Month: April 2022

A massive fire broke out at North Delhi’s Bhalswa landfill on Tuesday.

Over 10 fire tenders are at the spot to douse the flames. According to Delhi Fire Service officials, smoke was reported around 5 PM that later spread into a massive fire.

“We received a call at around 5.47 pm. Initially, there was only smoke but later due to wind fire erupted. 12 fire tenders are present at the spot. Our aim is to ensure that fire does not spread to residential areas,” said, CL Meena, Assistant Divisional Officer, Delhi Fire Service.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday granted an emergency use authorisation (EUA) to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for the age group of 6-12 years.

Following the DCGI’s move, Paediatric Pulmonologist at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Dr Dhiren Gupta welcomed the decision and urged parents not to hesitate to get their children vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Corbevax has been granted emergency use authorisation for the age group 5-12 years while Zydus Cadila’s two-dose Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for children more than 12 years of age.

“It is a good move to approve vaccines for kids. Our vaccine system has been elaborated and now we have vaccines for kids also. In the past one month, since the kids are going to school, they are getting infections. The vaccine doesn’t prevent the infection but definitely helps in confidence-building for the family. Secondly, Omicron is a milder variant but in future, it will help in other variants,” Dr Dhiren told ANI.

The Paediatric Pulmonologist clarified that these approved vaccines are safe as experts have reviewed the data several times. He said, “This vaccine is not like experimentation. This vaccine has been there for four months. Scientists have stated its efficacy and that is why it has been rolled out for 5-12 years. We want a safe vaccine for this age group. There is no doubt that we should vaccinate our kids.”

Commenting on the uptick in COVID cases, Dr Dhiren termed it a “mini-surge.”

Speaking about the symptoms witnessed in children, the doctor said, “In April, we witnessed high-grade fever, cold and cough as the main symptoms. Not a single patient got admitted. Many who got infections in January-February are getting reinfected so don’t get complacent. Prevention is going to be the cure. In the paediatric age group, other symptoms are loose motions, vomiting and nasal blockage.”

Dr Sameer Bhati, Public Health Expert, Member Vaccination Awareness Committee said, “During the surge in cases, this step of government will help in herd immunity. This will support reopening of schools and will be helpful for parents. People have confidence in Covaxin because it has been administered on children of 15-18 years and real-time data is also available. Corbevax is also efficacious and administered in the age group of 12-14 yrs old. Similarly, ZycovD was earlier approved for three doses, but now the DCGI has approved a two-dose regime that will improve the production. Overall the decision taken by the government will boost vaccination in India.”

Welcoming the vaccination for kids, Dr Nita Radhakrishnan, Associate Professor and HOD, Department of Paediatric Hematology-Oncology, Post Graduate Institute of Child Health, Noida said, “The approval for COVAXIN for children of 6 to 12 year-old kids in India could not have come at a better time than this. For children, this is a boon as it ensures protection from the virus and helps them continue schooling as it should be. These vaccines have a good safety record and have been shown to have efficacy in clinical trials. It is also helpful for children with compromised immunity as it allows them to continue treatment for cancer, bone marrow transplant or solid organ transplantation, immunosuppression for many autoimmune diseases etc. without the fear of severe COVID.”

Covaxin is formulated uniquely such that the same dosage can be administered to adults and children alike. Covaxin is a ready-to-use liquid vaccine, stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius, with 12 months shelf life and a multi-dose vial policy.(ANI)

India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) is coordinating with the Bangladeshi officials to dismantle the network run by Pakistan’s ISI-backed syndicate and pumping fake currency into India via Bangladesh, local media reported.

India is actively working with Bangladesh to track and curb the Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) network in the country.

Recent recoveries of fake notes in Bangladesh have exposed Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI of its involvement in running the network for pumping fake notes inside Indian borders. In addition to the ISI, some transnational criminal gangs are also involved in carrying out the smuggling, reported Bangladesh Live News.

In November 2021, Dhaka Police arrested two Bangladeshi nationals namely, Fatema Akter and Sheikh Md. Abu Talab for smuggling FICN and recovered a consignment worth 7.35 crores. Using its bases in Bangladesh, the network was smuggling fake currencies into India.

Another such incident came to light in February 2022 when Dhaka police seized some gunny bags filled with a large quantity of FICN and arrested some people suspected to have been involved in the racket.

Upon investigation, it was found that the arrested individuals were a part of a transnational FICN syndicate, being guided and handled by Pak ISI and operating in at least seven countries including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and UAE, reported Bangladesh Live News.

Investigation in the recent cases confirms the years old mode of operation: FICN is printed in Pakistan and then illicitly imported into India either directly through the border with Nepal and Bangladesh or through other routes linking Dubai, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Colombo.

ISI-backed FICN network received global attention in 2011. In 2011, the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report of the US State Department confirmed the flow of counterfeit currency produced in Pakistan to India and that terrorist and criminal networks used this money to finance their activities in the country. (ANI)

Delhi has logged 1,204 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total active cases in the national capital to 4,508, the government’s health bulletin informed.

It is for the fifth continuous day that the national capital has reported over 1,000 cases. As per the Delhi health bulletin, the national capital has witnessed a dip in the COVID positivity rate, which has been reported to be at 4.64 per cent.

In the last 24 hours, one COVID death was also reported in Delhi. With a fatality rate of 1.39 per cent, the total tally of deaths caused in the national capital due to the virus now stands at 26,169.

As many as 863 COVID patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries since the beginning of the pandemic in the city to 18,46,414.

A total of 25,963 COVID samples were tested in the last 24 hours.

Under the vaccination drive in the city, 62,520 beneficiaries were jabbed with the COVID shot taking the cumulative vaccine doses administer so far to 3,32,45,663. (ANI)

A Delhi Court on Tuesday in a case related to Northeast Delhi violence framed charges against 10 accused persons for rioting, arson and vandalism including other sections. The case pertains to violence in the area of the Police Station of Gokul Puri in February 2020.

Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhatt framed the charges against 10 accused, namely, Mohd. Shahnawaz @ Shanu, Mohd Shoaib, Shahrukh, Rashid, Azad, Ashraf Ali, Parvez, Md. Faisal, Rashid@ Monu and Mohd. Tahir for alleged rioting, arson and vandalism including others.
The Court said, “In the case at hand, the material on record prima facie discloses that the accused were the members of an unlawful assembly on 24 February 2020 which had been formed with the objective to create fear and panic amongst the people belonging to Hindu community, to threaten them to leave the country and to cause arson, loot etc. as well as to set ablaze the shops/houses belonging to them. The material on record also disclosed the commission of offences of rioting, looting, and setting ablaze the house of the complainant by the accused.

The Court observed, “Undoubtedly if the evidence collected during the course of investigation as annexed with the charge sheet remains unrebutted, the conviction of the accused is reasonably possible. Thus there is no escape from the conclusion at this stage that the accused were members of unlawful assembly which resorted to vandalization, rioting etc. and in the process robbed and set ablaze the house of the complainant. No case for discharge is made out. It is, thus, held that the charges under sections 147, 148, 436, 452, 454, 392, and 427 read with 149 IPC are liable to be framed against all the accused.

Special Public Prosecutor R C Bhadauria argued that there is sufficient material on record to frame charges against all accused. All the above named accused constituted an unlawful assembly on 24 February 2020 at about 2.30 PM and in furtherance of the object of the assembly, they vandalised, robbed and set ablaze the house of the complainant Satish Kumar.

In this case, the FIR was registered on 4 March 2020 on the complaint dated 1 March 2020 lodged by the complainant Satish Kumar. During the investigation, it was found that all the 10 accused are in custody in another case of Police Station Gokulpuri. They were interrogated in the jail and statements were recorded.

The court rejected the contention of the defence counsel that there is an unexplained delay of nine days in the registration of FIR and none of the accused named in the same which indicates that the accused have been named as assailants in this case later on falsely. (ANI)

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured that the Centre will give positive consideration to the state government’s request for inclusion of the Hatti community in the Scheduled Tribes list.

Thakur told ANI on Tuesday that all the formalities to include the Hatti community in the tribal community list will be completed soon. The community has been demanding tribal status since 1968.
Thakur met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday. The Hatti community is demographically spread in four Assembly constituencies of the Sirmour district – Shillai, Paonta, Renuka and Pachhad. The community has tribal status in Uttarakhand which shares a border with the Sirmour district.

“They were accorded this status long back in 1968 and share similar culture and socio-economic conditions with those residing in district Sirmour,” Thakur said.

“In 1967, half of their family members who went to the Jaunsar area of Uttarakhand became tribals and those who remained on the Himachal side were not included. We have been trying to address the matter for some time,” he added.

The Chief Minister said that the move will benefit about three lakh population of 154 panchayats of Trans Giri area in the state.

The Chief Minister said the state government has provided the Union Home Ministry all the technical information that was sought by the Registrar General of India.

“The Hatti community in Himachal Pradesh has been demanding tribal status for a long time. I met Union Home Minister and discussed this. All technicalities will be fulfilled soon and the Hatti community will be given the status of the tribal community,” Thakur told ANI.

The Chief Minister referred to the long struggle for getting the tribal status during Congress governments and said it was turned down many times. However, he said, that BJP governments at the Centre and state always took a favourable stand for the cause of the Hatti Community and the present central government has understood the genuineness of the long-pending demand and struggle of the community.

Thakur said that the BJP is ready for the assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh later this year.

“We will come back to power again in the state,” he said.

Himachal Pradesh Energy Minister Sukhram Chaudhary, who represents Sirmaur said people of the Hatti community have struggled for a long time.

“We have raised this demand from time to time. Today, the Chief Minister of the state took up this matter again and we are happy that the Centre has agreed to fulfil the demand,” he said. (ANI)

There’s nothing better than beating the heat by sitting poolside and splashing in cold water. Star couple Kareena Kapoor Khan-Saif Ali Khan and their kids Taimur and Jeh are spending summer days in a similar way.

Several pictures from their Bandra residence have been doing the rounds on the internet in which they can be seen sitting by the swimming pool and enjoying delicious food.

The pictures were initially shared by Kareena and Saif’s close friend Alexandra Galligan.

In one of the images, mommy Kareena is seen adorably looking at her secondborn Jeh.

For the fun day at home, Kareena opted for a white shirt. Her husband complemented Kareena in a white T-shirt paired with red shorts.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Kareena will be seen sharing screen space with Aamir Khan in ‘Laal Chaddha’, which is an Indian remake of ‘Forrest Grump’. On the other hand, Saif is a part of ‘Vikram Vedha’, which also features Hrithik Roshan. (ANI)

Praises have been pouring in for Kartik Aaryan ever since the trailer of his upcoming film ‘Bhool Bhulaiya 2’ released on Tuesday morning.

The three-minute long trailer begins with a haunting track and a warning from Tabu that Manjulika is back after 15 years.

Then enters Kartik who claims that he can see dead people. Kiara Advani also marked her presence in the trailer and she is the new manjulika of ‘Bhool Bhulaiya’ world.

The glimpses of Kartik, Tabu and Kiara’s performance have left netizens in splits.

“Super entertaining,” a social media user commented.

“Hahahaha…this is so humorous,” another one wrote.

Helmed by Anees Azmee, the film is the second installment of the popular 2007 horror comedy ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’, which starred Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan in the lead roles.

Rajpal Yadav, who featured in the original film, is also a part of the new version. (ANI)

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) granted emergency use authorisation to Biological E’s COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax for those aged 5 to 12 years, informed the pharmaceutical company on Tuesday.

Corbevax is currently being administered to children in the age group of 12-14.
The approval comes after the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) recommendation based on the review of interim safety and immunogenicity data of Corbevax for this age bracket.

This approval comes a month after Corbevax was given the nod for children between 12 and 15 years.

“BE has developed India’s first Indigenous Sub-unit COVID-19 against the novel coronavirus. The company performed a multi-centric, Phase 2/3 clinical trial in 624 children aged between 5 and 18 in two age sub-sets, i.e., >=12 to <18 years and >=5 to <12 years. As a part of the trial, children were administered two doses of 0.5 ml each of the vaccine or placebo in a gap of 28 days,” Biological E said in a statement.

BE submitted the interim safety data and immunogenicity data to regulatory agencies. For both the age sub-sets, the trial showed a significant increase in the anti-RBD IgG antibodies and neutralizing antibodies (nAb) against ancestral strain and Delta variant.

The nAb titers observed post-vaccination with Corbevax in the paediatric cohorts were comparable to the adult cohort evaluated in earlier clinical trials and the vaccine showed excellent safety for both age groups.

Mahima Datla, Managing Director, Biological E Limited, said, “As many of us would be aware, the SEC had already given a positive recommendation for our vaccine’s use in the 5-12 age group. In continuation of the same, we were very happy to receive the formal approval from the DCGI making this an extremely safe and effective intervention available, particularly for the age groups 5 years onwards.

Datla further said that this is a great opportunity to get back to some level of normalcy in our continuing fight against the prevalent pandemic situation as Corbevax is the first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine in the country that addresses the vaccination needs of all age groups from 5 years and above.

Biological E Limited has manufactured 30 crore doses of Corbevax and has already supplied nearly 10 crore doses to the Central Government.

Currently, over 3 crore doses of Corbevax have been administered to children between 12-15 years of age.

COVID-19 vaccination for minors in India started from January 3 onwards for those in the 15-18 age group with Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. The drive later expanded on March 16 to include children aged above 12 for Corbevax. India is currently administering two COVID-19 vaccines for children above 12. (ANI)

Three Chinese nationals were among the four persons killed in a car explosion inside the premises of the University of Pakistan in Karachi on Tuesday, according to media reports citing sources.

As per Geo TV, the blast took place at 1:52 pm in a van near Confucius Institute — a Chinese language teaching centre at Karachi University.

Following the blast, rescue and security agencies reached the location and cordoned off the areas, initiating rescue operations, the media outlet reported.

As per Geo TV, the deceased Chinese nationals have been identified as the director of the Confucius Institute Huang Guiping, Ding Mupeng, Chen Sai, and their Pakistani driver Khalid.

Two of the injured have been identified as Chinese national Wang Yuqing and a guard named Hamid. Meanwhile, three people are said to be in critical condition, as per sources.

As per police sources, there were seven to eight people in the van; however, the exact number of casualties is yet to be reported.

Last year, nine Chinese nationals were killed in a blast in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhawa.

Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has claimed to have arrested two men for their alleged involvement in the blasts on a bus carrying Chinese nationals in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhawa in August and in Lahore’s Johar Town in the last week of June 2021.

Beijing has also stepped in to probe this bus attack. The Chinese forces were allowed to investigate this matter despite the fact that the previous Imran Khan government repeatedly stated that it won’t allow foreign security set up on its land. (ANI)