New Delhi, May 29,2024: Delhi Government on Wednesday directed CEO Delhi Jal Board to impose fine of Rs 2000 on anyone found misusing water and to disconnect all illegal water connections in order to prevent water shortage in the national capital.
As per the directive issued by Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi, 200 teams of Delhi Jal Board will be deployed in the city from 8 am tomorrow to crack down on wastage of water and illegal water connections.
“There is an acute heatwave in Delhi and a shortage of water supply since Haryana is not releasing Delhi’s share of water. Under these circumstances conservation of water becomes extremely important,” Atishi said in a statement.
“However, it has been seen that there is serious wastage of water in many parts of Delhi. There are also illegal connections taken by construction sites and commercial establishments, from water supply meant for domestic use. There is a need to crack down on this misuse of water,” Atishi added.
Atishi further instructed CEO DJB to immediately deploy 200 teams across Delhi to crackdown upon washing of cars with pipes, overflow of water tanks, use of domestic water supply for construction or commercial purposes. She also directed the imposition of a Rs 2000 fine on anyone found wasting water and the disconnection of any illegal water connections at construction sites or commercial establishments.
Port Moresby [Papua New Guinea], May 27,2024: Around 2000 people are feared to have been buried by the massive landslide that hit Papua New Guinea, reported CNN, citing the country’s National Disaster Centre.
The rescuers have been struggling to find any survivors in the remote region.
The landslide occurred in the mountainous Enga region in northern Papua New Guinea on Friday last week and the latest figure is a sharp rise from earlier estimates.
Soon after the disaster occurred, the United Nations confirmed that as many as 100 people may have died.
However, it was later revised up to 670, according to estimates from the Chief of Mission for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in the country, CNN reported.
But that may now be a major underestimate, according to the latest projection from Papua New Guinea’s disaster agency.
“The landslide buried more than 2000 people alive, caused major destruction to buildings, food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country,” Lusete Laso Mana, Acting Director of the National Disaster Centre, said in a letter to the UN.
“The situation remains unstable as the landslip continues to shift slowly, posing ongoing danger to both rescue teams and survivors alike,” he said, adding that the main highway to the area had been completely blocked by the landslide.
“Following the inspection conducted by the team, it was determined that the damages are extensive and require immediate and collaborative actions from all players,” Mana said, reported CNN.
The landslide hit the remote village of Kaokalam, about 600 kilometres (372 miles) northwest of the capital Port Moresby, at approximately 3 am local time on Friday, leaving a scar of debris that humanitarian workers said was as big as four football pitches.
Over 150 houses in Yambali village were buried in debris, according to the officials.
The area continues to pose an “extreme risk,” officials added, as rocks continue to fall and the ground soil is exposed to constant increased pressure.
Notably, Papua New Guinea is home to around 10 million people. Its vast mountainous terrain and lack of roads have made it difficult to access the affected area.
Pierre Rognon, an associate professor from the University of Sydney’s School of Civil Engineering, stressed that it’s “particularly challenging” for rescuers to find survivors after a landslide.
“Landslides can bury collapsed structures and people under dozens of metres of geomaterials,” he said.
“To make things worse, they can move structures and trap people over hundreds of metres. No one can predict exactly where potential survivors may be located or where to start looking for them.”
It’s not clear what caused the landslide, but geology professor Alan Collins from the University of Adelaide said it occurred in a region of “considerable rainfall.”
“Although the landslide does not appear to have been directly triggered by an earthquake, frequent earthquakes caused by plates colliding build steep slopes and high mountains that can become very unstable,” Collins said.
Collins added that the rainfall could have altered the minerals, making the bedrock weakening the rock that forms the steep hillsides, as reported by CNN.
“Vegetation mitigates this as tree roots can stabilise the ground and deforestation can make landslides more prevalent by destroying this biological mesh,” he said.
Serampore, May 15,2024: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday asserted that PoK is the part of India and will be taken back.
Slamming the Congress-led INDI Alliance for underestimating the prowess of the country’s capability, Shah while addressing an electioneering in Hooghly district in favour of BJP’s Serampore candidate advocate Kabir Shankar Bose lampooned Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar and Peoples Conference leader Farooq Abdullah for their utterance that Pakistan has an atom bomb.
” The PoK is a part of India and we will get it back, ” Shah said and added that since Article 370 was abrogated there was no stone throwing incident in the past five years and no strike in the valley.
” Now J&K has been fully integrated and the people are feeling nice about the existing situation, ” he said adding, ” The Opposition raised protests in Parliament against abrogation of Article 370 as they said there will be bloodshed but not a drop of blood spilled since its abrogation. ”
” Now the PoK is having hartals and there is a protest for freedom and we will take it back, ” Shah reiterated.
New Delhi, May 14,2024: India sent a second tranche of humanitarian assistance to Kenya, including medicines, tents, sleeping bags/mats, blankets, power generation sets, and ready to eat meals, in the wake of the devastation caused by floods that have hit the country.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on X: “The second tranche of HADR material containing 40 tonnes of medicines, medical supplies and other equipment to assist flood victims leaves for Kenya.
“Standing up for a historical partnership, a Vishwabandhu to the world.”
An official statement said that A relief consignment is being airlifted today on an Indian Air Force plane that comprises of 22 tons humanitarian assistance and disaster relief items (HADR) including tents, sleeping bags/mats, blankets, power generation sets, ready to eat meals, basic sanitary utilities and hygiene kits to provide immediate succor to the people of Kenya.
The consignment also contains about 18 tons of medical aid, comprising essential life-saving drugs and surgical equipment required for critical care and wound management. It also includes items required for baby food, water purification, menstrual hygiene, repelling mosquitoes, along with malaria and dengue diagnostic kits, anti-venom treatment and several types of testing kits that can be readily deployed on the ground.
Indian Naval ship INS Sumedha had earlier reached Mombasa on 10th May to extend immediate relief comprising one HADR pallet and two medical pallets.
The assistance to Kenya is a reiteration of our strong and friendly relations with the country, in the spirit of South-South cooperation and our commitment to keep Africa on top of our priorities, as spelt out by PM Narendra Modi.
India also extends deep sympathies to the government and people of the Republic of Kenya for the damage and destruction caused by the floods, it said.
The floods in Kenya have affected 38 out of 47 counties, and an estimated 267 people have died, 188 injured and over 2,80,000 displaced.
Moscow, May 10,2024: Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted a proposal to the State Duma, the lower house of Russia, to appoint Mikhail Mishustin as Russia’s Prime Minister, State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said on Friday.
“President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has submitted a proposal to the State Duma on the candidacy of Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin for the post of Prime Minister,” Volodin said on Telegram.
The Russian official added that it is important to receive answers to questions about demography, technological sovereignty, economic development, and defense capability when discussing the candidacy for the post of prime minister.
The discussion of the candidacy for the post of Prime Minister will take place in all factions of the parliament, and the State Duma’s session will begin at 2 p.m. Moscow time (11:00 GMT), Volodin said.
He added that Mishustin will first report to the lower house and answer questions raised by lawmakers, and the vote on the candidacy will follow.
Putin was sworn in as the Russian president in the Kremlin on Tuesday. The Russian President will hold office for the next six years until 2030. After the inauguration, the Russian cabinet headed by Mishustin resigned in accordance with the law. The candidacy for the post of Prime Minister will be approved at the State Duma’s session later on Friday.
New Delhi, May 7,2024: India on Tuesday called on Canada “to stop providing criminal and secessionist elements a safe haven and political space” after Khalistani elements brought out a religious procession in Malton, in Ontario, Canada, that saw the chanting of anti-India slogans and Khalistani leaders delivered inflammatory statements against India.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, in response to media queries regarding the float in the Nagar Kirtan parade in Malton, Canada, said:
“As you are aware, we have repeatedly raised our strong concerns regarding the violent imagery being used by extremist elements in Canada against our political leadership.
“Last year, a float depicting the assassination of our former Prime Minister was used in a procession. Display of posters of Indian diplomats have also been put out across Canada threatening violence against them.
“Celebration and glorification of violence should not be a part of any civilized society. Democratic countries which respect the rule of law should not allow intimidation by radical elements in the name of freedom of expression.
“We continue to remain concerned about the security of our diplomatic representatives in Canada and expect the Government of Canada to ensure that they are able to carry out their responsibilities without fear.
“We again call upon the Government of Canada to stop providing criminal and secessionist elements a safe haven and political space in Canada.”
The statement comes as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that Canada has been welcoming a number of gangland people with organised crime links from Punjab and ignoring Indian warnings against giving them visa, which has resulted in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
He also said that the Khalistani elements have organised themselves politically in Canada and become a political lobby.
“And in some of these democratic countries the politicians of those countries are made to believe that if they defer to these people or pander to these people, these people have some ability to get the community to support them,” he said, in reference to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, who has taken the support of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who is a Khalistan sympathiser. Canada is known to have the second highest Sikh population in the world, after India, at over 770,000, or about two % of its total population.
EAM said these separatist elements “have tried to create space for themselves in the politics of these countries”.
“At this time, I would say it is not so much of a problem in the US; our biggest problem right now is in Canada. Because in Canada, actually, the party in power in Canada, other parties in Canada, have given these kinds of extremism, separatism and advocates of violence a certain legitimacy, in the name of free speech.”
May 07,2024: The United States and most European Union nations have said they will not send envoys to Tuesday’s inauguration of Vladimir Putin as Russian president.
Putin, 71, secured a fifth term in office in a March election that critics said lacked democratic legitimacy.
He gained 87.28 percent of the vote, weeks after the sudden death of his most vocal critic, Alexey Navalny, in an Arctic prison.
“We will not have a representative at his inauguration,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters. “We certainly did not consider that election free and fair but he is the president of Russia and he is going to continue in that capacity.”
The United Kingdom and Canada said they would not send anyone to the ceremony, while a spokesperson for the European Union told the Reuters news agency the bloc’s ambassador to Russia would not attend the inauguration, in keeping with the position of most of the EU’s member states.
The three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – which have withdrawn their ambassadors from Moscow – ruled out attending the inauguration.
“We believe that the isolation of Russia, and especially of its criminal leader, must be continued,” Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said.
“Participation in Putin’s inauguration is not acceptable for Lithuania. Our priority remains support for Ukraine and its people fighting against Russian aggression.”
The Czech Republic is also expected to snub the ceremony, while Germany’s Foreign Office said its representative would not attend – it earlier recalled its ambassador over alleged Russian cyberattacks.
An aide to Putin said the heads of all foreign diplomatic missions in Moscow including those from “unfriendly states” had been invited to attend the inauguration, which starts at noon (09:00 GMT) and will be broadcast live on Russian television.