Archives for October 2021

NEW DELHI: India logged 18,987 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the infection tally to 3,40,20,730 on Thursday, while the national COVID recovery rate increased to 98.07 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry’s data.

The death toll climbed to 4,51,435 with 246 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 30,000 for 20 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 109 consecutive days now.

The active cases have declined to 2,06,586, the lowest in 215 days, comprising 0.61 per cent of the total infections while the national COVID recovery rate was recorded at 98.07 per cent, the ministry said. A decrease of 1067 cases has been recorded in the active Covid caseload in a span of 24 hours.

A total of 13,01,083 tests were conducted on Wednesday, taking the number of cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 58,76,64,525. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,33,62,709, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.33 per cent.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.46 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 1.44 per cent, according to the Health Ministry. Over 96.82 crore COVID vaccine doses have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide 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.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23. The 246 new fatalities include 123 from Kerala and 49 from Maharashtra.

A total of 4,51,435 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,39,670 from Maharashtra, 37,916 from Karnataka, 35,833 from Tamil Nadu, 26,571 from Kerala, 25,089 from Delhi, 22,897 from Uttar Pradesh and 18,935 from West Bengal.

The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

CLAUDIA THOMAS

                         . 
Avoid Video Games and Phone Games because it is Waste of Time. and No Use are is will get into Eye Problems Like Eye Discomfort ,Blurry Vision and Headaches. 
Eye Discomfort :  Pain in your Eyes also Called Ophithalmalgia ,is Physical Discomfort caused by Dryness .On the Surface of your Eyeball OR Medical Condition that’s Affecting your Vision. 
Blurred Vision : Refers to a Lack of Sharpness Of Vision Resulting in the Inability to See  and find .Many of them they Suffer from the lots of Mental Health Issues .Once they get Addicted to the Phone Games Like Depression Lower, Positive Effect ,Loneliness and Social Anxiety Disorder .More than Two Billion People Play Video Games Globally. 

Conclusion: 

• We can ” UTILIZE”  the Time for our Studies .• The Time for Developing our Skills. • The Time to do Some Craft Works. • The Time to do our Homework. • The Time by doing Some Creativity. • The Time by doing Some Exercise. •  The Time by Planting Plants to make our Environment to Look More Green and Fresh .• We Should Not Waste Time by Playing Games Like Phone Games and Video Games etc. • Instead We Should Learn to Use Our Precious Time to do Something Good and to Improve a self etc.• Please Avoid Playing Games. • Please Stop Playing Games in the Electronic Gadgets Etc. 

The Chief Minister assured the citizens that there will be no power cuts and there are no power problems at the moment. He said that directions have also been issued to all Escoms to improve their equity and financial condition, and the revenue collected should be given first for coal procurement and then for capital investment, as it is the need of the hour. 

An official from the energy department, who was present at the meeting, told The New Indian Express, “The state has to pay around Rs 500-600 crore, including arrears, to get coal from its sources immediately. In the wake of shortage, the three coal supplying units —  MCL, WCL and SCL — which cannot hike the rate, are using the tactic of delayed clearing of dues for not releasing stock, apart from transportation challenges due to the rains. The discussion on how to clear payments so that Karnataka does not lag behind, was also discussed.”

All’s well, says Minister 
Davanagere :  Energy Minister Sunil Kumar on Tuesday said that there was no coal shortage and all the thermal power stations were functioning normally. He  said that the Centre was providing the state with 8 rakes of coal for power generation each day. “We have sought 2 more rakes

UNITED NATIONS: India on Tuesday called out the failure of the global community to recognise emergence of more virulent forms of religious phobias, including anti-Hindu, anti-Buddhist and anti-Sikh, as it highlighted violation of gurudwara premises and glorification of breaking of idols in temples in its “neighbourhood”.

“As regards religious identities, we are witnessing how member-states are facing newer form of religious phobias.

“While we have condemned anti-semitism, Islamophobia and Christianophobia, we fail to recognise that there are more virulent forms of religious phobias emerging and taking roots, including anti- Hindu, anti-Buddhist and anti-Sikh phobias,” he said.

Muraleedharan said, “we have seen in our own neighbourhood and elsewhere the destruction of temples, glorification of breaking of idols in temples, violation of gurudwara premises, massacre of Sikh pilgrims in gurudwaras, destruction of Bamyan Buddhas and other religious iconic sites.

“Our inability to even acknowledge these atrocities and phobias only gives those forces encouragement that phobias against some religions are more acceptable than those against others. If we chose to be selective about criticising such phobias or ignoring them, we do so at our own peril.”

In August this year, hundreds of people, carrying sticks, stones and bricks had attacked a temple at Bhong city of Rahim Yar Khan district in Pakistan, some 590 kms from Lahore, burning parts of it and damaging idols.

The attackers had damaged the idols, walls, doors and electric fittings while desecrating the temple.

India had summoned the Pakistani charge d’affaires in New Delhi and lodged a firm protest, expressing grave concerns at this reprehensible incident and the continued attacks on the freedom of religion of the minority communities and their places of religious worship in Pakistan.

Last year in March, heavily armed gunmen and suicide bombers had attacked a Sikh gurdwara in the Shor Bazar area in the heart of Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul, killing at least 25 worshippers and wounding 8 others, in one of the deadliest attacks on the minority community in the country.

Authorities said 80 people, including women and children, were rescued from the gurdwara.

Head of ISIL-K Pakistani national Aslam Farooqi was the mastermind behind the deadly terror attack on the prominent gurudwara.

WASHINGTON: The U.S. will reopen its land borders to nonessential travel next month, ending a 19-month freeze due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the country moves to require all international visitors to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Senior administration officials previewed the new policy late Tuesday on the condition of anonymity to speak ahead of the formal announcement.

Both Mexico and Canada have pressed the U.S. for months to ease restrictions on travel that have separated families and curtailed leisure trips since the onset of the pandemic. The latest move follows last month’s announcement that the U.S. will end country-based travel bans for air travel, and instead require vaccination for foreign nationals seeking to enter by plane.

Both policies will take effect in early November, the officials said. They did not specify a particular date.

The new rules only apply to legal entry to the U.S. Officials cautioned that those seeking to enter illegally will still be subject to expulsion under so-called Title 42 authority, first invoked by former President Donald Trump, that has drawn criticism from immigration advocates for swiftly removing migrants before they can seek asylum. One of the officials said the U.S. was continuing the policy because cramped conditions in border patrol facilities pose a COVID-19 threat.

According to the officials, travelers entering the U.S. by vehicle, rail and ferry will be asked about their vaccination status as part of the standard U.S. Customs and Border Protection admissions process. At officers’ discretion, travelers will have their proof of vaccination verified in a secondary screening process.

Unlike air travel, for which proof of a negative COVID-19 test is required before boarding a flight to enter the U.S., no testing will be required to enter the U.S. by land or sea, provided the travelers meet the vaccination requirement.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. will accept travelers who have been fully vaccinated with any of the vaccines approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, not just those in use in the U.S. That means that the AstraZeneca vaccine, widely used in Canada, will be accepted.

Officials said the CDC was still working to formalize procedures for admitting those who received doses of two different vaccines, as was fairly common in Canada.

The delay in the vaccination requirement for essential cross-border travel is meant to provide truck drivers and others with additional time to get a shot and minimize potential economic disruption from the vaccination mandate, officials said.

All told, the new procedures move toward a policy based on the risk profiles of individuals, rather than less targeted country-based bans.

The vaccination requirement for foreign nationals comes as the White House has moved to impose sweeping vaccination-or-testing requirements affecting as many as 100 million people in the U.S. in an effort to encourage holdouts to get shots.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Labor completed the initial draft of an emergency regulation that will require employers of 100 workers or more to demand their employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested weekly. The Office of Management and Budget is now reviewing the order before its implementation.

Mexico has not put in place any COVID-19 entry procedures for travelers. Canada allows entry of fully-vaccinated individuals with proof of vaccination against COVID-19 as well as proof of a negative test conducted within 72 hours of entry to the country.

BENGALURU : The results of bypolls to Hanagal and Sindagi assembly constituencies are not likely to impact the ruling BJP government in Karnataka, but will have a bearing on the fortunes of all three parties and their leaders.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s prestige is at stake, as the BJP has given him a free hand with his development politics, and also announced that he is the party’s face for the 2023 assembly polls. The bypoll results, especially Hanagal, are crucial as leaders within the party questioning him in case of a debacle, cannot be ruled out.

Bommai, who is on a visit to New Delhi, has set his agenda and also rolled out a number of policies, including a dashboard to track the progress of projects. Both Bommai and KPCC president DK Shivakumar have reportedly stated that the results will neither set a trend for the 2023 assembly polls nor are they a pointer to the future.

For Shivakumar, under whose leadership the party has not made much of an impression so far, except for the Maski bypoll win, the results are crucial too. Especially so Sindagi, as he has allegedly ‘poached’ former JDS minister late MC Managuli’s son Ashok, and fielded him as the candidate.

Siddaramaiah’s leadership will also be at stake, as Hanagal has over 40,000 Kuruba voters, and the bypoll will test his mettle as a community leader. Moreover, he has managed to get his supporter Srinivasa Mane, MLC, fielded as the Congress candidate.

For the JDS, which looks reinvigorated after holding a seven-day workshop for its ranks, retaining Sindagi is important. Whether the party manages to get back the Muslim voter will be apparent in these polls, as the party has fielded Muslims in both the seats.

Former CM HD Kumaraswamy tried to burnish the secular image of the party after he attacked the RSS ideology, and party supremo and former PM HD Deve Gowda too asserted that he had no admiration for the organisation. “The Congress has poached all the Muslim leaders I groomed. Should I keep quiet?” he replied, when asked about his party’s intention in fielding Muslims.

The Congress, which is looking to get back the support of a section of Lingayats, managed to get Ashok Managuli, a Panchamashali leader. The party is also looking to accommodate a community leader in the AICC — as suggested by Siddaramaiah to former AICC president Sonia Gandhi — to cash in on any loss in BJP’s support, with former CM BS Yediyurappa being relegated to the sidelines

LUCKNOW: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhury were in a gathering of thousands of farmers from various states at Tikunia in Lakhimpur Kheri on Tuesday to attend the last rites of farmers killed during violence on October 3. However, they were denied space on the stage as the farmer leaders maintained that politicians were not allowed there. There were posters against Congress as well.

A stage was erected in a sprawling space of 30 acres, barely a kilometre away from the spot of violence. Priyanka and other Congress leaders reached around 1 pm. Samajwadi Party leaders, including district president Rampal Singh Yadav, Dr RA Usmani and others, were also there. RLD president Chaudhary 
arrived later.

No political leader was allowed space on the stage even if they expressed a desire to address the gathering. As per sources, Sanyukt Kisan Morcha refused to give stage space to the politicians. They had to sit among the crowd. Even posters targeting Congress leaders without naming them were seen. ‘Those behind 1984 Sikh massacre are not required to show fake sympathy. Don’t rub salts on wounds of Sikhs’ read one.
On the stage, family members of deceased farmers Daljeet Singh and Gurvinder Singh of Bahraich district, Nachhatar Singh and Lavpreet Singh of Lakhimpur Kheri district, brother and daughter of journalist Raman Kashyap of Nighasan sat holding photographs of the deceased persons.

Priyanka and Jayant joined thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and other parts of Uttar Pradesh to attend the last rites amid a thick security blanket in and around Lakhimpur Kheri. The ritual of Antim Ardas was organised by Sanyukta Kisan Morcha and Bharatiya Kisan Union leaders, including Rakesh Tikait, Darshan Singh Pal, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Dharmendra Malik and local farm union leaders.

Ashish grilled by SIT
Prime accused in the violence case, Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish, was taken to the Crime Branch office by the Special Investigative Team for interrogation. Her was sent to three days of police custody on Monday. Ashish was arrested on Saturday night. 

Akhilesh calls for BJP ouster in ’22
Embarking upon Samajwadi Vijay Yatra from the banks of River Ganga in Kanpur on Tuesday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, slammed the ruling BJP referring to Lakhimpur Kheri incident saying that the way it had crushed farmers, it would crush the Constitution of India if voted back to power in Uttar Pradesh.  The programme aims to cover all 403 Assembly segments before poll notification arrives.

Cong memo to Prez on slain farmers
A Congress delegation led by MP Rahul Gandhi will present a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind on the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday. The seven-member delegation will include leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Mallikarjun Kharge, A K Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and K C Venugopal. The party has written to Kovind last week seeking an appointment with him.

CHANDIGARH: After 54 years, Haryana government employees will now be able to take part in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as the state government considers the sangh a non-political organisation.

In a very clandestine manner the BJP-led Haryana government lifted the ban on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Jamaat-e-Islami. As per notification issued yesterday by the general administration department of the state government states that the Haryana Government while implementing Haryana Civil Services (Government Employees Conduct) Rules, 2016 has banned the participation of employees in politics and elections.