China on Monday said it is ready to work with India to improve political mutual trust, suitably manage their disagreements and secure the long-term development of bilateral ties.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said this at a formal briefing when a Western media journalist strived China’s reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks that the Indian armed forces have given a befitting reply to those challenging the country’s sovereignty.
Modi, in his 74th Independence Day speech to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort, said the armed forces have given a befitting reply to those disputing the country’s sovereignty “from LoC to LAC”, in a veiled reference to Pakistan and China.
“From LoC (Line of Control) to LAC (Line of Actual Control), anyone who casts an eye on the sovereignty of the country, the armed forces have responded in the language they understand,” Modi said.
Modi’s remarks came amid India’s harsh border row with China along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and rise in occurrences of ceasefire violations along the LoC with Pakistan in the last few months.
Music legend and the doyen of Indian classical vocal music Pandit Jasraj passed away at the age of 90 due to cardiac arrest, confirmed his daughter Durga Jasraj.
He was 90 years of age and was living in New Jersey state of United States. With a career spanning 80 years, Pandit Jasraj’s oeuvre ranged from the world stage to Indian film music.
Legendary Indian Classical singer Pandit Jasraj was born on January 28, 1930 in Pili Mandori, a village in the Hisar district of Haryana, in a family of Indian classical musicians.
Music legend and the doyen of Indian classical vocal music Pandit Jasraj passed away at the age of 90 due to cardiac arrest, confirmed his daughter Durga Jasraj.
Pandit Jasraj is a recipient of several accolades including the prestigious Padma Shri, Padma Bhusha and Padma Vibhushan.
He was 90 years of age and was living in New Jersey state of United States. His death has left a deep void in the Indian cultural sphere, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter, adding: “Not only were his renditions outstanding, he also made a mark as an exceptional mentor to several other vocalists. Condolences to his family and admirers worldwide. Om Shanti.”
The PM also shared some old pictures with the vocalist.
The unfortunate demise of Pandit Jasraj Ji leaves a deep void in the Indian cultural sphere. Not only were his renditions outstanding, he also made a mark as an exceptional mentor to several other vocalists. Condolences to his family and admirers worldwide. Om Shanti. pic.twitter.com/6bIgIoTOYB
Reacting to the development, President Ram Nath Kovind expressed condolences and said: “Music legend and unparalleled classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj’s passing makes me sad. Spanning a distinguished career of over 8 decades, Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj, enthralled people with soulful renditions. Condolence to his family, friends and music connoisseurs.”
Music legend and unparalleled classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj’s passing makes me sad. Spanning a distinguished career of over 8 decades, Pandit Jasraj, a Padma Vibhushan recipient, enthralled people with soulful renditions. Condolence to his family, friends & music connoisseurs.
Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj ji was an incredible artist who enriched Indian classical music with his magical voice. His demise feels like a personal loss. He will remain in our hearts forever through his peerless creations. Condolences to his family and followers. Om Shanti
Talking about Pandit Jasraj, Javed told Bombay Times, “It’s a terrible loss. He was one of the last standing giants in the world of classical music in India, a true legend that we had. I was fortunate to have had close relations with his family and him.
Drishyam director Nishikant Kamat passed away in Hyderabad. Kamat was 50-year old filmmaker had been diagnosed with Chronic Liver Disease and other secondary infections. Riteish Deshmukh confirmed the same on Twitter and shared, “I will miss you my friend. #NishikantKamat Rest In Peace.
Nishikant Kamat was known for directing Bollywood ‘Drishyam’ of Ajay Devgn and Tabu starrer and Irrfan Khan’s ‘Madaari’.
Nishikant Kamat made his directorial debut in 2005 with Marathi movie Dombivali Fast. The movie won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi. He made his silver screen debut in 2004 with the Hindi movie Hava Aney Dey. In 2008, Kamat helmed his first Bollywood film Mumbai Meri Jaan.
“I used to love his work and his simplicity has always humbled me. I used to tell him to put a hold on your career and get married. He never took my words seriously. I think this is the most disturbing and sad news. We have lost an incredible talent” Wadkar added.
Ishita Dutta, who had worked in Nishikant Kamat directed ‘Drishyam’ told ETimes, “Nishi sir was extremely humble, down to earth, sweet and calm. In the little time that I spent with him during the shooting of ‘Drishyam’, I can say that he was extremely encouraging. He was always very nice to me. He and his entire team in fact, they were extremely helpful, nice and encouraging. Even after the film got over, I remember speaking to him a couple of times about what I should do in terms of my career, and he was always there to advice. Unfortunately, the last few years, we were not in touch and a few weeks back I got to know that he was really unwell. We were really hoping that he gets okay but unfortunately he is no more. Honestly, I don’t know what to say. All I can say is that I know all the people who have worked with him or people who were close to him, they are going to really miss him because he was a very humble and nice person. May he rest in peace and support to his family.”
Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena (retd), is caught in controversy over hindi film based on her life Gunjan Saxena. Gunjan was not the first woman to be posted to the Indian Air Force’s critical Udhampur helicopter base, nor the first woman to fly during the Kargil battle of 1999, according to her coursemate, Flight Lieutenant Sreevidya Rajan.
Speaking to ThePrint, Rajan said she watched the movie Sunday evening and was shocked by the “twisting of facts” by the filmmakers.
“Both of us were posted to Udhampur in 1996 but in the movie, it was shown that she was the only lady pilot posted at the unit. Since the two of us were the first lady pilots to be posted to that helicopter unit, we were sceptical about our acceptance in the male-dominated niche area of flying,” Rajan wrote in her Facebook post.
“However, there were enough officers to support us. We were under strict scrutiny and certain mistakes of ours were met with corrective actions which may have been overlooked had it been done by our male counterparts,” she said.
“We had to work harder than our counterparts to prove ourselves to be at par with them. Some were not happy to share the professional space with us, but the majority accepted and treated us as fellow officers working towards a common goal,” she said.
The retired officer said the woman pilots never faced any shame because of physical strength, as shown in the movie, nor were they humiliated by male officers or ill-treated.
“Our flying began within a few days of our arrival and was never interrupted or cancelled for petty reasons as wrongly portrayed in the movie. The squadron commander was a thorough professional. He was a very strict and tough officer who took us to task whenever there was a mistake from our side… be it male or female,” Rajan said.
Rajan said after initial difficulties, “we shared the limited resources with fellow officers and they always accommodated and helped us whenever it was needed”.
In the movie, Gunjan Saxena was shown as the only woman pilot to fly in Kargil operations, and Rajan called it “factually incorrect”.
Rajan flew missions in the conflict area even before Saxena’s arrival at Srinagar, she said.
“We were posted together to Udhampur and when the Kargil conflict started, I was the first woman pilot to be sent along with the male counterparts in the first detachment of our unit which was deployed at Srinagar,” Rajan said.
The Supreme Court stated that the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, NEET 2020 and JEE Main 2020 Exams which are scheduled for the month of September will not be postponed.
As many students had filed a petition in the court, asking for the exam dates to be postponed again. The court dismissed the plea today saying that the exams will be conducted as per schedule.
Earlier , 11 students from various states had filed petition in the SC seeking the postponement of JEE and NEET-Undergraduate examinations due to the rising Covid 19 cases in the country.
The petition said that the exams will put lives of lakhs of young students at risk. The petition also said that ‘the best recourse at this stage can be to wait for some more time, let COVID-19 crisis subside and then only conduct these exams, in order to save lives of the students and their parents’.
While several parents had also submitted plea in favour of the exams as they said that cancellation may lead to loss of an academic year and impact the professional life of students.
The revised schedule for the exams–
JEE(Mains)- September 1-6
JEE-advanced- September 27.
NEET examination- September 13.
Admit cards which were expected to be out by August 15. It is likely that the cards may be released today, August 17.
China has granted the first patent to Covid-19 vaccine. The vacine co-developed by biopharmaceutical firm CanSino Biologics Inc in the country.
According to a Global Times report, the vaccine is a recombinant adenovirus vaccine named Ad5-nCoV co-developed by CanSino with a team led by Chinese military infectious disease expert Chen Wei.
“The grant of the patent further confirmed the vaccine’s efficacy and safety, and convincingly demonstrated the ownership of its intellectual property rights (IPR),” CanSino said in a statement on Sunday.
“The US has been making accusations since May that Chinese hackers were attempting to steal novel coronavirus data on treatments and vaccines without providing substantial evidence,” said the report.
According to CanSino, they applied for a patent with the National Intellectual Property Administration on March 18, three days after they launched phase one clinical trials on the candidate and received approval on August 11.
The phase III trial on the vaccine “which will be conducted overseas is progressing smoothly,” the company said.
Meanwhile, Russia has begun production of the first batch of vaccines against Covid-19, its health ministry said in a statement over the weekend.
The third stage of the research on the world’s first registered vaccine against the novel coronavirus, called Sputnik V, may begin in 7-10 days.
According to the Tass news agency, several tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in this research of the vaccine created by the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Health Ministry.
After more than a year, suspended high-speed internet services were restored on a trial in two districts of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday night. This step was taken by the government last year due to increased tension in valley.
As per the update from the Jammu and Kashmir administration, 4G services will resume in Ganderbal and Udhampur districts taking effect from 9 pm Sunday and will remain in force till September 8, until any further updates. After the update from a special committee that was overseeing the entire situation, the same information was conveyed to the Supreme court that a trail can run of the service can be considered.
“The high-speed mobile data services in the districts of Ganderbal (Kashmir) and Udhampur (Jammu division) shall be restored forthwith, on trial basis, while in rest of the districts, the internet speed shall continue to be restricted to 2G only,” an order issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Home Department read As per the orders the high-speed internet will be provided to post-paid subscribers and for the pre-paid customers services will be provided once they complete their verification process.
With regard to the fixed-line Internet connectivity, it said, “Internet connectivity, without any speed related restrictions, shall continue to be made available with mac-binding. 2G internet facility on mobile phones was restored on January 25. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to explore the possibility of restoring 4G services in certain area.
The top court was hearing a plea by an NGO seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against the Union Home Secretary and the Chief Secretary of JK for their alleged “willful disobedience” in complying with the court’s May 11 order which had directed for constituting a committee that would go into the possibilities of restoring high-speed Internet in the union territory.
Iran on Saturday gave a clear warning to launch attack against UAE over its peace pact with Israel. Calling the act an explicit “betrayal”, President Hassan Rouhani said the UAE has made a “huge mistake”.
“The UAE’s great betrayal of the Palestinian people … will turn this small, rich country, which is heavily dependent on security, into a legitimate and easy target,” the Iranian hard-line daily Kayhan wrote in a front page editorial whose editor in chief is appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Iranian Guard called the decision “shameful” and an “evil action” planned by the US, according to Sepah News. The Guard further warned UAE, saying the agreement with Israel is an invitation to the American culture in the middle east and will result into a “dangerous future” for the Emirati government.
Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, termed the agreement a “painful betrayal” of Arab and other countries in the region, during his trip to Lebanon on Friday.
“Iranian missiles could hit the UAE in eight minutes,” said Dr Theodore Karasik Karasik, a senior adviser to Gulf State Analytics in Washington DC.
“They can target critical infrastructure, or they can simply target the desert in an act of psychological warfare. Recent Iranian naval exercises featured missiles that came from an underground launcher. This was new and set off an alarm. Nevertheless, Dubai and other urban centers are still considered safe zones,” Karasik added.
Around 100 people gathered in front of Emirates Embassy in the capital Tehran to protest against the deal. Protesters chanted “death to Israel” and “death to America” and also burned Israeli flag.
UAE on Thursday signed an agreement establishing normalisation of relationship with Israel, the US President Trump announced.
After a three-way telephonic call among US, UAE and Israel, a joint statement was released by the three countries that read: “President Donald J Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates spoke today (Thursday) and agreed to the full normalisation of relations between Israel and the UAE.”
Hours after a militant attack left two CRPF jawans and a Jammu and Kashmir special police office (SPO) dead in Baramulla district of the union territory on Monday, security forces chased the ultras and killed one of them in an encounter, police said.
The terrorists attacked a security forces party at a ‘naka’ in Kreeri area of Baramulla district in north Kashmir this morning, a police official said. He said the security forces cordoned off the area immediately after the attack and chased the militants.
Three security force personnel killed in militant attack in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir: Police
The contact was established with them and during the exchange of fire, a militant was killed, the official said.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, said three militants suspected to be belonging to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit carried out the attack.
“According to eye witnesses, there were three militants who came from the nearby dense orchards and started firing indiscriminately on the ‘naka’ in which our three jawans – two from CRPF and one J-K Police – were martyred. It seems the LeT has carried out the attack. We will give them a befitting reply soon,” Kumar told reporters at the site of the attack.
“It is a matter of concern. The number of forces on a ‘naka’ point is less and it is normally in a remote area where they (militants) conceal themselves by coming along with civilians and then fire on the forces. We have faced losses and they have managed to flee a few times, but we will soon find a response to this tactic and end this problem,” he said. With PTI
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday chose to delay the country’s national elections by four weeks as the country deals with a new coronavirus outbreak in its largest city, Auckland.
“This decision gives all parties time over the next nine weeks to campaign and the Electoral Commission enough time to ensure an election can go ahead,” Ms. Ardern said.
Ardern was under pressure from political opponents and her coalition partners to shift the original September 19 vote following the shock discovery of COVID-19 in Auckland last week, sending the country’s largest city into lockdown.
Before the latest outbreak, New Zealand had gone 102 days without any known community transmission of the virus, and life had returned to normal for most people, who were going to restaurants, sports stadiums and schools without fear of getting infected.
Ardern said that New Zealand’s Electoral Commission had assured her that a safe and accessible election would be possible on the new date.
“Ultimately I want to ensure we have a well-run election that gives all voters the best chance to receive all the information about parties and candidates and delivers certainty for the future,” she said.
On Monday nine news cases of Covid-19 were reported, bringing the total number of cases related to the south Auckland cluster to 58. Māori and Pasifika people have been disproportionately infected by the latest outbreak.
Five people were in hospital being treated for the disease, and the source of the outbreak remained a mystery, the ministry of health said.
There are four “alert levels” in New Zealand, and Auckland has been on Level 3 since the new measures were announced. The rest of the country is on Level 2.
Before the new cluster was identified, the government had lifted almost all of its lockdown restrictions, which were first imposed in March.
South Korea which is one of the very few countries to be able to curb the first wave of coronavirus infection, on Saturday, recorded highest single day jump since early March. According to Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the country reported 279 newly confirmed cases. Out of which, majority of cases were reported in the capital region Seoul which is home to approximately 26 million people.
The fresh cases brought the nation’s tally of coronavirus infection to 15,318 with 305 casualties.
As per KCDC, Seoul metropolitan area reported 253 fresh cases as fears outgrow in the greater capital region. Even after continuous struggle, the health care authorities have been unable to stem the transmission as cases linked to various places and group including churches, nursery, homes, restaurants and schools continue to surge.
The number of new cases recorded was highest since 367 cases were reported on March 8. Apart from Seoul, other major cities including Daegu and Busan that were the epicenter of country’s previous outbreak in later February and March also saw rise in infection.
Meanwhile, to stop the coronavirus spread, South Korea recently opened a high-tech new front, fortifying bus shelters with temperature checking doors and ultraviolet disinfection lamps.
UP Police have arrested two people in connection with the death of Bulandshahr Scholar Sudeeksha Bhati who was studying in the US on scholarship.
The 19-year-old, who was among one of the district toppers of class XII batch last year, died in a road accident on August 10 after alleged harassment. Her family alleged that she fell off a two-wheeler driven by her uncle who braked to avoid the two men harassing her.
The suspects have been identified as Deepak Solanki, a resident of Gulahoti, and his partner Raju, a resident of Bulandshahr Dehat. Police said that some people were “trying to twist the narrative of the incident.” “Since the girl had got a huge scholarship package (for studying in the US), there could have been a thought of demand (for compensation) in the people,” Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Kumar Singh had said on Thursday.
The police have also recovered the Royal Enfield motorcycle used in the accident. However, the investigation has been based on the FIR of a road accident and not of harassment.
As per the Bulandshahr Police, approx 350 bikes from nearby areas were scanned while over 1000 people were questioned before finding narrowing down to suspects.
“The police scanned 12 CCTV cameras and found Sudeeksha and her cousin going on a bike at 8.25 am. The same camera captured an Enfield rider Solanki at 8.17 am on the same route. About 150 metres ahead, Solanki picked up his accomplice Raju from near Arif Hospital. The duo stopped at a petrol pump for fuel and Sudeeksha’s bike crossed the way,” he said. “The two bikes were moving in the same direction. The two motorcycles travelled 10.5 kilometres in 9 minutes on a busy road. This shows that both the motorcycles were speeding,” the Police said.
Solanki – one of the suspects, has admitted that he was riding the motorcycle on August 10 and mentioned that the accident took place because a tempo traveller going ahead suddenly applied brakes to stop himself from hitting a bullock cart that was on his way. “We have seized the Royal Enfield motorcycle used in the accident. The suspect had also modified the motorcycle’s number plate, silencer, indicator, etc,” said police.
According to Sudeeksha’s father Jitendra, she had left with her cousin and uncle for Madhavgarh to meet her grandmother on August 10. Sudeeksha’s cousin, Nigam (16), who was also on the bike, said: “The ambulance and police came after half an hour. We went to a hospital nearby, where she was declared dead. We took her to a government hospital in Bulandshahr for post-mortem. Her father was informed as soon as the accident took place.”
The government of India is planning to issue e-passports from next year onwards. According to a report of Economic Times, if you renew your passport next year or plan to issue a new one, you might get an e-passport embedded with an electronic microprocessor chip.
The report said that the first 20,000 official diplomatic e-passports have already been issued for a trial basis. The introduction of e-passports with chip might reduce the forgery they will be difficult to forge. Moreover, the new passports will also also enhance the immigration process.
The government is currently looking for an agency that could set up the IT Infrastructure and solution to implement the project. Once the components of the personalisation is installed into the current system, all 36 passport offices of India will issue e-passports.
A dedicated unit will work to enable issuance of 10,000-20,000 e-passports per hour in Chennai and Delhi, the report suggested.The National Informatics Centre is working with the Ministry of External Affairs and has issued a request for proposal (RFP) to select an agency for the responsibility. The e-passports will be based on International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standard to ensure exchange of information between countries.
Currently, the Indian passport is available in a booklet format. The new system will be introduced without disturbing the current processing system.
After the ban on Tik Tok in the US, the next number could be that of the legendary tech company Alibaba. US President Donald Trump has given similar signs. A question was asked in the press conference whether the government is going to clamp down on some more Chinese owned companies like Alibaba. To this, Trump said, “Well, we are exploring more possibilities. Yes, it can happen.”
Trump has been piling pressure on Chinese-owned companies, such as by vowing to ban short-video app TikTok from the United States. The United States ordered its Chinese owner ByteDance on Friday to divest the US operations of TikTok within 90 days, the latest effort to ramp up pressure over concerns about the safety of the personal data it handles.
In regards to Alibaba, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at a press conference earlier this month in Washington that the company needs to ensure Americans’ personal information could not be obtained through Chinese cloud software.
“We’re protecting Americans’ most sensitive personal information and our businesses’ most valuable intellectual property – including COVID vaccine research – from being accessed on cloud-based systems run by companies such as Alibaba, Baidu, China Mobile, China Telecom, and Tencent,” Pompeo said at the time.
A crucial new Army post, the operational need for which came to the fore during the 73-day troop stand-off at Doklam with China in 2017. Action is still missing due to bureaucratic hurdles. The defence ministry’s finance wing have slowed down the approval process for the post of Deputy Chief of Army Staff. Even as the ongoing military confrontation with China in eastern Ladakh crossed the 100-day mark last week.
The Army has raised with defence minister Rajnath Singh about the issue of “operationally required and revenue-neutral” proposal being stymied despite it having no financial implications or additional manpower requirements. “The DCOAS (S) post was to be created in lieu of another Lt-General post, the director-general of Rashtriya Rifles, which the Army has already suppressed (done away with),” they said.
As per the plan, the DCOAS (S) was to have the directors-general of military operations, military intelligence, operational logistics, perspective planning and information warfare under him at the Army headquarters.
This will ensure institutionalized seamless coordination to handle the massive operations, plans and logistics required by the 13-lakh force during a major border crisis, instead of the existing system of “an ad hoc steering committee” swinging into action.
The Army headquarters restructuring also entailed shifting out of 206 officers —three major generals, eight brigadiers, nine colonels and 186 lieutenant colonels and majors — to operational field formations.
