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Wed, 08 July 2020
Veteran actor-comedian Jagdeep dead

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23:24   Veteran actor-comedian Jagdeep dead
Veteran Actor-comedian Jagdeep, best known for his role as Soorma Bhopali in Sholay, died on Wednesday at his residence. He was 81.

The actor, real name Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri, was not keeping well.

"He passed away at 8.30 pm at his residence in Bandra. He was not keeping well due to age related issues," producer Mehmood Ali, a close family friend, told PTI.

Jagdeep appeared in around 400 films but it is his role as Soorma Bhopali in 1975 film Sholay that is etched in audiences' minds even today.

He also played memorable roles in Purana Mandir and in Andaz Apna Apna as Salman Khan's father.

Better known by his stage name Jagdeep, the actor also directed the movie 'Soorma Bhopali' with his character as the protagonist. He is survived by two sons - Javed and Naved.   -- PTI
Waseem Bari
Waseem Bari
22:56   Terrorists kill BJP leader, dad, brother in J-K
A Bharatiya Janata Party leader, his father and brother were shot dead by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district Wednesday night, Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh.

Terrorists opened fire on Wasim Ahmad Bari, BJP district president, outside his shop near police station Bandipora at around 9 pm, he said.

Singh said Bari's brother Umar and father Bashir Ahmad were injured in the firing.

They were taken to the Bandipora district hospital where they succumbed to injuries, he said.

Senior police officials of the district have reached the spot, a police official said, adding further details are awaited.   -- PTI
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21:54   Complete lockdown in Patna from July 10-16
A complete lockdown has been ordered in Patna from July 10 to July 16 due to a sudden spurt in novel coronavirus cases, officials said on Wednesday.

An order to this effect was issued by Patna District Magistrate Kumar Ravi.

Except for the essential services, markets, offices and other commercial activities will be prohibited during the lockdown period in the state capital, the order said.

The decision comes on a day Bihar reported its highest single-day spike of 749 COVID-19 cases, of which Patna alone accounted for 235.

The state's COVID-19 tally now stands at 13,274, the health department said in its daily update on Wednesday.

This is the first instance of the state's coronavirus count crossing the 700-mark in one day.   -- PTI
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21:40   CBSE should explain rationale behind dropping certain chapters: Sisodia
The Central Board of Secondary Education  (CBSE) should explain the rationale behind dropping certain chapters from the school curriculum, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Wednesday, asserting that the board must have had 'very strong' reasons behind the move.

The CBSE on Tuesday had notified that it rationalised by up to 30 per cent the syllabus for classes 9 to 12 for the academic year 2020-21 to reduce course load on students amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The Human Resource Development Ministry maintains that the curriculum has been rationalised while retaining core elements.

The board in its syllabus rationalisation exercise has dropped chapters on democracy and diversity, demonetisation, nationalism, secularism, India's relations with its neighbours and growth of local governments in India, among others, as per the updated syllabus.

"The Delhi government has always been a votary of syllabus reduction and I have said so on several occasions as a large syllabus does not mean more learning.

"I support the CBSE's decision to reduce the syllabus for the academic session 2020-21 in the secondary and senior secondary grades but I have reservations and concerns over the manner and content of the syllabus reduction exercise," Sisodia said.

Social science is one discipline where there is 'maximum slope of controversy and agree that no matter which topics are chosen or left out, the questions are bound to be raised. Hence the board should have been careful and explain its rationale for dropping certain topics', he said.

"I am hopeful that the CBSE must have very good reasons for dropping those topics other than saying that 'reduction in classroom teaching due to closure of schools' requires reduction and hence, randomly some topics have been dropped," Sisodia, who holds the education portfolio, said.

The topics of social science which are dropped are so relevant in contemporary context that it is important that children learn about it through 'authentic source rather than through 'Whatsapp University'', the deputy chief minister said.   -- PTI
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21:18   TN shopowner sells 'Covid cure Mysorepak', shop gets sealed
A sweet shop in Coimbatore selling 'special Mysorepak' with 19 herbal ingredients claiming that it would cure coronavirus in just three days was sealed on Wednesday by food safety department officials.   

The shopowner had put out advertisements through pamphlets, saying that the "photo speed corona cure Mysorepak' with 19 herbs would cure Covid-19 patients in three days and a daily consumption by others would boost their immunity.   

Several people had purchased the sweet, priced at Rs 800 for one kg, over the past two days, officials said.   

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India designated Officer K Tamilselvan inspected the shop at Thottipalayam area and seized 120 kg of the Mysorepak, a department official said.   

Samples of the sweet were sent for tests and action would be taken against the shop owner, the official said.

-- PTI
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21:10   Tamil Nadu bans Friends of Police outfit
The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday issued a notification rescinding all movements of Friends of Police (FoP) across the state.

The government order was issued after an adverse report was received from the director-general of police, Chennai.

"As per the orders of Chief Minister Thiru Edappadi K Palaniswami Tamil Nadu Government bans Friends of Police Activities in the state," the ruling AIADMK tweeted.

-- ANI    
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21:03   MEA rejects reports that Jadhav refused review
Pakistan's claim that Kulbushan Jadhav refused to initiate review petition is continuation of farce, says military of external affairs on Pakistan media report.

Jadhav sentenced to execution through a farcical trial, he was coerced to refuse to file review in his case, the MEA said.

India sought unimpeded access to Jadhav to discuss his remedies, it said.

Despite our repeated requests, Pakistan continues to deny India free and unimpeded access to Kulbushan Jadhav. Clearly, Pakistan is attempting to create a mirage of compliance with ICJ judgement in Kulbushan Jadhav case, the MEA said.

Pakistan refused to hand over any relevant document, including FIR, evidence, court order, in Kulbushan Jadhav case to India, it said, adding that Pakistan coerced Kulbushan Jadhav to forego his rights to seek implementation of  judgment of International Court of Justice.

The MEA said that India will do its utmost to protect Kulbushan Jadhav and ensure his safe return to India.   -- PTI
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20:02   Kulbhushan Jadhav has rejected filing review plea, says Pak
Pakistan has claimed that Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav has refused to file a review petition and wants to go ahead with his pending mercy plea. 

"He (Kulbhushan Jadhav) preferred to follow up on his pending mercy petition...Pakistan has offered second consular access to him," said additional attorney general Ahmed Irfan while addressing a media conference along with the DG South Asia in Islamabad.   

On June 17, 2020, Kulbhushan Jadhav was invited to file a petition for review and reconsideration of his sentence and conviction. Exercising his legal right he refused to file a petition for review and reconsideration of his sentence and conviction, the additional attorney general added.   

India is in contact with Pakistan through diplomatic channels on implementation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, informed sources over the matter had told ANI in May.   

In July last year, the ICJ, by a vote of 15-1, had upheld India's claim that Pakistan has committed an egregious violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations on several counts.   

The world court had ordered Islamabad to carry out an effective "review and reconsideration" of his conviction.   

Jadhav was purportedly "arrested" from Balochistan by Pakistani security forces on March 3, 2016, after he allegedly entered the country from Iran as claimed by Islamabad.   

India has rejected Pakistan's allegations about Jadhav's involvement in spying and subversive activities and said he was kidnapped from the Iranian port of Chabahar where he was running a business.

-- ANI
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19:59   Court junks plea against Salman in Rajput case
A Bihar court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking registration of cases against Bollywood bigwigs like Salman Khan, Ekta Kapoor, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Karan Johar for allegedly abetting actor Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide, citing jurisdictional limitations.

Chief Judicial Magistrate of Muzaffarpur Mukesh Kumar dismissed the petition filed by local advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha, pointing out that the matter lay outside the courts jurisdiction.

In the petition filed barely three days after the 34 years old actor was found hanging from the ceiling of his Mumbai residence on June 14, Ojha had also named among 'witnesses' Bollywood stormy petrel Kangana Ranaut who came out with a couple of angry messages blaming nepotism and favouritism in the film industry for the tragedy.

A serial litigant, who has in the recent past come up with petitions against top film and political personalities and even foreign heads of states, few of which went beyond the admission stage, Ojha remained unfazed by the CJMs order.

"I will challenge the CJMs decision before the district court. Bihar is in pain over the death of Sushant Singh Rajput. We must act to bring those, who drove a jovial young man like him to take such an extreme step, to justice", he told reporters.

Quite a few film personalities, especially those from Bihar, have expressed apprehensions about foul play in the Patna-born actors death and sought a CBI inquiry.

These include Shekhar Suman and singer-turned- politician and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Manoj Tiwari.   -- PTI
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19:50   Dr Ambedkar's house in Mumbai to get permanent police protection
'Rajgruh', the residence of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in central Mumbai, will get round-the-clock police protection, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Wednesday.

A man entered the premises of the two-storey house in Dadar area on Tuesday night and smashed potted plants, damaged CCTV cameras and threw stones at a window before fleeing.

The police have detained a suspect.

Talking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, Deshmukh said the state government had taken serious note of the incident.

The issue was discussed in the cabinet meeting and the government has decided to provide permanent round-the-clock police protection to the premises, the minister said.   -- PTI
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19:12   Nirav Modi's assets worth Rs 329 cr confiscated
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has confiscated assets worth Rs 329.66 crore of diamond merchant Nirav Modi under the fugitive economic offenders law.

This is the first confiscation of assets order issued under the law that was brought by the Modi government in 2018 with an aim to deter economic offenders from evading the process of law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts.

The businessman, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others are being probed by the ED on money laundering charges in connection with an over $2 billion alleged bank fraud at a PNB branch in Mumbai.

'The confiscated properties are in the form of four flats at the iconic building Samudra Mahal in Worli Mumbai, a sea-side farm house and land in Alibaug, a wind mill in Jaisalmer, a flat in London, residential flats in UAE and shares and bank deposits,' the central probe agency said in a statement.

A special court in Mumbai had on June 8 authorised the ED to confiscate the assets. Nirav Modi, 49, was declared a fugitive economic offender by the same court on December 5 last year.

'The ED has attached the properties worth Rs 329.66 crore under the FEO Act, 2018 which now stands confiscated to the central government,' it said.  -- PTI
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19:03   5 Sena councillors who switched over to NCP back in party fold
Five councillors from Parner in  Ahmednagar district, who switched over from the Shiv Sena to Nationalist Congress Party last week, rejoined the Uddhav Thackeray-led party on Wednesday.

Some media reports recently claimed there were tensions between the Shiv Sena and its ally NCP over the five councillors of the Parner Municipal Council switching over to the Sharad Pawar-led party.

They had last Saturday joined the NCP in the presence of state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at Baramati in Pune district.

On Wednesday afternoon, the five councillors along with Parner NCP MLA Nilesh Lanke and local NCP leader Bhau Koregaokar met chief minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray at his residence 'Matoshree' in Mumbai.

The five councillors rejoined the Sena and said the chief minister assured to resolve their issues.

One of them, Mudassar Sayyad, told reporters that they had issues with the local Shiv Sena leadership.

"The water problem in our area wasn't getting resolved and we decided to work under the leadership of local NCP MLA Nilesh Lanke," he said.

The councillors said Thackeray has now assured them that their issues would be resolved.

Sources close to Thackeray said the chief minister made his displeasure known after the five councillors switched over to the NCP last week.

"When we are in an alliance and need to run a government, such developments don't bode well," Thackeray made it known, the sources said.

Ajit Pawar sent the councillors back to 'Matoshree' with the local NCP MLA, Sena sources said.   -- PTI
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18:36   500 pilgrims a day cap set for Amarnath Yatra
The annual Amarnath Yatra in the Himalayas will be conducted in a staggered manner and not more than 500 pilgrims will be allowed to visit the sacred cave shrine of Lord Shiva daily due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials said on Wednesday. 

The issue of pilgrimages to the Amarnath and Vaishnodevi shrines, both located in Jammu and Kashmir, was discussed at a high-level meeting attended by Union ministers G Kishan Reddy and Jitendra Singh and senior officials of the ministry of home affairs and the Jammu and Kashmir administration. 

The Amarnath Yatra is likely to commence on July 21. 

"This year's pilgrimage will be conducted in a staggered manner and not more than 500 pilgrims will be allowed to visit the shrine daily due to the Covid-19 situation," an official privy to the discussion said.
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18:36   Markaz attendees from 21 countries granted bail
A Delhi court on Wednesday granted bail to foreign nationals from 21 countries who were chargesheeted for attending Markaz at Nizamuddin in New Delhi by allegedly violating visa conditions, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating government guidelines following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur granted the relief to the foreigners on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each.

The accused will file their plea bargaining applications on Thursday, said advocate Ashima Mandla, appearing for some of the foreign nationals.

Plea bargaining means an accused pleads guilty to the offence and prays for a lesser punishment.

During the hearing, all the foreign nationals who were staying at a hotel, were produced before the court through video conferencing.

They were identified by the concerned official of the High Commission of the respective countries as well as the investigating officer.

The foreigners belonged to Afghanistan, Brazil, China, the United States, Ukraine, Australia, Egypt, Russia, Algeria, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, France, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Tunisia, the United Kingdom, Fiji, Sudan, the Philippines and Ethiopia.  -- PTI
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18:33   TN electricity minister tests positive for coronavirus
Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister and AIADMK leader P Thangamani has tested positive for coronavirus, a party spokesperson said in Chennai on Wednesday. 

The minister was admitted to a private hospital for treatment today following the test result, he said. 

Thangamani, who holds the portfolios of power, prohibition and excise is also a senior AIADMK leader and party heavyweight in western Tamil Nadu. 

He is the second Minister to test positive after Higher Education Minister K P Anbalagan. 

DMK president M K Stalin, on his Twitter handle said, he spoke to Thangamani over phone and wished him a speedy recovery. 

 "Those in public service should be very cautious," Stalin, who is also the Leader of Opposition, said.
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18:18   2 civilians injured in ceasefire violation by Pakistan
Two civilians were injured when Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district on Wednesday, the Army said.

"Pakistan initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation along the LoC in Tangdhar sector in Kupwara district on 08 Jul 2020 in the afternoon hours by firing mortars and other weapons," an army official said.

The official said two civilians were injured in the firing and shelling by the Pakistani troops.

"The Indian Army was giving a befitting response to the unprovoked aggression," he added.   -- PTI
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17:43   Indian army to physically check Chinese pullout at Galwan
The Chinese military removed all temporary structures and almost completed withdrawing its troops from the face-off site in Hot Springs in eastern Ladakh on Wednesday in sync with a decision by the two countries to ensure expeditious disengagement of forces from the friction points, people familiar with the development said. 


The disengagement process began on Monday morning after a nearly two-hour telephonic conversation between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday. In the talks, the two sides agreed on an expeditious withdrawal of troops from all the standoff points to bring back peace and tranquillity in the region.

Doval and Wang are special representatives for the boundary talks. Following the talks, a mutual disengagement process was kicked off in Galwan Valley, Hot Springs, Gogra and in Finger areas in Pangong Tso.

"The withdrawal of troops by China is complete in patrolling point 15 in Hot Springs," said one of the persons cited above. In the next few days, Indian Army will carry out a detailed verification to check actual implementation of the disengagement process, he said. It is learnt that the mutual disengagement in Gogra (patrolling point 17A) is expected to be completed by tomorrow. Gogra and Hot Springs are among the key friction points where the two armies were on an eyeball-to-eyeball engagement for last eight weeks. The sources said the two two Armies are expected to hold further talks later this week after the first phase of disengagement process is completed. -- PTI
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17:40   China agrees to WHO's probe on origins of Covid
"After consultation, the Chinese government has agreed that WHO will send a team of experts to Beijing to trace the origin of COVID19," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said today.

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, WHO told news agency ANI last week that a "thorough investigation" needs to be done into the origins of the virus. She said that the WHO has been working with the Chinese government for the visit. 

"A team is going to China next week to investigate the origins of the virus," Swaminathan told ANI.

"What is needed now is a good investigation going back before December to find out where and how it jumped from animal to human. Was there any intermediate animal or not or it directly jumped from bat to humans which are also possible? Bats have been implicated in other viral diseases -- Nipah for example. It is possible it came directly. It is also possible that there was an intermediate animal-like in the case of SARS. That thorough investigation still needs to be done," she said.
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17:21   Kanpur encounter: The cops who informed Dubey
Former Station Officer of Chaubeypur, Vinay Tiwari (left) and Beat Incharge KK Sharma (right) have been arrested. "They were present during Kanpur encounter but fled the site of incident during the operation," IG Kanpur Range Mohit Agarwal said.

"As per evidence, it has been found that the two police personnel Vinay Tiwari & KK Sharma had informed Vikas Dubey about the raid beforehand. So, he was on alert and planned to attack police which resulted in the death of 8 policemen," SSP Kanpur Dinesh Prabhu.

All 68 personnel of the Chaubeypur police station were shunted to the reserve police lines on Tuesday amid doubts over their professional integrity.

The announcement was made soon after the police transferred DIG, STF Anand Deo, who until recently was the senior superintendent of police in Kanpur.

Deo was transferred to the Provincial Armed Police unit in Moradabad.

Deo was the Kanpur SSP in March when Deputy Superintendent of Police Devendra Mishra purportedly wrote a damning letter, which surfaced on the social media after he was killed in the Bikru ambush.

The unverified letter to the then Kanpur SSP alleged that Chaubeypur station officer Vinay Tiwari had watered down an FIR lodged against Vikas Dubey.

It suggested that Tiwari and Dubey were close. However, the police said there is no record of the purported letter, which was not dated and carried no serial number.

Deo said the signature in the letter does not match that of the slain officer.

The police, however, said they will still investigate the letter. Lucknow Range IG Lakshmi Singh is probing the matter. She is likely to submit the report by the evening.

The police have named 21 people in the FIR registered after the attack.
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17:09   Bihar records highest single-day spike of 749 COVID-19 cases
Bihar reported its highest single-day spike of 749 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the state health department said here. The state's tally now rose to 13,274, the department said in its daily update. This is the first instance of the state's coronavirus count crossing the 700-mark in one day. PTI
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17:03   2 civilians injured in ceasefire violation by Pakistan
Pakistan initiated an Unprovoked Ceasefire Violation (CFV) along the LoC in Tangdhar Sector, Kupwara, North Kashmir today in the afternoon hours by firing mortars and other weapons. Befitting response being given. Two civilians injured: Chinar Corps, Indian Army.
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16:50   News updates from Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra
Patna to remain under lockdown from 10th July to 16th July, orders District Magistrate. 

Odisha government issues an order, asking government employees, who are commuting from places other than municipal limits of Cuttack and Khordha, not to attend offices in Bhubaneswar till July 31 in view of rising cases of COVID-19.

Maharashtra Police reported 278 COVID-19 cases and one death in the last 48 hours, taking active cases in the force to 1,113 and death toll to 71.
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16:33   203L tons of foodgrains to be distributed till Nov
The Cabinet approved the extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for further five months under which 203 lakh tons of grains will be distributed among 81 crore people.

"In view of the need for continuous support to the poor and needy, Cabinet approves extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana - allocation of additional foodgrain for further five months from July to November 2020," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday said at a press conference. 


The step was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 30.


"For the distribution of grains in the last three months, 120 lakh ton grains were used whereas, in the coming five months, 203 lakh tons will be given. Earlier, four lakh sixty thousand tons of dal was given while now nine lakh seventy thousand tons of chana will be given," Javadekar said.


The minister said that it is the biggest program in the world which will run for eight months and "it includes lower class, lower middle class, self-employed people, even the migrant workers were also included in the later stage.

The Minister for Information and Broadcasting further said that the Cabinet has approved the extension by three months of the time limit for availing of free cylinders under the Centre's Ujjwala scheme.


"The 7.40 crore women registered under Ujjwala scheme were promised three free cylinders. The validity for taking those free cylinders has been extended till September so that they can get the benefits. It will cost the exchequer Rs 13,500 crore," he said.Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar was also present at the briefing held today. -- ANI
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16:20   Sensex snaps 5-day winning streak
Snapping its five-day rising streak, equity benchmark Sensex closed 346 points lower after a highly volatile session on Wednesday, dragged by losses in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, Infosys and TCS amid weak cues from global peers. After opening on a positive note, the 30-share index sank 594.26 points from the day's high and finally settled 345.51 points, or 0.95 per cent, lower at 36,329.01. Similarly, the NSE Nifty dropped 93.90 points, or 0.87 per cent, to close at 10,705.75. Bajaj Finance was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, tumbling over 4 per cent, followed by Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Tech, Maruti and Infosys. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, SBI, HUL, Tata Steel and ITC were among the gainers. -- PTI
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16:06   Rare brain inflammation, stroke linked to Covid
Neurological complications of COVID-19 may include delirium, brain inflammation, stroke, and nerve damage, according to a study which says some of these symptoms may not be a direct consequence of the novel coronavirus infection but due to the immune system acting on healthy cells. The research, published in the journal Brain, identified one rare and sometimes fatal inflammatory condition, known as ADEM, which may be increasing in prevalence due to the pandemic. 


According to the scientists, including those from the University College London (UCL) in the UK, the team normally sees about one adult patient with ADEM per month, but that increased to at least one per week during the study period, which they added is a concerning increase. 

The study provided a detailed account of neurological symptoms of 43 people (aged 16-85) treated at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, who had either confirmed or suspected COVID-19. The scientists said some patients in the study did not experience severe respiratory symptoms, and the neurological disorder was the first and main presentation of COVID-19. 

They identified 10 cases of temporary brain dysfunction with delirium, which corresponded with other studies finding evidence of delirium with agitation. 

According to the study, there were also 12 cases of brain inflammation, eight cases of strokes, and eight others with nerve damage, mainly Guillain-Barr syndrome, which usually occurs after a respiratory or gastrointestinal infection. 

"We identified a higher than expected number of people with neurological conditions such as brain inflammation, which did not always correlate with the severity of respiratory symptoms," said Michael Zandi, study co-author from UCL. -- PTI
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15:47   Union Cabinet approves ration distribution programme
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar says Cabinet has approved the extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till November.
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15:44   British envoy's India connect
Some non-Covid news to lift your spririts: Sir Philip Barton today presented his credentials to President Ram Nath Kovind, in a virtual ceremony, as British High Commissioner to India. Barton said, "It is the greatest honour and privilege of my diplomatic career to represent the UK in this wonderful country. We often speak of a living bridge of people, ideas and institutions that tie UK and India. I, too, am part of that bridge. My mother was born in Shimla. I met my wife when we both worked here and we named our daughter 'India' - not knowing I would return one day as High Commissioner."
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15:30   SMEs destroyed, I warned of economic tsunami: Rahul
Small and medium enterprises stand "destroyed" and large companies are under severe stress, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed on Wednesday and said he had warned of an "economic tsunami" in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In a tweet, Gandhi also claimed that banks are in distress and attacked the BJP for ridiculing him for highlighting the issue of non-performing assets (NPAs) a few months ago. 

"Small and medium enterprises stand destroyed. Large companies are under severe stress. Banks are in distress," he said. "I stated months ago that an economic tsunami was coming and was ridiculed by the BJP and the media for warning the country about the truth," Gandhi tweeted, citing a media report claiming that additional NPAs of Rs 1.67 lakh crore from top 500 debt-heavy private companies are likely next fiscal. 

The Congress leader has been targeting the central government over its economic policies and demanding a package for micro, small and medium enterprises to help revive demand in the wake of the the coronavirus-induced lockdown. -- PTI
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15:16   India may see 2.87L cases a day by winter 2021
India may record about 2.87 lakh projected cases of the novel coronavirus per day by the end of winter 2021 in the absence of a COVID-19 vaccine or drug interventions, according to a modelling study by the researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 


Using data for 84 countries with reliable testing data -- spanning 4.75 billion people -- the researchers developed a dynamic epidemiological model. in a preprint paper, MIT professors Hazhir Rahmandad and John Sterman, and PhD candidate Tse Yang Lim, noted that the top ten countries by projected daily infection rates at the end of winter 2021 are India with 2.87 lakh infections per day, followed by the US, South Africa, Iran, Indonesia, the UK, Nigeria, Turkey, France, and Germany. However, they noted that the projections are highly sensitive to assumed testing, behavioural, and policy responses, and as such they should be interpreted as indicators of potential risk and not precise predictions of future cases. 


The researchers added that more rigorous testing and reductions in contacts in response to risk perception will significantly reduce future cases while laxer response and normalisation of risks can lead to overwhelming breakouts. By making additional assumptions on future testing and responses, the researchers said the model can inform future trajectories.


"We explore a few projections out to spring 2021 that exclude vaccine and treatment availability," said the researchers. The researchers considered projections under three scenarios: 1. Using the current country-specific testing rates and response functions moving forward, 2. If enhanced testing -- of 0.1 per cent a day -- is adopted on July 1, and 3. If sensitivity of contact rate to perceived risk is set to 8, leaving testing at current levels. The first two scenarios project a very large burden of new cases in the fall 2020, with hundreds of millions of cases concentrated in a few countries estimated to have insufficient responses given perceived risks, primarily India, but also Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the US. -- PTI
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14:46   A newspaper headline from 1962 says it all
At a time when there's all-round jubilation that India has managed to push back the Chinese at the LAC, comes a cautionary newspaper frontpage from 1962 (accompanying image).   

It is part of a viral meme that says '97 days after this banner headline, the 1962 war happened'.   

Gives everyone something to pause and think over, no?
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14:44   J'khand CM in quarantine as minister tests +ve
Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren has placed himself under home quarantine, also requested all officers and staff of CMO to undergo home quarantine. Entry to CM residence prohibited. CM had come in contact with state minister Mithlesh Thakur who tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, say reports. 
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14:36   Don't make pregnant woman wait for Covid results: HC to AAP
Pregnant women's request for COVID-19 test should be met immediately and the its results be declared quickly, the Delhi High Court told the AAP government on Wednesday. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan said there ought not to be any time lag between receipt of request for testing, sample collection and declaration of results. The court said that when pregnant women go for deliveries they cannot wait five to six days for carrying out the tests and declaration of the results.

"Immediately requests should be accepted and immediately results should be given," the bench said. The Delhi government told the court that as per the advisory issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the tests results would be declared within an hour.

The advisory was however silent on the timeline regarding processing of requests for testing, the Delhi government said, adding that it has issued a notification which states all applications for tests would be processed within 48 hours.

The bench asked the Delhi government to place the advisory and notification before it and listed the matter for hearing on Thursday, July 9. The court also asked it whether negative outcome of a rapid test was acceptable or whether an RT/PCR test result also be required before admitting a pregnant woman. -- PTI
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13:46   FM celebrates a long journey
Unlike his predecessor Sushma Swaraj, who was easily one of India's most Twitter-friendly ministers , External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar is more conservative in his tweets, which are anyway few and far between.

There is no banter with his following and  tweets are strictly impersonal.

Except for this one. 

Dr Jaishankar tweeted today to say, "43 years today since I first entered South Block. Time flies, world changes, bonds are stronger. Journey continues."

South Block houses the offices of the External Affairs ministry.

Dr Jaishankar joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1977 and during his diplomatic career spanning over 38 years, he served in different capacities in India and abroad including as a High Commissioner to Singapore (2007-09) and as Ambassador to the Czech Republic (2001-04), China (2009-2013) and the USA (2014-2015). Jaishankar played a key role in negotiating the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement.

Here's to the journey continuing... 
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13:39   Chinese troops move back 2 km from Patrolling Pt
Indian Army Sources tell news agency ANI that disengagement between troops of India and China has been completed today at Patrolling Point 15. The Chinese troops have moved back by approximately 2 km. 

Yesterday, the disengagement process between the Indian and the Chinese Army began at Hot Springs and Gogra. The Chinese Army had started dismantling its structures since Monday. 

"Under the mutual disengagement, both sides will disengage and move back by 1-1.5 km from the friction points. The two Armies are likely to hold further talks after the disengagement process is completed," Indian Army sources said yesterday.

In the first signs of easing tensions, the Chinese military on Monday began a limited pull-back from a number of friction points in eastern Ladakh, a day after NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed on completing the ongoing disengagement process along the LAC "expeditiously", government sources had said.
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13:07   India can compete with China on services front: Report
The latest research report from State Bank of India's Economic Research Department, authored by Dr Soumya Kanti Ghosh, SBI's group chief economic adviser, points out that India's import dependence from China in numbers is maximum in low-value imports, 6844 products at $65.3 bn.   

However, the report also points out, 'Data on services and merchandise trade exports shows that India can definitely compete with China on the services front. India exports a far greater amount of Telecommunications, Computer, and information services than China. However, China is rapidly catching up and India needs to buckle up.'   

The report adds, 'Although the ban on 59 Chinese apps, which are quite popular in India, is based on security concerns, it does provide the local tech companies the space to develop apps which can compete with them. India, with its huge IT base can thus focus more on services while building capabilities in goods exports will take more time to improve its overall trade balance.'   

You can read the full report here.
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13:03   Surge in Covid cases in B'luru unexpected: Min
Karnataka Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar on Wednesday said the surge in the number of COVID-19 cases that the city is witnessing now was expected by July end, but there is no need for worry as the government is prepared to handle the situation.


"In Bengaluru we were aware that there would be a surge in the number of infections when we relaxed the lockdown, but the information that came to us did not show that it will be to this extent," Sudhakar said. Speaking to reporters, he said, "These numbers were expected by July- end, but it has happened a bit earlier. There is no need to worry, we are making all the necessary arrangements and there is no need for any one to worry." 

As of July 7 evening, cumulatively 26,815 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 416 deaths and 11,098 discharges, and out of this 11,361 infections are from Bengaluru urban. Nearly 800 out of 1,498 fresh cases reported in the state on Tuesday were from Bengaluru urban alone.
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12:39   Pak must introspect why it's epicentre of terrorism: India at UN
Hitting out at Pakistan for peddling false narratives against it, India has asked Islamabad that it must introspect about why it is universally acknowledged as the "international epicentre" of terrorism and the best safe haven for terrorists.

Mahaveer Singhvi, head of the Indian delegation, made the comments at a webinar The Global Scourge of Terrorism: Assessment of High-Risk Threats and Trends, including the rise of Violent Extremism and Hate Speech in a Pandemic Environment' on Tuesday during the ongoing virtual Counter-Terrorism Week. 


"While the world is coming together to battle the pandemic, it is unfortunate that Pakistan, a state which sponsors cross border terrorism, continues to use every opportunity to peddle false narratives and make baseless, malicious and egregious allegations against India and interfere in our internal affairs, he said. 

The international community should call upon Pakistan to take sustained, verifiable and irreversible actions against terror outfits operating on the territory under its control. Pakistan must introspect upon why it is universally acknowledged as the international epicentre of terrorism and the best safe haven for terrorists, Singhvi said. 


Slamming Islamabad for raising India's domestic policies and internal affairs, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, he said even as Pakistan provides shelter and support to terrorists, it continues to peddle false and motivated narrative on the situation in the Union Territory.


It is seeking to portray its military, financial, logistical support to cross border terrorism against India as a freedom struggle. It is also peddling misinformation about India's domestic legislation and policies, he said. If Pakistan wishes to be taken seriously in the fight against the even more destructive virus of terrorism, it must look inward and live up to its commitments and abandon its divisionary tactics, he said. -- PTI
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12:33   Reward for gangster Vikas Dubey hiked to Rs 5 lakh
Reward for the arrest of Vikas Dubey, involved in killing eight UP cops, increased from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh Vikas Dubey is the main accused in Kanpur encounter and has been absconding since the incident, where eight Policemen were shot dead by criminals. 

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force on Wednesday killed an aide of gangster Vikas Dubey in Hamirpur and arrested another following an encounter in Kanpur for their alleged role in last week's Bikru ambush wherein eight policemen died, a senior officer said. 
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12:19   CM asks for analysis on Delhi's Covid deaths
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has directed Delhi Health Secretary to share a detailed analysis of factors behind all COVID-19 deaths in the capital city in the last two weeks.

The objective is to take measures to further reduce COVID-19 deaths in the national capital. So far, 3,165 fatalities have been reported due to the highly-contagious disease in Delhi.

The deaths have witnessed a decline from the peak over 120 per day in June to 50 deaths on July 7.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government has also directed all government and private COVID hospitals to get feedback from patients and their willingness to donate blood plasma at the time of discharge.

According to Health Ministry, Delhi so far recorded 1,02,831 cases of coronavirus. Out of the total, 25,449 are active cases and 74,217 patients have been discharged. -- ANI
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12:15   Uddhav promises action against miscreants who desecrated Ambedkar home
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said the state government has taken serious note of vandalism at Dr B R Ambedkar's house 'Rajgruh' in Mumbai and the guilty will not be spared.


Two persons threw stones on glass windows, and damaged CCTV cameras and potted plants at 'Rajgruh' in Dadar area on Tuesday night, a police official said. CCTV footage from the erstwhile home of the Constitution architect shows a person smashing flower pots in the compound before fleeing, the official said. Matunga police have registered an FIR in the incident. Located at Hindu Colony in Dadar, the two-storey heritage bungalow houses the Ambedkar Museum where Babasaheb's books, portrait, ashes and vessels are among the artefacts.
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12:02   Union Cabinet meeting underway
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs the Union Cabinet meeting at his 7 Lok Kalyan Marg residence.
An institutional quarantine facility
An institutional quarantine facility
12:01   Man insists on govt quarantine for wife returning from Punjab
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, a man insisted that his wife should go in for institutional quarantine instead of returning home, police said. The woman had recently returned from Punjab. After police intervention, the man allowed his wife into the home. The incident took place in Varthur police station limits. 


The man did not open the door of the house even as his wife continued to knock, police said. The woman tried to convince him but when the husband did not open the door, she called the women helpline and police.


Police and health department staff reached the spot and convinced him about new guidelines and quarantine norms of the Karnataka government, police said.

As per revised quarantine norms issued by the Karnataka government on July 6, persons coming from other states to Karnataka, including Maharashtra, shall be placed in 14 days home quarantine. -- ANI
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11:55   Farmers in Rajasthan protest govt's procurement policies
Farmers from Rajasthan are on their way to Delhi from Dudu, to protest against the Centre's crop procurement policies. Kisan Maha Panchayat's Rampal Jaat says, "Centre has procured only 6 lakh tonnes of Chana out of total 26.75lakh tonnes.This is against slogan of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat".
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11:27   Nothing special about Pawar-Uddhav meet: Sena
The Shiv Sena on Wednesday asserted there are no differences among the ruling MVA allies in Maharashtra, and said if coalition governments fall over controversies on some transfers and promotions, it would imply that the national politics is on a weak foundation.

An editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said politics over issues of a few transfers and promotions is "low level" and "petty". It said there is "no truth" in speculations about lack of co-ordination among the ruling coalition partners and that they can't see eye to eye over several important issues. 


The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi comprises the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, which came together to form government in the state last year after the Uddhav Thackeray-led party fell out with long-term ally BJP over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post. Some media reports claimed there were tensions between the Sena and NCP over the recent transfer of 10 police officials in Mumbai, and five Sena councillors at Parner in Ahmednagar district joining the Sharad Pawar-led party last week.

The Sena on Wednesday said, "What is so special if Sharad Pawar meets Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray frequently. The Thackeray sarkar has been formed because of his efforts. Pawar keeps meeting the chief minister over issues of farmers, cooperative sector."
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11:07   Govt sets up team to probe Nehru-Gandhi Trusts
An inter-ministerial team has been set up by the government to coordinate probe into the alleged violation of various laws like money laundering and foreign contributions by three Nehru-Gandhi family linked trusts, including the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.. 


A Home Ministry spokesperson said a special director in the Enforcement Directorate will head the team. 


"MHA sets up inter-ministerial committee to coordinate investigations into violation of various legal provisions of PMLA, Income Tax Act, FCRA etc by Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust & Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. Spl. Dir of ED will head the committee," a home ministry spokesperson tweeted. -- PTI
PM Modi with the Brazilian prez Jair Bolsonaro last year
PM Modi with the Brazilian prez Jair Bolsonaro last year
10:57   PM wishes Bolsonaro speedy recovery from Covid
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday wished Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro a speedy recovery from COVID-19. Bolsonaro had on Tuesday said that he has tested positive for coronavirus. "My friend President @jairbolsonaro (Jair Bolsonaro), my prayers and best wishes for your speedy recovery," Modi tweeted in Portuguese and English. -- PTI
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10:49   Man who returned from India, tested positive for COVID-19 escapes isolation to go shopping in NZ
A 32-year-old man, who recently returned from India and tested positive for the deadly coronavirus on Wednesday, will be charged with absconding from a managed isolation facility in Auckland to go to a supermarket, according to media reports. 

The man, New Zealand's latest new case of COVID-19 announced on Wednesday, escaped through a fenced area from an isolation facility about 6.50pm on Tuesday, the New Zealand Herald reported. 


He has been sent to a quarantine facility after he was confirmed to have the coronavirus on Wednesday. However, the man was asymptomatic and did not appear to have come into close or casual contact with anyone, the report said.

The man, whose identity was not immediately known, came from New Delhi on July 3, it added. Health Minister Chris Hipkins has slammed the man's actions as "selfish" and says he will face charges, the report said. But he wouldn't describe the episode as a failure of the government's processes, and even though those processes will now be reviewed, he said if anyone should apologise it was the man who broke the law.


Hipkins said the man appeared to have made a spur of the moment decision and dashed through a gap where fencing was being replaced.

A security guard was observing the area but confused the man with contractors working on the fencing. The alarm was raised within minutes but security were unable to find the man. Hipkins said the man may have spent 20 minutes in the supermarket on Victoria St West, and he returned of his own volition 70 minutes after leaving, the report added.


He will be charged and now face up to a six-month jail sentence or a $4000 fine, the report added. After the man's positive test result came on Wednesday, the supermarket staff are now self-isolating and will also be tested for the virus, the Stuff reported. 


CCTV footage from within the supermarket has confirmed there was no close contact between the man and any staff or customers during his time there, head of managed isolation and quarantine Air Commodore Darryn Webb said. There are now 23 active COVID-19 cases in New Zealand, all in managed isolation or quarantine, and 1187 confirmed cases. PTI
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10:32   India's Covid tally 7,42,417, over 22k cases a day!
With 22,752 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India's COVID-19 caseload increased to 7,42,417 on Wednesday, while the death toll climbed to 20,642 with 482 people succumbing to the disease,according to the Union Health Ministry data. 

The number of recoveries stands at 4,56,830, while there are 2,64,944 active cases of coronavirus infection presently in the country, the updated data at 8 am showed.

"Thus, around 61.53 per cent of patients have recovered so far," an official said. The total number of confirmed cases included foreigners. This is the sixth consecutive day that COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 20,000. -- PTI
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10:20   Union Cabinet meeting at PM's residence today
A Union Cabinet meeting will be held today at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence. On June 24, the Union Cabinet had approved the setting up of an Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) amounting to Rs 15,000 crore. After the Cabinet meeting, Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space, Jitendra Singh said that a new institution - Indian National Space, Promotion and Authorisation Centre - has been formed which will guide the private industries in space activities through encouraging policies in a friendly regulatory environment. -- ANI
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10:14   Tendulkar inaugurates plasma donation centre in Mumbai
Former cricketer and legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar today inaugurated a plasma donation center at Seven Hills Hospital, for the treatment of Covid patients. 
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10:10   Nepal's ruling communist party's meet to decide PM's future deferred again
A crucial meeting of Nepal's ruling communist party to decide the political future of embattled Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli was on Wednesday postponed once again for Friday, amidst intra-party rifts and calls for his resignation over his style of functioning and anti-India statements. 

The meeting of the Nepal Communist Party's 45-member powerful Standing Committee was scheduled to be held on Wednesday. Prime Minister's press advisor Surya Thapa announced that the meeting was postponed until Friday. The reason for the deferment for a fourth time was not revealed. 

Top NCP leaders, including former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', have demanded Prime Minister Oli's resignation, saying his recent anti-India remarks were "neither politically correct nor diplomatically appropriate." 

The differences between the two factions of the NCP -- one led by Oli and the other led by party's executive chairman 'Prachanda' on the issue of power-sharing has recently intensified after the prime minister unilaterally decided to prorogue the budget session of Parliament. PTI
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09:50   Vandalism at B R Ambedkar's Mumbai residence, FIR filed
Mumbai police have registered an FIR against unknown persons following vandalism at Rajgruh, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's house, an official said on Wednesday.
Two persons threw stones on glass windows, and damaged CCTV cameras and potted plants at Rajgruh in Dadar area in Mumbai on Tuesday night, the official said.
CCTV footage from the erstwhile home the Constitution architect shows a person smashing flower pots in the compound before fleeing, the official said.
Matunga police have registered an FIR in the incident.
Located in Hindu Colony, Dadar, the two-storeyed heritage bungalow houses the Ambedkar Museum where Babasaheb's books, portrait, ashes and vessels are among the artefacts.
The current residents of Rajgruh include Babasaheb's daughter-in-law, and his grandsons Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader Prakash Ambedkar, Anandrao and Bhimrao.
 
Prakash Ambedkar, who was in Akola when the attack took place, has appealed for calm and asked his followers to not gather outside the house.
The All India Professional Congress on Wednesday asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to look into the attack on Rajgruh.
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has already assured that strict action will be taken against the culprits.

"This is highly condemnable. @CMOMaharashtra should immediately look into this. Rajgruh is not just a memorial, it is a reminder of the legacy of Dr B R Ambedkar," AIPCMumbaiEast tweeted.
The minister said police are probing the matter and assured that strict action will be taken against the guilty. -- PTI
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09:48   India reports over 20k cases for 6th day in a row
India reports a spike of 22,752 new COVID19 cases and 482 deaths in the last 24 hours. 

This is the sixth consecutive day that COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 20,000.

The number of recoveries stands at 4,56,831, while there are 2,64,944 active cases of coronavirus infection presently in the country. 

The country's death toll due to the the pandemic has reached at 20,642.
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09:14   Boundary with China is under negotiation: Bhutan
Boundary between Bhutan-China is under negotiation and has not been demarcated, Royal Bhutanese Embassy in India has said.

"24 rounds of ministerial-level boundary talks held, 25th round delayed due to COVID. All disputed areas to be discussed in next round, to be held as soon as mutually convenient," said Royal Bhutanese Embassy in India.

This comes amid reports of Chinese claims over Sakteng wildlife sanctuary situated in Eastern Bhutan. -- ANI
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09:11   Woman killed in Pak shelling along LoC
A 65-year-old woman was killed and another critically injured on Wednesday in heavy shelling by Pakistan Army on forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
   
The shelling from across the border in Balakote and Mendhar sectors started around 2 am, drawing strong retaliation by the Indian army, a police officer said.
 
He said two women, Resham Bi and Hakam Bi, were critically injured in the Pakistani shelling at village Lanjote and were evacuated to hospital.
 
However, Resham Bi later succumbed to her injuries while Hakam bi was referred to Jammu hospital for specialised treatment, he said.
 
A defence spokesperson said Pakistan initiated the unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and intense shelling with mortars at around 2 am.
 
The cross-border shelling from both sides continued for 45 minutes, the spokesperson said.
 
The casualties suffered by Pakistan in the retaliatory action was not known immediately, he said. -- PTI
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09:01   HCQ has become highly politicised in US but India uses it widely: WH
The use of hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus patients has become highly politicized in the United States but it is used widely in India, a top White House official has said, asserting latest research showed the malaria drug is highly effective in early stages of COVID-19.
"It's the politicisation of this medicine by the mainstream media and portions of the medical community that somehow made this a battle between President Trump and them and created this undue fear and hysteria over a drug, a medicine that has been used for over 60 years relatively safely and is regularly prescribed to pregnant women if they are going to a malaria zone," White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Director Peter Navarro told reporters.
"The idea that this is a dangerous drug is just silly, but if you ask the American people based on the media's coverage of it, that is kind of the state of play right now," he said.
Navarro said a day earlier four doctors at the Detroit Hospital System filed a request for emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine. The request was for three things.
"One, for early treatment use in a hospital setting. Number two, treatment between a doctor and his patient in an outpatient setting. Three, not just as a therapeutic but also as a possible prophylaxis for preventative use," he said.
This request to the FDA comes on the heels of the publication of their study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases last week that showed an astonishing 50 percent reduction in the mortality rate for patients taking hydroxychloroquine, Navarro said.
"Give hydroxy a chance, and please don't contribute to hydroxy hysteria because if it's prescribed under the supervision of a doctor, the odds that it can harm you are way, way smaller than the odds that it can help you," Navarro said.
"This has become a highly politicized, but India uses this widely for prophylaxis. There is a number of studies which point to this actually working," White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Director Peter Navarro told reporters.
The official said if he were to show any kind of symptoms, he would first ask his doctor whether hydroxychloroquine is appropriate. "And then I wouldn't hesitate to take it," he said.
He said if one looks at the 14-day arc of the virus from the beginning of symptoms, the first seven days are critical: when a person may have fever, dry cough, possibly a profound sense of fatigue.
"At that point, your lungs are still intact, and the virus is not appreciably spread to the rest of your organs. Hydroxychloroquine, based on the science in articles like the one that originally appeared in 2005 in the Journal of Virology, works in a therapeutic way by raising the alkalinity of your cells which slows the replication of the virus and also can kill the virus," he said.
It also has an anti-inflammatory effect, which is why it is used for rheumatoid arthritis, and the drug can therefore also help manage what is called the cytokine storm, he said.
The latest request to the FDA also comes on the heels of two decisions by the FDA over the last several months to shut down hydroxychloroquine. -- PTI
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08:39   Policy change on intl students is misguided: US universities and lawmakers
Several Congressman and top educational institutions decried the policy change that will require international students who are in the United States with an F-1 visa to take at least one in-person course or else face the prospect of being deported.
But the the State Department asserted that many international students who had planned to study this fall in the US may still have the opportunity to do so.
The State Department's statement comes a day after the new guideline created panic among international students, the largest number of whom come from China and India.
Congressman Bennie Thompson, chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Congresswoman Kathleen Rice, chairwoman of the Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations Subcommittee, said in a joint statement that the new policy will damage the economy, harm US institutions, and do nothing to improve America's safety or security.
"There is no apparent legitimate reason for the (Trump) administration's inflexibility toward international students attending colleges and universities that adopt 'online-only' policies -- the Administration seems to just want them to leave," the two lawmakers said.
International students contribute billions of dollars to the US economy and barring them from our country will deprive Americans of badly needed income. "We cannot allow President Trump to continue destroying jobs and cause needless suffering just to satisfy his anti-immigrant base. We oppose this reckless policy and the lasting harm it will cause to universities and communities across the country," they said.
Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne expressed concern that the decision will create more uncertainty and complexity for international students.
"Our international students must be able to continue making progress toward completing their degrees, and as a university we intend to support them in doing so. We will be working with our peers and national associations to understand how best to accomplish that in the context of these new rules, as well as to urge the Administration to rethink its position," he said.
The State Department, which issues visas to international students, however said the decision is temporary. 

"This will allow a mixture of both in-person and some online coursework to meet the requirements for nonimmigrant student status," it said. -- PTI
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08:28   Gangster Vikas Dubey's aide killed by UP STF
The Uttar Pradesh special task force on Wednesday killed an aide of gangster Vikas Dubey who was involved in an ambush in Kanpur last week in which eight policemen died, a senior official said.
 
Amar Dubey, who carried a reward of Rs 25,000, was killed in an encounter in Maudaha village in Hamirpur district, Special Task Force IG Amitabh Yash said.
Eight policemen were ambushed in Chaubeypur police station area when they were going to arrest Vikas Dubey and fell to bullets fired from rooftops shortly after midnight on Friday.
Vikas Dubey, the notorious criminal who carries a reward of Rs 2.5 lakh, is still absconding.
"We are trying to nab him and our teams are on the job," a police official said. -- PTI 
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08:07   US formally withdraws from WHO
The Trump administration has formally notified the United Nations of its decision to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization, officials said, breaking off ties with the global health body amid the expanding coronavirus pandemic.
The US has accused the WHO of siding with China on the outbreak of the virus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, alleging the health body misled the world resulting in deaths of over half a million people globally, including over 130,000 in America.
In April, the US stopped funding to WHO as the Trump administration reviewed the ties. A month later, President Donald Trump announced the US was terminating the relationship. The US is the largest funder to the world health, contributing more than USD450 million per annum, while China's contribution to the health body is about one-tenth of that of the US.
"I can say that on 6 July 2020, the United States of America notified the secretary-general, in his capacity as depositary of the 1946 Constitution of the World Health Organization, of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, effective on 6 July 2021, said Stphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, in a statement.
Dujarric said the secretary-general is in the process of verifying with the WHO whether all the conditions for such withdrawal are met.
The United States has been a party to the WHO Constitution since June 21, 1948. Its participation was accepted by the World Health Assembly with certain conditions set out by the US for its eventual withdrawal from this world body.
The said conditions include giving a one-year notice, meaning the withdrawal won't go into effect until July 6 next year, raising the possibility the Trump administration's decision could be reversed by a new government after the presidential elections in November this year.
The decision was criticised by several Congressmen, who said it "would be a bad policy".
"To call Trump's response to COVID chaotic and incoherent doesn't do it justice. This won't protect American lives or interests -- it leaves Americans sick and America alone," tweeted Senator Robert Menendez, a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Congressman Eliot Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said, It would be bad policy to pull out of the world's leading body coordinating global health efforts under any circumstances, but to do so during a global pandemic is utterly baffling, especially against the backdrop of 130,000 American lives lost.
Remaining in the WHO and exerting American leadership would boost international efforts to develop a vaccine and strengthen other countries' health systems to better address future outbreaks, he said. -- PTI
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01:12   122 Malaysians who attended Markaz get bail
A Delhi court Tuesday granted bail to 122 Malaysian nationals, who were charge sheeted for attending Markaz at Nizamuddin in the national capital, by violating visa conditions, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating government guidelines, issued in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur granted the relief to the foreigners on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 10,000.

They also filed applications for plea bargaining which was listed before Metropolitan Magistrate Siddharth Malik for July 8 for early disposal of the petitions.

"Siddharth Malik, MM, South-East is directed to expedite the disposal of the plea bargaining applications moved on behalf of all the accused persons in view of the guidelines given by the High Court of Delhi," the judge said in the order.

As per procedure, plea bargaining means an accused pleads guilty to the offence and prays for a lesser punishment.

During the hearing, all the foreign nationals who were staying at a hotel, were produced before the court through video conferencing.

They were identified by the concerned official of Malaysian High Commission as well as the investigating officer.   -- PTI

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