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Bangladesh coronavirus cases exceed 1,00,000-mark

(Image source: United News of Bangladesh)

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Bangladesh crossed the 100,000-mark today after detection of 3,803 new cases in the last 24 hours.

In addition to this, 38 more patients lost their lives due to the deadly contagion, raising the death toll to 1,343 in the country.

So far, 40,164 people have recovered in the country after 1,975 more patients were recovered during this period.

Against the total number of detected cases, the recovery rate is 39.26 percent.

Meanwhile, the mortality rate was recorded at 1.31 percent in the country.

Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 and the first death on March 18, 2020.

-CHK

Coronavirus cases exceed 1.60 lakh in Pakistan; death toll tops 3,000

COVID-19: Pakistan imposes mini-lockdown in Islamabad

New Delhi (NVI): Pakistan has been witnessing a daily surge in the number of coronavirus cases as the tally crossed 1,60,000 today with more than 3,000 deaths.

Looking at the breakdown of cases, Punjab province has reported 60,138 coronavirus cases, highest among all the provinces, while Sindh has 59,983 positive cases.

On the other hand, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has recorded 19,613 cases, Balochistan is at 8,794, Gilgit-Baltistan at 1,213, Islamabad at 9,637 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is at 740 cases so far, according to Geo News.

So far, nearly 59,215 people have recovered from the deadly contagion in the country.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has announced plans to repatriate all of its those citizens stranded around the globe, including in the Middle East, as a result of the pandemic, according to media reports.

Between 40,000 and 45,000 of their nationals will be brought home every week, starting June 20.

About 1,20,000 Pakistanis are expected to return in the coming weeks and they will have to quarantine themselves at homes for 14 days.

-CHK

Over 1% of humanity, nearly 80 mn people displaced: UNHRC report

New Delhi (NVI):  Forced displacement is now affecting more than one percent of humanity. Nearly 80 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to violence and persecution, according to a report by UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

UNHCR’s annual Global Trends report, which comes two days ahead of 20 June World Refugee Day, found that by the end of last year, a record 79.5 million people were living either as refugees, asylum seekers or in so-called internal displacement within their own countries, marking a dramatic increase of nearly nine million from a year earlier.

By the end of 2019, one out of every 97 people in the world was living uprooted and displaced, the report states.

The report also highlights that swelling displacement are from conflicts in places like Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“One percent of the world population cannot go back to their homes because there are wars, persecution, human rights violations, and other forms of violence,” UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said.

He further added, “We are witnessing a changed reality in that forced displacement nowadays is not only vastly more widespread but is simply no longer a short-term and temporary phenomenon.”

Reportedly, the annual increase, from a figure of 70.8 million at the end of 2018, is a result of two main factors. First is worrying new displacement in 2019, particularly in Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Sahel, Yemen and Syria – the latter now in its tenth year of conflict and accounting on its own for 13.2 million refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people, fully a sixth of the world’s total.

The agency appealed to countries worldwide to do far more to find homes for millions of refugees and others displaced by conflict, persecution or events seriously disturbing public order.

The report also notes diminishing prospects for refugees when it comes to hopes of any quick end to their plight. In the 1990s, on average 1.5 million refugees were able to return home each year. Over the past decade that number has fallen to around 385,000, meaning that growth in displacement is today far outstripping solutions.

-CHK

Nepal parliament passes bill to update map that includes Indian territory

New Delhi (NVI): The Upper House of Nepal’s parliament today passed a constitution amendment bill to update its map incorporating three Indian territories, a move that may further escalate tensions between the two countries on the border issue.

According to reports, all 57 members in Nepal’s Upper House voted in support of the bill. The amendment had been passed by 258 votes in the lower house on April 13.

The constitutional amendment will give legal backing to a new map that depicts Kalapani region as part of Nepalese territory. Relations between the two countries turned sour recently after Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 80-km long road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.

After the inauguration of the new road on May 8, Kathmandu had lodged a protest with New Delhi and came out with a new map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as its territories.

After Nepal’s protest, the Ministry of External Affairs had said that the road is “completely within its territory.” The 8–km road would reduce the Kailash Mansarovar yatra by six days.

Nepal’s action comes amid the ongoing India-China border face-off in Ladakh. At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the violent clashes with the Chinese army at Galwan Valley in Ladakh on Monday night.

However, India on Monday said that the onus is on the KP Sharma Oli government now to create a “positive and conducive atmosphere” for talks to resolve the row over the Kalapani-Lipulekh region.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in a virtual rally for Uttarakhand on Monday, had said that the Indian government believed in sorting out the “misunderstanding” in relations with Nepal through dialogue.

Highlighting the deep cultural and civilisational ties with Nepal, Singh had said that India and Nepal were bound together by “Roti and Beti” and no power in the world would break it.

-ARK

No Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri this year, rules SC

Jagannath Rath Yatra is held in Odisha's Puri every year.

New Delhi (NVI): The Supreme Court today ordered that the annual Jagannath Rath Yatra and related festivites in the temple in Odisha’s Puri will not be allowed to take place this year amid outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic

“Lord Jagannath will not forgive us if we allowed the Rath Yatra,” Chief Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde said while hearing a petition seeking the postponement of the Rath Yatra, which is scheduled to begin on June 23 this year.

The SC bench headed by CJI SA Bobde further commented that such huge gathering can’t take place during pandemic.

“In the interest of public health and safety of citizens, we restrain the state from holding the Rath Yatra and associated activities. We direct that there shall be no Rath Yatra and associated activities this year”, the CJI ordered.

The Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra is considered one of India’s biggest chariot festivals.

A non-profit, Odisha Vikas Parishad, in its petition said the annual rath yatra in the coastal district in Odisha will draw some 10 lakh people and the religious event goes on for 10-12 days.

The rath yatra amid the COVID-19 pandemic “will be an invitation to infect lakhs of devotees”, the petition said, adding the Odisha government has also not allowed religious places to open before June 30.

-CHK

PM to launch ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’ on Jun 20

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’ on Saturday in six states to boost livelihood opportunities in rural India for returnee migrants and rural citizens.

“Government of India has decided to launch a massive rural public works scheme ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’ to empower and provide livelihood opportunities to the returnee migrant workers and rural citizens,” a statement by Prime Minister’s office read.

The welfare scheme would be launched by PM Narendra Modi on June 20 at 11 am through video conferencing in presence of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar. The Abhiyaan will be launched from Village Telihar of Khagaria District of Bihar.

Further, the Chief Ministers of five other States and Union Ministers of concerned Ministries will also participate in the virtual launch. The villages across 116 districts in the six states will join this programme through the Common Service Centres and Krishi Vigyan Kendras, maintaining the norms of social distancing in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This campaign of 125 days, which will work in mission mode, will involve intensified and focused implementation of 25 different types of works to provide employment to the migrant workers on one hand and create infrastructure in the rural regions of the country on the other hand, with a resource envelope of Rs 50,000 crore”, the PMO said.

A total of 116 Districts with more than 25,000 returnee migrant workers across six states, namely Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha have been chosen for the campaign which includes 27 Aspirational Districts.

The campaign would be a coordinated effort between 12 ministries and departments including Road Transport & Highways, Rural Development, Petroleum & Natural Gas, Railways, Telecom, Agriculture, New & Renewable Energy, Border Roads, Drinking Water & Sanitation, PMO said.

-RJV/ARK

Terrorists holed up in Kashmir mosque; forces trying to flush them out

Representational Image

Srinagar (NVI): Security forces are making efforts to flush out terrorists, believed to be two in number, who took shelter in a local mosque in Kashmir’s Pulwama district today.

Considering the sanctity of the shrine involved, the security forces have been restraining from firing towards the mosque, officials said.

An associate of the two hiding terrorists has already been killed in an encounter that began early this morning after security forces received a tip-off about the presence of three terrorists in Meej village of Pampore in Pulwama district and laid a cordon there.

“When the security forces zeroed in on a suspected spot, the hiding terrorists opened fire, triggering an encounter. The terrorists opened a heavy volume of fire that was retaliated,” an official said.

Kashmir Zone police tweeted, saying, “In an ongoing encounter at Meej, Pampore, one militant has been killed whose identity is being ascertained.”

The terrorist was killed as he tried to enter a cowshed, officials said. Two others, however, managed to enter a local mosque.

“After coming to know that two militants are hiding in a mosque, the cordon was further tightened and so far repeated announcements are made on loudspeakers by the police and army asking militants to come out,” an official said.

Security forces have not opened any fire at the mosque, he said.

Security forces this year, so far, have killed 95 terrorists including top commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba like Reyaz Naikoo, the chief operational commander of Hizb, Bashir Koka of Lashkar and Abdur Rehman alias Fouji Bhai of Pakistan, who was an IED expert of Jaish.

WHO halts Hydroxychloroquine test against coronavirus

New Delhi (NVI): The World Health Organization (WHO) has halted research on whether hydroxychloroquine could be an effective treatment for COVID-19.

WHO announced that testing of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine in its large multi-country trial of treatments for COVID-19 patients had been halted after new data and studies showed no benefit.

According to WHO, recent trials showed that the anti-malaria drug does not result in the reduction of mortality of hospitalised COVID-19 patients.

However, the decision will not affect other research examining whether hydroxychloroquine might be beneficial to prevent COVID-19 or for patients after they recover from the virus.

“Patients who have already started hydroxychloroquine but who have not yet finished their course in the trial may complete their course or stop at the discretion of the supervising physician,” the WHO statement further added.

Hydroxychloroquine gained attention as a potential COVID-19 treatment in February, when small studies suggested it might be useful against the virus, according to media reports.

So far, only one drug, Remdesivir, has been shown in clinical trials to help very sick patients in the hospital recover faster.

In addition to this, researchers at the University of Oxford in England recently reported that a commonly used steroid called dexamethasone can help COVID-19 patients on ventilators survive the illness, although the data from that trial have not be made public.

-CHK

PM launches coal auction for commercial mining, calls for self-reliability in energy sector

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the auction of 41 coal mines for commercial mining, saying that the decision will take the coal sector in the country out of “decades of lockdown”.

The Prime Minister said this is a major step in making India self-reliant in the energy sector. Stating that India needs to be the world’s biggest coal exporter, the Prime Minister said: “For decades, the country’s coal sector was kept entangled in the web of Captive and Non-captive. It was kept out of competition, there was a big problem of transparency.”

The PM said that after 2014, a lot of steps were taken to change this situation. “When nobody could think of coal linkage, we made it happen. Such actions also gave strength to the coal sector,” he said.

“Now India has taken a major decision to open Coal and Mining sector completely for Competition, Capital, Participation and Technology,” he said.

PM Modi said that India has the fourth-largest Coal Reserve in the world and is the second-biggest producer of coal.

The PM said that self-reliance is not possible without a strong mining and mineral sector. “Because Minerals and Mining and Important Pillars of our Economy. After these reforms, now Coal Production and Coal Sector will also become self-reliant in a way,” he added.

The PM further stated that when we increase coal production, then it leads to power generation, which has a positive impact on the production and processing of Steel, Aluminum, Fertiliser, Cement, and other such sectors.

He also assured that the launch of today’s auction for commercial coal mining is a “win-win situation” for all stakeholders. Industries and individuals will now get new resources, new markets for their business and investment, he added.

“While making coal reforms, it has also been taken care of that India’s commitment to environment protection doesn’t weaken. Better and modern technology will be available now to make Gas from Coal. Steps like coal gasification will also enable the protection of the environment now,” PM Modi said in his address.

“We have set a target for gasification of 100 million tonnes of Coal by 2030,” the PM said adding, he has been told that four projects have been identified for this and an investment of around Rs 20,000 crores will be made for that.

-ARK

Covid claims 2 more lives in J&K, death toll at 71; Medicos appeal for ‘public discipline’

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir today recorded two fresh Covid-19 deaths taking the total number of people who died of the deadly virus to 71 in the Union Territory, health officials said.

They said that two patients– an 80-year-old man from Srinagar and a 65-year-old man from Shopian — succumbed to the infection at a hospital today.

“An 80-year-old patient from Srinagar who was admitted to the hospital on June 16 died on June 17. The patient’s samples were taken for testing and the results came positive today. The patient was suffering from hypertension and bilateral pneumonia and had other underlying ailments,” said Medical Superintendent SMHS hospital Srinagar, Dr Nazir Choudhary.

He said that another patient from Shopian district of south Kashmir aged 65 was admitted in SMHS for acute breathlessness on June 17. “He died on the same evening. He also tested positive for the virus,” Dr Choudhary said.

With the fresh deaths, the Covid-19 toll in J&K has gone up to 71 in the UT. Srinagar district has so far witnessed the highest number of deaths due to the pandemic at 17. “Baramulla district of Kashmir has recorded 12 deaths, eight each in Kulgam and Shopian, six in Anantnag district and Jammu, five in Kupwara, three in Budgam, two in Pulwama while one each from Bandipora, Doda, Udhampur and Rajouri districts of J&K. Of the total 71 deaths, 62 have been witnessed in Kashmir and nine from Jammu.

Senior medicos in J&K’s top hospitals including SKIMS Soura and SMHS have already declared that there was a community transmission of virus in the UT and the recent announcement of the administration about relaxations that saw opening of shops after 85 days was “like a double edged sword.”

The medicos said now that people were coming out in large numbers, there was a possibility that the virus may have affected a large population. However, Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan, Associate Professor, Medicine at Government Medical College Srinagar has asserted that so far “Covid-19 has behaved mildly in J&K and it remains to be seen in new few weeks in which direction it goes, now that the people have resumed normal activities including business.” J&K has so far recorded close to 5,500 Covid positive cases since the outbreak of the pandemic on March 20.

Meanwhile, leading epidemiologist and noted gastroenterologist of Kashmir, Dr Muhammad Sultan Khuroo has appealed people to “follow discipline” before situation turns ugly. “It’s an irony that people are out in large numbers on roads, but less than five percent are wearing masks and the majority of this 5 per cent wear masks for either fun or compulsion. I have observed some people keeping masks on their mouth and nose is open. Some cover their necks with masks and some keep it in their hands. There is no discipline at all,” said Dr Khuroo, who has been nominated as the chairman of the expert committee constituted by the J&K government to find out “suitable measures” to fight Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Khuroo said that “it’s like now or never.” “People should follow discipline otherwise we are inviting a disaster. Community transmission is already in Kashmir but it hasn’t crossed stage two. If it crosses stage three, the situation would be very ugly,” he said and urged people to follow guidelines and precautions in spirit if they want to win the fight against the pandemic.

-ARK/RJV

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