Month: May 2022

The situation in Assam’s Cachar district continues to remain grim with over 41,000 people in the district affected by the current wave of floods.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), 41,037 people in 138 villages of the district have been affected and 1,685 flood-affected people have taken shelter in relief camps that were set up by the district administration.
The floodwaters have submerged 2099.6 hectares of cropland in the district.

According to the ASDMA, three people including a child from the Cachar district have been missing since Sunday.

SDRF, Fire and Emergency Services, and district administration are engaged in rescue operations in different parts of the district.

Meanwhile, the flood situation in the Kampur area in Assam’s Nagaon district worsened after the floodwaters of the Kopili river submerged several villages and cropland.

The Kopili river is flowing above the danger level mark and has crossed its previous Highest Flood Level of 61.79 meters (20/7/2004).

Meanwhile, around 57,000 people across seven districts of Assam have been affected by the current spell of floods, according to an official statement.

The data also shows that nearly 222 villages under 15 revenue circles have been affected in this wave of flood and around 10321.44 hectares of cultivated land is submerged under floodwaters. Three people including a child have died during this natural calamity in Assam. (ANI)

As many as 39 pilgrims have lost their lives on the route so far since the commencement of the Chardham Yatra in Uttarakhand, as per an official on Monday.

The official has presented high blood pressure, heart attack and mountain sickness as the reasons for the demise of the pilgrims.
“Most of the deaths of all the pilgrims have taken place on the travel routes. The cause of death of all has been high blood pressure, heart attack, and mountain sickness,” Uttarakhand Director-General Health Dr Shailja Bhatt told ANI.

The health official informed that the health check-up of the pilgrims are being done at various places on the travel routes besides Rishikesh.

“Pilgrims who are not medically fit are being advised not to travel,” she said.

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, in her concluding remarks at Chintan Shivir, on Sunday said that a task force would be setup in the next two to three days to implement the internal reforms which will focus on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

She also said that these internal reforms will cover all aspects of the organization including structure, rules for appointments to party posts, communications and publicity, outreach, finances and election management.
“A compact task force will be set up to drive the process of internal reforms that are essential and that has been discussed in different groups here at Udaipur. These reforms will focus on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will cover all aspects of the organization. The composition of the Task Force will be notified in the next two-three days,” said Gandhi in Udaipur.

“We will overcome. That is our determination. That is our NavSankalp. The Congress will have a new Uday. That is our NavSankalp,” she asserted.

The Congress interim president also announced forming an advisory group from among Congress Working Committee (CWC) members which would meet regularly to discuss political matters, but asserted it was “not a collective decision-making body” and would help her get the benefit of vast experience of senior colleagues.

“I have also decided to have an advisory group drawn from the CWC that would meet regularly under my chairpersonship to discuss and deliberate upon political issues and challenges before our party,” she said.

“We do have the CWC that meets from time to time and that will continue. The new group is not, however, a collective decision-making body but will help me get the benefit of the vast experience of senior colleagues. It too will be notified very soon,” added the Congress interim president.

Sonia Gandhi also called three-day Chintan Shivir in Udaipur “useful and productive” as many party leaders had an opportunity to express their views and offer the suggestions in a spirit of constructive participation.

Sonia Gandhi also announced that Congress will launch a nationwide yatra “Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo” beginning on October 2, as a part of the party’s outreach programme.

Congress Working Committee meeting was also held on Sunday in Udaipur to give final shape to organisational reforms and the party’s stand on key issues. Here, CWC approved Congress ‘Nav Sankalp’ declaration at Chintan Shivir in Udaipur.

The three-day Navsankalp Shivir started in Rajasthan’s Udaipur on Friday. Six committees were formed for the workshop and 430 leaders deliberated on the party’s strategy to deal with the emerging challenges. (ANI)

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Sunday that the Egyptian economy had suffered 130 billion Egyptian pounds (USD 7 billion) in direct losses due to the ongoing Russian military operation in Ukraine.

“The consequences of that conflict caused enormous financial spending for us, we as Egyptians should know. Today we counted that the direct impact (of the hostilities in Ukraine), which is already felt and will be felt as a result of the increase in strategic goods prices… is 130 billion Egyptian pounds (on a year-to-year basis),” Madbouly told a press conference on measures to mitigate the consequences of the situation in Ukraine, adding that indirect losses of Egypt could reach some 335 billion Egyptian pounds.
Before the beginning of Moscow’s operation in Ukraine, Egypt had been importing 42 per cent of its grains from Russia and Ukraine, Madbouly said, adding that 31 per cent of all tourists visiting the country were also from these two countries. However, the minister noted, Cairo swiftly began to look for other suppliers of grain and is trying to attract visitors from other countries.

Madbouly said that the government had adopted some measures to reduce the negative impact on the economy, including strengthening the private sector, localization of industry, and giving a boost to the Egyptian stock exchange, adding that “Egypt would have neither overcome the crisis caused by the coronavirus nor withstand this crisis if it was not for the program of economic reforms and the unprecedented pace of development.”

Egypt started experiencing an increase in food prices in March after the prices had increased on the world market due to the crisis in Ukraine. In this regard, the Egyptian government issued a decree regulating the prices of subsidized and unsubsidized bread. The government also enforced a three-month ban on the export of all kinds of seed and vegetable oils, corn, flour, wheat, beans, and other products. (ANI/Sputnik)

India and Nepal will be signing five Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lumbini on Monday.

“In presence of prime ministers of two countries, five MoU’s will be signed which will deepen the century-old educational and cultural ties,” according to a source inside Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Indian Educational and Cultural Foundation will sign one MoU each with Lumbini Buddhist University and Tribhuvan University and three MoUs with Kathmandu University on Monday.

The Kathmandu Universit and the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai will also sign two other MoUs, the source said. The Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive in Lumbini at 10:40 am (NST) on an Indian Air Force helicopter on Monday.

He will reach Lumbini on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti to hold bilateral talks with Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Sher Bahadur Deuba, his spouse Arzu Rana Deuba, members in the Council of Ministers, Lumbini Province Chief Minister Kul Prasad KC, and Charge d’ affaires Namgya C. Khampa of Indian Embassy in Kathmandu will welcome Prime Minister Modi at a helipad built near the Lumbini International Buddhist Meditation Center and Assembly Hall.

Upon arrival, he will pray at Mayadevi temple at 11 am and participate in Bhumi Pooja at 11:30. After that, he will hold meetings with PM Deuba and Foreign Minister Dr. Narayan Khadka from 12:20 to 12:40 pm. He will also interact with various delegations afterward.

At 1:30, Deuba will host lunch for Prime Minister Modi. The lunch will be followed by PM Modi’s meeting with eminent personalities and dignitaries of Nepal.

PM Modi is scheduled to take part in Buddha Jayanti celebrations from 3:30 pm onwards and is scheduled to fly back to Delhi at around 5 pm.

His entourage will include National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra, few joint-secretaries and others.

Earlier in 2014, Prime Minister Modi visited Nepal twice on different occasions and twice in 2018. Visit to Lumbini always had remained on the schedule of PM Modi but was cancelled eventually due to various reasons.

During the last visit to Nepal in May of 2018, PM Modi had toured Janakpur and Muktinath, one of the revered religious as well as cultural sites of Nepal. (ANI)

Around 25,000 people across six districts of Assam have been affected by the first wave of floods in the state this year. Three people including a woman died in landslide incidents in Haflong area in Dima Hasao district on Saturday.

Assam State Disaster Management Authority today afternoon informed that “Till now, a total of 24,681 people of 94 villages in six districts – Cachar, Dhemaji, Hojai, Karbi Anglong West, Nagaon and Kamrup (Metro) have been affected due to floods.”

Torrential rains washed away a portion of a road in the Haflong area in Assam’s Dima Hasao district. “Three people including a woman died in landslide incidents at Haflong area in Dima Hasao district on Saturday,” informed Assam State Disaster Management Authority.

Assam State Disaster Management Authority informed that landslides reported so far are from 12 villages in Dima Hasao district. “Around 80 houses are severely affected, 3 people dead in Haflong area,” official said.

The Army, para-military forces, SDRF, Fire and Emergency Services are carrying out rescue and relief operations in flood-hit areas of the state. Several roads, bridges, and irrigation canals were damaged in Hojai, Lakhimpur, Nagaon districts, the official said. (ANI)

The maximum temperature recorded in the national capital on Sunday reached whopping 49 degree Celsius, said the India Meteorological Department.

While the national capital’s Mungeshpur station recorded a temperature of 49.2 degrees, Najafgarh recorded 49.1 degree Celsius.

The weather agency advised people in Northern India to avoid venturing outside their homes unless absolutely essential and to drink plenty of water even if not thirsty.

Weather station at Safdarjung observed a max temperature of 45.6 degrees Celsius while the west part of Delhi reported temperatures ranging between 46 to 48 degrees Celsius.

On May 29, 1944, Safdarjung recorded a max temperature of 47.2 degrees Celsius.

Maximum temperatures reached 47.5 degrees Celsius at Jafarpur, 47.3 degrees Celsius at Pitampura and 47.2 degrees Celsius at Ridge.

Other parts of Delhi observed maximum temperatures rise to 46.8 degrees Celsius at Ayanagar, 46.4 degrees Celsius at Palam and 45.8 degrees Celsius at Lodhi Road, the Central weather agency said.

In Haryana, Gurgaon recorded the highest temperature today amongst other stations which are 48.1 degrees Celsius and Mukhtsar in Punjab reported 47.4 degrees Celsius.

An ‘orange’ alert has been issued to caution people about a severe heatwave on Sunday.

The IMD uses four colour codes for weather warnings — green (no action needed), yellow (watch and stay updated), orange (be prepared) and red (take action).

However, cloudy skies and thunder may provide some relief from the intense heat next week.

The IMD, in its daily weather bulletin, said that on May 15, “Heat wave conditions in most parts with severe heat wave conditions in many parts very likely over West Rajasthan; heat wave conditions in most parts with severe heat wave conditions in some parts over East Rajasthan; heat wave conditions in many parts with severe heat wave conditions in isolated pockets over Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana-Delhi; heat wave conditions in isolated pockets over Jammu Division, Jharkhand and Vidarbha.”

Cloudy sky may provide some relief from the intense heat next week. “On May 16, thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and hail/gusty winds (speed 30-40 kmph) at isolated places is likely over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand; with lightning and hail/gusty winds (speed 40-50 kmph) at isolated places Kerala and Mahe; with lightning/gusty winds (speed 30-40 kmph) at isolated places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal and Andaman-Nicobar Islands and with lightning at isolated places over East Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Lakshadweep and Tamilnadu-Puducherry-Karaikal,” read the bulletin.

The weather agency advised people with moderate health conditions residing in Northern India to avoid venturing outside their homes unless absolutely essential. “Heat wave could lead to moderate health concern for vulnerable people e.g. infants, elderly, people with chronic diseases. Increased likelihood of heat illness symptoms in people who are either exposed to sun for a prolonged period or doing heavy work,” the bulletin said.

“Avoid heat exposure- keep cool. Avoid dehydration. Drink sufficient water- even if not thirsty. Avoid heat exposure, wear lightweight, light-coloured, loose, cotton clothes and cover the head by use of cloth, hat or umbrella etc. Use ORS, homemade drinks like lassi, torani (rice water), lemon water, buttermilk, etc to keep yourself hydrated,” the central weather agency said. (ANI)

Indian badminton team created history on Sunday as they lifted the Thomas Cup trophy for the very first time.

In what was India’s first-ever appearance in the tournament finale, they defeated the record 14-time champions Indonesia in the Thomas Cup 2022 final at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand by 3-0 to lift the coveted trophy.
No Indian team has previously reached the final of the Thomas and Uber Cup in its 70-plus year history. Indian men reached the Thomas Cup semi-finals in 1952, 1955 and 1979 while the women’s team made it to the Uber Cup top-four in 2014 and 2016.

India finished second in Group C behind Chinese Taipei to qualify for the knockout stage, where they came up on top against strong Malaysian and Danish teams in the quarter-finals and semifinals, respectively.

Starting the tie, Lakshya Sen clinched the first point for India after defeating Anthony Ginting 8-21, 21-17, 21-16.

Ginting looked fast, accurate and extremely dangerous in the opening stage, enjoying a twelve-point run, to claim the opening game 21-8 in just 17 minutes. But Lakshya Sen responded brilliantly in the second game to take the match to the decider, by winning it 21-17.

Sen completed the comeback by winning the match 8-21, 21-17, 21-16.

In the second match of the tie, the Indonesian scratch pairing of Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo got off to the right start after winning their opening match 21-18.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then survived four match points to come back and snatch the win in the second game, 23-21. Indians won the deciding game to clinch the match 18-21, 23-21, 21-19.

In the third match of the tie, India’s Kidambi Srikanth took the opening game against Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie 21-15 and clinched the match and final by winning the second game 23-21.

The Indian team, featuring Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and others, have given a good account of themselves at this year’s tournament. (ANI)

Hailing the Indian men’s badminton team for defeating 14-time champions Indonesia, Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports on Sunday announced Rs one crore cash award for the team for winning the maiden Thomas Cup trophy in Thailand.

No Indian team has previously reached the final of the Thomas and Uber Cup in its 70-plus year history.
In what was India’s first-ever appearance in the tournament finale, they defeated the record 14-time champions Indonesia in the Thomas Cup 2022 final at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand by 3-0 to lift the coveted trophy.

Indian men reached the Thomas Cup semi-finals in 1952, 1955 and 1979 while the women’s team made it to the Uber Cup top-four in 2014 and 2016.

Anurag Thakur took to Twitter to make the announcement on Sunday. “As #TeamIndia defeats 14-time #ThomasCup Champions Indonesia ( 3-0 ) to win its Ist ever #ThomasCup2022, @IndiaSports is proud to announce a cash award of Rs 1 crore for the team in relaxation of rules to acknowledge this unparalleled feat! Congratulations Team India!!” he twisted.

India finished second in Group C behind Chinese Taipei to qualify for the knockout stage, where they came up on top against strong Malaysian and Danish teams in the quarter-finals and semifinals, respectively.

Starting the tie, Lakshya Sen clinched the first point for India after defeating Anthony Ginting 8-21, 21-17, 21-16.

Ginting looked fast, accurate and extremely dangerous in the opening stage, enjoying a twelve-point run, to claim the opening game 21-8 in just 17 minutes. But Lakshya Sen responded brilliantly in the second game to take the match to the decider, by winning it 21-17.

Sen completed the comeback by winning the match 8-21, 21-17, 21-16.

In the second match of the tie, the Indonesian scratch pairing of Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo got off to the right start after winning their opening match 21-18.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then survived four match points to come back and snatch the win in the second game, 23-21. Indians won the deciding game to clinch the match 18-21, 23-21, 21-19.

In the third match of the tie, India’s Kidambi Srikanth took the opening game against Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie 21-15 and clinched the match and final by winning the second game 23-21.

The Indian team, featuring Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and others, have given a good account of themselves at this year’s tournament. (ANI)

Two Sikh shopkeepers were shot dead by unidentified assailants on early Sunday morning in Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The incident took place in the Bata Tal bazaar of Sarband in Peshawar city. Two assailants were riding a motorcycle when they opened fire on the victims identified as Saljeet Singh, and Ranjeet Singh.
The two Sikh men died on the spot, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan condemned the killing of two persons of the Sikh community.

“Unidentified gunmen shot dead two members of the Sikh community in the Sarband area of Peshawar. Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa @IMMahmoodKhan took notice of the incident. The Chief Minister directed the Inspector General of Police to take necessary action for immediate arrest of those involved in the murder,” Office of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM said in a tweet.

India’s Union Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also condemned the “dastardly” killing of two members of the Sikh Sangat. He said acts like these clearly amplify the dangers that religious minorities face in our volatile neighbourhood.

“Deeply saddened to hear about the dastardly killing of two members of the Sikh Sangat in Pakistan’s Peshawar. Acts like these clearly amplify the dangers that religious minorities face in our volatile neighbourhood and the necessity for humane measures like CAA,” Puri said in a tweet.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), hundreds of people die in target killings, military operations and various other incidents of high-degree violence.

Those killed included citizens including women and members of religious minorities, politicians, security personnel and militants. (ANI)