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Air India Express flights to and from Dubai suspended for 15 days

New Delhi (NVI): Air India Express flights to and from Dubai have been suspended for 15 days from September 18 until October 3, for ferrying coronavirus positive patients to Dubai twice during the last couple of weeks.

Dubai Civil Aviation Authority has stopped Air India Express from flying to Dubai for 15 days, starting today, alleging that two coronavirus positive passengers flew on board the flights to Dubai on two separate occasions despite having Covid-19 positive test reports.

As per the UAE government rules, each passenger travelling from India needs to bring original coronavirus-negative certificate from RT-PCR test done 96 hours prior to the journey.

The airline, which has been operating flights under the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate stranded Indians from the UAE, is also flying passengers eligible to return to the UAE from India under the air bubble agreement between the two countries.

The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority further added that boarding a coronavirus patient was in violation of the laid down procedures relating to the air travel to and from Dubai airports during the coronavirus pandemic.

For the resumption of the Air India Express flights to Dubai, Air India has been requested to submit a detailed corrective action or procedure implemented to prevent such incidents from occurring again.

-CHK

State-wise details of Covid-19 cases in India

Covid variant
File photo

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases in India have reached 52,14,678 after 96,424 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours, the biggest single-day rise, according to Union Health Ministry data.

The country’s death toll has gone up to 84,372 after 1,174 new fatalities were reported in the country during this period.

In worst-hit Maharashtra, the COVID-19 cases climbed to 11,45,840, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 6,01,462 cases, and Tamil Nadu with 5,25,420 cases.

Total positive cases in States/UTs:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 3,604

Andhra Pradesh- 6,01,462

Arunachal Pradesh- 6,851

Assam- 1,50,349

Bihar- 1,64,051

Chandigarh- 9,256

Chhattisgarh- 77,775

Dadra Nagar Haveli & Diu – 2,831

Delhi- 2,34,701

Gujarat- 1,18,926

Goa- 26,783

Haryana– 1,03,773

Himachal Pradesh- 11,190

Jammu and Kashmir- 59,711

Jharkhand- 67,100

Karnataka- 4,94,356

Kerala- 1,22,214

Ladakh- 3,576

Madhya Pradesh- 97,906

Maharashtra- 11,45,840

Manipur- 8,430

Meghalaya- 4,356

Mizoram- 1,534

Nagaland- 5,306

Odisha- 1,67,161

Puducherry- 21,428

Punjab- 90,032

Rajasthan- 1,09,473

Sikkim- 2,221

Tamil Nadu- 5,25,420

Telangana- 1,67,046

Tripura- 20,949

Uttarakhand- 37,139

Uttar Pradesh- 3,36,294

West Bengal– 2,15,580

State/UT wise total death toll:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 52

Andhra Pradesh- 5,177

Arunachal Pradesh- 13

Assam- 528

Bihar- 855

Chandigarh- 109

Chhattisgarh- 628

Dadra and Nagar Haveli- 2

Delhi- 4,877

Goa- 327

Gujarat- 3,270

Haryana- 1,069

Himachal Pradesh- 98

Jammu and Kashmir- 951

Jharkhand- 590

Karnataka- 7,629

Kerala- 489

Ladakh- 46

Madhya Pradesh- 1,877

Maharashtra- 31,351

Manipur- 51

Meghalaya- 31

Nagaland- 15

Odisha- 669

Puducherry- 431

Punjab- 2,646

Rajasthan- 1,293

Sikkim- 22

Tamil Nadu- 8,618

Telangana- 1,016

Tripura- 228

Uttarakhand- 460

Uttar Pradesh- 4,771

West Bengal- 4,183

However, a total of 41,12,551 people have been cured or discharged. Total active cases stand at 10,17,754.

-CHK

COVID-19 plunges 150 million more children into poverty: UNICEF

Nearly 20% of all children below the age of five in the developing world live in extremely poor households

New Delhi (NVI): As many as 150 million more children have plunged into poverty since the coronavirus pandemic struck earlier this year, according to a new UNICEF analysis.

With this addition, approximately 1.2 billion children worldwide are living in multi-dimensional poverty, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement.

The analysis, conducted by UNICEF and child rights organization, Save the Children, reveals that there has been a 15 per cent increase in the multi-dimensional poverty faced by children since the start of COVID-19 outbreak.

The UN body said that access to education, healthcare, housing, nutrition, sanitation and water are taken to work out multi-dimensional poverty and the data from over 70 countries has been included for the analysis.

It also highlights that around 45 per cent of children were severely deprived of at least one of these critical needs in the countries analyzed before the pandemic.

However, the condition presented by UNICEF already is grave and the organisation warned of a worsening condition in the future.

“COVID-19 and the lockdown measures imposed to prevent its spread have pushed millions of children deeper into poverty,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a statement.

“Families on the cusp of escaping poverty have been pulled back in, while others are experiencing levels of deprivation they have never seen before. Most concerningly, we are closer to the beginning of this crisis than its end,” Fore added.

Apart from making more children poor, the UN report stated that already poor children have become poorer after the arrival of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Before the pandemic, the average number of severe deprivations per child was around 0.7, which is now estimated to have increased by 15 per cent to around 0.85, it added.

The report notes that child poverty is much more than a monetary value. While measures of monetary poverty such as household income are important, they provide only a partial view of the plight of children living in poverty.

Furthermore, the UN body suggests social protection, inclusive fiscal policies, employment, labour market interventions, among others to help families facing extreme poverty and preventing further devastation.

It also includes the expanding of health care services, providing the tools and technology for children so that education can be continued remotely and encouraging policies such as paid leave for child care as possible solutions.

-RJV

Global coronavirus cases surpass 3 billion-mark

Coronavirus cases

New Delhi (NVI): More than 30 million people around the world have been diagnosed with the coronavirus and 9,43,515 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. Some 20.4 million people have recovered.

In the US, the number of coronavirus infections rose to 6.67 million while the death toll crossed 1,97,000 in the country.

Brazil recorded 829 new deaths due to coronavirus, bringing the total to 1,34,106. New cases rose by 36,303 to 4,455,386.

Greece reported 135 cases of coronavirus infections among migrants and refugees made homeless by a fire at a large refugee on the island of Lesbos.

Australia’s coronavirus hot spot of Victoria reported its biggest daily rise in coronavirus infections in more than a week as the state began relaxing lockdown restrictions. Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, reported five deaths from COVID-19 and 45 cases in the last 24 hours.

Health authorities in mainland China reported 32 new COVID-19 cases, all imported cases, marking the highest daily increase in more than a month and up sharply from nine cases reported a day earlier.

New Zealand reported no new confirmed cases of the coronavirus for the first time in more than five weeks as hopes rise that an outbreak discovered in Auckland last month has been stamped out.

One in seven cases of COVID-19 reported to the WHO is a health worker and in some countries that figure rises to one in three, according to the organisation.

-CHK

India’s Covid tally over 52 lakh, deaths nearing 85,000 mark

covid cases
File photo

New Delhi (NVI): India witnessed a single-day jump of 96,424 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the overall tally to 52,14,678, Union Health Ministry said.

The country’s death toll has gone up to 84,372 with 1,174 new fatalities being reported during this period.

So far, 41,12,552 patients have been cured and recovered all over the country while active cases stands at 10,17,754.

In worst-hit Maharashtra, the COVID-19 cases climbed to 11,45,840, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 6,01,462 cases, and Tamil Nadu with 5,25,420 cases.

Other states with high virus cases are Karnataka (4,94,356), Uttar Pradesh (3,36,294) and Delhi (2,34,701).

Maharashtra has also reported the highest number of death toll at 31,351 followed by 8,618 deaths in Tamil Nadu.

The death toll in the national capital surpassed to 4,877, while 1,98,103 patients have recovered so far, the healthy ministry data shows.

According to the Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 6,15,72,343 samples tested up to September 17 for COVID-19. Of these, 10,06,615 samples were tested yesterday.

Meanwhile, the government also said that around 60 per cent of the active cases are concentrated in only 5 most affected states. There are 13 States and UTs that even today have less than 5000 active cases.

-RJV

 

 

Targeted attacks on Shias continue in Pak as bank manager shot dead in Islamabad

New Delhi (NVI): As fears of sectarian violence grips Pakistan in the wake of attacks on Shia community, a 32-year-old bank manager was shot dead in broad daylight in Islamabad by two bike-borne assailants, exposing the failure of Imran Khan government on taking actions against such perpetrators and proscribed terror outfits.

Syed Raza Hussain Naqvi, a branch manager in a National Bank, was shot dead in the Pakistan capital just because he was a Shia. While some social media posts claimed that Extremists of ASWJ terror group were behind the attacks, some others have said that the attackers were from Sipah-e-Sahaba, a proscribed terrorist outfit in the country.

The CCTV footage of the incident also went viral on social media in which Naqvi can be seen coming out of a car and then two bike-borne assailants shot at him from behind, within seconds.

“Targeted attacks on the Shia community continue with impunity in Pakistan. In Islamabad Syed Raza Hussain Naqvi, a bank manager, shot dead in broad daylight. This follows the murder of Qaiser Imran in Kohat, attack on a procession in Okara and the systematic anti-shia campaign,” tweeted Naila Inayat, a Pakistan based journalist.


“Syed Raza Hussain Naqvi, a branch manager in a National Bank, ws shot dead in Islamabad coz he ws a SHIA. Extremists of ASWJ terror group are killing Shias in broad daylight. Imran Khan is alwyz concernd fr Kashmiris bt NO word of condemnation for #ShiaGenocide in #Pakistan!,” read another tweet from a user.

The killing also comes after thousands of people flooded the streets of Karachi on Friday last week in a massive anti-Shia demonstration which has sparked fears of sectarian violence in Pakistan. After the massive protests, the hashtag #ShiaGenocide began trending on Pakistani social media.

A large number of protestors were seen chanting “Shias are Kaffir” (disbelievers) and holding banners of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a terrorist organisation, linked to the killing of Shias over the years.

The massive rally took place after some major Shia leaders in the country allegedly made disparaging remarks against Islam in a televised broadcast of an Ashura procession last month, according to media reports.

-ARK

Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigns

Harsimrat Kaur Badal

New Delhi (NVI): Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal today resigned in protest against the three farm bills tabled in the Parliament by the Centre.

“I have resigned from Union Cabinet in protest against anti-farmer ordinances and legislation. Proud to stand with farmers as their daughter & sister,” the senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader said in a tweet.

Sukhbir Singh Badal, former chief minister of Punjab and parliamentarian earlier said that Harsimrat will resign from the government to protest farm bills. Later in the evening, she sent her resignation to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The three ordinances which have become a bone of contention between leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 which got passed in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

There were differences between SAB and BJP when the ordinances were discussed in the cabinet meeting. Harsimrat Kaur Badal was the only Union Minister who had protested against the ordinances when it was taken up for discussion in the union cabinet and it was made clear to the senior BJP leadership that SAD would not be able to support the ordinances.

Senior leaders of SAD have been protesting against the three ordinances as the party leadership believes that it is against the interest of farmers.

-ARK

Army chief arrives in Kashmir to review security situation, meets J&K LG

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): Army Chief General MM Naravane today arrived on a two-day visit to Kashmir to review the security situation on the Line of Control (LoC) in the wake of rising ceasefire violations by Pakistan.

General Naravane arrived in Srinagar today and proceeded to undertake a firsthand assessment of the situation along the Line of Control (LoC) in North Kashmir, defence spokesman Rajesh Kalia said.

“During his interaction with the soldiers deployed in high altitude areas, he appreciated their high morale and complimented them on their response to Pakistan ceasefire violations. He also commended the use of technology to ensure effective day and night surveillance across the LoC which has resulted in many successful operations to foil infiltration bids from across the LoC in the recent past.

“The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) reinforced the need to extend all possible support to civilians residing in the border areas who are victims of targeted ceasefire violations by Pakistan Army and are facing hardships due to the pandemic,” the defence spokesman said.

He said that Gen Naravane then proceeded to interact with commanders and troops deployed in the hinterland. “While interacting with jawans, the COAS highlighted that it was the dawn of a new era of development, peace and prosperity in Kashmir and applauded them for their high level of morale and contribution to peace-building in J&K,” the Kalia said.

According to the defence spokesman, Army chief appreciated the high level of coordination amongst all government agencies towards maintaining peace in the Valley and efforts to reach out to the “Awam” (general public) to overcome the challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic. “Later in the day, the COAS reviewed the overall security situation along with the Northern Army Commander and 15 Corps Commander,” he said.

“The COAS also called on Manoj Sinha, Lt Governor of the UT and discussed issues concerning the present security situation in the Union Territory and assured the wholehearted support of the Army in ushering in peace and stability in the region. The COAS is scheduled to return to New Delhi on 18 September 2020,” the defence spokesman added.

-ARK

JK’s Covid tally climbs to 59,711 with 1,467 more cases, 19 more deaths

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir today recorded another surge of 1,467 fresh cases of deadly coronavirus, including 62 travelers, taking the total number of positive cases in the Union Territory to 59,711.

The UT also witnessed 19 fresh deaths related to Covid-19, taking the total number of fatalities due to the virus to 951.

Of the total 59,711 cases, 39,127 are from Kashmir and 20,583 from Jammu division. Officials said that among 1,467 new cases, 682 belong to Kashmir while 785 are from Jammu division, adding that the total number of positive cases in Kashmir has reached 39,128 including 29,592 recoveries and 752 deaths.

On the other hand, the total number of positive cases in Jammu has reached 20,583 including 8,929 recoveries and 199 deaths.

They said that the total number of active cases in J&K is 20, 5239 including 8,784 from Kashmir and 11,455 from Jammu division.

With 712 more recoveries, the tally of total recoveries in the UT has reached 38,521 which is 64.51 percent of the total cases which was over 78 percent a few days before.

Interestingly, for the first time since Covid-19 outbreak, active cases have reached over 20,000 in J&K. Active cases in Jammu division are more than recovered cases.

“Cases tested positive in J&K include 233 from Srinagar, 89 from Budgam, 53 from Baramulla, 28 from Pulwama, 78 from Anantnag, 47 from Kupwara, 55 from Bandipora, 14 from Kulgam, 75from Ganderbal and 10 from Shopian in Kashmir division while as 785 from Jammu division include 210 from Jammu, 82 from Udhampur, 88 from Rajouri, 75 from Kathua, 69 from Samba, 75 from Poonch, 18 from Ramban, 97 from Doda, 27 from Reasi and 44 from Kishtwar,” as per the daily Covid bulletin.

In the last 24 hours, 19 persons who were tested positive for Covid-19 have died which include 5 from Kashmir division and 14 from Jammu division.

As per the media bulletin, the patients who have died include four from Srinagar and one from Kulgam in Kashmir division and 11 from Jammu, one each from Udhampur, Samba and Reasi in Jammu division.

As per the daily information bulletin, 5,35,846 persons in J&K are under observation while 30,027 persons have been kept under home quarantine. Besides that, 20,239 persons are in isolation.

According to the bulletin, 4,19,369 persons have completed surveillance period and 65,260 persons are under home surveillance.

So far, results of 13,20,240 samples are available out of which 12,60,529 stand negative while 59,711 have tested positive. Among positive cases, 20,239 are active and 38,521 persons have recovered.

-ARK

Pulwama-like terror attack averted, 52 kg explosives recovered near J&K highway

Abid Bashir        

Srinagar (NVI): Security forces today averted a Pulwama-like terror attack as they recovered 416 highly explosive gelatin sticks, weighing around 42 kgs, and 50 detonators from two plastic water tanks in Awantipora area of J&K’s Pulwama district.

A senior police official said that the explosives recovered today could have been used for a similar attack on the highway or elsewhere. “By recovering huge number of gelatin sticks, we have been able to avert major tragedy,” the police official said.

Last year, on February 14, at Lethpora area of Pulwama district, Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorist Adil Dar rammed an explosive-laden car into a CRPF convoy in a fidayeen attack, killing 40 CRPF personnel on the spot.

A police spokesman in a detailed statement said that acting on a tipoff about the presence of Jaish-e-Mohammad militants, the J&K Police, Army’s 42 RR regiment and 130 BN of CRPF conducted a joint search in the nursery area near forests of Gadikhal village in Awantipora.

“During the search of the forest area, two explosive dumps were found which were concealed underground in two different 250 liters plastic tanks,” the spokesman said.

“In one plastic tank, 416 high explosive gelatin sticks were kept concealed and were recovered. In another plastic tank, 50 detonators were recovered. The detonators were destroyed by the Bomb Disposal Squad on the spot, due to their risk of carrying/transporting.”

“By virtue of this recovery, security forces have been able to avert some major militant attack by means of explosive substances,” the police spokesman said.

A case under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activity Act has been registered at Police Station Awantipora and investigation has been taken up, the spokesman said. `

-ARK

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