Moscow: Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has alleged that the jail authorities where he is jailed are withholding the Quran which he intended to study while serving his sentence. In an Instagram post, Navalny has threatened to sue the prison in this regard.

“The thing is they’re not giving my Quran.” He said in an Instagram post announcing his first lawsuit against the prison officials.

In the post, Navalny added that deeply studying the Quran was one of the several self-improvement goals he had set for himself while in prison.

The claim comes as Navalny, a Christian, remains on a hunger strike in protest against an alleged refusal by authorities to allow his physician to examine him behind bars after he developed severe back and leg pain.

He came under fire early in his political career for making nationalistic comments and deriding immigrants in Russia from predominantly Muslim countries in Central Asia.

The Kremlin critic said he has not been given access to any of the books he brought or ordered over the past month because they all need to be “inspected for extremism”, which officials say takes three months.

“Books are our everything, and if I have to sue for my right to read, then I’ll be suing,” he said.

A court-ordered Navalny in February to serve two and a half years in prison for violating the terms of his probation, including when he was convalescing in Germany, from a 2014 embezzlement conviction.

LONDON: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday confirmed that his roadmap to ease out of the coronavirus lockdown is on track and that non-essential retail, personal care premises such as hairdressers, beauty and nail salons and indoor leisure facilities such as gyms and spas can reopen from April 12.

Overnight stays away from home in England will be permitted and self-contained accommodation can also reopen, though must only be used by members of the same household or support bubble.

“We see nothing in our present data that makes us think that we’ll have to deviate from the roadmap,” Johnson said at a briefing from 10 Downing Street.

“On Monday 12th, I will be going to the pub myself and cautiously but irreversibly raising a pint of beer to my lips,” he said.

But he also warned over the continuing threat posed by the deadly virus and added a note of caution: “We can’t be complacent.

We can see the waves of sickness affecting other countries and we have seen how this story goes.”

“We still don’t know how strong the vaccine shield will be when cases begin to rise, as I’m afraid that they will, and that’s why we are saying please get your vaccine — or your second dose — when your turn comes,” he said.

“A further easing of COVID-19 restrictions comes after all four official tests — a successful vaccine deployment programme, coronavirus hospitalisation and death rates under control, infections not putting pressure on the NHS, and the risk assessment not changed by variants — were met,” Johnson said.

It followed a Cabinet meeting earlier on Monday, where the plans were finalised.

It was confirmed that a COVID-status certification system, so-called COVID passports, will be developed over the coming months which could allow “higher-risk settings” to be opened up more safely and with more participants.

Over the coming months, a system will be developed which will take into account three factors: vaccination, a recent negative test, or natural immunity (determined on the basis of a positive test taken in the previous six months).

Events pilots will take place from mid-April to trial the system.

All pilots are checking COVID status, initially this will be through testing alone but in later pilots vaccination and acquired immunity are expected to be alternative ways to demonstrate status, Downing Street said.

On overseas travel, Johnson said he was hopeful over the lifting of the ban on foreign holidays from May 17 but that will be determined by the state of the pandemic abroad, and the progress of vaccination programmes in other countries.

The advise continues to be for people not to book summer breaks abroad “until the picture is clearer”.

Washington: A Capitol Police officer was killed Friday after a man rammed a car into two officers at a barricade outside the U.S. Capitol and then emerged wielding a knife. It was the second line-of-duty death this year for a department still struggling to heal from the January 6 insurrection.

Video shows the driver of the crashed car emerging with a knife in his hand and starting to run at the pair of officers, Capitol Police Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman told reporters. Authorities shot the suspect, who died at a hospital.

I just ask that the public continue to keep U.S. Capitol Police and their families in your prayers,” Pittman said. “This has been an extremely difficult time for U.S. Capitol Police after the events of January 6 and now the events that have occurred here today.

Police identified the slain officer as William Billy Evans, an 18-year veteran who was a member of the department’s first responders unit.

Two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that investigators initially believed the suspect stabbed one of the officers, but it was later unclear whether the knife actually made contact, in part because the vehicle struck the officers with such force. The officials were not authorised to publicly discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Authorities said there wasn’t an ongoing threat, though the Capitol was put on lockdown for a time as a precaution. There was also no immediate connection apparent between Friday’s crash and the January 6 riot.

Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as 25-year-old Noah Green. Investigators were digging into his background and examining whether he had any mental health history as they tried to discern a motive. They were also working to obtain warrants to access his online accounts.

Pittman said the suspect did not appear to have been on the police’s radar. But the attack underscored that the building and campus and the officers charged with protecting them remain potential targets for violence.

Green described himself as a follower of the Nation of Islam and its founder, Louis Farrakhan, and spoke of going through a difficult time where he leaned on his faith, according to recent messages posted online that have since been taken down. The messages were captured by the group SITE, which tracks online activity.

To be honest these past few years have been tough, and these past few months have been tougher, he wrote. I have been tried with some of the biggest, unimaginable tests in my life. I am currently now unemployed after I left my job partly due to afflictions, but ultimately, in search of a spiritual journey.

President Joe Biden said in a statement that he and his wife were heartbroken to learn of the attack and expressed condolences to Evans’ family. He directed flags at the White House to be lowered to half staff.

The crash and shooting happened at a security checkpoint near the Capitol typically used by senators and staff on weekdays, though most were away from the building for the current recess. The attack occurred about 100 yards (91 meters) from the entrance of the building on the Senate side of the Capitol. One witness, the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, said he was finishing a Good Friday service nearby when he heard three shots ring out.

The Washington region remains on edge nearly three months after a mob of insurrectionists loyal to former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol as Congress was voting to certify Biden’s presidential win.

Five people died in the January 6 riot, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who was among a badly outnumbered force trying to fight off the intruders seeking to overturn the election. Authorities installed a tall perimeter fence around the Capitol and for months restricted traffic along the roads closest to the building, but they had begun pulling back some of the emergency measures. Fencing that prevented vehicular traffic near that area was only recently removed.

Evans was the seventh Capitol Police member to die in the line of duty in the department’s history, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks deaths of law enforcement. In addition, two officers, one from Capitol Police and another from Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department, died by suicide following the Jan. 6 attack.

Almost 140 Capitol Police officers were wounded in that attack, including officers not issued helmets who sustained head injuries and one with cracked ribs, according to the officers’ union. It took hours for the National Guard to arrive, a delay that has driven months of finger-pointing between that day’s key decision makers.

Capitol Police and National Guard troops were called upon soon afterward to secure the Capitol during Biden’s inauguration and faced another potential threat in early March linked to conspiracy theories falsely claiming Trump would retake the presidency.

Today, once again, these heroes risked their lives to protect our Capitol and our country, with the same extraordinary selflessness and spirit of service seen on January 6, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. On behalf of the entire House, we are profoundly grateful.

The U.S. Capitol complex was placed on lockdown for a time after Friday’s shooting, and staffers were told they could not enter or exit buildings. Video showed Guard troops mobilizing near the area of the crash. (AP)

Washington: The United States on Monday suspended a trade deal with Myanmar until a democratic government is brought back to the Southeast Asian country after a bloody February 1 coup.

The military overthrew the elected government, jailed Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders and killed and imprisoned protesters in the country also known as Burma.

The United States supports the people of Burma in their efforts to restore a democratically elected government,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement.

The United States strongly condemns the Burmese security forces’ brutal violence against civilians. The killing of peaceful protestors, students, workers, labor leaders, medics, and children has shocked the conscience of the international community.”

Tai’s office said the United States was immediately suspending all U.S. engagement with Burma under the 2013 Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.”

Under the agreement, the two countries cooperated on trade and investment issues in an effort to integrate Myanmar into the global economy, a reward for the military’s decision to allow a return to democracy a transition that ended abruptly with last month’s coup.

Tai’s announcement Monday doesn’t stop trade between the two countries. But the United States is separately imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar.

In response to the military takeover, for instance, the United States and the United Kingdom had earlier imposed sanctions on two conglomerates controlled by Myanmar’s military, Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. and Myanmar Economic Corp.

Two-way trade between the two countries doesn’t amount to much: Myanmar last year was the United States’ 84th biggest partner in the trade of goods such as automobiles and machinery. U.S. goods exports to Burma came to just USD 338 million; imports to USD 1 billion. 

Boulder (Colorado): A shooting at a Colorado supermarket killed 10 people Monday, including a police officer who was the first to respond to the scene, authorities said.

Police arrested a suspect, but didn’t reveal his name or any details about the shooting at an evening news conference where Boulder police Chief Maris Herold fought back tears.

Investigators had just begun sorting through evidence and witness interviews and didn’t have details on a motive for the shooting at the King Soopers store in Boulder, which is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Denver and home to the University of Colorado, said Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty.

This is a tragedy and a nightmare for Boulder County, Dougherty said. These were people going about their day, doing their shopping. I promise the victims and the people of the state of Colorado that we will secure justice.”

Yangon(AP): Myanmar’s ruling junta has declared martial law in parts of the country’s largest city as security forces killed more protesters in an increasingly lethal crackdown on resistance to last month’s military coup.

At least 38 people were killed Sunday and dozens were injured in one of the deadliest days of the crackdown, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent group tracking the toll of the violence.

Most of those killed 34 were in Yangon, where two townships, Hlaing Thar Yar and neighboring Shwepyitha were being placed under martial law.

Video from Hlaing Thar Yar township showed people running away after gunfire was heard. Those fleeing carried one injured person and tried to revive two others, one who seemed to be dead or dying, the footage from independent Democratic Voice of Burma showed.

Hlaing Thar Yar was the location of 22 civilian deaths Sunday, according to the aid group, which said more than a dozen civilians were wounded and described a large number of junta forces engaged in the township.

Since the takeover six weeks ago, Myanmar has been under a nationwide state of emergency, with its civilian leaders ousted and detained and military leaders in charge of all government.

But the announcement on state broadcaster MRTV late Sunday appeared to be the first use of the term martial law since the coup and suggested more direct military control of security, instead of local police.

The announcement said the State Administrative Council acted to enhance security and restore law and order and said the Yangon regional commander has been entrusted with administrative, judicial and military powers in the area under his command.

Four other deaths were reported in Bago, Mandalay, and the northern city of Hpakant in Kachin state, according to the aid group and local media.

In Yangon, video posted on social media showed crowds of people, some wearing hard hats and gas masks, running down a street amid sounds of gunfire.

The demonstrators quickly sprayed vapor from fire extinguishers as they retreated a tactic widely used to smother tear gas and create a vapour screen that makes it harder for police to pursue or shoot demonstrators.

There were also reports of injuries from live rounds and rubber bullets in other parts of Yangon, including Insein district, where billows of black smoke could be seen after security forces reportedly set roadblocks on fire.

In a new tactic, anti-coup demonstrators used the cover of darkness to hold mass candlelight vigils Saturday and Sunday nights in a Yangon commercial area that was usually the scene of their daytime protests. After-dark rallies were also held in Mandalay and elsewhere.

The protest movement has been grounded in non-violent civil disobedience from the start, with marches and general strikes among its main features. But some protesters have advocated stronger, more agile methods of self-defense such as holding small rallies that are quick to disband and reunite, and devising cover from fire extinguishers and billowing laundry.

On Saturday, the civilian leader of Myanmar’s government in hiding vowed to continue supporting a revolution to oust the military leaders who seized power in the Feb. 1 coup. Mahn Win Khaing Than, who was named the acting vice president by Myanmar’s ousted lawmakers and is a member of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party, addressed the public for the first time since the coup.

This is the darkest moment of the nation and the moment that the dawn is close, he said in a video posted on the shadow government’s website and social media.

In order to form a federal democracy, which all ethnic brothers who have been suffering various kinds of oppressions from the dictatorship for decades really desired, this revolution is the chance for us to put our efforts together,” he said.

He added: We will never give up to an unjust military, but we will carve our future together with our united power. Our mission must be accomplished.

At the end of the message, he flashed the three-finger salute that has become a symbol of resistance to the military rulers.

The aid group’s tally of Sunday’s victims appeared to raise beyond 100 the number of civilians killed by security forces since the coup. Confirmation is nearly impossible in the country due to the security situation and a crackdown on independent media, but various groups have carefully compiled tallies with similar figures.

The actual death toll is likely higher, as police apparently seized some bodies, and some victims have had serious gunshot wounds that medical staff at makeshift clinics would be hard-pressed to treat. Many hospitals are occupied by security forces, and as a result are boycotted by medical personnel and shunned by protesters.

Police have also aggressively patrolled residential neighborhoods at night, firing into the air and setting off stun grenades as an intimidation tactic. They have also taken people from their homes in targeted raids with minimal resistance. In at least two known cases, the detainees died in custody within hours of being hauled away. 

 The US Senate has acquitted Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, as it fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict the former president on a charge of inciting the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

Following four days of the impeachment trial, the 100-member Senate voted to impeach Trump by 57-43 votes, 10 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed for conviction.

Trump, a Republican, is the first-ever president to have been impeached twice and the first president to have faced impeachment after leaving office.

Trump, 74, faced the charge of incitement of insurrection over the deadly January 6 assault of the US Capitol by his supporters.

Seven Republican Senators — Bill Cassidy, Richard Burr, Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Ben Sasse and Pat Toomey — voted in favour of impeaching him.

If he had been convicted, the Senate could have voted to bar him from running for office ever again.

Trump released a statement soon after the acquittal, saying “no president has ever gone through anything like it”.

“It is a sad commentary on the times that one political party in America is given a free pass to denigrate the rule of law, defame law enforcement, cheer mobs, excuse rioters, and transform justice into a tool of political vengeance, and persecute, blacklist, cancel and suppress all people and viewpoints with whom or which they disagree,” he said.

Trump denounced the trial as “the greatest witch hunt in history”.

“I always have, and always will be a champion for the unwavering rule of law, the heroes of law enforcement, and the right of Americans to peacefully and honourably debate the issues of the day without malice and hate,” he said.

He thanked his team of dedicated lawyers and others for their tireless work “upholding justice and defending the truth”.

“My deepest thanks as well to all of the United States Senators and Members of Congress who stood proudly for the Constitution we all revere and for the sacred legal principles at the heart of our country,” Trump said in the statement.

Trump’s lawyers argued that his insurrection incitement charge was a “monstrous lie” and the impeachment proceedings against the former president was a “politically motivated witch hunt” by the Democrats.

After the vote, the senior Republican in Congress, Senator Mitch McConnell said Trump had been “responsible” for the assault on the Capitol and called it a “disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty”.

However, he voted against conviction, saying it was unconstitutional now that Trump was no longer president.

McConnell warned Trump could still be held liable in court.

“He didn’t get away with anything yet. Yet. We have a criminal justice system in this country, we have civil litigation and former presidents are not immune from being [held] accountable by either one,” he said.

In their closing statements, the Democratic House of Representatives lawmakers appointed to lead the process through the Senate warned that it would be dangerous to acquit Trump.

The Washington Post said that the result underscored Trump’s continued grip on most Republicans despite the party losing control of both the White House and Congress during his tumultuous tenure.

Mumbai, Feb 2: International pop star Rihanna on Tuesday extended her support to the ongoing farmers agitation while criticising the Internet shutdown at the protest site.

The 32-year-old singer became the first global star to voice her support to the protest.

Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at several Delhi border points since November end, demanding the government to repeal the three farm laws and legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.

The tweet by Rihanna, who has 100 million followers on the microblogging site, garned thousands of retweets and likes within an hour.

Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker lauded the “Diamond” hitmaker’s remarks, while Kangana Ranaut criticised her statement.

Farmer unions on Monday announced a countrywide ‘chakka jam’ on February 6 when they would block national and state highways for three hours in protest against the Internet ban in areas near their agitation sites, harassment allegedly meted out to them by authorities, and other issues.

Sites of the farmer protest at Delhi’s borders have turned into fortresses with the police beefing up security and putting up multi-layer barricades to stop the movement of vehicles. Barbed wire has also been put up to keep off people on foot.

The strengthened security measures at the agitation sites across the Delhi borders come after the violence during the Republic day tractor parade by protesting farmers in which 394 security personnel were injured.

Hiring has already picked up for skilled manpower in the West; Biden administration has also been espousing for racial equality; visa process may be simplifie

CHENNAI: With Joe Biden steering a blue wave of change in the USA, the domino effect has been clearly visible on the Indian I-T space, as hiring has picked up for skilled manpower in the West. I-T consultants in the city are on a hiring spree following the brakes applied on the recent modifications introduced by the Trump administration to H1-B visa rules.

There are huge requirements that have come for the past one month, says PR Vignesh Raja, an I-T consultant at the Chennai-based Fusion Global Solutions Pvt Ltd. He adds that he is getting ‘positive vibes’ about simplifying the visa process. “Many of those whose H1-B visas expired and could not be renewed will now opt for it. You will see a spike in visa applications now,” claims Raja.

The Biden administration has also been espousing for racial equality. The latest development brings to an end to years of effort by the Trump administration to rescind an Obama-era regulation that allowed a certain subset of spouses of H1-B visa holders to work in the US. Data from the US government shows that Indians had filed 74 per cent of all H1-B petitions in fiscal year 2019. Raja is positive that the cap on these visas will now be increased.

Manoj, who works for Baltimore’s health and strategic welfare firm, says that the move would prove beneficial for many like him. He had returned home to Madurai for his wedding and is now trying to go back to the State with his wife. “I am now on an F-1 visa and would be applying for H1-B in March. It all depends on the lottery system and the visa cap,” he says.

Many Indians residing in the US on H1-B visas have been having second thoughts before booking tickets to India. The issue being their visas won’t be stamped once they return back. “If the policy changes, those with H1-B visas will be assured that their visas will be stamped again once they try to return back to the States,” says a techie.

Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO of CIEL HR Services, a staffing firm, told Express that Biden’s move in overturning many policies of the Trump administration will result in a free movement of professionals between the two countries. He says that it will also be a boon for the outsourcing industry which is good for both the countries, adding that the on-site activity, which was frozen, will resume again.

Mishra also opines that the US was impacted by the ‘reverse brain-drain’ as more Chinese and Indian nationals have been returning home due to the clamps introduced by the Trump administration. As the restrictions ease, he says there could be a return of the skilled labour force, which could fuel the US economy. While it seems that the clamp on visas may have been relaxed, the other issue the techies face is not the work permit, but the tickets to fly to the United States. “Only few seats are available for those who want to get back to the US,” says an I-T professional. She says her friend who has been trying for a ticket, is now struggling to fly back as there are only a few airlines which fly to the US.

Meanwhile, spokesperson at the US Consulate General, Chennai, Cori Bickel told Express that the process of issuing work permits, also known as employment authorization, is managed in the United States by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). US consulates have no role in this process. That being said, the US Consulate General, Chennai, does issue H-4 visas, which permit family members of H-1B visa holders to enter the United States. Once in the United States, certain H-4 visa holders may file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, to request employment authorization and an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

When asked if the Consulate had resumed stamping H1-B visa applications, Bickel said that at the time, embassies and consulates were able to resume visa services based on local conditions and the health and safety of staff and customers. “The US Consulate General, Chennai, is offering limited visa services, including to students and work-based visas  including H1-Bs. We will continue to expand visa services as appropriate, given the health and safety conditions,” Bickel said.

She added that the Consulate General in Chennai currently has visa appointment availability throughout the months of February and March, in both student and petition-based categories, and their family members, including H-1B, H-4, and F-2. “We are unable to comment on specific visa applications,” she said, responding to a query on how many such visas are pending.