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Former J&K DGP tests COVID-19 positive

Shesh Paul Vaid (file photo)

New Delhi (NVI): Former Director General of Jammu & Kashmir Police Shesh Paul Vaid today said he tested positive for the novel coronavirus along with his two family members.

Taking to Twitter, Vaid wrote, “Today morning me along with my wife and son have tested positive for COVID-19. I express my heartfelt gratitude to all who have blessed me and my family by wishing me well.”

“All who have been in direct contact with me in the last 2 weeks please get yourself tested and quarantined,” he added.

Earlier yesterday, Veteran Congress leader and former Minister Mohammad Sharief Niaz died of post-COVID-19 complications in Jammu region.

So far, Jammu and Kashmir has recorded 84,031 coronavirus cases out of which 72,706 have recovered, while 1,333 have lost life due to the deadly contagion.

-RJV

Gadkari inaugurates 8 NH projects

New Delhi (NVI): Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 8 National Highway projects in Kerala today.

Over 200 km long Highways worth Rs 12,692 crore will give a big boost to economic prosperity of the state, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways said in a statement today.

The projects include six laning of Thalapady, six laning of Changala and Construction of High Level Bridge over Cheruthoni River. Among other projects are six laning of Neleshwaram town to Thalipparamba, Thalipparamba to Muzhapilangad, Paloli Palam and Moodadi Bridge & allied works NH-66 and Kozhikode Bypass, the Ministry said in a statement.

Speaking on the occasion, Gadkari said that in line with the Prime Minister’s vision for a New India, development of world-class transport infrastructure has been prioritized through initiatives such as the Bharatmala Pariyojana, India’s largest ever infrastructure development program.

He said, “Nearly 1,234 km of National Highways are being developed as a part of Bharatmala Pariyojana in Kerala.”

“The Bharatmala Pariyojna was conceptualized through a scientific study of freight traffic movement between key origin-destination pairs to enable efficient freight and passenger movement. 35,000 km of National Highways are being developed as a part of Bharatmala Pariyojana in the country,” Gadkari added.

The event was attended by the Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarai Vijayan and Union MoSs Gen (Retd) V K Singh and V Muraleedharan, Ministers from the State, MLAs and senior officers from the Centre and the state.

-CHK

Dust can reduce effect of nuclear weapons: Woman scientist from Delhi

Meera Chadha

New Delhi (NVI): The dust particles could become one of the ways to reduce the effect of nuclear weapons, suggests a study by a woman scientist from the Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT), New Delhi.

In a study, published in the Proceedings of Royal Society A, London, Dr Meera Chadha has shown for the first time, through mathematical modelling, that the deadly effects of nuclear weapons can be partially mitigated or reduced with the help of dust particles.

The study illustrates the reduction in energy released and damage radius from an intense explosion (nuclear explosion in particular) by introduction of dust particles. She has also shown in the study how the blast waves from the explosion decayed in the process.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and Technology in a statement said that the woman scientist returned to the science mainstream after a hiatus of one year due to domestic reasons.

The Women Scientist Scheme (WOS) fellowship of the Department of Science & Technology (DST) provides opportunities to women scientists and technologists who had a break in their career but desired to return to the mainstream.

Such a break is common among Indian women who prioritise family over their career due to various circumstances, which are usually typical to the gender, the statement said.

Chadha availed this opportunity not only to return back to mainstream science after a career gap but also to show for the first time that dust can reduce the effect of nuclear weapons.

“During my PhD, I studied about shock waves and how dust particles contribute in reducing their strength. I came across a book titled ‘Science towards Spirituality’, in which Former President, Late Dr Abdul Kalam, was asked, ‘Can Science create a Cool Bomb that can defuse or deactivate the deadly atom bomb?’ This got me thinking,” Chadha said in a statement, while explaining the trigger behind her research.

She also utilised her break in career in studying about explosions and the possible effects of dust particles on them. However, the WOS scheme gave her the flexibility of time and enough resources in terms of equipment and funds to carry out her research, the statement added.

-RJV

India, Mexico look forward to boost trade ties at 5th bilateral meet

New Delhi (NVI): India and Mexico today held the fifth bilateral meeting to foster cooperation in areas of trade, investment, and promote tourism between the two countries.

The fifth meeting of the India-Mexico Bilateral High Level Group on Trade, Investment and Cooperation (BHLG) was held through video conference, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement.

In the meeting, two business to business MoUs were signed, to boost cooperation in the trade, investment, technology and a few other domains.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the Electronics & Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) of India and the Mexican Chamber of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technologies (CANIETI) was signed.

Another MoU between the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Mexican Business Council of Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (COMCE) for promoting the development of business relations between India and Mexico was also signed.

They also agreed to expand and diversify the bilateral trade relationship to tap the potential of the complementarities between India and Mexico through enhanced cooperation in pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, healthcare, agro-products, fisheries, food processing and aerospace industry etc. A ‘Joint Statement’ after the successful conclusion of the meeting was issued.

During the meeting, the two sides appreciated the progress made in the bilateral trade and commercial relations between India and Mexico in the recent years, the Ministry said.

Apart from that, both sides discussed a number of bilateral ongoing and outstanding issues, ranging from Audio-visual Co-production, Bilateral Investment Treaty, market access for agricultural products, a cooperation framework on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) & Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) measures between the two countries, co-operation in the Intellectual Property Rights, and exploring ways to promote tourism and people-to-people contact between India and Mexico, the Ministry said in a statement.

The meeting was co-chaired by the Commerce Secretary of the Government of India, Dr. Anup Wadhawan and the Vice Minister for Foreign Trade of the Government of Mexico, Luz María de la Mora.

-ARK

Extremely heavy rainfall expected over Telangana; red alert issued: IMD

New Delhi (NVI): Telangana will be receiving extremely heavy rainfall on Tuesday and Wednesday affecting normal life in several districts of the state due to a deep depression over Bay of Bengal.

The weather department has warned disruption of transportation, power supply and inundation of low-lying areas and even damage to agriculture crops in certain places because of the heavy rains.

Accordingly, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red warning over the state for the next 24 hours, with the advisory instructing residents to “take action” and protect themselves from the extreme weather conditions.

Very heavy to extremely heavy rain is expected over Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda and Yadadri Bhongir districts, and heavy to very heavy rain is expected over Nagarkurnool, Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda, Yadadri Bhongir, Suryapet, Khammam, Mahabubabad and Jangaon districts.

The depression over west central Bay of Bengal lay centered about 280 km southeast of Visakhapatnam is very likely to intensify further into a Deep Depression during the next 12 hours, according to a statement by Ministry of Earth Science.

Apart from Telangana, this system is also expected to cause heavy rainfall activity over Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh for the next 2-3 days.

Furthermore, warning has been issued for fishermen not to venture in to west central, northwest and southwest Bay of Bengal, along and off Andhra Pradesh-Odisha-Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts till October 13, the statement added.

-CHK

Microsoft, AICTE collaborate to skill students, educators in next-gen technologies

New Delhi (NVI): All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has partnered with tech-giant Microsoft to empower learners and educators with future-ready skills, covering a broad range of technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI), IOT, data science and cloud computing.

Microsoft has partnered with AICTE with a vision to provide uninterrupted online learning to millions of students across the country.

Under the partnership, over 900 course modules from Microsoft will be made available to students and educators free of cost through AICTE’s free e-learning portal, ELIS (free.aicte-india.org). Microsoft’s learning resource centre, Microsoft Learn has been integrated with the ELIS platform to provide access to personalized learning paths and resources for students.

The collaboration also gives educators access to best-in-class online learning paths and instructor-led training material through the Microsoft Learn for Educators platform, AICTE said in a release. Eligible educators and faculty members can access Microsoft’s ready-to-teach curriculum and teaching materials aligned with industry-recognized Microsoft certifications.

“Our collaboration with AICTE reflects our commitment to building a strong skilling ecosystem in the country and ensure continuity in learning. COVID-19 has accelerated the need for upskilling and has shown clearly that the future of learning will be profoundly personalized and supported by technology. We are committed to empowering learners and educators across the country to skill themselves in emerging technologies and partner in the journey to thrive in a digital future,” said Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India.

Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE, Ministry of Education, said, “Upskilling is very important to enhance employability opportunities for students. AICTE is happy to partner with Microsoft to help students get an opportunity to be hands-on with the latest technology and build products and services for the future.”

Through this partnership, students will also get an opportunity to be hands-on with technology and build for the future with Azure for Students, AICTE said. Eligible students aged 18 and above can building apps, explore AI, and make the most of big data with access to more than 25 free Azure services along with $100 in Azure credit, renewable annually.

In addition to this, to make learning more interactive, Microsoft will host live webinars on next-generation technologies for students of AICTE. To ensure technology benefits everyone, Microsoft will also sponsor 1000 Microsoft Certification Exam Vouchers spanning different technologies for students from underserved communities.

-ARK

Johnson & Johnson halts Covid vaccine clinical trial after participant falls ill

New Delhi (NVI): Johnson & Johnson today said that it had temporarily paused its Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials because one of its participants had become sick.

“We have temporarily paused further dosing in all our Covid-19 vaccine candidate clinical trials, including the Phase 3 ENSEMBLE trial, due to an unexplained illness in a study participant,” the company said in a statement.

The pause means the online enrollment system has been closed for the 60,000-patient clinical trial while the independent patient safety committee is convened.

Earlier this month, Johnson & Johnson joined the short list of vaccine makers that have moved an experimental coronavirus shot into late-stage human studies in the US.

The company has since begun dosing up to 60,000 volunteers, marking the first big trial of an Covid-19 inoculation that may work after just one shot.

J&J said that serious adverse events (SAEs) are “an expected part of any clinical study, especially large studies.”

The company further said that company guidelines allowed them to pause a study to determine if the SAE was related to the drug in question and whether to resume study.

The J&J Phase 3 trial had started recruiting participants in late September, across more than 200 sites in the US and around the world.

The other countries where the trials are taking place are Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and South Africa

-CHK

Climate change led to rise in natural disasters over last 20 years: Report

Representational image (Source @UNFCCC)

New Delhi (NVI): There has been a dramatic increase in natural disasters over the last 20 years, due to a rise in climate-related disasters, including change in extreme weather events, according to a UN report.

The UN Office on Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) report- “The Human Cost of Disasters 2000-2019” showed that there were 7,348 major disaster events that had occurred between 2000 and 2019, claiming 1.23 lives, affecting 4.2 billion people and resulting in some USD 2.97 trillion in global economic losses.

In the preceding two decades, between 1980 and 1999, 4,212 disasters were linked to natural hazards worldwide which claimed 1.19 million lives and affected 3.25 billion people resulting in USD 1.63 trillion in economic losses.

“Much of the difference the 1980-1999 is explained by a rise in climate-related disasters including extreme weather events: from 3,656 climate-related events to 6,681 climate-related disasters in the period 2000-2019,” the report said.

It also shows that the last twenty years has seen the number of major floods more than double, from 1,389 to 3,254, while the incidence of storms grew from 1,457 to 2,034 and floods and storms were the most prevalent events.

The report also records major increases in other categories including drought, wildfires and extreme temperature events.

However, there has been a rise in geo-physical events including earthquakes and tsunamis which have killed more people than any of the other natural hazards under review in this report.

Mami Mizutori, the UN Secretary-General’s special representative for disaster risk reduction, said, “We are willfully destructive. That is the only conclusion one can come to when reviewing disaster events over the last twenty years.”

“COVID-19 is but the latest proof that political and business leaders are yet to tune in to the world around them,” Mizutori said.

She further said that disaster management agencies, civil protection departments, fire brigades, public health authorities, the Red Cross and Red Crescent, and many NGOs are fighting an uphill battle against an ever-rising tide of extreme weather events.

“The report is a reminder to UN Member States of their commitment to strengthen disaster risk governance and to have national and local strategies for disaster risk reduction in place by 2020,” Mizutori added.

Moreover, the statistics in this report are from the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) maintained by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) which records disasters which have killed ten or more people, affected 100 or more people; resulted in a declared state of emergency; or a call for international assistance, the report said.

According to the report, Asia suffered the highest number of disaster events, there were 3,068 disaster events in Asia, followed by the 1,756 events in the Americas and 1,192 events in Africa between 2000 and 2019.

Globally, in terms of affected countries, China (577 events) and the USA (467 events) reported the highest number of disaster events, followed by India (321 events), Philippines (304 events), and Indonesia (278 events).

These countries all have large and heterogenous landmasses and relatively high population densities in at-risk areas. Overall, eight of the top 10 countries by disaster events are in Asia, the report said.

-RJV

WATCH | Viral video shows animal species that have gone extinct in last 100 yrs

New Delhi (NVI): Climate change is having a devastating effect on nature, especially endangered species that are on the verge of extinction. As we talk about species endangered, several of them have already gone extinct in the last 100 years, and human activity is to be blamed for this.

Recent research has predicted that by 2100, the number of mammal species going extinct globally is likely to reach 558 if conservation efforts are not stepped up.

A video, showing animals that have gone extinct from the planet in the last 100 years, has gone viral on social media.

The animated video has been shared by Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Parveen Kaswan who often shares wildlife related content on his Twitter handle to spread awareness about different animal and bird species.

The video also shows the names of animals or species gone extinct with the year of their extinction.

“Extinction is forever. These are animals which got extinct from planet in last 100 years. Imagine same will happen in our own lifetime,” Kaswan says in a tweet that he shared yesterday.

The 17 species listed in the video, along with their extinction years are:

Sicilian wolf- 1920s

Tasmanian Tiger – 1930s

Xerces blue 1940s

Japanese sea lion – 1950s

Crescent nail-tail wallaby 1950s

Babul hartebeest 1950s

St. Helena Darter 1960s

Kakawahie – 1960s

Guam flying fox – 1960s

Caspian tiger- 1970s

Siamese flat-barbelled catfish- 1970s

Yunnan lake newt- 1970s

Golden Toad-1980

Rotund Rocksnail-1990s

Pyrebean Ibex- 2000s

Pinta Giant Tortoise- 2010s

West African Black Rhinoceros- 2010s

For all the mammal species that have gone extinct so far, humans are almost entirely to be blamed, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances recently.

“On the basis of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)-based scenario, we predict 558 mammal species’ extinctions globally by the year 2100,” the study authors wrote.

“We are losing biodiversity every year, and with every extinct species and population, we lose unique evolutionary history,” they added.

The current diversity of mammals consists of approximately 5,700 extant species. At least 351 mammal species have gone extinct over the past 126,000 years.

Out of them, 80 are known from historical reports since the year 1500, while all others are only known from fossil or zooarcheological records, according to the study.

-ARK

EC declares dates for Rajya Sabha seats

Election Commission
Election Commission of India

New Delhi (NVI): The Election Commission of India (ECI) today announced November 9 as the date for elections to 11 Rajya Sabha seats. The votes polled will be counted on the same day, EC’s notification confirmed.

The election is mandated as the term of Rajya Sabha members, 10 from Uttar Pradesh and one from Uttarakhand, is set to expire on November 25.

As per the commission’s notification, the Rajya Sabha elections have to be completed before November 11. The notification also states that the Commission has decided to hold biennial elections to the Council of States from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to fill up the vacancies.

The MPs whose terms are expiring, include Chandrapal Singh Yadav, Javed Ali Khan, Arun Singh, Neeraj Shekhar, PL Punia, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Ravi Prakash Verma, Rajaram, Ramgopal Yadav, Veer Singh from Uttar Prades and Raj Babbar.

The commission has also directed that for the purpose of marking preference’s on the ballot paper only integrated violet colour sketch pen(s) of pre-fixed specification, provided by the Returning Officer, shall be used.

“No other pen shall, under any circumstances, be used in the above said elections,” it added.

Meanwhile, the chief secretaries concerned to depute a senior officer from the State to ensure that the extant instructions regarding COVID-19 containment measures are complied with while making arrangements for conducting the elections, EC said.

-RJV

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