Month: May 2022

About 650 families received assistance in three Afghan provinces, the country’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations said on Sunday.

In northern Sari Pul province, 440 surveyed displaced families received food assistance on Saturday, the ministry said in a statement.
According to the statement, 190 destitute families received food aid in eastern Wardak province on Friday.

In addition, in eastern Paktika province, local authorities distributed 23,000 Afghanis (about 260 U.S. dollars) to each of 20 displaced families earlier this week, according to the statement.

A total of 7,605 families received assistance in 11 Afghan provinces during this week, said the ministry.

Following the US military pullout from Afghanistan last August, Washington has imposed sanctions on the Taliban-run administration and frozen more than 9 billion dollar assets of Afghanistan’s central bank, which battered the economy in the war-torn country. (ANI/Xinhua)

President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday underlined the need for “knowledge sharing” and said that it is our duty which leads to “greater growth of knowledge itself”.

Speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of the permanent campus of the Indian Institute of Management, Nagpur, the President said, “Our traditions have always emphasized upon sharing, especially in the field of knowledge. Hence, it is our duty to share the knowledge which we have gathered. Knowledge sharing leads to greater growth of knowledge itself.”
Educational institutes are not just mere places of learning; it is the place that polish the inner and hidden talents in people, the President further said.

Highlighting the value of innovation and entrepreneurship in today’s era, President Kovind said that both have the ability to not just ease lives but also facilitate employment opportunities.

“We are living in an era where innovation and entrepreneurship are appreciated and encouraged. Both innovation and entrepreneurship have the ability to not just ease our lives through technology but can also provide employment opportunities to many people. The eco-system at IIM, Nagpur would promote among the students the mindset of becoming job-creators, instead of being job-seekers,” the President said.

He expressed hope that just as IIM Ahmedabad has provided mentorship to IIM, Nagpur, the leading professional schools of our country, technical, management or humanities would provide mentorship to establish similar institutions. (ANI)

China has been developing a strategy to take control of seaports across the globe in alignment with its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to achieve its geopolitical aims and acquire dominance in international shipping and global business

Experts believe that establishing ports in geo-strategically important countries, including those that are located near maritime chokepoints, is central to Beijing’s global strategy, the International Forum for Rights and Security stated.
“These port linkages allow Beijing to exert political influence not only in the country hosting the port but in surrounding countries as well,” Craig Singleton, a China expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told VOA. Growing Chinese investment in the maritime shipping industry, both domestically and abroad, should be a major source of concern for geopolitical rivals such as the US, Europe and India.

Presently, China is home to seven of the 10 busiest ports in the world.

According to IFRAS, China has become the leading manufacturer of shipping equipment as well, producing 96 per cent of the world’s shipping containers and 80 per cent of the world’s ship-to-shore cranes and bagged 48 per cent of the world’s shipbuilding orders in 2020.

The country also boasts of world’s second-largest fleet of commercial shipping vessels and, if the US Naval Intelligence is to be believed, China has surpassed the US in terms of total battle-force ships.

As a matter of fact, Beijing either controls or has major investments in all 15 of the world’s top 15 ports by container volume. Apart from this massive domestic shipping infrastructure, China has control over 100 ports spread across 63 countries and is looking for more.

Radio Free Asia has reported that China is building a new military base at Bata on the West Coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean in Equatorial Guinea (EQG). The US is concerned over this development as the Chinese military presence is opposite the east coast of America.

According to the World Bank, EQG is “well endowed with arable land and mineral/hydro-carbon resources ranging from timber oil, gold, uranium, diamond, bauxite and columbite-tantalite.”

In another recent opinion piece published by the Daily Mail, the experts pointed out that, of the 96 ports owned by Chinese companies around the world, several are at key locations for maritime trade, “giving Beijing strategic dominance without having to deploy a single soldier, ship or weapons.”

It is estimated that China now controls almost one-tenth of port capacity in Europe and the Mediterranean.

The “Big Three” terminals operators, China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), China Merchants Group (CMG), and CK Hutchison Holdings are the key stakeholders in overseas ports with over 80 per cent of ports under their control. The first two are state-owned enterprises, while CK Hutchison is a private company based in Hong Kong with close ties to mainland China.

Notably, China’s Maritime Silk Road and BRI converge at the Greek Port and President Xi had personally pushed for the port with Greek leadership.

Another Chinese shipping company, COSCO is poised to expand its footprint in Europe by taking a stake in the port of Hamburg which, if the ongoing negotiations succeed, would be its eighth port investment in Europe.

Citing Radio Free Asia, India-Pacific Defense Forum reported that for years the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been funding the expansion of the maritime vessels to assert its claims in the South China Sea. (ANI)

After ‘Khalistan’ flags were found tied on the Himachal Assembly main gate and walls, Chief Minister Jairam Thakur on Sunday said that the government will review the security along the borders with various states.

His remarks came after the Superintendent of Police, Kangra, suspected the hands of “some tourists from Punjab” in the incident.
Notably, Himachal Pradesh is a hilly state that attracts tourists from various parts of India. The state shares its borders with Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Punjab.

Speaking to ANI, Thakur said, “I condemn the incident. I urge the people of the state to maintain peace. Action will be taken against the perpetrators. We will soon review the security system at our borders with other states.”

The Chief Minister further informed that an FIR has been registered following the incident and a probe has been ordered to nab the culprits.

“The incident is unfortunate and I have ordered a probe. An FIR has also been registered and we are trying to catch the culprits,” he said.

Thakur said that the culprits took the advantage of the deployment of the police in the interior of the Assembly campus and put up the flags on the walls and gate.

“It is being said that the incident took place at night. The police are deployed in the interior of the Vidhan Sabha campus since it is very large. So the poster was put up on the wall and the main gate of the Assembly. The CCTV footage is being probed to get a clue about the culprits,” the Chief Minister said.

Earlier, ‘Khalistan’ flags were found tied on the main gate and boundary wall of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly in Dharamshala on Sunday morning.

Soon after the incident came to light, a police official informed that the flags were removed from the gates and walls.

Superintendent of police, Kangra, Khushal Sharma said, “It might have happened late night or early morning today. We have removed the Khalistan flags from the Vidhan Sabha gate. It could be an act of some tourists from Punjab.” (ANI)

Delhi BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga on Sunday thanked the Punjab and Haryana High Court along with Minority Commission for staying his arrest at a midnight hearing till May 10, saying that the law still works in the country.

“I thank the Punjab and Haryana High Court along with Minority Commission who showed yesterday that law still works in this country. The Minority Committee sent a notice to the Punjab government for not letting me wear my turban. In Sikhs, we can’t go out without a turban,” said Bagga in a self-made video.
In a late night hearing, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the Punjab government to not take any coercive action against Tajinder Bagga until the next hearing on May 10.

Justice Anoop Chitkara passed the order while hearing a petition challenging the arrest warrant for Bagga issued by the Mohali court.

Notably, Bagga reached his residence in Delhi on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday after he was “rescued” by the Delhi Police. He had later claimed that the Punjab Police had barged into his home in large numbers and arrested him “as they do it with a terrorist”.

The BJP protested against the Punjab Police’s action to arrest Bagga after the alleged threat to Arvind Kejriwal.

Earlier this month, the Punjab Police registered a case against Bagga on charges of making provocative statements, promoting religious enmity, and criminal intimidation for targeting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal over his comments on ‘The Kashmir Files’. (ANI)

Bollywood actor Janhvi Kapoor penned an emotional note with a throwback picture for her late mother and actor Sridevi on the occasion of Mother’s Day.

The ‘Dhadak’ actor took to her Instagram handle on Sunday and shared an adorable throwback picture where Sridevi can be seen holding baby Janhvi.

She wrote, “Even in your absence, I feel your love everyday. Even in your absence, you’re the best mother in the world. love u.”

B-town celebrities and fans has showered love on mother-daughter by dropping heart emoticons on the post.

For those unaware, Sridevi was breathed her last on February 24, 2018 in Dubai.

Talking about Janhvi’s work front, she is shooting for her upcoming film, ‘Bawaal alongside Varun Dhawan.

Apart from this, she will be seen in ‘Milli’ co-starring Sunny Kaushal and in Aanand L Rai’s directorial ‘Good Luck Jerry’. (ANI)

On the occasion of Mother’s Day, all the Bollywood celebrities are bombarding the social media platforms with the glimpses of their mothers.

Bollywood star Alia Bhatt too registered her participation in the same, as she shared a glimpse of her ‘beautiful mothers’.

The 29-year-old star took to her Instagram handle and posted an unseen beautiful picture of herself clicking a selfie with her mother Soni Razdan and mother-in-law Neetu Kapoor. Adding a beautiful caption to the post as she wrote, “My beautiful beautiful mothers. Happy Mother’s Day – ALL DAY EVERYDAY!”

The photograph is a selfie captured by Alia Bhatt at her wedding reception, Alia had her mother Soni Razdan on one side and mother-in-law Neetu Kapoor on the other. All three smiled wide for the camera, as Bharat Sahni, Neetu’s son-in-law peeked from behind Alia and Neetu’s heads.

In the reaction to the beautiful post, Soni wrote, “Happy to be your mommy too love you”, on the other hand, Neetu wrote, “Love you Ala” along with a bunch of heart emoticons showered in the comment section.

Alia recently tied the knot with Ranbir, son of Neetu Kapoor in an intimate wedding ceremony at the latter’s Bandra residence Vastu. (ANI)

After the battle of videos over the legacy of Bal Thackeray, it’s race for Ayodhya for the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray.

The Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray are locked in political rivalry following the loudspeaker row.
Raj Thackeray is scheduled to visit Ayodhya on June 5.

Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray along with Shiv Sena workers from across the country will visit Ayodhya on June 10.

Both the leaders have said that they will seek the blessings of Ram Lalla at the Ram Janambhoomi in Ayodhya.

“Preparations for welcoming Shiv Sena have begun in Ayodhya. Aaditya Thackeray will go to Ayodhya on June 10 along with Shiv Sena workers from across the country and will seek the blessings of Ram Lalla. It’s not at all political, it’s for our faith,” the Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told ANI.

Raj Thackeray is scheduled to visit Ayodhya on June 5. “I will go to Ayodhya on June 5. Because of the Supreme Court and the Central government, the construction of Ram Mandir has been made possible,” he said.

The MNS has also put up ‘Chalo Ayodhya’ posters in Mumbai, appealing to people to join party chief Raj Thackeray on his visit to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on June 5.

Earlier, Shiv Sena had hit out at Raj Thackeray by sharing a video of the party founder Bal Thackeray in which he is seen taking a veiled jibe at the MNS chief.

Raj Thackeray had posed in Bal Thackeray’s attire in a social media post. He also shared a video of Bal Thackeray wherein he is seen speaking against the use of loudspeakers at mosques.

The loudspeaker row in the state broke out after the MNS chief issued an ultimatum to the state government to remove the loudspeakers from the mosques by May 3. (ANI)

India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday said that the cyclonic storm named ‘Asani’ is expected to further intensify in the next 24 hours.

Earlier on Saturday, the department had predicted that a depression has formed over the southeast Bay of Bengal about 170km west of Car Nicobar and is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm by May 8.
Speaking to ANI, Senior Scientist, Umashankar Das said, “The deep depression has intensified into a cyclonic storm named ‘Asani’. It’s moving at 16 kmph in a northwest direction. It is at 970 km in the southeast direction from Vishakapatnam and 1,020 km in the southeast direction from Puri.”

“We are expecting it’ll move in northwest direction till May 10 evening. Possibility, it’ll further intensify into a severe cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours,” he added.

However, the scientist denied the possibility of landfall and said that it will recurve and move parallel to the Odisha coast.

Das predicted rainfall by the evening of May 10 and said that yellow warning has been issued for three districts of Odisha.

“Rainfall will commence on 10th May evening, a yellow warning for rainfall issued has been for three districts — Gajpati, Ganjam, and Puri. On May 11, heavy rainfall warning has been issued for five districts — Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Cuttack and Ganjam,” he said.

On the contrary weather condition in some parts of the country, the IMD predicted heat wave conditions in the isolated pockets likely over Vidarbha during May 8 to 12, West Rajasthan during May 8 to 12, South Haryana and East Rajasthan during May 9 to 12, West Madhya Pradesh on May 8 and 9, South Punjab and Jammu division during May 10 to 12. (ANI)

Canada has condemned the recent decision by the Taliban to oblige women to wear the all-covering burqa in public places in Afghanistan.

“Canada is deeply concerned about escalating restrictions on Afghan women by the Taliban, now including the ruling to wear the all-covering burka in public. The human rights gains for women and girls in Afghanistan achieved in recent decades must be preserved,” said Global Affairs Canada on Saturday, according to Sputnik.
Taliban on Saturday issued a decree ordering the Afghan women to wear the all-covering burqa in public places, adding that if violated a male member of the family will be imprisoned for three days.

According to the ruling, if a woman does not wear a hijab, the very first her guardian (father, brother or husband) will be advised warned. If she is found guilty again, her guardian will be summoned and later if repeated, the guardian will be imprisoned for three days, Tolo News reported in a series of tweets.

Furthermore, if the woman is found guilty again, her guardian will be sent to court for further punishment.

Moreover, female public employees will be fired if they do not wear hijab. Male employees in government offices will be suspended from their jobs if female members of their families do not wear hijab.

Taliban during its regime in the 1990s made it mandatory for women to wear a burqa. Women in Kabul already cover their hair with headscarves, though some wear modest western clothing. However, outside Kabul burqa remained common, as per the media outlet.

Now, the Taliban with this new decree is enforcing every woman in Afghanistan to wear the all-covering burqa. Last year in December, the Taliban issued another repressive directive that Afghan women seeking to travel long distances by road should be offered transport only if accompanied by a male relative.

Moreover, the worldwide condemnation of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan had heightened after the Taliban decided to close all secondary schools for girls. Several activists and political parties have urged the Taliban to reconsider the ban on secondary schools for girls.

Psychologists have said that the Afghan girl students above grade six, banned from going to schools by the Taliban, are undergoing mental stress due to this move. According to HRW, women and girls are blocked from accessing health care as well. Reports suggest that women and girls facing violence have no escape route. (ANI)