Month: July 2022

All India Football Federation (AIFF) condoles former India International and goalkeeper EN Sudhir who passed away earlier on Sunday.

Sudhir who made his international debut against Indonesia in Rangoon (currently Yangon) in the Olympic qualifiers in 1972 represented India in 9 matches.
He was also part of the Indian National team squad in the 1973 Merdeka Cup and the Asian Games squad in 1974.

At the domestic level, he played for three different states in the Santosh Trophy – Kerala (1969 and 1970); Goa (1971, 1972, 1973), and Maharashtra in 1975.

At the club level, he played for Young Challengers (Kerala), Vasco Sports Club (Goa), and Mahindra & Mahindra.

Sunando Dhar, acting General Secretary of All India Football Federation, in his condolence message, said: “Sudhir will always remain alive in his achievements. He has been an inspiration for so many generations. My condolences to his family. May his soul rest in peace.” (ANI)

Amid the rising risk of a new outbreak as the cases surge in parts of China, Shanghai Disneyland, a theme-based park of Walt Disney threw opened its gate for visitors on Thursday.

The theme park witnessed thousands of visitors on its first day as it opened after being shut for three months.
The crowd has been pouring into the resort since then as the park tickets, including single entries and annual pass holder reservations, were quickly snapped up for the first few days of reopening via a suite of official online and travel partner channels of Shanghai Disney Resort, which operates Disneyland as well as sister amenities like Disneytown and Shanghai Disneyland Hotel, reported China Daily.

Shanghai recently claimed zero new locally-transmitted covid cases in the last one week following a harsh four-month lockdown that left millions of residents locked in their homes.

Despite the claims, China is witnessing a new surge in cases. The country on Saturday reported 75 new COVID-19 cases.

As per the National Health Commission, out of 75 infections, 61 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported from Anhui Province while 231 local asymptomatic carriers were found in Anhui.

Of the new confirmed cases, 60 were reported in Sixian County, Suzhou City, and one in the city’s Lingbi County. The local asymptomatic carriers were also registered in the two counties, it said.

From June 26 to July 2, a total of 105 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and 467 asymptomatic carriers had been logged in the latest epidemic resurgence in Anhui.

Meanwhile, two new cases of COVID-19 were recently found in Wuhan, where the virus first emerged, though Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the zero-COVID policy during his visit to the city last week.

COVID-19 returned to the central Chinese city where it first emerged just days after Xi visited the sprawling city, the Daily Mail reported.

Xi Jinping’s zero-COVID policy affected roughly 25 million people in China’s financial centre and its largest metropolis Shanghai and what is important is that it was avoidable.

Speaking about the zero-COVID policy in his remark during the inspection in Wuhan, Hubei Province, on Tuesday, Xi Jinping said, this coronavirus measure was formulated by the CPC Central Committee based on the Party’s nature and purpose, as well as the country’s national conditions.

Xi said China’s response measures and anti-epidemic policy have protected people’s lives and health to the greatest extent.

Chinese President’s defence of the zero-COVID policy comes as the second-largest economy in the world continues to implement strict measures to eliminate pandemics within its borders, despite warnings from the World Health Organization that such an approach is unsustainable.

In the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, Chinese authorities have tried every possible measure including the controversial zero-Covid policy to bring the viral transmission down. But everything is in vain. The number of cases is rising at a high rate, crippling normal life in China.

China’s much-publicized ‘zero-Covid’ strategy that the government credited for bringing the country out of the pandemic till recently is falling apart as the rapidly mounting cases are again forcing mass lockdowns like those seen in 2020.

Due to stringent COVID measures and a series of lockdowns, China has incurred huge economic expenses and severe effects on the livelihoods of its inhabitants in the first half of 2022 as a result of rigorous lockdowns and demanding testing procedures in different parts of the nation.

Recent reports have revealed that China’s zero-Covid policy is based on digital identification: the health code. The contentious code reportedly documents one’s contact information, identification, and recent travel history, all in the name of virus prevention. (ANI)

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday dissolved all the party posts with immediate effect, but retained the post of Uttar Pradesh unit chief.

The move came days after party’s debacle in Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha bypoll. Though the party has not given any reason for the move.
“The national president of Samajwadi Party (SP) Akhilesh Yadav, dissolves all party posts with immediate effect, except the party’s Uttar Pradesh State president. National presidents, state presidents, district executive bodies of the party’s organisations, including youth and women’s wings, and all other cells have been dissolved,” the party said on its Twitter handle in Hindi.

In the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh by-elections, the ruling BJP won both Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha constituencies.

BJP candidate Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi defeated Samajwadi Party candidate Mohammad Asim Raja in the Rampur seat while BJP candidate Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua won in the Azamgarh constituency.

Both seats were considered Samajwadi Party bastions.

The bypolls were necessitated by the resignations of Akhilesh Yadav and Azam Khan from Azamgarh and Rampur seats, respectively. Both leaders quit as Lok Sabha MPs following their election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly in the elections held earlier this year. (ANI)

The number of arrests may increase after the main accused in the brutal murder of an Amravati-based shop owner Umesh Kolhe is nabbed, said a police official on Sunday.

As many as seven accused including the mastermind behind the killing have been arrested so far.
The mastermind was identified as Shaikh Irfan Shaikh Rahim.

“He (mastermind) was arrested last night. He’s being interrogated. They have a helpline group-Rehbar group. Several people connected to them. 7 accused have been arrested so far. The number of arrests may rise after the arrest of the main accused,” said Nilima Araj, Police Inspector when asked about mastermind of Amravati murder.

“He is being produced in the court today,” she added.

The police on Saturday arrested the mastermind and seventh accused in the brutal killing of Amravati-based shop owner Umesh Kolhe.

“Police have arrested the seventh accused and the mastermind in connection to Umesh Kolhe murder case,” said Police Inspector, City Kotwali PS (Amravati), Nilima Araj.

Investigators so far believe that Kolhe was killed allegedly in retaliation for a social media post supporting BJP’s Nupur Sharma who had made controversial comments on the Prophet in a television debate.

Exactly a week before tailor Kanhaiya Lal Teli was hacked to death in Udaipur, Umesh Prahladrao Kolhe, a 54-year-old chemist, was killed in Maharashtra’s Amravati district on June 21.

Initial investigation by the City Kotwali Police Station in Amravati following a complaint by Umesh Kohle’s son Sanket Kohle led them to arrest two persons – Muddsir Ahemad, 22, and Shahrukh Pathan, 25, on June 23.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the probe into the brutal killing of Maharashtra’s Amravati-based shop owner Umesh Kolhe on June 21, after he wrote a post in support of Nupur Sharma on Facebook.

Home Minister’s Office (HMO) made the announcement through its Twitter handle as the matter was similar to the Udaipur case in which a tailor Kanhaiya Lal Teli was killed in broad daylight by two men.

“MHA has handed over the investigation of the case relating to the barbaric killing of Umesh Kolhe in Amravati Maharashtra on 21st June to NIA,” HMO India tweeted. (ANI)

Ahead of the commencement of the Speaker election in the Maharashtra Assembly, BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar on Sunday called the Eknath Shinde side of Shiv Sena as “Shiv Sena of Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideology” while calling the other side standing with the former chief minister as “Uddhav Thakeray faction”.

Mungantiwar further said that no whip is implemented in the election of the Speaker.
The remarks of the BJP leader came ahead of the beginning of the first day of the two-day special Assembly session. The first day of the session will witness the Speaker’s election.

“No whip is implemented in the election of Speaker so I appeal to all members to vote as per their conscience. Shiv Sena of Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideology has given a whip and so has the Uddhav Thackeray faction. We have an alliance with Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena,” he said.

The BJP leader said that their candidate is expected to get nearly 170 votes.

“BJP candidate Rahul Narwekar’s name will be proposed for the Speaker post. First, there’ll be a voice vote. If someone asks for a division of votes then it’ll be done and the elected Speaker will take charge. We expect our candidate to get 165-170 votes,” Mungantiwar said.

Notably, the MVA has fielded Shiv Sena MLA Rajan Salvi as a candidate for the Speaker election while BJP MLA Rahul Narwekar has been chosen as a candidate for the post of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker.

The election of the Speaker for the Maharashtra Assembly is set to take place on Sunday after the new Eknath Shinde government took over following the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) rule in the state.

With the return of the MLAs, who echoed the revolt against Uddhav Thackeray along with their leader Shinde, to Mumbai from Goa on Saturday night, the stage is all set for political developments in Maharashtra to take place on the weekend.

In the two-day special session of the Assembly beginning Sunday, the Shinde-Fadnavis government will have to prove its majority on the Floor of the House on Monday in Vote of Confidence. Notably, Shinde, who led the revolt against Shiv Sena chief and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, was sworn in as the Chief Minister while former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who was seen as the front-runner for the top post in the government, was sworn in as Shinde’s Deputy.

The post of the Speaker went vacant in the Assembly after Congress’ Nana Patole resigned from the office in February 2021, to take guard as the party’s state unit chief. In the absence of a Speaker, Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal was playing the part of an acting Speaker in the House.

Meanwhile, a day after the resignation of Thackeray from the chief ministerial post, Shinde and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and staked claim to form the government in the state.

Fadnavis, who was Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2014-19, announced at a joint press conference in Mumbai on Thursday that he will not be part of the government. However, later, on the direction of the BJP’s central leadership, Fadnavis took oath as the Deputy CM. (ANI)

A free medical camp was organized by the Indian Army in Srinagar, in association with local NGOs and doctors from Nasik and Mumbai.

A total of eight doctors with specializations in various fields attended many patients in this medical camp.
The medical camp was organized in “Kashmir’s Floating Village Kachri Mohalla” which is located in the inlands of Dal Lake. Patients from various Mohalla in the Dal Lake avail the medical facilities from this camp and doctors come from outside to give them good treatment.

“I belong from Kachri Mohalla. Indian Army and doctors from outside Kashmir have organised this camp. Hospitals are nearly 5 to 5 kms away. We are very thankful to the people who have organised this camp,” Dr Snehal Shetty from Maharashtra told ANI.

She further said, “Women here suffer from body aches, joint pains, etc and I am really glad that we could at least help them to some extent”.

“We have organised a medical camp with the support of the Indian Army. We have organised it in Dal Lake’s Kachri Mohallah because there are no health centres here so people from Dal lake and other nearby areas can come here with their health problems free of cost”, Sheikh Saba, Co-Organizer of Camp.

The people over here are working as labourers and have very low incomes, so they prefer government hospitals instead of private medical facilities. This medical camp helps these people by providing free checkups and medicines, which prove to be very beneficial for them.

The Indian army continued its efforts to serve the public by doing these free medical camps despite doing their own duties in the Kashmir valley. (ANI)

Veteran actor, Anupam Kher, on Sunday, shared a monochrome workout picture with his ‘The Kashmir Files’ co-star Darshan Kumar, as the duo starts prepping for ‘Kaagaz 2’.

Taking to Instagram, the ‘Judwaa 2’ actor captioned the post, “Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence!” With my friend, co-actor and gym partner @darshankumaar! #YearOfTheBody ##Workout #Gym #Kaagaz2″.

In the picture, both the actors can be seen posing inside a gym in their workout outfits, pouring out major fitness goals.

Recently, the ‘Ram Lakhan’ actor announced his upcoming film ‘Kaagaz 2’, which is going to be the formers 526th film of his 38 years long career and Darshan will be marking his second collaboration with the veteran actor after their blockbuster hit ‘The Kashmir Files’.

‘Kaagaz 2’ is the sequel of a 2021 drama film, which starred Pankaj Tripathi and Satish Kaushik in the lead roles. The film premiered on Zee5 and gathered a lot of appreciation from the fans.

The ‘MS Dhoni’ actor is known for his remarkable performances over the past four decades and has won numerous awards for his acting.

Meanwhile, the ‘Saudagar’ actor recently wrapped up shooting for his upcoming family entertainer film ‘Uunchai’ with the legendary Amitabh Bachchan and Boman Irani. Directed by Sooraj Barjatya, the final release date of the film is still awaited.

Apart from that he also announced the title of his upcoming film ‘The Signature’ alongside Mahima Chaudhry. (ANI)

Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan, on Sunday, was seen enjoying a weekend reunion party with his ex-wife Sussane Khan, her beau Arslan Goni, Preity Zinta and Sonali Bendre in Los Angeles.

The ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ actor took to her Instagram, and shared a happy group picture, to which she captioned, “A night to remember #memories #ting”

In the picture, the ‘War’ actor can be seen wearing a beige hat, snapping the group picture which includes his ex-wife Sussane Khan, Arslan Goni, Sonali Bendre, Preity Zinta and her husband Gene Goodenough.

Soon after Zinta shared the happy group picture, fans flooded the comment section with heart and fire emotions.

“Wow alllll beauties in one frame pic of the year” a user commented.

Another user wrote, “Beautiful Photo” followed by multiple heart emoticons.

The ‘Krrish 3’ actor recently wrapped his upcoming action entertainer ‘Vikram Vedha’, post that the actor flew to Los Angeles for a short vacation with his kids Hrehaan and Hridaan.

A few days ago, the ‘Super 30’ actor took to his Instagram and shared a glimpse from his LA diaries showcasing the meal that he cooked for his sons.

Meanwhile, on the work front, the ‘Kaabil’ actor will be next seen in ‘Vikram Vedha’ with Saif Ali Khan and Radhika Apte. The film is slated to release on September 30, 2022.

Apart from that, he also has ‘Fighter’ with Deepika Padukone on his bucket list. (ANI)

India’s cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage exceeded the 197.95 crores (1,97,95,72,963) mark on Sunday, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As per the provisional reports, till 7 am on Sunday, India crossed the said mark through sessions.
COVID vaccination for the age group 12-14 years was started on March 16, 2022. So far, more than 3.69 Cr (3,69,03,521) adolescents have been administered with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

In the age group 15-18 years, 6,05,14,353 doses have been administered as the first dose and 4,90,21,990 doses as the second dose.

Similarly, the COVID-19 precaution dose administration for the age group 18-59 years also started from 10th April 2022 onwards.

According to the Ministry, of the total doses administered so far to the health care workers (HLW’s), 1,04,09,119 have received the first dose, 1,00,67,432 have received the second vaccine dose and 57,42,274 have been administered the precaution dose.

Also, 1,84,24,422 frontline workers were administered the first dose, 1,76,29,443 with the second dose and 1,04,24,485 with the precaution doses.

A total of 55,83,51,174 vaccine doses were administered as the first dose, 50,21,95,702 vaccine doses were given as the second dose and 32,05,908 as precaution doses in the age group 18-44 years.

Similarly, for the age group of 45-59 years, 20,34,64,141 have received the first dose, 19,36,41,226 have received the second dose and 26,85,574 have been administered the precaution doses.

whereas, 12,72,77,086 vaccine doses were administered as the first dose,12,09,62,483 as second and 2,46,99,901 as precaution doses to the people over 60 years.

Meanwhile, India reported 16,103 new COVID cases in the last 24 hours with a daily case positivity rate of 4.27 per cent, as per the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.

With this, the active caseload in the country crossed the 1 lakh mark as it stands at 1,11,711. (ANI)