LIVE
Thu, 17 June 2021
Choksi remanded to state prison in Dominica
Timeline Refresh
23:43 Choksi remanded to state prison in Dominica
A magistrate court in Dominica on Thursday sent businessman Mehul Choksi to a state prison, his lawyer in India said, but added that he would continue to remain in hospital as his medical condition 'deteriorated'.
The diamond trader was earlier in police custody.
"Yes, police custody has been changed to prison custody but he shall remain in hospital as his medical condition has deteriorated," lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said.
The development is being seen as a ray of hope for India which has approached the Dominica high court seeking to be impleaded as a party in the case filed by lawyers of Choksi whose bail plea was earlier rejected.
Choksi is wanted in India in a case of loan fraud worth about Rs 13,500 crore in the state-run Punjab National Bank. -- PTI
23:04 'Delta Plus' variant found in MP: Officials
A 65-year-old woman has tested positive for the new Delta Plus variant of coronavirusin Bhopal, official sources said on Thursday.
The development came even as the second wave of the pandemic is waning in Madhya Pradesh and restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the infection are being eased.
According to officials, the samples of the woman, who lives near a big medical facility, were collected on May 23.
Reports received from the National Central for Disease Control (NCDC) on Wednesday said she was positive for the 'Delta Plus' variant.
The woman, who has taken two shots of anti-coronavirus vaccine, recovered in home isolation, sources added.
When contacted, Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang confirmed that a woman tested positive for a 'different variant', but did not elaborate.
The state has not lowered its guard against COVID-19 and testing has not decreased even when the number of new cases is dipping, he said.
"We are sending samples for genome sequencing to laboratories and NCDC," added the minister.
According to some reports, the highly infectious Delta variant (B.1.617.2) of COVID -19 that was first found in India is feared to have mutated into Delta Plus variant. -- PTI
22:43 2 labs booked for fake Covid reports during Kumbh
The Uttarakhand government on Thursday lodged a case against a company and two private labs for fudging coronavirus test reports during the Haridwar Kumbh Mela in April.
The firm, Max Corporate Service, Nalwa Laboratories Private Limited of Hisar and Delhi-based Dr Lalchandani Lab have been accused of issuing fake negative test reports.
The Uttarakhand high court had directed the state government to test 50,000 samples daily to control the spread of Covid during the religious congregation, for which the Health Department awarded the contract to Max Corporate Service, who further hired the two labs.
Confirming the lodging of the case, DGP Ashok Kumar said the complaint was lodged on behalf of Haridwar Chief Medical Officer Shambhu Kumar Jha.
He said the company and both labs have been booked under the Epidemic Diseases and the Disaster Management Acts besides Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.
The matter had come to light after a man complained to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) that he received a message on his mobile phone about his test report coming negative at the Kumbh even though he had not given a sample for it.
After receiving the complaint from the ICMR, the Uttarakhand government asked the Haridwar district magistrate to investigate the matter and a three-member panel was constituted for it.
Preliminary investigations revealed that many private labs roped in by the district Health Department issued fake Covid test reports in the name of random people on the basis of their identity cards and phone numbers.
It is suspected that more than one lakh such test results had been issued by the private labs, sources in the department had said.
The labs apparently did so to meet the daily testing quota of 50,000 tests set by the Uttarakhand high court, the sources said. -- PTI
22:04 Mamata challenges Nandigram results in HC
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee moves Calcutta high court, challenging assembly election result in Nandigram where Bharatiya Janata Party's Suvendu Adhikari emerged victorious court to hear the matter tomorrow. -- ANI
21:25 Sputnik V to offer booster against Delta variant
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on Thursday said Sputnik V will soon offer a booster shot or the second dose of the vaccine, which has been adjusted to work against the Delta variant of coronavirus, to other vaccine manufacturers.
'Sputnik V will soon offer a booster shot, adjusted to work against the Delta variant of coronavirus, first detected in India, to other vaccine manufacturers,' Sputnik V said in a tweet.
Taking to Twitter, the official handle of the Russian vaccine on Tuesday affirmed that Sputnik V's efficacy is better on the Delta variant than any other vaccine that has published results on the strain so far.
'RDIF: #SputnikV is more efficient against the Delta variant of coronavirus, first detected in India than any other vaccine that published results on this strain so far-- the Gamaleya Center study submitted for publication in an international peer-reviewed journal,' Sputnik V on Tuesday tweeted.
In April, the vaccine received emergency use authorisation in India, making it the third vaccine to be made available in the country.
Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's Laboratories has been importing the shots from Russia.
The vaccine is also manufactured in India.
The Delta variant has been listed as the fourth Variant of Concern (VoC) by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and is believed to have led to the resurgence of COVID-19 infections in many countries, including the devastating second wave in India.
'The #SputnikV vaccine will be available in 9 more cities across India, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Baddi, Kolhapur and Miryalaguda,' as per the Sputnik V official handle. - ANI
20:50 We will continue our struggle: Natasha Narwal
Student activist Natasha Narwal on Thursday said they had received "tremendous support" inside Tihar Jail in Delhi and would continue their struggle.
Narwal, along with Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha, walked out of Tihar, hours after a court in Delhi ordered their immediate release in the northeast Delhi riots "conspiracy" case.
JNU students Narwal and Kalita thanked their friends and well-wishers, many of whom gathered outside the jail, for supporting them during their year-long stay behind bars.
"We have received tremendous support inside jail and we will continue our struggle," Narwal told reporters.
Welcoming the Delhi high court order granting them bail, Narwal, an activist of women collective Pinjra Tod, said that when they were arrested, it took them many months to believe that they were in jail under such stringent charges.
Hitting out at the government, Kalita said people are in jail for raising their voice.
"They are trying to suppress the voice of people and dissent. We got a lot of support from people which helped us survive inside (jail)," she said.
On the delay in their release after the high court granted them bail, she said it was unbelievable because they had secured bail two-three days ago. "...still we were inside jail. I almost kept expecting that some police officers will come and arrest me," she added.
Narwal, Kalita and Tanha were arrested in May last year under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Walking out of Tihar Jail, Jamia Millia Islamia student Tanha said he had kept hope that he would be released one day and asserted that the fight against the CAA, NRC and the NPR would continue.
20:19 LJP feud: Chirag calls national executive meet
Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan on Thursday rejected his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras's election as the party president, saying the meeting organised in Patna was 'unconstitutional' and lacked even minimum attendance of its national executive members.
He told PTI that his party has also written to the Election Commission, urging it to stop the Paras-headed faction from using its symbol and flag in its meeting.
LJP's secretary general Abdul Khaliq said a physical meeting of its national executive will be held in the national capital on Sunday to reiterate Paswan's earlier election as its national president amid the split in the organisation after Paras and four other party MPs staged a coup against him.
The party has over 90 sanctioned members in the national executive and barely nine of them were present in the meeting in Patna on Thursday in which Paswan's paternal uncle Paras was elected as its president in his place, he said.
Paswan added that only he as the party chief or Khaliq as its secretary general are authorised to hold any such meeting as per the LJP constitution.
Earlier in the day, Paras was elected as the party's new president at a meeting of the party's national executive called by his supporters.
Chirag Paswan, son of party founder Ram Vilas Paswan, is expected to leave for Bihar early next week to galvanise LJP supporters around his cause as both factions engage in a bitter fight to claim the party's ownership.
Paswan also urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to reconsider his decision to recognise Paras as the leader of the party in the House, saying the LJP constitution authorises its parliamentary board to decide on its leader in Parliament.
"The faction headed by my uncle can be an independent group but cannot represent LJP," he said.
He said he will try to meet the Speaker over the issue and move the court if the decision is not reversed.
The LJP has six MPs, including Paswan, in Lok Sabha and none in Rajya Sabha.
Five of its MPs recently elected Paras as their president in place of Paswan.
Lok Sabha secretariat then notified his election after all five of them met the Speaker with their representation. -- PTI
Natasha Narwal
19:41 Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita walk out of Tihar
Student activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita walked out of Tihar prison on Thursday, hours after a court here ordered their immediate release in the north-east Delhi riots "conspiracy" case.
The order came two days after the Delhi High Court granted bail to Narwal, Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha, who were arrested in May last year under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
A senior jail official said Kalita and Narwal have been released from the Tihar prison as per court orders received. Asif Iqbal Tanha will be released around 7.30 pm after completion of formalities, he said.
The three student activists were not released from the prison on time over delays in verifying their addresses and sureties.
In its order for the immediate release of the trio, the Delhi court said the delay in the verification process by the police could not be a plausible reason for the accused to be kept imprisoned.
After securing bail from the high court, the activists had moved the trial court, seeking immediate release from prison. When the trial court deferred the order on their plea for Thursday, they moved the Delhi high court, which ordered the lower court to proceed with the issue with "promptitude and expedition".
The three student activists were arrested in May 2020 and are accused of being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 violence, which left 53 people dead and more than 200 injured.
The high court, while granting them bail on June 15, had observed that "in an anxiety to suppress dissent, the state has blurred the line between right to protest and terrorist activity" and if such a mindset gains traction, it would be a "sad day for democracy".
The Delhi police has, however, moved the Supreme Court, challenging the high court judgement granting them bail in the case.
19:35 How the rupee fared today
Declining for the eighth consecutive session, the Indian rupee tumbled 76 paise to close below the 74-mark against the US dollar on Thursday, tracking a strong greenback overseas after the US Federal Reserve surprised the market by signalling rate hikes sooner than expected.
At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened weak at 73.65 against the American currency, then lost further ground and finally closed at 74.08, showing a fall of 76 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 73.32.
19:35 How the rupee fared today
Declining for the eighth consecutive session, the Indian rupee tumbled 76 paise to close below the 74-mark against the US dollar on Thursday, tracking a strong greenback overseas after the US Federal Reserve surprised the market by signalling rate hikes sooner than expected.
At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened weak at 73.65 against the American currency, then lost further ground and finally closed at 74.08, showing a fall of 76 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 73.32.
19:10 Wrote thrice to PM to remove Dhankhar as guv: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday took a dig at Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar's New Delhi visit as she said a "child can be cajoled into silence" but not an elderly man, noting that she has thrice written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw him from the state.
Calling the governor a "Centre's man", Banerjee refrained from commenting much on his meeting with President Ram Nath Kovind and several other union ministers in Delhi.
"What can I say? A child can be cajoled into silence. In this case, speech is silver; silence is golden," she said.
Asked about media reports suggesting that the governor might be removed, Banerjee said she is not aware of any such development.
"How do I know? When a governor is appointed, the state government is consulted. That, however, was not done in this case... I have written twice or thrice to the Prime Minister seeking his withdrawal from the state," she said.
Dhankhar, who has shared a strained relationship with the TMC government since taking charge as the governor of the state in 2019, is in the national capital on a four-day trip. He has not specified any reason for the visit.
The governor met Union ministers Prahlad Joshi and Prahlad Singh Patel on Wednesday.
He also held a meeting with President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier in the day. Dhankhar is scheduled to meet Home Minister Amit Shah later in the day.
The chief minister, when enquired if Raj Bhavan appointing several 'officers on special duty' has mounted pressure on the state exchequer, maintained that she wouldn't have the details offhand.
The ruling TMC in West Bengal on Wednesday accused Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar of violating constitutional norms and requested him not to return to the state.
Left Front chairman in the state and CPI(M) leader, Biman Bose, slammed the governor for allegedly acting like a BJP mouthpiece and condemned his "partisan" role.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh, however, stated that the TMC has "no respect for the Constitution".
"The governor is doing the right thing, and that is why the TMC dispensation does not like it. The Centre appoints him, and it is obvious that he has to report various developments to the Union government," Ghosh asserted. -- PTI
19:00 Tamil Nadu CM Stalin meets PM Modi
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday.
The DMK leader, who recently led his party to a big win in the assembly polls in his state, is on a visit to the national capital. "Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru @mkstalin met PM @narendramodi," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted and posted pictures of their meeting.
"The meeting with PM Modi was satisfactory. PM assured cooperation and assistance to the state for development. He also assured me that I can contact him at any time regarding the issues of Tamil Nadu," Stalin told newsmen after the meeting.
"Issues like withdrawal of three agricultural laws, scrapping of NEET and New Education Policy, early commencement of vaccine production at Chengalpattu complex, and revival of Sethusamudram project were also raised by me during the meeting with PM Modi."
18:48 How India-New Zealand stack up
Ahead of the World Test Championship final tomorrow between India and New Zealand, here's how the teams fare.
18:23 Pandemic-hit dabbawalas to get 15-cr aid from HSBC
Foreign lender HSBC on Thursday announced a Rs 15-crore grant to support the Dabbawalas of the financial capital, who have been virtually without work since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
The assistance to the dabbawalas otherwise a regular feature on the city's local trains, crowded commercial districts, and the residential pockets will include help on food security, life insurance, education support for their families, and livelihood support in form of new bicycles when the lockdowns are lifted, an official statement said.
The network seen in the movie 'Lunchbox' runs in the reverse way to get the boxes back in the afternoon, and is feted for its error-free service. The dabbawalas have defined the grit and spirit of the city of Mumbai.
"An integral part of the city's workforce and community, they have been hit hard by the pandemic with loss of livelihood, the bank's interim chief executive in India," Hitendra Dave, said.
The bank is working with the NGO United Way Mumbai to reach out and extend help to the dabbawalas, he said, hoping that this financial assistance will aid their resilience during these challenging times.
It can be noted that recently, Social, a chain of restaurants, had tied up with the network where dabbawalas will be taking the food parcels to patrons. The HSBC statement said the dabbawalas service 2 lakh people daily and the pandemic brought all their operations to a sudden halt as people started working from home due to mobility restrictions.
The Dabbawala service has never been shut in the past 130 years. But since March 2020 it has come to a total standstill. With no earnings over the past 14 months, dabbawalas are in financial crisis and it has been difficult for them to feed their families, Ulhas Muke, the president of the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charity Trust, said. He said many of the dabbawalas have returned to their villages, while some are making do with selling vegetables and working as drivers.
A video grab of the rescue operation
17:52 Chopper rescues 16 crew on barge at high sea
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Thursday rescued 16 crew members from a merchant vessel barge that went aground amid rough weather off the Mumbai coast, an official statement said.
When the distress message was received from barge merchant vessel called "Mangalam", two Chetak helicopters were launched from Daman and one ship was launched from Murud Janjira fort in Mumbai by the ICG to rescue the crew members.
In a daredevil sea-air coordinated operation in inclement weather and rough sea conditions, ICG's two Chetak Helicopters ex-Daman & ship Subhadra Kumari Chauhan rescued 16 crew from barge merchant vessel Mangalam reported aground off Revdanda in Mumbai today," the ICG said on Twitter.
Last month, over 70 people died when barge P305 sank during Cyclone Tauktae.
17:38 Pashupati Kumar Paras new LJP president: party sources
Lok Janshakti Party MP Pashupati Kumar Paras, who recently staged a political coup and deposed nephew Chirag Paswan as the party chief, was on Thursday declared elected, unopposed, the new national president of the outfit.
Party sources said no other contender filed nomination papers till 3 pm and a formal announcement with regard to the election of the Hajipur MP will be made in the evening. The sources added that the former state minister was also scheduled to make a courtesy call on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar whom supporters of Chirag have been accusing of having engineered the split, which has left the son of LJP founding president late Ram Vilas Paswan cornered.
It was not known whether any decision was taken about Chirag, whom Paras, late Paswan's youngest brother, had replaced as the party's leader in Lok Sabha earlier this week, armed with the support of four remaining LJP MPs.
17:35 Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon, Tokyo Olympics
Rafael Nadal pulls out of this year's Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics "There has only been 2 weeks between French Open and Wimbledon, didn't make it easier on my body to recuperate after the always demanding clay court season," he says.
17:17 Choksi planned escape, concealed evidence: CBI
Absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi had prior knowledge of the impending Enforcement Directorate (ED) enquiries against him in 2017 which triggered him to plan his escape from India and cover his tracks by concealing evidence, the agency has said.
The CBI in its supplementary charge sheet has invoked Section 201 of the IPC among other charges which pertain to the destruction of evidence by a suspect as part of criminal conspiracy.
Choksi allegedly in a criminal conspiracy with PNB Deputy Manager Gokulnath Shetty got back all the documents which were submitted for the issuance of 165 Letters of Undertaking (LOU) and fraudulent amendments made in 58 Foreign Letters of Credit (FLC) during March and April, 2017. Shetty "dishonestly and fraudulently" returned all the original applications along with other accompanying documents submitted by accused companies Gitanjaii Gems Ltd, Gili India Ltd and Nakshatra Brands Ltd back to them, which should have been in the custody of the bank, the CBI has alleged.
"These applications along with the documents were recovered during searches conducted by CBI from the premises taken on rent by the employee of Mehul Chinubbhai Choksi at the instance of Vipul Chunilal Chitalia," the CBI alleged.
17:03 Sensex slips into deep gloom
Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled 179 points on Thursday, weighed by losses in index heavyweights HDFC twins, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank amid a largely negative trend in global equities.
The 30-share BSE index ended 178.65 points or 0.34 per cent lower at 52,323.33. The broader NSE Nifty declined 76.15 points or 0.48 per cent to 15,691.40.
IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent, followed by Dr Reddy's, NTPC, Maruti, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel and HDFC.
On the other hand, UltraTech Cement, TCS, Asian Paints and Infosys were among the gainers.
"Bulls stepped back a bit following the economic forecast by the US Federal Reserve as the street stayed cautious on the slow economic recovery in emerging markets unlike some of the developed markets," said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.
16:56 Interpreters of Maladies
"People knew that for a sore throat you had to have Dulaler Tal Michhri or put a lump in water and give it to cranky babies. The moss green Antibactrin with its distinctive smell was for boils. Caladryl for bee stings. When kids scraped knees from climbing trees or took a fall from the cycle, applying Mercurochrome was a given. Another person recalled how till the late 1980s little girls went to school for months with scarlet earlobes '" that was Mercurochrome with its antiseptic properties for the newly pierced lobes. Phitkiri or a lump of alum was used as an after-shave; again an antiseptic."
The Bengali fear of ailments and fondness for cures is legion. Riding a nostalgia shot calendar, heres a look the states wondrous medical heritage, writes Upala Sen for the Telegraph. Do read.
16:47 And the answer is...
The answer to the question we asked you at 12:52 (please scroll down) on the identity of the woman in the adjoining picture is: Shevanti Mangeshkar, the mother of the five Mangeshkar musical geniuses. The picture was posted yesterday by Lata Mangeshkar.
Natasha Narwal with her father
16:43 Police plea against bail for students in SC tomorrow
The Supreme Court will on Friday hear a Delhi Police plea against the Delhi High Court decision to grant bail for student-activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha.
So, the three student activists will remain in jail today as well.
The three - arrested in May last year over alleged links to the riots that erupted amid tension over the citizenship law - were given bail Tuesday on personal bonds of 50,000 each and two sureties of a similar amount. Other conditions for their release included surrender of passports.
The High Court had ordered their release by 1 pm Wednesday, but that deadline slipped by as Delhi Police filed a last-minute petition to stop them from leaving Tihar Jail.
16:35 Mamata slams Centre's efforts to 'control' Twitter
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday slammed the BJP-led union government over its "efforts to control" Twitter and claimed that the Centre, having failed to influence the microblogging platform, is now trying to bulldoze it.
Drawing a parallel, Banerjee said her government, too, was being meted out the same treatment by the Centre. "I condemn it; they can't control Twitter, so they are trying to bulldoze it. They (Centre) are trying to do so with everyone they are unable to manage. They can't control me, and that is why they are trying to bulldoze my government, too," Banerjee said while talking to reporters in Kolkata.
The networking platform has lost its 'safe harbour' shield in India over non-compliance to IT rules and failure to appoint key personnel mandated under new guidelines. It will now be liable for action under the Indian Penal Code for third party unlawful content. Making light of BJP's allegations of continued political violence in the state, the chief minister said it was a saffron party "gimmick" and the claims made were completely "baseless".
"There is no political violence going on in the state right now. There may have been one or two sporadic incidents, but those can't be labelled as incidents of political violence," she added. PTI
16:15 The Dhankars@Rashtrapati Bhawan
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, along with his wife Sudesh Dhankhar, met President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind, at Rashtrapati Bhawan today.
16:14 SII plans to launch new Covid vax by September
The Serum Insititute of India (SII) hopes to introduce Covavax in the country by September which is a version of the US firm Novavax's COVID19 vaccine candidate. SII also plans to start clinical trials of the Novavax shot for children in July.
The United States-based Novavax on Monday said that its nano-particle protein based Covid-19 vaccine candidate has demonstrated an overall 90.4 per cent efficacy in phase 3 clinical trials.
In India its partner Serum Institute of India has started manufacturing the vaccine it has named Covovax already.
In fact, the Centre expects availability of 200 million doses of Covovax between August and December.
India will allow entry of this vaccine here once the US Food and Drug Administration approves it.
16:03 Nepal keeps its vax deal with China under wraps
Nepal is set to buy four million doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine amid its fight the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, local media reported. However, details like the price and delivery date have been kept under wraps.
The Kathmandu Post reported that the vaccines would be bought under a non-disclosure agreement, as proposed by Sinopharm, raising concerns among many people in the Himalayan nation.
The Nepali daily newspaper reported a minister as saying that two doses of the Chinese vaccine are likely to cost around USD 20. According to a country's health ministry official, USD 20 for two doses would still be pricey for Nepal when compared to what deal it got for the USD 4 AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India.
Last week, Bangladesh had signed a deal with China to buy the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine, without disclosing the price or quantity of doses, Dhaka Tribune reported.
15:58 Sonia got both jabs, Rahul vax delayed
The Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi has taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine while Rahul Gandhi has not yet taken the jabs since he had contracted the virus in May, sources said on Thursday.
According to the party sources, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has taken one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The remarks were made following questions by several BJP leaders who demanded for vaccination details of the Gandhis to be made public.
The Congress interim president took the first jab of the COVID-19 vaccine in March while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took her first shot in May, the sources said.
The Congress General Secretary went into self-isolation after her husband Robert Vadra tested positive for COVID-19 in April.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday BJP's Sambit Patra has raised the question on whether Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had been vaccinated and if so to make the details public. -- ANI
15:38 Army chief holds border security review meet
The Army Commanders' Conference presided over by Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane started today to review the security situation and preparedness along the Northern and Western borders of the country.
Spiranza costs Rs 70 lakh
15:35 Three SMA patients get Rs 16 crore drug each
Three children suffering from the killer Spinal Muscular Atrophy on Thursday received the Rs 16 crore drug each under the compassionate access programme by the drug major Norvartis, a doctor at the Baptist Hospital in Bengaluru said.
Apart from them, three other children suffering from the same disease will get another drug, which costs about Rs 70 lakh each, Dr Ann Agnes Mathew of Baptist Hospital said.
"Under the lucky draw, these three children will get 'Zolgensma', each of the doses costs Rs 16 crore," Dr Mathew told PTI.
According to her, two patients are from Hyderabad and one is from Bengaluru.
The children were chosen in a lucky draw, Dr Mathew said, adding this drug is effective for children below the age of two years.
Explaining about the disease, she said Spinal Muscular Atrophy or SMA is caused by loss of nerve cells, which carry electrical signals from the brain to the muscles. The protein needed for this signaling is coded by a gene for which everyone has two copies --- one from the mother and the other from the father, according to the doctor.
She said a child develops this disorder only if both the copies were faulty. Without treatment, this disease was ultimately fatal, Dr Mathew said, adding the treatment is way too costly and out of reach of the common man and only a billionaire can afford it.
Dr Mathew said Zolgensma is a gene therapy, which aims at curing the disease by replacing the faulty gene. "It's a one-time shot and the child gets rid of it once and for all but it is effective for children below the age of two years," she added.
Three other children suffering from the SMA who are above the age of two years will be given Spinraza, which costs Rs 70 lakh each, through an NGO, Dr Mathew said. On February 16 this year, a 14-month-old girl Fatima from Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district, received Zolgensma at the Baptist Hospital.
15:27 Court reserves order on Aisha Sultana's anticipatory bail plea
Kerala High Court reserves order on filmmaker Aisha Sultana's anticipatory bail plea. Court says she has to appear before police for interrogation as per Section 41A CrPC notice. In the event of arrest, she should be released on interim bail, the court adds.
15:20 CII pitches for Rs 3 lakh cr fiscal stimulus
The Indian economy requires a Rs 3 lakh crore fiscal stimulus, including cash transfer to households through Jan Dhan accounts to spur economic growth amid the pandemic, industry chamber CII said on Thursday and pitched for appointment of a 'Vaccine Czar' for speedy vaccination coverage.
CII President T V Narendran also said the chamber expects GDP to grow at 9.5 per cent in 2021-22 as the strong growth in the second half of the fiscal year will be supported by robust external demand and large-scale coverage of vaccination, allowing resumption of economic activity.
He also advocated for appointment of a "Vaccine Czar" for speedy vaccination coverage. The new president said suitable fiscal measures to alleviate the stress of people impacted by the second wave of COVID-19 are the need of the hour.
The Indian economy is a consumption-led economy and the pandemic has impacted the consumer demand and due to this, the chamber has called for measures such as cash transfer as a number of actions are needed to deal with this demand shock, he told reporters.
"Fiscal stimulus of Rs 3 lakh crore is required...There is room for administering additional fiscal stimulus of up to Rs 3 lakh crore," he said adding the RBI should expand its balance sheet in order to accommodate the increased stimulus so that lending costs remain contained.
Nobel Laureate CV Raman
15:18 How CV Raman's invention is helping detect Covid
Researchers have successfully used graphene -- one of the strongest, thinnest known materials -- to detect SARS-CoV-2 in laboratory, a breakthrough which they said can help detect coronavirus and its variants quickly and accurately.
The research team at the University of Illinois Chicago in the US combined sheets of graphene, which are more than 1,000 times thinner than a postage stamp. They applied an antibody to the sheets designed to target the spike protein on the coronavirus, which helps the virus to enter and infect human cells.
The researchers then measured the atomic-level vibrations of these graphene sheets when exposed to COVID-positive and COVID-negative samples in artificial saliva.
These sheets were also tested in the presence of other coronaviruses, like Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS-CoV. The study, published in the journal ACS Nano on Tuesday, found that the vibrations of the antibody-coupled graphene sheet changed when treated with a COVID-positive sample, but not when treated with a COVID-negative sample or with other coronaviruses.
Vibrational changes, measured with a device called a Raman spectrometer, were evident in under five minutes, the researchers found. "We have been developing graphene sensors for many years. In the past, we have built detectors for cancer cells and ALS. It is hard to imagine a more pressing application than to help stem the spread of the current pandemic," said Vikas Berry, professor at the University of Illinois Chicago and senior author of the research paper.
"There is a clear need in society for better ways to quickly and accurately detect COVID and its variants, and this research has the potential to make a real difference. The modified sensor is highly sensitive and selective for COVID, and it is fast and inexpensive," Berry said.
15:09 'Tihar still waiting for email of release order of student activists'
Rajdeep Sardesai on a Delhi court ordering the immediate release of the three student activists: "Not yet! Tihar still waiting for the email of the release order! But should happen tonight. Desh mein bahut der hai if you are not a VVIP..."
15:04 If others followed law, why couldn't Twitter: Govt
Union Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on the removal of Twitter's intermediary status.
"I am not the one who declared it (removal of Twitter's intermediary status), the law has. If others followed, why couldn't they? We asked for three officers to be appointed. The three months' period was exhausted on May 26, but still we gave them the last opportunity as a goodwill gesture.
"We gave them (Twitter) 3 months' time. Others have followed, they haven't. Rule 7 of (IT) guidelines says if you don't comply then under Sec 79 you may lose intermediary status and may become liable to other laws including penal laws of the country.
"When Indian companies do business or pharma companies go to manufacture in US, do they follow American laws or not? If you have to do business here, you're welcome to criticize PM, all of us... but you have to obey India's Constitution and rules.
"When some people do their politics via Twitter, I've no problem.. Now they're doing politics of Twitter, again I've no problem. It isn't an issue between Twitter and the Govt of India or the BJP. It is an issue between Twitter and its users who must be given the forum in case of misuse/abuse."
The Delta variant is extremely infectious
14:56 Delta variant infections doubling every 11 days in UK: Study
The number of people infected with the coronavirus is increasing rapidly in England, doubling every 11 days, which coincides with the Delta variant of COVID-19 becoming dominant in the country, a new study reports on Thursday.
The Imperial College London led Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission (REACT-1) analysis, based on over 100,000 home swab tests taken between May 20 and June 7, estimates that 0.15 per cent of people have the deadly virus, or roughly 1 in 670. It found that the link between infections, hospitalisations and deaths had been weakening since February, but since late April, the trend has been reversing for hospitalisations.
"We found strong evidence for exponential growth in infection from late May to early June in the REACT-1 study, with a doubling time of 11 days on average for England," said Professor Paul Elliott, director of the REACT programme from Imperial's School of Public Health.
"These data coincide with the Delta variant becoming dominant and show the importance of continuing to monitor infection rates and variants of concern in the community," he said.
The findings come days after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a month-long delay to an end to lockdown restrictions, citing the rising number of cases of the Delta variant first identified in India. These findings highlight the stark context in which we took the difficult decision to delay Step 4 of the roadmap out of lockdown, said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
14:49 2.18 cr Covid vax doses still with states: Govt
More than 2.18 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses are available with states and union territories, and over 56,70,350 more are in the pipeline and will be received by them in the next three days, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday.
More than 27.28 crore (27,28,31,900) vaccine doses have been provided to the states and UTs so far by the government of India (free of cost channel) and through direct state procurement category, it said. Of this, the total consumption, including wastage, is 25,10,03,417 doses (as per data available at 8 am on Thursday), the ministry said, adding, "2,18,28,483 COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs to be administered."
"Furthermore, more than 56,70,350 vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by them within the next three days," it said. As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the central government has been supporting the states and UTs by providing them COVID-19 vaccines for free, the ministry said.
In addition, it has also been facilitating direct procurement of vaccines by the states and UTs. Vaccination is an integral pillar of the comprehensive strategy of the government of India for containment and management of the pandemic, along with test, track, treat and follow COVID-appropriate behaviour.
Implementation of the liberalised and accelerated phase-3 strategy of COVID-19 vaccination started from May 1, 2021. -- PTI
14:41 PM should seek expert help to rebuild India: Rahul
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said rebuilding India will begin once Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledges his mistakes and seeks help from experts as living in denial will not solve anything.
He said this while citing a report quoting World Bank's data on poverty where India has a share of 57.3 per cent in rise in global poverty during the Covid pandemic.
"This is the result of GOI's pandemic mismanagement. But we must look at the future now. Rebuilding our country will begin when PM acknowledges his mistakes and seeks help from the experts," he said on Twitter while sharing the report.
"Living in denial will not solve anything," he added.
Gandhi quoted a graph of the report, which claimed that India has contributed most to the rise in global poverty during the pandemic and its share of global change is 57.3 per cent and 59.3 per cent for poor and middle income groups respectively.
The report cited World Bank data on estimated numbers of people who fell below the global poverty line or fell out of the middle income group.
-- PTI
14:24 Third Covid wave could hit Maharashtra in 2-4 weeks: Task Force
The third Covid-19 wave could hit Maharashtra within the next two to four weeks, the state task force has warned in a grim reminder for the state which was battered by the second wave of the pandemic.
The task force, however, said children would not be affected as much as those in lower middle-class clusters that havent been exposed to the virus so far.
The predictions were made in a meeting chaired by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the Times of India reported, with data pointing to the fact that the total number of cases in the third wave could be double of those in the second wave, with active cases reaching eight lakh.
It is also expected that 10 per cent of the cases could come from children or young adults, a phenomenon also seen in the first two waves.
14:10 Zubair targeted for reporting victim's version: Alt News
Pratik Sinha co-founder of the fact-checking website Alt News tweets on his colleague and co-founder Mohammed Zubair. "It is clear that Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair is being targeted for reporting the victim's version in the Ghaziabad case. The social media 'influencers' and trends singling out Zubair are a testimony to the impact he has. The Alt News team stands with Zubair."
An FIR has been registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police against social media platform Twitter, News website The Wire along with Alt news co-founder Mohammed Zubair, Congress politicians Shama Mohamed, Salman Nizami and Maskoor Usmani, Journalists Rana Ayyub and Saba Naqvi for allegedly sharing a video on Twitter, of assault of an elderly Muslim man in Ghaziabad and giving it a communal colour without verifying the details.
Representational image
13:59 MP village vaccinates all adults with first vax dose
The panchayat of Mehgavan Pariyat village has managed to administer the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all its eligible residents, including two centenarians, making it the first village in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district to be completely covered in the inoculation drive, a senior official said on Thursday.
The village, which comes under Panagar block, has 1,002 registered voters, of whom 956 have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine till Wednesday, while the remaining 46 persons are those who have recently recovered from the infection, pregnant women and those living outside the village, the official from the public relations department said.
The first dose has been administered to all of them, while many of them have received the second jab during the ongoing vaccination drive, he said. What's more, centenarians Tijjo Bai (102) and Triveni Bai (100) took personal interest in getting vaccinated and gave a befitting reply to those spreading rumours against the vaccine, the official said. At least six teams of the health department have been formed to carry out the drive, and one of the teams is dedicated to inoculate the elderly, physically challenged and sick persons at their homes, he added.
Expressing happiness over the feat achieved by the village, Panagar MLA Sushil Tiwari Indu gave Rs 5 lakh from his local area development fund for the development works in the village and also handed Rs 5,000 each to the two centenarians for encouraging others to get vaccinated.
Sub-divisional magistrate N S Arjaria said the vaccination drive was successful because of the active participation of villagers, who not only got themselves vaccinated, but also gave information about the sick, elderly and divyang residents and helped in getting them inoculated. PTI
13:55 NIA arrests Sena leader & ex encounter cop Sharma
NIA arrests Shiv Sena leader and former 'encounter specialist' of Mumbai Police, Pradeep Sharma. A raid was conducted at his residence in Mumbai today.
The National Investigation Agency this morning conducted a raid at Sharma's residence in suburban Andheri in connection with its probe into the Antilia bomb scare case and Mansukh Hiran's murder, an official said. An NIA team along with armed CRPF personnel raided Sharma's house located in J B Nagar in Andheri west around 6 am, the official said.
Covid cases in states
13:40 Goa may be open for tourism after July 31
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant says the target for administering the first dose of Covid vaccine for all adults in the state is July 31. "Until we administer the first dose of vaccine (across the state), tourism will not be reopened here. Our target is to accomplish this goal by July 31. We will consider reopening only after achieving that goal," Sawant said.
13:35 Sputnik V vaccine to be available in 10 cities
"The Sputnik V vaccine will be available in 9 more cities across India, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Baddi, Kolhapur and Miryalaguda," Sputnik V tweets in confirmation.
Yesterday, Dr Reddys Laboraties revealed that the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V will soon be available in the markets commercially.
Dr Reddys Laboraties, which collaborated with The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to manufacture the jabs in India, also announced that Sputnik V which was initially launched only in in Hyderabad, will now be available in nine other Indian cities.
The limited pilot soft launch of the Sputnik V vaccine in India has now been successfully scaled up to other cities such as Visakhapatnam, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Baddi, Chennai, Miryalaguda and Kolhapur, with more cities to follow in the next few days," it said.
Deep Sidhu
13:16 Police files supplementary charge sheet in Republic Day violence case against Sidhu, others
Delhi Police on Thursday filed a supplementary charge sheet against actor-activist Deep Sidhu and others in the Republic Day violence case. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gajendra Singh Nagar will pass the order on the point of cognisance of the fresh charge sheet on June 19 at 2 pm.
The investigating officer of the case pointed out the names of the witnesses who were severely injured or from whom the weapon was snatched, the court noted. On January 26, protesting farmers clashed with the police during the tractor rally against three farm laws and stormed into the Red Fort injuring scores of policemen.
The Crime Branch is tasked with investigating the case. On May 17, it filed a 3,224-page charge sheet and sought prosecution of 16 accused including Sidhu. Sidhu, who was accused of being the key conspirator of the violence, was arrested on February 9. The police had also accused him of fuelling the chaos at the Red fort. PTI
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole
13:12 Are there plans for mid-term polls, asks Sena
With the Congress in Maharashtra expressing a wish to contest the next Assembly elections in the state on its own, its ruling ally Shiv Sena on Thursday said the 2024 polls are still far away, and also sought to know if there were any plans to have mid-term polls.
In an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana', it also said that since all the major political parties have started talking about going solo, the Sena and the NCP will have to contest the next polls together in the interest of Maharashtra.
The party said that although the Congress is an important constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, it is on the third position. The Shiv Sena, which was one of the oldest allies of the BJP, had forged an unlikely alliance with the NCP and the Congress after the 2019 state polls to form the MVA government, after parting ways with the BJP over the issue of sharing the chief minister's post.
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole has announced that his party would fight the next Assembly elections on its own and install a chief minister of the Congress. He has also said that if the party allows, he himself would be the next chief ministerial face. Hence, it is clear that until Patole installs a Congress chief minister in Maharashtra in 2024, he won't sit quiet, the Sena said.
"However, Deputy Chief Minister (and NCP leader) Ajit Pawar has said that those who get the support of 145 legislators (in the 288-member Assembly), will form the next government and the CM will be decided by them. His statement is also valid. Parliamentary democracy is all about majority figures. Those who succeed in it, will be able to occupy the throne," it said.
Natasha Narwal
13:01 Court orders immediate release of 3 Delhi students
A Delhi court on Thursday ordered the immediate release of student activists Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha in the north-east Delhi riots 'conspiracy' case.
The order came two days after the Delhi High Court granted bail to Narwal, Kalita and Tanha, who were arrested in May last year under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The three student activists were not released from the jail on time citing lack of verification details of their addresses and sureties.
The trio is accused of being the ''masterminds'' of the February 2020 violence, which had left 53 people dead and and more than 200 injured.
12:52 Who is this lady?
It was her birthday yesterday.
Her eldest child posted this picture on social media.
All her five children are involved in the music industry, her eldest child, now in her nineties, is a Bharat Ratna. (Can't get easier than this!)
Who is this lady and who are her children?
Natasha Narwal conducts the final rites at her father's funeral
12:37 36+ hrs after bail, Natasha Narwal still in jail
The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked a trial court to decide with "promptitude" and "expedition" the issue of release from jail of Jamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha and JNU students Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal, who were granted bail on June 15 in the north east Delhi riots case.
A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and A J Bhambhani asked the counsel for the accused and the Delhi Police to jointly mention the matter before the trial court at 12 pm.
The high court said it will again take up the matter at 3:30 pm. The court was hearing an urgent pleas by the three students seeking forthwith release from jail, saying even after 36 hours of passing of the bail orders the accused have not yet been released from jail.
"The trial court is expected to proceed further with promptitude and expedition and decide the issue placed before it," the bench said. PTI
12:32 What to expect from Narendra Modis cabinet shuffle?
People have high expectations from the central government after the pandemic experience, writes Sheela Bhatt for the Gulf News.
The Gulf News content is behind a paywall, click here to take a look.
File pic
12:14 144mm of rain drowns Kolkata
Several low-lying areas and thoroughfares in the city lay inundated on Thursday as heavy rain continued to lash parts of Bengal, with the Met department predicting more downpour over the next three days under the influence of a vigorous southwest monsoon and a cyclonic circulation. According to the Met department, Kolkata recorded 144 mm rainfall in 24 hours till 8.30 am.
The southern parts of the city received more rainfall than the north, leaving streets and alleys waterlogged in Ballygunge Circular Road, Loudon Street, Southern Avenue and places in Kasba, Behala and Tollygunge.
With the state government easing COVID-19 curbs and offices partially opening up in the metropolis and elsewhere, people had a difficult time wading through knee-deep water to reach their destinations. Traffic came to a halt in some areas as vehicles moved slowly through the flooded thoroughfares.
Canning in South 24 Parganas district registered maximum rainfall in West Bengal during the 24-hour period at 178.6 mm, while Bankura received 133.2 mm rain, the Met department said.
12:10 Days after Mukul Roy quits BJP Centre removes VIP security
The Z-category VIP security cover of West Bengal politician and MLA Mukul Roy, who recently re-joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) after a brief stint with the BJP, has been withdrawn, official sources said on Thursday.
They said the Union Home Ministry has directed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to recall its detachment deployed with the 67-year-old Roy.
Roy had last week joined West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led TMC along with his son Subhrangshu in Kolkata. Sources said Roy, who won the assembly election as a BJP candidate from Krishnanagar Uttar constituency, had written to the Centre to withdraw the security cover, which has now been given effect to.
Roy had quit the TMC after being removed from the post of the party's national general secretary. He had joined the BJP in November, 2017, and was made the party's national vice president. Soon after, he was accorded a low category Y+ central security cover of the central paramilitary CRPF which was upgraded to the second top level of Z just before the assembly polls in the state that were held in March-April this year.
He had a contingent of about 22-24 armed CRPF commandos who used to move with him every time he travelled in West Bengal. Sources said the small category security cover being provided to Subhrangshu by another central paramilitary force CISF has also been withdrawn.
11:57 TN panel invites feedback on NEET impact on students
The Justice A K Rajan committee set up by the Tamil Nadu government to go into whether NEET admissions have impacted the state's students, has invited feedback from the public. The same may be sent via email to neetimpact2021@gmail.com before June 23, 2021. The feedback should not exceed 5 pages, the committee has specified.
11:47 CBSE Class 12 results by July 31
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) today told the Supreme Court that the assessment criteria for Class 12 students will be factored on Class 10 and Class 11 results.
The CBSE submitted before the Supreme Court its evaluation criteria for awarding grades/marks for Class XII exams and is as follows:
The performance in Class 10 (30%weightage), Class 11 (30% weightage) & Class 12 (40%), will be taken for the Class 12 final exam results.
For class X and XI, marks in best of 3 from 5 papers in term exams will be considered.
For Class XII, marks obtained in unit tests, term exams and practical exams will be taken into account.
The results will be declared by July 31, 2021.
11:19 Nepal floods: 3 Indians among 20 missing
Nepal floods: 3 Indians and 3 Chinese nationals, among 20 people missing in Sindhupalchok flash floods, confirms the District Administration Office of Sindhupalchok.
Speaking to ANI, Rudra Prasad Dulal, Ward Chair of Sindhupalchok ward 11 confirmed that the incident can be the result of a glacial outburst near Tibetan territory which has resulted in loss of millions of rupees.
"Reason behind this flash flood is attributed to heavy rainfall in upper lying areas. Shaken by the 2072 (Nepali date of 2015 earthquake) earthquake, creeks on the inner areas of the hills are suspected to be swept by large masses of ice and muds contained by it. We have suspected it to be a reason for flooding," Rudra Prasad Dulal said.
He also added that incessant rainfall and movement of ice masses underneath the glaciers which ran down the hill have been dumped in low lying areas.
Gautam Adani
11:08 Adani Ports tumbles 2.1% in early trade
Equity benchmark indices traded lower during early hours on Thursday tracking losses across Asian peers, a day after the US Federal Reserve projected at least two interest rate hikes in 2023.
At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 125 points or 0.24 per cent at 52,377 while the Nifty 50 slipped by 43 points or 0.27 per cent to 15,724. Except for Nifty realty, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the negative territory with Nifty metal and financial service down by 0.7 per cent, private bank by 0.6 per cent and auto by 0.3 per cent.
Among stocks, Adani Ports tumbled by 2.1 per cent to Rs 691.70 per share. Axis Bank dipped by 0.9 per cent, ICICI Bank by 0.8 per cent and HDFC Bank by 0.7 per cent.
HDFC, Bajaj Finance, Hindalco, Hero MotoCorp and Maruti Suzuki also traded lower with slim margins.
However, Reliance Industries gained by 0.6 per cent to Rs 2,224.60 per share. Nestle India, Asian Paints, Eicher Motors and Tata Steel too traded in the green.
11:00 A juicy, white fleshy fruit has reaped benefits for farmers
Farmers in Akhnoor's Marh in Jammu and Kashmir say they have switched to farming litchis from paddy farming. "Litchis have helped increase our income. Each plant has fruit bearing capacity of 60-70 kg, expected to go up to 1.5-quintal in next 4-5 yrs. We did not benefit as much with wheat and paddy farming," a farmer says.
TR Balu, MK Stalin and Kanimozhi in Delhi
10:39 TN CM to meet PM in Delhi
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin arrives in Delhi. He will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later today.
Encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma
10:36 Antilia case: NIA raids ex encounter cop's home
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday conducted a raid at former encounter specialist' police officer Pradeep Sharma's residence in suburban Andheri here early on Thursday in connection with its probe into the Antilia' bomb scare case and Mansukh Hiran's murder, an official said.
An NIA team along with armed CRPF personnel raided Sharma's house located in J B Nagar in Andheri west around 6 am, the official said.
A search is being carried out, he said. According to sources, Sharma is also being questioned by the NIA team in connection with the case.
Roads leading to the building, where Sharma lives, have been cordoned off by the central security forces and public movement in the area has been restricted. After getting the information about the raid, the Mumbai police also deployed its personnel at the spot.
Earlier, Sharma had been questioned by the NIA for two days at its office in south Mumbai as part of the probe. The central investigation agency had earlier arrested former police officers Sachin Waze, Riyazuddin Kazi, Sunil Mane, former police constable Vinayak Shinde and cricket bookie Naresh Gour for their involvement in the case.
It had recently arrested Santosh Shelar and Anand Jadhav in this connection. The NIA has said that both of them were allegedly involved in the conspiracy to plant an SUV with explosives near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence.
The SUV was found abandoned near Ambani's south Mumbai residence Antilia' on February 25 this year. Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiran, who was in possession of the vehicle, was found dead at a Mumbra creek on March 5. The two linked cases, earlier being probed by Maharashtra Police, were later taken over by the NIA. PTI
10:23 Microsoft names Satya Nadella as chairman
Microsoft's India-born CEO Satya Nadella has been named the company's chairman, an additional role in which he will lead the work to set the agenda for the board.
Microsoft Corp on Wednesday announced that the board's independent directors unanimously elected Nadella to the role of board chair, and unanimously elected John W Thompson as the lead independent director, a role he held previously from 2012 to 2014.
In this role, Nadella will lead the work to set the agenda for the board, leveraging his deep understanding of the business to elevate the right strategic opportunities and identify key risks and mitigation approaches for the board's review, the company said in a statement.
Nadella, 53, succeeds Thompson, who as the lead independent director, will retain significant authority including providing input on behalf of the independent directors on board agendas, calling meetings of the independent directors, setting agendas for executive sessions, and leading performance evaluations of the CEO, the technology giant said.
In addition to these role changes, the board declared a quarterly dividend of USD 0.56 per share. The dividend is payable September 9, 2021, to shareholders of record on August 19, 2021. Nadella had succeeded Steve Ballmer to become Microsoft's CEO in 2014.
10:08 West Bengal Governor to meet President Kovind today
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar will meet President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan today at 11:30 am.
"Governor WB Jagdeep Dhankhar along with Sudesh Dhankhar will call on President of India Ram Nath Kovind and First Lady Savita Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan @rashtrapatibhvn today at 11.30 am," tweeted Dhankhar's office. West Bengal Governor reached New Delhi on Tuesday night late.
Over the past few weeks, Governor Dhankhar has raised concerns regarding the alleged incidents of political violence in West Bengal.
-- ANI
09:30 Covaxin submits phase-3 trial data for WHO approval
Moving towards global approval, India's indigenous COVID vaccine Covaxin has submitted its phase-3 clinical trial data to WHO on Wednesday, for its authorisation.
Sources state that Covaxin's approval application will be taken up for consideration by WHO on June 23. As per WHO's website, six vaccines -- Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Moderna, Sinovac and Johnson & Johnson have been approved for global usage.
India's other vaccine - Covishield has received Emergency approval by WHO.
Moreover, BBL informed that Covaxin will even undergo phase-4 trials to check the real-world effectiveness of the vaccines to meet every rigorous scientific standard for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorisation.
09:06 Active Covid cases in India dip below 8.5 lakh
Active Covid cases in India dip below 8.5 lakh as new cases drop to 67,208.
Here's how India's tally looks as of today:
Total cases: 2,97,00,313
Total discharges: 2,84,91,670
Death toll: 3,81,903
Total Vaccination: 26,55,19,251
08:51 Twitter India head questioned in Cong toolkit case
Twitter India's chief was questioned by the Delhi Police last month in the case involving an alleged "Congress toolkit", sources said today.
Manish Maheshwari, Managing Director of Twitter in India, was questioned by the Delhi Police Special Cell in Bengaluru on May 31.
This was a week after Delhi Police teams went to Twitter's offices in Delhi and Gurgaon after serving two notices over BJP leader Sambit Patra's tweet on an alleged "Congress toolkit" being marked as "manipulated media".
Details of the questioning are emerging at a time Twitter faces charges including inciting communal hate over posts on an assault on a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad.
08:32 Rising petrol, diesel prices: Parliamentary panel meeting today
A parliamentary committee is holding a meeting on Thursday on to discuss the rising prices of petrol and diesel. According to Lok Sabha website, the meeting of petroleum and natural gas standing committee is scheduled to take place at 11 am. The panel us headed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ramesh Bidhuri.
The agenda listed on the website says that the committee will take oral evidence of representatives of the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, and oil marketing companies on the subject 'Pricing, Marketing and Supply of Petroleum Products including Natural Gas'.
The rising prices of petrol and diesel have hurt the common man badly. In the last 44 days, the prices of both the fuels have increased 25 times. While petrol has become costlier by Rs 6.26 per litre, diesel has seen its price revised by Rs 6.68 across the country since May 4.
07:54 Chirag Paswan appoints new Bihar unit chief
Amid the ongoing rift happening in the Lok Janshakti Party, the sidelined leader Chirag Paswan appointed Raju Tiwari as the party's Bihar unit president in place of Prince Raj.
LJP MP Prince Raj was appointed as the new LJP chief in Bihar in October 2019 in place of party leader Pashupati Kumar Paras. The faction in the party formed by late Ram Vilas Paswan became apparent after five LJP MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and handed over a letter to him regarding the removal of Chirag Paswan as party chief and from the position of Lok Sabha Parliamentary party leader.
A faction of the party led by Chirag Paswan's uncle Pashupati removed Chirag Paswan from the post of LJP president. The decision was taken at a meeting of five LJP MPs at the residence of Pashupati in Delhi. Following this, both Chirag Paswan and Pashupati claimed control over the party.
Earlier on Wednesday, Chirag wrote to Birla stating that the decision of announcing Pashupati as leader of LJP in the Lower House was contrary to the provisions of the party's Constitution.
Chirag also requested the Lok Sabha Speaker to issue a new circular in his favour as leader of LJP in the House.
Meanwhile, Paras on Wednesday took a dig at his nephew Chirag Paswan, saying he did not agree to contest last year's Bihar assembly polls as part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance and it was a reason for the party's present problems.
-- ANI
01:24 Study says DRDO drug works against all variants
A new study has claimed that Defence Research and Development Organisation's anti-COVID drug 2-DG is effective against all variants of COVID-19 and the drug reduces virus multiplication.
The study, published on June 15, has not yet been peer-reviewed.
It was conducted by Annat Narayan Bhatt, Abhishek Kumar, Yogesh Rai, Dhiviya Vedagiri and others.
'In this study, we used 2-Deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) to target and inhibit the metabolic reprogramming induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our results showed that virus infection induces glucose influx and glycolysis resulting in selective high accumulation of the fluorescent glucose/2-DG analogue, 2-NBDG in these cells. Subsequently, 2-DG reduces the virus multiplication and alleviates the cells from infection-induced cytopathic effect (CPE) and cell death,' read the study.
The drug has been developed by the DRDO and Dr Reddy's laboratories.
On June 1, the DRDO said that the anti-COVID drug 2-DG is approved for emergency use as an adjunct therapy to the standard of care in the treatment of coronavirus patients in hospital settings.
The DRDO said that anti-COVID drug 2-DG can now be given to COVID-19 patients under the care and prescription of doctors. It also issued some important guidelines with regard to its anti-COVID-19 drug.
'Ideally, 2-DG should be prescribed as early as possible by doctors for moderate to severe COVID-19 patients for a maximum duration of up to 10 days,' it said.
The DRDO further said that uncontrolled diabetes, severe cardiac problem, ARDS, severe hepatic and renal impairment patients have not been studied yet with 2-DG, and hence caution should be exercised.
The 2-DG should not be given to pregnant and lactating women and patients below 18 years. -- ANI
The study, published on June 15, has not yet been peer-reviewed.
It was conducted by Annat Narayan Bhatt, Abhishek Kumar, Yogesh Rai, Dhiviya Vedagiri and others.
'In this study, we used 2-Deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) to target and inhibit the metabolic reprogramming induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our results showed that virus infection induces glucose influx and glycolysis resulting in selective high accumulation of the fluorescent glucose/2-DG analogue, 2-NBDG in these cells. Subsequently, 2-DG reduces the virus multiplication and alleviates the cells from infection-induced cytopathic effect (CPE) and cell death,' read the study.
The drug has been developed by the DRDO and Dr Reddy's laboratories.
On June 1, the DRDO said that the anti-COVID drug 2-DG is approved for emergency use as an adjunct therapy to the standard of care in the treatment of coronavirus patients in hospital settings.
The DRDO said that anti-COVID drug 2-DG can now be given to COVID-19 patients under the care and prescription of doctors. It also issued some important guidelines with regard to its anti-COVID-19 drug.
'Ideally, 2-DG should be prescribed as early as possible by doctors for moderate to severe COVID-19 patients for a maximum duration of up to 10 days,' it said.
The DRDO further said that uncontrolled diabetes, severe cardiac problem, ARDS, severe hepatic and renal impairment patients have not been studied yet with 2-DG, and hence caution should be exercised.
The 2-DG should not be given to pregnant and lactating women and patients below 18 years. -- ANI
TOP STORIES
© 2024 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances