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Tamil Nadu CM tasks authorities to strictly enforce COVID-19 norms as fresh cases rise

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CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday asked local authorities and police officials to strictly enforce COVID-19 guidelines and said they could themselves decide on shutting down specific areas in case of continuous overcrowding.

The prospect of coronavirus cases increasing in specific areas in view of excessive gathering of people was discussed in the meeting chaired by the Chief Minister, an official release here said.

If COVID-19 guidelines were not followed properly, it would have serious adverse effects and hence district collectors and police officials must stringently enforce the government’s coronavirus related guidelines, the Chief Minister advised officials.

Relaxations were made in restrictions taking into account the livelihood considerations of the people but norms should be followed properly to prevent virus spread.

If gathering of people in very large numbers was observed continuously in specific areas, the concerned district collectors, corporation commissioners and police officials could take a decision on measures to close down such neighbourhoods considering public good.

Action would be taken against retail outlets and commercial establishments if norms specified to help prevent the spread of coronavirus were violated and if people were allowed in excess, the government said.

The CM advising officials to strictly enforce virus guidelines comes against the backdrop of Tamil Nadu reporting a marginal increase in new virus cases for the first time on July 29 after a decline that began in the last week of May.

While 1,859 new cases were reported on Thursday, the state logged 1,947 fresh infections on Friday, the second day of marginal spike. On July 28, Tamil Nadu registered 1,756 new cases.

Use of hand sanitiser, subjecting people to thermal screening, wearing mask, ensuring proper ventilation in stores and maintenance of physical distancing are among the guidelines stipulated for preventing the virus spread.

The government appealed to the people to be vigilant and stick to COVID appropriate behaviour so that the third wave of the coronavirus does not emerge in Tamil Nadu.

Emphasising on the saying “prevention is better than cure,” the Chief Minister said,”this is the time to be on guard,” and requested people to extend their cooperation to the government in fully curbing the virus spread. With the drop in fresh cases, the government gradually eased COVID-19 curbs from June.

England player Stokes takes indefinite break from cricket to ‘prioritise’ mental wellbeing

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England's Ben Stokes

LONDON: Star England all-rounder Ben Stokes has taken an indefinite break from the game to “prioritise his mental wellbeing” and withdrawn from the home Test series against India beginning August 4.

In a statement, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has also said that Stokes has taken the break to also rest his left index finger, “which has not fully healed since his return to competitive cricket earlier this month”.

Mental health of cricketers in COVID times has become a topic of constant discussion with the players having to play in bio-bubbles for months.

Managing Director of England men’s cricket, Ashley Giles, said the ECB supports Stokes’ decision.

“Ben has shown tremendous courage to open up about his feelings and wellbeing. Our primary focus has always been and will continue to be the mental health and welfare of all of our people,” said Giles, also a former England spinner.

“The demands on our athletes to prepare and play elite sport are relentless in a typical environment, but the ongoing pandemic has acutely compounded this.”

“Spending significant amounts of time away from family, with minimal freedoms, is extremely challenging.

“The cumulative effect of operating almost continuously in these environments over the last 16 months has had a major impact on everyone’s wellbeing.”

Giles added that Stokes will be given all the time he needs to get back to his best shape both physically and mentally.

“Ben will be given as long as he needs, and we look forward to seeing him playing cricket for England in the future,” he said.

Craig Overton has replaced Stokes in the England squad for the India series.

Karnataka CM’s Shiggaon & lacks roads, connectivity, health infrastructure

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SHIGGAON: As you step outside the palatial bungalow of the new Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai on Savanur-Shiggon main road in Shiggaon, dusty and poorly managed roads tell the sorry tale of the constituency. The people are happy that their favourite leader has been chosen as the Chief Minister of the state, but they list out their demands.

This is the third time Basavaraj Bommai is representing the Shiggaon-Savanur constituency of Haveri district. The town is badly in need of good roads, illumination and a health care system that can cater to hundreds of villages around. For every major health need the patients need to come to KIMS hospital in Hubballi. Besides the health infrastructure, the connectivity and transport services to 417 villages in Shiggaon and Savanur needs a boost.

But people also remember the contributions of Bommai who helped them solve their drinking water issues. For several years Savanur and Shiggaon had major problems with drinking especially during summer months. Thanks to the efforts of Bommai, two large water bodies in these towns were filled with water from the Varada river. For the last three years, the summers have not been so difficult for the people here. This has also helped large numbers of farmers who live along these canals.

Puttangouda Patil, resident of Shiggaon said that in 2013 itself Bommai ensured completion of the drinking water canal between Naganur and Gangibhavi. There are 3.5 lakh people in these two towns and villages who badly require medical facilities and good roads for commuting. Good roads will also help them take their agricultural produce to the markets in Haveri, Byadgi and Rangebennur,” he said.

“Now that Bommai has promised that he will make Shiggaon as a model constituency, we are hoping to see some development. There has been a long-pending demand from the people that Shinggaon should have a medical college,” said Shivappa Chikkannavar, a businessman from Shiggaon

US seizes 23,000 pills of India-made sildenafil citrate, active ingredient in Viagra

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WASHINGTON: The US customs officials have seized over 23,000 pills of India-made sildenafil citrate, an active ingredient in the prescription drug Viagra, with a suggested retail price of USD 712,756.

The shipment, seized in Cincinnati, originated from an apartment residence in India, it said.

Prescription medications are restricted by the US Food and Drug Administration and cannot be imported into the US without proper documentation and labelling.

It provides basic import information about admissibility requirements and the clearance process for e-commerce goods and encourages buyers to confirm that their purchases and the importation of those purchases comply with any state and federal import regulations.

“Protecting our citizens from inferior products with unknown ingredients is a priority for our officers and specialists,” said LaFonda Sutton-Burke, Director, Field Operations-Chicago Field Office.

“CBP is entrusted with enforcing hundreds of laws for other government agencies, and our inter-agency partnerships are critical to ensuring the safety of the American people,” he added.

Bengal to continue popular scheme that helped Trinamool keep power

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Mamata Banerjee

KOLKATA:  The West Bengal government has set up a state-level committee and three task forces to implement the “Duare Sarkar’’ scheme twice every year from now. Duare Sarkar is an inititiave of the state government for the delivery of specific government schemes to the door steps of the people.

The initiative, which was floated ahead of this year’s Assembly elections, is widely viewed as a key factor that helped Mamata-led Trinamool Congress come to power for the third straight term. Headed by Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi, the state-level committee comprises heads of many government departments. It will oversee the functioning of the three task forces—one for Kolkata and two for other districts.

Party leaders have called Mamata’s decision to continue the scheme “a smart move” “The scheme proved to be effective in gaining support of the electorate. The decision to continue the initiative will send a message that winning people’s support ahead of the elections was not the only goal of Mamata Banerjee. Instead, it will help her project an image of herself as a people-friendly leader, which will help the TMC against the BJP in the coming years,’’ said a senior leader of the ruling party.

The state government will host camps from August 16 to September 15 in various parts of the state and applications will be scrutinised between September 8 and 23, following which services will be delivered from September 24 to 30. People can apply for a host of state-run schemes at the camps instead of visiting the offices of the district administration.

A long with “Duare Sarkar’’, the state government is also planning to launch various schemes.

Lakshmir Bhandar is one of the schemes set to be launched. Announced by Mamata ahead of the Assembly elections, the scheme offers women in the state a monthly payout. Under the scheme, a female member of a general caste family would get Rs 500 per month. Those from the SC or ST families would get Rs 1,000 per month. Apart from this, a health insurance scheme for all and credit cards for students are among the other initiatives being lined up.

PV Sindhu beats Akane Yamaguchi to enter semifinals at Tokyo Olympics

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TOKYO: You can hear a pin drop inside the badminton arena at the Musashino Forest Plaza. Because there are no crowds, you can also hear two players breathing. Extremely fast. Both of them are down. The rally they have played is 62 seconds long. The lactic acid in their muscles is making both of them grimace. The umpire shows some sympathy and allows both of them an unscheduled water and towel break.

Akane Yamaguchi, who wins the point with a smash to PV Sindhu’s backhand, senses an opportunity. It’s the first time she has sensed any opportunity Friday. She has won six of the last seven points, it’s the kind of run players usually use as a platform to win games, and matches.

The Japanese, nicknamed the Energiser Bunny because of her endurance capacities, forages on moments like this. Sindhu, who is feeling the pace for the first time in the match, loses her iron-like grip on the match. Five minutes before that 54-shot rally, Sindhu is seven points away from a second successive semifinal at the Olympics. A few minutes after that rally, Yamaguchi is one point away from forcing the third game. 

The next five minutes is the perfect example of why Sindhu has become this big-game monster, an all-conquering mamba mentality that has helped her make the big stages her playground.

From 18-20, she saves both game points with two smashes after moving Yamaguchi around the court like she’s a master puppeteer. Now, strictly speaking, the Japanese doesn’t mind moving around, she is born to play that way. But she doesn’t like being on the receiving end of Sindhu’s punishing smashes. 18-20 becomes 21-20 just like that, thanks to her prowess in moving the bird to the front and back court before moving in for the kill. The 1-2 at 19-20 is a particular highlight. The ma­tch point is academic because this is a different Sindhu.

There was a time when she was considered a bit fragile on the big occasions. Not anymore. She is an absolute beast and the way she goes about monstering her opponents in big matches is almost mean. On commentary, Gill Clark says this is the form that took her to Worlds gold in Basel in 2019. Almost two years removed from Basel, the 26-year-old, if anything, looks even more assured. She has improved her net play — on Friday, she engaged and won a lot of points with her net play — and is moving a lot better. If she came into the limelight with an ‘imma smash everything’ recklessness, she is now more calculative, somehow even more dangerous.    

She will have to be that on Saturday. Standing on the other side of the green canvas is Tai Tzu-Ying, her greatest nemesis. The Chinese Taipei, one of the greatest women’s players of all time, leads the head-to-head count 5-13 (to be fair almost everybody in the women’s game has a negative head-to-head record against her). She is a magician with her flicks, variations and drops. Playing her is akin to playing the sport while trying to dance on ice without proper footwear. Even as you preparing to move in one direction, she diverts the bird in another direction.

Olympics: Vandana Katariya’s hat-trick keeps India’s hopes alive as they beat South Africa 4-3 in women’s hockey

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TOKYO: Striker Vandana Katariya scored a historic hat-trick to keep alive the Indian women’s hockey team’s quarterfinals hopes in the Olympics with a fighting 4-3 victory over lower-ranked South Africa in its must-win final group match here on Saturday.

Vandana (4th, 17th, 49th minutes) achieved a rare feat by becoming the first Indian woman hockey player to score a hat-trick in the history of the Olympics.

Young Neha Goyal (32nd) was the other goal getter as the Rani Rampal-led side registered its second consecutive win at the Games.

South Africa’s goals came from the sticks of Tarryn Glasby (15th), skipper Erin Hunter (30th) and Marizen Marais (39th).

With two wins from their final two pool matches, India have finished the group stages with six points from five games.

By virtue of this win, India have jumped to the fourth position in Pool A, but Ireland still have a chance to leapfrog the Indians.

India’s fate now depends on the outcome of the last Pool A match between Great Britain and Ireland.

The Indians will have to wait till the evening to know their fate.

A Ireland loss or a draw will be enough for India to seal their place in the quarterfinals.

The top four teams from each pool will qualify for the knockout round.

Needing a win to stay alive in the competition, the Indians meant business and pressed hard on the South African defence from the start.

In doing so, India secured two penalty corners in the first two minutes of the match but dragflicker Gurjit Kaur’s poor execution continued in the tournament.

Still it didn’t take India long to open their account and in the fourth minute, Vandana gave her side the lead, tapping in from close range after being set up by Navneet Kaur’s great run from the right flank.

India kept up the pressure and penetrated the South African circle many times without much success.

But seconds from the end of first quarter, a lapse in concentration from the defence cost India dearly as South Africa drew level through Tarryn Glasby, who deflected in a long shot from Taryn Mallett.

India had enough time to regain their lead through a penalty corner but wasted the opportunity.

Two minutes into the second quarter, Vandana restored India’s lead when he deflected in Deep Grace Ekka’s flick from their fourth penalty corner.

The Indians had three more chances to extend their lead in the second quarter but they couldn’t do so.

The Rani Rampal-led side got two more penalty corners which they wasted, and then, Neha Goyal’s effort from open play was saved by the South Africa goalkeeper.

Just like in the first quarter, India gave away their lead seconds away from half time when Hunter found the net from her team’s first penalty corner.

Two minutes after the change of ends, Neha restored the lead again, deflecting in a Rani hit from a penalty corner as the Indians executed a fine variation.

The fragile Indian defence wilted under pressure once again, when South Africa drew level for the third time in the match, through a Marais strike.

South Africa enjoyed a good run of play in the initial minutes of final quarter and, in the process, secured three penalty corners quickly, but this time the Indian defence did enough to thwart the dangers.

In the 49th minute, a brilliant Vandana saved the day for India when she deflected in Gurjit Kaur’s flick from another penalty corner.

Thereafter, the Indians fell back and looked contend to keep the possession as South Africa pressed hard.

Two minutes from the final hooter, the Indians successfully referred a penalty corner decision given against them.

COVID-19 India Update India records 41,649 fresh infections 593 more fatalities case fatality rate at 1.34%

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NEW DELHI: With a single-day rise of 41,649 new cases, India’s COVID-19 tally climbed to 3,16,13,993 on Saturday, while the death toll due to the viral disease shot up to 4,23,810 with 593 more people succumbing to it, the Union health ministry said.

The number of active cases has gone up to 408920, accounting for 1.29 per cent of the total number of cases, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.37 per cent, the data showed.

An increase of 3,765 cases was recorded in the active COVID-19 tally in a span of 24 hours.

Also, 17,76,315 tests to detect the infection were carried out on Friday, taking the total number of such tests conducted so far in the country to 46,64,27,038, while the daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.34 per cen

The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.42 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recovered from the disease has gone up to 30781263, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, the data showed.

The cumulative number of Covid vaccine doses administered in the country so far has reached 46.15 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, 30-lakh mark on August 23, 40-lakh mark on September 5 and 50-lakh mark on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28 last year, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19.

The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore COVID-19 cases on May 4 this year and the three-crore mark on June 23.

The 593 fresh fatalities include 231 from Maharashtra and 116 from Kerala.

A total of 423810 Covid deaths have been reported in the country so far, including 132566 from Maharashtra, 36525 from Karnataka, 34050 from Tamil Nadu, 25052 from Delhi, 22756 from Uttar Pradesh, 18128 from West Bengal and 16292 from Punjab.

Bihar man gets death sentence for rape, murder of 10-year-old

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SASARAM: A court in Bihar’s Rohtas district gave death sentence to a man held guilty of rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl.

Additional District and Sessions Judge, Rohtas, Neeraj Bihari Lal, who passed the order on Friday, also slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict, Baliram Singh.

The incident took place on November 14 last year at a village in the Dalmianagar police station area.

Singh had ensnared the child with the promise of showing her the photograph of a god and took her to a secluded spot and after committing the horrendous crime, hid the body inside a wooden box, officials said.

When the victim’s family members went searching, they were told by some villagers that they had spotted the girl with Singh.

The accused was caught by police and he confessed to having committed the crime, they said.

The court held that the offence fell in the “rarest of rare” category and gave the death sentence.

It also directed the district administration to pay an ex-gratia of Rs 8 lakh to family members of the deceased under the Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault/Other Crimes.

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