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Sat, 28 May 2022
Navy decommissions INS Gomati after 34 yrs

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21:06   Navy decommissions INS Gomati after 34 yrs
The Indian Navy on Saturday decommissioned INS Gomati, a Godavari class guided-missile frigate, which had been in service for 34 years, an official said.

The ship, which had been deployed in Operations Cactus, Parakram and Rainbow, was decommissioned at sunset at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, the official said.

The ship's legacy will be kept alive in an open air museum being set up on the picturesque banks of Gomati river in Lucknow, where several of her combat systems will be displayed as military and war relics, it was stated.

The Uttar Pradesh government and the Indian Navy have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the same.

INS Gomati derives her name from the vibrant river Gomti and was commissioned on April 16, 1988 by then Defence minister K C Pant, at Mazgaon Dock Ltd, Bombay.

The ship was twice awarded the coveted Unit Citation, once in 2007-08 and in 2019-20, the Navy said.   -- PTI
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Representative image only
19:30   First cases of B.A. sub-lineage found in Maha
For the first time, four patients of B.A. 4 variant and three cases of B.A. 5 variants of the Omicron sub-lineage of coronavirus have been found in Maharashtra, an official of the state health department said on Saturday.

All of them had only mild symptoms and were treated at home, he added.

These sub-lineages of Omicron were found in April in some parts of the world including South Africa, but until now no cases had been detected in the state.

The whole genome sequencing was conducted by the Institute of Science Education and Research, and its finding has been confirmed by the Indian Biological Data Centre in Faridabad.

As many as seven patients, all from Pune, were detected with the infection of the sub-lineage of Omicron, the official said.

Four patients have the infection of B.A. 4 variant while others have contracted the B.A. 5.

Four of them are men and three women. Four patients are above 50 years of age while two are in 20-40 age group while one patient is a nine-year-old child, he added.

All the six adults have completed both the dosages of vaccine while one has taken the booster shot too.

The child is unvaccinated.

All of them had mild symptoms of COVID-19 and were treated successfully in home isolation, the official said.

Their samples were taken between May 4 and 18.

Two of them had travelled to South Africa and Belgium, while three had travelled to Kerala and Karnataka.

The other two patients had no recent travel history, he said.   -- PTI
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18:39   6 held for putting 'BJP workers barred' banner
Six people were arrested here for allegedly putting up a banner outside a police station forbidding Bharatiya Janata Party workers from entering it.

A photograph of the banner had surfaced on social media.

Senior Superintendent of Police Prabhakar Chaudhary said, "We have arrested six people--Sambhu Pehalwan, Sagar Poswal, Kuldeep Masuri, Ankit Chaudhary, Amit Bhadana and Amar Sharma--for the act."

The banner that read BJP workers are forbidden from entering the police station was put on a wall near the entrance of the medical college police station.

The name of the station house officer (SHO) was also written below the note.

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav shared the picture on his Twitter handle and said, 'It has happened for the first time in five-six years.

'People of ruling party are forbidden from entering the police station. This is the state of the BJP government in the state.'  --  PTI
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17:52   China says BRICS to be expanded soon
For the first time, the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) grouping is expected to begin an expansion process to include new developing country members, according to the Chinese government.

The Chinese foreign ministry on Friday that Beijing will actively promote the expansion of BRICS and welcome more global partners to join the group.

The foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks yesterday in a statement in response to media questions over Beijing's view on expanding BRICS.

'China will work on BRICS parties to continue to have in-depth discussions on BRICS expansion and determine the standards and procedures for that on the basis of consensus. We look forward to more like-minded partners joining the big family of BRICS,' he said in a statement.

BRICS is a multilateral forum consisting of five major emerging economies of the world, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Wang stressed that the recently held BRICS foreign ministers' meeting backed the expansion of the initiative while the 'BRICS Plus' consultation was also held as part of the ministers' meeting.

On May 23, a BRICS Plus virtual conference was held as part of the main meeting with ministers from countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Argentina, Nigeria, Senegal, and Thailand, according to reports.

BRICS Plus is a new phase in the expansion of BRICS -- already known for its combined economic growth potential -- that aims to welcome more countries and enhance economic conditions.

China actively supports the start of BRICS expansion process and broaden 'BRICS Plus' cooperation, the Chinese ministry said.

'Facing the once-in-a-century changes and pandemic which are compounded by international hotspot issues, BRICS countries agree that it is important to enhance cooperation with other emerging markets and developing countries, further improve the representation of BRICS, make BRICS' voice in major international and regional issues more widely heard, join hands to meet challenges, and uphold the common interests and development space of emerging markets and developing countries,' the statement read.   -- ANI
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17:16   Elephant tramples woman to death near Gudalur in TN, 2nd incident in two days
A 40-year-old woman was trampled to death by a wild elephant in the early hours of Saturday, when she had allegedly gone to relieve herself outside her house near Gudalur in Nilgiris district, the second such incident in the last two days, police said.

Malu, 40, was attacked and killed by the wild elephant past midnight on Saturday near her house in Ovalley Farm.

Forest department officials rushed to the spot and sent the body to Gudalur Government Hospital for a post-mortem.

On May 26, one Anandan was attacked by a wild elephant near Aruttuparai in Ovalley, resulting in his death on the spot, when he was going to open his tea stall around 6 am.

Both the deaths led to protests by the villagers.

Forest department officials immediately swung into action and brought two kumkis (tamed elephants) from Mudumalai Tiger Reserve to drive out the wild elephant.

Following the twin deaths, agitated villagers demanded the department, which is carrying out operations, to take immediate measures to drive out five other elephants roaming around nearby villages and protect the local residents.

The department also issued a warning to the villagers not to venture out and not to go to nearby estates alone, due to the elephant menace.   -- PTI 
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16:47   Modi@8: BJP plans nationwide reach out to poor
All ministers in Bharatiya Janata Party-led central and state governments and its elected representatives will take part in a massive public outreach campaign to mark the eighth anniversary of the Modi government, focusing on its priorities of the welfare of the poor and good governance, the party said on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, its national general secretary Arun Singh hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a reliable, popular, decisive, sacrificing and ascetic leader, and said that the entire nation is standing with him.

He said the BJP will be celebrating the Modi government's eighth anniversary for a fortnight starting from May 30.

From May 30 to June 14, the party will organise public outreach on the theme of the service, good governance, and poor welfare fortnight across the country, as these have been the priority of the Prime Minister Modi-led government, Singh said.

As part of this campaign, a 75-hour public outreach programme will be organised from booth to the national level in which all Union ministers, ministers in the BJP-led state governments and elected representatives will take part and visit villages, he said.

Sharing details of the campaign, Singh said a day each has been dedicated to reaching out to farmers, women, SCs, STs, OBCs and minorities, he said.

On May 30, Prime Minister Modi will hand over cheques for the children orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic and will also announce a scholarship for them, he said.

To a query on activities for reaching out to minorities, Singh said the Modi government works on the principle of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas aur sabka vishwas (With all, development for all and everyone's trust) and therefore its welfare schemes don't differentiate among people'.  -- PTI
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15:56   Father of minor who raised provocative slogans at PFI march held
The father of the minor boy, who had courted controversy by allegedly raising provocative slogans during a recent march organised by the Popular Front of India (PFI) in Kerala's Alappuzha, was taken into custody from his house in Palluruthy in Kochi on Saturday, police said.

The family, including the boy, was reportedly away from the house ever since a purported video, in which the child could be seen sitting on the shoulder of a person and raising offensive slogans during the 'Save the Republic' rally held by the PFI on May 21, went viral on social media platforms prompting police to register a case.

A police officer told PTI that the father was taken into custody and would travel to nearby Alappuzha soon for detailed interrogation.

Further procedures would be decided later.

However, justifying his son's action, the man said the controversial slogan was not taught by anyone but the boy had learnt it while attending similar programmes before.

He said it was not for the first time that his son was raising such a slogan in a programme and many such instances of him raising similar slogans could be seen on YouTube.

"We used to take part in the PFI's programmes. He had learnt the slogan when he attended a protest programme against the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). I don't understand why it has become a controversy now. What offence did he commit to harass a little boy like this?" he told media before taken into custody.

So far, 20 persons have been arrested and remanded in the case and more people were being taken into custody for questioning from various places, he said.

According to police sources, the boy would be sent for counselling at a government centre soon.

Meanwhile, PFI activists staged a protest in Palluruthy against the police custody of the boy's father.

Erattuepetta resident Anas, who carried the minor boy on his shoulders, was the first person to be arrested in the case.

In the FIR filed based on a complaint by Vijayakumar P K, police invoked various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Kerala Police Act and arraigned PFI Alappuzha district secretary Mujeeb and Navas as accused along with other identifiable people.

Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class), 505(1)(b) (act against the public tranquility), 505(1)(c), 505(2) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 120(o) of KP Act are included in the FIR.   -- PTI
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15:19   DGCA imposes Rs 5 lakh fine on IndiGo for disallowing specially-abled boy
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday said it has imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on IndiGo airline for denying boarding to a specially-abled child at Ranchi airport on May 7.

IndiGo had on May 9 said the boy was denied permission to board the Ranchi-Hyderabad flight as he was visibly in panic.

As the boy was prohibited from boarding, his parents who were accompanying him also decided not to enter the plane.

The DGCA had on May 9 formed a three-member team to investigate the incident.

'It has been observed that the handling of the special child by the Indigo ground staff was deficient and ended up exacerbating the situation,' said a statement by the DGCA.

'A more compassionate handling would have smoothened nerves, calmed the child and obviated the need for the extreme step resulting in denied boarding to the passengers,' it mentioned.

'Special situations deserve extraordinary responses but the airline's staff failed to rise up to the occasion, and in the process, committed lapses in adherence to the letter and spirit of the Civil Aviation Requirements (regulations),' it noted.

In view of this, the competent authority in the DGCA has decided to impose a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on the airline under the provisions of the relevant Aircraft Rules, it mentioned.  -- PTI
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14:31   India's forex reserves rise after 10-week fall
Snapping 10 consecutive weeks of decline, India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves rose by $4.23 billion to $597.509 billion for the week ended May 20, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed.

This is the first increase in India's forex reserves in the past 11 weeks.

The forex reserves had declined by $2.676 billion in the week ended May 13.

India's forex reserves have fallen sharply after touching an all-time high of $642.453 billion on September 3, 2021.

According to the Reserve Bank of India's weekly statistical supplement, all the components of the forex reserves rose during the week ended May 20 led by a sharp jump in the foreign currency assets.

India's foreign currency assets, which are the biggest component of the forex reserves, rose by $3.825 billion to $533.378 billion during the week under review, the RBI data showed.

Expressed in US dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-dollar currencies like Euro, United Kingdom's Pound Sterling and Japanese Yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

The value of gold reserves rose by $253 million to $40.823 billion during the week under review.

India's reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by $51 million to $5.002 billion, and the value of India's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund rose by $102 million to $18.306 billion during the week ended May 20, the RBI data showed.  -- ANI
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13:41   Govt issues draft rules to mobilise people's data
The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has issued a draft National Data Governance Framework to mobilise non-personal data of citizens for use by both public and private entities to improve services.

The draft policy proposes the launch of a non-personal data based India datasets program and addresses the methods and rules to ensure that non-personal and anonymised data from both government and private entities are safely accessible by the research and innovation ecosystem.

Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the National Data Governance Framework is of interest for artificial intelligence (AI) startups, AI research entities and government departments.

'Its imp piece of policy framework thats being devlopd to catalyze #India's $1 Trillion #DigitalEconomy,' he tweeted.

Asking stakeholders to comment on the draft framework, the minister said the National Data Governance Framework will also accelerate digital government and digitisation of government with common standards, rules and guidelines for data storage and management across all departments.

The draft said during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital governance played a big part in India's resilient response to the pandemic and its impact on lives, livelihoods and the economy.

In the post-COVID era, digitisation of government is accelerating faster and data generation is also increasing exponentially which can be used in turn to improve citizens' experience and engagement with the government and governance as a 'Digital Nagrik'.

The digital government data is currently managed, stored and accessed in differing and inconsistent ways across different government entities, thus attenuating the efficacy of data-driven governance, and preventing an innovative ecosystem of data science, analytics and AI from emerging to its full potential, the draft said.

'The power of this data must be harnessed for more effective Digital Government, public good and innovation, thus requiring a National Data Governance Framework Policy (NDGFP),' draft said.

The proposed policy will be applicable to all government departments and entities and rules and standards prescribed will cover all data collected and being managed by any government entity.

It proposed to cover all non-personal datasets and data and platform, rules, standards governing its access and use by researchers and startups.

'State governments shall be encouraged to adopt the provisions of the Policy and rules, standards, and protocols as applicable,' the draft said.

The draft also proposes setting up of an 'India Data Management Office (IDMO)', under the Digital India Corporation, which shall be responsible for framing, managing and periodically reviewing and revising the policy.

'The IDMO shall be responsible for developing rules, standards, and guidelines under this policy that shall be published periodically,' the draft said.

MeitY has fixed June 11 as the deadline for submission of comments by stakeholders on the draft available on its website.   -- PTI
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13:21   Imran Khan disappointed over low public participation in Azadi March
Failure of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders to mobilise enough protesters during the Azadi March in Islamabad has caused disappointment to former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

A Geo News journalist, Shahzeb Khanzada reveals that the ousted chairman expected that a large number of people would participate in the long march on their own as they did when Imran Khan was ousted through a no-confidence motion.

The root of Imran Khan's anger stems from the fact that although in Punjab, PTI holds 83 National Assembly seats and 158 provincial assembly seats, voters participated only in Lahore and that too in low numbers, reported Geo News.

According to the PTI leaders, they were not provided with sufficient time by the former prime minister to prepare before the march to plan transportation and logistics.

Although they requested Khan to extend the date for a few days, he refused as he thought that the Shehbaz Sharif government would plan on stopping the march.

Further, apart from supporters from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI does not have enough supporters elsewhere who would brave the police, tear gas or extreme heat, in an effort to reach the federal capital, which caused the low participation, reported Geo News.

In spite of trying to explain to the former prime minister that arriving in Islamabad without a fixed date would be a far more potent strategy and that it was not a good idea to go for a march without proper planning, Imran Khan turned a deaf ear to the requests.

Earlier, the ousted prime minister held a long protest march on May 25 against the present government, demanding the dissolution of the National Assembly and to conduct the next general election and invited people to join in large numbers.

Khan after departing for Islamabad from the Wali Interchange in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday afternoon, asked 'all Pakistanis' to take to the streets in their respective cities and appealed to women and children to come out of their homes for 'real independence'.

The city turned into a battleground on Wednesday as multiple scuffles took place between the police and PTI marchers after Imran Khan and his convoy entered the city and started marching towards the D-Chowk despite the Supreme Court's order to hold a rally at a ground between H9 and G9 areas of Islamabad.

To control the law and order situation in the federal capital, the Pakistan government deployed troops of the Pakistan army in the Red Zone to protect important government buildings including the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Parliament House, Presidency, Prime Minister's Office and others.   -- ANI
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12:48   Darshan from outside as Pawar ate non-veg: NCP
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, who was to visit the famous Dagdusheth Ganpati temple in Pune, took 'darshan' of the deity from outside the complex as he had eaten non-vegetarian food, the party's Pune unit president Prashant Jagtap has said.

Pawar was in Pune on Friday to inspect the tract of land adjoining Dagdusheth Ganpati temple amid a long-pending demand that the land be handed over to the temple trust.

The land belongs to the state home department, which is currently headed by NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil.

As Pawar did not enter the temple premises and took darshan from outside, questions were raised about it.

However, talking to reporters in the evening, Jagtap clarified about it.

"He (Pawar) had planned to go to the temple. However, he preferred to take darshan from outside as he had eaten non-vegetarian food," Jagtap said.

"Pawar saheb told me that as he had consumed non-vegetarian food earlier in the day so he felt that it was not appropriate to go inside the temple, and instead took darshan from outside," he added.

When Deputy Chief Minister and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who was also in Pune, was asked about it later, he said, "Why are such questions being asked? If he goes to take darshan, then questions are asked and if doesn't then he is tagged as an atheist."

"Many times, people eat non-veg food, but don't tell others about it and go inside a temple to take darshan, while there are others who tell it openly. Darshan can be taken from outside the temple also. Due to the restrictions amid pandemic, people used to take darshan from the temple steps," he said.   -- PTI
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11:59   CBI grills Karti for 3rd day in visa scam case
The Central Bureau of Investigation questioned Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram for the third consecutive day on Saturday in connection with its probe into the alleged Rs 50-lakh bribery for issuance of 263 project visas to Chinese workers involved in the construction of the Talwandi Sabo power project in 2011, officials said.

He arrived at the CBI headquarters early in the morning to face the investigation team.

The questioning is likely to continue throughout the day with a lunch break, they said.

The CBI is questioning Karti Chidambaram since Thursday in the 11-year old case which the Congress leader has termed as 'most bogus' and a result of 'political vendetta'.

The case is of 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the Union home minister.

The CBI had registered an FIR on May 14 against Karti and others over allegations of a Rs 50-lakh bribe being paid to him and his close associate S Bhaskararaman by a top executive of Vedanta group company Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd (TSPL) for re-issuance of Project Visa for 263 Chinese workers, the CBI FIR said.

TSPL was setting up a power plant in Punjab. Projects visas were a special type of visas introduced in 2010 for the power and steel sector, detailed guidelines for which were issued during P Chidambaram's tenure as Union home minister.

However, there was no provision for re-issue of project visas, the FIR has alleged.

The agency has already arrested Bhaskararaman in connection with the case.  -- PTI
The banner outside a police station
The banner outside a police station
11:12   Banner at UP police station barring BJP workers

The photograph of a banner placed outside a police station in Meerut forbidding BJP workers from entering it has gone viral on social media. 
 
The banner reads "BJP Karyakartaon Ka Thane Main Aana Mana Hai" (BJP workers are forbidden from entering the police station)." The name of the station house officer of medical college police station is also written below the note. 
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav also shared the picture and tweeted, "It has happened for the first time in five-six years, the people of ruling party are forbidden to enter police station. This is the state of BJP government in the state." 
Senior Superintendent of Police Prabhakar Chaudhary said, "The banner was put up by some unidentified people in the afternoon. Police has identified some people for their alleged involvement in the matter and action will be taken against them."
The officer added that minutes before the banner was put up, two groups reached the police station over some old property dispute.

Police suspect that someone from either sides might have put up the banner. 
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10:29   Tesla won't manufacture in India unless...: Musk
American electric carmaker Tesla, which has been seeking reduction in import duties to sell its vehicles in India, will not manufacture its products locally unless it is allowed to first sell and service its cars in the country, company founder and chief executive Elon Musk has said.
   
In a tweet responding to a user asking about Tesla setting up a manufacturing plant in India, he said, "Tesla will not put a manufacturing plant in any location where we are not allowed first to sell & service cars."
 
Last month, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari  had said if Tesla was ready to manufacture its electric vehicles in India then there was 'no problem' but the company must not import cars from China.
 
In August last year, Musk had said Tesla may set up a manufacturing unit in India if it first succeeds with imported vehicles in the country.
 
He had said Tesla wanted to launch its vehicles in India "but import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country!"
 
Currently, India imposes 100 per cent import duty on fully imported cars with CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) value more than USD 40,000 and 60 per cent on those costing less than the amount. -- PTI
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10:09   India records 2,685 fresh Covid cases, 33 deaths
India on Saturday recorded 2,685 fresh COVID-19 cases that took its infection tally to 4,31,50,215, while the number of active cases increased to 16,308, according to Union health ministry data.
 
The death toll climbed to 5,24,572 with 33 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said.
An increase of 494 cases was recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.60 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 0.54 per cent, the ministry said.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,26,09,335. The case fatality rate stands at 1.22 per cent, it said.
The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide inoculation drive have exceeded 193.13 crore.
India's COVID-19 tally crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the 1-crore mark on December 19.
India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore on May 4 and 3 crore on June 23. -- PTI 
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09:24   Trump rejects gun control calls after Texas horror
Launching an attack against Democrats for not backing measures to increase security in schools, former United States President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to be defending prominent gun-rights lobbying group National Rifle Association amid growing calls for gun reforms.

This comes as nationwide outrage is being witnessed after a teenage gunman killed 19 children and two elementary school teachers in yet another mass shooting in the US.

Trump made these remarks while addressing the NRA annual meeting amid growing calls for stronger gun control measures after the killing in the town of Uvalde in Texas. The former US President defended the NRA and rejected calls to cancel its annual convention.

"Every time a disturbed or demented person commits such a hideous crime, there's always a grotesque effort by some in our society to use the suffering of others to advance their own extreme political agenda," Al Jazeera quoted Trump as saying at the event in Houston, Texas.

"Even more repulsive is their rush to shift blame away from the villains who commit acts of mass violence and to place that blame onto the shoulders of millions of peaceful, law-abiding citizens who belong to organisations such as our wonderful NRA," he said while referring to gun reform advocates.

The former president called for increasing school security instead of focusing on gun reform. "If the United States has USD 40 billion to send to Ukraine, we should be able to do whatever it takes to keep our children safe at home," he said. -- ANI
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08:38   India slams OIC's remarks on Yasin Malik
India on Friday described as "unacceptable" the comments made by OIC-IPHRC (Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission) criticising New Delhi for the court ruling against Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik. 
 
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the world seeks "zero tolerance" against terrorism and urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) not to justify it in any manner.
"India finds unacceptable the comments made by OIC-IPHRC today criticising India for the judgement in the case of Yasin Malik," Bagchi said. 
"Through these comments, OIC-IPHRC has implicitly expressed support for the terrorist activities of Yasin Malik, which were documented and presented in the court," he said.
Bagchi was responding to media queries regarding the comments made by the OIC-IPHRC on the judgement of an NIA court against Malik.
"The world seeks zero tolerance of terrorism and we urge OIC not to justify it any manner," the spokesperson said.
A special NIA court this week awarded life sentence to Malik in a terror-funding case. -- PTI 
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01:10   Sikkim becomes Covid-free after two years
Sikkim on Friday became a COVID-free state after two years with the last two patients recovering, the health department said. 

The state did not report any new case out of the 84 samples that were tested in the last 24 hours, it said. 

Sikkim has reported a total of 39,165 COVID-19 cases, and 37,966 patients have recovered thus far, while 747 migrated out of the northeastern state. 

The COVID death toll stood at 452, the department said. 

Sikkim reported its first COVID-19 case on May 23, 2020 after a 25-year-old student who returned from Delhi tested positive. -- PTI
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00:49   Nadda holds meeting with BJP's tribal leaders
Bharatiya Janata Party president JP Nadda on Friday met party leaders and Union ministers from the Scheduled Tribes in a bid to reach out to the community. 

Nadda's meeting with the party's tribal leaders assumes importance as states with substantial tribal population like Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are going to polls later this year. 

The other states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh which also have sizeable number of Scheduled Tribes will go to polls next year. 

Besides Nadda, the meeting was attended by BJP's national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh, party's central organiser V Satish, national general secretary Dilip Saikia, and Union ministers Arjun Munda and Faggan Singh Kulaste. 

According to sources, during the meeting, Nadda and Santhosh suggested party leaders ways to further increase the penetration among all ST communities across the country. 

All BJP MPs and leaders hailing from tribal communities also attended the meeting. -- PTI

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