16-05-2021 The Asian Independent

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
11 dead after
van plunges into
canal in Pak
Lahore : At least 11 people were killed after a passenger van
plunged into a canal in Pakistan's Punjab province, according to
media reports. The accident took place on Friday evening in
Khanqah Dogran area of Sheikhupura district, reports Xinhua
news agency. Police and rescue teams rushed to the site and took
out bodies from the capsized vehicle in the Mianwali Canal.
The victims comprise seven children, three women and a man,
who belong to the same family. The family was going to Khanqah
Dogran from Gujranwala district. A witness told the media that the
driver failed to control the overspeeding vehicle at the bank of the
canal, causing the accident.
Russian girls making
TikTok video set fire
to tonnes of straw
ASIA
16-05-2021 to 31-05-2021
GOVT SUPPRESSING ACTUAL
numbers of Covid-related
deaths, alleges Chidambaram
New Delhi : Senior
Congress leader and former
Union Finance Minister P.
Chidambaram on Saturday
slammed the central government
over the issuance of 1.23
lakh death certificates between
March 1 to May 10 this year in
Gujarat and said that government,
in conjunction with some
state governments, is suppressing
the actual numbers of new
infections and Covid-related
deaths.
Addressing a press conference
here virtually,
Chidambaram said, "On May
14, Divya Bhaskar, a Gujarati
language newspaper, published
a news story that sent shock
waves throughout Gujarat and
the country." He said that the
thrust of the story was that during
the period March 1 to May
10 of this year (2021), Gujarat
issued about 1,23,000 death
certificates as against about
58,000 death certificates issued
during the same period last year
(2020). "The increase was an
alarming number of about
65,000 death certificates. This
increase cannot be explained as
a natural annual increase in the
number of deaths. It can only
be attributed to a pandemic or
any other natural disaster," the
Congress leader said. He said
that the Congress had independently
verified the two
numbers referred to for the
period of 71 days.
"We have collected the numbers
from 33 districts (including
the cities), the sum of the
number of the death certificates
nearly tallies with the numbers
published by Divya Bhaskar --
1,23,873 in 2021 versus 58,068
in 2020. "During the period
March 1, 2021 to May 10,
2021, the government of
Gujarat has officially admitted
to only 4,218 Covid-related
deaths," he said.
"The difference between the
increase in the number of death
certificates (65,805) and the
official Covid-related deaths
(4,218) must be explained. It
cannot be explained as 'natural
annual increase' or 'due to other
causes'. We have a strong suspicion
that the bulk of the
increased number of deaths is
due to Covid and the state government
is suppressing the true
number of 18 Covid-related
deaths," Chidambaram said.
3
Hitting out at the government,
Chidambaram said that
the party's suspicions were confirmed
by the fact that hundreds
of unidentified bodies have
been found floating on the river
Ganga and nearly 2,000
unidentified bodies have been
found buried on the sands along
the river Ganga.
"We have a strong suspicion
that the Government of India,
in conjunction with some state
governments, is suppressing
the true numbers of new infections
and 18 Covid-related
deaths," he alleged.
He said, "If our suspicions
are true, this is a grave misdeed
apart from being a national
shame and a national tragedy."
Chidambaram said that
Central government and the
Gujarat government owe an
explanation to the people of
India. "We demand answers
and an explanation," he added.
Chidambaram also said that
the National Human Rights
Commission should collect the
true numbers from every state
about the death certificate
issued last year and this year.
Commonwealth nations target
inclusive shift to clean energy
Moscow : Two girls in Russia set fire to a nearly 200 tonnes of
straw, causing extensive damage, while trying to make a TikTok
video. Police said that the fire grew out of control after individual
pieces of straw were set ablaze, reports dpa news agency.
Some 195 tonnes of straw were said to have burned in the rural
area not far from the city of Perm, about 1,200 km east of Moscow.
The two schoolgirls had run away after their attempts to stop
the flame failed. They admitted to police a short time later that
they had been making a TikTok video when the incident occurred.
Authorities told the girls that in addition to causing extensive
damage, they had put their lives at risk in trying to make the video.
Rahul takes potshot at Modi
over dead bodies in Ganga
New Delhi : After several decomposed bodies were found
floating in the river Ganga
in several cities of Uttar
Pradesh, former Congress
president Rahul Gandhi on
Saturday indirectly took a
potshot at Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, saying the
one who said that Mother
Ganga has called him, has
made it cry. In a tweet in
Hindi, Rahul Gandhi said,
"The one who said Ganga has called him, has made the Mother
Ganga cry." He also attached a news report which claimed that on
the 1,140 km long banks of river Ganga about 2,000 dead bodies
have been found. In the last few days several dead bodies have
been found floating in the river or buried near its banks in several
districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
New Delhi : The Second
Commonwealth Sustainable
Energy Forum concluded with
strong recommendations for member
countries to work together to
fast-track an inclusive, just and
equitable transition to low-carbon
energy systems across the
Commonwealth.
The biennial gathering, held virtually
over May 12-14, explored
practical solutions to help meet
global commitments on energy
made under the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development and the
Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Participants discussed new low-carbon
technologies, addressing the high cost of
technology and need for better access to
finance, as well as policy recommendations
that promote sustainability in the
electricity, transport, cooling and cooking
sectors.
Opening at the event, Commonwealth
Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said:
"We must urgently step up our action to
implement the Paris Agreement and
achieve our commitments on sustainable
energy. While the transition pathways may
differ across Commonwealth countries, the
move to clean energy systems is a common
goal. "The pace of the energy transition
needs urgent acceleration for which strong
political will and ambition by
Commonwealth member countries is
required. Governments need to establish
the enabling frameworks to attract finance,
scale up technology and lower costs for
energy transitions."
She encouraged a "people-centred"
approach that is inclusive and leaves no
one behind.
Countries were invited to lead ‘action
groups' focused on three key pillars, which
make up the Commonwealth Sustainable
Energy Transition agenda: Inclusive
Energy Transitions; Technology and
Innovation; and Enabling Frameworks.
Countries also called for more collaboration
on sharing knowledge, technologies
and innovative solutions, including best
practices on research, development and
deployment of clean energy technologies
in critical sectors, such as clean cooking
and cooling. The event featured presentations
by experts in the field as well as indepth
country presentations from Australia,
Barbados, Botswana, Canada, Ghana,
Kenya, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago,
and the United Kingdom.
While discussions showed various
countries are at different stages of the transitioning
to using sustainable forms of
energy, there was a consensus about its
critical importance and learning from the
experiences of other members.
Delegates further acknowledged the
challenges linked to energy transition,
especially for economies that depend heavily
on fossil fuels as a key source of
income. Outcomes of the forum meeting
will feed into Commonwealth contributions
to the United Nations High Level
Dialogue on Energy scheduled for
September, the United Nations Climate
Change Conference (COP26) in November
and the forthcoming Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting.