Archives for 2021
Nearly a year into COVID-19, Lakshadweep reports first positive case
The man, belonging to the India Reserve Batallion, had left for Kavaratti by ship from Kochi on January 3 and tested positive on Monday, official sources said.
KOCHI:: The first COVID-19 case was reported in the Lakshadweep Islands on Monday, nearly an year after the outbreak of the pandemic in the country.
The man, belonging to the India Reserve Batallion, had left for Kavaratti by ship from Kochi on January 3 and tested positive on Monday, official sources said.
He is not a resident of the islands, they said.
The case was reported two weeks after the Lakshadweep administration revised Standard Operating Procedures by doing away with mandatory quarantine guidelines for those arriving from Kochi.
The islands had so far not reported a single positive COVID-19 case.
Taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus, the administration has directed all those who had come in contact with him to go on quarantine, they said.
The samples of his primary contacts have been taken for lab examination, officials said.
The administration also suspended all the inter island movements, including ships from Tuesday, they said.
It had recently relaxed the SOP.
In a communication, the administration had said anyone can now visit the islands from the mainland with a negative test report of RT-PCR obtained 48 hours before travel.
Send engineers to parent depts, CM instructs BDA
Says review meeting to be held with officials once in two months as part of Mission 2022
BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa directed officials of the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) to release additional engineers and lawyers who work with them, either on deputation or on contract. This move is said to streamline financial implication. The Chief Minister also directed BDA officials to take action against agents.
In a review meeting, the CM said there are 24 additional engineers working with BDA on deputation. He directed officials to review and send them back to their parent departments. Similarly, there are 196 lawyers working in the BDA, and Yediyurappa directed that they also be reviewed, and those not working for any case, be released from the panel with immediate effect.
“Bengaluru is among the top cities of the world. The state government is committed to provide all facilities on par with global standards,” he added. The CM said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also given suggestions for the comprehensive development of Bengaluru. “We have announced our ‘Bengaluru Mission 2022’… this review meeting is a part of that,’’ he said.
On farmers’ land, the CM said that he has directed officials to give residential sites to those farmers who offered their lands for residential layouts. He added that the sites will be given to them at their chosen locations. On the peripheral ring road, the CM said they have a plan to develop it at an estimated cost of Rs 21,091 crore with private partnership. The same has been approved, and will be done in the scheduled time. He also said that a review meeting will be held with BDA officials once in two months.
People with fever, pregnant and breastfeeding women avoid Covaxin, says Bharat Biotech
Hyderabad: Bharat Biotech’s fact sheet on COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, has advised pregnant or breastfeeding women, besides people with high fever or bleeding disorders, not to take the antidote.
The vaccine maker in the fact sheet on Covaxin, posted in its website, said the clinical efficacy of the vaccine is yet to be established and is being studied in Phase 3 clinical trial and hence it is important to appreciate that receiving the vaccine does not mean other precautions related to COVID- 19 need not be followed.
“You should not get Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin if you have any history of allergies. Have high fever.
Have bleeding disorder or are a blood thinner. Immune compromised or are a medicine that affects your immune system. Are pregnant. Are breast feeding.
Have received another COVID-19 vaccine. Any other serious health related issues, as determined by the vaccinator/ Officer supervising vaccination,” the fact sheet said.
The fact sheet also asked people to inform the vaccinator or a supervising official about their medical condition before taking the vaccine.
Bharat Biotech said in an ongoing clinical trial Covaxin has been shown to generate immunity following two doses given four weeks apart.
Covaxin is a vaccine with approval for restricted use in emergency situations that may prevent COVID-19.
The Central Licensing Authority has granted permission for the sale or distribution of the antidote for restricted use in emergency situations in public interest as an abundant precaution, in clinical trial mode, the fact sheet said.
Covaxin is a highly purified and inactivated two-dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, manufactured in a Vero cell manufacturing platform with an excellent safety track record of more than 300 million doses, the company had said.
Covaxin is India’s totally indigenous COVID-19 vaccine developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and National Institute of Virology.
The inactivated vaccine is developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech’s BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) biocontainment facility, one of its kind in the world.
Shubman Gill’s 91 keeps India in hunt for win in final Test
Brisbane: Shubman Gill announced his arrival on the global stage with a sublime 91 while Cheteshwar Pujara surpassed all pain threshold barriers to keep India on course for a challenging 328-run target, taking the score to 183/3 at tea on the final day of the fourth Test here on Tuesday.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane (24 off 22 balls) looked good before Pat Cummins (2/22 in 17 overs) dismissed him to keep Australia in hunt during an engrossing session of a high quality Test match.
Gill on Tuesday showed he is there to rule world cricket despite missing out on a hundred as his disdainful treatment of Mitchell Starc will be remembered for a long time.
Pujara, on the other hand, saw Australian try out a menacing short ball tactic. He took a few on the helmet, a few more on the chest and other parts and a painful one on the knuckles to remain unfazed on 43 off 168 balls as India need to either score 145 runs or bat out another 37 overs to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
With Rishabh Pant (10 batting, 23 balls) for company, India might just take a sneak peek at that target during the final session.
The first two sessions were about different school of batsmanship where Gill and Pujara showed that there are multiple ways to skin a cat and no two ways are similar.
If Pujara was ready to duck, sway and cop body blows off Hazlewood and Cummins, showing the art of survival, young Gill, on his first tour of Australia was ready to take the intimidatory tactic head on by bringing the pull shot out of his repertoire.
The duo during its 114-run stand showed that very contrasting styles can can co-exist without conflict even as fans of both genres can have a field day on social media arguing which is the more appropriate approach.
The fifth day pitch at the Gabba seemed to be pretty flat with not much help for the Australia pacers as Gill played a few cut shots and comfortably drove on the up.
With no lateral movement either in the air or off the pitch, Gill looked comfortable with his “playing beside the line of the ball” technique.
Against the ‘100 Test man’ Nathan Lyon, Gill came down the track to hit a flowing cover drive even as the seasoned off-spinner’s tactic of not having close-in fielders on the off-side invited sharp criticism from Shane Warne, who was on air.
After eight fours and two sixes, Gill was finally caught on the wrong foot when Lyon changed his line to a one wide of off-stump and the result was an edge to the first slip.
The placid nature of the track also didn’t help the Australians who kept a attacking field for the better part of the session.
Among Gill’s shots, the backfoot cover drive off Hazlewood would stay with any fan for the longest time. He also used Starc’s bounce to slash him over backward point for a six and also pulled him for good measure.
His intent rubbed off on Pujara, who also played a few strokes, and Rahane during his short stay at the crease, showing that India is not afraid of chasing the target.
Magnitude 6.4 quake shakes parts of Argentina and Chile
Santiago (Chile): A powerful earthquake struck in northwestern Argentina near the border with Chile, shaking people in both countries, but there were no early reports of damage or injuries.
The US Geological Survey said the quake late Monday had a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 and its epicentre was 27.6 kilometres (17 miles) southwest of the town of Porcito.
It struck at a depth of 14 kilometres (nearly nine miles).
Gujarat: 15 migrant workers killed after truck runs over them
Surat: Fifteen migrant labourers sleeping by the roadside in Gujarat’s Surat district were killed on Tuesday after being crushed under a speeding truck, police said.
The tragedy took place near Kosamba village, around 60 km from Surat, police said, adding that all those killed hailed from Rajasthan.
The truck ran over them on the Kim-Mandvi road, police said. While 12 persons died on the spot, three of the eight injured died in a nearby hospital, police said.
The truck driver has been arrested, police said.
Maharashtra cabinet will discuss Arnab’s purported chats: Home Minister Deshmukh
Nashik: The Maharashtra government is gathering information about the leaked social media chats between Arnab Goswami and BARC ex-CEO Partho Dasgupta in which highly sensitive things like Balakot airstrike and Pulwama attack were mentioned, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has said, adding the issue will be discussed by the Cabinet on Tuesday.
The purported chats widely reported in media mentioned that Goswami, the editor-in-chief of Republic TV, was privy to the Balakot air strikes.
Speaking to reporters here on Monday night, Deshmukh said how Goswami came to know about such sensitive information is a big question.
“We are gathering information about the leaked chats between Arnab Goswami and Partho Dasgupta. Some highly sensitive things including the Balakot airstrike and the Pulwama attack have been mentioned in the chats. How Arnab came to know about such sensitive information is a big question,” Deshmukh said.
He said the state Cabinet is scheduled to meet on Tuesday in Mumbai.
“After the meeting, a decision about this issue will be taken,” Deshmukh said.
Earlier in the day, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) asked the government to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the purported chats between Goswami and Dasgupta.
Dasgupta, who was arrested in the fake Television Rating Point (TRP) case, is now in the ICU of state-run JJ hospital in central Mumbai.
A diabetic, he was rushed to the hospital from the Taloja Central Prison in Navi Mumbai on Saturday after his blood sugar levels went up on Friday midnight.
The Mumbai police had earlier told the court that Goswami had allegedly bribed Dasgupta with lakhs of rupees to ramp up Republic TV’s viewership. Meanwhile, the home minister attended a review meeting of the police department organised at the Maharashtra Police Academy (MPA) here.
On the occasion, Deshmukh lauded the facilities available at the MPA and expressed satisfaction about the low crime rate in Nashik.
Deshmukh hailed the successful initiative of Pratap Dighavkar, Special IG, Nashik Range, to give back the money of farmers duped by unscrupulous traders.
“We will try to implement this measure at the state level,” the home minister said.
MoS MEA to pay 3-day visit to UAE; focus on welfare of Indian workers there
New Delhi: Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan will be on a three-day visit to the UAE beginning Tuesday during which he will hold talks with the leadership of that country with a special focus on the welfare of Indian workers, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday.
The visit comes after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to the UAE in November last year.
The Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs will be undertaking an official visit to the UAE from January 19-21, 2021, the MEA said in a statement.
During the visit, he will be meeting with UAE dignitaries and a broad cross-section of the Indian community in the UAE, the MEA said. He will hold talks with the UAE side on various bilateral and international issues of mutual interest, it said.
There will be special focus in the visit on issues related to the Indian community, especially the welfare of Indian workers, the MEA said. India and the UAE have maintained close coordination in the spirit of their comprehensive strategic partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An air bubble arrangement has been functioning successfully between both the countries, the statement said.
‘Suspend Republic TV’: NBA tells Indian Broadcasting Foundation
The Board also called for the exclusion of Republic TV from the BARC rating system until the final court order on the matter.
On Monday, 18 January, the News Broadcasters Association released a statement stating that the alleged WhatsApp exchanges between Arnab Goswami, Republic TV editor-in-chief, and Patho Dasgupta, former CEO of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), establish a clear conspiracy between the two in manipulating the Television ratings.
As a result, the NBA has proposed expulsion of Republic TV from the Indian Broadcasting Foundation.
The NBA press release states that “month after month, by fraudulently manually reducing ratings of other channels to give Republic TV an unfair advantage, the manipulation of ratings was done.” It also mentioned that it was shocking to see the messages exchanged between Goswami and Dasgupta.
“The Board also called for the exclusion of Republic TV from the BARC rating system until the final court order on the matter, stating that “the NBA requests that IBF membership of Republic TV be suspended with immediate effect until the case involving the manipulation of ratings is pending before the court.
“These WhatsApp messages not only reflect rating manipulation but are also about powerplay,” the statement also said. The messages exchanged relate to the recruitment of secretaries, the reorganization of the Government, access to the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) and the functioning of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.”
“Emphasizing the lack of transparency of the BARC, the NBA called on the Broadcast Council to “make a direct statement on the veracity of its ratings during the audit period and also carry out an audit of the Hindi news genre; Expunge the data of the erring broadcaster and restate from the beginning the real status of the rankings of all news channels; clarify the specific measures taken by BARC to protect the ratings in the last three months.
The statement further claimed that the continued release of ‘meddled data’ by BARC has resulted in credibility losses as well as huge financial losses for news broadcasters, and therefore the council must have a reason for the same.
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