Srinagar: Kashmir politicians across the party lines today hit at Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal as the Centre seeks to amend the National Capital Territory of Delhi Amendment Act 1991 which will result in Delhi Lieutenant Governor receiving increased power.
The Centre’s move has given a chance to political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir to remind Kejriwal about his tweets on abrogation of Article 370. National Conference vice president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in a tweet: “When they came for us on Aug 5, 2019, AAP happily supported the BJP in the Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha. Let’s see AAP support this piece of legislation now!
Peoples Conference president Sajad Lone in a tweet called it divine justice and said that this move by the Centre served Kejriwal right.
“Ah. Mr Kejriwal to be disempowered. What u supported me Kejriwal was people-less J&K. Now u will hopefully be an ornamental piece of decorative item in the Delhi government. The same way u supported people of J and K to b ornamental pieces,”
Delhi Chief Minister had supported the GOI decision of abrogating Article 370 last year.
On August 5, he had tweeted, “We support the govt on its decisions on J & K. We hope this will bring peace and development in the state.”
The Central government has proposed to amend the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Amendment Bill, 2020 (GNCTD). The bill calls for amendment of the GNCTD Act 1991, “to bring ease in implementation of certain provisions of the Act.”(KNS)
Srinagar: Farmers of the world’s costliest crop, ‘Saffron’ are worried these days in view of rainfall deficit and hot weather conditions in Kashmir.
After witnessing huge losses in 2019 due to untimely snow in November and shutdown for months following abrogation of Article 370, Mohammad Ashraf, a Saffron grower in South Kashmir’s Pampore area was hopeful of good returns in the upcoming season.
But the rainfall deficit, dry spell and hot weather conditions in Kashmir have become a worry for Ashraf.
“We are not able to dig the Saffron fields due to dry and hot weather. The situation has worsened to such an extent that Saffron fields have developed cracks due to hot weather,” he told.
He is cultivating Saffron over one hectare of land. “If there is no rainfall in the next two weeks, we will suffer heavy damages and our Saffron won’t grow,” he added.
Last year, he could grow less than 2 kilogram of Saffron as the production declined due to untimely snowfall in November. One hectare of land produces around 4 kilogram of Saffron. Each kilogram of Saffron costs Rs 2 to 3 lakh depending upon the demand from the consumers.
He said the government has failed to keep the irrigation facilities available.
“Had there been proper irrigation facilities available, we would not have been dependent on rainfall,” he said.
Saffron flowers are sensitive to vagaries of the weather. Its production depends on the weather conditions and the irrigation facilities.
Abdul Majeed Wani, another Saffron grower from Pampore said the Saffron fields have turned dry due to rainfall deficit.
“We are not able to dig our fields. The production of Saffron will depend upon the weather conditions in the next few weeks. If the dry continues, then there will be heavy damage to Saffron production. I can only pray that there is sufficient rainfall,” Wani said, who is also President Saffron Growers Association.
He said last year the rates of Saffron went down and they sold one kilogram of Saffron for less than Rs 2 lakh.
The harvest season of Saffron begins from ending October. More than 16,000 families are associated with this crop production in the valley.
Kashmiri saffron is of superior quality because of the higher concentration of crocin, a carotenoid pigment that gives saffron its colour and medicinal value.
Saffron, despite its price, is in high demand for its antioxidant properties. Each year, Kashmir produces 16 tonnes of Saffron.
Saffron is cultivated in three districts: Pulwama, Srinagar and Budgam of the valley. Pampore, the township in Pulwama district produces the most.
Kashmir has recorded the highest temperature of over 36 degrees celcius in August, the first time in 40 years, which is believed to be due to global warming.
“We have received less rainfall this time and temperature is above normal,” Director Meteorological Department Sonam Lotus said.(KINS)
Islamabad: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday he would like convicted rapists to be publicly executed or chemically castrated, reacting to a question on the rape of a woman on a highway last week that has caused uproar in the South Asian nation.
Last week, a mother of two driving along a major highway near Lahore was dragged out of her car and raped by two men at gunpoint – one of whom was arrested by police on Monday.
Khan said he believed the culprits should be hanged publicly, but added that officials had informed him that such an act could endanger a preferential trade status given to Pakistan by the European Union (EU).
The EU’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP-plus) status, granted to Pakistan in 2014, is contingent upon observation of international conventions, such as human rights.
However, Khan said he was also looking into the option of chemical castration instead.
“The way there is first degree, second degree, third degree murder, this [rape] should be graded in the same way, and when there is first degree [rape], castrate them. Operate on them and make them unable to do this,” Khan said in an interview on a Pakistan news channel.
Khan’s remarks came as Pakistani officials announced that one of the two main suspects in the motorway rape case had been arrested and had admitted to the crime. Officials said they also had a positive DNA match. The search for the second suspect is still ongoing.
Police retrieved DNA samples from the site, and used GPS data from cellular phone networks to identify individuals who were at the site when the attack occurred.
The shocking assault sparked nationwide protests and calls for the resignation of officials as well as the public hanging of rapists in Pakistan.
This February, lawmakers introduced legislation for the public hanging of those convicted of sexual abuse and the murder of children, but the law was not passed.
U.S. media report said that an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the US ambassador to South Africa was planned before the presidential election in November.
US President Donald Trump on Monday vowed that any attack by Iran would be met with a response “1,000 times greater in magnitude,” after reports that Iran planned to avenge the killing of top general Qasem Soleimani.
A U.S. media report, quoting unnamed officials, said that an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the US ambassador to South Africa was planned before the presidential election in November.
“According to press reports, Iran may be planning an assassination, or other attack, against the United States in retaliation for the killing of terrorist leader Soleimani,” Mr. Trump tweeted.
“Any attack by Iran, in any form, against the United States will be met with an attack on Iran that will be 1,000 times greater in magnitude!”
Relations between Washington and Tehran have been tense since the Iranian revolution, and have spiralled since Trump unilaterally pulled out of a landmark international nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018.
In January, a US drone strike killed Soleimani in Baghdad, and Washington is pushing to extend an arms embargo on Iran that starts to progressively expire in October as well as reimposing UN sanctions on the Islamic republic.
The Iranian navy last week said it drove off American aircraft that flew close to an area where military exercises were underway near the Strait of Hormuz.
The military said three US aircraft were detected by Iran’s air force radars after they entered the country’s air defence identification zone.
Jammu: Several organisations of Kashmiri Pandits observed Martyr’s day here and in Delhi on Monday, demanding their rehabilitation in the Valley and setting up of a panel to probe the “genocide” the community was allegedly subjected to.
The Kashmiri Pandits have been observing ‘Balidan Divas’ (Martyr’s day) since 1990 to pay homage to the community members and security forces who laid down their lives fighting terrorism in the Union Territory.
Several organisations including the Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj (YAIKS), the Panun Kashmir, the All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC), the All Party Kashmiri Pandit Conference (APMCC) and the All India Kashmiri Samaj (AIKS) observed Martyr’s day in Jammu and Delhi.
YAIKS activists, led by president R K Bhat, put up pictures of slain community members on a wall near the Raj Bhawan here, raised slogans and offered floral tributes.
“Today, we are paying tributes to Kashmiri Pandit members who were killed brutally by the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists. They killed the cream of this community in the initial phase of terrorism in 1990. They threatened people to leave or be killed,” Bhat told reporters.
APMCC president Vinood Pandit claimed the government has “failed” to return and rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley.
The All India Kashmiri Samaj (AIKS) and its affiliated units in the country and abroad paid rich tributes to slain members of the community through a webinar.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the drugmaker should have key data from its late-stage trial for the Food and Drug Administration by the end of October.
If the FDA approves the vaccine, the company is prepared to distribute “hundreds of thousands of doses,” he said.
On Saturday, Pfizer submitted a proposal to the FDA to expand the late-stage trial to include up to 44,000 participants, a significant increase from its previous target of 30,000.
Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesIn this Jan. 17, 2019, file photo, Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer pharmaceutical company, waits to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City | Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine could be distributed to Americans before the end of the year if found to be safe and effective, CEO Albert Bourla said Sunday.
The drugmaker should have key data from its late-stage trial for the Food and Drug Administration by the end of October, Bourla said during an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” If the FDA approves the vaccine, the company is prepared to distribute “hundreds of thousands of doses,” he said.
Because of the pandemic, U.S. health officials and drugmakers have been accelerating the development of vaccine candidates by investing in multiple stages of research even though doing so could be for naught if the vaccine ends up not being effective or safe.
The U.S. pharmaceutical giant has been working alongside German drugmaker BioNTech. In July, the U.S. government announced it would pay the companies $1.95 billion to produce and deliver 100 million doses of their vaccine if it proves safe and effective. The deal was signed as part of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s effort to accelerate development and production of vaccines and treatments to fight the coronavirus.
Bourla said Sunday that the company has already invested $1.5 billion for the development of the potential vaccine. He said if the vaccine failed to work it would be financially “painful” for the company.
“At the end of the day, it’s only money. But that will not break the company, although it’s going to be painful,” he said.
Pfizer’s experimental vaccine contains genetic material called messenger RNA, or mRNA, which scientists hope provokes the immune system to fight the virus.
Pfizer is one of three companies currently in late-stage testing for a vaccine. The other two are Moderna and AstraZeneca, which announced Saturday it would resume its trial after temporarily pausing it for safety reasons.
On Saturday, Pfizer submitted a proposal to the FDA to expand the late-stage trial to include up to 44,000 participants, a significant increase from its previous target of 30,000.
The developments come as infectious disease experts and scientists in recent weeks have said they have concerns that President Donald Trump is pressuring the FDA to approve a vaccine before it’s been adequately tested. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, insisting he wasn’t being pressured by Trump to fast-track a vaccine, told The Financial Times last month the agency is prepared to bypass the full federal approval process in order to make a COVID-19 vaccine available as soon as possible.
On Sept. 8, nine drug companies, including Pfizer, released a letter pledging that they would prioritize safety and uphold “the integrity of the scientific process” in their efforts to develop coronavirus vaccines.
Even if a vaccine is approved to be distributed before the end of the year, it will likely be in short supply. The vaccine will likely require two doses at varying intervals, and states still face logistical challenges such as setting up distribution sites and acquiring enough needles, syringes and bottles needed for immunizations.
Earlier this month, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a draft proposal for distributing a vaccine in the U.S. if and when one is approved for public use. The report was requested by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The vaccine would be distributed in four phases, with health-care workers, the elderly and people with underlying health conditions getting vaccinated first, according to the group. Essential workers, teachers and people in homeless shelters as well as people in prisons would be next on the list, followed by children and young adults.
Srinagar: Jammu and Kahsmir reported 1229 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its count to 55325, official said on Monday. It is for the 12th consecutive day that daily caseload has exceeded one thousand.
File Photo
With 84 travelers among them, official sources told GNS 837 cases were from Jammu and 392 from Kashmir Valley.
Giving breakup of the cases, they said Srinagar reported 119, Budgam 78, Baramulla 14, Pulwama 40, Anantnag 24, Kupwara 17, Bandipora 45, Kulgam 2, Ganderbal 43, Shopian 8, Jammu 392, Udhampur 54, Rajouri 87, Kathua 27, Samba 38, Poonch 57, Ramban 14, Doda 113, Reasi 29 and Kishtwar 26.
Moreover, they said, 644 more COVID-19 patients have recovered and were discharged from various hospitals— 231 from Jammu Division and 413 from Kashmir Valley. (GNS)
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Members of Parliament on Monday sought discussion on the situation of Jammu and Kashmir in the Parliament during the current session citing the unprecedented situation in the region in wake of the unilateral, unconstitutional and undemocratic rescinding of Articles 370 and 35A.
The Party’s Members of Parliament Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Muhammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi alluding to the unprecedented situation in Jammu and Kashmir have sought a discussion in the Parliament on Jammu and Kashmir, according to a statement issued here by party to GNS .
They said last year GOIs 5th August decision of shearing the erstwhile state of J&K of its constitutional position and its division and downgrading into two union territories has resulted in an unprecedented situation in the entire region. They asserted that the measures taken by GOI, besides giving a lie to the sovereign commitments of the country to the people of J&K have pushed the entire region into a precarious situation.
The MPs maintained that post 5th of August 2019; there has been a surge in the incidents of violence and skirmishes on LOC and LAC almost on daily basis. They said there has been no thaw in violence related incidents inside J&K as well and the situation is nowhere near to what was promised while abrogating the state’s constitutional. So far the situation in the entire region has brought to front our valid apprehensions; the promised development, creation of jobs is still not perceptible on ground, they added. On the contrary, the industries, handicrafts, tourism, and other vital sectors of the entire region are reeling under huge losses, the MPs said.
The gags and curbs on internet continue to hamper student’s access to digital world, they maintained. The MPs also said the measures undertaken on 5th of august last year have failed to bring promised dividends and that the situation is converse to what was promised by the ruling dispensation in the parliament.
Hundreds are languishing in jails far away from their homes, they said adding that the much touted peace was nowhere in sight.
“The matter is of urgent nature and calls for immediate discussion,” the MPs demanded.(GNS)
Srinagar: After remaining closed for more than a year, the schools in Kashmir are all set to reopen next week.
An official told news agency Kashmir Dot Com – (KDC) that the government has chalked out a detailed plan for reopening the schools. “Under this plan 50 percent of the staff will have to attend the schools on the alternative days,” said the official.
Regarding students, the source said, they will be allowed to return to classrooms only after getting written consent from the parents.
Regarding students of class 9, 10 and 11, the schools authorities will allow 50 percent attendance. “The schools will be reopened while ensuring strict adherence to all COVID-19 SOPs and health guidelines,” said an official.
He said the final decision to send their wards to the schools will however rests with the parents. “The schools will not force the students to return to schools, and at the same time the online classes which were started many months ago will continue,” the official added.
The schools were first closed in August last year when the government of India unilaterally abrogated Article 370, a constitutional provision that guaranteed special position to Jammu and Kashmir in Union of India.
The clampdown that was started on August 5 continued for more than six months and was followed by the COVID lockdown that started in March when Kashmir reported first coronavirus case from Srinagar. (KDC)
Jammu: A man has been arrested after 7 kg of heroin worth Rs 35 crore was recovered in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, police said on Monday.
The recovery came after specific information that high-grade narcotic substance was being smuggled along the Jammu-Poonch national highway, a police official said.
The recovered heroin is valued at Rs 35 crore in the international market. A person has been arrested and further details are awaited, the officer said.
