Helsinki, Aug 16,2024: Swedish health authorities confirmed on Thursday that they have identified the first case of the more infectious Clade I variant of mpox in the country.
The Public Health Agency of Sweden said this is also the first confirmed case of this variant outside Africa.
Magnus Gisslen, the state epidemiologist at the health agency, said in a press release that the patient contracted the infection during a visit to the region in Africa where mpox Clade I is spreading.
The news came a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern.
The Swedish health agency noted that, unlike the previous variant which mainly spread through sexual contact, Clade I is now spreading primarily through household contacts and frequently infects children. Though it causes a similar illness to the Clade IIb variant that spread internationally in 2022, Clade I is considered capable of causing a more severe condition and higher mortality.
The agency said that Sweden is prepared for the diagnosis, treatment, and isolation of Clade I patients. It had previously indicated that isolated cases of the variant might be expected in the country.
Sweden reported around 300 mpox Clade IIb cases in the previous wave of infection.
Washington DC [US], August 14,2024: The East Turkistan National Movement (ETNM), a US-based organisation committed to raising awareness about human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region, called on the International Community, human rights authorities and human rights activists to support them in the fight against Beijing.
The ETNM statement accused China of converting 16,000 mosques and other religious sites into Clubs and bars. In a post on X, the ETNM stated “The Chinese government is executing a calculated strategy to annihilate the identity of the East Turkistan nation to ensure its occupation of East Turkistan continues. In a blatant attempt to erase our historical and cultural roots, Beijing has demolished over 16,000 mosques, desecrated religious sites by turning them into bars and clubs, and destroyed countless historic Uyghur neighbourhoods. These acts of cultural destruction are designed to break the spirit of our people and erase our Turkic and Islamic heritage from existence”.
The ETNM also accused Muslim countries and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Central Asian Republics of remaining silent as China continues its brutal campaign against Uyghur Muslims. The statement mentioned that the world has turned a blind eye towards the atrocities being committed in Xinjiang. And have, shamelessly lent their support to China’s genocide, colonisation, and occupation of East Turkistan.
According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute 2021 report, satellite imagery has revealed significant damage being done to over 20 per cent of the region’s mosques, with some being demolished or repurposed.
The region has been described as one of the most heavily monitored areas in the world, with extensive use of facial recognition technology and other forms of surveillance. There have been significant reports and satellite imagery proving the existence of large-scale internment camps in Xinjiang. These facilities are described as “re-education” camps backed by the Chinese government, but international observers and human rights organizations consider them to be detention centres erasing the identity of East Turkistan.
Shillong, Aug 12,2024: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured Chief Minister Conrad Sangma that nobody would be allowed to enter India from Bangladesh.
Shah made this assurance during a review meeting with Chief Minister Sangma in presence of Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Home, Prestone Tynsong overall situation along the Meghalaya sector of the India-Bangladesh border.
“We reiterated to the Union Home Minister that we should not allow at this point in time any individual to cross the border as the matter is very sensitive and in detail discussions were done on that matter,” Sangma said.
Stating that the Home Minister has assured the state government that nobody would be allowed to enter India from Bangladesh, the Chief Minister said that all measures has been taken to protect the border and prevent infiltration.
On the current scenario at the international border in Meghalaya sector, the Chief Minister informed the Home Minister that the situation is being handled professionally by the Border Security Force (BSF) together with the army. The state police are also assisting the central security forces.
“Strict monitoring is being done by these two forces and state police are also on high alert. We have imposed night curfew all along the border areas to further strengthen the security scenario,” Sangma briefed Shah.
The Chief Minister further urged Shah to increase manpower at the border so that the security could be further reinforced.
“To that, the Union Home Minister said he will examine the scenario and situation and take necessary actions, if necessary,” Sangma said.
Meghalaya shares 444km borders with Bangladesh and some of stretches of the international border are still not fenced.
New Delhi, Aug 12,2024: Driven by lower food prices, India’s retail inflation measured by consumer price index (CPI) dropped to 3.54% in July 2024 on annualised basis from 5.08% in the previous month, as per data released by Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation on Monday.
With this, retail inflation has now dipped below the Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term target of 4% for the first time in nearly five years.
The official data showed food inflation in the month of July 2024 fell to 5.42% from 9.36% in the previous month. Food inflation for July 2024 is the lowest since June 2023.
“There is a sharp decline in the year-on-year inflation rate based on the All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) number for the month of July, 2024, which is the lowest in the last 59 months. Year-on-year inflation rate based on the All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) number is 3.54% (Provisional) for the month of July, 2024. Corresponding inflation rate for rural and urban is 4.10% and 2.98%, respectively,” an official press release said.
During the month of July 2024, downward trend was witnessed in inflation for all the groups. Significant decline was seen in the vegetables, fruits and spices subgroup.
Commenting on the inflation numbers, ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar said, “While eight of the 12 sub-segments in this group witnessed a lower YoY (year-on-year) inflation in July 2024 vis-à-vis June 2024, the chief driver of the downtrend was vegetables inflation, which declined quite sharply to 6.8% from 29.3% in the previous month, led by the favourable base. In MoM (month-on-month) terms, however, vegetable prices shot up by 14.1% in July 2024, after having risen at a similar pace in June 2024.”
New Delhi, August 3,2024: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved on Friday eight national highway (NH) projects worth Rs 50,655 crore covering a total length of 936 km.
Briefing the media on Cabinet decisions, Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the proposed highway projects would be access-controlled and have been prepared ‘keeping in mind the vision of 2047.’
“The development of eight projects would create employment of about 4.5 crore mandays. The projects have been very carefully planned to ensure minimum land acquisition is required, and for this, wherever possible, existing brownfield alignments will be upgraded. Wherever required, land acquisition will happen,” the minister said.
The Minister noted that one of the eight projects involves a major Ring Road project aimed at the overall development of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. The road project is around 68 km long and estimated to cost Rs 4,000 crore.
“The 68-km 4-lane access-controlled Ayodhya Ring Road will be developed in Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) at a total capital cost of Rs 3,935 crore. The Ring Road will reduce congestion on National Highways passing through the city, viz., NH 27 (East West Corridor), NH 227 A, NH 227B. NH 330, NH 330A, and NH 135A, thereby enabling fast movement of pilgrims visiting the Rama Mandir,” an official statement said.
Among the other projects, the CCEA has approved the 88 km Agra-Gwalior National High-Speed Corridor, which will be developed in Build-Qperate-Transfer (BOT) mode as a fully access-controlled 6-lane corridor at a total capital cost of Rs 4,613 crore.
The 231-km 4-lane high-speed corridor between Kharagpur and Moregram will be developed in Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) at a total capital cost of Rs 10,247 crore.
The 214-km Tharad-Deesa-Mehsana-Ahmedabad National High-Speed Corridor will be developed in Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) mode at a total capital cost of Rs 10,534 crore.
“The 137 km 4-lane access-controlled Pathalgaon-Gumla section of the Raipur-Ranchi Corridor will be developed in Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) at a total capital cost of Rs. 4,473 crore to complete the whole corridor,” the official release said.
The other projects approved by the CCEA are the 6-lane Kanpur Ring Road, the 4-lane Northern Guwahati Bypass, the Widening and Improvement of the Existing Guwahati Bypass, and the 8-lane Elevated Nashik Phata-Khed Corridor near Pune.
While the 6-lane Kanpur Ring Road project would be taken up in Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) mode, the 4-lane Northern Guwahati Bypass and Widening/Improvement of the Existing Guwahati Bypass and the 8-lane Elevated Nashik Phata-Khed Corridor would be executed in BOT mode.
Beirut, Aug 3,2024: A fierce exchange of fire broke out between Hezbollah and the Israeli army on Friday along the border area between Lebanon and Israel, involving heavy machine gun fire, artillery and missile shelling, as well as airstrikes, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua.
According to the anonymous sources, there are no reports of casualties yet.
Israeli drones and warplanes launched nine raids on seven towns and villages in southern Lebanon and three raids on areas in Hermel, Al-Qasr, and the Matraba crossing on the Lebanese-Syrian border in the east of the country, said the sources.
“The Lebanese army positions monitored the launch of about 50 surface-to-surface missiles from the Lebanese side to Israel in three separate batches, and the Israeli Iron Dome missiles intercepted some of them,” the sources added.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah announced on Friday the targeting of Israeli positions in the Western Galilee with Katyusha missiles and the positions of Al-Raheb, Al-Marj, Bayad Blida, and Al-Samaqa.
The party said it fired an air defense missile at an Israeli warplane flying in the airspace of the western region of the south, causing the plane to redirect towards the airspace of occupied Palestine.
A state of anticipation and caution prevails in Lebanon following Israel’s attack on Dahieh in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday, killing a Hezbollah senior military commander, Fouad Shokor, and seven civilians.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has threatened a definite and painful response to the Israeli raid at the appropriate time and place.
Tehran, July 31,2024: Palestinian movement Hamas said on Wednesday that the movement’s politburo chief, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an Israeli attack on his residence in the Iranian capital of Tehran.
“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas expresses condolences to the sons of our great Palestinian people … Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the movement … was killed as a result of a treacherous Zionist attack on his residence in Tehran after he participated in the inauguration ceremony of the new president of Iran,” the movement said on Telegram.