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J&K: 2 Coronavirus suspects in Jammu; biometric attendance suspended

Jammu (NVI): Two persons have been suspected of Coronavirus infection from Jammu and they have high chances of testing positive for COVID-19, J&K Govt spokesperson said today.

“Test reports of two suspected patients from Jammu received. Both have high viral load cases. High probability of testing positive,” the spokesperson said.

Both suspected cases have been kept at isolation at GMC, Jammu, he said, adding that they are stable and all protocols are being followed.

Both cases had left hospital against medical advice and they had to be brought back, the spokesperson said.

The J&K administration has also appealed to public to fully cooperate fully wherever quarantine is advised.

Meanwhile, all biometric attendance has been suspended in the Union Territory till March 31, the government said.

Also, all primary schools in Jammu and Samba districts will remain closed till March 31 with immediate effect.

“It is hereby ordered that there shall be no class work for primary classes in both Government as well as Private schools (JKBOSE/CBSE/ICSE etc) of Jammu and Samba districts, till 31st March 2020. However teachers shall continue to attend the schools. In case of any examination in respect of primary classes rescheduled during this period, the same shall stand postponed and the schools shall notify fresh dates separately,” read an official notice by Directorate of School Education, Jammu.

J&K: Civilian shot dead in south Kashmir

Representational Picture

Mubashir Bukhari 

Tral (NVI): A civilian was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Tral area of south Kashmir this evening.

The deceased has been identified as Shabir Ahmed Bhat, son of Mohammad Sideeq Bhat.

“Unknown gunmen shot at Bhat outside his residence. He was rushed to hospital where doctors declared him brought dead,” officials said.

Soon after the incident, security forces cordoned off the area to nab the culprits, they said.

Meanwhile, a civilian sustained injuries when suspected militants hurled a grenade on a police station at Maharaj Gunj in Srinagar this evening.

Suspected militants lobbed a grenade on police station but it missed the target and exploded nearby causing injuries to one civilian who was passing by.

J&K: Civilian killed, another injured in Srinagar grenade blast

J&K Bar Association issued 3 notices over its constitution
Kashmir (Representative Pic)

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): A civilian was killed while another sustained injuries in a grenade blast at Zainakadal area of Srinagar this evening.

The incident took place when suspected militants lobbed a grenade on a 23 bn CRPF bunker at Zainakadal in Old Srinagar in which two pedestrians suffered splinter injuries and were immediately shifted to SMHS hospital.

Among the injured, one person identified as Ghulam Nabi Ahanger succumbed to injuries.

Soon after the incident, SOG, police and CRPF cordoned off the area and started searches to nab the attackers.

Bhutan bars tourists after reporting 1st coronavirus case

New Delhi (NVI): Bhutan today reported its first coronavirus case after a US tourist was tested positive for COVID-19.

Following this, the country has imposed a temporary travel restriction of two weeks for incoming tourists.

“In order to reduce the risk and vulnerability for further spreading of virus within the country, the government has put a temporary restrictions on the tourist coming to Bhutan. The government has imposed two week restrictions on all the incoming tourists with immediate effect,” the Bhutan Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.

“In accordance with government directives, the Bhutan Civil Aviation Authority informs the airlines to impose the two week restriction on all incoming tourist with immediate effect,” it added.

PhonePe services hit by Yes Bank crisis

New Delhi (NVI): A day after Reserve Bank of India’s moratorium on Yes Bank, digital payments provider PhonePe has gone down as it depends on the cash-strapped lender for its transactions.

PhonePe users were unable to pay using the platform since yesterday even as the service provider said the problem will be fixed by the end of the day.

Sameer Nigam, PhonePe’s co-founder and CEO, confirmed the outage on Twitter today: “Dear @PhonePe_ customers. We sincerely regret the long outage. Our partner bank (Yes Bank) was placed under moratorium by RBI. Entire team’s been working all night to get services back up asap. We hope to be live in a few hours. Thanks for your patience. Stay tuned for updates!”

Yes Bank’s own net banking facilities have not been operational since last night.

Meanwhile, PhonePe’s app says it’s “temporarily unavailable” due to an “unscheduled maintenance activity” and said it “should not take more than 24 hours” to be running again.

PhonePay is a UPI-based payments system and digital wallet company based in Bengaluru.

Yesterday, RBI placed restrictions on cash withdrawal for Yes Bank customers at Rs 50,000 per month. The restriction came into effect at 6 pm yesterday and will continue till April 3.

Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace launched in India at Rs 33.12 lakh

New Delhi (NVI): Volkswagen India today launched the new Tiguan Allspace with the starting price of Rs 33.12 Lakh.

The 7-seater Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace price in India is Rs 5 lakh more than that of the 5-seater Volkswagen Tiguan, which is currently available for a starting of 28.14 lakh.

The new Tiguan Allspace will enter India as a CBU (complete built up) unit.

The vehicle is powered by a BS6-compliant 2.0-litre TSI petrol engine that develops 190PS and 320Nm of maximum torque.

The motor is paired to a 7-speed DSG automatic transmission. The car also boasts of a 4Motion AWD (all-wheel drive) system.

Coming to dimensions, the premium SUV has a 2,787mm wheelbase and 340litres of boot, which can be extended up to 1,274 litres.

It also features a new hood. The front grille is flanked by LED headlamps with LED DRLs. The taillamps are LED units. Also available are features like roofrails, illuminated scuff plates and 18-inch alloy wheels.

The SUV will compete with the likes of Honda CR-V, Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour and Mahindra Alturas G4.

Yes Bank crisis: Depositors money is safe, says Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

New Delhi (NVI): A day after RBI imposed a moratorium on Yes Bank and capped withdrawal limit to Rs 50,000 per month, the bank’s share price tumbled 85 per cent today, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying that the Reserve Bank of India is working towards an early resolution on the issue.

The Union Finance Minister, While addressing a press conference today, said that Yes Bank depositors money is safe. RBI has also urged the depositors not to panic.

“The Reserve Bank assures the depositors of the bank that their interests will be fully protected and there is no need to panic,” it said in a statement.

Yesterday, the Central Bank had superseded the board of directors of the troubled Yes Bank for a period of 30 days “owing to serious deterioration in the financial position” of the bank.

The withdrawal restriction (capped at Rs 50,000/month), which came into effect from 6 pm yesterday, will remain in place April 3.

A government notification has also said that Yes Bank cannot make in aggregate, payment to a depositor of a sum exceeding Rs. 50,000 lying to his credit, in any savings, current or any other deposit account till April 3rd.

The RBI action follows the lender’s inability to raise funds that would have helped it provide against loan losses.

Depositors will be restricted to a maximum withdrawal of Rs 50,000 even if they have multiple accounts, as per the government notification.

RBI will relax the withdrawal limit in the event of medical emergencies, higher education fees or marriage expenses — up to a cap of Rs 5 lakh. Drafts and pay orders issued so far will be paid in full, it said.

The decision on Yes Bank was taken at a “larger level” and not at the individual entity level, and was aimed at ensuring the safety of the financial system, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said. He also assured, “RBI stands ready to intervene in whatever way required to respond to epidemic challenges”.

“In the absence of a credible revival plan, and in public interest and the interest of the bank’s depositors, (the RBI) had no alternative but to apply to the central government for imposing a moratorium,” the central bank said.

However, the troubled bank will be allowed to repay loans or advances granted against government securities or other securities to the bank by the RBI or by any other bank and remaining unpaid as of Thursday. It would also be allowed to operate its account with the RBI.

LPG connections doubled in last five years: Pradhan

Dharmendra Pradhan

New Delhi (NVI): Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), the number of LPG connections have more than doubled, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said here, today.

While addressing at the International Women’s Day conference for celebrating Ujjwala, Pradhan said that the PMUY scheme has been one of the biggest achievements towards women empowerment in independent India.

The scheme was launched by Prime Minister India Narendra Modi on May 1, 2016, to distribute 50 million LPG connections to women of BPL families.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Minister said, “LPG coverage has increased from 55% to 97.4%. The scheme has acted as one of the biggest catalyst of socio-economic change in the status of women in the country.”

The minister further said that household pollution has been a reason of health hazard, which has been curbed with the availability of safe and environment-friendly LPG fuel to poor women of the society.

“However, the mission is yet not complete. Behavioural change, further strengthening of supply chain, shift towards cleaner energy, are some of our key priorities. We are looking for innovative ways to increase refills, sustain adoption.” he added.

Pradhan said that Climate change is a worry for the world. “Energy is an important element of economic empowerment. We are working on to ensure energy justice for all Indians. Energy affordability, sustainability, efficiency, security. LPG should be the catalyst of socio-economic change,” he said.

A workshop has been organised, in connection with the ongoing international women’s day celebrations, in which number of PMUY beneficiaries participated and exchanged their experiences, as to how their lives have improved substantially after the adoption of gas ‘chulhas’ (stoves) in their homes.

COVID-19: Delhi man tests positive, total 31 cases in India now

New Delhi (NVI): Another man in Delhi has been tested positive for coronavirus, taking the cumulative figure of confirmed cases to 31, the Health Ministry said today. The patient had recently travelled to Thailand and Malaysia, according to the ministry.

“One more suspect has tested positive for COVID-19. The COVID-19 confirmed case has a travel history of Thailand and Malaysia. The patient is in hospital quarantine and stable. There are now have 31 confirmed cases in the country. This includes 16 Italian nationals,” the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement.

It also added that as per the latest advisory, all international passengers irrespective of nationality are mandated to undergo universal medical screening. “Adequate screening measures have been set up and nine more airports have been added to the existing 21, bringing the total to 30 airports, as of today,” it added.

A day-long national-level training on Covid-19 has also been organized by the health ministry and WHO. This was inaugurated by Health Secretary Preeti Sudan, here today.

It is being attended by 280 health officials from all states, & hospitals of railways, defence, and paramilitary forces. It was also virtually attended by 1000 nodes across the country.

The Government has also advised people to avoid or postpone mass gatherings till the spread of novel coronavirus is brought under control. “In the case of any such gatherings, states may take necessary action to guide organisers on precautions to be taken,” an official statement by Rajender Kumar, Under Secretary in Health Ministry said in a statement yesterday.

Meanwhile, Seoul has accused Tokyo of “unreasonable, excessive and extremely regrettable” actions, after Japan said it would quarantine all passengers arriving from South Korea.

South Korean health authorities reported 518 new cases of coronavirus today, bringing to 6,284 the total number of infections nationwide.

Italy’s death toll from the outbreak has risen to 148, with 3,858 infections. The French president Emmanuel Macron has said a coronavirus epidemic is “inevitable” in France. There have been 423 positive cases and 7 deaths till today. The UK has also announced its first death from the virus as confirmed cases rise past 115.

Iran’s official death toll rose by 15 to 107, and the number of confirmed cases increased by 591 to 3,513, according to health officials. The country has already shut schools until April, and Health Minister Saeed Namaki said people should not use the break as an opportunity to travel.

In Australia’s biggest city, Sydney, a school on the city’s north shore, was closed after a 16-year-old student was diagnosed with COVID-19, media reported.

The death toll in the United States from the coronavirus has risen to 12 as King County in the state of Washington reported the latest death on Thursday.

Globally, more than 95,000 people have been diagnosed with the disease, the vast majority in China, with 3,015 deaths in China and 267 deaths across the globe, with the majority being in Italy and Iran.

Human rights must be a priority in intra-Afghan peace talks: HRW

Afghan women (File/Representational Image)

New Delhi (NVI): Ahead of the peace talks between the Taliban, the Afghan government, and other Afghan political leaders, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said that human rights protection must be a priority during the negotiations to begin on March 10.

The human rights watchdog has expressed that the negotiations should include meaningful participation by women, victims’ groups, and proponents of legal and constitutional reforms.

Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch said: “A durable peace agreement in Afghanistan needs to ensure the protection of fundamental human rights and mechanisms to provide justice for serious abuses,” “To achieve these goals those most affected by the conflict should have a meaningful role in the process,” she added.

On February 29, the United States government and Taliban leadership signed an agreement outlining a phased withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in exchange for Taliban commitments not to allow attacks on the US or its allies from Afghan territory.

The troop withdrawal is meant to take place in parallel with progress in negotiations between representatives of the Afghan government and other Afghan political groups and Taliban leaders aimed at achieving a political settlement to the armed conflict.

However, soon after signing a deal to end their war with the US military, the Taliban have resumed attacks against Afghan forces. This has raised concerns that the Americans are leaving their Afghan allies vulnerable.

The intra-Afghan talks will address the legacy of four decades of war, and the future of Afghanistan’s democratic political system. Critical issues include women’s equality in all spheres, from education to justice; due process guarantees; and media freedom, the Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

While the Taliban officially state that they do not oppose girls’ education, only a small number of Taliban district officials have permitted girls to attend school beyond puberty, it said.

Afghans face considerable difficulties obtaining redress in the courts, particularly when government officials or warlords are implicated in abuses. Journalists in areas under government control risk threats and violence from all sides, while not being able to operate at all in Taliban-controlled areas, the HRW report said.

The human rights body further stated that negotiators will need to agree on a government in Afghanistan that prevents the repetition of atrocities that fomented civil war in the past.

Afghanistan’s four decades of armed conflict have taken a devastating toll. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have been killed, injured, forcibly disappeared, and tortured, and millions have become refugees or have been internally displaced, it said.

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