Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / Archives for 2021

Archives for 2021

Karnataka Covid tally touches 25 lakh mark, death toll over 27k

by

BENGALURU: With an addition of 24,214 fresh cases, the state’s Covid-19 tally touched the 25-lakh mark (25,23,998 cases) on Thursday. With this, the positivity rate rose to 8.64 per cent from 8.60 per cent. The death toll too crossed the 27,000-mark (27,405) since the beginning of the pandemic last year with 476 people succumbing to the virus in the State on Thursday.

In Bengaluru, 5,949 cases were added which took the city tally  to 11,43,878 cases.Also, 273 deaths took the city’s mortality rate from 1.06 per cent to 1.08 per cent.There were 31,459 discharges in the State on Thursday, which took the recovery rate to 82.97 per cent from  82.52 per cent. Active cases in the State too saw a dip from 4.09 lakh on Wednesday to  4.02 lakh on Thursday.

Germany to inoculate children over 12 against COVID-19 from June 7

by

The European Medicines Agency is expected to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid jab for 12- to 15-year-olds on Friday. It is already authorised in the EU for those over 16.

BERLIN: Germany will start offering coronavirus jabs to children over the age of 12 from June 7, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday.

The European Medicines Agency is expected to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid jab for 12- to 15-year-olds on Friday. It is already authorised in the EU for those over 16.

“Children and young people aged 12 and over will have the chance to book a vaccine appointment from June 7,” Merkel said after talks with Germany’s regional leaders.

Those willing will be offered at least their first of two shots by the end of August, she added, roughly in time for the new school year.

“The main message to parents is: there will be no compulsory vaccinations,” Merkel told reporters. 

Schools would not require pupils to be vaccinated, she said. “And it would be totally wrong to think you can only go on holiday with a vaccinated child.”

Inoculating children is seen as a key step towards achieving herd immunity in the fight against the pandemic. 

Canada and the United States have already started vaccinating over-12s.

But experts have also expressed reservations, pointing out that children rarely suffer from severe Covid and that vaccine supply is still tight.

Merkel urged patience, saying not everyone would get an appointment for their child right away.

Germany’s STIKO vaccine regulator is due to give its recommendations for over -12s shortly after the Pfizer jab is approved.

The agency has already signalled it intends to recommend the jab only for children in risk categories, such as those with underlying medical conditions.

All over -12s will still be allowed to get jabbed regardless, similar to the AstraZeneca vaccine which is officially recommended only for people over 60 inGermany but is open to anyone who has consulted with their doctor.

After a much-criticised slow start, the coronavirus inoculation campaign in Europe’s top economy has kicked into high gear in recent weeks.

More than 40 percent of adults have now had their first jab, and 15 percent are fully vaccinated.

The accelerated pace, along with rapid testing and widespread shutdowns, has helped break a third coronavirus wave and allowedGermany to relax restrictions.

“This is a great success,” Merkel said. But she called on Germans not to ditch precautions such as social distancing, mask wearing, and airing out rooms. 

SC to hear on Monday plea seeking cancellation of Class XII exams amid COVID-19

by

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday said it would hear on May 31 a plea seeking directions to cancel Class 12 examinations in the wake of the surge in COVID-19 cases across the country. The matter came up for hearing before a bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari.

At the outset, the bench asked petitioner Mamta Sharma whether she has served the copy of the plea to the counsel representing the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). When the petitioner said that she will serve the copy of the petition to the parties, the bench observed, “You do it. We will have it on Monday (May 31).”

“We permit the counsel for the petitioner to serve advance copy of the petition to respondents namely the central agency, counsel for the CBSE and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination,” the bench said, adding, “List on Monday (May 31)”.

The petition has arrayed the Centre, the CBSE and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination as respondents in the matter. During the hearing conducted through video-conferencing, Justice Maheshwari observed that the CBSE is likely to take a call on this issue on June 1.

The counsel representing the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination told the bench that since the apex court is hearing the matter, the high courts should not deal with it. “Nothing will happen till Monday,” the bench said.

When the petitioner told the bench that the top court can take suo motu cognisance on the issue, the bench said, “Be optimistic. May be by Monday some resolution will be there. Let us have it on Monday.”

The petition has sought directions to the Centre, the CBSE and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination to cancel the Class 12 examinations and devise an “objective methodology” to declare the result within a specific timeframe.

The plea has contended that due to the unprecedented health emergency and surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, it is not possible to conduct the examination and any further delay would cause irreparable loss to the future of students.

The CBSE had earlier said it has not taken any decision yet on Class 12 board examination even as a section of students and parents have been demanding cancellation of exams in view of the pandemic situation.

The board had on April 14 announced cancellation of Class 10 exams and postponement of Class 12 exams in view of the surge in coronavirus cases.

ARMY REAFFIRMS ZERO TOLERANCE TOWARDS MAL PRACTICES AND EXEMPLARY ACTION AGAINST DEFAULTERS IN THE RECRUITMENT CASE

by

  1. Indian Army reaffirms its resolve of zero tolerance towards corrupt practices and continues to
    extend full procedural support for ongoing joint investigation of the question paper leak case of the Common Entrance Examination for recruitment of Soldiers (General Duty). The investigations of the said case commenced on an initial tip-off by the Army to the Police on 28 Feb 2021.
  2. Timely actions and whole heated support by Army to the Police is reflective of Army’s resolve to weed out mal practices and make the existing recruitment system foolproof and robust. The interest in the youth to join Armed forces needs no reiteration. The Army therefore continues to implement strict checks and balances to ensure a transparent recruitment process.
  3. Lt Gen JS Nain, Army Commander, Southern Command has issued strict instructions to all the Station Commanders in the Area of responsibility to assist in the ongoing investigations . He has instituted proactive measures to enable early completion of the investigations.
  4. The Indian Army exhorts all candidates not to fall prey to the nefarious designs of touts and inimical elements, and support the authorities to keep the recruitment system clean and transparent.

Renowned Educationist, founder of Al-Ameen Educational Society Dr Mumtaz Ahmed Khan passes away

by

Renowned Educationist, founder of Al-Ameen Educational Society Dr Mumtaz Ahmed Khan passes away

Bengaluru: Renowned educationist, founder of  Daily Salar newspaper, and former Pro-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Dr Mumtaz Ahmed Khan passed away Thursday evening in Bengaluru. He was 86.

Popularly known as as ‘Baba-e-Taalim’, for his services in Education sector, Dr Mumtaz Ahmed Khan founded the Al-Ameen Educational Society in 1966.

The group now has more than 200 in Karnataka and all over the country. In Bengaluru, the Al-Ameen institution has various colleges catering to varied streams from pre-university, degree, post-graduation Institute of Management, College of Pharmacy, and Law College to the Al-Ameen College of Education.

Born on 6 September 1935 in Trichy in Tamil Nadu, Dr Khan did his MBBS at Madras University, Chennai in 1963. 

He is a recipient of several awards like Karnataka Rajyothsava award (1990), Kempegowda Award, Junior Jayees Award and Public Relation Society of India Award.

He is survived by his wife, one son, and two daughters.

Dominica court stops removal of Mehul Choksi from country

by

New Delhi: A court in Dominica has “restrained” authorities from removing fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi from the Caribbean island country till further orders, local media reported.

The order came on a petition filed by the lawyers of Choksi, who was detained in Dominica for “illegal entry”.

“The legal team has filed a habeas corpus petition in Dominica for Mehul Choksi and have also highlighted deprivation of access to Mehul Choksi and deprivation of constitutional rights to legal assistance.

The High Court of Justice in Dominica “restrained” the authorities from “removing” Choksi till further orders and listed the matter for hearing on Friday (May 28 at 9 am local time), Antigua News Room reported.

On Thursday, Aggarwal had raised doubts about the way Choksi had gone missing from Antigua and Barbuda only to be detained in Dominica, about 100 nautical miles away, for illegal entry.

Choksi’s lawyer in Dominica, Wayne Marsh, had told a radio show that in a brief interaction with his client, allowed by authorities after a lot of efforts, the diamantaire had claimed that he was picked up at Jolly Harbour in Antigua and Barbuda by men looking like Indian and Antiguan policemen and was put in a vessel.

Marsh had said he saw marks on the body of Choksi who had swollen eyes and feared for his life. He said Choksi is a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda and not India hence he should be sent back.

Aggarwal called the entire episode of Choksi’s mysterious disappearance and detention in Dominica “fishy”.

“Lawyers for Choksi in Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica have been trying to have a legal interview with him as per his constitutional rights but they were denied access to him. After great effort they were able to speak to Choksi for two minutes during which he narrated a horrifying experience which is an eye-opener and vindicates my stand that he would not have gone from Antigua voluntarily,” Aggarwal said.

He said that after being taken from Antigua, Choksi was kept somewhere and then on Monday he was taken to a police station. Since then, he has been there and this news to the world was broken only on Wednesday, and there were marks on his body, Aggarwal said.

“There is something fishy and I guess it was a strategy to take him to another country so that there are chances of sending him back to India. So I don’t know what forces are operating. Only the time will tell,” he said.

Choksi, who is wanted in a Rs 13,500-crore loan fraud in the Punjab National Bank, was last seen going for dinner in his car in Antigua and Barbuda on Sunday.

His staff had reported him missing after his car was found.

On Thursday (Indian time), the Dominica government confirmed his presence on its soil, saying he has been “detained” for illegal entry. 

COVID-19 India Update Daily count in India lowest in 44 days

by

New Delhi: The single day rise in coronavirus cases in India fell below the 2-lakh mark for the second time this month taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,75,55,457, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

A total of 1,86,364 new coronavirus infections were reported in a day, the lowest in around 44 days, while the death toll climbed to 3,18,895 with 3,660 daily deaths, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Also, 20,70,508 tests were conducted on Thursday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 33,90,39,861.

The daily positivity has declined to 9 per cent. It has been less than 10 per cent for four consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has further declined to 10.42 per cent.

The active cases have further reduced to 23,43,152 comprising 8.50 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 90.34 per cent.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,48,93,410, while the case fatality rate has increased to 1.16 per cent, the data stated.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore on May 4.

Remove GST on life-saving medicines, equipment used in COVID-19 fight Priyanka Gandhi to govt

by

print sharing button

Remove GST on life-saving medicines, equipment used in COVID-19 fight: Priyanka Gandhi to govt
Priyanka Gandhi

New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday urged the Centre to remove GST on all life-saving medicines and equipment being used in the fight against COVID-19, asserting that charging tax on such items amid the pandemic amounts to “cruelty”.

Her appeal to the government came ahead of the GST Council meeting, which decides on taxes on goods and services, later on Friday.

Recovering GST on COVID-related products from people who struggled for ambulances, beds, ventilators, oxygen, medicines, vaccines during the pandemic amounts to “cruelty and insensitivity”, Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

“Today, in the GST Council, the government should remove GST on all life-saving medicines and equipment being used in the fight against COVID,” the Congress general secretary said.

She also attached a list of items being commonly used in the fight against coronavirus and the rate of GST charged on them.

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives