Rafale fighter jets have started conducting ‘familiarization’ sorties over Ladakh amid border tensions between India and China.
The deployment of French-made Rafale jets in Ladakh came nearly 10 days after they were formally inducted into the IAF. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the induction of the fleet was crucial considering the atmosphere being created along the frontier and that it is a “big and stern” message to those eyeing on India’s sovereignty.
Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria had said that the induction of Rafale jets could not have happened at a more opportune time considering the security scenario.
Indian Army is actively strengthening its security. Also the Indian Army is keeping an eye on every move of China. Rafale has been deployed now, but before that Mirage and Sukhoi fighter planes have been deployed.
Recently 5 Rafale fighter jets have been inducted into the Indian Air Force. On Sunday, Mirage planes were also seen flying and patrolling along with Rafael.
India and China sit down for the first-ever joint military and diplomatic-level talks at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control. The focus will be on complete disengagement in all trouble areas and not just the southern bank of Pangong Tso that China is insisting upon.
India is being represented by 14 Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Harinder Singh, along with two major general-rank officers, four brigadiers and other colonel-level officers and translators. They are joined by Navin Srivastava, joint secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs who looks after China. Indo-Tibetan Border Police Inspector General Deepam Seth is also a part of the delegation.
MEA’s presence at the talks is intended to keep the discussions within the political parameters of the relationship and the larger border understandings between the two sides.
Bihar- PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of 9 highway projects in Bihar via video-conferencing . These projects involve a road length of about 350 kilometres and will be completed at a cost of Rs 14,258 crore.
“The project would also entail implementation of one wi-fi and five free-of-cost connections to government Institutions like primary schools, anganwadi centres, Aasha workers and Jeevika Didi,” the release said.
“This project will lead to digital services like e-education, e-agriculture, tele-medicine, tele-law and other social security schemes to be easily available to all citizens of Bihar at the click of the button,” it added.
These highway projects are expected to provide better connectivity, convenience as well as economic growth in and around Bihar.
Substantially, the movement of goods and people will also improve, especially with the neighbouring states of Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
Besides, Optical Fibre internet services were also being launched by the PM, where all the 45,945 villages of the state will be connected through Optical Fibre Internet Service.
Eight opposition members were suspended today from the Rajya Sabha for the rest of the session over the unprecedented chaos in the house during the passing of controversial farm bills on Sunday, but they refused to leave.
Their suspension was carried out because of their “unruly behaviour” especially with the Chair of the House “and gross disorderly conduct”.
Following the adjournment of House, MPs of opposition parties, including the suspended MPs, held a protest in front of Gandhi statue in the Parliament premises, against the suspension of eight MPs.
Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu also rejected a notice for no-confidence motion against deputy chairman Harivansh on the grounds that proper procedure was not followed.
The members, including Trinamool Congress’s Derek O’Brien, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Sanjay Singh, Congress’s Rajeev Satav and CPM’s KK Ragesh, were told they had displayed “unruly behaviour especially with the Chair and gross disorderly conduct”.
According to the Opposition, the suspended members should be given a chance to explain what had happened the previous day, and called for a vote on the suspension. However, the Rajya Sabha said the decision had been taken on basis of a government.
“It was a bad day for Rajya Sabha yesterday when some members came to the well of the House. The deputy chairman was physically threatened. He was obstructed from doing his duty. This is unfortunate and condemnable and has brought disrepute to Rajya Sabha, which is also called the House of the Elders. I suggest to MPs, please do some introspection,” Naidu said in the House soon after Zero Hour was over.
Naidu’s announcement was followed by slogan-shouting by the opposition benches, forcing him to adjourn the House for an hour.
The two of the three bills passed on Sunday in Rajya Sabha – Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 – were cleared in Lok Sabha on September 17, Thursday.
Sunfeast on Saturday announced its collaboration with team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the T20 season. As per the company, Dark Fantasy will lead this campaign with various activities that range from TV campaigns to consumer centric digital contests to engage audiences. The brand will take forward its thought of ‘ #ALotCanHappenInside ‘ further in this tournament.
With this, the brand aims to make the indoor cricket viewing experience for this year’s most anticipated sporting spectacle, more exciting and memorable. “Fans will be able to relive the thrill of watching the match at a stadium, made virtually possible through filters which replicate the action packed surroundings of a stadium and will be exclusively available on Sunfeast Dark Fantasy’s Facebook page. Moreover, consumers can have fun with the filters by sharing their best at-home fun moments and tagging the brand. The best entries will also get a chance to meet Royal Challenger Bangalore players through a unique virtual meet-and-greet. Exclusive goodies and Royal Challengers Bangalore merchandise will also be up for grabs”, the company said in a statement.
Sunfeast is delighted to partner with team Royal Challengers Bangalore and looks forward to a fantastic season of T20, Ali Harris Shere, chief operating officer, Biscuits and Cakes, ITC Ltd. said. “Sunfeast connotes happiness and we aim to evoke these feelings in our consumers through our various engagements. With this collaboration we seek to enable a heightened, in-home, interactive cricketing experience for the viewers,” he added further on the association with RCB.
According to Sanjeev Churiwala, chairman, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunfeast shares the same ethos as RCB in bringing happiness to fans. “We look forward to this endeavour with one of the most reputed home-grown brands,” he stated.
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will soon summon Sara Ali Khan in relation with Rhea Chakraborty drug case. As per NCB sources, the agency will send summon under Section 67 of the NDPS Act to both the actors.
Apart from this, NCB will also summon Rakul Preet Singh and Simone Khambatta in the coming days, whom Rhea had allegedly named while getting interrogated.
Rakul Preet Singh has also filed a petition in the Delhi High Court against media trials. According to her plea Sushant’s partner, Rhea had already retracted her statement and yet the media reports were connecting her to the case.
She added that I&B ministry guidelines prohibit media from running hate campaigns. She said that TV channels were showing her “morphed pictures and photos from film sets to paint a narrative”, to hound her, and link her to some sort of a drug gang.
Chakraborty, who is currently in Byculla women’s jail, had named a few Bollywood celebrities during the course of the investigation, the NCB had said. At least 18 persons, including Chakraborty’s brother Showik, have been arrested by the agency so far.
The NCB, however, refused to divulge further details on the context of three celebrities being summoned. The agency began their probe after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) handed them alleged incriminating chats of Chakraborty.
The agency will summon them under Section 67 of The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
For the second consecutive time, Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department has suspended Air India flights after a few passengers on board the carrier tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival. The national carrier’s operations will remain suspended till October 3
Last week, Dubai’s civil aviation authorities suspended the operations of Air India Express from between September 18 and October 2, after Covid-19 positive passengers were found onboard a flight to Dubai.
However, only hours later, aviation authorities in the emirate revoked the suspension, allowing the Air India Express to resume flights to Dubai.
The annual Emmy Awards, which honor the best in television, were presented on Sunday in a virtual ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kemmel.
The 72nd edition of the Annual Primetime awards, hosted from Los Angeles saw Watchmen, Succession and Schitt’s Creek win glory.
The ceremony turned out to be a huge success for Canadian family comedy, Schitt’s Creek, who took onine awards home, breaking the Emmys record for most wins in a single season for a comedy.
It won the Best Comedy Series, with its stars Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy being named as the Best Comedy Actress and Actor respectively. Daniel Levy and Annie Murphy won the Best Supporting Actor and Actress trophies.
Brian Cox’s “Succession”, which portrays the journey of a conglomerate, took home top award, including Best Drama Series as well as Best Actor for Jeremy Strong. It also won the award fir Best Writing and Best Directing.
The series “Watchmen” won Best Limited Series, as well as acting awards for its stars Regina King and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
Zendaya became the youngest ever winner of Best Drama Actress for her performance in “Euphoria” AT 24.
Euphoria throws light on complex issues including sex, drugs, identity and trauma, and enjoys a huge following among young audience.
Amid the virtual ceremony, a few stars also made physical appearance at the Emmys, giving company to the host of the night, Jimmy Kemmel. Jennifer Aniston was one of the starts to appear in person, setting the stage on fire.
For best actress nominee, Jennifer Aniston, the Emmys had a little get together organized as she was accompanied by her F.R.I.E.N.D.S Lisa Kudrow and Courtney Cox.
The literal meaning of Manipur is also ‘the land of gem’ or ‘land of gems’. The beauty and grandeur of nature is abundant in Manipur. The rare species of deer that grows on the mountains of Sangai and Siroi is ‘Siroy Lily’.
St. Clair Grimwood described Manipur as’ the most beautiful place in the world. The late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru expressed his reverence for this place in the most appropriate manner by calling it ‘the gem of India’. Manipur is bounded by Nagaland in the north, Mizoram in the south, Upper Myanmar in the east and Cachar district of Assam in the west.
After the first Anglo-Manipuri war in 1891, this state came under British rule. Many heroes sacrificed their lives in this war. Yuvraj Tekendrajit and General Thangal were hanged after the British captured Imphal.
After the independence of India in 1947, the Manipur Constitution Act was enacted, so that a democratic government could be formed in the state. Manipur received full statehood on 21 January 1972. Manipur has always been known by names like Mitalipak, Kanglepak and Maitrabak. Apart from these names, this state has also been known by twenty other names.
But let us tell you that Manipur became part of India on this day.
Manipur Empire was a princely state during the British Raj. Which had an area of 21,900 square kilometers and 467 villages.
In the year 1972, Manipur became a part of the Union of India.
Manipur literally means land of gems.
Maharaja Buddhachandra signed the document to meet India. Many people also call it forced merger.
In the year 2012-13, due to insurgency, 1 death per 1 lakh population.
This state is credited with joining European settlers with polo.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will march against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the third match of Indian Premier League 2020. This is the first match for both the teams and first two days of the tournament has been a nail-biting encounter. The match between Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab ended with a super-over.
Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore is back with millions of expectations this year as well. This year they roped in Australian batting star Aaron Finch and South African all-rounder Chris Morris into their side. Finch is likely to take up the opening slot while Chris Morris will be at Number 7 for the team. The inclusion of these two international stars makes the side much more settled than the others. They also have the depth in their bowling line-up as well.
Taking about the Sunrisers Hyderabad side, they will be facing a dilemma in settling their middle order and managing their foreign stars. They have captain, David Warner, Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow, Mohammad Nabi, and Rashid Khan in their side but only four of them could make into the final eleven of the side. This is going to be an exciting encounter and both the teams will look to seal victory in their opening game.
DNP India Dream11 for Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Virat Kohli (captain), Jonny Bairstow(vice-captain), David Warner , Manish Pandey, Devdutt Padikkal, Rashid Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Nabi, Washington Sundar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma
Probable XIs Royal Challengers Bangalore: Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers, Gurkeerat Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Dale Steyn, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (C), Jonny Bairstow (WK), Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma
SQUADS Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad: Aaron Finch, Parthiv Patel(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Dale Steyn, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Isuru Udana, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Adam Zampa, Pavan Deshpande, Mohammed Siraj, Devdutt Padikkal, Josh Philippe, Shahbaz Ahmed Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: David Warner(c), Jonny Bairstow(w), Manish Pandey, Virat Singh, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, K Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Siddarth Kaul, Mitchell Marsh, Kane Williamson, Shahbaz Nadeem, Bavanaka Sandeep, Billy Stanlake, Fabian Allen, T Natarajan, Basil Thampi, Sanjay Yadav, Abhishek Sharma, Priyam Garg
Ten people were killed and around 25 were feared trapped after a three-storeyed building collapsed in Bhiwandi near Mumbai early this morning.
As per the initial information, 31 people have been rescued from the rubble of the building in Patel Compound area. A child was among the 11 people rescued by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials.
Bhiwandi is a power loom town around 10km from Thane. A civic official told PTI that the building, located at Narpoli’s Patel Compound near Dhamankar Naka, collapsed while the residents were asleep.
A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rushed to the spot. NDRF DG S.N. Pradhan said the team was using a canine squad to search persons trapped in the debris. A portion of the building collapsed and many occupants were trapped in the debris of the collapsed building, a Thane Municipal Corporation official said.
The building had been on a list of dangerous buildings and a notice for it to be vacated had been issued, the Times of India reported, citing Pankaj Ashiya, a commissioner in the Bhiwandi-Nizampura City Municipal Corporation.
Last month, at least 13 people were killed after a five-storey building collapsed in Mahad, an industrial town about 165km (100 miles) south of Mumbai.
An eyewitness said local residents rushed to the spot immediately after the collapse and helped pull out some persons from the debris.
The power supply to the locality was snapped as a precautionary measure, the official said, adding the injured have been admitted to local hospitals.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss.
Saddened by the building collapse in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected.
President Ram Nath Kovind also expressed grief at the building collapse incident.
The loss of lives in the building collapse at Bhiwandi, Maharashtra is quite distressing. In this hour of grief, my thoughts and prayers are with the accident victims. I wish speedy recovery of the injured. Local authorities are coordinating rescue and relief efforts.
India’s covid tally has mounted 54.88 lakh with 86,961 being tested positive for the infection in the past 24 hours. 1,130 deaths in last 24 hour have taken the total fatality toll to 87,882. Total number of active Covid-19 cases in India stands at 1,00,3299. While 4,396,399 people have recovered so far.
According to data provided by health ministry, the national recovery rate has improved to 80.12 per cent in the country. The Covid-19 case fatality rate due to coronavirus has further declined to 1.6 per cent. There are 10,03,299 active cases in the country as of now, which comprises 18.28 per cent of the total caseload, the data further mentioned.
Total samples tested up to 20th September are 6,43,92,594 including 7,31,534 samples tested yesterday: Indian Council of Medical Research.
India, which enforced world’s biggest lockdown in the backdrop of coronavirus disease, has been constantly grapling with the infection. And as per health experts, the country has not even seen the peak yet. While opposition leader has criticized PM Modi led BJP for their sudden lockdown, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday told Lok Sabha that the announcemnent was not sudden. He aadded that PM Mofi had prepared the nation ofr it throught the Janata Curfew on March 22.
“Five different studies have spoken about how many lives were saved due to the lockdown. If the lockdown was not used properly and things were not monitored, the dedicated 17,000 covid facilities would not have come up,” he said.
As a part of Unlock 4.0, the Punjab government on Saturday allowed the opening of higher education institutions from September 21 for PhD scholars and postgraduate students pursuing technical and professional courses requiring experimental work. However, schools, colleges, and coaching centres will remain closed in the states.
The Hong Kong government on Sunday suspended flights from Air India till October 3 after a surge in the number of coronavius cases, according to several media reports.
In other news related to Covid-19, India has provided a $250-million( Rs 1,825 crore) aid to the Maldives to help it mitigate the pandemic’s effect on its tourism-based economy.
Appreciate your warm sentiments, President @ibusolih! As close friends and neighbours, India and Maldives will continue to support each other in our fight against the health and economic impact of COVID-19. https://t.co/esNRBWJxZg
India is the second worst-hit behind the US which has 67,99,044 cases and 1,99,474 deaths. The total number of cases in the world stands at 3,09,18,269 and the fatalities are 9,59,332.
After a gap of nearly six months, the schools in the country are set to reopen partially from today.
The coronavirus pandemic forced authorities to shut educational institutes across the country to contain the spread of the deadly disease which has so far infected 54,00,620 people, according to the Union Health Ministry data.
As part of Unlock 4, the Centre had allowed the partial reopening of schools and said that students of Classes 9 and 12 can return purely on a voluntary basis.
Preparations for maintaining social distancing and facilities for sanitization are being done at the Kendriya Vidyalaya No 1 in Jammu, ahead of the scheduled reopening of schools on September 21, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Government Ranbhir higher secondary school Principal Anjali Gupta said, “We have got instructions from the director school of education to open the school partially. “Accordingly, those students who are facing problems with online classes due to network problems, or those who don’t have android phones, so they must be given platform that they come to schools voluntarily to seek guidance from teachers,” she said.
With schools and colleges in the country are reopening today, many academicians feel that the move will bring much-needed relief to students who have been stuck at home for a long time due to the pandemic. Even as online classes have benefited a considerable number of students, especially from the elite private schools, many have struggled to adjust to this new stay-at-home lifestyle. Many educators said that the students are being affected physically as well as emotionally as they are not able to meet their friends and play outdoors now.
Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), which is a system of premier central government schools in India, has released the guidelines:
According to the guidelines, class 11 and 12 students will be allowed to visit the schools on Monday and Tuesday while class 10 students can come on Wednesday and Thursday. Class 9 students did not allow to visit their schools on Friday and Saturday.
It will be compulsory for the students to wear masks and use hand sanitizer, the guidelines stated, adding that no food or beverages will be provided in the campus.
“States and union territories (UTs) may permit up to 50 per cent of teaching and non- teaching staff to be called to the schools at a time for online teaching/ tele- counselling related work in areas outside containment zones only with effect from 21st September 2020,” the central government said in its Unlock 4.0 guidelines.
After being shut for tourists for around six months, one of the seven wonders of the world, Taj Mahal reopened from today.
It was closed on March 17 after all heritage monuments protected under the Archeological Survey of India, after discussion with the union ministry of culture, were asked to close for the visitors following the rapid outbreak of SARS-CoV-2.
Strict social distancing rules will be imposed and daily visitor numbers will be capped at 5,000, which is a quarter of the normal rate. Tickets can only be bought online.
Circles are being marked, the mask would be a must and nobody would be able to enter without thermal screening.
Tickets can only be bought online.
Indian visitors will have to pay Rs 50 per ticket for visiting the Taj Mahal. To visit the main mausoleum, they will have to pay Rs 200 more.
At a time, only five people will be allowed in the main mausoleum area.
The tourists will be provided with shoe covers before visiting the main dome area. After visiting the site, the shoe covers are required to be dumped in the dustbins.
The two famous monuments were earlier scheduled to reopen from September 1 but were not excluded from the list of ‘Buffer Zones’ due to the rising COVID-19 cases in the city.
A Federal judge has blocked Trump administration’s executive order which enforced ban on downloads and operation of Chinese messaging app WeChat from Sunday midnight.
US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler said the the ban imposed a threat to the constitution’s first amendment which guarantees free speech.
WeChat, owned by Chinese firm Tencent, was set to stop operating in the U.S. on midnight Sunday following Trump’s order which cited the app was a threat to national security.
Beeler was referring to a lawsuit filed by WeChat users who questioned Trump’s actions with respect to the First Amendment Rights
“Certainly the government’s overarching national-security interest is significant,” Beeler wrote, but the Trump administration “has put in scant evidence that its effective ban of WeChat for all U.S. users addresses those concerns,” the judge wrote.
WeChat is used by 1.9 billion people around the globe and 19 million people in America. The app is a multipurpose platform providing communication, flight booking, news, and money transfer services among others. The app also serves as a virtual public square for the Chinese-speaking and Chinese-American community.
“WeChat is effectively the only means of communication for many in the community, not only because China bans other apps, but also because Chinese speakers with limited English proficiency have no options other than WeChat,” Beeler wrote in her order.
The lawsuit, filed by WeChat Users Alliance in America, pointed Trump’s statements wherein he mocked China over coronavirus pandemic, calling it the “China Virus” and “Kung Flu”.
The reprieve comes a day after Donald Trump saved TikTok, an app owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, and said that he has accepted TikTok-Oracle partnership deal in the US.
In her order, Beeler mentioned that there are certain signification evidence that some Chinese technologies which do pose a legitimate national security threat to the United States, however, asserted that WeChat is modest.
