Month: July 2022

Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to join the probe in the National Herald case on July 26 in place of July 25, sources said.

Enforcement Directorate had questioned Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday. The questioning went on for nearly two hours. Sonia Gandhi’s daughter and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accompanied her to the ED office.

ED sources had said on Thursday that Sonia Gandhi will be called for questioning again on Monday.

Congress leaders had protested in different parts of the country over ED summons to the party’s interim chief.

Several Congress MPs including Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and several workers were detained by the Delhi Police for demonstrations against the questioning of the party chief.

Senior Congress leaders including P Chidambaram, Ajay Maken, Manickam Tagore, KC Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan Chaudhry, Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot, and Harish Rawat. Ashok Gehlot, K Suresh were among those detained.

They were later released. Congress workers in Nagpur were also detained in the wake of the protest.

The protest by the Congress turned violent in Bengaluru as the Youth Congress workers allegedly set a car on fire, in front of ED office. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a farewell dinner for outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind in the national capital on Friday.

Several Padma awardees and many tribal leaders were present on the occasion. First lady Savita Kovind was also present at the event.

Notably, the tenure of the outgoing President is coming to an end on July 24. President-elect Droupadi Murmu will be sworn in as India’s 15th President on July 25 in the Central Hall of Parliament.

To facilitate members to attend the ceremony, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will meet that day at 2 pm instead of 11 am.

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana will administer the oath to Murmu.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday issued a certificate of the election to NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu as the next President of India.

Droupadi Murmu, who was BJP-led NDA’s candidate in the Presidential election defeated opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. (ANI)

World Health Organization (WHO) has urged the regional governments to implement the Paris climate agreement, which is termed a “health treaty” by the COP26 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) Health Programme, as the prolonged heatwaves continue to grip the European Region of the WHO, causing wildfires and record-breaking temperatures.

“Governments need to demonstrate political will and genuine leadership in implementing the global Paris Agreement on climate change, with collaboration replacing division and empty rhetoric,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said in a statement on Friday.

According to Kluge, 1,700 people have died as a result of the current heatwave in Spain and Portugal. The wildfires caused by the heatwaves have spread from southern Europe to as far north as Scandinavia, Xinhua reported.

This week, with the “scorching summer season barely halfway done,” fires in London have destroyed 41 homes, he said.

“Ultimately, this week’s events point yet again to the desperate need for pan-European action to effectively tackle climate change –the overarching crisis of our time that is threatening both individual health and the very existence of humanity,” he added.

In reaction to the extreme effects of the current heatwave, the WHO has issued guidance support for national and local authorities “to save lives and strengthen the resilience of communities and people to cope during extreme heat.”

The WHO guidance recommended basic steps for everyone that included keeping out of the heat as much as possible, during the night as well, Xinhua reported.

It asked the citizens to avoid strenuous physical activity and to ensure that children and animals are not left in parked vehicles. The guidelines also adviced to seek medical advice if one is suffering from a chronic condition or taking multiple medications.

Furthermore, Kluge reiterated the United Nations Climate Change Conference’s call for “health systems to assume their share of the responsibility to step up their resilience to, and fight against, climate change,” arguing that coordinated action on multiple fronts will “strengthen environmental health and reverse the ravages of climate change.”

Earlier, World Metrological Organization (WMO informed that extreme heat in western Europe is causing devastating wildfires in France and Spain, and unprecedented drought in Italy and Portugal.

According to UN’s WMO, the UK recorded its highest-ever temperature of just over 40 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, at London’s Heathrow airport. With temperatures expected to remain above normal until the middle of next week, the WMO warned that heatwaves will occur more and more frequently, into the 2060s.

The pattern is linked to the observed warming of the planet that can be attributed to human activity, raising serious concerns for the planet’s future, the UN weather agency said.

“We are expecting to see major impacts on agriculture. During the previous heatwaves in Europe, we lost big parts of harvest. And under the current situation -we are already having the global food crisis because of the war in Ukraine – this heatwave is going to have a further negative impact on agricultural activities,” warned Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the WMO at a presser here to launch the latest extreme weather findings.

The heatwave also acts as a kind of atmospheric lid, WHO explained, trapping pollutants, and degrading air quality, with adverse health consequences, particularly for vulnerable people such as the elderly. In the major 2003 heatwave in Europe, some 70,000 people died, UN News reported.

“Climate change is affecting our health in many ways, not only by heatwaves which are having direct consequences” but also other areas of essential healthcare, such as rising levels of disease, alerted Maria Neira, Director for public and environmental health at WHO.

She explained that reliable access to food and water is at stake, as with agricultural production levels at risk.

She said that 99 per cent of the global population is breathing air that does not meet the health standards set by WHO, hugely impacting chronic respiratory and cardiovascular conditions.

“The best solution to this will be, again, being very ambitious on tackling the causes of this global warming. We have been alerting for a long time that climate change is affecting very much human health”, she emphasized, which will also impact the struggle to reach net zero carbon emissions, and the crucial transition to clean, renewable sources of energy.

More deaths among the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions are feared due to the ongoing heatwave in the weeks ahead, and subsequent challenges to health systems, to keep up with rising demand. (ANI)

The Delhi Metro on Friday informed that train services between Green Park and Qutab Minar will be regulated briefly due to track maintenance work on Sunday.

According to the advisory by Delhi Metro, the maintenance work between the two stations will start on July 24.
“Services during morning (from start of passenger service till 07:00 AM) from Green Park and Qutab Minar will be available with a headway (frequency) of 22 minutes and from Samaypur Badli to Green Park and Qutab Minar to Huda City Centre will be available as per Sunday Time Table,” stated the advisory.

Announcements will also be made at the stations and inside the trains on Yellow Line about the destination of trains and respective platforms for change over during the period. (ANI)

President-elect Droupadi Murmu will be sworn in as India’s 15th President on July 25 in the Central Hall of Parliament.

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana will administer her the oath of office. To facilitate members to attend the ceremony, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will meet that day at 2 pm instead of 11 am on the day.

The term of President Ram Nath Kovind comes to an end on Sunday.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday issued a certificate of the election to Droupadi Murmu as the next President of India. She defeated opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in the presidential election.

Droupdi Murmu received 2,824 votes with a value 6,76,803 while Sinha secured 1,877 votes with a value 3,80,177.

She will be the first member from the tribal community, and the second woman, to hold the top constitutional post in the country.

Droupadi Murmu was the first woman governor of Jharkhand and served in the post from 2015 to 2021.

Born in a poor tribal family in a village of Mayurbhanj, a backward district in Odisha, Droupadi Murmu completed her studies despite challenging circumstances. She taught at Shri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre, Rairangpur.

She has also served as a minister in Odisha. (ANI)

Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements in Istanbul Friday with Turkey and the United Nations to resume grain shipments to international markets via the Black Sea.

The agreement has ended a wartime standoff that had threatened food security in several countries and cleared the way for exporting tons of Ukrainian grains.

The ceremony in Istanbul was witnessed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan whereas Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov signed separate deals with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, The Washington Post reported.

“Today, there is a beacon on the Black Sea,” Guterres said. “A beacon of hope, a beacon of possibility, a beacon of relief in a world that needs it more than ever.”

“You have overcome obstacles and put aside differences to pave the way for an initiative that will serve the common interests of all,” he said, addressing the Russian and Ukrainian representatives.

In a further statement, Guterres said that the “Black Sea Initiative,” would open a path for significant volumes of commercial food exports from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea: Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny and would also bring relief to developing countries on the edge of bankruptcy and the most vulnerable people at the brink of famine.

“It will help stabilize global food prices which were already at record levels even before the war – a true nightmare for developing countries,” Guterres added.

The deal will enable Ukraine to export 22 million tons of grain and other agricultural products that have been stuck in Black Sea ports due to the war.

According to the Washington Post, Ukrainian and Russian military delegations had reached a tentative agreement the previous week on a UN plan that would allow Russia to export its grain and fertilizers.

Notably, the deal will create provisions for the safe passage of ships. Moreover, a control centre will be established in Istanbul, staffed by UN, Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian officials, to run and coordinate the process and the ships would undergo inspections to ensure they are not carrying weapons.

Ukraine is regarded as the “breadbasket of Europe” supplying 10 per cent of the world’s wheat, 12-17 per cent of the world’s maize and half of the world’s sunflower oil. Twenty-five million tonnes of corn and wheat – the entire annual consumption of all the least developed countries.

The West accused that Russia’s actions have driven up prices in countries like the UK and the ongoing blockade has placed 47 million people around the world on the brink of humanitarian disaster.

In addition to preventing grain from leaving Ukraine via the Black Sea – the route by which 96 per cent of Ukraine’s grain has historically been exported, Russian attacks are disrupting rail exports.

Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, security experts say one of Moscow’s earliest strategic aims quickly became apparent as its armoured columns advanced along the coast in an effort to seize Ukraine’s coastline.

The seizure of ports would strangle Ukraine economically at a time when it most needs the funds to fend off Russia. After more than four months of the conflict, two of Ukraine’s five main commercial ports have been taken and both are in the northeast of the Black Sea. (ANI)

Foreign Policy Writer, Lynne O’Donnell was detained by the Taliban for columns accusing them of forcefully marrying teenage girls and using teenage girls as sexual slaves.

The terror outfit forced the writer to issue a Public Retraction after holding her caged for 3 Days, Khaama Press reported.
Lynne O’Donnell, an Australian writer who writes a column for Foreign Policy magazine presently, tweeted, “l apologize for 3 or 4 reports written by me accusing the present authorities of forcefully marrying teenage girls and using teenage girls as sexual slaves by Taliban commanders.”

Notably, O’Donnell was forced to make an apology by the Taliban, she revealed in a statement on Wednesday.

“Tweet an apology or go to jail, said Taliban intelligence,” she tweeted. “Whatever it takes: They dictated. I tweeted. They didn’t like it. Deleted, edited, re-tweeted. Made a video of me saying I wasn’t coerced. Re-did that too,” she said.

The agents disapproved of her reporting on LGBTQ persons and asserted that there were “no gays” in the country, the journalist added.

Lynne is an internationally acclaimed war journalist who has reported occasionally from Afghanistan for over 20 years. However, following her alleged detention, harassment, and threats she departed the war-ravaged country on Wednesday for Pakistan, reported Khaama Press.

O’Donnell was the Afghanistan bureau head for the Agence France-Presse wire service and the Associated Press between 2009 and 2017, according to her biography on the Foreign Policy website.

However, the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture and intelligence authorities have not reacted to the issue as of yet.

The atrocities of the Taliban against Afghan women have been on an incessant surge since the group seized power in Afghanistan in August last year.

The Taliban had previously promised an inclusive society and equality during their first press conference after the takeover of Afghanistan while on the contrary, stopped girls from going to school beyond sixth grade on March 23 and a decree against the women’s dress code was issued after a month.

There are restrictions on movement, education and freedom of expression of women posing a threat to their survival.

According to locals, the Taliban has prevented women from using smartphones, and the Women’s Affairs Ministry often extorts money for providing essential protection.

Around 80 per cent of women working in the media have lost their jobs, it said adding that almost 18 million women in the country are struggling for health, education and social rights. (ANI)

Bollywood star Ajay Devgn is elated with his third National Award win, as this time the 53-year-old star won the award for his performance in ‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’.

The ‘Bhuj’ actor shared the Best Actor Award with south superstar Suriya, who received the same award for his performance in the film ‘Soorarai Pottru’.
Directed by Om Raut, the film featured Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, and Kajol in the lead roles and gathered positive feedback from the audience.

The Legend of Bhagat Singh in 2002 and Zakhm in 1998 both earned Ajay the National Award for Best actor. Ajay said in a statement, “I’m elated to win the Best Actor Award for Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior at the 68th National Awards along with Suriya, who won for Soorarai Pottru.”

He further added,”I thank everyone, most of all my creative team, the audience and my fans. I also express my gratitude to my parents and the Almighty for their blessings. Congratulations to all the other winners”.

Ajay also responded to Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior winning the best popular film award, earning him his win National Award as a producer. “As the producer of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, it gives me immense joy to receive an honour at the 68th National Film Awards for the best film that has provided wholesome entertainment. Tanhaji was exactly that. It is a good story of friendship, loyalty, family values and sacrifice. It has strong national sentiments, super VFX and a holistic approach in entertainment. I must share the honour with my director Om Raut, my co-producers, T-Series and my co-actors. Most of all, I thank my creative team who has contributed handsomely to making this a blockbuster and now a National Award winner.”

Released in the year 2020, ‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’ collected over Rs 368 crore worldwide at the box office and was declared the highest grosser of the year.

Meanwhile on the workfront, Ajay will soon be seen in ‘Bholaa’, ‘Drishyam 2’, which will be out in theatres on November 18. Helmed by Abhishek Pathak, the film also stars Akshaye Khanna, Shriya Saran, Rajat Kapoor, and Ishita Dutta. Ajay is all set to reprise one of his most intriguing characters on-screen and continue in Vijay’s shoes in the sequel. The story unveils a journey that leaves the audience thinking about what might be his way out this time. (ANI)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached movable properties worth Rs 253.62 crore of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi’s group of companies in Hong Kong.

The attached assets included gems and jewellery and bank balances amounting to USD 30.98 million and HKD 5.75 million, equivalent to Rs 253.62 crore (as of Friday), an ED statement said.
On the basis of FIR under Section 420, 467, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Section 13 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), ED had initiated an investigation by recording Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) in the case of Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud of Rs 6,498.20 crore.

During the course of PMLA investigation, some assets of Nirav Modi group of companies in Hong Kong were identified in the form of gems and jewellery lying in private vaults and bank balances in accounts maintained at Hong Kong, which is provisionally attached vide instant attachment order of Rs 253.62 crore under Section 5 of PMLA, 2002, said the ED.

During investigations, previously ED has attached movable and immovable assets of Nirav Modi and associates to the tune of Rs 2,396.45 crore in India and abroad.

With the present attachment, total attachment or seizure of assets of Rs 2,650.07 crore has been effected in the case against Nirav Modi by the ED.

Furthermore, movable and immovable assets of Nirav Modi and his associates amounting to Rs 1,389 crore have been confiscated under provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 by the Special Court (FEOA), Mumbai.

The process of physical handing over of confiscated assets is in progress and part of the confiscated assets has already been physically handed over to victim banks, said the ED.

Earlier in this case, two Prosecution Complaints under PMLA, 2002 have already been filed by the ED against Nirav Modi and associated entities before Special Court (PMLA).

Simultaneously, the extradition proceedings against fugitive Nirav Modi are at the final stage in London, UK. (ANI)

Actor Salman Khan has applied for a weapon license for self-protection in view of the threat letter that he received from gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang last month.

“Actor Salman Khan applied for a weapon license for self-protection at the Mumbai Police, after he recently received a threat letter,” said the Mumbai Police.
Actor Salman Khan Today met Mumbai CP Vivek Phansalkar over the threat letter received to him and his father,

After the threat letter, Salman Khan submitted an application to the Mumbai Police seeking a weapon licence for his own protection. In this context, Salman Khan met Mumbai CP.

Notably, Salman Khan and his father Salim Khan had received a death threat on June 5, days after Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29.

Salim Khan’s security team found the letter outside their Mumbai home near the Bandra Bandstand promenade, where Salim Khan goes for his routine morning jog.

Salman Khan went to Mumbai CP Vivek Phansalkar office today in connection with his application for the weapon license.

The CP sought information regarding the threat that he received and apprised the actor about his security and the report of the Special Branch in the matter.

The letter that the actor received in Hindi said that both Salim Khan and his son would soon meet the same fate as slain singer Siddhu Moosewala (Tera Moosawala bana denge), said the police sources on condition of anonymity.

As per the information received from Maharashtra Home Department, the reason behind the Bishnoi gang threatening actor Salman Khan and his father Salim Khan was to create an atmosphere to show their power.

“The gang was preparing to extort money from big businessmen and actors,” it said.

Following the incident, the Maharashtra department of Home Affairs increased the security for actor Salman Khan.

A Mumbai crime branch team, conducting a probe into a letter threatening actor Salman Khan and his father, went to Pune last month and questioned Siddhesh Hiraman Kamble alias Mahakal, who is part of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, a police official said. (ANI)