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J&K: 3 terrorists, solider killed in Pulwama encounter

J&K Encounter
Security forces in Kashmir (File Pic)

Abid Bashir 

Srinagar (NVI): Three unidentified terrorists and a solider were killed in an encounter that broke out between terrorists and security forces this morning in Zadoora area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, officials said.

A senior police official said that three unidentified terrorists have been killed while a solider who had sustained serious injuries in an exchange of fire between government forces and terrorist also succumbed.

Three terrorists have been killed whose identity is being ascertained, the official said adding that, solider was critically injured who was shifted to 92 base hospital Srinagar for treatment, breathed his last.

Earlier, an official said that a joint team of police, army’s 50 RR and CRPF launched a cordon and search operation on specific information about the presence of terrorists in the area at around 5 am.

He said that as the joint team of forces approached towards the suspected spot, the hiding terrorists fired upon them which was retaliated triggering an encounter.

Defence spokesman in Srinagar Colonel Rajesh Kalia said three terrorists and a solider died in the encounter while as a joint operation was on in Zadoora area of Shopian. “One AK-47 and two pistols were recovered from the slain terrorists,” he added.

However, this is the second encounter in the last 24 hours in South Kashmir. Yesterday, four terrorists including a Al-Badr commander were killed in an encounter at southern Shopian district while as fifth terrorist was caught alive.

-RJV

Kanyakumari MP dies of Covid-19

New Delhi (NVI): H Vasanthakumar, Congress MP from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, who had tested positive for Covid-19 died of the infection this evening while undergoing treatment in Chennai’s Apollo Hospitals. He was 70.

He was admitted on August 10 with Covid symptoms and was in critical condition after contracting severe pneumonia. He had been placed on ventilator support.

Vasanthakumar is survived by his wife, who is also undergoing treatment for Covid-19, and son Vijay Vasanth who is an actor.

A first-time MP from Tamil Nadu, H Vasanthakumar had also been elected MLA twice in the past from the Nanguneri assembly constituency and was the working president of the state Congress committee.

-ARK

J&K’s Covid tally climbs to 35,831 with 696 fresh cases

Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir today recorded 696 fresh cases of Covid-19, including 106 travelers, taking the total number of positive cases in the Union Territory to 35,831.

Of the total cases, 27,863 are from Kashmir and 7,968 from Jammu division.

UT health officials said that among 696 new cases, 494 belong to Kashmir while 202 are from Jammu division, adding that the total number of positive cases in Kashmir has reached 27,863 including 21,186 recoveries.

On the other hand, the total number of positive cases in Jammu division has reached 7,968 including 6,186 recoveries and 57 deaths.

The officials said that the total number of active cases in J&K is 7,781 including 6,056 from Kashmir and 1,725 from Jammu division.

With 651 more recoveries, the tally of total recoveries in the UT has reached 27,372 which is 76.39 percent of the total cases.

Srinagar district alone has 8,924 positive cases which is more than the total number of positive cases in Jammu division, where total cases are 7,968.

“Cases tested positive in J&K include 194 from Srinagar, 40 from Baramulla, 57 from Pulwama, 59 from Budgam, 31 from Anantnag, 30 from Bandipora, 25 from Kupwara, 11 from Kulgam, 09 from Shopian and 38 from Ganderbal in Kashmir division while 202 cases from Jammu division include 109 from district Jammu, 08 from Rajouri, 27 from Kathua, 23 from Udhampur, 09 from Samba, 01 from Ramban, 06 from Doda, 08 from Poonch, 05 from Reasi and 06 from Kishtwar,” reads the daily Covid bulletin.

As per the bulletin, 4,50,979 persons in Jammu and Kashmir are under observation while 44,423 persons have been kept under home quarantine. Besides that, 7,781 persons are in isolation.

According to the bulletin, 3,55,763 persons have completed the surveillance period and 42,334 persons are under home surveillance.

So far, results of 9,29,733 samples are available out of which 8,93,902 stand negative while 35,831 have tested positive. Among positive cases, 7,781 are active and 27,372 persons have recovered.

-ARK

Activist denounces PoK election Act, ‘clear violation of UNSC resolution on Kashmir’

New Delhi (NVI): A Kashmiri political activist has denounced ‘Azad Jammu & Kashmir Election Act’ that was passed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir assembly in May this year to hold elections in PoK, in brazen violations of the UN Security Council resolution on Kashmir.

Prof Sajjad Raja, Chairman, National Equality Party, JKGBL (Jammu Kashmir Gilgit Baltistan and Ladakh) has rejected the election Act that has been forcibly imposed by the Pakistan government on people of PoK.

“Azad Jammu & Kashmir Election Act (2020 LD/Legis-Act/275-86/2020; Dated 24 June 2020) is negation of the right of self determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and is a clear violation of the United Nations Resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir. Thus we denounce and reject it,” Prof Raja tweeted.

Rattled by the revocation of Article 370 by the Indian government in August last year, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan has been desperately trying to gain complete control on PoK which is a disputed territory.

India considers PoK and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India.

Apart from PoK, the Pakistan Supreme court also allowed elections in the region of Gilgit-Baltistan in April this year, which faced a strong protest from India.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had lodged a strong protest over the order by Pakistan Supreme Court allowing the Imran Khan government to hold elections in Gilgit-Baltistan region.

On April 30, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Islamabad, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed, had allowed the government to organise general elections in G-B, and to set up a caretaker government there before that.

India has objected to elections in Gilgit-Baltistan and in parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which the Pakistan government refers to as “Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK)”.

UN chief urges India to quickly move to renewable energy

UN Chief Guterres
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (file photo)

New Delhi (NVI): India must swiftly move away from coal and other fossil fuel-based economic growth and focus on renewable energy (RE), to aid the fight against climate change, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said today.

The UN Chief while delivering the 2020 Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture, said that new coal auctions, in a bid to kick-start a post-COVID economic recovery, would be unfavorable, since coal has no future economic viability.

“It would rather lead to greater pollution, add to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and place a burden on India’s healthcare system,” he added.

In his speech, Guterres spoke on India’s achievements in renewable energy investments and the country’s 2030 target of increasing its share of renewable energy capacity to 500 gigawatts.

On 18 June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the auction of 41 coal blocks to the private sector. On 21 July, power and new and renewable energy minister RK Singh said that India’s RE capacity would reach 510 gigawatts by 2030, he added.

Guterres said, “In some cases, we are seeing countries doubling down on domestic coal and opening up coal auctions. This strategy will only lead to further economic contraction and damaging health consequences.”

He also said that we have never had more evidence that pollution from fossil fuels and coal emissions severely damages human health and leads to much higher healthcare system costs.

The UN Chief further stated that in India 50 per cent of coal would become uncompetitive by 2022, and this would rise to 85 per cent by 2025. “This is why the world’s largest investors are increasingly abandoning coal,” he added.

Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a global economic meltdown, and the UN Chief has been calling on countries use this for a clean energy transition.

“I have asked all G20 countries, including India, to invest in a clean, green transition as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “This means ending fossil fuel subsidies, placing a price on carbon pollution and committing to no new coal power plants after 2020.”

Guterres said that investments in RE, clean transport and energy efficiency could create 9 million jobs annually for the next three years.

“Investments in renewable energy generate three times more jobs than investments in polluting fossil fuels,” he said, adding that such job creation is vital since the pandemic’s economic impact could push many people back into poverty.

The UN chief stated he was inspired to learn about a promising trend in India. During the pandemic, the proportion of renewable energy rose from 17 per cent to 24 per cent, while coal-fired power declined from 76 per cent to 66 per cent. He underlined that renewable energy must continue to grow, and coal use progressively phased out.

“Today is the time for bold leadership on clean energy and climate action. I call on India to be at the helm of the ambitious leadership we need,” Guterres added.

-RJV

J&K: 4 terrorists behind abduction, killing of Panch killed in Shopian

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

(Updating earlier copy)

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): Four terrorists, including an Al-Badr commander and his associate, who were behind the abduction and killing of a Srinagar Panch (panchayat member) were killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian today while a fifth one was captured alive, J&K police said.

Srinagar Panch Nisar Amhed Bhat’s body was recovered from orchards in south Kashmir’s Shopian today. He went missing from Srinagar on August 19. He was from Khonmoh area of Srinagar.

Inspector General of Police Kashmir Vijay Kumar said that Al-Badr district commander Shakoor Parray and his associate Suhail Bhat, who had abducted and killed the Panch on August 19, were among the four slain militants in Shopian encounter.

Defence spokesman in Srinagar, Colonel Rajesh Kalia told NVI that four militants were killed in the encounter at Shopian’s Kiloora village while the fifth one surrendered.

“Two AKs and three pistols recovered. Joint operation in progress,” Colonel Kalia added.

Earlier, in the afternoon, joint teams of Army, Police and the CRPF cordoned Kiloora village on the basis of specific information about the presence of militants there. In the initial gunfight, two militants were killed, and as the operation progressed, two more were killed while the fifth one was caught alive.

-ARK

H D Revanna tests Covid-19 positive

New Delhi (NVI): Former Karnataka minister and JDS leader H D Revanna tested positive for coronavirus today and was admitted to a hospital.

Health Minister B Sriramulu prayed for his recovery in a tweet and said, “H D Revanna has tested positive for coronavirus. I pray that he recovers and gets back to serve people,” he tweeted in Kannada.

According to officials, four policemen in his security had earlier contracted the deadly virus.

Several other leaders in Karnataka including Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, three of his ministers, Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar were also infected by the virus.

Recently, the son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda had displayed the symptoms of the virus. After tests, he was found to be infected by the pathogen.

Karnataka’s coronavirus tally rose to 62,294 after 9,386 more people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, while over 5,000 people have succumbed to the virus in the state.

-RJV

Haryana lifts weekend lockdown; malls, shops to now close on Mon and Tue

lockdown
Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): The Haryana government today announced that shopping malls and shops will remain closed on Monday and Tuesday in the market places of urban areas of the state, in an attempt to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.

The state government issued a fresh notification where it stated that all shopping complexes and malls will be closed in all urban areas in Haryana including Gurugram on Monday and Tuesday except those dealing with essential items and services.

However, there is no restriction on the opening of shops and shopping malls on Saturday and Sunday. The latest order will be applicable till further notice, it added

Earlier, all public and private offices except those dealing with essential services and shopping malls and shops in the market area were ordered to remain closed on Saturday and Sunday.

The government’s latest order comes a week after restaurant chains, mall operations had appealed to the administration to lift the weekend restrictions as it was hampering the businesses badly.

In additon to this, several traders and shopkeeper associations from Gurugram wrote to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and district administration requesting to lift the weekend restrictions.

Meanwhile, Haryana recorded a spike of 1,293 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 59,298, while 12 fresh fatalities pushed it’s COVID-19 death toll to 646.

-RJV

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe resigns due to health reasons

Shinzo Abe

New Delhi (NVI): Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving Japanese prime minister has announced that he will be resigning because of his deteriorating health.

Abe made the announcement at a press conference and said he has been thinking about his health and role as prime minister since June, but did not want to cause a sudden vacancy because of his health, the Japan Times reported.

The Japanese leader added “now is the best time to step down” as the number of COVID-19 infections in Japan have decreased in recent days and new measures for winter have been compiled.

Abe also apologised to the Japanese people for failing to complete his term in office.

He added that a new prime minister needs to be in place before Japan faces influenza and COVID-19 this winter. However, he declined to endorse anyone as his successor and said he will entrust the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to elect the new leader.

Abe suffers from Colitis, a non-curable inflammatory bowel disease, which was also a factor in his sudden resignation as prime minister in 2007, ending his first term after just over a year in office.

On August 24, Abe visited Keio University Hospital in Tokyo for what was his second hospital visit in a week. The same day, he became Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, after spending his 2,799th day in office.

Abe, whose term ends in September 2021, is expected to stay on until a new party leader is elected and formally approved by the parliament.

Japanese government spokesperson Yoshihide Suga had earlier quashed speculations that Abe may be unable to serve his term and claimed the prime minister remained in good health.

“In terms of the prime minister’s health, the prime minister himself has said he wishes to work hard and I see him every day and feel that there is no change in his condition,” Suga said.

However, the Japanese leader’s resignation will trigger a leadership race in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) – most likely in two or three weeks – and the winner must be formally elected in parliament. The new party leader will hold the post for the rest of Abe’s term.

-RJV/ARK

PM remembers Ayyankali on birth anniv

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today remembered social reformer Mahatma Ayyankali on his 157th birth anniversary and said that India would remain indebted to his works and vision.

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi wrote, “India remains indebted to greats like Mahatma Ayyankali. His work towards social reform and empowering the downtrodden will always inspire. Remembering him on his Jayanti.”

The Prime Minister also shared his old speech, which he had given five years ago on the birth anniversary of Ayyankali.

Mahatma Ayyankali was born on August 28, 1863, in Venganoor, Thiruvananthapuram. He was the first of eight children born to Ayyan and Mala, who were members of the Pulayar community of untouchable people.

He was a social reformer who worked for the advancement of deprived untouchable people in the princely state of Travancore in British India. Ayyankali also sought to improve access to education. He died at the age of 68 in 1941.

Ayyankali Jayanti is a regional Indian public holiday in Kerala on August 28th.

-RJV

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