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Amid explosions, Ashraf Ghani, his rival take oath as Afghan ‘presidents’

New Delhi (NVI): Afghanistan’s two rival leaders– Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah — declared themselves as presidents as two bomb explosions rocked their swearing-in ceremonies in Kabul, reports in foreign media said.

While Ghani took oath for the second term, his rival Abdullah also declared himself as president in a simultaneous ceremony.

The development comes just a week after the US signed a peace deal with the Taliban in Doha in an effort to end the 18-year-old war in Afghanistan and withdraw their forces.

As the twin explosions rocked Ghani’s speech today, he continued with his speech. Shaking videos of him taking oath as Afghan President did rounds on social media as soon as the incident took place.

Ashraf Ghani’s rival Abdullah Abdullah who also declared himself as Afghan President in a parallel ceremony, in Kabul.

President Ashraf Ghani was declared the winner in elections held last September. His rival Abdullah Abdullah, who charged fraud in the vote along with the elections complaints commission, refused to settle differences with Ghani and declared himself as President in a parallel ceremony held in Kabul today.

J&K: Three militant associates held in Awantipora

Terrorist arrested
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Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested three militant associates of Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit from Awantipora area of Pulwama district today.

They have been identified as Aadil Rasool Ganie, resident of Batagund, Riyaz Ahmad Bhat and Mohd Isaq Bhat, both residents of Tral Payeen.

“They were involved in providing shelter, logistics and other kind of support to the militants of HM operating in the areas of Tral,” police said in an official statement.

Police have registered a case under FIR No. 16/2020 under relevant sections of law at Police Station Tral. Further investigation in the case is in progress.

Fall in crude oil prices would help India: ASSOCHAM

New Delhi (NVI): Amid concerns over fall in crude oil prices and its panic effect in the financial markets, ASSOCHAM today said that low fuel prices would, in fact, help the Indian economy.

Deepak Sood, the ASSOCHAM secretary-general said that India’s macro picture will not be affected by the fall in crude prices and it would rather turn out to be positive for the Indian economy.

“India being a large importer of crude oil, fall in prices, would be a positive for the Indian economy, although there is global sentimental downside. Going forward, low prices of crude can be a demand driver for India, from the automobile industry to consumption as inflation would be tamed. Lower inflation would also help further cuts in the interest rates,” said Sood.

The global crude prices plunged by close to 30 per cent in a single day, near USD 30 per barrel today.

The ASSOCHAM secretary general further said: “In the given global scenario, India needs a push from the domestic consumption which would be given an impetus from lower prices, including those of raw material. Rural demand is also expected to get a push following Rabi harvest next month.”

“India’s overall import bill would be dropping sizeably and help the country’s current account position, giving more elbow room to the government,” he added.

Nirbhaya: Vinay Sharma files mercy plea

Nirbhaya case convict, Vinay Sharma

New Delhi (NVI): Vinay Sharma, one of the four convict in Nirbhaya case has filed a fresh mercy petition before Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, seeking commutation of his death penalty to life imprisonment.

This comes two day after the Supreme Court dismissed the plea of Mukesh Singh, another convict seeking urgent hearing on Monday.

On March 7, the court had said that it will hear Mukesh’s plea on March 16.

On March 5, a Delhi court issued fresh death warrants for Vinay Sharma and the other Nirbhaya convicts, and set the date of their hanging on March 20.

This is the fourth time that death warrants have been issued as the earlier three had to be deferred pending the exhaustion of legal remedies by the convicts.

They have been sentenced to death for brutally raping and killing a medical student in Delhi on December 16, 2012.

Holi in the time of coronavirus: Some tips & precautions

Holi
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New Delhi (NVI): The excitement that generally accompanies Holi has already diminished this year as coronavirus keeps spreading, perhaps ruining the festive plans of many.

This time, people are more concerned about getting masks and other preventive equipment, rather than buying pichkaris (water guns) and gulaal (colours).

Holi is a festival of colours and is celebrated widely in India. People indulge in the age-old custom of putting colours on each other, visit relatives and also participate in holi gatherings.

However, the Government has issued a health advisory in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, asking people to refrain from public gatherings to prevent infection.

There will be no Holi event at Rashtrapati Bhavan this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have already announced that they will not be participating in Holi Milan programmes.

The WHO report says that the incubation period of the virus is 2-14 days. Asymptomatic people can also spread the infection which is why social distance and personal hygiene is important. If you have a large Holi gathering and go from house to house, you may increase your chances of getting the infection.

The virus shouldn’t cause panic in the country yet because the number of cases is small. However, people need to practice personal hygiene and take some precautions.

Here are some tips which can help you keep the virus away:

If you do decide to play, make sure that no one who is displaying signs of cold, or has a fever, is involved. If you are able, ensure that everyone you play with is not displaying symptoms.

With Holi, there is a likelihood of getting skin allergies and eye infections because of the chemicals in synthetic colours, but medical advice for that is routine and is unrelated to the coronavirus.

While people may know how the disease is transmitted, there are gaps in compliance and also, if you are coughing and sneezing, don’t take your mask off – it is there to protect the people around you.

Being out in the cold does not make you more vulnerable to the infection

The flu and related viruses are seasonal and there are spikes in winter months in India.

However, it is not the cold that makes you sick – you need to come in contact with the virus to get an infection. The dryer air in the colder months has been linked to higher viral transmissibility.

The scattered studies have shown that the immune system may be weakened at colder temperatures. So if you feel uncomfortably cold and are shaking, find a spot in the sun and dry off.

Sensex, Nifty record their biggest one-day point fall

BSE

New Delhi (NVI): Indian stock markets fell sharply today as Sensex and Nifty suffered their biggest fall amid coronavirus effect on the global economy.

The Yes Bank crisis has also contributed the fall even as state-owned SBI has devised a strategy to revive the cash strapped lender.

Benchmark indices Sensex plummeted over 1,941 points to 35,634.95 while Nifty slumped 538 points to settle at 10,451.

Due to the sharp fall in oil prices, the benchmark stock indices lost about 5 per cent of their value at the end of trading today, amid a global selloff on concerns that the coronavirus would significantly slow down economic activity.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures plunged nearly 30 per cent to USD 31.02 per barrel after top exporter Saudi Arabia launched a price war in response to a failure by leading producers to strike a deal to support energy markets.

The S&P BSE Sensex shed 1,942 points or over 5 per cent to settle at 35,635.

Reliance Industries (RIL) tumbled around 14 per cent to hit its 52-week low of Rs 1,094.95 on the BSE. It was the biggest contributor to the index’s fall.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 index slipped below 10,500-mark to end at 10,451, down 538 points or 5 per cent.

All the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red with metals taking the hardest knock.

Meanwhile, the rupee was trading flat at 73.89 against the US dollar.

In the previous session, the 30-share BSE barometer settled 893.99 points or 2.32 per cent lower at 37,576.62. Likewise, the Nifty tanked 279.55 points or 2.48 per cent to close at 10,989.45.

Nature in focus at 5th UN Environment Assembly in 2021

New Delhi (NVI): The theme for the fifth session of UN’s highest-level environmental forum has been announced as “Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”.

With less than a year before the world will meet for United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Nairobi, Kenya, which will take place on 22-26 February 2021, the main focus of the Assembly will be centric on nature.

The UNEA is the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment, with a universal membership of all 193 Member States. The Assembly meets biennially (once every two years) in Nairobi, Kenya, to set priorities for global environmental policies and develop international environmental law.

UNEA will follow the critical UN Ocean Conference in June 2020, the UN Biodiversity Conference in October 2020 – where countries will meet to make decisions on the future of protecting biodiversity, as well as the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in November 2020 at which governments will be expected to deliver transformational and ambitious changes needed to effectively address the climate crisis.

Earlier this week, Sveinung Rotevatn, Norway’s Minister of Climate and the Environment, was elected as the President of the UN Environment Assembly.

“Nature is the foundation for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Nature is the solution we in many ways take for granted, but that we cannot afford to lose. Building on the ‘super year for nature’ and the strong knowledge base on the critical status for nature, I hope we, in one year, can agree on significant opportunities and changes that need to happen to turn the trend for nature and the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Rotevatn.

At a time when the world faces a looming crisis because of climate change, the role of nature in protecting the planet is becoming more apparent.

A 2019 report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) revealed that across the globe most nature has now been significantly altered by multiple human drivers, with the great majority of ecosystems and the biodiversity they sustain showing rapid decline.

More than 4,700 delegates, including environment ministers, scientists, academics, business leaders and civil society representatives, met in Nairobi in 2019 for the fourth UN Environment Assembly; Member states adopted 23 different resolutions related to plastic pollution, sustainable development, reducing emissions and more. The fifth session will be a critical moment to take stock of the latest developments in environmental policy and action and to resolve to make real transformation shifts to address the climate crisis.

“With more nature, we will live better lives. I look forward to a dialogue with governments and all stakeholders in the year to come about the transformative changes that need to happen to protect and restore biodiversity and the wide range of benefits we all depend on from nature. Let’s get started,” Sveinung Rotevatn added.

16 mn people quarantined in Italy; death toll at 366

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New Delhi (NVI): Italy has ordered the lockdown of the country’s northern region and 14 provinces in an attempt to halt the spread of a new coronavirus.

The move places almost 16 million people in the new red zones until April 3, according to the media reports.

The drastic move comes after the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Italy has jumped by at least 133 in the past 24 hours, bringing its total to 366 and 7,375 confirmed infections.

Whereas, Iran has reported 49 new coronavirus fatalities, bringing its total death toll to 194.

France has also reported three new coronavirus deaths, taking the country’s death toll from the outbreak to 19.

The number of people diagnosed with the new coronavirus now exceeds 106,000 worldwide with several new countries reporting their first cases. Nearly 3,600 people have died.

Yes Bank crisis: CBI raids 7 locations in Mumbai

Rana Kapoor, Yes Bank founder who is accused in the scam

New Delhi (NVI): The Central Bureau of Investigation today conducted raids at seven locations in Mumbai linked to Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor even as the investigations in the high profile case are underway, reports said.

Kapoor, who was arrested in the case yesterday, has been accused by the CBI of receiving Rs 600 crore bribe in Dewan Housing and Finance Ltd (DHFL).

According to the reports, raids are being conducted at premises linked to Rana Kapoor, DHFL, RKW developers, Doit Urban Ventures Pvt Ltd. and DHFL Bandra office in Mumbai.

On March 7, CBI had filed FIR against Kapoor and others under section 120 (B) (Criminal Conspiracy), 420 (Cheating) of Indian Penal Code along with section 7, 12 & 13 of Prevention of Corruption Act.

On March 8, Kapoor was arrested by the ED after hours of questioning and is in ED custody at the moment.

The locations raided by CBI today were also covered by the ED.

Coronavirus: Qatar bans travellers from 14 nations including India

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New Delhi (NVI): Amid coronavirus fears, Qatar has put a temporary travel ban on travellers from 14 countries, including India.

The Qatar Government has taken the step as a precautionary measure in the wake of rapidly spreading COVID-19 that has claimed more than 3,000 lives so far.

The ban that will go into effect from today, covers China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria and Thailand.

Meanwhile, Qatar reported three more cases of the virus yesterday, bringing the total to 15.

Qatar Airways had already suspended flights to and from Italy, which has reported 366 deaths in the outbreak.

The virus emerged in Wuhan, China, last year in December and has now spread to more than 100 countries across the globe. The global death toll is nearing 3,800.

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