Srinagar: At least 24 CRPF personnel tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.
Among the infected, 22 personnel (aged between 24 to 58 years) were from 94 Battalion CRPF Urnhall, besides one each—26-year-old and 31-year-old men from 40 and 80 battalions respectively.
New Delhi: Former opener Gautam Gambhir feels Indian players lack “mental toughness” to handle pressure in crunch situations and cannot call themselves world champions unless they prove themselves in big-ticket tournaments like the World Cup.
India won the ODI World Cup twice in 1983 and 2011 but have been knocked out in the semifinal stage in four editions, including the last two editions in 2015 and 2019. In T20 World Cups, India had triumphed in the inaugural edition in 2007 and reached the finals in 2014.
“What sets you apart from being a good player to being a very very good player in a team squad is what you do on those crucial games. I think probably we have not been able to handle the pressure, probably other teams have been able to handle the pressure that way,” Gambhir said on Star Sports’ show ‘Cricket Connected’.
“If you look at all the semi-finals and finals, it just shows when playing really well in the league stage and you don’t play well in the semi-finals or knockouts, it’s probably your mental toughness as well.”
Gambhir, who was part of the 2011 World Cup which the country won after 28 years, said India cannot call themselves world champions unless they prove themselves.
“We can keep talking that we’ve got everything, we have the ability to be the world champions, but till the time you don’t go on the cricket field and prove that, you will never be called the world champions,” the 38-year-old said.
“It’s just your ability in those crunch situations. In bilaterals and league stages you have got probably a chance to make the mistake, come to knockout stages, you don’t have a chance to do that, you make a mistake and you’re going back home. That’s where beliefs come into play and that where India lacks in all those crucial games.
New Delhi: Ten days after recording two lakh COVID-19 cases, India surpassed the three lakh-mark on Saturday with the worst daily spike of 11,458 infections, while the death toll too climbed to 8,884 with 386 new fatalities, the Union Health Ministry said.
India took 64 days to cross the 1 lakh-mark from 100 cases, then in another fortnight it reached the grim milestone of two lakh cases. It has now become the fourth worst-hit nation by the pandemic with a caseload of 3,08,993, according to coronavirus statistics website Worldometer.
However, the Health Ministry said on Friday the doubling time of coronavirus cases has improved to 17.4 days from 15.4 days. And its data updated at 8 am on Saturday showed active cases at 1,45,779 and those who have recovered at 1,54,329; one patient has migrated.
“Thus, around 49.9 per cent patients have recovered so far,” a ministry official said.
The total number of confirmed cases include foreigners.
Of the 386 new deaths, Delhi accounted for the highest 129 fatalities followed by Maharashtra 127. The virus is moving rapidly in Delhi, which for the first time reported over 2,000 cases on Friday, and Maharashtra, where the number of cases has crossed one lakh.
Gujarat reported 30 deaths, Uttar Pradesh 20, Tamil Nadu 18, West Bengal, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh 9 each, Karnataka and Rajasthan 7 each, Haryana and Uttarakhand 6 each, Punjab 4, Assam 2, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Odisha 1 each.
Of the total 8,884 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 3,717 fatalities followed by Gujarat with 1,415, Delhi with 1,214, West Bengal with 451, Madhya Pradesh with 440, Tamil Nadu with 367, Uttar Pradesh with 365, Rajasthan with 272 and Telangana with 174 deaths.
The death toll reached 80 in Andhra Pradesh, 79 in Karnataka, 70 in Haryana and 63 in Punjab. Jammu and Kashmir has reported 53 COVID-19 fatalities, Bihar 36 and Uttarakhand 21, Kerala 19, Odisha 10 and Jharkhand and Assam 8 each.
Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh have registered 6 deaths each, Chandigarh 5, Puducherry 2, while Meghalaya, Tripura and Ladakh 1 each, according to the health ministry.
More than 70 per cent deaths have happened due to comorbidities, the ministry said.
Maharashtra has reported the maximum number of cases at 1,01,141 followed by Tamil Nadu (40,698), Delhi (36,824), Gujarat (22,527), Uttar Pradesh (12,616), Rajasthan (12,068) and Madhya Pradesh (10,443).
The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 10,244 in West Bengal, 6,516 in Karnataka, 6,334 in Haryana and 6,103 in Bihar. It has risen to 5,680 in Andhra Pradesh, 4,730 in Jammu and Kashmir, 4,484 in Telangana and 3,498 in Odisha and Assam each.
Punjab has reported 2,986 cases while Kerala has 2,322 cases.
A total of 1,724 people have been infected by the virus in Uttarakhand, 1,617 in Jharkhand, 1,424 in Chhattisgarh, 961 in Tripura, 486 in Himachal Pradesh, 463 in Goa, 385 from Manipur and 334 in Chandigarh.
Ladakh has registered 239 COVID-19 cases, Puducherry 157, Nagaland 156, Mizoram 104, Arunachal Pradesh 67, Sikkim 63, Meghalaya 44 while Andaman and Nicobar Islands has registered 38 cases.
Dadar and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu together have reported 30 cases.
The ministry said 7,984 cases are being reassigned to states and “our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR”. State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it added.
Razdan said she would be taking up the teaching role later this year.
Television journalist and news anchor Nidhi Razdan on Saturday announced that she will be leaving NDTV. In a tweet, Razdan said she would be taking up a teaching role at Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts & Sciences as associate professor later this year. Razdan had been with the television channel for 21 years.
“NDTV has taught me everything,” she said. “It has been my home. I am proud of the work we do, the stories we cover, the values we stand for, especially at a time when the much of the media has surrendered its objectivity.”
Razdan had become a leading name in English television journalism over the past two decades. She recently won the International Press Institute India award for excellence in journalism for her reporting of the Kathua rape and murder case in Jammu and Kashmir.
While she initially hosted NDTV’s night news bulletins, she later on went on to become the face of the channel’s programme Left, Right and Centre. Razdan has also authored a book titled Left, Right and Centre: The Idea of India, which was published in July 2017.
Some personal and professional news: after 21 years at NDTV, I am changing direction and moving on. Later this year, I start as an Associate Professor teaching journalism as part of Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences 1/n
— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) June 13, 2020
Razdan added that she would miss her colleagues deeply and thanked NDTV co-founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy “for being the most incredible mentors and bosses”. She added: “You took me in as a 22 year old and believed in me. I never say never, so TV may one day beckon again. Wish me luck.”
Several prominent journalists and some politicians also congratulated her on the career change.
NDTV has taught me everything. It has been my home. I am proud of the work we do, the stories we cover, the values we stand for, especially at a time when the much of the media has surrendered its objectivity 2/n
— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) June 13, 2020
With inputs from Scroll.in
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast.
A powerful bomb blast ripped through a crowded market in Pakistan’s garrison city of Rawalpindi, killing one person and injuring 12 others including three children. The blast, triggered through an improvised explosive device containing 2-3 kgs of explosives, occurred late on Friday night at Kola Centre of Kabari Bazaar which is not very far from the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army.
Police spokesperson Sajidul Hassan told Dawn News that initial reports suggest that the explosive material was attached to an electric pole. Properties around the site have been damaged in the blast. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital, where two of them were stated to be in a critical condition.
The Counter Terror Department (CTD) and the Army personnel rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area for investigation.The police spokesperson said that investigative teams and people from the forensics science lab were collecting evidence.
The official said that the blast was an “attempt at organised terrorism but those playing with the lives of the public would not be able to escape the law.”
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast, which occurred when the country is battling the coronavirus pandemic.
A two-thirds majority was required in the 275-member House of Representatives or the lower house to pass the bill.
The lower house of Nepal’s parliament on Saturday unanimously passed the historic Second Constitution Amendment Bill guaranteeing legal status for the updated political map of Nepal which includes India’s territories in Pithoragarh district.
The voting came after day long discussion which also included Maoist leader Prachanda’s praise for the Nepal Communist Party which he said is reversing centuries of diplomatic humiliation of Nepal.
The motion was approved through voice vote following which all the members of the House of Representatives (Pratinidhi Sabha) gave individual signatures to the bill which completed the voting process. The voting showed all members of the Pratinidhi Sabha voted in favour of the motion moved by the government of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli.
Following this amendment, the region of Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh located at present in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand will be part of the map of Nepal which will be included in Nepal’s national emblem. “I hear by declare the Second Constitution Amendment passed with two-thirds majority,” announced Agni Sapkota, Speaker of Pratidhi Sabha, amidst celebrations.
Immediately after the passing of the bill, Nepal’s senior officials began sending out social media messages which indicated the diplomatic angle of the territorial dispute. “The House of Representatives (Pratinidhi Sabha) unanimously adopted the Constitution Amendment Bill, paving the way for accommodating the updated political-administrative map in the national emblem” said Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali who also attached an image of the national emblem showing the new map which included the Indian territories.
The concluding session witnessed passionate speeches by the members of the parliament. The most important intervention of the day came from Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” who described the day as a historic moment for Nepal. “We are working to ensure territorial integrity national sovereignty and freedom of our people. The kings of Nepal lost our territory, but today we republicans are restoring it,” said Mr Prachanda as the MPs applauded. The unanimous voting was made possible by the cross party support ensured by Mr Oli’s government.
Mr Oli’s Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has 174 seats which was bolstered by the support of main opposition Nepali Congress which extended its block of 63 MPs to support the amendment. The Madhesi MPs also extended support to the move which paved the way for the unanimous adoption of the new map. The Ministry of External Affairs is yet to respond to the Second Constitution Amendment.
Nepal unveiled the new map on May 20 after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated Darchula-Lipulekh link road on May 8. Nepal had earlier strongly protested when the updated Indian map published in November last year showed the region as part of Uttarakhand. Nepal claims right to the region and says India was allowed to station troops there in the 1950s and that Delhi has refused to remove forces from the region ever since. Nepalese minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Shiva Maya Tumbahangphe tabled the amendment bill on May 31 and the necessary month long discussion was fast tracked as expected. During the debates, Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, Foreign Minister Gyawali, Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and Madhesi leaders like Mahanta Thakur and Rajendra Mahato addressed the house.
The diplomatic fallout of the territorial dispute, is likely to be serious said former foreign minister and Nepalese commentator Ramesh Nath Pande who warned of difficult days ahead for Nepal-India relation as well as for South Asian region. “Now, Indo-Nepal border negotiations will be all the more complicated as secretaries have no right to negotiate on the provisions of our constitution,” said Mr Pandey explaining that the territorial dispute of Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh can not be solved by dialogues led by Foreign Secretaries or senior envoys as the disputed territories are now part of Nepal’s constitution and public imagination.
With inputs from The Hindu
Reckless India’s unilateral decision on Kashmir is a ‘geo-political trickery’ that may have ‘actual consequences that India can’t control’, Chinese government’s mouthpiece Global Times said in an editorial.
Warning India that “a nationalist India has no future” in an editorial titled ‘Unilateral move will incur risks for India’, Global Times said: “New Delhi is too reckless on border issues. It keeps taking unilateral actions and breaking the status quo with impact on the regional situation.
“Its actions challenge surrounding countries’ interests, but it wants these countries to swallow the provocation and accept the new facts made by India,” it said.
“If New Delhi uses nationalism to support its reckless diplomatic moves, a vicious spiral will be launched,” the editorial warned.
“New Delhi is much too confident. India’s 2019 general elections consolidated the Modi administration’s power and status,” it said.
The Global Times, known to carry the views of the ruling Communist Party, also said that opposition to India’s decision by “Pakistan and Muslims in India-controlled Kashmir may have actual consequences”.
“If the Muslims collectively oppose India’s move, it is hard for India’s system to control the situation. We do not see that India has the political and other resources to fully take over the area.”
Accusing the US and the West of “conniving with India”, it alleged that “India also thinks China is busy at the trade war and the Belt and Road Initiative, and so it is a good time to act on border issues”.
“Kashmir is a disputed area in which three large India-Pakistan wars broke out in the 20th century. Pakistan is mostly impacted by India’s move,” it said.
“It would be “unimaginable if Pakistan does not take strong countermeasures,” it added.
With inputs from The Economic Times
Former Congress chief puts up graphics to show how COVID-19 cases are shooting up in country
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Friday put up animated graphics to show how COVID-19 cases are shooting up in India and stated that the country is on its way to win a ‘wrong race’.
“India is firmly on it’s way to winning the wrong race. A horrific tragedy, resulting from a lethal blend of arrogance and incompetence,” Mr. Gandhi wrote on Twitter with the graph that mapped India’s rise in COVID cases.
The video graphics showed that on March 22 — three days before the nationwide lockdown was announced — when India was at the bottom of the list to the number four position on June 12, behind the U.S.A., Brazil and Russia.
The graph also showed that India had now overtaken countries like Italy, Spain, Iran and the United Kingdom that also initially saw high number of cases.
Separately, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also questioned the low rate of testing in Uttar Pradesh.
“Protection from corona = maximum testing. This is in public interest. The ‘no testing = no corona’ policy is to keep the public in the dark and is a criminal act,” Ms. Vadra said in a tweet in Hindi.
With inputs from The Hindu
Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT
Petrol price on Saturday was hiked by 59 paise per litre and diesel by 58 paise as oil companies for the seventh day in a row adjusted retail rates in line with costs since ending an 82-day hiatus in rate revision.
Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to ₹75.16 per litre from ₹ 74.57, while diesel rates were increased to ₹73.39 a litre from ₹72.81, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.
Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.
This is the seventh daily increase in rates in a row since oil companies on Sunday restarted revising prices in line with costs, after ending an 82-day hiatus.
In seven hikes, petrol price has gone up by ₹3.9 per litre and diesel by ₹4.
The freeze in rates was imposed in mid-March soon after the government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel to shore up additional finances.
Oil PSUs Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), instead of passing on the excise duty hikes to customers, adjusted them against the fall in the retail rates that was warranted because of a decline in international oil prices.
Dehradun: Army Chief General M M Naravane on Saturday said the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have had a lot of successes recently as people there are fed up with militancy and want normalcy to return to the Union territory.
“As far as Jammu and Kashmir or our western neighbour is concerned, we have had a lot of successes in the last one week or ten days. In the last 10-15 days alone more than 15 terrorists have been killed there,”Naravane told reporters on the sidelines of the IMA’s passing out parade which he addressed as the reviewing officer.
“All this has been because of the close cooperation and coordination between all the security forces operating in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
He said a majority of the recent anti-terrorist operations were based on information provided by locals which is an indication that they are fed up with militancy and want normalcy to return to the valley.
“Most operations have been carried out on the basis of information provided by locals which goes to show they are also absolutely fed up with militancy and terrorism and want that the situation should return to normal,” Naravane said.
