Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir police have busted a module of Al-Badar outfit and arrested four militants associates in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, officials said.
A police spokesman said that based upon the specific information about the presence of militants of outfit Al-Badar in village Dadsara and Larmoh Awantipora of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, Police Awantipora with the assistance of soldiers from 42 Rashtriya Rifles and 130 Battalion CRPF launched nocturnal search operation in these areas.
During search operation, four persons were found in highly suspicious circumstances and during on spot questioning they admitted to have concealed the arms and ammunition under the heap of grass, officials said.
“One AK-56 rifle, 01 magazine, 28 bullets and a Hand Grenade was recovered,” they added.
The police spokesman further identified the four arrested militant associates as Yawar Aziz Dar and Sajad Parray, both residents of Larmoh villages and Showkat Dar and Abdul Majid Sheikh, locals from Dadsara Tral village.
Meanwhile, a formal case against the accused has been registered while the investigation of the said case is going on, more arrests and recovery is expected in coming days.
New Delhi (NVI): The total count of coronavirus cases in India increased to 10,123,778 with a single-day jump of 24,712 fresh cases in the past 24 hours, Union Health Ministry confirmed.
With 312 patients succumbing to the infection since yesterday, the country’s death toll rose to 1,46,756.
Currently, 96,93,173 patients have been cured an recovered across the country, while the active cases remained below 3-lakh mark and stands at 2,83,849.
In worst-affected Maharashtra, the COVID-19 cases increased to 19,06,371 followed by Karnataka with 9,12,340 and Andhra Pradesh with 8,79,718 positive cases.
The other worst hit states are Tamil
Nadu (8,10,080), Kerala (7,21,510), Delhi (6,19,618) and Uttar Pradesh (5,77,642).
Meanwhile, of the total fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 48,969 deaths, followed by Karnataka with 12,038 fatalities.
The death toll in the national capital surpassed to 10,347, while 6,01,268 patients have been cured and discharged so far, the healthy ministry data shows.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) data, more than 16.53 crore samples tested for COVID-19 up to December 23. Of these, 10,39,645 samples were tested yesterday.
Furthermore, Rajasthan government has imposed a night curfew from December 31, 8 pm to January 1, 6 am in all cities to stave off a possible surge in COVID-19 cases.
New Delhi (NVI): The Ministry of External Affairs today said that the India-Russia annual summit did not take place this year because of the COVID pandemic and that this was a mutually agreed decision between the two governments.
MEA’s statement comes in the wake of a report which claimed that the annual summit wasn’t held this year for the first time in two decades because of purported differences between the two countries over the Indo-Pacific and Quad.
“Any imputation otherwise is false and misleading. Spreading false stories on important relationships is particularly irresponsible,” MEA spokesman Anurag Srivastava said here while responding to a media query regarding the summit.
The Russian side has also conveyed the same concerns over the cancellation of the summit. Russian ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev was quoted as saying by the embassy that the summit was postponed “due to epidemiological reasons”.
During a press briefing on Monday, the Russian envoy said that the pandemic “did not stop our bilateral engagements, although it eventually affected the schedule of our contacts, including the annual bilateral summit”.
MEA’s statement on the summit comes in the backdrop of Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov’s recent statements that Western powers have adopted an “aggressive” and “devious” policy to engage India in “anti-China games by promoting Indo-Pacific strategies”.
Lavrov had accused the western powers of trying to undermine Russia’s close partnership and privileged relations with India.
The Russian foreign minister’s remarks reflected Moscow’s traditional suspicion of the India-Pacific concept.
The Russian foreign minister’s comments came against the backdrop of tensions between India and China over a border row in Eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control, even as Russia has been nudging both the countries to resolve the issue through talks.
New Delhi (NVI): India and South Korea today agreed to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, including in the areas of defence and facilitating essential air travel between the two countries in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Riva Ganguly Das, Secretary(East) from Ministry of External Affairs and the Republic of Korea (ROK) First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun held consultations through digital video conference, MEA said in a statement.
“The consultations covered issues related to bilateral cooperation and also international issues of mutual interest including high-level bilateral exchanges, defense and security cooperation, COVID-19 response, coordination in multilateral forums,” the Ministry said.
“Both sides agreed to further strengthen the high level exchanges in 2021 and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, including the areas of defence and in particular on enhancing defence industry cooperation,” read the official statement.
They also exchanged views on cooperation in the context of COVID-19, including facilitating essential air travel between the two countries, the Ministry said.
Vice Minister Choi highlighted the steps being considered by ROK Government to further relax the travel restrictions for foreigners including Indian citizens traveling to Republic of Korea, restrictions on numbers per flight and categories of visas, it said. The two sides also agreed to continue ongoing consultations for an air bubble arrangement.
“Vice Minister Choi appreciated the leadership role played by India in tackling common global challenges such as Climate Change and Disaster Management through its initiatives such as International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and indicated ROK’s willingness to continue to work with India on these issues,” the Ministry said.
New Delhi (NVI): India’s largest power producer, NTPC ltd has been conferred “Excellence” in the prestigious CII-ITC Sustainability Awards 2020 in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Domain.
NTPC has been honoured in the Corporate Excellence Category, Commendation for Significant Achievement, the Ministry of Power said in a statement.
The recognition was received by DK Patel, Director (HR) in the presence of Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs at the 15th CII-ITC Sustainability Awards 2020 held through the virtual platform.
This is the highest award conferred by CII-ITC in CSR domain. NTPC is the only PSU to receive the award in the Corporate Excellence category, the Ministry said.
NTPC also wins the prestigious CII-ITC Sustainability Awards in Corporate Excellence category second time in a row i.e. in the year 2019 and 2020, it added.
New Delhi (NVI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today held a virtual meeting with his Spanish counterpart Arancha Gonzalez Laya as the two leaders reviewed bilateral ties including the extensive cooperation between the two countries during Covid-19 pandemic and possibilities of cooperation in the post-Covid scenario.
“The two ministers appreciated the upward trajectory in the bilateral ties witnessed in the recent years and agreed to maintain the momentum particularly in new areas of cooperation such as mobility, defence cooperation, and energy,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
“Good virtual meeting with FM @AranchaGlezLaya of Spain. Exchanged notes on the pandemic situation. Detailed review of bilateral relations including cooperation in energy, climate change and infrastructure,” Jaishankar said in a tweet.
Good virtual meeting with FM @AranchaGlezLaya of Spain. Exchanged notes on the pandemic situation. Detailed review of bilateral relations including cooperation in energy, climate change and infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/RQchC773hw
Apart from that, they also discussed India-EU relations and agreed to work closely in the context of the forthcoming India-EU Leaders Summit proposed to be held in Portugal in May 2021.
They reaffirmed their commitment to reformed multilateralism and agreed to maintain close contact and coordination on regional and global issues with particular reference to India’s presence in the United Nations Security Council from 2021 MEA said.
Prominent Baloch activist Karima Baloch who was killed suspectedly by ISI in Canada recently (File Pic)
New Delhi (NVI): Prominent woman Baloch leader Karima Baloch, who went missing and was found dead in mysterious circumstances in Canada two days back, had made a public appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016 for help for Balochistan’s struggle for freedom from Pakistan.
“Shri Modi ji, on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, a sister from Balochistan wants to say something to you, considering you as a brother,” she had said in a video message addressed to the Indian prime minister.
“My name is Karima Baloch and I am Chairperson of Baloch Student Organisation… In Balochistan, thousands of brothers are missing, or killed by the Pakistan Army. Thousands of sisters in Balochistan are still waiting for the return of their brothers. They may never return and the wait of their sisters may never end.
“We are approaching you with certain expectations. Sisters of Balochistan treat you as a brother and request you to become our voice at international forum against Baloch genocide, atrocities and human rights violations. We will fight our war on our own. You just be our voice of that war,” Karima added in that video.
The 37-year-old leader, who was named by the BBC as one of the world’s 100 most “inspirational and influential” women in 2016, went missing on December 20. Reportedly, she was last seen at approximately 3 p.m on that day in Queens Quay West area of Toronto and her body was found the next day.
Karima had taken refuge in Canada to escape the wrath of Pakistani authorities, especially the Army and its notorious intelligence agency ISI.
Her death in mysterious circumstances has led to suspicions that she had been assassinated by ISI to silence her as she was in the forefront of exposing Pakistan at global forum by highlighting the atrocities the Pakistani authorities are committing on Baloch people.
She had been particularly highlighting the malaise of ‘enforced disappearances’ in Balochistan carried out the Pakistani intelligence agencies. According to international human rights bodies and Baloch activists, thousands of Baloch people are abducted by the Pakistani security and intelligence agencies and most of them never return. A few return as dead bodies, that too in mutilated conditions.
Many Baloch people, on social media, have been vocally blaming the ‘Pakistani state’ for assassinating her.
Baloch people are struggling for freedom from Pakistan since the region was forcibly occupied by Pakistan in 1948.
Karima’s case has striking similarities with an incident in Sweden in March this year when Baloch journalist Sajid Hussain went missing from Sweden and his body was found from a river days later.
His family, friends and acquaintances say he was murdered and ISI hand was suspected.
Reporters without Borders (RSF), a Paris-based journalists’ organisation, has alleged that Hussain’s mysterious disappearance and subsequent death could have been organized by the Pakistani intelligence agencies – ISI and MI – due to his work as a journalist.
Amnesty International has said, “The death of activist #KarimaBaloch in Toronto, Canada is deeply shocking and must be immediately and effectively investigated. The perpetrators must be brought to justice without recourse to the death penalty.”
Jammu (NVI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party in J&K DDC polls with 75 seats including three in the Valley for the first time, followed by National Conference (NC) which won 67 seats, as the results for the recently held elections were declared today.
While BJP dominated Jammu, the Gupkar alliance (PAGD), an amalgamation of seven parties, had an upper hand in Kashmir as it won over 100 seats. PAGD managed to win only one seat in the Jammu region’s Nowshera.
While addressing a press conference here, State Election Commissioner (SEC) KK Sharma said that the counting of votes for the DDC election was concluded peacefully early this morning.
He said the results were declared in 278 seats barring Drugmulla in Kupwara and Hajin-A in Bandipora districts.
Sharma said that BJP emerged as the single largest party, registering a win on 75 DDC constituencies followed by J&K National Conference with 67 seats while PDP won 27 and Indian National Congress (INC) won 26 seats.
Newly floated J&K Apni Party (JKAP) won 12 seats while JKPC and CPI-M bagged 8 and 5 seats respectively, he added.
He further said that independents turned out to be the major reflection during these elections winning 18 percent of the total seats while registering their win on 50 seats.
Likewise, JKNPP and PDF registered victory on two seats each and BSP emerged victorious on one seat from Kathua district.
The SEC further informed that 28,55,509 votes were counted in total in the 278 DDC constituencies.
Among the political parties, BJP got 24.82 percent votes followed by JKNC with 16.46%, INC 13.82%, PDP 3.96%, JKAP 5.3%, JKPC 1.98 vote share while rest of the vote share went to others including independent candidates.
Sharma said that despite cold conditions particularly in Kashmir valley and some parts of Jammu province, all the counting officials and allied arrangements put in great efforts by remaining at their counting stations from early Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning.
He said that people and media alike were abreast with recent trends of constituencies through website by flashing election trends and results online dynamically.
He added that the information was readily available, besides SEC officers and officials remained available for any query during the counting process.
The SEC said that on Tuesday morning, counting was deferred in Drugmulla, Kupwara and Hajin-A, Bandipora constituencies in view of the eligibility issue of the candidates contesting from these seats.
“A final decision in this regard will be taken after taking all aspects into consideration,” he added.
Sharma also complimented all the district administrations for the arrangements that were put in place for the counting process besides ensuring smooth conduct of the election process.
New Delhi (NVI): Qatar has launched a free coronavirus vaccination campaign after the first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived in the country on Tuesday.
The first vaccine was successfully given to 79-year-old Abdullah Al Kubaisi, former Qatar University president, today.
The vaccine will be administered in two doses, three weeks apart at seven primary health centres in the country.
The priority will be given to people who are aged 70 and above, people with multiple chronic conditions and key healthcare staff working in close contact with COVID-19 patients.
Reportedly, the first vaccination phase will run until January 31, 2021, meanwhile the government has said it expects to have enough vaccines to cover the country’s entire population in 2021.
Amid the global pandemic, Qatar has been able to restrict its number of cases and deaths by extensive testing.
On Wednesday, the health ministry announced 140 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the country’s total positive cases to date to 142,448 including 243 deaths.
New Delhi (NVI): The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved revision of the guidelines for providing Direct-To-Home (DTH) services in the country under which licenses would now be issued for 20 years in place of 10 years.
Addressing a press briefing, Javadekar said that license for DTH would be issued for 20 years and the license fee would be collected on a quarterly basis.
Previously, the license for all service providers was issued for a duration of 10 years, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Javadekar said the change in guidelines would also allow 100 per cent FDI in the DTH sector.
“DTH operators shall be permitted to operate to a maximum of 5 per cent of its total channel carrying capacity as permitted platform channels. A one-time non-refundable registration fee of Rs 10,000 per PS channel shall be charged from a DTH operator,” an official statement said.
The DTH is operable on pan-India basis. DTH sector is a highly employment intensive sector. It directly employs DTH operators as well as those in the call centres besides indirectly employing a sizeable number of installers at the grass-root level.
The amended DTH guidelines, with longer license period and clarity on renewals, relaxed FDI limits, etc., will ensure fair degree of stability and new investments in the DTH sector along with employment opportunities.
Meanwhile, Javaderkar during the briefing also said the cabinet approved the merger of Films Division, Directorate of Film Festivals, National Film Archives of India, and Children’s Film Society, India with National Film Development Corporation.
