New Delhi, Feb 25,2021: Amid another surge in COVID-19 cases, the Centre has rushed the high-level teams to nine states and one Union Territory, to help them in tackling the pandemic effectively.
The Centre has also reminded the States/UTs that any laxity in implementing stringent measures to curb the virus could worsen the situation.
The Centre has deputed high-level multi-disciplinary teams to Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for supporting them in public health measures for targeted COVID response and management, and effectively tackling the pandemic.
The three-member multidisciplinary teams are headed by Joint Secretary level officers in the Health Ministry, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement on Wednesday.
These teams will work closely with the States/UT administration and ascertain reasons for recent surge in the number of COVID19 cases. They will also coordinate with health authorities of the States/UT for requisite COVID19 control measures to break the chain of transmission. The States/UT has been advised for regular critical review of the emerging situation with concerned District officials to ensure that gains made so far in COVID management are not lost.
The Centre has also written to Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab and Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir which have been witnessing a rise in daily COVID cases, along with decreasing proportion of RT-PCR tests and rise in positivity in some districts.
In the letter written by the Union Health Secretary, he has exhorted Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to focus on undertaking aggressive measures to break the chain of transmission and to ensure that RT-PCR testing is amplified to flush out hitherto undetected cases from the population.
These States/UT have been advised to increase testing in a focussed manner in the affected districts with the appropriate split of RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen Tests and to also ensure that all symptomatic negatives of antigen tests are compulsorily tested via RT-PCR tests. The positive persons must be promptly isolated/hospitalised, all their close contacts be traced and also tested without delay.
The Centre has reminded the States/UTs that any laxity in implementing stringent measures to curb the spread, especially in view of new strain of virus observed in certain countries, could compound the situation. The Union Health Secretary has separately requested the Chief Secretaries of these 10 States and UTs to provide time to these High Level Central teams to debrief the respective Chief Secretaries at the conclusion of their State visits, the statement added.
These measures are in line with Centre’s graded and proactive approach to contain COVID across the country. The Health Ministry has been regularly engaging with States and UTs that have been exhibiting either a sudden surge in COVID cases, high caseload or reporting a higher mortality in some districts. The teams interact with the field authorities to get a first hand understanding of the challenges and issues being faced by them, it concluded.
Washington [US], February 24,2021: The United States and Canada will work together on numerous mutual concerns such as countering the Chinese influence and modernising the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), said US President Joe Biden on Tuesday (local time).
“Coming on the heels of the G7 meeting last Friday it was an opportunity for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and mine to explore our bilateral partnership, to reinforce and help drive issues of concern in our hemisphere and globally, that includes coordinating our approaches to better compete with China and to counter threats to our interests and values,” Biden said during a press conference held after the conclusion of the bilateral meeting.
He also called on China to release two jailed Canadians — Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig — who have been detained in the Asian country for over two years, New York Post reported. Former diplomat Kovrig and businessman Spavor were detained soon after Canadian authorities arrested Huawei Technologies Co executive Meng Wanzhou on an extradition request by the US in December 2018.
“Human beings are not bartering chips. And we’re going to work together until we get their safe return,” Biden said.
Speaking on NORAD, the US President said, “We… agreed to modernize [NORAD]…We will launch an expanded US-Canadian dialogue to cover issues related to continental security, economic and social development and Arctic governance.”
At the virtual meet, he said, “We’re launching a high-level climate ambition ministerial and to align our policies and our goals and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.”
Biden said he and Trudeau “agreed to work together on an inclusive recovery” from the COVID-19 pandemic by “using the tools available through the small and medium enterprise chapter of our trade agreement to support women and minority-owned businesses.”
Meanwhile, Biden and Trudeau said they would like to work together on global warming.
“We also double-downed on our efforts to tackle climate change, It was really, really encouraging. Now that the United States is back in the Paris Agreement, we intend to demonstrate our leadership in order to spur other countries to raise their own ambitions,” Biden said.
“Canada and the United States are going to work in lockstep to display the seriousness of our commitment at both home and abroad. To that end, we’re launching a high-level climate ambition ministerial to align our policies and our goals and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050,” New York Post reported Biden’s goal which he previously stated in his presidential campaign.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Canadian prime minister told Biden, “thank you again for stepping up in such a big way on tackling climate change. US leadership has been sorely missed over the past years.”
Taipei [Taiwan], February 24 ,2021: More than 200 people marched in Taipei ahead of the 74th anniversary of the 228 incident, wherein about 20,000 people were massacred in Taiwan in a crackdown that began on February 28, 1947.
The rally held on February 21 was the fifth in a series of annual demonstrations first organized in 2017 by the Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Research Institute and the Nylon Cheng Liberty Foundation and Memorial Museum, according to a report by Taiwan Times.
The groups that participated in the rally included Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Covenants Watch and the 228 Memorial Foundation.
The demonstrators, most of whom were dressed in black, began their march from Rixin Elementary School in Datong District and walked past the Tianma Tea House, the Taipei branch of the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau and the former site of the Taiwan Broadcasting Station, before stopping at the Executive Yuan.
This year’s event was led by the Provisional Office of the Formosa Youth Council and the National Taiwan University Written Taiwanese Society themed on ‘Burying Authoritarianism’ and ‘Making Formosa’.
During the march, the names of the people who were massacred during the 228 incident were read aloud.
The purpose of “remembering the past is to move towards a better future,” Taiwan Times quoted Nylon Cheng Liberty Foundation and Memorial Museum director Cheng Chu-mei as saying before the march began.
She further said, “We should continue to speak while we still can”.
On February 28, 1947, the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime had launched a crackdown on the anti-government protesters, during which the security personnel at the Governor-General’s Office in Taipei (now the site of the Executive Yuan building) opened fire on the civilians. The protesters were demanding the arrest of the people responsible for the killing of a bystander the previous day.
According to Taiwan Times, the bystander was part of a crowd that had gathered outside Taipei’s Tianma Tea House on Nanjing W Road to challenge Tobacco Monopoly Bureau officials after one of them struck Lin Chiang-mai, a woman selling cigarettes illegally.
Following the crackdown, martial law was imposed that began on May 19, 1949, and lasted till July 15, 1987. During this period, the political dissidents were suppressed and several were killed.
Washington [US], February 23,2021: Following the use of violence on the pro-democracy protesters in Mandalay by the Myanmar military, the United States on Monday (local time) designated two additional State Administrative Council (SAC) members, saying, Washington will continue to work with a broad coalition of international partners to promote accountability for coup leaders and those responsible for this violence.
“Today, the United States is responding by designating two additional State Administrative Council (SAC) members, Maung Maung Kyaw and Moe Myint Tun. These designations were made pursuant to Section 1(a)(iii)(A) of Executive Order (E.O.) 14014, ‘Blocking Property With Respect to the Situation in Burma’,” said US State Secretary Antony J Blinken.
He also reiterated the US’ support to the people of Myanmar who are fighting “for a return to democratic governance, peace, and rule of law”.
“We condemn the security forces’ brutal attacks on unarmed protesters, which resulted in four deaths and injured over 40 individuals. We also condemn the ongoing arrests and detentions of hundreds of politicians, human rights defenders, and peaceful protestors. The United States, in close coordination with our partners and allies, has underscored to the military that violence against the people is unacceptable,” he said.
Calling on the military and the police to stop all attacks on peaceful protesters, the State Secretary said that the US will continue to work with the international partners to “promote accountability for coup leaders and those responsible for this violence”.
The Myanmar police opened fire on pro-democracy protesters in the city of Mandalay on Saturday, killing two people and wounding dozens, according to witnesses.
The New York Times citing witnesses reported that the shootings occurred as the authorities were trying to force workers back to their jobs at a local shipyard. They were among hundreds of thousands of workers across Myanmar who have walked off their jobs to protest the military.
The Bangkok Post citing local media reported that at least five people were injured by rubber bullets, a photographer at the scene reported, while emergency medical staff treating the injured confirmed at least six others were shot with live rounds.
Over 1,000 demonstrators gathered at the shipyard to block the police, leading to a tense standoff that lasted Saturday afternoon. The authorities used water cannons, rubber bullets, tear gas, slingshots and ultimately live ammunition to break up the crowd, witnesses said.
A volunteer with a local medical charity, Ko Kyaw Lin, said he had been rescuing some of the wounded in Mandalay but could not get close enough to some of them because the police and soldiers were shooting at people in the crowd.
“When we picked up the patients on the street, they had been shot by a sniper,” he said as quoted by NYT. “They shot everyone no matter who they were.” A video was taken at the scene showed one man lying in a pool of blood, apparently dead from a gunshot wound to the head.
The condemnation of the violence has been fierce, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has held talks with allied countries in recent days to press for a firm international response.
“We condemn any violence against the people of Burma and reiterate our calls on the Burmese military to refrain from violence against peaceful protesters… the United States will continue to lead the diplomatic effort to galvanize the international community into collective action against those responsible for this coup,” spokesman Ned Price said in a press briefing on Friday.
On February 1, Myanmar’s military overthrew the government and declared a year-long state of emergency hours before the newly-elected parliament was due to convene. State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, along with other top officials accused of election fraud, have been placed under house arrest. The coup triggered mass protests across the country.
According to Sputnik, at least 150 people have suffered injuries during intense demonstrations across the country.
Puducherry, Feb 23,2021: The four-year-nine-month-old Congress-DMK-led government in Puducherry toppled on Monday after Chief Minister V Narayanasamy failed to prove a majority on the floor of the territorial Assembly.
A confidence motion moved by Mr Narayanasamy was defeated as entire members in the treasury bench, including the chief minister, staged a walkout before the voting could begin. They were against the voting rights of three nominated members, presently all from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Following the walkout, Speaker V P Sivakolunthu announced that the confidence motion was defeated and adjourned the House sine die.
Mr Narayanasamy later called on newly-appointed Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and tendered his resignation along with his Council of Ministers.
Resignation of five members of Congress and one of DMK from the Assembly, and disqualification of one Congress legislator last year, had reduced the strength of the ruling alliance to 12 in the 33-member Assembly.
Addressing the House after moving the motion, Mr Narayanasamy squarely blamed the ‘BJP’ for bringing down his government and said that what they did in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Goa is being ‘done in Puducherry’.
On the resignation of the legislators from his party, the Chief Minister said, “they should have been loyal to the organisation, but out of compulsion and threat, they resigned”. He termed the turmoil as ‘prostitution of democracy’.
He said the people of the UT are watching the developments and will certainly give a befitting reply in the forthcoming Assembly elections.
The term of the current Assembly expires on June 8.
It is up to the Lt Governor whether to invite the Opposition to form a government for the next three months or to impose President’s Rule in the UT.
New Delhi,Feb 22,2021: India and China have agreed to push for a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues, including friction points at Gogra, Hot Springs and Depsang in a steady and orderly manner after the 10th round of military talks at Moldo on the Chinese side on February 20.
In a joint effort to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas, the Corps Commanders of India and China had candidly and in-depth exchanged their views on other issues along the LAC in the eastern sector.
“The two sides positively appraised the smooth completion of disengagement of frontline troops in the Pangong Lake area noting that it was a significant step forward that provided a good basis for resolution of other remaining issues along the LAC in the eastern sector,” the India-China joint statement issued on Sunday said.
The two sides also agreed to continue their communication and dialogue, stabilize and control the situation on the ground, push for a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues in a steady and orderly manner, to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas, the statement further said.
The 10th round of military talks followed after the two forces completed their disengagement process at Pangong Tso areas on Thursday.
India and China were locked-into border standoff since over nine months at several locations in the eastern Ladakh. The standoff had even led to violent brawl in the Galwan Valley on June 15, where 20 Indian troops were killed in the action with Chinese soldiers.
Two day ahead of the 10th round of military talks, China had announced that four of their soldiers were killed in the Galwan Valley. It took around eight months to declare the names of killed soldiers. The development came days after a Russian wire agency reported that 45 Chinese soldiers were killed in clash with Indian troops.
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) , February 22,2021: Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh will present the first paperless Budget 2021 in the Legislative Assembly on Monday.
Uttar Pradesh will be the first state in the country to table a paperless budget.
Thie year’s budget is the fifth budget of the Adityanath government in the state. State Finance Minister Suresh Khanna is slated to present the budget at 11 am today.
All members of the State Legislature have been provided iPads to view the budget highlights which will also be available on two big screens put up in the House.
The Budget Session was commenced on February 18 with an address by Governor Anandiben Patel to a joint sitting of both houses. The session will continue till March 10.
Last week, an all-party meeting was called by Speaker Hriday Narayan Dikshit ahead of the budget presentation. He sought cooperation from the opposition parties for the smooth functioning of the budget session.
He had informed that the budget will be paperless and the finance minister will read out the Budget paper from a tablet.
On February 16, COVID-19 tests of all MLAs and MLCs were conducted in view of the pandemic.
Puducherry , February 20,2021: Amid a political crisis in the union territory, Puducherry Legislative Assembly Secretary R Mounissamy on Friday said the Union Territory Assembly will reassemble for a special session on February 22, after Tamilisai Soundararajan ordered a floor test for the Congress government.
The ruling Congress in the UT seemingly slipped from the halfway mark in the 33-member assembly after four MLAs resigned from the cabinet recently. Now Congress has 10 MLA along with three MLAs of DMK and one independent MLA in an alliance.
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on February 18 alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying to bring down a democratically elected government.
“Following the announcement of the floor test by LG Tamilisai Soundararajan, I convened a meeting of Congress MLAs at my residence. I held a meeting with MLAs and discussed the floor test. No decision has been taken in today’s meet. We will hold a meeting again on February 21. We are also consulting with our alliance partner DMK,” Narayanasamy has said.
Puducherry is scheduled to go to polls later this year.