Petrol and diesel prices on Thursday were hiked by 60 paise per litre each — the fifth straight daily increase in rates since oil PSUs ended an 82-day hiatus in rate revision.
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 fifth 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 five hikes, petrol price has gone up by ₹2.74 per litre and diesel by ₹2.83
The exchange of firing is on and further details are awaited, the official said.
An encounter broke out between security forces and militants in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir in the early hours of Thursday, police said.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the Pathanpora area of Budgam in central Kashmir after receiving specific information about the presence of militants there, a police official said.
He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the hiding militants fired at the security forces.
The exchange of firing is on and further details are awaited, the official said.
The man – who is black – was delivering an Amazon package when the patrol officer asked: ‘Why are you on the wrong side of the road? You’re not Post Office’
The driver told the Michigan cop – who is white – that he was delivering to a local
But the cop asked for his licence and when the courier tried to reason with him, it turned physical
Video shows the officer pinning him to the ground and half a dozen other cops arriving for backup. More cops arrived as he was taken into custody
The Mayor of Warren – who is against defunding the police – initially said the cops should be fired but later changed his statement at the request of the department
Police have recommended felony charges of resisting arrest, failure to obey a lawful command, and failure to provide a driver’s license, against the driver
A witness described the incident as ‘ridiculous for one little kid that was the size of me’
An Amazon delivery driver has been pinned to the ground and arrested after he parked the wrong way while dropping off a package in Michigan.
The driver – who is black – had taken the box to a resident in Warren on Tuesday when confronted by a patrol officer – who is white – about the parking offense.
The officer asked to see the man’s license but after the worker tried to reason with him, the cop pinned him to the ground.
‘Hey I’m getting my license!’ the Amazon employee is heard yelling before the cop makes the first contact.null
An Amazon delivery driver in Michigan was pinned to the ground and arrested by several officers after he tried to reason with an officer over a parking offense
Cops take him away
The man – who is black – was delivering an Amazon package when the patrol officer asked: ‘Why are you on the wrong side of the road? You’re not Post Office’. They are pictured to the right of the delivery truck
Dashcam footage shows the cop saying to the delivery man: ‘Why are you on the wrong side of the road? You’re not Post Office, you don’t drive on the wrong side of the road.’
The pair disagree about whether the Amazon delivery service can be treated the same way as the postal service.
‘You gonna give me a ticket for this bulls**t?’ the driver asks the patrol officer.
‘I’m going to give you a whole lot more if you don’t get your license out,’ the patrol officer responds.
In a video filmed by a neighbor, the worker is seen trying to reason with the cop, telling him: ‘I delivered to her.’
‘I can attest to it, he put the box in my hand,’ witness Diana Gouim told Fox 2.
‘You gonna give me a ticket for this bulls**t?’ the driver asks the patrol officer. ‘I’m going to give you a whole lot more if you don’t get your license out,’ the patrol officer responds
‘I can attest to it, he put the box in my hand,’ witness Diana Gouim told Fox 2 about the driver’s efforts to deliver her package. ‘From when my sister walked in the house and then walked back out, the cop had him on the ground and cuffed and was calling for back-up,’ Gouim’s brother Jim Michael told Fox 2
Another witness described the incident as ‘ridiculous for one little kid that was the size of me’
‘And he was so polite to my neighbor, he offered to put it on the chair for her because it was heavy,’ Geri Cheatham, another resident of the 11,300 block of Engleman said about the 2pm incident. ‘It was ridiculous for one little kid that was the size of me.’
A witness recording one of the videos of the man on the ground said at least seven officers were at the scene and more were arriving as he was taken into custody and police checked his truck.
‘From when my sister walked in the house and then walked back out, the cop had him on the ground and cuffed and was calling for back-up,’ Jim Michael told Fox 2.
‘We, several of the neighbors, spoke with the officer saying the kid hasn’t done anything and the cop was like well, ‘He was parked the wrong way.”
Police say the officer asked 11 times for the delivery driver to take out his license.
Now police have recommended felony charges of resisting arrest, failure to obey a lawful command, and failure to provide a driver’s license, against the Amazon worker.
Cheatham added about the man’s struggle with the officer: ‘He was scared. He was scared. I don’t blame him. It could have gotten out of control totally.’
Amazon is now looking into the incident and wants to support the driver.
‘We see what others see in this video, and it’s unacceptable,’ Deborah Bass, an Amazon spokesperson, said in a statement. ‘We expect a swift investigation and full accountability for those involved. Amazon will deploy all necessary resources to investigate the matter with our Delivery Service Provider, as well as to represent and support the driver.’
The clip has been viewed over 6,000 times and Warren Mayor Jim Fouts called for officer to be fired in his initial Facebook post. However he later deleted it and put up a new statement.
Amazon is now looking into the incident and wants to support the delivery driver involved
‘The previous post regarding an altercation was taken down at the request of the Warren Police Commissioner. I await further details based upon additional information,’ Fouts said. ‘I received several phone calls earlier regarding this incident requiring me to make a statement that any type of aggressive behavior is not tolerated. I was upset that one individual could possibly besmirch the fine reputation of Warren police officers.’
The day before the incident, Fouts had posted on Facebook that defunding police was a ‘no go’ in the wake of George Floyd’s death and subsequent protests around the country against police brutality and injustice in the African American communities.
‘This is a bad idea because we have an outstanding police department under Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer.’ Fouts had written on Facebook. ‘Warren Police Officers receive training in A)De-escalation B)Cultural Diversity C)Proper use of force techniques D)Proper decision making and use of lethal force.’
Commissioner Dwyer said in a press conference on Wednesday that the cops probably could’ve let him off with a warning if he had didn’t argue back. But he refused to answer whether the officer should have continued the arrest after the worker agreed to hand over his ID.
Warren Mayor Jim Fouts called for officer to be fired in his initial Facebook post. However he later deleted it and put up a new statement (above)
The day before the incident, Fouts had posted on Facebook that defunding police was a ‘no go’ in the wake of George Floyd’s death and subsequent protests
Cricketer says his Hyderabad Sunrisers team-mates called him ‘kaalu’, but he did not know what the Hindi word meant.
Former West Indies cricket captain Darren Sammy has alleged he was a victim of a racist slur used by his Indian team-mates when he played for an Indian Premier League (IPL) team in 2013-14.
In a video that Sammy, 36, posted on social media on Tuesday, he said his Hyderabad Sunrisers team-mates used to call him “kaalu”, Hindi slang for black, but he did not know what the word meant.
Sammy said some unnamed Sunrisers team-mates would call him “kaalu” and he only became aware of its racial connotations after watching a TV show that discussed the issue.
“I was listening to [Indian-American comedian] Hasan Minhaj talking about how some of the people in his culture view or describe black people,” Sammy said on Instagram.
“… I was angry after listening to him describing a word that they use to describe black people, which he was saying is not in a good way … and it was degrading,” he said.
“Instantly, I remembered when I played for Sunrisers in 2013 and 2014, I was being called the exact same word he described that was degrading to us black people.”
recently I discovered a word that I was being called was not what it actually meant I need some answers. So before I start calling out names I need these individuals to reach out and please tell me there’s another meaning to that word. I saw u as brothers https://t.co/Ouf7eh5Yu8
Sammy said he will be “messaging those people” to seek an apology from the Indian players.
“Because if it was in any way, shape or form what Minhaj said it meant, I’m very disappointed and I’d still be angry and deserve an apology from you guys,” he said.
Sammy said the word “kaalu” was also used to describe Sri Lankan team-mate Thisara Perera.
“I assumed it meant something else that was uplifting. But every time I was called it, it was me and Thisara, there was always laughter in the moment,” he said.
“But you could understand my frustration and my anger when it was pointed out to me that it wasn’t funny at all.”
Racism is not restricted to the colour of the skin.Not allowing to buy a home in a society just because u have a different faith is a part of racism too… #convenient#racism
Sammy’s outrage comes in the middle of raging global protests against the killing of George Floyd, a black man, in the United States, late last month.
Several elite athletes have spoken out about racism in sport and society after Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis city.
In a tweet on Tuesday, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan said, “Racism is not restricted to the colour of the skin. Not allowing to buy a home in a society because you have a different faith is a part of racism too.”
Pathan, a Muslim from India’s Gujarat state, was referring to many from the community denied accommodation by the landlords in Indian cities for their religion.
“So much more to your story,” tweeted Sammy’s former West Indian team-mate, Chris Gayle – also a big IPL star in India when he played.
Sunrisers Hyderabad declined to comment when contacted by the Reuters news agency.
Meanwhile, Indian media reports featured a 2014 Instagram post by former Indian cricketer Ishant Sharma, in which the caption of his photo with Sammy purportedly described the West Indian player as “kaluu”, using a different spelling for “kaalu”.
China says positive consensus reached in talks last week.
China said on Wednesday it had “reached agreement” with India on the ongoing tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a day after India announced troops from both sides had begun a “partial disengagement” from some of the stand-off points.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said both sides had agreed to handle the situation “properly” and “in line with the agreement” to ease the situation, but did not provide specific details on some of the stand-off points, such as Pangong Lake, where Chinese troops are still present on India’s side of the LAC.
Also on Wednesday, India and China held Major General-level talks to discuss further de-escalation at several standoff points in Eastern Ladakh including Patrolling Point (PP) 14, following a broad accord reached on Saturday in talks held at the Corps Commander-level. As per the agreement, a series of ground-level talks would be held over the next 10 days, with four other points of conflict identified at PP15, PP17, Chushul and the north bank of Pangong Lake.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not provide specifics on the sites of conflict. It only referred to the western section, which was the focus of Saturday’s talks, although a stand-off is also continuing at Naku La in Sikkim in the eastern section.
‘Taking action’
“Through diplomatic and military channels, China and India have recently had effective communication and reached agreement on properly handling the situation in the west section of the China-India boundary,” spokesperson Hua Chunying said. “At present, the two sides are taking actions in line with the agreement to ameliorate the border situation.”
Government officials said a partial disengagement had happened at some points in the Galwan area and at Hot Springs, but there was no change at Pangong Lake.
The Global Times, a Communist Party-run newspaper, reported on Tuesday that the ongoing dispute “will not escalate into a conflict” but added “due to the complexity of the situation, the military stand-off could continue for a little longer”.
The military-level talks showed “both sides do not want to escalate,” Qian Feng, director of the research department of the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University in Beijing, was quoted as having said.
“It showed that China and India remain determined to peacefully resolve border issues,” Mr. Qian Feng said. “That being said, the ongoing stand-off is not likely to end immediately, as concrete issues must still be resolved.”
The Indian delegation at Wednesday’s military-level talks was led by the General Officer Commanding, 3 Corps based in Karu.
Last Saturday, the two sides held talks at the level of Corps Commanders on the Chinese side at Moldo opposite Chushul, where the two sides agreed to partial pullout of troops and equipment from some of the stand-off areas in Galwan.
The talks on Wednesday is the first of several at the rank of Colonel, Brigadier and Major General.
Finger 4 area in Pangong Lake remains a major area of contention where Chinese troops had taken position in Indian territory and that is expected to be discussed at the Corps Commander level at a later stage, officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir recorded 161 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the total number of infections in the union territory to 4,507, as two fresh deaths pushed the toll to 51, officials said.
“As many as 161 new positive cases of coronavirus were detected in the union territory Wednesday,” the officials said.
They said while 46 of these cases are from Jammu, 117 are from the Kashmir region.
The officials said the Wednesday’s cases included 29 people who had returned to the union territory recently.
Shopian and Kulgam districts witnessed a sudden surge in number of COVID cases as 37 and 28 people tested positive in the two districts respectively, the officials said.
Udhampur and Kupwara also recorded higher numbers of 19 and 18 positive cases respectively.
There were no fresh cases in four districts — Ganderbal, Reasi, Rajouri and Kishtwar, they added.
Two COVID positive patients — both male — died during the day. The deceased hailed from Kulgam and Baramulla districts.
With Wednesday’s fresh cases, the total number of infected people in Jammu and Kashmir rose to 4,507.
“Of these, 3,522 are in Kashmir, while 985 are in the Jammu region,” the officials said.
There are 2,785 active cases in the union territory 2,073 in Kashmir and 712 in Jammu — while 1,671 patients have recovered, they said.
The Union Territory has witnessed 51 COVID-19 related deaths.
Srinagar: As many as 51 corporators of Srinagar Muncipal Corporation are set to move a no-confidence motion against the Mayor Junaid Azim Matoo.
Sources told KNS that 51 corporators who would move no- confidence motion had a meetiing called by ex Deputy Mayor Sheikh Imran in Grand Mahal Shalimar.
“The late night meeting lasted for four hours and discussed various issues regarding the functioning of SMC under Matoo as Mayor,” sources said.
Sources added that they will submit the no- confidence motion to SMC Commissioner against the Mayor most likely in coming days.
The meeting was attended by coporators irrespective of their party affiliations. Interestingly the corporators of BJP and Congress are on same page to challenge the Mayor.
Sources alos told KNS that the disgruntled coporators have decided to support former Deputy Mayor Sheikh Imran for Mayor’s post. With 17 corporators , congress party is eyeing the top post and can prove important for any making or breaking of any coalition in the SMC.
The Mayor had once faced no confidence motion but he managed to sail through with support of majority of the Corporators.
It is important to mention that Imran was shown the door as Deputy Mayor when he was under police custody post abrogation of special status of Jammu and Kashmir. (KNS)
Pench Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra on Tuesday, a forest official said.
The swarms flew in from the Koltimara area in the west and descended over Borban, Chor Bahuli, Silari and Pipriya forest areas in the east, said Field director of Pench Tiger Reserve Ravikiran Govekar.
The reserve is spread across the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
The Maharashtra forest and agriculture departments were keeping a vigil on the movement of locusts, but no spraying of pesticide was conducted as the reserve is a protected area, he added.
After it rained on Tuesday afternoon, swarms moved towards Mansar, and no major damage to crops or trees was seen, Govekar said.
Srinagar: As many as 28 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel posted in Kashmir tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, officials said.
They said the personnel were found infected during a contact-tracing exercise after the death of a 44-year-old constable on June 6 when he succumbed to the disease.
Twenty-eight personnel in Kashmir have tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, the officials said, adding they belong to the 90th battalion of the force where the deceased constable, a nursing assistant, was posted.
All the affected personnel have been isolated and some results are awaited, they said.
The troops have been asked to immediately report if they feel any illness of COVID-19 like symptoms, a senior official said.
There have been four deaths in the country’s largest paramilitary force having 3.25 lakh personnel.
It has 516 coronavirus cases till now out of which 353 personnel have recovered, as per latest data.
Seven other positive coronavirus cases were also reported from various other units of the force on Wednesday.
Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on Wednesday claimed that 85 per cent of the people tested positive for coronavirus in the country are those who returned from India.
His claim comes in midst of a raging boundary row between the two countries with India sternly asking Nepal not to resort to any “artificial enlargement” of territorial claims after the Kathmandu released a new political map laying claim over Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura.
Nepal has recorded 279 new cases of the coronavirus infection on Wednesday, taking the country’s COVID-19 tally to 4,364. At least 15 people have died due to the disease, according to the health ministry. Province No. 2 situated in southern Nepal bordering India has highest number of cases.
The Oli government is facing criticism from various quarters over its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to critics, despite the over two-month-long lockdown, the coronavirus infections and deaths are increasing in the country. Thousands of people are kept in quarantine facilities near Indo-Nepal border areas. However, those quarantine centres are becoming COVID-19 hotspots due to lack of basic sanitation facilities.
“Eighty-five per cent of the people who tested positive for coronavirus in Nepal are those who returned from India,” Mr. Oli told Parliament while responding to questions by lawmakers.
Mr. Oli said that with the start of the movement of people from India, the number of coronavirus cases doubled in just one month in Nepal.
In April-May, only 7,400 Nepalese had come from India. However, in May-June, 222,000 people returned from India, he said, adding that now every day 7- 8,000 people are coming back from India.
“As a large number of people returned from India, which was beyond our expectation, we could not manage them well. Now the number of infected people has crossed 4,000,” the prime minister said.
He said many people returned from India on jam packed trains and buses and several of them might have contracted the virus during their travel.
Mr. Oli said 14,454 Nepalese abroad have contracted the virus and 127 died in 13 countries due to the infection.
The ties between India and Nepal came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8.
Nepal reacted sharply to the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through Nepalese territory. India rejected the claim asserting that the road lies completely within its territory.
Mr. Oli said the death toll from the coronavirus is very low in the country. He attributed it to Nepalese people’s strong immunity system due to their food habits and the good treatment facility provided by his government. He said the government has taken “effective” measures to contain the spread of the deadly virus.
“We have increased our facility to 5,000 coronavirus tests per day. 1,06,000 tests have been conducted so far. Besides, the government has allocated 45 dedicated hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients. At the local level, 3,000 health workers have been deployed to collect swab and conduct coronavirus tests. As many as 3,200 health workers have been assigned for contract tracing across the country,” he said.
The government has created 3,767 quarantine facilities with the capacity to accommodate 2,35,500 people. Over 11,000 health workers have been deployed in these facilities. A total of 53,000 women health volunteers have been deployed for generating awareness about coronavirus across the country, the prime minister noted.
