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  • Trump threatens to withhold funds from WHO, says UN body is ‘China-centric’

    Donald Trump told reporters he was “going to put a very powerful hold on” funding to WHO, the UN body whose biggest funding source is the US.

    Agence France-Presse

    Washington: President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to cut US funding to the World Health Organization, accusing it of bias toward China during the coronavirus pandemic.

    Trump told reporters he was “going to put a very powerful hold on” funding to WHO, the UN body whose biggest funding source is the United States.

    “We’re going to put a hold on money spent to the WHO,” said Trump, who pursues an “America First” agenda and has previously criticized other UN and multilateral agencies.

    He gave no details about how much money would be withheld and minutes later during the same press conference he said: “I’m not saying I’m going to do it.”

    “We will look at ending funding,” he added.

    According to Trump, the WHO “seems to be very biased toward China. That’s not right.”

    His comments built on an earlier statement on Twitter in which he accused the WHO of being “very China centric.”

    Trump asked why the WHO had given “such a faulty recommendation,” apparently referring to the UN body’s advice against curtailing international travel to stop the virus which first spread from China.

    “Fortunately I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China early on,” Trump wrote, referring to his decision to ban travel from the country.

    China faces criticism in Washington, particularly from Republicans, over the way it handled the pandemic and Trump has expressed doubt over the accuracy of Chinese statistics for cases and deaths.

    However, Trump himself has been widely criticized for initially downplaying the virus, which he likened to an ordinary flu and said was under control in the United States, before later accepting that it was a national emergency.

    More than 12,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19.

    (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

  • Indian rupee touches all-time low of 21.05 against UAE dirham

    The Indian rupee touched an all-time low against the dirham of Dh21.05 as the currency remained under massive pressure amid a significant rise in coronavirus cases in the country and weak domestic equities.

    Forex traders said heavy selling in domestic equities dragged the local unit amid mounting fears of a coronavirus-led economic slowdown.

    The currency settled 53 paise lower at 76.13 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday. Moreover, strengthening of the US dollar in the international market continues to weigh on the Indian currency.

    Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer, Century Financial, said: “Indian Rupee touched an all time low against dirham as the currency continues to remain under pressure with the latest March PMI for service sector indicating economy clearly slipping into contraction.”

    The IHS Markit India Services Business Activity Index dropped to 49.3 in March, down from February’s high of 57.5. The composite index fell to 50.6 in March from 57.6 in Feb. India which has currently over 4000+cases is likely to extend its lock down beyond the April 15 deadline. This is likely to inflect further pain for the economy which is already suffering owing to coronavirus related de-growth.

    “For informal economy like India, the costs are especially huge with majority of the rural population surviving on daily wage income for livelihood. Overall dollar strength against major G4 currencies is another factor that is negative for emerging market currencies,” added Valecha.

    Forex markets in India were closed on April 1 for the annual closing of banks and on April 2 on account of Ram Navami. On a weekly basis, the currency has depreciated by 124 paise. “Rupee remained under pressure following broad strength in the dollar and as FIIs continue to remain net sellers in the equity and debt segment,” said Gaurang Somaiyaa, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

    The Indian rupee appreciated by 26 paise to 75.87 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday tracking positive opening in domestic equities. Forex traders said higher opening in domestic equities supported the local unit, while sustained foreign fund outflows and concerns over coronavirus outbreak weighed on the local unit. At the interbank foreign exchange the rupee opened at 75.92, then gained ground and touched 75.87, registering a rise of 26 paise over its previous close.

    On Friday, rupee had settled at 76.13 against the US dollar. Traders said investor sentiments remain fragile amid concerns over the impact of coronavirus outbreak on the domestic as well as global economy. The number of deaths around the world linked to the new coronavirus has crossed over 74,000. In India, over 4,400 coronavirus cases have been reported so far.

    Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold equity shares worth Rs19.6 billion on Friday, according to provisional exchange data. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against the basket of six currencies was trading 0.13 per cent down at 100.55.

    “The rupee is presently on a bearish phase and this short term trend is likely to continue in the near future till such time the economic lockdown is lifted. In the near term rupee is likely to be in the range 20.75 – 20.85 levels,” said Krishnan Ramachandran, CEO, Barjeel Geojit Securities.

    The dollar fell against the yen on Tuesday as US stock futures erased gains and traded lower in a sign some investors remain concerned about the economic shock posed by the coronavirus pandemic. The dollar fell 0.32 per cent to 108.89 yen in Asia on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar eased slightly to $1.0805. Against the save-haven Swiss franc, the greenback held steady near a two-week high of 0.9796.The dollar came into Asian trade on a positive note as risk sentiment improved after the governors of New York and New Jersey pointed to tentative signs that outbreaks in their states was starting to plateau.

    The pound rose 0.17 per cent to $1.2294 on Tuesday in Asia following a 0.3 per cent decline on Monday. Against the euro, sterling held steady at 88.13 pence. The yen edged higher against the euro and held steady against the antipodean currencies, but analysts cautioned against reading too much into the yen’s rise because volumes are falling as more traders and corporate customers work from home.

    The Australian dollar edged up 0.5 per cent against its U.S. counterpart, while the New Zealand dollar also rose 0.5 per cent against the greenback as investors felt more comfortable buying currencies sensitive to risk The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to keep policy on hold at a meeting today after it already slashed interest rates and embarked on quantitative easing.

    With inputs from PTI, Khaleej Times, Reuters

  • Covid-19: Govt asks Tiktok, Facebook to remove rogue content, keep details of uploaders for probe

    The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is learnt to have asked social media platforms like Tiktok, Helo and Facebook to remove rogue messages spreading misinformation and weakening government’s effort to fight against the coronavirus.

    Social media companies have also been asked to save details of uploaders of such malicious content which can be shared with law enforcement agencies when required.

    “MeitY has said that a large number of fake/false and misinformation based audio and video clips are being circulated on social media platforms especially TikTok, Helo and Facebook. It said that such false and misinformation based messages have the potential for creating panic and other online harms,” according to a source aware of the development.

    The ministry in separate communications asked social media companies to remove the content as it weakens the government effort to fight against coronavirus and the Supreme Court has also taken serious note of such content while hearing a matter on the subject on March 31, 2020.

    “The ministry has said that the rogue messages effectively weaken the all-out effort being made by the India government for containing the spread of coronavirus,” the source said.

    The communication from MeitY follows after a report submitted by open-source intelligence and fact-checking IT firm Voyager Infosec stated that several videos are being posted on social media platforms like Tiktok, Youtube and Twitter to influence Muslims in India against following safe practices to contain coronavirus infection.

    The firm found that videos have been shot at both foreign locations and in India and are being primarily posted on Chinese mobile video app Tiktok with fake information about coronavirus and religious instigations against health advisories.

    These videos are further shared on other platforms like Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook,” the report said.

    The report submitted to India Cyber Crime Coordination Centre claims to have analysed over 30,000 videos within a period of five days. It further said that most of these videos have been created with professional video editing softwares, and originally uploaded accounts are being deleted after circulating them on other social media platforms.

    “MeitY has asked social media platforms to work closely with each other so that messages, including audio and video messages, are identified and removed as soon as possible. It has asked social media companies to submit daily reports on measures taken by them,” the source said.

    The ministry has asked social media companies to ensure that the rogue messages do not go viral and at the same time also save information of all those people who create or upload such messages. The details of content uploaders can be shared with the law enforcement agencies as and when required, it added.

    When contacted, Tiktok spokesperson said, “We are actively working with the government to support them in their efforts to fight misinformation and proactively also working to elevate credible information related to covid-19 on our platform.”

    Email query sent to Facebook elicited no immediate reply.

    Earlier, industry body IAMAI, whose members include Google, Facebook, Tiktok etc, said any request to remove content needs to come via proper legal notice.

    With inputs from PTI

  • COVID-19: Lockdown to extend beyond Apr 14

    COVID-19: Govt mulls extending lockdown beyond Apr 14 following requests from states, experts

    PTI

    The Centre is mulling extending the nationwide lockdown beyond April 14 to contain the spread of COVID-19 following requests from several states and experts, government sources said on Tuesday, as the total number of coronavirus cases in India crossed the 5,000 mark.

    With only a week left for the 21-day nationwide lockdown to end, sources, however, did not indicate if a final decision has been taken on the extension, and Joint Secretary in the Union health ministry Lav Aggarwal said, “no decision on extending lockdown as yet (taken), please don’t speculate.”

    India is under the lockdown since March 25, with only essential services exempted, to contain the spread of coronavirus. While a PTI tally based on figures reported by various states as on Tuesday showed more than 5,000 testing positive across the country and at least 145 deaths, the Union Health Ministry’s evening update, however, showed 4,789 confirmed cases and 124 deaths.

    According to an ILO report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the crisis has the potential to push around 40 crore informal sector workers in India deeper into poverty, with the lockdown and other containment measures affecting jobs and earnings.

    However, several chief ministers have favoured the extension of the lockdown as they feel that the country can recover from the adverse impact of the shutdown on its economy but it was necessary to save lives from the fast-spreading virus, which has killed more than 76,500 people globally and afflicted over 13.6 lakh across 183 countries.

    “A lot of state governments as well as experts are requesting the Central Government to extend the lockdown. The Central government is thinking in this direction,” a source said, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked countrymen to be ready for a long battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, and exhorted people to not feel tired or defeated while expressing confidence that India will emerge victorious in the fight.

    Chairing a meeting of the council of ministers through video conferencing on Monday, Modi had clearly indicated that the lifting of the lockdown in one go is very unlikely while discussing the modalities of lifting it.

    The Prime Minister also asked the ministers whether the restrictions should be lifted sector-wise or district-wise, a source said.

    Also on Tuesday, a group of ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 recommended that all educational institutions should remain shut and all religious activities having public participation should be restricted till May 15 irrespective of whether the government extends the 21-day lockdown beyond April 14, official sources said after a meeting of the GoM.

    The meeting, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, also concluded that religious centres and shopping malls must not be allowed to resume normal functioning at least for four weeks from April 14.

    Several chief ministers have also favoured the extension of the lockdown, and pitched for lifting of restrictions in a phased manner.

    Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said his government will extend lockdown, if a need arises, while his counterpart in Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot said the state cannot withdraw the lockdown immediately, and it has to be done in a phased manner.

    In a statement to mark two weeks of the lockdown, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said the next one week is “critical” for evolving an exit strategy as the data regarding the spread of coronavirus will have a bearing on the decision to be taken by the government.

    He also appealed to the public to abide with whatever decision the government ultimately takes, and cooperate with the same spirit that has been evident so far, even if it meant to continue with “some degree of hardship” beyond April 14.

    Stating that it’s too early to take a call at present whether to lift the nationwide lockdown, Karnataka Medical Education Minister Sudhakar K, who is state in-charge of all matters related to COVID-19, however, favoured the extension of the lockdown in COVID-19 hotspots in the country by at least an additional two weeks.

    “Where there are red alerts and zones, those zones, in my opinion, should continue to be in a lockdown situation at least for two weeks…till this month-end, I will request them (the Centre) to do this,” he said.

    Telananga Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday appealed to Prime Minister Modi to extend the national lockdown imposed to contain COVID-19, saying it was essential to save lives.

    Agreeing that continuing the lockdown would adversely impact the economy, he, however, said ways can be found to recover from it once the threat of COVID-19 goes away but human lives cannot be saved.

    Favouring extension, Rao said ,”we can recover from economic problem. But, we cannot recover the lives of the people… So, I propose at least for another one-two weeks. Extension should be at least for one or two weeks more. Then we can review.”

    The International Labour Organisation (ILO) report released in Geneva on Tyesday said,”in India, with a share of almost 90 per cent of people working in the informal economy, about 400 million workers in the informal economy are at risk of falling deeper into poverty during the crisis.

    “Current lockdown measures in India, which are at the high end of the University of Oxford’s COVID-19 Government Response Stringency Index, have impacted these workers significantly, forcing many of them to return to rural areas,” it said in its updated report.

    Since there is no vaccine to fight COVID-19, the government has stressed that social distancing is the only way to check the spread of the virus. Lockdown is considered the best way to keep people indoors.

    Inter-state travel by public transport, including trains and buses, is banned, and so is domestic and international air travel.

    Meanwhile, the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) has urged 10 states to allow sale of alcoholic beverages saying that a blanket ban during the lockdown to contain coronavirus has resulted in sale of illicit and spurious liquor while causing burden on exchequer.

    It said the need to close on-shops (bars) is well understood in light of social distancing, but noted that the nationwide lockdown has resulted in the shutdown of all wholesale and retail shops selling alcoholic beverages also.

    The CIABC, which is the apex body of the Indian alcoholic beverage industry, has sent letters on Monday to chief ministers of 10 states — Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

    (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated

  • Coronavirus | Schools, colleges may remain closed till May 15

    The Group of Ministers on COVID-19 recommends that closure of all educational institutions and restrictions on all religious activities having public participation be extended till May 15.

    PTI

    The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said the country has registered 13 deaths and 508 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 124 with 4,789 cases nationwide.

    A total of 326 persons have recovered from the infection, Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Lav Agrawal said at the daily press briefing.

    Amid calls from the States on the need for a calibrated lifting of the lockdown, a meeting of the Group of Ministers on COVID-19, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, recommended that the closure of all educational institutions and restrictions on all religious activities having public participation be extended till May 15, irrespective of the government decision, official sources said.

    The recommendation came as State Health Departments reported 20 more deaths, taking the nationwide toll to 165, with 5,126 confirmed cases.

    Maharashtra reported 12 more deaths, taking the tally of the deceased so far to 64, with 1,018 confirmed cases.

    Four more deaths were reported from Gujarat, while Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jammu & Kashmir and Tamil Nadu reported one death since Monday.

    In Rajasthan, which saw the number of active cases touching 283 with 24 new cases, Health Minister Raghu Sharma said the government had decided to step up screening in hotspots using rapid testing kits. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that one lakh random rapid anti-body tests would be conducted in the city’s hotspots.

    Stating that India had moved from local transmission phase to the next higher scale of large outbreaks amenable to containment phase, Mr Agarwal said three types of health care facilities have been set up for various categories of COVID-19 cases for triaging and decision-makingfor identification of the appropriate dedicated facility and for providing care to patients.

    State government have now been asked to offer COVID Care Centres (CCC) for mild to very mild cases, dedicated COVID health units or blocks for moderate cases and dedicated COVID hospitals for cases clinically assigned as severe.

    “These [last] facilities should either be a full hospital or a separate block in a hospital with preferably separate entry\exit and fully equipped ICUs, ventilators and beds with assured oxygen support,’’ added Mr. Agarwal.

    He added that there was no clear decision so far on continuing or lifting the on-going 21-day lockdown and assured that there is no shortage of the preventic drug hydroxychloroquine for use in the country.

    “We have issued guidelines for cluster outbreak containment and this strategy is working well in areas like Agra, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Pathanamthitta, Bhilwara and East Delhi which saw large number of cases recently. Government has been adopting a strategy for cluster containment and for outbreaks that are amenable to management. This strategy is producing positive results,’’ he said.

    “Indian Railways has prepared 40,000 isolation beds in 2,500 coaches and they are making 375 isolation beds daily and this is going on across 133 locations across the country,’’ he added.

    The Ministry added that technology-led initiatives for undertaking surveillance, monitoring quarantine facilities, tracking the health of suspected patients and their contacts placed under home quarantine, providing up-to-date information to citizens, making predictive analytics using heat maps, with real-time tracking of ambulances and disinfection services are being conducted across various districts.

    Speaking about the number Raman R Gangakhedkar, head, Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases-I, Indian Council of Medical Research said: “So far we have conducted over a lakh test for COVID-19 and 11,795 tests were done in last 24 hours.”

  • COVID-19 | Punjab registers a death, eight new cases

    CM Amarinder Singh seeks his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee’s support to revive manufacturing and loading at the jute mills in her State.

    PTI

    Another Covid -19 death was reported in Punjab on Tuesday, taking the death toll in the State to eight, according to an official statement.

    According to the health department, a patient from Amritsar died on April 7, while eight fresh cases of Covid-19 were reported, taking the tally of confirmed Covid-19 cases to 99, it added.

    Meanwhile, Punjab government has set up a 30-member control room at the Mandi Board for coordination and providing logistic support during the ensuing wheat harvesting and marketing season, set to begin on April 15 under a tight blanket of security and safety measures to ensure smooth operations amid the Covid-19 clampdown.

    The Chief Minister also wrote to his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, seeking her personal intervention to revive manufacturing and loading at the jute mills in her State against the pending indents for gunny bales placed by the Punjab government. This was essential given the emergent situation, to enable smooth procurement of wheat for Central Pool for onward distribution in the country under National Food Security Act and other Public welfare schemes, he said.

    Separately, the health department gave a 24-hour deadline to all Tablighi Jamaat participants of the Delhi’s Nizamuddin event, who were hiding out in the State, to report to the nearest police station, or else face criminal prosecution.

    An official statement said all those who had attended the event at Nizamuddin and were currently in Punjab should appear for Covid-19 screening within 24 hours.

    “Of the 467 Tabligh Jamaat workers who had reportedly come to Punjab from Nizamuddin, police had so far traced 445 participants. Samples had been collected and tested for 350 of them, and of these, 12 had been found positive and 111 negative. The results for the remaining 227 were awaited,” said the statement.

  • Case registered against houseboat owner for ‘shielding’ foreigner in his houseboat

    Srinagar April 7: Police has registered a case against a houseboat owner for shielding a foreigner in his houseboat.
    A police official told KINS that the owner of the houseboat near ghat No 9 on Dal Lake had hide the whereabouts of the foreigner of England who visited in Kashmir by road from Jammu on 15. 03.20.
    “The foreigner namely Tom Faulkner was staying in the same boat,” the official said.

    Nehru Park police has registered FIR under section 269,188 against house boat owner at DalLake for shielding British national in his house boat, the official said.

    (KINS)

  • COVID-19 | Sopore nurse tests positive

    Srinagar April 7 (KINS): A nurse from Sopore Baramulla who is working at JVC Bemina has been tested positive for coronavirus.

    An official said the 35-year-old nurse from Teliyaan Mohalla Sopore was home quarantined for 18 days. “Her report came today and she is positive,” the official told Kashmir Indepth News Service.
    The official said her whole family has been taken to hospital for quarantine.
    The official said doctors, nurses are working without proper protective gear in Kashmir.

    On Tuesday at least nine people tested positive for coronavirus in Kashmir. There has been surge of COVID-19 in Kashmir

  • Wuhan, China lifts outbound travel restrictions

    Wuhan once the epicentre of #Covid lifts outbound travel restrictions.

    Cars queued up at expressway toll gates and passengers prepared to board trains as Wuhan ended nearly 11 weeks of lockdown at midnight

    Reports Xinhua

  • Covid-19: Another stroke to ailing economy, vital sectors hit hard in Valley

    Srinagar, Apr 07: The coronavirus spread is creating ripples on the economic front in Jammu and Kashmir and very vital industries are falling victims to the deadly virus including Toursim, horticulture and poultry industry.

    As per wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), tourism inflow was already on a significant decline since August last after scraping of article 370, however, the lockdown in view of spread of coronavirus has further impacted the already stricken sector.

    Due to the lockdown, the tourism department postponed all roadshows aimed to attract tourist inflow in the valley and it seems this industry will take time to recover from losses.

    Tulip garden which was scheduled to be thrown open on March 25, however, the spread of Covid-19 forced authorities to close it even before throwing it open, resulting in loss of over one thousand crore to already ailing tourism sector. Besides that people associated with tourism sector and handicrafts were also badly hit by the dip in tourism inflow in Kashmir.

    Horticulture sector, backbone of economy which was yet to come on terms after suffering huge losses after August 05 clampdown and the untimely snow fall is also becoming victim of deadly coronavirus.

    According to growers from different areas of Kashmir, more than 70 per cent of the Apple produce is still lying with them in cold storage as they are unable to transport their produce outside the valley due to the lockdown. “Somehow we transported some part of our produce outside the valley but there is none who purchases our apples,” they said.

    Officials in cold storage chains told KNO that around 70 per cent of apple produce that were in cold storage chains is still here and if the lockdown continues it will lead to heavy loss.

    The worried growers said that if lockdown continues, our apples will rot in cold storage and they won’t be able to even compensate the losses. Pertinently, the horticulture industry is the backbone of the state’s economy and the minimal revenue turnover it provides is about Rs 8,000 crore and more than 33 lakh individuals are involved in the sector at various stages.

    The poultry industry has been hit hard by the outbreak of Covid-19 as the sales have dipped by 80 percent and prices of poultry products have fallen leading to the financial loss in crores to the people associated with this industry.

    “The situation is so grave that we aren’t able to fetch Rs 50 per chicken which were normally selling at Rs 150,” they said, adding their birds are dying due to starvation as they don’t have feed available for them.

    “We were getting feed from outside valley but due to lockdown we are unable to bring it due to which our birds have perished because of starvation,” they said, adding the loss is so heavy that if government won’t come for their rescue they won’t be able to restart their business.

    Furthermore, the vegetable farmers from different areas of Jammu and Kashmir said that they were in huge loss as the vegetable produce gets spoiled as no body purchase it because of the lockdown.

    They said that either the government must make arrangements for them so that they can sell their produce or authorities must provide them some relief so that they can survive. Furthermore, Covid-19 has hit hard the daily wagers and labourers who don’t have any source of income—(KNO)