Month: June 2022

The prime accused in the gold smuggling case Swapna Suresh on Wednesday said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had told lies in the Assembly on Tuesday and urged him to release CCTV visuals of Cliff house and Secretariat in view of the probe in the case.

“Yesterday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan talked a lot of things at the Assembly. It came to my notice that he had told a lot of lies in order to mislead the public by standing in a very sacred place,” Suresh said to reporters today.

She added, “The Chief Minister said that he has often seen me with the Consul General. There is no MEA approval for such meetings. All these meetings were facilitated through me by his point of contact, that is Sivasankar. All these meetings are against the protocol.”

She demanded the Chief Minister to release the CCTV visuals of Cliff House (official residence of Kerala CM) and Secretariat from 2016 to 2020. “After 7 o’clock at night along with the Consul General, I went to Cliff House for secret meetings for their requirements. Also, I had gone alone there earlier. You can see in those visuals that there was no security check for me to go there. It is not ethical to mislead people by standing in the Assembly with so many blatant lies like saying that you do not know Swapna Suresh.”

In the Assembly on Tuesday, Vijayan said Swapna is a person who is an accused in gold smuggling and other cases and the Congress led Opposition is treating her words as the ultimate truth and using them here. He also referred to her as someone who is now being guided by Sangh Parivar forces.

Swapna early this month testified before a magistrate under Section 164 (5) where she claimed that Vijayan and his wife and their daughter Veena had smuggled currency to the UAE.

Swapna said it was she who had facilitated numerous meetings with the UAE Consul General at the Chief Minister’s residence which was against all protocol as permission was not taken from the Ministry of External Affairs.

On July 5, 2020, 30 kilograms of 24 carat gold worth Rs 14.82 crores was seized by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs at Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic bag that was meant to be delivered to the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.

M Sivasankar, the principal secretary to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, was suspended and removed from the post after preliminary inquiry confirmed that he had links with Swapna Suresh, one of the accused in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe. (ANI)

With an aim to enable citizens living in Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) areas to directly connect and interact with more than 57,000 Safai Karmcharis and 5,000 Malis, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Vinai Kumar Saxena on Wednesday launched a unique portal on the website of unified MCD.

“The new website launched today contains comprehensive information, including phone numbers, about Zone, Ward and stree or park wise deployment of ‘Swachhta /Safai Sainiks’ and Malis (Gardeners) by the Civic Agency,” read an official statement.

With this first-of-its-kind initiative in Delhi, the hapless citizens who had been running from pillar to post to get their basic sanitation and hygiene-related needs addressed, and were approaching senior officials and public representatives with their grievances will now get much-needed relief.

Available in the public domain at the click of a button, these comprehensive lists also contain the details of the supervisory Sanitation Inspector and Chowdhry’s (for gardeners). It will enable people to directly contact the concerned Safai Sainik or Gardener, allotted to specific streets and parks to address their sanitation/hygiene and cleanliness needs.

“It will also ensure efficient delivery of services, transparency and accountability by empowering the common citizens to not only contact the service provider directly but also reach to his/her supervisor in case their complains are not redressed,” added the statement.

The LG while reviewing the IT initiatives undertaken by the MCD on June 24th had instructed officials to make all their services and regulatory functions IT-enabled by 31st July, 2022 and specifically asked for the sanitation and gardening services to be made on-line with details that empower direct access by citizens and ensure efficient delivery within a week.

More than 57,000 Safai Sainiks have been working in all 12 zones of the MCD. The list of all Safai Sainiks, their contact numbers, area of work or deployment and the names of their Sanitary Inspector (SI) is now available on Corporation’s website.

There are nearly 5,000 gardeners and 400 Supervisory Chowdhrys employed with the Civic Agency. Their main work is to ensure upkeep and maintenance of parks and open gyms, plantation of trees or saplings, maintenance of nurseries etc. The Civic Body, under directions of the Lt. Governor, has also put their deployment details along with phone numbers on the website to be accessed on-line.

Upon opening the Home Page on the website, any citizen can click on ‘Select on Service Area’, thereafter go to the tab ‘Portal’. Upon clicking the required Zone, the system leads to a menu where the list of deployed Safai Sainiks and Malis can be accessed.

This unique initiative of the MCD will make Safai Sainiks and Gardeners more accountable and will also ensure active participation of the citizens. (ANI)

Tunisia’s Maritime Guard rescued 108 illegal migrants and recovered five bodies off the country’s coast, Tunisia’s National Guard said on Wednesday.

“The rescue operation took place late Tuesday off the country’s central-eastern coast,” National Guard Spokesman Houcemeddine Jbabli said in a statement.
The rescued migrants, who were sailing to the Italian coasts, included 104 African migrants, the statement added.

More than 2,000 Tunisian illegal migrants have managed to reach the Italian coasts in the first five months of this year, according to the latest figures released by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights.

Thousands of illegal migrants attempt to cross the Mediterranean annually as Tunisia is one of the main points of access to Europe through irregular channels. (ANI/Xinhua)

Child marriage is on the increase in the Horn of Africa region as the severe drought in 40 years pushes families to the edge, the United Nations Children’s Fund or UNICEF warned Wednesday.

UNICEF’s Regional Child Protection Advisor for Eastern and Southern Africa Andy Brooks said girls as young as 12 years are being forced into child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) at “alarming rates” in the Horn of Africa.
“We are seeing alarming rates of child marriage and FGM across the Horn of Africa — with some destitute families arranging to marry off girls as young as 12 to men more than five times their age,” Brooks said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

The UN agency said child marriage in Ethiopian regions worst affected by the drought has more than doubled in a year.

“The figures we have do not capture the magnitude of the problem: large swathes of the Horn of Africa have no specialist facilities where cases can be reported,” Brooks said.

UNICEF said families are facing desperate choices to survive as drought, driven by climate change, dries up water sources and kills livestock, and the domino effect of the conflict in Ukraine exacerbates spiralling food and fuel prices.

Four rainy seasons have failed in the space of two years in the Horn of Africa region, with forecasts suggesting a fifth rainy season from October to December is also likely to fail.

According to UNICEF, the number of children at risk of dropping out of school in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia due to the impact of the drought has tripled in the space of three months — from 1.1 million to an estimated 3.3 million children.

“This is a children’s crisis, and we urgently need more funding to scale up our response in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia — not only to save lives in the short-term but to protect them in the long-term,” Brooks said. (ANI/Xinhua)

Arjun Kapoor seems to be very excited about the release of his upcoming film ‘Ek Villain 2’. After the first look posters of its cast were unveiled, the actors have been busy creating buzz for the film on their social media.

Arjun, who was busy celebrating his birthday in Paris with beau Malaika, has also joined the bandwagon. The actor posted a slew of pictures from Paris where he is seen holding the famous Ek Villain’s smiley mask.

Arjun is going to be back to the bay now and has promised ‘epic villainy’ in the film. Standing on the streets of Paris, Arjun posed for pictures in a black blazer layered over a round-neck t-shirt and black pants as he held the ‘Ek Villain’ masks in hand. He wrote, “#EkVillain was in Paris and is now headed to Mumbai for the Big launch. Brace yourselves for some epic villainy coming your way! #EkVillainReturns”.

Arjun Kapoor starrer ‘Ek Villain Returns’ has been in the making for quite some time now. The film is slated for July 29 release and stars Tara Sutaria, Disha Patani and John Abraham alongside Kapoor. Earlier this week, the makers of the film unveiled the first-look posters of the actors. In the posters, every actor can be seen in a dark and intense look, showing up their villainous avatars and holding up the same yellow smiley mask.

The cast wrapped up shooting last year and the film was earlier supposed to release on July 8, however makers earlier this month postponed the date to July 29. Produced by Balaji Telefilms and T-Series, The film is directed by Mohit Suri. Mohit Suri has earlier helmed films like ‘Half Girlfriend’, ‘Aashiqui 2’, ‘Murder 2’ and ‘Zeher’ among many others. ‘Ek Villain Returns’ marks John Abraham’s first collaboration with the director. Arjun Kapoor has previously worked with him in ‘Half Girlfriend’. Disha Patani also collaborated with him in his last film ‘Malang’. The film is a sequel to the 2014 film ‘Ek Villain’ starring Sidharth Malhotra and Shraddha Kapoor. (ANI)

‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ has surpassed everyone’s expectations and turned out to be a massive blockbuster at the box office. Riding high on the film’s success, Kartik Aaryan continues to thank audiences for their turnout and positive remarks.

From time to time, Kartik interacts with his fans via social media sites. Now, the actor has taken to his Instagram to reveal his favourite emoticon!

‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ had an OTT release on the content streaming platform Netflix on June 19 and ever since the film has been number one on its charts. Congratulating Kartik on the success, Netflix took to their Instagram handle to share a picture of him striking his signature ‘calling’ pose and wrote, “We are calling it the Bhool Bhulaiyaa emoji from now on!”

Kartik then re-shared the photo on his Instagram account and revealed that it is his favourite emoji. He wrote, “My Favourite emoji these days.”

Earlier in the day, Kartik shared a video on Instagram, expressing gratitude to audiences as the film crossed the Rs 230 crores milestone worldwide. . He wrote, “Gratitude. #BhoolBhulaiyaa2 still running at theatres near you and if far also, please go #6thWeek.” https://www.instagram.com/p/CfV6-UKjoQU/embed

Next, Kartik will be seen in Rohit Dhawan’s ‘Shehzada’ opposite his ‘Lukka Chuppi’ co-star Kriti Sanon. The film is a Hindi remake Allu Arjun-starrer Telugu action-drama ‘Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’. The film is eyeing an early November release.

Apart from ‘Shehzada’, Kartik will be seen in ‘Freddy’ opposite Alaya F. Produced by Ekta Kapoor, the film is touted to be a romantic thriller. Kartik also has Hansal Mehta’s ‘Captain India’ in his kitty. Bankrolled by Ronnie Screwvala and Harman Baweja, the film revolves around India’s most successful rescue operations from a war-torn country. (ANI)

India’s first indigenously developed mRNA vaccine against the COVID-19 gets the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), to be sold under the brand name GEMCOVAC™-19 and will be rolled out soon, informed the officials on Wednesday.

The vaccine will be available for adults above 18 years of age.
It is a two-dose vaccine to be administered intramuscularly at 28 days apart.

The Pune-based subsidiary of Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. announced that its mRNA vaccine – GEMCOVAC™-19 – against COVID-19 received the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the office of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

GEMCOVAC-19™ is the very first mRNA vaccine developed in India and the only third mRNA vaccine to be approved for COVID-19 in the world. These vaccines are highly efficacious because of their inherent capacity of being translated into the protein structure inside the cell cytoplasm.

“It’s India’s first mRNA vaccine, only the third vaccine based on this platform to get this authorization globally and the fact that this vaccine is stable at two to eight degrees Celsius. We did have the manufacturing at risk, approval already in place, there are 7 million doses that we have already manufactured and released not only by our in-house quality control but also by the CDL Kasauli,” Samit Mehta, COO, Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd told ANI.

He also confirmed that the distribution would be entirely guided by the government and confirmed that major side effects were at the bay during trials.

“We can role out in the private market, we will be entirely guided by the government and no major side effects have been reported during trials,” he added.

The mRNA vaccines are considered safe as mRNA is non-infectious, non-integrating in nature, and degraded by standard cellular mechanisms. Notably, this technology provides flexibility to quickly tweak the vaccine for any existing or emerging variants of the virus and this technology platform will empower India to be pandemic ready.

Gennova’s GEMCOVAC™-19 has reached the primary endpoint of Phase III clinical trial. The clinical data were evaluated by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

The vaccine was found to be safe, well-tolerated and immunogenic.

Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. aims to produce around 40 – 50 lakhs of doses per month and this capacity can be quickly doubled.

Beyond India, Gennova aims at providing sustainable access to low-and middle-income countries around the world to the vaccine to blunt the spread of the COVID pandemic. (ANI)

China challenges NATO and Beijing’s closer ties to Moscow are against western interests, the military alliance said on Wednesday as they recognised systemic competition they face from the world’s second-largest economy.

“The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values. The PRC employs a broad range of political, economic and military tools to increase its global footprint and project power, while remaining opaque about its strategy, intentions and military build-up,” NATO’s strategic concept published at a summit in Madrid said.
“The deepening strategic partnership between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation and their mutually reinforcing attempts to undercut the rules-based international order run counter to our values and interests,” the statement added.

The military alliance noted China’s malicious hybrid and cyber operations and its confrontational rhetoric and disinformation target allies and harm alliance security. They said that Beijing seeks to control key technological and industrial sectors, critical infrastructure, and strategic materials and supply chains.

“It uses its economic leverage to create strategic dependencies and enhance its influence. It strives to subvert the rules-based international order, including in the space, cyber and maritime domains. The deepening strategic partnership between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation and their mutually reinforcing attempts to undercut the rules-based international order run counter to our values and interests,” they said.

Despite noting the threat from China, the security alliance also said they remain open to constructive engagement with China, with a view to safeguarding the alliance’s security interests.

“We will work together responsibly, as Allies, to address the systemic challenges posed by the PRC to Euro-Atlantic security and ensure NATO’s enduring ability to guarantee the defence and security of Allies,” they said. (ANI)

The Election Commission on Wednesday announced the schedule of the Vice-Presidential election with the polling to take place on August 6.

The term of Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu will end on August 10.
The notification will be issued on July 5 and the last date for filing nominations is July 19. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on July 20, the last date for the withdrawal of candidatures is July 22 and voting, if necessary, will take place on August 6.

The schedule of the election was finalised in a meeting of the poll panel held today which was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

The Vice-President is elected by the members of the electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

An Election Commission release said that the electoral college for the 16th vice-presidential election this year consists of 233 elected members of Rajya Sabha, 12 nominated members of Rajya Sabha, and 543 elected members of Lok Sabha.

“Electoral College comprises of a total of 788 members of both Houses of Parliament. Since, all the electors are members of both Houses of Parliament, the value of the vote of each Member of Parliament would be the same i.e.1 (one),” the release said.

Voting will be held by secret ballot. There is no concept of open voting in this election and showing the ballot to anyone under any circumstances in the case of Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections is totally prohibited.

Political parties cannot issue any whip to their MPs in the matter of voting in the Vice-Presidential election.

Secretary-General, Lok Sabha will be the returning officer for the election.

The nomination paper of a candidate has to be subscribed by at least twenty electors as proposers and by at least other twenty electors as seconders.

An elector can subscribe to only one nomination paper of a candidate as either a proposer or a seconder.

The poll panel said that a copy of the electoral college is also being uploaded on the Commission’s website.

However, the list is required to be updated after the date of issue of notification of names of 51 elected members of the Rajya Sabha and seven nominated members of the House (if filled up during election).

“Supplementary list(s) to the Electoral College will be published, as and when required,” the poll panel said.

It said all related COVID-19 safeguards and protocols will be enforced in all the steps of the electoral process and, on the day of polling and counting. (ANI)