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Archives for June 2022

‘How long will you hide in Guwahati, you will have to come to chowpatty’: Raut taunts rebel MLAs

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MUMBAI: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday posted a tweet targetting the rebel MLAs of the party, in which he said that however long they may “hide” in Assam’s Guwahati, they will ultimately have to come to “chowpatty”, a reference to Mumbai.

“How long will you hide in Guwahati, you will have to come to chowpatty,” the Sena MP tweeted in Hindi along with a photo of the state Assembly’s Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal looking into the distance.

Key government establishments, including the Mantralaya (state secretariat), Vidhan Bhavan (legislature complex), Raj Bhavan and the chief minister’s official bungalow ‘Varsha’ are located in the vicinity of the Girgaum beach, which is also known the Girgaum chowpatty, in south Mumbai.

Majority of Shiv Sena MLAs have shifted their loyalty to minister Eknath Shinde and are currently camping in Guwahati, plunging the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who heads the Sena, into a crisis.

The Maharashtra legislature secretariat had on Saturday issued ‘summons’ to 16 of the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, including Shinde, seeking written replies by the evening of June 27 to the complaints seeking their disqualification.

The party’s national executive has authorised Uddhav Thackeray to take action against the rebel MLAs.

Active COVID-19 cases in country rise to 92,576

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NEW DELHI: India logged 11,739 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,33,89,973, while the active cases rose to 92,576, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.javascript:false

The death toll climbed to 5,24,999 with 25 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.21 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was 98.58 per cent, the ministry said.

An increase of 797 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.59 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 3.25 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,27,72,398 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.21 per cent.

According to the ministry, 197.08 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 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.

The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4, three crore on June 23 last year and four crore on January 25 this year.

The 25 new fatalities include 10 from Kerala, six from Delhi, four from Maharashtra, two from West Bengal and one each from Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan.

New Omicron sub-lineages found in Bengaluru

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BENGALURU: Karnataka Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr K Sudhakar on Wednesday confirmed the prevalence of new sub-lineages of Omicron — BA.3, BA.4 and BA.5 — in Covid-19 cases reported in Bengaluru. Health Commissioner D Randeep told TNIE that INSACOG (Indian SARS Cov2 Genomics Consortium) confirmed the presence of BA.3, BA.4 and BA.5 in the genomic sequencing of 44 samples which tested positive between June 2 and 9.

Dr Sudhakar revealed that BA.5 was confirmed in 38 samples, BA.4 in four samples and BA.3 in two samples. The new variants are observed to be in the nascent phase — BA.3 constitutes 0.10 per cent of the cases reported in May- June, BA.4 constitutes 0.20 per cent, and BA.5 constitutes 1.70 per cent, he said. Covid Technical Advisory Committee Chairman Dr M K Sudarshan said these new sub-lineages are more transmissible than the previous variants.

They can also re-infect those who had contracted the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in January this year. The symptoms are same — stuffy nose, body ache, sore throat and fatigue — but the severity of illness varies, depending on comorbid conditions, especially related to the heart, lung, kidney, liver and morbid obesity, he said.

Assam CM’s wife slaps Rs 100 crore suit on Sisodia

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GUWAHATI:  Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against AAP leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia over the latter’s corruption allegation regarding the purchase of PPE kits during the pandemic period. javascript:false

The suit was filed in the court of civil judge Kamrup (Metro). Advocate Padmadhar Nayak said, “Manish Sisodia gave a political statement and dragged my client Riniki Bhuyan Sarma. She had donated the PPE kits under CSR activities.”

Earlier this month, there was a war of words between Sisodia and the Assam CM. Referring to a media report, Sisodia had accused Sarma of indulging in corruption by awarding contracts of PPE kits and other Covid-related items to his wife and son’s business partners. The AAP leader had asked as to why the firm linked to Sarma’s wife was awarded the contract at Rs 990 per PPE kit when another firm was given only Rs 600 for the same on the same day.

Sarma had then hit back at Sisodia, threatening to file a criminal defamation suit against the Delhi Deputy CM. “Stop sermonising and I will see you soon in Guwahati as you will face criminal defamation,” Sarma had tweeted.

The AAP had lodged a complaint with Guwahati Police demanding that a criminal case is registered against Sarma over the “PPE kits scam”. The party also petitioned Governor Jagdish Mukhi in this regard.

Dismisses charges
Riniki had dismissed the charges and said when not a single PPE kit was available in Assam, she had reached out to an acquaintance  to deliver them

Sri Lanka’s economy has ‘completely collapsed’: Wickremesinghe

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COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s economy has “completely collapsed” and it is facing a far more serious situation beyond the mere shortages of fuel, gas, electricity, and food, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe warned on Wednesday, underscoring the urgency of arriving at an early agreement with the IMF to obtain an additional credit facility.

Sri Lanka has been facing the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948 which has prompted an acute shortage of essential items like food, medicine, cooking gas, and fuel across the island nation.

Giving an update to Parliament on the government’s mitigation measures taken so far, Wickremesinghe, also the finance minister, said, it is no easy task to revive a country with a “completely collapsed” economy, especially one that is dangerously low on foreign reserves.

“If steps had at least been taken to slow down the collapse of the economy at the beginning, we would not be facing this difficult situation today. But we lost out on this opportunity. We are now seeing signs of a possible fall into the very bottom. However, we must come out of this situation. If not, we will be unable to seek solutions to any other issue in the country,” he said.

“We are now facing a far more serious situation beyond the mere shortages of fuel, gas, electricity and food. Our economy has faced a complete collapse. That is the most serious issue before us today. These issues can only be resolved through the reviving of the Sri Lankan economy. In order to do this, we must first resolve the foreign reserves crisis faced by us,” he said.

For Sri Lanka, the Prime Minister said, the only safe option now is to hold discussions with the International Monetary Fund. “In fact, this is our only option. We must take this path. Our aim is to hold discussions with the IMF and arrive at an agreement to obtain an additional credit facility, ” he said.

“The nearly-bankrupt country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, had announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026. Sri Lanka’s total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billion. The foreign currency crisis has crimped imports, creating severe shortages of food, fuel, electricity and other essentials like medicines, forcing people to stand in long lines to fulfill basic needs. The Indian credit lines since January this year have provided a lifeline to Sri Lanka amidst growing public dissent over the worsening economic conditions. But Wickremesinghe said India would not be able to keep Sri Lanka afloat for too long.

“We have taken loans amounting to USD 4 billion under the Indian credit line. We have requested more loan assistance from our Indian counterparts. But even India will not be able to continuously support us in this manner. Even their assistance has its limits. On the other hand, we too must have a plan to repay these loans. These are not charitable donations,” he said.

Wickremesinghe said that currently, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation is USD 700 million in debt.

“As a result, no country or organisation in the world is willing to provide fuel to us. They are even reluctant to provide fuel for cash,” he said.

He informed lawmakers that USD 70 million from the World Bank and USD 20 million from Sri Lankan Government funds will be paid to import 100,000 MT of gas to solve the issue soon.

He said that on Monday, an IMF team arrived in Sri Lanka and the talks with the group will continue for the next several days.

“We have concluded the initial discussions and we have exchanged ideas on various sectors such as public finance, finance, debt sustainability, stability of the banking sector and the social security network,” he said.

“We intend to enter into an official level agreement with the IMF by the end of July,” he said.

He said representatives of the financial and legal advisory firms Lazard and Clifford Chance are now in Sri Lanka to assist in its debt restructuring efforts.

The framework for debt repayment restructuring is being formulated, he said.

He said that next Monday, a team of representatives from the US Department of the Treasury will also arrive in Sri Lanka.

He said that Sri Lanka will organise a credit aid conference which will be led by main lending countries — India, Japan and China.

“There have been some conflicts and disagreements between us in the recent past. We are working towards resolving these and fostering friendly relations once again. Each country has different processes for granting loans. Through the credit aid conference, we hope to arrive at a general consensus on the lending processes,” he said.

“If we receive the IMF seal of approval, the world will once again trust us. It will help us to secure loan assistance as well as low-interest loans from other countries in the world,” the Prime Minister said.

The government is also holding discussions with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, the United States, other friendly nations and heads of state to secure interim short-term loans till the country receives IMF support.

“We will be able to lay the foundation to ensure economic stability following the successful completion of these tasks. But this by no means will be the end. In fact, it will be the beginning of our journey. A new journey toward a stronger economy. We will then have to forge ahead with our plans to strengthen and create a new Sri Lankan economy,” he said.

Underling that the government is also working towards introducing political reforms, he called on the country’s two main opposition parties to attend parliament immediately and support the passing of the 21st amendment to the Constitution and agree to establish the new parliamentary committee system.

Lawmakers of the country’s two main opposition parties are boycotting Parliament this week to protest against Wickremesinghe, who became prime minister just over a month ago and is also finance minister, for not having delivered on his pledges to turn the economy around.

“As I have mentioned before, the situation we face today is in no way normal. I have repeatedly stated that Sri Lanka has not faced a crisis of this magnitude in its recent past. Once we have established a firm economic foundation you can hand over power to any political party as per your wish at an election and elect 225 suitable representatives to Parliament,” he said.

He said currently, Sri Lanka is in need of USD 550 million to meet its monthly fuel needs.

“However, in the face of the economic crisis, we are experiencing difficulties in securing the necessary funds for this purpose. As a result of this, we will take steps to import the maximum fuel stocks possible based on our dollar income. Resolving the fuel shortages will take more time. Therefore I request you to economise when using fuel,” he said.

Mild Tremor experienced in Hassan Villages

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HASSAN: Mild tremor was witnessed in parts of Holenarasipur and Arkalgud taluks in Hassan District early hours of Thursday. The people of Hindalahalli, Kyatanahalli Manuganahalli, Nagaranahalli and Badakyatanahalli , Hallimysuru of Holenarasipur taluk and Arkalgud town have mild Experience of vibrations. The people also shared the experience with neighbours.javascript:false

As per the Karnataka Natural disaster management centre(KANDMC) an earthquake of magnitude 3.4 was recorded at the KADMC. The earthquake epicentre with 0.8 KM of Manuganahalli exactly at 4.37:21 Am.

As per the seismic Intensity map of the said earthquake from the epic center the intensity observed is moderate and the tremor might be felt up to a Maximum radial distance of 40- 50 Km from the epicentre. This type of earthquake is not harmful to the local community although mild shaking is observed locally. The KANDMC says that the AP Centre falls in seismic zone 2nd.

The chances of earthquake occurrence is very less and the possibility of damage also is low.  Ramegowda a farmer from Badakytanahalli said he experienced a mild shake while sleeping and came out of the house. Many people who panicked because of the vibration also ran out of the house and didn’t return till morning he added. 

Told ED Vipassana is the reason for my endurance, says Rahul Gandhi

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NEW DELHI: Speaking on his marathon questioning by the Enforcement Directorate for the first time, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he could endure the long sittings and remain undeterred because of the strength of the party workers and leaders. However, when asked by the probe team the secret of his patience and endurance, Rahul claimed he gave the credit to Vipassana. 

Addressing Congress workers at the party headquarters,  Rahul said he was quizzed in a small room measuring about 12×12 feet by three ED officials for about 10-11 hours and gave the replies patiently without moving much, which surprised the interrogating officers.  

“Officers would come and go; perhaps they needed to take instructions from seniors. But I didn’t move even after 11 hours of questioning. Then they told me they were tired and asked what was the secret (of my stamina)? I thought I would not tell them the real reason. I told them that I practice Vipassana and while doing it, one has to sit for 6-8 hours hence I am used to it. But the truth is that I was not alone in that room; each Congress worker and leader was with me,” said Gandhi.

In 2015, Rahul’s disappearance on the eve of the budget session had hit the headlines. He had gone to Myanmar to attend a Vipassana course. 

Sonia seeks more time to appear before ED 
New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi has sought more time from the ED to join the investigations in National Herald case, citing post-Covid health complications. The probe agency accepted her request to postpone her date of appearance by a few weeks till her complete recovery from Covid-19 and lung infection. The agency has summoned the 75-year-old Congress leader for questioning on June 23. Congress communications department in-charge Jairam Ramesh tweeted that since Sonia had been strictly advised rest at home, she wrote to the ED seeking postponement of her appearance.

Active Covid-19 cases rise to 83,990 with 38 new fatalities

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NEW DELHI: India logged 13,313 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 4,33,44,958, while the active cases rose to 83,990, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.javascript:false

The death toll climbed to 5,24,941 with 38 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.19 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.60 per cent, the ministry said.

An increase of 2,303 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.03 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 2.81 per cent, according to the ministry India’s Covid-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 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 two crore on May 4, three crore on June 23 last year and four crore on January 25 this year.

Maharashtra crisis:Three more Shiv Sena MLAs join Eknath Shinde camp as Uddhav gets cornered further

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Amid the political crisis in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, three more Shiv Sena MLAs on Thursday left for Guwahati in Assam to join the rebel camp led by cabinet minister Eknath Shinde.

Deepak Kesakar (MLA from Sawantwadi), Mangesh Kudalkar (Chembur) and Sada Sarvankar (Dadar) took a morning flight from Mumbai to Guwahati, a close associate of Shinde said.

On Wednesday evening, four MLAs, including Maharashtra minister Gulabrao Patil, had flown to Guwahati.

Shinde will consult the MLAs with him and then decide when to return to Mumbai, his associate said.

Netas, bizmen in Punjab receive extortion calls after Moose Wala’s murder

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CHANDIGARH: After the murder of Sidhu Moose Wala, many Punjab politicians and businessmen have been complaining of getting extortion calls from men claiming to have links with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which was behind the singer’s killing. One new name accusing the Bishnoi gang of making extortion calls is former deputy chief minister O P Soni.

Sources said that Soni received a threat call on his personal number. The caller claimed he was a member of the Bishnoi gang and demanded extortion money, failing which the political leader was threatened with dire consequences. Soni registered a case and provided the numbers from which he had received the WhatsApp calls. He has also sought police protection for his whole family.

A few days ago, former Ajnala MLA Amarpal Singh Bony had also reportedly received an extortion call. He also got calls on WhatsApp and the caller introduced himself as a member of the Bishnoi gang. The police have increased Boney’s security.

Not only politicians, businessmen, and traders have also allegedly received threat calls. A few days back, some traders of Mansa received extortion calls from persons claiming to be linked to Bishnoi. A trader said amounts ranging from Rs 70,000 to  Rs 5 lakh were demanded from them.

Seven people from Jagraon, including a plywood trader, have also lodged complaints with the police that they have received threat calls from a person claiming to be an aide of Goldy Brar, a Canada-based member of the Bishnoi gang. Most of the calls are being made using phone numbers from abroad.

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