Imphal, June 1: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the government will take
up various measures to bring the conflict in Manipur to an end.
Addressing the media at the CM Secretariat Shah announced the territorial integrity of Manipur will
be protected.
He said a Committee headed by Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey will be formed to work for the return of peace.
Representatives from various sections of the society and community will be included in the committee. An enquiry will be conducted by a Retired Chief Justice of a High Court which will
enquire about the events in Manipur.
He issued a warning to Kuki militants under Suspension of Operation (SOO) not to violate ground rules. Strict action will be taken up if rules are violated, he said.
Shah also appealed to all to surrender arms which were looted away from various places and combing operations will start from tomorrow to recover the arms and ammunition.
Inter Agency Unified Command headed by Kuldeep Singh will be working in the state from today
itself and it will help in coordinating the different agencies operating in Manipur, Shah said.
Several cases were filed and to look into conspiracy theory CBI will start a probe, he further said.
Probe will be conducted in such a way that such clashes do not occur in Manipur again he said.
He also said Rs 10 lakh ( Rs 5 lakh each by centre and state ) will be given by direct transfer for all those who died.
An additional 30000 MT of rice in consignment of 15000 MT each will be arriving soon. Gas,
essential items, petroleum products, vegetables will be brought in and sold in various outlets.
Some petrol pumps will start operating 24 x 7 to meet the demand and Khongsang railway station about 106 km from Imphal in Tamenglong district will store the goods brought in from other states.
Works have started to construct platform/storehouse near the station which will be completed within
a week, he said. A relief package for the affected will also be announced on Friday, he said.
Eight medical teams will be arriving to help people in Churachandpur, Moreh and Kangpokpi areas and if needed medical teams can also be brought in to Imphal he said.
Officials of the Education Department from the centre have reached the state and they will work out the requirements with state officials.
Virtual court activities will be carried out for people living in Churachandpur, Moreh and Kangpokpi areas and a helicopter service at a nominal fee of Rs 2000 for each passenger will be provided for people of the three areas for internal transport to reach the airport.
Officials of different government agencies will be stationed in Manipur. To resolve the conflict fencing in about ten km of the international border was completed and work for another 80 km will start soon. Biometrics and other measures will be taken up to identify outsiders he said.
After violence started at Churachandpur district on May 3 the state is still facing clashes in most parts of the state between two ethnic groups. Amit Shah said the crisis started after a court verdict was misunderstood.
After his arrival on June 29 last he met representatives of various political parties, civil societies and met people at relief camps, he said.
The response from all including affected people was positive and all talks centred around restoration of peace and tranquillity. Internet facilities will be provided after restoration of peace, he said.
Rajouri (Jammu and Kashmir) May 16,: The Azaala platform, a one-stop solution for the redressal of grievances, has provided the people of Rajouri with an easy and efficient way to get their issues resolved, officials said.
The live phone-in programme has allowed people to connect directly with the concerned officials, providing them with a platform to voice their concerns and grievances, they said.
Special cells have also been constituted to trace grievances on social media, ensuring that no issue goes unnoticed, they added.
According to an official note, the district administration of Rajouri, under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner Vikas Kundal, has been working tirelessly to provide prompt and effective services to the citizens.
n the run-up to providing solutions to the people’s issues, the launch of the Azaala platform, live phone-in programme and special cells for tracing grievances on social media has revolutionised the way governance is delivered in this remote and rugged part of the country.
New Delhi, Apr 1,2023: India has registered a slight dip in Covid-19 cases on Saturday with, 2,994 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the active caseload over 16,354-mark, in the last 24 hours, as per the Health Ministry.
On Friday, India recorded 3,095 highest single-day rises of fresh coronavirus cases.
India’s Covid-related death roll has increased to 5,30,876 with 9 more fatalities reported in the last 24 hours.
Two deaths each were reported from Delhi, Karnataka, and Punjab, one from Gujarat, and two were reconciled by Kerala.
As many as 1,840 patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 4,41,69,551. The Recovery Rate currently at stand 98.77 percent.
The Ministry said, 9,981 vaccine doses of COVID have been administered during the last 24 hours under the nationwide vaccination drive.
220.66 cr Total Vaccine doses (95.21 cr Second Dose and 22.86 cr Precaution Dose) have been administered so far, said the Ministry.
Meanwhile, 92.16 cr Total Tests have been conducted so far; 1,43,364 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, as per Ministry data.
New Delhi, Feb 13,2023: The Centre on Monday agreed for a committee which will examine the existing regime and regulator’s role in preventing meltdown situation of shares, as happened to Adani, after Hindeburg Research report, but it stressed that the SC could choose the composition of experts committee from names suggested by the Centre.
The Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, senior law officer appearing for the UOI (Union of India) told the Supreme Court that the SEBI is competent to handle the Hindenburg Report fallout. The Centre agreed before the Supreme Court that the SC may constitute a committee to protect investor interests and requested it to that the SC should consider the names/members for the committee, as suggested by it to deal with the issue.
Mehta also said that the composition would be in such a manner made, it doesn’t affect the flow of money and investments.
The Supreme Court bench, headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chadrachud, asked the Centre to submit a note on the proposed terms of reference by Wednesday, and fixed the matter for further hearing on February 17, Friday.
A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court by Manohar Lal Sharma seeking directions to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Union Home Ministry to conduct a thorough probe and register a First Information Report (FIR) against founder of Hindenburg Research, Nathan Anderson, and his associates in India for “exploiting innocent investors”, of its recent report on Adani Group.
The petition of Sharma, filed before the Supreme Court, said that Anderson and his associates in India hatched an alleged criminal conspiracy by short selling Adani stocks in hundreds of billion dollars before ‘concocting’ a research report related to the Adani Group in order to crash the stock market and square up their short sell position at the lowest rate.
Sharma’s petition, filed before the Apex Court sought directions to conduct an enquiry to prosecute and register an FIR against Anderson and his associates under sections 420 (Cheating) and 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for ‘exploiting innocent investors via short selling under the garb of artificial crashing via short selling’.
“They secured billions of profits by butchering citizen of India. However, SEBI did not suspend trading in the stock specially qua to the Adani group of the companies and allowed short sellers to exploit innocent investors,” the plea of Sharma said.
He also sought recovery of Anderson’s alleged turnover with penalty to compensate investors in the interest of justice.
Sharma also prayed to the Supreme Court for a declaration that short selling is an offence of fraud against the investors to be prosecuted under section 420 of the IPC read with section 15-HA (Penalty for fraudulent and unfair trade practices) of SEBI Act.
Feb 13,2023:NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says Russia’s feared new offensive in Ukraine has already started, with Moscow deploying more troops and weapons for its war effort.
Ukraine’s energy minister says the country’s power system is meeting people’s “electricity needs” despite the latest wave of Russian attacks on critical infrastructure.
NATO’s secretary-general says a feared new major Russian offensive in Ukraine has already started.
“We see no sign whatsoever that [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin is preparing for peace … What we see is president Putin and Russia still wanting to control Ukraine,” Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at a news conference in Brussels.
“We see how they are sending more troops, more weapons, more capabilities,” he added. “The reality is that we are seeing the start [of a new offensive] already.”
Moldova’s president has accused Russia of planning to use foreign saboteurs to bring down her country’s leadership, stop it joining the European Union and use it in the war against Ukraine.
Tehran, Iran ,Feb 13,2023: Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is expected to depart from Tehran late on Monday as he leads a large delegation to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.
The three-day trip is Raisi’s first state visit to the Asian economic giant and the first by an Iranian president in 20 years, according to Iranian state media.
Raisi and Xi had first met as presidents on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan in September. China had supported Iran’s now-successful bid to become a full member of the organisation.
The Iranian president, who assumed office in August 2021, is accompanied by a wide-ranging team, including the new central bank governor, pointing to his priorities during the trip.
Six members of Raisi’s cabinet, including ministers of economy, petroleum, foreign affairs, trade, transport and urban development, and agriculture are also part of the delegation.
An op-ed by Raisi was published on Monday in a leading Chinese publication, in which he welcomed expanding bilateral ties. Raisi will hold a meeting with Xi, followed by negotiations between delegations that are expected to lead to the signing of several agreements in the presence of the presidents.
When it comes to climate change, Bill Gates considers himself a realist – even if that means admitting the world has no chance limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Given “the overall scale of our industrial economy we’re going to have to do mind-blowing work to stay below 2 degrees,” he said.
But on meeting the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C goal? No one wants to be “the first to say it,” but the math shows it’s no longer within reach, Gates said in a video interview with Reuters.
The software-developer-turned-philanthropist was nevertheless upbeat about climate innovation – ticking off numerous areas advancing low-carbon technologies with funding from the Breakthrough Energy Group, which Gates founded in 2015.
Gates has invested more than $2 billion toward climate technologies, including direct air capture, solar energy and nuclear fission. The 14-year-old fission company under the Breakthrough umbrella, TerraPower, aims to have a demo reactor running by 2030.
These things take time, said Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp.
Gates spoke with Reuters ahead of the release of his annual letter – reflecting on 2022 and describing what he’s most excited about in the year ahead.
He transferred $20 billion of his funds to the Gates Foundation’s endowment, which plans to increase philanthropic spending on public health and education from $6 billion to $9 billion in coming years.
He also praised Warren Buffett for his contribution, which Gates said totaled $45 billion since 2006, counting Berkshire Hathaway stock appreciation.
Breakthrough Energy, however, operates separately from the Gates Foundation charity. In his letter to shareholders, Gates explains that the climate problem is too enormous for philanthropy alone to tackle.
“There’s not enough money, and so you have to have some innovation,” he told Reuters. “The idea that it can be done by brute force, there’s just no chance.”
Companies need investment and technical support to prove their low-carbon ideas beyond the pilot phase – and then to scale up manufacturing, he says. But any Breakthrough Energy profits are funneled back into the group or to the foundation.
Some of the companies under Breakthrough that are developing Direct Air Capture (DAC) – technology designed to pull CO2 straight from the atmosphere – have their sights set on some $3.5 billion in newly announced U.S. contracts to build DAC plants and fund research grants.
“We have a number of Direct Air Capture companies that will bid on being a part of those projects,” he said, noting that the recent Inflation Reduction Act legislation has boosted prospects for climate innovation. He did not elaborate on the DAC companies’ plans.
In manufacturing, the steel and cement industries have made “fantastic” progress, he said, a change from his worries about that sector just two years ago.
Manufacturing is responsible for about a third of global climate-warming emissions.
Now, “there’s no area of climate mitigation that I feel like ‘Oh, that’s really completely uncovered,'” he said.
Instead, with the world set to push past 1.5C of warming, he said the challenge is shifting toward helping people adapt to a harsher, hotter future.
“In addition to mitigation, which will still be the biggest part (of Breakthrough Energy’s investment), we’ll also fund adaptation-related work.” That could include technology to help control forest fires, using coral reef type structures to create barriers to flooding, or development of crop strains that can withstand drought.
SRINAGAR,Dec 20.2022: The police on Tuesday said three militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba including two involved in targeted killings were killed in an early morning encounter with security forces in south Kashmir’s Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.
A police official said acting on specific information about the presence of militants, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by police, CRPF and army in the Munjh Marg area of South Kashmir’s Shopian district last night to track down the militants.
He also said that after plugging off all the possible escape routes, the security men zeroed in on the target area, where the militants were hiding.
After finding themselves trapped, militants fired on the search party and in the ensuing gunfight, three LeT militants were killed.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar said two of the three slain militants have been identified.
Dec 20,2022:Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur said that the administration has taken significant steps against terrorism at a press conference on Monday.
Thakur in the press conference said, “I can say that an era of peace has come to northeast India.”
Deaths among civilians decreased by 89 percent after 2014 and insurgency in the trouble-torn region witnessed a drop of 80 percent. There is zero tolerance for terrorism in the eyes of the government and has been since 2014, he said.
Additionally, he said that Jammu and Kashmir had seen a 168 percent decrease in terrorism along with 94 percent conviction rate in terror finance.
He asserted that the Modi administration’s policy is to break the back of terrorism. We have done all possible to end terrorism in India. Both our military action in Balakot in 2019 and the surgical strikes in 2016 serve as vivid examples of this.
The North East has entered a period of tranquilly, according to the minister. Since 2014, extremist violence has decreased by 80 percent. Since 2014, 6,000 militants have laid down their arms as per the minister.
“After 2015, left wing extremism incidents have also dropped 265 percent,” said Thakur while listing out several peace accords by the government in northeast India, “What could not be done in the past 75 years in the northeast was done by the Modi government in the past few years.”
We have withdrawn AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) from the majority of the North East, he added. AFSPA was completely eliminated from Tripura and Meghalaya, while it remained only in three districts of Meghalaya, while in Assam as well, it has been taken back from more than 60 percent areas. AFSPA cover and police presence has been reduced from Nagaland and Manipur as well over the past few years, said the minister.
Dec 16,2022:India on Thursday successfully test-fired nuclear-capable ballistic missile Agni-V that can strike targets at ranges up to 5,000 km, marking a significant boost to the country’s strategic deterrence.The test-firing of the missile from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast .
The Agni-V project is aimed at boosting India’s nuclear deterrence against China which is known to have missiles like Dongfeng-41 having ranges between 12,000-15,000 km.
Agni-V can bring almost the entire Asia including the northernmost part of China as well as some regions in Europe under its striking range.
The Agni 1 to 4 missiles have ranges from 700 km to 3,500 km and they have already been deployed.
Wednesday08,2023:Nepal has made it mandatory for all tourists who trek in the country’s Himalayan region to hire local assistance, officials say.
The rule, which will come into effect from April 1, is aimed at ensuring the safety of travellers and creating more jobs, the dpa news agency reported.
Mani Raj Lamichhane, spokesperson for the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the agency behind the decision, on Tuesday said every tourist will have to hire a guide or porter through a registered trekking company.
The new rule will apply to established trekking routes within the purview of the Trekkers’ Information Management System, where each trekker, including free independent trekkers, must obtain permission from the NTB.
The new rule, however, will not affect the climbing industry which has its own set of regulations.
“It will help ensure a safe trekking experience while allowing us to keep track of trekkers and provide timely rescue services in case of any emergency situations, ” Lamichhane said, adding the decision was taken in consultation with the country’s Trekking Agencies’ Association and Joint Tourism Trade Unions Forum.
According to Lamichhane, every year, NTB receives about 40 to 50 cases of missing trekkers along the trail, and authorities often face problems in tracking and rescuing them.
Previously, tourists were allowed to trek solo without local assistance or with unregistered guides or friends.
Nilhari Bastola, the president of the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal, said that the new regulation would benefit both trekkers and the tourism industry.
“The majority of individuals who perish or disappear while trekking are those who go alone without a guide or an understanding of the terrain. These tragedies could have been avoided if they had a local guide,” he said.
Mar 04,2023:The World Health Organization has urged all countries to reveal what they know about the origins of COVID-19 following claims by the United States that the virus was likely leaked from a Chinese laboratory and which has led to furious denials from Beijing.
US Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray told Fox News this week that the FBI had assessed the source of the COVID-19 pandemic was “most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan”, the Chinese city that hosts a virus research laboratory and was the location of the first COVID infections in late 2019.
“If any country has information about the origins of the pandemic, it’s essential for that information to be shared with WHO and the international scientific community,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday.
“Not so as to apportion blame but to advance our understanding of how this pandemic started, so we can prevent, prepare for and respond to future epidemics and pandemics,” the WHO chief said.
The WHO has not abandoned efforts to identify the source of the pandemic, he said.
“WHO continues to call for [China] to be transparent in sharing data and to conduct the necessary investigations and share the results. To that effect, I have written to, and spoken with, high-level Chinese leaders on multiple occasions, as recently as just a few weeks ago.”
The WHO chief also said that “all hypotheses on the origins of the virus remain on the table”.
Chinese officials have angrily denied the FBI’s claim of their country being the origin of the pandemic, calling it a smear campaign against Beijing.
Wray also told Fox News television that China had thwarted efforts to identify the origin of the virus.
“I will just make the observation that the Chinese government … has been doing its best to try to thwart and obfuscate the work here, the work that we’re doing, the work that our US government and close foreign partners are doing,” Wray said.
Politicisation of the search to identify the origin of the virus was making the scientific work harder and the world less safe as a result, Tedros added.
Tedros said there was a moral imperative to find out how the pandemic started, for the sake of the millions who lost their lives to COVID-19 and those living with long COVID.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, said the organisation had reached out to the US mission in Geneva for more information regarding the FBI chief’s claims.
So far, however, they did not have access to the data on which the US reports were based, said Van Kerkhove, who is an infectious disease epidemiologist.
“It remains vital that that information is shared”, to help move the scientific studies forward, she added.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said last week that Beijing had been transparent in the search for the origin of the virus. She countered that the US should look to its own biological laboratories scattered across the world when searching for the virus’s source.
“It is the US who should respond to the world’s questions and concerns over Fort Detrick and its military and biological labs across the world,” Mao said.
“By politicising the issue, the US will not succeed in discrediting China. Instead, it will only hurt the US’s own credibility.”
As of February 21, there have been more than 757 million virus infections and 6.85 million related deaths, according to the WHO’s global COVID-19 trackers. The WHO also acknowledges that the true death toll is far higher.