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Unabated Cold Wave In Northwest India, Orange, Yellow Alerts

By LokMarg 18th January 2023

As cold wave conditions continued to grip Northwest India, including Delhi-NCR, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana, the India Meteorological Department has issued orange and yellow alerts in most parts of the region.

An orange alert asks authorities concerned to “be prepared” to respond to any emergency situation arising out of weather change while the yellow alert signifies that the weather could change, and hence people should be vigilant.
The IMD has predicted light to moderate rain and a hailstorm with winds gusting up to 50 kilometres per hour that will lash northwest India, next week.

Light rain is also expected in Delhi, the weather office said predicting a “partly cloudy sky, moderate to dense fog in the morning with the possibility of very light rain/drizzle towards night”.

“An active Western Disturbance is very likely to affect northwest India from January 21 to January 25. Under its influence, rainfall/snowfall is likely to commence over the western Himalayan region in the early hours of January 21 and continue till January 25 with peak activity on January 23-24,” the IMD said in a statement.

The weather office further added that a light to moderate hailstorm is likely at isolated places over Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, west Uttar Pradesh and north Rajasthan on January 23 and 24.

IMD has issued orange and yellow alerts in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh as these area are likely to witness severe cold wave. In Punjab, Gurdaspur, Firozpur, Muktsar, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Bathinda are on orange alert. Districts such as Fazilka, Barnala, Sangrur, Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib are on yellow alert.

In Haryana, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Rewari, Sonipat and Hisar are on orange alert, while Ambala, Kurukshetra, Bhiwani and Palwal are on yellow alert. Most parts of Uttar Pradesh are on yellow alert.

Meanwhile, the national capital on Wednesday witnessed foggy conditions, with several flights and trains running late due to low visibility.

Several flights scheduled to depart from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) were delayed due to fog, informed airport authority on Wednesday.

While the Northern Railway informed that six trains were running late due to fog.

Earlier, India Meteorological Department said that two western disturbances in quick succession are likely to affect northwest India on January 18 and 20, as a result, cold wave conditions over northwest India are likely to abate from January 19.

“Cold wave conditions over northwest India likely to abate from January 19. The rainfall/thunderstorm is likely to commence from January 22 and continue till January 25 with peak activity on 23 and 24 January over the plains of Northwest India including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and North Rajasthan,” the IMD said. (ANI)

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J-K Congress spokesperson resigns ahead of Bharat Jodo Yatra

By LokMarg 18th January 2023

Jammu and Kashmir Congress spokesperson Deepika Pushkar Nath has resigned from the party after its state unit “allowed” former BJP leader and minister Choudhary Lal Singh to join Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra which is scheduled to enter the union territory on January 20.

Nath resigned from the party on Tuesday. Taking to Twitter, Nath said that she is leaving the party on ideological grounds as Singh was responsible for “sabotaging” the 2018 Kathua rape case by “brazenly defending” the rapists of an eight-year-old nomadic girl.
“In view of Choudhary Lal Singh’s proposal of joining Bharat Jodo Yatra and Congress allowing the same, I am left with no other option but to resign from Congress. Lal Singh was responsible for sabotaging the Kathua rape case in 2018 by brazenly defending rapists,” she tweeted.

“Lal Singh divided the entire region of Jammu & Kashmir to protect the rapists and @bharatjodo is ideologically opposite. On ideological grounds, I cannot share the party platform with such a person,” she further tweeted mentioning Rahul Gandhi.

Notably, when the People’s Democratic Party came into collation with the Bharatiya Janata Party in Jammu and Kashmir, Singh was forced by then chief minister Mehbooba Mufti to resign as forest minister.

Bharat Jodo Yatra will enter Jammu and Kashmir on January 19 where Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah Sanjay Raut, MY Tarigami, Mehbooba Mufti will join the yatra at different locations. (ANI)

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Baku-Bound IndiGo Takes Off Without ATC Clearances, Pilot Grounded

Delhi: Several Flights, Trains Delayed Due To Low Visibility

By LokMarg 18th January 2023

Already reeling under a cold wave since the beginning of the new year, the national capital on Wednesday witnessed foggy conditions, with several flights and trains running late due to low visibility.

Several flights scheduled to depart from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) were delayed due to fog, informed airport authority on Wednesday.
While the Northern Railway informed that six trains were running late due to fog.

According to officials of Northern Railway, Barauni-New Delhi Clone Special, Kamakhya-Delhi Brahmaputra Mail, Visakhapatnam-New Delhi Andhra Pradesh Express, Sultanpur -Anand Vihar Terminal Sadbhavana Express, Jabalpur-Hazrat Nizamuddin Gondwana, Manikpur-Hazrat Nizamuddin Uttar Pardesh Sampark Kranti Express, are running late by up to 1 hour.

Earlier, India Meteorological Department said that two western disturbances in quick succession are likely to affect northwest India on January 18 and 20, as a result,
cold wave
conditions over northwest India are likely to abate from January 19.

“Cold wave conditions over northwest India likely to abate from January 19. The rainfall/thunderstorm likely to commence from January 22 and continue till January 25 with peak activity on 23 and 24 January over the plains of Northwest India including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and North Rajasthan,” the IMD said. (ANI)

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Bill tabled in US House to terminate Pakistan’s ‘Non-NATO ally’ status

By LokMarg 18th January 2023

A US lawmaker has introduced a bill titled “To terminate the designation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally, and for other purposes” in the US Congress that seeks to cancel the designation of Pakistan as a Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA).

The bill tabled by US Congressman Andy Biggs on January 9, removes Pakistan’s designation as a major non-NATO ally, a status that allows for various benefits such as access to excess US defense supplies and makes countries eligible for loans of material, supplies, or equipment for cooperative research, development, testing, or evaluation purposes.
Pertaining to Pakistan, the bill elaborated that the US President cannot issue a separate designation of Pakistan as a Major NATO ally unless a presidential certification states that Pakistan continues to conduct military operations that are contributing to significantly disrupting the safe haven and freedom of movement of the Haqqani Network in Pakistan.

The bill seeks a certification that contains a determination that Pakistan has taken steps to demonstrate its commitment to preventing the Haqqani Network from using any Pakistani territory as a safe haven.

The certification must further certify that the Government of Pakistan actively coordinates with the Government of Afghanistan to restrict the movement of militants, such as the Haqqani Network, along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border; and that Pakistan has shown progress in arresting and prosecuting Haqqani Network senior leaders and mid-level operatives.

The MNNA status was first created in 1987 and is a designation that is a powerful symbol of a close relationship with the United States. While MNNA status provides military and economic privileges, it does not entail any security commitments to the designated country.

With Afghanistan’s status rescinded last year, the US has 17 major non-NATO allies, according to the US State Department. They are Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, South Korea, Thailand, and Tunisia.

Pakistan was named a MNNA during the Bush administration in 2004. (ANI)

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Delhi Cold: Homeless Deprived Of Facilities, Govt Lauds Initiatives

By LokMarg 18th January 2023

With the capital continuing to reel under intense cold waves, many homeless Delhites continue to be at the receiving end complaining of not much help from authorities.

A group of people at the Minto Road told ANI that they are not getting any help from the government and hence are forced to rely on traditional methods to stay warm.

“We are labourers. We feel cold every time, at work and while we are at home as we cannot afford a blanket and are making this survival possible with the help of fire. We came from Bihar to make both ends meet but sometimes it turns difficult as we have no support from the government or anybody,” said one Fasekhtar Alam.

Another person, Rajiv Kumar, an auto-rickshaw driver expressed before ANI that they would die of starvation in a couple of days if they did not run their rickshaw despite the hands being numb due to cold.

“The cold is so severe that we are not even able to move our vehicle, it gets really tough to hold the clutch. But we are compelled because if we don’t do this, we will die in two days,” Rajiv Kumar said.

Meanwhile, certain other people living in the shelter home in the Yamuna Bazar area said that the ones who complain of getting no assistance are purposely keeping them exposed to this cold and not arriving here despite the arrangements made.

One Sanjay Tiwari, who has been living in the shelter home for 13 years told that the government has made all the arrangements necessary for survival here, including food, medicines, sanitation, etc.

“I am living here for the past 13 years and here they have made several arrangements for us to cope up with this winter. When we fall ill, they call a car for us which immediately takes us to the hospital. We even get our breakfast, lunch and tea in time,” Sanjay Tiwari said.

“Their team visits regularly to bring homeless people here but there are some people who deliberately don’t come,” he added.

Another person Pappu Singh termed the shelter homes a “good option” for survival in the biting cold.

According to the caretaker of this shelter home, their rescue teams pull up their socks as early as the winter sets in and make all the necessary arrangements including food, blanket, medicines, and sanitation.

“We have also arranged for tents if by any chance the available land seems smaller. The government helps us in every possible way- we asked for a TV, library, and water cooler, we have it all,” the Caretaker of the shelter home, Vimal said mentioning that the home has a capacity of 500 people which can be further increased by setting temporary mattresses at the floor.

Notably, a senior scientist of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) RK Jenamani on Monday said that the national capital would experience severe cold wave conditions for two days, i.e., Wednesday, January 18.

“The minimum temperature in Delhi has dipped to 1.4 degrees Celcius, with severe cold wave conditions prevailing in Delhi. For the next two days, the same temperature may prevail as the chances of further dipping are unlikely. The temperature may likely go up from January 18,” RK Jenamani said on Monday. (ANI)

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Microsoft To Lay Off Thousands Of Employees

By LokMarg 18th January 2023

Microsoft is set to lay off thousands of employees today. Citing Sky News, Reuters reported that thousands of roles would be cut, with the software giant looking to cut around 5 percent of its workforce or about 11,000 roles.

Thousands of job cuts are expected in human resources and engineering divisions on Wednesday. The layoffs would be the latest in the US technology sector, where companies including Amazon.com Inc and Meta Platforms Inc have announced retrenchment exercises in response to slowing demand and a worsening global economic outlook.
The company had 221,000 full-time employees, including 122,000 in the United States and 99,000 internationally, as of June 30, according to filings.

Microsoft is under pressure to maintain growth rates at its cloud unit Azure, after several quarters of the downturn in the personal computer market hurt Windows and devices sales, reported Reuters.

It had said in July last year that a small number of roles had been eliminated. In October, news site Axios reported that Microsoft had laid off under 1,000 employees across several divisions.

Shares of Microsoft, which is set to report quarterly results on January 24, were marginally higher in late afternoon trading, reported Reuters.

Microsoft’s move could indicate that the tech sector may continue to shed jobs.

Microsoft is the latest big tech company to face a challenging economy, and the job cuts will come just days after Microsoft implemented a new unlimited time off policy. Microsoft employees that have an unused vacation balance will get a one-time payout in April, and managers will be able to approve unlimited “Discretionary Time Off.”

The cuts also come just weeks after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned of two years of challenges ahead for the tech industry. In an interview with CNBC, Nadella admitted Microsoft wasn’t “immune to the global changes” and spoke of the need for tech companies to be efficient.

“The next two years are probably going to be the most challenging,” said Nadella. “We did have a lot of acceleration during the pandemic, and there’s some amount of normalization of that demand. And on top of it, there is a real recession in some parts of the world.” (ANI)

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Slow Subsidence Up To 9 cm Recorded In Joshimath: ISRO

Wrong To Relate Joshimath Tragedy With Power Project: NTPC

By LokMarg 17th January 2023

By Jitendra Chauhan

Noting that it is wrong to relate the land subsidence in Joshimath with the Tapovan Vishnugad Hydroelectric Project, a senior NTPC official has said that tunnel is being built under “a competent rock” and it does not affect the surrounding rock mass.

“It is wrong to relate the situation in Joshimath with the NTPC tunnel since it is being constructed with the help of a tunnel boring machine. Out of the 12 km long tunnel, 8.5 km tunnel is being done by tunnel boring and the rest will be done by blasting. The tunnel does not pass through Joshimath,” said Rajendra Prasad Ahirwar, head of the Tapovan project.

Locals in Joshimath had held a protest and some posters have also been put up concerning the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) project.

Ahirwar said the hydroelectric project should not be linked with the present situation in the Uttarakhand hill town.

“The tunnel is being built under the rock, a very competent rock. Tunnel boring rock does not affect the surrounding rock mass so it is not possible that it will affect the current situation in the situation,” he said.

Asked about some Joshimath residents blaming the NTPC tunnel for the land subsidence situation, Bhuvnesh Kumar, Addl GM Geology, NTPC, said there is no link.

“Land subsidence is an old issue here and this tunnel (an NTPC project) has no connection with it. This 12 km tunnel is dug by a boring machine,” he said.

He said detailed studies are carried out before projects are sanctioned.

Referring to the Mishra Committee report in 1976 that Joshimath town is located on landslide material, Kumar said NTPC was not in the picture then.

The locals held a protest on January 10 and demonstrated against the NTPC’s Tapovan Vishnugad Hydroelectric Project.

The construction at the project has been stopped till further orders. The protesters held banners of Mahila Mangal Dal and Panchayat Selang and protested across the streets.

Disaster Management Secretary Dr Ranjit Kumar Sinha on Tuesday said a deadline has been given to various central technical institutions to compile a study report of the area affected by subsidence in Joshimath.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Sinha said a total of 2,190 people in Joshimath and 2,205 in Pipalkoti have been shifted to temporary relief camps

The Disaster Management secretary added that the land of the Horticulture Department near TCP crossroad of Joshimath has been identified for the construction of model pre-fabricated huts for people rescued from the subsidence-hit areas. (ANI)

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UK Covid Test Mandatory For Travellers From China

Covid Toll 400 Million In China, Govt Hiding Data: Report

By LokMarg 17th January 2023

China’s hospitals are flooded with dead bodies and long queues are seen at crematoria, with 400 million people losing their lives to the epidemic, The Epoch Times reported citing the founder of Falun Gong.

Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, said as many as 400 million people have been killed in China due to the epidemic and the Chinese Communist Party has been trying to cover up.

He also said when this wave of epidemic ends, 500 million people will have died in China.

Master Li said when SARS claimed 200 million lives in China, the report said, adding that many years later, the CCP discovered that the population had decreased, and immediately released the two-child and three-child systems.

Since November last year, Covid-19 cases have been reported across China and the authorities said that since December 7, the number of Covid death cases has increased.

Earlier, after lifting the Covid restrictions, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced that no new deaths had been reported for 11 consecutive days.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on January 8 that only 37 people died from the epidemic between December 7 last year and January 8 this year but the new report has punctured the claim.

The CDC stated that nearly 60,000 deaths were reported in China.

The National Health Commission of China revealed a total of 59,938 Covid-related deaths were reported between December 8, 2022 and January 12 this year, claiming that the spike in cases could be attributed to lifting of the Covid policy on December 7, as per The Epoch Times report.

NHC official Jiao Yahui, who revealed the Covid-19 data, said the average age of those who died in the period was 80.3 years old, with 90.1 per cent of the fatalities above 65 years old, 56.5 per cent aged above 80 years old; and more than 90 per cent suffered from underlying conditions, according to Global Times.

Sinologist and military strategist Ben Lowsen (Ben Lawson) wrote an article in the ‘Diplomat’ magazine on January 5, saying that the Chinese may now face “the largest death incident since the Great Leap Forward”.

Between 1958 and 1961, Mao’s policies resulted in the death of 20 million or more people in famines, and amidst the chaos and tragedy, Chinese authorities decided not to provide statistics on the number of deaths in the famines, he said.

“In an ominous contrast, today’s Xi Jinping administration has also largely given up on providing Covid-19 statistics,” The Epoch Times quoted Lawson as saying. (ANI)

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Four Wards Of Joshimath Declared Completely Unsafe: Disaster Management Secretary

By LokMarg 17th January 2023

Amid the evolving crisis around the landslide and subsidence at Joshimath in the upper reaches of Uttarakhand, Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha on Tuesday said four municipal areas or wards in the holy town have been declared as ‘completely unsafe’.

Addressing a press conference in Dehradun on Tuesday, Sinha said, “Four wards in Joshimath have been declared as completely unsafe. The rest of the wards have been found to be partially affected (by subsidence).”
“Many organizations are involved in the ongoing investigation into the reasons and extent of subsidence in and around Joshimath. We will come up with a final report soon. We have made adequate preparations in anticipation of rainfall,” he added.

However, in a piece of ‘good news’, Sinha informed us that the water discharge level at JP Colony has gone down.

“The water discharge level (which is said to be behind the prevailing situation in Joshimath) at JP Colony has gone down. This is good news,” the Disaster management secretary said.

He added that the affected families have been shifted to shelter homes and the model huts will be ready within a week.

Hundreds of residents were shifted to relief centers in safe places after cracks appeared at several homes in Joshimath, suggesting subsidence.

The Uttarakhand government has already announced relief packages worth crores for the affected families of Joshimath. (ANI)

SC To Modify Cumbersome Guidelines On ‘Living Will’

By LokMarg 17th January 2023

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said agreed to modify its 2018 guidelines on “living will”, an advance medical directive on end-of-life treatment.

A five-judge Constitution bench of Justices KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and Justice CT Ravikumar observed that the legislature is much more endowed with “skills and sources of knowledge” to enact a relevant law for terminally ill patients choosing to stop treatment.
The bench said it will limit itself to improving the guidelines it had laid down on “living will”.

There can only be a little tweaking of the guidelines or else it will become a review of its own 2018 judgement, it added.

The top court’s order notwithstanding, people wanting to get a “living will” registered have been facing problems due to cumbersome guidelines.

The apex court was informed that the procedure under the Supreme Court guidelines had become unworkable due to the involvement of multiple stakeholders in the process.

The Constitution bench was considering a plea seeking modification of the guidelines for living will/advance medical directive issued by it in 2018.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar told the bench that as per the apex court’s directions, a medical board has to first declare that the patient has no scope of recovery or is brain dead.

He added that the procedure then enumerates that the district collector has to constitute an independent medical board to obtain a second opinion, after which the matter is referred to a judicial magistrate, first class.

Datar suggested in a living will, there can be two witnesses and the role of the judicial magistrate can be done away with.

The hearing will resume on Wednesday.

On March 9, 2018, the apex court had in its judgment recognized that a terminally ill patient or a person in a persistent vegetative state may execute an advance medical directive or a “living will” to refuse medical treatment, holding the right to live with dignity also included “smoothening” the process of dying.

The judgment of the apex court had come on a PIL filed by NGO Common Cause seeking recognition of the “living will” made by terminally-ill patients for passive euthanasia.

The top court had laid down principles related to the procedure for execution of advance directives and spelt out guidelines and safeguards to give effect to passive euthanasia in both circumstances where there are advance directives and where there are none.

It had said that directives and guidelines shall remain in force till Parliament brings legislation in the field. (ANI)