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Logos for MasterCard and Visa credit cards at the entrance of a New York coffee shopIn the latest blow to Russia’s financial system after its invasion of Ukraine, Mastercard and Visa said they are suspending their operations in the country. Mastercard said cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by its network and any Mastercard issued outside the country will not work at Russian stores or ATMs.“We don’t take this decision lightly,” Mastercard said in a statement, adding that it made the move after discussions with customers, partners and governments.Visa said it’s working with clients and partners in Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days.“We are compelled to act following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed,” Visa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Al Kelly said in a statement.The twin suspensions were announced within 16 minutes of each other, and they followed a private video call earlier in the day between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and US lawmakers. During that conversation, Zelenskyy “asked us to turn off MasterCard and Visa for Russia,” Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat from California, tweeted. “I agree,” he added before Mastercard and Visa made their announcements.Earlier in the week, Visa and Mastercard had announced more limited moves to block financial institutions from the networks that serve as arteries for the payments system. Russian people have already been hit hard by heavy sanctions and financial penalties imposed by the US government and others.Since the invasion of Ukraine, the value of the Russian currency, the ruble, has plunged by more than a third to a record low. That’s pushing up inflation for Russian households, and all the fear has helped cause long lines at ATMs.Many other companies around the world have also made moves to increase the financial pressure on Russia and its people because of its attack on Ukraine. Some are selling their stakes in Russian companies, such as energy giant BP, while others like Harley-Davidson halted product shipments to the country.“This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability demand we respond in line with our values,” Visa’s Kelly said.The moves by Mastercard and Visa could make real differences to their bottom lines. Russia accounted for 4% of all of Visa’s net revenue in its last fiscal year, including money made from domestic and cross-border activities. Ukraine accounted for about 1%, Visa said in a filing with US securities regulators this week.Mastercard said in its own filing that about 4% of its net revenues during 2021 came from business conducted within, into and out of Russia. Another roughly 2% was related to Ukraine.(With inputs from AP)Also Read | Russia-Ukraine war: Israeli PM Bennett meets Putin in Moscow to discuss Ukraine crisis

Russia Ukraine War: Mastercard, Visa suspend operations in Russia after invasion

Since the invasion of Ukraine, the value of the Russian currency, the ruble, has plunged by more than a third to a record low.

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Author-Diplomat Vikas Swarup moved to Delhi as Indo-Canadian ties remain coldAuthor-diplomat Vikas Swarup, India's current High Commissioner to Canada, has been appointed as Secretary in the Consular, Passport, Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs division, with effect from August 1.According to a circular issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, "The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Vikas Swarup, (Indian Foreign Service officer of 1986 batch) High Commissioner in Ottawa, as Secretary (CPV &OIA) in the Ministry of External Affairs with effect from 1-8-2019."He takes over from Sanjiv Arora, former envoy to Lebanon, who took over as Secretary (CPV & OIA) on February 25.Swarup, former spokesperson of the MEA and author of the bestselling "Q&A", which was made into a hit film "Slumdog Millionaire", returns to the capital at a time when India-Canada relations have turned frosty over the growing prominence of pro-Khalistani elements.India on Wednesday banned the pro-Khalistan Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) that is run by a few Sikhs in the US, Canada and the UK. The Indian government is also to take up with Canada the anti-India and subversive activities of SFJ persons.The visit of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to India last February was also sullied with allegations of his cabinet having links with Sikh separatists.Trudeau had received a lukewarm welcome by the Indian government during his visit as two of the four Sikh members in his cabinet -- Harjit Sajjan, Defence Minister and Amarjeet Sohi, Minister for Natural Resources -- allegedly support the Khalistan movement.Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar conveyed to his Canadian counterpart Chrystia Freeland that there is little hope for improving the frosty bilateral relations if Ottawa doesn't address India's concerns about the growing activities of Khalistani operatives and organisations.

Author-Diplomat Vikas Swarup moved to Delhi as Indo-Canadian ties remain cold

India on Wednesday banned the pro-Khalistan Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) that is run by a few Sikhs in the US, Canada, and the UK. The Indian government is also to take up with Canada the anti-India and subversive activities of SFJ persons.

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Japan’s ex-top diplomat Fumio Kishida to become new Prime MinisterJapan's former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida won the governing party leadership election on Wednesday and is set to become the next prime minister, facing the imminent task of addressing a pandemic-hit economy and ensuring a strong alliance with Washington to counter growing regional security risks.Kishida replaces outgoing party leader Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is stepping down after serving only one year since taking office last September.As new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Kishida is certain to be elected the next prime minister on Monday in parliament, where his party and coalition partner control the house.Kishida beat popular vaccinations minister Taro Kono in a runoff after finishing only one vote ahead of him in the first round where none of the four candidates, including two women, was able to win a majority.Results showed Kishida had more support from party heavyweights who apparently chose stability over change advocated by Kono, who is known as something of a maverick.The new leader is under pressure to change the party's high-handed reputation worsened by Suga, who angered the public over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and insistence on holding the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.The long-ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party desperately needs to quickly turn around plunging public support ahead of lower house elections coming within two months.Kishida called for growth and distribution under his “new capitalism,” saying that the economy under Japan's longest-serving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had only benefited big companies.Overall, little change is expected in key diplomatic and security policies under the new leader, said Yu Uchiyama, a political science professor at the University of Tokyo.All of the candidates support close Japan-U.S. security ties and partnerships with other like-minded democracies in Asia and Europe, in part to counter China's growing influence and a threat from nuclear-armed North Korea.Wednesday's vote was seen as a test of whether the party can move out of Abe's shadow. His influence in government and party affairs has largely muzzled diverse views and shifted the party to the right.Kishida is also seen as a choice who could prolong an era of unusual political stability amid fears that Japan could return to “revolving door” leadership.“Concern is not about individuals but stability of Japanese politics," Michael Green, senior vice president for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told a telephone briefing ahead of the vote. “It's about whether or not we are entering a period in Japanese politics of instability and short-term prime ministership,” he said. “It makes it very hard to move forward on agenda."Suga is leaving only a year after taking office as a pinch hitter for Abe, who suddenly resigned over health problems, ending his nearly eight-year leadership, the longest in Japan's constitutional history.ALSO READ: ​2 women, political opposites, vying in race for Japan PM 

Japan’s ex-top diplomat Fumio Kishida to become new Prime Minister

Kishida replaces outgoing party leader Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is stepping down after serving only one year since taking office last September.

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The Sikh community of Pakistan has urged India to facilitate access to Dera Baba Nanak Gurudwara in Gurdaspur district of PunjabThe Sikh community of Pakistan has urged India to facilitate access to Dera Baba Nanak Gurudwara in Gurdaspur district of Punjab. Pakistan Sikh Council (PSC) Patron-in-Chief Sardar Ramesh Singh Khalsa said the Kartarpur Corridor's opening on Saturday was in line with Sikhism founder Guru Nanak's teachings of inclusion, peace, and interfaith harmony and that he was speechless after seeing "tears of joy in the eyes of his Sikh brethren", Geo TV reported.Underlining that through the Kartarpur Corridor, Pakistan was facilitating and welcoming the Indian Sikh pilgrims, he said that a similar effort should be made by India to invite the Pakistani Sikh pilgrims. "The Modi government should facilitate and give access to Pakistani Sikhs wishing to visit and pray at Dera Baba Nanak," Singh said."Set aside the religion and the politics… there are some 25 million Sikhs in the world and many are warned of danger and told of the border contentions between India and Pakistan." There are many historic figures of religious importance between India and Pakistan who bring together people irrespective of the differences in their faiths just because they were revered by everyone, he said."There was Baba Sheikh Fareed (Fariduddin Ganjshakar), whose shrine is in Pakpattan, Pakistan, and Moinuddin Chishti whose shrine is "Ajmer Sharif Dargah" in India's Rajasthan," the Sikh leader said. "Wouldn't it be amazing for Sikhs on both sides of the border to be able to visit their holy sites?" asked Singh.(IANS copy only headline changed)ALSO READ| Kartarpur opening great opportunity for Sikhs to bring India, Pak together: UAE SikhsALSO READ| Assembly adopts resolution to allow Sikh women perform Kirtan at Golden Temple

Pakistan Sikhs urge India to facilitate access to Dera Baba Nanak

Pakistan Sikh Council (PSC) Patron-in-Chief Sardar Ramesh Singh Khalsa said the Kartarpur Corridor's opening on Saturday was in line with Sikhism founder Guru Nanak's teachings of inclusion, peace, and interfaith harmony and that he was speechless after seeing "tears of joy in the eyes of his Sikh brethren", Geo TV reported

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Armed police at the scene of an incident on London Bridge in central London following a police incident.A man wearing a fake explosive vest stabbed several people Friday in London, killing two in what police are treating as a terrorist attack before being tackled by members of the public and then fatally shot by officers on London Bridge. Police said the attacker was Usman Khan, a 28-year-old who was released on probation last year after serving six years for terrorism offenses. Metropolitan Police Chief Cressida Dick said two stabbing victims had died and three injured people were being treated in hospitals after the attack, which unfolded just yards from the site of a deadly 2017 van and knife rampage.Health officials said one of the injured was in critical but stable condition, one was stable and the third had less serious injuries.Police said Khan was convicted in 2012 of terrorism offenses and released in December 2018 “on license,” which means he had to meet certain conditions or face recall to prison. Several British media outlets reported that he was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet.Basu said Khan was attending a London event hosted by Learning Together — a Cambridge University-backed program that works to educate prisoners — when he launched the attack, killing a man and a woman and injuring three others.The attacker’s history will raise difficult questions for Britain’s government and security services. Neil Basu, the London police counterterrorism head, said police were not actively looking for any other suspects.Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had “long argued” that it was a “mistake to allow serious and violent criminals to come out of prison early.”“It is very important that we get out of that habit and that we enforce the appropriate sentences for dangerous criminals, especially for terrorists, that I think the public will want to see,” he said.Johnson, who chaired a meeting of the government’s COBRA emergency committee late Friday, said more police would be patrolling the streets in the coming days “for reassurance purposes.”The violence erupted less than two weeks before Britain holds a national election. The main pollical parties temporarily suspended campaigning in London as a mark of respect.Metropolitan Police counterterrorism chief Neil Basu said the suspect appeared to be wearing a bomb vest but it turned out to be “a hoax explosive device.”Dick, the police chief, said officers were called just before 2 p.m. to Fishmongers’ Hall, a conference venue at the north end of London Bridge. The pedestrian and vehicle bridge links the city’s business district with the south bank of the River Thames.Learning Together was holding a conference there on Friday. Cambridge Vice Chancellor Stephen Toope said he was “devastated to learn that today’s hateful attack on London Bridge may have been targeted at staff, students and alumni attending an event organized by the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology.”Minutes after the stabbings report, witnesses saw a man with a knife being wrestled to the ground by members of the public on the bridge before armed-response officers shot him dead.Video images showed people spraying the fleeing suspect with a fire extinguisher, while another passer-by held what appeared to be a long white stick. Witness Amy Coop, who was at the Fishmongers’ Hall, said it was a narwhal tusk the man had grabbed from a wall before going to confront the attacker.One video posted on social media showed two men struggling on the bridge before police pulled a man in civilian clothes off a black-clad man on the ground. Gunshots followed. Another depicted a man in suit and overcoat holding a long knife that apparently had been taken from the attacker.Karen Bosch, who was on a bus crossing the bridge, said she saw police “wrestling with one tall, bearded man” and then heard “gunshots, two loud pops.”She said the man “pulled his coat back which showed that he had some sort of vest underneath, whether it’s a stab vest, or some sort of explosive vest, the police then really quickly moved backwards, away.”Another bus passenger, Amanda Hunter, told the BBC that the vehicle “all of a sudden stopped and there was commotion and I looked out the window and I just saw these three police officers going over to a man.”“It seemed like there was something in his hand, I’m not 100% sure, but then one of the police officers shot him.”Police confirmed that the man died at the scene.The mayor praised the “breathtaking heroism of members of the public who literally ran towards danger not knowing what confronted him.”“They are the best of us,” Khan said.Cars and buses on the busy bridge stood abandoned after the shooting, with a white truck stopped diagonally across the lanes. Video footage showed police pointing guns at the truck before moving to check its container.London Bridge station, one of the city’s busiest rail hubs, was closed for several hours after the attack.Scores of police, some armed with submachine guns, ushered office workers and tourists out of the area packed with office buildings, banks, restaurants and bars. Staff in nearby office blocks were told to stay inside.As police cleared the streets, staff in shops and restaurants ushered customers into storerooms and basements. Some had been through similar traumatic events in June 2017, when eight people died in the van and knife attack launched by three people inspired by the Islamic State group. The attackers ran down people on the bridge, killing two, before fatally stabbing several people in nearby Borough Market.That fatal attack took place days before a general election. Britons are due to go to the polls again on Dec. 12.Political leaders expressed shock and sorrow at Friday’s attack.“We will not be cowed by those who threaten us,” Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said. “We must and we will stand together to reject hatred and division.”Both Labour and the Conservatives suspended campaigning in the city after the attack and the prime minister was also canceling political events for Saturday.Security officials earlier this month downgraded Britain’s terrorism threat level from “severe” to “substantial,” which means an attack is seen as “likely” rather than “highly likely.” The assessment was made by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, an independent expert body that evaluates intelligence, terrorist capability and intentions.The U.K.’s terror threat was last listed as “substantial” in August 2014; since then it has held steady at “severe,” briefly rising to “critical” in May and September 2017.ALSO READ | London police shoot suspect dead after ‘terrorist’ stabbings

London knife attack suspect was jailed for 6 years in 2012 on terror charges: UK police

The Police said the attacker, Usman Khan, was convicted in 2012 of terrorism offenses and released in December 2018 “on license,” which means he had to meet certain conditions or face recall to prison. Several British media outlets reported that he was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet.

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He is a busy man: Pakistan PM Imran Khan takes swipe at US President Biden"He is a busy man", Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said curtly about Joe Biden, expressing his disappointment over US President's reluctance to contact him since coming into office in January this year. During an interview to CNN on Wednesday from his private Bani Gala residence in Islamabad, Khan admitted that he had not spoken to President Biden since the collapse of the Afghan government.When asked why Biden hadn't called him since coming into office, the premier curtly said: "He is a busy man" and later said Biden should be asked "why he is too busy to call".Imran Khan’s remarks came days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Congressional hearing indicated that Pakistan was involved in harbouring members of the Taliban, including the militants of the dreaded Haqqani Network.“I think you're very right to point at the role that Pakistan has played throughout the past 20 years and even before it. It is one that has involved hedging its bets constantly about the future of Afghanistan. It's one that's involved harbouring members of the Taliban, including the Haqqanis," Blinken said while responding to a specific question from Democratic Congressman Bill Keating who alleged that Pakistan played an active and by so many accounts a negative role in Afghan affairs for decades."It's one that's also involved at different points of cooperation with us on counter-terrorism. And so, there are a number of things that have come into play. It has a multiplicity of interests, some that are in clear conflict with ours. When it comes to Afghanistan, it's focused, of course, as well on India and the role that India is playing in Afghanistan,” Blinken said.This is not the first time that Prime Minister Khan has expressed his disappointment over Biden’s reluctance to contact him.During an interaction with foreign journalists at his residence in August, Prime Minister Khan had said that he was not really "waiting" for a phone call from President Biden."I keep hearing that President Biden hasn't called me. It's his business. It's not like I am waiting for any phone call," he had said in response to a question.Khan, who had congratulated President Biden on his inauguration and expressed his desire to work with the new American administration to deepen bilateral ties, had said that Washington sees Pakistan as "useful" only for clearing the "mess" it has left behind in Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting and prefers India when it comes to forming a “strategic partnership”.During his interview with CNN, Khan said Pakistan's relationship with the US is not just dependent on a phone call, it needs to be a multidimensional one.That's something Khan said he doesn't feel Pakistan enjoyed during the US' 20-year war in Afghanistan."We (Pakistan) were like a hired gun," Khan said. "We were supposed to make them (the US) win the war in Afghanistan, which we never could."Khan also said he repeatedly warned US officials that America could not achieve its objectives militarily, and would "be stuck there."He said the US should have attempted a political settlement with the Taliban from a "position of strength," at the height of its presence in Afghanistan, not as it was withdrawing.The US-Pakistan relationship has witnessed ups and downs over the past decade. The ties nose-dived after the US killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at his hideout in Pakistan in a covert raid in May 2011.Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump had briefly suspended roughly USD 1 billion in US security aid to Pakistan and publicly accused Pakistani officials of “lies and deceit” for purportedly providing a base for the Taliban and other militant groups to carry out attacks across the border in Afghanistan.Islamabad is unhappy that Biden has not spoken to Prime Minister Khan since he assumed the presidency in January.Pakistan's National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf has also expressed disappointment over President Biden’s reluctance to contact Prime Minister Khan despite considering Islamabad as an important country in some critical issues like Afghanistan.Yousuf also said that Islamabad has other "options" if the American leader continues to ignore the country’s leadership.The US State Department, however, had assured Islamabad that Washington recognizes Pakistan’s vital role in restoring peace in Afghanistan and wants Islamabad to play that role. ALSO READ: Afghanistan to have regular army soon: Taliban official

He is a busy man: Pakistan PM Imran Khan takes swipe at US President Joe Biden

When asked why Biden hadn't called him since coming into office, the premier curtly said: "He is a busy man" and later said Biden should be asked "why he is too busy to call".

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More contagious virus variant found along New York's Long IslandThree additional cases of a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus have been identified in New York, including one on Long Island, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday.Two of the cases are connected to the initial discovery of the variant identified in Saratoga Springs, which was announced Monday. The third case involving a 64-year-old man from Massapequa appears unrelated to the exposures in upstate New York, the governor said.The Long Island man had first tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 27. State health officials were working with contact tracers in Nassau County to identify additional potential exposures.The variant circulating in Britain has been detected elsewhere in the United States and in other countries.“That brings the number of UK cases in this country to just about 55, and we believe that it is more widespread than that number would suggest,” Cuomo said at his daily briefing.New York is trying to ramp up vaccinations as hospitalizations increase to more than 8,000 statewide, compared to about 5,000 a month ago. The state plans to allow a much wider swath of the public to be vaccinated in the coming week, including anyone age 75 or older.The initial case identified in New York was a man in his 60s who works at a jewelry store in the upstate resort city. Workers at a state health department lab in Albany sequenced the virus from five additional employees from the jewelry store who had tested positive for COVID-19. They confirmed the strain was present in two of those people.(Except for the headline, Indiatvnews.com has not edited the copy)

More contagious virus variant found along New York's Long Island

The Long Island man had first tested positive for COVID-19 on December 27. State health officials were working with contact tracers in Nassau County to identify additional potential exposures.

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US officials say President Donald Trump will recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Wednesday and instruct the State Department to begin the multi-year process of moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city.The officials say recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital will be an acknowledgement of "historical and current reality" rather than a political statement. They note that almost all of Israel's government agencies and parliament are in Jerusalem, rather than Tel Aviv, where the US and other countries maintain embassies.The officials say moving the embassy, long a campaign pledge that Trump has insisted he must fulfill, will not happen immediately.The officials spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss Trump's announcement beforehand.

Trump to declare Jerusalem as Israeli's capital, won't move embassy immediately: US officials

The officials say recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital will be an acknowledgement of "historical and current reality" rather than a political statement.

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Kim Yo Jong rose to international prominence after her brother's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President Donald Trump and other world leaders in 2018 and 2019. What has happened to Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s influential sister?That is a question many who watch the cloistered, nuclear-armed country are wondering after she failed to appear in absolute leader Kim Jong Un’s newly released lineup for the country’s powerful Politburo in recent days.Some say Kim Jong Un may have demoted his sister over general policy failures. Others, however, believe he could be worried about her rapid rise and increasingly high profile as he tries to bolster his domestic authority in the face of growing economic challenges.Rumors that Kim Yo Jong is her brother’s heir apparent could be dangerous because they "raise the issue of Kim’s hold on power and health inside North Korea," said Oh Gyeong-seob, an analyst at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification. This, he said, is why Kim Jong Un is slowing down her rise in power.ALSO READ: Donald Trump on verge of 2nd impeachment after Capitol siegeThe development is a surprise because Kim Yo Jong, who became an alternate member of the Politburo last year, was widely expected to receive a full bureau membership during a ruling Workers’ Party congress that ended Tuesday. A Politburo membership is viewed as crucial for high-level officials hoping to thrive in Kim Jong Un's government because he's made key decisions at bureau meetings, including the 2013 move to execute his powerful uncle Jang Song Taek, and the 2012 purge of military chief Ri Yong Ho.When the eight-day congress, the first of its kind since 2016, opened last week, Kim Yo Jong, who is thought to be about 32, sat on the leadership podium, standing out amid the often elderly, overwhelmingly male party cadres. But when the congress on Monday announced a list of 30 alternate and full members of the Politburo, including the 37-year-old Kim Jong Un, her name wasn’t there.Kim Yo Jong hasn't been purged or forced to quit politics, a fate that some officials have met under Kim Jong Un, and she still retains her membership in the party’s Central Committee, also a high-level body. But when she released a statement criticizing South Korea on Wednesday, state media identified her as a “vice department director” of the party, a lower rank than her previous title of “first vice department director.”ALSO READ: Time and momentum on China's side as world faces unprecedented turbulence, says Xi JinpingKim Jong Un is urging his 25 million people to rally behind his leadership to overcome what he has called his nation's “worst-ever” difficulties. North Korea has faced coronavirus-related economic shocks, a spate of natural disasters last summer and persistent U.S.-led sanctions over its pursuit of illicit nuclear weapons. During the congress, Kim vowed to expand his nuclear arsenal and build a stronger, self-reliant economy.“The congress’ purpose is to solidify Kim Jong Un’s leadership. If Kim Yo Jong had become a full Politburo member, all eyes would have been on her ... and Kim Jong Un likely felt that as a burden,” Ko Young-hwan, a former deputy head of the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank run by South Korea’s spy agency, said during a TV news program Monday.Previously little known to outsiders, Kim Yo Jong has soared politically since her brother inherited power after their father, Kim Jong Il, died in late 2011.The current Kims are the third generation of their family to rule North Korea, and their leadership is based on a personality cult established after their grandfather Kim Il Sung founded the country in 1948. Their mythical “paektu” bloodline, named after the North’s most sacred mountain, allows only direct family members to rule the country.Kim Yo Jong rose to international prominence after her brother's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President Donald Trump and other world leaders in 2018 and 2019. In those meetings, her proximity to Kim Jong Un sparked speculation that she was serving as her brother’s chief of staff.In South Korea, she built an image as “a peace messenger” after she attended the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, becoming the first member of the North’s ruling family to visit the South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.Last year, however, she abruptly changed course by launching harsh diatribes against South Korea and putting pressure on the United States to make concessions amid deadlocked nuclear diplomacy. North Korea’s state media said she was in charge of relations with South Korea, and outside experts speculated that she might be handing U.S. affairs as well.In her statement on Wednesday, she slammed South Korea for provoking the North by announcing that it had detected intelligence that North Korea held a military parade or a rehearsal for such a parade this week.When unconfirmed global rumors about Kim Jong Un’s health rose last year, some observers said Kim Yo Jong was next in line to rule North Korea if her brother became incapacitated. South Korea’s spy agency said later that she was virtually the North’s No. 2 official but hadn’t been anointed as her brother’s heir.“Kim Jong Un likely held his sister responsible for worsened (external) ties, as she had no achievements in relations with the U.S. and South Korea,” said Kim Yeol Soo, an analyst with South Korea’s Korea Institute for Military Affairs.Whatever the reason for her apparent loss of the Politburo job, many experts say her political clout likely remains unchanged thanks to her direct link to the paektu bloodline. There's also a feeling that Kim Jong Un could eventually give her another high-profile job.Oh, the analyst, said Kim Yo Jong is likely the second-most powerful woman in North Korean history after Kim Song Ae, the late second wife of Kim Il Sung.“Kim Yo Jong can meet and talk to Kim Jong Un freely anytime ... so we can’t help saying that she has a tremendous influence,” Oh said. “As she gets older, her roles will be bigger."But, he added, her rise could end if she covets more power. “She has to be careful about that,” he said.

What has happened to Kim Yo Jong? Demoted or pushed aside - fate of Kim Jong Un's sister unclear

Some say Kim Jong Un may have demoted his sister over general policy failures. Others, however, believe he could be worried about her rapid rise and increasingly high profile.

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The meeting is likely to review the progress made in achieving the targets set under an action plan to stop money laundering and terror financing from Pakistan, the Express Tribune reported.Teams from Pakistan and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which combats money laundering and terror financing among other things is likely to hold a three-day session in Sydney from Saturday to discuss the issue of removing the country's name from the "grey list".The meeting is likely to review the progress made in achieving the targets set under an action plan to stop money laundering and terror financing from Pakistan, the Express Tribune reported.Related Stories Asia-Pacific money-laundering watchlist's review of Pakistan to conclude tomorrowFATF team in Pakistan to discuss measures taken by the 'grey-listed' country on money laundering, terror financingFATF team unhapppy with 'grey-listed' Pak's efforts to combat terror financingFATF team finalises report with recommendations for de-listing Pakistan from grey list in Sep'19: ReportFATF expresses dissatisfaction over 'grey-listed' Pakistan's efforts to combat terror financing, says media reportsThe delegation comprising the representatives of the State Bank of Pakistan, National Counter Terrorism Authority, Federal Investigation Agency, Federal Board of Revenue and Financial Monitoring Unit will be participating in the talks.A senior government official said the delegation will address questions and observations of the FATF on the basis of risk assessment report already dispatched to the global anti-terror financing watchdog. The report highlighted the implementation status of plans for various agencies of the government on the FATF's recommendations.The report identified some key routes of the terror financing and money laundering, saying that the Pakistan-Afghanistan and Pakistan-Iran borders were two key routes of such flows, according to Dawn newspaper.It said that to address the challenge, checking and security systems at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border had been strengthened with improved technology and vigilance while security had also been beefed up at Pakistan-Iran border.Currently placed on the FATF's "grey list", Pakistan has been scrambling to avoid being added to a list of countries deemed non-compliant with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations by the Paris-based FATF, a measure that officials here fear could further hurt its economy.By the end of September 2020, Pakistan has to comply with the action plan it had committed with the FATF in June 2017 to get out of the "grey list" or else fall into the black list. Over the next nine months, i.e. till September 2019, the government will complete the investigation into the widest range of terror financing activities, including appeals and calls for donations and collection of funds, besides their movements and uses. The outcome will be published at least twice before September next year.(With IANS inputs)

FATF to hold three-day session in Sydney, likely to review issue of 'grey-listed' Pakistan

The meeting is likely to review the progress made in achieving the targets set under an action plan to stop money laundering and terror financing from Pakistan, the Express Tribune reported.

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China on Monday successfully launched a new civilian high-resolution mapping satellite along with two other foreign satellites.China sent a resource satellite and two smaller ones into planned orbits on Thursday.They were launched on a Long March-4B carrier rocket at 11.26 a.m. from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi province, Xinhua news agency reported.The resource satellite, ZY-1 02D developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), will provide observation data for natural resources asset management, ecological monitoring, disaster prevention and control, environmental protection, urban construction, transportation and contingency management.With an expected lifespan of five years, ZY-1 02D carries a near-infrared camera with a coverage width of 115 km, enabling it to observe large and medium-sized cities, and be used for urban planning, said the satellite's project manager.The satellite can also be used to observe chlorophyll concentration, water transparency and total suspended matter concentration in lakes to help monitor the environment and prevent water pollution.One of the two small satellites launched on the same rocket belongs to Beijing Normal University, and is named BNU-1, and the other belongs to a Shanghai-based private space technology company. Both have an expected lifespan of one year.BNU-1, developed by a Shenzhen-based company affiliated to CAST, weighs about 16 kg, and will be mainly used to monitor polar climate and environment, greatly helping research of the polar regions and global climate change.The satellite can report sea ice changes, which could help with ship navigation and make channel risk assessments.Thursday's launch is the 310th mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.ALSO READ | China providing satellite data on flood-hit regions to India a 'standard practice': MEAALSO READ | Russia launches Soyuz carrier rocket with 33 satellites 

China launches three new satellites

They were launched on a Long March-4B carrier rocket at 11.26 a.m. from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi province.

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Abortion rights supporters gather to protest Texas SB 8 in front of Edinburg City Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, in Edinburg, Texas.The nation’s highest court has allowed a Texas law banning most abortions to remain in effect, marking a turning point for abortion opponents who have been fighting to implement stronger restrictions for nearly a decade.The Texas law, pegged a “fetal heartbeat bill,” bans abortions at the point of the “first detectable heartbeat,” which could happen around six weeks into pregnancy, although that timeframe isn’t specified in the measure. Medical experts say the heart doesn’t begin to form until the fetus is at least nine weeks old, and they decry efforts to promote abortion bans by relying on medical inaccuracies.Nonetheless, at least 13 other states with Republican-dominated legislatures have adopted similar bans, although courts have blocked them all from being implemented. Democrats call the new Texas law an unconstitutional assault on women’s health.The growing anti-abortion campaign is intended to reach the U.S. Supreme Court. Abortion opponents hope the conservative coalition assembled under President Donald Trump will end the constitutional right to abortion as established by the high court in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.Advanced technology can detect a first flutter of electric activity within cells in an embryo as early as six weeks. This flutter isn’t a beating heart, it’s cardiac activity that will eventually become a heart. An embryo is termed a fetus after the eighth week of pregnancy, and the actual heart begins to form between the ninth and 12th weeks of pregnancy.“It’s not a heartbeat, it’s the motion of the neural cells going up and down tubes in an embryo,” said Dr. Michael Cackovic, a maternal fetal medicine specialist at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, where some 5,300 babies are born each year.Cackovic said ultrasound technology significantly advances each year, allowing physicians to provide better information to their patients, but he’s alarmed that such advances in medicine have been used to promote misinformation.“We’re using technology to detect early cardiac motion, basically it’s a reflexive moment,” Cackovic added. “But now people are using this technology to forward their agenda.”In 2013, a pioneering University of Leeds study found that while four clearly defined chambers appear in the human heart from the eighth week of pregnancy, they remain “a disorganized jumble of tissue” until around the 20th week, much later than previously believed.The notion that abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy “stops a beating heart” is a concept originated by Ohio activist Janet Folger Porter, one of the nation’s fiercest advocates for banning the procedure.Porter found that hearts were easy to market and punctuated her decade-long lobbying efforts by distributing heart-shaped balloons and teddy bears, all while side-stepping whether the packaging of the proposal was medically true.Image Source : APAnti-abortion rights demonstrators gather in the rotunda at the Capitol while the Senate debated anti-abortion bills in Austin, Texas.Anti-abortion rights demonstrators gather in the rotunda at the Capitol while the Senate debated anti-abortion bills in Austin, Texas.She’s a polarizing figure, even among Republicans, due to her lobbying stunts and other controversial actions she’s exercised over the years. Notably, she arranged “testimony” via ultrasound by an in utero fetus. She also questions President Barack Obama’s citizenship and more recently served as spokeswoman for Senate candidate Roy Moore, of Alabama, who has denied allegations that he molested a 14-year-old girl.It took Ohio nearly a decade to sign off on the abortion ban backed by Porter, but other states eventually got on board, after advocates for similar bans mirrored her tactics lobbying lawmakers and using emotive phrases such as “take heart” or “have a heart.”Arkansas and North Dakota were among the first states to pass these types of bills in 2013. Iowa became the third in 2018. About two dozen states have since introduced similar measures inside their legislatures, but only Texas’ version has been enacted.Plenty of battles have taken place over politically charged, inaccurate or vague terminology over abortion laws.“Dismemberment abortion” is a term abortion opponents use to describe dilation and evacuation, a common second trimester abortion method. Others used “partial-birth abortion” to describe what is medically called intact dilation and extraction.In the fight over fetal cardiac activity, anti-abortion advocates counter that using medical terminology dehumanizes the unborn.

EXPLAINER: The language, reach of new Texas abortion law

The Texas law, pegged a “fetal heartbeat bill,” bans abortions at the point of the “first detectable heartbeat,” which could happen around six weeks into pregnancy.

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In this handout photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky works in his office in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022.In his latest address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he's still in Kyiv and not hiding as Russia's war on his country has continued for the 13th day.In the video posted on his Facebook page late Monday night, Zelensky shows the views of the city from his office in the heart of the capital city."I stay in Kyiv. On Bankova Street. I'm not hiding. And I'm not afraid of anyone. As much as it takes to win this Patriotic War of ours," the President added.Zelenksy's video message came hours after the third round of peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations ended without any significant developments.The talks lasted for nearly three hours at the Belovezhskaya Pushcha on the Belarus-Poland border, reports Xinhua news agency.According to Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who also heads Moscow's delegation, said although discussions continued on political and military aspects, it however remained difficult and was too early to talk about something positive.He added that the Russian side "brought a large set of documents, including specific agreements, but the Ukrainian side could not sign them on the spot and took all these documents back home for study".Medinsky added that the two sides addressed the issue of civilian evacuation.As the military invasion continued for the 13th day on Tuesday, Russian attacks have prevented civilians to evacuate from cities currently under fire.In the port city of Odessa, where Russian troops are quickly gaining ground, explosions were heard in the early hours of Tuesday, reports the BBC.Deemed a key strategic target for Moscow, Ukrainian forces in Odessa claimed to have hit one of the Russian fleet causing significant damage.Daily curfews begin at 7 p.m. in the city, and air raid sirens were heard for more than an hour on Monday, with warnings that Russian ships were repositions themselves in preparation for an attack, said the BBC.As a result of Russia's invasion that began on February 24, currently there are more than 742,000 people across Ukraine without access to electricity, according to the Foreign Ministry in Kyiv.The Ministry said on Monday that the Russia-backed Donetsk region in the east is the hardest hit, where over 233,000 are "completely disconnected".Some 238,000 Ukrainians are also without gas, it added.The Ministry further claimed that "active hostilities have caused new power grid damage and outages".  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is in Kyiv, not hiding

Zelenksy's video message came hours after the third round of peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations ended without any significant developments.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today told top CEOs at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum Summit 2018 that India means business and presents opportunity for the global business. Addressing a roundtable before a dinner meet, PM Modi narrated India's growth story. He was accompanied by top government officials including Vijay Gokhale, Jai Shankar and Ramesh Abhishek.Under the tagline of "India means business", the roundtable was attended by 40 CEOs of global companies and 20 from India. After the meeting, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted about Modi narrating India's growth story and presenting exciting opportunities for global business in India at Davos. The spokesperson also tweeted that the prime minister "hosted a roundtable meeting with CEOs of top global companies". Modi, who arrived in Davos on Monday evening, will deliver opening keynote address on Tuesday morning at the world economic forum annual meeting. Besides, he will also interact with the members of international business community of the WEF. Modi is the first Indian prime minister to attend Davos summit in 20 years.In the largest ever Indian presence in the 48-year history of WEF summit in Davos, more than 130 Indian CEOs are present along with over 2,000 business leaders and 70 heads of states and governments. Besides, several other leaders from politics, business, academia, art, culture and civil society are also present for the event which opens on Monday and will close on Friday.Earlier in the day, PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with Swiss President Alain Berset.Berset greeted Modi with a warm handshake in this town in the Swiss Alps before leading the Indian leader to the meeting.Modi discussed with the Swiss President ways to deepen bilateral ties. The two leaders “reviewed the scope of our bilateral cooperation”, Modi said in a tweet.Berset said the discussions marked the meeting of the biggest and the oldest democracies in the world. Thanking Modi, he said his country will continue to strengthen “our relations” with India.“First engagement in snowing #Davos, PM @narendramodi met with Swiss President @alain_berset. Two leaders had productive discussions on steps to further deepen our bilateral cooperation built upon our shared values of democracy and diversity. #IndiaMeansBusiness,” an external affairs ministry spokesperson tweeted.This is Modi's second visit to Switzerland in nearly two years after his visit in June 2016. He reached Davos for World Economic Forum 2018 on Monday.

World Economic Forum 2018: India means business, PM Modi tells global CEOs; holds talks with Swiss President

PM Modi Modi on Monday told top CEOs at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum Summit 2018 that India means business and presents opportunity for the global business.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on a 'secret' trip to China, says reportThe Chinese media was today rife with speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is in Beijing, following heavy police deployment at the border of China and North Korea.However, there is no official confirmation about Kim's visit, which, if confirmed, will be his first trip abroad since he took over power in 2011 after his father's death.Related Stories North Korea to face no more conditions for Donald Trump-Kim Jong Un talks: US officialsUS Secretary of State Rex Tillerson seeks 'nice, neutral site' for Trump-Kim talksUS looking forward to Trump-Kim Jong Un meeting, says White HouseChina's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was unaware of the issue.  Media reports about Kim's visit was in circulation following heavy police presence at the China-North Korea border and later at a Beijing hotel popular with foreign dignitaries, Hong Kong-based 'South China Morning Post' reported.   Indications suggested that a high-profile figure had made the journey into China, the Post reported today. While it is yet to be confirmed if the person is Kim himself, the security arrangements suggest it is someone of great significance, the report said. At the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, where foreign dignitaries usually stay, there has been a marked increase in police activity, with a large number of officers and about 50 vehicles seen in the area. Nearby roads have been cordoned off. Historically, the visits of North Korean leaders to China, the country's neighbour and closest ally, were always shrouded in secrecy. Kim's late father Kim Jong-il too used to visit China secretly. Tensions temporarily abated in the Korean Peninsula recently over North Korea's nuclear programme after US President Donald Trump agreed for a summit meeting with Kim. Though North Korea has remained a long-standing ally of China, relations between the two countries have been strained after Beijing beefed-up UN sanctions by blocking essential supplies like oil and coal following pressure from Trump. Observers say the severity of sanctions made Kim tone down his rhetoric on acquiring nuclear weapons and consider the option for talks with the US. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on a 'secret' trip to China, says report

However, there is no official confirmation about Kim's visit, which, if confirmed, will be his first trip abroad since he took over power in 2011 after his father's death

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Joe Biden nominates Indian-American Rupa Ranga Puttagunta as judge of DC District CourtUS President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced his intent to nominate Indian-American Rupa Ranga Puttagunta as a federal judge, among 10 other diverse picks for top judicial positions which include African-American and Muslim American candidates. Among the presidential nominations, 10 are for Federal Circuit and District Court judge posts, and one is for Superior Court Judge for the District of Columbia. These highly-qualified candidates reflect the president's deeply-held conviction that the federal bench should reflect the full diversity of the American people - both in background and in professional experience, the White House said. If confirmed by the US Senate, Judge Puttagunta would be the first Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) woman to serve on the US District Court for the District of DC, the White House said. Judge Puttagunta currently serves as an Administrative Judge for the D.C. Rental Housing Commission. Prior to joining the Commission in 2019, Judge Puttagunta was a solo practitioner from 2013 to 2019, representing indigent criminal defendants in trial and on appeal. Before opening her own practice, Judge Puttagunta practised family and appellate law at Delaney McKinney, LLP from 2012 to 2013. While working on domestic relations matters in private practice, Judge Puttagunta also provided hundreds of hours of pro bono legal services by volunteering at D.C. Superior Court''s Family Court Self-Help Center and Attorney Negotiator Program and representing victims of domestic violence in D.C. Superior Court. Judge Puttagunta began her legal career as a law clerk for Judge William M. Jackson of the D.C. Superior Court from 2008 to 2010, as well as the Senior Judges of the D.C. Court of Appeals from 2010 to 2011. Judge Puttagunta received her Juris Doctor degree from Ohio State Moritz College of Law in 2007. The nominations announced on Tuesday also include three African American women and a Muslim American. If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Zahid N Quraishi would be the first Muslim American federal judge in US history. Of Pakistani descent, Judge Quraishi is a United States Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, a position he was appointed to in 2019. Prior to his appointment, Judge Quraishi was a partner at Riker Danzig where he chaired the firm''s White Collar Criminal Defense and Investigations Group and served as his firm''s first Chief Diversity Officer. ALSO READ: US President Joe Biden's dog 'Major' involved in second biting incidentUS President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced his intent to nominate Indian-American Rupa Ranga Puttagunta as a federal judge, among 10 other diverse picks for top judicial positions which include African-American and Muslim American candidates.Among the presidential nominations, 10 are for Federal Circuit and District Court judge posts, and one is for Superior Court Judge for the District of Columbia.These highly-qualified candidates reflect the president's deeply-held conviction that the federal bench should reflect the full diversity of the American people - both in background and in professional experience, the White House said.If confirmed by the US Senate, Judge Puttagunta would be the first Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) woman to serve on the US District Court for the District of DC, the White House said.Judge Puttagunta currently serves as an Administrative Judge for the D.C. Rental Housing Commission. Prior to joining the Commission in 2019, Judge Puttagunta was a solo practitioner from 2013 to 2019, representing indigent criminal defendants in trial and on appeal.Before opening her own practice, Judge Puttagunta practised family and appellate law at Delaney McKinney, LLP from 2012 to 2013.While working on domestic relations matters in private practice, Judge Puttagunta also provided hundreds of hours of pro bono legal services by volunteering at D.C. Superior Court''s Family Court Self-Help Center and Attorney Negotiator Program and representing victims of domestic violence in D.C. Superior Court.Judge Puttagunta began her legal career as a law clerk for Judge William M. Jackson of the D.C. Superior Court from 2008 to 2010, as well as the Senior Judges of the D.C. Court of Appeals from 2010 to 2011.Judge Puttagunta received her Juris Doctor degree from Ohio State Moritz College of Law in 2007.The nominations announced on Tuesday also include three African American women and a Muslim American. If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Zahid N Quraishi would be the first Muslim American federal judge in US history.Of Pakistani descent, Judge Quraishi is a United States Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, a position he was appointed to in 2019.Prior to his appointment, Judge Quraishi was a partner at Riker Danzig where he chaired the firm''s White Collar Criminal Defense and Investigations Group and served as his firm''s first Chief Diversity Officer.

Joe Biden nominates Indian-American Rupa Ranga Puttagunta as judge of DC District Court

If confirmed by the US Senate, Judge Puttagunta would be the first Asian American and Pacific Islander woman to serve on the US District Court for the District of DC, the White House said.

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Denouncing the economic and political isolation of Qatar by several Gulf countries, Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today termed it ‘inhumane and against Islamic values’.Erdogan’s remarks came after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Qatar last week for “supporting Islamist militants and Iran”."A very grave mistake is being made in Qatar, isolating a nation in all areas is inhumane and against Islamic values. It's as if a death penalty decision has been taken for Qatar," Erdogan told his party members in Ankara in a televised address.Erdogan also defended Qatar by saying that Doha has taken decisive stand against the Islamic State."Qatar has shown the most decisive stance against the terrorist organisation Islamic State alongside Turkey. Victimising Qatar through smear campaigns serves no purpose," he added.The Turkish President further said that he will discuss the recent developments in the region with French President Emmanuel Macron and the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani.He also requested the Saudi King Salman to take the lead in resolving the crisis. 

Isolation of Qatar ‘inhumane and against Islamic values’, says Turkey President Erdogan

"A very grave mistake is being made in Qatar, isolating a nation in all areas is inhumane and against Islamic values. It's as if a death penalty decision has been taken for Qatar," Erdogan told his party members in Ankara.

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China today said that India should draw strong lessons from the stand-off in Doklam sector to avoid similar incidents in future. Colonel Wu Qian, spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Defence, claimed that Doklam is a part of China’s territory and reiterated his country’s view that India had ‘illegally trespassed’.Related Stories Watch: Satellite images show full-fledged Chinese military build-up with seven helipads in DoklamStatus quo at face-off site in Doklam not altered: MEA Will keep building infrastructure in Doklam, India should not comment, says ChinaChina justifies infrastructure building in Doklam, says ‘India has no business to comment on it’“We hope the Indian side can draw lessons to avoid similar incidents repeating in the future,” he said while responding to the recent remarks of Indian Army Chief General Bipan Rawat that Dokalam is a disputed territory between China and Bhutan."Donglong (Dokalam) is part of China," Wu added.General Rawat had recently said that India needs to shift focus from its border with Pakistan to that of China and spoke of pressure being exerted by Beijing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC)."The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) of China has occupied the area in the west of Torsa nullah called northern Dokalam. At the actual spot the two sides have disengaged. The tents remain. The observation posts remain. This is a territory disputed between Bhutan and China," he had said.The Chinese official further said that the "the remarks of the Indian side also shows that the illegal crossing of the Indian border troops is clear in fact and nature".Referring to Gen Rawat’s remarks that India should take the neighbouring countries along with it to deal with China, Wu said, "I want to emphasise that the country should be treated equally regardless of its size. The concept sphere of influence is demonstration of Cold War mentality. The Chinese side (is) always opposed to it.”Rawat had said that countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have to be kept on board as part of a broader strategy to deal with China, and India must make "wholehearted" efforts to continue extending support to them.Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Dokalam since June 16 after the Indian side stopped construction of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. Bhutan and China have a dispute over Dokalam. The face-off had ended on August 28.Wu also denied reports that China plans to establish a military base or counter terrorism base in Afghanistan."The report on China building a military base in Afghanistan is totally groundless," he added.With PTI Inputs 

China says Doklam part of its territory, advises India to draw lessons from stand-off

Colonel Wu Qian, spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Defence, claimed that Doklam is a part of China’s territory and reiterated his country’s view that India had ‘illegally trespassed’.

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Extradition treaty between South Africa, UAE ratified paving way for trial of Gupta brothersAn extradition treaty between South Africa and the UAE have been ratified paving the way for Indian-origin businessmen Gupta brothers to be returned to the African nation from Dubai to stand trial for allegedly looting billions of Rands from state-owned institutions.Former South African Justice Minister Michael Masutha had signed the treaty in 2018.The UAE, however, signed the treaty on Tuesday, its embassy in Pretoria said in a statement."The treaties will enable the two countries to assist each other in the investigation and prosecution of crimes through mutual legal assistance and the extradition of fugitives," the statement said without referring to the Gupta brothers.Negotiations on the treaty started in 2010 but were reportedly hampered by issues raised by the UAE in the past three years that forced South Africa to turn to the UN and Interpol for assistance in bringing the Gupta brothers to book.Atul, Rajesh and their elder brother Ajay Gupta are accused of siphoning billions of Rands from state and parastatal agencies through their close association with former president Jacob Zuma, who is himself facing criminal charges.The ratification of the treaty came ahead of a protest planned by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation outside the UAE Embassy in Pretoria on Friday.Nishan Balton, the executive director of the foundation, said, "We welcome the ratification of the extradition treaty and now call on the UAE authorities to act swiftly in sending these criminals back to South Africa so that all citizens here can see them get their just desserts for the hard-earned taxpayers'' money that they looted."Last week, the National Prosecuting Authority here had asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice against Atul and Rajesh Gupta, their wives and business associates to bring them to South Africa so that they stand trial for their alleged role in an R25 million fraud and money laundering case linked to the failed Estina Dairy Farm project in Free State province.The US and the UK have already imposed sanctions and seized assets of the Gupta brothers and a close associate, Salim Essa, who is also believed to have fled to Dubai.Another associate, Iqbal Meer Sharma, once a top government official and later a businessman, was arrested last week and has been refused bail until his trial for fraud and corruption resumes on July 5. His assets have also been seized by the NPA."The writing is on the wall for the Guptas and their cronies. All these legal steps have brought a palpable sense of relief to South Africans just as they were getting a sense of despair about whether the criminals would ever be brought to book," Balton said. ALSO READ: Man named in Mehul Choksi's 'abduction' denies any link to caseALSO READ: I'm not his girlfriend and he's not my sugar daddy: Barbara on her relations with Mehul Choksi

Extradition treaty between South Africa, UAE ratified paving way for trial of Gupta brothers

Former South African Justice Minister Michael Masutha had signed the treaty in 2018. The UAE, however, signed the treaty on Tuesday, its embassy in Pretoria said in a statement.

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Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran KhanPakistan's opposition parties have vowed to bring down the beleaguered government of Prime Minister Imran Khan who is facing his toughest political test since assuming office in 2018.The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), which among others include Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-I), organised a big rally on the Srinagar Highway in Islamabad on Monday night.Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz and leader of the opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz who had started the rally from Lahore on March 26, arrived two days later in Islamabad to join the supporters of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and other Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) parties who had already set up a camp.Maryam, daughter and heir of former three-time premier Nawaz Sharif, castigated incumbent prime minister Khan for using the religious card to save his tottering throne."I challenge you to have 172 MNAs with you on the voting day on the no-trust motion," she said at the rally organised a day after Prime Minister Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party organised a massive rally here in his support.She accused Khan of putting down his most trusted Punjab Chief Minister, Usman Buzdar, to save his seat after the government decided to replace him with Chaudhry Pervez Elahi to win the support of his Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid party."You pushed your most trustworthy man (Buzdar) into the water to save your own rule. We have not seen such an ungrateful man in our whole lives," she said.She also said that Khan claimed a foreign conspiracy to topple him and blamed him for showing a fake letter at the rally a day earlier. She said Khan had lost people's confidence, as proved by the ruling party's defeat in 15 out of 16 by-elections in recent months.Several other PDM leaders also addressed the gathering and they also announced to change their rally into a sit-in and the workers would be camping until the vote of no- confidence was held.Khan, 69, is heading a coalition government and he can be removed if some of the partners decide to switch sides. The PTI has 155 members in the 342-member National Assembly and needs at least 172 lawmakers to retain power.The country plunged into uncertainty on March 8 after the combined opposition submitted the motion to the National Assembly along with a requisition to the speaker to summon the session within mandatory 14 days.The rally was organised in the wake of a no-trust move by the opposition on March 8. The voting on the motion would be held between March 31 and April 3.Khan came to power in 2018 with promises to create a 'Naya Pakistan' but miserably failed to address the basic problem of keeping the prices of commodities in control, giving air to the sails of opposition ships to make war on his government.READ MORE: No confidence motion tabled against PM Imran Khan in Pakistan National Assembly

Countdown begins for Pakistan PM Imran Khan's exit as he faces toughest political battle

Pakistan plunged into uncertainty on March 8 after the combined opposition submitted the motion to the National Assembly against the Imran Khan government.

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Indian-origin psychiatrist in US pays $145,000 to resolve allegations of overprescribing opioidsAn Indian-origin psychiatrist in the US has to pay USD 145,000 as settlement to resolve allegations that he overprescribed opioids to his patients outside the usual course of his professional practice, the Justice Department said. The USD 145,000 settlement stems from an investigation that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) initiated into whether Prakash Bhatia improperly prescribed opioids to his patients at his clinic in violation of the civil provisions of the Controlled Substances Act.Bhatia of San Diego previously owned and operated Progressive Health and Wellness clinic in California, practicing pain medicine. The Justice Department on Thursday said that according to the Controlled Substances Act, health care providers may write prescriptions for opioids only for a legitimate medical purpose while acting in the usual course of their professional practice.Based on its investigation, the DEA alleged that from March 2013 to December 2017, Bhatia wrote opioid prescriptions, including for drugs such as morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl and oxymorphone without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of his professional practice, in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. Bhatia prescribed these medications in combination with depressant medications (including benzodiazepines and muscle relaxants), which are known to increase the risk of abuse, addiction and overdose.“Overprescribing opioids to patients who need treatment for their pain has contributed to the opioid epidemic in this country,” US Attorney Robert Brewer said. The Justice Department said while it continues to aggressively investigate prescribers who brazenly seek to make money by writing opioid prescriptions to those who have no pain, the investigation signifies the department's willingness to scrutinize whether doctors treating patients who actually suffer painful conditions are nevertheless overprescribing opioids.“Health care providers treating patients who suffer from pain must still only prescribe opioids in accordance with recognized and accepted medical standards,” it said. DEA Special Agent in Charge John Callery said by holding the medical community accountable for improperly writing opioid prescriptions, they are ensuring that people are “safe from illicit prescribers who enable the abuse of prescription drugs for financial benefit.” 

Indian-origin psychiatrist in US pays $145,000 to resolve allegations of overprescribing opioids

An Indian-origin psychiatrist in the US has to pay USD 145,000 as settlement to resolve allegations that he overprescribed opioids to his patients outside the usual course of his professional practice, the Justice Department said.

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This is how an Apple Watch saved a man's life after detecting accidentIt all started when Gabe Burdett was waiting for his father Bob at their pre-designated location for some mountain biking at the Riverside State Park when he received a text alert from his dad's Apple Watch, saying it had detected a "hard fall".Burdett, from city of Spokane in Washington State later received another update from the Watch, saying his father had reached Sacred Heart Medical Center."We drove straight there but he was gone when we arrived. I get another update from the Watch saying his location has changed with a map location of SHMC. Dad flipped his bike at the bottom of Doomsday, hit his head and was knocked out until sometime during the ambulance ride," Burdett wrote in a Facebook post.The Watch notified 911 with the location and within 30 minutes, emergency medical services (EMS) took the injured Bob to the hospital."If you own an Apple Watch, set up your hard fall detection, it's not just for when you fall off a roof or a ladder," Burdett further posted."Had he fallen somewhere on the High Drive trails or another remote area, the location would have clued EMS in on where to find him. Amazing technology and so glad he had it," Burdett said.(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.6&appId=1530374180564359"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, "script", "facebook-jssdk")); There have been several examples where Apple Watch saved lives.A US doctor recently saved a person's life by using Apple Watch Series 4 on his wrist to detect atrial fibrillation (AFib) at a restaurant.An Apple Watch user in the UK was recently alerted about his low heart rate by the device. It revealed a serious heart condition that ultimately resulted in a surgery to fix the problem.(With inputs from IANS)

This is how an Apple Watch saved a man's life after detecting accident

“Dad flipped his bike at the bottom of Doomsday, hit his head and was knocked out until sometime during the ambulance ride. The watch had called 911 with his location and EMS had him scooped up and to the hospital in under a 1/2 hr,” says Gabe in his post.

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WHO said $54 million is needed to stop the Ebola outbreak. (Representational Image)The isolation ward for Ebola patients is a tent erected in the garden of the local hospital. Gloves are given out sparingly to health workers. And when the second person in this Uganda border town died after the virus outbreak spread from neighboring Congo, the hospital for several hours couldn’t find a vehicle to take away the body.“We don’t really have an isolation ward,” the Bwera Hospital’s administrator, Pedson Buthalha, told The Associated Press. “It’s just a tent. To be honest, we can’t accommodate more than five people.”Related Stories WHO: US experts not needed to fight Ebola outbreak in CongoSouth Sudan to begin Ebola vaccinations as 'very high risk'Elections in the time of Ebola: Congo to vote amid diseaseMedical workers leading Uganda’s effort against Ebola lament what they call limited support in the days since infected members of a Congolese-Ugandan family showed up, one vomiting blood. Three have since died.While Ugandan authorities praise the health workers as “heroes” and say they are prepared to contain the virus, some workers disagree, wondering where the millions of dollars spent on preparing for Ebola have gone if a hospital on the front line lacks basic supplies.“Even the gloves are not enough,” the hospital administrator said Thursday. “I give them out small small.” A nurse nodded in agreement.The World Health Organization on Friday said the Ebola outbreak is an “extraordinary event” of deep concern but does not yet merit being declared a global emergency. Such a declaration typically triggers more funding, resources and political attention. WHO said $54 million is needed to stop the outbreak.And yet both Congo and Uganda appeared to lobby against a declaration, with Congo counting the Uganda-related Ebola cases as its own, saying Congo was where the family members began developing symptoms. Ugandan authorities on Friday said they had only one suspected Ebola case remaining in the country.More than 1,400 people have died since this outbreak was declared in August in eastern Congo, one of the world’s most turbulent regions, where rebel attacks and community resistance have hurt Ebola response work. The virus can spread quickly via close contact with bodily fluids of those infected and can be fatal in up to 90% of cases, and identifying people who might have been exposed is crucial.While Ugandan health workers aren’t facing the violent attacks that have killed several Ebola responders in Congo, they remain at risk as they seek to isolate, test and treat for the virus. Basic equipment such as gloves is essential.At least two nurses at Bwera Hospital might have been exposed as they offered first aid to the infected family. They and some other contacts have since been quarantined in their homes. WHO says at least 98 such people have been identified in Uganda since the outbreak crossed the nearby border.A nurse, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid possible retribution, questioned why some people who might have been exposed to Ebola are allowed to stay at home.“I wish we could coordinate,” the hospital administrator said of the apparent confusion over how to manage the outbreak.Ugandan Health Minister Jane Aceng told the AP on Saturday that district officials in Kasese were to blame for limited medical supplies after delaying in submitting their budget.“It is clearly the responsibility of the district to order supplies,” she said. “If they haven’t done the orders we can’t supply because we don’t know how much they need.” As for upgrading the makeshift isolation ward in the hospital garden, she said “it is not economical. It is not cost-effective” to build permanent structures.Uganda has faced multiple Ebola outbreaks and is a regional leader in battling Ebola, even if this part of the country has never experienced an outbreak. Some Ugandan physicians were deployed to the West African outbreak of 2013-2016, the deadliest in history.Health workers in this outbreak now have the benefit of an experimental but effective Ebola vaccine that is being widely used, with more than 130,000 doses distributed. Uganda has vaccinated nearly 4,700 health workers, with more vaccinations set to begin on Saturday.Still, corruption is rampant, and many local people are scornful of government officials seen as out of touch.As Bwera Hospital tried to arrange a safe burial on Thursday for one of Uganda’s first Ebola victims, officials quickly realized there was no vehicle. The burial took place hours later and in darkness, which some residents called a sign of the government’s shortcomings.“This should have been done by the health office, the district health office,” said Moses Mugisa, clerk of the border town of Mpondwe-Lhubiriha, who eventually found transport for the corpse.In addition, he said, voluntary health teams screening for Ebola on the border have gone unpaid for about four months. He criticized the decision of government officials from Kampala, the capital, to visit only briefly after Uganda’s first Ebola case was announced.“We have a lot of work to do,” he said. 

Ugandan medics now tackling Ebola say they lack supplies

While Ugandan authorities praise the health workers as “heroes” and say they are prepared to contain the virus, some workers disagree, wondering where the millions of dollars spent on preparing for Ebola have gone if a hospital on the front line lacks basic supplies.

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External Affairs Minister Sushma SwarajAn Indian national and three persons of Indian-origin have been killed in Cincinnati in the US and the matter is being investigated by police there, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday.However, Swaraj ruled out the possibility of a hate crime.Related Stories Swaraj seeks report into kidnapping of 2 Hindu girls in Pak's Sindh province'Hum hain na': Swaraj assures to help Indian man in Saudi who threatened to commit 'suicide'"Indian Ambassador in United States @IndianEmbassyUS has informed me about the killing of four persons in Cincinnati on Sunday evening. One of them was an Indian national on a visit to US while others were persons of Indian origin," she tweeted.The matter is under investigation by police, but it is not a hate crime, Swaraj said."Our Consul General in New York is coordinating with the concerned authorities and will keep me informed me on this," she said.The victims were found by another relative who called the police, West Chester Police Chief Joel Herzog said."My wife and three other family members were on the ground and bleeding... they’re bleeding from the head," a man said on the 911 call that was released by the police."No one's talking, no one's talking," he shouted.A local religious leader on Monday identified the deceased as Hakikat Singh Panag, 59, his wife, Paramjit Kaur, 62, their daughter, Shalinder Kaur, 39, and his sister-in-law, Amarjit Kaur, 58.The were all shot to death around 9:50 p.m (local time) on Sunday, the report said.

Indian among four killed in US’ Cincinnati: Sushma Swaraj dismisses possibility of 'hate crime'

Four members of a Sikh family, including three women, have been shot in their home in Ohio's Cincinnati city on Sunday evening, authorities said.

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Coronavirus outbreak: South Korea's COVID-19 cases reach 5,328South Korea on Wednesday confirmed 142 more cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus, raising the total number of infections to 5,328. As of midnight, the number of infected patients totaled 5,328, up 142 from the previous announcement. Two more deaths were reported, taking the toll due to the coronavirus outbreak to 33, Xinhua reported.The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) updated the data twice a day at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Tuesday.The virus infection soared for the past two weeks, with 5,155 new cases reported from February 19 to March 3. The country has raised its four-tier virus alert to the highest "red" level. The total number of infections in Daegu, about 300 km southeast of Seoul, and its surrounding North Gyeongsang province increased to 4,006 and 774, respectively. It accounted for almost 90 percent of the total.Since January 3, the country has tested more than 136,000 people, among whom 102,965 tested negative for the virus and 28,414 were being checked.Seven more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, raising the combined number to 41.ALSO READ | North Korea fires unidentified projectiles into eastern sea, claims SeoulALSO READ | 5 frequently asked questions on Coronavirus answered 

Coronavirus outbreak: South Korea's COVID-19 cases reach 5,328

South Korea on Wednesday confirmed 142 more cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus, raising the total number of infections to 5,328. The country has raised its four-tier virus alert to the highest "red" level.

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Many videos and graphic images of the attacks went viral on social media. The Russian forces on Monday steered up their attacks on Ukraine, by launching a rocket strike on the country's second populous city of Kharkiv. The Ukrainian interior ministry had said that dozens weere killed in the attacks, and hundreds were injured critically. Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said in a post on Facebook: Kharkiv has just been massively fired upon by grads (rockets). Dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded, The Guardian reported.Many videos and graphic images of the attacks went viral on social media. Residents described intense shelling, with one woman saying it was "something like Star Wars above your head". Sharing the visuals on Twitter, BRITPAC chairman Henry Bolton wrote, "Russian Multi Launch Rocket System (MLRS) strikes in the city of Kharkiv this morning. Firing this sort of imprecise weapon system into civilian areas is an escalation, and breaches the rules of war."Another resident, university professor Dmitry Shabanov, said his family was fortunate to still have running water, BBC reported.READ MORE: India sending 4 Ministers to Ukraine's neighbouring countries to expedite evacuationREAD MORE: Mriya, world's largest aircraft, destroyed by Russia

Caught on cam: Massive Russian rockets hit Ukraine's Kharkiv, dozens killed

Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said in a post on Facebook: Kharkiv has just been massively fired upon by grads (rockets). Dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded, The Guardian reported.

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Representational ImageWest Bengal IPS officer Arnab Ghosh was on Thursday again interrogated by the CBI after he was grilled for more than nine hours on Wednesday in connection with the multi-crore Saradha Chit Fund scam case, a CBI source said.Ghosh was one of the members of the Special Investigation Team that initially probed the ponzi scam cases.The officer reached the CBI office at the CGO complex in Salt Lake around 10.10 a.m. Ghosh and a number of other Bengal police officers, including the first investigation officer of the Saradha case, has been interrogated by the CBI this week.The agency had also summoned former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar but he has sent a letter seeking seven days time as he was on leave.The CBI is yet to issue a fresh summon to Kumar.ALSO READ | To counter Sahara and Sardha like Ponzi schemes, Modi govt may bring a new bill 

Saradha scam: CBI again grills Bengal officer

The agency had also summoned former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar but he has sent a letter seeking seven days time as he was on leave.

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Debris and seafoam litter a beach after Cyclone Mekunu in Salalah, Oman on Saturday. Cyclone Mekunu blew into the Arabian Peninsula on Saturday, drenching arid Oman and Yemen with rain, cutting off power lines, officials said.A cyclone more powerful than any previously recorded in southern Oman slammed into the Gulf country and neighbouring Yemen on Saturday, deluging a major city with nearly three years’ worth of rainfall in a single day. The storm killed at least six people while more than 30 remain missing, officials said. According to reports, Yemen's fisheries minister Fahad Kafin has confirmed that casualties of the storm include two Indians. However, four Indian sailors who had been declared missing were found alive by rescue teams. Related Stories In pics: Cyclone Ockhi leaves trail of destruction across Kerala, Tamil NaduBomb Cyclone hits US: Massive winter storm brings snow, cold to eastern shoresRed alert issued in Australian state for cyclone KelvinCyclone Mekunu caused flash flooding that tore away whole roadways and submerged others in Salalah, Oman’s third-largest city, stranding drivers. Strong winds knocked over street lights and tore away roofing.Rushing waters from the rain and storm surge flooded typically dry creek beds. The holiday destination’s now-empty tourist beaches were littered with debris and foam from the churning Arabian Sea.Three people, including a 12-year-old girl, died in Oman, and another two bodies were recovered from the Yemeni island of Socotra. More than 30 people were still missing in Socotra, including Yemeni, Indian and Sudanese nationals.Yemeni officials also reported damage in the country’s far east, along the border with Oman. Rageh Bakrit, the governor of al-Mahra province, said on his official Twitter account late Friday that strong winds had blown down houses and taken out communication lines and water services. He said there were no fatalities in the province.India’s Meteorological Department said the storm packed maximum sustained winds of 170-180 kilometres (105-111 miles) per hour with gusts of up to 200 kph (124 mph). It called the cyclone “extremely severe.”Portions of Salalah, home to some 200,000 people, lost power as the cyclone made landfall.Branches and leaves littered the streets. Several underpasses became standing lakes. Some cars were left abandoned on the road. Electrical workers began trying to repair lines in the city while police and soldiers in SUVs patrolled the streets. On the outskirts of the city, near the Salalah International Airport, what once was a dry creek bed had become a raging river.The airport, closed since Thursday, will reopen early Sunday, Oman’s Public Authority for Civil Aviation said. The Port of Salalah — a key gateway for the country and for Qatar amid a regional diplomatic dispute — remained closed, its cranes secured against the pounding rain and winds.Omani forecasters said Salalah and the surrounding area would get at least 200 millimetres (7.87 inches) of rain, over twice the city’s annual downfall. It actually received 278.2 mm, nearly three times its annual rainfall.Authorities remained worried about flash flooding in the area’s valleys and potential mudslides down its nearby cloud-shrouded mountains. In nearby Wadi Darbat, the storm’s rains supercharged its famous waterfall.Police and others continued their rescue efforts even as the winds and rains calmed. Capt. Tarek al-Shanfari of the Royal Oman Police’s public relations department said there had been at least three fatalities in the storm, including the death of a 12-year-old girl who was hit in the head by a door flung open by the wind.An Asian labourer died in a flooded valley and an Omani national in a 4x4 died when his vehicle was swept away, al-Shanfari said. Oman’s National Committee for Civil Defense announced a fourth death early Sunday, without offering details.On Socotra, authorities relocated over 230 families to sturdier buildings and other areas, including those more inland and in the island’s mountains, Yemeni security officials said.Flash floods engulfed Socotra’s streets, cutting electricity and communication lines. Some humanitarian aid from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates arrived on the island just hours after the cyclone receded.Image Source : APAn Omani civil defence staff visits a road which has been cut by the flood water after Cyclone Merkunu in Salalah on Saturday.An Omani civil defence staff visits a road which has been cut by the flood water after Cyclone Merkunu in Salalah on Saturday.Yemeni security officials said rescuers recovered two bodies on Socotra, while more than 30 people remain missing. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.The island, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, has been the focus of a dispute between the UAE and Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which are ostensibly allied against Shiite rebels known as Houthis.Socotra has a unique ecosystem and is home to plants, snails and reptiles that can be found nowhere else.In Oman, Mohammed Omer Baomer warned his neighbours about a torn-away chunk of the road just down the street from his home after earlier getting his SUV stuck over it.“It was a scary feeling, as if it was the end of world,” he said of the cyclone. “You can’t even go outside. You try to watch from the window and you can’t.”Yet even as Mekunu barreled overhead, the eye of the storm provided a moment’s respite early Saturday morning. At one luxury hotel in Salalah, which already had evacuated its guests, workers sat down early for “suhoor,” a meal Muslims eat before sunrise during the holy fasting month of Ramadan. They laughed and shared plates by flashlight in a darkened ballroom, the cyclone’s wind a dull roar behind their clatter.(With inputs from AP)

Powerful cyclone strikes Oman, Yemen; 2 Indians among 6 dead, 30 others missing

Cyclone Mekunu caused flash flooding that tore away whole roadways and submerged others in Salalah, Oman’s third-largest city, stranding drivers. Strong winds knocked over street lights and tore away roofing.

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Pakistan closes corridor of its airspace after downgrading ties with IndiaAfter the Indian government abolished provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, Pakistan has closed a corridor in its airspace. However, according to national carrier Air India, its westbound operations will not be impacted much by Pakistan's decision to partially close its airspace.According to an Air India official, the move by the Imran Khan-led country will result in an additional up to 12 minutes of flying time for overseas flights. The flights will have to be diverted to other routes due to the closure, the official said."One air corridor has been closed (in Pakistani airspace), requiring a maximum of 12 minutes diversion. It will not affect us (much)," said the Air India spokesperson.Nearly 50 flights are operated by Air India through Pakistani airspace on a daily basis, which includes flights to the United States, Europe and the Middle East.Pakistan had closed its airspace on February 26, soon after the Balakot airstrikes. The airspace, however, was fully reopened on July 16.Article 370 of the Constitution, which was abolished by the Narendra Modi government, gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The government also bifurcated the state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.Article 370 granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir and allowed it to have its own flag and constitution, among other rights.Also Read | Pakistan downgrades diplomatic ties with India: Will Kulbhushan Jadhav issue be affected?Also Read | Downgrading diplomatic ties is Pakistan's knee jerk reaction: Punjab CMVideo: Pakistan National Security Committee decides to suspend of bilateral trade with India /* .jw-reset-text, .jw-reset{line-height: 2em;}*/ .jw-time-tip .jw-time-chapter{display:none;} if ('' == comscore_jw_loaded || 'undefined' == comscore_jw_loaded || undefined == comscore_jw_loaded) { var comscore_jw_loaded = 1; firstjw = document.getElementsByClassName('jwvidplayer')[0]; cs_jw_script = document.createElement('script'); cs_jw_script.src = 'https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/internal-c2/plugins/streamingtag_plugin_jwplayer.js'; firstjw.parentNode.insertBefore(cs_jw_script, firstjw.nextSibling); } var jwconfig_1618114964 = { "file": "https://indiatv-vh.akamaihd.net/i/vod/0_4tz635rq_,20,21,22,.mp4.csmil/master.m3u8", "image": "https://thumbs.indiatvnews.com/vod/0_4tz635rq_big_thumb.jpg", "title": "Pakistan National Security Committee decides to suspend of bilateral trade with India", "height": "440px", "width": "100%", "aspectratio": "16:9", "autostart": false, "controls": true, "mute": false, "volume": 25, "floating": false, "sharing": { "code": "", "sites": [ "facebook", "twitter", "email" ] }, "stretching": "exactfit", "primary": "html5", "hlshtml": true, "sharing_link": "", "advertising": { "client": "vast", "autoplayadsmuted": true, "skipoffset": 5, "cuetext": "", "skipmessage": "Skip ad in xx", "skiptext": "SKIP", "preloadAds": true, "schedule": [ { "offset": "pre", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_PreRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=", "type": "linear" }, { "offset": "50%", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_MidRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=" }, { "offset": "post", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_PostRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=", "type": "linear" } ] } }; var jwvidplayer_1618114964 = ''; jwsetup_1618114964(); function jwsetup_1618114964() { jwvidplayer_1618114964 = jwplayer("jwvidplayer_1618114964").setup(jwconfig_1618114964); jwvidplayer_1618114964.on('ready', function () { ns_.StreamingAnalytics.JWPlayer(jwvidplayer_1618114964, { publisherId: "20465327", labelmapping: "c2=\"20465327\", c3=\"IndiaTV News\", c4=\"null\", c6=\"null\", ns_st_mp=\"jwplayer\", ns_st_cl=\"0\", ns_st_ci=\"0_4tz635rq\", ns_st_pr=\"Pakistan National Security Committee decides to suspend of bilateral trade with India\", ns_st_sn=\"0\", ns_st_en=\"0\", ns_st_ep=\"Pakistan National Security Committee decides to suspend of bilateral trade with India\", ns_st_ct=\"null\", ns_st_ge=\"News\", ns_st_st=\"Pakistan National Security Committee decides to suspend of bilateral trade with India\", ns_st_ce=\"0\", ns_st_ia=\"0\", ns_st_ddt=\"2019-08-07\", ns_st_tdt=\"2019-08-07\", ns_st_pu=\"IndiaTV News\", ns_st_cu=\"https://indiatv-vh.akamaihd.net/i/vod/0_4tz635rq_,20,21,22,.mp4.csmil/master.m3u8\", ns_st_ty=\"video\"" }); }); jwvidplayer_1618114964.on('all', function (r) { if (jwvidplayer_1618114964.getState() == 'error' || jwvidplayer_1618114964.getState() == 'setupError') { jwvidplayer_1618114964.stop(); jwvidplayer_1618114964.remove(); jwvidplayer_1618114964 = ''; jwsetup_1618114964(); return; } }); jwvidplayer_1618114964.on('error', function (t) { jwvidplayer_1618114964.stop(); jwvidplayer_1618114964.remove(); jwvidplayer_1618114964 = ''; jwsetup_1618114964(); return; }); jwvidplayer_1618114964.on('mute', function () { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_1618114964.on('adPlay', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_1618114964.on('adPause', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_1618114964.on('pause', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_1618114964.on('error', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_1618114964.on('adBlock', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); }

Spooked over abrogation of Article 370, Pakistan closes corridor of its airspace after downgrading ties with India

Upset over the scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan has closed a corridor of its airspace. The move will result in an additional 12 minutes by the Indian flights. Meanwhile, Air India has said the westbound operations will not be much affected by Pakistan's decision to close its airspace.

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A mail-in official ballot for the 2020 General Election in the United States is shown Monday, Oct. 12, 2020 in Havertown, Pa. “So 2020” is a new phrase that made its way into America’s political lexicon this year. It has come to describe all things unexpected, unsettling and unprecedented. This includes the vitriolic political discourse that has deepened the partisan divide, the coronavirus pandemic, economic woes, social upheaval after police killings of Black people, massive protests, smashed up storefronts.Here are two political terms — “cancel culture” and “QAnon” — that are “so 2020″ themselves. What do they mean?CANCEL CULTURE: It’s the idea of cancelling, or basically running a person, idea or belief out of public discourse by people who hold opposing views. It’s a kind of shaming in the public square — or on social media — that has made some afraid to speak up.At the GOP convention, Republicans accused the “radical left” of trying to undermine free speech by targeting and bullying anyone who doesn’t share their ideas.Some on the left maintain that cancel culture doesn’t exist at all — or that it’s happening on the right as well. They point to Colin Kaepernick, the NFL quarterback who took a knee during the national anthem in 2016 to take a stand against police brutality and racial injustice. Politicians, including President Donald Trump, team owners, fellow players and Americans at large condemned him. Fans burned his jersey, and he eventually lost his job.Some believe that the practice of what amounts to shouting down in public certain people or beliefs has restricted free speech in America. Others say the discourse, especially on social media, has expanded free expression — and that it’s not about free speech but about the right to take issue with offensive or outdated ideas.QANON: It’s a right-wing, pro-Trump conspiracy theory born in a dark corner of the internet that has crept into mainstream politics. The theory, promoted by extremists, is based on cryptic postings by the anonymous “Q,” who purported to be a government insider with access to classified information. The first Q posting appeared in October 2017.QAnon followers contend that a group of Satan-worshiping pedophiles — that includes Hollywood actors and Democratic politicians — is running a global child sex-trafficking ring and plotting against Trump. They also believe thousands of “deep state” operatives and top Democrats will eventually be rounded up and sent to Guantanamo Bay during a reckoning dubbed “The Storm.”In May 2019, an FBI bulletin mentioning QAnon warned that conspiracy theory-driven extremists had become a domestic terrorism threat and were likely to commit violent crimes inspired by their fringe beliefs. Yet, Trump praised QAnon supporters during a White House press briefing in August.“I heard that these are people that love our country,” he said in his first public comments on the subject. Trump insisted that he hadn’t heard much about the movement, “other than I understand they like me very much” and “it is gaining in popularity.”Vice President Mike Pence has dismissed QAnon.A few proponents of the QAnon conspiracy theory won Republican primaries and are running for seats in state legislatures this year, breathing oxygen into the conspiracy movement.Some of the legislative candidates have repeatedly shared QAnon memes and interacted extensively with social media accounts promoting the conspiracy. They make up a tiny share of the thousands of state legislative candidates on the ballot in November and many are longshots. But several, including in Arizona, Minnesota and Wisconsin, are running in competitive districts.(Except for the headline, Indiatvnews.com has not edited anything in the copy)US Elections 2020: Full CoverageUS Election 2020 LIVE UpdatesUS Election 2020: How America elects its President. All you need to know

US Election 2020: Some new political terms explained

Some believe that the practice of what amounts to shouting down in public certain people or beliefs has restricted free speech in America. Others say the discourse, especially on social media, has expanded free expression.

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The gunman behind a rampage in Northern California was out on bail charged with stabbing a neighbour, others had complained about him firing hundreds of rounds from his house, and he had been the subject of a domestic violence call the day before the attack.Yet Kevin Neal was free and able to use a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns yesterday to shoot 14 people, killing four, in seven different locations across his rural community, including an elementary school, before he died in a shootout with police.It's not yet clear what the terms of Neal's bail were, and whether he would have been allowed to possess and fire the weapons on his property at the end of a dirt road in Rancho Tehama Reserve. Nor did sheriff's officials give details on the domestic violence call.But his many contacts with authorities raised questions of why he was out of custody and able to go on the 45-minute rampage that began with the killing of two neighbours in an apparent act of revenge before he went looking for random victims.Cristal Caravez and her father live across a ravine from the roadway where the gunman and his first victims lived. She said they and others heard constant gunfire from the area of the gunman's house, but couldn't say for sure it was him firing."You could hear the yelling. He'd go off the hinges," she said. The shooting, "it would be during the day, during the night, I mean, it didn't matter."She and her father, who is president of the homeowners association, said neighbours would complain to the sheriff's department, which referred the complaints back to the homeowners association."The sheriff wouldn't do anything about it," said Juan Caravez.The gunman's sister, Sheridan Orr, said her brother had struggled with mental illness throughout his life and at times had a violent temper.She said Neal had "no business" owning firearms. Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston said the shooter was facing charges of assaulting one of the feuding neighbours in January and that she had a restraining order against him.Johnston did not comment on the shooter's access to firearms.Johnston declined to identify the shooter until his relatives were notified, but he confirmed the gunman was charged with assault in January and had a restraining order placed against him.The district attorney, Gregg Cohen, told the Sacramento Bee he is prosecuting a man named Kevin Neal in that case.Neal's mother told The Associated Press her son, who was a marijuana grower, was in a long-running dispute with neighbours he believed were cooking methamphetamine.The mother, who spoke on condition she be named only as Anne because she fears for her safety, lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she raised Neal.She said she posted his USD 160,000 bail and spent USD 10,000 on a lawyer after he was arrested in January for stabbing a neighbour.Neal's mother said the neighbour was slightly cut after Neal grabbed a steak knife out of the hand of the neighbour who was threatening him with it.She wept as she told The Associated Press she spoke to Neal on the phone on Monday."Mom it's all over now," she said he told her. "I have done everything I could do and I am fighting against everyone who lives in this area."She said Neal apologised to her during their brief conversation, she thought for all the money she had spent on him, saying he was "on a cliff" and the people around him were trying to "execute" him."I think the motive of getting even with his neighbours and when it went that far, he just went on a rampage," Johnston said.Police said surveillance video shows the shooter unsuccessfully trying to enter a nearby elementary school after quick-thinking staff members locked the outside doors and barricaded themselves inside when they heard gunshots.Johnston said the gunman spent about six minutes shooting into Rancho Tehama Elementary School before driving off to continue shooting elsewhere. Johnston said one student was shot but is expected to survive.He said the 45-minute rampage ended when a patrol car rammed the stolen vehicle the shooter was driving and killed him in a shootout.Johnston said officials received multiple 911 calls about gunfire at an intersection of two dirt roads. Minutes later, more calls reporting shots flooded in from different locations, including the school.Witnesses reported hearing gunshots and children screaming at the school, which has one class of students from kindergarten through fifth grade.The shootings occurred in the rural community of Rancho Tehama Reserve, a homeowners association in a sparsely populated area of rolling oak woodlands dotted with grazing cattle about 130 miles north of Sacramento.

California shooter Kevin Neal who killed 4, injured 10 was out on bail

Kevin Neal, who killed 4 people and injured 10 others in seven different locations across his rural community in California, was out on bail charged with stabbing a neighbour.

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India is ‘behaving like a mature power’ in the Doklam standoff in the Sikkim section and making China look like an adolescent throwing a tamper tantrum, a top American defence expert has said.India and China have been locked in a face-off in the Doklam area for the last 50 days after Indian troops stopped the Chinese People's Liberation Army from building a road in the area.Praising India's behaviour over the matter, James R Holmes, professor of strategy at the prestigious US Naval War College, said, "New Delhi has done things right thus far, neither backing away from the dispute nor replying in kind to Beijing's over-the-top rhetoric.""It is behaving as the mature power and making China look like the adolescent throwing a temper tantrum," Holmes said.Holmes said it was 'weird' that China wanted to keep alive a boundary dispute with its most formidable neighbour."If China wants to pursue an assertive maritime strategy, it needs secure borders on land so it doesn't have to worry about overland aggression from its neighbours," Holmes said."In other words, confronting India in the Himalayas is not a purely rational course of action driven by rational cost/benefit analysis," said the professor from the US Naval War College.When asked why the US has remained silent so far on this issue, he said the current administration has too much on its plate."It's also possible Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and his advisers don't want the United States involved in a Himalayan dispute it has little way of influencing. If the dispute escalates, chances are Washington will come out in support of New Delhi," Holmes said.

India behaving like mature power in Doklam standoff: US defence expert

India and China have been locked in a face-off in the Doklam area for the last 50 days after Indian troops stopped the Chinese People's Liberation Army from building a road in the area.

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Jim Mattis. The United States on Tuesday said that it will end its suspension of military drills on the Korean peninsula. Addressing the reporters, US Defence Secretary James Mattis said; "We took the step to suspend several of the largest military exercises as a good faith measure. We have no plans to suspend anymore".Mattis, however, did not give any indication on when would the drills resume. "We are going to see how the negotiations go, and then we will calculate the future, how we go forward," he said.Related Stories China 'intimidating, coercing' neighbours in South China Sea: US Defence Secretary James MattisUS Defence Secretary James Mattis praises PM Modi for warning about dangers of loans that are 'too good to be true'US Defence Secretary James Mattis to visit China to discuss denuclearisation of North Korea Earlier in June following President Trump's historic summit with North Korean supremo Kim Jong Un in Singapore, the United States said that would suspend "select" exercises with South Korea, including the large-scale Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises slated for August, making good on a Trump summit pledge.US and South Korean forces have been training together for years, and routinely rehearse everything from beach landings to an invasion from the North, or even "decapitation" strikes targeting the North Korean regime.

US to end suspension of military drills on Korean peninsula, says Jim Mattis

"We took the step to suspend several of the largest military exercises as a good faith measure. We have no plans to suspend anymore", said Mattis.

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In a new directive, the Trump administration has made it more difficult for the renewal of non-immigrant visas such as H-1B and L1, popular among Indian IT professionals, saying that the burden of proof lies on the applicant even when an extension is sought. Rescinding its more than 13-year-old policy, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said that the burden of proof in establishing eligibility is, at all times, on the petitioner. USCIS said the previous memorandum of April 23, 2004 appeared to place this burden on this federal agency. "This memorandum makes it clear that the burden of proof remains on the petitioner, even where an extension of non-immigrant status is sought," USCIS said in its latest memorandum issued on October 23. Under the previous policy, if a person was once found to be eligible for a work visa initially, they would usually be considered for extension of their visa. Now during every extension, they need to prove to the federal authorities that they are still eligible for the visa they apply for. William Stock, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said that the change is being made retroactively to people already living in the country and not just to new visa applicants. "In adjudicating petitions for immigration benefits, including non-immigrant petition extensions, adjudicators must, in all cases, thoroughly review the petition and supporting evidence to determine eligibility for the benefit sought. "The burden of proof in establishing eligibility is, at all times, on the petitioner," the USCIS said. The new policy is in line with the Trump administration's goal to protect American workers from discrimination and replacement by foreign labour, NumberUSA website said. This new policy will make sure that only qualified H-1B workers will be allowed to stay in the US and will help crackdown on visa fraud and abuse, it added. 

Trump admin toughens rules on H-1B visa, makes it more difficult for extension

Trump administration has made it more difficult for the renewal of non-immigrant visas such as H-1B and L1, popular among Indian IT professionals.

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Donald Trump on border crisisUS President Donald Trump made a televised plea for border wall funding Tuesday night, seeking an edge in the shutdown battle with congressional Democrats as he declared there is "a humanitarian crisis, a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul".Addressing the nation from the Oval Office for the first time, Trump argued for funding on security and humanitarian grounds as he sought to put pressure on newly empowered Democrats amid an extended partial government shutdown.Related Stories 'Will consider new way to safeguard our interests if US doesn't keep its promise': Kim Jong-un warns TrumpTrump invites Congressional leaders to end government shutdownWant ‘great relationship’ with Pakistan; meeting with new leadership of country ‘very soon’: TrumpDonald Trump offers condolences to kin of slain Indian-origin policemanDonald Trump 'threatens' to continue with US govt shutdown for yearsUS Congress shutdown drags on; Donald Trump says 'not much headway' in talksPentagon chief of staff Kevin Sweeney resignsNeed to deal with Democrats to end shutdown, says Donald TrumpSyria conflict: John Bolton says US withdrawal conditionalPM Modi, Donald Trump talk over phone; take positive note of bilateral cooperation The US president called on Democrats to return to the White House to meet with him, saying it was "immoral" for "politicians to do nothing."Trump, who has long railed against illegal immigration at the border, has recently seized on humanitarian concerns to argue there is a broader crisis that can only be solved with a wall along the US-Mexico border.But critics say the security risks are overblown and his administration is at least partly to blame for the humanitarian situation.Trump has been discussing the idea of declaring a national emergency to allow him to circumvent Congress and move forward with the wall. But he made no mention of such a declaration Tuesday night.Democrats have vowed to block funding for a wall, which they say would be immoral and ineffective, and have called on Trump to reopen shuttered portions of the government while border negotiations continue.

Trump urges wall funding to fix US-Mexico border crisis in TV address

Trump, who has long railed against illegal immigration at the border, has recently seized on humanitarian concerns to argue there is a broader crisis that can only be solved with a wall along the US-Mexico border.

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Indian man in FBI most-wanted list: Information on him can fetch you ₹74 lakhThe US' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is reminding the public of a $100,000-reward offer for information leading to the capture of Indian-origin Bhadreshkumar Chetanbhai Patel, who has been listed by the agency as one of the "10 Most Wanted" since 2017.Patel has been on the run since 2015 when he allegedly killed his wife, Palak, with a knife inside a Dunkin Donuts coffee shop in Hanover, Maryland state.He has been charged with murder.Although he was put on the list in 2017 with the $100,000 (Rs 74 lakh approx) reward for information leading to his capture he has not been caught and on Friday the FBI tweeted information about him and the reward to draw attention to the case and the reward offer.The FBI is asking anyone who knows where he is to contact the agency or the nearest US consulate or embassy.Patel, who was 24 at that time, allegedly hit his 21-year-old wife in the face with a kitchen knife and stabbed her several times in the backroom of the shop where they both worked while customers were still there, according to officials quoted by WTOP radio.He was last known to have taken a taxi from a hotel in New Jersey to a train station in Newark in the state.Tim Altomare, who was the police chief of Anne Arundel County at that time, told the radio: "The violence in this case was stark. It was heart-wrenching and it was a shock to our collective conscience on the police department."WTOP reported that investigators think that Patel was still in the US in 2017 when he was put on the FBI list and according to Altomare investigators believe that someone was knowingly helping Patel or was interacting with him without knowing about his alleged crime.The radio reported that according to Gordon Johnson, who was the special agent in charge of the FBI's Baltimore field office in 2017, Patel was put on the list because of the brutality of the crime and the likelihood that someone outside the US knows where he was.The couple's visas expired about a month before the killing and investigators believe that Palak Patel wanted to return to India, but her husband opposed it, WTOP reported.The FBI's notice says that the accused "should be considered armed and extremely dangerous".According to the FBI he was born in Kantrodi Ta Viramgam in Gujarat.

Indian man in FBI most-wanted list: Information on him can fetch you ₹74 lakh

The US' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is reminding the public of a $100,000-reward offer for information leading to the capture of Indian-origin Bhadreshkumar Chetanbhai Patel, who has been listed by the agency as one of the "10 Most Wanted" since 2017.

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Jaffna-based rights’ activist and former United Nations advisor Dr Maravanpulavu Sachithananthan with New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi during his visit to the city last weekMaking a strong pitch for the inclusion of Sri Lankan Hindus under the amended Citizenship Act, Jaffna-based rights’ activist and former United Nations advisor Dr Maravanpulavu Sachithananthan told India TV in an exclusive interview that New Delhi must either create pathways for citizenship for Sri Lankan Hindus or negotiate their rehabilitation in Sri Lanka with Colombo.He also heads an outfit, Siva Senai, involved in fighting “coercive conversion” of Sri Lankan Hindus to other religions, including Christianity and Islam. He was in New Delhi for a two-day visit last week, during which he caught up with India TV's Dhairya Maheshwari.Edited excerpts:Why should Sri Lankan Tamil refugees be included in the ambit of the Citizenship Amendment Act? The Sri Lankan government says that efforts are on to rehabilitate the war refugees, mostly Tamilian Hindus, in the wake of the Sri Lankan Civil War.The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 is a great boon to the refugee Hindus. Hindus from the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, where there have been reports of persecution of minorities, will finally have a state to call their own.In the case of Sri Lankan refugees, approximately 1.5 million refugees, mostly Tamilian Hindus, have migrated to 40 different countries. More than a lakh Tamilian refugees in India have been living in refugee camps for almost 35 years now. Besides India, all the other Sri Lankan refugees who have gone to these 40 countries are in a state to exercise their rights as citizens, or permanent residents, of their respective countries. They even have the facilities to travel back to Sri Lanka. They have become ministers. They have become mayors. They have become members of parliament in their new homelands.Sadly, in the case of Sri Lankan refugees in India, they have failed to realise their full potential because of their inability to hold full-time jobs. They do not even have permission to travel around India freely. Even in Sri Lanka after the end of the Civil War in 2009, refugees were eventually released from the confinement of camps and rehabilitated into the mainstream.But the refugees in India are stuck in limbo. They can’t apply for government jobs. They can’t apply at universities. About 20 per cent of those refugees were born here. They don’t even know anything about Sri Lanka.While the Indian government’s consistent position has been that all these Sri Lankan refugees must return to Sri Lanka one day, the fact remains that the political, emotional, economic and educational climate for their return is not conducive enough. New Delhi has been unable to push the Sri Lankan government to accept the provisions of the Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord of 1987, which called granting more autonomy to the provinces.In this backdrop, New Delhi must either grant citizenship to Sri Lankan refugees under the CAA or facilitate their return to Sri Lanka. I would like to reiterate that Sri Lankan refugees could only return to their homeland if the 1987 Accord is implemented in letter and spirit. At present, we are faced with a situation where the traditional homeland of Sri Lankan Tamils has been split.However, they can’t stay here as stateless people as well. A solution, therefore, must be arrived at soon.Overall, how receptive has India been to these concerns of Sri Lankan Hindus?Well, there is no other country that the Sri Lankan Hindus look up to for support other than India. India is involved in a significant way, politically and economically, in re-developing the war-ravaged northern region of Sri Lanka. Most of the commitments made to Sri Lankan Tamils during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Jaffna in 2015 have or are being fulfilled.The Indian government also believes that there has to be a pathway for citizenship for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees currently residing in camps.India is like a big brother and it will continue to remain so for the Sri Lankan Hindus.How would you characterise the current situation of Sri Lankan Tamils living in the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka?Sri Lankan Hindus are in a state of despair. While the war is no more, the post-war situation is traumatic, to say the least. Lakhs of them have been displaced. Our schools are in shambles. The health system is in a state of disrepair. The overall infrastructure is broken. The push to resettle the war refugees is not happening as planned, which is mainly because the 1987 Rajiv Gandhi-Junius Jayewardene is not being implemented fully by the Sri Lankan government.Unfortunately for the Sri Lankan Hindus, Christian missionaries and Islamic preachers are taking advantage of the deplorable situation since the war ended back in 2009. They are poor. They are displaced. So, the money from overseas, mainly channelled from the Gulf region and the West, is being used to lure them towards these religions. At present, there are some 560 Christian missionary groups in Sri Lanka who are converting the Sri Lankan Hindus to Christianity. The constitution of Christians as part of overall population has increased from six to eight per cent. Muslims now make approximately 10 per cent of Sri Lanka’s population, up from seven per cent. On the other hand, the number of Sri Lankan Tamils have come down from 25 per cent of overall population to just 12.5 per cent at present.Could you also throw some light on the impact that the Easter Bombings of April 2019 have had on the overall political landscape of Sri Lanka?Let me state one thing from the outset. The radical Islamist groups were armed by the Sri Lankan government during the Civil War. They were provided with all sorts of assistance so they could help the Sri Lankan armed forces in fighting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).So, after the war ended, these radical Islamist groups emerged so strong that they started asserting themselves, politically as well as through other ways, in the northern and eastern provinces, which had been the traditional homelands for Sri Lankan Tamils.The effects of this policy of helping the Islamist groups has resulted in the Muslim population in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka registering a steep rise, from just three to four per cent in 1901 to over 40 per cent at present.What’s the purpose of your current visit to Delhi?I am here to appeal to the Indian government to resume the ferry service from the northern part of Sri Lanka to the southern part of India. The ferry service from the Talamanier pier of Sri Lanka was shelved a few years ago but efforts have been on to resume the services. I met several Indian lawmakers and appealed to them to begin the service, which would help in building people-to-people ties between people of Sri Lanka and India.

Radical Islamists were armed by Sri Lankan govt in Civil War; urge India to do more for Hindus: Siva Senai

Jaffna-based rights’ activist and former United Nations advisor Dr Maravanpulavu Sachithananthan told India TV in an exclusive interview that New Delhi must either create pathways for citizenship for Sri Lankan Hindus or negotiate their rehabilitation in Sri Lanka with Colombo

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Representational image.A Hindu businessman was shot dead in Pakistan's Sindh province after alleged disputes over the land issues in the Ghotki district. The victim has been identified as Satan Lal.Reports said that the businessman was shot by influential elements belonging to the Dahar community.The Express Tribune quoted a friend of Satan Lal, Mukhi Anil Kumar, who said that there was an inauguration of a cotton factory and flour mill on the land of Satan Lal where some people shot him dead.Further reports said that they first initially thought it was the aerial firing to welcome Saen Sadhram Saheb, a community spiritual leader.Earlier in a viral video, Satan Lal said that he was being threatened, and being forced to leave Pakistan.They are threatening to kill me, smash my eyes, and cut my hands and feet. They are asking me to leave Pakistan. I belong to this country and will prefer to die here but will not surrender.Angry community people protested and blocked a highway post killing of a Hindu businessman.ALSO READ | J&K: Terrorist killed during encounter in Shopian's Nadigam areaALSO READ | Punjab Election 2022: Will support Sidhu if Congress names him CM candidate, says CM Channi | EXCLUSIVE

Hindu businessman shot dead in Pakistan's Sindh province

A few days ago, Satan Lal in a video had said that he was being threatened and forced to leave Pakistan.

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63% adults have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose: Joe BidenRiding on strong vaccination numbers at home where more than 63 per cent of American adults have received at least one dose, US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday the US will donate 75 per cent of its unused Covid-19 vaccine stockpile to the United Nations-led COVAX global vaccine program which has delivered less than 80 million doses so far.Here's the breakdown of the numbers coming out of the White House: The first batch accounts for 25 million doses. Of that, 19 million will be earmarked for three regions: 6 million for South and Central America, 7 million for Asia and 5 million for Africa.Within Asia, the allocated 7 million vaccines will go to India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, and the Pacific Islands.The remaining 6 million will be divvied up between more than 15 countries: Mexico, Canada, South Korea, West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Ukraine, Kosovo, Haiti, Georgia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Yemen, and United Nations frontline workers.The initial 25 million doses will be a mix of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The White House also announced lifting restrictions on vaccines from AstraZeneca, Sanofi and Novavax - these three are not authorized for use in the USThe White House confirmed that 1 million Johnson & Johnson doses are headed to South Korea. More than 500,000 South Korean troops serve alongside American soldiers in the country. Mexico and Canada have already received a combined 4.5 million doses.By the end of June 2021, the US plan is to share 80 million doses globally, mostly via COVAX. Biden plans to hold back about 25 per cent of the nation's stock for domestic emergencies and for allies."As long as this pandemic is raging anywhere in the world, the American people will still be vulnerable," Biden said.National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the US "will retain the say" on the ultimate destination for vaccines released through the COVAX pipeline.READ MORE: Kamala Harris dials PM Modi, assures supply of Covid vaccine under global sharing planREAD MORE: Vaccinating 1 crore people a day ambitious, but not impossible: CEA Subramanian 

63% adults have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose: Joe Biden

US will donate 75 per cent of its unused Covid-19 vaccine stockpile to the United Nations-led COVAX global vaccine program which has delivered less than 80 million doses so far.

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Tropical Storm Humberto moved away from the Bahamas on Saturday after dumping rain on parts of the archipelago’s northwest region that were already hammered by Hurricane Dorian two weeks ago.Humberto dropped rain on the islands as U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres visited the Bahamas to support humanitarian efforts in the wake of Dorian, which hit as a Category 5 storm that left thousands in need of food, water and shelter. The list of missing stands at an alarming 1,300 people and the death toll at 50. But officials caution the list is preliminary and many people could just be unable to connect with loved ones.Image Source : AP Still reeling from Dorian, Bahamas hit by tropical storm Still reeling from Dorian, Bahamas hit by tropical storm The storm originally threatened to exacerbate the nation’s problems, but conditions appeared to normalize Saturday afternoon.At 5 p.m. EDT, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Humberto was located about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Great Abaco Island and was moving 7 mph (11 kph) north-northwest with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph). The Bahamian government discontinued a tropical storm warning.Weather forecasters say Humberto will likely become a hurricane by Sunday night as it moves away from the Bahamas and the U.S. coast, but won’t threaten land by the time it intensifies to that strength. Its swells could still affect the coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina later this weekend and early next week.Under a bright sun in the Grand Bahama, 40-year-old maintenance man Dexter Wilson was helping a friend put a blue tarp on a damaged roof. He said he was worried about his brother in Abaco given the tropical storm.“He’s still there. I don’t know why,” he said.The hurricane center said most of Humberto’s heavy squalls were occurring north and east of the center of the storm, which passed just east of Abaco. However, government officials in the Bahamas took no chances and urged people in damaged homes to seek shelter as they announced that aid efforts would be temporarily affected.“The weather system will slow down logistics,” said Carl Smith, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency.The distribution of meals in Grand Bahama was reduced ahead of the storm, and a spokesman for the United Nations World Food Program said all flights into its logistics hub in Marsh Harbor in Abaco were suspended.Later Saturday, WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel said the agency had resumed activities in Marsh Harbor.“Our team is back at work to support the population and relief organizations,” Verhoosel said in a statement.Dave McGregor, president and COO of the Grand Bahama Power Company, said crews would resume restoring power as soon as possible.“We are back in storm preparation mode again, unfortunately,” he said.Guterres, who was in Abaco on Saturday, said he was “horrified” by the level of “systematic devastation.”“Hurricane Dorian has been classified as Category 5. I think it’s Category Hell,” the U.N. secretary-general said after his visit.He said storms powered by climate change had grown more intense, and he implored the international community to learn from the example of Abaco and Grand Bahama and provide support. “We have always had many hurricanes, but now they are more intense, and they are more frequent,” he said.

Still reeling from Dorian, Bahamas hit by tropical storm

At 5 p.m. EDT, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Humberto was located about 70 miles (113 kilometres) north of Great Abaco Island and was moving 7 mph (11 kph) north-northwest with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph). The Bahamian government discontinued a tropical storm warning.

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Pfizer, AstraZeneca COVID vaccine jabs: 1 in 4 suffer mild side effectsOne in four people experiences mild, short-lived systemic side effects like headache, fatigue and tenderness after receiving either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine, according to a new study published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.Most side effects peaked within the first 24 hours following vaccination and usually lasted 1-2 days, and majorly among women under 55 years of age, said researchers from the King's College London."The data should reassure many people that in the real world, after effects of the vaccine are usually mild and short-lived, especially in the over 50's who are most at risk of the infection," Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at the varsity."The results also show up to 70 per cent protection after 3 weeks following a single dose," Spector said.The team analysed data from 627,383 users of the ZOE Covid Symptom Study app who self-reported systemic and local effects within eight days of receiving one or two doses of the Pfizer vaccine or one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine between December 8 and March 10.The findings showed 25.4 per cent of vaccinated people indicated suffering from one or more systemic (excluding the area where the injection took place) side effects, whereas 66.2 per cent reported one or more local (at injection site) side effects.About 13.5 per cent of participants reported side effects after their first Pfizer dose, 22.0 per cent after the second Pfizer dose and 33.7 per cent after the first AstraZeneca dose.The most-reported systemic side effect was headache -- 7.8 per cent of people after the first Pfizer dose and 13.2 per cent after the second Pfizer dose, while 22.8 per cent of people reported headache after the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.Nearly 8.4 per cent and 14.4 per cent people reported fatigue after the first and second dose of Pfizer vaccine, whileA 21.1 per cent reported fatigue after their first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine.A whopping 57.2 per cent and 50.9 per cent reported tenderness after the first and second dose of Pfizer vaccine, and 49.3 per cent after the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine, the researchers said.The study also reports a significant decrease of infection rates from 12 to 21 days after the first dose of the Pfizer (58 per cent reduction) and AstraZeneca (39 per cent reduction) vaccines compared to a control group.The drop in infection at least 21 days after the first dose for Pfizer is 69 per cent and for AstraZeneca 60 per cent, the findings showed.Moreover, Covid survivors were three times more likely to have side effects that affect the whole body after receiving doses of the Pfizer vaccine than those without known infection and almost twice more likely after the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.ALSO READ: COVID vaccine registration for 18+ begins today on Cowin App | How and where to register

Pfizer, AstraZeneca COVID vaccine jabs: 1 in 4 suffer mild side effects

Most side effects peaked within the first 24 hours following vaccination and usually lasted 1-2 days, and majorly among women under 55 years of age, said researchers from the King's College London.

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Coronavirus worldwide cases cross 4.3 million; death toll at 292,804Coronavirus worldwide cases have crossed 4.3 million mark taking toll to 4,339,631 including 292,804 deaths while 1,600,728 patients have recovered, as per figures released by Worldometer. United States is still the worst hit country due to the outbreak having over 1.4 million cases while next to US are Spain, UK, Russia, Italy, France and Germany who have also been hit hard by COVID-19 pandemic.China reported seven new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday. Six of them were in the northeastern province of Jilin where authorities have raised alert levels and suspended rail connections to once county where a cluster of unknown origin has appeared over recent days. Another 754 people are in treatment for being suspected cases or for having tested positive but not shown symptoms, while 104 people are in hospital undergoing treatment.China has reported a total of 4,633 deaths among 82,926 cases. On Tuesday, the government said it would conduct tests on all 11 million residents of Wuhan, the central industrial city where the virus was first detected late last year.List of nations worst affected due to coronavirus outbreak

Coronavirus worldwide cases cross 4.3 million; death toll at 292,804

Coronavirus worldwide cases have crossed 4.3 million mark taking toll to 4,339,631 including 292,804 deaths while 1,600,728 patients have recovered, as per figures released by Worldometer.

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File ImageScientists in Israel have developed a vaccine for the deadly coronavirus COVID-19, according to a media report. An announcement is expected in the coming days. Quoting medical sources, Israeli daily Ha'aretz said on Thursday that scientists at the Israel’s Institute for Biological Research, supervised by the Prime Minister's office, have recently had a significant breakthrough in understanding the biological mechanism and qualities of the virus, including better diagnostic capability, production of antibodies for those who already have the virus and development of a vaccine.The development process, however, requires a series of tests and experiments that may last many months before the vaccination is deemed effective or safe to use, the report said. The Defence Ministry, however, did not confirm the same in its response to the daily."There has been no breakthrough in the efforts of the biological institute to find a vaccine for the coronavirus or to develop testing kits. The institute’s work is conducted according to an orderly work plan and it will take time. If and when there will be something to report, it will be done in an orderly fashion", the Defence Ministry told Ha'aretz."The biological institute is a world-renowned research and development agency, which relies on experienced researchers and scientists with great knowledge and quality infrastructures. There are now more than 50 experienced scientists working at the institute on researching and developing a medical remedy for the virus," it added.The Institute for Biological Research, located in the central Israeli town of Nes Tziona, was established in 1952 as part of the Israel Defence Forces' Science Corps, and later became a civilian organisation.It is technically under the supervision of the Prime Minister's Office, but is in close communication with the Defence Ministry, as per the report.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to have ordered the institute to devote resources to develop a vaccine for Covid-19 on February 1.The normal process of development of such a vaccine requires a long process of pre-clinical trials on animals, followed by clinical trials. This period allows for a full characterization of side effects and a better understanding of how different populations are affected, the daily said.The global emergency over the coronavirus pandemic however may accelerate this process in order to vaccinate as many people who are most at risk from the virus, it said.Israel's most popular news portal, Ynet, reported about three weeks ago that five shipments of virus samples arrived here from Japan, Italy and other countries.They were brought by a specially secured Defence Ministry courier to the Institute for Biological Research and had been frozen at -80 degrees Celsius, it said. There has been intensive work, including by leading experts, to develop the vaccine since then.Experts believe that the length of time needed to develop a vaccine runs from a few months to a year and a half.Numerous research teams all over the world are participating in the race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. Many of them at this point are focusing on the way the virus presents itself in animals, with the biggest hurdle being the way it morphs when it moves from animals to human beings.China released the genetic sequence of the virus on open scientific databases shortly after its outbreak in January so that research institutes and commercial companies could try to develop treatments and vaccines without requiring to obtain samples.Around a month and a half after the genetic sequence was published, biotechnology company Moderna, Inc., based in Boston, Massachussets, announced it had completed the development of a possible coronavirus vaccine, Ha'aretz reported.The vaccine was sent to the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, with clinical trials, which will include up to 25 health participants to start in April, the report said.Any vaccine developed in Israel will presumably also need to go through a similar or even stricter process before it will be approved for use, the daily said.

Has Israel developed coronavirus vaccine? Report claims

Scientists in Israel have developed a vaccine for the deadly coronavirus COVID-19, according to a media report. An announcement is expected in the coming days.

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Woman scribbles note to family after being technically deadIn a bizarre incident, a woman who was technically dead for nearly half an hour was revived at a hospital in the United States. Moreover, moments after she was resuscitated, she scribbled a note to her family, which read 'it's real'. The incident dates back to February 2018, when Tina Hines from Arizona went into a cardiac arrest while she and her husband were leaving for a hike. She collapsed, with Brian giving her CPR and resuscitating her twice before paramedics arrived on the scene. She was further revived 6 times by medics while on her way to the hospital. Soon after, Tina was dead for a total of 27 minutes. With a tube in her mouth, Tina was barely able to speak. She gestured for pen and paper and scribbled ‘it’s real’. When asked what was she referring to, Tina nodded upwards. Later, Tina claimed to have seen a figure resembling Jesus standing by some bright yellow, glowing gates. "It was so real, the colours were so vibrant," Tina said. “Her story is too real not to share and has given me a stronger confidence in a faith that so often goes unseen,” Tina’s niece Madie Johnson wrote on Instagram. She also possesses a copy of the barely-readable writing tattooed on her wrist.According to studies, nearly 20 per cent of people recall some sort of visual or sensory episodes while being technically dead. Watch viral video: Girl attacks man with rod in road rage in Chandigarh /* .jw-reset-text, .jw-reset{line-height: 2em;}*/ .jw-time-tip .jw-time-chapter{display:none;} if ('' == comscore_jw_loaded || 'undefined' == comscore_jw_loaded || undefined == comscore_jw_loaded) { var comscore_jw_loaded = 1; firstjw = document.getElementsByClassName('jwvidplayer')[0]; cs_jw_script = document.createElement('script'); cs_jw_script.src = 'https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/internal-c2/plugins/streamingtag_plugin_jwplayer.js'; firstjw.parentNode.insertBefore(cs_jw_script, firstjw.nextSibling); } var jwconfig_8202406784 = { "file": "https://indiatv-vh.akamaihd.net/i/vod/0_p19vgcia_,20,21,22,.mp4.csmil/master.m3u8", "image": "https://thumbs.indiatvnews.com/vod/0_p19vgcia_big_thumb.jpg", "title": "Aaj Ka Viral: Girl attacks man with rod in road rage in Chandigarh", "height": "440px", "width": "100%", "aspectratio": "16:9", "autostart": false, "controls": true, "mute": false, "volume": 25, "floating": false, "sharing": { "code": "", "sites": [ "facebook", "twitter", "email" ] }, "stretching": "exactfit", "primary": "html5", "hlshtml": true, "sharing_link": "", "advertising": { "client": "vast", "autoplayadsmuted": true, "skipoffset": 5, "cuetext": "", "skipmessage": "Skip ad in xx", "skiptext": "SKIP", "preloadAds": true, "schedule": [ { "offset": "pre", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_PreRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=", "type": "linear" }, { "offset": "50%", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_MidRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=" }, { "offset": "post", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_PostRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=", "type": "linear" } ] } }; var jwvidplayer_8202406784 = ''; jwsetup_8202406784(); function jwsetup_8202406784() { jwvidplayer_8202406784 = jwplayer("jwvidplayer_8202406784").setup(jwconfig_8202406784); jwvidplayer_8202406784.on('ready', function () { ns_.StreamingAnalytics.JWPlayer(jwvidplayer_8202406784, { publisherId: "20465327", labelmapping: "c2=\"20465327\", c3=\"IndiaTV News\", c4=\"null\", c6=\"null\", ns_st_mp=\"jwplayer\", ns_st_cl=\"0\", ns_st_ci=\"0_p19vgcia\", ns_st_pr=\"Aaj Ka Viral: Girl attacks man with rod in road rage in Chandigarh\", ns_st_sn=\"0\", ns_st_en=\"0\", ns_st_ep=\"Aaj Ka Viral: Girl attacks man with rod in road rage in Chandigarh\", ns_st_ct=\"null\", ns_st_ge=\"News\", ns_st_st=\"Aaj Ka Viral: Girl attacks man with rod in road rage in Chandigarh\", ns_st_ce=\"0\", ns_st_ia=\"0\", ns_st_ddt=\"2019-06-26\", ns_st_tdt=\"2019-06-26\", ns_st_pu=\"IndiaTV News\", ns_st_cu=\"https://indiatv-vh.akamaihd.net/i/vod/0_p19vgcia_,20,21,22,.mp4.csmil/master.m3u8\", ns_st_ty=\"video\"" }); }); jwvidplayer_8202406784.on('all', function (r) { if (jwvidplayer_8202406784.getState() == 'error' || jwvidplayer_8202406784.getState() == 'setupError') { jwvidplayer_8202406784.stop(); jwvidplayer_8202406784.remove(); jwvidplayer_8202406784 = ''; jwsetup_8202406784(); return; } }); jwvidplayer_8202406784.on('error', function (t) { jwvidplayer_8202406784.stop(); jwvidplayer_8202406784.remove(); jwvidplayer_8202406784 = ''; jwsetup_8202406784(); return; }); jwvidplayer_8202406784.on('mute', function () { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_8202406784.on('adPlay', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_8202406784.on('adPause', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_8202406784.on('pause', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_8202406784.on('error', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_8202406784.on('adBlock', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); }

Dead for 27 minutes, woman scribbles note to family; says 'it's real'

The woman claimed to have seen a figure resembling Jesus standing by some bright yellow, glowing gates. "It was so real, the colours were so vibrant," she said.

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US committee approves report recommending contempt-of-Congress charges against Trump ally. The US committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack voted on Tuesday (local time) to approve a criminal contempt report on Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon, CNN reported.The committee is selected by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.The report will now be referred to the House for a vote. Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson told CNN on Tuesday that he expects the full House to vote on criminal contempt charges for Bannon before the end of the week.The report will be referred to the Justice Department after the vote, CNN reported.The contempt report frames the efforts that the committee made to get a witness to comply with the subpoena, and the failure by the witness to do so.On January 6, a group of supporters of former President Donald Trump entered the US Capitol in a bid to protest the lawmakers certifying the 2020 election results from several states that Trump said were fraudulent. One protester was shot dead during the incident and the law enforcement authorities charged 500 people for participating in the event. (With ANI inputs) /* .jw-reset-text, .jw-reset{line-height: 2em;}*/ .jw-time-tip .jw-time-chapter{display:none;} if ('' == comscore_jw_loaded || 'undefined' == comscore_jw_loaded || undefined == comscore_jw_loaded) { var comscore_jw_loaded = 1; 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US committee approves report recommending contempt-of-Congress charges against Trump ally

Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson told media on Tuesday that he expects the full House to vote on criminal contempt charges for Steve Bannon before the end of the week.

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5 Pakistani soldiers killed in retaliatory firing by India along LoCFive Pakistani soldiers were killed and three injured in an overnight retaliatory action by the Indian army along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, Defence sources said."Pakistan initiated unprovoked firing and shelling targeting civilian facilities in Mankote sector of the LoC in Poonch district on Thursday."Damage was caused to civilian properties due to indiscriminate targeting of civilian facilities by the Pakistan army."This necessitated befitting retaliatory action by the Indian army in which five Pakistani soldiers were killed and three injured. Several of their bunkers have also been destroyed", sources said.Firing exchanges between the two sides lasted for 2 hours.Since the beginning of this year, Pakistan has with impunity violated the bilateral ceasefire agreement signed by the two countries in 1999.30 civilians have been killed and over 100 injured in over 3200 ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the LoC in J&K since January 2020.Lives of thousands of people living in villages close to the LoC in J&K have been on the edge because of cross LoC shelling.Watch | Drone spotted along International Border in Jammu and Kashmir /* .jw-reset-text, .jw-reset{line-height: 2em;}*/ .jw-time-tip .jw-time-chapter{display:none;} if ('' == comscore_jw_loaded || 'undefined' == comscore_jw_loaded || undefined == comscore_jw_loaded) { var comscore_jw_loaded = 1; firstjw = document.getElementsByClassName('jwvidplayer')[0]; cs_jw_script = document.createElement('script'); cs_jw_script.src = 'https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/internal-c2/plugins/streamingtag_plugin_jwplayer.js'; firstjw.parentNode.insertBefore(cs_jw_script, firstjw.nextSibling); } var jwconfig_1812876323 = { "file": "https://indiatv-vh.akamaihd.net/i/vod/0_pkvnpsin_,20,21,22,.mp4.csmil/master.m3u8", "image": "https://thumbs.indiatvnews.com/vod/0_pkvnpsin_big_thumb.jpg", "title": "Drone spotted along International Border in Jammu and Kashmir", "height": "440px", "width": "100%", "aspectratio": "16:9", "autostart": false, "controls": true, "mute": false, "volume": 25, "floating": false, "sharing": { "code": "", "sites": [ "facebook", "twitter", "email" ] }, "stretching": "exactfit", "primary": "html5", "hlshtml": true, "sharing_link": "", "duration": "13", "advertising": { "client": "vast", "autoplayadsmuted": true, "skipoffset": 5, "cuetext": "", "skipmessage": "Skip ad in xx", "skiptext": "SKIP", "preloadAds": true, "schedule": [ { "offset": "pre", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_PreRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=", "type": "linear" }, { "offset": "50%", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_MidRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=" }, { "offset": "post", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_PostRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=", "type": "linear" } ] } }; var jwvidplayer_1812876323 = ''; jwsetup_1812876323(); function jwsetup_1812876323() { jwvidplayer_1812876323 = jwplayer("jwvidplayer_1812876323").setup(jwconfig_1812876323); jwvidplayer_1812876323.on('ready', function () { ns_.StreamingAnalytics.JWPlayer(jwvidplayer_1812876323, { publisherId: "20465327", labelmapping: "c2=\"20465327\", c3=\"IndiaTV News\", c4=\"null\", c6=\"null\", ns_st_mp=\"jwplayer\", ns_st_cl=\"0\", ns_st_ci=\"0_pkvnpsin\", ns_st_pr=\"Drone spotted along International Border in Jammu and Kashmir\", ns_st_sn=\"0\", ns_st_en=\"0\", ns_st_ep=\"Drone spotted along International Border in Jammu and Kashmir\", ns_st_ct=\"null\", ns_st_ge=\"News\", ns_st_st=\"Drone spotted along International Border in Jammu and Kashmir\", ns_st_ce=\"0\", ns_st_ia=\"0\", ns_st_ddt=\"2020-11-29\", ns_st_tdt=\"2020-11-29\", ns_st_pu=\"IndiaTV News\", ns_st_cu=\"https://indiatv-vh.akamaihd.net/i/vod/0_pkvnpsin_,20,21,22,.mp4.csmil/master.m3u8\", ns_st_ty=\"video\"" }); }); jwvidplayer_1812876323.on('all', function (r) { if (jwvidplayer_1812876323.getState() == 'error' || jwvidplayer_1812876323.getState() == 'setupError') { jwvidplayer_1812876323.stop(); jwvidplayer_1812876323.remove(); jwvidplayer_1812876323 = ''; jwsetup_1812876323(); return; } }); jwvidplayer_1812876323.on('error', function (t) { jwvidplayer_1812876323.stop(); jwvidplayer_1812876323.remove(); jwvidplayer_1812876323 = ''; jwsetup_1812876323(); return; }); jwvidplayer_1812876323.on('mute', function () { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_1812876323.on('adPlay', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_1812876323.on('adPause', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_1812876323.on('pause', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_1812876323.on('error', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_1812876323.on('adBlock', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); }

5 Pakistani soldiers killed in retaliatory firing by India along LoC

Five Pakistani soldiers were killed and three injured in an overnight retaliatory action by the Indian army along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, Defence sources said.

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Pentagon sanctions $1 billion for US-Mexico border wallThe Pentagon notified Congress that it has sanctioned the transfer of $1 billion to begin new wall construction along the US-Mexico border, drawing immediate objections from Democratic lawmakers. A Pentagon budget reprogramming notification sent to Capitol Hill on Monday night indicated that up to $1 billion will go toward building 57 miles of fencing, improving roads and other measures on the southern border, reports CNN.The Department of Defence authorised the Army Corp of Engineers to begin planning and construction for the project on Monday night.Related Stories Pentagon asks Pakistan to use influence over Taliban, stop cross border movementAggressive Chinese industrial policy impacting American defense industry, says Pentagon reportPentagon planning troop pullout from Afghanistan, say officialsChinese actions out of step with international norms, diminishes sovereignty of countries: PentagonChina, Russia pose challenge to US space capabilities: PentagonIndia-US strategic partnership advancing at historic pace: PentagonTop US General calls his Pakistani counterpart, discusses current security environment: PentagonGoogle reluctant to work with Pentagon, is partnering with China: US lawmakers toldThe department will direct the funds toward 18-foot-high fencing along the Yuma and El Paso sections of the border, according to a letter acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan sent to Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen.In February, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in order to funnel billions of dollars to wall construction. As part of his announcement, he directed the use of counter-drug funds to partially begin a new wall construction.Under the national emergency, other funds can also be dedicated to building the wall and related infrastructure, including military construction funds.Monday's announcement was just the first $1 billion the administration is making available for wall funding. The administration said previously it plans to shift an additional $1.5 billion at some point in the future.These initial counter-drug funds will ultimately flow from the Department of Homeland Security to the Army Corps of Engineers to begin construction.Senate Democrats immediately objected to the transfer of money to build fencing along the southern border to block drug smuggling, CNN reported.Every Democratic senator on the Senate Appropriations Committee's subcommittees on Defence and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies signed on to a letter written to Shanahan objecting to moving $1 billion in personnel funds to counter drug funds to go toward the wall.The senators said the Pentagon did not seek permission before notifying the committee of the transfer."We strongly object to both the substance of the funding transfer, and to the Department implementing the transfer without seeking the approval of the congressional defence committees and in violation of provisions in the defence appropriation itself," the senators wrote."As a result, we have serious concerns that the Department has allowed political interference and pet projects to come ahead of many near-term, critical readiness issues facing our military."

Pentagon sanctions $1 billion for US-Mexico border wall

In February, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in order to funnel billions of dollars to wall construction. As part of his announcement, he directed the use of counter-drug funds to partially begin a new wall construction.

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India's most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim has been linked to a series of properties across Britain, according to a media report on Saturday.The 62-year-old fugitive mafia boss, wanted in India as the mastermind of the 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai and accused of crimes such as match-fixing and extortion, accrued a vast property portfolio across the Midlands and south-east in the UK as well as in India, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Morocco, Turkey, Cyprus and Australia, 'The Times' reported.Related Stories MCOCA invoked against Iqbal Kaskar and gangster Chhota Shakeel in extortion caseMumbai-based trust wins bids for all three Dawood Ibrahim properties for Rs 11.58 crDawood depressed as his only son wants to become ‘maulana’The newspaper matched details from a dossier prepared by Indian authorities to records held by the UK's Companies House and the Land Registry, as well as the Panama Papers, to form a snapshot of the alleged property portfolio.It is claimed his syndicate, known as D-Company, once smuggled drugs through Pakistan and across Indian borders for shipment to Europe and North America from the ports at Mumbai, as portrayed in a new BBC series 'McMafia'.Ibrahim, believed to be hiding in Pakistan, is the inspiration behind an Indian underworld don named "Dilly Mahmood" in the eight-part television series, which highlights the misuse of Britain by globally organised crime syndicates."Britain features in his (Ibrahim's) criminal world as a place where he can launder money - a classic 'McMafia' tactic. He is thought to have property interests in a variety of southern English counties like Essex and Kent," Misha Glenny, who wrote the non-fiction book 'McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld' and is an executive producer on the TV series, told the newspaper."But we can't know for certain because the government has been dragging its heels in legislating to force transparency of the beneficial owners of companies registered in our overseas territories," she noted.In an apparent parallel with Ibrahim, Dilly Mahmood is portrayed as an ambitious gangster rising from a modest background to dominate the black market in Mumbai in the series.Documents seen by the newspaper also allege that Ibrahim's right-hand man, Muhammed Iqbal "Mirchi" Memon, on his behalf, accrued a vast property portfolio in the UK which includes hotels, mansions, tower blocks and houses in suburbs in the south-east of England.  Memon, also a suspect in the 1993 attacks, had sought refuge in London after the blasts. Attempts to extradite him to India had failed.He was never convicted of any crimes and denied his involvement in Ibrahim's cartel. Memon, who held 11 company directorships in tiling, construction and lettings firms in Britain, died after suffering a heart attack in London in 2013.Ibrahim, who has an Interpol red notice against him, has been on the UK Treasury sanctions list for years with three recorded addresses in Pakistan.The gangster's place of birth is recorded as Kher, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, and his nationality is listed as "Indian" with a recorded Indian passport, which was subsequently revoked by the Government of India.Financial sanctions in force in the UK cover measures such as prohibiting the transfer of funds to a sanctioned country and targeted asset freezes on individuals.In relation to the alleged properties associated with him in the UK, Ibrahim would now be a likely target for the new 'Unexplained Wealth Orders' introduced by the UK government this week.UK security minister Ben Wallace, who has described the portrayal of crime bosses in 'McMafia' as "very close to the truth", wants the "full force of the government" to bear down on criminals and corrupt politicians using Britain as a playground and haven."'McMafia' is one of those things where you realise that fact is ahead of fiction. It's a really good portrayal of sharp-suited wealthy individuals, but follow the money and it ends up with a young girl getting trafficked for sex," he told 'The Times' in an interview."When we get to you, we will come for you, for your assets and we will make the environment that you live in difficult," he warned.Unexplained wealth orders will require individuals suspected of serious crime or involvement in bribery or corruption to explain the source of property valued at more than 50,000 pounds.For the first time, UK law also extends recovery powers to cover "politically exposed persons" from countries outside the European Union. The UK government estimates that about 90 billion pounds of illegal cash is laundered in Britain every year.

Dawood Ibrahim linked to British properties: Report

Dawood Ibrahim, 62, a fugitive mafia boss, is wanted in India as the mastermind of the 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai and accused of crimes such as match-fixing and extortion.

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President Joe Biden delivers a speech about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the Royal Castle, Saturday, Mar 26, 2022, in Warsaw.  Russia-Ukraine War: US President Joe Biden on Saturday (March 26) said that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” dramatically escalating the rhetoric against the Russian leader after his brutal invasion of Ukraine. Even as Biden's words rocketed around the world, the White House attempted to clarify soon after Biden finished speaking in Poland that he was not calling for a new government in Russia. A White House official asserted that Biden was “not discussing Putin's power in Russia or regime change.” The official, who was not authorized to comment by name and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Biden's point was that “Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbours or the region.” The White House declined to comment on whether Biden's statement about Putin was part of his prepared remarks. “For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power," Biden's said at the very end of a speech in Poland's capital that served as the capstone on a four-day trip to Europe. Biden has frequently talked about ensuring that the Kremlin's now invasion, now in its second month, becomes a “strategic failure” for Putin and has described the Russian leader as a “war criminal". But until his remarks in Warsaw, the American leader had not veered toward suggesting Putin should not run Russia. Earlier on Saturday, shortly after meeting with Ukrainian refugees, Biden called Putin a “butcher.” Biden also used his speech to also make a vociferous defense of liberal democracy and the NATO military alliance, while saying Europe must steel itself for a long fight against Russian aggression. Earlier in the day, as Biden met with Ukrainian refugees, Russia kept up its pounding of cities throughout Ukraine. Explosions rang out in Lviv, the closest major Ukrainian city to Poland and a destination for the internally replaced that has been largely spared from major attacks. The images of Biden reassuring refugees and calling for Western unity contrasted with the dramatic scenes of flames and black smoke billowing so near the Polish border - another jarring split-screen moment in the war. In what was billed by the White House as a major address, Biden spoke inside the Royal Castle, one of Warsaw's notable landmarks that was badly damaged during War II. He borrowed the words of Polish-born Pope John Paul II and cited anti-communist Polish dissident and former president, Lech Walesa, as he warned that Putin's invasion of Ukraine threatens to bring “decades of war.” "In this battle we need to be clear-eyed. This battle will not be won in days, or months, either,” Biden said. The crowd of about 1,000 included some of the Ukrainian refugees who have fled for Poland and elsewhere in the midst of the brutal invasion. “We must commit now, to be this fight for the long haul,” Biden said. After meeting with refugees at the National Stadium, Biden marvelled at their spirit and resolve in the aftermath of Russia's deadly invasion as he embraced mothers and children and promised enduring support from Western powers. ALSO READ: US President Joe Biden meets Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw, calls Putin a 'butcher!' Biden listened intently as children described the perilous flight from neighbouring Ukraine with their parents. Smiling broadly, he lifted up a young girl in a pink coat and told her she reminded him of his granddaughters. The president held hands with parents and gave them hugs during the stop at the soccer stadium where refugees go to obtain a Polish identification number that gives them access to social services such as health care and schools. Some of the women and children told Biden that they fled without their husbands and fathers, men of fighting age who were required to remain behind to aid the resistance against Putin's forces. “What I am always surprised by is the depth and strength of the human spirit,” Biden told reporters after his conversations with the refugees at the stadium, which more recently had served as a field hospital for COVID-19 patients. “Each one of those children said something to the effect of, 'Say a prayer for my dad or grandfather or my brother who is out there fighting." The president tried to use his final hours of his European trip reassuring Poland that the United States would defend against any attacks by Russia as he acknowledged that the NATO ally bore the burden of the refugee crisis from the war. “Your freedom is ours," Biden told Poland's president, Andrzej Duda earlier, echoing one of that country's unofficial mottos. More than 3.7 million people have fled Ukraine since the war began, and more than 2.2 million Ukrainians have crossed into Poland, though it is unclear how many have remained there and how many have left for other countries. Earlier this week the U.S. announced it would take in as many as 100,000 refugees, and Biden told Duda that he understood Poland was “taking on a big responsibility, but it should be all of NATO's responsibility.” Biden called the “collective defence” agreement of NATO a “sacred commitment," and said the unity of the Western military alliance was of the utmost importance. “I'm confident that Vladimir Putin was counting on dividing NATO," Biden said. "But he hasn't been able to do it.We've all stayed together.” European security is facing its most serious test since World War II. Western leaders have spent the past week consulting over contingency plans in case the conflict spreads. The invasion has shaken NATO out of any complacency it might have felt and cast a dark shadow over Europe.Russia-Ukraine War: US President Joe Biden on Saturday (March 26) said that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” dramatically escalating the rhetoric against the Russian leader after his brutal invasion of Ukraine.Even as Biden's words rocketed around the world, the White House attempted to clarify soon after Biden finished speaking in Poland that he was not calling for a new government in Russia.A White House official asserted that Biden was “not discussing Putin's power in Russia or regime change.” The official, who was not authorized to comment by name and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Biden's point was that “Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbours or the region.”The White House declined to comment on whether Biden's statement about Putin was part of his prepared remarks.“For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power," Biden's said at the very end of a speech in Poland's capital that served as the capstone on a four-day trip to Europe.Biden has frequently talked about ensuring that the Kremlin's now invasion, now in its second month, becomes a “strategic failure” for Putin and has described the Russian leader as a “war criminal". But until his remarks in Warsaw, the American leader had not veered toward suggesting Putin should not run Russia. Earlier on Saturday, shortly after meeting with Ukrainian refugees, Biden called Putin a “butcher.”Biden also used his speech to also make a vociferous defense of liberal democracy and the NATO military alliance, while saying Europe must steel itself for a long fight against Russian aggression.Earlier in the day, as Biden met with Ukrainian refugees, Russia kept up its pounding of cities throughout Ukraine. Explosions rang out in Lviv, the closest major Ukrainian city to Poland and a destination for the internally replaced that has been largely spared from major attacks.The images of Biden reassuring refugees and calling for Western unity contrasted with the dramatic scenes of flames and black smoke billowing so near the Polish border - another jarring split-screen moment in the war.In what was billed by the White House as a major address, Biden spoke inside the Royal Castle, one of Warsaw's notable landmarks that was badly damaged during War II.He borrowed the words of Polish-born Pope John Paul II and cited anti-communist Polish dissident and former president, Lech Walesa, as he warned that Putin's invasion of Ukraine threatens to bring “decades of war.”"In this battle we need to be clear-eyed. This battle will not be won in days, or months, either,” Biden said.The crowd of about 1,000 included some of the Ukrainian refugees who have fled for Poland and elsewhere in the midst of the brutal invasion.“We must commit now, to be this fight for the long haul,” Biden said.After meeting with refugees at the National Stadium, Biden marvelled at their spirit and resolve in the aftermath of Russia's deadly invasion as he embraced mothers and children and promised enduring support from Western powers.ALSO READ: US President Joe Biden meets Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw, calls Putin a 'butcher!'Biden listened intently as children described the perilous flight from neighbouring Ukraine with their parents. Smiling broadly, he lifted up a young girl in a pink coat and told her she reminded him of his granddaughters.The president held hands with parents and gave them hugs during the stop at the soccer stadium where refugees go to obtain a Polish identification number that gives them access to social services such as health care and schools.Some of the women and children told Biden that they fled without their husbands and fathers, men of fighting age who were required to remain behind to aid the resistance against Putin's forces.“What I am always surprised by is the depth and strength of the human spirit,” Biden told reporters after his conversations with the refugees at the stadium, which more recently had served as a field hospital for COVID-19 patients.“Each one of those children said something to the effect of, 'Say a prayer for my dad or grandfather or my brother who is out there fighting."The president tried to use his final hours of his European trip reassuring Poland that the United States would defend against any attacks by Russia as he acknowledged that the NATO ally bore the burden of the refugee crisis from the war.“Your freedom is ours," Biden told Poland's president, Andrzej Duda earlier, echoing one of that country's unofficial mottos.More than 3.7 million people have fled Ukraine since the war began, and more than 2.2 million Ukrainians have crossed into Poland, though it is unclear how many have remained there and how many have left for other countries. Earlier this week the U.S. announced it would take in as many as 100,000 refugees, and Biden told Duda that he understood Poland was “taking on a big responsibility, but it should be all of NATO's responsibility.”Biden called the “collective defence” agreement of NATO a “sacred commitment," and said the unity of the Western military alliance was of the utmost importance.“I'm confident that Vladimir Putin was counting on dividing NATO," Biden said."But he hasn't been able to do it.We've all stayed together.”European security is facing its most serious test since World War II. Western leaders have spent the past week consulting over contingency plans in case the conflict spreads.Warsaw, a city of nearly 1.8 million people, has grown by about 17% in a month as the refugees have come in huge numbers seeking shelter.While Poles have so far welcomed Ukrainians, the humanitarian efforts are largely the work of volunteers. Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski has warned it is not sustainable and that social services are buckling under the strain.The US has been sending money and supplies to aid the refugee effort. This week, Biden announced $1 billion in additional aid in addition to accepting refugees.The US and many of its allies have imposed multiple rounds of economic and other sanctions on Russian individuals, banks and other entities in hopes that the cumulative effect over time will force Putin to withdraw his troops.But no clear path to ending the conflict has emerged. Although Russian officials have suggested they will focus their invasion on the Donbas, a region in eastern Ukraine, Biden told reporters, when asked whether the Kremlin had changed its strategy, “I am not sure they have."(With inputs from AP)ALSO READ: Russia Ukraine War: Biden affirms allegiance to Poland, holds talks with Polish Prez Andrzej Duda

'For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power': Biden lashes at Putin over war with Ukraine

Even as Biden's words rocketed around the world, the White House attempted to clarify soon after Biden finished speaking in Poland that he was not calling for a new govt in Russia.

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Antony Blinken hails South Africa for quick response to emergence of 'Omicron' COVID strain.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has thanked South Africa for a swift and transparent approach to the emergence of the new, Omicron, variant of the coronavirus, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said."Secretary of State Antony J Blinken spoke today with South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor. Secretary Blinken specifically praised South Africa's scientists for the quick identification of the Omicron variant and South Africa's government for its transparency in sharing this information, which should serve as a model for the world," Price said on Saturday.According to the release, Blinken and Pandor emphasized the importance of continued partnership among the US, the African Union, South Africa, and other African countries to help vaccinate people against COVID-19.On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) identified the new South African strain as one of concern, since it may be more transmissible and dangerous. Cases of the new variant have already been confirmed in multiple countries, including Israel, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic.WHO representative in Russia, Melita Vujnovic, said on Saturday that there is no reason to panic over the new Omicron strain, even though it might be more contagious than other coronavirus variants.(With ANI inputs) 

Antony Blinken hails South Africa for quick response to emergence of 'Omicron' COVID strain

According to the release, Blinken and Pandor emphasized the importance of continued partnership among the US, the African Union, South Africa, and other African countries to help vaccinate people against COVID.

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China destroyed live COVID-19 samples instead of sharing them: PompeoUS Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday accused China of destroying live COVID-19 samples instead of sharing them and said that America stands with over 120 nations, including Australia, who have taken up the American call for an inquiry into the origins of the virus.China banned beef exports and levied 80 per cent tariffs on barley from Australia as the country supported international call for an investigation into the pandemic that has claimed over 324,000 lives in the world and infected over 4.9 million people worldwide.Pompeo said that China threatened Australia with economic retribution for the simple act of asking for an independent inquiry into the origins of the virus.“That's not right. We stand with Australia and the more than 120 nations now who have taken up the American call for an inquiry into the origins of the virus, we can understand what went wrong and save lives now and in the future,” Pompeo told reporters at a news conference.“The Chinese Communist Party's response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan have accelerated our more realistic understanding of communist China. The party chose to destroy live virus samples instead of sharing them or asking us to help secure them,” he said.The People's Liberation Army has claimed more features in the South China seas international waters, sank a Vietnamese fishing boat, threatened Malaysian energy prospector, and declared a unilateral fishing ban.“The United States condemns these unlawful acts,” he said.He said that China also chose to pressure the World Health Organization's Director General Tedros Adhanom into excluding Taiwan from this week's assembly in Geneva.“I understand that Dr. Tedros' unusually close ties to Beijing started long before this current pandemic, and that is a deeply troubling,” he said. Pompeo said that the Chinese President Xi Jinping claimed this week that China is active with openness, transparency, and responsibility.“I wish it were so. It's been 142 days since doctors at Wuhan Central Hospital first started sharing information about a SARS-like virus, and yet today as we also here this morning, Beijing continues to deny investigators access to relevant facilities, to withhold live virus samples, to censor discussions of the pandemic within China and much, much more,” he said.“The Chinese Communist Party wants to demonstrate real openness, real transparency it could easily hold press conference like this very press conference and allow reporters to ask him anything that they would like,” he added.Pompeo said that China's contributions dividing the pandemic are paltry compared to the cost that they have imposed on the world.This plague has cost roughly 90,000 American lives. More than 36 million Americans have lost their jobs since March. Globally, 300,000 lives could be as much as USD 9 trillion dollars according to our estimates, cost imposition on the world by China's failures.“The United States has responded with about USD 10 billion to benefit the international response everything from vaccine research to funding for preparedness efforts and humanitarian aid that is compared to a promise of USD 2 billion from the Chinese. I look forward to seeing them fulfill that USD 2 billion commitment,” he said.Pompeo said the media's focus on the current pandemic risks missing the bigger picture of the challenge that is presented by the Communist Party of China.Noting that China has been ruled by a brutal authoritarian regime, a communist regime since 1949, he said that for several decades the US thought the regime would become more like America through trade, scientific exchanges, diplomatic outreach, letting them in the WTO as a developing nation.“That didn't happen,” he said.“We greatly underestimated the degree to which Beijing is ideologically and politically hostile to free nations. The whole world is waking up to that fact.Pew reported I think it was this past week that 66 per cent of Americans have an unfavourable view of China. That is a direct result of the Chinese Communist Party's choices, which are influenced by the nature of the regime, and the nature of that regime is not new,” Pompeo said.ALSO READ | China credits socialist system for quickly bringing coronavirus outbreak under control

China destroyed live COVID-19 samples instead of sharing them: Pompeo

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday accused China of destroying live COVID-19 samples instead of sharing them and said that America stands with over 120 nations, including Australia, who have taken up the American call for an inquiry into the origins of the virus.

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Mohana Singh creates history, becomes an inspiration for many woman IAF pilot aspirators.Flight Lt Mohana Singh has become the first woman fighter pilot to fly by day on a Hawk advanced jet aircraft, an official statement said on Friday.The statement said the woman officer landed after a gruelling four-aircraft combat sortie at Kalaikunda Air Force station in West Bengal, which was the last syllabus sortie of being fully operational on the Hawk jets.Related Stories To the skies: This is IAF's first All Women Crew to fly a Medium Lift HelicopterIAF ties up with ISRO for manned mission crew selection Mohana Singh had gone through a strenuous training programme that involved flying both air-to-air combat and air-to-ground missions. Her practice sessions also involved firing rockets, guns and dropping high calibre bombs and several air force-level flying exercises.Mohana Singh now has an experience of 500 hours of incident-free flying of which 380 hours are on the Hawk Mk 132 jet.In June 2018, for the first time, woman combat pilots were inducted in the Indian Air Force (IAF) with the then defence minister, Manohar Parrikar, commissioning Mohana Singh, Bhawana Kanth and Avani Chaturvedi. The trio joined the fighter stream in June 2016.Last week, Flight Lt Bhawana Kanth became the first daytime woman fighter pilot to fly a MiG-21 Bison.Video | Meet CRPF's woman officer Usha Kiran posted in naxal area /* .jw-reset-text, .jw-reset{line-height: 2em;}*/ .jw-time-tip .jw-time-chapter{display:none;} if ('' == comscore_jw_loaded || 'undefined' == comscore_jw_loaded || undefined == comscore_jw_loaded) { var comscore_jw_loaded = 1; firstjw = document.getElementsByClassName('jwvidplayer')[0]; cs_jw_script = document.createElement('script'); cs_jw_script.src = 'https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/internal-c2/plugins/streamingtag_plugin_jwplayer.js'; firstjw.parentNode.insertBefore(cs_jw_script, firstjw.nextSibling); } var jwconfig_2161612166 = { "file": "https://indiatv-vh.akamaihd.net/i/vod/_,20,21,22,.mp4.csmil/master.m3u8", "image": "https://static.indiatvnews.com/ins-web/images/lazy-big.jpg", "title": "India TV Video", "height": "440px", "width": "100%", "aspectratio": "16:9", "autostart": false, "controls": true, "mute": false, "volume": 25, "floating": false, "sharing": { "code": "", "sites": [ "facebook", "twitter", "email" ] }, "stretching": "exactfit", "primary": "html5", "hlshtml": true, "sharing_link": "", "advertising": { "client": "vast", "autoplayadsmuted": true, "skipoffset": 5, "cuetext": "", "skipmessage": "Skip ad in xx", "skiptext": "SKIP", "preloadAds": true, "schedule": [ { "offset": "pre", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_PreRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=", "type": "linear" }, { "offset": "50%", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_MidRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=" }, { "offset": "post", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_PostRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=", "type": "linear" } ] } }; var jwvidplayer_2161612166 = ''; jwsetup_2161612166(); function jwsetup_2161612166() { jwvidplayer_2161612166 = jwplayer("jwvidplayer_2161612166").setup(jwconfig_2161612166); jwvidplayer_2161612166.on('ready', function () { ns_.StreamingAnalytics.JWPlayer(jwvidplayer_2161612166, { publisherId: "20465327", labelmapping: "c2=\"20465327\", c3=\"IndiaTV News\", c4=\"null\", c6=\"null\", ns_st_mp=\"jwplayer\", ns_st_cl=\"0\", ns_st_ci=\"\", ns_st_pr=\"India TV Video\", ns_st_sn=\"0\", ns_st_en=\"0\", ns_st_ep=\"India TV Video\", ns_st_ct=\"null\", ns_st_ge=\"News\", ns_st_st=\"India TV Video\", ns_st_ce=\"0\", ns_st_ia=\"0\", ns_st_ddt=\"1970-01-01\", ns_st_tdt=\"1970-01-01\", ns_st_pu=\"IndiaTV News\", ns_st_cu=\"https://indiatv-vh.akamaihd.net/i/vod/_,20,21,22,.mp4.csmil/master.m3u8\", ns_st_ty=\"video\"" }); }); jwvidplayer_2161612166.on('all', function (r) { if (jwvidplayer_2161612166.getState() == 'error' || jwvidplayer_2161612166.getState() == 'setupError') { jwvidplayer_2161612166.stop(); jwvidplayer_2161612166.remove(); jwvidplayer_2161612166 = ''; jwsetup_2161612166(); return; } }); jwvidplayer_2161612166.on('error', function (t) { jwvidplayer_2161612166.stop(); jwvidplayer_2161612166.remove(); jwvidplayer_2161612166 = ''; jwsetup_2161612166(); return; }); jwvidplayer_2161612166.on('mute', function () { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_2161612166.on('adPlay', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_2161612166.on('adPause', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_2161612166.on('pause', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_2161612166.on('error', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_2161612166.on('adBlock', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); }

Flight Lt Mohana Singh creates history, becomes first woman to fly Hawk jet

Mohana Singh had gone through a strenuous training programme that involved flying both air-to-air combat and air-to-ground missions. Her practice sessions also involved firing rockets, guns and dropping high calibre bombs and several air force-level flying exercises.

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US commits $1 billion access to rapid, at-home Covid testsThe White House has announced an investment worth $1 billion worth for rapid, at-home coronavirus tests to address ongoing shortages.The move will quadruple the number of tests available to Americans by December, Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, was quoted as saying at a press briefing on Wednesday."That means, we'll have an available supply of 200 million rapid, at-home tests per month starting in December, with a supply of tens of millions of additional tests coming on the market across the next few weeks," he said.This follows the authorization of the sale of a new antigen test from the US-based Acon Laboratories on Monday by the Food and Drug Administration. The authorization accelerates this pace, and we are now on track to triple the number by early November, Zients said.Besides at-home testing, the Joe Biden administration is also increasing access to free testing, which has been central to the country's Covid response.In early September, Biden also committed to expanding the number of pharmacies in the federal government's free testing programme to 10,000 local pharmacies across the country. It has now doubled "to a total of 20,000 local pharmacies", Zients said.In addition, 10,000 other community-based free testing sites are also available in the country.According to public health experts, the rollout of at-home tests to 200 million per month was long overdue."This is a big deal. The White House is beginning to take testing as seriously as they've taken vaccinations," Scott Becker, chief executive of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, was quoted as saying by The Washington Post.Becker noted that low availability of rapid tests had hampered efforts to track and combat the surge of coronavirus cases driven by the highly transmissible delta variant.While the FDA has authorized several at-home tests, the experts criticized the agency for not moving faster to greenlight more of them to expedite the tests' availability, the report said."These tests are cheap to make, and there's a lot of demand for it out there," Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, was quoted as saying."The reason the market hasn't worked is that the FDA has made it very difficult for these tests to get out into the marketplace," he added.

US commits $1 billion access to rapid, at-home Covid tests

Besides at-home testing, the Joe Biden administration is also increasing access to free testing, which has been central to the country's Covid response.

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Rows of homes, are shown in suburban Salt Lake City, on April 13, 2019. The U.S. became more diverse and more urban over the past decade, and the non-Hispanic white population dropped for the first time on record, the Census Bureau reported Thursday as it released a trove of demographic data that will be used to redraw the nation’s political maps. The new figures offered the most detailed portrait yet of how the country has changed since 2010, and they are sure to set off an intense partisan battle over-representation at a time of deep national division and fights over voting rights. The numbers could help determine control of the House in the 2022 elections and provide an electoral edge for years to come. The data will also shape how $1.5 trillion in annual federal spending is distributed.Americans continued to migrate to the South and West at the expense of the Midwest and Northeast, the figures showed. The share of the white population fell from 63.7% in 2010 to 57.8% in 2020, the lowest on record, driven by falling birthrates among white women compared with Hispanic and Asian women. The number of non-Hispanic white people shrank from 196 million in 2010 to 191 million.White people continue to be the most prevalent racial or ethnic group, though that changed in California, where Hispanics became the largest racial or ethnic group, growing from 37.6% to 39.4% over the decade, while the share of white people dropped from 40.1% to 34.7%. California, the nation’s most populous state, joined Hawaii, New Mexico and the District of Columbia as a place where non-Hispanic white people are no longer the dominant group.“The U.S. population is much more multiracial and much more racially and ethnically diverse than what we have measured in the past,” said Nicholas Jones, a Census Bureau official.Some demographers cautioned that the white population was not shrinking as much as shifting to multiracial identities. The number of people who identified as belonging to two or more races more than tripled from 9 million people in 2010 to 33.8 million in 2020. They now account for 10% of the U.S. population.People who identify as a race other than white, Black, Asian, American Indian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander — either alone or in combination with one of those races — jumped to 49.9 million people, surpassing the Black population of 46.9 million people as the nation’s second-largest racial group, according to the Census Bureau.But demographers said that may have to do with Hispanic uncertainty about how to answer the race question on the census form, as well as changes the Census Bureau made in processing responses and how it asked about race and ethnicity.Asians were the next most populous racial group, reaching 24 million people in 2020, a jump of more than a third.The Hispanic population boomed over the decade, growing by almost a quarter to 62.1 million residents in 2020 and accounting for almost half of the overall U.S. population growth, which was the slowest since the Great Depression. By comparison, the non-Hispanic growth rate over the decade was 4.3%.The data “demonstrate that the Latino community is a huge and increasing part of our nation’s future,” said Thomas Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.Almost all of the growth of the past 10 years happened in metropolitan areas. About 80% of metropolitan areas saw population gains as more people in smaller counties moved to larger, more urban counties.The share of children in the U.S. declined because of falling birth rates, while the share of adults grew, driven by aging baby boomers. Adults over age 18 made up more than three-quarters of the population in 2020, or 258.3 million people, an increase of more than 10% from 2010. However, the population of children under age 18 dropped from 74.2 million in 2010 to 73.1 million in 2020.In addition, there is now no majority racial or ethnic group for people younger than 18, as the share of non-Hispanic whites in the age group dropped from 53.5% to 47.3% over the decade.“If not for Hispanics, Asians, people of two or more races, those are the only groups underage that are growing,” said William Frey, a senior fellow at Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy Program. “A lot of these young minorities are important for our future growth, not only for the child population but for our future labor force.”The data comes from compiling forms filled out last year by tens of millions of Americans, with the help of census takers and government statisticians to fill in the blanks when forms were not turned in or questions were left unanswered. The numbers reflect countless decisions made over the past 10 years by individuals to have children, move to another part of the country, or come to the U.S. from elsewhere.

Census shows US is diversifying, white population shrinking

The U.S. Census Bureau's release Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, of detailed population and demographic changes in each state will kick off the once-a-decade redistricting process that plays a large role in determining which party controls state legislatures and the U.S. House.

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China's indigenous next generation bullet train with a maximum speed of 400 km/h made its debut today on the country's busiest Beijing-Shanghai line. 'Fuxing', a CR400AF model, departed Beijing South Railway Station at 11:05 AM for Shanghai. At the same time, a CR400AF model left Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station for Beijing. The train took about five hours and 45 minutes to reach Shanghai. On its way, it stopped by 10 stations, including Jinan, Shandong province and Tianjin. The new bullet trains, also known as electric multiple units (EMU), boast a top speed of 400 kilometres per hour and a consistent speed of 350 kilometres an hour, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. 'Fuxing' or rejuvenation, made the debut on the Beijing- Shanghai line, the country's busiest route used by 50,5000 passengers daily.The train was designed and manufactured by China, the report said. The train includes a sophisticated monitoring system that constantly checks its performance and automatically slows the train in case of emergencies or abnormal conditions. A remote data-transmission system, a control centre will be able to monitor the train in real time, it said. Lu Dongfu, general manager of China Railway Corporation, operator of the new train, said 'Fuxing', underpins the unique role that high-speed railway has played in China's economic and social development. Previous bullet trains featured the characters 'Hexiehao' (harmony) on the exterior of each train. Beijing-Shanghai railway line is China's busiest route, used by 50,5000 passengers daily. China has the world's longest railway network with 22,000 kilometres by the end of last year, about 60 per cent of the world's total. 

China's fastest bullet train 400km/h makes debut

China's indigenous next generation bullet train with a maximum speed of 400 km/h made its debut today on the country's busiest Beijing-Shanghai line.

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Representative Iamge NASA is set to launch a pair of mini satellites that will study how military and airline communications, as well as GPS signals, get distorted when they pass through the Earth's upper atmosphere.The twin E-TBEx CubeSats -- short for Enhanced Tandem Beacon Experiment -- are scheduled to launch on June 24 aboard the US Department of Defense's Space Test Program-2 launch along with a total of 24 satellites.Related Stories NASA invites public to submit their names to fly aboard Mars 2020 roverNASA’s first-of-kind tests look to manage drones in cities NASA's major projects busting budgets, schedulesThree US firms chosen to help NASA land US astronauts on MoonFocus on Mars, defense, science: Trump blasts NASA over plans for moon return by 2024NASA offers live view of Mars 2020 rover in makingNASA's Mars helicopter testing enters final phaseThe E-TBEx CubeSats focus on how radio signals can be distorted by structured bubbles in this region, called the ionosphere. Especially problematic over the equator, these distortions can interfere with military and airline communications as well as GPS signals. The more we can learn about how these bubbles evolve, the more we can mitigate those problems -- but right now, scientists can not predict when these bubbles will form or how they will change over time."These bubbles are difficult to study from the ground," said Rick Doe, payload programme manager for the E-TBEx mission.  "If you see the bubbles start to form, they then move. We're studying the evolution of these features before they begin to distort the radio waves going through the ionosphere to better understand the underlying physics," Doe said.The ionosphere is the part of Earth's upper atmosphere where particles are ionised -- meaning they are separated out into a sea of positive and negative particles, called plasma. The plasma of the ionosphere is mixed in with neutral gases, like the air we breathe, so Earth's upper atmosphere -- and the bubbles that form there -- respond to a complicated mix of factors.Since its particles have electric charge, the plasma in this region responds to electric and magnetic fields. This makes the ionosphere responsive to space weather: conditions in space, including changing electric and magnetic fields, often influenced by the Sun's activity. Scientists also think that pressure waves launched by large storm systems can propagate up into the upper atmosphere, creating winds that shape how the bubbles move and change.   This means the ionosphere -- and the bubbles -- are shaped by terrestrial weather and space weather alike.The E-TBEx CubeSats send radio beacon signals at three frequencies -- close to those used by communications and GPS satellites -- to receiving stations on the ground, at which point scientists can detect minute changes in the signals' phase or amplitude. Those disruptions can then be mapped back to the region of the ionosphere through which they passed, giving scientists information about just how these bubbles form and evolve."All signals are created at the same time -- with the same phase -- so you can tell how they get distorted in passing through the bubbles," said Doe. "Then, by looking at the distortions, you can back out information about the amount of roughness and the density in the bubbles," he said.The data produced by the twin CubeSats is complemented by similar beacons onboard NOAA's six COSMIC-2 satellites. Like the E-TBEx CubeSats, the COSMIC-2 beacons send signals at three frequencies -- slightly different than those used by E-TBEx -- to receiving stations on the ground. The combination of measurements from all eight satellites will give scientists chances to study some of these bubbles from multiple angles at the same time.Also Read | NASA's Mars helicopter testing enters final phase 

NASA to launch twin satellites to study signal disruption from space

NASA is set to launch a pair of mini satellites that will study how military and airline communications, as well as GPS signals, get distorted when they pass through the Earth's upper atmosphere.

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A top World Health Organization official on Monday said that the WHO cannot compel China to divulge more data on the origins of COVID-19A top World Health Organization official on Monday said that the WHO cannot compel China to divulge more data on the origins of COVID-19. Mike Ryan, Director of the agency's emergencies programme, said at a news conference that the "WHO doesn't have the power to compel anyone in this regard", reported Al Jazeera.Meanwhile, he expected full 'cooperation' from member states. "We fully expect cooperation, input and support of all of our member states in that endeavour," Ryan said.He also proposed that studies are needed to take understanding of where the virus emerged to the "next level". There are competing theories that the virus jumped from animals, possibly starting with bats, to humans, or that it escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, reported Al Jazeera.The Wuhan lab leak theory has recently become the subject of renewed public debate after several prominent scientists called for a full investigation into the origins of the virus.The hypothesis that the virus was accidentally leaked from the lab was largely disregarded by scientists in the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak. China has repeatedly denied that the lab was responsible for the outbreak.Members of a WHO team that visited China earlier this year hunting for COVID-19's origins have said they did not have access to all data, driving continued debate about the country's transparency, reported Al Jazeera.(With ANI Inputs) /* .jw-reset-text, .jw-reset{line-height: 2em;}*/ .jw-time-tip .jw-time-chapter{display:none;} if ('' == comscore_jw_loaded || 'undefined' == comscore_jw_loaded || undefined == comscore_jw_loaded) { var comscore_jw_loaded = 1; firstjw = document.getElementsByClassName('jwvidplayer')[0]; cs_jw_script = document.createElement('script'); cs_jw_script.src = 'https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/internal-c2/plugins/streamingtag_plugin_jwplayer.js'; firstjw.parentNode.insertBefore(cs_jw_script, firstjw.nextSibling); } var jwconfig_8264572044 = { "file": "https://vod-indiatv.akamaized.net/hls/2021/05/0_j6ahvrqe/master.m3u8", "image": "https://thumbs.indiatvnews.com/vod/0_j6ahvrqe_big_thumb.jpg", "title": "'Can't predict next COVID surge but we can prevent it': WHO South-East Asia", "height": "440px", "width": "100%", "aspectratio": "16:9", "autostart": false, "controls": true, "mute": false, "volume": 25, "floating": false, "sharing": { "code": "", "sites": [ "facebook", "twitter", "email" ] }, "stretching": "exactfit", "primary": "html5", "hlshtml": true, "sharing_link": "", "duration": "119", "advertising": { "client": "vast", "autoplayadsmuted": true, "skipoffset": 5, "cuetext": "", "skipmessage": "Skip ad in xx", "skiptext": "SKIP", "preloadAds": true, "schedule": [ { "offset": "pre", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_PreRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=", "type": "linear" }, { "offset": "50%", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_MidRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=" }, { "offset": "post", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_PostRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=", "type": "linear" } ] } }; var jwvidplayer_8264572044 = ''; jwsetup_8264572044(); function jwsetup_8264572044() { jwvidplayer_8264572044 = jwplayer("jwvidplayer_8264572044").setup(jwconfig_8264572044); jwvidplayer_8264572044.on('ready', function () { ns_.StreamingAnalytics.JWPlayer(jwvidplayer_8264572044, { publisherId: "20465327", labelmapping: "c2=\"20465327\", c3=\"IndiaTV News\", c4=\"null\", c6=\"null\", ns_st_mp=\"jwplayer\", ns_st_cl=\"0\", ns_st_ci=\"0_j6ahvrqe\", ns_st_pr=\"'Can't predict next COVID surge but we can prevent it': WHO South-East Asia\", ns_st_sn=\"0\", ns_st_en=\"0\", ns_st_ep=\"'Can't predict next COVID surge but we can prevent it': WHO South-East Asia\", ns_st_ct=\"null\", ns_st_ge=\"News\", ns_st_st=\"'Can't predict next COVID surge but we can prevent it': WHO South-East Asia\", ns_st_ce=\"0\", ns_st_ia=\"0\", ns_st_ddt=\"2021-05-30\", ns_st_tdt=\"2021-05-30\", ns_st_pu=\"IndiaTV News\", ns_st_cu=\"https://vod-indiatv.akamaized.net/hls/2021/05/0_j6ahvrqe/master.m3u8\", ns_st_ty=\"video\"" }); }); jwvidplayer_8264572044.on('all', function (r) { if (jwvidplayer_8264572044.getState() == 'error' || jwvidplayer_8264572044.getState() == 'setupError') { jwvidplayer_8264572044.stop(); jwvidplayer_8264572044.remove(); jwvidplayer_8264572044 = ''; jwsetup_8264572044(); return; } }); jwvidplayer_8264572044.on('error', function (t) { jwvidplayer_8264572044.stop(); jwvidplayer_8264572044.remove(); jwvidplayer_8264572044 = ''; jwsetup_8264572044(); return; }); jwvidplayer_8264572044.on('mute', function () { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_8264572044.on('adPlay', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_8264572044.on('adPause', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_8264572044.on('pause', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_8264572044.on('error', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_8264572044.on('adBlock', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); } Also Read: Lifting Covid restrictions too quickly could be disastrous: WHO Director GeneralAlso Read: Eradicating COVID globally not a reasonable target: WHO 

Cannot compel China to give more info on COVID-19 origins, says WHO official

A top World Health Organization official on Monday said that the WHO cannot compel China to divulge more data on the origins of COVID-19

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Jamaat-ud-Dawah's second in-command, Abdur Rehman Makki arrested Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki, dreaded terrorist and second-in-command of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) has been arrested in Pakistan's Gujranwala. Makki is brother-in-law of Hafiz Saeed, mastermind of Mumbai terror attack. Makki carries a bounty of USD 10 million on his head. Makki, head of JuD's political and international affairs wing and in-charge of its charity Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), was arrested during a government crackdown against the outlawed organisations.Pakistan's Punjab state police spokesperson Nabila Ghazanfar confirmed Makki’s arrest. She, however, did not explain the charges under which he was arrested. Sources said Makki has been arrested for making a hate speech in Gujranwala city, some 80-km from Lahore.The sources also said his arrest should be seen in connection with the government's steps to comply with the requirement of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a USD 10 million reward for information that brings him to justice.Saeed is keeping a low profile and currently living at his Lahore residence under high security. For the first time in two decades, Saeed was not allowed to enter and deliver weekly sermon at JuD headquarters in Lahore since early this March.The JuD and its sister organization Falah-i-Insaniat (FIF) leadership has already gone underground in the wake of the government's action against the proscribed organizations.In February, Paris-based international terror financing watchdog FATF decided to continue the 'Grey' listing of Pakistan for its failure to stop funding of terrorist groups such as the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the JuD.The Pakistan government has launched a crackdown against the outlawed organisations under the National Action Plan 2015 to eliminate militancy and extremism from the country's soil.The Pakistan government had arrested over 100 members of banned outfits including the Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar’s son and brother and taken control of JeM, JuD and FIF properties including seminaries and mosques across the country apparently under immense international pressure. The government termed the action in accordance with the National Action Plan and meeting the obligations of the Financial Action Task Force.The Imran Khan-led government has also announced the freezing of accounts and seizure of assets linked to organisations banned by the UN Security Council.The government banned 11 organisations for having links with the proscribed outifts JuD, FIF and JeM on Saturday.After the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 Indian security personnel were killed by a suicide bomber of the Pakistan-based JeM, prime minister Khan had said Islamabad would not spare any group involved in militancy or using Pakistani soil for any kind of terror activity against other countries.The FIF, like the JuD, was also banned in March by the Pakistan government.Recently, the government announced to take control of more than 30,000 religious seminaries.The JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people. It had been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014. (With inputs from PTI)

Jamaat-ud-Dawah's second in-command, Abdur Rehman Makki arrested

Hafiz Abdur Rahman Makki, brother in law of Hafiz Saeed and second in-command of JuD has been held in Pakistan's Gujranwala. Makki's organisation, Ahl-e-Hadith, is a political-arm of Lashkar-e-Taiba. The United States has issued $ 10 million reward for Makki.

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Death toll from Tennessee tornadoes climbs to at least 24Rescuers searched through shattered Tennessee neighborhoods for bodies Tuesday, less than a day after tornadoes ripped across Nashville and other parts of the state as families slept. At least 24 people were killed, some in their beds, authorities said.The twisters that struck in the hours after midnight shredded more than 140 buildings and buried people in piles of rubble and wrecked basements. The storms moved so quickly that many people in their path could not flee to safer areas.“It hit so fast, a lot of folks didn’t have time to take shelter,” Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter said. “Many of these folks were sleeping.”The governor declared an emergency and sent the National Guard to help with search-and-rescue efforts. State emergency officials, who initially reported at least 25 dead, revised the toll to 24 fatalities on Tuesday evening after determining one death counted earlier was not storm-related.An unspecified number of people were missing.Early findings by National Weather Service survey teams indicated that the damage in Nashville and Wilson County to the east was inflicted by a tornado of at least EF-3 intensity, the agency said.One twister wrecked homes and businesses across a 10-mile (16 kilometer) stretch of Nashville that included parts of downtown. It smashed more than three dozen buildings, including destroying the tower and stained glass of a historic church. Another tornado damaged more than 100 structures along a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) path of destruction in Putnam County, wiping some homes from their foundations and depositing the wreckage far away.Daybreak revealed landscapes littered with blown-down walls and roofs, snapped power lines and huge broken trees, making many city streets and rural roads impassable. More than a dozen polling stations were also damaged, forcing Super Tuesday voters to wait in long lines at alternative sites.In Putnam County, 80 miles (some 130 kilometers) east of Nashville, houses and businesses were completely flattened. In one neighborhood, volunteers found five bodies. Neighbors and sheriff’s officers were still looking for two more. Later, authorities imposed an 8 p.m.-8 a.m. curfew in the county and reported one looting arrest.Nashville residents walked around on streets and sidewalks littered with debris, in neighborhoods where missing walls and roofs left living rooms and kitchens exposed. Mangled power lines and broken trees came to rest on cars, streets and piles of rubble.“We are resilient and we’re going to rebuild,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper said.During Gov. Bill Lee’s tour of Putnam County, homeowners dug through debris, trying to salvage any items not destroyed. One young woman held up a clean green blouse while standing on a second floor of a home that had no roof.President Donald Trump spoke with the governor by phone and pledged federal assistance, the White House said. Trump also announced plans to visit the disaster area on Friday.In Nashville, the twister’s path was mostly north and east of the heart of downtown, sparing many of the city’s biggest tourism draws — the honky tonks of Broadway, the Grand Ole Opry House, the storied Ryman Auditorium and the convention center.Instead the storm tore through the largely African American areas of Bordeaux and North Nashville as well as neighborhoods transformed by a recent building boom. Germantown and East Nashville are two of the city’s trendiest hotspots, with restaurants, music venues, high-end apartment complexes and rising home prices threatening to drive out longtime residents.“The dogs started barking before the sirens went off. They knew what was coming,” said Paula Wade, of East Nashville. “Then we heard the roar ... Something made me just sit straight up in bed, and something came through the window right above my head. If I hadn’t moved, I would’ve gotten a face full of glass.”The roof came crashing down on Ronald Baldwin and Harry Nahay in the bedroom of their one-story brick home in East Nashville. “We couldn’t get out,” Baldwin said. “And so I just kept kicking and kicking until we finally made a hole.”The roaring wind woke Evan and Carlie Peters, also in East Nashville, but they had no time to reach the relative safety of an interior bathroom.“Within about 10 seconds, the house started shaking,” Carlie Peters said. “I jumped on top of the ground. He jumped on top of me. The ceiling landed on top of him. ... we’re grateful to be alive.”With more than a dozen Super Tuesday polling places in Nashville’s Davidson County damaged, voters were sent to other locations, some of them with long lines. Election officials in Putnam County advised voters in eight precincts with damaged polling locations to vote at the main election office in Cookeville.Hours later, a judge ruled that some Tennessee polls must extend voting hours after four Democratic presidential candidates sued to keep the polls open, a Democratic party spokeswoman said.Lee said he observed numerous examples of people coming together to help one another. “In the worst of circumstances, the best of people comes out, and that’s what we’re seeing,” he said.Just as the governor stopped by to tour the devastation in Putnam County, a van of longtime customers at a local eatery — who proudly stated they ate there every morning — arrived to help clear debris.In the small town of Baxter, Mike Stephens was awakened when a big tree crashed through the roof of his house. He started cleaning up as soon as the sun rose. He cut up one tree and had help from a neighbor with a backhoe and a man who stopped by with a chainsaw.“I’ve only met him once, and he just happened to show up while we’re out here,” Stephens said of his neighbor. “And then this other guy he just happened to stop by. I don’t know him.”Wayne Stephens, a technician at a local car dealership, had Tuesday off from his job. With no damage to his home, he got in his truck with his chainsaw. He’s not related to Mike Stephens and had never met him. He said he only wanted to help “as much as I can.”

Death toll from Tennessee tornadoes climbs to at least 24

Rescuers searched through shattered Tennessee neighborhoods for bodies Tuesday, less than a day after tornadoes ripped across Nashville and other parts of the state as families slept. At least 24 people were killed, some in their beds, authorities said.

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Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet flies in an undisclosed location. China flew more than 30 military planes toward Taiwan on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, the second large display of force in as many days.China flew more than 30 military planes toward Taiwan on Saturday, the second large display of force in as many days.Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said 39 aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone in two sorties, one during the day and one at night. That followed a similar pattern on Friday when 38 planes flew into the area south of the self-governing island.China claims Taiwan, which lies off its east coast, as its territory. The two split in 1949 during a civil war in which the Communists took control of mainland China and the rival Nationalists set up a government in Taiwan. The Communist Party marked the 72nd anniversary of its rule on Friday.Taiwan’s premier, Su Tseng-chang, spoke out on Saturday against the first day’s flights.“China has always conducted brutal and barbarian actions to jeopardize regional peace,” he said while attending the opening ceremony of a science park in southern Taiwan.China has been sending military planes into the area south of Taiwan on a frequent basis for more than a year. The 38 and 39 planes on Friday and Saturday were the most in a single day since Taiwan began releasing reports on the flights, Taiwan’s Central News Agency said.The Defense Ministry said 20 planes took part in the daytime flights on Saturday and another 19 at night. It identified most of them as J-17 and SU-30 fighter jets.

Chinese warplanes fly toward Taiwan for 2nd straight day

The Defense Ministry said 20 planes took part in the daytime flights on Saturday and another 19 at night. It identified most of them as J-17 and SU-30 fighter jets.

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Coronavirus outbreak: South Africa declares state of disasterSouth Africa has announced a National State of Disaster over the coronavirus crisis as the number of people infected by the disease in the country reached 61. President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement in a live national television broadcast on Sunday. "We have decided to establish a national command council and will meet three times a week to coordinate all aspects of this emergency response," Ramaphosa said.The president announced "social distancing measures" in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak and said further details will be issued on Monday. These include a prohibition on gatherings of more than 100 people, cancellation of all large celebrations of national days, including the Human Rights Day on March 21, and the closure of all schools from March 18 until after the Easter weekend.Visas will be refused to anyone who has visited a high-risk country in the last 20 days, and 35 of the country's 53 land ports will also be shut as of Monday, Ramaphosa said.The President urged citizens to avoid international travel to high-risk countries but cautioned against any panic."We cannot allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by fear and panic. We must stop spreading unverified and fake news," he said."While we are facing a medical emergency far graver than we have experienced in recent times, we are not helpless. We have the expertise, means and knowledge to fight this disease. We also have partners, various countries and institutions, working with us," the President asserted."If we act swiftly, we can limit the effects of the disease," he added.Ramaphosa said the Cabinet had decided to take urgent and drastic measures to manage the disease and reduce its impact on South African society."So far SA has 61 confirmed cases, but we are expecting that number to rise. This calls for serious measures. Given the scale and the speed at which the virus is spreading, it is now clear no country is immune or will be spared," he said. "The world is facing a medical emergency, far graver than what we have experienced in over a century," Ramaphosa said.The President said the virus's impact on the South African economy would be huge, especially with the sudden drop in international tourism and severe instability in all global markets.Steps would be taken to mitigate this, Ramaphosa said.To date, 61 people in South Africa have tested positive for novel coronavirus -- the second-highest number of cases in Africa after Egypt, which has reported 110 so far.The number of infections more than doubled over the weekend with 37 new cases announced. Indian community events in South Africa stand cancelled amid Coronavirus outbreakThree of the biggest annual charity and cultural events in South Africa organised by the local Indian community stand cancelled following the declaration of a National State of Disaster over the coronavirus outbreak. In Durban, ISKCON, organiser of the Durban Festival of Chariots that attracts tens of thousands of people to the beachfront, has decided to postpone the much-loved festival to a more appropriate time later this year."The decision has been taken in careful consultation with all stakeholders, who place the health and safety of local and international guests, participants and the greater community as top priority," the organisers said. The festival was scheduled for the Easter weekend.In Lenasia, south of Johannesburg, the 35th edition of the Gandhi Walk, the oldest event in South Africa commemorating Mahatma Gandhi, has been postponed. It was scheduled for April 5."Following a meeting by the organising committee and in consultation with various parties and stakeholders, the committee decided to postpone the event because it takes the health, safety and well-being of its walkers, volunteers, partners, sponsors, members and the community at large very seriously," the Gandhi Walk Committee said in a statement.Also in Lenasia, the much-awaited annual gala fund-raising banquet of the Saaberie Chishty Ambulance Service, which provides free service to the needy of all communities, has been postponed.The three organisations joined scores of religious, sports and cultural organisations that have cancelled or postponed major events following the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that gatherings of more than 100 people are now prohibited in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also Read | COVID-19 pandemic hits Kerala tourismAlso Read | Coronavirus vaccine trial starts today​ 

Coronavirus outbreak: South Africa declares state of disaster with 61 confirmed COVID-19 cases

Three of the biggest annual charity and cultural events in South Africa organised by the local Indian community stand cancelled following the declaration of a National State of Disaster over the coronavirus outbreak.

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A prime suspect in high-profile rape and murder case of seven-year-old Zainab has been arrested in Punjab province of Pakistan.Police sources confirmed suspect Imran Ali, 23, a neighbour of Zainab, had confessed to his crime before an investigation team.Related Stories Video: Pak actress Saba Qamar slams law enforcement agencies, makes emotional appeal asking #JusticeForZainab#JusticeForZainab: Twitter gets flooded with horrifying stories of child abuse shared by Pakistani men and women They said Ali had been taken into custody over two weeks ago but was let to go on the Zainab family’s interference ‘claiming that he could not be a culprit’.    Punjab government spokesman Malik Ahmad told PTI that Ali had confessed to his crime but it would be confirmed whether he is the culprit or not after a DNA test.    “Imran Ali’s DNA test is underway and hopefully we will have the report later in the day,” Ahmad said, adding the suspect has been arrested from Pakpatan district of Punjab.  On January 5, Zainab had gone missing while going to a religious tuition centre near her house in Kasur city, some 50-km from Lahore. Her parents had been in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah and she had been living with her maternal aunt.    After her abduction, a CCTV footage showed her walking with a stranger near Peerowala Road.  On January 9, her body was recovered from a heap of trash near the Shahbaz Khan Road. Autopsy report had confirmed rape.  Police have carried out DNA test of more than 1,000 suspects. The Supreme Court on last Sunday gave a 72-hour deadline to Inspector General of Police to arrest the culprit.  Violent protests gripped the Kasur city following Zainab’s murder that claimed two lives. The Zainab incident also stirred a national outcry demanding justice for her.  Last year, 4,139 incidents of child abuse took place in the province where 43 per cent of them were acquainted with perpetrators.

Zainab murder: 7-year-old girl’s suspected rapist, killer arrested in Punjab province of Pakistan

Police sources confirmed suspect Imran Ali, 23, a neighbour of Zainab, had confessed to his crime before an investigation team.

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Turkey coup bid: 141 life terms for 16 army officersRepresentational imageA Turkish court on Thursday handed out 141 life sentences to 16 former senior members of the armed forces for their role in the failed 2016 coup.Judges at the Ankara court found defendants guilty of "violating the Constitution" by "conspiring to destroy constitutional order" and "leading an armed group" and other charges. Related Stories Turkey vows to keep striking PKK targets in IraqTurkey expects 'concrete steps' from US on cleric's returnTurkey sees 'positive' signals from US on northern SyriaOne of the convicts was Akin Ozturk, a former four-star general in the Turkish armed forces, according to Hurriyet daily. Others facing the trial included Sinan Surer, a commander accused of firing at civilians during the coup, and Mehmet Digli, a former general who informed the head of the armed forces of the attempted military overthrow. Another 162 soldiers were given life sentences for their involvement in the coup attempt, Efe news reported. Charges were dropped against 33 soldiers, although Ugur Kizilca, lawyer for the victims of the coup, said he would appeal the decision. The sentence was part of a macro trial against 224 soldiers accused of attempting to seize power on July 15, 2016. The unrest that night in major Turkish cities, like Ankara and Istanbul, led to death of 240 people, according to Turkish officials. In the aftermath of the attempted coup, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan clamped down on major institutions, dismissing and detaining thousands of members of the armed forces and civil services. Ankara has accused the exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen of masterminding the putsch and has asked the US, where he lives, to hand him over to Turkish officials. Turkey has, however, not filed the official extradition request. He will be the subject of a forthcoming trial along with 13 other defendants. Western leaders have accused Erdogan of leading a purge against the public institutions and of abusing national state of emergency, which was issued in the aftermath.An estimated 130,000 civil servants have been fired and around 80,000 accused of having links to Gülen. Gülen's network was once closely associated with Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) until around 2013 when they became embroiled in a power struggle. 

Turkey coup bid: 141 life terms for 16 army officers

Judges at the Ankara court found defendants guilty of "violating the Constitution" by "conspiring to destroy constitutional order" and "leading an armed group" and other charges.

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Over 250 Afghan Sikhs, Hindus want safe passage to West, not IndiaMore than 250 Afghans belonging to minority communities of Sikh and Hindu, who have connections in India, have been holed up in a Sikh shrine just seven km from the international airport in Kabul and are desperately awaiting their evacuation to a Western nation.For them, India is not the preferred destination as a refugee. The reason: they believe it took years and years to procure Indian citizenship. Also, there is too much red-tapism while procuring government documents like a passport and an Aadhaar card.They are praying to enter a Western nation as a refugee where they are hoping to live a dignified life. They comprise dozens of women and children."We understand their urgency at this point. Our volunteers are working with a team of ex-military contractors and the US State Department to help 250-270 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus find their way safely to the international airport in Kabul," US-based global humanitarian non-profit organization United Sikh's International Humanitarian Aid Director Gurvinder Singh told IANS over the phone.He said many of them took refuge in the Karte Parwan Gurdwara after the country fell into the hands of the Taliban."Most of them belong to middle-class families and they were doing small-time business in Kabul. Even the Taliban assured them that they won't be harmed and they will play a crucial role in the recovery of war-torn Afghanistan," he said."But all of them were desperately awaiting their evacuation from the country well ahead of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan (on August 31). After that there might be potential attacks by Islamic State terror group," he said."We are providing them emergency humanitarian aid, besides international protection and intervention for the families. This is vital for their secure and permanent resettlement. We are on the job to evacuate them by August 31," said an optimistic Gurvinder Singh, 38, who is based in Texas."They can be evacuated either to Canada or the US or the UK or Australia or New Zealand. We are in constant touch with all these countries. Our priority is to ensure safe passage to them from the gurdwara to the airport that is just seven km away," he said.A day before the "martyrdom attack" near Kabul's international airport killing 13 US service members and dozens of Afghans on August 27, he said all the Sikh and Hindu families were boarded in nine minivans and were on the way to the north gate of the airport which is under the control of the American forces.Their vehicles were attacked by some terror groups ahead of the airport and they narrowly escaped. For 18-long hours they remained stranded in the vehicles and failed to enter the airport.He said their teams remain in constant contact with the community in Kabul as another attempt is made before the August 31 deadline for evacuation flights from Afghanistan.Gurvinder Singh said they have set up an Afghan Helpdesk in New Delhi to reach out to the displaced.Since the terror attack on March 25, 2020, in Gurdwara Har Rai in Kabul, the United Sikhs' ongoing relief work for Afghan Sikhs was enhanced and moved forward with urgency.For decades, the Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan have been victims of discrimination, terror, violence, and persecution at the hands of extremists. The proof is in the mass exodus of a proud community that once numbered over 100,000 to now being dwindled to less than 700, said the humanitarian organization.Any Afghan citizen wishing to escape persecution must obtain a passport. To facilitate this resettlement, the United Sikhs have been requested by those on the ground as well as by multiple Afghan Sikh advocates to undertake the responsibility of passports for 356 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus in 2020.In 2018 after the Jalalabad bombing that left 12 Sikh leaders dead, the global advocacy presented before the 39th session of the Human Rights Council the plight of the Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan.In 2019, the Permanent Missions to the UN were urged to address the continuing threats to the safety of the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus. Later in 2019, a petition was filed in the Canadian Parliament seeking safe passage.

Over 250 Afghan Sikhs, Hindus want safe passage to West, not India

For the Afghan Sikhs, India is not the preferred destination as a refugee. The reason: they believe it took years and years to procure Indian citizenship. Also, there is too much red-tapism while procuring government documents like a passport and an Aadhaar card.

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US President Donald Trump and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran KhanPakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's first meeting with US President Donald Trump on July 22 will help "renew and reinvigorate" the bilateral ties and he would highlight the importance of resolving "disputes" through dialogue and promoting peace in South Asia, the foreign office has said.Ending the confusion, the White House and Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday announced Prime Minister Khan's maiden visit to the US at the invitation of President Trump.The ministry said that Prime Minister Khan will visit the United States of America on July 21 to 23. "This would be the first summit-level engagement between Pakistan and the United States since both leaders assumed their respective offices," it said. During the visit, Prime Minister Khan and President Trump would have wide-ranging interaction at the White House on July 22 covering bilateral and regional matters. Geo News, quoting diplomatic sources, claimed the visit had been finalised after hectic behind-the-scene efforts by the two sides through the diplomatic channels.Trump's willingness to host Imran suggests that the two sides might have made forward movement on certain thorny issues, particularly on Afghanistan, the report quoted observers as saying.President Trump has been critical of Pakistan's role in the fight against terrorism, especially Islamabad's role in war-ravged Afghanistan. The Trump administration has suspended security and other assistance to Pakistan, saying Islamabad in return has given only "lies and deceit."Officials said Khan would share his perspective on the Afghan endgame as well as how to build trust between the Pakistan and the United States. During his various engagements in Washington, the Prime Minister will outline his vision of 'Naya Pakistan' and underscore the importance Pakistan attaches to a broader and multi-faceted relationship with the United States, the foriegn office statement said. In the regional context, the Prime Minister Khan will underscore Pakistan's commitment to peace and stability and the importance of constructive engagement to promote a political solution in Afghanistan, it said. He will also highlight Pakistan's "policy of 'peaceful neighbourhood' aimed at resolving disputes through dialogue and promoting the vision of peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia and beyond," the statement said, in an apparent reference to the Pakistan-India tensions, especially after the Pulwama terror attack."The Prime Minister's visit will help renew and reinvigorate long-standing ties between Pakistan and the United States," the statement said. "It will contribute towards building a broad-based, long-term and enduring partnership between the two countries on the basis of mutual interest and mutual benefit," it added. In Washington, the White House said, President Trump will welcome Prime Minister Khan and his visit will focus on strengthening cooperation between the United States and Pakistan to bring peace, stability, and economic prosperity to a region that has seen far too much conflict. President Trump and Prime Minister Khan will discuss a range of issues, including counter-terrorism, defence, energy, and trade, with the goal of creating the conditions for a peaceful South Asia and an enduring partnership between our two countries, the White House statement said.Interestingly, the White House statement came hours after the State Department on Wednesday said that the White House was yet to confirm "reports" of the meeting between the two leaders, after Islamabad officially announced Prime Minister Khan's first visit to America on June 4.Asked to comment on Khan's schedule in Washington, state department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus told journalists on Wednesday that she would reach out to the White House to confirm or not confirm the visit."To my knowledge, that has actually not been confirmed by the White House. I know that I have read the same reports that you have, but I would reach out to the White House to confirm or not confirm that visit, but that's – we don't have anything to announce here from the State Department," Ortagus said.Soon after her comments, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Faisal tweeted that, "We wish to caution against speculation about PM's visit."We are in close contact with the U.S. side. As per practice, formal announcements are made at the appropriate time," he said.Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and other leaders will accompany Prime Minister Khan during the visit, Pakistani media reported.In September, Khan will travel to New York to represent Pakistan at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). It will be Khan's maiden address to the UNGA session since he assumed office in August 2018.Also Read: Donald Trump renews attack on 'wacky' UK ambassador calls him 'very stupid guy'Also Read: Who's in, who's out: Meet the Democrats running for presidentAlso Read: No longer acceptable: Trump re-emphasises disfavour on India levying high tariffs on American products

Pak PM Imran's first meeting with Trump may help reinvigorate bilateral ties

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's first meeting with US President Donald Trump on July 22 will help "renew and reinvigorate" the bilateral ties and he would highlight the importance of resolving "disputes" through dialogue and promoting peace in South Asia, the foreign office has said.

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The stage is set for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden meeting with US President Donald Trump on Monday. The meeting is grabbing the attention of nations across the world as PM Modi is the first foreign leader to be invited by the Trump administration for a “working dinner” at the White House. Trump’s description of PM Modi as a “true friend” has already set the tone for a productive maiden meeting between the two leaders.  “Look forward to welcoming India's PM Modi to @WhiteHouse on Monday. Important strategic issues to discuss with a true friend,” he has tweeted ahead of PM Modi reaching Washington DC. PM Modi, in return, thanked Trump for the warm welcome rendered to him, while saying that he was looking forward to discussions with the latter. “Thank you @POTUS for the warm personal welcome. Greatly look forward to my meeting and discussions with you @realDonaldTrump,” he tweeted. However, the future course of bilateral bilateral partnership will depend how both sides can deliver on each other’s priorities on a host of issues, such as over the Asia-Pacific and Afghanistan-Pakistan regions, defence, immigration and trade. The agenda is also likely to cover some complicated issues like the H-1B visas, Paris climate pact and Make in India. One of the key concerns on the Indian side is the issue of H1B visas for Indian professionals. US officials said on Friday that if the matter comes up, the American administration will respond to it.During the meetings, India would also look at the US for stronger cooperation on counter-terrorism and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.“The US and India are both committed to combating all forms of terrorism and strengthening their cooperation in areas like terrorist screening, intelligence and information sharing, terrorists’ use of the Internet, and, of course, terrorist designations,” a US official was quoted by The Indian Express as saying. “I think we can expect to see some new initiatives on counter-terrorism cooperation,” he added.   The meeting is also an opportunity for both sides to set their priorities, building on achievements from the Bush and Obama administrations. The Indo-US civil nuclear deal is expected to figure during talks, but a pact between the NPCIL and Westinghouse to build six power reactors in Andhra Pradesh is unlikely to be signed.A host of strategic issues are expected to be discussed during the parleys between the leaders of the world's two largest democracies, including the progress on the 2008 civil nuclear deal, according to official sources here. They said a financial turmoil in Westinghouse and absence of a functional reference atomic plant were the main impediments behind the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited's (NPCIL) unwillingness to sign the agreement with the American nuclear giant.According to a joint statement by Modi and the then US president Barack Obama in 2015, both the sides had resolved to work towards "finalising the contractual agreement by June 2017". However, a lot of water has flown under the bridge since then.Westinghouse, which was acquired by Japanese conglomerate Toshiba in 2007, filed for bankruptcy in March. Apprehending uncertainty, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the NPCIL are unwilling to go ahead with any agreement with the beleaguered company till it comes out of the financial turmoil. The Defence Technology and Trade Initiative that facilitates American arms technology transfers to India will be pushed by the PM.There are reports that the two leaders could hold discussions on a proposal for India to buy 100 armed Predator drones made by General Atomics and over support for India’s plans for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.   Besides enhancing defence ties, terrorism in South Asia and Pakistan’s role in sponsoring terror, and China’s ambitions in the Asia-Pacific region will be other key strategic issues that will be on the agenda. The Trump administration, just days ahead of Modi’s visit, announced an inter-agency review of American support to Pakistan, which may lead to a reduction in US aid for Pak. The Modi government, on its part, wants stronger commitment from the Trump administration to fight Pak-based terror groups, including JeM and LeT. The two leaders could put in place a mechanism or arrangement for a joint economic partnership in the Asia-Pacific region, taking forward their 2015 joint vision to stabilise the region where China is now emerging as a leading power. Chinese media on Sunday showed interest in the meeting as it may bring some significant changes to the India-US bilateral ties which also concern China's interests. An article in the state-run Global Times said, “It will be interesting to see how Modi's visit to the US will influence the two countries' bilateral economic ties.”

PM Modi in US: Trump’s ‘true friend’ tweet sets tone for meeting; defence ties, counter-terrorism high on agenda

The meeting is grabbing the attention of nations across the world as PM Modi is the first foreign leader to be invited by the Trump administration for a “working dinner” at the White House

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REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGEWaiting to be executed for killing her husband, an Iranian woman died of a heart attack. But she was still hanged. According to reports, Zahra Ismaili was made to watch as 16 men were hanged in front of her as she waited for her turn at the Rajai Shahr Prison, west of the capital Tehran. According to The Times, the mother-of-two had been convicted of killing her husband, a senior official in the Ministry of Intelligence. Omid Moradi, her lawyer claimed that her husband had allegedly been abusive to her and their daughter and that Zahra had acted in self-defence. Describing the events in a social media post, Moradi said Ismaili's death certificate states cardiac arrest as the cause of her death because 16 men were hanged before her eyes. Zahra's heart stopped and she died before she was taken to the gallows, Moradi reportedly wrote. "They hanged her lifeless body, and the victim's mother personally kicked the stool from under her feet so she could see her daughter-in-law's corpse on the gallows for even a few seconds.READ MORE: Japan appoints 'Minister of Loneliness'. Here's why

Convicted Iranian woman hanged despite dying of heart attack

Waiting to be executed for killing her husband, an Iranian woman died of a heart attack. But she was still hanged. According to reports, Zahra Ismaili was made to watch as 16 men were hanged in front of her as she waited for her turn at the Rajai Shahr Prison, west of the capital Tehran.

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Winston Churchill's statue vandalised amid Black Lives Matter protests in LondonThe statue of Winston Churchill has been defaced by anti-racism protesters in England's Westminister during the Black Lives Matter protests on Sunday. The demonstrators scrawled "was a racist" on the statue of wartime British Prime Minister in Parliament Square on Sunday afternoon as thousands descended on London for another protest over the death of George Floyd, as reported by The Evening Standard. The activists surrounded the monument and jeered "Churchill was a racist", despite others intervening to protect it from further defacement. According to reports, the same statue was also defaced with green graffiti during a huge anti-racism rally during the 76th anniversary of D-Day. After the vandalism of the Winston Churchill statue became public knowledge, TV personality Piers Morgan and some others took to social media to denounce the act and claimed that it was not a good way for the protesters to make a point. Other people have called out the police for not preventing the incident. British commentator Darren Grimes also took to Twitter and asked the police on how the Churchill statue could be de-faced without action being taken.Floyd, a black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee on his neck even after he pleaded for air while lying handcuffed on the ground. 

'Churchill was racist': Wartime British PM's statue vandalised amid Black Lives Matter protests in London

The statue of Winston Churchill has been defaced by anti-racism protesters in England's Westminister during the Black Lives Matter protests on Sunday.

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Trump may release transcript of April Ukraine callUS President Donald Trump has said that was likely to release the full transcript of his April telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, a day before public impeachment hearings were set to begin in the House."The witch hunt continues," Trump told reporters Saturday while departing the White House to attend the Louisiana State University Tigers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide football game."The Republicans have never been so united, and I think the people of our country have never been so united," he added.Trump called Zelensky to congratulate him in April after his victory in that country's presidential election, and then again in July, reports Efe news.A rough transcript of the July 25 call has already been released by the White House.Meanwhile, House Republicans have asked to call on Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, as well as an anonymous whistleblower whose initial complaint sparked the impeachment inquiry.Representative Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, has submitted a list of eight individual witnesses that he would like to testify as part of this week's public hearings into whether the President committed an impeachment offence in his dealings with Ukraine.Three senior US diplomats who worked on Ukraine issues were scheduled to appear in open hearings, all of whom have testified behind closed doors recently that they were alarmed by the July call in which the president appeared to link defence aide to the Ukraine with his demands that the country launch investigations into the Hunter Biden's work for an energy company there."Americans see through this sham impeachment process," Nunes wrote in a letter addressed to his Democratic counterpart, Adam Schiff, the chairman of the intelligence committee. Nunes outlined his list of witnesses that he hopes to call "to provide transparency to your otherwise opaque and unfair process," he wrote.Democrats are unlikely to accede to calling the anonymous whistleblower, whom Republicans are eager to hear from publicly, or the younger Biden.Schiff said he was evaluating the Republican witness requests - but suggested that he would not allow the hearings to be used to launch an investigation of Biden, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination and could face off with Trump in next year's general election."This inquiry is not, and will not serve, however, as a vehicle to undertake the same sham investigations into the Bidens or 2016 that the President pressed Ukraine to conduct for his personal political benefit, or to facilitate the President's effort to threaten, intimidate, and retaliate against the whistleblower who courageously raised the initial alarm," Schiff said in a Saturday statement.Beyond the whistleblower, Republicans have asked to hear from: Devon Archer, a business partner of Hunter Biden; Democratic political consultant Alexandra Chalupa; State Department official David Hale; former White House aide Tim Morrison; researcher Nellie Ohr; and former Ukraine special envoy Kurt Volker.They have also requested to hear from any of the people the anonymous whistleblower relied upon as sources to draft his nine-page complaint that sparked the impeachment inquiry when it was released publicly in September.Trump has suggested, without evidence, that Vice President Biden took official actions that would have benefited the company while his son sat on the board.Hale, Morrison and Volker were key national security advisers when all the events took place.Chalupa helped disseminate research on Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's work in Ukraine to US diplomats and journalists. And Ohr was a researcher who worked on a dossier of unverified material compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele that was critical of Trump. Some of that dossier was reportedly compiled from Ukranian sources.ALSO READ | Donald Trump Impeachment: What you need to knowALSO READ | Not in a hurry on a trade deal with China: Trump

Trump may release transcript of April Ukraine call

Meanwhile, House Republicans have asked to call on Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, as well as an anonymous whistleblower whose initial complaint sparked the impeachment inquiry.

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US will ban Tiktok on Sept 15 unless an American company buys it, says Trump US President Donald Trump on Monday said the popular Chinese app, TikTok, would be banned in the country beginning September 15, unless it is bought by an American company and asserted that a substantial amount of the buyout deal should go to the treasury. Trump's remarks came after media reported that Technology giant Microsoft is in talks to buy the U.S. operations of TikTok, a deal that would give the U.S. software giant a popular social-media service while alleviating the Trump administration's pressure on TikTok and its parent company ByteDance Ltd. However, the president is in favour of a complete 100 per cent purchase and not the 30 per cent as reportedly being negotiated now. Trump confirmed to reporters that he spoke to Microsoft's India-born CEO Satya Nadella on the issue."We had a great conversation. He (Nadella) called me to see how I felt about it. I said, look, it can't be controlled for security reasons by China...(its) too big, too invasive. It can't be...I don't mind whether it's Microsoft or somebody else, a big company...American company buys it. It's probably easier to buy the whole thing rather than to buy 30 per cent of it," Trump told reporters in the Cabinet Room of the White House."I said how do you do 30 per cent? Who's going to get the name. The name is hot. The brand is hot. Who's going to get the name and who is going to get that when it's owned by two different companies. So, my personal opinion was, you probably better off buying the whole thing rather than buying 30 per cent of it. I think buying 30 per cent is complicated and I suggested that he can go ahead. He can try," he said.Trump said he has "set a date at around September 15 at which point it (TikTok) is going to be out of business in the United States".However, he said, "If somebody, whether it's Microsoft or somebody else buys it. That would be interesting, I did say that if you buy it, whatever the price is that goes to whoever owns it." Trump said there would have to be a substantial payment to the US government as part of the deal."A very substantial portion of that price is going to have to come into the treasury of the US because we're making it possible for this deal to happen. Right now, they don't have any rights unless we give it to them. So, we're going to give them the rights that has to come into. It has to come into this country. It's a little bit like the landlord tenant. Without a lease, the tenant has nothing. So they pay what's called key money or they pay something," he said.Trump said TikTok is a great asset "but it's not a great asset in the US unless they have the approval of" the American government."So it'll close down on September 15 unless Microsoft or somebody else is able to buy it and work out a deal. An appropriate deal. And the Treasury gets a lot of money, a lot of them," he said.Meanwhile, Redmond-headquartered Microsoft, in a statement on Sunday, said following a conversation between Nadella and Trump, it is prepared to continue discussions to explore a purchase of TikTok in the US."Microsoft fully appreciates the importance of addressing the President's concerns. It is committed to acquiring TikTok subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury," the statement said.Microsoft will move quickly to pursue discussions with TikTok's parent company ByteDance in a matter of weeks and will complete these discussions in any event by September 15, it said.Trump last week threatened to ban the popular video-sharing app in the US after concerns were raised that it could be a national security risk.Microsoft said the discussions with TikTok's parent firm ByteDance will build upon a notification made by Microsoft and ByteDance to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).Microsoft added that "in any event" it would finish talking with ByteDance no later than September 15.The two companies have provided notice of their intent to explore a preliminary proposal that would involve a purchase of the TikTok service in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and would result in Microsoft owning and operating TikTok in these markets.Microsoft may also invite other American investors to participate on a minority basis in this purchase.The company said among other measures, Microsoft would ensure that all private data of TikTok's American users is transferred to and remains in the US.US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday said TikTok cannot stay in the current format in the US as it "risks sending back information on 100 million Americans".Mnuchin said he has spoken to several top American lawmakers and all agree that "there has to be a change".In recent weeks, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has accused TikTok of collecting personal information of Americans.TikTok has previously stressed that its US user data is already stored on US-based servers and backed up in Singapore, and is therefore not subject to Chinese law as some US officials have feared.(With PTI inputs)

Donald Trump threatens to ban Chinese app TikTok on September 15 unless an American company buys it

Trump's remarks came after media reported that Technology giant Microsoft is in talks to buy the U.S. operations of TikTok, a deal that would give the U.S. software giant a popular social-media service while alleviating the Trump administration's pressure on TikTok and its parent company ByteDance Ltd.

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Colorado wildfires burn hundreds of homes, force evacuationsAn estimated 580 homes, a hotel and a shopping center have burned and tens of thousands of people were evacuated in wind-fueled wildfires outside Denver, officials said Thursday evening. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said only one injury has been reported, but didn’t rule out finding out later about more severe injuries or death due to the intensity of fires that quickly swept across the region as winds gusted up to 105 mph (169 kph).The wildfires, spanning 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers), engulfed parts of the area in smoky, orangish skies as residents scrambled to get to safety.The city of Louisville, which has a population of about 21,000, was ordered to evacuate after residents in Superior, which has 13,000 residents, were told to leave. The neighboring towns are roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Denver.Several blazes started in the area Thursday, at least some sparked by downed power lines.Six people who were injured in the fires were being treated at UCHealth Broomfield Hospital, spokesperson Kelli Christensen said. A nearby portion of U.S. Highway 36 also was shut down.Colorado’s Front Range, where most of the state’s population lives, had an extremely dry and mild fall, and winter so far has continued to be mostly dry. Snow was expected Friday in the region though.One video captured by a bystander outside a Superior Costco store showed an apocalyptic scene with winds whipping through barren trees in the parking lot surrounded by gray skies, a hazy sun and small fires scattered across the ground.Leah Angstman and her husband saw similar dark skies while returning to their Louisville home from Denver International Airport after being away for the holidays. As they were sitting on the bus going toward Boulder, Angstman recalled instantly leaving clear blue skies and entering clouds of brown and yellow smoke.“The wind rocked the bus so hard that I thought the bus would tip,” she wrote in a message to The Associated Press.The visibility was so poor that the bus had to pull over and they waited a half-hour until a regional transit authority van escorted them to a turnaround on the highway. There she saw four separate fires burning in bushes across the freeway, she said.“The sky was dark, dark brown, and the dirt was blowing in swirls across the sidewalk like snakes,” she said.Angstman later ended up evacuating, getting in a car with her husband and driving northeast without knowing where they would end up. Vignesh Kasinath, an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Colorado in Boulder, evacuated from a neighborhood in Superior with his wife and her parents. Kasinath said the family was overwhelmed because of the sudden evacuation warning and anxious from the chaos while trying to leave.“It’s only because I am active on Twitter I came to know about this,” said Kasinath, who said he did not receive an official evacuation notice from authorities.The fires prompted Gov. Jared Polis to declare a state of a emergency, allowing the state to access disaster emergency funds.The evacuations come as climate change is making weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive, scientists say. A historic drought and heat waves have made wildfires harder to fight in the U.S. West.ALSO READ | Israel strikes Gaza after gunfire wounds civilian near fence

Colorado wildfires burn hundreds of homes, force evacuations

The wildfires, spanning 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers), engulfed parts of the area in smoky, orangish skies as residents scrambled to get to safety.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping today urged the BRICS countries to push for "peaceful settlement" of regional disputes, amidst a standoff between India and China in Sikkim and Beijing's growing assertiveness in the disputed South and East China seas. Xi made the remarks at an informal leaders' meeting of the BRICS, which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, ahead of a Group of 20 summit in the German port city of Hamburg, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported. He pressed the BRICS members to unswervingly build an open world economy, champion multilateralism and promote common development. The BRICS leaders exchanged views on the current international political and economic circumstances and the G20's priorities, and reached important agreements on strengthening BRICS unity and coordination, jointly improving global economic governance and promoting sustainable development, the report said. The Chinese leader, who presided over the meeting, also called on the BRICS countries to "push for peaceful settlement of regional conflicts and disputes, and to consolidate the role of the G20 mechanism as the premier platform for international economic cooperation," the report said. The Xinhua report did not elaborate on what Xi meant by "regional disputes". Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi, the meeting was attended by Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin and South African President Jacob Zuma. The leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pledged to work together for positive results at the BRICS summit in the southeastern Chinese seaside city of Xiamen later this year. China and India have been engaged in a stand-off in the Dokalam area near the Bhutan tri-junction for the past three weeks after a People's Liberation Army construction party attempted to build a road. Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Dokalam while China claims it as part of its Donglang region. China is also engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Beijing has built up artificial islands and militarised many of them. Both the South China Sea and the East China Sea areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources. They are also vital to global trade. China claims sovereignty over all of South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims. China also lays claim to tiny islands in the East China Sea between Japan and the Korean peninsula, and between Japan and Taiwan. The US today said it has flown two bombers over East Asian waters, as tensions continue to run high in the region. The B-1B Lancers took part in joint military drills with Japan in the East China Sea, the US Air Force said in a statement. They bombers then flew over the highly contentious South China Sea. The US had also recently sent a navy warship near an artificial island in the South China Sea as part of the first "freedom of navigation" operation under President Donald Trump. China has previously termed the US' move as "irresponsible" and warned that America's deliberate provocations would have "extremely dangerous consequences" to regional stability. 

Xi Jinping calls for ‘peaceful settlement’ of ‘regional disputes’

China and India have been engaged in a stand-off in the Dokalam area near the Bhutan tri-junction for the past three weeks after a People's Liberation Army construction party attempted to build a road.

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World Heritage Committee closes Fuzhou session, adds 34 new heritage sites. The 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of Unesco has wrapped in Fuzhou, capital of China's Fujian province, with a total of 34 new sites inscribed on the World Heritage List.As the session ended on Saturday, the latest inscriptions, which include 29 cultural sites and five natural ones, bring the total number of sites on Unesco's World Heritage to 1,154, reports Xinhua news agency.Among the newly added sites is "Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China" in Fujian, which brings the number of world heritage sites in the country to 56.The Chongqing Wulipo National Nature Reserve officially became part of the Hubei Shennongjia World Heritage Site after a minor modification to Shennongjia's boundaries during the session.The Committee reviewed over 200 state of conservation reports of world heritage properties, and recognised three properties, namely the Great Wall of China, and Tai National Park and Comoe National Park, both in Cote d'Ivoire, as the model cases of conservation and management, said Tian Xuejun, chair of the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee.The Committee decided to remove the Liverpool- Maritime Mercantile City of Britain from the world heritage list.It was the first world heritage site deleted in the past 10 years.The Fuzhou Declaration was adopted during the session, reiterating the principle of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, and calling for scaling up support to developing countries, especially to African countries and Small Island Developing States.Tian said the session implemented Unesco's global strategy of Priority Africa, as two properties from Africa were newly inscribed on the list.The Committee also fully recognised the achievements and progress made by the Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in eliminating threats of war and illegal poaching, and unanimously agreed to remove it from the List of World Heritage in Danger.Tian said the session has made significant headway in the reform of application procedures of properties.Starting in September 2023, pre-evaluation will be required to facilitate communication between the committee and advisory bodies at an early stage of a nomination. /* .jw-reset-text, .jw-reset{line-height: 2em;}*/ .jw-time-tip .jw-time-chapter{display:none;} if ('' == comscore_jw_loaded || 'undefined' == comscore_jw_loaded || undefined == comscore_jw_loaded) { var comscore_jw_loaded = 1; 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World Heritage Committee closes Fuzhou session, adds 34 new heritage sites

As the session ended on Saturday, the latest inscriptions, which include 29 cultural sites and 5 natural ones, bring the total number of sites on Unesco's World Heritage to 1,154, reports Xinhua news agency.

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Feel like superman: Trump after coronavirus treatmentUS President Donald Trump has said that he felt like a "Superman" after his experimental COVID-19 treatment and boasted about his new immunity to the disease which has claimed the lives of 216,000 Americans. Trump, who tested positive for COVID-19 on October 1 and was admitted to a military hospital for three nights and four days, declared himself cured after he was treated with an experimental antibody drug cocktail.White House doctors have now cleared him for holding election rallies.Holding his second rally since contracting coronavirus, Trump told a crowd of his supporters packed onto an airport tarmac in Johnstown, Pennsylvania that he felt like "Superman" after the treatment.Trump was briefly forced to pause his re-election campaign after he tested positive for COVID-19 and he returned to the campaign trail from the battleground state of Florida on Monday.Addressing his supporters in Pennsylvania, another battleground state, Trump, 74, thanked the doctors that treated him.“All I know is I took something, whatever the hell it was, I felt good very quickly. I don't know what it was, antibodies, antibodies. I don't know. I took it, I said I felt like superman,” Trump said.“Then I said, let me at 'em. Nah, and I could've been here four or five days ago. It's great, we have great doctors. I want to thank the doctors at Walter Reed and Johns Hopkins, and--great doctors,” he said.Trump said, that "one great thing about being president if you're not feeling 100 per cent you have more doctors than you thought existed in the world. I was surrounded with like 14 of them. Where are you from? I'm from this one. Where are you from? I'm from Johns Hopkins, I'm from Walter Reed. But what great, talented people. They did a great job."Boasting about his new immunity to the disease, Trump said he can kiss everyone in the audience.“And now I'm immune they tell me. I'm immune. I could come down and start kissing everybody. I'll kiss every guy--man and woman. Man and woman. Look at that guy how handsome he is. I'll kiss him. Not with a lot of enjoyment but that's okay,” the president joked.Trump also did an informal poll of the crowd and asked his supporters who has had the virus. “A lot of people, a lot of people,” Trump said, and added those people are now “immune.”Trump said he could have stayed in the basement of the White House or maybe the top floor of the White House.“I could have done that. But I'm the president of the US. I can't do that. I gotta get out and I have to meet people and I have to see people. And I know it's risky to do that. But you have to do what you have to do. I'm the president. I can't sit in the basement and say let's wait this thing out. I'm not gonna do that,” he said.(With PTI inputs)

I took something and I felt like superman: Trump after coronavirus treatment

US President Donald Trump has said that he felt like a "Superman" after his experimental COVID-19 treatment and boasted about his new immunity to the disease which has claimed the lives of 216,000 Americans.

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Earthquake of magnitude 5.0 hits Bali, Indonesia Earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter Scale hit Bali, Indonesia on Friday. The epicenter of the quake was registered 210 km (130 miles) north-east of the island of Lombok, situated near the island of Bali. Any reports of injuries or casualties were yet not available. Local authorities have not issued a tsunami warning.Related Stories BJP will neither get votes of Ali nor Bajrang Bali: MayawatiRanveer Singh and Shikhar Dhawan bond over Khali Bali moves. Check out video'Bajrang Bali ki Jai': How PM Modi and co decided to avenge Pulwama and accomplished Balakot airstrike'Bajrang Bali ki Jai' over 'meethhi meethhi baatein': That's how, PM Modi says, Balakot airstrike happenedPopular Australian DJ Adam Sky dies in Bali accident while trying to save his friendVolcano eruption led more than a dozen flights cancelled in IndonesiaThe island is located in a seismically active zone known as the Ring of Fire, which regularly suffers from powerful earthquakes followed by tsunami waves.Earlier this year, a massive quake hit the island nation, triggering deadly landslides and a tsunami that killed over 430 people, injuring at least 1,500 more.On May 26 this year, an ash cloud emitted by a fresh eruption of Mount Agung volcano had lead to the cancellation of more than a dozen flights on Indonesia's island of Bali. The eruption, which lasted four-and-a-half minutes, was accompanied by a loud rumbling and spread lava and incandescent rocks three km from the crater.Flights to and from Bali operated by Qantas Airways, Virgin Australia Airlines, and Jetstar Airways were cancelled, and a Jetstar flight between Adelaide and Bali's capital Denpasar were diverted to Darwin in northern Australia. 

Days after eruption of Mount Agung volcano, magnitude-5.0 earthquake hits Bali, Indonesia

The epicenter of the quake was registered 210 km (130 miles) north-east of the island of Lombok, situated near the island of Bali.

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Donald Trump says he intends to reopen country in weeks, not monthsAs cases of coronavirus continue to rise, President Donald Trump said Monday that he wants to reopen the country for business in weeks, not months, as he claimed, without evidence, that continued closures could result in more deaths than the pandemic itself.“We can’t have the cure be worse than the problem,” Trump told reporters at a briefing, echoing a midnight Sunday tweet. “We have to open our country because that causes problems that, in my opinion, could be far bigger problems.”Health experts have made clear that unless Americans continue to dramatically limit social interaction — staying home from work and isolating themselves — the number of infections will overwhelm the health care system, as it has in parts of Italy, leading to many more deaths. While the worst outbreaks are concentrated in certain parts of the country, such as New York, experts warn that the highly infectious disease is certain to spread.But with the economic impact now snapping into focus and millions out of work, businesses shuttered and the markets in free fall — all undermining Trump’s reelection message — the chorus of backlash is growing louder, with Trump appearing to side with them.“Life is fragile and economies are fragile,” Trump said, insisting he could protect both.While he acknowledged there were trade-offs — “there’s no question about that” — he claimed that, if closures stretch on for months, there would be “probably more death from that than anything that we’re talking about with respect to the virus.”The comments were further evidence that Trump has grown impatient with the pandemic, even before it has reached its expected peak. In recent days, tensions have been rising between those who argue the country needs to get back up and running to prevent a deep economic depression, and medical experts who warn that, unless more extreme action is taken, the human cost will be catastrophic.“We can’t shut in the economy. The economic cost to individuals is just too great,” Larry Kudlow, Trump’s top economic adviser, said in an interview Monday on Fox News Channel. “The president is right. The cure can’t be worse than the disease, and we’re going to have to make some difficult trade-offs.”It’s an opinion that has been echoed by others in the White House, some Republicans in Congress and on Fox, where host Steve Hilton delivered a monologue Sunday night that appeared to have, at least partially, inspired Trump’s tweet.“You know that famous phrase, the cure is worse than the disease? That is exactly the territory we’re hurtling towards,” Hilton told his viewers, describing the economic, social and human impact of the shutdown as an “even bigger crisis” than the virus.“You think it’s just the coronavirus that kills people? This total economic shutdown will kill people,” he said, pointing to growing poverty and despair.Trump, who for the last two weeks has largely allowed doctors to lead the administration’s response, already seemed to be shifting in that direction.“I’m not looking at months, I can tell you right now,” Trump said Monday, when asked about easing federal recommendations urging Americans to limit social contact and stay home. He said states with large case loads could continue to enforce stricter measures, while other parts of the country return to work.Even as Trump tweeted that he would be waiting until the end of the current 15-day period of recommended closures and self-isolation to make any decisions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were exploring new guidance making it possible for people working in “critical infrastructure” jobs who have been exposed to the virus to return to work faster “by wearing a mask for a certain period of time,” Vice President Mike Pence said.It’s a change in tone that is drawing criticism from public health experts, who suggested Trump risks making a dangerous mistake if he sets up a conflict between public health and the nation’s economic well-being, given how unlikely it is that the threat posed by the virus will subside in another week.If the U.S. stops social distancing too soon, “you will have more deaths and more dives in the stock market,” warned Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University, a lawyer with extensive public health expertise.And the outbreak could come surging back once people return to their normal routines of commuting, working, dining out and socializing — further stressing the economy.John Auerbach, president of the nonpartisan Trust for America’s Health, which works with governments at all levels to improve preparedness for public health emergencies, said widespread illness and death also have a powerful economic impact that’s impossible to ignore or play down.“If you don’t flatten the curve and minimize those who are getting infected, the amount of sickness will cripple business,” said Auerbach.Even Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close Trump ally, urged Trump to stick with the advice of public health officials.“There is no functioning economy unless we control the virus,” he warned on Twitter. “Try running an economy with major hospitals overflowing, doctors and nurses forced to stop treating some because they can’t help all, and every moment of gut-wrenching medical chaos being played out in our living rooms, on TV, on social media, and shown all around the world.”But Stephen Moore, a former Trump economic adviser, said it’s time now “to start thinking about what kind of dramatic costs to society are we absorbing from the shutdown,” including tens of millions unemployed and potential spikes in drug overdoses and suicides.He said he has been urging his former colleagues to selectively open the economy in ways that minimize the public health risk with more testing and, for instance, taking people’s temperature in public places, as they are now doing in other countries.“There’s no good solutions here. There’s just bad solutions,” Moore conceded. “And to me, the worst solution is to just grind our economy to a halt.”Other economists warned that if Americans return to work too soon, there could be recurring outbreaks that would only worsen a recession. But if the period of isolation continues for too long, there will be a steep cost in trying to restart and sustain economic growth.Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at the consultancy RSM, said lifting restrictions after 15 days would be “potentially a profound policy mistake” because it could lead to a second or third wave of outbreaks that would do even more harm to economic growth.“We got one shot to get this all right,” Brusuelas said, noting that Trump has a great deal at stake personally, given the upcoming election in November. “The last thing one would want to do from an economic policy perspective is to elevate one’s electoral interests above that of the economy or, most importantly, public health.”Analysts at Morgan Stanley estimated Monday that the economy will shrink at a record-breaking annualized pace of 30% in the second quarter. The unemployment rate would surge to 12.8% — the highest level ever in data that go back to the 1940s. But this forecast assumes the outbreak peaks in late April, after which there would be fewer reasons to restrict economic activity, and a sharp rebound would begin in the June-August quarter, leading to solid growth in 2021.Austan Goolsbee, an economist at the University of Chicago and a former adviser to President Barack Obama, says there is no real tension between containing the outbreak and preserving the U.S. economy. He has repeatedly emphasized that halting the outbreak is needed so that growth can resume as companies feel comfortable hiring and consumers ramp up spending.“Anything that slows the spread of the virus is by far the best thing to restore the economy,” Goolsbee wrote on Twitter.For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. Worldwide, more than 375,000 cases have been reported, and while most people recover in weeks, more than 16,000 have died from the virus.

Donald Trump says he intends to reopen country in weeks, not months

As cases of coronavirus continue to rise, President Donald Trump said Monday that he wants to reopen the country for business in weeks, not months, as he claimed, without evidence, that continued closures could result in more deaths than the pandemic itself.

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Protesters face police officers as they enforce an injunction against their demonstration, which has blocked traffic across the Ambassador Bridge by protesters against COVID restrictions, in Windsor, Ont. on Feb 12, 2022. Protesters opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other restrictions withdrew their vehicles from a key US-Canadian border bridge on Saturday though access remained blocked while other demonstrations ramped up in cities across Canada, including the capital, where police said they were awaiting more officers before ending what they described as an illegal occupation. The tense standoff at the Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, eased somewhat early in the day when Canadian police persuaded demonstrators to move the trucks they had used to barricade the entrance to the busy international crossing. But protesters reconvened nearby- with reinforcements- and were still choking off access from the Canadian side late Saturday, snarling traffic and commerce for a sixth day. About 180 remained late Saturday in the sub-freezing cold. In Ottawa, the ranks of protesters swelled to what police said was 4,000 demonstrators. The city has seen that on past weekends, and loud music played as people milled about downtown where anti-vaccine demonstrators have been encamped since late January. ALSO READ: Canada trucker protests: Police arrive at US border to remove blockade Early Saturday evening, crews lined concrete traffic barricades between behind a line of police officers that stretched across the main highway leading to the foot of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor. Officers later withdrew behind the barricades which separated them from protesters. Barricades also were placed along some side streets. Police vehicles had been parked at those streets, preventing motor vehicles from entering the highway. The protests at the bridge, in Ottawa and elsewhere have reverberated outside the country, with similarly inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned that truck convoys may be in the works in the United States. An ex-Cabinet minister in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government took the unusual step of calling out her former federal colleagues as well as the province and city for not putting an end to the protests. “Amazingly, this isn’t just Ottawa. It’s the nation’s capital,” Catherine McKenna tweeted. “But no one- not the city, the province or the federal government can seem to get their act together to end this illegal occupation. It’s appalling. ... Just get your act together. Now.” Trudeau has so far rejected calls to use the military. “The Prime Minister stressed that border crossings cannot, and will not, remain closed, and that all options are on the table,” Trudeau’s office said in a statement late Saturday after he met with senior officials. Trudeau has called the protesters a “fringe” of Canadian society, and both federal and provincial leaders say they can’t order police what to do. “Safety concerns- arising from aggressive, illegal behavior by many demonstrators- limited police enforcement capabilities,” Ottawa police said in a statement late Saturday. Ottawa police said a joint command center had now been set up together with the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Police earlier issued a statement calling the protest an unlawful occupation and saying they were waiting for police “reinforcements” before implementing a plan to end the demonstrations. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency last week for the capital, where hundreds of trucks remained in front of the Parliament Buildings and demonstrators have set up portable toilets outside the prime minister’s office where Trudeau’s motorcade usually parks. Surrounded by dozens of officers in Windsor, a man with “Mandate Freedom” and “Trump 2024” spray-painted on his vehicle left the bridge entrance early in the day as others began dismantling a small, tarp-covered encampment. A trucker honked his horn as he, too, drove off, to cheers and chants of “Freedom!” Image Source : AP. Police look on as a protest vehicle leaves a demonstration which has blocked traffic across the Ambassador Bridge by protesters against COVID restrictions in Windsor, Ont., Saturday, Feb 12, 2022. Protesters opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other restrictions withdrew their vehicles from a key US-Canadian border bridge on Saturday though access remained blocked while other demonstrations ramped up in cities across Canada, including the capital, where police said they were awaiting more officers before ending what they described as an illegal occupation.The tense standoff at the Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, eased somewhat early in the day when Canadian police persuaded demonstrators to move the trucks they had used to barricade the entrance to the busy international crossing.But protesters reconvened nearby- with reinforcements- and were still choking off access from the Canadian side late Saturday, snarling traffic and commerce for a sixth day. About 180 remained late Saturday in the sub-freezing cold.In Ottawa, the ranks of protesters swelled to what police said was 4,000 demonstrators. The city has seen that on past weekends, and loud music played as people milled about downtown where anti-vaccine demonstrators have been encamped since late January.ALSO READ: Canada trucker protests: Police arrive at US border to remove blockadeEarly Saturday evening, crews lined concrete traffic barricades between behind a line of police officers that stretched across the main highway leading to the foot of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor. Officers later withdrew behind the barricades which separated them from protesters. Barricades also were placed along some side streets. Police vehicles had been parked at those streets, preventing motor vehicles from entering the highway.The protests at the bridge, in Ottawa and elsewhere have reverberated outside the country, with similarly inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned that truck convoys may be in the works in the United States.An ex-Cabinet minister in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government took the unusual step of calling out her former federal colleagues as well as the province and city for not putting an end to the protests.“Amazingly, this isn’t just Ottawa. It’s the nation’s capital,” Catherine McKenna tweeted. “But no one- not the city, the province or the federal government can seem to get their act together to end this illegal occupation. It’s appalling. ... Just get your act together. Now.”Trudeau has so far rejected calls to use the military.“The Prime Minister stressed that border crossings cannot, and will not, remain closed, and that all options are on the table,” Trudeau’s office said in a statement late Saturday after he met with senior officials.Trudeau has called the protesters a “fringe” of Canadian society, and both federal and provincial leaders say they can’t order police what to do.“Safety concerns- arising from aggressive, illegal behavior by many demonstrators- limited police enforcement capabilities,” Ottawa police said in a statement late Saturday.Ottawa police said a joint command center had now been set up together with the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.Police earlier issued a statement calling the protest an unlawful occupation and saying they were waiting for police “reinforcements” before implementing a plan to end the demonstrations.Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency last week for the capital, where hundreds of trucks remained in front of the Parliament Buildings and demonstrators have set up portable toilets outside the prime minister’s office where Trudeau’s motorcade usually parks.Surrounded by dozens of officers in Windsor, a man with “Mandate Freedom” and “Trump 2024” spray-painted on his vehicle left the bridge entrance early in the day as others began dismantling a small, tarp-covered encampment. A trucker honked his horn as he, too, drove off, to cheers and chants of “Freedom!”Image Source : AP. Police look on as a protest vehicle leaves a demonstration which has blocked traffic across the Ambassador Bridge by protesters against COVID restrictions in Windsor, Ont., Saturday, Feb 12, 2022. 

COVID-19 vaccine mandates: Blockades on Canada-US border continue as protests swell

The tense standoff at Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, eased somewhat early in the day when Canadian police persuaded demonstrators to move the trucks they had used to barricade the entrance to the busy international crossing.

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Joe Biden wins Democratic primary in TennesseeJoe Biden has won Tennessee’s Democratic presidential primary. The state has 64 delegates at stake. Deadly overnight tornadoes delayed the start of Super Tuesday presidential primary voting in Nashville and another Tennessee county, spurring elections officials to redirect voters from some polling places to alternate locations.In a state where Republicans hold every major elected office, including seven of the nine congressional seats, the Democratic primary voting base has a history of being more moderate than that of other states.Biden has also won Alabama, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Virginia. Bernie Sanders has won Vermont and Colorado.ALSO READ | Joe Biden earned more than 15 million dollar after leaving White House

Joe Biden wins Democratic primary in Tennessee

Joe Biden has won Tennessee’s Democratic presidential primary. The state has 64 delegates at stake. Deadly overnight tornadoes delayed the start of Super Tuesday presidential primary voting in Nashville and another Tennessee county, spurring elections officials to redirect voters from some polling places to alternate locations.

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Pakistan helicopter violates Indian airspace.A day after a Pakistani helicopter violated Indian air space on Sunday along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch sector, PoK's "Prime Minister" Raja Farooq Haider has claimed that the white chopper he was travelling in was "very close" to the LoC but within Pakistan's airspace, and that there was no need to inform the Indian authorities about the flight as it was not a military helicopter.Talking to Dawn, Haider said the incident took place at around 12:10 PM on Sunday. Haider added that he was travelling with two ministers and his personal staff officer in a civilian white-coloured aircraft when it was attacked near Abbaspur village.Related Stories ‘Unresolved dispute’ between India, Pak impacting peace efforts: Qureshi rakes up Kashmir issue at UNGAPakistani helicopter violates Indian airspace in J-K's Poonch, reports say PoK PM was aboard"I had gone to Forward Kahuta to condole the death of the brother of one of my ministers and meet the residents of the area adjacent to the LoC. While we were passing through Abbaspur, the Indian army suddenly opened fire at my helicopter. Luckily, we remained unhurt and the helicopter was not damaged," he said."We were very close to zero line but we were within our space. Moreover, it was a civilian helicopter so the Indian army should not have opened fire at it," Haider said.He said that military helicopters, on both sides, intimate each other before flying according to the standard operating procedure.As it was a civilian helicopter, there was no need to intimate about it, Haider said, adding that he frequently travels in the area but such an incident had never happened.He said that he would formally take up the matter with the government of Pakistan to pursue the issue and take appropriate action.The Indian Army said on Sunday that a Pakistani chopper violated the Indian airspace along the line of control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir but turned back after it was "engaged by air sentries".Indian officials claimed that the white helicopter crossed into the Indian airspace in Gulpur sector and hovered over there for sometime before turning back. Three forward posts fired small arms after noticing the airspace violation, the sources said.Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shahbaz Sharif said the attack was a severe violation of international and bilateral laws and also against the diplomatic norms. PML-N rules PoK and Haider is a leading member of the party.Pakistan's Foreign Office has so far not commented on the incident. 

Pak helicopter violates Indian airspace: PoK PM dismisses charges, says chopper was travelling close to LoC but within territory

PoK's "Prime Minister" Raja Farooq Haider has claimed that the white chopper he was travelling in was "very close" to the LoC but within Pakistan's airspace.

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China has halted the release of funds for three key projects under the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) till Beijing revised its financial mechanism, said a media report on Tuesday quoting minister for planning and development Ahsan Iqbal.The minister informed a parliamentary committee meeting on the CPEC that the Chinese side was reviewing the financial mechanism of these projects and work on them would restart after receiving approval from Beijing, Dawn newspaper quoted a press release by the National Assembly secretariat as saying.Related Stories China may rename CPEC to address concerns if India joins OBOR: Chinese envoyCPEC project will 'aggravate' India-Pak tension, says US think-tankPakistan baffled as China stops funding CPEC road projects over graft reportsChina suspends funding of three CPEC projects in Pakistan amid graft rumoursThe CPEC is a planned network of roads, railways and energy projects linking China's resource-rich Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region with Pakistan's strategic Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea.The CPEC was launched in 2015 when President Xi Jinping visited Pakistan and it now envisages investment of over $50 billion in different projects of development in Pakistan.Iqbal could not convince the committee members as to why the Chinese government had opted for a new financial mechanism and scrapped the previous one which was agreed upon by both countries, the report said.It was reported that China had temporarily stopped funding some projects, particularly those related to the road network under CPEC, till a further decision on new guidelines by Beijing.The decision by the Chinese government is likely to hit over 1 trillion Pakistani rupees worth of road projects of the Pakistan's National Highway Authority (NHA), the Dawn had reported last week.The report had said that China decided to temporarily stop funding at least three major road projects in Pakistan under the CPEC following reports of alleged corruption.Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Asad Umar, who is also a member of the parliamentary committee, said the meeting was informed that China was revising the infrastructure projects under its "financial review".Another member of the committee, Al-Haj Gul Khan Afridi, said they were told that China had not stopped financing the CPEC projects but raised some "technical objections" to three NHA road projects.A team of Chinese experts would arrive in Pakistan soon to inspect the three projects by the National Highway Authority (NHA), he added.The road projects that are likely to be affected include 210 km Dera Ismail Khan-Zhob Road, the 110 km Khuzdar-Basima Road and the 136 km Karakarom Highway from Raikot to Thakot.However, a senior NHA official rejected the government claim that work on the three road projects of the authority had been halted on technical grounds."It is not true that China raised objections to the projects because these had already been approved at the 6th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting held last year," he said.Iqbal informed the committee that the Karachi Circular Railway project had been approved for the CPEC, while similar projects for Quetta and Peshawar would be reviewed in accordance with the technical feasibility reports.

Work on 3 key CPEC projects halted till China's approval: Pakistan minister

China has halted the release of funds for three key projects under the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) till Beijing revised its financial mechanism.

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With 2 more cases, Pakistan coronavirus infections rise to 4( Representative image) Two more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Pakistan on Saturday, taking the total number of the COVID-19 infections in the country to four. Earlier, two people tested positive for the deadly disease in the country on February 26. Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Health Zafar Mirza confirmed the two new cases on Saturday.“One of the patients is from Karachi while the other is from the federal territory (Islamabad),” he said. The Sindh provincial government said that the patient from Karachi had recently travelled to Iran where he contracted the virus. “All his recent contacts have been quarantined and are being monitored,” the government said. Special Assistant to the prime minister on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan said it was important to focus on the prevention of spread of virus and the government was working on it.“Facilities to diagnose the disease have been provided in Quetta, Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore and it was the resolve of Prime Minister Imran Khan that we should not be afraid of the coronavirus rather fight it,” she tweeted. On Wednesday, a young man tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Karachi - the first confirmed case in Pakistan. Shortly after, another case was confirmed and both have returned from Iran.The Iran health ministry on Friday confirmed 34 deaths due to the deadly disease and 388 confirmed cases of the virus in the country. According to media reports, the country has the highest number of death toll outside China, the epicenter of the virus. ALSO READ | Kunming Plateau Half Marathon postponed due to coronavirus ALSO READ | Coronavirus: WHO recommends 10 basic preventive measures

With 2 more cases, Pakistan coronavirus infections rise to 4

Two more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Pakistan on Saturday, taking the total number of the COVID-19 infections in the country to four.

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As the standoff between Indian and Chinese troops on the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction continues in the Sikkim sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping may meet when leaders of the BRICS nations hold a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg on July 7, news agency IANS reported today."A meeting of BRICS leaders will take place in Hamburg on the sidelines of the G20 Summit on July 7. The meeting is expected to have the presence of Prime Minister Modi and the Chinese President," news agency cited an unnamed source as saying on Tuesday.Yesterday, China had said that Jinping will meet with Modi at Friday's G20 Summit in Hamburg at an informal leaders' meeting of the BRICS countries on the sidelines. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong told reporters the meeting will be chaired by Xi with China as the rotating chairmanship. The informal meeting will be attended by the BRICS leaders, who will hold their summit in September in Xiamen, south China.It was, however, not yet clear if Jinping and PM Modi will meet separately as the two leaders had met only last month on June 9 at the SCO Summit in Astana.Earlier, China had accused India of using Bhutan to ‘cover up’ the illegal entry by Indian troops into ‘Chinese territory’ and demanded their immediate withdrawal. Seeing Chinese troops, personnel of a Bhutan Army camp on a ridge at a place called Zompelri rushed down and confronted the Chinese and told them that they cannot unilaterally change the existing status quo in the tri-junction. Indian Army personnel, who were present in the general area Doka La in Sikkim on the other side, too rushed to the spot to help the Bhutanese soldiers. However, by that time the PLA had pushed back the Bhutanese and then came to a face-to-face situation with the Indian Army personnel.The Indian soldiers too made it clear to the Chinese soldiers that they had no business changing the existing unilateral status quo in the tri-junction. There is no Chinese territory between India's border in the Sikkim sector with Bhutan.India and China had in 2012 reached an agreement that the tri-junction boundary points between India, China and third countries will be finalised in consultation with the concerned countries. Both the countries share three international tri-junctions - with Bhutan, Myanmar and Afghanistan.Bhutan too has written agreements with China of 1988 and 1998 stating that the two sides agreed to maintain peace and tranquility in their border areas pending a final settlement on the boundary question, and to maintain status quo as before March 1959.Following the June 16 incident, Bhutan officially lodged a protest at the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi on June 20. Beijing and Thimphu do not share diplomatic ties. The matter also came up for discussion at a border personnel meeting (BPM) between India and China at Nathu La in Sikkim on June 20.Last Thursday, the Bhutanese Foreign Ministry issued a press release which stated Bhutan has conveyed to the Chinese side, both on the ground and through the diplomatic channel, that the construction of the road inside Bhutanese territory was in direct violation of the agreements and affects the process of demarcating the boundary between the two countries."Bhutan hopes that the status quo in the Doklam area will be maintained as before June 16," the statement said.Though the June 16 incident is being seen as forcing India's hand to change the status quo in the tri-junction, it is understood that New Delhi has been approaching the matter in a reserved manner so that Bhutan does not come under pressure despite the fact that the road being constructed near Indian defence lines posed serious security implications.The External Affairs Ministry in a statement on Friday said that India has taken up the matter with China at the diplomatic level both in New Delhi and Beijing.With IANS Inputs

Amid border standoff, PM Modi, Xi Jinping likely to meet on sidelines of G20 Summit in Hamburg: report

Yesterday, China had said that Jinping will meet with Modi at Friday's G20 Summit in Hamburg at an informal leaders' meeting of the BRICS countries on the sidelines.

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An instructor trains members of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces, volunteer military units of the Armed Forces, in a city park in Kyiv, UkraineThe Pentagon ordered 8,500 troops on higher alert Monday to potentially deploy to Europe as part of a NATO “response force” amid growing concern that Russia could soon make a military move on Ukraine. President Joe Biden consulted with key European leaders, underscoring US solidarity with allies there.Putting the US-based troops on heightened alert for Europe suggested diminishing hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin will back away from what Biden himself has said looks like a threat to invade neighboring Ukraine.At stake, beyond the future of Ukraine, is the credibility of a NATO alliance that is central to U.S. defense strategy but that Putin views as a Cold War relic and a threat to Russian security. For Biden, the crisis represents a major test of his ability to forge a united allied stance against Putin.Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said about 8,500 U.S.-based troops are being put on alert for possible deployment — not to Ukraine but to NATO territory in Eastern Europe as part of an alliance force meant to signal a unified commitment to deter any wider Putin aggression.Russia denies it is planning an invasion. It says Western accusations are merely a cover for NATO’s own planned provocations. Recent days have seen high-stakes diplomacy that has failed to reach any breakthrough, and key players in the drama are making moves that suggest fear of imminent war. Biden has sought to strike a balance between actions meant to deter Putin and those that might provide the Russian leader with an opening to use the huge force he has assembled at Ukraine’s border.Biden held an 80-minute video call with several European leaders on the Russian military buildup and potential responses to an invasion.“I had a very, very, very good meeting -- total unanimity with all the European leaders,” Biden told reporters at the White House. “We’ll talk about it later.”The White House said the leaders emphasized their desire for a diplomatic solution to the crisis but also discussed efforts to deter further Russian aggression, “including preparations to impose massive consequences and severe economic costs on Russia for such actions as well as to reinforce security on NATO’s eastern flank.”A day earlier, the State Department had ordered the families of all American personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv to leave the country, and it said that nonessential embassy staff could leave at U.S. government expense.Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Oleg Nikolenko, said that the U.S. decision was “a premature step” and a sign of “excessive caution.” He said Russia was sowing panic among Ukrainians and foreigners in order to destabilize Ukraine.Britain said it, too, was withdrawing some diplomats and dependents from its Kyiv Embassy. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said an invasion was not inevitable but “the intelligence is pretty gloomy.”Ordering even a modest number of American troops to be ready for potential deployment to Europe is meant to demonstrate U.S. resolve to support its NATO allies, particularly those in Eastern Europe who feel threatened by Russia and worry that Putin could put them in his crosshairs.“What this is about is reassurance to our NATO allies,” Kirby told a Pentagon news conference, adding that no troops are intended for deployment to Ukraine, which is not a member of the alliance but has been assured by Washington of continued U.S. political support and arms supplies.The Pentagon’s move, which was done at Biden’s direction and on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s recommendation, is being made in tandem with actions by other NATO member governments to bolster a defensive presence in Eastern European nations. Denmark, for example, is sending a frigate and F-16 warplanes to Lithuania; Spain is sending four fighter jets to Bulgaria and three ships to the Black Sea to join NATO naval forces, and France stands ready to send troops to Romania.In a statement prior to Kirby’s announcement, NATO said the Netherlands plans to send two F-35 fighter aircraft to Bulgaria in April and is putting a ship and land-based units on standby for NATO’s Response Force.NATO has not made a decision to activate the Response Force, which consists of about 40,000 troops from multiple nations. That force was enhanced in 2014 — the year Russia seized Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula and intervened in support of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine — by creating a “spearhead force” of about 20,000 troops on extra-high alert within the larger Response Force.If NATO does decide to activate the Response Force, the United States will contribute a range of military units, Kirby said.“It is a NATO call to make,” Kirby said. “For our part, we wanted to make sure that we were ready in case that call should come. And that means making sure that units that would contribute to it are as ready as they can be on as short a notice as possible.”He said some units will be ordered to be ready to deploy on as little as five days’ notice. Among the 8,500 troops, an unspecified number could be sent to Europe for purposes other than supporting the NATO Response Force, he said. Without providing details, he said they might be deployed “if other situations develop.”Prior to the U.S. announcement, NATO issued a statement summing up moves already described by member countries. Restating them under the NATO banner appeared aimed at showing resolve. The West is ramping up its rhetoric in the information war that has accompanied the Ukraine standoff.Russia has massed an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s border, demanding that NATO promise it will never allow Ukraine to join and that other actions, such as stationing alliance troops in former Soviet bloc countries, be curtailed.NATO said Monday it is bolstering its deterrence in the Baltic Sea region.The alliance will “take all necessary measures to protect and defend all allies,” Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. “We will always respond to any deterioration of our security environment, including through strengthening our collective defense.”In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was NATO and the U.S. who were behind the escalating tensions, not Russia.“All this is happening not because of what we, Russia, are doing. This is happening because of what NATO, the U.S. are doing,” Peskov told reporters.The NATO announcement came as European Union foreign ministers sought to put on their own fresh display of unity in support of Ukraine, and paper over concerns about divisions on the best way to confront any Russian aggression.In a statement, the ministers said the EU has stepped up sanction preparations, and they warned that “any further military aggression by Russia against Ukraine will have massive consequences and severe costs.”Also Read | US orders families of Ukraine embassy staff to leave country amid fears of Russian invasion

US orders 8,500 troops on heightened alert amid Russia worry

Russia has massed an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s border, demanding that NATO promise it will never allow Ukraine to join and that other actions, such as stationing alliance troops in former Soviet bloc countries, be curtailed.

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American families adopted 241 Indian kids in 2019: ReportAmerican families adopted 241 Indian kids in 2019, an official US report said on Wednesday. In fiscal 2019, consular officers issued 2,971 immigrant visas to children adopted abroad (2,677) or to be adopted in the United States (294) by American citizens, the State Department said in its 12th annual report on the issue. The report shows a decline in the total number of inter-country adoptions by American families, Special Advisor for Children's Issues Michelle Bernier-Toth told reporters during a news conference.Most of that decline he attributed to a decrease of inter-country adoptions from just two countries: China (a decrease of 656) and Ethiopia (a decrease of 166). In both cases, the reductions result from "continued social, economic or legal changes that we have previously reported on regarding those countries", she said."We believe that most of the continuing worldwide decline is due to countries prioritising domestic placements for vulnerable children before considering inter-country adoption, or countries such as Russia, Guatemala and Ethiopia, which have unilaterally suspended or banned inter-country adoption," she said.At the same time, some countries noticeably increased the number of inter-country adoptions to the US, including Ukraine (+50), Liberia (+21), Hungary (+17) and Colombia (+15), the report said.However, Chinese kids still top the list of adoptions with 819 in 2019. China is followed by Ukraine (298), Colombia (244), India (241) and South Korea (166).Responding to questions, Bernier-Toth said adoptions have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but that is not to say that they have stopped."Although our embassies and consulates abroad have suspended routine visa processing, adoption cases remain a priority, and to the extent that they are possible given the circumstances within each country and the stage at which each case is, we are continuing to process adoption cases and have had a number of families return to the US with their children just within the past month," she said.According to the report, in 2019, families outside the US adopted 56 children from America to seven countries: Canada (24), the Netherlands (17), Mexico (six), Ireland (five), Belgium (one), Switzerland (one) and the United Kingdom (two).The report said Peru on average takes a maximum of 899 days to complete the adoption process. Peru is followed by Guinea (848 days), Dominican Republic (834), Burundi (825) and Burkina Faso (808 days). India, on an average, takes 457 days to complete the adoption process. (With PTI inputs)Also Read | 87% urban Indians give high ratings to Modi govt's handling of COVID-19 crisis: SurveyAlso Read | Only asymptomatic Indians to be evacuated, mandatory quarantine of 14 days upon return: MHA​

241 Indian kids adopted by American families in 2019: Report

At the same time, some countries noticeably increased the number of inter-country adoptions to the US, including Ukraine (+50), Liberia (+21), Hungary (+17) and Colombia (+15).

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14% rise in sex crime reporting after MeToo movementThe MeToo movement that took the world by storm has led to a 14 per cent rise in reporting of sexual crimes during its first three months across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The MeToo movement started on October 15, 2017 after sexual misconduct allegations against former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein became public following a tweet by actress Alyssa Milano who encouraged people who had been sexually harassed or assaulted to write "Me too" on social media.The MeToo movement was exceptionally effective in rapidly increasing awareness around sexual misconduct in many countries including India.However, despite the increase in crimes reported, the movement did not increase the number of sexual crimes cleared by the police, said the study published on SSRN, formerly known as the Social Science Research Network.For the study, Roee Levy and Martin Mattsson from Yale University in the US constructed a new data set of sexual and non-sexual crimes in 24 OECD countries, covering 81 per cent of the OECD population."Our results suggest that social movements can rapidly change high stakes personal decisions," the study said.The researchers estimated that in the first three months of the movement, 11,598 additional sexual crimes were reported in the 13 OECD countries with "strong" MeToo movements."This study showed that the MeToo movement had a substantial, persistent effect on the propensity to report sexual crimes. This result is consistent across multiple samples and is robust across multiple estimation techniques," the study concluded.The MeToo movement focused on female victims, and often on cases that occurred several months or years before they were discussed in the media.The researchers said that focusing on the US allowed them to understand better who was affected by the movement."The effect is strong and statistically significant for both sexual harassment and sexual assault," said the study."Furthermore, we do not find evidence that the movement disproportionately affected neighbourhoods with higher incomes or more education. Overall, we can reject the argument that the MeToo movement had an effect mostly among whites or those with high socioeconomic status," it added.The findings suggest that social movements can have large, long-lasting effects on social norms and, as a result, individuals make meaningful changes in their personal decisions. The action individuals take is costly and the effect occurs almost immediately. This suggests that awareness-raising campaigns can be effective in changing personal behaviour.ALSO READ | Defamation case: Delhi court grants bail to journalist Priya RamaniALSO READ | #MeToo: Court concludes M J Akbar's cross-examination

14% rise in sex crime reporting after MeToo movement: Study

The MeToo movement that took the world by storm has led to a 14 per cent rise in reporting of sexual crimes during its first three months across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

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At least 11bn doses needed to end COVID-19: UN chiefUN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said that 11 billion doses are needed to vaccinate 70 per cent of the world to end the Covid-19 pandemic."Pledges of doses and funds are welcome -- but they are not enough. We need at least 11 billion doses to vaccinate 70 per cent of the world and end this pandemic," the UN chief told the opening of the ministerial segment of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which is the top platform for reviewing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals."Everyone, everywhere, must have access to Covid-19 vaccines, tests, treatments and support," said the top UN official."The development and roll-out of vaccines, including through the global equity mechanism, the ACT-Accelerator and its COVAX facility, is offering hope," said the secretary-general.Noting that there is "uneven access" to these tools, especially vaccines, around the world and within countries, the UN chief said that "a global vaccination gap threatens us all" because as the virus mutates, it could become even more transmissible, or even more deadly."The world needs a Global Vaccination Plan to at least double the production of vaccines, ensure equitable distribution through COVAX, coordinate implementation and financing, and support national immunization programs," said Guterres."To realize this plan, I have been calling for an Emergency Task Force that brings together the countries that produce and can produce vaccines, the World Health Organization, the ACT-Accelerator partners and international financial institutions, able to deal with the relevant pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers, and other key stakeholders," the secretary-general spelled out."Right now, it is essential to fully finance the ACT-Accelerator and support the $50 billion investment roadmap, to be led by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization, to end the pandemic and secure a global recovery," said the secretary-general.(With IANS inputs)Video shows vaccine shortage in Mumbai /* .jw-reset-text, .jw-reset{line-height: 2em;}*/ .jw-time-tip .jw-time-chapter{display:none;} if ('' == comscore_jw_loaded || 'undefined' == comscore_jw_loaded || undefined == comscore_jw_loaded) { var comscore_jw_loaded = 1; 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11 billion doses needed to end COVID-19: UN chief stresses on Global Vaccination Plan

Noting that there is "uneven access" to these tools, especially vaccines, around the world and within countries, the UN chief said that "a global vaccination gap threatens us all" because as the virus mutates, it could become even more transmissible, or even more deadly.

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Senior citizens wait their turn to receive the Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine from a health worker at a vaccination center, in Lahore, Pakistan.Pakistan will start vaccination of all its citizens after the festival of Eid to be celebrated next month, a senior minister said on Thursday, as the country recorded 5,329 new coronavirus cases, the highest single-day surge during the ongoing third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.Minister for Planning Asad Umar told journalists that more than one million people had been vaccinated."We will be able to vaccinate more than 125,000 people per day after Eid," Umar said, adding that China was the main provider of vaccines.ALSO READ: Covid positive Pak PM Imran Khan holds in-person meeting, faces flakHe said the next five to six weeks were critical and urged the people to follow SOPs to help mitigate the cases and the impact of the pandemic.Umar also said that the single-shot Cansino vaccine of China will also be available after Eid and help to speed up vaccination process.The vaccination in Pakistan is open for people with more than 50 years of age, as well as all health workers.The vaccination has been going on since February 2 when the first phase was launched for only the frontline health workers.Pakistan recorded 5,329 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the highest single day surge during the ongoing third wave of the pandemic, according to the official data.The new cases are also the highest since June last year when the country faced the first wave of the coronavirus. Before this, the highest new cases in a day were 5,234 reported on April 1.With the new cases, the total number of COVID-19 infections in the country reached 705,501, the Ministry of National Health Services reported.The data showed that 98 more people died in the last one day, pushing the COVID-19 death toll to 15,124. Another 3,942 were reportedly in critical condition.The authorities performed 49,816 tests in the last 24 hours, which showed that the positivity rate was 10.7 per cent, it said.

Pakistan to start vaccination of all its citizens after Eid next month: Minister

We will be able to vaccinate more than 125,000 people per day after Eid. China was the main provider of vaccines, Minister for Planning Asad Umar said.

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COVID-19 killed by sunlight, warmer temperatures, humidity: White HouseSunlight kills COVID-19 while warmer temperatures and humid weather significantly damage the virus, measured in terms of the virus' half life or the time it takes to cut its potency in half, according to the latest breakthrough research from the US Department of Homeland Security's most advanced bio containment lab, released at the White House here on Thursday.The coronavirus outbreak in the US has killed nearly 50,000 Americans and infected more than 860,000 till date. Research around the effect of temperature and humidity has been gaining traction for weeks, these are the most downloaded papers on research websites but this is the first time the US government has put an official stamp on initial results of temperature tests on COVID-19."Our most striking observation to date is the powerful effect that solar light appears to have on killing the virus, both on surfaces and in the air. We've seen a similar effect with both temperature and humidity as well. Increasing the temperature and humidity or both is generally less favourable to the virus," Bill Bryan, chief of the science and technology directorate at the US Department of Homeland Security, said.In a room at 70-75F temperature with 20 per cent humidity, the half life of the virus is about an hour, according to Bryan. "But you get outside and it cuts down to a minute and a half, very significant difference when it when it gets hit with UV rays," he said.According to the same research, the virus' half life on surfaces reduces dramatically with a combination increase of temperature and humidity.When the temperate is kept constant at 70-75F and only the humidity is cranked up from 20 per cent to 80 per cent, the virus' half life is shown to crash from 18 hours to 6 hours. If the temperature is increased to 95F, the half life sinks to barely 60 minutes.Bryan said this testing was done at DHS' advanced bio containment lab in Maryland, just outside the national capital.Pointing to charts with data from experiments on the COVID-19 virus, Bryan said the virus half life plunges "drastically" with exposure to higher temperatures and even minimal exposure to humidity.Bryan said the DHS bio containment lab is the only one in America that has the capability to do the kind of testing that has led to the research on the virus' UV and temperature tolerance.Bryan explained the mechanics of the COVID-19 temperature tolerance experiment in simple terms. He said the virus was first locked into a 5 gallon bucket and suspended in the air inside. "We're able to take a particle of a virus and suspend it in the air inside of this drum and hit it with various temperatures, various humidity levels, multiple different kinds of environmental conditions to include sunlight. And we're able to measure the decay of that virus while it's suspended in the air. This is how we do our aerosol testing.""While there are many unknown links in the COVID-19 transmission chain, we believe these trends can support practical decision making to lower the risks associated with the virus," Bryan said.The DHS team has also tested the effect of bleach and isopropyl alcohol on the virus, "specifically in saliva and respiratory fluids"."And I can tell you that bleach will kill the virus in five minutes, isopropyl alcohol will kill the virus in 30 seconds, and that's with no manipulation. No rubbing."ALSO READ | We are very close to a vaccine: Donald TrumpALSO READ | White House shifts from raising alarms to reopening country

COVID-19 killed by sunlight, warmer temperatures, humidity: White House

Sunlight kills COVID-19 while warmer temperatures and humid weather significantly damage the virus, measured in terms of the virus' half life or the time it takes to cut its potency in half, according to the latest breakthrough research from the US Department of Homeland Security's most advanced bio containment lab, released at the White House here on Thursday.

43e86a2e2ea4d57ea9a5782f24fc6efc

India's Ambassador to China Gautam Bambawale on Tuesday met a top official of the Communist Party's key International Department and discussed ways to step up bilateral talks and visits.After the chill in their relationship following a 73-day military stand-off in the eastern sector of the border last year, both sides have been trying to mend fences.Related Stories Chinese space station will crash to Earth within weeks, says reportChinese dragon, Indian elephant must not fight each other but dance together: Foreign Minister Wang YiIndia's envoy Gautam Bambawale has frank talks with Chinese think tankIt is apparent from Bambawale's host of meetings with influential government think tanks in the past few months where the talks are largely understood to have revolved around repairing the damage to bilateral ties done by Doklam stand-off.The envoy met Guo Yezhou Vice-Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, an influential body responsible for shaping up Beijing's foreign policy.The Department has more say in formulating China's foreign policy than the Foreign Affairs Ministry."They shared ideas for further strengthening bilateral exchanges and visits, following up on their first meeting on January 4," the Indian Embassy said here.India's Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced her visit to China in late April. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China in June to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Summit.Between Sitharaman and Modi, more visits and dialogues are expected between both sides.

Indian envoy Gautam Bambawale discusses more dialogue, visits with Chinese official

After the chill in their relationship following a 73-day military stand-off in the eastern sector of the border last year, both sides have been trying to mend fences.

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China reports first local COVID-19 case in 3 daysChina has reported its first domestic coronavirus case after a gap of three days as the country saw a surge in imported infections with 45 new cases and initiated stricter measures to avert COVID-19 to resurface and create a second wave of infections, health officials said on Sunday. China's National Health Commission (NHC) said that 46 new confirmed cases were reported on the mainland on Saturday, including one domestic infection transmitted by imported cases in Guangzhou. Six deaths were reported from China, including five from Hubei Province, taking the death toll in the country to 3,261. Coronavirus epicentre Wuhan, however, has not reported a new coronavirus case for the fourth consecutive day, health officials said. The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 81,054 by the end of Saturday, including 3,261 people who died of the disease, 5,549 patients still being treated and 72,244 patients discharged after recovery. On Saturday, 504 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 118 to 1,845, it said. The imported cases included 14 from Shanghai, 13 from Beijing, seven from Guangdong province, four from Fujian province and two from Jiangsu province, while the provinces of Hebei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Shandong and Sichuan reported one case each, taking the total number of infections from abroad to 314, the NHC said. By the end of Saturday, 273 confirmed cases, including four deaths, were reported in Hong Kong, 18 confirmed cases in Macao and 153 in Taiwan, including two deaths. Meanwhile, facing a sharp increase of COVID-19 cases from abroad, China will take strict measures to prevent imported cases, NHC spokesman Mi Feng told media here on Saturday. He called for unswerving efforts in preventing the COVID-19 epidemic from rebounding. Beijing and several other cities have already initiated stricter quarantine rules under which the people will be confined to designated hotels for which they have to pay. Beijing also started diverting flights to neighbouring cities where the foreign returnees would undergo a 14-day quarantine. Also Read | Coronavirus: Africa begins lockdown as COVID-19 cases cross 1,000-markAlso Read | Coronavirus: Italy reports 793 single-day fatalities​ /* .jw-reset-text, .jw-reset{line-height: 2em;}*/ .jw-time-tip .jw-time-chapter{display:none;} if ('' == comscore_jw_loaded || 'undefined' == comscore_jw_loaded || undefined == comscore_jw_loaded) { var comscore_jw_loaded = 1; firstjw = document.getElementsByClassName('jwvidplayer')[0]; cs_jw_script = document.createElement('script'); cs_jw_script.src = 'https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/internal-c2/plugins/streamingtag_plugin_jwplayer.js'; firstjw.parentNode.insertBefore(cs_jw_script, firstjw.nextSibling); } var jwconfig_4452721487 = { "file": "https://indiatv-vh.akamaihd.net/i/vod/0_nvvrbmmm_,20,21,22,.mp4.csmil/master.m3u8", "image": "https://thumbs.indiatvnews.com/vod/0_nvvrbmmm_big_thumb.jpg", "title": "How Coronavirus positive cases in India reached a tally of 298? 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China reports first local COVID-19 case in 3 days; sees surge in imported infections

Coronavirus: The overall confirmed cases in China had reached 81,054 by the end of Saturday, including 3,261 people who died of the disease, 5,549 patients still being treated and 72,244 patients discharged after recovery.

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Saudi Arabia concludes Hajj amid COVID-19 pandemicPilgrims on Monday bade farewell to Mecca after Hajj rituals were concluded. The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque had provided all relevant facilities for the pilgrims while ensuring precautionary measures against COVID-19.The kingdom has organized an exceptional Hajj season with a limited number of pilgrims amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This season is only limited to domestic pilgrims who are residents and citizens living in Saudi Arabia.Meanwhile, the Health Ministry announced on Monday 1,258 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the accumulated infections to 280,093.The total recovered cases rose to 242,053 with the registration of 1,972 newly recovered cases.The total death toll reached 2,949 with 32 fatalities reported in the last 24 hours.

Saudi Arabia concludes Hajj amid COVID-19 pandemic

Pilgrims on Monday bade farewell to Mecca after Hajj rituals were concluded. The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque had provided all relevant facilities for the pilgrims while ensuring precautionary measures against COVID-19.

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Pak rejects allegations of 'illegal fencing' along Afghan borderThe Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday rejected Afghanistan's insinuation that Islamabad was conducting "illegal fencing" along the two countries' border, adding that it was being done to address "serious security concerns".In a statement. FO spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that the fencing was "fully in accordance with the established norms of international law without encroaching into Afghan territory", reports Dawn news.On Tuesday, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they had protested the move through diplomatic channels.In a statement carried by Tolo News, the Ministry spokesperson said: "Any action which has been taken by Pakistan, the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has recorded its protest through the Afghan embassy in Islamabad to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul."Reacting to the report, the FO spokesperson said that the Afghan side would be well-advised to engage on border matters through the relevant institutional mechanisms to "address any misconceptions"."Regrettably, Pakistan's suggestion for conducting joint topographic surveys had not been positively responded to by the Afghan side," Dawn news quoted Chaudhri as saying.The spokesperson also reaffirmed that Pakistan respected the territorial integrity of Afghanistan and conducted its relations with the brotherly country in accordance with the principles of the UN charter and expected "reciprocity from the Afghan side".Thursday's development comes after at least three people were killed and over 20 injured on the Pakistan side in a clash on July 30 between an unruly mob and security forces at the Friendship Gate border crossing in Chaman, while a heavy exchange of fire also took place between Pakistani and Afghan security forces.

Pak rejects allegations of 'illegal fencing' along Afghan border

The Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday rejected Afghanistan's insinuation that Islamabad was conducting "illegal fencing" along the two countries' border, adding that it was being done to address "serious security concerns".

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France urges vigilance against Delta variant.The Delta variant of the novel coronavirus "must be of concern to us," French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal warned on Wednesday, urging individual and collective vigilance to prevent a spiral of infections due to the more contagious variant."There is a threat (of epidemic resurgence) linked to the Delta variant," Attal told RMC radio, Xinhua news agency reported. "We can see that things can go very quickly ... and that requires individual and collective vigilance."First identified in India, the Delta variant is the fastest and fittest coronavirus strain that will "pick off" the most vulnerable people, the World Health Organization said on Monday.In France, the variant is now responsible for 9 to 10 percent of the around 2,000 new COVID-19 cases per day. It may prompt an epidemic resurgence in September or October, predicted Jean-Francois Delfraissy, head of the scientific council that advises the government on COVID-19.The government spokesperson reiterated that vaccine is a weapon against the pandemic. "The more we continue to be vaccinated, the more we will be able to protect ourselves against variants," he said.As of Tuesday, over 32.4 million people in France, or 61.8 per cent of the adult population, have received at least one vaccine jab. Some 17.1 million people have completed their vaccination, representing nearly one-third of the adult population, data from the Health Ministry showed. /* .jw-reset-text, .jw-reset{line-height: 2em;}*/ .jw-time-tip .jw-time-chapter{display:none;} if ('' == comscore_jw_loaded || 'undefined' == comscore_jw_loaded || undefined == comscore_jw_loaded) { var comscore_jw_loaded = 1; firstjw = document.getElementsByClassName('jwvidplayer')[0]; cs_jw_script = document.createElement('script'); cs_jw_script.src = 'https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/internal-c2/plugins/streamingtag_plugin_jwplayer.js'; firstjw.parentNode.insertBefore(cs_jw_script, firstjw.nextSibling); } var jwconfig_4862688211 = { "file": "https://vod-indiatv.akamaized.net/hls/2020/12/0_8wn32rjx/master.m3u8", "image": "https://thumbs.indiatvnews.com/vod/0_8wn32rjx_big_thumb.jpg", "title": "France bans all travel from UK for 48 hours", "height": "440px", "width": "100%", "aspectratio": "16:9", "autostart": false, "controls": true, "mute": false, "volume": 25, "floating": false, "sharing": { "code": "", "sites": [ "facebook", "twitter", "email" ] }, "stretching": "exactfit", "primary": "html5", "hlshtml": true, "sharing_link": "", "duration": "209", "advertising": { "client": "vast", "autoplayadsmuted": true, "skipoffset": 5, "cuetext": "", "skipmessage": "Skip ad in xx", "skiptext": "SKIP", "preloadAds": true, "schedule": [ { "offset": "pre", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_PreRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=", "type": "linear" }, { "offset": "50%", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_MidRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=" }, { "offset": "post", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_PostRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=", "type": "linear" } ] } }; var jwvidplayer_4862688211 = ''; jwsetup_4862688211(); function jwsetup_4862688211() { jwvidplayer_4862688211 = jwplayer("jwvidplayer_4862688211").setup(jwconfig_4862688211); jwvidplayer_4862688211.on('ready', function () { ns_.StreamingAnalytics.JWPlayer(jwvidplayer_4862688211, { publisherId: "20465327", labelmapping: "c2=\"20465327\", c3=\"IndiaTV News\", c4=\"null\", c6=\"null\", ns_st_mp=\"jwplayer\", ns_st_cl=\"0\", ns_st_ci=\"0_8wn32rjx\", ns_st_pr=\"France bans all travel from UK for 48 hours\", ns_st_sn=\"0\", ns_st_en=\"0\", ns_st_ep=\"France bans all travel from UK for 48 hours\", ns_st_ct=\"null\", ns_st_ge=\"News\", ns_st_st=\"France bans all travel from UK for 48 hours\", ns_st_ce=\"0\", ns_st_ia=\"0\", ns_st_ddt=\"2020-12-21\", ns_st_tdt=\"2020-12-21\", ns_st_pu=\"IndiaTV News\", ns_st_cu=\"https://vod-indiatv.akamaized.net/hls/2020/12/0_8wn32rjx/master.m3u8\", ns_st_ty=\"video\"" }); }); jwvidplayer_4862688211.on('all', function (r) { if (jwvidplayer_4862688211.getState() == 'error' || jwvidplayer_4862688211.getState() == 'setupError') { jwvidplayer_4862688211.stop(); jwvidplayer_4862688211.remove(); jwvidplayer_4862688211 = ''; jwsetup_4862688211(); return; } }); jwvidplayer_4862688211.on('error', function (t) { jwvidplayer_4862688211.stop(); jwvidplayer_4862688211.remove(); jwvidplayer_4862688211 = ''; jwsetup_4862688211(); return; }); jwvidplayer_4862688211.on('mute', function () { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_4862688211.on('adPlay', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_4862688211.on('adPause', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_4862688211.on('pause', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_4862688211.on('error', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_4862688211.on('adBlock', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); }  

COVID: France urges vigilance against Delta variant

"There is a threat (of epidemic resurgence) linked to the Delta variant," Attal told RMC radio, Xinhua news agency reported. "We can see that things can go very quickly, and that requires individual and collective vigilance."

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US President Donald Trump

Donald Trump says Iran made 'very big mistake' by downing US drone

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Iran has made a "very big mistake" by shooting down a US spy drone, an incident that is likely to further escalate already soaring tensions between Washington and Tehran.

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Russia’s Lower House of Parliament on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill allowing the government to register international media outlets as foreign agents, a swift retaliation to the US demands made to a Russian TV channel.The bill comes days after the Russian state-funded RT registered with the US Justice Department as a foreign agent following pressure from Washington.US intelligence agencies allege that RT served as a Kremlin tool to meddle in the 2016 presidential election. Russia has denied any interference.Russian President Vladimir Putin has harshly criticized the US demand regarding the RT as an attack on freedom of speech and warned that Russia would retaliate.During Wednesday’s debates, State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin described the new legislation as a “symmetrical answer” to the US and a signal that “our media can’t be treated like that.”The bill will now pass to the Upper House, which is expected to quickly rubber-stamp it next week, and then to Putin for signing.The broadly phrased bill will leave it to the Russian government to determine which foreign media outlets would be designated as foreign agents, said Leonid Levin, the head of the Duma committee for information.He noted that the measure would allow Russia to mirror the US demands for RT or any other such action taken by other countries.“I would like to hope that it will only be used once and there will be no need for more retaliatory action,” he added.The media outlets singled out as foreign agents will face requirements currently applied to foreign-funded non-governmental organizations under a 2012 law.The law, which was passed in the wake of massive anti-Kremlin protests in Moscow, requests all groups that receive foreign funding and engage in vaguely defined political activities to register as foreign agents. It requires them to publicly declare themselves as such and regularly provide detailed information about their funding, finances and staffing.Critics of the law have said the definition of political activity is so loose that it could be used against almost any non-governmental organization.Amnesty International harshly criticized the new bill as an attack on media freedom.“This legislation strikes a serious blow to what was already a fairly desperate situation for press freedom in Russia,” Denis Krivosheev, the group’s deputy director for Europe and Central Asia, said in a statement. “Over the last couple of years, the Kremlin has been tirelessly building a media echo chamber that shuts out critical voices, both inside Russia and from abroad.”

Russia passes law to register international media outlets as foreign agents

The bill comes days after the Russian state-funded RT registered with the US Justice Department as a foreign agent following pressure from Washington.

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Chinese ambassador, diplomat in US secretly recruited scientists: FBIChinese Ambassador in Washington and a Chinese diplomat in New York city secretly aided in the recruitment of scientists in the United States, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). An affidavit, filed in federal court last year and unsealed in April, gives a deeper look into China's tactics, Washington Examiner reported. US officials have often expressed concern about Beijing's espionage capabilities. According to Examiner, the affidavit was first reported by the Daily Beast on Monday and the word 'China' is almost entirely redacted from the court filing, though it does appear at least once.An FBI agent who specializes in counterintelligence wrote in the affidavit that the FBI was investigating a scientist in Connecticut who was "knowingly and willfully working in the United States on behalf of government-controlled and government-directed entities for the purpose of recruiting high-level molecular genetics and stem cell stem cell researchers to work at state-controlled universities and laboratories in [China], and for the purpose of acquiring and transferring to those state-controlled universities and laboratories, cutting-edge molecular genetics and stem-cell research and technology developed at leading academic and private-sector research platforms in the United States."The FBI further pointed out that "those efforts are undertaken ... with the [Chinese] government's publicly-declared national security objectives of technology transfer and human capital acquisition."The scientist, whose name was redacted in court documents, became a naturalized US citizen in November 2009 and spent years working in genetic research in America, most recently at a redacted school determined to be Yale University, which told the FBI it had no policy requiring researchers or professors to disclose their involvement with outside entities. The school did not respond to the Washington Examiner's request for comment.The scientist is now believed to be working at Southern Medical University in China.The Homeland Security Department determined that between October 2017 and October 2018, the scientist spent 300 days outside the US. The FBI affidavit suggested that the professor was associated with China's Thousand Talents Program, revealing he was associated with efforts to recruit other scientists to share their research with or to work in China.The unredacted version of the affidavit does not name Cui Tiankai, who has been ambassador to the US since 2013, or the diplomat in New York City.The Chinese Embassy denied that its diplomats in the US aided in the recruitment of scientists."The allegation is nothing but malicious fabrication," spokeswoman Fang Hong said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.The Justice Department began the China Initiative in 2018 to combat the espionage threat, and the US has arrested and charged a number of scientists who have participated in the Thousand Talents Program.At least 54 scientists have lost their jobs over a failure to disclose financial ties to foreign governments, the National Institutes of Health said earlier this month. (With agency inputs)Also Read | US reviewing deployment of forces to counter China's threat to India: Mike PompeoAlso Read | Powerful magnitude-6.4 earthquake hits China's Xinjiang

Chinese ambassador, diplomat in US secretly recruited scientists: FBI

The scientist, whose name was redacted in court documents, became a naturalized US citizen in November 2009 and spent years working in genetic research in America, most recently at a redacted school determined to be Yale University, which told the FBI it had no policy requiring researchers or professors to disclose their involvement with outside entities.

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Delta cancels over 100 flights, opens some middle seatsDelta Air Lines cancelled about 100 flights on Sunday due to staff shortages, and it opened up middle seats a month earlier than expected in order to carry more passengers. The airline says it had over 1 million passengers during the past few days, the highest number since before the coronavirus pandemic began last year.“We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience, and the majority have been rebooked for the same travel day,” the airline said Sunday in a statement.Delta took steps to increase passenger capacity, including opening middle seats on Sunday and Monday, in an effort to accommodate passengers.On Wednesday, the airline announced that it would stop blocking off middle seats starting in May. The move was made last April to keep passengers farther apart, a policy that Delta's CEO had repeatedly cited as raising trust in the airline. The seats would be reopened as air travel recovers and more people become vaccinated against COVID-19, the airline said.Delta said the middle seats were opened just for Sunday and Monday, and its seat-blocking policy has not changed. Where needed, seats could be unblocked in order to get customers to their destinations on the same day.“Delta teams have been working through various factors, including staffing, large numbers of employee vaccinations and pilots returning to active status," the airline said in the statement. Some employees were having adverse side effects from being vaccinated.On Sunday, websites at three Delta hubs showed 33 cancelled arriving or departing flights. There were 19 at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, another 11 at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and three more at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.Delta said Wednesday that nearly 65% of people who flew on Delta last year expect to have at least one dose of the new vaccines by May 1. That gave Delta the assurance to end seating limits, it said.The airline industry was divided over the utility of blocking middle seats to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 on a flight. Airlines including Delta, Southwest, Alaska and JetBlue limited seating for months, while United Airlines never did and American did so only briefly.Social distancing is hard if not impossible on an airplane, even with middle seats empty — a point that United CEO Scott Kirby made many times to explain his airline's resistance to seat-blocking.Air travel in the United States is recovering from pandemic lows. More than 1 million travelers have gone through U.S. airports for each of the last 20 days, although March traffic remains down nearly half from the same month in 2019.The numbers are rising heading into the crucial summer vacation season. Last summer was a catastrophe for the airlines, contributing to Delta's full-year loss of more than USD 12 billion. The airlines are eager to boost revenue as quickly as possible, and that means selling more seats. ALSO READ | SpiceJet introduces 'zero change fee' offer on domestic flights

Delta cancels over 100 flights, opens some middle seats

Delta Air Lines cancelled about 100 flights on Sunday due to staff shortages, and it opened up middle seats a month earlier than expected in order to carry more passengers.

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The father of a missing 3-year-old North Texas girl was arrested on Monday after voluntarily giving new answers to investigators' questions about his daughter's disappearance.Wesley Mathews, 37, was charged on Monday afternoon with first-degree felony injury to a child, a crime punishable by up to life imprisonment. Bond was set at $1 million, Richardson police Sgt. Kevin Perlich said.ALSO READ | India-born girl missing in US after late-night punishment by dad for not drinking milkPerlich did not say how Mathews' new answers deviated from his previous statements regarding the disappearance of his adopted daughter, Sherin Mathews. But Perlich said the elder Mathews gave different answers to police questions than before.Police on Monday were waiting for confirmation that a body found over the weekend was that of the missing child, although Perlich said investigators have no reason not to believe the body found Sunday is that of Sherin Mathews. Police are also awaiting a cause of death from the medical examiner's office.Sherin, who was adopted from India last year, was reported missing by her father on October 7. He told police that he had ordered her to stand near a tree outside of their home at about 3 a.m. as punishment for not drinking her milk, and that she was gone when he went to check on her about 15 minutes later. Authorities said he waited five hours to report her missing.ALSO READ | US police finds body during search; 'most likely' of 3-yr-old missing Indian girlPreviously, Mathews was free on bond after being charged with abandoning or endangering a child. According to police, Mathews said the girl was developmentally disabled and malnourished when he and his wife adopted her, and that they had to put her on a special diet that included feeding her whenever she was awake, including in the middle of the night, to help her gain weight.Wesley Mathews told police that after doing an initial search once he realized his daughter was missing, he went inside and did laundry while waiting for her to come home or for daylight so that he could continue looking.He and his wife, Sini Mathews, attended a court hearing earlier Monday to determine whether they could regain custody of their 4-year-old biological daughter, who was placed in protective custody after her sister went missing. The judge postponed the hearing until November 13 to give Wesley Mathews time to hire a civil attorney, said Marissa Gonzales, a spokeswoman for Child Protective Services. The girl will remain in foster care at least until that hearing or until a judge orders a change in custody."We do have the names of some relatives who have expressed interest in taking care of her," Gonzales said. "We can begin looking into those relatives, but it is entirely up to the judge where she is placed."Authorities using dogs to search for Sherin found the remains Sunday in a drainage tunnel about a half-mile from the family's home.Rafael De La Garza, an attorney for Wesley Mathews, told The Dallas Morning News after Monday's hearing that his client was "mourning the death of his child," but he didn't address the criminal charges. De La Garza did not immediately reply to a phone message from The Associated Press.Police said they believe Sini Mathews was sleeping when the girl went missing and was unaware of the alleged punishment.Investigators have asked neighbors and area businesses to check their video surveillance cameras for footage of a maroon Acura SUV owned by the Mathews family that they believe left the home between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on October 7.Kent Starr, an attorney for Sini Mathews, said that as part of Wesley Mathews' bond agreement, the couple cannot live together. Starr told The Dallas Morning News that his client is seeking to regain custody of her other daughter and that she has cooperated with the police in trying to help identify Sherin's body.Officials from the Indian Embassy in the US and the Indian Consulate in Houston tweeted late last week that they are in contact with police regarding the investigation and actively helping. Neither office has released a statement since the body was found. Police confirmed they are working with the consulate to obtain adoption records and other documents. 

Father of 3-year-old missing girl arrested in North Texas, charged with first-degree felony

Wesley Mathews, 37, was charged with first-degree felony injury to a child, a crime punishable by up to life imprisonment.

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An Israeli soldier takes position along the border between the northern West Bank near Jenin and Israel as they search for two Palestinians who broke out of a maximum-security prison last week.Israeli aircraft struck a series of targets in the Gaza Strip early Monday in response to a series of rocket launches out of the Hamas-ruled territory. It was the third consecutive night of fighting between the enemies.Tensions have been heightened following last week’s escape from an Israeli prison by six Palestinian inmates, as well as struggling efforts by Egypt to broker a long-term cease-fire in the wake of an 11-day war last May.The Israeli military reported three separate rocket launches late Sunday and early Monday, saying at least two of them were intercepted by its rocket defenses.In response, it said it attacked a number of Hamas targets. There were no reports of casualties on either side.Over the weekend, Israel caught four of the six Palestinian inmates, who tunneled out of a maximum security prison on Sept. 6. Palestinian militants responded with rocket fire. Israel’s search for the last two prisoners is continuing.Meanwhile, Egyptian-mediated efforts to deliver a long-term truce have struggled with the sides unable to agree on a system to renew Qatari payments to needy Gaza families. Israel has demanded guarantees that Hamas does not divert the money for military use.Gaza is an impoverished territory whose population is overwhelmingly comprised of families who fled or were forced from properties in what is now Israel during the war surrounding Israel’s establishment in 1948.Hamas is pushing for Israel to end a crippling blockade that has devastated Gaza’s economy, while Israel is demanding that Hamas free two captive Israeli civilians and return the remains of two dead Israeli soldiers.Hamas has controlled Gaza since ousting the forces of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority in 2007, a year after the Islamic militant group won Palestinian parliamentary elections.Since then, Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and numerous smaller rounds of fighting. /* .jw-reset-text, .jw-reset{line-height: 2em;}*/ .jw-time-tip .jw-time-chapter{display:none;} if ('' == comscore_jw_loaded || 'undefined' == comscore_jw_loaded || undefined == comscore_jw_loaded) { var comscore_jw_loaded = 1; firstjw = document.getElementsByClassName('jwvidplayer')[0]; cs_jw_script = document.createElement('script'); cs_jw_script.src = 'https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/internal-c2/plugins/streamingtag_plugin_jwplayer.js'; firstjw.parentNode.insertBefore(cs_jw_script, firstjw.nextSibling); } var jwconfig_4159714784 = { "file": "https://vod-indiatv.akamaized.net/hls/2021/09/0_icu0lyid/master.m3u8", "image": "https://thumbs.indiatvnews.com/vod/0_icu0lyid_big_thumb.jpg", "title": "Israel launches new airstrikes on Gaza ", "height": "440px", "width": "100%", "aspectratio": "16:9", "autostart": false, "controls": true, "mute": false, "volume": 25, "floating": false, "sharing": { "code": "", "sites": [ "facebook", "twitter", "email" ] }, "stretching": "exactfit", "primary": "html5", "hlshtml": true, "sharing_link": "", "duration": "40", "advertising": { "client": "vast", "autoplayadsmuted": true, "skipoffset": 5, "cuetext": "", "skipmessage": "Skip ad in xx", "skiptext": "SKIP", "preloadAds": true, "schedule": [ { "offset": "pre", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_PreRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=", "type": "linear" }, { "offset": "50%", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_MidRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=" }, { "offset": "post", "tag": "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/8323530/Eng_Video_Desktop_PostRoll&description_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=", "type": "linear" } ] } }; var jwvidplayer_4159714784 = ''; jwsetup_4159714784(); function jwsetup_4159714784() { jwvidplayer_4159714784 = jwplayer("jwvidplayer_4159714784").setup(jwconfig_4159714784); jwvidplayer_4159714784.on('ready', function () { ns_.StreamingAnalytics.JWPlayer(jwvidplayer_4159714784, { publisherId: "20465327", labelmapping: "c2=\"20465327\", c3=\"IndiaTV News\", c4=\"null\", c6=\"null\", ns_st_mp=\"jwplayer\", ns_st_cl=\"0\", ns_st_ci=\"0_icu0lyid\", ns_st_pr=\"Israel launches new airstrikes on Gaza\", ns_st_sn=\"0\", ns_st_en=\"0\", ns_st_ep=\"Israel launches new airstrikes on Gaza\", ns_st_ct=\"null\", ns_st_ge=\"News\", ns_st_st=\"Israel launches new airstrikes on Gaza\", ns_st_ce=\"0\", ns_st_ia=\"0\", ns_st_ddt=\"2021-09-07\", ns_st_tdt=\"2021-09-07\", ns_st_pu=\"IndiaTV News\", ns_st_cu=\"https://vod-indiatv.akamaized.net/hls/2021/09/0_icu0lyid/master.m3u8\", ns_st_ty=\"video\"" }); }); jwvidplayer_4159714784.on('all', function (r) { if (jwvidplayer_4159714784.getState() == 'error' || jwvidplayer_4159714784.getState() == 'setupError') { jwvidplayer_4159714784.stop(); jwvidplayer_4159714784.remove(); jwvidplayer_4159714784 = ''; jwsetup_4159714784(); return; } }); jwvidplayer_4159714784.on('error', function (t) { jwvidplayer_4159714784.stop(); jwvidplayer_4159714784.remove(); jwvidplayer_4159714784 = ''; jwsetup_4159714784(); return; }); jwvidplayer_4159714784.on('mute', function () { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_4159714784.on('adPlay', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_4159714784.on('adPause', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_4159714784.on('pause', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_4159714784.on('error', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); jwvidplayer_4159714784.on('adBlock', function (event) { ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Events', 'Errors', event.message); }); }

Israel hits Hamas targets in Gaza in response to rocket fire

Over the weekend, Israel caught four of the six Palestinian inmates, who tunneled out of a maximum security prison on Sept. 6.

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Trump tariff-hit US firms keen to relocate to India from ChinaAbout 200 US companies have expressed interest in coming from China to India, according to Mukesh Aghi, the president of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).The organisation, which promotes bilateral business and trade relations between the two countries, has received enquiries from those companies about how to invest in India and they have a potential for bringing $21 billion in investments to India, Aghi said during an interactive session at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami's meeting with investors here on Tuesday.India's Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty also said that there was a lot of interest from US companies to relocate from China to India and he hoped that Tamil Nadu is rolling out the red carpet for them.US President Donald Trump's trade war with China, the problems with protecting intellectual property and restrictions on doing business have prompted many US companies to look for other places to move or expand operations.By investing in other countries these companies may be able to avoid the high tariffs imposed by Trump, some of which went into effect in September.Aghi asked USISPF board member and former US Ambassador to India, Frank Wisner, what India and Tamil Nadu should do to get those companies to come there.Wisner said that the Centre has to reform labour laws to make the condition of employment of workers easy, enable the acquisition of land easier, create reliable tax systems and establish a solid financial sector that is able to fuel investment.The responsibility of the state is to provide "a framework of welcome" for copanies wanting to relocate or invest by helping them find land facilitating clearances, and running interference with Delhi, said Wisner, who is now International Affairs Adviser to the global law firm, Squire Patton Boggs.He added that the state also has to provide "the kinds of educational and health infrastructure that is required not only for work force, but for managerial talent".ALSO READ: Pentagon approves military construction cash for Donlad Trump's border wall ALSO READ: Nationalism will trump caste arithmetic in Haryana polls, Art 370 issue deciding factor: Khattar ALSO READ: Trump nominates Indian-American Shireen Mathews to federal judgeship

Trump tariff-hit US firms keen to relocate to India from China

US President Donald Trump's trade war with China, the problems with protecting intellectual property and restrictions on doing business have prompted many US companies to look for other places to move or expand operations.