders as the buyers are forced to buy lemons in less quantity after a sudden price surge. Hence, the increase in prices has affected both traders and buyers. (ANI)

Russia said the fire was caused by an airstrike from Ukrainian helicopters. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, however, told CNN it had no information about the incident.

When asked whether it was Ukraine who had carried out the attack, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, echoed the same sentiment and said that he could not verify it.

The Russian Ministry of Defence on Friday stated that two Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters carried out an attack on a fuel storage facility in southern Russia.

“On April 1, at about 5:00 a.m. Moscow time, two Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters entered the airspace of the Russian Federation at extremely low altitudes. Ukrainian helicopters launched a missile attack on a civilian oil storage facility located on the outskirts of Belgorod. As a result of the missile hit, individual tanks were damaged and caught fire,” Russian MOD spokesperson Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

UK Defence Ministry said in the latest intelligence update that oil tanks at a depot in Belgorod mean probable loss of fuel and ammunition supplies to the Russian forces.

The update further suggested that the Friday strike at the depot will likely add more strain to Russia’s already stretched logistic chains.

Meanwhile, Russian troops are “slowly but noticeably” moving out of the north of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address on Friday.

“The occupiers are withdrawing forces in the north of our country. The withdrawal is slow but noticeable. Somewhere they are expelled with battles. Somewhere they leave positions on their own,” Zelenskyy said.

He also urged Ukrainians to remain cautious in the north as troops withdraw.

“We are moving forward. Moving carefully. And everyone who returns to this area must also be very careful. It is still impossible to return to normal life as it was. Even in the areas, we return after the fighting. You will have to wait. Wait for our land to be cleared. Wait until you can be assured that new shelling is impossible,” he said. (ANI)

American actor Will Smith on Friday (local time) announced that he has resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, days after he slapped comedian Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars.

“I have directly responded to the Academy’s disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable,” Smith’s publicist told ANI.

The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home, he said.

Smith, in a statement, said he was “heartbroken” over the incident and “betrayed the trust of the Academy.”

“I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work,” Smith stated.

“I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film. So, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate,” he added.

Smith had previously apologized to the academy and to Rock. A few minutes after the incident, Smith was announced Best Actor at the Oscars.

Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock onstage after he got miffed at the latter’s joke directed at his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

The 94th Academy Awards took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday extended Chaitra Navratri greetings to the people.

“Happy Navratri to all the countrymen. May this festival of worship of Shakti infuse new energy in everyone’s life,” tweeted the Prime Minister.

As the Chaitra Navratri begins today, a large number of devotees flocked to Mata Vaishno Devi Temple in Katra, Jammu to offer prayers. Similar scenes were seen in Durga temples across the country. Devotees started queueing up in Delhi’s Jhandewalan Temple, Durga Temple in Varanasi and Mumba Devi Temple in Mumbai.

Celebrated during the spring season, Chaitra Navratri or Vasant Navratri is considered to be an important nine-day celebration for Hindus.

This year, the festival starts on April 2 and will end on April 11. The first day of Chaitra Navratri falls during the ‘Shukla Paksha’ of the moon which is the full moon phase. The rituals performed during the nine days in order to worship Goddess Durga, vary each day. It also marks the birthday of Lord Rama, which usually falls on the ninth day during the Navratri festivity, hence it is also known as Rama Navratri.

The festival is much like Maha Navratri, dedicated to the nine different forms of Goddess Durga, collectively known as Navdurga.

Today also marks the Hindu new year according to the Vikram Samwat calendar. (ANI)

India reported 1,260 new COVID -19 cases in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Friday.

With the new cases, the active caseload stands at 13,445 which accounts for 0.03 per cent of the country’s total positive cases.

Meanwhile, 1,404 patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours taking the total recoveries to 4,24,92,326. The current recovery rate is at 98.76 per cent.

With 5,28,021 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, the positivity rate is at 0.24 per cent.

As many as 79.02 crore COVID tests have been conducted in the country so far.

India’s COVID vaccination coverage has exceeded 184.52 crore as per provisional reports till today morning. (ANI)

Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla in Delhi on Friday.

The Nepalese PM arrived in India today for a three-day visit to the country, accompanied by senior officials and his spouse Dr Arzu Deuba. Nepal’s Prime Minister is visiting India at the invitation of PM Modi.

Earlier today, the Nepal PM met Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) President JP Nadda at the party headquarters in a courtesy meeting.

“Had a courtesy meeting with Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba today. India and Nepal are not just neighbours but are very close to each other even from religious, cultural, linguistic and historic viewpoints,” Nadda said in a tweet.

PM Deuba is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow at Hyderabad House, besides other engagements.

Besides official engagements in New Delhi, Nepal PM will visit Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. In a press statement, the MEA said India and Nepal enjoy age-old special ties of friendship and cooperation.

The last Head of State/Head of Government-level visit from Nepal was in May 2019, when then PM K P Oli visited India for the swearing-in ceremony of PM Narendra Modi and the Union Council of Ministers. Before that PM Modi had visited Nepal in August 2018 for the 4th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu, which was preceded by a State Visit to Nepal in May 2018.

PM Modi had extended a congratulatory message to Sher Bahadur Deuba soon after he won the Vote of Confidence in Nepal’s Parliament. This was followed by a congratulatory telephonic conversation on 19 July 2021. The most recent meeting between PM Modi and Sher Bahadur Deuba took place on November 2, 2021, on the sidelines of COP 26 in Glasgow.

Sher Bahadur Deuba is a veteran politician of the Nepali Congress with a political career spanning over seven decades. This is Deuba’s fifth tenure as PM. His first term was from September 1995 to March 1997.

He has visited India several times, both when in and out of power. This will be his fifth visit to India as PM, with the last visit being in August 2018. The previous three visits took place in 2004, 2002 and 1996. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov here in the national capital and reiterated his call for an early cessation of violence, and conveyed India’s readiness to contribute in any way to the peace efforts.

The Foreign Minister briefed the Prime Minister on the situation in Ukraine, including the ongoing peace negotiation, according to a release by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Lavrov also updated the Prime Minister on the progress of decisions taken during the India-Russia bilateral Summit held in December 2021.

The meeting is quite significant as it comes at a time when India continues to stay neutral over Russia’s war on Ukraine. Lavrov on Friday said that India can mediate between Moscow and Kyiv as the peace talks between the two counties failed to come up with solutions yet to end the war.

Responding to an ANI question on the possibility of India becoming a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, he said, “India is an important country. If India sees to play that role which provides resolution of the problem…If India is with its position of a just and rational approach to international problems, it can support such process.”

Lavrov, who arrived in New Delhi on Thursday for a two-day official visit, also lauded independent Indian foreign policy and discussed a myriad of issues including, US pressure on India, surging energy prices, and sanctions on Russia.

“I believe that Indian foreign policies are characterized by independence and the concentration on real national legitimate interests. The same policy is based in the Russian Federation and this makes us, as big countries, good friends and loyal partners,” he said.

When asked about US pressure on India will affect Indo-Russian ties, the Russian FM said, “Have no doubt pressure doesn’t affect partnership, I have no doubt no pressure will affect our partnership… They (US) are forcing others to follow their politics.”

He also slammed for calling the special operation in Ukraine a war when asked about the developments in Ukraine, Lavrov said, “You called it a war which is not true. It is a special operation, military infrastructure is being targeted. The aim is to deprive the Kyiv regime of building the capacity to present any threat to Russia.”

He also replied to ANI on how he sees India’s position in the ongoing war, offer of oil supply to India, and any confirmation on Rupee-Ruble payment and sanctions.

“If India wants to buy anything from us, ready to discuss and reach mutually acceptable cooperation,” he said, adding “We will be ready to supply to India any goods which it wants to buy from us. We are ready to discuss. Russia and India have very good relations.”

He further said that relations with India were developed over many decades while answering how they can support India in terms of security challenges

“Talks are characterized by relations which we developed with India for many decades. Relations are strategic partnerships…This was the basis on which we’ve been promoting our cooperation in all areas,” said Lavrov. (ANI)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to allow 50 per cent crowd in the four stadiums across Maharashtra in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 from next week.

“BCCI is planning to allow 50 per cent capacity of audience in IPL from next week and has got clearance from all departments,” sources said.

Currently, only 25 per cent of crowd capacity is being allowed inside the stadiums during the 1st week of the competition. Furthermore, since the COVID situation is not worse, many people will be able to enjoy the matches at the venues.

The IPL 2022 has returned back to India after the IPL 2020 edition was played in the UAE due to the COVID pandemic situation and the second half of the IPL 2021 was held there as well, as, after 25 matches in India, BCCI paused the 14th edition of IPL due to the second wave of COVID but later it was revived in UAE in October-November.

While the BCCI had declared that the IPL 2022 season will be held in India, which was great as two new teams Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans were added in the current season, increasing the total number of teams to 10.

Wankhede Stadium and DY Patil Stadium hosted 20 matches each, the Brabourne Stadium and MHCA stadium are set to host 15 matches each, and the venue for the playoffs will be decided later.

However, the first week of the Indian Premier League has been nothing short of thrilling, with some clashes already taking place on the 22-yard mark. The T20 fever is set to grow even more as the tournament progresses. (ANI)

With Maharashtra scrapping COVID-19 restrictions and easing the norm on compulsory wearing of masks in public places, a health expert has emphasised caution noting that masks play a significant role in curtailing transmission of the disease.

Dr Priya Abraham, Director, ICMR-National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV) said in an exclusive interview with ANI that masks should continue to be worn, especially in crowded or poorly ventilated places.

“I don’t think it is time to completely throw precautions away. I personally believe that in any crowded place where we are sitting fairly close to each other or in a poorly ventilated place, we must wear a mask. A mask definitely has a role in curtailing transmission,” she said.

She said there is also a need to take care that infection does not spread to vulnerable groups such as senior citizens.

“Most of the time when children pick up an infection, it is mild or asymptomatic. But when a child with infection comes home and if there is an unvaccinated or a sick, older person, they can transmit the infection,” Dr Abraham said.

The Maharashtra Government on Thursday announced that all COVID-19 related restrictions including the compulsory wearing of masks in public places will be withdrawn from April 2. It has advised people to follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour but wearing masks will be optional.

Fines for not wearing masks in public are likely to be done away in Delhi also.

A meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA was held on Thursday and a decision has been taken to do away with a fine for not wearing masks, sources said.

COVID-19 cases in India have declined sharply with 1,335 new cases recorded on Friday.

Maharashtra on Thursday reported 183 new COVID-19 cases, taking the number of active cases to 902. Delhi reported 113 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday.

China has seen a rise in COVID-19 cases and has put restrictions in its commercial hub of Shanghai to prevent the spread of the disease. (ANI)