16 - 31 July 2020 The Asian Independent

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Vol : 04 : #47 16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020

BIRMINGHAM 2022 launches

competition to find mascot designer

London : Birmingham 2022 has

launched a competition for finding a

child who will design the official

mascot for the Commonwealth

Games that will be held in the city in

two years. The mascot will be 'a global

icon for the Games' and should

'represent the identity, heritage, and

culture of the Commonwealth

Games, Birmingham and the West

Midlands.'

The competition is open only to

children who are residents of the

United Kingdom aged between 5 and

15 years. "Staff members or relatives

of Birmingham 2022 or any other

person involved in the competition or

the organisation of the Birmingham

2022 Commonwealth Games or relatives

of such a person are not eligible

to submit an application," it said.

The closing date for entries is

August 5. "Birmingham 2022 will

embrace and champion youth, diversity,

humanity and pride in the region

and the Commonwealth, and we're

thrilled to invite children across the

UK to create our mascot," said

Birmingham 2022 chief executive Ian

Reid. "The Games will be a true celebration

of world-class sport and culture

and aims to leave a lasting positive

impact.

"Our mascot will become an international

icon for the Games, and this

is a great opportunity for children,

parents and teachers nationwide to

take part to help us welcome the

world to the Birmingham 2022

Commonwealth Games."

House panel

questions govt on

black marketing

of DRUGS

New Delhi : The standing

committee of Home Affairs met

here for the first time since

lockdown was enforced to curb

the spread of coronavirus, as

members who attended the

meeting asked the government

to check black marketing of life

saving drugs, sources said.

The committee met here

under the chairmanship of former

union minister Anand

Sharma.

A total of 11 members

attended the meeting as Home

Secretary Ajay Bhalla and joint

secretary Health Lav Agarwal

briefed the members about

steps taken during the pandemic.

The members asked the government

to check black marketing

of life saving drugs such as

Remdesivir and other such

drugs.

The committee members

said that they will present a

report keeping in mind the pandemic

and lessons learnt from

this, said sources.

The meeting was called to

discuss action taken by the central

government in view of

Covid-19 pandemic mainly

with respect to coordination

between state governments and

unlocking process.

UPAdivasis oppose land grab

attempt, get death threats

In yet another act of impunity, Adivasis

protesting illegal construction on forest

land were chased away by hired thugs who

allegedly threatened to burn them alive if

the Adivasis ever returned to the site. The

incident took place in Lilasi village that

falls under the jurisdiction of the Muirpur

police station in Sonebhadra district of

Uttar Pradesh.

A local businessman named

Ramvruksh Sahu had allegedly usurped

forest land illegally and started construction

of a house and a shop on it. This

prompted some 40-50 residents of Lilasi

to go to the construction site in Lilasi

Bazar and talk to Sahu. The villagers told

Sahu that a claim for community rights to

this land has already been made by them

and is pending with concerned government

authorities and that this being forest

land, no such construction should be done

here. That’s when some anti-social elements

or goondas who were hired to guard

the illegal activities going on at the spot

chased them away hurling cuss words and

death threats.

This prompted a few residents namely;

Sukuvariya Devi, Mankunwar,

Sitakunwat, Mangari, Savita Devi,

Phoolmati, Lakshminiya and Phoolbas, to

write to authorities narrating the entire

sordid saga. According to the letter, the

thugs chasing the villagers threatened to

burn them alive should they return to the

spot. The letter also alleges that the entire

illegal operation was being carried out in

connivance with Muirpur Police.

This letter has been sent to District

Collector, Sonbhadra; Superintendent of

Police, Sonbhadra; Congress President

Sonia Gandhi, Chairpersons of National

Human Rights Commission as well as

National Commission for Scheduled

Tribes.

The letter further states that this incident

has caused much agitation among the

villagers of Lilasi and they hold Muirpur

Police as well as the forest officials of that

area responsible for this incident along

with Sahu for being complicit with him. It

further states that no property deed can be

made of a land being a forest land. The letter

also points out that the villagers have

been intimidated in the past for fighting

for their rights as tribals over forest land

and forest produce by registering false

cases of rioting against them.

Their complaints to the police and forest

officials of Muirpur area have gone

unheard and hence this letter was sent on

June 24. Through this letter, the villagers

have urged the concerned authorities and

commissions to take necessary action to

halt this illegal construction and to take

penal action against the perpetrators so

that their rights of staking claim to this

forest land is not impinged upon. A complaint

has also been made on the online

portal of the Home Department of Uttar

Pradesh called Jan Sunwai (Public hearing)

under the land dispute category; this

is pending further action.

In several isolated incidents, tribals

across the country have been facing hurdles

in their daily livelihood and are also

being assaulted by public officials such as

the police and the forest officials. CJP and

the All India Union for Forest Working

People (AIUFWP) have approached the

National Human Rights Commission to

bring to its notice these incidents whereby

tribals belonging to different communities

are being harassed, abused and assaulted.

In one incident, forest officials in Uttar

Pradesh allegedly attacked and even

molested Adivasi women belonging to the

Tharu tribe, in the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve

in broad daylight, while in another incident

Van Gujjars of Rajaji National Park,

Dehradun were beaten up, their shelters

were destroyed and were even subjected to

custodial violence, which ended up in one

women being sexually assaulted in custody.

Such escalated incidents of injustice

being meted out to tribals are on the rise

and need urgent attention of concerned

authorities.

2

16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020 ASIA

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Vaccine tests on monkeys risk

disease, warns PETA India

New Delhi : People for the Ethical

Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has

urged the Centre to stop the National

Institute of Virology (NIV) from using

"deadly tests" for a COVID-19 vaccine on

monkeys.

In a letter, calling on the Committee for

the Purpose of Control and Supervision of

Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA),

PETA India urged the government to stop

NIV to leave wild animals in nature and

instead use human-relevant and animalfree

research methods as required by

Indian law. The letter followed recent

reports that the government of Maharashtra

has approved the capturing of 30 wild

monkeys for the NIV. Describing that animal

tests are often misleading, time-consuming

barriers to introducing life-saving

drugs, the organisation gave example of

governing bodies in India and around the

world how they are increasingly moving

towards modern, non-animal methods.

The US National Institute of Health

confirms that more than 95 per cent of all

new drugs that are shown to be safe and

effective in animal tests fail in human trials

because they don't work or are dangerous.

COVID-19 is largely thought to have

first infected humans through wildlife at a

Chinese wet market, it said. "In fact,

according to the World Health

Organization, over 60 per cent of human

pathogens are zoonotic (spread from animals

to humans)."

Wild monkeys during capture and handling

and in a laboratory setting present a

significant threat of zoonosis, including

herpes B, Kyasanur Forest disease, dengue,

tuberculosis, simian immuno-deficiency

viruses, and rabies, it said.

"This pandemic presents an opportunity

for India to set improved standards for testing

and developing safe and effective new

therapeutics that avoid cruel, misleading,

and wasteful experiments on animals," said

PETA India Science Policy Adviser Dr

Dipti Kapoor.

"PETA India is asking the CPCSEA and

NIV to meet the demand for accelerated

research during this pandemic using

human-relevant methods instead of tests on

animals, which don't advance human

health."

The request comes amid human clinical

trials for a vaccine for COVID-19 that have

been initiated in the country with approximately

1,000 volunteers participating in

the exercise for each of the two indigenously

developed vaccine candidates -- one

developed by Bharat Biotech International

Ltd in collaboration with the Indian

Council of Medical Research and another

by Zydus Cadila Healthcare Ltd. There are

two Indian vaccine candidates that have

undergone successful toxicity studies in

rats, mice and rabbits and this data was

submitted to the Drug Controller General

of India (DCGI).

Palghar 'sadhus' lynching : No bail for 25 accused

Palghar (Maharashtra)

Additional Sessions Judge

D.H. Keluskar of Dahanu

Sessions Court rejected the bail

applications of 25 accused

arrested in connection with the

April 16 lynching of two 'sadhus'

and their driver, officials

said here on Wednesday.

Special Public Prosecutor

Satish Maneshinde told IANS

that all the accused had sought

bail on technical grounds

which was rejected by the

Dahanu Sessions Court on

Tuesday. Strongly opposing the

bail plea, Maneshinde said that

the prosecution had gathered

"multiple evidences against the

accused", including mobile

Call Data Records and other

technical evidence.

Investigations of these evidences

proved that the accused

were present at the spot during

the incident near Gadchinchale

village at Kasa in Palghar that

night, when a 500-strong mob

had beaten to death the two sadhus

and their driver. Later, more

than 150 people were arrested

by Kasa Police and the matter

was handed over to the state

Crime Investigation

Department.

On the fateful night, the victims

- Kalpavrikshagiri

Maharaj, 70, his assistant

Sushilgiri Maharaj, 35, of the

Juna Akhada, and their driver

Nilesh Telgade, 30, were waylaid

when they were en route

from Mumbai to Surat for a

funeral during the lockdown.

Mistaking them to be robbers

or kidnappers, a huge mob

of tribals and villagers pounced

on them with stones, sticks,

sickles and the trio later succumbed

to their injuries.

The police booked around

150 persons, including a few

minors, even as the incident

created a nationwide political

furore and the probe was given

to the CID.

Hookahs and wine,

then enter men in khaki

to bust Delhi rave party

New Delhi : There was smoke all over the place, some

hookahs in vibrant

colours were kept

neatly on a table with

men and women sitting

around taking

long puffs from the

hookahs as music

played on. Loads of

beer, with other high

end brands of liquor

flowed freely. This

was the scene at a

rave party organised

on Tuesday night

inside a restaurant,

flouting Covid

guidelines.

Then a team of

men in khaki entered

the restaurant

Playque in Paschim

Vihar East in Outer

Delhi. Everything

stood still, the dance

stopped and the

music died. Station

House Officer

Krishan Ballav Jha

with his team spent

the next few minutes

rounding up people

and taking down their names.

"During the raid a total of 31 people including 7 women were

found present violating and flouting lockdown conditions in the

Playque restaurant at Pushkar Enclave, Paschim Vihar by way of

drinking alcohol, puffing on hookahs and dancing. Seven bottles

of liquor of different brands, 4 quarters and 77 beer bottles (all

unused) and about a similar quantity of used liquor bottles and 8

hookahs were recovered from different tables," said a senior

police officer.

The owner Lavish Khurana along with his brother Kashish

Khurana were booked under different provisions of the law

under the Indian Penal Code.

"The offence being bailable against 29 other persons, they

were released on bail," said the officer.

Police said the restaurant does not have a licence to serve

liquor. The police added that they took proper precautions while

conducting the raid and all proper social distancing norms were

followed. Earlier in June this year, Delhi police raided west

Delhi's popular eating joint Qubitos which reopened after being

shut for almost three months. The restaurant got into trouble as

38 persons were nabbed for celebrating a birthday party while

allegedly violating all social distancing norms.

Team AI :

Devinder Chander

Editor-in-chief

Columnists

V.B. Rawat

Farzana Suri

Arun Kumar

Rahul Kumar

Harminder K. Bhogal

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SC rejects plea against 100%

domicile quota in J&K jobs

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on

Wednesday declined to entertain a plea

challenging the 100 per cent domicile

reservation in public employment

through the Jammu and Kashmir

Reorganization Act 2019 after the revocation

of Article 370 that accorded J&K

the special status. A Bench, comprising

Justices L. Nageswara Rao, Hemant

Gupta and S. Ravindra Bhat, after a brief

hearing through video link declined to

entertain the plea and asked the petitioner

to move the J&K High Court.

The plea, filed by Ladakh-based

lawyer Najmul Hoda, challenged

Sections 3A, 5A, 6, 7 & 8 of the Jammu

and Kashmir Civil Services

(Decentralization and Recruitment) Act

2020. The petitioner claimed it violated

Article 14, 16, 19 and 21 of the

Constitution. The Ministry of Home

Affairs, under Section 96 of the J&K

Reorganization Act, had amended the

civil services law replacing "permanent

resident of J&K" with "domiciles of

UT of J&K". The petitioner said since

all laws and the Supreme Court judgments

applicable to India had been

extended to the UT of J&K then as per

Article 16(2) of the Constitution no citizen

should be discriminated on the

basis of residence.

The amendment introduced in the

Act the Section 3A under which children

of the central government officials,

who had served in J&K for 10 years,

were included as domiciles of the new

UT. Also, Section 5A stated that no person

should be eligible for appointment

to any post unless he/she was a domicile

of J&K. The plea, citing the Section 5A,

argued this amendment would make

guarantee of equal opportunity under

Article 16(3) "meaningless" and "illusory".

The petitioner argued the amendment

through Article 16(3), which

allowed domicile or residence-based

reservation, was not in its authority.

"Parliament has never delegated law

making power of Article 16(3) of the

Constitution to the central government

under Section 96 of the J&K

Reorganization Act 2019. Power delegated

under Section 96 was only for

facilitating application of prevailing

law in former state of J&K or to make

laws (which were applicable in rest of

India) applicable to the new UTs of

J&K and Ladakh. Every modification

or adaption of any law shall be done in

that reference only and not beyond",

said the plea.

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ASIA

16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020

3

UK economy rebounds more

SLOWLY than EXPECTED

London : The UK's economy rebounded

more slowly than expected in May,

growing just 1.8 per cent from the previous

month, as the gradual easing of the

COVID-19 lockdown had a modest

impact, the Office for National Statistics

(ONS) said on Tuesday.

According to the ONS, May's modest

month-on-month expansion came as sectors

such as manufacturing, construction,

DIY retailers and garden centres were

allowed to reopen, the BBC reported.

Manufacturing grew by more than 8 per

cent during the month, as did construction.

But the ONS said the economy was "in

the doldrums".

As a result of big contractions in previous

months, the UK economy is now 24.5

per cent smaller than it was in February, it

added. The increase came after a fall of 6.9

per cent in March and a record 20.4 per

cent decline in April. In the three months to

May, the economy shrank by 19.1 per cent

compared with the previous three-month

period, the ONS said.

"The economy was still a quarter smaller

in May than in February, before the full

effects of the pandemic struck," Jonathan

Athow, deputy national statistician for economic

statistics at the ONS, told the BBC.

"In the important services sector, we saw

some pick-up in retail, which saw record

online sales.

However, with lockdown restrictions

remaining in place, many other services

remained in the doldrums, with a number

of areas seeing further declines."

Responding to Tuesday's revelation,

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: "Today's figures

underline the scale of the challenge we

face.

"I know people are worried about the

security of their jobs and incomes. That's

why I set out our Plan for Jobs last week,

following the PM's new deal for Britain, to

protect, support and create jobs as we safely

reopen our economy.

"Our clear plan invests up to 30 billion

pounds in significant and targeted support

to put people's livelihoods at the centre of

our national renewal as we emerge through

the other side of this crisis."

Scotland to reopen castles, palaces

as Covid-19 lockdown eases

London : Over 200 historic and tourism sites in Scotland are

to open Wednesday as part

of a rolling programme to

allow visitors to attractions

closed in March due to the

Covid-19 pandemic.

Historic Environment

Scotland (HES), Scotland's

biggest operator of visitor

attractions, has announced

it will provide access to

over 200 unstaffed and

key-keeper sites across

Scotland where physical

distancing can be maintained,

Xinhua reported.

With over 300 properties

in its care, the HES is

adopting a phased

approach to reopen 70 per

cent of its free to access

and ticketed properties by mid-September.

Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle and Urquhart Castle will

reopen on August 1. Visitors will have to pre-book tickets online

and to use contactless payment where possible, with one-way

systems implemented in some locations, according to the HES.

HK pro-democracy activist

reveals he's in London

UK pub installs

electric fence to

maintain social distancing

London : A pub in the UK

has installed an electric fence in

front of the bar to stop people

getting too close to the staff in

order to maintain social distancing

amid the COVID-19

pandemic, a media report said.

The Star Inn in Cornwall

county took the drastic measure

to protect people from coronavirus,

the Metro newspaper

report said on Monday.

Landlord Johnny McFadden,

who is also a farmer, said: "It's

there for social-distancing.

Before the fence, people were

not following social-distancing

and were doing as they pleased,

but now people take heed to the

guidance around social distancing."

He told ITV that the fence

is usually turned off, but he

warned that "it can be turned

on".

Hong Kong : One of Hong Kong's

most prominent young pro-democracy

activists said that he is in London after

fleeing the city following the controversial

security law imposed by China.

"I boarded my night flight... My destination:

London," Nathan Law wrote on

Twitter on Monday, a week and a half after

saying he had left Hong Kong, the BBC

reported.

Law said that he faced "many uncertainties",

but had made the decision to leave

Hong Kong "in the face of political

upheaval".

"We don't even know if our next protest,

next court hearing, will be followed by

imprisonment," he said, adding that he had

put himself in "danger".

"I've kept a low profile on my whereabouts

in order to mitigate the risks."

In one post, which appeared to include a

aerial photo of London from the window of

a passenger plane, he said he had a message

for Hong Kongers: "We aren't fractured.

On the contrary, we're well-equipped

to face the next difficult battle."

Law added that said he had spoken with

reporters and was living in a "little apartment".

Law is a one-time student leader who

rose to prominence during mass protests in

2014.

He was also a local legislator who cofounded

the Demosisto Party with another

well-known activist, Joshua Wong.

The party disbanded when China

imposed the new law earlier this month.

It is not clear from Law's social media

posts on Monday when he arrived in the

UK. Earlier this month, Law told the BBC

that he would continue his advocacy work

from abroad, and that the people of Hong

Kong would not give up their fight.

On July 1, the 27-year-old spoke via

video link to a US Congressional hearing

on Hong Kong, saying that he was worried

about returning to the territory, for fear of

being imprisoned by Beijing.

Beijing drafted and passed the legislation

last late month that targets acts of

secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion

with foreign forces, with punishments

of up to life in prison for the most serious

offences.

It came into effect on July 2.

Under the new rules, Hong Kong police

can also raid premises without a court warrant,

order internet firms to remove content

or seize relevant devices, and demand

information from political groups operating

outside the city.

4

16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020 ASIA


'Most UK businesses

unprepared for end of

Brexit transition period'

London : Only a quarter of

British businesses said they are fully

ready when Brexit transition period

expires on Dec. 31, a survey from the

Institute of Directors revealed.

Nearly half of the 978 company

directors polled in late June said they

weren't able to prepare right now,

with one in seven distracted by coronavirus

pandemic and almost a third

saying they needed the details of any

changes to be clear before adjusting,

the survey found, Xinhua news

agency reported on Monday.

The survey said those in the financial

sector were most likely to be

UK's new immigration rules

ends EU freedom of movement

London : UK Home

Secretary Priti Patel has

unveiled plans for a post-Brexit

immigration system for the

UK, which will end the freedom

of movement for millions

of European Union (EU)

nationals. On Monday, Patel

unveiled a 130-page document

outlining new the immigration

rules following the country's

departure from the EU after

almost 50 years of membership,

reports Xinhua news

agency. It will be centred

around a points system to determine

who will be allowed into

the UK, and who will be

refused access. When the new

rules come into effect from

January 1, 2021, residents of

the EU's 27 member states will

be treated equally to arrivals

from the rest of the world,

reports Xinhua news agency.

But EU citizens who started

living in the UK by December

31, 2020 will still be able to

apply to settle in the country

under the bloc's settlement

scheme until June 30, 2021.

More than 3.7 million EU

citizens have so far made applications

to settle in the UK.

In its immigration document,

the Home Office said the new

points-based system will be a

fair system, treating people

from every part of the world

equally. "The British people

voted to take back control of our

borders and introduce a new

points-based immigration system.

Now we have left the EU,

we are free to unleash this country's

full potential and implement

the changes we need to

restore trust in the immigration

system and deliver a new fairer,

firmer, skills-led system from

January 1, 2021," Patel said.

People applying to work in

Britain will also need a level of

English language to support

integration, ensuring migrants

can live and be part of the

wider community in the UK.

In a written statement to the

House of Commons, Patel said:

"At a time where an increased

number of people across the

UK are looking for work, the

new points-based system will

encourage employers to invest

in the domestic UK workforce,

rather than simply relying on

labor from abroad. "We are also

making necessary changes, so

it is simpler for employers to

attract the best and brightest

ready while manufacturers in particular

had more to do, and directors in

services felt especially unable to prepare

at present. It said the vast majority

directors believe that reaching a

deal is important for their organisation.

The Institute of Directors called

on Britain and the European Union

(EU) to commit to a reciprocal,

phased implementation wherever

possible, and for the British government

to provide greater clarity on its

contingency plans in the event of a no

deal. Jonathan Geldart, director general

of the Institute of Directors, said:

"With so much going on, many directors

feel that preparing for Brexit

proper is like trying to hit a moving

target. Jumping immediately into

whatever comes next would be a

nightmare for many businesses."

"Unilateral actions like staggering

import controls would be a welcome

step from government, but are by no

means enough, we need to mitigate

disruption across many different sectors

on both sides," Geldart said.

Britain ended its EU membership on

January 31 but is still following EU

rules during the transition period

until Dec. 31 to enable a permanent

future trade deal to be reached.

Negotiation teams from Britain

and the EU are intensifying talks in

July by meeting face to face after

rounds of video talks that produced

no significant progress by June, due

to huge differences in fisheries and

so-called level playing field. Britain

has formally ruled out the possibility

of an extended post-Brexit transition

period. The British government confirmed

a new three-stage plan for

border controls and procedures in

2021, pledging to take "flexible and

pragmatic" approach to give industry

extra time to make necessary

arrangements.

from around the world to come

to the UK to complement the

skills we already have."

A new graduate route will

allow international students to

stay in the country once they

have completed their studies

for two years for students gaining

a masters' degree, and three

years for students who have

completed a PhD degree. A

global talent scheme will also

allow scientists and researchers

to head to the UK without a job

offer. However, the new rules

will exclude thousands of lowpay

care workers who traditionally

head to the UK to form

the backbone of staff looking

after the elderly and disabled.

Instead the government wants

care staff to be recruited from

among the British population.

Under the new system the

UK's frontiers will be closed to

non-skilled workers, posing

fears that the country's care

system could find it hard to

recruit staff. Currently thousands

of low-paid care workers

from around the world are

employed in homes caring for

disabled and elderly people.

Speaking to journalists, Prime

Minister Boris Johnson said

Britain's new points-based

immigration is not about slamming

the gates, promising there

will be enough recruits for the

social care sector.

UK mulls doubling

terms for assaulting

emergency workers

London : The UK government has

launched a public consultation on doubling

maximum prison sentences for

assaulting emergency workers.

Currently people convicted of

assaulting police officers, firefighters,

prison officers or paramedics face a

maximum of 12 months in prison,

reports Xinhua news agency. The government

wants the sentence to be doubled

to two years, with even higher jail

terms for people convicted by courts of

causing grievous bodily harm or sexual

assaults on emergency workers.

A public consultation on tougher sentences

sends a clear message to vile

thugs who assault emergency workers,

said Home Secretary Priti Patel on

Monday.

The consultation will run for four

weeks and, depending on the response,

legislation could be brought forward.

The move would see the maximum

sentence for assaulting an emergency

worker doubled for the second time in

two years.

Assault covers acts such as a push,

shove or being spat at.

When an emergency worker is seriously

injured, prosecutions will take

place under more serious offences such

as actual, or grievous bodily harm, or

attempted murder that have far longer

sentences.


Geneva : There will be no return to

the "old normal" for the foreseeable

future as a result of the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic, and too many

countries were still headed in the

wrong direction, the chief of the

World Health Organization (WHO)

warned. "The virus remains public

enemy number one, but the actions of

many governments and people do not

reflect this," Xinhua news agency

quoted WHO Director-General

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at as

saying a regular briefing on Monday.

He noted that mixed messages

from leaders are undermining trust,

which is the most critical ingredient of

any response, while the only aim of

the virus is to find people to infect.

Things are going to "get worse and

worse and worse", he warned, unless

governments communicate clearly

with their citizens and roll out a comprehensive

strategy focused on suppressing

transmission and saving

lives, while populations follow the

basic public health principles of physical

distancing, hand washing, wearing

masks, coughing etiquette and

Melbourne : A recent spike in the number

of COVID-19 cases in the Australian

state of Victoria has brought a planned

reopening of domestic borders into question,

as leaders fear a second wave of infections

throughout the country.

Since early June, Victoria has gone from

a daily infection rate in the single figures,

to 270 new cases recorded on Tuesday, taking

the total tally for July alone to over

2,300, reports Xinhua news agency.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said

that while state health officials were

attempting to bring a number of major

clusters under control, including close to

22,000 tests conducted on Monday, the

scale of the outbreak had become difficult

to manage. "Obviously with such large

numbers it's a real challenge to get to the

bottom of exactly where those people have

been, who they've spent time with, who are

their close contact and to make sure that

appropriate public health responses are

delivered at that individual and family

level," Andrews said. Meanwhile, the

neighbouring state of New South Wales

(NSW) recorded a much smaller increase

in new infections, with 13 fresh cases

reported on Tuesday, speculated to be the

result of arrivals from Victoria.

NSW's border has been officially closed

to Victoria residents since July 8, however

according to NSW Premier Gladys

staying home when sick.

COVID-19 has been gaining its

momentum lately.

According to Tedros, Sunday saw a

record of 230,000 cases reported to

WHO, of which almost 80 percent

were from just 10 countries and about

half from just two countries.

"But it does not have to be this

way," he said, asking every single

leader, government and individual "to

do their bit to break the chains of

COVID-19 transmission and end the

collective suffering".

Berejiklian, her state's proximity to

Victoria means that the virus may already

have spread across the border prior to the

closure coming into place.

A cluster of at least 28 cases linked to a

Sydney pub prompted calls for a return to

earlier lockdown measures which saw all

bars and restaurants temporarily closed to

eliminate the risk of spread.

On Tuesday, Berejiklian announced that

her state would partially reintroduce some

measures to reduce the risk of virus spread

at pubs and eateries, including a cap of 300

people at all venues, a 10-person limit on

group bookings, and mandatory adoption

of the COVIDSafe registry, a scheme

intended to track the spread of any potential

outbreaks. She added that Australia had

entered a new phase of the pandemic where

local transmission was now the most

prevalent means of having contracted the

disease, as opposed to people arriving from

overseas already infected.

With state borders in various stages of

reopening, the developments in NSW and

Victoria have leaders in other jurisdictions

watching carefully, and ready to act to

reverse the easing of restrictions if necessary.

On Tuesday, the state of South

Australia declared that it would postpone a

planned July 20 border reopening with

NSW and the Australian Capital Territory

(ACT), while Queensland declared several

NEWS

No return to old

normal in foreseeable

future: WHO chief

Australian leaders fear

second COVID-19 wave

major suburbs of Sydney to be "COVID-19

hotspots" barring anybody who had travelled

there from entering.

The move comes less than a week since

Queensland reopened its borders to all

states, excluding Victoria, in an effort to

restart the economy and boost local

tourism operators. Queensland officials

revealed that anyone found to have made a

false declaration regarding their travel history

could face up to six months jail under

new laws intended to be introduced by the

government.

It isn't enough to just

say no to racism:

WILFRIED ZAHA

London : Crystal Palace forward

Wilfried Zaha wants action against racist

abuse that black athletes

are subject to on

To control the disease and get on

with people's lives, Tedros said, three

things are required. The first is to

focus on reducing mortality and suppressing

transmission; the second is to

focus on an empowered, engaged

community that takes individual

behaviour measures in the interest of

each other.

And the third is a strong government

leadership and coordination of

comprehensive strategies that are

communicated clearly and consistently.

"We weren't prepared collectively,

social media. Before

Palace's Premier

League match at

Aston Villa on

Sunday, a 12-yearold

boy was arrested

after the Cote

d'Ivoire international

highlighted racist

abuse he received. "People need to understand

that whatever your age, that your

behaviour and your words come with consequences

and you cannot hide behind

social media," Zaha posted on Instagram,

adding "it's time for 'action' because this

was not an isolated incident", reports

Xinhua news agency. "It isn't enough to

just say no to racism. We need action, we

need education, things need to change."

In a reporting system launched by the

Premier League, players are allowed to

reveal abuse which can be followed up by

authorities. "This behaviour is completely

unacceptable and the Premier League

stands alongside Wilfried Zaha in opposing

this, and discrimination in any form,"

the league said in a statement.

16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020

Thiruvananthapuram :

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi

Vijayan on Tuesday ruled out

the suspension, at this point, of

IAS officer and his former

Secretary M. Sivasankar who

presented himself before top

Customs officials earlier in the

day for questioning over

his links with gold scam

accused Swapna Suresh.

Responding to questions

from the media on

the issue, he said: "There

are rules and procedures

to be followed for it. Let

us now wait for the

ongoing events and we

have also appointed a

two member committee

headed by the Chief

Secretary after reports

have come that he

(Sivasankar) was in touch with

the controversial woman

(Swapna Suresh) on phone. At

the moment, there are no

grounds to suspend him."

A three-member team of

Customs officials had gone to

Sivasankar's house in the afternoon

to serve notice upon him.

Sivasankar, present at the

house, said he was ready to

appear before the officials during

the day itself.

Swapna, a former employee

of the UAE Consulate, here, is

among the four booked by the

National Investigation Agency

(NIA) for allegedly facilitating

smuggling of 30 kg gold in

diplomatic baggage to

Thiruvananthapuram from

Dubai on July 5.

Sivasankar ran into trouble

after his alleged links with

Swapna surfaced. She was on

the run after the arrest of her

friend and former colleague

P.S. Sarith by the Customs.

Later, it was revealed that

Swapna and Sivasankar were

close and had attended several

5

but we must use all the tools we have

to bring this pandemic under control.

And we need to do it right now," he

added. At the WHO briefing on

Monday, health experts also said there

was evidence to suggest that children

under the age of 10 were only very

mildly affected by Covid-19, while

those over 10 seemed to suffer similar

mild symptoms to young adults.

To what extent children can transmit

the virus, while it appears to be

low, remains unknown.

On Tuesday, the number of global

coronavirus cases cross the 13 million

mark, according to the Johns Hopkins

University. The total number of cases

currently stood at 13,070,097, while

the fatalities rose to 572,411, the

University's Center for Systems

Science and Engineering (CSSE)

revealed in its latest update.

The US accounted for the world's

highest number of infections and

fatalities at 3,363,056 and 135,605,

respectively, according to the CSSE.

Brazil came in the second place

with 1,884,967 infections and 72,833

deaths.

Gold scam: No grounds

to suspend Sivasankar

yet, says VIJAYAN

Kerala government events.

According to Swapna's call

records, which are in possession

of the media, she was in

touch with Sivasankar and state

Higher Education Minister K.T.

Jaleel.

In his response, Jaleel said

he always believed she was a

secretary at the UAE Consulate

General and the calls made

were never in untimely hours.

"I received a message from

the UAE Consul General on

May 27 to discuss handing over

of Ramadan kits. He said

Swapna would get in touch for

further discussions.

"Now that the NIA is probing

the case, my doors are open

for them. If any staff member

of mine had any contact with

her, it's their responsibility. I

am not responsible for that," he

said.

The NIA, which had taken

over the case on Friday and

filed a FIR against the accused

under the Unlawful Activities

(Prevention) Act, arrested

Swapna and Nair from

Bengaluru on Saturday for

alleged role in the Kerala gold

smuggling case.

It brought them back to the

state on a transit remand and

presented them at an NIA court

in Kochi, which sent them to

the agency's custody.

6 16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020 ASIA


17 US states sue

Trump admin over visa

rule on foreign students

Washington : Seventeen US

states and the District of

Columbia sued the administration

of President Donald Trump

to reject the federal government's

recent rule stripping foreign

students of their visas if the

institution they are enrolled in

only offers online teaching this

fall due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Led by the Massachusetts

attorney general's office, the

lawsuit came exactly one week

after the US Department of

Homeland Security and the

Immigration and Customs

Enforcement (ICE) released

guidelines vowing to invalidate

foreign students' F-1 and M-1

visas if the educational institution

they are enrolled in switches

to online-only courses, possibly

depriving them of their legal status

of stay in the United States,

Xinhua news agency reported on

Monday.

"The Trump Administration

didn't even attempt to explain the

basis for this senseless rule,

which forces schools to choose

between keeping their international

students enrolled and protecting

the health and safety of

their campuses," Massachusetts

Attorney General Maura Healey

said in a statement.

The lawsuit, filed in the US

District Court in Boston, sought

an injunction to stop the entire

rule from going into effect,

accusing the federal government

of engaging in a "cruel, abrupt,

and unlawful action to expel

international students amidst the

pandemic that has wrought death

and disruption across the United

States." Joining Massachusetts

in the lawsuit are the attorneys

general from Colorado,

Connecticut, Delaware, District

of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland,

Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada,

New Jersey, New Mexico,

Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode

Island, Vermont, Virginia and

Wisconsin.

The lawsuit alleged that the

administration's "actions are

arbitrary, capricious, and an

abuse of discretion because they

reverse previous guidance without

explanation, input, or rationale,"

adding that the new guidelines

violated "the

Administrative Procedure Act -

and fail to consider the need to

protect public health and safety

amidst the ongoing COVID-19

pandemic."

"The lawsuit includes a

request for immediate preliminary

relief blocking the rule

from going into effect while the

case is litigated, and the attorneys

general have requested a

hearing as soon as possible," the

Massachusetts attorney general's

office said in a press release.

Announced on July 6, the

ICE's controversial order said

that international students who

are only offered online courses

in the upcoming semester "must

depart the country or take other

measures, such as transferring to

a school with in-person instruction

to remain in lawful status."

Those who violate the rules

"may face immigration consequences

including, but not limited

to, the initiation of removal

proceedings," the ICE said.

Wellington : The number of

international arrivals in New

Zealand in May 2020 was the

lowest for any month since

1959, because of COVID-19-

related border and travel

restrictions, the country's statistics

department Stats NZ said

on Tuesday.

There were 5,600 arrivals in

May 2020 compared with

4,700 in May 1959, according

to Stats NZ.

Most arrivals in May 2020

were short-term travellers,

made up of 2,600 New Zealand

residents and 2,200 overseas

visitors, reports Xinhua news

agency. Provisionally there

were 900 migrant arrivals. All

these passenger types include

New Zealand and non-New

Malaysia, S'pore agree to ease

curbs for cross-border travel

controlled itinerary during their stay and to

have a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

swab test.

Meanwhile, the PCA will allow Singapore

and Malaysia residents, who hold long-term

immigration passes for business and work to

enter the other country for work purpose.

After at least three consecutive months in

their country of work, they may return to

their home country for a short-term home

leave, and thereafter re-enter their country of

work to continue work for at least another

three consecutive months.

The two governments said they are targeting

to implement the two schemes from Aug.

10, as officials are working to finalize the

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the

implementation.

The statement added that both countries

had also agreed to develop other appropriate

schemes for the cross-border movement of

Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia and groups of cross-border travellers, Malaysian people including a daily cross-border commuting

proposal for work purposes for trav-

Singapore have agreed to mutually ease travel

restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian elers. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, hun-

Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein

pandemic and resume some necessary travels Balakrishnan said in a joint statement, dreds of thousands of people used the two

between the two countries, the governments reports Xinhua news agency.

land crossings between Malaysia and

said on Tuesday. The Reciprocal Green Lane The RGL will enable cross-border travel Singapore daily, for work and tourism.

(RGL) and Periodic Commuting for essential business and official purposes The air travel between Singapore and

Arrangement (PCA) are two schemes that between both countries on the conditions Kuala Lumpur was named one of the busiest

meant to address the needs of different including having to submit and adhere to a cross border air routes in the world.

New Zealand sees lowest

int'l arrivals in 61 years

Zealand citizens, it said.

May was the second month

under full border restrictions

imposed by the New Zealand

government in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic.

In April 2020 there were

6,300 arrivals, it added.

"Border restrictions and

widespread flight cancellations

related to COVID-19 have

caused the substantial drop in

the number of arrivals and

departures in recent months,"

population indicators manager

Tehseen Islam said in the statement.

"Total arrivals in May are

down compared with April,

however provisional data for

June show total arrivals rising

to over 9,000," Islam said. The

combined number of arrivals

and departures was 15,900 in

May 2020, compared with

almost 38,200 in April. In May

2019 almost 1 million people

crossed the New Zealand border,

he said.

New Zealand had 61,500

arrivals, including 47,400 New

Zealand citizens, since full border

restrictions were imposed

at 11.59 p.m. on March 19, up

to and including July 10, 2020,

statistics showed. From 11.59

p.m. on April 9, a compulsory

14 days of managed isolation

was introduced for all arrivals

to New Zealand.

There have been 20,300

arrivals since then, including

13,400 New Zealand citizens,

up to and including July 10,

2020, Stats NZ said.

German health minister warns

of second COVID-19 wave

Berlin : German Health Minister Jens Spahn urged citizens to

maintain COVID-19 protective measures, in particular during the

summer holiday season,

and stressed that

"the threat of a second

wave is real."

A l t h o u g h

COVID-19 infection

numbers in Germany

were comparatively

low, Spahn on

Monday warned

against underestimating

the situation. "We

should not lull ourselves

into a false

sense of security."

New COVID-19 infections in Germany increased by 159 within

one day to 198,963, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on

Monday, while the death toll rose by only one to a total of 9,064,

Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the RKI daily situation report for Sunday, scattered

outbreaks of COVID-19 were still recorded in meat-processing

plants, old people's and nursing homes, hospitals, as well as family

celebrations, religious events or in facilities for asylum seekers and

refugees. Spahn specifically warned of the danger from people's

increased mobility during the holiday season when many Germans

were travelling. Over the weekend, German media published pictures

of German tourists celebrating on the Spanish holiday island

of Mallorca without adhering to COVID-19 rules. Many were not

wearing face masks and did not keep sufficient distance.

Commenting on the pictures, Spahn said that he did not want to

be a "spoilsport" but warned urgently that the COVID-19 crisis was

not the right time for such behaviour.


As the world doing every effort to

overcome the Corona virus, in India

our political leaders never fail to surprise

us that for them ‘power’ is

everything. For the ruling party, the

best game, in which they seems to be

unquestioned champion is ‘how to

dislodge’ the opposition governments

in the state.

Sachin Pilot is out. Prior to him

Jyotiraditya Scindia went to the BJP.

There are many who are actually waiting

to be sacked or looking for some

signal to get out of the party. Most of

them do not have mass base but they

have good linkages with the ‘liberals’

who wish them to ‘lead’ the congress.

Rajasthan crisis has brought some

important factors out now. It has

exposed the basic facet of Congress

Party that the basic characteristic of

the savarna congress is the same as

BJP and that they are ready to leave

the party once they realise there is no

‘future’. In politics, you are with a

party not because it is not in power

but because the ideology and fight for

people’s right.

Delhi’s ‘liberal’ media is now competing

in attacking the Gandhi’s

below the belt. They have been told to

do so in the ‘greater’ interest to show

that they can criticise Gandhis.

Ofcourse, they don’t have spine to

criticise the ruling party and the top

leaders in the same breath and same

way as they do others. Most of them

are actually waiting for an interview

from the PM or HM but unfortunately

both are not willing to give them any

‘bhav’. Somewhere, I like Narendra

Modi’s idea of looking down upon in

deep contempt to these pen pushers

who are not more than PR agency of

the ruling party. So, a political leader

will not give much bhav to headline

writers.

It is not surprising that in the past

10 years, a lobby in the ‘liberal’ circles

have been very fond of Sachin

Pilot, Scindia, Shashi Tharoor,

Manish Tiwari, Milind Deora, Jitin

Prasad, Sanjay Jha and many more,

Most of them cant win elections on

their own and except for Pilot and

Scindia who have family legacies.

They are presented in such a way as if

they have been taken to so much

heights as if Congress will doom with

out them or will not remain ‘liberal’.

Most of them are actually ‘economic

right’ and have no difference of opinion

with BJP on major policy issues.

Almost all of them hate to speak on

social justice and remained silent on

major issues confronting us. They

were with Congress as they enjoyed

patronage and power and now they

have lost patience with the party as

they feel there is no chance for the

Congress party to return to power in

near future. Hence, they started looking

for greener pasture. Sachin or

Scindia, both know well that they will

not have the same say in the BJP as

they used to have in Congress.

Liberal as well as Sanghi media

want Gandhis to leave Congress. If

they had the opportunity, they will

in fact ask Gandhi’s to leave India

so that the ruling party can enjoy

without any fear. The job of the

media is to be watchful of government

and if there is anything undemocratic

then stand with people’s right. Have

these champions stood with people.

Instead of doing that, they jump and

compete with the PR agents to denigrating

and humiliating the Gandhis.

I have never been a fan of Indira

ASIA

Congress need long structural

overhauling and focus on

constitutional idea of India

Washington - Jewish and

Hindu religious leaders have

welcomed dropping of the

‘Redskins’ name from the

Washington DC National

Football League franchise,

saying it was long overdue.

Distinguished Hindu

statesman Rajan Zed and

well-known Jewish Rabbi

ElizaBeth Webb Beyer, in a

statement in Nevada today,

said that many regarded the

term ‘redskin’ as linked to

the historical suffering of

Native Americans; and thus it

was morally wrong to continue

with a derogatory, degrading,

contemptuous and offensive

name.

Zed, who is President of

Universal Society of Hinduism;

and Rabbi Beyer point out that

use of stereotypes and caricatures

keeps us away from the

reality and harmony of one

human family. Instead, we need

to work towards creating goodwill

among all the sections of

society. Indeed, God is in each

human being.

Football franchises should

not be in the business of disparaging

entire communities

and society should not be publicly

celebrating a derogatory

Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi’s politics and

I can say firmly Congress is paying a

price of their politics of drifting

towards Hindutva. Congress attempted

to appease the same reactionary

forces who dont vote to them have

been exposed. The party could not

become a natural party of the SC-ST-

OBC-minorities despite huge opportunity

for it but it seems as Rahul

Gandhi was moving towards bringing

these sections into the party, the status-quoist

lobby foiled every effort

that he genuinely

made. In return, this

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

social and human rights activist

It was “morally right” thing to do—Hindu & Jew

leaders welcome retiring of ‘Redskins’ name

lobby converted him

into a Pappu as everything that he

tried was failed by the coterie close to

Sonia Gandhi. Ofcourse, it is a surprise

as why Congress leadership, its

legal cell or karykaratas were not

ready to defend Nehru as well as

Rahul and Sonia who faced the worst

term. We should be more sensitive

to the feelings of others

and no community

should be dehumanized;

Rabbi

Beyer and Rajan

Zed indicated. They

commended owner

Dan Snyder and

NFL for resolving

this issue of systematic

disrespect

by one of the NFL’s

oldest and moststoried

franchises established

in 1932. It was the long-awaited

moment for an otherwise

great franchise to return the

affection it had received from

the fans over the years, who

deserved a name that was

reflective of that love and

pride, Zed and Rabbi Beyer

added.

Chandigarh : Punjab Chief

Minister Amarinder Singh, here

on Wednesday, urged farmers'

unions to put off their planned

protests against the Centre's

anti-farmer ordinances in view

of the pandemic.

Reacting to reports that several

unions are planning

protests despite the restrictions

on gatherings, the Chief

Minister urged them not to take

confrontationist approach in

the current situation, and also

as Section 144 was in operation.

"Restraint was the need of

the hour", he said, urging them

16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020

to help the state government in

checking Covid-19's spread.

Though the issue of farm

7

form of organised vilification online.

I am not here judging whether

Ashok Gahlot is greater or Sachin

Pilot. Definitely, Ashok Gahlot does

not attract the ‘English speaking’

Delhi media like Sachin Pilot. It is the

same who wished Priyanka Gandhi to

lead but since the mysticism around

Gandhi family now has been completely

demolished by the opponents

so none is speaking about her. If you

read the old columns or reports of

these ‘liberals’ between 2004 to 2013,

they have written reams of paper on

how Priyanka look like Indira Gandhi

and how she is the ‘future’ of the

Congress party. Ashok Gahlot and the

old generation of the Congress leadership

may not be radical but committed

to the party. The younger generation

of the political families actually

remain economic right and attempting

to acquire power without much

efforts. It is not that the older generation

leaders are useless or worthless

but there is a fact that India is not yet

ready to accept the younger generation

leaders. Every party is suffering

from this. Tejasvi Yadav, Akhilesh

Yadav too face the crisis with in their

parties.

We dont know what will happen in

Rajasthan. It is sad sad day but in

except for the perception in the middle

classes, nothing much will happen.

Pilots core constituency rarely

voted to Congress party even during

the last election. If Congress has to

survive, it has to give opportunity to

younger generation of the SC-ST-

OBCs-minorities in the party, define

party’s policies categorically on their

issues and stop converting party the B

team of Hindutva . The party need to

act and communicate. In democracy

we need diverse political parties.

Even if Congress party’s space is

shrinking, it can still play the pivotal

role in uniting all the like minded

forces all over the country. Congress

need to stitch state alliances right now

and work for a long term coalition.

Thinking everything during the election

time will not produce result. The

party should restructure now and there

are many whose heart is still in the

BJP and it is time they should be

shown the door. The basic problem of

the Congress party is its ideological

bankruptcy. There are many parties

who may not be strong at the moment

but committed to their ideology and

none can finish them. Congress need

to define what it is and challenge BJP

ideologically and only then it will be

able to sustain and give an alternative

to BJP. The party must realise that

new India want decisions to made

quickly and not be waited for long to

allow things to happen on their own.

Congress must categorically state its

policy frame work such as secularism,

democracy, institutions, education,

land reforms, Dalits,, adivasis, OBCs

and minorities.

As a person who is dedicated to

India’s diversity and democracy, I

dont wish death of any party. I want to

see diverse political parties flourish in

India and build a long term alliance on

policies and programmes and only

then we will see a credible challenge

to the ruling dispensation.

Vidya Bhushan Rawat is a social

and human rights activist. He blogs

at www.manukhsi.blogspot.com

twitter @freetohumanity

Email: vbrawat@gmail.com

Punjab CM urges

farmers' unions to

postpone protests

ordinances was vital to the

state's interests, any physical

protest at the moment would

harm Punjab, he said and

advised the unions to use the

social media to express their

anger and garner support

against the ordinances, which

were also against the nation's

federal character. Meanwhile,

in a letter to all political parties

in the state, the Chief Minister

issued a personal appeal not to

hold any gatherings in view of

the pandemic and the restrictions

imposed to contain its

spread.

8 16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020 ASIA


For commemorating World Youth

Skill Day (WYSD) on July 15, 2020

more than annual ritual in India, we

need to understand, analyze and interpret

the relevance of skills for Indian

youth for surviving, existing and

excelling in the covid era and beyond.

Under Skill India programme, we

require life skills, reading skills, writing

skills, marketing skills, business

skills, analyzing skills for artificial

intelligence and above all verbal communication

skills for Indian youth. For

prosperous and progressive future of

Indian youth, we need the power of

skills for individuals and communities

in 28 States and 9 UTs of India.

It is pertinent to mention that about

10 crore population in the age group

21-35 years have no capacity of skills

or less skilled who are not employable

and useful for the Indian economy.

This is important in the light of the so

called talked about demographic dividend

of working population of 76.1

crore in the age group 15-64 in 2011

census and stands increased to about

86.9 crore in 2020. The challenge is to

convert careless into careful and useless

into useful human resources

which call for skill development lest

demographic dividend is converted

into demographic disaster. We can create

employment opportunities for

about 30-35 percent working population

by strengthening manufacturing

sector including MSMEs which possess

highest employment elasticity in

the Indian economy.

It is to be noted that WYSD 2020 is

taking place in a challenging time of

covid pandemic and lockdown measures

have led to the worldwide closure

of technical and vocational education

and training (TVET) institutions,

threatening the continuity of skills

development. It is estimated that nearly

70% of the world’s learners are

affected by school closures across

education levels currently. A survey of

TVET institutions, jointly conducted

by UNESCO, ILO and the World

Bank reveals that distance training has

Vara Vara Rao is a nationally

renowned Telugu poet and intellectual

who has been incarcerated since

August, 2018 in the Bhima Koregaon

case. He is considered one of the best

critics in Telugu literature and has

taught Telugu literature to undergraduate

and graduate students for about 40

years. He founded Srujana (creation),

a forum for modern literature in

Telugu in 1966, which was a quarterly

and successfully converted into a

monthly and continued till 1992. 15

poetry collections of his own have

been published, besides a number of

poetry anthologies which he edited.

He has been a critic of various governments

and has been amongst the

leading dissenters of the country. In

1973, the Andhra Pradesh

Government arrested him under

MISA, which arrest was struck down

by the Andhra Pradesh High Court

within a month and half of his detention.

Stung by this, the Andhra

Pradesh Government arrested him

after a few months in what became

known as Secunderabad conspiracy

case, on the ground that his poetry had

led to violence and he was released on

bail in April, 1975. (He was eventually

acquitted from this case in 1989).

Introspection on Skill

Development for Youth in India

on World Youth Skill Day

become the most common way of

imparting skills, with considerable difficulties

of curricula adaptation,

trainee and trainer preparedness, connectivity,

or assessment and certification

processes.

The efforts of skill development

under ‘Skill India’ as development

strategy for ‘Make in India’ are necessary

but not sufficient. To make them

sufficient and sustainable, we need to

increase the return on training investment

(ROTI) which calls for communication

skills with spiritual input and

time management. There is an urgent

need of training of trainers with chain

of reforms ensuring fundamental

changes with greater accountability,

transparency and morality (ATM)

more important than the ATM of any

bank. We need to make the labour

market system dynamic to get demand

and supply of skills on real time basis

for meeting total domestic requirement

of trained manpower. We have to

develop a labour market information

system by modernization of all the

employment exchanges in public-private

-partnership (PPP) mode and

develop a national web portal.

Abilities of head and heart, skills and

knowledge (ASK) are the engines of

economic growth and human resource

development (HRD).

It is believed that the countries with

higher and better levels of ASK

respond more effectively and promptly

to challenges and opportunities of competition.

The new knowledge economy

for achieving professional, managerial,

operational, behavioural, inter personal

and inter functional skills require

Again immediately after Emergency

was declared, on 26th June, 1975 he

was arrested under MISA and was

released only after the Janata Party

came to power. He was active during

the subsequent period in mobilisation

of the marginalized against atrocities

and was even physically attacked on

many occasions. He was also implicated

in various cases by the Telugu

Desam Party, after they came to

power, but never convicted. Again in

2005 he was arrested and finally

released after about 8 months on 31st

March, 2006 after many cases against

him were quashed.

Varavara Rao was arrested in

August, 2018 by the Pune police in the

Bhima Koregaon case on the allegation

of being a Maoist under the draconian

UAPA and various sections of

Indian Penal Code. Other co-accused

in the same case which is considered

to be a withc hunt against prominent

dissenters from the human rights

movement, are civil rights activists

such as Anand Teltumbde, Gautam

Navlakha and Sudha Bharadwaj, a

national office bearer of PUCL. The

case appears to be very thin with hardly

any evidence against him as also

other rights activists. On 24th January,

– Professor M.M .Goel*

2020 the case was taken over by NIA

and while earlier he was in Pune Jail,

he has been in Taloja prison since 29th

February, 2020.

However, this statement is being

issued in the present context of serious

life threatening health condition of

Varavara Rao. Varavara Rao who is

80 years old, has been suffering from

various ailments including piles,

prostate enlargement, coronary artery

disease, oedema, hypertension and

vertigo. His health deteriorated

towards the end of May, 2020 and he

was kept in Taloja jail hospital. On

28th May, 2020 his health took a turn

for the worse and he fainted. He was

transferred from Taloja Jail to JJ

Hospital in Mumbai and it appears that

as his bail application was coming up,

flexible education and training system

that will provide the foundation for

learning to develop required competencies

through spirituality- the science of

soul which can make us superior to

anyone in the World.

By providing skilled manpower to

the outside world, we can transfer our

country from a developing nation to a

developed nation very easily and

quickly. To make the learning more

inclusive, there is a strong case for

shadow trainers/teachers outside the

classrooms. We need to introduce soft

skills including communication skills,

computer literacy, English proficiency,

quality management tools, occupational

safety & health and entrepreneurial

development skills for the sustainability

of transformation in India

as independent, non-violent, democracy

with integrity and amity.

To my mind, effective management

in all walks of life is a function of

effective communication which is necessary

and sufficient skill of the present

times to face the covid created

challenges.

To justify the need for skills to read

and write, it is worth quoting

Alexander Pope, “True ease in writing

come by Art not by chance as one

(she/he) moves easiest who has learnt

to dance”. The skill of writing is not an

easy task and is an art which can certainly

be developed through lot of

reading. It needs to be noted that societies

and nations can live without writing

but no society can exist without

reading. To prove the communication

skill of silence more than speaking, I

wish to quote sloka no 15 of chapter

17 of Bhagvad Gita which is ism neutral

religion free treatise on relationship

management and welfare economics.

Meditation of tongue is the

need of the day for proving silence as

golden and speaking as silver for

avoiding blame game and the war of

words. We have to learn to weave the

words beautifully for strengthening

the relations in the context of behaviour

with the people around us in the

global society .

We need to develop the abilities of

head and heart, skills of morality with

credibility and accountability and possess

knowledge including spirituality

(spirit to know actuality) as science of

soul for the success and happiness in

all walks of life including consumption,

production, distribution and

exchange.

within 3 days he was transferred back

to Taloja Jail without any marked

improvement in his health. Since then

he has been kept in Taloja Hospital. It

is well known that facilities in prison

hospitals are very elementary and are

especially thin during COVID times.

On 11th July, 2020 when a call was

made to his family, Varavara Rao went

into a delirium and hallucination. It is

learnt that in view of his serious ailment,

Varavara Rao has been kept

with a companion, a co accused in the

jail, who informed the family members

that Varavara Rao has been hallucinating

regularly, has not even been

able to walk or go to the toilet or brush

his teeth without assistance and

required immediate expert medical

help – for neurological issues and not

just physical issues.. Such treatment is

not possible in the jail. It is clear that

the last 22 months spent by him in jail

has worsened his health, with the

process itself turning into a punishment.

It is obvious that the State is determined

to let popular dissenters die in

jail, as is happening with Prof. Sai

Baba, Akhil Gogoi and now Varavara

Rao.

We would like to stress that

We are required to develop the soft

skills of decision making as software

of information technology which is

equally if not more important than the

hardware. To reduce the delay in decision

making, we have to learn from

palli -palli ( jaldi-jaldi in Hindi) culture

of South Korea with whom we

share Independence Day. Speed is the

ethos, the ethic and driving force

(despite off-and- on errors) of Koreans

at large which lead to their economic

progress.

In post covid era, we have to call

upon Indian youth to contribute to the

recovery effort, they will need to be

equipped with the skills to successfully

manage evolving challenges and the

resilience for adapting future disruptions.

We have to support UNESCO’s

theme for the day “Learning to learn

for life and work” by encouraging

Indian youth to develop selfie style

videos that outline how their life has

changed by learning a skill.

Being needonomist, I believe that

the economics of education instead of

increasing the value of education has

devalued the real value of education.

There is a strong case to strengthen the

educational value of education which

is more than making a person capable

of earning the livelihood (conversion

from unpad to Ann pad ) to adopt

human values of morality and ethics as

necessary and sufficient skills . We

need to become street SMART (simple,

moral, action oriented, responsive

and transparent) in attitude and behaviour

very well explained in the book

“Economics of Human Resource

Development in India” (2011).

We have to utilize the allocated

resources for ‘Skill India’ properly,

productively and practically (3P) for

using the hands, heads and hearts (3H)

of the Indian youth in post covid era.

*Former Vice Chancellor and Director

Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth

Development, Sriperumbudur (RGNIYD-

An Institution of National Importance,

Government of India). www.needonomics.com

PUCL DEMANDS IMMEDIATE TRANSFER OF

VARAVARA RAO TO SPECIALISED HOSPITAL!

Varavara Rao is an undertrial and is

not convicted of any offence. The

Supreme Court has in several cases

laid down that even convicted persons

are entitled to the best of health care in

jail. Especially in the present COVID

times it is all the more necessary that

adequate medical care and precaution

be taken. The Bombay High Court in

recent Judgment in a case filed by the

PUCL concerning COVID time situation

of the prisons, emphasized the

need to take adequate precautions by

the jail authorities.

In this situation the PUCL demands

that Varavara Rao be immediately

transferred to a specialized hospital of

the choice of his family, checked by

experts including neurologists and

given full access to healthcare facilities

immediately. PUCL also demands

that Varavara Rao’s family members

be permitted to be with him until he

recovers fully.

PUCL also hopes that the courts

will take notice of his serious medical

condition, advanced age and co-morbidities

that put him at additional risk,

and release him on bail..

Mr. Ravi Kiran Jain, President,

PUCL

Dr. V. Suresh, Gen, Secy, PUCL

www.theasianindependent.co.uk ASIA 16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020 9

National and regional

TV news debates have

made political

spokespersons the face

of their parties, but

many do not have real

political experience and

it shows.

In contemporary Indian politics,

there has emerged a very visible political

functionary called the ‘spokesperson’.

They are found in most national

and state-level political parties.

It is not that these spokespersons

did not exist earlier. But they were

more or less invisible. However, they

have become more visible after the

emergence of corporate and private

TV news channels. The natural fallout

of the mushrooming TV channels was

that along with broadcasting the version

of the political party in power,

they also needed voices from the

opposition parties to conduct a ‘balanced’

debate. From a conservative

estimate, there are at least 400 news

channels in India. And political propaganda

has come to acquire an important

place in the lives of citizens

because of media hype created by

many of these channels. In this context,

TV channels started requesting

political parties to send their leaders

to present their party’s stance on range

of issues. It is astonishing that barring

few, most of the political parties

obliged. Earlier, there used to be one

spokesperson of the party; now parties

have several spokespersons

whose main job is to appear on television

shows in the evening, especially

during elections to defend their

party’s position on issues or criticise

the government/opposition.

Although they might not necessarily

be very powerful within their own

parties, many of these spokespersons

have come to acquire a larger-thanlife

public image because they appear

on a number of channels regularly and

have become the visible face of their

political parties.

What does it take to be a

spokesperson

On the basis of their appearances

on national and regional TV channels,

TV debates can improve

only when party spokespersons

are hired differently

one is forced to ask a few questions to

the political parties who appoint these

spokespersons. While appointing

spokespersons, do political parties

take into consideration their basic

minimum political education? For

instance, what is the length of their

political life? Have the spokespersons

contested any elections? Have they

won or lost any political election from

panchayat to Parliament? Or have

they even contested an election for a

party position? Do the parties factor in

whether they have any experience of

public mobilisation by interacting

with masses at the grass roots level?

Do they have any experience of governance

at any level?

In a nutshell, do these spokespersons

have optimum field experience

to defend or divulge the party’s policies,

or criticise the policies of their

opponents? If they do not have this

experience, do they atleast have high

educational qualifications, along with

public exposure?

These qualifications are essential

for a politician to become humble, tolerant

to diverse ideologies and viewpoints,

and for them to appreciate the

hard work done by political functionaries

of different political parties.

It is normal practice that no political

party appoints a Dalit or Adivasi

political functionary as their

spokesperson. It is a fact that there is

utter lack of self-representation of

voices of this vast population in the

media. Which becomes more obvious

when even on occasions as the birth

and death anniversaries of the icons of

these marginalised sections, a savarna/so-called

upper caste spokesperson

sits in studios to put across the party’s

version and vision. (added)

Apart from invisible qualifications,

what is also needed are several visible

qualifications for a person to be

appointed a spokesperson of a political

party. Nowadays, the basic qualification

for a spokesperson is fluency in

any language. On TV programmes,

spokespersons must also demonstrate

how dismissive they can be to leaders

of the other parties, especially the

opposition.

Spokespersons rely on the data

supplied to them by the research team

of their political party. However, on

the basis of debates on the TV channels,

one can easily say that most of

them come to studios without any

preparations. In my experience, political

parties do not send spokespersons

who actually know the subject being

discussed. The empirical data collected

by mere observation suggests that

most spokespersons who appear on

TV channels do not have any experience

of contesting elections, mass

mobilisation, governance, or framing

of the policies. There have been cases

where one party spokesperson leaves

to join another party, only to be

appointed as spokesperson the very

next day, despite his/her new party

having a completely opposite ideology.

We have observed psephologists,

TV anchors joining political parties

and being appointed spokespersons.

Quality of TV news debates

How does the quality of spokespersons

impact TV news debates? We

have been witnessing loss of civility

and humbleness, high level of aggression

and intolerance, use of harsh language

etc. in news channels debates.

It has been observed in a number of

debates that spokespersons are not

able to appreciate the views of opposition,

becoming intolerant and

aggressive. That is why TV debates

have become noisy affairs, that do not

give any practical solutions to sociopolitical

problems, or enlighten the

public in any way.

In contrast, a seasoned politician

will never lose his/her cool or temper

even when asked perplexing or

uneasy questions, or when made to

defend the indefensible. This is

because they have faced the masses

and have borne the brunt of their

questions. They have lived in public

lives, and therefore have become seasoned

to answer questions without

losing patience.

If we want political debates in TV

studios to be more civil and more productive,

then we need the quality of

the spokespersons to change in Indian

politics. Otherwise, spokespersons

can score brownie points against their

opponents, the debate as a whole will

not help any citizen to acquire any

political vision. Similarly, such debate

will not give any transparency to the

decisions of the government or the

opposition leaders. And it will most

definitely not be able to provide a

practical solution to people’s problems,

and be a waste of time, energy,

resources, and signify a loss of faith in

the political debates on TV channels.

The author is a Sociologist and

Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru

University, New Delhi. Views are personal.

VIVEK KUMAR

Upset Hindus urge Orlando firm to withdraw

“BLOOD OF KALI” tea & apologize

Upset Hindus are urging Coffee Shop of Horrors located in

Greater Orlando (Florida) to withdraw its “Blood of Kali”

Chai Black Tea; calling it highly inappropriate.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in

Nevada today, said that goddess Kali was highly

revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped

in temples or home shrines and not to be

trivialized in a re-imagined version to sell tea.

Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts

or symbols or icons for commercial or other

agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of

Hinduism, also urged Coffee Shop of Horrors and

its CEO to offer a formal apology; besides withdrawing

from online and store sale the “Blood of

Kali” teabags carrying re-imagined images of

goddess Kali.

Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion

of the world with about 1.1 billion adherents

and a rich philosophical thought and it should not

be taken frivolously. Symbols of any faith, larger

or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed

noted.

Zed indicated that Kali was a goddess for

Hindus, and a distorted portrayal of her with

green snakes around her neck and arms and a pair

of scissors in one hand could be disturbing for the

devotees. Moreover, selling black tea as Kali’s

blood was belittling of sacred beliefs.

Hindus were for free artistic expression and

speech as much as anybody else if not more. But

faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing

it hurt the followers, Rajan Zed added.

Goddess Kali, who personifies Sakti or divine

energy, is widely worshipped in Hinduism. She is

considered the goddess of time and change. Some

Bengali poets described her as supreme deity.

Moksh (liberation) is the ultimate goal of

Hinduism. There are about three million Hindus

in USA. Coffee Shop of Horrors; launched in

2007; sells coffee, tea, hot cocoa, candy; besides

its Cafe Menu in its Montverde and Tavares locations

in Greater Orlando. It claims: “We will sell

nothing that’s over 30 days old”. Its “Blood of

Kali” Chai Black Tea (3-ounces bag of loose-leaf

tea) was priced at $10.99 and was a “traditional

blend of black tea and finely ground cardamon,

cinnamon, ginger root, black pepper and cloves”.

10 16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020 ASIA


Dy CM was horsetrading with BJP to

topple govt, we have proof: Gehlot

Jaipur : Without taking the name of Sachin

Pilot who was sacked on Tuesday as the PCC

chief and deputy chief minister of Rajasthan,

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday

said that the Dy CM was himself engaged in a

deal to topple the government and he has all

the proof about it. Being fluent in English, giving

strong bytes to the media and having a

handsome personality doesn't mean everything.

However, what matters is what stays in

your heart for your nation, what is your commitment

for your country and what are your

ideologies and policies for your party. Sone ki

chhuri pet mein khane ki liye nahin hoti (You

never use a golden knife to cut your own stomach),

he commented making a direct attack on

Pilot without referring to his name.

Gehlot said that the PCC chief was talking

to the BJP and the deal was closed at 2 a.m.

and a monetary transaction was done. He also

accused the Modi government of being

engaged in the entire plot.

"A few of our party members became over

ambitious and joined hands with the BJP. In

fact, our PCC chief and deputy CM himself

was involved in the deal. We have proof, They

were talking at 2 a.m., we were informed that

a deal is being done to topple our government.

I have proof against the same and have names

of the people who refused to take the money,"

Gehlot said.

"The Congress kept democracy alive for 70

years, however, the present government is all

out to kill democracy," he said, adding that

"politics means a fight of ideology, it means

fight on policy matters and fight on diverse

issues. However, if you have differences, you

can go out of the party with 2/3rd majority, no

one will have objection, there is an anti-defection

law. However, when you start hobnobbing

with the BJP which is in power at the centre,

start making monetary deals with them, start

making more trading, then that will be questioned."

The Rajasthan CM also questioned the

intention of the central government over the

raids conducted by the ED and IT in Rajasthan

and said why was the government terrorising

people by misusing such agencies. Where is

democracy, he questioned.

Gehlot said the younger generation has not

struggled the way his generation had.

"We are alive even after working hard for

over 40 years. However, the newer generation

has not struggled a lot. They think we don't

like them, but Sonia Gandhi likes them, Rahul

Gandhi likes them and Ashok Gehlot also likes

them."

In our times, we did not have IT and

mobiles, however, today leaders have the latest

technology available with them and hence they

can work hard and put up a good performance

to develop the nation, he added.

Air India allows

'leave without pay'

for up to 5 years

New Delhi : Even as the privatisation

process drags on, the national carrier Air

India has instituted a scheme whereby

employees can opt for 'leave without pay'

(LWP) from six months to five years.

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on

Wednesday said it will begin day-today

hearing from July 27 through

videoconference on a clutch of pleas

filed against reservation for the

Marathas in education and jobs in

Maharashtra.

A bench comprising Justices LN

Rao, Hemant Gupta and S Ravindra

Bhatt said the case parties should sit

together and decide on the modalities

of hearing as well as to sort out which

party would take how much time to put

forth its arguments and to ensure arguments

were not repeated.

The apex court declined to pass any

order for an interim stay on the quota

and cited that the chances of resumption

of physical courts look remote at

present.

The Socially and Educationally

Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018

was enacted to provide quota to the

Maratha community in jobs and educational

institutions.

Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, representing

some petitioners, contended

that such case should be heard in a

physical court and there was tremendous

urgency to the matter. "We may

also need to revisit the concept of

interlocutory relief. There is a whole

group of postgraduate students who

have their careers at risk," he argued.

DAILY hearings on MARATHA

reservation case from July 27: SC

TN allows use of BCG

vaccine for 60-95 aged

Covid patients

Chennai : The Tamil Nadu government has allowed a pilot

project to study if the bacille calmette-guerin (BCG) vaccine

will help reduce the mortality rate among elderly Covid-19

patients, according to said Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar,

here on Wednesday.

The National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis will start

the pilot programme.

According to him, the BCG vaccine will be administered on

a trial basis to people in the 60-95 age group. The programme

was aimed at reducing the Covid-19 mortality rate among them,

he said. Vijayabaskar said the BCG vaccine was found to boost

innate immunity, which could lower morbidity and mortality

rates. The BCG vaccine could reduce the severity of Covid-19,

avoid hospitalisation and mortality rate, he added.

Since no medicine was available for Covid-19 and also due

to other positive factors, the Tamil Nadu government accorded

the permission for the study when the Indian Council of

Medical Research (ICMR) approached it, Vijayabaskar said.

Senior citizens with comorbities, like hypertension and diabetes,

are high-risk Covid-19 patients.

The bench noted that it will list the

case on July 27 and thereafter decide

the schedule.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal contended

that there is 10 per cent reservation

for economic weaker sections,

and it also required a hearing. In

response, Justice Rao said if it needed

to be considered, the bench will do the

same. Divan argued that 12 to 13 per

cent reservation, which is a huge

chunk, has been taken away, and questioned

of the High Court was not

bound by apex court's nine-Judge

bench judgment that the quota should

not exceed 50 per cent of the total

seats/jobs available.

Advocate Shivaji M Jadhav contended

that the virtual hearing is not

possible as documents and other material

running into thousands of pages

was involved. In reply, Justice Rao

said: "When do you think Covid-19

will subside and regular courts start?

Let us start the hearing."

In June 2019, the Bombay High

Court had upheld the reservation and

held that 16 per cent reservation was

not justifiable, and that instead the

quota should not exceed 12 per cent in

employment and 13 per cent in educational

institutions admissions. In

February this year, the top court

declined to stay the High Court order.

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Kerala Catholic

priest wants to

marry his rape

victim

Kochi : Kerala Catholic priest Robin

Vadakkumchery, 52, sentenced to 20 years in jail

in three different cases of rape and abuse of a

minor, has moved the Kerala High Court seeking

to marry the victim and take care of the child born

to her. Expressing similar wish, the victim has

filed an affidavit in the court.

However, the prosecution expressed doubts

over it and said it could be a ploy to get relaxation.

The court has sought a police report and posted

the case for July 24.

Vadakkumchery, dismissed from priesthood by

the Vatican, was serving as a parish vicar near

Kannur and was the manager of the Churchbacked-school,

where the victim, a Class 11 student,

was studying.

A child line agency, which works among

school children, had registered the complaint

against the priest. The priest came under pressure

after the girl gave birth to a child on February 7,

2017. The priest was arrested on February 27,

2017 from near the Kochi International Airport

while he was preparing to slip out of the country.

He was tried under the Protection of Children

from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

On February 17, 2019, he was sentenced to 20-

year jail by a court in Thalassery.

During the trial, the victim and her mother had

turned hostile. But the court handed out the verdict

on the basis of evidences. Four nuns, another

priest and one more woman attached to the convent,

all co-accused in the police charge-sheet,

were let off due to lack of adequate evidences.

In March, the Manthavady (in Wayanad district)

Adioceses officials said the Vatican had dismissed

Vadakkumchery from priesthood. The

papers related to the Pope's decision, taken on

December 5, 2019, were given to the jailed priest.

ASIA

16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020

11

US undermining South China Sea

stability: Chinese Foreign Ministry

Beijing : The United States was undermining

peace and stability in the South China Sea and

intended to drive a wedge between regional countries,

a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson

said here.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a

statement on Monday that many Chinese maritime

claims over the South China Sea were illegitimate,

and the United States urged relevant countries to

oppose China's maritime claims. Pompeo added

that the so-called award of the South China Sea

arbitration was legally binding to both China and

the Philippines.

In response, spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a

news briefing on Tuesday that the US statement

disregarded the history and facts on the South

China Sea issue, and violated its commitment of

holding a neutral position on relevant territorial

sovereignty disputes. It also violated and distorted

international law, deliberately provoked territorial

maritime disputes, and undermined regional stability

and peace, he added, Xinhua news agency

reported.

The US statement said the dotted line in the

South China Sea was announced by China in 2009,

which is completely untrue, Zhao said, adding that

China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights

and interests in the South China Sea were established

throughout a long course of history.

He said China has exercised effective jurisdiction

over relevant islands, reefs, and waters in the

South China Sea for thousands of years, and as

early as 1948, the Chinese government announced

the dotted line in the South China Sea. This was

under no doubt from any country for a long time,

he said, adding that China's territorial sovereignty

and maritime rights and interests in the South

China Sea have sufficient historical and legal

basis, which is consistent with relevant international

laws and practices.

China doesn't strive to build an "empire" in the

South China Sea, always treats countries surrounding

the South China Sea as equals, and

always maintains the utmost restraint in safeguarding

the sovereignty, rights, and interests of the

South China Sea, Zhao said.

"On the contrary, the United States refused to

join the United Nations Convention on the Law of

the Sea (UNCLOS), frequently pulls out of international

treaties and organisations, abides by international

rules that suit its purpose, and discards

those that it finds obstructive. It frequently promotes

militarization of the South China Sea by dispatching

large-scale, advanced warships and aircraft.

The United States is the destructor and troublemaker

of peace and stability in the region. The

international community sees this very clearly,"

Zhao said.

As for the arbitration case and the award, Zhao

said China's position is consistent, clear, and firm.

The arbitral tribunal expanded its power to exercise

jurisdiction, and made obvious mistakes in the

determination of facts and the application of laws,

which was questioned by many countries.

The US hyped up the South China Sea arbitration

for their own political agenda, which was

abusing the international law of the sea, and China

would never accept it, he said.

According to the Declaration on the Conduct of

Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) reached by

China and ASEAN in 2002, China is always committed

to resolving disputes on territory and jurisdiction

through negotiations and consultations

with the related sovereign states, maintaining the

peace and stability in the South China Sea with the

ASEAN countries, Zhao told the briefing.

"With joint efforts of the relevant countries, the

situation in the South China Sea remains sound

and stable at the moment," Zhao said, adding that

China and the ASEAN countries not only abide by

the DOC, but are also speeding up negotiations on

a more binding code of conduct (COC) to safeguard

the peace, stability, and freedom of navigation

in the South China Sea.

Now the consultations have made positive

progress, and the relationships between China and

the ASEAN countries have further consolidated

and developed during their cooperations against

COVID-19, Zhao said.

However, the United States, as a non-regional

country, has repeatedly stirred up trouble regarding

the South China Sea for its own selfish agenda,

played off the relationships of regional countries

against China, and ruined the joint efforts

made by these countries, he said.

Meanwhile, the US statement deliberately misinterpreted

the Chinese representative's statement

at the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers'

Meeting in 2010. Zhao said the fact was that

China's representative said China has always advocated

that all countries are equal, and relevant disputes

should be settled peacefully by the direct

parties concerned through negotiations and consultations.

"China expressed its strong indignation and

firm opposition to the US wrongdoing," he said,

urging the United States to immediately stop making

trouble in this regard, and not to go further

down the wrong path.

Zhao stressed that China will continue to determinedly

safeguard its national sovereignty and

security, friendly and cooperative relations with

regional countries, and the South China Sea's

peace and stability.

On kanshi TV

channel 772.

SATURDAY at

6 :00 pm

SUNDAY at

6 :00 pm

Ambedkarites News and Views

by

BUDDHIST INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Mob : 07411 251 804, 07847 307 059

12 16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020 BUSINESS


Germany willing

to compromise

on EU recovery

fund : Merkel

Berlin : German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that

Germany is willing to compromise on the European recovery

fund at the upcoming summit of the European Union (EU) leaders.

"We will of course go to Brussels and the German side has

a certain stock of willingness to compromise," Merkel said on

Tuesday during a press conference ahead of a preparatory meeting

with visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Xinhua

news agency reported.

"It would be desirable to reach a quick result but I don't know

whether there will be a success on Friday and Saturday," added

Merkel, saying that time is pressing and the EU must act in an

unusual, unprecedented situation and learn from the coronavirus

pandemic. Sanchez said that July must be the month of decision

and Spain would do everything for that. "If we postpone the

agreement again, we will postpone the reconstruction. And if we

postpone reconstruction, the crisis will be even more serious."

Sanchez also predicted difficult negotiations and called on the

other EU members to work on an agreement. At the same time,

Sanchez emphasized that the EU members have different visions

of where Europe should be headed, and each one of these is

legitimate. Back in May, the European Commission proposed a

750-billion-euro (US $852 billion) recovery fund to help the

bloc emerge from the pandemic-triggered economic crisis. This

fund will be the focus of the special EU summit on July 17 and

18 in Brussels.

According to the plan, 500 billion euros of this debt-financed

recovery fund are to be granted as grants and 250 billion as

loans. However, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Austria

oppose providing the aid as grants, and argue that the aid must

be linked to reforms.

European leaders are busy visiting each other to prepare for

the summit, with Germany, the current EU Council presidency,

in the focus. Merkel met last week with Dutch Prime Minister

Mark Rutte, and on Monday with Italian Prime Minister

Giuseppe Conte.

Italy and Spain are among the countries most affected by the

coronavirus pandemic in Europe and both need financial aid.

Gold investment demand to offset

weak consumption in 2020: WGC

New Delhi : With investors looking at

safer assets amid the COVID-19 pandemic,

investment in gold is likely to make up for

the fall in consumption demand for the

precious metal, as per a report by the World

Gold Council (WGC).

The report titled ‘Gold Mid-Year

Outlook 2020' noted that in the current

global economic environment, three factors

are supportive of investment demand

for gold — high risk and uncertainty, low

opportunity cost and positive price

momentum. An economic contraction is

likely to result in lower demand for gold in

the form of jewellery, technology or longterm

savings, it said, adding that this is particularly

evident in key gold markets such

as China and India. “Investment demand

during periods of financial stress has offset

weakness in consumer demand and we

believe that 2020 will be no exception.

However, gold’s performance may depend

on the speed and shape of the recovery,”

the report said.

In terms of India, the report said that in

the second half of the year, the consumer

demand is likely to remain soft due to

reduced economic activity, concerns about

increasing unemployment, and income erosion.

However, additional economic packages

from the government and a likely positive

monsoon season could help soften the

negative impact of an economic deceleration.

“Additionally, we expect investors to

turn to gold as a means of hedging as we

have seen in the first half of this year,” it

said. The WGC report observed that

although central banks around the world

have aggressively cut rates and expanded

asset purchasing programmes to stabilise

and stimulate their economies in view of

the pandemic, these actions are leading to

several unintended consequences on asset

performance.

It noted that although equity market valuations

are soaring, they are not always

backed by fundamentals, increasing the

chance of pullbacks and corporate bond

prices are also increasing, pushing

investors further down the credit-quality

curve. Further, short-term and high-quality

bonds have limited, if any, upside, reducing

their effectiveness as hedges.

In addition, widespread fiscal stimuli

and ballooning government debt levels are

raising concerns about a long-term run up

of inflation, or significant erosion of the

value of fiat currencies. Deflation, however,

is seen by some as the more likely risk

in the near term.

“As these dynamics heighten risk and

lead to the possibility of ever lower returns

than expected, we believe that gold can

play an increasingly relevant role in

investor portfolios,” it said.

Gold had a remarkable performance in

the first half of 2020, increasing by 16.8

per cent in US-dollar terms and significantly

outperforming all other major asset

classes. Though equity markets around the

world rebounded sharply from their Q1

lows, the high level of uncertainty surrounding

the COVID-19 pandemic and the

ultra-low interest rate environment supported

strong flight-to-quality flows, the

report said. Like the money market and

high-quality bond funds, gold benefited

from investors’ need to reduce risk, with

the recognition of gold as a hedge further

underscored by the record inflows seen in

gold-backed ETFs, it said.

Engineer arrested taking Rs 1 lakh bribe in Jharkhand

Ranchi : The Anti-Corruption

Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday

arrested an engineer while he was

taking Rs one lakh as bribe in

Jharkhand's Simdega district.

According to an official of the

ACB, Arvind Kumar, executive

engineer in the Rural Engineering

Organisation (REO), was arrested

while taking Rs 1 lakh cash from a

private company's proprietor to

pass a bill.

Hemant Kumar, proprietor of

Lakshmi Enterprises, had lodged a

complaint with the ACB against

the engineer.

Hemant had alleged that the

REO engineer had sought Rs 1

lakh to pass the bill for a road constructed

under the Pradhan Mantri

Gramin Sadak Yojna (PMGSY).

The ACB team laid a trap on

Wednesday and caught Arvind

Kumar red-handed.

Besides Rs 1 lakh, the ACB

team also seized another Rs 80,000

from the possession of the executive

engineer.

He has been brought to Ranchi

for further interrogation.

'Nature-positive' solutions can create

395 mn jobs: World Economic Forum

Geneva : The global

COVID-19 pandemic has

caused unprecedented job losses

and economic uncertainty.

As governments and businesses

look to stimulate growth, a new

study from the World

Economic Forum on

Wednesday found ‘nature-positive'

solutions can create 395

million jobs by 2030.

The Future of Nature and

Business Report provides blueprints

for businesses to tap into

a $10.1 trillion business opportunity,

focusing on industry

actions that are nature-positive,

meaning that they add value to

nature.

The report is built on real

world examples where business

outcomes have been improved

by nature-positive outcomes.

Smart farming utilizing sensors

and satellite imagery in

Indonesia improved crop yields

on average by 60 per cent.

Suzhou Industrial Park's

green development in China

has seen its GDP increase 260-

fold partially through green

development.

In Vietnam, people living in

coastal communities saw their

incomes more than double following

the restoration of critical

mangroves. "We can

address the looming biodiversity

crisis and reset the economy

in a way that creates and protects

millions of jobs," said

Akanksha Khatri, Head of the

Nature Action Agenda, World

Economic Forum.

"Public calls are getting

louder for businesses and government

to do better. We can

protect our food supplies, make

better use of our infrastructure

and tap into new energy

sources by transitioning to

nature-positive solutions."


HEALTH

16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020

13

Want to lose some weight?

Punjab Cabinet to undergo Covid

tests after minister turns positive

London : Want to lose some

weight? Read on. Researchers

have found that the consumption

of dietary fibre from oat and rye

brans increased the growth of

beneficial microbes in the intestines

and reduced hepatic

inflammation. In addition, diets

enriched with oat or rye bran

were shown to attenuate weight

gain. The effects of oat and rye

were partly different, but both

were beneficial for health. For

the study, published in the

Molecular Nutrition & Food

Research, the research team

from the University of Eastern

Finland, VTT Technical

Research Centre of Finland collaborated

with the University of

Hong Kong.

The health benefits of oat, rye

and other whole-grain products

have been widely studied, and

their use has been associated

with decreased inflammation

and improved glucose, lipid and

adipose tissue metabolism in

human and animal experimental

research.

In addition, they have been

linked to a decreased risk of obesity,

metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular

diseases and type-2

diabetes. Different dietary fibres

are also known to have different

health effects. In the current

study, the research team wanted

to investigate differences in

metabolites produced by gut

microbiota and their interactions

with host metabolism in

response to supplementation

with oat and rye bran fibres. The

study was an animal experiment

during which mice were fed a

high-fat Western diet for 17

weeks. Two groups were fed the

same diet enriched with 10 per

cent of either oat or rye bran.

Among the various gut microbial

metabolites, this study focused

on those especially relevant to

the development of fatty liver

disease, which is often associated

with obesity. Thus, microbial

metabolites were assessed by

measuring cecal short-chain

fatty acids (SCFAs), ileal and

faecal bile acids, and the expression

of genes related to tryptophan

metabolism.

The findings suggest that both

brans have the capacity to create

a favourable environment in the

gut by supporting the growth of

beneficial microbes.

Both bran fibres enhanced the

production of SCFAs, leading to

improved gut integrity, reduced

liver inflammation. “In addition,

both oat and rye supplementation

were shown to attenuate

weight gain associated with a

high-fat diet,” the authors noted.

Spanish antibody study shows

no herd immunity to Covid-19

Chandigarh : After a Punjab Cabinet Minister was diagnosed

with coronavirus and hospitalised, the entire cabinet led by

Amarinder Singh is likely to undergo Covid tests as a precaution,

officials said on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister is keen that the entire Cabinet undergoes the

coronavirus test as a precautionary measure, an official in the Chief

Minister Office told IANS.

“Though most of the meetings for quite some time are held virtually,

there is a risk of contracting virus through the staff. So the Chief

Minister asks all the ministers to undergo a test,” he said, adding

“even the Chief Minister himself will undergo the test”.

Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tript Rajinder Singh

Bajwa tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday. He is the first

Council Minister to test positive. Bajwa, who has mild symptoms of

the virus, has been undergoing treatment in a private hospital in

Mohali near here. Last week, Rural Development Director Vipul

Ujjwal was tested positive. After that Bajwa’s sample was taken.

A total of 340 cases and nine more deaths due to Covid were

reported in the state on Tuesday. With these deaths, the number of

casualties in the state rose 213.

London : Spanish researchers

have found that only five per

cent of the population in Spain

has developed antibodies,

nowhere near the levels needed

to achieve 'herd immunity'.

Herd immunity is achieved

when enough people become

infected with a virus to stop its

spread. According to a nationwide

study, published in the

journal The Lancet, to achieve

herd immunity that would protect

the uninfected, around 70

per cent to 90 per cent of a population

needs to be immune to

protect the uninfected. "This

nationwide population-based

study aims to estimate the seroprevalence

of SARS-CoV-2

(coronavirus) infection in Spain

at the national and regional

level," the study authors wrote.

For the findings, the research

team picked more than 60,000

participants. They answered a

questionnaire on a history of

symptoms compatible with

Covid-19 and risk factors. The

study provides nationwide and

regional estimates of SARS-

Toronto : Researchers have

found that pasteurising breast

milk using a common technique

inactivates severe acute respiratory

syndrome coronavirus 2

(SARS-CoV-2) making it safe

for use.

According to the study, published

in the CMAJ (Canadian

Medical Association Journal),

current advice is for women with

coronavirus disease 2019

(Covid-19) to continue to breastfeed

their infants.

In Canada, it is standard care

to provide pasteurised breast

CoV-2 (coronavirus) dissemination

in Spain, showing remarkable

differences between higher

and lower prevalence areas. The

findings showed that one in three

infections seems to be asymptomatic,

while a substantial number

of symptomatic cases

remained untested. Data from

participants - who ranged in age

from infants to people in their

90s - showed some variation by

region but nowhere near levels

needed for herd immunity. The

prevalence of Covid-19 antibodies

was less than three per cent in

coastal regions, but more than

five times higher in areas with

major outbreaks. According to

the study, despite the high

impact of Covid-19 in Spain,

prevalence estimates remain low

and are clearly insufficient to

provide herd immunity. "This

milk to very-low-birth-weight

babies in the hospital until their

own mother's milk supply is adequate.

"In the event that a woman

who is Covid-19-positive

donates human milk that contains

SARS-CoV-2, the method

of pasteurisation renders milk

safe for consumption," said

study researcher Sharon Unger

from the University of Toronto

in Canada.

"Whether by transmission

through the mammary gland or

by contamination through respiratory

droplets, skin, breast

pumps and milk containers, this

method is safe," Unger added.

The Holder method, a technique

used to pasteurise milk in

all Canadian milk banks

(62.5Â°C for 30 minutes), is

effective at neutralising viruses

such as HIV, hepatitis and others

that are known to be transmitted

through human milk. In this

study, researchers spiked human

breast milk with a viral load of

SARS-CoV-2 and tested samples

that either sat at room temperature

for 30 minutes or were

cannot be achieved without

accepting the collateral damage

of many deaths in the susceptible

population and overburdening of

health systems," the study

researchers said.

"In this situation, social distance

measures and efforts to

identify and isolate new cases

and their contacts are imperative

for future epidemic control,"

they noted.

Pasteurising breast milk inactivates Covid-19 virus: Study

warmed to 62.5°C for 30 minutes

and then measured for the

active virus. The study found

that the virus in the pasteurised

milk was inactivated after heating.

More than 650 human

breast milk banks around the

world use the Holder method to

ensure a safe supply of milk for

vulnerable infants, the

researchers said.

The authors reported that the

impact of pasteurisation on coronaviruses

in human milk has not

been previously reported in the

scientific literature.

14 16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020 HEALTH


Dealing with muscle pain

New Delhi : In times of COVID-19

and the lockdown, most people have

been staying indoors and levels of activity

have decreased significantly. Work

from home has become the new norm

and we may see more of it even if the

COVID-19 pandemic resolves.

For online classes, students have to

sit for long hours in front of laptops or

mobiles, often maintaining an incorrect

posture on the bed rather than using a

table and chair. Sitting at the desk or on

the sofa watching TV for a long time

weakens and tightens muscles, stiffening

the back, shoulders and neck.

Dr Kaushal Malhan, Director

Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement

surgeon at Fortis Hospital Mulund

points out: "A survey conducted at UK's

Institute for Employment Studies (IES)

found that more than half of those who

responded, said they were experiencing

new neck, shoulder or back pain.

Maintaining a healthy diet and exercise

plummeted over a fortnight since, with

60 per cent saying they are exercising

less, a third eating less healthily and 20

per cent saying they were consuming

more alcohol. Almost two-thirds (64 per

cent) of the 500 respondents said they

were sleeping less, while 48 per cent

said their new working life involved

increased and irregular hours."

Dr Malhan notes the common causes

of muscle pain we see nowadays

include: Muscle cramps: Muscle cramp

is a sudden contraction of one or more

muscles. This can be intense and sometimes

even lead to muscle injury. Sitting

for long hours in a particular posture

can lead to muscle cramps along the

upper back, shoulder blade and calf

muscles. These can be treated by gentle

stretching exercises, massage, hot

fomentation and good hydration.

Muscle strains: Muscle strains are

injuries due to sudden strenuous contraction

of the muscles or a vigorous

sudden stretching of the muscle leading

to damaged muscle fibres. These are

often seen due to unaccustomed or

incorrectly done exercises. People are

adopting new exercises by watching

videos without proper supervision and

preparation, resulting in muscle injury.

These are treated by rest, ice fomentation,

splintage and anti-inflammatory

medications.

Overuse injuries: Overuse injuries or

repetitive stress injuries are due to a

small strain being applied very frequently.

This happens due to bad posture

with excessive repetitive pressure

on a particular muscle or indulging in a

particular motion frequently thus causing

excessive localised muscle strain.

An example is that of a tennis elbow

when an individual may develop persistent

pain along the outer side of the

elbow because of some simple repetitive

activity such as doing household

chores like lifting, repetitive wrist

extension, etc. To treat, one needs to rest

the part, and couple it with Ultrasonic

Therapy with a Physiotherapist and

anti-inflammatory medicine. It is most

important to correct what you are doing

wrong and perform the repetitive activities

in a manner which will not be strenuous

for the muscle. This can be done

by correct position of joints e.g. keeping

a soft support under the wrist joint so as

to reduce the extension at the wrist

while typing. Correct posture at the

work station with elbows rested and

back supported will reduce the risk of

neck and shoulder pain.

Muscle pain due to arthritis in adjacent

joints: A number of patients with

knee arthritis whose mobility levels

have decreased are suffering from pain,

not just in the knee joint but also the

muscles of the thigh and the calf.

Measures to prevent muscle problems:

Regular gentle stretching exercises

focusing on all relevant muscle

groups; listen to your body and dial up

or down as needed or as much as can be

tolerated. Use your doorway for a full

body stretch Aerobic exercise like walking

should be done regularly within the

house. Deep breathing exercises and a

positive optimistic outlook to reduce

stress. Endurance exercises involving

lightweights and multiple repetitions for

muscle groups which are more prone to

problems. Hot fomentation and gentle

massage for tight muscles. Regular hot

water bath.

Drinking lots of water and having a

healthy well-balanced diet.

Avoid sitting in one position continuously

for too long. Regular change of

posture and breaks from prolonged sitting

with walks and movement exercises.

Avoid posture which specifically

strains one muscle group. Body postures

should be such that the head and

neck lie along the centre of gravity axis.

Postures should be such that none of

the muscle groups are under constant

tension. Workstation should be designed

so that the computer screen is at a

height, backrest supporting the back and

elbows supported on the table.

Soft silicon support under the palms

so as to avoid wrist hyperextension.

Scapular retractions can be done while

sitting to reduce neck pain.

While doing household chores avoid

excessive loads at one go and divide a

heavy job into small lighter sections.

Take a break in between activities.

Movement breaks are better than standing

breaks. In case of any pain please

consult your doctor for treatment.

Washington : Desperate to solve the

deadly conundrum of COVID-19, the

world is clamouring for fast answers

and solutions from a research system

not built for haste.

The ironic, and perhaps tragic,

result: Scientific shortcuts have slowed

understanding of the disease and

delayed the ability to find out which

drugs help, hurt or have no effect at all.

As deaths from the coronavirus

relentlessly mounted into the hundreds

of thousands, tens of thousands of doctors

and patients rushed to use drugs

before they could be proved safe or

effective. A slew of low-quality studies

clouded the picture even more.

“People had an epidemic in front of

them and were not prepared to wait,”

said Dr Derek Angus, critical care chief

at the University of Pittsburgh Medical

Center. “We made traditional clinical

research look so slow and cumbersome.”

It wasn’t until mid-June – nearly

six months in—when the first evidence

came that a drug could improve

survival. Researchers in the United

Kingdom managed to enroll one of

every six hospitalised COVID-19

patients into a large study that found a

cheap steroid called dexamethasone

helps and that a widely used malaria

drug does not. The study changed practice

overnight, even though results had

not been published or reviewed by

other scientists.

‘Desperation science’ slows the

hunt for coronavirus drugs

Scientific

shortcuts have

slowed understanding

of the

disease

In the United States, a smaller but

rigorous study found a different drug

can shorten recovery time for seriouslyill

patients, but many questions remain

about its best use.

Doctors are still frantically reaching

for anything else that might fight the

many ways the virus can do harm,

experimenting with medicines for

stroke, heartburn, blood clots, gout,

depression, inflammation, AIDS, hepatitis,

cancer, arthritis and even stem

cells and radiation. “Everyone has been

kind of grasping for anything that might

work. And that’s not how you develop

sound medical practice,” said Dr Steven

Nissen, a Cleveland Clinic researcher

and frequent adviser to the U.S. Food

and Drug Administration. “Desperation

is not a strategy.” Few definitive studies

have been done in the US, with some

undermined by people getting drugs on

their own or lax methods from drug

companies sponsoring the work.

And politics magnified the problem.

Tens of thousands of people tried a

malaria medicine after President

Donald Trump relentlessly promoted it,

saying, “What have you got to lose?”

Meanwhile, the nation’s top infectious

disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci,

warned “I like to prove things first.”

For three months, weak studies polarized

views of hydroxychloroquine until

several more reliable ones found it ineffective

for treatment.


HEALTH

16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020

15

Russia ‘first nation’ to finish human

trials for Covid-19 vaccine : Report

There was no information on commercial

production of vaccine

Moscow : Russia has become the

first nation to complete clinical trials

of Covid-19 vaccine on humans, and

the results have proven the medication’s

effectiveness, the media reported

on Sunday. Chief researcher Elena

Smolyarchuk, who heads the Center

for Clinical Research on Medications

at Sechenov University, told Russian

news agency TASS on Sunday that the

human trials for the vaccine have been

completed at the university and they

will be discharged soon.

“The research has been completed

and it proved that the vaccine is safe.

The volunteers will be discharged on

July 15 and July 20,” Smolyarchuk

was quoted as saying in the report.

There was, however, no further

information on when this vaccine

would enter commercial production

stage. Russia had allowed clinical trials

of two forms of a potential Covid-

19 vaccine developed by the

Gamaleya National Research Center

for Epidemiology and Microbiology

on June 18. The first vaccine, in the

form of a solution for intramuscular

administration, was carried out at the

Covid-19: Airborne transmission

can't be ruled out, says WHO

Geneva : The World Health Organization

(WHO) has acknowledged there is emerging evidence

that the Novel coronavirus can be spread by

tiny particles suspended in the air.

The airborne transmission could not be ruled

out in crowded, closed or poorly ventilated settings,

an official said, the BBC reported on

Wednesday.

If the evidence is confirmed, it may affect

guidelines for indoor spaces.

An open letter from more than 200 scientists

had accused the WHO of underestimating the possibility

of airborne transmission. The WHO has so

far said that the virus is transmitted through

droplets when people cough or sneeze.

"We wanted them to acknowledge the evidence,"

Jose Jimenez, a chemist at the University

of Colorado who signed the paper, told the Reuters

news agency. "This is definitely not an attack on

the WHO. It's a scientific debate, but we felt we

needed to go public because they were refusing to

hear the evidence after many conversations with

them," he said. WHO officials have cautioned the

evidence is preliminary and requires further

assessment.

Benedetta Allegranzi, the WHO's technical lead

for infection prevention and control, said that evidence

emerging of airborne transmission of the

coronavirus in "crowded, closed, poorly ventilated

settings that have been described, cannot be ruled

out". For months, the WHO has insisted that

Covid-19 is transmitted via droplets emitted when

people cough or sneeze. Droplets that do not linger

in the air, but fall onto surfaces - that's why handwashing

has been identified as a key prevention

measure. But 239 scientists from 32 countries

don't agree: they say there is strong evidence to

suggest the virus can also spread in the air: through

much tinier particles that float around for hours

after people talk, or breathe out.

The WHO has now admitted there was evidence

to suggest this was possible in specific settings,

such as enclosed and crowded spaces.

That evidence will have to be thoroughly evaluated,

but if it is confirmed, the advice on how to

prevent the virus spreading may have to change,

and could lead to more widespread use of masks,

and more rigorous distancing, especially in bars,

restaurants, and on public transport.

India may see 2.87 lakh Covid cases a

day by winter 2021: MIT study

New Delhi : In the absence of a COVID-19 vaccine or drugs, the researchers from

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have warned that India might record

2.87 lakh coronavirus cases per day by the end of winter 2021.

The world may witness 249

million (24.9 crore) cases and 1.8

million (18 lakh) deaths by spring

2021 if there are no effective treatments

or vaccination, according to

the study conducted by the

researchers Hazhir Rahmandad,

TY Lim and John Sterman of

MIT's Sloan School of

Management.

"In this paper, we build and estimate

a multi-country model of the

Covid-19 pandemic at a global

scale," the study authors wrote.

For the findings, the MIT

research team use a multi-country

modified SEIR (Susceptible, Exposed, Infectious, Recovered) model, a standard

mathematical model for infectious diseases used by epidemiologists, to simultaneously

estimate the transmission of Covid-19 in 84 countries (4.75 billion people).

The model tracked community transmission, excluding the global travel network

and instead separately estimating the date of introduction of patient zero for each

country. Within each country, the core of the model tracks the population through

susceptible, pre-symptomatic, infected pre-testing, infected post-testing, and recovered

states. "Our model captures transmission dynamics for the disease, as well as

how, at the country level, transmission rates vary in response to risk perception and

weather, testing rates condition infection and death data, and fatality rates depend on

demographics and hospitalisation," they explained.

According to the study, the top 10 countries by projected daily infection rates at

the end of winter 2021 are India, US, South Africa, Iran, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey,

France and Germany. India will be the worst affected country due to coronavirus followed

by the US (95,000 cases per day), South Africa (21,000 cases per day) Iran

(17,000 cases per day), and Indonesia (13,000 cases per day) at the end of winter

2021. The MIT researchers also said that Infections are 12 times higher and deaths 50

per cent higher than previously reported. "While actual cases are far greater than official

reports suggest, the majority of people remain susceptible. Waiting for herd

immunity is not a viable path out of the current pandemic," Rahmandad said.

"Every community needs to keep the pandemic under control until a vaccine or

treatment is widely available. A slow and half-hearted response only increases the

human costs without offering much of an upside in terms of economic output,"

Rahmandad noted. As of Wednesday morning, the overall number of global COVID-

19 cases has increased to more than 11.7 million, while the deaths have soared to over

543,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Burdenko Military Hospital. Another

vaccine, in the form of a powder for

the preparation of a solution for intramuscular

administration, was carried

out at Sechenov First Moscow State

Medical University.

The first stage of research on the

vaccine at Sechenov University

involved a group of 18 volunteers and

the second group involved 20 volunteers.

After vaccination, all volunteers

were expected to remain in isolation in

a hospital for 28 days.

Earlier, results of the COVID-19

vaccine tests performed on a group of

volunteers in Russia showed that they

were developing immunity to the

coronavirus. “The data obtained by the

Gamalei National Research Center for

Epidemiology and Microbiology,

proves that volunteers of the first and

second groups are forming an immune

response after injections of the vaccine

against the coronavirus,” according

to an earlier statement from the

Russian Defense Ministry.

Russia has reported 719,449 cases

and 11,188 deaths to date.

There are at least 21 vaccines currently

under key trials, according to

the World Health Organisation

(WHO). The overall number of global

COVID-19 cases was nearing 12.7

million, while the deaths have

increased to more than 564,000,

according to Johns Hopkins

University in the US. As of Sunday

morning, the total number of cases

stood at 12,681,472, while the fatalities

rose to 564,420.

The US accounted for the world’s

highest number of infections and fatalities

at 3,245,158 and 134,764. Brazil

came in the second place with

1,839,850 infections and 71,469

deaths.

COVID-19 brain complications

found across the globe: Lancet

London : Cases of brain complications linked to Covid-19 are

occurring across the globe, according to a new study, published in the

journal The Lancet Neurology. According to the researchers from the

University of Liverpool in the UK, Covid-19 has been associated

mostly with problems like difficulty breathing, fever and cough.

However, as the pandemic has continued, it has become increasingly

clear that other problems can occur in patients. These include confusion,

stroke, inflammation of the brain, spinal cord, and other kinds

of nerve disease. “It is really important that doctors around the world

recognise that COVID-19 can cause encephalitis and other brain

problems, which often have potentially devastating, life-changing

consequences for patients,” said study co-author Ava Easton, CEO of

the Encephalitis Society in the UK. A recent Liverpool-led study of

Covid-19 patients hospitalised in the UK found a range of neurological

and psychiatric complications that may be linked to the disease.

To get a sense of the wider picture, the researchers brought together

and analysed findings from Covid-19 studies across the globe that

reported on neurological complications. The review, which included

studies from China, Italy and the US among others, found almost

1,000 patients with Covid-19-associated brain, spinal cord and nerve

disease. The study found that strokes, delirium and other neurological

complications are reported from most countries where there have

been large outbreaks of the disease. “Whilst these complications are

relatively uncommon, the huge numbers of Covid-19 cases globally

mean the overall number of patients with neurological problems is

likely to be quite large,” said study researcher Suzannah Lant.

According to the researchers, one of the complications found to be

linked to Covid-19 is encephalitis, which is inflammation and

swelling of the brain. “We are currently pooling data from individual

patients all around the world, so that we can get a more complete picture.

Doctors who would like to contribute patients to this analysis

can contact us via the Global Covid-Neuro Network website,” the

study authors wrote. Recently another study, published this week in

the journal Brain, showed that Covid-19 can cause severe neurological

complications, including delirium, brain inflammation, stroke and

nerve damage. The research team had identified one rare and sometimes

fatal inflammatory condition, known as ADEM, which appears

to be increasing in prevalence due to the pandemic.

16 16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020 NEWS


Andhra forms panel to

reorganize districts

Amaravati : Following into the footsteps

of Telangana Chief Minister K.

Chandrashekhar Rao, his Andhra Pradesh

counterpart Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy has

decided to reorganize the districts for better

governance.

The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government

plans to increase the number of

districts from existing 13 to 25 or more.

Telangana, which was carved out of

Andhra Pradesh in 2014, undertook reorganization

of districts in 2016, increasing

the numbers from 10 to 33.

Andhra Pradesh cabinet on Wednesday

decided to set up a six-member committee

to study and finalise delimitation of districts

to pave way for better governance.

The process for delimitation of districts

will be on the lines of parliamentary constituencies.

State Information Minister Perni Nani

told media persons after the cabinet meet

that the committee will study the issue and

submit its report at the earliest on delimiting

the existing 13 districts to 25 or more

as the case may be, with minimal expenditure.

Jaganmohan Reddy during the election

campaign had promised smaller districts

for better administration.

The committee will be headed by Chief

Secretary with CCLA Commissioner,

Secretary of General Administration,

Secretary of Planning Department, a representative

from CMO, and Principal

Secretary of Finance as Convener. The

committee will study and submit its report

at the earliest.

The cabinet also decided to appoint

Thieves in South Africa steal

whisky after alcohol ban

Cape Town : Two days after South Africa reinstated a ban on

alcohol to curb the spread of coronavirus, thieves have broken

into a liquor store in Cape Town.

"They basically emptied the whiskies out," Mark Kallend,

shop owner of Liquor Bothasig, told News24 about the incident

early on Tuesday morning.

"They ripped the safety gate off with their vehicle... they tied

a rope around it and yanked it off. They then threw a boulder

through the window," he said, the BBC reported.

Bottles of wine and brandy were left untouched, he added.

Kallend said the incident showed how desperate people were.

In a speech on Sunday President Cyril Ramaphosa said the

alcohol ban - the second this year - would take pressure off the

health system. More than 40% of the 40,000 trauma cases

recorded in the country in a week are alcohol-related - something

the health system cannot afford right now.

When it comes to coronavirus, South Africa is the hardest-hit

country in Africa with more than 275,000 cases.

Deaths resulting from Covid-19 have also risen to more than

4,000, and government projections estimate this could increase

to 50,000 by the end of the year.

9,712 personnel in the medical and health

department. They will include doctors,

nurses, technicians and other posts. Of the

total 9,712 posts, 5701 are newly formed

while 4,011 are the vacancies.

The state will also recruit 420 teaching

and 178 non-teaching staff on RGUKT

(IIIT) institutions in Srikakulam and

Ongole. Besides these, with an estimated

budget of Rs 9 crore, a veterinary polytechnic

college will come up at

New Delhi : The Delhi Police on

Wednesday told a district court that an FIR

could not be registered against Patanjali

Ayurved Limited, Ramdev and others on

the charge of cheating people by claiming

a cure for Covid-19 due to jurisdictional

and other issues. The Vasant Vihar police

station SHO said this in an action-taken

report filed in the court in response to a

plea that sought court directions to register

a case against Ramdev and others.

Petitioner Tushar Anand had claimed

that Ramdev and other persons "only had

permission to make an immunity booster

but they are making a false claim in the

media that they have found a cure for

Covid-19".

In the report, Sub-Inspector Pankaj

Kumar said: "As the alleged press conference

by Baba Ramdev was organised at

Haridwar in Uttarakhand, the same does

not lie within the area or jurisdiction of

Vasant Vihar police station, New Delhi.

Hence, no action can be initiated by police

of Vasant Vihar PS."

It further submitted that an FIR under

Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code has

already been registered at police station in

Jyoti Nagar in Jaipur on the same grounds

as levelled by the applicant in his complaint,

refusing to register his complaint.

"It is also pertinent to mention here that

the Ayush Ministry has allowed the sale of

Kommamarri of Kurnool district, with an

intake of 30 students from 2020-21 academic

year. A similar facility will be set up

at Anantapur later.

The state government gave consent to

withdraw the cases filed against the teachers

and government employees during the

agitation for opposing Contributory

Pension Scheme (CPS) and the cases filed

against those for attacking old police station

in Guntur will also be withdrawn.

Patanjali's 'Coronil' as an immunity booster

and not as a coronavirus cure. If there

are allegations of violation of the guidelines

of the Ayush Ministry, the complainant

may approach the agency concerned,"

the status report added.

The applicant had sought lodging of the

FIR under Sections 270 (malignant act

likely to spread infection of disease dangerous),

420 (cheating) and 504 (intentionally

insults with intent to provoke break of

public peace) of the IPC and the Drugs and

Cosmetics Act and Drugs and Magic

Remedies Act in the matter.

Six family

members killed

in clash in MP

Mandla (Madhya Pradesh) : Six members of a family were

allegedly attacked and killed by two persons over an old rivalry

in Mandla district on Wednesday.

One of the attackers was killed after being beaten up by the

locals while the second one was apprehended by the police.

The deceased persons were family members of one Rajjan

Soni, a local BJP leader. The incident took place in Maniya village

under the limits of Bijadandi police station near the

Jabalpur border. Senior police officers, including the SSP,

rushed to the spot and heavy police force was deployed in the

area after the incident.

A property dispute is said to have caused the gruesome murders.

Witnesses said the accused used sharp weapons to kill the

family members, including two children.

Initial reports suggested that Soni's family had an enmity with

the accused's family over some property. The accused, identified

as Santosh and Harish, attacked Soni and his family members.

The duo was later captured by angry locals who thrashed them,

and Santosh was killed before the local police managed to rescue

them. The condition of Harish, the other attacker, is said to

be critical. Three others sustained grievous injuries.

Senior police officers, including the SSP, rushed to the spot

after receiving the report of the gruesome massacre. Heavy

police force has been deployed in the area after the incident.

Those killed included Rajjan Soni aka Rajendra Soni, Vinod

Soni, Om Soni, Priyesh Soni, Shreyansh Soni and Dinesh Soni.

Can't register FIR against Patanjali

claim : Delhi Police tells court

"The accused have shown their malafide

intentions, which are likely to spread

infection that is dangerous to life by misrepresenting

and alluring innocent consumers

to buy the medicine with a belief of

getting cured from the deadly Covid-19,"

the petitioner had averred.

On June 23, Patanjali Ayurved launched

'Coronil' tablet and Swasari Vati medicine

with the claim that these could cure Covid-

19 within seven days. On July 1, the Ayush

Ministry permitted Patanjali to sell Coronil

as long as it was advertised as an immunity

booster, and not a 'coronavirus cure'.


NEWS

16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020

17

Israel closes Al-Aqsa Mosque's eastern

gate, Waqf head warns of 'religious war'

Ramallah/Gaza : Sheikh Abdul-

Azim Salhab, head of the Muslim Waqf

(Endowment) Council in Jerusalem,

warned that Israel's order to close a gate

of the Al-Aqsa Mosque may ignite "a

religious war" in the region.

Salhab on Tuesday told the Voice of

Palestine radio that the council received

this week an Israeli court's verdict that

orders the closure of the Bab al-Rahma

gate of Al-Aqsa Mosque in East

Jerusalem.

"Such an Israeli action is an attempt

to control Al-Aqsa Mosque in

Jerusalem, and this action may ignite a

religious war in the region," said

Salhab, who stressed that his council

rejects "the illegal Israeli court's verdict."

The Bab al-Rahma gate is the eastern

gate that directly leads to the Al-Aqsa

Mosque, which is a holy site for

Muslims around the world, Xinhua

news agency reported.

For their part, the Jews refer to the

area as the "Temple Mount," which was

the site of two Jewish temples in ancient

times. Israel occupied East Jerusalem,

in which the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located,

during the 1967 Arab-Israel War. In

1980, Israel annexed the Arab eastern

part of the city, but the international

community has refused to recognize it.

"We affirm that no power can close

Bab a-Rahma, we warn against attacking

the worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque

because it will be a serious issue and

will ignite a religious war in the region,"

Salhab said.

He noted that Al-Aqsa Mosque and

all its yards are Islamic and all Muslims

have the right to pray in every part of it

free from interference by Israeli decisions

and Israeli courts' verdicts.

In Gaza, the Islamic Hamas movement

said in an emailed press statement

that the closure of the Bab al-Rahma

gate of Al-Aqsa Mosque "is a stupid

decision that aims at stealing the

Muslim gate and turn it into a synagogue."

Hamas called on the Arab League

and the Organization of Islamic

Cooperation (OIC) to move as fast as

possible to stop the Israeli threat to the

Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Govt to identify electronic items

for export thrust : Goyal

New Delhi : As part of the Atmanirbhar

Bharat mission, the government plans to

push domestic manufacturing of certain electronic

items where India could quickly build

scale and increase exports.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush

Goyal said, here on Tuesday, his ministry

was looking at identifying select electronic

items that could be manufactured in India on

a large scale, like television sets, close circuit

TVs and air conditioners, and could be

exported in large quantities. While interacting

with members of the Electronics and

Computer Software Export Promotion

Council (ESC) through a conference call, the

Minister urged the industry to give specific

suggestions regarding such products and the

policy tooling required to make them competitive.

The government would help in creating

conducive ecosystem for such products

to be manufactured and exported, he said.

It came as a response to the ESC suggestion

that since focus on mobile handset production

has paid off in terms of increasing

exports, several other electronic products

could also deliver similar results with support

from the government.

While calling upon the electronics hardware

sector to use the innovation, R&D and

disruption route to expand domestic footprint

and raise exports, Goyal said industries

that were more self-reliant and try to grow

without the government support had made

their mark. In this regard, he pointed to IT,

ITeS and BPO sectors that had created a formidable

position as a solution provider and

exporter.

Depending exclusively on incentives,

such as the Exports from India Scheme

(MEIS), the Minister said might not add to

the competitiveness since such schemes were

time-bound and export competitiveness

should come from inherent strengths.

He also underscored the need for joint

industry-government efforts to implement

the National Mission on Quantum

Technologies & Applications (NM-QTA),

used for engineering solutions to extremely

complex problems in computing, communications,

sensing, chemistry, cryptography,

imaging and mechanics.

Referring to another ESC suggestion that

quality and accurate data for software and

services exports must be ensured, Goyal said

his ministry would take up this with the

Reserve Bank of India to tone up the process

and procedure of data collation. Some

schemes would be put in place to address this

issue soon, he added.

Goyal called upon the industry to bring to

the government’s notice genuine problems

being faced by them.

On the issue of MSMEs facing problems

in availing the recently announced incentives,

he said, “To the best of our knowledge,

such schemes are working well, provided the

industry complies with the banks’ requirements;

yet in case of any genuine difficulties,

if brought to the notice, timely action will be

taken.”

The Minister also unveiled the strategic

paper, prepared by ESC for augmenting

exports of electronics hardware and computer

software. The papers contain several

proactive suggestions to accelerate exports

from these two areas.

POLICE RESCUE ABDUCTED

BJP LEADER IN KASHMIR

Srinagar : The Jammu and

Kashmir Police has rescued

abducted BJP Municipal

Committee member Mehraj-ud-

Din Malla from Watergam in

North Kashmir's Baramulla district

on Wednesday. According

to his family, Malla was abducted

while he was going to a

friend's house for attending a

marriage ceremony. "The kidnapped

person has been rescued

by the police," J&K Police DG

told IANS. Earlier, Malla's family

had requested the abductors to

release him in a video message

put out by his daughter.

After his abduction, the

police had launched a major

search operation in the area to

trace him.

Canada, US agree to

extend border closure

for another month

Ottawa : Canada and the United States have agreed to keep the

border between the two countries closed to non-essential travel

until August 21, CTV News reported.

The ban, which has to be reviewed each month, was set to

expire on July 21. It is now being renewed for the fourth time since

the border was closed to non-essential traffic on March 21, Xinhua

news agency reported on Tuesday.

The ban, as it stands, exempts the flow of trade and commerce,

as well as temporary foreign workers and vital health-care workers

such as nurses who live and work on opposite sides of the border.

Tourists and cross-border visits remain prohibited.

The reported new extension came after Canadian Prime

Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Donald Trump spoke on

the phone Monday about a range of issues that included the border

closure. "We recognize that the situation continues to be complex

in the United States in regards to COVID-19," Trudeau said

Monday at a press conference. "Every month, we have been able to

extend the border closures to all but essential goods and services

and those discussions are ongoing."

The latest Nano polling suggests that more than 80 per cent of

Canadians favour keeping the border restrictions in place.

Some public health officials have also suggested the border

should remain closed until at least the end of the year because the

COVID-19 pandemic is still out of control in the United States.

As of Tuesday, there have been 3,286,063 confirmed cases of

COVID-19 with 134,704 deaths in the United States while Canada

has reported 107,590 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 8,783

deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

18 16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020 ENTERTAINMENT


Sonam Kapoor flies

off to London amid

Covid-19 pandemic

Mumbai : Actress Sonam Kapoor Ahuja is currently in

London. In a string of

pictures that Sonam has

posted on Instagram

Stories, we can see her

aboard a flight, wearing

a mask. Her husband,

Anand Ahuja is next to

her.

Her recent Instagram

posts reveal that she is

in London.

Sharing a view of

London from the plane,

Sonam wrote: "London

I am back. So beautiful."

Earlier, Sonam had

spent three months of

lockdown in Delhi at

her in-laws' residence.

She flew to Mumbai to

be with her parents and

siblings ahead of her

birthday on June 9.

On the work front,

Sonam was last seen in

"The Zoya Factor", which also featured Malayalam star Dulquer

Salmaan. The film , which is an adaptation of a book of the same

name written by Anuja Chauhan, fared below expectations.

Mumbai : Actress Daisy Shah

unveiled her YouTube channel

with her first video, “Start of a

new journey”, where she welcomed

her fans to her channel and

told them the reason behind

launching it.

Daisy has been actively engaging

with fans since the lockdown

began, with her online presence.

She has been active on Twitter,

Facebook and Instagram, sharing

workout videos, recipes, and photos

of herself and her pets. She has

also been conducting a lot of live

sessions.

The decision to start her

YouTube channel was a natural

extension to this as she wants her

fans to see the real Daisy.

The YouTube channel will give

Neha Dhupia: Motherhood

taught me selflessness

Mumbai : Actress Neha Dhupia says

motherhood taught her what selflessness is,

and also the meaning of selfless love.

“It taught me what selflessness was and

what selfless love is, and I look at the

world very differently,” Neha told IANS

while talking about motherhood.

“Everyone out there is someone’s child

and you know, their parents would never

want them to get hurt. So, I feel like I have

a far more tender and loving approach to

life as I become a mom,” added the mother

of one.

Neha, who is married to Angad Bedi,

gave birth to daughter Mehr in 2018.

Talking about her biggest realisation

after the lockdown period and the pandemic,

Neha said: “It’s tough because it’s new,

it’s tough because you don’t know when is

it going to end. I think the biggest realisation

for me is that I mean the little things I

would have missed if I was away for work

even for four hours or eight hours a day.

So, I’m just really glad that I’m seeing

every bit of my girl while she’s growing

up.”

However, she reveals that keeping Mehr

busy indoors is a challenge. “But we’re

doing little things like creating sand at

home with a little bit of aata or making doll

houses with cardboard boxes. W’re not

wasting any sort of materials because, we

just did a session where we sat at home and

made cardboard alphabets from A to Z and

Daisy Shah unveils her YouTube channel

Raveena Tandon shoots at home

amid Covid-19 pandemic

Mumbai : Actress Raveena Tandon recently did some work

from home. She shot for an

advertisement at her residence

here.

The shoot happened with all

the necessary precautions and

minimum crew members.

There were just two crew

members present at her house

amid the ongoing Covid pandemic.

“The working scenario has

changed but as we say, change

is the only constant. With the

new normal and limited crew

members, it took us lesser time

to complete. Only two members were allowed in the house, one

being the cameraman and the other was the sound recordist. They

wore PPE kits and all their equipment was disinfected before they

entered the house. I followed the social distancing norm with the

crew members and I feel after this shoot, I am ready for the new

normal,” Raveena shared her experience of shooting post lockdown.

On the big screen, Raveena will be soon seen in “KGF:

Chapter 2”. The movie is a follow-up of the Kannada blockbuster

“KGF: Chapter 1”, starring Kannada superstar Yash.

Los Angeles : Singer Katy Perry

is set to perform at

the digital festival

Tomorrowland

Around The

World, which will

take place between

July 25 and 26.

The singer, who

is currently

expecting her first

child with her

fiance Orlando

Bloom, hopes that

her performance

makes people

smile, reports dailymail.co.uk.

The singer announced her performance

at the digital festival during

a video call with Dutch DJ-pro-

her fans a sneak peek into her

daily life, where she will be sharing

vlogs about different topics

like fitness, cooking and her

lifestyle.

“The main reason why I’ve

joined YouTube is to broaden my

horizons. My aim for this channel

is to introduce everyone to the real

Daisy, to show everyone who I

am. This is basically my way of

connecting with my fans on very

real terms. I’m super excited to

start my journey on YouTube and

I know I’ll get as much love here

as I do on all my other social

media platforms,” she said.

As for films, she has “See You

In Court” and Salman Khan’s production

“Bulbul Marriage Hall”

coming up.

Katy Perry to perform

at a digital festival

ducer Martin Garrix.

She said: “I’ve

always wanted to be

a part of the fun of

Tomorrowland, and

have been following

the amazing innovation,

technology,

and invention that

this festival has

always been about

for a long time. I’m

so glad to be a part

of this version, and I

hope my set makes

you smile.”

Artistes like

Steve Aoki,

Afrojack, Martin Garrix and David

Guetta will also be taking to the

stage.

then painted them in different colours of

her choice. So yeah, we’re doing different

things,” she added.

On the work front, Neha is busy with

popular adventure reality show “MTV

Roadies Revolution”.

Writer-director Purva

Naresh: Best stories are

always in the real world

Mumbai : Director-writer Purva Naresh says her

writing has a ring of truth to it because best stories

come out of the real world.

“My thoughts have always taken shape from what

I see, feel, and interact with around me. I think the

arts have always presented the opportunity to discover

through various lenses what others sometimes fail

to see,” Naresh said.

“All of my writing has a ring of truth to it, and I

think that is what makes the plot and characters relatable

yet insightful. The best stories are always out

there in the real world,” she added.

She has yet again presented a mirror image of a

community that often falls prey to prejudice and

scrutiny in Zee Theatre’s “Ok Tata Bye Bye”.

The teleplay brings to the spotlight the authenticities

of India’s rural sex workers from their perspective,

and presents a story of resilience and individuality.

“As with all my stories, this one too is heavily

inspired by the real lives of sex workers. I was

inspired by the spirited young girls I interacted with

and strongly felt that their story needed to be told.

But I didn’t want the plot or its characters to preach,

instead, convey emotions that are universal and relatable,

however far removed their realities may seem

from ours,” she said of the teleplay that stars Geetika

Tyagi, Jim Sarbh, Prerna Chawla, and Sarika Singh,

and is available on Tatasky Theatre.


TECHNOLOGY

16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020

19

Facebook says will hire more

Black leaders at workplace

San Francisco : Facing criticism

over its inaction to remove hateful

posts, Facebook on Wednesday released

its 2020 diversity report, saying it will

increase the representation of people of

colour in leadership positions in the US

by 30 per cent.

This includes a 30 per cent increase

in the representation of Black people in

leadership by 2025.

Facebook said that from 2014 to

2020, US Black representation as a percentage

of its workforce in non-technical

roles grew from 2 per cent to almost

9 per cent. "The US Hispanic representation

in similar roles grew from 6 per

cent to almost 11 per cent, Women in

leadership have grown similarly from

23 per cent to 34.2 per cent," Maxine

Williams, Chief Diversity Officer at

Facebook, said in a statement. Numbers

for technical roles have remained more

stubborn.

"Our greatest success has been

among women, with an increase from

15 per cent to 24.1 per cent. While the

representation of Black and Hispanic

people in technical roles has increased,

from 1 per cent to 1.7 per cent for Black

in Tech and from 3 per cent to 4.3 per

cent for Hispanic in Tech, progress has

been slower than in non-technical

roles," explained Williams.

Last year, Facebook said that by

2024, at least 50 per cent of its workforce

will be underrepresented people.

"In doing this, we aim to double the

number of women employees globally

and double the number of Black and

Hispanic employees in the US. When

we announced this goal last year, people

from underrepresented groups accounted

for 43 per cent of our staff. Today,

that number is up to 45.3 per cent,"

informed Williams.

The starkness of the violence against

the Black community captured global

attention after African-American

George Floyd's public murder.

"We committed to spend $1 billion

with diverse suppliers in 2021, including

$100 million with Black-owned

businesses — and we pledged another

$100 million in grants and ad credits to

Black small and medium-sized businesses,

creators and non-profits in the

US, among other financial investments,"

the company said.

"Recovering from this pandemic will

take years. Ending the centuries-old

scourge of racial violence and xenophobia

will take longer still. And we will

continue to empower and give voice to

marginalized people and communities,

on and off our platform, in the years to

come," said Williams.

HP launches new global

partner programme in India

Wipro buys

Brazilian IT services

firm for $22.4 mn

Bengaluru : Global software major Wipro on Tuesday said that

it is acquiring Brazil-based IT consulting and services firm IVIA

Servicos de Informatica Ltda for $22.4 million (Rs 168.9 crore).

“IVIA provides IT solutions, including system development,

maintenance, consulting and project management services to

clients in diverse sectors like financial services, transportation,

retail, healthcare, consumer goods and manufacturing in Brazil,”

the city-based tech firm said in a statement.

The 24-year-old Latin firm is headquartered in northeast Brazil,

with offices in Fortaleza-Ceara, Recife-Pernambuco and Natal-Rio

Grande do Norte. “IVIA’s local talent and our global expertise will

help expand our footprint, set up delivery centres in the South

American country, leveraging its workforce,” said the outsourcing

firm. The Indian tech major has presence in South America with

offices in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Costa Rica.

“We have a vision to grow operations in Brazil by bringing

global experience to the local market and becoming a partner of

choice as an end-to-end IT services provider,” said the statement.

With 750 techies, IVIA develops solutions to improve and

expand its customers’ business by reducing costs, increasing productivity

and promoting innovation.

“We will make strategic investments in the region as IVIA’s

acquisition will help us address the needs of the clients across multiple

verticals,” said Wipro’s Latam head Mukund Seetharaman.

IVIA founder Alexandre Menezes said that Wipro’s growing

presence in the region, its digital transformation capabilities, global

customer portfolio and deliver model will help the local talent

and customers. “We can deliver jointly to clients, transform communities

and leverage information technology to empower people,”

Menezed added.

New Delhi : In a bid to help its partners

drive growth in the customer-driven digital

age, PC and printer major HP Inc on

Wednesday unveiled a global channel partner

programme optimised to drive dynamic

partner growth and deliver consistent end

customer experiences.

Called 'HP Amplify', it provides the

insights, capabilities and collaboration tools

needed to drive growth as digital transformation

and customer purchasing behaviours

continue to evolve.

The new programme will go into effect

from November 1 for the commercial partners,

while retail partners are slated to transition

to the programme in the second half of

2021, the company said in a statement.

"HP Amplify not only makes it easier for

partners to do business with HP, it provides

partners with a clear path to ready their business

and succeed in today's environment and

beyond," said Christoph Schell, HP Chief

Commercial Officer. Currently, HP has over

1,400 commercial partners under its India

market which also includes business operations

of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Through

these partners, HP engages with customers

from the government and enterprise segment

and in some cases, they work with customers

from SMB and SOHO segments as well.

"HP and its partners have a tremendous

opportunity to reinvent our route to market

approach and the way we engage with our

customers", said Gurpreet Brar, Head,

Channel Sales and Distribution, HP India

market.

Google to fund 1 lakh scholarships,

launches career certificates

San Francisco : Google on Monday

announced a new Google Career Certificates

that will help Americans get qualifications in

high-paying high-growth job fields — no

college degree required.

The company said it would fund 100,000

need-based scholarships and consider new

career certificates as the equivalent of a fouryear

degree for related roles.

“We’re also committing $10 million in

job training Google.org grants for communities

across America, working with partners

like YWCA, NPower and JFF,” said Kent

Walker, SVP of Global Affairs at Google.

Nearly two-thirds of all new jobs created

since 2010 require either high-level or medium-level

digital skills.

This presents a challenge for many job

seekers, as well as to America’s long-term

economic security. People need good jobs,

and the broader economy needs their energy

and skills to support our future growth.

The company announced 3 new Google

Career Certificates in the high-paying, highgrowth

career fields of Data Analytics,

Project Management, and User Experience

(UX) Design. The programmes equip participants

with the essential skills they need to

get a job. No degree or prior experience is

required to take the courses. Since 2017,

Google has helped 5 million Americans learn

digital skills through Grow with Google.

20 16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020 TECHNOLOGY


London : In a major U-turn, the

UK government on Tuesday

announced a ban on the purchase of

new Huawei kits for 5G from next

year and said that the Chinese telecom

giant’s equipment will be completely

removed from 5G networks by the

end of 2027.

The decision comes following new

advice produced by the National

Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on the

impact of US sanctions against the

telecommunications vendor.

The decision was taken in a meeting

of the National Security Council

(NSC) chaired by UK Prime Minister

Boris Johnson, in response to the new

US sanctions.

These were imposed on Huawei in

May, after the UK’s initial decision on

high risk vendors, and are the first of

their kind, removing the firm’s access

to products which have been built

based on US semiconductor technology.

Technical experts at the NCSC

reviewed the consequences of the

sanctions and concluded the company

will need to do a major reconfiguration

of its supply chain as it will no

longer have access to the technology

on which it currently relies and there

are no alternatives which it has sufficient

confidence in.

They found the new restrictions

make it impossible to continue to

guarantee the security of Huawei

equipment in the future.

As a result, ministers agreed that

UK operators should stop the purchase

of Huawei equipment affected by the

sanctions. “Following US sanctions

UK bans Huawei from

future 5G network

against Huawei and updated technical

advice from our cyber experts, the

government has decided it is necessary

to ban Huawei from our 5G networks,”

the UK’s Digital Secretary Oliver

Dowden said in a statement. “No new

kit is to be added from January 2021,

and UK 5G networks will be Huawei

free by the end of 2027. This decisive

move provides the industry with the

clarity and certainty it needs to get on

with delivering 5G across the UK.”

Huawei called the decision “bad news

for anyone in the UK with a mobile

phone”. “It threatens to move Britain

into the digital slow lane, push up bills

and deepen the digital divide. Instead

of ‘levelling up’, the government is

levelling down and we urge them to

reconsider. We remain confident that

the new US restrictions would not

have affected the resilience or security

of the products we supply to the UK,”

said Edward Brewster, spokesperson

of Huawei UK.

“Regrettably our future in the UK

has become politicised, this is about

US trade policy and not security. Over

the past 20 years, Huawei has focused

on building a better connected UK. As

a responsible business, we will continue

to support our customers as we

have always done.“We will conduct a

detailed review of what today’s

announcement means for our business

here and will work with the UK government

to explain how we can continue

to contribute to a better connected

Britain,” Brewster said. The UK

government will now seek to legislate

at the earliest opportunity with a new

Telecoms Security Bill to put in place

the powers necessary to implement

this tough new telecoms security

framework. It will give the government

the national security powers to

impose these new controls on high

risk vendors and create extensive

security duties on network operators

to drive up standards.

IIT-K develops UV

device to disinfect

room in 15 mins

Twitter, NDRF launch

dedicated search for

disaster relief in India

Kanpur : At a time when

the country is reeling under the

shadow of coronavirus infection,

the Indian Institute of

Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K),

has developed an Ultraviolet

(UV) sanitising product named

‘Shudh’ that can disinfect a

room in 15 minutes.

The smartphone operated

Handy Ultraviolet Disinfection

Helper or Shudh has six UV

lights of 15 watts each that can

be individually monitored from

a distance.

It has been prepared jointly

by J. Ramkumar, Amandeep

Singh and Shivam Sachan.

Singh said that amid the

coronavirus pandemic, people

are scared to touch any object

with the fear of being contracted.

At the same time, liquid disinfection

has yielded quite negative

effects. In such a situation,

the institute has developed

a device to keep the infection at

bay. He said that the device can

be run with Bluetooth technology.

It has six lights and can be

rotated up to 360 degrees. One

can use the lights according to

the room. If the room is large,

then more lights can be used.

This will disinfect the room in

just 15 minutes. It can also be

used to prevent infection in

hospitals, hotels, malls, offices

and schools. Rajkumar stated

that by installing an Android

application, one can remotely

control the on-off, speed and

location of the product using

the available smartphone. The

net has six 15 watt UV lights

that can be individually controlled

remotely. Initial testing

has proved that in its complete

operation, the device can disinfect

a 10 sq ft room in about 15

minutes.

New Delhi : Twitter on

Wednesday announced a partnership

with the National

Disaster Response Force

(NDRF) in India to expand its

efforts towards handling disaster

situations, with launching a

dedicated search prompt to

help people stay updated with

the latest information around

disaster relief and preparedness

efforts.

Every time someone searches

for certain keywords associated

with disaster relief, a

prompt will direct them to the

relevant information and

sources of help available on

Twitter. This is an expansion of

Twitter's #ThereIsHelp prompt,

which was specifically put in

place for the public to find

clear, credible information

focusing on disaster preparedness

and emergencies

The search prompt will be

available on iOS, Android, and

on mobile.twitter.com in India,

in both English and Hindi languages.

"Through the launch of

this search prompt and our collaboration

with Twitter, we are

optimistic about bringing

authentic and credible information

to the fore to promote open

public communication, in times

when it is needed the most," SN

Pradhan, Director General,

NDRF, said in a statement.

The feature will be reviewed

at regular intervals by the

Twitter team to ensure that all

related keywords generate the

proactive search prompt.

"The dedicated search

prompt will ensure there is

uninterrupted access to relevant

and authoritative information,

such as important updates on

critical transit and utility outages,

efforts to oversee crowd

management and establish

direct access between the

affected areas and the rescue

teams," said Mahima Kaul,

Director, Public Policy, India

and South Asia, Twitter.

Some of the search keywords

include #cyclone,

#DisasterRelief, #earthquake,

#flood, #floods, #heavyrainfall,

#hurricane, #Landslides,

#NDMA, #NDRF, #rain, #rainfall,

#SDRF, #storm, #thunderstorm

and #tsunami. The search

prompt will also generate a list

of government agencies working

towards disaster response

and relief in India, so people

looking for support can identify

and establish contact with credible

authorities.


NEWS

16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020

21

It is strange that suddenly a large

part of public opinion is speaking of

‘rule of law’ after the killing of terrorist

Vikas Dubey was killed. Ofcourse,

for many he was not a terrorist but a

petty criminal but then any one who

spread terror, kills innocent people

whether with political patronage or

without it is a terrorist.

However, what is disturbing is the

way he has bee killed and police theory

is so poorly scripted that any court

will trash it to Dustbin.

There are few important points that

we find here. Politicians normally

don’t care for rule of law as for them

public perception is more important.

They know it well that in the eye of

public they are being treated as

heroes. Till the day before, when

Vikas Dubey surrendered or caught

every on started crying that he was

being saved by the top leadership. The

thing is that Uttar Pradesh government’s

policy is nothing new as these

days political leaders, become ‘messiah’

and they use the same police and

same methods against which they

have been speaking when they are in

the opposition.

According to Indian Express

report, Vikas Dubey was actually

encounter number 118 done by Uttar

Pradesh police since Yogi Adityanath

took over as chief minister of the

state. Police are supposed to follow

law but when the top leadership allow

police to do things at their whims and

fancies then such things are bound to

happen. It is reported that in 74 such

cases magisterial inquiries have given

police clean chit and 61 cases have

been closed. When encounters

become state policy then you cant

expect independence and autonomy in

such magisterial inquiries.It is time

for the High Courts or Supreme Court

to ensure that such things dont happen

and though there are specific court

lines yet better that they are renewed

and spoken powerfully.

It was perhaps this fear of custodial

encounter that forced a lawyer in

Mumbai to approach the Supreme

Court just before Vikas Dubey was

killed. The thing is that none would

weep for Vikas Dubey and his kind of

goons but the people who swear by

the constitution have to follow the

constitutional procedures. We know

police remain under deep strain when

political leadership use them and that

is why we have seen emergence of

caste goons. So my caste goon is a

revolutionary for me but a goonda for

Time for serious action

on Police Reforms

other and vice versa. This has happened

in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

where politics was and is openly

influenced by this culture. Today, all

the political parties are saying this but

there is this fact that state need police

and politicians need them more than

any one else to protect them. Caste

identities and loyalties are so powerful

here that even the policemen who

have to take action against the goons

actually bow before them and the

thanedar of the Chaubepur thana was

not exception. These are harsh realities

of the state. I can give an example

how the goons are protected and supported

in India and how do they

behave if they are out of the country.

Nearly twelve years ago, I was

returning from London after participating

in a conference. I boarded the

British Airways flight from London

Heathrow. It was Middle seat which

was offered to me. The time was 10 am

in the morning. When I boarded the

flight, I saw a man sitting on the seat in

a typical village style. He had put his

feet too on the two other seat which

were vacant that time. I did not say

anything and sat silently. There was a

gap of two seat between this man and

me. Soon, he just stretched his leg further

and pretended as if he is sleeping

so that none ‘disturb’ him. This is a

normal trick of Indian men who dont

want to vacate a seat for some one or

dont want to listen to any one. I was

very upset. Soon there was the usual

announcement for fastening the seat

belt and other things before take off.

The man did not bother. The hostess

found him and ask him to fasten the sit

straight and fasten the seat belt.

After some time in

the air, the crew give

the immigration form

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

social and human rights activist

to all. Unlike these

days, immigration forms had to be

filled by all whether Indian national or

foreign national. I filled it up soon and

kept quiet. This man was trying to

speak to me but I was deliberately

ignoring me. After some time, he

asked me whether I have a pen ? I said

yes and gave him the same but he was

not asking for the same. He wanted me

to fill his immigration form and that of

his family, in all about four passports.

I told him that I will do one sample for

him and he should do the rest.

So, he gave me his disembarkation

form and passport. As I opened the

first page, I got the first shock. This

was a well known mafia of Uttar

Pradesh. I kept my composure and

pretending as if I don’t know anything.

I filled the form and gave it to

him. I kept quiet. Soon, he started a

conversation with me. ‘ Where do you

live, he asked me ? I said, in London

? Oh, what a great country is this ?

Every body follow law and there is no

need to have police. I asked him

where was he coming from and he

said that he and his family were on a

vacation and traveled to United

States. He was admiring the western

world, about the discipline and cleanliness

there and wished if things were

same in India. I asked him, what do

you do ? ‘ I am a social worker’, he

said. I laughed in my heart.

Through out the journey in the air,

he was silent and did not utter anything.

He could not fill the disembarkation

form and kept them pending.

As the flight landed in Delhi, his

‘power’ return. While I remain waiting

for my time at the immigration, he

got a VIP treatment and got away with

everything quickly. Normally, it happen

to all the VIPs who return, even

the children of these VIPs when they

return to India where their junior

staffs are there in service of their

lords. I was not shocked to see that as

it is a reality. The big dons have political

linkages as well as with policemen

too. Media will come with selective

leakages. They will bring a BSP-

SP connections to the goons but that is

not the complete story. It is like

Bollywood films where a Dubey,

Tiwari, Sharma are always ‘do-gooders’

and a Yadav, Gujjar, Thakurs are

always the villain. An honest effort

need to be made to expose the nexus

and all political parties will have to

take a pledge that they wont use these

dons for their political purposes but

that is not easy.

Perhaps we need a strong response

from the Courts ( may be we are

expecting too much) as political system

is failing. We know that many people

will ‘celebrate’ but rule of law can not

celebrate this. A live Vikas Dubey

would have been more powerful than

the dead Vikas Dubey and the reasons

are clear. In terms of politics, Yogi

Adityanath remain powerful but

whether there will be resentment

among Brahmins or not will be seen in

the coming days but he can claim that

he will not ‘leave’ any criminal which

ever caste they belong to but before that

his police will have explain the court

that the ‘encounter’ was genuine.

Politically, there may not be much damage

to his image but in terms of legality

and constitutionality, whatever has

happened has only damaged rule of law

further. You can now allow the police to

function in such a way. Moreover, in

the absence of Vikas Dubey, who will

spill the beans of who funded him as

well as who used him for their nefarious

political purposes. Clearly, the

police might have killed and satisfied

the feelings of those families who lost

their near dear ones but then beyond

that it remain a blank spot. We need to

believe that it is important to reach to

the heart of an issue and find the truth

and for that faith in constitutional system

is a must otherwise it is assumed

that goon is killed to protect more powerful

on whose behest he was doing his

killings. Will the truth be out now ?

BHOPAL MEDIA OWNER INVOLVED

IN CHILD SEX RACKET HELD

Bhopal : The main accused in the

Bhopal girls rape case Pyare Miyan

(68), was arrested from Jammu and

Kashmir on Wednesday, with the help

of local police and will be brought to

Bhopal, informed South Bhopal SP

Sai Krishna Thota.

Pyare Miyan who had acquired the

famous urdu daily Afkar nearly forty

years ago, had built a large empire of

illegal properties and was allegedly

involved in trafficking and abuse of

minor girls, had been absconding for

the past four days. The government

had demolished a marriage garden and

some other properties belonging to

Pyare Miyan. The trafficking racket

was busted when five girls, including

four minors, were found wandering in

Bhopal's Ratibad area last week. On

being questioned, they said that they

were returning after attending a party

where one of them was raped.

The minor girls have told the Child

Helpline that they were raped several

times on many occasions in such parties.

We have booked two people

including Sweetie Vishwakarma, the

girl who was accompanying the

minors, under POCSO Act.

The government scrapped Pyare

Miyan's accreditation as a journalist

and launched a hunt for him. The

women arrested in the case said many

others including bureaucrats, politicians

and businessmen were among

the beneficiaries of Pyare Miyan's

"hospitality" in the dens of sleaze.

"Two men and a woman linked to

Pyare Miyan have been made accused

in the rape case. Two luxury cars were

seized. Police conducted a raid at two

of his apartments where a pub was set

up. A huge cache of liquor has been

sized from there," said Thota.

22 16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020 WORLD


Anand Teltumbde: Cards and letters for

jailed India scholar as he turns 70

Prominent Indian scholar and human rights defender Anand Teltumbde has turned 70 in a Mumbai

prison amid growing calls for his release, writes the BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi.

"Then they came for me, and there

was no one left to speak for me."

Professor Teltumbde often quoted

these iconic words from German

Lutheran Pastor Martin Niemoller,

criticising silence when faced with

evil, in his books and speeches.

On Wednesday, when he turns 70 in

a Mumbai jail where he's been imprisoned

for 90 days, his family and

friends are trying to ensure that he's

not greeted with silence.

Scores of letters and cards wishing

him well on his birthday are expected

to be delivered at Taloja jail where he's

being held. "Anand is a respected academic

who's been shut away for completely

dubious reasons," Balmurli

Natrajan, professor of anthropology at

William Paterson University in New

Jersey, who is among the people writing

a letter to Prof Teltumbde, told the

BBC. "We want him to know that we

are constantly thinking of him, reading

his books." Counted among India's

best-known public intellectuals, Prof

Teltumbde has authored 30 books and

is known for his incisive writing on

India's harsh caste system.

Born to a Dalit (formerly untouchables

in India's rigid caste system)

family, he worked in top positions in

some of India's biggest oil companies

before moving to academia. At present,

he's head of the Big Data programme

at the prestigious Goa

Institute of Management. A trenchant

critic of the government, he's

described Prime Minister Narendra

Modi as "more dangerous than Hitler

and Mussolini" and a "narcissist par

excellence". On 14 April, when Prof

Teltumbde turned himself in to federal

investigators on court orders, he

joined 10 other activists, poets and

lawyers who have been arrested in

connection with what is known as the

Bhima Koregaon case.

They are being held under the

UAPA (Unlawful Activities

Prevention Act) - an anti-terrorism law

that makes it almost impossible to get

bail. Police accuse them of instigating

caste violence at a Dalit rally in Bhima

Koregaon village in the western state

of Maharashtra on 1 January 2018.

Although those detained weren't

present in the village at the time,

police blamed the violence on their

speeches at a meeting the night before.

They are also accused of working

in tandem with the Naxalites - banned

ultra-left Maoist rebels - to "overthrow

the government and cause chaos in

India".

Indian academic surrenders over

violence charges

But Indian and international campaigners

and rights organisations

working for their release say they've

been jailed for criticising the state.

"All the 11 activists have worked

relentlessly to protect the rights of

some of India's most marginalised

people, including Dalits and tribals,"

Amnesty International said in one of

the several statements it has put out in

the past few months calling for their

release. Human Rights Watch has

called the detentions "wrongful" and

"politically motivated" and questioned

why the government did not investigate

the allegations that Hindu nationalist

leaders may have had a role in the

Bhima Koregaon violence?

In May, the European Parliament

Subcommittee on Human Rights

wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah

saying it was alarmed by the "intimidation

and harassment of human rights

defenders" by the authorities.

The letter also urged India to immediately

release all prisoners in view of

the coronavirus pandemic - most of

the detainees are elderly with underlying

health conditions and thus at serious

risk of catching the infection in

overcrowded jails.

Prof Natrajan says India has always

been "a marketplace of ideas", pointing

out that Nobel laureate Amartya

Sen once called Indians "argumentative".

But in the past eight years, the

space for argument and debate has

been shrinking. Prof Teltumbde, he

says, has been setting the contours of

key debates on globalisation and politics

of caste and religion for the past

30 years. "He's been calling out caste

deniers and Hindu triumphalism. He's

dared to point fingers at the powerful

classes - he's telling them, 'here's what

you're doing and how it's put a majority

of Indian people in misery'. And

that makes him a dangerous man."

Prof Teltumbde, says his wife

Rama, was shocked when his name

first came up two years back in the list

of accused in the Bhima Koregaon

case. "We hadn't even imagined it in

our worst dreams that something like

this could ever happen to us," she told

me on the phone from Mumbai.

"My husband is not a criminal," she

says, her voice breaking with emotion.

"He's an academic, a workaholic who

spent 14-15 hours daily reading, writing

and teaching." In his free time, she

says, he would try to help the poor and

the marginalised because he wanted to

see an India that's better, more just.

"To be thrown into jail for that is a

very high price to pay." Since her husband

has been jailed, Mrs Teltumbde

has been allowed a weekly twominute

phone call with him. India jails

pregnant student despite Covid-19 risk

"I always ask him how's his health?

And how's the prison food because I

know the food there is very bad. He

doesn't want to worry us, so he always

says he's fine. And then he asks about

his mother and our daughters."

Mrs Teltumbde is the granddaughter

of Bhimrao Ambedkar - the author

of India's constitution and an icon to

millions of Dalits - and says she

believes that her grandfather wouldn't

recognise today's India. "I don't think

he envisaged this kind of India where

people are arrested for speaking their

mind. We live in a democracy and

freedom of speech is a right guaranteed

under the constitution."

But critics say it's a right that is

under grave threat in today's India.

Those criticising PM Modi are

attacked on social media by nationalist

trolls, and activists and students

opposing the government are being

jailed. Most of the dissenters are

charged under UAPA and being held

in prison without bail.

Earlier this year, police in Delhi

arrested several students who had

protested against a controversial new

citizenship law that critics say discriminates

against Muslims. They

were labelled as "anti-nationals working

to break up India" by news channels

friendly to the government.

Female activists were slut-shamed on

social media.

While most continue to languish in

overcrowded prisons, Safoora Zargar,

a pregnant female student, was freed

after three months in jail following

global condemnation.

"The government is playing with

the liberties of people by arresting

them under flimsy charges," says

Mihir Desai, Prof Teltumbde's lawyer.

"The central charge against Prof

Teltumbde," he says, "is that he was

helping the Naxalites by getting them

recruits and spreading their ideology

and that he was taking money from

them." But when they raided his

house, he says, they did not find any

arms or cash. The only evidence the

police have put forth so far are four

"letters" that they waved at a press

conference. Mr Desai says they are

typed and unsigned and there are no

addresses or email addresses on them.

He says they are not written by Prof

Teltumbde or addressed to him - the

one thing they all have in common is

the mention of an "Anand" which is a

common Indian name.

"These letters appear to be manufactured,"

he says adding that "even if

they are real, how do they prove that

this Anand is Prof Teltumbde? Also,

anyone can write anything to anyone,

but is that proof? These can't exist as

evidence." The evidence is unlikely to

stand scrutiny in court, Mr Desai says,

but it's the process that's the punishment.

"If a person is jailed for 10 years

while the case goes on, their life is

ruined." As Prof Teltumbde completes

three months in prison, his wife Rama

says their only demand is for him to be

freed on bail and the government to

start the trial soon so that "his name

can be cleared".

A day before he was taken into custody,

Prof Teltumbde wrote an open

letter where he detailed the harassment

he says he's faced in the past two

years - he wrote about how his home

was raided, his Wikipedia page was

vandalised, and how the government

inserted Israeli spyware on his phone.

"As I see my India being ruined, it

is with a feeble hope that I write to you

at such a grim moment… I do not

know when I shall be able to talk to

you again. "However, I earnestly hope

that you will speak out before your

turn comes," he wrote. By jailing him,

Prof Natrajan says, the government is

trying to crush the very people who

are trying to reason and debate. "But

mark my words, Anand will not be

crushed. You can jail people, torture

them, kill them, but you cannot beat

ideas."


WORLD

16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020

23

Media stoops to a new low: Vikash Dubey

encounter is portrayed as “instant justice”

While covering the

encounter of the gangster Vikas

Dubey by Uttar Pradesh (UP)

police, the mainstream Indian

media – particularly Hindi

newspapers – appears to have

condoned the extra-judicial

killing. They have again failed

to act as a defender of civil

rights.

The diseased, Dubey’s, criminal

life spanned 30 years. He

has been accused of 62 criminal

cases. The criminal charges

against him include five cases

of murder and eight cases of

attempt to murder (8). Earlier,

he has also been booked under

the draconian UP Gangsters’

Act, Goonda Act, and the

National Security Act. In 2001,

he was accused of killing a state

minister within a police station.

A few days back he was arrested

by Ujjain police (Madhya

Pradesh) for killing eight policemen.

Eventually, he was being brought to

Kanpur by the U.P. police. Dubey was

killed in a police encounter on the

early Friday morning on his way from

Ujjain to Kanpur.

The encounter of Vikash Dubey

became the front-page story in most

of the newspapers. Some newspapers

wrote editorial on this incident. For

example, Hindi daily Haribhoomi

calls the encounter as “justice” given

“on the spot”. Its front-page headline

(New Delhi, July 11) reads “Justice

onspot”.

Similarly, Dainik Bhaskar (New

Delhi, July 11) portrays the encounter

as “justice” (Encounter wala insaf).

Another Hindi daily Rashtriya Sahara,

too, appears to have upheld extrajudicial

killing by the police. In its

front-page headline, the Hindi daily

writes “The end of Vikash Dubey

comes instantly” (Vikash Dubey ka

ant…turant). Dainik Jagran (National

July 11) expresses the same spirit in

its front-page headline: “Gangster

Vikash Dubey killed in an encounter”

(Muthbhed men gangster Vikas

Debey ka kam tamam).

Can an encounter by the police, in

any condition, be justified in a democracy?

Who will deny that the job of

the police is to investigate and produce

an accused before a court? In a

landmark judgment in 2012, the

Supreme Court warned against the

practice of encounter: “It is not the

duty of the police officers to kill the

accused merely because he is a dreaded

criminal. Undoubtedly, the police

have to arrest the accused and put

them up for trial. This Court has

repeatedly admonished trigger happy

police personnel, who liquidate criminals

and project the incident as an

encounter. Such killings must be deprecated.

They are not recognised as

legal by our criminal justice administration

system. They amount to State

sponsored terrorism.”

Contrary to this, Hindi dailies seem

to have condoned the encounters.

They appear to have justified the

extra-judicial killing. They seem to

have favoured bypassing proper legal

procedures, upholding “instant justice”.

It is unfortunate for a democracy

that a considerable section of

media does not seem agitated against

the practice of meting out justice as a

kangaroo court does. Sadly, the

above-mentioned newspapers do not

make much effort to go beyond the

police version. They have presented

the chronology of events in such a

way to make the readers believe that

the police had no option but to kill the

“gangster”.

For example, the narrative, peddled

by Dainik Jagran (National), seems to

be based on the notes taken from the

police. As the newspaper writes,

Vikash Dubey, accused of killing

eight policemen, was being brought

from Ujjain to Kanpur by the police.

When the police vehicle overturned

near Kanhaiya Lal Hospital in

Sachendi (Kanpur), the police jawans

got unconscious for a while.

Meanwhile, Vikash Dubey snatched a

pistol from a police inspector and tied

to run away. When the police started

chasing him, he fired at policemen. In

retaliation, the police forces and

members of the Anti-Terrorism Squad

(ATS) killed him. Two jawans of the

ATS also sustained injuries.

Such a narrative raises more questions

than it answers. For example,

when the police vehicle overturned,

how could all the police jawans fell

unconscious but Vikash Dubey did

not? Was the security arrangement by

the U.P. police appropriate, given the

“dreaded criminal history” of Dubey?

Is there any political pressure to

silence him forever that outweighed

the considerations of justice?

Instead of raising such questions,

the tone of editorials, penned by several

Hindi newspapers, has sounded

apologist for the encounter. Rashtriya

Sahara’s editorial (July 11) seems to

be scolding those who have spoken

against encounters. “But those who

have condemned the role of the police

and spoken loudly in favour of the

judicial system, should know this fact

that the accused of sixty serious cases

has been enjoying impunity with the

help of the same judicial system”.

Rashtriya Sahara forgets to note that

the police system is part of the judicial

system.

The editorial of Dainik Jagran

(National, July 11) says the same

thing but says it indirectly. To justify

the police action, the newspaper

spends considerable energy on showing

the loopholes of the judicial system.

It argues that the judicial system

of the country has been unable to punish

the “dreaded” criminals. It even

justifies the December 2019

Hyderabad police encounter of the

alleged rapists. By such an act, it prepares

the ground for the justification

of the encounter. In our judicial system,

the editorial argues, the pronouncement

of sentences to criminals

as well as the execution of the punishment

is delayed.

Even if the editorial is justified in

highlighting the limitation of the judiciary,

it cannot be a ground for

encounters. The primary job of the

police, undoubtedly, is investigation.

The police should collect evidence

and put it before the court to decide.

The Indian Constitution, similarly,

talks about the separation of power. It

opposes one authority encroaching

upon the rights of other institutions.

The principles of democracy are the

rule of law and checks and balances.

However, the editorial of

Haribhoomi does raise a few questions

about the encounter. It is hopeful

that the National Human Rights

Commission (NHRC) would take

“serious action” since the matter has

been brought to its notice.

Haribhoomi’s editorial says that even

“anti-national” Ajmal Kasab and

Afzal Guru were brought before the

court. Punjab Kesari (July 11), in its

editorial, has hinted at the political

angle of the encounter with the following

words: “With Vikas Dubey

encounter by the police, several

secrets (rahasya) got buried too”.

The editorial of The Indian Express

(July 11) is vocal against the practice

of encounter. It has criticized Yogi

Adityanath Government too: “There

is, also, a thriving “encounter culture”

and police impunity in UP. It is sanctioned

by the ruling regime and

shored up by the apparent lack of popular

outrage at extra-judicial killings,

if not outright popular support for

such summary executions, and impatience

with fundamental principles of

criminal justice. Indeed, in a country

governed by the rule of law, the UP

Police has much to explain. But if it

resists and refuses — as police forces

in these situations do — the court

must step in”.

Urdu dailies, unlike most of Hindi

dailies, raise several questions about

the encounter. Inquilab (Mumbai, July

11), in its lead story, says “After dramatic

arrest, suspicious encounter,

several questions raised, inquiry

demanded”. Siasat (Hyderabad, July

11), has the following headline: “The

dramatic killing of the gangsters in

UP, Vikash Dubey falls a new prey to

‘encounter’ state” (“‘Encounter state’

men Vikas Dubey naya shikar, U.P.

men gangster ki dramai halakat”).

Note that several cases of encounters

by the UP police have been

reported in the recent past. According

to a report of The Indian Express,

“Dubey is the 119th accused to have

been killed in what police called

cross-firing since the Yogi Adityanath

government took charge in March

2017”. Another story in The Wire

claims that “in the last ten months, UP

police has conducted four police

encounters per day”. This all points to

the prevalence of gross violation of

the human rights in UP.

It is disappointing that several

Hindi dailies, while reporting the

encounter, have not pressed the

demand for the police reforms (police

sudhar). However, two retired senior

police officers, writing opinion

pieces, have expressed serious concerns

over the criminalization of the

politics and politicization of the

police.

Writing a piece in Amar Ujala

(New Delhi, July 11) titled “Crime,

politics, and police” (Apradh, rajneeti

aur police), Prakash Singh, former

DGP, argues that the police should be

kept immune from the political pressure.

He rues that the erring officers,

particularly those placed at

higher level, go scot-free. He

also tries to link the encounter

with the problem of criminalization

of politics. He cites the

example of U.P. assembly

(2017), saying that 36% of total

MLAs has been charged with

criminal cases. “If a large number

of politicians with criminal

backgrounds would enter the

assembly, how will then the

organized criminal gangs be

checked?”, the former DIG

Prakash Singh has asked.

Julio Ribeiro, former DGP of

Gujarat and Punjab, has stressed

the issue of “politicization of the

police force” in his opinion

piece in The Indian Express

(July 11). In his article, he contends

that the process of “political

meddling” and “patronage

afforded to corrupt officials”

began in the 1980s. In this way,

he tries to show a contrast between the

period before the 1980s and after the

1980s. Showing a link between

Friday’s encounter and the regime of

Yogi Adityanath, Julio Ribeiro says

that UP chief minister Yogi

Adityanath “openly boasted of controlling

crime by the encounter

method”. In the end, Ribeiro concludes

that by resorting to “shortcut”,

such as encounter”, the UP chief minister

is “ensuring the rise of enterprising

policemen, who have become law

breakers instead of law keepers”.

While Prakash Singh and Julio

Ribeiro are correct to raise the issue of

criminalization of politics and politicization

of the police, the issue of

police reforms cannot bypass the question

of lack of diversity in the police

department. The Indian police came

into existence with the Police Act,

1861 during the British colonial rule.

Before the Independence the Muslim

representations in UP was not as bad as

it is seen today. For example, the

shares of Muslims in the police department

were 50% cent (1921), 48%

(1935-36), and 40% (1947).

Unfortunately, the discriminatory policies

of “secular” governments in post-

Independence made Muslim representation

in police fall drastically. The latest

figure (2012) suggests that Muslim

representation in the police is a mere

6.5%, half of their population.

Similarly, the representation of Other

Backward Classes (OBCs) in the

police at an-all India level is also inadequate,

i.e. 16.5%, while their population

is 27%. The proper representation

of Muslims, as well as other deprived

communities, would make the police

department more inclusive and less

prejudiced against the weaker sections.

– Abhay Kumar

(Abhay Kumar is a Ph.D. from

JNU. He is broadly interested in

Minority and Social Justice. Earlier,

he held a Post-Graduate Diploma in

English Journalism from Indian

Institute of Mass Communication,

New Delhi and worked as a Delhibased

reporter with The Indian

Express. You may write to him at

debatingissues@gmail.com).

24 16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020 WORLD


As consumers, producers, distributors

and traders, the global citizens

have to accept the realities of recession

(if not depression) and slow

growth rate in the global economy

caused by covid crisis. Is there any

mantra to fix the problems in the

global economy including India?

What we should do to come out of the

impact of covid crisis and revive the

economy suffering from covid created

crisis?

As ‘Needonomist, I believe in the

principle of ‘Needonomics’ as the

smooth path of survival and revival of

the global economy in post covid era.

Needonomics requires actions suiting

circumstances as a common sense

approach of ‘cut the coat according to

the cloth’. It is an old proverb mostly

before the ready-made dresses started

flooding the shopping mall. In those

days, people bought the cloth according

to the requisite measurement for

stitching new dresses, including the

coat. Even now many people do that.

However, if the cloth purchased is cut

more at one or two places than the

required length and breadth, then

there will be shortfall of material for

other areas of the body, like arms, collar

and pockets. Like the body and

mind coordination for any action of

ours, these two, income and expenses,

go together. It is all in one’s hand;

mostly in middle class and even

among higher income group of people,

too. A father is the breadwinner of

a family. He works and earns, so that

he and his family members who

depend on him for a living, find all the

bare necessities and live peacefully.

At home, both the father and mother

jointly discuss and plan the monthly

expenditures so that it should not

overlap the income. This proverb

applies not only to individuals but

also to business establishments. Of

course, a company may raise a loan to

expand or diversify its business. But it

must do so judiciously; otherwise it

can even go bankrupt. Even the government

of a nation has to keep in

mind it’s total resources while spending.

if it does not do so and goes on

borrowing recklessly from banks and

foreign countries, it could result in

severe economic problems for the

nationals. The saying is of great practical

value applying it in life makes

one happy and contented.

Income can be compared to output,

and expenses to input. If the input

exceeds the output, then there is

bound to be financial crunch every

month. This will lead to debts and

worries. And if the same situation persists,

resulting in the accumulation of

debts, it would shatter the peace in the

family. So, it is the duty of the heads

of the family to chalk out a strategy in

such a way like cutting the cloth to the

requisite measurement that both ends

can be met with. It is not applicable to

family alone, but applicable to any

economy in the world including India.

Now even the super power USA also

undergoes trials and tribulations,

resulting in recession.

It is worth quoting a great saying

by an anonymous writer, “They live

in a beautiful little apartment overlooking

the rent.” Though it sounds

funny, it is true in many families who

give utmost importance to luxury, a

sort of face-saving attitude among

their near and dear, by borrowing

money and becoming debtors in the

long run. One must have some comforts.

There is no second opinion

about it. But at the same time, it is the

Needonomics for

Revival of

Global Economy

Professor Dr. M.M. Goel*

best policy to curtail unnecessary

expenses.

To say goodbye to the ‘Cobra

Effect’ of international debt, we

should adopt needonomics which is

ethical, nonviolent and spiritual in

nature and says no to greed authenticating

economic thoughts of

Mahatma Gandhi , is based on the

logo of Life Insurance Corporation

(LIC )of India ‘Yogakshemam

Vahamyaham’(Your welfare is our

responsibility).

The joy of freedom cannot be

found in the art of living for the livelihood

but with the art of giving by

adopting life style of altruism (not me

but you) with limited use of resources

for the self. The excessive dependence

on FDI can be reduced to a considerable

extent by adopting needonomics.

The call for stopping the use of

foreign ( Chinese ) goods can be successful

only if we confine to needs

only and say no to greed which falls

in the domain of greedonomics (economics

of greed ).

Internationalization of Indianization

is possible by adopting diplomacy of

Glocalization (think globally and act

locally) and sharing and caring of others.

To enhance the international

stature of incredible India, we should

stop war of words and win over the

adversaries in neighbourhood with

diplomacy.

To create capacity in the economy,

we have to build infrastructure which

require investment and is dependent

on domestic saving rate. This is possible

with expenditure policy based on

needonomics. One can increase the

capacity of investing, saving and

donating for public wellbeing only by

confining to needs. There is no substitute

of the control of expenditure and

consumption for investment to

enhance the capacities and capabilities.

I believe that ‘needonomics’ is necessary

and sufficient for solving the

economic and non-economic problems

anywhere in the world including

India.

Needonomics is required for saying

no to most of the problems caused

by Greedonomics (economics of

greed) including violence, terrorism,

exploitation, deprivation, discrimination,

discontent and corruption of all

kinds prevailing in the society.

Endless greed is the real menace facing

the world today.

To my mind, an economist who

speaks and argues needonomics is

known as Needonomist.

To implement the principle of

‘Needonomics’, I believe that strategy

of spiritually guided materialism

(SGM) flowing from LIC of India’s

slogan in the logo ‘yogakshemam

vahamyaham’ in Sanskrit which

loosely translates into English as

“Your welfare is our responsibility”

derived from sloka no 22 of chapter

9 of Bhagvad Gita “ananyash chintayanto

ma? ye jana? paryupasate

te?ha? nityabhiyuktana? yogak?hema?

vahamyaham”. Meaning

there by “There are those who always

think of Me and engage in exclusive

devotion to Me. To them, whose

minds are always absorbed in Me, I

provide what they need and preserve

what they already possess”

Recession in the global economy

including India needs proper diagnosis

by the economists of all shades

and creed with Gita based wise words

of wisdom (www) to create conducive

climate and work culture with honesty

of purpose. It needs to be understood,

analysed and interpreted that spiritualism

and materialism are complementary

to each other and not substitutes.

To mitigate the miseries of

materialism, modern economics must

consist of spiritualism which is necessary

and sufficient for ethical behaviour

of economic actors including

consumers, producers, distributors,

traders and above all policy makers

and facilitators. Economists have the

unique responsibility towards the

moral empowerment of all the actors

in the economy.

I believe that a consumer as a hero

of economics is always interested in a

heroin (goods and services) and all

those who pollute the relationship are

called villains in the real drama in the

market. Everyone is a consumer and

is expected to behave in the market

with rational behaviour which falls in

the domain of consumer psychology.

Consumer psychology is the study

of why and how people buy things in

the market (online and offline). Every

consumer should consume the goods

and services as per the needs. It is

unfortunate that leading economists

of the world promote greed as the

basis of economic growth, turning it

into a “Greedonomics”. Economics

should be based on need, not on

greed. It should be a “Needonomics”,

and not a “Greedonomics”.

For revival of the economy, we

need street smart citizenry as consumers,

producers, distributors and

traders. A person is street smart with

the attributes including simple, moral,

action oriented, responsive and transparent

(SMART) along with needonomics

in the present economic scenario

of materialism and consumerism.

We have to adopt SIMPLE model

of empowerment consisting of six

human development activities such as

spiritual quotient (SQ) development,

intuition development, mental level

development, love oneself attitude

development and emotional quotient

(EQ) development. The synergy of

these six aspects is essential requirement

for us to emerge and realize our

full potential.

My perceptions about globalization

in present times of covid created

economic crisis is to understand, analyze

and interpret globalization as

internationalization of Indianization

which I have been promoting since

1991.

To implement the vision of

‘Atamnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

announced by Indian prime minister,

we should avoid over emphasizing

‘vocal for local’ and be little diplomatic

and use the wisdom for

‘Glocalization’ to promote

Vasudhiava Kutumbakam (the world

is one family) as the Indian ethos.

We have to control our tongue and

appetite of the war of words and agree

to disagree respectfully. For determination

of implementing Atamnirbhar

Bharat Abhiyan, we have to accept

needonomics as the key for selfreliance.

It is pertinent to mention that

self-reliance (Atamnirbhar) without

the knowledge of the self as soul (

atma) is a distant dream and calls for

imbibing human values of public

wellbeing ( lokmanagal).

To give defeat to the socio-economic

problems, we have to adopt

needonomics. For conducting welfare

schemes for the poor, we require

resources which must be spent judiciously.

To justify the relevance of needonomics

in present times of covid crisis,

we have to accept and understand

Bhagvad Gita as a treatise on welfare

economics and management. It needs

to be accepted as a sacro-secular epic

for the entire humanity. For me, Gita

is my guru which is the heart of

Krishan. Economy can be people

friendly and socially beneficial only if

undertaken in accordance with NAW

approach (Need, Affordability and

Worth of the goods and services).

The pertinent questions before the

people ‘Do one Need the good or

service, which has been so glamorously

advertised? Is the good or

service Affordable? Is the good or

service Worth its price?’ The market

should satisfy the essential needs of

the people, create employment opportunities

and be utilitarian. We have to

understand, analyse, interpret and

adopt NAW approach for the goods

and services. To create work culture,

there is need of converting holiday

culture in to holy-day culture. I firmly

believe that the rate of progress in

spiritualism is faster than the rate of

progress in materialism. Therefore,

there is need of accepting spiritually

guided materialism (SGM) strategy

making a case for ‘needonomics’

which is nonviolent, ethical and spiritual

(no to greed ‘greedonomics’) as

a solution of various problems in any

economy. Efficacy and esteem should

be the belief to shape the economy

which calls for zealous (not jealous)

human resources with spiritual input.

To make it happen we should adopt an

evolutionary approach and should not

expect miracles.

I believe an enlightened life helps

in developing skills, values, wisdom

and vision to align and harmonize

new connectivity among various economic

sectors in the global society.

Gita is useful to all those who are

interested in exploring such a journey

to life, living and providing leadership

driven by nobler objectives for

riving the global economy. To seek

real happiness with kindness, we

should possess something to share

with others as altruism with limited

means falls in the domain of needonomics.

* Former Vice Chancellor and

Needonomist Professor retired from

Kurukshetra

University,

Kurukshetra. Disciple of Gita as

heart of Krishan.


WORLD

16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020

25

Tackling eye infections in

children during monsoon

New Delhi : During the rainy season

we take precautions like avoiding

street food or getting soaked in rains.

But most of us forget to protect our

eyes from the onslaught of rains.

Monsoon brings with it high levels of

humidity which is the primary reason

for many eye infections.

While adults have a fair sense of

taking the necessary precautions to

reduce the risk of getting infections,

children have a lower immunity compared

to adults and are more prone to

getting infections, particularly eye

infections, that plague them from time

to time. Some common eye infections

in children include conjunctivitis, sty

and eye allergies. While there are a

number of factors that lead to these

infections, some of the common causes

are bacterial or viral infections as in

common cold, flu or even frequent

rubbing of the eye because of undetected

refractive errors, informs Dr

Girija Suresh, Consultant Pediatric

Ophthalmologist, Fortis Hospital

Mulund. To help parents understand

different ways in which they can

adopt the best possible ways to prevent

these eye infections in their children,

Dr Suresh suggests a few methods

parents can inculcate in their children

to avoid these infections from

forming and reoccurring:

WASHING HANDS FRE-

QUENTLY

Children unconsciously touch a

host of surfaces and then touch their

faces; eye infections in particular

stem from this. Parents first need to

educate their children on washing

their hands frequently

whenever they have

come from outside or

even touched any surfaces

or objects, as

bacteria lingers on

them most times.

REGULAR EYE

CHECK-UPS

Another important

aspect of preventing

eye infections among children is to

schedule regular eye examinations

and checkups every year with your

local eye expert. Regular eye checkups

not only help detect any abnormality

in the eye, but also give parents

an early diagnosis, and causes

less irritation and discomfort for children

later on in life as well.

ENSURING SAFETY FROM

EXTERNAL ELEMENTS

If a child has a certain eye infection

like conjunctivitis which is transferable

in nature when another child

comes in contact with the infected

child, this will spread the infection

further. The best possible way to prevent

transmission is by keeping your

child away from public spaces like

parks, schools, playgrounds and any

other public gatherings, and also by

maintaining strict hygiene like washing

hands frequently, and maintaining

a healthy diet for a quicker recovery

period.

PROPER TREATMENT

Finally, proper medication and

treatment is necessary for a proper

recovery. The treatment for eye infections

is simple with antibiotics and

lubricating eye drops, which helps to

reduce the infection over time and

eradicate it completely.

While young children are most

prone to eye infections and tend to

recur time and again in them especially

during the monsoon season,

these can be easily treated with the

right medication and better yet easily

prevented by regular eye examinations

and hygiene practices.

138 new COVID-19

deaths take UK

death toll to 44,968

London : Another 138 COVID-19

patients have died in Britain as of

Monday afternoon, bringing the total

coronavirus-related death toll in the

country to 44,968, the British

Department of Health and Social Care

said. The figures include deaths in all

settings, including hospitals, care

homes and the wider community,

Xinhua news agency reported on

Tuesday.

As of Tuesday morning, 291,373

people have tested positive for the disease

in Britain, a daily increase of 398,

according to the department.

Wearing a face covering in shops

and supermarkets in England is to

become mandatory from July 24, the

British government announced on

Tuesday. Those who fail to comply

with the new rules will face a fine of

up to 100 pounds (about US $125).

Celebrity make up

artist shares free

digital makeover

New Delhi : The beauty industry has

taken over the digital world and especially

beauty filters have created a buzz during

the lockdown as people spend more

time on screen time.

Keeping in mind the latest beauty

trends, celebrity makeup artist, Namrata

Soni, conceptualises three AR beauty filters

for social media giant Instagram

with Graphixstory, a tech-driven advertising

studio.

So go on girls customise these beauty

filters band uplift your mood:

Metallic Smoke

A classic recreation inspired by Actor

Sonam Kapoor's Cannes Look

Sunset Glow

An unapologetic flush of sunset hues

on the lids along with a glass skin glow

effect

The liner on Fleek

To achieve the minimal cat-eye.

According to Namrata Soni, "I have

been seeing the emphasis growing on e-

makeup rather than Selfies. Brands, as

well as influencers, are trying on various

filters having the e-makeup option

in order to be more relatable to the

makeup world. And with these customised

beauty filters onboard, the

desire to meet the level of instructiveness

with the audience gladly meets

together." In order to give the users firsthand

experience of how the artists' renditions

will look on them, in just one tap

anyone can get a quick touch of #NAM-

GLOW. All filters have a controller on

their sides through which one can

increase or decrease the effects as on

when required.

26 16-07-2020 to 31-07-2020 WORLD


Dalits allegedly beaten by Thakur

community members in Ujjain

In another incident of caste atrocity

against Dalits in India, it was reported

that some persons from the ‘upper

caste’ Thakur community in

Nahargarh, Ujjain allegedly beat up an

elderly person from the Dalit community

because he had refused to give Rs.

50 as monetary contribution for a religious

event. Independent journalist

Himanshu Pandit who broke the story

on Facebook said that the aged person

from the Dalit community refused to

contribute saying that though the upper

caste took their money, they never

offered prasad (a devotional offering)

to the Dalits. This reportedly angered

the Thakurs and they allegedly mercilessly

beat up the elderly man. Even

people who came to his rescue, including

women, were assaulted with sticks,

axes, swords and other weapons Pandit

reported. It was also said that the Thakurs

allegedly threatened to kill the members of

the Dalit community if they asked for

prasad again.

The victims also told Pandit that the

‘upper caste’ members forcefully made

Dalits work in fields but never provided

wages. Whoever objected to this or refused

to work without pay was beaten up. The

victims alleged that women and girls were

also threatened with sexual assault by

members of the ‘upper caste’.

Pandit reported that the accused, chief

of the village (sarpanch) and the area

police officer were apparently related and

hence, the accused would always stay protected

from being questioned. Even if a

complaint was registered, the accused

Srinagar : After 13

patients died of Covid-19 in

Kashmir on Wednesday,

authorities have warned

heads of various testing hospitals

in the Valley not to

share details with the media.

A total of 13 coronavirus

patients succumbed in various

hospitals of the Valley on

Wednesday as the total number

of people killed by the

dreaded virus reached 208 in

would be booked under minor charges. In

this matter, Additional SP Amrendra Singh

assured that the accused; Chain Singh,

Sultan Singh, Vikram Singh, Jeevan Singh

and Narayan Singh, would be booked

under relevant charges, Pandit reported.

However, Pandit said that the FIR wasn’t

registered as per the details provided by the

complainant. The accused have been

booked under Section 294 (Obscene acts

and song), Section 323 (Punishment for

voluntarily causing hurt), Section 506

(Punishment for criminal intimidation),

Section 34 (Acts done by several persons

in furtherance of common intention) and

relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes

and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of

Atrocities) Act, 1989. Pandit also reported

J&K govt asks Covid

testing labs not to share

data with media

Jammu and Kashmir.

In an order issued by the

financial commissioner for

health and medical education,

Atal Dulloo said, "It has been

observed that all the institutions

at their own are giving

official statements to the

press/electronic media separately

regarding the COVID

lab testing conducted at their

respective institutions, as a

result, there is every likelihood

of confusion

on the exact number

of total lab

tests being carried

out, in all labs of

the UT".

The order further

directs all

heads of the institutions

to ensure

that no such press

briefing on

COVID related

activities including

lab testing are

given.The duty of

compiling and

reporting COVID

related data has

been assigned to mission

director, national health mission,

J&K who has been

authorised to give the details

to the press.

For the first time since the

outbreak of the pandemic,

UT's information and public

relations department did not

issue any statement regarding

the COVID situation till the

filing of this report.

that if the accused isn’t booked and

apprehended under the relevant

charges within 5 days, the villagers

will protest at the police station. This

is a developing story. After the incident,

the police had said that they

would provide protection to the villagers

and Pandit will soon be visiting

the village to see if the police have

fulfilled their promises.

Caste atrocities in India have continued

unabated despite the lockdown.

The CPI (M) said that during

the lockdown, in Tamil Nadu itself

there were 81 cases of caste-related

atrocities reported against Dalits, The

Hindu reported. Throughout history,

Dalits have faced social exclusion and

have been subjected to physical

assaults. The disparity has become

even more glaring during the lockdown.

A media report by The Siasat Daily

in May said that a Dalit couple in Madhya

Pradesh was quarantined inside a toilet and

not even given food for sustenance.

Dalits, who are now fighting for equal

rights and higher wages and dignified work

opportunities, have been historically

oppressed, thus reducing their opportunities

to earn a decent income. According to

Wealth Inequality, Class and Caste in

India, 1961-2012 report by Nitin Kumar

Bharti (2018) India’s Brahmin community

alone monopolizes 48 percent of national

income which is above the national average

income and other upper caste communities

secure 45 percent. Dalit, Adivasi, and

OBC together earn far less than the national

average household income.

'Private Journeys'

new trend in travel

New Delhi :

Private trips are an

emerging trend,

which allows families

and friends to

enjoy and explore

a destination in

privacy and safety

in a COVID era.

Keeping this in

mind, Thomas

Cook (India) and SOTC Travel

announced the launch of a new

initiative, Private Journeys,

which are chauffeured van

tours designed for smaller

groups of people.

The facility allows for a

leisurely exploration of a destination:

its history, culture, cuisine

and its hidden secrets!

Curated by experts, exclusive

private experiences have

been included: from chasing

the Northern Lights in Norway

or the Russian Lapland, whale

watching in South Africa,

enjoying the resplendent

colours of autumn in Bavaria,

Germany or soaking in the

ambience of Christmas markets

from Paris to Prague, a celebration

of Christmas in Santa

Land, Finland, a taste of history

and culture in Vietnam or

Cambodia, exploring the natural

wonders of New Zealand or

the breath-taking winter wonderland

in Switzerland.

It covers over 32 countries,

for travel from September

2020-2021. Rajeev Kale,

President and Country Head -

Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas

Cook (India) Ltd. said: "As we

enter a new era of travel with

an increased focus on health

and safety, our Private Journeys

intends to bring back consumer

confidence with a unique concept

of premium, chauffeurdriven

van tours, specially

designed for smaller/secure

groups of family or close

friends. The easy-paced itineraries

promise a relaxed holiday

with an in-depth exploration of

each destination. And while we

have included delightful premium

experiences, the pricing has

been kept very affordable -

starting at just Rs 25,800.00."

Daniel Dsouza, President &

Country Head, Leisure, SOTC

Travel said, "The pioneering

concept of Private Journeys

offers the comfort of a chauffeur-driven

van ensuring a safe

and private holiday all throughout

their journey. Private

Journeys comes with the

Assured Program - in association

with Apollo Clinics and

includes comprehensive

Insurance Cover for Covid-19

related hospitalization for a

stress-free travel journey."

16 - 31 July 2020 The Asian Independent

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