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J&K: 3 terrorists involved in attack on security forces in Baramulla neutralised

July 18 Shopian encounter: Army completes summary of evidence
An encounter site in Kashmir (File Pic)

(Updating earlier copy)

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): All three terrorists, who were involved in an attack on a joint security patrol in Baramulla today, that claimed the lives of three security personnel, were killed during search operations by forces in Kreeri area of the north Kashmir district, police officials said.

Two CRPF personnel and a J&K policeman were killed in the terror attack at Kreeri earlier today following which a massive search operation was launched in the area.

The first militant got trapped during the cordon and search operation in the area. “With the help of sniffer dogs, we reached the location where the militant was hiding. There was a brief exchange of fire after which he was killed,” a police official said.

The second one was gunned down by security forces just hours later, a police official said. He is believed to be a top commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the police official said. He has been identified as Haider and was active in North Kashmir’s Baramulla since 2015, he added.

The third militant was also neutralised later in the evening, while an Army soldier was also injured in the action, the police official said.

IGP Kashmir, Vijay Kumar told reporters at the site of the incident earlier in the day that three Lashkar-e-Toiba militants carried out the attack.

An extensive search operation was carried out in the entire Kreeri belt and all exit and entry points were sealed amid high alert.

-ARK

Susanta Singh first Odisha minister to test positive for COVID-19

Susanta Singh

Bhubaneswar (NVI): Odisha Rural Development and Labour Minister Susanta Singh has tested positive for coronavirus.

He is the first minister from Odisha to have been infected with the virus.

Taking to twitter, the minister said, “I have tested positive for Corona and I am stable now. Those who have came in contact with me recently are requested to stay isolated and get tested.”

Susanta Singh had attended the Independence Day celebrations in Balasore and hoisted the National Flag. Prior to him, five legislators had also been infected with COVID-19.

They are Prashant Behera (Salepur), Sudhansu Sekhar Parida (Remuna), Sukanta Kumar Nayak (Nilagiri), Srikanta Sahu (Polasara), and Soumya Ranjan Patnaik (Khandapada).

Odisha’s coronavirus tally rose to 62,294 after 2,244 more people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, while 10 fresh fatalities pushed it’s COVID-19 death toll to 353.

-RJV

Filmmaker Nishikant Kamat dies at 50

New Delhi (NVI): Nishikant Kamat, the filmmaker who delivered successful films such as Madaari and Drishyam, died this afternoon due to multiple organ failure.

Actor Riteish Deshmukh was among the first ones to inform the film industry about the director’s death as he tweeted, “I will miss you my friend. #NishikantKamat Rest In Peace.”

Kamat was admitted to AIG Hospitals in Gachibowli, Hyderabad, on July 31 and had been suffering from chronic liver disease.

A medical bulletin from AIG Hospitals this morning said that Nishikant Kamat was “currently on ventilator support and continues to be in critical condition.”

Ajay Devgn, who worked with the filmmaker in Hindi remake of Drishyam, tweeted, “My equation with Nishikant was not just about Drishyam, a film which he directed with Tabu and me. It was an association that I cherished. He was bright; ever-smiling. He has gone too soon. RIP Nishikant.”

-CHK

CanSino bags patent to produce China’s first Covid-19 vaccine

vaccine
(File/Representational image)

New Delhi (NVI): China’s vaccine co-developed by biopharmaceutical firm CanSino Biologics Inc has won a patent approval from Beijing for its COVID-19 vaccine.

A document published by China’s National Intellectual Property Administration said that the patent was submitted for application on March 18, and was approved on August 11, according to media reports.

The vaccine, dubbed as “Ad5-nCoV”, is the first COVID-19 vaccine patent granted by China.

China’s vaccine uses a modified common cold virus to introduce genetic material from the novel coronavirus into the human body. The goal is to train the body to produce antibodies that recognize the coronavirus’s spike protein and fight it off.

Meanwhile, on August 11, Russia registered the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine, named ‘Sputnik V’, developed by the Gamaleya Institute. The vaccines first consignment had been produced and will be given to healthcare professionals on a voluntary basis.

Both countries’ vaccine obtained antibody and T-cell immune responses and neither prompted any serious side effects in early trials. T-cells are an important component of the immune system’s attack against foreign invaders, such as viruses.

The CanSino’s vaccine has already received the greenlight to be used by China’s military despite not yet undergoing the type of large-scale testing needed to prove its ability to prevent infection, as per the reports.

The vaccine candidate was the first in China to move into human testing in March but other potential vaccines developed by Sinovac Biotech and a unit of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) have already been approved for Phase 3 trials overseas.

Last month, the CanSino said that it is set to begin the Phase 3 clinical trials of its vaccine in Saudi Arabia. CanSino was also in talks with other countries, including Russia, Brazil and Chile to conduct the Phase 3 trials of the vaccine.

However, Saudi Arabia plans to test the vaccine alongside a placebo on 5,000 volunteers and is currently preparing trials in the cities of Riyadh, Dammam and Mecca.

-RJV

Malaysia detects ‘10 times more infectious’ coronavirus strain

Representational Image

New Delhi (NVI): As the world battles to contain the deadly novel coronavirus disease and develop a vaccine for it, Malaysia has detected a new strain of the virus that has been found to be 10 times more infectious, according to the country’s health authorities.

The mutation strain is found to be 10 times easier to infect other individuals and easier to spread.

The mutation, which is known as D614G, was discovered by the Malaysian Institute for Medical Research in 4 cases from two Covid-19 clusters in the country – the Sivagangga cluster and the Ulu Tiram cluster.

The discovery of this mutation means people need to be more careful and continue being disciplined in practising safety measures such as social distancing, personal hygiene and wearing of masks.

The strain could mean that existing studies on vaccines may be incomplete or ineffective against the mutation, said Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah.

“People need to be wary and take greater precautions because this strain has now been found in Malaysia. The people’s cooperation is very needed so that we can together break the chain of infection from any mutation,” Noor Hisham wrote in a Facebook post.

While Malaysia has managed to contain the resurgence of the virus, the number of new cases in the country has been picking up.

So far, Malaysia has reported 9,175 positive cases of coronavirus while the death toll stands at 125.

-CHK

WATCH | TN IAS officer salutes lady cop for putting duty above life

New Delhi (NVI): In a heartwarming moment captured on camera, a Tamil Nadu IAS officer saluted back a lady cop while felicitating her for her exemplary act of carrying a person who died of Covid, when his family refused to come near the body.

The rare scene was captured when Tiruvannamalai district magistrate, Thiru KS Kandasamy was awarding lady inspector Allirani, during 74th Independence Day celebrations.


As soon as the IAS officer felicitated the lady cop with a medal and trophy, he requested her to stand in his place, while he came down the dias several steps and saluted her.

It was not just a mere salute but the district magistrate saluted the lady officer for 20 seconds. The video has gone viral on social media, with netizens commending the noble deed of the lady cop as well as the unique heartwarming gesture by the IAS officer.

-ARK

Japan sees record economic slump, slammed by COVID pandemic

New Delhi (NVI): Japan’s economy shrank at annual rate of 27.8 per cent in April-June, the worst contraction on record, as the coronavirus pandemic slammed consumption and trade, according to the government data.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell 7.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the previous quarter, the worst drop on record in the period since 1980, when comparable data began to be available.

The annual rate shows what the number would have been if continued for a year.

The previous worst contraction, a 17.8 per cent drop, was in the first quarter of 2009, during the global financial crisis.

The world’s third largest economy was already limping along when the virus outbreak struck in China late last year. It has weakened as the pandemic gained ground, leading to social distancing restrictions and prompting many people to stay home when they can.

The size of Japan’s real GDP shrank to 485 trillion yen, the lowest since April-June 2011, when Japan was still suffering from two decades of deflation and economic stagnation, according to media reports.

For the April-June period, Japan’s exports dropped at a whopping annual rate of 56 per cent.

Private consumption dipped at an annual rate of nearly 29 per cent as shoppers stayed home, leaving malls and restaurants nearly empty of customers.

Elsewhere in the region, Thailand reported its biggest economic decline since the Asian financial crisis of 1998.

-CHK

Bihar extends lockdown till Sept 6 as Covid-19 cases spurt

New Delhi (NVI): The government of Bihar today decided to extend the ongoing lockdown in the state till September 6, in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in the state.

The state home department issued a notification saying that the restrictions will remain in force in the state till September 6.

According to the state government’s order all offices, including government and private will work with 50 per cent strength. Besides, all educational institutions and religious places will remain closed.

“In view of the present situation of COVID-19 in the State of Bihar, in exercise of the powers, conferred by the MHA by the aforesaid instructions, in continuation of the MHA order, the restrictions imposed issued by this department order wide memo no. 102/f4.F.31t dated 30 7.2020 imposing further restrictions will remain effective till 06.09.2020,” the state government said in a notification.

The state government has also decided to impose a night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am while shopping malls won’t be allowed to reopen in Bihar.

Meanwhile, all the essential and other services, which were allowed in the state earlier, will still be permitted under the new extended lockdown.

Earlier, the Bihar government had extended lockdown till August 16 which was effective from August 1.

Bihar’s coronavirus tally rose to 1.4 lakh after 2,187 more people tested positive for the virus, while 22 fresh fatalities pushed it’s COVID-19 death toll to 537.

-RJV

SC dismisses JEE, NEET postponement plea; exams to be held as per schedule

New Delhi (NVI): The petition, filed by a group of students and parents, demanding postponement of JEE Main 2020 and NEET 2020 entrance exams, scheduled to be held in September 2020,has been dismissed by the Supreme Court today. With this decision, the exams will be held as per the schedule in the month of September.

Dismissing the petition, the apex court said the postponement will put students’ career in peril.

Supreme Court added that it has taken note of assurance by the authorities that the exams will be held with adequate precautions.

As per the latest directive, both JEE Main 2020 and NEET 2020 exams will be held as per the schedule announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA) earlier. The JEE Main 2020 is scheduled to be held between September 1-6 and the NEET 2020 is to be conducted on September 13.

Earlier, in the wake of Covid-19, the examination had been rescheduled keeping the safety and security of students in check. Over 25 lakh, registered to appear in the examination, await clarity on the matter.

The counsel appearing for the petitioners told the bench that lakhs of students are looking towards the top court for relief and they were only seeking postponement of these exams, according to media reports.

Over 9 lakh had applied to appear for JEE Main while nearly 16 lakh registered for NEET. Candidates were given several options to opt for the nearest exam center. The number of exam centres, claims NTA, have also been increased by almost double to ensure safety of students.

-CHK

Greenland’s ice sheet has melted past the point of no return: Study

Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): Greenland’s ice sheet, largest island in the world, have melted to a point of no return, and will continue to lose ice even if global temperatures stop rising, according to a new study.

The study, published by Ohio State University, shows the satellite data from the last 40 years from more than 200 large glaciers that are draining into the ocean across Greenland, where the snowfall that replenishes the ice sheet each year cannot keep up with the ice that is flowing into the ocean from glaciers.

“The ice sheet is now in this new dynamic state, where even if we went back to a climate that was more like what we had 20 or 30 years ago, we would still be pretty quickly losing mass,” Ian Howat, co-author of the study at Ohio State University, said in a statement.

According to the study, Greenland’s ice sheet dumps more than 280 billion metric tons of melting ice into the ocean each year, making it the greatest single contributor to global sea level rise.

This ice loss has been so massive in recent years, that it has caused a measurable change in the gravitational field over Greenland, it added.

The researchers administrated that, ice melting in Greenland contributes more than a millimeter rise to sea level every year, and that’s likely to get worse. Sea levels are projected to rise by more than 3 feet by the end of the century, wiping away beaches and coastal properties.

However, the complete melting of the Greenland ice sheet could raise sea levels 23 feet (7 inches) by the year 3000.

Moreover, the Coastal states like Florida, and low-lying island nations are particularly vulnerable. Just 3 feet of sea level rise could put large areas of coastline underwater and 40 per cent of the US population resides in coastal areas that are vulnerable to sea level rise.

In 2019, Greenland dumped an unprecedented amount of ice and water into the ocean during the summer when a heat wave from Europe washed over the island.

The ice sheet lost 55 billion tons of water over five days – enough to cover the state of Florida in almost five inches of water.

The study also found that the ice sheet is retreating in rapid bursts, leading to a sudden and unpredictable rise in sea levels, making it difficult to prepare for the effects.

Entire coasts of ice are retreating at once due to climate change, Howat said, adding that all 200 glaciers that make up the Greenland ice sheet have been observed retreating within the same episode.

Although the retreat of the Greenland Ice sheet likely cannot be reversed, it’s just the first in a series of tipping points. If climate change continues at this rate, the rate of melting will get much worse, the study said.

Apart from this, the rising global temperatures and certain human activities can bring about tipping points in other parts of the world, too.

In the Arctic, ice melt is exposing permafrost – frozen soil that releases powerful greenhouse gases when it thaws. If warming thaws enough permafrost, the gases released will trap heat faster than humans’ fossil-fuel emissions.

The future of Greenland ice sheet holds more tipping points – degrees of collapse that will accelerate the glaciers’ melt even more. So, limiting global warming could delay those tipping points and give the world more time to prepare.

Howat also stated, “We’ve passed the point of no return but there’s obviously more to come.”

“Rather than being a single tipping point in which we’ve gone from a happy ice sheet to a rapidly collapsing ice sheet, it’s more of a staircase where we’ve fallen off the first step but there’s many more steps to go down into the pit,” he added.

-RJV

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