Nasheman

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COVID-19 Updates India

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India on Thursday added 47,905 fresh cases to its COVID-19 tally and 550 deaths to its toll, as per the data shared by the Union Health Ministry. 

With this addition of fresh cases, the case-load in India surged to 86,83,917 while the toll reached  1,28,121.

Meanwhile, the total active cases in the country are 4,89,294 after a decrease of 5,363 in the last 24 hours and total cured cases are 80,66,502 with 52,718 new discharges.

The increasing COVID-19 cases in the national capital has become a big concern as Delhi has now become the largest contributor of fresh coronavirus cases in the country.

No need to withdraw general consent to CBI: Tamil Nadu CM

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No need to withdraw general consent to CBI: Tamil Nadu CM

Kanniyakumari (TN): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Tuesday said there was no need for withdrawing the general consent given to the CBI to probe cases in the state like some others including Kerala, but said such a move may be considered if the need arises.

Speaking to reporters after a COVID-19 review meeting here, he said the situation differed from state to state.

“Every state has its own demand (on this issue).

There is no need for us to follow other states.

In case, if such a situation arises we shall consider it then,” he said when his attention was drawn to Kerala’s recent decision to withdraw the general consent accorded to the CBI to operate there.

Presently, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the death of two traders in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin district following alleged police assault at Sathankulam police station.

Non-BJP ruled states including West Bengal and Maharashtra had withdrawn the general consent, with Congress headed Punjab the latest to join the list.

On the pandemic, the chief minister said though coronavirus cases declined across Tamil Nadu, he has directed the officials to continue to maintain a strict vigil in the border districts.

“As Kerala has been registering a spike in COVID-19 cases, I have instructed the officials to screen all those entering Kanyakumari district from Kerala,” he said.

To a question on reopening of schools, he said the officials have begun consulting school administration and parents seeking a general consensus on reopening and the date will be announced after the outcome of the consultation is made known.

To a question on a Sri Lankan court directing ‘destroying’ about 121 confiscated boats belonging to Indian fishermen from the state, he said the order applied to boats that had developed snags.

“Our fishermen have brought boats that are in good condition,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said efforts were made to auction the boats in Sri Lanka and a committee formed for this purpose, but the officials could not travel to the island nation due to the lockdown.

The Indian High Commission there has been requested, through the External Affairs Ministry, to oversee the auctioning and send the proceeds to the Tamil Nadu government so as to disburse the money among fishermen concerned and assist them, he said in a statement.

Arnab Goswami arrest: Dushyant Dave questions Supreme Court registry over urgent listing of case

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Arnab Goswami arrest: Dushyant Dave questions Supreme Court registry over urgent listing of case

Senior lawyer and Supreme Court Bar Association President Dushyant Dave on Tuesday sought to know from the Supreme Court registry how a bail appeal filed by Republic TV anchor Arnab Goswami was listed urgently for a hearing on Wednesday when similar cases have been pending for months, Bar and Bench reported.

Earlier in the day, Goswami had moved the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court’s decision denying him interim bail in a case of abetting suicide. The matter will be heard by a bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud on Wednesday.

Goswami is currently in judicial custody at the Taloja Central Prison in Navi Mumbai after he was arrested on November 4.

In a strongly-worded letter to the Supreme Court secretary-general, Dave said such extraordinarily urgent listings “cannot and does not take place” without specific orders from the Chief Justice of India. Dave sought to know if there was such a direction or if the secretary-general or the registrar of listing was giving special preference to Goswami.

Dave alleged that the selective listing of matters that the Supreme Court registry was indulging in for the last eight months during the Covid-19 pandemic was a matter of serious concern. “Why is this selective listing taking place when the system is supposedly computerized and is to work automatically?” he asked.

He then urged that Goswami’s plea should not be taken up till all petitions with urgent hearing requests filed before November 10 are heard.

Over 20 Indian-Americans named in Biden’s agency review teams

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Over 20 Indian-Americans named in Biden's agency review teams

Washington: US President-elect Joe Biden has named more than 20 Indian-Americans as members, including three as team leads, to his agency review teams (ARTs) that are responsible for evaluating the operations of the key federal agencies in the current administration to ensure a smooth transfer of power.

Biden’s transition team said this is one of the most diverse agency review teams in presidential transition history.

Of the hundreds of ART members, more than half are women, and approximately 40 percent represent communities historically underrepresented in the federal government, including people of color, people who identify as LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities.

Agency review teams are responsible for understanding the operations of each agency, ensuring a smooth transfer of power, and preparing for President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and their Cabinet to hit the ground running on Day One.

At least three Indian Americans have been named as team leads to various ARTs.

Arun Majumdar from the prestigious Stanford University is the team lead for the Department of Energy ART. Rahul Gupta is the team lead for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Kiran Ahuja has been named Team Lead for the Office of Personnel Management. Puneet Talwar has been named to the Department of State ART. Pav Singh has been named two ARTs for the National Security Council and Office of Science and Technology.

Similarly, Arun Venkatraman has been named to two ARTs Department of Commerce and USTR.

Other prominent Indian Americans named to ARTs are Pravina Raghavan, Atman Trivedi for Department of Commerce and Shital Shah for Department of Education; R Ramesh and Rama Zakaria for the Department of Energy; Subhasri Ramanathan for the Department of Homeland Security; Raj De for Department of Justice; and Seema Nanda and Raj Nayak for Department of Labour.

Reena Aggarwal and Satyam Khanna have been named to the Federal Reserve, Banking and Securities Regulators ARTs; Bhavya Lal for NASA; Dilpreet Sidhu for National Security Council, Divya Kumaraiah for Office of Management and Budget; Kumar Chandran for Department of Agriculture; and Aneesh Chopra to US Postal Service. Almost all of them are volunteers.

These teams are composed of highly experienced and talented professionals with deep backgrounds in crucial policy areas across the federal government.

Our nation is grappling with a pandemic, an economic crisis, urgent calls for racial justice, and the existential threat of climate change. We must be prepared for a seamless transfer of knowledge to the incoming administration to protect our interests at home and abroad. The agency review process will help lay the foundation for meeting these challenges on Day One, said Senator Ted Kaufman, Co-Chair, Biden-Harris Transition.

The work of the agency review teams is critical for protecting national security, addressing the ongoing public health crisis, and demonstrating that America remains the beacon of democracy for the world, he said.

The transition team announced the agency review teams even as outgoing President Donald Trump’s administration has yet to formally recognize Biden as the president-elect.

Formal recognition from the General Services Administration is needed to allow transition staff access to federal workers and much of the information they will need.

Trump, a Republican, has declined to concede the closely-fought November 3 presidential race to Democrat Biden and is mounting legal fights in several key battleground states alleging voter irregularities or widespread fraud in the election — billed as one of the most divisive and bitter in recent American history.

President Trump has made repeated and baseless claims that the Democratic Party has tried to steal the election.

Once the GSA Administrator ascertains the results of the election, the ART members will work directly with staff in federal agencies to ensure that the incoming Biden-Harris administration is able to effectively achieve the policy goals of the President and Vice President-elect.

The ARTs will proceed by meeting with former agency officials and experts who closely follow federal agencies, and with officials from think tanks, labor groups, trade associations, and other NGOs.

Many of the ART members have had long careers in the federal agencies they will now help prepare for the incoming Biden-Harris administration, the transition said.

It would be a shame and loss for Indian cricket if Rohit isn’t made T20 skipper: Gambhir

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It would be a shame and loss for Indian cricket if Rohit isn't made T20 skipper: Gambhir

New Delhi: Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir and England’s Michael Vaughan have called for Rohit Sharma’s elevation to India’s T20 captaincy with the former national team opener going to the extent of saying that it would be a “shame” if the star batsman does not get the role.

Rohit led Mumbai Indians to a fifth IPL title on Tuesday, impressing not just with a graceful half-century but also shrewd captaincy. He is currently the national vice-captain for the white-ball formats.

“If Rohit Sharma doesn’t become India’s captain, it’s their loss, not Rohit’s,” Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out program.

“Yes, a captain is only as good as his team and I completely agree with that, but what are the parameters to judge a captain on who is good and who isn’t? The parameters and benchmark should be the same. Rohit has led his team (MI) to five IPL titles.”

MI won an unprecedented fifth IPL title by beating Delhi Capitals by five wickets in Dubai on Tuesday night.

“We keep saying MS Dhoni is India’s most successful captain. Why? Because he has won two World Cups and three IPLs,” Gambhir said.

“Rohit has won five IPL titles, he is the most successful captain in the history of the tournament. Going forward, it’ll be a shame if he doesn’t get India’s white-ball or just T20 captaincy.

“Because he can’t do much more than this. He can only help the team he captains to victories. So if he doesn’t become India’s regular white-ball captain, it will be their loss,” he added.

Gambhir had earlier said that Virat Kohli should be made accountable for Royal Challengers Bangalore’s failure to make the IPL finals in 13 efforts, eight out of which were under Kohli’s leadership.

But the cricketer-turned-politician clarified that he never meant Kohli’s captaincy is “poor”, instead he only suggested that the split captaincy model is the need of the hour.

“They can also consider split-captaincy. No one is poor. Rohit has shown in white-ball cricket how big the difference is between his and Virat’s captaincy. One player had led his team to five titles, the other hasn’t won yet,” said Gambhir, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles.

“I’m not saying this because Kohli is a poor captain. But he has received the same platform that Rohit has, so you have to judge both of them on the same parameters.

“Both have been captains in the IPL for the same length of time. I feel Rohit stands out as a leader.”

“Without question, Rohit Sharma should be the Indian T20 captain .. fantastic man-manager & leader .. & he knows exactly how to win T20 games .. it would also give Virat chance to take a breather and just be the player. it works for all other teams around the world ..#IPL2020,” he wrote.

Another former India opener Virender Sehwag also offered immense praise for Rohit.

“Ab to aadat si hai sabko aise dhone ki. The best T 20 franchisee in the world and the best captain in the format. Deserving winners, Mumbai Indians, koi shak. Amazingly well organized tournament despite various challenges.”

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