Archives for 2021

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan is on oxygen support and his condition is critical, informed Medanta Hospital, Lucknow on Saturday.

His son Abdullah Khan was also shifted to the same hospital. The father-son duo had tested positive for COVID-19 on April 30. Azam Khan’s health suddenly deteriorated on May 9 following which he along with his son was sent to Lucknow by an ambulance.

Khan has been lodged in Sitapur jail since February last year with more than a hundred cases registered against him. His son has also been lodged in Sitapur jail in several cases filed against him.

NEW DELHI: Airlines can operate only 50 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic flights from June 1 instead of 80 per cent permitted currently, the Civil Aviation Ministry said on Friday.

When the government had resumed scheduled domestic flights in India on May 25 last year after a two-month-long break, the ministry had permitted the carriers to operate not more than 33 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic services.

This cap was gradually increased to up to 80 per cent by December last year.

On Friday, the Civil Aviation Ministry reduced the cap from 80 per cent to 50 per cent.

This reduction will come into effect from June 1, it said.

ZAGREB: Croatia announced Friday that it will purchase 12 used Rafale fighter jets from France for nearly 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), to replace its aging fleet of Soviet-era aircraft and strengthen its air force amid lingering tensions in the Balkans.

Plenkovic said Croatia’s largest single military purchase since it split from the Yugoslav federation in the 1991-95 war will be worth 999 million euros and will involve 10 single-seater and two 2-seater F3R Rafale twin-engine aircraft.

The package will include the aircraft, crew training and some weapons, according to Croatian media. The first six Rafales will be delivered in 2024, with the rest due the following year.

The Rafales will replace a few still operational Soviet-era MiG-21s — first developed in the 1950s — whose resources expire in 2024. Most of the MiGs were originally snatched from the Yugoslav military which tried to stop Croatia’s secession from the former Serb-dominated federation.

NATO and European Union member Croatia has faced a mini arms race with Russian ally Serbia, which has recently received six used MiG-29 fighter jets from Russia and four more of the type from Belarus earlier this month.

“With the purchase of the multi-purpose aircraft we will secure a mighty deterrent against possible attacks on our country,” Plenkovic said at a government session which approved the purchase.

The French Defense Ministry said in a statement that Croatia’s choice “will considerably strengthen the strategic partnership between France and Croatia.”

“This is the second time that a European country has chosen the Rafale and the 5th country in total” after Qatar, Egypt, India and Greece, the statement said.

“The choice of Croatia is a choice of sovereignty, resolutely European,” French Defense Minister Florence Parly said.

“The fact that a European country chooses the offer of another European country is a strong sign that goes beyond the symbol,” Parly said. “We are building, brick by brick, the fundamentals of a European strategic culture.”

The latest bidding process was the second attempt by Croatia to purchase modern fighter jets. In 2018, a deal to buy 12 used F-16s from Israel was scrapped after the US failed to approve the sale of the American-made jets that were upgraded with Israeli equipment.

KATHMANDU: Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Friday said the outstanding issues relating to the border issue with India will be resolved through diplomatic channels on the basis of historical accords, maps and factual documents.

“Nepal’s international relations will be based on mutual benefit and honour to each other and collaboration will be sought with friendly countries on the basis of equality, justice and understanding,” said Oli, who is heading a minority government.

He said the outstanding issues relating to border issues with India will be resolved through diplomatic channels on the basis of historical accords, maps and factual documents.

India-Nepal bilateral ties came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8 last year.

Nepal reacted sharply to the inauguration of the road, claiming that it passed through the Nepalese territory.

India rejected the claim, asserting that the road lies completely within its territory.

Days later, Nepal came out with a new map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as its territories.

After Nepal released the map, India reacted sharply, calling it a “unilateral act” and cautioning Kathmandu that such “artificial enlargement” of territorial claims will not be acceptable to it.

India said that Nepal”s action violated an understanding reached between the two countries to resolve the boundary issues through talks.

Nepal and India agreed to conduct a joint study of the ongoing construction activities carried by the Indian side along the Indo-Nepal border in Darchula district.

In his address to the nation, Oli expressed gratitude to China, India and other friendly countries for helping the government in its attempt to control the spread of the coronavirus by providing necessary medical supplies.

He informed that the Nepal government has received 3.2 million doses of vaccines against the coronavirus in grants from friendly countries and purchased one million additional vaccines to start the drive against spread of the coronavirus.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Saturday dissolved the 275-member House of Representatives for the second time in five months and announced snap elections on November 12 and November 19 on the advice of Prime Minister Oli, who is heading a minority government.

She rejected the bids of both Prime Minister Oli and the Opposition alliance’s claims to form a government, saying the ‘claims were insufficient’

NEW DELHI: Large social media companies like Google, Facebook and Whats-app have shared details with the IT Ministry as per requirement of the new digital rules, but Twitter is still not following the norms, government sources said.

This when the IT rules clearly require these designated officers of the significant social media platforms to be employees of the company and resident in India, they pointed out.

Meanwhile, most of the large social media platforms have shared details of chief compliance officer, nodal contact person and grievance officer with the ministry, as laid down under the new rules, sources said.

Significant social media intermediaries, including Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Koo, Sharechat, Telegram and LinkedIn, have shared details with the ministry as per the requirement of the IT norms that came into effect earlier this week.

However, Twitter has not yet complied with the IT rules, they said.

After a strong response from the government on Thursday, Twitter sent a communication sharing details of a lawyer working in a law firm in India as their nodal contact person and grievance officer.

On Thursday, the row over Twitter’s handling of certain messages had escalated into an all-out war of words, with the government saying the messaging platform was levelling baseless and false allegations to defame India and dictating terms to the world’s largest democracy.

It started with Twitter calling the visit by Delhi Police to its offices a form of “intimidation” — a statement which met with vociferous protests from both the government and the Delhi Police.

While the government called it “totally baseless, false and an attempt to defame India”, Delhi Police said the statement was “mendacious” and designed to impede a lawful inquiry.

Twitter had marked several tweets by ruling BJP leaders on an alleged strategy document of Opposition to target the government over COVID as containing ‘manipulated media’, which prompted the police to visit its offices late on Monday.

Twitter said it was committed to India as a vital market, but criticised the new IT rules and regulations that it said “inhibit free, open public conversation.”

The government slammed Twitter’s remarks on alleged intimidation and threat to free speech and in a strongly-worded counter said the micro-blogging platform had sought to undermine India’s legal system through its actions and deliberate defiance.

Under the new rules, social media companies like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter have been asked to identify within 36 hours the originator of a flagged message as well as conduct additional due diligence, including the appointment of a chief compliance officer, nodal contact person and resident grievance officer.

The Centre has said the new rules are designed to prevent abuse and misuse of platforms, and offer users a robust forum for grievance redressal.

Non-compliance with rules would result in these platforms losing their intermediary status that provides them immunity from liabilities over any third-party data hosted by them.

In other words, they could be liable for criminal action in case of complaints.

After the new norms came into effect on May 26, the IT Ministry had turned up the heat on significant social media companies, asking them to immediately report compliance and provide details of the three key officials appointed.

NEW DELHI: Petrol price on Saturday crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Mumbai after the 15th increase in fuel prices this month. Petrol price was increased by 26 paise per litre and diesel by 28 paise a litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

The increase – 15th this month – took petrol and diesel prices to a fresh all-time high across the country. The price of petrol, which had already crossed the Rs 100-mark in several cities in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, breached the psychological barrier in Mumbai on Saturday.

In Delhi, the petrol price rose to Rs 93.94 a litre and diesel to Rs 84.89. This is the 15th increase in prices since May 4, when state-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision they observed during assembly elections in states like West Bengal.

Oil companies revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15-days, and foreign exchange rates. Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan had the costliest petrol and diesel in the country at Rs 104.94 per litre and Rs 97.79 a litre, respectively.

In 15 increases, petrol price has risen by Rs 3.54 per litre and diesel by Rs 4.16.