Thursday, September 10, 2026
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Record number of endangered species of turtles hatch in Mexico

New Delhi (NVI): Record numbers of Olive Ridley sea turtles have hatched on a beach in northern Mexico, believed to be the result of reduced human activity during the coronavirus pandemic.

Thanks to the limitations set on fishing and tourism, the sea turtles successfully hatched to full-term as their beach nests were not disturbed.

The indigenous Seri community in Sonora state said it released more than 2,250 baby Olive Ridley sea turtles into the Gulf of California, according to a BBC report.

The community usually releases only around 500 sea turtle hatchlings every year, making this year’s record the highest so far.

Olive Ridley sea turtles got their name from the green color of its heart-shaped shell. They are one of the smallest sea turtles globally; primarily found in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans.

They are also considered the most abundant sea turtles in the world, with an estimated 800,000 nesting females every year. However, their numbers have gradually decreased over the years, as they are one of the most exploited sea turtles in the world.

They lay their eggs on Mexican shores between May and September. The turtle species is considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild despite their abundance.

Notably, Mexico banned the capture of sea turtles in 1990, and there are stiff penalties for anyone caught hunting them.

-CHK

Cabinet approves revision of ethanol price for supply to OMCs

New Delhi (NVI): The Union Cabinet today approved mechanism for procurement of ethanol by public sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) under Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme and revised ethanol price for supply to them for the year 2020-21.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved fixing higher ethanol price derived from different sugarcane-based raw materials under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme.

The government has been implementing EBP programme wherein OMCs sell petrol blended with ethanol up to 10 per cent.

The price of ethanol for doping in petrol has been hiked by 5-8 per cent, which will help farmers get remunerative price while also cutting down oil imports, said Union Minister Prakash Javadekar while addressing a press conference after Cabinet meeting.

“The move also checks pollution as ethanol is environment-friendly,” Javadekar said.

The price of ethanol derived from C heavy molasses has been increased from Rs 43.75 a litre to Rs 445.693.75 per litre, and for B heavy molasses to Rs 57.61 per litre from Rs 54.27 earlier, as per the Cabinet statement.

Also, the price of ethanol from sugarcane juice, sugar, sugar syrup route has been increased from Rs 59.48 per litre to Rs 62.65 per litre. Additionally, GST and transportation charges will also be payable.

“Oil marketing companies (OMCs) have been advised to fix realistic transportation charges so that long distance transportation of ethanol is not disincentivised,” as per the Cabinet statement.

-CHK

Pakistan admits its role in Pulwama terror attack

Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry

New Delhi (NVI): Pakistan today finally admitted that it was behind the gruesome terror attack on CRPF convoy in Pulwama in Kashmir in February last year, with its Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry terming it as an “achievement” under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Chaudhry, while speaking in the Pakistan National Assembly on behalf of his government during a debate, said, “Humne Hindustan ko ghus ke maara hai (We hit India after entering it).”

He went on to add, “Our achievement in Pulwama is the achievement of our country under the leadership of Imran Khan. We all are party to it.”

The Minister was responding to the remarks by Opposition MP Ayaz Sadiq, who revealed yesterday in Parliament details about how Pakistan was compelled to return IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan after he was captured on landing in Pakistan after his MIG-21 crashed on February 27 last year.

“When Chief of Army Staff General Bajwa came to meet (Pakistan) Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for a meeting, which was skipped by Prime Minister Imran Khan, his legs were shivering and there was sweat on his forehead. Qureshi appealed to him (Bajwa), saying for God’s sake, let Abhinandan go because India is going to attack Pakistan at 9 PM,” Sadiq had said, citing eye-witness account of a meeting.

Chaudhry, while reacting to Sadiq’s comments, was referring to the dastardly suicide bomb attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama on February 14, last year, in which 40 security personnel lost their lives. The attacked was owned by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit.

India hit back by carrying out air strike at a major training camp of JeM in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan, on February 26.

The next day, Pakistan tried to carry out air attacks in J&K but the attempt was thwarted by the Indian Air Force, which shot down one F-16 fighter of the Pakistan Air Force. However, in the dogfight, one IAF MiG-Bison fighter also crashed and Wing Commander Abhinandan was taken captive by Pakistan.

While India has been maintaining that Pakistan was behind the Pulwama attack, Islamabad has continued to be in a denial mode, like in every other terror incident in this country.

Therefore, the admission by the Pakistan Minister is hugely significant.

Prez greets people on Milad-un-Nabi eve

President Kovind

New Delhi (NVI): President Ram Nath Kovind today extended his greetings on the eve of Milad-un-Nabi, marks birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad.

In his message for the occasion, Kovind said, “I extend warm wishes to all the countrymen, especially our Muslim brothers and sisters on the birthday of Prophet Muhammad celebrated as Eid-e-Milad or Milad-Un-Nabi.”

“Prophet Muhammad gave the message of love and brotherhood and led the world to the path of humanity. He wanted to build a society based on equality and harmony,” he added.

The President also asked everyone to work for the well-being of society and peace and harmony in the country.

“According to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad compiled in the Holy Quran, let us all work for the well-being of society and peace and harmony in the country,” Kovind said in his message.

The day of Eid-e-Milad or Milad-Un-Nabi is observed and celebrated during the third month in the Islamic calendar, Rabi’ al-awwal. On this day, Muslims from all across the world celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad.

-RJV

Cabinet nod to nationwide project for rehabilitation and improvement of dams

New Delhi (NVI): The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) – Phase II & Phase III, to improve the safety and operational performance of selected dams across the whole country, along with institutional strengthening with system wide management approach.

With the financial assistance of the World Bank (WB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the project’s budget outlay is Rs 10,211 crore.

The scheme will be implemented in two Phases, each of six (6) years duration, with two (2) years’ overlap from April, 2021 to March, 2031.

The programme will fund physical rehabilitation of key dams as well as capacity building of dam operators in order to ensure availability of trained and skilled manpower for better operation of dams.

Furthermore, the project will also ensure maintenance and improvement of 736 dams in 19 states in the next 10 years.

Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told reporters at a cabinet briefing that the dam rehabilitation and improvement programme phases two and three will be completed under a 10-year plan at a total cost of Rs 10,211 crore.

Providing details, he said the first phase of the programme was launched in 2012. It ended in 2020 under which 223 dams in seven states were included.

Notably, India is third in the world after China and the US to have big dams and has a total of 5,334 big dams and 411 dams are currently under construction.

Eighty per cent of the existing dams are more than 25 years old with some 100-year-old dams also functional, which require serious maintenance, re-enforcement and capacity building as they were built using older technologies.

-CHK

Cabinet approves 100% mandatory packaging of food grains in jute bags

Prakash Javadekar

New Delhi (NVI): The Union Cabinet today approved that that 100 per cent of the foodgrains and 20 per cent of the sugar shall be mandatorily packed in diversified jute bags..

The decision was announced by Union Minister Prakash Javadekar at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

An official statement said that, “The decision to pack sugar in diversified jute bags will give an impetus to the diversification of the jute industry.”

Furthermore, the decision also mandates that initially 10 per cent the indents of jute bags for packing food grains would be placed through reverse auction on the Gem portal.

The government has expanded the scope of mandatory packaging norms under the Jute Packaging Material (JPM) Act, 1987.

In case of any shortage or disruption in supply of jute packaging material, the Ministry of Textiles, in consultation with the user Ministries concerned, will relax these provisions further, up to a maximum of 30 per cent of the production of food grains over and above the provisions.

Moreover, the decision will benefit nearly 4 lakh workers engaged in the jute sector along with thousands of farmers.

The approval will also benefit farmers and workers located in the Eastern and North Eastern regions of the country particularly in the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura, the statement said.

Under the JPM Act, the government is required to consider and provide for the compulsory use of jute packaging material in the supply and distribution of certain commodities in the interest of production of raw jute and jute packaging material and of persons engaged in the production thereof.

Therefore, the norms in present proposal would further the interest of domestic production of raw jute and jute packaging material in India, thereby, making India self-reliant in consonance with Aatma Nirbhar Bharat.

The jute industry is predominantly dependent on government sector which purchases jute bags of value of more than Rs 7,500 crore every year for packing food grains.

In addition to this, the government has been making concerted efforts for the development of jute sector by increasing the quality and productivity of raw jute, diversification of jute sector and also boosting and sustaining demand for jute products.

-RJV

Woman beheaded, 2 others killed in knife attack in France

(Image source: @cestrosi)

New Delhi (NVI): A woman has been decapitated and two others killed in a knife attack near the Notre Dame Basilica church in the French city of Nice, according to French media citing police sources.

Police said three people were confirmed to have died in the attack and several were injured.

The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, tweeted that one person has been arrested. Estrosi also tweeted that he believed the attack was a terrorist attack.

One of the people killed inside the church was believed to be the church warden, Estrosi added.

The attack came within days of the killing of French school teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded in Paris this month by a suspected Islamist after he used caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in a class on freedom of expression.

However, the motive of the attack is yet not clear.

-CHK

Pakistan has no problem with genocide against us, asks top Uyghur Muslim leader

Uyghurs
Uyghur Muslims of China-occupied East Turkistan (Xinjiang) protesting against genocide. File Pic

New Delhi (NVI): Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is fully aware of the “genocide” being carried out by China against Uyghur Muslims but he is “trying to run away from the reality”, according to top Uyghur leader and Prime Minister of East Turkistan Government-in-Exile Salih Hudayar.

Uyghurs are the ethnic natives of Xinjiang region, which they call as East Turkistan under China’s illegal occupation since 1949.

Slamming Pakistan, Hudayar says it keeps raising the issue of Kashmir and other places but is “satisfied with the genocide of 30 million Turkic Muslims in East Turkestan” by China.

He appeals to India to raise its voice for Uyghur Muslims, saying it will help New Delhi avert the continuous threat from China like the one posed on the Ladakh border at present.

He noted that the India government has not yet made any official statement on the issue of Uyghurs, except for signing up with US and other countries against China.

“Right now, India has got a lot of issues with China. East Turkistan issue is most sensitive for China. But now they (India) need to publicly come out and speak out against the Chinese atrocities,” he said.

Asked whether it is the right time for India to speak up for Uyghurs since China has undertaken aggression on the Ladakh border, Hudayar agreed, saying the “threat of China is not going to disappear so long as China occupies East Turkistan and Tibet. So to remove the strategic threat posed by China, India should support East Turkistan and Tibet.”

Contending that India does not share any border with China but with East Turkistan and Tibet, he said, “For its own strategic interests, India needs to support East Turkistan cause. It is in India’s own strategic interest in short term and long term also.”

The PM of the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile said he would love to reach out to the Indian government and raise this issue. “East Turkistan and India have a long history and cultural exchange for thousands of years,” he said.

“The Indian Parliament should pass a resolution on this issue, like the Canadian Parliamentary Committee which recognised the developments in East Turkistan as genocide,” he suggested.

Referring to Pakistan, Hudayar said, it is “satisfied with the genocide of 30 million Turkic Muslims in East Turkistan”.

He said the Islamic world has been “corrupted by Chinese money and Chinese economic and political influence” and “there is hypocrisy, especially, when we see Pakistan raising issue of Kashmir and other places but ignores East Turkistan issue.”

The Uyghur leader pointed out that Pakistan’s National Security Advisor recently said that “they are 100 percent satisfied with what China is doing in East Turkistan.”

When pointed out that Pakistan PM Imran Khan has claimed he does not know what is happening to Uyghurs, Hudayar said, “He is fully aware of what’s happening. His NSA said he is fully aware of what is happening. He (Khan) is trying to run away from the reality. He knows China is engaging in genocide. “

He added that there are also Pakistani citizens who have families or relatives in East Turkistan locked up in concentration camps by the Chinese authorities.

“Pakistan has gone down the wrong path by thinking it can use China’s investments. They (Pakistani leaders) are playing with Pakistan’s future. This is how China occupied East Turkistan 71 years ago by corrupting leaders and now we are facing genocide,” the Uyghur leader said.

Asked whether he thinks China would use same tactics against Pakistan as applied against East Turkistan to occupy it, he said, “Absolutely, China will use same tactics against any of these countries where China is investing now. Right now they might be all nice but at the end of day they are engaging in colonisation. We are already seeing that happening in Africa. Many countries are unable to pay back (Chinese) loans.”

Talking about the situation in Xinjiang, he said over a million Uyghurs are locked up in concentration camps and prisons where many are dying, men are being forcibly sterilized and there is constant surveillance and harassment outside the concentration camps.

He said the international community is slowly recognising that atrocities against Uyghurs are equal to genocide but wants UN-led investigation to expose the exact situation to the world.

Kejriwal launches ‘Green Delhi’ app to fight pollution in Delhi

Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi (NVI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today launched the ‘Green Delhi’ mobile application, to fight the air pollution menace in the national capital.

The application will allow the citizens to register complaints about pollution-causing activities to the Delhi government directly.

Addressing the media virtually, Kejriwal said, the Delhi government wants to involve everyone in the fight against air pollution, as no big change can take place without the support of people.

“Today we are launching the ‘Green Delhi’ application. Our aim is to involve each and every citizen in this initiative. This app can be installed from the Play Store. You can file any kind of complaint regarding pollution via this app,” he said.

Kejriwal also informed that particular departments will receive the complaints and they will have to work in a time-bound manner. “If the citizen is not satisfied with the solution, he or she can re-open that complaint,” he said.

The Chief Minister added that with the rising air pollution in the national capital, the government along with the citizens is taking various steps to reduce the pollution.

“We have taken various initiatives in the last five years as well following which the pollution here has been reduced by 25 per cent. We are still taking steps like all the thermal power plants are all closed in Delhi. Fuel has also been changed in 95 per cent of the industries in the city,” Kejriwal said.

Moreover, the ‘Green Delhi’ app allows citizens to click pictures or make a video of any activity that causes pollution, such as burning garbage, industrial pollution, dust, among others.

The citizens can then upload the digital photograph on to the application, and it will identify the location automatically and once the location is detected, the complaint will be filed and be forwarded to the concerned department for time-bound redressal.

However, a ‘green war room’ has also been set up at the Delhi Secretariat to monitor the status of complaints.

All users can download the ‘Green Delhi’ mobile app from the Google Play Store. At present, it is only available for Android users.

Furthermore, the mobile app is a part of the Delhi government’s “Yudh Pradushan Ke Virudh” campaign, launched on October 6, to reduce pollution levels in the national capital, Kejriwal said.

-RJV

Ex-Gujarat CM Keshubhai Patel dies at 92

Keshubhai Patel

New Delhi (NVI): Former Gujarat chief minister and senior BJP leader Keshubhai Patel passed away today at a private hospital in Gujarat.

Keshubhai Patel complained of difficulty in breathing this morning and was taken to Sterling hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, where he passed away at the age of 92 years.

Earlier in September, the former Chief Minister had tested positive for COVID-19 and was discharged ten days later after he tested negative.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed sadness at the death of Keshubhai Patel.

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi wrote, “Our beloved and respected Keshubhai has passed away…I am deeply pained and saddened. He was an outstanding leader who cared for every section of society. His life was devoted towards the progress of Gujarat and the empowerment of every Gujarati.”

Born in Visavadar town of Junagadh district in 1928, Keshubhai Patel joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1945 as a pracharak. He started his political career as a worker for the Jan Sangh.

Patel was the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 1995 and from 1998 to 2001. Later, he was succeeded by the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the then Gujarat chief minister.

-RJV

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