What animosity do these so called protesters have with India’s national flag? I am reiterating it again: These are not farmers. This is Shaheen Bagh 2.0 and should be crushed using force.

As farmers from across north India continue protesting the new farm reforms at the borders of Delhi, an image of Sikh protesters stepping over India’s national flag is doing the rounds on social media to insinuate that the ongoing protests have been “hijacked” by anti-India elements.  However, contrary to the claim, we traced the viral image to a protest by the Sikh community in the United States which happened in or before 2013.  CLAIM The aforementioned image is massively viral on Facebook and Twitter with the same misleading claim.  A version of the claim on Facebook reads: “तथाकथित इन किसानआंदोलनकारियों को राष्ट्रीय झंडा से क्यों दुश्मनी है।इसलिए बार-बार बोल रहा हूँ कि ये किसान आंदोलन नही शाहीनबाग 2 का प्रयोग कर रहा है इसे शक्ति से कुचलना चाहिए।” [Translation: What animosity do these so called protesters have with India’s national flag?  I am reiterating it again: These are not farmers.  This is Shaheen Bagh 2. 0 and should be crushed using force. ] WHAT WE FOUND We ran a reverse image search on the viral photo and came across a Facebook post dated 10 August 2014 which carried the same image.  The image was also found in a tweet from 2014 and blogpost from 2013.  Next, we searched Google with “Khalistani Youth insulting Indian Flag” and narrowed the search to a duration between 1 January 2013 - 31 December 2014.  This directed us to a YouTube video uploaded by a channel called Khalsa Foundation USA on 19 August 2013.  At 5 minute 54 seconds counter into the video, we saw the same man who can be seen standing in the viral image.  While The Quint hasn’t been able to independently verify the event where the video was recorded, it has been on the internet since 2013 — much before the ongoing farmers’ agitation started.


Maharashtra reported 9,601 COVID-19 cases and 322 deaths today, taking total cases to 4,31,719 including 2,66,883 recoveries and 15,316 deaths. Number of active cases stands at 1,49,214 out of which 46,345 cases are in  Pune: State Health Department https://t.co/SX3hobl7cS

Maharashtra’s Covid-19 tally spiked by 9,601 new cases to 4,31,719 on Saturday, the state health department said. With 322 fatalities, the toll went up to 15,316, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said. A total of 10,725 patients were discharged in the day, raising the count of recovered cases to 2,66,883. Maharashtra now has 1,49,214 active cases. Mumbai city reported 1,047 new cases, taking the tally to 1,15,331 while suburbs added 2,995 new cases. The death toll in Mumbai now stands at 6,398. The number of cases in Mumbai Metropolitan Region reached 2,42,778 with 9,766 fatalities, it said. A total of 21,94,943 people have been tested so far in the state for Covid-19, the department said.


Democrats pivot to health care as Trump attacks 'Obamacare' https://t.co/sUt1NZtHzD https://t.co/ToHtADBa2V

    President Donald Trump’s latest escalation of his years-long bid to kill Obamacare has given Democrats running for president in 2020 a new opening to assail Trump – and to sell their own visions of expanded health coverage.

    The move by the Justice Department – telling a federal appeals court on Monday that the Affordable Care Act should be struck down in its entirety – shifts the political lens back to the issue that helped bolster Democratic victories in the 2018 midterms: health care – and specifically, Republican efforts to undercut President Barack Obama’s signature law.

    Across the board, Democratic contenders lambasted the Trump administration’s move.

    “It’s about playing politics with people’s public health,”  Sen.  Kamala Harris from California said on MSNBC.

Trump savors Mueller victory, but opens new 2020 front with Obamacare fight

    Sen.  Bernie Sanders of Vermont tweeted that Trump’s administration wants to “throw millions of Americans off health insurance and put lives at risk.  We will fight back. ”

    Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said on Twitter that for those who benefit from the Affordable Care Act, “it is now the official position of the White House to take away your health coverage, with no sign of a plan to help you if they win and you lose. ”

    And Massachusetts Sen.  Elizabeth Warren tweeted, “Health care is a basic human right, and we fight for basic human rights. ” Former Texas Rep.  Beto O’Rourke vowed on Twitter to “protect the care of those whose lives depend on it. ”

    Of course, the 2020 field itself is divided on how to expand health care access, with some candidates advocating single-payer programs that would eliminate private insurance and others seeking to allow people to buy into Medicare.

    But by making another push to kill Obamacare, Trump and his administration have given candidates a set of health care policies around which they can coalesce – including ensuring coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, banning yearly lifetime limits and allowing children to remain on their parents’ insurance until age 26.

    On debate stages and in town halls, the entire Democratic field is likely to be “spending a good chunk of their time talking about how they want to maintain and improve health care for all Americans,” said Anne Caprara, a veteran Democratic strategist who is now Illinois Gov.  J. B.  Pritzker’s chief of staff.  “And that’s an enormous win for Democrats overall. ”

    “There’s a conversation going on about Medicare for All and public options, but I think, frankly, people spend way more time focusing on that on Twitter than they do out in the electoral base,” she said.  “The Affordable Care Act is popular with Democratic voters – very popular.  Nobody wants to see it repealed. ”

    Angel Padilla, policy director of the progressive political group Indivisible, said Tuesday’s move would animate the Democratic base and send “another signal that this is why the 2020 election matters.

    “It’s about people’s lives and it’s about health care,” he said.

    Trump’s latest effort to undo Obamacare will also raise the stakes of Democrats’ intra-party debate over whether to pursue a single-payer health system that eliminates private insurers or set that long-term goal aside in favor of incremental steps toward universal coverage.

    A Sanders aide said the administration’s move elevates what the Vermont senator’s camp saw as one of his top issues.

    “I don’t know what it says about other candidates, but I think that it plays to his strengths as a candidate because he has a very clear message about health care and about the need to guarantee health care to every American as a right, not a privilege,” the Sanders aide said.

    The Sanders camp’s view is that a world in which health insurers have a profit-making incentive is not sustainable.

    “As long as you have private insurance companies as a part of that equation, you’re going to have a system that is not purely interested in making people healthy and doing it in the most cost-effective way possible,” the aide said.

    Supporters of Medicare for All argue that with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican-appointed judges in the way, anything short of a revolutionary change would have little hope of advancing.

    Other Democratic presidential candidates, though, have argued that a more narrow approach is all that’s politically feasible.

    O’Rourke has touted legislation by Illinois Rep.  Jan Schakowsky and Connecticut Rep.  Rosa DeLauro that would move everyone who doesn’t already have private insurance from their employers into Medicare – and allow those who do have private insurance the option of buying into Medicare instead.

    Sen.  Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota said in a recent CNN town hall that she wants to “build on the work of the Affordable Care Act. ”

    She said Medicare for All “could be a possibility in the future,” but that she is looking for “something that will work now. ”

    Whatever their differences, Democrats are unanimous in opposing Trump’s pushes to undercut Obamacare, said Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

    “But going forward and now, there is acknowledgment that there are shortcomings with the current law.  Not everybody has coverage.  Not everybody is eligible for help who needs it.  We’ve got other instability that has been initiated or aggravated by the administration’s actions and by the actions of state officials that are hoping to undo or destabilize the law,” Pollitz said.

    “This is going to be a prominent issue throughout the campaign: what direction makes sense.  And also, is one direction the answer? ” she said.  “Do (the Democrats) define themselves by this one approach or could they lay out a path that perhaps would have some incremental steps along the way? ”
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Third consignment of oxygen concentrators, respirators reaches India from Israel

https://t.co/p0Q3ZxLEEn

#COVID19 https://t.co/RiVEQqnvTk

India received a consignment - third so far - of life-saving medical equipment from Israel, including over 1300 oxygen concentrators and 400 respirators.  These equipment were airlifted from Israel and reached India on Sunday night. So far, the government of Israel has sent a total of 60 tonnes of medical supplies, three oxygen generators, 1710 oxygen concentrators and 420 ventilators to India. “The State of Israel is happy to stand solidly side by side with India as a true friend and a strategic partner in this hour of need.  In the last few days, we have successfully airlifted three different consignments of life-saving medical supplies to India.  This includes 60 tonnes of advanced medical equipment and several oxygen concentrators.  More consignments carrying further medical aid will arrive for the people of India in coming days.  The friendship between both countries is strong and collaboration during the Covid-19 crisis will only make it stronger,” said Dr Ron Malka, ambassador of Israel to India. The medical aid arrived in three different consignments on May 4, May 7 and May 9 via Indian Air Force (IAF) aircrafts and a commercial flight. The Israeli ministry of foreign affairs along with the National Security Council, health ministry, finance ministry, and control centre, together with full coordination with the Indian government through the Indian embassy in Israel made the delivery of the medical aid possible. In the first outbreak of Covid-19 in Israel, India had helped Israel, and within this framework approved the air delivery of masks, gloves, and raw materials for medications to Israel, and also helped arrange the repatriation of its citizens. Israel responded by reciprocating the significant gesture. The IAF has deployed 42 transport aircraft for Covid-19 relief tasks, including 12 heavy lift and 30 medium-lift aircraft. "IAF has deployed 42 transport aircraft for Covid relief tasks including 12 heavy lift and 30 medium lift aircraft.  They are used to bring in relief measures, personnel and material from abroad," said Air Vice Marshal M Ranade.


Uttar Pradesh CM and BJP leader Yogi Adityanath holds a roadshow in Uluberia ahead of the third phase of #WestBengalPolls, scheduled on April 6th. https://t.co/oWYML0ijxd

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday kick-started a three-day extravaganza to mark ‘UP Diwas’ by announcing ‘UP Gaurav Samman’ and a host of other schemes and awards.  The CM said the fourth edition of the ‘UP Diwas’ will be celebrated as a mark of respect for the people of the state for their resilience, sense of teamwork and ability to perform in adversity. Yogi also gave away several awards on the occasion - Laxmibai awards (to sportswomen) and Laxman awards (sportsmen), Gokul awards to milk producers, Vishwakarma awards to workers and artisans, scholarships to students, and also launched UP Geet (a song) sung by Kailash Kher.  He launched ‘Udyam Sarathi’ mobile app for employment and announced ‘Abhyudaya’ coaching centres to come up in the state soon for the benefit of youths to prepare for competitive exams. Addressing the gathering at Avadh Shilpgram, Yogi said the strong resolve shown by the state during the Covid pandemic has been exemplary and a matter of pride. “It came as no surprise that Uttar Pradesh received accolades from foreign countries and WHO for the commendable work done in Covid management.  It was all due to teamwork and strong resolve of everyone involved in the fight against Covid,’’ he said. Spelling out ‘Mission Rozgar’ for employment generation, Yogi said: “Four lakh youths have got government jobs during the last three-and-a-half years.  Another 15 lakh were facilitated to get private jobs while 1. 5 crore youths were added to employment through investment and about 15 crore youth got self-employment by way of various schemes of the Centre and the state. ”“This year the social welfare department has identified over 1. 43 lakh youths who have excelled in various fields and has given them scholarships.  From this year, we will be identifying three to five people who have given a new identity to the state in the country as well as globally, and we will be honoring them with the ‘UP Gaurav Samman,’ the CM said, adding that the ‘Vishwakarma Samman’ was instituted in the 2nd edition of UP Diwas. Delving into history, Yogi said it was never celebrated despite the fact that on January 24, 1950, a notification was issued in this regard.  He termed it ‘unfortunate’ that no previous government ever thought of glorifying the past of the state by celebrating the day. On Covid vaccine, Yogi said: “Besides people of the country, we are also giving it to many countries like Brazil, Bhutan, Nepal, Mauritius, Bangladesh and others. ”


Rep. Adam Schiff tells @ThisWeekABC congressional Democrats "may" take up impeachment in the wake of special counsel Mueller's report, and that the decision will be made based on "what is the best thing for the country." https://t.co/nbAq66rlG6 https://t.co/SMLHcZdAF9

  Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that President Donald Trump would have been indicted in the Mueller investigation if not for a long-standing Department of Justice rule that shields a sitting president from indictments.

  “I think there’s enough there that any other person who had engaged in those acts would certainly have been indicted,” Clinton said at the Time 100 summit Tuesday.  “But because of the rule in the Justice Department that you can’t indict a sitting president, the whole matter of obstruction was very directly sent to the Congress. ”

  The Justice Department, including special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, has followed the Office of Legal Counsel’s guidance from 2000 stating that “the indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions. ”

Mueller had everything he needed to charge Trump with obstruction, but didn't

  Clinton pointed to the obstruction section of the redacted Mueller report released last week, saying it “could not be clearer” in compelling Congress to act.

  “Basically what I thought it was saying is, ‘Look, we think he obstructed justice – here are 11 examples of why we think he obstructed justice, but we’re under the control of the Justice Department, and their rule is you can’t indict,’ ” she said.

  “But we do have checks and balance in America, and there is this thing called the Congress,” Clinton continued.  “I mean you could not be more explicit than, ‘Please, look at this.  You may look at it and conclude that it doesn’t rise to an impeachable offense – that’s your job – but I’m giving this to you. ’”

  Mueller’s team investigated several specific instances of potential obstruction of justice in the report.  Prosecutors ultimately did not make a decision on whether the president had obstructed justice, but did not exonerate him of criminal conduct.

  Prosecutors also determined that Congress still has the ability to find the President obstructed justice, writing: “With respect to whether the President can be found to have obstructed justice by exercising his powers under Article II of the Constitution, we concluded that Congress has the authority to prohibit a President’s corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice. ”

  The Democratic Party has split on whether the special counsel’s report warrants lawmakers beginning impeachment proceedings against the President, with some 2020 Democratic presidential candidates – like Sens.  Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kamala Harris of California and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro – supporting the call while party leadership seems to have tamped down plans.

  When asked on Tuesday about impeaching Trump, Clinton said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is “right to be cautious,” saying impeachment proceedings should “be something undertaken in a really serious, diligent way, based on evidence. ”
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Delhi Metro rail service to remain closed till March 31st, due to Coronavirus https://t.co/T1NrYs7TzM

The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd said on Sunday it will close its services till March 31 as a precautionary measure to prevent any outbreak of Covid-19 even as the Indian Railways decided it will not operate any of its passenger trains across the country till the end of this month. “There will be no Metro services from tomorrow (Monday) till 24 hours (midnight) of 31st March, 2020,” Kolkata Metro tweeted. Kolkata Metro is one of the lifelines of the city carrying around 630,000 passengers every day.  The footfall, however, went down after people started staying indoors and avoided public transport.  On March 16, the number of Metro passengers dropped to around 520,000.  At least four positive cases of coronavirus have been reported from West Bengal so far.  Nearly 21,000 citizens have been kept under hospital and home surveillance in the state. The West Bengal government had requested the ministry of railways to stop all trains from entering the state till March 31 to shield the state from any potential carriers of Covid-19 from outside.  The state also put a ban on interstate bus movement to contain the outbreak of the disease. The number of Covid-19 patients soared to 341 and two more people who had contracted the infection died in Maharashtra and Bihar.


READ: Attorney General William Barr’s full letter to Congress regarding special counsel Robert Mueller's report. https://t.co/HFuWQa3RKb https://t.co/7hmTeGVfZ5

  Roughly three weeks ago the special counsel’s team told Attorney General Bill Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that Robert Mueller would not be reaching a conclusion on whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice, according to a source familiar with the meeting.

  The source said that conclusion was “unexpected” and not what Barr had anticipated.

  Barr released a four-page summary on Sunday of Mueller’s principal conclusions, writing that the special counsel “did not draw a conclusion – one way or another – as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction. ”

  “Instead,” Barr explained, “for each of the relevant actions investigated, the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the Special Counsel views as difficult issues of law and fact concerning whether the President’s actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction. ”

  News of Mueller’s decision to punt on the crucial question of whether the President’s actions amounted to obstruction of justice was particularly notable given that he never received a sit down interview with Trump to assess his state of mind, despite having considered issuing a subpoena for his testimony.

  And whether expected by Justice officials or not, the new timeline now emerging means that Barr had a head start on developing his own analysis on obstruction of justice well before Mueller delivered his confidential report to the attorney general on Friday.  Rosenstein’s office has also been heavily involved in overseeing the investigation since he appointed the special counsel in May 2017.

  Barr explained in his summary to Congress that after reviewing Mueller’s report and consulting with Rosenstein, he concluded that based on the evidence developed during the special counsel’s investigation and federal charging guidelines, the Justice Department couldn’t make a prosecutable case against the President for obstruction.  And that conclusion was reached without regard to the Department’s generally recognized policy of not indicting a sitting president.

  The meeting between Justice officials and the special counsel’s office wasn’t about obstruction alone, the source added, and the special counsel’s team asked for more time to finish their work for administrative reasons, which was granted.

  Trump and the White House did not know that Mueller had told Barr that he would not come to a conclusion on obstruction, a White House official told CNN Monday night.

This story has been updated.

CORRECTION: This headline has been updated to reflect that the special counsel’s team told Attorney General Bill Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that Robert Mueller would not be reaching a conclusion on obstruction of justice.

  CNN’s Jim Acosta contributed to this report.
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Tamil Nadu reported 5,870 new COVID-19 cases, 5,859 discharges and 61 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking active cases to 51,583, discharges to 3,98,366 and death toll to 7,748: State Health Department https://t.co/uHpjtHyrlg

Sep 08, 2021-Wednesday

Metro cities -  Delhi, Mumbai,
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Other cities -  Noida,
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											Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Bhopal
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Maharashtra Police reports 258 fresh Covid-19 cases, two deathsPortugal sees highest daily increase in Covid-19 cases since MayHimachal Pradesh’s Covid-19 tally crosses 7,000; death toll at 52Get tested for Covid-19 at the earliest: Punjab CM's appeal to peopleDelhi records highest spike in cases in 71 days; death count 4,5381,636 new coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh, 30 deaths, 1,392 recoveries1,311 new cases push Gujarat’s Covid-19 tally to 1,03,006Maharashtra govt wants 50 per cent oxygen production reserved for medical useChandigarh's Covid-19 tally crosses 5,500; death toll at 69J-K logs highest single-day spike of 1,251 Covid-19 casesFrance expects more severe coronavirus cases in next two weeksTamil Nadu registers nearly 5,900 Covid-19 cases in last 24 hours, active cases climb to 51,583Kerala logged 2,655 new Covid-19 cases and 11 deaths in the last 24 hours: CM VijayanNepal’s Covid-19 tally crosses 45,000; death toll at 280Pope set to make first trip since Covid pandemic to saint's townWith months into the pandemic, the Covid-19 is still raging around the world and have kept the leaders of countries on their toes for carrying out the preventing measures.  Worldwide there are 26,772,042 million coronavirus cases and 878,061 confirmed deaths, according to worldometer. Click here for full Covid-19 coverageIndia on Saturday registered highest single-day spike with 86,432 new Covid-19 cases; death toll reaches 69,561.  Total tally surge past 4 million-mark.  India may overtake Brazil sometime in the next two weeks if the cases continue to grow at the same pace. In a major development, Indian Railways on Saturday said that 80 new special trains will start from September 12 and reservations for the same will begin from September 10. Follow live updates here:Maharashtra Police reports 258 fresh Covid-19 cases, two deathsWhile two Maharastra Police cops lost their lives fighting the deadly Covid-19, 258 more security force personnel have tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, an official said on Saturday.  The total number of cases in the police force has reached 16,401, including 2,789 active cases, 13,446 recoveries and 166 deaths, according to the police force, reports ANI.  Portugal sees highest daily increase in Covid-19 cases since MayPortugal reported 486 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, its biggest daily increase since the week its lockdown was lifted in May.  The increase brought the cumulative total to 59,943, the health authority DGS said, reports Reuters.  Himachal Pradesh’s Covid-19 tally crosses 7,000; death toll at 52As many as 188 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Himachal Pradesh, taking the total number of cases in the state to 7,018.  The total cases include 1,978 active cases, 4,941 recoveries and 52 deaths, reports ANI.  188 new #COVID19 positive cases and 21 recoveries reported in the state today.  Total number of cases rise to 7018 including 1978 active cases, 4941 recoveries and 52 deaths: Himachal Pradesh Health Department pic. twitter. com/jStYOTVJvOGet tested for Covid-19 at the earliest: Punjab CM's appeal to peoplePunjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday appealed to the people of the state to get themselves tested for coronavirus at the earliest, saying any delay could prove fatal for them, reports PTI.  Delhi records highest spike in cases in 71 days; death count 4,538Delhi recorded 2,973 fresh Covid-19 cases on Saturday, the highest single-day spike here in 71 days, as the tally in the city mounted to over 1. 88 lakh, while the death toll climbed to 4,538, authorities said, reports PTI.  1,636 new coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh, 30 deaths, 1,392 recoveriesMadhya Pradesh on Saturday recorded 1,636 new coronavirus cases, taking the total count in the state to 71,880, health officials said.  The coronavirus death toll rose to 1,543 after 30 patients succumbed since Friday evening, they said, reports PTI.  1,311 new cases push Gujarat’s Covid-19 tally to 1,03,006As many as 1,311 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Gujarat on Saturday, taking the state's tally to 1,311 new cases push Gujarat’s Covid-19 tally to 1,03,006.  The death toll reached 3,094 after 16 new fatalities were recorded.  The active cases in the are not at 16,366 whereas 83,546 have been recovered so far, reports PTI.  Maharashtra govt wants 50 per cent oxygen production reserved for medical useThe Maharashtra government has proposed to the Centre that 50 per cent of the oxygen production in the state be reserved for medical use in view of the coronavirus pandemic, health minister Rajesh Tope said, reports PTI.  Chandigarh's Covid-19 tally crosses 5,500; death toll at 69Chandigarh on Saturday reported 234 cases and one fatality due to Covid-19, which took the tally to 5,502.  The active cases and death toll are at 2,140 and 69 respectively, reports ANI.  J-K logs highest single-day spike of 1,251 Covid-19 casesJammu and Kashmir on Saturday registered its highest single day spike of 1,251 Covid-19 cases , pushing the union territory's tally to 42,241.  The total cases include 9,547 active cases, nearly 32,000 recoveries and 770 deaths, reports PTI.  France expects more severe coronavirus cases in next two weeksFrance must stay vigilant as more people will be hospitalised in intensive care units in the next two weeks, reflecting a flare-up in Covid-19 infections in recent days, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Saturday, reports Reuters.  Tamil Nadu registers nearly 5,900 Covid-19 cases in last 24 hours, active cases climb to 51,583As many as 5,870 cases and 61 deaths due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) disease were recorded in Tamil Nadu in the last 24 hours, pushing active cases to 51,583, discharges to 3,98,366 and death toll to 7,748, reports ANI.  Tamil Nadu reported 5,870 new COVID-19 cases, 5,859 discharges and 61 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking active cases to 51,583, discharges to 3,98,366 and death toll to 7,748: State Health Department pic. twitter. com/uHpjtHyrlgKerala logged 2,655 new Covid-19 cases and 11 deaths in the last 24 hours: CM VijayanKerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said that the state recorded 2,655 new Covid-19 cases and 11 deaths in the last 24 hours adding that the total active cases have climbed to 4,459, reports ANI.  Kerala recorded 2,655 new COVID-19 cases & 11 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking active cases to 4,459: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan pic. twitter. com/BA1YlnLiYHNepal’s Covid-19 tally crosses 45,000; death toll at 280Nepal's Covid-19 tally crossed the 45,000-mark on Saturday after 1,041 new cases were reported ,a senior health official has said.  The country also recorded 9 fresh coronavirus-linked deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 280, he added, reports PTI.  Pope set to make first trip since Covid pandemic to saint's townPope Francis is next month set to make what would be his first visit outside Rome since Italy was put under lockdown in early March when it became the first country in Europe to feel the full brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, reports AP.  First published: Sep 05, 2020 05:22 IST


Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja confirms Nipah virus case. https://t.co/CC4rbTUeeP

Fear is quite palpable on the streets of Kochi in the wake of confirmation of the Nipah virus infecting a person in the state, a year after the deadly bug claimed 17 lives. Many people have started wearing masks.  Despite the state health department’s requests to the public not to panic, fear is pervasive in Kochi where a 23-year-old engineering graduate tested positive for the deadly virus.  Two of his friends and two nurses who treated him were shifted to isolation wards and 311 others who came in contact with him are under observation.  Kerala’s health minister K K Shailaja has called a review meeting on Wednesday.  Health officials who described the situation as well under control, say they have not been able to confirm the source of the virus as the patient travelled to three districts in last 20 days.  Though they scanned all three places where he stayed they could not locate either fruit bats or pigs, main carriers of the virus which has an incubation period of two weeks.  Hectic efforts are on to locate the source. of the virus, they said. Blood samples of five more persons will be sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune on Wednesday, officials said, These five are in isolation wards.  Five persons have booked for spreading misinformation.  Many medical stores said demand for masks and gloves have increased manifold.  Following the confirmation of the virus by the National Institute of Virology, fruit vendors said their sales dipped considerably.  The health department has advised citizens not to eat bird-bitten fruits especially mango, guava and sapodilla (chickoo). Fruit exporters of the state are staring at another meltdown.  After last year’s Nipah outbreak, many countries in the Persian Gulf had banned imports from Kerala.  The UAE and other countries had lifted the ban after two months but Saudi Arabia did so only last month.  Kerala exports around 150 tonne of fruits and vegetables to the Middle east daily to cater to the huge NRI population there.  Out of this, consignment to Saudi Arabia alone is between 30-40 tonne daily.  “We have resumed export to Saudi Arabia after much prodding.  There is a possibility of tourist advisory and restrictions on export also.  Last year I suffered a loss of more than Rs 3 crore.  I don’t know what will happen now,” said A Sharf Ali, a fruits and vegetable exporter from Kozhikkode, north Kerala.  Also read: Kerala man tests positive for Nipah: All you need to know about the infectionMonthly fruit export from three airports, Kozhokkode, Kochi and Thiruvananthpauram is worth over Rs 50 crore.  Pineapple export alone is over Rs five crore.  And it is the season of mangoes also.  Exporters fear that the latest scare may again lead to another ban on fruit exports. The tourism sector is also staring at a bleak scene after a double whammy last year when the Nipah outbreak sparked mass cancellations before the worst floods in a century devastated the state. But this time preparations are well in place and there is a systematic protocol to deal with the situation.  Last year, health experts were initially caught on the wrong foot because Nipah was an unknown virus and there was no medicine or history of treatment and they were clueless about the carrier, thus impacting their ability to respond.  Despite these handicaps they fought back valiantly and contained its secondary infection and nursed two Nipah-positive patients, M Ajanya,a nursing student and Ubeesh, a male nurse, back to health. “This time the state has evolved a protocol to deal with the situation.  Even before confirmation came, the list of people who were in contact with the patient were prepared and contacted.  It seems infection is likely to be the index case.  No other cases were reported from the area where the youth frequented,” said A S Anoop Kumar, head of the critical care unit of the Baby Memorial Hospital in Kozhikkode, who was the first to diagnose the viral infection last year. In an ironic coincidence amid the second outbreak of Nipah, a movie named ‘Virus’ depicting the life of nurse Lini Puthussery who died after contracting the virus while taking care of a patient is set to release on June 7.  Lini was the mother of two children.  Later the state government gave a job to her husband.


Punjab: Second batch of 100 fishermen released by Pakistan cross over to India via the Attari-Wagah border. https://t.co/SspSiHCx7N

With the final, updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam being published now, the question being asked in the northeastern state is this: how many applicants will be left out of the list that will determine citizenship status? For those who came in late, the NRC, first prepared only for Assam in 1951, is being updated to identify Indian citizens and weed out illegal immigrants.  The process initiated under directions from Supreme Court four years ago is also being monitored by the apex court. The final list, published on Saturday, excluded over 1. 9 million people from the list and included 3. 11 crore people. Names of four million of the 32. 9 million applicants were missing from the complete draft NRC released in July 2018.  Another list released this June excluded names of 100,000 more. While most who were left out filed claims for inclusion, nearly 380,000 didn’t.  Watch | National Register of Citizens: All there is to know about citizenship test Despite reports and social media speculation to the contrary, the governments at the Centre and in Assam have held out an assurance that those left out won’t be declared foreigners or sent to detention centres immediately.  Importantly, they won’t be deported to Bangladesh. These applicants will have the option of taking the legal route—first at the foreigners’ tribunals (FTs) and later in the civil courts—to prove citizenship.  They would have to file appeals within 120 days of publication of the final NRC.  “Every individual, whose name doesn’t figure in the final NRC, can represent his/her case in front of the FT.  Under the provisions of Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, only Foreigners Tribunals are empowered to declare a person as a foreigner,” said a Union home ministry statement earlier this month.  The Assam government has designated 56 of 100 existing FTs in the state for filing of appeals.  The government is soon setting up 200 more FTs and has already selected 221 new members.


Barmer: Dr. Bharat Saran have been running ‘50 Villagers’ for the past 7 years, a free coaching institute for aspiring medical students from government schools in remote villages. The institute coaches 50 students every year, 25 each from 11th & 12th standard. #Rajasthan https://t.co/YezIvtxbWi

In a tale of selfless attitude, a doctor is providing free coaching to aspiring medical students belonging to economically weaker sections of the society. Dr Bharat Saran has been running a coaching institute here under the name “50 Villagers” where he teaches 25 underprivileged students from class 11 and 25 students from class 12. Speaking to ANI, Dr Saran said, “I have been running ‘50 Villagers’ for the past 7 years.  It is a free coaching institute for aspiring medical students from government schools in remote villages.  The institute coaches 50 students every year, 25 each from 11th and 12th standard. ”Saran said, “On May 25, 2012, we formed this institute to teach 25 students who belong to economically weaker sections of the society, especially those who have to leave studies due to financial crunch.  We provide free of cost books, we pay school fees and provide food to students. ”“In the last seven years, 140 students took admissions here.  The selection ratio is 100 per cent as in every student gets qualified into different medical colleges.  As many as 30 students from our institute have cleared MBBS, five are going to AIIMS, some are in veterinary, and some have gone in the field of Ayurveda,” he said. “We do self-study here.  It is not important to go to coaching centres.  A student can be guided through self-study.  I am grateful to donors who gave us financial aid to run this institute,” he said. A student at the institute said, “We are studying very well here.  I gave exam in 2016 and then I came here.  I want to become a doctor in future.  One of the students here from my school got selected in AIIMS.  We study here for 11 to 12 hours. ”Another student said, “My main aim is to become a good man and serve humanity by becoming a doctor. ”


This is the country's system!! The man sitting in the middle is our country's "Health Minister". After being unable to digest their defeat in Bengal and seeking imposition of President's Rule, he sat in protest without a mask! Every day at least 3,000 to 3,500 people die due to lack of "oxygen and medicine" in this country but they cannot see it because they are only worried about their position, the people can go to hell!!

A photograph of Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan along with Minister of State (MoS) Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh and Vijay Goel is being shared on social media insinuating that the health minister was protesting flouting all COVID protocols amid a raging pandemic.  The image, however, is not recent.  The image dates back to 2019, when BJP ministers protested the violence that occurred at Amit Shah's roadshow in West Bengal.  This comes a few days after the BJP announced and held a nationwide protest against the post-poll violence in West Bengal, in which many lost their lives.  CLAIM The video was widely shared on Facebook and Twitter with the caption, "यह है देश कि सिस्टम. . ! !  बीच में बैठा आदमी, इस देश का “स्वास्थ्य मंत्री” है। बंगाल की हार नही पचने के कारण राष्ट्रपति शासन लगा दो यह कहते हुए धरना पर बैठ गये बिना मास्क !  देश मे रोज “ऑक्सिजन और दवा” की कमी से 3000 से 3500 और ज्यादा भी मर रहे हैं यह दिखाई नहीं देते क्योकि इनको सिर्फ अपने कुर्सी कि चिंता है जनता जाए भाड़ में. . . ! ! " [Translation: This is the country's system! !  The man sitting in the middle is our country's "Health Minister".  After being unable to digest their defeat in Bengal and seeking imposition of President's Rule, he sat in protest without a mask!  Every day at least 3,000 to 3,500 people die due to lack of "oxygen and medicine" in this country but they cannot see it because they are only worried about their position, the people can go to hell! ! ] The image was shared on Twitter with an additional claim that “they protest when 5-7 of their workers die” and do nothing when thousands die due to lack of oxygen and medicines.  An archived version of this tweet can be seen here.  Archived links to more tweets with similar claims on Twitter can be found here and here, while links to posts on Facebook can be found here and here.  WHAT WE FOUND We ran a reverse search on the viral image, where we found a report by news portal HW Hindi , published on 15 May 2019, that carried the viral image.  The article's headline, originally in Hindi, reads ‘BJP sits in silent protest against Mamata at Jantar Mantar’.  The article attaches a link to a tweet by news agency ANI, which shows more photographs from the event at Jantar Mantar, including the viral image from different angles.  Top leaders from the BJP gathered at Jantar Mantar on 15 May 2019, to protest the clashes that erupted between BJP and TMC supporters in Kolkata.  The violence took place during Home Minister Amit Shah's roadshow in the city, one day prior to the protest.  Various news outlets, including The Quint, covered the incident.  We found similar visuals from the protest on multiple websites.  Clearly, an old picture from a silent protest held by the BJP leaders in response to the violence in West Bengal between BJP and TMC supporters is being circulated with a misleading claim.


Photo shows Shivling found during recent excavation works at Ram temple site in Ayodhya

A nearly four-year-old image of a Shivling being dug out from a temple at Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh is being shared as a recent finding reported during ground leveling work at the Ram temple site at Ayodhya.  Champat Rai, general secretary of the Ram Temple Trust - the body overseeing the construction of the temple at Ayodhya confirmed to BOOM that the viral image is not of the Shivling reported to have been found recently.  The viral image has been shared with different Hindi captions claiming that the Shivling dates back to the Ramayana era and was found during ground leveling work which began at Ayodhya on May 11, 2020.   Several artifacts including a five-foot Shivlinga, seven pillars of black touchstone, six pillars of red sandstone, structures of flowers and broken idols of deities were reported to have been found at the Ram temple site during recent excavations in Ayodhya.  Read more about it here.  BOOM cannot independently verify the same.        Also read Gujarat: Minor Girl Publicly Thrashed For Eloping, Video Goes Viral However, the image circulating on social media is from Farrukhabad and not Ayodhya and is not recent.  The tweet in Hindi, when translated, reads 'A 4 feet 11 inches tall Shivling found during excavation works at Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.  Hopefully Mandal Udita Raj won't start claiming this to be a Bauddha Pillar too.  With every passing day of excavation, stories of the atrocities and sins of Babar and his lineage is coming out in the open.  Jai Shri Ram'.  (Archive)  अयोध्या में राममंदिर की खुदाई के दौरान 4'11 इंच का शिवलिंग मिला है मण्डल उदित राज इसे भी बौद्ध स्तम्भ न बताने लग जाए जैसे जैसे मंदिर की खुदाई हो रही है वैसे बाबर और बाबर के वंशजों के अत्याचार और पाप की कहानी निकल रही है जय श्री राम pic. twitter. com/24xBr9HKdm The same image is viral from Facebook with a Hindi caption which translates to 'The Shivling which Lord Shri Ram used to pay obeisance to has been found during excavation in Ayodhya.  Have a look and keep chanting Jai Shri am, Har Har Mahadev'.  (Hindi: भगवान श्री राम जिस शिवलिंग की पूजा करते थे वो मिला अयोध्या की खुदाई में दर्शन करे l जयकारे में कमी ना आए जय श्री राम हर हर महादेव )  Also read 2017 Image From Rajasthan Peddled As Hindu Family Killed In Pakistan   BOOM did a reverse image search on the picture and found an article published in Hindi daily Amar Ujala on July 27, 2016 carrying the same image.  According to the report (archive), the temple priest had claimed that the Shivling had always been a part of the 250-year-old temple.  However, during renovation works being carried in 2016, the entire Shivling was dug out as a part of it was buried under ground.      Also read Video Of Uddhav Thackeray Asking Christians To Pray To Jesus Is Cropped  BOOM also checked several news reports which had published the images of artifacts and idols of deities found during the excavation at Ayodhya but found none matching the Shivling in the viral image.  Read more about the excavations here.


Bihar: A thick layer of fog engulfs Gaya city. (09.12.2020) https://t.co/twiU9yGXnN

Several places in Bihar including central and southern parts of the state along with capital Patna are likely to experience dense fog and fall in mercury from Wednesday, said officials of Patna meteorological centre. As per the 5-day forecast, minimum temperature in the state is predicted to hover around 13 to 14 degrees Celsius while maximum temperature is likely to be around 24 degrees Celsius. On Tuesday, Patna recorded a minimum temperature of 15. 4 degrees Celsius, which was four notches below the normal while maximum temperature stood at 26. 8 degrees Celsius.  Gaya remained the coldest in the state with the lowest minimum temperature of 11 degrees Celsius. Officials at Patna meteorological centre said that moderate fog is likely to prevail in the eastern parts and shallow fog at other parts for the next two days. “Significant change in weather conditions can be felt from today.  Cold north-westerly winds entered the Bihar region on Tuesday which is expected to bring day and night temperature down from Wednesday onwards.  Even during daytime, sunlight has low heat.  The winter condition is likely to become colder due to the fall in day and night temperature, if the speed of wind intensifies in coming days,” said Sudhanshu, a meteorologist. “Dense fog is likely over places situated near water bodies while moderate fog is likely at other places for the next two days.  Fog is favourable for Rabi crops but it obstructs flight services due to poor visibility”, he added. Also Read: Intense western disturbance to bring rain to plains, heavy snowfall to Western HimalayasExplaining the fog formation, meteorologist SK Patel said, “A cyclonic circulation extending up to 1. 5 km above mean sea level is lying over Rajasthan and neighbourhood.  Due to formation of cyclonic circulation, humid condition prevails at lower-level of atmosphere.  Pollutant particles rise in the atmosphere in the presence of humidity and wind which leads to formation of fog. ” According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily bulletin, Patna’s 24-hour AQI based on six air monitoring stations was 315 with PM2. 5 and PM10 prominent pollutants.


Situation is more or less under control, tomorrow I am again going to Manipur. We are consulting with all our MLAs. Things will be resolved in next 2-3 days with the spirit of NEDA (North-East Democratic Alliance) & NDA:Himanta Biswa Sarma, NEDA Convenor & Assam Minister https://t.co/kugzJRK7BJ

Following the detection of 114 Covid-19 positive cases without travel history during a community screening campaign, Assam and the northeast’s biggest city, Guwahati, is looking at imposition of ward-wise lockdown to arrest spread of the disease. Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday that the situation is worrying and his department has recommended the Kamrup (Metro) administration (under which Guwahati falls) to go for complete lockdown of wards based on the number of cases. “The situation in Guwahati is alarming.  We have got 114 positive cases from the samples given by the public voluntarily at 12 centres in the city.  In total we got 144 cases in Guwahati without any travel or contact history,” Sarma told journalists in Guwahati. The minister warned that unless the public strictly followed safety measures like wearing masks, sanitizing hands frequently and maintaining social distance, the number of cases in Guwahati could rise exponentially in the next few days. Till now Guwahati had over 100 containment zones.  But following detection of the fresh cases, the health department has recommended total lockdown in wards where a sizable number of positive cases are detected.  Sarma clarified that the entire city won’t be put under lockdown. After detection of several positive cases without any travel or contact history, the health department had started a campaign on June 15 to test 50,000 samples in the city within two weeks in a bid to ascertain the spread of Covid-19 in Guwahati. Besides focusing on areas where trucks coming from other states operated, 12 sample collection centres were also opened across the city where members of the public could give swab samples voluntarily. Till Monday, nearly 5,000 samples had been collected and results of around 3,000 have been delivered.  Sarma said that the target of 50,000 tests would be completed by the end of June. “We had not expected that people would come on their own and give samples, but were surprised to find that on an average nearly 400 people are coming to the 12 centres daily and giving swabs,In a bid to increase screening, from Wednesday 31 sample collection centres would be started in government schools across the city where people would be able to come and give swab samples for testing. “These centres will have a doctor and other healthcare staff and will soon be equipped with TrueNat testing machines so that results can be delivered within hours,” said Sarma. “We expect the number of cases in Guwahati to rise in coming days.  At a later stage depending on the number of cases, our quarantine centres would be converted to Covid care facilities for asymptomatic patients and only symptomatic patients will be admitted to hospitals,” he added. Assam has recorded 5,586 Covid-19 positive cases till date.  There have been 3,521 recoveries and 10 deaths.


Our police personnel are doing their job very well and they are deployed in the red zone. They are capable of undertaking actions in red zones also. No need has been felt for military deployment so far: Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat https://t.co/NejcLNwTTf

The government on Friday decided to extend the nationwide lockdown, necessitated by the coronavirus outbreak, by another two weeks.  The earlier lockdown was set to end this Sunday. According to a press statement by the home ministry, the decision to extend the lockdown beyond May 4 has been taken after a “comprehensive review”.  “After a comprehensive review, and in view of the lockdown measures having led to significant gains in the Covid-19 situation in the country, ministry of home affairs (MHA) issued an order under the Disaster Management Act today to further extend the lockdown for a further period of two weeks beyond May 4,” it stated. The MHA also issued new guidelines to regulate different activities in this period, based on the risk profiling of the districts of the country into Red (hotspot), Green and Orange Zones.  The guidelines have permitted considerable relaxations in the districts falling in the Green and Orange Zones. The most sensitive areas of the country, from the spread of Covid-19 point of view, and falling within the Red and Orange Zones, are designated as containment zones. The containment areas would be defined by respective district administrations, taking into account the total number of active cases, their geographical spread, and the need to have well demarcated perimeters from the enforcement point of view.  The local authorities have been directed to ensure 100% coverage of Aarogya Setu app among the residents of the Containment Zone.  Under the new guidelines, a limited number of activities will remain prohibited throughout the country, irrespective of the Zone.  These include travel by air, rail, metro and inter-State movement by road; running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/ coaching institutions; hospitality services, including hotels and restaurants; places of large public gatherings, such as cinema halls, malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes etc; social, political, cultural and other kinds of gatherings; and, religious places/ places of worship for public.  However, movement of persons by air, rail and road is allowed for select purposes, and for purposes as permitted by the home ministry. E-commerce activities, in the Red Zones, are permitted only in respect of essential goods.  Private offices can operate with up to 33% strength as per requirement, with the remaining persons working from home.  All government offices shall function with senior officers of the level of Deputy Secretary and above at full strength, and the remaining staff attending up to 33% as per requirement.  All industrial and construction activities in rural areas, including MNREGA works, food-processing units and brick-kilns are permitted; besides, in rural areas, without distinction to the nature of goods, all shops, except in shopping malls are permitted. All agriculture activities, eg, sowing, harvesting, procurement and marketing operations in the agricultural supply chain are permitted.  All agriculture activities, e. g. , sowing, harvesting, procurement and marketing operations in the agricultural supply chain are permitted. Most of the commercial and private establishments have been allowed in the Red Zones.  These include print and electronic media, IT and IT enabled services, data and call centres, cold storage and warehousing services, private security and facility management services, and services provided by self-employed persons, except for barbers etc.


Jammu & Kashmir: Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Azaad Lalhari of Pulwama killed in an encounter at Kamrazipora today in an operation launched by Police along with 53 Rashtriya Rifles. https://t.co/EqAvtFzbTi

Nine terrorists of the Hizbul Mujahideen have been killed by security forces in two operations since Sunday morning in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district, a senior police official said on Monday. In the latest gun battle, which took place in Pinjora area of Shopian, four terrorists were killed by security forces on Monday morning, police said. “9 #terrorists including two commanders neutralised in less than 24 hrs.  Proud of #Team Kashmir which includes JKP and SFs.  Vijay Kumar, IGP Kashmir,” Kashmir zone police tweeted. Two of the four terrorists killed in Monday’s encounter are top Hizbul terrorists, Umer Dhobi and Rayees Khan of Shopian.  “Both of them are category-A terrorists,” a police officer said. Before picking up the gun in August 2018, Umer Dhobi was listed in police records as an overground worker of the Hizbul Mujahideen and a “chronic stone pelter”.  He has been named in 10 terror related cases; many of them relate to carrying out attacks on security personnel. Rayees Khan was also involved in two attacks on the army camp and a patrol party besides abduction and killing of civilians. “In the last two weeks, nine big operations were carried out in which 22 terrorists have been eliminated including six top commanders,” Dilbag Singh, Jammu and Kashmir director general of police, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.  According to ANI, the bodies of the four terrorists killed in Pinjora have been recovered along with arms and ammunition.  The operation there has concluded. On Sunday, five terrorists were killed after 12-hour long encounter in Reban village of Shopian district, which is around 12km from Monday’s encounter site in Pinjora. Sources have said the terrorists belonged to the banned Hizbul Mujahideen terror group and one among them is believed to be a top commander.


#Mumbai: Veteran actor Rekha casts her vote at polling booth number 283 in Bandra. #LokSabhaElections2019 https://t.co/z14VraA06W

Nearly fifty per cent polling was recorded till 4 pm on Monday for elections to 72 seats across nine states in the fourth phase of 2019 Lok Sabha elections amid PM Modi’s appeal for ‘record voting’ and reports of EVM glitches and clashes from several areas. The Election Commission website reported 49. 62 per cent voter turnout till 4 pm even as long queues of voters waited outside booths across states to cast their votes. WATCH: Analysis | Congress star power vs BJP-Sena arithmetic in bellwether MumbaiIn Mumbai, celebrities and industrialists were seen rubbing shoulders with commoners while queuing up to vote for Mumbai’s six urban seats.  Among early voters were Anil Ambani, actors Priyanka Chopra, Rekha , Sunjay Dutt, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, BJP MP Paresh Rawal, Milind Deora and rival candidates from Mumbai North Central constituency Poonam Mahajan and Priya Dutt. Follow live updates hereMumbai seats, known for low turnout in Lok Sabah polls, recorded 53% voting in 2014, which was an improvement from 41% of 2009. In West Bengal, where the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress is facing its toughest challenge against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), BJP candidate Babul Supriyo’s car was vandalised There were also reports of clash between Trinamool workers and security personnel in the state, where eight seats are voting today. . In phase three, one person had died in political clashes while the car of CPI(M) candidate Md Salim was attacked in Islampur during the second round. As in earlier phases, this time too Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted urging voters to ‘break record of previous three phases’.  Home minister Rajnath Singh also appealed to the voters saying: ‘Your vote will help shaping of a New India’. Among those who voted early were politicians Vasundhara Raje, Giriraj Singh of the BJP, Congress’s Kamal Nath, CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar and former Mumbai top cop Julio Riberio. Long queues were seen outside booths in Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with complaints of malfunctioning EVMs reported from several booths in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Unlike the previous phase, when Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag recorded 0% polling in the first two hours, on Monday voters turned up early at several booths.  Monday is the second round of voting in Anantnag, which is scheduled go to polls in three phases. With this phase, polling ends in Maharashtra and Odisha, while the process starts in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.  Twenty-six seats in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are also voting in this phase.  These three states have seats going to polls in each of the seven phases in the 2019 elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has high stakes in this phase.  Of the 72 seats voting today, it won 45 in 2014.  Its allies won another 11 seats.  The Congress’s tally was just two.  In 2009, the BJP-Congress breakup in these seats was 9-29. Seventeen seats in Maharashtra are voting on Monday, which is the largest among the states going to polls in the fourth phase.  The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won all of these seats in 2014, an increase of 11 seats from its 2009 tally. Among the 19 seats that will vote in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the BJP won 18 in 2014. While polling in Rajasthan will end in the fifth phase, Madhya Pradesh will vote in four phases beginning on Monday.  Asansol, one of the two seats which the BJP won on its own in West Bengal in 2014, is among the eight seats which will go to polls on Monday.  The All India Trinamool Congress currently holds six out of the eight seats which will vote on Monday.  The BJP will also try and defend 12 out of 13 seats in the constituencies going to polls in UP.  Repeating this performance will not be an easy task given the fact that the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have an alliance this time.   table,th,td {font-size: auto; font-family: "Open Sans"; color:#242424; border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #CCC; text-decoration:none} table{width:100%; text-decoration:none; color:#242424} th,td{width:auto; text-align:left; padding:5px; text-decoration:none; color:#242424; list-style:none}th. center{text-align:center; text-decoration:none}tr:nth-child(odd) {background-color: #fff; text-decoration:none} tr:nth-child(even) {background-color:#efefef; text-decoration:none} th {width:auto; background-color:#dedede; color: #242424; font-weight: bold} . sportshead {width:100%; background-color:#1f77b4; color:#FFF; padding:5px; font-size:140%; font-weight:bold; float:left}. sportssubhead {width:100%; font-size:110%; font-weight:normal; float:left}. base a {color:#242424; text-decoration:none}. base {width:100%; color:#242424; text-decoration:none; display:inline-block;}. cont1 {width:49%; float:left}. cont2 {width:49%; float:right}. divider {width:100%;}@media only screen and (max-width:480px) {. cont1 {width:auto; float:left}. cont2 {width:auto; margin:0; float:left}}


As part of 45th Raising Day celebrations of India Coast Guard, operation display by ICG ships & Chetak helicopters undertaken off Chennai today. Ships manoeuvred in formation along the Coast. Chetaks showcased helobatics/ manoeuvres, search & rescue demo: Defence PRO Chennai https://t.co/dxaZBVRy4R

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) claims to have seized contraband worth ₹1,500 crore that was being smuggled into the country through the coastline.  The ICG was able to intercept more than 10 foreign fishing boats with 80 miscreants illegally operating in the Indian exclusive economic zone (EEZ).  After nabbing the suspects, they were handed over to the local police station for further legal action, said an ICG officer.  In 2020, 11 cyclones hit the Indian coastline and the ICG conducted rescue operations and saved the lives of around 40,000 fishermen by escorting them back to shore.  During the pandemic, patrolling was round the clock and fishing boat checks were conducted, said the officer.  The ICG will be celebrating its 45th Raising Day on February 1.  In the last 44 years, the ICG has grown into a formidable force, with 156 ships and 62 aircraft, and is likely to achieve targeted force levels of 200 surface platforms and 80 aircraft by 2025.  The Coast Guard patrols the distance between the shore and 12 to 200 nautical miles in the sea.  ICG is the fourth largest coast guard in the world and plays a very important role in securing coasts and enforcing regulations within the maritime zones of India. In the last 44 years, the ICG has saved over 10,000 lives and apprehended around 14,000 miscreants since its inception in 1977.  On average, the Coast Guard saves a life every two days at sea, the ICG officer mentioned in a press note released ahead of Raising Day. “During the pandemic, we maintained a round-the-clock vigil in the exclusive economic zone, by deploying around 50 ships and 12 aircraft daily.  Due to the vigil, we managed to seize contraband worth about ₹1,500 crore and apprehend more than 10 foreign fishing boats with 80 miscreants illegally operating in the Indian EEZ in 2020,” said an ICG spokesperson.  Last year in September, the Indian Coast Guard doused a fire onboard the 333-metre-long carrier motor tanker New Diamond off the Sri Lanka coast, which was carrying 3 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil.  The ICG averted a major ecological disaster and rescued 23 crew members of the tanker.


BREAKING: Joe Biden will win the state of Oregon, @ABC News projects. https://t.co/5c0HV7WZSz #ElectionNight https://t.co/vpsPHjb3ks

By Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya, Veronica Rocha, Melissa Mahtani and Amanda Wills, CNNOur live coverage has moved.  Go here for the latest results and news from the election. From CNN's Allison GordonResults from Milwaukee have flipped Wisconsin to Joe Biden, who has a lead in the state right now, CNN's Phil Mattingly says. Earlier, the city of Milwaukee's absentee ballot information was delivered with a police escort, CNN's Ryan Young reported. "When they have those three officers walking with them, you understand the importance of the event," Young told CNN's Chris Cuomo. The election is far from over with millions of votes still outstanding in key states, including in battleground Wisconsin. Joe Biden will win Hawaii, CNN projects. There are four electoral votes at stake in Hawaii.  It takes 270 electoral votes to win the 2020 presidential election. Who won in 2016: Former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton carried the state, and President Trump won the general election. From CNN's Josiah Ryan Republican insiders are crediting a $300 million get-out-out the vote effort organized by the Trump campaign and allies for narrowing the gap in many states, CNN's Ryan Nobles reported early this morning.  "Republicans are talking about. . .  the ground game that the Republican National Committee and the Trump Victory Organization put into place shortly after President Trump was inaugurated," said Nobles. Nobles reported on Friday that the campaign had spent more than $300 million on a data and ground operation and less on television and digital advertising in the final leg of the campaign.  "They firmly believe that that ground game was going to be a big part in narrowing the gap, in many of these key states and they're now saying that we're seeing that play out in realtime as these votes come," added Nobles.  From CNN's MJ LeeJoe Biden's campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon issued a strongly worded statement following President Trump's White House speech, calling it "outrageous, unprecedented, and incorrect. " O’Malley Dillon went on to say that "the counting will not stop. ”From CNN's Maeve Reston and Stephen CollinsonVotes are still being counted in several key states across the US, and no winner has been determined in the presidential election. If you're just reading in, here's what you need to know about the race:From CNN's Leinz ValesBenjamin L.  Ginsberg, a longtime Republican election lawyer who co-chaired the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, said Wednesday that President Trump should “let all the votes be counted,” following his attacks on legitimate vote counting efforts. “If you have objections to either the particular ballots or to the process, then you have remedies after the fact from each state individual contests laws or recount laws if the margins are close enough,” Ginsberg told CNN’s Jake Tapper during CNN’s special election coverage.  Hear Ginsberg explain: From CNN’s Mark MoralesPhiladelphia won’t have an updated number on mail-in ballots until 9 a. m.  on Wednesday, said Lisa Deeley, head of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, which is a bipartisan board of elected officials in charge of elections and voter registration. Election officials are waiting on in-person voting numbers to be reported by some individual precincts and ingested into their system before they can report the number of mail-in ballots, Deeley said.  “That’s just the configuration of our system,” said Deeley, adding that it was a reporting issue, not mechanical. The delay in in-person results from the field are slowing down the reports, particularly in West Philadelphia, Deeley said “We are counting, we have been counting, we are going to continue counting until it's done,” Deeley said.  “We’re just waiting for the rest of the in-person results to come in from voting machines. ”Another update with mail-in votes will come at 9 a. m. , Deeley said. As of 1:10 a. m.  ET, with 1,598 of 1,703 divisions reporting, former Vice President Joe Biden has received 73. 3% of the city’s votes, and President Trump has received 25. 67% of the city’s vote. From CNN's Allison GordonBased on CNN's current projections, Joe Biden has 220 electoral votes while Donald Trump has 213 electoral votes. Here's the latest look at where things stand:Reminder: Each candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. Please enable JavaScript for a better experience.


He (ISIS operative Abu Yusuf) was planning to plant the two recovered IEDs in a high footfall area of Delhi. After that, he was to receive instructions from his handler to carry out a fidayeen attack: Delhi Police Special Cell DCP Pramod Kushwaha https://t.co/eZyDteV7gA

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to Home Minister Amit Shah to deploy doctors from the army and central police force ITBP at the 10,000 bed Covid facility being set up at the Radha Soami Satsang campus in south Delhi, according to news agency ANI on Tuesday.  But Kejriwal didn’t have to wait for too long to get a response.  Amit Shah tweeted a sharp response to Kejriwal within hours, pointing that he had issued instructions for deploying doctors from the ITBP three days back. Also Read: Delhi’s Covid centre, 10 times bigger than China’s largest, to start this week“Dear Kejriwal ji, It has already been decided in our meeting 3 days back and MHA has assigned the work of operating the 10,000 bed COVID Care Centre at Radha Swami Beas in Delhi to ITBP.  The work is in full swing and a large part of the facility will be operational by 26th Jun,” Amit Shah said on Twitter, referring to an ANI tweet announcing Kejriwal’s letter.  Dear Kejriwal ji, It has already been decided in our meeting 3 days back and MHA has assigned the work of operating the 10,000 bed COVID Care Centre at Radha Swami Beas in Delhi to ITBP.  The work is in full swing and a large part of the facility will be operational by 26th Jun.  https://t. co/VLMOQdEseYAmit Shah is expected to visit the facility named Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre and Hospital later this week. A central government official said Kejriwal’s letter inviting the home minister was seen as an attempt to appropriate credit for the facility by the Aam Aadmi Party government which, he said, was an initiative driven by the Amit Shah-led home ministry and Lt Governor Anil Baijal. Several other central, state and municipal agencies are collaborating to set up the facility, billed to be 10 times bigger than China’s largest facility at Leishenshan to treat Covid-19 patients. Kejriwal underscored the point in his ‘thank you note’ to Amit Shah.  देश की सेना, डाक्टर्ज़, सामाजिक संस्थाएँ, केंद्र सरकार और दिल्ली सरकार - सभी दिल्ली के लिए एकजुट होकर काम कर रहे है। मुझे पूरा यक़ीन है हम सब मिल कर कोरोना को हराएँगे। इन कठिन परिस्थितियों में दिल्ली सरकार और दिल्ली के लोगों की मदद करने के लिए शुक्रिया https://t. co/7jS2zAjgMUOf the 10,200 beds that are being set up at the Radha Soami Satsang Beas campus in Chattarpur, about 1,000 beds would have the oxygen support facility for Covid-19 patients. Amit Shah, who has lately assumed a lead role to prep the national capital for the expected spike in Covid-19 cases over the next one month, also announced that a 1,000 bed hospital with 250 intensive care unit beds was being developed for Covid patients by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Tata Trust.  This facility, to be manned by personnel from the armed forces, will be ready in the next 10 days, Shah said. “Armed Forces personnel have been detailed for providing medical care and attention to Covid patients housed in the Railway coaches in Delhi.  8,000 additional beds have already been placed at Delhi government’s disposal for making Covid care centres, as per requirement,” the home minister tweeted. Shah’s sharp response to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal comes days after the AAP government locked horns with Lt Governor Anil Baijal to block a home ministry-driven move that made it mandatory for every Covid-19 patient to spend five days at a state-run quarantine facility.  Lt Governor Baijal eventually rescinded the order, mandating that Covid-19 patients who are not able to stay in isolation due to constraints of space at home should be moved to state-run facilities.  Lt Governor Baijal’s new order, however, requires Covid patients to make a mandatory visit to a Covid-19 care facility for one mandatory checkup.


Experts say the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is an effective vaccine that offers good protection against severe forms of Covid-19 and that anyone should take it if given the opportunity https://t.co/MZRtHst7XV

Earlier trials by Pfizer and Moderna didn't include virus variants. Single-dose vaccine effective against COVID-19 variants, data showsSome have raised concerns that one of Johnson & Johnson's previously reported vaccine data points -- a 66% global efficacy in preventing moderately symptomatic disease -- doesn't seem as impressive as figures reported by Pfizer and Moderna, which exceeded 90% efficacy at preventing symptomatic COVID-19.  But experts are quick to note that it may not be the best comparison: The Pfizer and Moderna clinical trials didn't take into account new variants and still had 100% effectiveness against hospitalizations and deaths. "This is a very different trial than the trials that were done last fall," said Dr.  Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a lead researcher for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.  "We live in a much more complicated pandemic today. "While Pfizer and Moderna are conducting further research on their vaccines' efficacy against variants -- or if a booster will be required -- Barouch emphasized that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has a leg-up in terms of its data, because it's the only one so far that's been tested against variant strains. "Overall, the vaccine provides very robust protection throughout the world, including against the worrisome viral variants that we've been hearing so much about," Barouch added. For many clinicians, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine performs best in what are the most important cases: severe illness that otherwise could lead to hospitalization -- or even death.  So while protection from moderate cases may be less robust, a newly reported 100% protection against deaths and hospitalizations is "huge," said Dr.  Darien Sutton, an emergency medicine physician and ABC News contributor. "Knowing that this will help decrease the stress on hospital health care systems is, really, really great," he added. Dr.  Paul Goepfert, director of the Alabama Vaccine Research Clinic, also emphasized the nuances in dissecting the data, underscoring the reduction in severe cases as key. "Severe COVID and death are the main things you want to protect against," he said, "because that's most important in terms of helping people and keeping hospitalization rates down -- and getting us back to normal. "In addition to limiting severe cases of COVID-19, Johnson & Johnson's vaccine is showing, according to the preliminary analysis, 74% protection against asymptomatic disease, which could help mitigate transmission.  More research in this area is needed, but the data so far, according to Barouch, is "very promising. "Beyond the numbers, experts say the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has some significant advantages over the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines -- and not only because it requires a single dose, boosting convenience.  Another advantage is its storage, as the vaccine can be kept for at least three months in normal refrigerators. "That gives us the opportunity to put it in our primary care offices, pharmacies and community health centers, which translates into getting more people vaccinated," said Dr.  Simone Wildes, an infectious diseases specialist at South Shore Health outside of Boston. The FDA independent advisory committee plans to meet on Friday to review the Johnson & Johnson data and conduct a non-binding vote on whether to recommend it for emergency use.  If endorsed by the FDA, the vaccine could be granted authorization as early as Friday evening, after which Johnson & Johnson forecasts 20 million doses could ready by the end of March, and 100 million by the end of June. "It's definitely one more weapon in our arsenal to fight against COVID," said Dr.  John Brownstein, chief innovation officer for the Boston Children's Hospital and professor of epidemiology at the Harvard Medical School.  "These are all incredible vaccines.  When it's your turn, you should take whichever one is offered. "Eric Silberman, M. D. , a resident physician in internal medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit. ABC News' Dr.  Raehannah Jamshidi, Dr.  Maia Ou and Dr.  Abarna Ramanathan contributed to this report. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events


A day after he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Jyotiraditya Scindia was welcomed by Home Minister Amit Shah.

https://t.co/VzLsGMVTFl

A day after he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Jyotiraditya Scindia was welcomed by Home Minister Amit Shah. “Met Shri @JM_Scindia ji.  I am sure his induction into the party will further strengthen BJP’s resolve to serve the people of Madhya Pradesh,” Shah said on Twitter.  He also posted a photo of hugging and greeting Scindia. Scindia, the Madhya Pradesh politician whose surprise exit from the Congress has brought the Kamal Nath government to the brink of collapse, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday.  Scindia joined the BJP at an event in national capital Delhi in the presence of party chief JP Nadda. Scindia had ended his 18-year-old association with the Congress on Tuesday after meetings with Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  He had thanked PM Modi and Shah for making him a part of their family. Also Watch l How Jyotiraditya Scindia’s induction will help the BJP In his resignation letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi that Scindia put out on Twitter soon after, he alluded to his discomfort in the party over the last year or so.  “. . . as you well know, this is a path that has been drawing itself out over the last year,” he had written in his letter. It was seen as a reference to the Congress settling for Kamal Nath as the chief minister after the 2018 state elections though it was Scindia who had led from the front to oust the BJP from Madhya Pradesh.  Scindia’s supporters had hoped that the Congress would tell Kamal Nath to give up his second charge - as the party chief in the state - but this also didn’t happen. Scindia’s grandmother, Vijaya Raje Scindia, was one of the founders of the Jana Sangh, the precursor to the BJP.  His aunt Vasundhara Raje is a former Union minister and ex-chief minister of Rajasthan and another aunt Yashodhara Raje is a former minister in the Madhya Pradesh cabinet.


South Korea's number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus more than doubled Saturday to a total of 433—an eightfold jump in just four days. https://t.co/y5S8txs1bW

By Luke McGee, CNNUpdated 9:51 AM ET, Sat February 22, 2020  (CNN)More than half of South Korea's novel coronavirus cases are linked to a branch of a controversial religious group in the southern city of Daegu.


Film producer Firoz Nadiadwala's wife has been arrested today: Sameer Wankhede, Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau, Mumbai, on a drug-related case https://t.co/jOhYmONtHF

Bollywood film producer Firoz Nadiadwala’s wife was arrested on Sunday by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) after 10 grams of marijuana was found at their home in Mumbai during raids, said officials. Three more people were arrested in raids and are suspected to be drug peddlers and suppliers.  In the operation, the NCB seized a total drug of 727. 1 gram of Ganja, 74. 1 gram charas and 95. 1 gram MD (Commercial Quantity) along with cash Rs.  3,58,610 cash from the peddlers and suppliers. Zonal director Sameer Wankhede of the NCB confirmed the arrest of Shabana Saeed, wife of Firoz Nadiadwala.  “The operation is still going on hence the names of the other three suppliers cannot be revealed at this stage.  We have seized commercial quantities of drugs from their possession in the entire operation” said Wankhede.  Following a tip-off, the NCB first arrested Andheri resident Wahid Abdul Kadir Shaikh alias Sultan Mirza from Andheri (west).  During interrogation he revealed the name of Saeed whom he had supplied marijuana.  Shaikh is in the drug supply from several years and is known as Sultan Mirza in the drug supply chain, said NCB officials. A NCB team immediately reached Saeed’s residence situated on Gulmohar cross road number 5, JVPD scheme, Juhu.  The search was conducted in presence of two independent witnesses and 10 gram of marijuana was recovered which was procured from Shaikh.  The notice was issued under section 67 of the NDPS act and she was arrested after recording her statement, said an NCB official. Apart from Saeed and Shaikh, the NCB arrested three more drug suppliers in the operation and their questioning is underway to get more information. Firoz Nadiadwala has produced several Bollywood films like Welcome, Phir Hera Pheri, Aarakshan, Deewane Huye Pagal, Kartoosh, among others.


Photos show a womans head being shaved for anti India comments

A Facebook posts showing three photos of a woman's head being shaved along with the caption claiming that the woman was punished for posting pro-Pakistan and anti-India comments, is false.       The images are from an unrelated protest by teachers in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh that took place in July 2018.      The photos were posted on February 19, 2019 on the page @raj. hindutobadi and the post has been shared nearly 4000 times at the time of writing the story.      The text of the post claims, " This girl post long live Pakistan, and India is under its feet.  Hindutvavadi did not kill her because she is Indian, but for the crime of being a traitor her head was shaved. "     (Translated from Bengali -  পাকিস্তান জিন্দাবাদ আর ভারত তার পায়ের নিচে এরকম অসংখ্য পোষ্ট করেছিল এই মেয়েটি। হিন্দুত্ববাদী রা হত্যা করেনি কারন সে ভারতীয় কিন্তু দেশদ্রোহী অপরাধ করার সাজা হিসাবে তার কেশ ন্যাড়া করে দেওয়া হলো।। )            Click here to view an archived link of the post.         It was also shared by other pages.               The photos are old and not connected to terror attacks in Pulwama or any protest in the aftermath.       BOOM was able to track down the original video through a reverse image search.       The incident is from July 26, 2018 and was reported by News18 Madhya Pradesh.  Click here to view their video report which includes the video from where the photos have been taken.          News 18 Hindi reported that contractual teachers protested by tonsuring their heads as they demanded regularisation from the Madhya Pradesh government ahead of assembly elections.      The contractual teachers have had a long standing demand that their cadres be brought under the education department and that they be provided with facilities given to government employees.       A similar protest was held in January 2018 where four women teachers shaved their heads.  Read about it here.       News18 Hindi reported that the teachers said they only received assurances from the state government every time but that this time they would continue their agitation and camp in the rain at Shahjahani Park in Bhopal.


A post is being shared on Facebook by many users claiming that the DMK is an anti-Hindu party because of its election promises against Hindu temples but in favor of Wakf lands.  Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post. The archived version of the post can be found here. Claim: DMK Manifesto: ‘People occupying encroached Temple lands will be regularized and ownership transferred’, ‘Encroached Wakf properties will be reclaimed and handed over to wakf’Fact: The claims made in the post are from DMK’s 2016 Assembly Elections manifesto.  Also, the election promises made by DMK are misinterpreted to justify their claim.  DMK just promised setting up a high-level committee to consider the demands of people to own the temple land under a legal framework.  Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING. When looked for the tweet on Twitter, it is found that Madhu Purnima Kishwar has actually posted the tweet mentioned in the Facebook post.  But when looked in the comments below the tweet, it is found that the claims made by her are from DMK’s 2016 Assembly Elections manifesto, not 2019 Parliamentary Elections manifestoWhen looked for the claims in 2016 and 2019 manifesto, it is found that the election promise in 2016 manifesto is misinterpreted to serve their agenda.  In the manifesto, DMK promised to set up a high-level committee to consider the demand of people to buy temple lands within the legal framework.  They did not promise regularization and transfer of ownership of temple lands.  In the 2019 manifesto, there was no mention of wakf or temple lands.  So, just before the parliamentary elections previous election promises of DMK from 2016 are misinterpreted and shared to mislead the people. Finally, the promises regarding wakf and temple lands are from the 2016 manifesto and also, misinterpreted in the post.


Maharashtra: Waterlogging in Sion area of Mumbai following heavy rainfall in the city. https://t.co/SJW9NhnCle

The weather department has predicted fairly widespread to widespread rainfall over Konkan, Goa, Central Maharashtra and Gujarat over the next four days.  According to the Thursday forecast, some of these regions are likely to receive extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places, while several other places in these regions could experience heavy to very heavy rainfall. The department has predicted isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over Gujarat state today and tomorrow.  The intensity of the rainfall for the regions mentioned above is expected to decrease after that. According to the weather department’s prediction, Central Maharashtra is likely to receive rainfall at most places on Thursday with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places.  On Friday, the trend is likely to continue with several places in the region receiving rainfall including some places that will receive heavy rainfall.  The intensity of rain is likely to subdue after Friday but most of the region will continue to receive rainfall. Also Read: Mumbai records its second-highest 24-hour rainfall since 2015The Thursday forecast for Gujarat says Rainfall will occur at most places along with heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy falls at isolated places.  The weather department has put Gujarat in the red zone for Thursday.  Similar weather conditions are likely to prevail even on Friday, when most places in the state will receive rainfall, while heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected to lash isolated places.  On Saturday and Sunday, the intensity is set to decrease a bit with the state likely to receive rainfall at most places with heavy rainfall at isolated places. Photos: Heavy rain takes Mumbai past July average alreadySimilarly, the rainfall prediction for Saurashtra and Kutch region for Thursday is categorized in the red zone, indicating that while most places here will receive rainfall, some places will be battered with heavy to very rainfall and some isolated places will be lashed with extremely heavy rainfall.  However, the situation will ease on Friday, when no place in the region is predicted to receive extremely heavy rainfall.


Pres. Trump calls on the FBI and Department of Justice to review how Chicago prosecutors handled the case against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett. https://t.co/vhApp3UlJG https://t.co/LSE4xEc6vD

  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday criticized Attorney General William Barr’s summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, calling it “condescending” and “arrogant” and saying “it wasn’t the right thing to do. ”

  Asked if she is ready to accept Barr’s summary of Mueller’s conclusion that his investigation did not establish that Trump or his campaign associates conspired with Russia to win the presidential election, Pelosi didn’t directly answer, saying instead that she needs to see the full Mueller report before making a judgment about what the special counsel found and reiterating her call for it to be publicly released.

  “I have said, and I’ll say again, no thank you, Mr.  Attorney General, we do not need your interpretation, show us the report and we can draw our own conclusions,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi says Barr believes Trump is 'above the law'

  The House speaker went on to say, referring to the Barr summary, “We don’t need you interpreting for us.  It was condescending, it was arrogant, and it wasn’t the right thing to do.  So, the sooner they can give us the information, the sooner we can all make a judgment about it. ”

  Barr delivered his summary of the Mueller report’s findings to lawmakers over the weekend, but Democrats argue that they and the American public must have a chance to see the full special counsel report for themselves, rather than being forced to rely solely on a description of the findings from a Trump administration political appointee.

  It’s not yet clear how much of the full Mueller report will be publicly released, but Barr has said that he intends to release as much as possible from the report.  In his letter to Congress, he said he is working to determine what can be publicly released, noting that Mueller will be involved in scrubbing the report to identify grand jury material that must remain secret.

  Democrats are also now grappling with what steps they may take if they are not satisfied with how much of the report is ultimately released.

  The “primary obstacle” to getting the full Mueller report is “the presence of grand jury information,” according to one Democratic staffer, discussing the 10-minute phone call House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler had with Attorney General Bill Barr.  Nadler offered Barr the opportunity to work together to get a court order to release the grand jury information.

  At a Thursday meeting where aides discussed efforts to get the Mueller report, the staffer said that Barr was “open to our arguments” but that’s “a far cry from where the chairman is right now. ”

  “Congress is entitled to the grand jury material,” the aide said, pointing to Watergate and other cases as precedent.

  The aide added that Congress does not need the Justice Department’s cooperation to go to the courts and demand the grand jury information, a step they may take.

  Aides would not discuss when they may issue a subpoena to force the Justice Department to provide documents to Capitol Hill.  They said they may announce next steps after the department officially misses the Democrats’ April 2 deadline to provide the full Mueller report.  They say they want to give Justice a “reasonable amount of time” to respond first.

  Aides also said that while Barr said he did not plan to provide the report to the White House, “it’s not 100% clear to us how the attorney general plans to alleviate” executive privilege questions.

  Barr’s letter to Congress quoted Mueller’s report as saying it “did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities. ” It also stated that the special counsel “did not draw a conclusion” on the question of obstruction of justice.  Barr wrote that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein came to the conclusion that there was not sufficient evidence “to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense. ”

After Mueller, Pelosi stares down her next big fight

  While Pelosi did not weigh in directly on whether she is ready to accept that Mueller did not establish collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, she did suggest that the Trump campaign may have been “delinquent in their responsibilities” if it failed to notify the FBI that a foreign government had dirt on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.

  “I’m deadly serious,” Pelosi said, “if a foreign government comes to you and says they have information on your opponent, I say to any member of Congress or person running for office, you take that right to the FBI.  So for this report to say that there was no tacit cooperation, well, yeah, if they didn’t bring the information to the FBI, they were delinquent in their responsibilities. ”

This story has been updated with additional developments.
© 2021 Cable News Network.  A Warner Media Company.  All Rights Reserved.   CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.


Picture showing patient lying on bed and holding glucose drip by his feet shows pathetic condition of government hospitals in Kashmir.

The Covid-19 pandemic has put enormous pressure on India’s health infrastructure.  Time and again, social media has highlighted the lack of medical facilities for the needy. More recently, a picture showing a patient lying on a hospital bed and holding the glucose drip by his feet is going viral.  The drip, injected to his body, is not even attached to the bed and the patient holds it in an elevated position by taking the support of the wall.  Social media users say this is the condition of government hospitals in Kashmir. India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claim along with the photo to be false.  The picture is more than four years old and from Egypt. On August 7, Facebook page “Kashmir youth power” posted the image with a sarcastic caption saying, “Welcome to Kashmir government hospitals”.  Till the filing of this article, the post was shared over 2,000 times.  The archived version can be seen here. The post has gone viral on Facebook. AFWA investigation With the help of multiple reverse searches, we found that the picture has been used by several Arabic websites before.  Many of them said the picture is from Egypt. In August 2016, an Arabic website “dostor. org” used this picture in an article and wrote it is viral on Facebook, with users asserting that the image is from Egypt.  A verified Twitter handle had also tweeted this image in August 2016, saying it is from Egypt. ! ! ! ! #_ pic. twitter. com/cIMicvM7kwHaytham Abokhalil, the above Twitter user, is a TV presenter and human rights activist in Egypt.  We reached out to him to further verify the picture.  He confirmed that it is an old image from Egypt. Egypt’s Freedom and Justice Party had also used the picture on its website to highlight the condition of healthcare in the country. We could not find the exact location of the picture, but it is confirmed that it is more than four years old and not from Kashmir but Egypt. The number of crows determines the intensity of the lie.


BREAKING: Donald Trump will win the state of Missouri, @ABC News projects. https://t.co/b1R3IJdyMQ #ElectionNight https://t.co/WFXbivrhOe


Kerala: BJP workers take out a march in Thiruvananthapuram, demanding the resignation of state minister KT Jaleel over his alleged involvement in the gold smuggling case. https://t.co/39tTZ2wCfD

The Kerala High Court on Monday stayed the arrest of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s former secretary M Sivasankar, a senior Indian Administrative Service officer, till October 23 in the gold smuggling case.  Sivasankar, who was admitted to a hospital on Friday, moved the HC saying the Customs department was harassing and planning to arrest him despite his cooperation with the ongoing probe.  Last week, the HC had restrained the Enforcement Directorate from arresting him till Friday.  The HC will hear both pleas (ED and Customs) on Friday.  In his plea, Sivasankar contended that he was being made a dice in the political game and an intense media trial was on.  He said he had undergone more than 90 hours of questioning and probe agencies had failed to detect any wrong-doing on his part.  The court later stayed his arrest till Friday.  On Friday Sivasankar was rushed to a hospital after he complained of uneasiness while customs personnel came to his house.  Though he had some variation in his ECG, doctors alter said he was not suffering from any major health complications.  Customs told the court that the hospitalization was a ploy to avoid arrest.  It also informed the court that it has enough evidence to book him under money laundering and foreign exchange violation charges.  The gold smuggling case surfaced on July 5 after 30 kg of yellow metal was seized by the Customs from a package camouflaged as a diplomatic consignment marked to the United Arab Emirates consulate in the state capital.  Later, P Sarith Kumar, a former employee of the consulate who came to receive the luggage, was arrested by the Customs after it seized gold hidden inside bathroom fittings.  Two other suspects, Swapna Suresh and her accomplice Sandip Nair, were arrested from their hideout in Bengaluru five days later.  Sivasankar was suspended after his alleged links with Suresh surfaced.  Now, a multi-agency team is probing the case and 30 people have been arrested so far.


.@DrSJaishankar holds talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Tokyo

https://t.co/n5kKqGPbua https://t.co/11Rl8Ak7P8

External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday held talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Tokyo, focusing on various aspects of bilateral ties and ways to deepen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in the wake of China’s growing assertiveness in the region. Jaishankar and Pompeo are in Tokyo to attend a ministerial meeting of the Quad or Quadrilateral coalition comprising India, the US, Australia and Japan. The external affairs minister also called on Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga along with his counterparts from the US, Japan and Australia. “Began my Tokyo visit with a bilateral meeting with @SecPompeo.  Pleased to see the progress of our partnership in so many fields.  Will work together for stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” Jaishankar tweeted. About the meeting with Suga, the external affairs minister said he mentioned the bilateral and global dimensions of special partnership between the two countries. “Called on PM @sugawitter along with other Quad Foreign Ministers.  Spoke about the bilateral and global dimensions of our special partnership,” he said. The meeting between Jaishankar and Pompeo comes at a time both India and the US are at loggerheads with China. While India’s ties with China have come under severe strain over the five-month border standoff in eastern Ladakh, the relationship between Beijing and Washington nosedived over trade dispute, the coronavirus pandemic and China’s military offensive in South China Sea. It is learnt that Jaishankar and Pompeo also deliberated on overall ties including evolving security scenario around India. In November 2017, the four countries gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the “Quad” to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence. The first meeting of foreign ministers of the four countries under the ‘Quad’ framework had taken place in New York in September 2019. The second ministerial meeting of the Quadrilateral coalition on Tuesday is expected to collectively affirm the importance of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of growing Chinese assertiveness in the region. Last week, the Ministry of External Affairs said the meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries is expected to collectively affirm the importance of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. During his two-day visit to Tokyo, Jaishankar will also hold talks with his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi and Australian foreign minister Marise Payne India is also expanding bilateral cooperation with Japan, the US and Australia in the Indo-Pacific region. The US has been pushing for a greater role for India in the Indo-Pacific which is seen by many countries as an effort to contain China’s growing clout in the region.