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Last week, the cat lapped up milk. Also, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury sang the eulogy of his ideological masters, the Communist Party of China (CPC), in a letter. Both would have been equally unsurprising had Yechury’s luxuriant praise not come on the back of a devastating pandemic originating from China (from most accounts, from its biological weapons labs in Wuhan). Besides, China has been engaged in a series of violent conflicts from Doklam to Galwan to Pangong Tso with Yechury's own nation, India. Brazening out all these inconvenient realities, Yechury wrote, “Progressive people look forward to the People’s Republic of China under CPC’s leadership pursuing a peaceful foreign policy, consolidating good neighbourly relations, contributing to peace and stability in South Asia and the world.” He topped it by claiming that China’s economic recovery after Covid was a “lesson for the world”. Coming from the head of India’s largest Communist party, it is predictable but st

New Delhi: With 41,506 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,08,37,222, while the active cases declined to 4,54,118, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The toll has climbed to 4,08,040 with 895 fresh fatalities. The active cases comprise 1.47 percent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 97.20 percent, the data updated at 8 am showed A decrease of 915 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. As many as 18,43,500 tests were conducted on Saturday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 43,08,85,470. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.25 percent. It has been less than three percent for 20 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has declined to 2.32 percent. The number of people who have recuperated from the

New Delhi: Twitter has named Vinay Prakash as its Resident Grievance Officer for India, according to the company's website. The US-based company has been in the eye of a storm over its alleged failure to comply with the new IT rules in India, which mandates, among other requirements, the appointment of three key personnel — chief compliance officer, nodal officer and grievance officer by social media platforms with over 50 lakh users. All three personnel have to be residents of India. As per the information updated on Twitter's website, Vinay Prakash is the Resident Grievance Officer (RGO). Users can contact him using an email ID listed on the page. "Twitter can be contacted in India at the following address: 4th Floor, The Estate, 121 Dickenson Road, Bangalore 560 042," the page further said. Twitter names Vinay Prakash as its Resident Grievance Officer for India pic.twitter.com/zSMyFwAUjj — ANI (@ANI) July 11, 2021 Prakash's name appears along with Jer

Jaipur: The Rajasthan government has decided to end weekend curfew on Sunday which was in force in view of the coronavirus pandemic. The decision for reopening of cinema halls with certain restrictions, skill training centres and other outdoor activities were also taken by the state home department that issued a guideline on Saturday in this regard. Those who are coming from outside the state and have got the first dose of vaccine will no longer require a negative RT-PCR test report or home/institutional quarantine. As per the instructions, cinema halls/theatres/multiplex operators who have made their seating capacity information online will be allowed to open with 50 percent capacity from 9 am to 8 pm only for those persons who have got at least the first dose of vaccine. Similarly, skill development centres in the state will be allowed to open with 50 percent capacity from 6 am to 8 pm with the same condition. Marriage functions will be permitted from 6 am to 8 pm with a maximu

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath will be releasing the New Population Policy 2021-30 on Sunday on the occasion of World Population Day, according to a statement by the state government. According to reports, the chief minister will unveil the policy at 11.30 am in Lucknow. How is the policy different from the draft bill? According to reports, the population policy for 2021-2030 is a separate exercise from the  population control bill , a draft of which was released on Saturday.  The Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 provides incentives to married couples who limit their families to two or less children, while it disincentivises those who fail to adhere to the two-child norm. The provisions of the bill will hold significance only if the policy mentions 'exploring legal options'. The policy will incentivise people to help in population control. It has provisions for incentives and privileges for those government and private s

A day before the world observed World Population Day, the Uttar Pradesh government in India released a draft of a proposed population control bill, seeking suggestions from the general public to improve the draft bill. The last date to make suggestions is 19 July. The proposed bill proposes to incentivise public servants following its two-child policy with "two additional increments during the entire service, maternity or as the case may be, paternity leave of 12 months, with full salary and allowances and three percent increase in the employer's contribution fund under national pension scheme". The idea seems to be a leaf out of the Narendra Modi government's " incentive model " to implement policies, except, of course, for the debarring of anyone violating the two-child policy in the state from contesting local bodies elections and applying for getting promotion in government jobs, as well as receiving any kind of government subsidy. The UP government,

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has sacked 11 more employees, including sons of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin who has been designated a global terrorist by the US, for allegedly working for various terror groups, officials said on Saturday. Earlier seven employees, including Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Davinder Singh and an assistant professor, were dismissed by the Union Territory's administration. The dismissals started in the last week of April and have been done under Article 311 of the Indian Constitution under which the employees hold their office under the pleasure of the president and can be dismissed without an inquiry. Dismissed employees can only approach a high court for relief. The decision to dismiss the 11 employees was taken at two meetings of the designated committee in Jammu and Kashmir for scrutinising such cases. In one of the meetings, three employees were recommended for dismissal and in another, eight were recommended f

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said testing people before and after international trips for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) should be a good enough basis for travel, reigniting the debate over how vaccine passports could be discriminatory against a section of the world’s population. “If people who are tested before for international travel and tested on arrival is a good enough basis for travel but some countries have now introduced the issue of vaccination. So, we will have to reach obviously some understanding. I discussed today how do we make sure that we are not discriminated against and how do we reach understandings between ourselves about the travel of our citizens to each other's countries," Jaishankar said in Moscow on Friday. What are vaccine passports? ​“Vaccine passports," or vaccine certificates, are documents that show you were vaccinated against Covid-19 with vaccines recognised in the region you plan to visit. In most places where these

The admit card for the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) 2021 has been released on Saturday, 10 July. Aspirants, who will be appearing for the test, can check their hall tickets by visiting the official website wbjeeb.nic.in . The test is scheduled to be conducted on 17 July in offline mode. Earlier, the exam was slated to be held on 11 July, however, got deferred due to the second wave of coronavirus. In order to access the admit cards, registered candidates have to log in on the portal using their application number and date of birth or password. Follow these simple steps to check WBJEE hall ticket 2021: - Visit the official website, wbjeeb.nic.in - Go to the 'WBJEE' tab and click on it - On the new page, click on the 'Download Admit Card' link - Among the two login options, select one of them and enter the required credentials - Submit the login details and the WBJEE 2021 hall ticket will appear on the screen - Download the hall ticket. Take a p

World Population Day is observed every year on 11 July to remind people of the challenges being faced due to overpopulation. The day is marked to call for attention to issues like the importance of family planning, child marriage, gender equality, human rights, and others. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and fear, there has been a lot of focus on creating awareness about overpopulation on a national or global level so that the world ensures a long-term growth of our existing resources. As per statistics, the world population passed the 7 billion mark in 2011 , and it now stands roughly at 7.7 billion. Theme for World Population Day 2021 This year amid the coronavirus pandemic and vaccination drive, the theme for World Population Day is the "impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on fertility". History of World Population Day On 11 July, 1987, World Population Day was put forward in public attention as the world’s population surpassed the five billion mark. The World Population Day

Srinagar: Two militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said. Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Kwarigam, Ranipora area of the South Kashmir district following inputs about the presence of militants there, a police official said. #AnantnagEncounterUpdate : 02 unidentified #terrorists killed. #Operation in progress. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice https://t.co/uI0o1gRGgI — Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) July 10, 2021 While the forces were conducting searches in the area the militants fired upon them. The forces retaliated leading to an exchange of fire in which two militants were killed, the official said. The identity and affiliation of the slain militants are being ascertained, he added. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2UD5bMi Press Trust of India

Tbilisi: India and Georgia on Saturday agreed to work jointly to elevate their "very excellent relationship" to a new level as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with Georgian Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani and discussed with him bilateral economic cooperation, trade and connectivity. Jaishankar is on a two-day visit to Georgia, a strategically important country situated at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. He also invited his Georgian counterpart to India with a business delegation. "We discussed economic cooperation, tourism, trade and connectivity. Our relationship is doing well. There are some big Indian projects in Georgia, power projects and steel projects," he said. "A lot of Indian tourists come, about 50,000 of them. We have some 8,000 Indian students in Georgia. But in every sector, we felt we can do more. We agreed today that we will work together to find ways of raising it," Jaisha

Ahmedabad: Two Congress MLAs in Gujarat and several party workers were detained on Saturday for carrying out agitations against the Central Government over inflation and fuel price, at different locations in the state as part of the party's nationwide protest on these issues, police said. The opposition party in Gujarat held the protests at Amreli, Junagadh and other parts of the state. Leader of Opposition in Gujarat Assembly, Paresh Dhanani, was detained along with 25 party workers after he led a cycle rally in his constituency Amerli, a police official said. The protesters carried empty gas cylinders and placards, which stated that the BJP government's policies have resulted in inflation, hike in fuel cost and also in the prices of other household items. They said that all these things are causing hardships to people, who are already hit by coronavirus pandemic. In Junagadh, Congress legislator Bhikhabhai Joshi was among over a dozen local party leaders and workers who

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday extended the coronavirus-induced lockdown in the state till 19 July along with further relaxations of restrictions which will come into effect at 6 am on Monday. Chief Minister MK Stalin announced the decision after a meeting with top officials as the daily COVID-19 cases have declined in comparison to previous weeks. Also, a new set of guidelines will come into effect from 12 July. Lockdown in Tamil Nadu extended till July 19th with further relaxations. Hotels, tea shops, bakeries, roadside shops, snack shops can function with 50% of customers till 9 PM. Schools, colleges, theatres, liquor bars, swimming pools, zoos will remain closed. — ANI (@ANI) July 10, 2021 Check what's allowed and what's not as per new guidelines: - State authorities have now allowed restaurants, tea shops, bakeries, roadside shops and snack shops to operate with 50 percent of customers till 9 pm (such places will need to comply with COVID-19 protocols ensu

New Delhi: The World Health Organization (WHO) is likely to take a decision on including Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin in the emergency use list (EUL) within four to six weeks, Soumya Swaminathan, the global health body's chief scientist has said. Speaking at a webinar organised by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Friday, Swaminathan said the WHO is reviewing Covaxin as its manufacturer Bharat Biotech is now uploading its entire data on the health body's portal. According to WHO guidelines, EUL is a procedure to streamline the process by which new or unlicensed products can be used during public health emergencies. There is a process to be followed for EUL and pre-qualification of vaccines under which a company has to complete phase 3 trials and submit the whole data to the regulatory department of WHO which is examined by an expert advisory group, Swaminathan said. "The completeness of the data, which includes safety and efficacy and al

US president Joe Biden’s claim on 8 July that the US “did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build” and that it had accomplished its objectives there of killing Osama bin Laden and undercutting al-Qaeda’s ability to launch more attacks on the United States recalls former president George W Bush’s broader objective “to build a stable, strong, effectively governed Afghanistan that won’t degenerate into chaos”, or former president Barack Obama’s narrower objective of “preventing Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for global terrorism”. The irony is that Osama was killed not in Afghanistan but in Pakistan a decade after the US attacked Afghanistan, and for merely “undercutting” al-Qaeda, the US has spent over a trillion dollars and lost over 2,400 soldiers in over 20 years. The real safe haven responsible for Taliban’s resurgence that has forced a US retreat from Afghanistan is Pakistan, and that Biden has ignored. Not only that, for him to say that “terrorism is not emanating from that

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has extended the application deadline for June Term End Examination (TEE) 2021 examination till 12 July. Aspirants, who have not yet applied for June 2021 TEE, can do so by visiting the official website ignou.ac.in This is the third time the registration date has been extended. Earlier the last date for submission of application form was 30 June, which was later extended again to 9 July. The university, in a tweet, announced the latest development along with the official notification which read, "With the approval of the competent authority, the last date for online submission of examination form for the Term-end Examination, June 2021, scheduled to be held from 3 August, 2021, has been extended till 12 July, 2021". The last date for submission of examination form for TEE June 2021, scheduled to be held from 3rd August, 2021 has been extended till 12th July 2021. pic.twitter.com/cQuQ95L8u4 — IGNOU (@OfficialIGNOU) July 9, 20

YouTuber Karl Edward Rice, also known as Karl Rock, has alleged that his visa was cancelled after he left India in October 2020 and the government has barred him from entering the country. The New Zealand national is married to an Indian, Manisha Malik, and has been blacklisted by the Centre as he has allegedly violated the terms of his visa. The YouTuber got married in 2019 and often shares tips for foreigners travelling to India. Highlighting his struggle to visit his wife, Karl Rock addressed a tweet to New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern. In his tweet, the vlogger also claimed that the government banned him without giving a reason after he left India. Since then, he has been separated from his wife and family who are in the National Capital. Dear @jacindaardern , the Govt. of India has blocked me from entering India separating me from my wife & family in Delhi. They blacklisted me without telling me, giving reasons, or letting me reply. Please watch my struggle https:

This Cabinet reshuffle was huge and the timing was appropriate. It came after 15 months of COVID-19 that hurt India and Indians. During this period, many have been pushed into poverty, many have lost jobs and their purchasing power. Lockdown saved lives, but devastated the economy. Now, in the next three years, there is a need for a robust economy that can grow at 8-9 percent, create massive jobs, increase the income of citizens, boost consumption and give people hope. This means the Narendra Modi government has to push the economic agenda in a very big way. Capital expenditure is rising across corporate India, tax collections too are up and these are good portents. The cabinet has to stay focused on ensuring economic growth, jobs, a rise in income and an improvement in overall quality of life, over the next three years. The first five years of the Narendra Modi government were focused on the social sector and undertaking deep structural reforms. Many of the these reforms caused subs

In Uttar Pradesh, voting for the block panchayat pramukh elections is underway today, 10 July. The voting started at from 11 am and is expected to end by 3 pm. After 3 pm, the votes will be counted following which the results will be announced. As per the commission, a total of 1,778 candidates had filed their nominations while the candidature of 68 was cancelled due to discrepancies in the nomination papers. After this, as many as 1,710 candidates were supposed to battle it out for 476 posts of block pramukh in the state. However, 187 candidates took back their nomination papers on Friday leaving 1,523 aspirants. Yesterday, 9 July, on the last day of the nomination of papers, 349 candidates were elected unopposed for block panchayat pramukh posts. Out of which, 334 are from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party has its eyes set on more than 650 posts of block pramukhs in the state. Swatantra Dev Singh, State unit president of the BJP, in a statement shared that a state of g

The Council for Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) has further reduced the syllabus for the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) Class 10 exam and Indian School Certificate (ISC) Class 12 examinations for the year 2022. The syllabus was reduced for English and Indian languages for both Class 10 and Class 12 on 2 July. The subjects for which the ICSE syllabus has been reduced on Friday are History and Civics, Geography, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Commercial Studies, Computer Applications, Economic Applications, Commercial Applications, Environmental Applications, Home Science, Physical Education, and Yoga. For ISC, the syllabus has been reduced for Accounts, Commerce, Economics, Business Studies, History, Political Science, Geography, Sociology, Psychology, Computer Science, Biotechnology and Environmental Science. Check the reduced syllabus for Class 10 here . Check the reduced syllabus for Class 12 here. “In addition to a signific

The state of Uttar Pradesh on Friday reported two special cases of the Kappa variant of the 2019 novel coronavirus. The two cases have been confirmed by King George’s Medical College in Uttar Pradesh where the genome sequencing of 109 samples took place recently. According to an official report, out of the 109 samples taken by experts, 107 Delta Plus variant cases were found. While some reports claim that there were three cases of Kappa variant in the state. This, after the first patient detected with this variant, a 66-year-old resident, has reportedly succumbed to the disease. The state's Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad, however, said that "there is nothing to worry" as treatment is possible for these variants of coronavirus. Prasad also informed that these were the not first cases, as such "variants were found in the state earlier as well". Meanwhile, a statement issued after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's COVID-19 review meetin

New Delhi: India has logged 42,766 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally to 3,07,95,716, while the active cases have declined to 4,55,033, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday. The toll has climbed to 4,07,145, with 1,206 fresh fatalities. The active cases comprise 1.48 percent of the total infections and the national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.20 percent, the data updated at 8 am showed. As many as 19,55,225 tests were conducted on Friday, taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 42,90,41,970, while the daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.19 percent. It has been less than three percent for 19 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has declined to 2.34 percent. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,99,33,538, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.32 percent, the data stated. Cumulative vaccine doses administer

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said that it will not hear any "professional public interest litigants" unless they deposit the fines imposed on them by the court. The top court was hearing an application filed by two persons on whom the apex court had in August, 2017 imposed a cost of Rs 5 lakh each for filing a motivated petition challenging the appointment of then Chief Justice Dipak Misra . They had also questioned the practise of recommending to the President, the name of a successor by the incumbent Chief Justice of India. The top court was informed that one of them, Swami Om had expired during the first COVID-19 wave last year while Mukesh Jain has been in Balasore jail for the past one year. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah told advocate AP Singh, appearing for Jain that it has already rejected the application for waiver of fine and has issued a contempt notice to him. The bench said, "We will not hear any professional public interest li