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Tue, 29 June 2021

Rahul says 'no meeting' scheduled with Sidhu

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23:09 Rahul says 'no meeting' scheduled with Sidhu

A day after Punjab MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu's office claimed he has been called to Delhi for a meeting with Rahul Gandhi, the former Congress president said there is no such meeting.

"There is no meeting. I don't know what fuss you are making...," Gandhi told reporters while leaving his Tughlaq Lane residence.

He was asked if he was meeting Sidhu today, as claimed by the former Punjab minister's office.

Sources said there was no meeting fixed between Gandhi and Sidhu as of now.

However, the sources point out that Sidhu may meet Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra soon.

The two siblings are trying to bring all Congress leaders including Sidhu on a common platform and present a united Congress ahead of elections.

Rahul Gandhi has been meeting leaders from Punjab over the past few days amid the ongoing infighting in Punjab Congress and ahead of an impending revamp of the party and the state cabinet.

The Congress leadership is all set for a revamp of the state unit in Punjab ahead of next year's assembly elections.

Rahul Gandhi has met a number of ministers, MLAs and MPs including Brahm Mohindra, Vijay Inder Singla, Balbir Singh Sidhu and Rajya Sabha member Shamsher Singh Dullo and MLA Lakhvir Singh Lakha.

He has already met state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar and Rajya Sabha member and former Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa.

Sidhu, who had resigned from the Punjab Cabinet after he was divested of the local bodies portfolio in 2019, has been at loggerheads with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. He has attacked the chief minister over the alleged delay in justice in the 2015 incidents of sacrilege and subsequent police firing.

Singh had slammed Sidhu for continuously attacking him over the sacrilege issue and termed the former's outbursts "total indiscipline".

Early this month, Sidhu appeared before a three-member panel set up by the Congress to resolve the infighting within the party's state unit. -- PTI

As many as 45 live cartridges were found near a high-rise building in suburban Goregaon, police said on Tuesday.

A man who spotted them alerted police on Monday night. The cartridges were of 2.5 MM pistol.

A case has been filed against an unidentified person under the Arms Act and police are scanning CCTV footage from the area, an official said. -- PTI

Krishna Ella

22:54 Bharat Biotech chairman given central security cover

Krishna Ella, the chairman of vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech, has recently been provided a "Y" category armed security cover by the Union government, officials said on Tuesday.

Ella, 52, is also the founder of the Hyderabad-based biotechnology company that is manufacturing the Covaxin vaccine approved by India for inoculation against COVID-19.

The company is also engaged in drug discovery, drug development, manufacturing various other vaccines, bio-therapeutics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare products.

The officials said Ella was provided the security cover of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) armed commandos sometime ago given his current profile of spearheading the production of life-saving vaccines and other medical essentials.

About two-three commandos will accompany him whenever he travels to any part of the country under the "Y" category central cover, they said.

The premises of the Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) in the Shameerpet area of Telangana's capital Hyderabad was recently accorded an armed protection cover by the same paramilitary force following approval by the Union home ministry.

"In light of the increased threat perception to the biotechnology company, BBIL is inherently vulnerable to threats from anti-nationals and saboteurs. The CISF will provide a round-the-clock armed security cover to the facility in Hyderabad," a spokesperson of the force had then said.

In April, the Union government had similarly accorded a "Y" category security cover to Adar Poonawalla, the CEO and promoter of the Pune-based Serum Institute of India that manufactures the Covishield vaccine. -- PTI

Google has consistently invested in product changes, resources and personnel as part of its efforts to keep users safe in compliance with the local laws in India, said the tech giant on Tuesday after its deposition before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT over the issue of social media misuse.

Facebook and Google representatives deposed before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology.

Sources said the company officials were told to comply with the new IT rules, government instructions and court orders. The representatives were also conveyed that there are loopholes in their existing data protection and privacy policy mechanism, and were asked to put in place stringent safeguards to protect data privacy and data security of their users.

Google was represented by its Country Head (Government Affairs and Public Policy) Aman Jain and Director (Legal) Gitanjali Duggal, while Facebook India Director (Public Policy) Shivnath Thukral and General Counsel Namrata Singh deposed before the panel on behalf of the social media company.

"We always welcome opportunities to engage in dialogue with the policy makers and share details of our efforts in combating illegal content and ensuring the safety of users across our platforms," a Google spokesperson said.

The spokesperson further stated: "We have consistently invested in significant product changes, resources and personnel, and have made significant progress in balancing the openness of our platforms with the responsibility of keeping the community safe in compliance with the local laws in the country."

Comments from Facebook were not immediately available.

The agenda of the parliamentary panel meeting was on safeguarding citizens' rights and preventing misuse of social/online news media platforms.

Sources said the Committee's Chairman Shashi Tharoor expressed concern about the privacy of woman users of social media platforms. He said he has also received complaints from several women MPs in this regard.

The Parliamentary Committee on IT will also summon representatives of YouTube and other social media intermediaries in the coming weeks over the issue. -- PTI

Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday met Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray amid speculation in state political circles over differences in Maharashtra's ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi government of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance.

The meeting came amid rumours that Shiv Sena is considering a patch-up with the Baratiya Janata Party, its ally of 35 years.

Pawar drove to Varsha, the chief minister's official bungalow in the posh Malabar Hill area in south Mumbai and had a lengthy discussion with Thackeray, sources said.

The meeting comes ahead of the two-day monsoon session of the state legislature, slated in Mumbai from July 5.

The Shiv Sena on Tuesday issued a whip to party legislators to attend the entire two-day proceedings.

There have been differing voices among MVA partners over handling of issues like Maratha quota and OBC reservations.

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole recently said the alliance with the Sena has an "expiry date" and in the next polls, his party will fly solo.

Thackeray had taken a dig at the grand old party saying people would "beat with footwear" those who talk of contesting elections alone without offering solutions to people's problems.

Pawar recently expressed confidence that the MVA government in Maharashtra, which came to power in 2019, will complete its full term and had praised ally Shiv Sena, saying it is the party which one can trust.

His remarks had come against the backdrop of the one-on-one meeting between Thackeray and PM Narendra Modi in Delhi and Pawar's meeting with BJP leader and former CM Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai earlier this month.

Pawar had also said the MVA will do well in the next Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, indicating the three parties may contest the 2024 polls together. -- PTI

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed the landmark of 33 crore, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

A total of 33,25,81,423 vaccine doses have been administered in the country, including over 33.79 lakh (33,79,525) on Tuesday, according to a provisional report compiled at 7 pm.

The ministry said 19,42,308 beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group received the first dose while 78,039 were administered the second dose of the vaccine on Tuesday.

Cumulatively, 8,99,01,981 people in the 18-44 age group have received the first dose and 20,81,948 have been given the second dose of the vaccine since the start of the third phase of the nationwide vaccination drive.

Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have administered the first dose of the vaccine to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries each in the 18-44 age group.

Also, eight states -- Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra have administered the first dose of the vaccine to more than 50 lakh beneficiaries each, the ministry said. -- PTI

Mumbai on Tuesday reported 562 new coronavirus infections, the fifth instance of under-600 case count this month, and 12 fresh fatalities, while 629 patients recovered from the disease, the city civic body said.

With this, the tally of COVID-19 cases jumped to 7,21,526, while the death toll increased to 15,426, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's updated data.

Mumbai has witnessed a decrease in new cases and fatalities as compared to Monday, when the city had registered 608 infections and 18 deaths.

This is the fifth time since the beginning of this month that the financial capital of the county has reported less than 600 COVID-19 cases in a day.

Earlier on June 14, June 15, June 21 and June 22, Mumbai had logged 529, 575, 521 and 570 new cases, respectively.

The BMC said 629 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, pushing the cumulative number of recovered cases to 6,95,425.

Mumbai now has 8,371 active COVID-19 cases.

According to the civic body, so far 71,04,722 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in the city, including 31,769 tests in the last 24 hours.

Mumbai has a COVID-19 recovery rate of 96 per cent, while the average growth rate of cases between June 22 and June 28 was 0.9 per cent, the BMC said.

The case doubling rate in Mumbai is 721 days, as per the data.

Mumbai has 10 active containment zones in slums and 'chawls' (old row tenements) and 79 sealed buildings (where a certain number of residents have been found coronavirus positive), the BMC said.

The city had reported the highest-ever 11,163 COVID-19 cases on April 4, while the most deaths in a day during the second wave -- at 90 -- were recorded on May 1. -- PTI

Niti Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant was on Tuesday given one-year extension till June 2022, according to a Personnel Ministry order.

This is a third extension for the 65-year-old civil servant in the post.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension in tenure of Kant for a further period of one year beyond June 30, 2021 i.e upto June 30, 2022 or until further orders, it said.

He was appointed as the CEO of the National Institution for Transforming India (Niti Aayog) on February 17, 2016, for a fixed two-year term.

Kant was later given an extension till June 30, 2019.

His term was further extended for two years, till this month end, in June 2019. -- PTI

20:49 Palghar mob lynching case: 14 accused get bail

The district court in Thane on Tuesday granted bail to 14 accused arrested in connection with the lynching of two sadhus by a mob in Palghar district of Maharashtra in April 2020.

Additional sessions court (special designated court) judge RS Gupta rejected the bail applications of 18 other accused, counsel Amrut Adhikari said.

The court posted the next date of hearing on July 30 when charges are expected to be framed.

A total of 201 persons were arrested in the case, of which 75 are main accused.

Special public prosecutor Satish Maneshinde is representing the prosecution, while advocate P N Ojha the families of the sadhus.

On April 16, 2020, a mob lynched Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70) and Sushilgiri Maharaj (35) - and their driver Nilesh Telgade (30) at Gadchinchale in Palghar district, 140 km north of Mumbai.

The brutal attack took place amid rumours that child- lifters were roaming in the area during the lockdown.

Chargesheets were filed earlier in the court at Thane. -- PTI

With his recent pro-Modi tweet seen as an attempt of "ghar wapsi" in the Baratiya Janata Party, actor and Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha on Tuesday dismissed the speculations, saying he made the comments as a "humour" and there is no desire to change sides.

Sinha had said in his tweet in Hindi on Sunday that apart from three kinds of COVID variants, there was a fourth type of variant "of people being 'dukhi' (unhappy) with Modi without any reason".

"It was a Sunday humour for entertainment. I make some tweets for fun every Sunday and no political meaning should be derived from them. Neither do I have any feeling to leave Congress and rejoin BJP nor a wish in this regard," the actor-politician told PTI over the phone from Mumbai.

Sinha, who served as a Union minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, had left the BJP and joined the Congress on the eve of 2019 Lok Sabha polls and had unsuccessfully contested from his native Patna Sahib

constituency on a Congress ticket.

Sinha popularly known as "Bihari Babu", had twice won with a handsome margin from the seat on a BJP ticket in 2009 as well as 2014.

However, he lost with a big margin to Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from the constituency in 2019.

Before walking out of the saffron party, Sinha had made several veiled remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home minister Amit Shah.

He used to say that BJP has become "one-man party and two men army" without naming anybody.

With the Congress party losing elections after elections and Sinha himself not seen in any significant role in the grand old party, his comment on Modi is being viewed in political circles as an effort of reaching out to his old

party.

The actor-turned-politician still says that he has been baptised in politics in the BJP and has many "good friends" in the saffron party.

"I had left the BJP disagreeing with the leadership on certain issues like demonetisation and rollout of complicated GST and still stand by it,""he said.

About the future of the Congress party, he said "we should not write off the grand old party on the basis of having lesser numbers of MPs in the last two Parliamentary elections...Congress can bounce back to power...one should not forget that BJP was also a party of two MPs at one time." -- PTI

Authorities in Maharashtra on Tuesday asked those organising Ganesh festivities to keep the height of public idols at four feet and the domestic ones at two feet, and to celebrate in a simple manner amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The festivity, among the most awaited in the state, is scheduled to begin on September 10, but like last year, much of it will be subdued due to the coronavirus outbreak and resultant restrictions set in place by the government, officials in Pune added.

The guidelines issued by the government also make it mandatory for Ganesh Utsav mandals to take permission from local authorities.

"The idols of public Ganesh mandals should be four feet in height and the domestic ones must not be above two feet. People should ideally install metal or marble idols, while those made of shadoo clay must be immersed at home or in artificial tanks. Installation and immersion processions must strictly adhere to COVID-19 norms of masks and social distancing, while display of advertisements and other items that could attract a crowd must be avoided," an official said quoting the guidelines.

The guildelines advised mandals to hold blood donation and social awareness camps, and avoid bhajan-kirtan and other mass programmes at the festivity site.

"The restrictions imposed to contain the outbreak will remain in force and no relaxation will be given during Ganesh Utsav. Mandals should also try to ensure darshan can be obtained by devotees through online mode," the official said.

Mahesh Suryawanshi, a trustee of the famous Shreemant Dagadusheth Halwai Ganapati Temple in Pune said mandals would ensure that festivities take place by adhering to COVID-19 norms, but added that the local administration must be allowed to implement rules as per the outbreak situation in the area. -- PTI

A parliamentary panel has sought Twitter's response on the recent locking of the accounts of Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, sources said on Tuesday.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology has sent a letter to Twitter seeking its response within two days, sources said.

The panel was instructed by its chairman Tharoor to seek reply from Twitter on the blocking of accounts of Prasad and others on its platform, sources said.

Last week, Twitter had blocked Union Information and Technology Minister Prasad from accessing his account which ratcheted up tensions with the government as it came under renewed attack for not following local laws.

Twitter denied Prasad access to his account '@rsprasad' for almost an hour on the grounds that he violated the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, but the minister said the microblogging platform violated new IT rules that require intermediary or a host of user content to give prior notice before locking access.

The IT minister called out Twitter over the brazen arbitrariness and running its "own agenda".

Soon after Prasad flagged the issue, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted that he too had faced something similar.

"Raviji, the same thing just happened to me. Clearly DMCA is getting hyperactive. This tweet has been deleted by @Twitter because its video includes the copyrighted BoneyM song 'Rasputin'," Tharoor tweeted.

Tharoor further said: "As Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, I can state that we will be seeking an explanation from @TwitterIndia for the locking of @rsprasad's & my accounts & the rules & procedures they follow while operating in India".

Prasad lashed out at Twitter, and in a series of posts on rival social media platform Koo said it was apparent that his statements calling out the "high handedness and arbitrary actions" of Twitter, had ruffled feathers. -- PTI

Reports claiming that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with certain Taliban leaders are 'completely false, baseless and mischievous', sources said on Tuesday.

The reaction from sources in New Delhi came after some reports on social media claimed that Jaishankar met certain Taliban leaders, who assured the minister that the outfit's future relations with India will not be based on Pakistan's views and wishes.

"We have seen social media reports claiming that the External Affairs Minister has met certain Taliban leaders. Such reports are completely false, baseless and mischievous," said a source.

The reports emerged as the US looked to complete the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan by September 11, ending a nearly two-decade of its military presence in the war-ravaged country.

In the midst of fast-paced developments relating to the Afghan peace process, a senior Qatari diplomat said at a webinar organised by the Arab Center in Washington, DC recently that he believed the Indian side was engaging with the Taliban as the group could be a key component in the future of Afghanistan. -- PTI

Image only for representation.

18:45 Bengal violence: NHRC team attacked during probe visit

A team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) team was allegedly attacked in West Bengal's Jadavpur on Tuesday when it arrived to investigate alleged incidents of post-poll violence in the state.

According to Atif Rasheed, a member of the NHRC investigation team, the team was attacked by goons.

"During the probe, it has been found that more than 40 houses have been destroyed here. We are being attacked by goons," said Rasheed. -- ANI

18:30 Map distortion: MP govt to act against Twitter

The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to initiate legal action against Twitter for putting up a distorted map of India and other such activities, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra said on Tuesday.

The map, which showed the Union Territories of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir outside India, was noticed on Monday, leading to an uproar by netizens.

Twitter had removed that map on Monday evening.

'Something or other has been going on continuously against the country for a long time. Sometimes unrestrained words are spoken against Bharat Mata and sometimes a wrong map of the country is displayed on Twitter. These issues cannot be taken lightly. The governments at the Centre and the state have taken it seriously,' Mishra said in a statement posted on Twitter.

In another tweet, Mishra said he has directed the state's Director General of Police (DGP) Vivek Johri to investigate the matter and take legal action in this direction.

Mishra said such incidents of speaking against or doing something against 'Bharat Mata' (Mother India) are on the rise.

The map's glaring distortion, which appeared on the career section of the Twitter website under the header 'Tweep Life', had triggered a heavy backlash from netizens on Monday as they demanded strict action against the microblogging platform that has flouted various rules on multiple occasions in the past.

Earlier, Twitter had shown Leh as part of China. -- PTI

Actor Sonu Sood on Tuesday denied any wrongdoing in the distribution of anti-Covid-19 drugs by him, and told the Bombay High Court that he was only helping out those who genuinely needed medicines amid shortages.

The High Court, hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking probe into the distribution of Remdesivir and other drugs by politicians and celebrities like Sood, allowed the actor to intervene in the PIL.

The distribution of medicines as well as oxygen cylinders by politicians and celebrities at a time when even the government was finding it hard to keep up with the demand had raised eyebrows.

The HC had at the previous hearing asked the Maharashtra government to find out if there had been illegal hoarding and unauthorized distribution of drugs.

On Tuesday, a bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni allowed an application filed by Sood through advocate Milan Desai seeking to become a party to the PIL.

In his application, the actor denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the petitioners were trying to destroy his philanthropic work and defame him. Since the onset of the pandemic he had been "relentlessly doing philanthropic work", Sood said.

After the second wave hit in April this year, people were running from pillar to post to get lifesaving medicines as there was a lack of coordination between the places where the medicines were available and those who needed them, the application said.

"Therefore I decided to be a conduit between the two, i.e. connecting bona fide needy people with the places where the aforesaid drugs were available, so that the latter could directly send the requisite drugs to the needy patient, Sood said.

Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, the state's lawyer, had told the HC earlier that the government had initiated inquiry to ascertain the roles played by Sood and Congress MLA from Mumbai Zeeshan Siddique in the procurement and supply of medicines in response to SOS appeals on social media. -- PTI

Actor-host Malaika Arora on Tuesday received her second jab of the coronavirus vaccine. Taking to Instagram, Arora shared pictures of herself from a vaccine centre and thanked the frontline workers for their relentless hardwork. "Like I always say #WeAreInThisTogether. I am going to be safe not just for myself but for you as well. Fully vaccinated," the 47-year-old actor, who took the first dose of the vaccine in April, wrote.

"No words can express the gratitude I have for every single frontline warrior out there. Thank you all for being so amazing," she added.

The 47-year-old had tested positive for COVID-19 last year. The central government launched the nationwide drive in March this year to vaccinate everyone above 60 years of age and those aged between 45 and 59 with co-morbidities. -- PTI

17:52 Monsoon map of India

Monsoon has covered almost all of India except most of Rajasthan and parts of Punjab and Haryana.

The Jammu Air Force station

17:39 Pak role can't be denied in drone attack: Govt

Union Minister of State for Home affairs G Kishan Reddy asserted that Pakistan's role cannot be denied in the Jammu Air Force station attack that was orchestrated through drones at midnight of June 26.

Speaking to ANI Reddy said, "Pakistan is dropping AK-47s and drugs inside the border at night time through drones. We have a long border, despite the fact that our security forces have stopped many drones from entering the Indian side of the border. Whatever drone sees inside of our country land has been destroyed. Our forces will continue doing this work vigorously in the coming days."

"Investigation is underway and the security forces are on high alert, but one cannot deny the role of Pakistan," he added.

MoS Home further added, on the Jammu IAF station attack, "The security forces are discussing the matter at a high level, and some decisions have been taken. As for the drone issue is concerned, the security forces will act properly."

Reddy said, "There is complete peace in Jammu and Kashmir except for the sponsored violence from Pakistan. The investigation is underway."

17:36 Case against Twitter for child porn

More trouble for Twitter. Delhi Police Cyber Cell files a case against Twitter for child pornographic content on their platform. The case has been registered on a complaint by NCPCR (National Commission For Protection of Child Rights).

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday sanctioned Rs 100 crore from the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund (CMPRF) to procure oxygen for treating Covid-19 patients in state-run medical facilities and also to initiate precautionary measures to tackle the possible third wave of coronavirus.

Following an appeal by the chief minister, the government had received Rs 353 crore till date from donors towards the pandemic prevention measures.

From the sum, the government had already allocated Rs 41.40 crore to procure oxygen cylinders, concentrators and other medical equipment from Singapore and other foreign countries. About Rs 25 crore was allotted for purchasing life-saving drugs, including Amphotericin, for the treatment of black fungus -- PTI

Equity indices languished for the second straight session on Tuesday as investors pared back their exposure to riskier assets amid a cautious trend in global markets due to a fresh spurt in COVID-19 cases in many countries.

A weakening rupee and the fiscal impact of the government's new stimulus measures also sapped risk appetite, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 185.93 points or 0.35 per cent lower at 52,549.66. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty tumbled 66.25 points or 0.42 per cent to 15,748.45. Kotak Bank was the top loser among the Sensex constituents, shedding 1.54 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank, Mahindra and Mahindra, SBI and Maruti. On the other hand, PowerGrid, HUL, NTPC, Dr Reddy's, Nestle India and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers, spurting up to 1.75 per cent.

"Despite the government's stimulus package to revive stressed sectors, domestic equities continued to trade weak due to new coronavirus outbreaks in Asia.

Extension of emergency credit guarantee scheme to MSMEs and subsidised financing to small borrowers will be a boost to the microfinance and NBFC sectors.

Investigators searching for clues in the sighting of two drones over an Army station on the outskirts of Jammu city on Monday had pinned hopes on a CCTV image suspecting it to be of the remote control but it turned out to be of a bundle of newspapers. And the two men seen in a grainy CCTV image holding the newspapers in the dead of night and suspected to be terrorists behind the unsuccessful attempt to target the military facility were actually a vendor and a distributor of a regional language newspaper, sources in the security establishment said on Tuesday.

After sentries at the military station in Kaluchak on the outskirts of Jammu city sighted two drones during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday and also fired nearly two dozen rounds, the authorities carried out its internal probe and informed security agencies that a car was seen driven on the road running alongside the defence installation at a very slow speed.

The military station is located on the national highway connecting Jammu with the rest of the country. The occupant of the same car later handed over what was thought by security personnel to be a "remote control" to a motorcycle rider on the opposite side and all this happened in the cover of darkness after 2.40 am on Monday when the second drone was sighted.

The security agencies later managed to identify the car as well as the motorcycle owners from the CCTV footage as investigators continued their probe into the dropping of bombs using drones on a nearby IAF station located at Jammu airport just hours earlier in the first-of-its-kind terror attack in the country.

The person who was driving the car turned out to be the distributor of a vernacular daily while the motorcycle owner was the vendor for the same newspaper and the "remote control" turned out to be a bundle of newspapers which was meant for distribution in remote villages of the Jammu province, the sources said.

Early editions of newspapers are managed for distribution during the night so that they reach far-flung areas. In the backdrop of this development, the police did not register a case and rather made a daily diary entry of the incident but continued with the investigations about the sighting of drones.

16:16 Sensex drops 186 points, Dr Reddy's gains

Equity benchmark Sensex declined 186 points on Tuesday, tracking losses in ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank and Infosys as investors booked profits at higher levels. The 30-share BSE index ended 185.93 points or 0.35 per cent lower at 52,549.66.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty tumbled 66.25 points or 0.42 per cent to 15,748.45.

Kotak Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 1 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, Mahindra and Mahindra, SBI and Axis Bank. On the other hand, PowerGrid, HUL, NTPC, Dr Reddy's and Nestle India were among the gainers.

Tarashankar Bandopadhyay was one of the chosen authors

16:03 India's surprise gift to SCO: 10 literary gems

India on Tuesday presented English, Russian and Chinese translations of 10 classic works of modern literature written by prominent Indian authors in different languages to the headquarters of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri presented the books to SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov at the SCO secretariat here. The SCO is an eight-member economic and security bloc consisting of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. Tuesday's presentation was a follow-up to the announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the SCO Council of Heads of State Summit in Bishkek in 2019 that 10 great works of Indian literature will be translated into Russian and Chinese, which are the official languages of the SCO.

Accordingly, the Sahitya Akademi had commissioned the translation project and completed it by the end of last year. The Indian Embassy here will be distributing the translated books to the Embassies of the SCO member states, Observers, Dialogue Partners and other missions.

The translated books included, Arogyaniketan (Bengali) written by Tarashankar Bandyopadyay, Ordained by Fate (Urdu) by Rajender Singh Bedi, Illu (Telugu) by Rachakonda Vishwanatha Sastry, The Last Exit (Hindi) by Nirmal Varma, Longing for Sunshine (Assamese) by Sayed Abdul Malik, Mystery of the Missing Cap and other short stories (Odia) by Manoj Das, The Last Flicker (Punjabi) by Gurdial Singh, Of Men and Moments (Tamil) by Jayakanthan, Parva: A Tale of War, Peace, Love, Death, God and Man (Kannada) by S L Bhyrappa and The Promised Hand (Gujrati) by Jhaverchand Meghnani.

Presenting the books to Norov, Misri described them as 10 master pieces which he hoped will strengthen the cultural bonds among the SCO member states.

A Sikh woman, who was restored to her family from her alleged kidnapper amid allegations of forced conversion, was Tuesday married off to a man from the Sikh community.

"The girl was married to Sukhbir Singh today. They knew each other and there was no coercion or force used (against the girl), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Delhi president Paramjit Singh told reporters in Srinagar.

He thanked all the people who made the marriage possible. Asked if the 18-year-old woman was already married to a Muslim man following her alleged conversion, he said no marriage had taken place. He appealed to people to maintain the age-old communal harmony in Kashmir.

"We do not want any (anti-conversion) law. The majority community has to take care of the minority community," he added. Singh said the Sikh community wanted to set up a major hospital in Kashmir on a plot owned by Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee.

Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh did not appear before the ED in connection with a money laundering case on Tuesday, citing COVID-19 and his old age, and requested for a virtual interaction on a day suitable for the central agency.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had asked the 71-year-old NCP leader to appear before it at 11 am on Tuesday, after he did not depose before the investigating officer here on Saturday.

Deshmukh had on Saturday sought a fresh date for appearance in the money laundering case related to an alleged multi-crore bribery-cum-extortion racket that led to his resignation from the post of home minister in April this year.

On Tuesday, Deshmukh submitted a letter to the agency through his lawyer Inderpal Singh as authorised representative, in compliance with the summons. In the letter, Deshmukh requested for a copy of the ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) and other documents from the ED.

And while on vaccines, a European Union (EU) official on Tuesday said that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has not received any request for approval of authorisation of the COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield.

Speaking to ANI, the EU official said: "Concerning a possible EMA authorisation for Covishield, as of yesterday, the European Medicine Agency (EMA) stated that it had not received a request for approval. It will examine any such request when received, as per its procedures."

"The EMA does not investigate new drugs on its own, unless it is asked by the relevant companies," he said.

Meanwhile, the official said the member states of the bloc will gradually lift temporary travel restrictions for people from India at their external borders, based on the developments of the health situation pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Serum Institute of India (SII) has requested the government to take up the matter of inclusion of Covishield vaccine in the EU COVID-19 Vaccination Passport with the European Union and other countries, citing this will affect students and business travellers and cause severe disruptions to the Indian and global economy.

As of now none of the three vaccines being used in India are okayed by the EU, which means vaccinated Indian travellers will not be allowed in the EU.

Jab we met

15:15 Cipla gets govt's nod to import Moderna vaccine

India's drug regulator CDSCO has granted restricted emergency use authorisation for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine to pharmaceutical company Cipla.

In a separate communication, Moderna has informed that the US has agreed to donate a certain number of doses of its COVID-19 vaccine through COVAX to the Government of India and has sought approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

Cipla, on behalf of the US pharma major, had requested for import and marketing authorization of these jabs.

CDSCO was in favour of granting permission to Cipla for import of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for restricted emergency use in India considering the pandemic situation in the country and in public interest.

Cipla had filed an application on Monday seeking permission for import of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine referring to DCGI notices dated April 15 and June 1 as per which if the vaccine is approved by the USFDA for EUA, the vaccine can be granted marketing authorisation without bridging trial and assessment of safety data of first 100 beneficiaries of vaccines shall be submitted before rolling out in immunization programme.

A woman has approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection for herself and her family claiming that they are facing life-threats and being witch hunted by the UP police, media and vigilante groups after her willful conversion from Hinduism to Islam.

The woman, who is working in Delhi and belongs to Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, sought protection for her and her family as also her right to privacy, saying that because of her conversion she and her family are being targeted and malicious content is being published in media which should be stopped immediately.

The petitioner (woman) is an adult and she is protected by the Constitution to choose her own faith and she cannot be targeted and harassed for the choice she makes with regard to the religion she follows, the petition said. Advocate Kamlesh Kumar Mishra, who represents the woman, said the petition is likely to come up for hearing on Wednesday.

The plea said the litigant converted to Islam on May 27 in Delhi and since June 23, when she was in Shahjahanpur, she started getting calls from media persons requesting for a meeting which she refused.

It said media persons came to her place without her permission and took her photographs and videos and she started getting calls threatening that her conversion news will be published in media and she would be arrested and demanded money. Thereafter, one of them forcibly took Rs 20,000 while others too tried to extort money from her and her family, the plea alleged, adding that absurd and imaginary details are being reported in media regarding her conversion.

The woman, in her plea, said she gave a complaint to the Delhi Police Commissioner on June 24, seeking immediate intervention for her protection with regard to her conversion to Islam on her own free will and without any threat or coercion from anyone but no action has been taken on her complaint yet. There is no other option other than approaching this court for immediate directions to stop the harassment of the petitioner, said the plea, filed through advocate Kamlesh Kumar Mishra and Nitin Kumar Nayak.

It sought to direct the authorities to ensure that the woman is not taken away from Delhi by force or coercion by any government agency or person and she and her family be granted protection and not harassed or interrogated regarding her conversion. -- PTI

14:50 Freida Pinto preggers

Slumdog Millionaire actress Freida Pinto announced her pregnancy on social media on Monday night. Sharing a set of mushy pictures with fiance Cory Tran, she wrote: "Baby Tran, coming this Fall!". Cory cradled her baby bump in the pictures as the couple beamed from ear to ear.

Congratulations, guys!

14:39 Monsoon Session likely to be held from July 19

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs on Tuesday recommended Monsoon Session of the Parliament from July 19 to August 13. The Monsoon session usually starts in the third week of July and concludes ahead of 15 August.

Earlier this month, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said he believed the monsoon session of the Parliament would be held and all preparations had been made for it.

Om Birla had said that secretariat employees had been vaccinated and 445 members had got themselves inoculated separately.

The construction work for unit 5 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant commenced on Tuesday with the first concrete pouring into the foundation plate of the reactor building, said Rosatom -- the Russian company tasked with building the atomic reactor.

The first concrete pouring into the foundation plate is a critical development in building of a nuclear plant.

"On June 29, an official ceremony was held that was dedicated to the first concrete pouring into the foundation plate of the reactor building for Kudankulam NPP Unit 5 (Republic of India). The concrete pouring commemorated the official commencement of the main stage of the nuclear power plant stage 3 construction. "Due to anti-epidemiological restrictions, the ceremony was held via video conference," the state-run Russian company said in a statement.

The first concrete pouring was preceded by continuous preliminary work --- concrete bedding for foundations of the reactor building, auxiliary reactor building with the main control room, turbine building and power supply building for normal operation, emergency power supply and safety control systems, the company said.

The General Framework Agreement between India and Russia was signed on April 10 2014, on construction of Units 3 and 4. Negotiations between the two countries began over construction of Kudankulam NPP Units 5 and 6 and upon the results of which the agreement was reached that these units would be constructed in compliance with the same design as it was stipulated for Units 3, 4.

On June 1 2017, the credit protocol to the Intergovernmental Agreement of December 5 2008 and the GFA for Kudankulam NPP Units 5, 6 were signed.

"For many years, the Kudankulam NPP construction project has been a symbol of close cooperation between Russia and India. However, we do not want to stop at what had already been achieved.

"Rosatom has all the most advanced nuclear power technologies. Together with our Indian colleagues we are ready to launch the serial construction of the state-of-the-art Generation III+ Russian-designed nuclear power units at a new site in India. It is stipulated by the existing agreements," Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said during the event.

-- PTI

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide at least one crore doses of vaccines against COVID-19 to the state next month, an official said here on Tuesday.

In a letter to the PM, Baghel informed him that 9,98,810 vaccine doses were left in the state, which will be sufficient only for three days, the official from the public relations department said.

"Despite repeated demand, sufficient stock of vaccines is not being provided to the state," the chief minister said in the letter.

Baghel said Chhattisgarh has set a target of administering first dose of the vaccine to all eligible beneficiaries in a month, and requested the prime minister to immediately direct the Union Health Ministry to provide one crore doses to the state in July, the official said.

The chief minister further said the inoculation drive is being carried out at a fast pace in the state where over three lakh people are currently being vaccinated every day.

So far, 71 per cent of frontline personnel and 70 per cent of health workers have received both doses of the vaccine, while 100 per cent of the frontline staff and 91 per cent health workers have received the first dose, he said.

Besides, nearly 80 per cent of the citizens aged 45 and above have been given the first dose, while 16 per cent of beneficiaries in the 18-44 age category have received the first dose, since the vaccination drive commenced for them.

-- PTI

President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for Bharat Ratna Dr Ambedkar Memorial and Cultural Centre in Lucknow. The President laid the foundation stone for the centre, to come up in Aishbagh, at an event in Lok Bhawan.

The event was also attended by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma. Kovind, who is in Lucknow on a two-day visit to the state capital, arrived from Kanpur on Monday morning and will leave for Delhi on Tuesday evening.

Last week, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet had approved a proposal of the state cultural department for construction of the Ambedkar Memorial Cultural Centre in Aishbagh.

No, the Covid jabs do NOT hurt

13:55 Now, rectal bleeding in 5 Covid patients, 1 dead

And just when you thought the 2nd Covid wave was behind us and the Black Fungus cases were declining, this:

The first report of five cases of Cytomegalovirus (CVM) related rectal bleeding in COVID immunocompetent patients "These patients came with abdominal pain & bleeding in stools with nearly 20-30 days after the diagnosis of COVID," says Prof Anil Arora of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

In effect none of these patients were immunologically compromised and therefore were healthy adults, before they contracted Covid.

One of these patients had to have an emergency surgery to remove the right side of the colon and another suffered massive bleeding and severe Covid chest disease and died.

Do remember that doctors and epidemiologists have warned that we need to stay safe and follow Covid protocol even after being fully vaccinated. For those who haven't got their doses, get on the Cowin App and try your luck or walk in to one of the several hospitals offering the facility.

The latest credit push for the pandemic-hit sectors and other relief supports will have an additional 60 bps impact on the fiscal deficit, and can offer an additional liquidity window of Rs 70,000 crore to banks, says a report.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced Rs 1.5 lakh-crore of additional credit for small businesses, more funds for the healthcare sector, loans to tourism agencies and guides, and waiver of visa fees as part of a credit-led package to support the pandemic-hit economy. The package, mostly made up of government guarantees to banks and microfinance institutions for loans they extend to the pandemic-hit sectors, totals up to Rs 6.29 lakh crore together with the previous such packages.

Assuming equal distribution of the new announcement of Rs 1.10 lakh crore, with 50 per cent and 75 per cent guarantee cover and a risk weight of 100 per cent, banks may have a capital relief of around Rs 7,500 crore that can further generate credit of around Rs 70,000 crore, according to an SBI Research analysis.

The fiscal impact of latest announcements and earlier is not linear as a substantial portion of the package is contingent liabilities. Ignoring these, the immediate impact will be slightly over Rs 1.23 lakh crore which will be around 0.6 per cent of the GDP, SBI chief economist Soumya Kanti Ghosh said in the report.

Monday's announcement broadly emphasises four sectors health, tourism, MFIs and agriculture. The other measures announced fine-tune the scope of the already existing arrangements, he said. Under the credit guarantee schemes to further the flow of credit to the weaker sections of the society, guarantees will be provided to banks for loans to new or existing NBFC-MFIs or MFIs for lending up to Rs 1.25 lakh to around 25 lakh small borrowers. Interest rate on such loans will be capped at MCLR plus 2 per cent.

Luxembourg-based medical refrigeration devices firm B Medical Systems on Tuesday said it has joined hands with Dr Reddy's Laboratories for providing reliable cold chain solutions for the pan-India rollout of Sputnik V vaccines.

Under the collaboration, the company will install several hundreds of vaccine freezers across the country for the national roll-out of Sputnik V vaccines, B Medical Systems said in a statement.

Sputnik V, an adenovirus viral vector vaccine, needs specialised storage and is required to be kept at a temperature of -18C or below, necessitating the need for a more stringent vaccine cold chain, it added.

"Under this collaboration, B Medical Systems will offer its vaccine freezers that provide a storage temperature as low as -25C.These units were dispatched by air cargo from Luxembourg to meet the immediate requirement," B Medical Systems said.

As a part of the collaboration, B Medical Systems' freezers will be placed across all major hospital chains in the country this week, it added. "Sputnik V vaccine is highly thermosensitive and B Medical Systems is honored to be partnering with Dr. Reddy's in the roll-out of Sputnik V vaccines. We have worked closely with Dr. Reddy's to put in place a highly reliable vaccine cold chain infrastructure for this," B Medical Systems India CEO Jesal Doshi said.

The company's technology ensures that vaccines stored inside are not exposed to any temperature excursions and are maintained at their fullest efficacy, he added. "Our remote monitoring solutions ensure that there is end-to-end traceability of the storage conditions," Doshi said. Dr Reddy's had launched a limited pilot soft launch in May and will start the full-scale vaccine rollout in the coming days, the statement said. -- PTI

India uses Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V vaccines

12:44 Moderna Covid vaccine seeks approval in India

Moderna seeks regulatory approval for its COVID-19 vaccine in India; Cipla applies for import, marketing authorisation of jabs. The DCGI is likely to approve Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine soon for emergency use in those aged 18 and above. Decision on approval for the same is expected today.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed states and Union Territories to implement the 'one nation, one ration card' scheme by July 31, while asking the Centre to provide dry ration for free distribution among migrant workers till the COVID-19 situation continues.

A bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and M R Shah issued a slew of directions on a plea of three activists seeking directions to the Centre and states to ensure food security, cash transfers and other welfare measures for migrant workers who faced distress again due to curfews and lockdowns in various parts of country during the second wave of COVID-19.

The bench has said ONORC scheme is for welfare of poor citizens as it allows migrant workers to get ration at the place of their work in other states as well where their ration cards are not registered.

The bench directed the Centre to develop a portal with the help of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) for registration of unorganised sector workers for granting them the benefits of welfare schemes by July 31.

It also directed the states, UTs to run community kitchens for migrant workers till the COVID pandemic continues. It asked the Centre to keep allocating foodgrains to the states, UTs for distribution among migrant workers for free till the pandemic situation exists. -- PTI

PM Modi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka in March

12:27 Bangladesh extends closure of borders with India

Amid the worsening COVID-19 situation in Bangladesh, the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led government has extended the closure of borders with India for the next 14 days.

The decision was taken during a virtual inter-ministerial that took place in presence of Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen. Bangladesh closed its border with India on April 26 for two weeks keeping in view the emergence of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in India. Passenger movement at borders has been strictly prohibited during the lockdown.

12:24 Agassi+Graf=Profile Pic

Eight-time Grand Slam champion and 1996 Olympic gold medalist, Andre Agassi shares this loved-up picture with this wife and former world #1 women's tennis player Stefi Graff. It's Agassi's 'new profile pic', as the one-time hottie, posted on Twitter. Between the two of them, they have 30 Grand Slam titles, a whole lot of inspiration and the most heartwarming love story in tennis.

A 45-year-old man was arrested for allegedly feeding his minor daughter beer at Hosdurg in this north Kerala district, police said on Tuesday. Radhakrishnan, a native of Thoyammal here, gave the alcoholic beverage to his eight-year-old daughter while consuming it himself at home on Sunday.

The child suddenly developed uneasiness and started throwing up, following which her mother rushed her to a nearby hospital.

A 45-year-old man was arrested for allegedly feeding his minor daughter beer at Hosdurg in this north Kerala district, police said on Tuesday. Radhakrishnan, a native of Thoyammal, gave the alcoholic beverage to his eight-year-old daughter while consuming it himself at home on Sunday.

The child suddenly developed uneasiness and started throwing up, following which her mother rushed her to a nearby hospital. After being alerted by the hospital authorities, the police came to the spot and recorded the statement of the girl in her mother's presence.

"A case was registered and the father was arrested later based on her statement," a police official said. After being alerted by the hospital authorities, the police came to the spot and recorded the statement of the girl in her mother's presence. "A case was registered and the father was arrested later based on her statement," a police official said.

People queue up to get vaccinated

12:09 2 cases of COVID-19 Delta Plus variant in Karnataka till date

Karnataka health minister K Sudhakar on Monday said that two cases of the Delta Plus variant of Covid-19 have been detected in the state till date and both are asymptomatic.

He also said that except for primary contact, no others contacts of the two patients have got infected with the disease.

Dr Sudhakar said, "As of now we are watchful. Till date we have two cases of Delta Plus variant, both were asymptomatic and none of their contacts were positive except for one primary contact of the Bengaluru infected person. That person is also asymptomatic."

According to the sources, India has over 50 cases of Delta Plus variant, with multiple cases detected in three States - Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra. It has been also traced in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Although there is no data as of now which shows that the Delta Plus variant of COVID-19 is spreading faster than Delta but the former should also be treated as a "variant of concern", said Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar, former Head Scientist of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases, ICMR on Saturday. -- ANI

12:02 SC nod for Central Vista construction

Supreme Court today refused to interfere with the Delhi High Court order challenging the petitions seeking a direction to stop construction around India Gate in the Central Vista Project. The court refused to interfere with the Delhi High Court's order and dismissed the petitions.

11:16 Rajnath to hold meeting on drone attack

Top officials from the Indian Air Force along with other defence officials would be giving a detailed presentation to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the Jammu Air Force Station attack.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was on Tuesday given the charge of investigation into the drone attack on the Jammu air force station. The decision to hand over the probe into the first-of-its-kind terror attack at the Indian Air Force station was taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The investigation into the attack on the Jammu air force station has been handed over to the NIA, a Home Ministry spokesperson said. In what was the first instance of Pakistan-based terrorists deploying drones to strike vital installations, two bombs were dropped at the IAF station in Jammu in the early hours of Sunday, causing minor injuries to two airmen.

The explosions took place around 1.40 am within six minutes of each other. The first blast ripped off the roof of a single-storey building at the technical area of the airport manned by the IAF in Satwari area on the outskirts of the city. The second one was on the ground.

The Congress on Tuesday hit out at the government over the stimulus measures announced by it to support the pandemic-hit economy, with former party chief Rahul Gandhi saying no family can spend the economic package on its daily needs and it was nothing "but another sham".

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced Rs 1.5 lakh crore of additional credit for small and medium businesses, more funds for the healthcare sector, loans to tourism agencies and guides, and waiver of visa fee for foreign tourists as part of the package to support the economy.

Reacting to the government's stimulus package for the economy, Gandhi said, "No family can spend FM's 'economic package' on their living-food-medicine-child's school fees." "It's not a package, but another sham!" he said in a tweet in Hindi.

Update: India has told the UN General Assembly that it is high time the international community called on Pakistan to take "effective and irreversible" actions against terror outfits operating on its soil, asserting that Islamabad should not take the "high road of morality" which is only laden with mines of falsehood.

Hitting out at Pakistan for its "vitriolic diatribe" against India, Special Secretary (Internal Security), Ministry of Home Affairs in the Government of India V S K Kaumudi said: "as expected, the delegation of Pakistan has again resorted to peddling false narratives and making baseless allegations against India."

He was speaking at the 2nd High Level Conference of the Head of Counter Terrorism Agencies of the Member States in the General Assembly on Monday.

"For a nation that engages in sectarian violence against its own minorities and harbors a deep sense of insecurity and orchestrated hatred for India, there is nothing new that we could have expected from this delegation," he said at the session Global scourge of terrorism: assessment of current threats and emerging trends for the new decade.'

He noted that the 7th review of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (GCTS) is over and Pakistan's false narrative was summarily negated by the UN membership.

"Its high time that the international community called upon Pakistan to take effective, verifiable and irreversible actions against terror outfits operating on the territory under its control and not take the high road of morality which is only laden with mines of falsehood," Kaumudi said, according to a statement issued by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN.

According to a UN report published last year, an estimated 6,000-6,500 Pakistani terrorists are in neighbouring Afghanistan, most of them with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, posing a threat to both the countries.

The 26th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning ISIS, al-Qaeda and associated individuals and entities said that the terror group al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) operates under the Taliban umbrella from Nimruz, Helmand and Kandahar provinces of Afghanistan. The report had come over a fortnight after India at the UN asked Pakistan to introspect as to why it is universally acknowledged as the "international epicentre" of terrorism and the best safe haven for terrorists, while urging the global community to call upon Islamabad to take sustained, verifiable and irreversible actions against terror outfits operating from its soil.

VSK Kaumudi at the UN Security Conference

10:46 India@UN: Drones big challenge for security

VSK Kaumudi, Special Secretary (Internal Security) at the UN high-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies:

-- Misuse of information and communication technology and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes emerged as the most serious terrorism threats and will decide counter-terrorism paradigm going forward.

-- Add-on to existing worries is drones use. Being low-cost option and easily available, utilization of aerial/sub-surface platforms for sinister purposes by terrorist groups including targeted attacks become imminent danger and challenge for security agencies.

-- Possibility of the use of weaponized drones for terrorist purposes against strategic and commercial assets call for serious attention by the member states. We have witnessed terrorists using UAS to smuggle weapons across borders.

PM Narendra Modi to chair Council of Ministers meet tomorrow.

This is the first meeting since April, which was held virtually amid the devastating 2nd Covid wave.

The night sky lights up from the fire

10:33 Fire at furniture shop in Delhi

A fire broke out at a furniture shop in Timber Market in West Delhi's Kirti Nagar in the early hours of Tuesday, officials said. No casualty was reported in the incident, the Delhi Fire Services officials said. A call about the fire was received around 3 am after which eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot, a senior fire official said. The fire was doused within four hours, he said. PTI

The government on Tuesday handed over the probe into the drone attack on the Jammu air force station to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Explosives were dropped on the Indian Air Force station in Jammu by two drones in the early hours of Sunday, injuring two personnel. The investigation into the attack on the Jammu air force station has been handed over to the NIA, a Home Ministry spokesperson said. -- PTI

10:07 Achche din! Petrol@Rs 104.90 in Mumbai

Petrol and diesel prices on Tuesday touched a record high in Mumbai as it is retailing at Rs 104.90 per litre in the city and diesel at Rs 96.72 a litre.

As compared to Monday, petrol have become costlier by 34 paise per litre and diesel by 30 paise per litre.

In New Delhi, the petrol is now being sold at Rs 98.81 per litre and diesel prices and diesel at Rs 89.18 a litre today.

On Monday, petrol was available at Rs 98.46 per litre and diesel at Rs 88.90 per litre in the national capital.

The US has announced an additional $41 million assistance to help India respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen the country's preparedness for the future health emergencies, taking the total aid to more than USD 200 million.

In April and May, India struggled with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new cases. Hospitals were reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

"India came to the assistance of the United States during this country's time of need, and now the United States stands with the people of India as they continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic," the US Agency for International Development said on Monday.

USAID announced an additional $41 million in support to help India respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen the country's preparedness for COVID-19 and future health emergencies.

USAID's assistance will support access to COVID-19 testing, pandemic-related mental health services, timely referrals to medical services, and access to healthcare in remote areas, the independent agency of the US federal government primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance said.

Through this additional funding, USAID will continue to partner with India to strengthen healthcare supply chains and electronic health information systems, support its vaccination efforts, and mobilize and coordinate private sector relief, it said.

USAID has contributed more than $200 million for India's COVID-19 relief and response efforts since the pandemic began, including more than $50 million in emergency supplies and training for more than 214,000 frontline health workers on infection prevention and control, benefitting more than 42 million Indians, according to a media release.

-- PTI

India on Tuesday reported 37, 566 new coronavirus disease infections, while 907 people lost their lives in the last 24 hours, according to the Union health and family welfare ministry.

The new additions to the country's Covid-19 tally are lower than that reported on Monday when 46,148 new infections were recorded in the previous 24 hours.

The number of fatalities fell in 24 hours since 979 died due to Covid-19 on Monday, according to the health ministry's dashboard at 8 am.

The Covid-19 tally of the country now stands at 30,316,897 and the death toll has reached 397,637, the update by the ministry showed.

The number of recoveries reported in the last 24 hours amounted to 56,994. On Monday, the number of patients who recovered from the disease was 58,578. The recovery rate of the country is at 96.80 per cent.

The active caseload of the country declined to 552659 after Tuesday's inputs. Active cases in India account for 1.89 per cent of the total cases.

The health ministry also claimed on Monday the country's testing capacity has been further ramped up. Till date, more than 600 million tests have been done to detect the viral disease in the country, as of Monday, according to data.

09:11 Sidhu to meet Rahul, Priyanka in Delhi today

Former Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu will be in Delhi on Tuesday to meet AICC leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The meeting comes amid redoubled efforts by the Congress to quell infighting within its Punjab unit.

Earlier this month, Sidhu had appeared before a three-member panel set up by the Congress to resolve the infighting within Punjab Congress. Now, his meeting with Rahul Gandhi comes after the former AICC chief has already met over two dozen party leaders from Punjab.

While there have been reports that Sidhu is in the reckoning for the PPCC chiefs post, the party has only said that it has many roles for Sidhu.

According to sources, Tuesdays meeting is crucial to decide the course of action.

Day after an attempt to target a military installation with drones was foiled by soldiers, another drone was spotted near Sunjwan military station in Jammu.

The Indian Army on Monday had said troops fired at two drones found hovering over the Ratnuchak-Kaluchak military areas, a day after two drones dropped bombs at an Indian Air Force station in Jammu.

Twitter India chief Manish Maheshwari has been named in an FIR in Uttar Pradesh over an incorrect map of India.

This is the second FIR against Maheshwari this month in UP as troubles grow for the social media giant in the country.

The distorted map -- displayed in the "Tweep Life" section of Twitter's website -- was removed Monday after it was flagged by a user. It showed Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh outside India, triggering outrage.

A mix-and-match approach to COVID-19 vaccines -- using different brands of jab for first and second doses -- gives good protection against the pandemic virus, a UK study has found.

The Com-Cov trial looked at the efficacy of either two doses of Pfizer, two of AstraZeneca, or one of them followed by the other.

All combinations worked well, priming the immune system, the BBC quoted the study as saying on Monday.

This knowledge could offer flexibility for vaccine rollout, the report quoted experts as saying.

The UK's deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, said there was no reason to change the current successful same dose vaccine schedules in the UK, however, given vaccines were in good supply and saving lives.

But he says it might be something to look at in the future: "Mixing doses could provide us with even greater flexibility for a booster programme, while also supporting countries who have further to go with their vaccine rollouts, and who may be experiencing supply difficulties."

Two doses are important to give the fullest protection and teach the body to make antibodies and T cells to block and kill the deadly virus.

Some countries are already using mixed doses. Spain and Germany are offering the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines as a second dose to younger people who have already received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, following concerns about rare but serious blood clots, rather than about efficacy.

The Com-Cov study, which looked at giving the doses four weeks apart in 850 volunteers aged 50 and above, found that an AstraZeneca jab followed by Pfizer induced higher antibodies and T cell responses than Pfizer followed by AstraZeneca.

Both of these mixes induced higher antibodies than two doses of AstraZeneca, the report said.

The highest antibody response was seen after two doses of Pfizer, and the highest T cell response from AstraZeneca followed by Pfizer, it said.

Rahul says 'no meeting' scheduled with Sidhu

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