India on Wednesday recorded 9,062 fresh COVID-19 infections that took its tally to 4,42,86,256, while the number of active cases came down to 1,05,058, according to Union health ministry data.
The death toll climbed to 5,27,134 with 36 new fatalities, including six reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.24 per cent of the total infections.
The national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 98.57 per cent, the ministry said. A decline of 6,194 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.49 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 4.38 per cent, the ministry said.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,36,54,064, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent, it said. So far, 208.57 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country under the nationwide vaccination drive, it added.
India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the 1-crore mark on December 19.
India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore cases on May 4, 3 crore on June 23 last year and 4 crore on January 25 this year.
The 30 new fatalities include six from Punjab; five from Karnataka; three each from Delhi and Rajasthan; two each from Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand; and one each from Chandigarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Ladakh, Odisha, Sikkim and West Bengal.
Four thousand litres of adulterated milk was seized from a truck at a checkpoint in Rajkot, said the officials on Tuesday.
“A truck was stopped during checking of vehicles and adulterated milk that was made from chemicals like sulfates, phosphates and carbonate oils was seized,” said Praveen Kumar Meena, DCP Zone-1, Rajkot.
As per information, the adulterated dairy business was being carried out for months and is part of a big nexus. “Adulterated milk was being supplied for the last 4 months.
We’ve identified the supplier and factory’s location. Further probe to be conducted,” said the DCP. Further investigations into the case are underway. Earlier on Tuesday, major milk outlets raised milk prices across the country.
The major reason for the price hike was cited as an increment in input costs. Both Amul and Mother Dairy raised their cost by Rs 2 per litre. Mother Dairy has raised the prices of milk by Rs 2 per litre with effect from Wednesday.
“Mother Dairy is compelled to raise its liquid milk prices by Rs. 2/litre with effect from August 17, 2022. The new prices will be applicable for all milk variants,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
It said the company has been experiencing a surge in input costs which have increased multifold during the last five months. Amul too decided to increase the prices of milk by Rs 2 per litre with effect from Wednesday because of rising input costs.
Post the revision, the price of Amul Gold in Ahmedabad and Saurashtra markets will be Rs 31 per 500 ml, Amul Taaza will be Rs 25 per 500 ml, and Amul Shakti will be at Rs 28 per 500ml, it said in a statement.
The increase of Rs 2 per litre, Amul said in the statement, translates into a 4 per cent increase in maximum retail price (MRP) which is lower than average food inflation.
China’s worst heatwave in 60 years is forcing factories to close with temperatures crossing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in dozens of cities.
China’s Sichuan province has ordered all factories to shut down for six days to ease a power shortage in the region as a scorching heat wave sweeps across the country.
Sichuan is a key manufacturing location for the semiconductor and solar panel industries and the power rationing will hit factories belonging to some of the world’s biggest electronics companies, including Apple (AAPL) supplier Foxconn and Intel (INTC), reported CNN.
The province is also China’s lithium mining hub — a key component of electric car batteries — and the shutdown may push up the cost of the raw material, analysts said.
The extreme heat has caused a spike in demand for air conditioning in offices and homes, putting pressure on the power grid. The drought has also depleted river water levels, reducing the amount of electricity produced at hydropower plants.
Apart from Sichuan, other major Chinese provinces — including Jiangsu, Anhui, and Zhejiang — have also urged business and households to conserve power as the heat wave has depleted electric supplies.
In some regions, offices have been ordered to increase their AC temperature to above 26 degrees Celsius or shut down lift services for the first three floors, so as to conserve electricity.
Sichuan, one of China’s largest provinces with 84 million people, told 19 out of 21 cities in the region to suspend production at all factories from Monday to Saturday, according to an “urgent notice” issued on Sunday by the provincial government and the state grid, reported CNN.
The decision was made to ensure that enough power is available for residential use, the notice said.
Image: PTI Elon Musk on left and Manchester United on RIght
After the failed Twitter bid that has left Tesla’s chief executive officer (CEO) in an arduous legal battle, Elon Musk has now set his eyes on buying the English football club Manchester United.
“To be clear, I support the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democratic Party,” he tweeted. And shortly after this tweet, he said, “Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome.”
One can never know how serious Musk is when it comes to his Tweets but the hint of this news has left Manchester United buzzing. ManU fans are already calling for the exit of the current American owner Glazer family owing to poor performance by the club in recent years.
Musk’s tweet, which was published not too long ago, has amassed a huge response. One of the Twitteratis asked, “Do you really think he’s gunna buy? Or just talking rubbish.”
Referring to Tesla CEO’s legal battle over Twitter, another user took a shot at Musk and pointed at the deal that failed to materialise. “You don’t want it, man, trust me This man signed a deal to buy Twitter for USD 44 billion without doing any due diligence then realized it was a bad deal.
Backed out, and is being sued,” the user said. Elon Musk is locked in a court battle with Twitter over a failed acquisition bid that Twitter now intends to force through.
The microblogging website and the world’s richest man are now heading to trial after Musk sought to abandon his deal to acquire Twitter over what he says is a misrepresentation of fake accounts on the site.
Twitter is trying to compel Musk to follow through on the deal while accusing him of sabotaging it because it no longer served his interests
Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, rising tensions between China and Taiwan and other global issues, the US Air Force on Tuesday tested an unarmed nuclear-capable longrange missile, according to the Air Force Global Strike Command.
The unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, equipped with a test reentry vehicle, was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and travelled 4,200 miles to a test range near the Marshall Islands, reported CNN.
The missile, launched at 12:49 a.m. PT, was “to demonstrate the readiness of US nuclear forces and provide confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent,” a statement from the Air Force said.
“This test launch is part of routine and periodic activities intended to demonstrate that the United States’ nuclear deterrent is safe, secure, reliable and effective to deter twenty-first century threats and reassure our allies. Such tests have occurred more than 300 times before, and this test is not the result of current world events,” the statement said.
The launch was originally scheduled for August 4, according to Steven Wilson, a spokesman for AF Global Strike Command, but it was delayed over concerns about China’s response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visiting Taiwan, CNN confirmed. A US official told CNN at the time that it was a “prudent step.”
The US regularly tests its intercontinental weapon system to verify its accuracy and reliability.
“Make no mistake – our nuclear triad is the cornerstone of the national security of our country and of our allies around the globe,” Col. Chris Cruise, 576th Flight Test Squadron Commander, said in a statement.
“This scheduled test launch is demonstrative of how our nation’s ICBM fleet illustrates our readiness and reliability of the weapon system. It is also a great platform to show the skill sets and expertise of our strategic weapons maintenance personnel and of our missile crews who maintain an unwavering vigilance to defend the homeland.
” The Minuteman III is traditionally known as the only land-based leg to the US nuclear triad. The other two parts of the triad are the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile and nuclear weapons carried by long-range strategic bombers.
A number of potholes seen outside Thane station makes to think why TMC collects so much taxes if they can’t provide good quality of roads.
TMC said we have done pre monsoon works of repairs and and filling out pot holes before monsoon, but this is all fake promises they did to the citizens
In a hurry of filling potholes they use cheap quality of material which vanishes off in heavy showers and potholes come up agin.
This is the work of TMC who takes life of every thanekar for granted
The Supreme Court’s order directing the Gujarat government to consider the remission of sentence as per the July 1992 policy paved the way for the premature release of 11 convicts in the 2002 Bilkis Bano case, lawyers said on Tuesday.
As per the current policy formulated in 2014, a person convicted for both gangrape and murder can not be released prematurely, but the 1992 policy had no such bar, a lawyer pointed out.
The BJP government in the state has come under fire for the premature release of 11 men sentenced to life imprisonment for the gangrape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of seven members of her family during the 2002 post-Godhra Gujarat riots.
The convicted men walked out of the Godhra sub-jail on Monday. One of them, Radheshyam Shah, had moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Gujarat government to consider his application for premature release as per the government resolution or order dated July 9, 1992, said Godhra-based lawyer Parimal Pathak who represented some of the convicts.
This facilitated their release, he said. Had the government been asked to consider their pleas as per the current remission policy, their release would not have been possible, said advocate Mihir Joshi, another lawyer.
“The Supreme Court said that the policy at the time of conviction (2008) should be taken into account. Also, the apex court relied on an earlier judgement saying that the policy of the state where the crime was committed should be applied. These are the two things that have been taken into consideration,” Joshi said.
While the crime in this case took place in Gujarat, the trial had been transferred to Maharashtra. “Had the government applied today’s policy, they would not have been released,” advocate Joshi added.
The state government’s order of July 8, 1992 did not mention any classification of crime while deciding on remission pleas. A prisoner sentenced for life should have completed 14 years in jail to be eligible for remission, said advocate Pathak, adding that the opinion of the Inspector General of Prisons (IGP), District Magistrate, Jail Superintendent and an advisory board committee is also taken into consideration, “Relying on its earlier judgment, the Supreme Court said in its order dated May 13, 2022, that the policy which was existing on the date of conviction should be taken into account,” said advocate Joshi.
Hence the 1992 policy will apply here, not the latest one formulated in 2014, he said. Advocate P S Champaneri said the the current policy bars the release of a convict who has committed both gang-rape and murder. “It is the usual policy of the government to exercise the power of remission on August 15, January 26, and October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi….As per the existing policy, a convict who has committed both gang rape and murder cannot be released,” he said.
In its judgment dated May 13, 2022, the SC bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath had said that in this case after the conclusion of trial and passing of judgment, all further proceedings have to be considered “in terms of the policy which is applicable in the State of Gujarat where the crime was committed and not the State where the trial stands transferred and concluded for exceptional reasons under the orders of this court.”
The apex court then directed the respondents (state government) to consider the application of the petitioner for premature release “in terms of its policy dated 9th July, 1992.” A special CBI court in Mumbai had on January 21, 2008, sentenced the eleven accused to life imprisonment. In its 2018 order upholding the conviction of the accused persons, the Bombay High Court also set aside the acquittal of seven others.
The Special Task force (STF), probing the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC) paper leak case, has asked the directors of RMS Techno Solutions, Lucknow, to appear before it for questioning.
Ajay Singh, SSP of STF, said that the directors of RMS Techno Solutions have been asked to appear for questioning today in Dehradun.
The STF has already arrested a staffer of RMS Techno Solutions Pvt Ltd, a prime accused in the case.
Police officials said that the director of the company would appear for questioning today or tomorrow. Eighteen persons have so far been arrested in the case relating to the leak of the recruitment exam conducted by UKSSSC in December last year.
A case was registered following instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami. The STF has started tightening the noose on Lucknow-based printing press RMS Techno Solutions.
Several officials, including the directors of the company, were earlier questioned in Lucknow. They have now been asked to come to Dehradun for further questioning.
The STF is also examining inter-state angles in its probe. Earlier, district panchayat member Hakam Singh was arrested by STF in connection with the case.
