Month: May 2022

Reacting sharply to the Centre’s decisions to slash petrol and diesel prices and provide subsidies on gas cylinders to Ujjwala beneficiaries, the Opposition leaders on Saturday called it a ‘jumla’ while also claiming that the government was “forced to bow to the demand of the people”.

The government this evening announced a reduction in excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on diesel by Rs 6 per litre, while also announcing to give a subsidy of Rs 200 per gas cylinder (up to 12 cylinders) to over nine crore beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.
Calling the decisions of the government a “jugglery of figures to dupe the people”, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala while presenting a comparative figure of the Central excise duty in 2014 and 2022, claimed that it was lesser during the Congress tenure and asked the government to “show the courage to give relief”.

“In May 2014, Excise Duty on Petrol = Rs9.48/Litre On 21st May, 2022, Excise Duty on Petrol = Rs27.90/Litre. U reduced it by Rs8 now. U increased Excise on Petrol by Rs18.42/litre and now reduced it by Rs8/litre. It is still Rs19.90 V/S Rs9.48 during Congress,” Surjewala tweeted.

“Nation doesn’t need jugglery of figures to dupe the people, Nation doesn’t need “Jumlas”, Nation needs rollback of Excise on #Petrol & Diesel to May 2014 levels of Rs9.48/Litre on Petrol & Rs3.56/Litre on Diesel. Stop deceiving, Show the courage to give relief,” he added.

While, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi took a jibe at the Centre on the decisions claiming that the government was “forced to bow to the demand of the people”.

“Here we go, the arrogance of those in power will never withstand the anger of the people. Forced to bow to the demand of the people. Cut in central excise duty and a subsidy on gas cylinder for Ujwala labhartis,” she tweeted. (ANI)

As the rescue operation resumed at the Ramban Tunnel collapse site in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, the death toll reached nine in the incident on Saturday.

“So far nine bodies have been recovered from the spot, maybe one is left. Out of these 9 deceased, five were from West Bengal, one from Assam, two from Nepal, and two were local. FIR has been registered for negligence,” Mohita Sharma, Ramban SSP told ANI.

A part of an under-construction four-lane tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Ramban district collapsed on Thursday night. (ANI)

Indian High Commission in Ottawa has issued an advisory urging Indian students to take precautions during swimming after two tragic incidents in April this year.

The advisory was posted on Twitter on Friday and stated that the high commission was disturbed to see a recent spurt in cases of death due to the drowning of Indian students in Canada.

The advisory further urged Indian students to “obey local laws and avoid swimming or diving in lakes or rivers without life vests and other statutory precautions. Those who do not know swimming should avoid trying their hand at learning it without proper supervision”.

“It has been noticed that at times, groups of students attempt water sports in an inebriated condition; this may result in accidents and fatalities,” it added.

It is “the responsibility of every student to avoid any dangerous activity which can cause loss of life and bring misery and suffering to their families,” the high commission said.

At least two instances of Indian students accidentally drowning have been reported since April this year. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hosted India’s Deaflympics contingent to congratulate the athletes on their landmark performance in the 24th edition of the Games.

During his interaction with the athletes, Modi said the athletes have brought pride and glory to the nation.
The Indian Deaflympics contingent brought home a record 16 medals – including 8 gold medals, a silver medal and seven bronze medals- from the recently concluded event at Caxias do Sul in Brazil.

Wrestler Virender Singh won his 5th straight medal at the Deaflympics.

Speaking to the wrestler Virender Singh, PM Modi said: “As a player, you guys went ahead and kept on growing. You are an inspiration to all. God gave you something short, but you people never gave up. Your performance was amazing and you are moving forward to the greater heights.”

In his interaction with the PM, badminton player Rohit Bhaker, who won the mixed doubles gold at the event with Aaditya Yadav said: “Sir, when I used to play earlier, I tried to move forward from there and played Deaflympics. And here I’m doing my best. I worked hard, my father supported me throughout my whole career. I only received sympathy from others but I worked my way through.”

PM Modi met and greeted the Indian athletes who were wearing the Team India blazers.

“I will never forget the interaction with our champions who have brought pride and glory for India at the Deaflympics. The athletes shared their experiences and I could see the passion and determination in them. My best wishes to all of them,” Modi tweeted after hosting the athletes at his official residence.

After the interaction PM also tweeted: “It is due to our champions that time’s Deaflympics have been the best for India!”

Earlier this week, PM Modi congratulated the Indian contingent on their impressive showing after the culmination of the event. “Congrats to the Indian contingent for the best ever performance at the recently concluded Deaflympics! Every athlete of our contingent is an inspiration for our fellow citizens. I will be hosting the entire contingent at my residence on the morning of the 21st,” wrote PM Modi on Twitter.

Today’s event was also attended by Sports Minister Anurag Thakur. The Indian contingent comprised 65 athletes. The event saw the participation of around 2,100 athletes from 72 countries. (ANI)

India is all set to host its first-ever FIFA women’s tournament when 16 teams make their way to the country for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022 this October.

After the completion of the UEFA Women’s U-17 Championship earlier this month, three European countries joined hosts India, China PR, Japan, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Colombia in the team line-up for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022.
There are three more spots up for grabs that will be fought for among the Member Associations of the CAF – Cameroon, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana and Morocco.

The sides will be abreast of their opponents when the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022 official draw takes place in Zurich on June 24.

The winners of the UEFA Women’s U-17 Championship – Germany and the runners-up – Spain had already confirmed their trip to India after making it to the final. Meanwhile, France booked their spot in the tournament after defeating the Netherlands in the third-place play-off match.

While the Brazilian and Colombian sides showed their excitement about travelling to India on social media, French coach Cecile Locatelli speaking from their team’s perspective said, “Appearing at a World Cup is great for the players. You only have to look at the World Cup we won in 2012 – lots of the players are now representing us at the full international level. It’s a great experience, and for the staff and the coaches, it’s a very good competition to learn how to help young players progress.”

Canadian player Clare Logan also shared her excitement about playing in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022, “We’re all overjoyed to have qualified. We’ll continue to work hard both on and off the pitch for the incredible opportunity that is playing at a FIFA World Cup.”

The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022, to be hosted in Bhubaneswar, Goa and Navi Mumbai, will be played from October 11-30, 2022. (ANI)

China’s coal imports from Russia nearly doubled between March and April, reaching 4.42 million metric tons, media reports said.

China is buying record amounts of cheap Russian coal which has reached 4.42 million metric tons, CNN reported citing trade data from Refinitiv.
According to the American broadcaster, Russia has overtaken Australia as China’s second-biggest supplier since last year and now accounts for 19 per cent of its coal imports, up from the 14 per cent share it had in March.

This record purchase comes even as Western nations, led by the United States and the European Union (EU) are targeting Moscow with sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

Ilya Makarov, the director of the corporate ratings at Moscow-based rating agency ACRA, had earlier warned that the Asian shift was straining Russia’s rail freight capabilities and risked pushing down coal prices in the Asian market.

The lure of cheaper energy, in the form of gas, coal, and oil, and low-cost wheat from Russia far outweighs the fear of sanctions as China has decided to make deals with Russia as long as it can.

China has taken full advantage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, grabbing the huge discount offered by Moscow on coking coal which is used in steel mills, as Japan and the European Union have curbed imports leaving the Russian companies scrambling for buyers.

Putting aside the reasoning for cheaper coal procurement, this urge to import comes as surprise to many analysts.

Contrary to President Xi Jinping’s climate pledges to go carbon neutral by 2060, China has gone back on its promises and continues financing overseas coal projects along with planning to add more coal-fired power plants that will only add to the current carbon emissions.

Notably, in September 2021, China had pledged in September 2021 to stop engagements in the coal-fired plants abroad and also become carbon neutral by 2060, however, all recent actions by China are only another big blow to these climate pledges, reported a think tank, Policy Research Group (POREG).

This year, China has planned to up the ante on coal mining as well. Only in a single year, nearly 300 million tonnes of additional coal will be extracted this year. It will be 7 per cent higher than that mined in 2021– 4.1 billion tonnes.

China also promised to make efforts to limit the warming of the atmosphere to 2 degrees Celsius above the level of pre-industrial times. But the actions on the ground tell a different story. (ANI)

Russia will be testing the newest Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) throughout the entire 2022, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russian state-run space agency Roscosmos, said on Saturday.

“The tests will go on throughout this year, however, we are already planning to put the first produced missiles on full combat alert in late fall of this year,” Rogozin told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster.
Rogozin said earlier that the Russian military will begin receiving Sarmat missiles after the successful completion of tests in fall 2022. He also mentioned that Roscosmos will construct a total of 46 Sarmat missiles for the needs of the Russian army.

The Russian military conducted the first test launch of a Sarmat missile on April 20. The system is intended to exchange the RS-20 Voevoda missile systems. The ministry noted that Sarmat is capable of striking targets at long ranges using various flight trajectories and is guaranteed to overcome any existing and prospective anti-missile systems. (ANI/Sputnik)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed 80 cases of monkeypox in 11 countries and said they are working to better understand the extent and cause of the outbreak.

In a statement issued on Friday, the WHO said the virus is endemic in some animal populations in a number of countries, leading to occasional outbreaks among local people and travelers.
“WHO and partners are working to better understand the extent and cause of an outbreak of monkeypox. The virus is endemic in some animal populations in a number of countries, leading to occasional outbreaks among local people and travelers. The recent outbreaks reported across 11 countries so far are atypical, as they are occurring in non-endemic countries,” the WHO said in a statement.

“There are about 80 confirmed cases so far, and 50 pending investigations. More cases are likely to be reported as surveillance expands,” it added.

The world health organization said it continues to receive updates on the status of ongoing outbreaks in endemic countries to expand disease surveillance.

“Monkeypox spreads differently from COVID-19. WHO encourages people to stay informed from reliable sources, such as national health authorities, on the extent of the outbreak in their community (if any), symptoms and prevention,” the statement added.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms very similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.

According to WHO, Monkeypox typically presents clinically with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications. Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting from 2 to 4 weeks.

Issuing an alert to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Central government has asked them to keep a close watch on the monkeypox situation and send samples of symptomatic travellers to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for further investigation.

“Keep a close watch on monkeypox situation abroad. Send samples (to NIV, Pune) only in such cases where people display certain specific symptoms. Not samples of sick passengers,” sources told ANI. (ANI)

The rescue operation at the Ramban Tunnel collapse site in Jammu and Kashmir, which was put on hold yesterday after a fresh landslide, has resumed on Saturday.

“We have resumed the debris clearing operation at the landslide site. The number of machinery and technical people has been increased in order to finish the work as soon as possible”, said Javed, Naib Tehsildar.

Meanwhile, one more body has been recovered from the debris today increasing the number of deceased people to two.

“One more body was seen under a big boulder. Machines have been put to remove the boulder and recover the body. We are nearing the end of this rescue operation”, said Mohita Sharma, Ramban Senior Superintendent of Police.

A part of an under-construction four-lane tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Ramban district collapsed on Thursday night.

Two labourers have been killed, while eight others are feared to be trapped under the debris. Three injured were evacuated on Friday. (ANI)

In wake of a spurt in monkeypox cases in some foreign countries, a health expert on Saturday insisted on observing the evolution of the disease while also advising not to panic.

The Centre on Friday issued an alert to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and asked them to keep a close watch on the situation evolving in relation to the monkeypox cases abroad.
“Everything should be taken seriously. And we should keep a guard but at the same time, there is no need to get panic. We need to study how it is evolving, and how many people are getting affected. Fortunately, it is not that severe as smallpox,” said Dr Ishwar Gilada, infectious diseases expert and consultant for HIV/STDs, while speaking to ANI.

“Currently we do not know how many people are really dying, whether they’ve received any treatment or not. We do not know the treatment and maybe the smallpox vaccine can be used as a treatment. Maybe, it can be used as a treatment, but we do not know that yet,” he added.

Elaborating on the monkeypox spread in 11 countries, according to the WHO, Dr Gilada said that such viruses spread in animals and later take a jump to the humans.

“Monkeypox is Zoonotic, such viruses spread in animals, but take a jump to humans. About COVID-19 we do not know whether it’s Zoonotic or not. But, for example, HIV is zoonotic, initially, it came as a monkey virus called simian immunodeficiency virus, SIV, and then it became HIV,” he said.

“So, this is monkey virus, or monkeypox, which was first noticed in monkeys only, it was around 1958 and it was in the rain forest area of Central Africa. But thereafter, sometime, it may have spread to the human beings, but the first cases were diagnosed only in the 1980s,” Dr Gilada added.

Explaining the type of virus and the availability of their treatment, the expert said, “basically, what we are currently worried is a lot of new infections will be viral infections. Usually, there are four types of infections bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and virals.”

“We have very effective antibiotics to take care of the bacteria, very effective antifungus to protect from fungus and very potent anti-parasitic. Now new infections, what we are seeing in the last 40 years are all viral because there are no potent antivirals and viruses are very much different like RNA virus, DNA virus, they are versatile, they change their shape, they have different clades they have different variants, sub-variants, so it becomes very difficult to find antiviral,” Dr Gilada said.

Meanwhile, the WHO has confirmed 80 cases of monkeypox in 11 countries and said they are working to better understand the extent and cause of the outbreak.

In a statement issued on Friday, the WHO said the virus is endemic in some animal populations in a number of countries, leading to occasional outbreaks among local people and travellers.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms very similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.

According to WHO, Monkeypox typically presents clinically with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications. Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting from 2 to 4 weeks. (ANI)