Category: National

The group reportedly has between 150 and 200 members from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Pakistan.

PTI

A UN report on terrorism has warned that there are significant numbers of ISIS terrorists in Kerala and Karnataka, noting that the al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent terror group, which reportedly has between 150 and 200 militants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, is planning attacks in the region.

The 26th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning ISIS, al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities said that the al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) operates under the Taliban umbrella from Nimruz, Helmand and Kandahar provinces of Afghanistan.

The group reportedly has between 150 and 200 members from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Pakistan. The current leader of AQIS is Osama Mahmood , who succeeded the late Asim Umar AQIS is reportedly planning retaliation operations in the region to avenge the death of its former leader, it said.

According to the report, one member state reported that the ISIL Indian affiliate (Hind Wilayah), which was announced on May 10, 2019, has between 180 and 200 members .

It said that there are significant numbers of ISIL operatives in Kerala and Karnataka States.

In May last year, the Islamic State (also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) terror group claimed to have established a new “province” in India, the first of its kind announcement that came after clashes between militants and security forces in Kashmir.

The terror outfit, through its Amaq News Agency, had said that the Arabic name of the new branch is “Wilayah of Hind” (India Province).

A senior Jammu and Kashmir police officer had rejected the claim.

Prevously, ISIS attacks in Kashmir were linked to its so-called Khorasan Province branch, which was set up in 2015 to cover “Afghanistan, Pakistan and nearby lands”.

Pharmaceutical major Cipla Limited has announced receiving regulatory approval by the drug controller general of India (DCGI) for launching Favipiravir in the country to be sold under the brand name Ciplenza for restricted emergency use for the treatment of coronavirus patients.

The company said that as part of its efforts to meet the demand for the medicine, it will commercially launch Ciplenza in the first week of August and each tablet will be priced at Rs 68.

“To ensure fair and equitable distribution of the drug, supplies will be undertaken predominantly through hospital channels and via open channels, prioritised for regions with a high burden of Covid-19 cases,” a press release on the company’s website stated.

The statement claims that an accelerated approval for Ciplenza’s manufacturing and marketing is aimed at meeting the urgent and unmet medical need for Covid-19 treatment options in the country.

The drug has been jointly developed by Cipla and CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT).

“As part of this partnership, CSIR-IICT has successfully developed a convenient and cost-effective synthetic process for Favipiravir. The entire process and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) of the drug has been transferred to Cipla to manufacture and market the drug at scale,” the statement says.

Favipiravir is an off patent, oral antiviral drug, originally discovered by Fuji Pharma in Japan, and has shown promise in clinical trials for treatment of Covid-19 patients, especially in mild and moderate cases.

Director of CSIR-IICR S Chandrashekhar was quoted by news agency PTI as saying that the technology transferred to Cipla is very efficient and affordable, allowing the company to make large quantities of the product within a short span of time.

CSIR director general Shekhar C Mande said Ciplenza was another example of the institute’s commitment to work with the industry to develop quick solutions and products for mitigation of Covid-19.

Earlier in June, drug manufacturing firm Glenmark Pharmaceuticals was given approval from the Indian drug regulator to launch oral antiviral drug favipiravir for treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 patients in the country.

Another Indian pharmaceutical company Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (Dr Reddy’s) had recently announced signing a tripartite agreement with two international firms based in Japan and the UAE for the development, manufacturing and sales of favipiravir innovator brand Avigan.

With inputs from the Hindustan Times

Delhi: The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) has prompted many Afghan and Rohingya Muslim refugees to convert to Christianity so as to become eligible for Indian citizenship, central agencies have alerted the government, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Nearly 25 such cases of Afghan Muslims converting to Christianity have been flagged by the agencies as part of an ongoing assessment, they said.

The legislation, which was passed by Parliament last year and came into existence on January 10 this year, allows non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to apply for Indian citizenship. The Union home ministry has yet to notify the rules for CAA 2019.

Adib Ahmed Maxwell, who heads an Afghan church in south Delhi, told ET: “Post CAA, there has been a spurt in the number of Afghan Muslims wanting to convert to Christianity.”

Maxwell, 34, came to India at the age of 21. His parents follow Sunni Islam and live near Kabul in Afghanistan. “Most Afghans apply for asylum under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),” he said.

According to official data, there are 150,000-160,000 Afghan Muslims living in Delhi, mainly East of Kailash, Lajpat Nagar, Ashok Nagar and Ashram. The community recently helped Indian agencies locate Afghan Sikh Nidan Singh Sachdeva, who was kidnapped by Taliban militants from Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan. Singh had gone to perform community service at a gurudwara in Afghanistan.

Besides, official estimates suggest there are nearly 40,000 Rohingya Muslims across India, with the highest number in Jammu and Kashmir. A large number of these migrants have been residing in India prior to 2012 and are now claiming to be from Bangladesh while taking up Christianity.

With inputs from The Economic Times

PTI

Muzaffarnagar (UP): A 16-year-old girl was allegedly sexually harassed in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district by three men, who also beat up her uncle when he opposed them, police said on Friday.

The incident occurred at Bhokarhedi area on Thursday. The girl’s uncle was beaten up with sticks and he has been admitted to a hospital in a serious condition, Bhopa police station incharge Sanjiv Kumar said.

A case has been registered against the three suspects, Amol Kumar, Abhishek and Nikhil Kumar, who are absconding, the officer said.

In neighbouring Shamli district, three youths allegedly attempted to kidnap a woman when she was on her way to a shop at a village in Kairana police station area on Thursday, an officer said.

A search is on for the suspects, who also threatened the woman, the police said.

PTI

New Delhi: India saw a record single-day spike of 49,310 COVID-19 cases taking the country’s virus tally to 12,87,945 on Friday, while the recoveries surged to 8,17,208, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

The death toll mounted to 30,601 with 740 new fatalities reported in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

There are 4,40,135 active cases of coronavirus infection presently in the country.

Thus, around 63.45 per cent people have recovered so far.The total number of confirmed cases includes foreigners.

Of the 740 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, 298 are from Maharashtra, 97 from Karnataka, 88 are from Tamil Nadu, 61 from Andhra Pradesh, 34 from West Bengal, 28 from Gujarat, 26 each from Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, 11 from Rajasthan,10 from Madhya Pradesh and nine each from Jammu and Kashmir and Telangana.

Punjab has reported eight fatalities followed by Assam, Odisha and Haryana with six deaths each, Kerala five, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Puducherry three each, while Chhattisgarh, Tripura and Goa have registered a fatality each.

PTI

New Delhi: Gold prices went past Rs 51,000 mark in the national capital, rising by Rs 502 on Thursday on strong international prices, according to HDFC Securities.

The precious metal rose by Rs 502 to Rs 51,443 per 10 gram from Rs 50,941 per 10 gram in the previous trade.

Silver, however, declined by Rs 69 to Rs 62,760 per kg from Rs 62,829 per kg on Wednesday.

“Spot gold prices for 24 carat gold in Delhi hit new high trading above Rs 51,000, gaining Rs 502 on strong international gold prices,” HDFC Securities Senior Analyst (Commodities) Tapan Patel said.

In the international market, gold was trading higher at USD 1,875 per ounce, while silver was flat at USD 22.76 per ounce.

“Gold prices gained strength on tensions between the US and China. Surge in virus cases in the US has boosted safe-haven demand for precious metals,” he added.

Association for Democratic Reforms analysis finds that 89% have declared assets estimated at over ₹1 crore.

About a quarter of the sitting Rajya Sabha members have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to an analysis of their self-sworn affidavits by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) released on Wednesday.

With three seats vacant and Kerala MP K.K. Ragesh’s affidavit being unavailable, the ADR report said an analysis of 229 of the 233 Rajya Sabha seats that represent the States and Union Territories showed that 54 MPs or 24% had declared criminal cases.

Out of the 229 MPs, which included the newly-elected representatives taking the oath on Wednesday, 28 or 12% had declared serious criminal cases. The report stated that 14 of 77 BJP MPs and eightof 40 Congress MPs had declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

The ADR analysis found that 203 of the 229 MPs or 89% of those analysed had declared assets over ₹1crore, including 90% of the BJP MPs, 93% of the Congress MPs, 100% of the AIADMK MPs and 69% of the Trinamool Congress MPs.

Highest declared assets

Janata Dal (United) MP from Bihar Mahendra Prasad had the highest declared assets at ₹4,078 crore, followed by YSRCP MP from Andhra Pradesh Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy, who declared assets worth ₹2,577 crore, and actor-turned-politician, Samajwadi Party MP from Uttar Pradesh Jaya Bachchan who declared assets over ₹1,001 crore.

The ADR report said BJP MP from Manipur Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba declared ₹5.48 lakh in assets, the lowest of the MPs analysed, followed by Aam Aadmi Party MP from Delhi Sanjay Singh, who declared ₹6.60 lakh in assets, and BJP MP from Jharkhand Samir Oraon, who declared ₹18.69 lakh.

With inputs from The Hindu

200 people to attend

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Ram Temple slated to be built in Ayodhya on August 5. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic and to ensure maximum social distancing at the programme, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra has decided that there will not be more than 200 people, including 150 invitees at the foundation stone laying ceremony.

“We have decided that there will not be more than 200 people including 150 invitees at the event,” Swami Govind Dev Giri, Treasurer of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra said on Wednesday in Pune.

Before laying the foundation stone for the construction of the temple, PM Modi will offer prayers to Lord Ram at the temple and Lord Hanuman at Hanuman Garhi Temple in Ayodhya. All chief ministers from different states will be invited to the programme, Swami Govind Dev Giri, Treasurer of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra said.

In Ayodhya, elaborate preparations are being planned for the three-day Vedic rituals at the Ram Janmabhoomi site. The rituals will begin on August 3 and end with a ‘bhumi pujan’ on August 5 before the construction of the much awaited temple begins.

Veteran BJP leader and former deputy prime minister LK Advani and other leaders of the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation will also be invited to the ceremony, a Ram Mandir trust member said on Tuesday.

Kameshwar Chaupal, a member of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra, a trust set up by the Centre to oversee the construction of the temple, said they will invite former deputy PM L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and Vinay Katiyar.

“Timings for the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Prime Minister has been decided according to the Hindu calendar and the most auspicious time (12.15 pm) on August 5, has been selected accordingly,” Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, heir to Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Chairman of Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust had said on Sunday.

Vedic rituals for the ‘bhumi pujan’ will begin with a special puja offered to Lord Ganesha. According to Hindu rituals, every auspicious ceremony begins with offerings to Lord Ganesha. Next day, the priests will perform Ramacharya Puja and on the last day August 5 another ‘bhumi pujan’ will be performed, which will be attended by the Prime Minister.

An 11-member team of priests from Varanasi and Ayodhya will perform the three-day rituals. In this entire ceremony, priests from Varanasi, which is the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Modi, will have a prominent role.

On his maiden visit to Ayodhya, PM Modi is likely to remain in the temple town for two hours.

In his address, RKS Bhadauria said the air force was well prepared to counter short-term as well as strategic threats and the units were evenly poised to counter any aggressive action by the adversary.

Amid the border row with China, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday asked the Indian Air Force (IAF) to be prepared for any eventuality, saying the rapid deployment of aerial assets at forward locations in eastern Ladakh had “sent a strong message” to the adversary.

The IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, said his force was poised to counter any aggressive action by the adversary.

Singh was addressing IAF’s top commanders on the opening day of a three-day commanders’ conference.

In his inaugural address, he said the professional manner in which IAF conducted air strikes in Pakistan’s Balakot last year and the rapid deployment of aerial assets at forward locations in response to the prevailing situation in eastern Ladakh has sent a strong message to India’s adversaries.

The country’s resolve to defend its sovereignty stands firm on the faith its people have in the military’s capability, he said.

Singh appreciated IAF’s “proactive response” in bolstering operational capabilities over the past few months. He assured the IAF’s top brass that all needs of the armed forces will be fulfilled.

In his speech, Bhadauria said the IAF was well prepared to counter short-term and strategic threats and its units were evenly poised to counter any aggressive action by the adversary. He emphasised on the need to focus on the ability to handle situations at short notice for a robust response.

The conference is being held days ahead of the IAF inducting its first batch of five Rafale combats jets acquired from France. They will be inducted at Ambala airbase on July 29.

IAF is inducting the jets against the backdrop of heightened tensions with China. It can deploy the new Rafale jets in Ladakh sector as part of India’s overarching plan to strengthen its military posture in the region, where Indian and Chinese forces have been locked in a tense confrontation for months. A protracted process of disengagement began recently and is still ongoing.

India-specific enhancements on the Rafales include cold engine start capability to operate from high-altitude bases.

India ordered 36 Rafale jets from France in a deal worth Rs 59,000 crore in September 2016, as an emergency purchase to arrest a worrying slide in IAF’s combat capabilities.

The possible deployment of Rafale fighters in Ladakh could be discussed at the commanders’ conference, where the air force brass is expected to focus on the border row with China, IAF’s preparedness and new purchases that have to be made quickly.

With inputs from Hindustan Times

When the world is scrambling to find a treatment for coronavirus infection, an United Kingdom citizen with an Indian descent has come forward to contribute to the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. Forty-two-year old Deepak Paliwal has volunteered for the human trial for coronavirus vaccine led by the Oxford university.

Paliwal took part in the second phase of human trial of COVID-19 vaccine conducted by Oxford University. He said he learnt about the trial during the first leg of April and enrolled himself. He was first screened at St George Hospital in London for preliminary health parameters on April 26. The medical researchers showed him a video and informed about the risk factors involved in the process which ranged from organ damage to mortality. But nothing stopped Deepak Paliwal from taking part in the development of COVID-19 vaccine. His wife did not support his decision at first, he added.

Paliwal said he kept thinking how could he contribute to the global fight against coronavirus and decided to enroll as a volunteer for the human trial. “My brain is quite useless now, so I thought how I can use my body?” he said in an interview.

Paliwal is a pharmaceutical consultant who has been staying in London for over 10 years. He hails from Jaipur, Rajasthan. After the successful completion of his trial, Paliwal’s courage was welcomed by his family. Phase II trial was done on 1,000 individuals.

The United Kingdom’s biggest vaccine project — ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 is made from a virus (ChAdOx1), which is a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus) that causes infections in chimpanzees, that has been genetically changed so that it is impossible for it to replicate in humans.

Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the Jenner Institute, said: ‘The COVID-19 vaccine trial team have been working hard on assessing the safety and immunogenicity of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, and preparing to assess vaccine efficacy.”

The project has already started Phase III of the human trials to assess how the vaccine works in a large number of people over the age of 18, and how well the vaccine works to prevent people from becoming infected and unwell with COVID-19.

Kate Bingham, chair of the UK Government Vaccine Taskforce, said that, excluding the Oxford vaccine programme, she hoped there would be a breakthrough by early 2021.

With inputs from Live Mint