Month: September 2024

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be on an official visit to India on September 9-10 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This would be the first visit of Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

He will be accompanied by several Ministers from the UAE government and a business delegation, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Saturday.

On September 9, the Crown Prince will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hold discussions on a wide range of areas of bilateral cooperation. He is also scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu.

He will also visit Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

On September 10, the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince will visit Mumbai to participate in a Business Forum, in which business leaders from both countries will participate.

“India and UAE share historically close and friendly ties. In recent years, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and UAE has deepened in a wide range of areas, including political, trade, investment, connectivity, energy, technology, education, and culture,” the MEA stated.

“The Crown Prince’s visit will further reinforce strong India-UAE bilateral relations and open avenues for partnership in new and emerging areas,” it added.

In February this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited UAE. He held discussions with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the India-UAE bilateral relationship and witnessed the exchange of eight agreements.

PM Modi and President Al Nahyan welcomed the MoU for creation of an intergovernmental framework between India and the UAE on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), which reflected the lead taken by the UAE and India in furthering regional connectivity.

The two leaders further endorsed the efforts from both sides to strengthen the strong economic and commercial cooperation and explore new areas of collaboration. They welcomed the strong growth witnessed in the UAE-India trade relations since the entry into force of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)

During his visit, PM Modi inaugurated the majestic Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Mandir, the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

He also addressed the Indian diaspora at event titled ‘Ahlan Modi’. (ANI)

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Four people were killed and fifteen people have been rescued, and several are feared to be trapped in the building collapse that took place in Lucknow’s Transport Nagar area on Saturday, said an official.

“So far, 4 people have died in the incident. The rescue operation is being carried out,” Lucknow Divisional Commissioner, Roshan Jacob told ANI.

“NDRF, SDRF, fire brigade, and police are carrying out rescue operations at the spot,” Municipal Commissioner Lucknow Indrajit Singh told ANI.

Earlier, Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Mangesh Kumar said that many people are still feared trapped in the collapsed building.

“More people are said to be trapped… The exact number of the trapped people is yet to be ascertained,” Kumar said.

Rescue operations to evacuate the trapped people are underway. The Fire Department, SDRF and NDRF teams are at the spot.

The injured people are being sent to the hospital.

Further details awaited. (ANI)

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Following the statement made by former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Congress regretting the joining of wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia to the party, Congress leader Kuldeep Vats said that Singh was saying all this riding on the arrogance that he has in him.

Speaking to ANI on Saturday, Vats alleged that the slogan “Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao” by the BJP was “just a lie for them” and that they have “disrespected the jawans and farmers” by introducing Agniveer for the jawans and by making farmers sit for one and a quarter year at the Delhi border.

“The arrogance that he has with him (Brij Bhushan)–he is saying all these ridings on the arrogance that he has in him,” he said.

“I want to tell the people of the BJP that they had a slogan, “Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao.” It is just a lie for them… The people in BJP used to talk about “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan,”… They disrespected the Jawan by introducing Agniveer… The farmer had to sit at the border for one and a quarter year. They were pelted with rubber bullets, tear gas was thrown at them, and water cannons were used. That time also Modi Ji asked for forgiveness. Coming to our wrestlers and daughters, when they got some medals for the nation, then every BJP leader and PM Modi congratulated them. But when they raised their voice against atrocities, it was our duty to stand with our sisters and daughters. Congress stands with everyone,” he added.

Earlier today, former WFI president and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said the joining of Phogat and Punia to the Congress party proves that the entire wrestlers’ movement was a “conspiracy” against him and the Congress party was behind it.

Brij Bhushan further stated that the Congress would regret their decision and claimed that the wrestler’s protest that started in Jantar Mantar in January last year, was not a movement of sportspersons and Congress was behind it which was led by Bhupinder Hooda.

“On 18th January 2023, when the protest started at Jantar Mantar, I said that this is not a movement of sportspersons; Congress is behind it. Especially Bhupinder Hooda, Deepender Hooda, Priyanka Ji, and Rahul Ji. This is a movement of Congress. And today this thing has been proved. In this entire movement, the conspiracy that happened against us, Congress was involved in it and Bhupinder Hooda was leading it,” he said.

“One-day Congress will have to regret it,” he further added.

Singh further alleged that the wrestler’s protest was not for the dignity of women, adding that because of the protests, the ‘daughters’ of Haryana are facing embarrassment.

Earlier on Friday, the two ace wrestlers, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, joined the Congress almost a month before the Haryana assembly polls.

Punia won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, while Vinesh Phogat became the first woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final in Paris last month. The wrestlers resigned from their respective positions in Northern Railways earlier on that day. Within hours of them joining the party, wrestler Vinesh Phogat was fielded in the Julana constituency for the upcoming Haryana polls. Whereas, Bajrang Punia was appointed working president of the All India Kisan Congress. (ANI)

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In an unprecedented move aimed at ensuring free and fair polling in the ongoing assembly elections, authorities in Doda district are leveraging advanced technology across all three assembly constituencies.

For the first time, CCTV cameras are being installed at all 534 polling stations, with live monitoring from the Deputy Commissioner’s office. This extensive surveillance setup also includes the installation of CCTV cameras at special Nakas to monitor road activities.

Harvinder Singh, District Election Officer Doda, said, “One of the main focus of this upcoming Assembly election is surveillance. We have 27 static surveillance teams; they will work on 3 shifts at the borders and 9 nakas for 24 hours, that too with CCTV cameras. We have 27 flying squad teams as well, who are working and put surprise nakas and raids different places based on the actionable inputs and complaints. We are live telecasting the CCTVs at our 534 polling stations, we are going to monitor 534 polling stations live for 24 hours through CCTV.”

Meanwhile, the security have also been heightened in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Visuals have shown heavy deployment of force throughout the area.

Polling in Jammu and Kashmir will be conducted in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1 and results for which will be declared on October 8. This is the first election in Jammu and Kashmir after abrogation of Article 370.

Like the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year, Congress and National Conference are fighting the assembly polls also in alliance. While NC will contest 51 cf 90 seats, Congress will fight 32 with two parties also agreeing to friendly contest on some seats. A few seats have been left for smaller allies. (ANI)

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Launching a scathing attack on Congress and the National Conference’s manifesto, Union Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah said on Saturday that they want to bring back the old system and start talks with Pakistan but “till there is no peace, there will be no talks with Pakistan.”

Criticising the Congress and National Conference’s manifesto, Shah said that they want to spread terrorism, snatch reservations of Gujjars, Bakarwal, Paharis and Dalits, release criminals and start LOC trade with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir.

Stating the BJP’s 10 agendas for elections, Shah said, “Congress and NC want to bring back two flags, article in Jammu and Kashmir, will you? They want to snatch the reservation of Gujjars, Bakarwal, Paharis and Dalits. I want to tell one thing to Rahul Gandhi: no matter how much effort you put in, we will not let the reservation of Gujjars, Bakarwal, Paharis and Dalits be touched. Abrogation of Article 370 has given rights to women, will you let them snatch their rights? They want to release the criminals wrapped up in terrorism, but we won’t let them spread terrorism in Jammu, Poonch, Rajouri, and Doda. They say we will re-start LoC trade, but who will benefit from it? There profit will be used in spreading terrorism. They want to talk to Pakistan but I want to say that till there is no peace, there will be no talks with Pakistan.”

“Three families want Jammu and Kashmir to incline towards terrorism. Gandhi, Abdullah and the Mufti family have looted money from Jammu and Kashmir; they want to restore the old system, which means there will be inequality in Jammu. No power can talk about giving autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir. They are fooling the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Rahul Gandhi should stop misguiding people. They want to snatch the reservation of Gujjars, Bakarwal, Paharis and Dalits,” said Shah.

The Home Minister said that the alliance was fooling people by saying they would restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir as only the government can do this and PM Modi will do this.

“Congress and National Conference are saying they will restore statehood. Tell me who can give it? It is only the Central government, PM Modi who can give it. So stop fooling the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We have said that at an appropriate time after the elections, we will give statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. We have said this in Parliament. Rahul Gandhi should stop misleading the people of J&K,” Union Minister Amit Shah said,

In a veiled attack at the National Conference and the PDP, Shah said that there are people who became chief ministers when there was peace in the territory but whenever there was little disturbance, they rushed to Delhi in coffee bars.

“Kashmir has suffered a lot from terrorism. There were governments in Kashmir that turned blind eye to terrorism. There are people who would come here and become chief ministers when there was peace and when there was terrorism, they would go to Delhi and drink coffee in coffee bars.”

Praising the Modi government, Shah said that the BJP government has reduced upto 70 percent terrorism in the territory and now Amarnath Yatra is carried out fearlessly.

“The Bharatiya Janata Party has done the work of reducing terrorism by 70 percent in 10 years. After many years, the Amarnath Yatra was carried out fearlessly. After many years, night theatre started in the valley, Tazia procession was carried out in the valley. The people of Jammu and Kashmir especially the people of Jammu have to decide whether they want terrorism or peace, development. If NC and Congress come to power, terrorism will come and if BJP will come, then no one can infiltrate here,” said Shah.

Addressing the ‘Karyakarta Sammelan’, Shah, “We just don’t have to defeat them, we have to seize their deposits. The movement started by Pandit Prem Nath Dogra was ended by PM Modi Ji on August 5, 2019. It is a coincidence that the first election rally of BJP is starting on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi and we all know that Lord Ganesh destroys all the obstacles of the path. I want to express my gratitude to the citizens on this occasion. The upcoming elections are historic elections. For the first time since the country’s independence, the voters of Jammu and Kashmir will cast their votes under the tricolour. For the first time, votes will be casted under the Constitution of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and not under two constitutions. For the first time, no any PM will sit in Jammu and Kashmir as only one person can be PM. These elections are results out of the shadow of the article 370 and we have seen its results in Lok Sabha elections.”

Exuding confidence, Shah said that BJP will contest these elections with full strength and urged the booth workers of the party to work on ground by door-to-door campaigning.

“I want to clear all the speculations that BJP will contest and win these elections with full strength. The biggest strength of Bharatiya Janata Party is booth workers and booth presidents. When our booth workers come on the election ground, best leader have flown from the field. This time, our booth workers have to go to each home and tell about the changes that were made in Jammu. For over 70 years, we have fought for our development, pilgrimage of Amarnath Yatra, we had to protest for it, but now, the day have come that you don’t need to ask for or do protests for it because Modi Ji will give it,” Shah stated.

Urging the booth workers of the party, Shah said, “I want to tell our booth workers that along with their family, they have to take 3 families with them for voting before 11.30 am, which means total 4 families and then nobody can defeat BJP. We have to tell people about NC-Congress’ division agenda. I did a press conference to expose NC-Congress’ divisional agenda.”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday released the Bhartiya Janata Party’s manifesto for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. The BJP has made 25 promises, focussing on women, youths, Kashmiri Pandits, restoring temples and wiping out terrorism. Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1.

There are a total number of 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 7 seats are reserved for SCs and 9 seats are reserved for STs. According to the Election Commission of India, Jammu and Kashmir has 88.06 lakh eligible electors. These are the first assembly elections to be held in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. (ANI)

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In a heartwarming celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi, Indian comedian Bharti Singh has brought Ganpati Bappa into her home with much enthusiasm. She was accompanied by her three-year-old son, Laksh whom she fondly calls Golla.

The festivities kicked off in full swing as the family visited various pandals in Mumbai to select their Ganesh idol.

Bharti brimming with joy, shared her excitement with mediapersons. “I had prayed to God for an extension for our show laughter chef, and the extension was granted. We are very happy; Bappa has brought joy into our lives,” she said.

She went on to describe her special connection with Ganpati Bappa, revealing, “Mere lie Ganpati Bappa Golla hai mera, meaning, no matter how grand the Ganpati idol is, you’ll always see him as a child. I become very emotional; we are bringing home baby-like Ganesh. Golla has turned 3 years old, and today he has come along with me to bring Ganpati Bappa home for the third time”

The actor also announced that they plan to keep Ganpati Bappa at their home for a day and a half, allowing them to cherish the divine presence for an extended period. “This time, we will keep Ganpati Bappa at our home for a day and a half. We will have the opportunity to serve him for 1.5 days,” she added.

The Ganesh Chaturthi festival, which began today, is a ten-day celebration that starts on the fourth day of the Hindu lunisolar month of Bhadrapada and concludes with Anantha Chaturdashi. The festival, also known as Vinayak Chaturthi, honours Lord Ganesha as the deity of new beginnings, wisdom, and the remover of obstacles.

President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have both extended their heartfelt greetings to the nation on this auspicious occasion.

President Murmu highlighted the festival’s role in fostering social harmony and brotherhood, while PM Modi wished everyone a joyous Ganesh Chaturthi on social media.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar also shared his festive message, encouraging citizens to embrace unity and resilience, with hopes that Lord Ganesha will bestow peace, prosperity, and happiness upon all.

In Mumbai, the unveiling of Lalbaugcha Raja has further added to the excitement surrounding the festival. Devotees across Maharashtra are preparing to celebrate by bringing Ganesh idols into their homes, observing fasts, preparing delicious offerings, and visiting pandals. (ANI)

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Selena Gomez has officially joined the ranks of one of the youngest billionaires.

According to the Deadline, the ‘Emilia Perez’ actor has achieved this financial feat primarily through the success of her beauty brand, Rare Beauty, alongside other lucrative ventures.

Launched in 2019, Rare Beauty has significantly contributed to Gomez’s estimated net worth of USD 1.3 billion, positioning her as one of the youngest female billionaires in the United States.

The beauty brand accounts for about 81.4 percent of her overall net worth, according to Deadline.

Gomez’s wealth is not solely attributed to her beauty brand. The valuation encompasses her stake in the mental health startup Wondermind, revenue from music album sales, real estate investments, and earnings from streaming deals, brand partnerships, concert tours, and acting projects.

Although Gomez’s last solo tour, the Revival Tour, concluded in 2016 and her most recent album, ‘Rare’, was released in 2020, she has remained a prominent figure in entertainment.

She continues to garner acclaim as both a star and executive producer of the popular Hulu series ‘Only Murders in the Building’.

The show, which has recently been renewed for a fifth season, has earned Gomez her first Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

Additionally, ‘Only Murders in the Building’ has been nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series for the third consecutive year.

Gomez is also set to revisit her television roots with the upcoming sequel series ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’.

The new series, set to premiere on October 29 at 8 pm ET/PT, follows the success of her original Disney Channel show, ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’.

Gomez and her former co-star David Henrie are not only reprising their roles but also taking on executive producer roles for the sequel. (ANI)

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Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday announced a special package of Rs 564 crore for the flood-affected areas and people in the state.

On the third day of the Tripura Legislative Assembly, CM Saha said that Members of this Assembly are aware that the recent floods in the state have caused extensive damage to roads, bridges, power transmission lines, agriculture, gardens, cultivable agricultural land, fish ponds, dams, animal resources, and houses.

“National highways, state roads, and rural roads were flooded, and ponds, reservoirs, and farmlands were inundated with silt and water. The initial estimate of damage due to the flood is about Rs 14,247 crore. District magistrates and line departmental officers assessed the actual damage at the field level. After assessing the actual damage, the state government will submit a memorandum to the Union Home Ministry requesting additional funds for relief and rehabilitation,” said CM Saha.

He further informed that, considering the severity of the damage caused by the recent floods, the state government has decided to announce a financial package for immediate relief and recovery work across various sectors.

“The total package amounts to Rs 564 crore, which will be met from state government funds. We all know that it will take months for the state to recover from this shock and rebuild the infrastructure to keep up with the development. However, this package will show the right direction in bringing relief to the flood-affected people and continuing the development process of our government,” he added.

The package includes Rs 70 crore for the Food and Civil Supplies Department, where 10 kg of additional rice per ration card per month for the next two months will be provided. This will benefit about 9.8 lakh ration card holders in the state. For agriculture, Rs 15 crore has been sanctioned to provide financial assistance for seeds, fertilisers, and other agricultural support for Kharif and Rabi crop production. For horticulture, Rs 5 crore has been allocated for financial support for winter vegetable and flower cultivation, repair of paddy fields, fertilisers, and silt removal from damaged land. Rs 10 crore of financial assistance has been allotted for the purchase of fishlings to boost fish production. In the Animal Resources Development Department (ARDD), Rs 5 crore will provide immediate assistance to protect the health of affected animals, including animal feed, water supply, medicine, rehabilitation, input subsidies, and other activities.

In the education sector, Rs 12 crore has been sanctioned to provide books to flood-affected students and for repairing and maintaining schools and colleges. Rs 50 crore has been allocated to the Public Works Department (Drinking Water and Sanitation) to ensure drinking water supply to flood-affected schools, Anganwadi centres, and households. For urban and rural development, Rs 52 crore will be used for the repair and maintenance of city and rural roads, drainage systems, and office buildings.

The Health Department will receive Rs 10 crore for the procurement of 2,000 bags of bleaching powder, 2 lakh ORS packets, 20 lakh halogen tablets, 10 lakh zinc tablets, fever medicine, and skin disease medicine to support disinfection and diarrhoea prevention efforts.

In the Public Works Department (Water Resources), Rs 35 crore will be used for renovating, repairing, and maintaining dams, channels, and major projects in the state. The Power Department will receive Rs 100 crore for the rapid restoration, repair, and maintenance of power transmission lines, transformers, conductors, cables, and accessories. Rs 200 crore has been allocated to the Public Works Department (Roads and Buildings) for the reconstruction, renovation, and maintenance of flood-damaged roads and drains. (ANI)

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Boeing’s Starliner on Saturday got the final “go” that allowed the spacecraft, which left the International Space Station on Friday to return to Earth but the NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams it was supposed to be carrying are staying behind.

Boeing on Saturday morning said that the deorbit poll of the empty Starliner spacecraft has been completed and the landing phase will take 44 minutes from deorbit burn to landing.

Starliner switched to autonomous mode and undocked from the space station at 6:04 pm Eastern Time (2204 GMT), and is set to land at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at approximately 12:00 am Eastern Time after after making its dangerous plunge back into the thick of Earth’s atmosphere.

Both astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore called down to flight controllers today to thank teams for their support before the uncrewed Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth.

“You guys it’s time to bring Calypso home. We have your backs and you have got this. Bring her back to Earth,” Sunita Williams said in the radio message referring to the spacecrafts nickname.

After it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere it will use parachutes to slow its descent to land at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.

While on its way back to Earth, the Starliner capsule, the portion that would hold astronauts during routine trips home from space, jettisoned its service module.

Thruster problems and helium leaks on the service module had caused issues that held up Starliner’s return home and NASA and Boeing officials wanted to keep Starliner attached to the ISS for as long as possible so they could work to understand the leaks and thruster problems.

Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams launched aboard Starliner on June 5 from Cape Canaveral in Florida for its first crewed flight, arriving at the orbiting International Space Station on June 6. It was expected that the two astronauts would have returned on the same flight.

As Starliner approached the orbiting laboratory, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters.

For the safety of the astronauts, NASA announced on August 24 that Starliner will return to Earth from the station without a crew.

NASA said that while the Starliner makes its return to Earth, both Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams are safe aboard the International Space Station with a SpaceX Dragon vehicle available in case of an emergency, and later as part of the Crew9 mission.

The uncrewed spacecraft’s safe return could be vital for the overall Boeing Starliner program.

After the US space shuttle fleet was retired in 2011, the US relied solely on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft to transport its crew and cargo to the ISS.

The US space agency NASA then in the year 2014 awarded two American companies Boeing and Space X contracts to provide commercial spaceflights to take astronauts to space.

So far SpaceX has sent nine crewed flights to space for Nasa, as well as some commercial missions.

However for Boeign, the Starliner flight with Williams and Wilmore was its first crewed flight. (ANI)

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Two coaches of the Indore-Jabalpur Overnight Express got derailed near Jabalpur Railway Station in Madhya Pradesh, at around 5:50 am on Saturday, an official said.

The train was coming from Indore and was heading towards Jabalpur Railway Station’s platform number six. The incident happened at around 150 metres from the platform.

However, no casualties or injuries were reported by the officials following the incident, the official said.

Harshit Shrivastava, the Chief Public Relations Officer of West Central Railway, said, all the passengers are safe since the train was at dead-stop speed

“The train was coming from Indore. When it was heading towards Jabalpur railway station’s platform number 6, the train was moving slowly, was at dead stop speed, and two coaches derailed. All passengers are safe since the train was at dead-stop speed. Everyone has left for home also. The incident took place around 5.50 am. It derailed around 150 metres from the platform,” he said.

However, the reason for the train’s derailment is not clear yet. More details are awaited.

Earlier on August 17, 22 bogies of the Sabarmati Express, which was travelling from Varanasi to Ahmedabad, were derailed in a block section between Kanpur and Bhimsen station in Uttar Pradesh.

According to reports, the engine hit an object placed on the track and got derailed. Sharp hit marks were observed.

Officials said that evidence found near the 16th coach from the loco had been protected. As per the initial investigation, there is no fracture in the railway track. IB and UP police are also working on it. No injuries were reported to passengers or staff. (ANI)

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