Archives for June 2022

NEW DELHI: The price for a commercial LPG cylinder has been reduced by Rs 135 with immediate effect from today. With the latest reduction, a 19-kg commercial Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder in Delhi will now cost Rs 2219.

Prior to the reduction in prices, the commercial LPG cylinder was priced at Rs 2454 in Kolkata, Rs 2306 in Mumbai, and Rs 2507 in Chennai. After the respite, the rate for a commercial LPG cylinder in Kolkata is now Rs 2322, Rs 2171.50 in Mumbai, and Rs 2373 in Chennai.

This reduction in price is only valid for commercial ones, and not the domestic LPG cylinders.

Earlier, in the first week of May, the price of an LPG cylinder was hiked by Rs 50.On May 1, the price of a 19-kilograms commercial LPG cylinder was increased by Rs 102.50, to Rs 2355.50.

Last month, on May 1, Oil marketing companies organized more than 5000 LPG panchayats on the occasion of Ujjwala Diwas, where apart from experience sharing, aimed at safe and sustained usage of LPG, all-out efforts were made to maximize customer enrolment.

NEW DELHI: A petrol pump dealers’ association has announced that no purchase of petrol and diesel will be done from oil marketing companies (OMC) on Tuesday as a mark of protest against no increase in the commission of petrol pumps by the OMCs.

“In 24 states in the country, we will not purchase petrol and diesel from oil marketing companies (OMC) on Tuesday, 31 May in protest of no revision in their commissions despite the rise in petrol and diesel prices,” said President, Delhi Petrol Dealers Association.

According to the Association, the dealer margins are to be revised every six months but the OMCs have not done the same since 2017 despite a steep increase in fuel prices and operational costs.

The Association said the reduction in prices of petrol and diesel by the central government through excise duty cut has put the burden on petrol pumps leading to further losses.

Earlier this month, in a significant step aimed at providing relief to people from high fuel prices, the Centre announced a reduction in excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on diesel by Rs 6 per litre.

The states where the petrol dealers will join the protest include Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim and West Bengal.

ALIGARH: A college professor here was sent on compulsory leave after a video showing him performing ‘namaz’ in the college lawns went viral and Hindu right-wing youth leaders demanded action against him.

The incident was reported in Sri Varshney College following which Professor S R Khalid was on Tuesday sent on one month’s compulsory leave.

A spokesman of the college told media that an inquiry has been ordered into the matter after some youth leaders belonging to the Bhartiya Janata Yuwa Morcha (BJYM) charged the teacher of indiscipline and trying to disturb peace by offering prayers at a public place.

A complaint in this connection was also filed at Kuwarsi police station.

Police said action in the matter will be taken after receiving a report from the college authorities.

Student leader Deepak Sharma Azaad told reporters that by offering ‘namaaz’ inside the college campus, the professor was trying to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere.

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has spoken to his Pakistani counterpart, Shehbaz Sharif, for the first time since the latter’s election last month to discuss a range of topics, including bilateral trade and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Downing Street said the call between the leaders on Monday evening focussed on regional and international affairs, including the role of a new UK Trade Envoy to Pakistan – Conservative member of Parliament Mark Eastwood – appointed last year.

Johnson also thanked Pakistan for help in relocating Afghans to the UK after the Taliban takeover of Kabul.

“Welcoming the United Kingdom and Pakistan’s strong partnership over the past 75 years, the Prime Minister said the relationship is incarnated in the close ties between our people,” a Downing Street spokesperson said in a readout of the call.

“They agreed to strengthen those ties further and boost trade and investment, with the Prime Minister highlighting the appointment of a new UK Trade Envoy to Pakistan to drive those efforts,” the spokesperson said.

The readout added: “On international affairs, Prime Minister Sharif recognised the UK’s efforts to address the crisis in Ukraine, and the leaders agreed on the importance of ending the immense human suffering and global economic instability caused by the invasion.

“The Prime Minister thanked Pakistan for their help in relocating Afghans to the UK after the Taliban takeover of Kabul. The leaders welcomed ongoing cooperation and committed to work together to support a more peaceful and tolerant Afghanistan, noting the importance of ensuring girls can go to school.”

Sharif is said to have passed on his congratulations on Queen Elizabeth II’s upcoming Platinum Jubilee celebrations this weekend.

“The leaders looked forward to meeting in person in the near future,” Downing Street said.

PML-N leader Shehbaz Sharif took office in April this year after a no-confidence motion against former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

CANBERRA: A record 13 women, including the first female Muslim, were sworn in as ministers in Australia’s new government on Wednesday.

The ceremony conducted by Governor-General David Hurley in the capital, Canberra, came 11 days after new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led the center-left Labor Party to an election victory over the incumbent conservatives.

“Proud to lead an inclusive government that is as diverse as Australia itself,” Albanese wrote on Twitter. “Welcome to all these new Labor members.”

Anne Aly was sworn in as Australia’s first female Muslim minister while Ed Husic became the first Muslim to serve in Cabinet

Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong were sworn in early last week so they could fly to Tokyo for a summit with President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Of the 30 ministers appointed to the new government, nearly half are women. Women also hold a record 10 spots out of 23 in core Cabinet roles. With some votes still to be counted from last month’s election, the Labor Party has secured enough seats to hold an outright majority in the 150-seat House.

Albanese’s Cabinet includes some new faces as well as some lawmakers who served in the previous Labor government that last held power nine years ago.

“We have an overflow of talent on our side of the parliament,” Albanese said, adding that “it’s the most experienced incoming Labor government in our history since federation.”

Albanese has been getting support from an unusual source: British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg.

Bragg wrote on Twitter that he’d awoken to find that “the new prime minister of Australia had quoted my lyrics in his first press conference.”  Bragg went on to say he wasn’t surprised as he’s been friends with Albanese for more than 20 years after they met at a theater in Sydney and bonded over a shared love of music and compassionate politics.

“The challenges he faces are daunting and I don’t envy him his success,” Bragg wrote. “Some of us just sing about making the world a better place ” he now has the responsibility of delivering on that promise.

LUCKNOW: A local court on Tuesday said that if the Hindu parties want to move an application for appointment of a commission to survey the Tilewali Masjid here, they may approach the civil judge before whom the regular suit pertaining to the issue is already pending.

The order came from the district court while hearing a civil revision petition by the Muslim side that challenged the order passed on September 25, 2017 by the civil judge declining to reject the regular suit entirely.

The regular suit was filed by Lord Shesh Nagesh Tileshwar Mahadev in the court of civil judge (junior division) South in the state capital in 2013.

In the suit, it is claimed that there is a temple of Lord Shesh Nagesh at Tilewali Masjid in Lucknow and it was being damaged by the defendants.

The plaintiff had demanded ownership right on the premises and also permission to offer prayers at the site.

When the regular suit was filed, it was opposed by the Muslim side which claimed that the suit was time-barred.

After hearing the parties, the civil judge declined to reject the entire suit on September 25, 2017.

Maulana Syed Shah Fazlur Rahman then moved the district judge on October 11, 2017 filing a civil revision against the order.

Meanwhile, the Hindu parties moved an application before the district judge seeking the appointment of a Commission to survey the premises, so that the site could be protected.

Additional District Judge Kalpana said that the application could be filed before the civil judge because the regular suit is still pending before it.

The ADJ, however, fixed July 2 as the next date for hearing the revision petition.

On the other hand, a fresh revision petition has been filed in a district court in Mathura urging it to direct a survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque and verify the claims of signs of a temple there.

“Additional District Judge Sanjay Chaudhary has set July 8 for the disposal of a revision application,” district government counsel Sanjai Gaur said on Tuesday.

Last week, Additional District Judge Sanjai Chaudhari, while disposing of a similar application, had directed a lower court to speedily decide the plea for appointing a court commissioner to survey the Shahi Idgah mosque and verify the claims of temple signs there.

The revision applications came after the lower court of civil judge (senior division), which is hearing a bunch of suits for the removal of Shahi Idgah Masjid from near the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple, on May 23 fixed the next hearing on July 1 on their application for appointing the survey commissioner.

The petitioners have been seeking an urgent order while expressing apprehension that the evidence of the temple structure may be damaged or destroyed.

The judge had decided to hear the matter on the reopening of courts after the summer vacation, instead of passing an order, the counsel for petitioner Dinesh Chandra Sharma, who has now moved the district court, said.

Sharma, treasurer of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, is among those who have filed the suits.

The petitioners had claimed in the earlier application that temple signs are present in the mosque, and had also expressed apprehension that the same (marks) may be disfigured, or destroyed by the defendant of the suit, Sharma said.

It has been requested in the revision application to cancel the order of the lower court and pass an order for the survey, the counsel for the petitioner said.

The lower court is hearing a bunch of suits for the removal of Shahi Idgah Masjid from near the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in the Katra Keshav Dev Temple complex and subsequent interim applications for appointing a court commissioner to survey the mosque.

The petitioners have sought the mosque’s survey, claiming the existence of several signs of temples, like those of “om, swastika and lotus” inside it besides its alleged “Hindu architecture”.

The pleas have been filed by deity Thakur Keshav Dev Ji Maharaj virajman (in-situ) in its capacity as a juristic person, represented by advocates Mahendra Pratap Singh and Rajendra Maheshwari as its “next friend”, among others.

The other petitioners included United Hindu Front founder Jai Bhagwan Goyal, a Delhi resident, and Vrindavan’s Dharm Raksha Sangh president Saurabh Gaur.

The defendants are secretary Intezamia Committee Shahi Masjid Idgah, Mathura, chairman of UP Sunni Central Waqf Board Lucknow, managing trustee of Sri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan Mathura and secretary of Sri Krishna Janmabhumi Trust, Mathura.

BENGALURU: With the India Meteorological Department confirming the arrival of the Southwest Monsoon in Karnataka on Tuesday, the government said it has already prepared a checklist to deal with emergencies. Karnataka, which falls under the South Peninsula region, is likely to witness “normal to above normal” rainfall, which is about 82 per cent.

I have already given a checklist to deputy commissioners, identified vulnerable areas, and formulated action plans at the gram panchayat level,” Revenue Secretary TK Anil Kumar said. With the state likely to witness good rainfall this season, Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) Commissioner Manoj Rajan has predicted that districts in North Karnataka are likely to have above normal rain, and the upper catchment areas of Krishna and Bheema river basins, falling in Maharashtra, will also have above normal rain.

ain likely to be above normal in  Telangana: IMD

Hyderabad: As monsoon is set to arrive in Telangana, India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a long range forecast stating that southwest monsoon 2022 is going to be above normal in most parts of the State this season. The ongoing La Nina conditions from the previous year were slightly weakened in January and subsequently in this February, but again started strengthening from March 2022 onwards.

COLOMBO: Cash-strapped Sri Lanka saw its highest inflation on record for the eighth consecutive month in May, official data showed Wednesday, as the island nation grapples with its worst-ever economic crisis. 

The Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) rose 39.1 percent year-on-year last month, up from 29.8 percent in April, according to the statistics department. Food inflation in Colombo came in at 57.4 percent, up from 46.6 percent in April. 

The price increases in May were yet to fully capture the sharp increases in fuel, one of the many vital commodities in scarce supply across the country.

Private economists say consumer prices are rising even faster than official records show, with one John Hopkins University analyst tracking March inflation at 133 percent — more than six times the official figure.

Sri Lanka’s import-dependent economy has been hammered by a critical foreign currency shortage, leading to months of acute shortages of food, medicines and other essentials. 

Faced with a huge cash crunch, the government on Tuesday raised taxes across the board by rolling back cuts ordered by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in November 2019. Weeks of protests outside the president’s seafront office have demanded his resignation over government mismanagement of the crisis.

Sri Lanka has defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt and is seeking international aid to revive its bankrupt economy, including from the International Monetary Fund.