Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Home Blog Page 1380

PM thanks SAARC leaders for contributing to COVID-19 fund

PM Modi hosted a video conference for SAARC leaders on combating COVID-19 on March 15

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today expressed gratitude to SAARC members for their contribution to COVID-19 Emergency fund set up for combating the pandemic in South Asian region.

The Prime Minister took to Twitter and thanked heads of the states of Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, in a series of tweets.

Afghanistan contributing $ 1 Million to the COVID-19 Emergency Fund.

Thanking Afghanistan for the contribution, PM tweeted: “Thank you Afghanistan, for contributing $ 1 Million to the COVID-19 Emergency Fund in solidarity with our South Asian neighborhood. Tashakkur President @ashrafghani.”

He also expressed gratitude to Sri Lanka and said that the cooperation between the two countries in fighting coronavirus will go a long way.

“Sincerely thank President of Sri Lanka @GotabayaR for contributing $ 5 million to the SAARC COVID-19 Emergency Fund. Our cooperation will go a long way in fighting this disease effectively,” he tweeted.

Thanking Bangladesh for the contribution of USD 1,5 mn, PM tweeted: “Grateful to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh for announcing $ 1.5 million as contribution to the COVID-19 Emergency Fund. Through our solidarity and working together, we will overcome challenges posed by COVID-19.”

The contributions came after PM Modi on March 15 had appealed to the SAARC nations to chalk out a strong strategy to fight coronavirus.

Cuban doctors travel to Italy to help fight coronavirus

New Delhi (NVI): A team of doctors and nurses from Cuba arrived in Italy today to help in the fight against the novel coronavirus at the request of the worst-affected region in the European nation -Lombardy.

Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also appreciated the humanitarian gesture by the Cuban doctors and tweeted today, “Solidarity among nations, solidarity among health workers, solidarity among all of us is the only way to stop this COVID19 pandemic.”


He also retweeted a video showing the Cuban doctors being applauded for their services.

Cuban doctors have always been on the front lines in the fight against widespread diseases including cholera in Haiti and against Ebola in West Africa 10 years ago.

This is the sixth Cuban team to join the fight against the pandemic in the world and the first to travel to Europe, reported Cuban Television. The government has also sent contingents to Venezuela and Nicaragua as well as to Jamaica, Suriname and Grenada.

In Cuba, 25 cases have been reported of novel coronavirus.

Italy has appeared to be the new epicenter of COVID-19 outbreak with the death toll rising to 5,476 and more than 14,000 positive cases reported.

Artificial photosynthesis system that can help generate fuel

New Delhi (NVI): A team of researchers at the University of California in the US has developed an artificial photosynthesis system, that appears capable of performing all the key steps of the fuel-generating reaction.

Made of nanosized tubes, the artificial photosynthesis system is designed to mimic a leaf and convert carbon dioxide into cellular fuel.

Artificial photosynthesis is a complex system by nature that scientists have been trying to copy for numerous years. The experiment is about using sunlight to generate fuel and power in our homes and vehicles from CO2 and water.

A group of researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have dedicated their time and effort to build an artificial version of a leaf that can perform photosynthesis.

Their work on making artificial photosynthesis possible might enable us to generate completely renewable energy from the CO2 in our atmosphere.

Scientist Heinz Frei and his team developed this system with the use of nano-sized tubes in the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. As of now, it seems that it is capable of performing the needed steps for the fuel-generating reaction.

Frei has spent decades working toward building an artificial version of one of nature’s most elegant and effective machines: the leaf.

The latest design by Frei and his team makes the flow of protons from the interior space of the tube to the outside possible. This means that the protons flow from where they are generated from splitting water molecules to where they combine with CO2 and electrons to form fuel.

Previously, researchers had problems with the fast proton flow, which is crucial for efficiently harnessing sunlight energy to form a fuel.

As of now, the fuel that is produced by the experiment under artificial photosynthesis is carbon monoxide, but the team’s goalis to produce methanol.

Having made the tubes that are needed for the photosynthetic tasks, the team will begin testing the complete system. The individual unit of the system is planned to be small square “solar fuel tiles”. These will contain billions of nanoscale tubes.

“There are two challenges that have not yet been met. One of them is scalability. If we want to keep fossil fuels in the ground, we need to be able to make energy in terawatts – an enormous amount of fuel. And, you need to make a liquid hydrocarbon fuel so that we can actually use it with the trillions of dollars’ worth of existing infrastructure and technology,” Frei said.

He adds that once such a model is made, generating solar fuel out of individual tiles could proceed directly. “We, as basic scientists, need to deliver a tile that works, with all questions about its performance settled. And engineers in industry know-how to connect these tiles. When we’ve figured out square inches, they’ll be able to make square miles.”

The team hopes that these tiles could tackle the hardships that this type of technology still face today.

PM pays tributes to Ram Manohar Lohia 

Ram Manohar Lohia

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tributes to socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia on his 110th birth anniversary.

In a tweet, PM Modi said, “Dr Lohia’s great work for social empowerment and his service oriented philosophy shall continue to inspire the citizens of the country.”

Lohia was born on this day in 1910 in Akbarpur (in Uttar Pradesh).

He was an activist in the Indian independence movement and a socialist political leader.

WATCH | Drones used in Srinagar to monitor coronavirus situation

Srinagar (NVI): At Srinagar’s Lal Chowk today, cops were seen using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to urge people to remain in their homes, through a speaker attached to the drone. Surveillance drones have been pressed into service in other parts of Kashmir as well.

 

(Video: Mubashir Bukhari)

PM lauds AI for evacuating Indians

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today appreciated state carrier Air India for evacuating Indians stranded abroad amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

While sharing a tweet by Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, PM Modi wrote: “Extremely proud of this team of @airindiain, which has shown utmost courage and risen to the call of humanity. Their outstanding efforts are admired by several people across India. #IndiaFightsCorona”.

Puri had yesterday commended the Air India team through his message on the microblogging site: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going. The crew of @airindiain Boeing 777 led by Capt Swati Raval & Capt Raja Chauhan responded to the call of duty & displayed exemplary determination by airlifting 263 Indians, mostly students, stranded in Rome”.

Air India team has helped airlift Indian nationals from Wuhan in Mainland China and Iran which are one of the most affected countries by the coronavirus outbreak.

Meanwhile, 415 positive cases of coronavirus have been reported in India so far with 7 deaths across the nation, according to the Health Ministry.

J&K: Five militant associates held; arms recovered

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Jammu Kashmir Police today arrested five militant associates and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition after interrogating them, from Keran area of Kupwara district.

They were arrested for providing logistic support and shelter to active militants operating in the northern region of Kashmir.

Inspector General of Police, Vijay Kumar (IPS) said that police have recovered eight AK-47 rifles, nine pistols, 300 live rounds, 80 grenades and other paraphernalia in Keran sector.

Police officials said that during questioning, the arrested persons gave the location to Sopore police of the place where a large quantity of “war-like stores” was dumped.

A team of police from Sopore then went to Keran sector of Kupwara from where they recovered the arms and ammunition.

According to police, it was revealed that people, who were arrested, were working for a new militant organisation TRF/JK Fighters-The Resistance Front.

“As per the initial investigation, the organisation is currently being handled by one person based in Pakistan,” police said.

Earlier this month, the police busted militant rackets in Ganderbal and Budgam districts.

J&K: Drones used to monitor COVID-19 situation in Valley

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir police today pressed drones into service in Srinagar as well as other parts of the Valley to monitor the COVID-19 situation and make people aware of the restrictions imposed by administration in wake of novel coronavirus pandemic.

At Lal Chowk here today, cops were seen using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to urge people to remain in their homes, through a speaker attached to the drone.

“People are requested to remain indoors as administration has imposed some precautionary curbs for their well-being. Your stay at home is the remedy of COVID-19,” police told locals while making announcements.

These drones are also being used to check whether there are any violations of prohibitory orders, police said.

Senior Superintendent of Police Srinagar, Haseeb Mughal told media that isolation is important and they have asked people to remain confined to their homes. “Through drones, we are appealing people to remain inside and avoid social gatherings,” he said.

He further said that to contain the virus, the administration has imposed section 144 in the whole Valley including Srinagar to restrict the movement of people.

Yesterday, Inspector General of Police, Vijay Kumar (IPS) said that thermal capability-based drones are being pressed in service to track the movement of people.

He also appealed people not to come out in view of the lockdown announced by the government.

Jammu and Kashmir Government has already declared COVID-19 an epidemic and has ordered the closure of all establishments and services except essential commodities and services till March 31.

PM pays tributes on Shaheed Diwas

New Delhi (NVI): On the occasion of Shaheed Diwas today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru, saying that the country will always remember their sacrifice.

“On Shaheed Diwas, I bow down to the great sons of Mother India, Veer Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru. The country will always be grateful to their sacrifice for the country,” PM Modi said in a message on Twitter in Hindi.

March 23 is observed as Shaheed Diwas every year to pay tribute to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar- the Indian revolutionaries who were hanged by the British Government in 1931.

The trio was hanged by the British for their alleged involvement in the killing of deputy police superintendent JP John Saunders in 1928, to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.

COVID-19 cases surge across US, Italy, Spain; death toll crosses 14k

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases globally has surged past 3,36,000, with more than 14,500 fatalities, according to John Hopkins University, which reported that China, Italy and the United States had the most people diagnosed with the coronavirus.

At least 400 people have been reported dead due to the COVID-19 in the US, another grim milestone as the number of US cases topped 32,000.

Almost half of those cases — 15,168 — were in New York, where Governor Andrew Cuomo said that an estimated 40 per cent to 80 per cent of residents could get coronavirus over the course of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Italy has banned all internal travel in the country, in a further escalation of its attempt to curb the spread of the pandemic, as more than 5,400 people have died in the country from COVID-19.

Spain has become the second-worst affected country in Europe, and has extended a state of emergency until April 11, after recording more than 1,700 deaths.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Iran reached to 1,685, according to Anadolu news agency. The toll rose after 129 people died in the coronavirus-affected country, an Iranian health official was quoted as saying by the news agency.

According to Iranian state TV, Health Ministry Spokesperson Kianoush Jahanpour said 1,028 new virus cases were found, raising the number of cases to 21,638.

He added that a total of 7,913 people who were treated for the virus have so far been discharged from hospital.

China continues to see more cases of coronavirus being imported from abroad, and is ramping up control measures to cope up with the disease.

The Chinese National Health Commission says there were 39 new confirmed cases on Sunday, down from 46 a day earlier. All involved travellers arriving from abroad.

On the other hand, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is placed in self-quarantine after a doctor who treated her tested positive for coronavirus, according to the media reports.

In addition to this, Harvey Weinstein, the former movie producer jailed for sexual assault and rape under the #MeToo campaign, has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the media.

1...1,3791,3801,381...1,613Page 1,380 of 1,613

MUST READ