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Sun, 08 August 2021
45 cases of delta plus variant reported in Maha

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21:00   45 cases of delta plus variant reported in Maha
A total of 45 cases of the Delta plus variant of coronavirus have been reported in Maharashtra during genome sequencing, the state health department said on Sunday, adding one patient had died.
                 
At 13, the maximum number of these patients hailed from Jalgaon in north Maharashtra followed by Ratnagiri (11) in the coastal Konkan region. 
               
"80 per cent of the samples sent for genome sequencing had tested positive for the Delta Plus variant (of coronavirus). The 45 patients are from Jalgaon (13), Ratnagiri (11), Mumbai (6), Thane (5), Pune (3), and one each from Palghar, Sindhudurg, Sangli. Nandurbar, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, and Beed," the department said in a statement. 
               
Of these 45 samples, information about 35 patients have been taken by the health department. One death was reported while the rest of the patients reported mild to medium type symptoms, it said. 
               
The exact number of samples sent for genome sequencing and the period during which they were analysed is not mentioned. 
              
Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pawar informed Lok Sabha in a written reply on Friday that analysis of the genomic data is a continuous and ongoing process. Periodic updates are shared with experts and states and are also regularly made available in the public domain through the media bulletin of INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortium). States are regularly advised to send samples for genome sequencing and provide clinical data of positive persons to enable greater epidemiological insights to identify the link between the surge in cases at various places to the variants, the minister stated.
                
Elaborating on the steps being taken to check the spread of the Delta variant, Pawar had said to monitor the variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus, initially, genomic sequencing was conducted through the National Institute of Virology, Pune. 
        
Subsequently, the Union government established the INSACOG in December 2020 as a consortium of 10 laboratories of the Ministry of Health, Department of Biotechnology, Indian Council of Medical Research and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

The network of INSACOG laboratories has since been increased to 28, Pawar stated. -- PTI 
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20:45   Fully vaccinated people can travel by Mumbai trains
Fully vaccinated citizens of Mumbai can travel in local trains from August 15, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray saidin live webcast.
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20:38   Neeraj Chopra likely to get promotion in Army
India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is likely to get a promotion in the Indian Army for creating history by ending the country's agonising wait for the first athletics gold medal in the Olympics.
   
Chopra, a Subedar with the 4 Rajputana Rifles in the Indian Army, had been conferred the prestigious Vishist Seva Medal for his sporting excellence.
 
The 23-year-old son of a farmer from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana produced a second-round throw of 87.58m in the javelin throw finals on Saturday to end India's 100-year wait for a track and field medal in the Olympics.
 
Subedar Chopra will get a promotion as per the laid down norms and procedures for his stellar performance at the Tokyo Olympics, people familiar with the matter said.
 
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the armed forces on Saturday hailed the Army man, saying he made the country proud by performing like a "true soldier".
 
Chopra was enrolled into the 4 Rajputana Rifles as a Naib Subedar on 15 May 15, 2016.
 
After joining the Army, he was selected for training at the 'Mission Olympics Wing' as well as at the Army Sports Institute, Pune.
 
The Mission Olympics Wing is an initiative by the Indian Army to identify and train promising sportspersons in 11 disciplines for various national and international competitions, said an official.
 
Subedar Chopra's medal highlights the hard work and efforts of Mission Olympics Wing, he said.
 
"Mission Olympics Wing has given two Olympic Silver medals in shooting to the nation and is committed for many more. Subedar Chopra's medal highlights the hard work and efforts of Mission Olympics Wing," a brief note by the Army said.
 
It said Subedar Chopra was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2018 and Vishist Seva Medal (VSM) in 2020 for his excellence in sports.
 
Chopra was born on December 24, 1997 in a family of farmers from a village in Panipat.
 
His father Satish Kumar is a farmer and his mother Saroj Devi is a housewife, said the Army official.
 
Neeraj started throwing javelin when he needed to reduce weight and quickly took a liking for the sport, he said.
 
"The rest is now history. He came into prominence with his performance at World Under-20 Championship, Poland where he set a new junior world record with a throw of 86.48 metres," the official said.
 
Chopra won the gold medal in Commonwealth Games 2018 with a throw of 86.47 metres and threw his personal best of 87.43m in the Doha leg of Diamond League 2018.
He won the Asian Games with a throw of 88.06 metres that year, according to Army records. -- PTI 
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20:26   UK PM threatened to demote Rishi Sunak over leaked letter: Report
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is said to have been furious over a letter being leaked to the media last week, which claimed his Chancellor Rishi Sunak had written to push for easier international COVID-19 travel norms ahead of a planned review.
 
The reaction followed media reports that the Indian-origin finance minister had written to his boss, calling for a significant easing of the coronavirus travel restrictions, warning that they were damaging the economy.
 
According to The Sunday Times, which reported on the letter last Sunday, Johnson is said to have been "apoplectic" with anger and even suggested a demotion for Sunak from the powerful Treasury department to take charge of Health.
 
"The problem was that the first Johnson knew of the letter was when details of it appeared in the media," the report said.
 
Quoting a senior source from a meeting, it said that Johnson then went on to say in the presence of around a dozen officials that he had been thinking about a change.
 
"Maybe it's time we looked at Rishi as the next Secretary of State for Health. He could potentially do a very good job there.' In an open meeting, after ranting about Rishi, he then suggested the Chancellor could be demoted in the next reshuffle," the source said.
 
The newspaper pointed out that Johnson is known for his off-the-cuff remarks, often made in jest.
 
While Downing Street refused to comment on "private conversations", allies of Sunak insisted he remains focussed on his current brief to revive the COVID-hit UK economy.
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20:13   BJP ally Apna Dal demands caste-based census
With an eye on the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections next year, the Bharatiya Janata Party's ally Apna Dal-S on Sunday demanded a separate Union ministry for the welfare of the OBC and a caste-based census across the country to ascertain the exact population of the community.
 
Apna Dal-S, an Uttar Pradesh-based party, is the second ally of the ruling BJP after the Janata Dal-United which has raised the demand for a caste-based census.
The demand assumes significance just months before the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, where the single largest chunk of voters belongs to the OBC category.
"Caste-based census is the need of the hour to ascertain the exact population of each segment, especially the other backward class," the working president of Apna Dal-S Ashish Patel told PTI.
He said the population of SC and ST have been calculated in all censuses post-Independence but not of the OBCs.
"As a result, there is no proper estimate of the OBC population. Therefore, I request the government that the next census should be caste-based to ascertain the exact population of each segment, especially the OBCs.
"This would ensure that the share of a particular caste segment is based on their population," said Ashish Patel, the husband of Union Minister Anupriya Patel.
He said the party also demands that there should be a separate ministry for the welfare of the OBCs.
"On the lines of the Union Ministry for Minority Affairs, there should be a separate and dedicated ministry for the welfare of the OBCs," Ashish Patel said.
Apna Dal-S has been a constituent of the NDA since 2014. 

Anupriya Patel, the daughter of the party's founder late Sonelal Patel, was made Union minister in recent cabinet expansion of the Narendra Modi government.
She hails from the Kurmi caste which falls in the OBC segment. 

Her party has influence in around 50 assembly seats, mostly in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Besides different political parties, the National Commission for Backward Classes in April this year had urged the government to collect data on the population of OBCs as part of the Census of India 2021 exercise.
The Union home ministry had in 2018 had envisaged collecting data on OBCs for the first time in the 2021 census. -- PTI
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19:39   Now, get vaccination certificate on WhatsApp
Citizens who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 can now get their vaccination certificate through WhatsApp within seconds, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya's office said on Sunday.
 
Presently, people have to download their vaccination certificate by logging into the CoWin portal.
"Revolutionising common man's life using technology! Now get COVID-19 vaccination certificate through MyGov Corona Helpdesk in 3 easy steps. Save contact number: +91 9013151515. Type & send 'covid certificate' on WhatsApp. Enter OTP. Get your certificate in seconds," Mandaviya's office tweeted.
Cumulatively, 50,68,10,492 Covid vaccine doses have been administered in the country through 58,51,292 sessions, according to a provisional report till 7 am on Sunday, with 55,91,657 doses being given in a day.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated. The vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2.
The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for those over 60 years and aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.
India threw open the vaccination drive for all people aged above 45 from April 1.
The government further expanded the vaccination drive to cover everyone above the age of 18 from May 1. -- PTI 
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19:27   PM must intervene to end Parliament logjam: RJD
Accusing the government of "closing the door" on negotiations to break the Parliament logjam over the Pegasus issue, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Kumar Jha on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must intervene to end the impasse, and called for extending the Monsoon session to make up for the lost time. 
The Rajya Sabha member and an influential Opposition voice also slammed the government for repeatedly stressing it was "reaching out" to the Opposition parties, saying the phrase does not just mean that "with hands in your pockets and a stiff face, you say 'this is what I have to offer, nothing else'".
"Under the garb of reaching out they have been closing the door on negotiations. Many times I have noted that the so-called people entrusted with the idea of reaching out, probably lack the mandate in offering anything tangible to the Opposition," Jha told PTI in an interview.
Since the start of the monsoon session on July 19, parliamentary proceedings have been continuously witnessing disruptions due to protests by Opposition parties and a logjam has persisted over their demand for a discussion on the Pegasus snooping row.
An international media consortium has reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers, including that of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, union ministers Prahlad Singh Patel and Ashwini Vaishnaw, businessman Anil Ambani, and at least 40 journalists, were on the list of potential targets for surveillance using Israeli firm NSO Group's Pegasus spyware.
The government has been denying all Opposition allegations in the matter.
Asked about the Opposition's demand for a discussion on the Pegasus issue and the logjam in Parliament over it, Jha said the government says in the media that it is reaching out but such efforts should mean "listening and not just hearing".
Jha alleged that the government was using the "language of enmity" which had taken away the possibility of "breaking the ice".
"But if Mr. Prime Minister himself intervenes and tells his people to break the ice and say 'we are ready to discuss everything', it is still possible to discuss. If possible, extend the session to make up for the time we have lost. We can sit after August 15," the senior Rashtriya Janata Dal leader said.
Asked if extension of the monsoon session, which is scheduled to end on August 13, was the way forward, Jha answered in the affirmative and pointed to his speech in Rajya Sabha on Covid, which has been widely appreciated and has gone viral on social media, to stress the importance of discussing critical issues in Parliament.
On Parliament being unable to discuss the devastating second wave of Covid at length, he accused the government of being in "brazen denial" of facts.
"The day I made that speech, a response from the government said that nobody died on account of unavailability of oxygen. When you fight a pandemic, you should be able to acknowledge failures as well as take credit for the success," he asserted.
"I don't only blame the central government, many state governments were also in a brazen denial mode," Jha said.
Asked if the Opposition could have focused more on issues such as price rise, farmers' protest and unemployment in the Monsoon session than Pegasus, he said all those issues were crucial and the Opposition was continuously raising them but the Pegasus matter had acquired an important dimension due to the level of snooping being reported by the media.
"I won't say Pegasus was No.1 for us but it acquired an important dimension due to the level of snooping which is being reported in the media with several countries in the world ordering probes, but in our case, there is not even acceptance," Jha said.
Slamming the government for saying that the snooping allegations were a non-issue, he said if after a detailed discussion it is proved so, the Opposition will accept it, but denying discussion goes against the very idea of parliamentary democracy. 
"Have we forgotten that there was a discussion after Bofors (came to light). Same was with the Mundhra case during the Jawaharlal Nehru government but discussion was allowed even though the Opposition was practically non-existent at the time," he said.
Jha also hit out at the government for passing some bills amid din, saying the legislations were being passed in roughly eight minutes and warned that if it becomes the new normal even future governments may take this route, making debate and discussion a thing of the past.
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19:18   Trucking resumes over Assam-Mizoram's disputed border
Trucks from the rest of the country rumbled into Mizoram across a disputed border with neighbouring Assam late Saturday night, some 12 days after a bloody clash between police forces of the two states. 
  
Truckers who had parked their trucks at Dholai near the tense border and refused to move even after an informal blockade enforced by locals had been lifted, started moving essential supplies including medicines, diesel and cooking gas after two Assam Ministers Ashok Singhal and Parimal Suklabaidya on Saturday convinced them it was safe to travel across the border to Mizoram.

Kolasib Superintendent of Police, Vanlalfaka Ralte said more than 50 vehicles have entered Mizoram since Saturday night till Sunday morning.

"Traffic movement between the two neighbouring states as of now is quite smoothHowever, we are still on alert as untoward incident can happen at any time," Ralte, who is camping at Vairengte, told PTI over the phone.

Cachar Superintendent of Police Ramandeep Kaur also confirmed to PTI that vehicles have been moving under heavy police escorts. Though initially there was some resistance from locals, after the two ministers held negotiations, the vehicles started moving." 

Silchar's Mizoram House Liaison Officer (LO) Kaptluanga said that before trucking began in earnest, some  9 Mizoram-bound vehicles were attacked and vandalised by miscreants at Lailapur on Saturday evenning.

The development happened after Assam and Mizoram ministers met last week to thrash out differences and agreed to maintain calm along the border and resolve their differences amicably.

Some drivers however remained reluctant to move their vehicles across the border. Rahul Hussain, a stranded driver, said they "were willing to enter Mizoram" but demanded a written assurance for protection to be given.

Despite an attempt by Home Minister Amit Shah to resolve a raft of long-standing border disuptes between Assam and its neighbours earlier last month, at least six Assam Police personnel and one civilian were killed and more than 50 people injured in a fire-fight between the police of the two states on July 26, which broke on Assam's Cachar border with Mizoram.

The two states share a 164.6-km border between Assam's Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts, and Mizoram's Kolasib, Mamit and Aizawl districts.

Both states have differing interpretations of their territorial border. While Mizoram believes that its border lies along an inner line' drawn up in 1875 to protect tribals from outside influence, Assam goes by a district demarcation done in the 1930s. -- PTI 
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19:06   Will take another year to vaccinate all adults at current rate of vaccine supply: Delhi govt
It will take another year to vaccinate all eligible beneficiaries aged above 18 in the national capital at "the present rate of COVID-19 vaccine supply," the health department has told the Delhi Disaster Management Authority.
 
At a DDMA meeting held on Friday, officials of the department gave a presentation on the city government's preparedness for a possible third wave of coronavirus and the status of COVID-19 vaccination.
Officials said around 1.5 crore beneficiaries are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in the national capital and three crore doses are required to fully inoculate them.   
More than one crore doses have been administered till August 5. More than 76 lakh people, which is more than 50 percent of the eligible beneficiaries, have got at least one dose. 
Nearly two crore doses are still needed. The Centre has allocated 16.79 lakh doses to Delhi for August.
At the present rate of vaccine supply, it will take till July/August 2022 to complete two-dose vaccination of all 18 years plus beneficiaries, the health department officials told DDMA.
They said around 45 lakh doses are required every month to complete the vaccination by December 2021.
In view of short supply of vaccine and a large number of beneficiaries due for the second dose, the Delhi Health Department recently issued orders asking district authorities to restrict 20 percent doses of Covishield and 40 percent doses of Covaxin for the first shot.
According to the Centre's CoWIN portal, 53.25 lakh doses have been administered to beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group. Over 33 lakh jabs have been given to people in the 45-60 years category.
  
Delhi can vaccinate around three lakh people daily. -- PTI 
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18:31   Vikrant successfully completes maiden sea voyage
India's first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant on Sunday successfully completed a five-day maiden sea voyage as the performance of the key systems of the 40,000-tonne warship was found to be satisfactory, officials said.
   
The aircraft carrier, built at a cost of around Rs 23,000 crore, set sail on Wednesday for the crucial sea trials ahead of its planned induction into the Indian Navy by August next year.
"Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) 'Vikrant' successfully accomplished its maiden sea voyage today. Trials progressed as planned and system parameters proved satisfactory," Indian Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said.
 
He said the ship's performance, including of the hull, main propulsion, power generation and distribution (PGD) and auxiliary equipment were tested during the sea trials.
 
"Trials, which were reviewed by Vice Admiral AK Chawla, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command on the last day, have progressed as planned and system parameters have been proved satisfactory," Commander Madhwal said.
 
The delivery of Vikrant is being targeted to coincide with celebrations to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India's independence 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', he said.
 
The warship will operate MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31 helicopters, MH-60R multi-role helicopters. It has over 2,300 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1700 people, including specialised cabins to accommodate women officers.
 
The aircraft carrier set off on its maiden sea trials, 50 years after its namesake played a major role in the 1971 war. -- PTI
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17:58   Avoiding accountability is insult to Parl: Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor, senior Congress leader and chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on information and technology, on Sunday said the panel's last meeting on July 28 was "disrupted" by Bharatiya Janata Party members as they did not want the Pegasus-related allegations to be discussed and the officials who were to testify "appear to have been instructed not to attend". 

He, however, expressed hope that the snooping issue would be taken up by the panel going forward.
 
Tharoor also put the blame for the logjam in Parliament on BJP and accused the saffron party of reducing the "temple of democracy to a rubber stamp for its agenda or worse, a notice board to announce its unilateral decisions". 
 
In an interview with PTI, the Congress leader hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks that the Opposition was insulting Parliament, saying the government's refusal to be answerable in any way, shape, or form on an issue of national and international importance, has made a "mockery of democracy and of the ordinary Indians the government claims to represent".
 
Avoiding discussion and accountability is the real insult to Parliament, said the former Union minister and Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
 
Asked if going forward the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology will be able to take up the Pegasus snooping issue, Tharoor said for two years now the IT committee has been conducting discussions on "Citizens' data privacy and security and "cybersecurity, topics that also featured in its agenda under the previous chairman, BJP's Anurag Thakur.
 
The Pegasus issue, therefore, clearly falls under the purview of the IT committee and so it is only expected that its members will ask questions about it when these topics arise, he said.
 
"It is no secret that the Committee's meeting on its established agenda was disrupted by BJP members who did not want Pegasus to be discussed. It was unprecedented for 10 members to attend and to refuse to sign the register in order to deny the Committee a quorum," Tharoor said.
 
The panel was to hold a meeting on July 28 during which several issues including the Pegasus snooping allegations were expected to be discussed. It had also summoned officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Communications (Department of Telecommunications) on the subject ''Citizens data security and privacy''.
 
However, the meeting could not take place as the BJP members of the panel did not sign the attendance register, even though they were present in the meeting room, leading to a lack of quorum.
 
E-mail communications were received by the committee branch of the secretariat on July 28 afternoon from the three ministries/department that their representatives would not be able to appear before the committee due to Parliament-related work.
 
"For good measure the three officials who were to testify that day appear to have been instructed not to attend, making last-minute excuses, which is a grievous assault on the prerogatives of parliamentary committees to summon witnesses," Tharoor said. -- PTI
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17:25   Beijing imposes new travel restrictions to prevent Covid spread
The city of Beijing has rolled out a range of measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic by imposing restrictions on travellers from regions with relatively high virus transmission rates.

According to Chinese state media Global Times, people from medium or high-risk regions who are planning to return to Beijing will be prevented from buying tickets for air and railway services.

The Beijing authorities said that health codes for people who are still in medium- and high-risk regions will be adjusted to the yellow colour, and anyone with a health code that is not green will not be allowed to board planes or trains bound for Beijing.

Presenting a green health code will be a must.

This comes as several cities in China are witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases. 

The delta-driven outbreak grew to over 500 symptomatic cases scattered across 15 provinces and municipalities.

Beijing Daxing International Airport has announced the suspension of flight routes from 15 cities including hotspots of outbreaks such as Nanjing, Yangzhou and Zhangjiajie. -- PTI
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17:22   Mixing Covid vaccines shows better results: ICMR
A study by Indian Council of Medical Research involving 98 people, 18 of whom had inadvertently received Covishield as first dose and Covaxin as the second in Uttar Pradesh, showed that combining these two COVID-19 vaccines elicited better immunogenicity than two doses of the same vaccine.
 
The study also found that immunisation with combination of Covishield and Covaxin was safe and the adverse effects were also found to be similar when compared to the same dose regimen. 
The study titled 'Serendipitous COVID-19 Vaccine-Mix in Uttar Pradesh, India: Safety and Immunogenicity Assessment of a Heterologous Regime' has been uploaded on medRxiv, a preprint server and is yet to be peer reviewed.
"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which reports the effects of heterologous prime-boost vaccination with an adenovirus vectored vaccine followed by an inactivated whole virus vaccine," the researchers said.
The immunisation program against COVID-19 in India started with two vaccines--adenovirus vector platform-based vaccine Covishield and inactivated whole virion BBV152 -Covaxin--and homologous prime-boost approach was followed. However, 18 individuals, under the national program, in Siddarthnagar, Uttar Pradesh inadvertently received Covishield as the first jab and Covaxin as the second.
The nationwide vaccination program at this time had entered in its fourth month of its existence and the event of mixed dosing raised considerable anxiety in public domain with a potential to contributing to vaccine hesitancy.
The study was conducted against this backdrop.
So, including these 18 individuals who had received one dose of Covishield and second dose of Covaxin, 40 recipients of two doses of Covishield and 40 recipients of two doses of Covaxin, were recruited in the study. The study duration was from May to June 2021.
"We compared the safety and immunogenicity profile of them (18 individuals) against that of those receiving either Covishield or Covaxin. Lower and similar adverse events following immunisation in all three groups underlined the safety of the combination vaccine-regime.
"Immunogenicity profile against Alpha, Beta and Delta variants in the heterologous group was superior and IgG antibody and neutralising antibody response of the participants was also significantly higher compared to that in the homologous groups," the study stated.
"The findings suggest that immunisation with a combination of an adenovirus vector platform-based vaccine followed by an inactivated whole virus vaccine was not only safe but also elicited better immunogenicity," it said.
The reactogenicity analysis was carried out based on solicited local and systemic AEFIs reported in the three groups within seven days of immunisation. None of the participants enrolled in the study had any serious AEFI within 30 minutes of immunisation with the first or second dose.
The most common local AEFI reported after first and second dose was pain at injection site.
No other local AEFI such as erythema, induration, pruritis or pustule formation was recorded by any of the participants. Most commonly reported systemic AEFI were pyrexia and malaise.
No other systemic AEFIs like urticaria, nausea, vomiting, arthralgia or cough was reported. The pyrexia was of low to moderate grade and was managed by administration of paracetamol and subsided in all participants within three to four days post vaccination, according to the study.
"Despite the high median age of the participants of the heterologous group (62 years) in our study, the reactogenicity profile demonstrated that mixing of the two vaccines based on different platforms is safe," the study said.
The study demonstrates that immunisation with a heterologous combination of an adenovirus vector platform-based vaccine followed by an inactivated whole virus vaccine is safe and elicits better immunogenicity than two doses of homologous vaccination, using the same vaccines. -- PTI
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17:19   Airfares on key international flights connecting India rise
Average economy-class fares on international flights operating on key routes connecting India have risen significantly during the last one month due to high demand, according to data from EaseMyTrip.com.
 
The travel website's data shows that average economy class fare on a flight heading from Delhi in India to Newark in the US increased from Rs 69,034 in July to Rs 87,542 in August.
An average economy class ticket on Mumbai-Moscow flight and Mumbai-Doha flight was priced Rs 43,132 and Rs 11,719, respectively, in July this year, according to the data. This increased to Rs 85,024 and Rs 18,384, respectively, by August.
In a statement, Nishant Pitti, CEO and Co-founder of EaseMyTrip.com, said there has been an increase in the average economy fares of international routes in August compared to July.
"Recently, a large number of countries have eased their travel restrictions for Indian citizens, which has steadily increased demand for travel as there is a huge pent-up travel demand," he stated. 
Rising fuel costs and shortfalls in seat availability are also some of the other reasons for the increase in airfares at each of these routes, he pointed out.
Passengers have been complaining on social media about the rise in fares of India-UK flights during the last couple of weeks.
Sanjeev Gupta, Secretary, Inter-State Council Secretariat, Union Home Ministry, said on Twitter on Saturday that an economy-class ticket on British Airways's Delhi-London flight for August 26 was priced Rs 3.95 lakh.
Gupta added that economy-class ticket on Delhi-London flights of Vistara and Air India for August 26 was also priced between Rs 1.2 lakh and Rs 2.3 lakh amid the college admission time in the UK.
In response, Vistara spokesperson stated: "Pricing is always a function of supply and demand. There are only 15 flights a week allowed currently on India - UK route for Indian carriers and when there is relaxation and more capacity allowed, it will automatically bring down prices."
Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23 last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, limited special international passenger flights have been operating since July 2020 under the air bubble arrangements formed with 28 countries, including the UK.
According to the data of EaseMyTrip.com, the average economy-class ticket on a flight operating on Bengaluru-Male-Bengaluru route increased from Rs 18,741 in July to Rs 20,372 in August.
Pitti said he anticipates a huge pent up demand for travel and tourism sector post the vaccination drive across India. 
"We can very well see that the tendency of people for revenge travel has already kicked-in and there has been a significant increase in queries and bookings for domestic as well as international destinations have been starting now, which we believe is a positive sign for whole of travel industry," he noted. -- PTI 
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17:17   Stop usage of tricolour made of plastic, MHA tells states
Ahead of the Independence Day celebration, the Centre has asked states to ensure people don't use plastic national flags as ensuring appropriate disposal of the tricolour made of non-biodegradable item is a practical problem.
 
In a communication to all states and union territories, the Union home ministry said the national flag represents hopes and aspirations of the people of the country and hence should occupy a position of honour.
 
"There is universal affection and respect for, and loyalty to, the national flag. Yet, a perceptible lack of awareness is often noticed amongst people as well as organisations/agencies of the government, in regard to laws, practices and conventions that apply to display of the national flag," it said.
It told the states and UTs that on the occasions of important national, cultural and sports events, the national flags made of plastic are also being used in place of national flags made of paper. 
Since, plastic flags are not biodegradable like paper flags, these do not get decomposed for a long time and ensuring appropriate disposal of national flags made of plastic commensurate with the dignity of the flag is a practical problem, it said.
"You are, therefore, requested to ensure that on the occasions of important national, cultural and sports events, flags made of paper only are used by the public in terms of the provisions of the 'Flag Code of India, 2002' and such paper flags are not discarded or thrown on the ground after the event," the home ministry said. 
Such flags are to be disposed of, in private, consistent with the dignity of the flag, it said.
A copy each of 'The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971' and the 'Flag Code of India, 2002', which govern the display of national flag, was also enclosed along with the home ministry letter.
Such communications were issued previously also. -- PTI 
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16:05   ITBP inducts its first women officers in combat
The India-China Line of Actula Control guarding the Indo-Tibetan Border Police force on Sunday commissioned its first two women officers in combat after they completed their training in Mussoorie.
 
A total of 53 officers passed out from the ITBP officers' training academy located in Mussoorie after a passing out parade was held, with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami officiating as the chief guest.
A first-ever 'History of ITBP' book with 680-pages containing many unknown facts and photographs of the border guarding force was also released by Dhami along with ITBP director general S S Deswal.
Dhami and Deswal put the ranks of Assistant Commandant, the entry-level officer rank in the paramilitary, on the shoulders of the two women officers--Prakriti and Diksha--after the passing out parade and attestation ceremony where they took oath to serve the country.
The ITBP started recruiting women combat officers in its cadre from 2016 through an all-India examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Before this, it only had combat women in the constabulary ranks.
Out of the total 53 officers, 42 officers are in the general duty combat cadre, while 11 are in the engineering cadre of the about 90,000 personnel strong mountain warfare trained force.
These officers will now be posted across ITBP formations in the country, including the LAC with China and the anti-Naxal operations theatre in Chhattisgarh.
The force was raised in the aftermath of the 1962 Chinese aggression and its primary role is to guard the 3,488 km long India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC) apart from rendering a variety of roles in the internal security domain.
Addressing the young officers who trained for 50 weeks (general duty cadre) and 11 weeks (engineering cadre) in various subjects of combat and strategy, Dhami said the commanders should "give their best" while performing their duties.
He said the country was safe due to the valour of its armed forces and the sacrifices made by the personnel in uniform.
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15:25   12 TMC activists arrested in Tripura for violating COVID norms
At least 12 leaders and workers of the Trinamool Congress, including those injured in an alleged attack by Bharatiya Janata Party workers on the previous day, were arrested in Tripura's Khowai district on Sunday for "violating COVID norms", police said.
 
TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who is West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew and the de facto number 2 in the party, reached Agartala and left for Khowai to meet the arrested party workers, who will be produced before a court amid tight security arrangements.
Police said that the 12 TMC members were arrested for violating COVID restrictions by travelling after the imposition of night curfew at 7 pm.
Tripura TMC spokesperson Ashish Lal Singh said that party leaders including himself, Debangshu Bhattacharya, Tania Poddar, Sudip Raha and Jaya Dutta have been arrested.
Raha and Dutta had sustained injuries when their vehicle was allegedly attacked by BJP workers at Ambassa in Dhalai district on Saturday.
"After the attack, we were returning to Agartala through National Highway 8 when the police stopped our vehicles at Khowai and took us into custody stating that there could be more attacks on us by 'miscreants'. Indeed, BJP activists had gathered at several places on NH 8 to attack us," Singh said.
However, early in the morning, police said that the TMC members were arrested for violating COVID restrictions.
Meanwhile, three senior TMC leaders, including Abhishek Banerjee, West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu and Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen, reached Agartala and left for Khowai to meet the arrested members.
Banerjee had earlier visited Tripura on August 2, when his convoy was also allegedly attacked by BJP workers.
Strongly criticising Saturday's attack, TMC leaders alleged that the incident proved that there "goonda raj" (lawlessness) in Tripura, and the BJP has sensed its defeat in the 2023 assembly elections in the state.
Denying the involvement of its activists in the attack, the BJP claimed that the TMC is a non-factor in Tripura, and West Bengal's ruling party is spreading the "virus of political violence" in the northeastern state, where "outsiders" are fomenting trouble.
Shortly after the incident, BJP and TMC supporters had faced off and staged road blockades 500 m apart on NH 8, forcing Chief Minister Biplab Deb to take a detour to return to Agartala after attending some programmes in Dharmanagar.
TMC workers led by Subal Bhowmik, a former vice-president of Tripura BJP who recently switched sides, were protesting the alleged ransacking of a TMC party office by saffron party workers in Batarasi area of Dharmanagar on Friday night. -- PTI
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15:23   Yediyurappa asks Bommai to withdraw order giving him cabinet minister status
Former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Sunday urged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to withdraw his order to give him cabinet rank status.

"I request you to provide me only those facilities which are given to an immediate former chief minister and withdraw the order giving me a cabinet rank," Yediyurappa said in his letter to Bommai, which was made available to the media.
Bommai on Saturday had ordered giving facilities similar to a minister to Yediyurappa.
Yediyurappa had resigned on July 26, which coincided with the completion of his two years' term in the office.
A day after his resignation, Yediyurappa had proposed Bommai's name as the leader at the BJP legislature party meet and was accordingly accepted by all and on July 28 Bommai took oath as the new chief minister. -- PTI 
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15:07   5 held for posting defamatory content against judges
The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested five people for allegedly posting defamatory content against judges of the Andhra Pradesh high court and the Supreme Court on social media, officials said on Sunday.
 
The role of a Lok Sabha member, Nandigam Suresh, and Amanchi Krishna Mohan, both of the YSR Congress, are under scanner in the case, and both have been examined by the agency in its effort to unearth a larger conspiracy, they said.
"To investigate the larger conspiracy, the CBI has also examined certain persons, including an MP, ex-MLA and also continued investigation into the role of other persons who were not mentioned in the FIR," CBI spokesperson R C Joshi said.
The agency had on Saturday arrested two people -- Pattapu Aadarsh and Lavanuru Samba Siva Reddy -- from Andhra Pradesh.
Earlier, the CBI had arrested Dhami Reddy Konda Reddy and Pamula Sudheer on July 28, while Lingareddy Rajasekhar Reddy, who was residing in Kuwait, was arrested on July 9 when he landed in India, the officials said.
"The agency was monitoring his movements. The moment he landed in India, the officers took him into their custody", an official said.
The arrests were made by the CBI in the case in which it had booked 16 individuals for allegedly posting defamatory content against the judges.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court had directed the agency to probe the case and submit a report to it in a sealed cover.
"It was alleged that the accused, by intentionally targeting the judiciary, made derogatory posts on social media platforms against judges and judiciary, following some court verdicts delivered by the judges of the high court of Andhra Pradesh," Joshi said. -- PTI 
Olympian Vandana Katariya
Olympian Vandana Katariya
13:36   1 more held for casteist slur on hockey player's kin
One more person has been held for passing casteist remarks on national women's hockey team player Vandana Katariya's family taking the number of those arrested in connection with the case to three.
   
22-year-old Sumit Chauhan was arrested from his home on Saturday, Haridwar SSP Senthil Avoodai Krishna Raj S said.
 
With his arrest, three people have been arrested in connection with the case, the other two being Vijay Pal and his brother Ankur Pal who were arrested earlier, he said.
 
They have all been booked under Section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the official said.
 
They are charged with dancing and bursting fire crackers outside Vandana's house in a gesture of mockery soon after the Indian women's hockey team lost to Argentina in Olympics semifinals.
 
They also allegedly passed a casteist slur against the family saying that the team had lost because it had too many Dalit players in it.
Meanwhile, police personnel have been deployed outside the Olympian's house in Roshnabad area for the family's security, he said.
 
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced a reward of Rs 25 lakh for Katariya in recognition of her great performance at the Olympics. He also spoke to the Olympian on Saturday to congratulate her. -- PTI 
Mary Kom and Manpreet Singh, India's flagbearers at opening ceremony
Mary Kom and Manpreet Singh, India's flagbearers at opening ceremony
13:30   10 Indian officials for closing ceremony, no limit on athletes
There will be no limit on the number of Indian athletes attending the Tokyo Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday but count of the officials has been capped at 10.
 
In contrast to the ethnic outfit that athletes wore during the opening ceremony, they will be seen in comfortable track suits.
A majority of the hockey and wrestling contingent is expected to attend the ceremony that begins 4.30 pm IST.
Wrestler Bajrang Punia, who claimed a bronze on Saturday, will be India's flag bearer as announced earlier.   
As per protocols followed by Indian Olympic Association, the medal winners including gold medallist Neeraj Chopra will be duly made flag bearers in the future multi sporting events including Asian Games and Commonwealth Games next year.    
Men's hockey skipper Manpreet Singh and champion boxer M C Mary Kom were India's flagbearers at the opening ceremony.
 
Considering the COVID-19 threat, the Indian delegates in Tokyo had limited the count of officials at the opening ceremony to six, while a significant number of athletes stayed away from the event to focus on their competition the following day.  
 
India capped off its best-ever performance in the Olympics with a haul of seven medals, including a gold, at Tokyo. -- PTI   
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12:57   UP govt withdraws re-inquiry against Dr Kafeel Khan
    
The order of a departmental re-inquiry was given on February 24 last year.
 
Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal told the court on Friday, "The order of 24 February, 2020 impugned in this petition has been withdrawn subject to liberty being reserved for the respondents to proceed in the matter afresh and in light of what was noted by the court in its order of July 29, 2021".
It was further submitted before the court of Justice Yashwant Varma that all endeavours shall be made to conclude the disciplinary proceedings within a period of three months.
 
The court has listed the case for hearing on August 10 (Tuesday).
 
In the writ petition, it was disclosed that seven persons out of nine who were suspended along with the petitioner have been reinstated pending conclusion of disciplinary proceedings. The order for suspension against Dr Khan was passed on August 22, 2017.
 
Earlier on July 29 this year, the court noticed that although the petitioner had been suspended back in 2017, the inquiry proceedings had not yet been concluded till the filing of the petition.
 
By an order of March 7, 2019, the petition was disposed of with a direction to the respondents (the state government) to conclude the inquiry within three months.
 
In pursuance to that direction, the court was informed that the Enquiry Officer submitted his report on April 15, 2019. The disciplinary authority, however, chose to pass the impugned order after nearly 11 months.
 
It is to be recalled that Dr Khan had challenged his suspension in connection with the death of several children due to alleged shortage of oxygen at a government hospital in Gorakhpur district. -- PTI
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12:45   HC to hear CBI's plea in INX Media case involving Chidambaram tomorrow
The Delhi high court is scheduled to hear on Monday the Central Bureau of Investigation's plea in the INX Media corruption case involving Congress leader P Chidambaram and his son Karti.
 
The CBI has challenged a trial court's order directing the agency to allow inspection of documents kept in the 'malkhana' (room where case properties are kept) by the accused and their counsel.
The plea is listed for hearing before Justice Mukta Gupta.
The high court had on May 18 stayed trial proceedings in the case involving Chidambaram and his son Karti.
It had also issued notice and sought responses of Chidambaram and others on the CBI's plea.
The CBI has sought to set aside the special judge's March 5, 2021 order to the extent that it directed the CBI to allow inspection of documents kept in malkhana by the respondents/accused/ their counsel.
Besides, the CBI has also sought setting aside the observations in the order which says that the agency is required to file or produce before the court all the documents collected by it during investigation.
The trial court had also said that the accused are also entitled to copies of such documents or inspections thereof, irrespective of the fact whether they are being relied upon by the CBI or not.
The CBI had registered its case on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance granted to INX Media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during Chidambaram's tenure as finance minister.
Thereafter, the ED had lodged the money laundering case.
The CBI had said this case involved high level of corruption with wide ramifications on society and while the accused have a right to a fair trial, the collective interest of the society cannot be impinged.
"A fair trial is not what the accused wants in the name of a fair trial but must soothe the ultimate justice. Although right of fair trial of the respondents/accused was not infringed, since all documents relied upon by petitioner-CBI were provided to the respondents/accused," it has said. -- PTI
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12:27   Come listen to us, Opposition tells PM
Opposition parties on Sunday released a video, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the Parliament and listen to their demands.

"Mr Modi come listen to us," Trinamool Congress's Derek O'Brien said in a tweet with a video compilation of various Opposition leaders seeking discussion on the Pegasus spyware row, the farmers' issues and several others. .

Since the start of the monsoon session on July 19, parliamentary proceedings have been continuously witnessing disruptions due to protests by Opposition parties and a logjam has persisted over their demand for a discussion on the Pegasus snooping row.
An international media consortium has reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers, including that of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, union ministers Prahlad Singh Patel and Ashwini Vaishnaw, businessman Anil Ambani, and at least 40 journalists, were on the list of potential targets for surveillance using Israeli firm NSO Group's Pegasus spyware.
The government has been denying all Opposition allegations in the matter.
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11:27   COVID-19: India records 39,070 new cases
With 39,070 people testing positive for coronavirus infection, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,19,34,455, while the death toll climbed to 4,27,862 with 491 fresh fatalities, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Sunday.
 
The active cases have declined to 4,06,822 and comprise 1.27 per cent of the total infections and the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 97.39 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.
A decrease  of 5,331 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of  24 hours.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,10, 99,771, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, the data stated.
Cumulatively 50.68 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive till Sunday morning.
 
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.It went past  60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23. -- PTI 
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11:23   Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba gets one-year extension
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has been given one-year extension by the government, according to a Ministry of Personnel order. Gauba, former Union Home Secretary, was in 2019 appointed to the country's top bureaucratic post for two years.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved extension in service to Gauba, a 1982-batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, as Cabinet Secretary for a further period of one-year beyond August 30, said the order issued late Saturday night.

Gauba is said to be the key architect of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act under which Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two Union territories following the abrogation of the special status given to the erstwhile state under Article 370 of the Constitution. He had also served as secretary in the Union Urban Development Ministry, Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry, looking after crucial left wing extremism division, among other responsibilities.

Born in Punjab, Gauba had graduated in Physics from Patna University. He had served in Jharkhand as the Chief Secretary for 15 months before returning to serve in the central government in 2016.

He has represented India on the board of the International Monetary Fund for four years also.
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11:08   UK eases travel restrictions for India
The UK on Sunday eased travel restrictions for India by moving the country from its "red" to "amber" list, which means fully vaccinated Indian passengers will no longer be subjected to a compulsory 10-day hotel quarantine on their arrival in Britain.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed that all arrivals from India who have been vaccinated in India, which is on the amber list as at 4 am local time on Sunday, are required to isolate at home or their designated location mentioned on the compulsory locator form.

While the requirement for a compulsory 10-day self-isolation in a government-approved facility at an additional cost of 1,750 pounds per head will no longer apply, only travellers vaccinated in the UK or Europe would qualify for an exemption of the home quarantine requirement.

"We recognise there are a large variety of COVID-19 vaccines being administered worldwide and work is ongoing to determine which non-UK vaccines and certification solutions to recognise,' a DHSC source said.

There had been some speculation over Covishield, the Serum Institute of India made Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, being considered within the wider UK-approved vaccines ambit.

However, the government has clarified that the India-made version of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine so far approved by the UK's Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is branded as Vaxzevria and that is the only one currently recognised under the exemption rules.

Under the legal rules for countries on the amber list of the UK's traffic light system, passengers must take a COVID test three days before departure and book in advance for two COVID tests to be taken upon arrival in England as well as complete a passenger locator form on arrival.

On arrival in England, the passengers must quarantine at home or in the place they have confirmed as their location for 10 days and take a COVID-19 test on or before day two and on or after day eight.

Under-18s and those fully vaccinated in the UK are exempt from the home quarantine, as well as those who have received both jabs in the EU and US.

Also exempt are those fully vaccinated in the UK or under the UK vaccine programme overseas; under 18 on the day you arrive in England and resident in the UK or in a country with a vaccination programme approved by the UK; and part of a UK-approved vaccine trial.

All regularly scheduled international flights remain suspended. However, under a bilateral agreement between the UK and Indian governments, a limited number of flights between India and the UK continue to operate.

Airlines have reported a massive surge in bookings soon after the announcement of India moving off the Red List was made on Wednesday, a move overwhelmingly welcomed by the Indian diaspora in the UK hoping for India visits during the ongoing summer break in the country.

India has been on the Red List since end-April when the Delta variant was at its peak, which meant an effective ban on travel except for returning British residents who had to self-isolate in a government-sanctioned hotel at a considerable additional expense.

The update of the travel list this week came alongside an announcement that the cost for solo travellers from destinations still on the Red List staying at a quarantine hotel will go up from August 12, from 1,750 pounds to 2,285 pounds. The charge for an additional adult sharing a room will increase from 650 pounds to 1,430 pounds.

According to the government, this is to "better reflect the increased costs involved". PTI
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10:04   NIA carries out raids in J-K terror funding case
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday conducted raids at various locations in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district in connection with a terror funding case.

Earlier on July 10, the NIA  had arrested six people from across Jammu and Kashmir in connection with a terror funding case.

This comes a day after eleven employees of the Jammu and Kashmir government were sacked for having terror links. 

Among those dismissed were two sons of terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen founder Syed Salahudin.

A Delhi court had earlier ordered the framing of charges against four alleged Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists observing prima facie evidence against them for receiving funds from Pakistan to plot terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

The court had ordered framing of charges under various charges dealing with criminal conspiracy, waging war against the country, and under provisions of UAPA. 

Special Judge Parveen Singh, in his order, observed that the terror outfit had formed a frontal organisation Jammu Kashmir Affectees Relief Trust (JKART), which purpose was to fund terror activities. The trust was formed mainly to provide funds for the terrorists and their families.
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09:29   ED raids Nagpur hotel in Deshmukh corruption case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday conducted searches at a Nagpur hotel as part of its investigation in a case of alleged corruption against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.
 
Deshmukh is being probed by the ED in a case of alleged extortion from orchestra bars in the state. ED had issued summons to the 71-year-old NCP leader and his son Hrishikesh Deshmukh seeking their appearance.

The attached assets include a residential flat of value Rs 1.54 crores at Mumbai's Worli and 25 land parcels of Rs 2.67 crores at a Dhutum Villages in Uran of Maharashtra Raigarh district.

The ED has alleged that Rs 4.7 crore collected from orchestra bars by dismissed cop Sachin Waze, allegedly on Deshmukh's instructions, was transferred to the former minister's Nagpur-based educational trust by his son, who routed it via two hawala operators and showed it as a donation.

Deshmukh is the president of the trust and his two sons, Salil and Hrishikesh, are its trustees. Earlier, the ED had raided Deshmukh's residences in Nagpur and Mumbai. Raids were conducted at five places.

Further investigation is underway. 
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08:50   Journalist, his relatives attacked in UP
A journalist of a national daily and his relatives were allegedly attacked by a group of people in the Sonkh road in Mathura, police said on Saturday.

"Four persons, including journalist Anil Agrawal, sustained internal injuries," they said.

All the injured have been provided medical assistance, Deputy Superintendent of Police Abhishek Tewari said.

He said after receiving information, police reached the spot in the Sonkh road-based colony falling under highway police station and nabbed four assailants.

An FIR was registered in connection with the incident on Saturday and the four accused have been sent to judicial custody, Tewari said, adding that the matter is being investigated.

If more people are found guilty, they will be nabbed, police said. 

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