”Chair reserved for PM Modi, Nitish Kumar will never be a PM”: Union Minister Nityanand Rai

By

-

August 10, 2022

Union Minister Nityanand Rai on Wednesday, while addressing the speculations about Nitish Kumar’s national ambitions after quitting the NDA, said that the JD(U) leader will “never be the Prime Minister” of the country, adding that post of the head of the government is “reserved” for PM Narendra Modi.

The remarks of the Union Minister came after speculations made rounds about Kumar seeing himself in a central role in the upcoming 2024 General elections.

Speaking to the reporters, Rai said, “Going with RJD and Tejashwi Yadav is a betrayal to the people & mandate of Bihar, to the ideologies of Lohia-JP-George. Going with Congress-RJD proves that Nitish Kumar does everything just to be in power.”

“The youth who had laid down their lives in the 1974 agitation (Bihar movement) from the entire country including Bihar, Nitish Kumar has betrayed their blood by tying up with Congress and RJD. His move has proved that he does everything only for power. What does it mean to compromise with 15-year-long terror and anarchy?” he said.

Stating that the people of the country have made up their minds and blessed Narendra Modi “to be the prime minister for lifetime”, Rai said that they (people) will not accept anybody else on the post.

“The people of not only Bihar but the entire country have made up their minds and blessed Narendra Modi to be the prime minister for lifetime. The people of this country will not accept anybody else as their PM if there is Narendra Modi. He will never be the Prime Minister. The post of PM is reserved for PM Modi because the poor got its massiha for the first time,’ Rai added.

Tarkishore Prasad, who was Nitish’s Deputy in the NDA government from which Kumar walked out yesterday, said that the people of Bihar will give a “befitting reply” if a leader acts as per his “own personal ambitions”.

“In 2017 Nitish Kumar said RJD trying to break JD(U). Yesterday, he said BJP trying to break his party. His decision to split from BJP was well-thought-out. If a leader acts as per his own personal ambitions, Bihar will give a befitting reply,” Prasad said.

BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said that Kumar joined hands with the ones who “insulted” him and left the ones who “gave him respect”.

“He is going with the ones who insulted him and abused him, and leaving the ones who gave him respect. We worked with honesty and announced that we would contest the elections together. The rise of Nitish Kumar had happened against the RJD. It was his USP that he came forward against corruption,” he said.

“We will play the role of a strong Opposition. We will put in efforts from now to win all 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in the 2024 elections,” Hussain added.

Kumar ended his alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) National Democratic Alliance and rejoined hands with RJD on a day of rapidly changing political developments in Bihar.

According to a tweet by Kumar’s new alliance partner RJD, the swearing-in ceremony will be held at 2 pm at Raj Bhavan.

“The swearing-in ceremony of Honorable Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister will be held tomorrow at 2 pm at Raj Bhavan,” the party said in a tweet from its official handle.

While the RJD tweet did not mention any names, it is widely expected that Nitish Kumar would be the chief minister while Tejashwi Yadav would become his deputy.

In a day of fast-paced political developments, Bihar’s chief minister Nitish Kumar twice met Governor Phagu Chauhan, first to hand over his resignation as NDA chief minister and then after being elected leader of the RJD-led `Mahagathbandhan’ (grand alliance) to stake a claim for the top job in the state once again.

Kumar said he submitted a list of 164 MLAs to the governor who will decide when the oath-taking can take place. The effective strength of the state Assembly is 242 and the magic figure is 122.

Notably, it will be the eighth time when Nitish Kumar will be sworn in as Chief Minister of Bihar.

Bombay HC grants anticipatory bail to Kirit Somaiya in INS Vikrant case

By

ANI

-

August 10, 2022

Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted Anticipatory bail to BJP leader Kirit Somaiya and his Son Neil Somaiya in the alleged misproportion of funds case related to INS Vikrant.

Mumbai Police informed the Court that it could not get any proof against Somaiya in the case yet.

A case was registered against Kirit Somaiya and his son Neil Somaiya under Sections 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 406 (Punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the Trombay Police station in Mumbai for INS Vikrant financial bungling.

Commissioned in 1961, INS Vikrant, a Majestic-class aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy, had played a key role in enforcing the naval blockade of East Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. It was decommissioned in 1997.

In January 2014, the ship was sold through an online auction and scrapped in November that year.

Ex Twitter employee found guilty of spying for Saudi Arabia

By

ANI

-

August 10, 2022

An ex-Twitter employee has been found guilty of spying for Saudi Arabia as he passed on private user information like email and phone numbers of accounts that criticized the Kingdom to an official affiliated with that country’s government.

Ahmad Abouammo, 44, a former Twitter Inc. employee, upon passing on the private user information associated with critics of the kingdom in exchange for a luxury watch and hundreds of thousands of dollars, reported by the agencies.

He was also found guilty of money laundering, falsification of records and one count of wire fraud by the 11-person jury in San Francisco federal courthouse on Tuesday.

Abouammo was found innocent on five other counts of wire fraud. Abouammo worked at Twitter from 2013 to 2015 while managing media partnerships with high-profile users in the Middle East and North Africa.

As per the media reports, he repeatedly accessed the email accounts and phone numbers of accounts that criticized the Saudi government, including the anonymously run account “mujtahidd,” prosecutors said. Prosecutor Eric Cheng in closing arguments last week, had said that Abouammo took bribes close to three times his annual salary for almost a year.

“We all know that that kind of money is not for nothing.” However, Twitter declined to comment on the episode. Abouammo is scheduled to be back in court on Wednesday for a hearing.

The US government said Abouammo, a dual U.S. and Lebanese citizen, had been recruited into the scheme by a man named Bader Binasaker, who was rising in the ranks of the Saudi government.

Abouammo, a husband and father of three, was charged in 2019 in Seattle where he lived at the time and was working as a social media consultant after three years at Amazon Inc.

He had pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors said the scheme began in the summer of 2014 when Abouammo met Binasaker, an aide to then-Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, during a tour of Twitter’s headquarters. The two began cultivating a relationship shortly thereafter.

About six months later, in December, Abouammo met Binasaker in London while on a work trip. He flew back to the U.S. with a luxury watch worth more than USD 40,000, the government said. “That luxury watch–it was not free,” Eric Cheng said. “The kingdom had now secured its Twitter insider.”

US government said that Abouammo also involved one of his colleagues, Ali Alzabarah, who performed website maintenance for Twitter, introducing him to Binasaker.

The Justice Department charged Alzabarah and another man, Ahmed Almutairi, with acting as illegal agents of a foreign government for their alleged roles in giving private Twitter user information to Saudi Arabia.

Almutairi, a Saudi citizen, controlled a social-media company that worked for the Saudi royal family and helped recruit Abouammo into the scheme, the U.S. government said, as per media reports.

Worker found dead in Thane power loom factory

By

Web Team

-

August 10, 2022

dead body — Image for representative purpose

A worker found murdered in a power loom factory in Bhiwandi town of Maharashtra, Thane District police said.

Iqbal Ahmed Mohammad Shakib Ansari, 60 years was sleeping on the mezzanine floor on Tuesday afternoon of the factory located in Khan compound when some unidentified persons allegedly smashed his head and face with a huge stone and killed him, Shanti Nagar police inspector Nilesh Badakh said.

One of the workers spotted the body lying in blood pool in the factory premises around 3 pm and informed the police.

The police rushed to the spot and sent the body to a government hospital for postmortem, the official said.

A case was registered on Tuesday night against unidentified persons under Indian Penal Code Section 302 (murder).

No arrest has been made so far, the official said, adding that a probe is on into the killing and the reason behind it.

Stung by Nitish’s “betrayal”, BJP stages protest in Bihar

By

PTI

-

August 10, 2022

Nitish Kumar 2 — Patna: Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar interacts with the media after submitting his resignation Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022. Image: PTI Photo

Stripped of power in Bihar, the BJP on Wednesday staged a massive demonstration condemning the “betrayal” of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose similar volte-face five years ago had helped it join the government through the proverbial “back door”.

The `Maha Dharna’ (massive demonstration) staged in front of the party office at Birch and Patel Marg was attended by all BJP MPs and MLAs from Bihar who vowed to “expose” the 71 years old JD(U) leader through agitations scheduled at district and block levels later this week.

“There is no other reason for the turnaround except his Prime Ministerial ambitions which make him envious of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He should first try to win a state election on his own, without using an alliance as a crutch”, said Union minister Giriraj Singh, the Chief Minister’s best-known detractor in the state.

The party rank and file seemed bewildered at the sudden turn of events which has taken the spotlight away from the “Har Ghar Tiranga” programme which the BJP was planning to hold with much fanfare.

Kumar had on Tuesday pulled the plug on JD(U)’s alliance with the BJP and resigned, and followed it up by staking claim to form a new government with the support of the opposition Grand Alliance.

The development appears to have swept the BJP off its feet in Bihar where it had organized its first-ever joint national executive of the party’s seven wings (morchas), attended by party president J P Nadda and, most importantly, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, only last month.

The party had issued a press statement asserting that it was looking forward to contesting the next Lok Sabha and assembly polls under Kumar’s leadership, labouring under the impression that it would be sufficient to convince the septuagenarian of the BJP’s bona fide.

Tejashwi Prasad Yadav has come back to the Center stage as Kingmaker

By

PTI

-

August 10, 2022

After a dream debut seven years ago when he was sworn in as deputy chief minister after being elected MLA for the first time was followed by a slump in his political fortunes, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav has finally come back to center-stage as the kingmaker and deputy to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The 33 years old younger son of the charismatic Lalu Prasad had steered the party to an impressive performance in the tightly contested 2020 assembly polls when it won the largest number of 75 seats, belying those who thought he will flounder since Prasad was in jail and the heir apparent lacked acumen.

Before Chief Minister Kumar decided to pick him as his deputy for a second time, Yadav was making waves as a doughty leader of the opposition, taking on the government of his father’s arch-rival on the floor of the assembly while in session, as well as on the streets.

The dramatic realignment was preceded by a massive ‘Pratirodh’ (opposition) March against the NDA government at the Centre which he led on Sunday, rallying along Congress and the Left, in a clear signal that the opposition in the state had the appetite for a fight.

Born on November 9, 1989, he is the youngest of all but nine siblings and has been a clear favourite of his father who seemed to have noticed political potential in him at a young age.

Doted on by seven elder and one younger sisters, besides a temperamental elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav, the RJD heir apparent whom family members address by the nickname “Tarun” married his Chandigarh-based friend Rachel Iris, who has since adopted a new name “Rajshree”.

Decided by his opponents for lacking formal education, Yadav had given up studies after flunking in Std IX at DPS, RK Puram. He has, however, demonstrated an ability to read the situation he finds himself in and make the best of it.

Having decided early on in life that studies were not for him, Yadav chose not to cling to his cricketing aspirations after the much-needed big break eluded him though, by most accounts, he was a competent all-rounder.

He announced his “retirement” from cricket just a couple of years before entering politics in 2015, at the tender age of 25.

The new vocation came as a perfect pitch to bat on as he won from Raghopur in the assembly election comfortably, thanks to a formidable, albeit short-lived alliance forged by arch-rivals Kumar and Prasad.

In addition to being his father’s favorite, Yadav exuded a maturity that was beyond his age which certainly played role in his rise.

As fate would have it, Yadav’s name cropped up in a money laundering case, relating to illegal land transactions involving his father’s tenure as the Railway Minister in the UPA-1 government, when the scion himself was in his teens.

The development drew heavy opposition fire and the JD(U) leader, conscious of his reputation for probity in public life, snapped ties with the RJD and ended up making a hasty return to the NDA.

Yadav took the sudden loss of power in his stride and worked to keep the RJD party afloat while his father ended up behind bars following convictions in a number of fodder scam cases.

Questions were raised about his ability to lead the party and the Grand Alliance after the Lok Sabha elections in which the opposition coalition conceded 39 out of 40 seats to NDA and the RJD itself drew a blank.

He was ridiculed, by the then ruling JD(U)-BJP combine, as an “ill-prepared student afraid of facing exams” when he demanded that the assembly elections be deferred in view of the global pandemic.

However, once the poll schedule was announced, the fire in his belly was there for all to see. Yadav displayed ruthlessness in shunning dissenters and guile in winning over allies, including the CPI(ML) which has been bitterly opposed to the RJD especially since former JNU president Chandrashekhar was gunned down, in the early 1990s, allegedly by henchmen of the local MP Mohd. Shahabuddin.

Naysayers may think that he has short-changed himself, meekly accepting a deputy’s instead of waiting it out till the Chief Ministership could be up for grabs. Supporters will, however, be on a roll in their belief that he has given it back to the BJP which had snatched power from the RJD through a “backdoor entry” five years ago.

Bangladesh’s foreign reserves are good, won’t see repeat of Lankan crisis: Power Minister

By

ANI

-

August 10, 2022

bangladesh FM minister — Bangladesh's foreign reserves are good, won't see repeat of Lankan crisis: Power Minister 8

Amid raging protests against skyrocketing fuel prices, the Bangladesh government has asserted that Dhaka won’t see a similar fate to the Sri Lankan crisis because the country has a substantial amount of foreign reserves.

Power, Energy and Mineral Resource Minister of Bangladesh, Nasrul Hamid, speaking exclusively to ANI ruled out the possibility of Bangladesh seeing massive public anger against the ruling dispensation.

“Bangladesh has a good foreign currency reserve, there is no such possibility,” Hamid said when asked if he thinks that Bangladesh is poised to face the same crisis as Sri Lanka.

The Minister further clarified that fuel is the lifeline of any country’s economy and we have sufficient reserves of petroleum products and a good supply chain in the country by December 2022.

“Petroleum oil is one of the most important elements of any society and country. We can treat this as the lifeline of the economy. Therefore, we are always careful about the energy security of the country. We have been maintaining a very good supply chain of petroleum products to ensure the energy security of the country. We have sufficient stock of refined and crude petroleum oil in our storage tanks and the import lineup has been finalized up to December 2022,” Hamid said.

Bangladesh increased fuel prices by over 50 per cent last week which was the highest increase since the country’s independence in 1971

Explosions hit the Russian military airbase in annexed Crimea

By

ANI

-

August 10, 2022

Russian Air base blast — People rest on a beach as smoke and flames rise after a series of explosions at a Russian military airbase in Crimea [Stringer/Reuters]

One person has been killed and several others wounded in an explosion at a military airbase in the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula.

The explosions were caused by the detonation of several aviation ammunition stores and Russia’s Ministry of Defence clarified that there has been no attack. And no aviation equipment had been damaged, Al Jazeera reported.

Several unverified videos on social media showed the sunbathers fleeing a nearby beach as huge clouds of smoke from the explosions rose over the horizon. Crimea’s health department said that one civilian had been killed and another eight injured.

The head of Crimea’s administration Sergey Aksyonov said that the ambulances and medical helicopters were sent to the Saki airbase and the area was sealed off within a radius of five kilometres (three miles).

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not directly mention the blasts in his daily video address on Tuesday but said it was right that people were focusing on Crimea, reported Al Jazeera.

“We will never give it up… the Black Sea region cannot be safe while Crimea is occupied,” he said, reiterating Kyiv’s position that Crimea would have to be returned to Ukraine.

Ukraine’s defence ministry earlier issued a statement in a heavily suggestive tone reminiscent of its response to unexplained blasts on Russian territory, saying it “once again draws attention to fire safety rules”.

If the base was, in fact, struck by the Ukrainians, it would mark the first known major attack on a Russian military site on the Crimean Peninsula and a significant escalation of the conflict.

The Saki base has been used by Russian warplanes to attack areas in Ukraine’s south on short notice. Crimea borders the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, now controlled by Moscow, according to Al Jazeera.

Earlier, the Ukrainian troops launched an attack against the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant using an Uragan multiple rocket launcher, with shrapnel and a rocket engine falling 400 meters (1,312 feet) from the station’s operating power unit, the military and civil administration of the city of Enerhodar told Sputnik.

“Tonight, the Ukrainian armed forces carried out a strike using a 220-millimetre Uragan rocket launcher,” an administration spokesperson said.

The missile unfolded and released shrapnel warheads as it approached the power units, the spokesperson noted. Russia launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24, which the West has termed an unprovoked war.

As a result of this, the Western countries have also imposed several crippling sanctions on Moscow.

Radhika Jeweltech Ltd reports Q1FY23 Financial Results; PAT jumps 270 per cent YoY

By

ANI

-

August 10, 2022

Radhika Jeweltech Ltd. (RJL) (BSE: 540125, NSE:RADHIKAJWE), a renowned retail jewelry Company dealing in high-end Legacy jewelry including fine gold jewelry and diamond-studded jewelry operating through a retail store in Rajkot, Gujarat has announced results for the quarter ended 30 June, 2022.

For the quarter ended 30 June 2022 the company reported total income of Rs 61.63 Cr as compared to Rs 53.1486 crores during the period ended March 31, 2022. For the corresponding period, the net profit stood at 10.21 Cr (Q1FY23) as against Rs 4.44 Cr (Q4FY22)

The company recorded impressive revenue growth of 163 per cent YoY, which grew from Rs 23.44 Cr (Q1FY22) to Rs 61.63 (Q1FY23). PAT rose 270 per cent YoY, growing from Rs 2.76 Cr (Q1FY22) to Rs 10.21 Cr (Q1FY23). The company reported EPS of Rs 4.33 (Q1FY23) as compared to Rs 1.17 (Q1FY22)

Radhika Jeweltech Ltd. has over 3 decades of goodwill with its customers. With 35 years’ rich experience in gold and jewellery entrepreneurship, the promoters of RJL have in-depth knowledge of the industry as well as the local jewellery market of Rajkot.

Rajkot is the primary socioeconomic urban centre of the Saurashtra region and a major one in the state of Gujarat. Going forward, rapid urbanization, an expanding working-age population, growing economic opportunities, and rising disposable income along with the tradition of buying/investing in gold will drive demand for jewellery.

Ashok Zinzuwadia, the driving force behind the Company, laid the foundation of Radhika Jewellers back in 1987. Since then, Radhika Jeweltech Limited has experienced rapid growth and expanded from a small shop in soni bazar of Rajkot city in its initial stages to a huge showroom of 2500 sq. ft., which is now situated on palace road of Rajkot city.

The success of Radhika Jeweltech Limited can be attributed to their customer-centric philosophy, the quality standards of jewelry, best designs displayed to highly valued customers, outstanding selling skills of employees.

This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article.

Corbevax booster shot has been approved for 18 years and above

By

ANI

-

August 10, 2022

The Central government has approved Biological E’s Corbevax for restricted use in an emergency as a heterologous booster dose, official sources confirmed on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Agencies had reported that the Corbevax booster for heterologous first has been approved by the Centre.

Last month the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) recommended Biological E’s CORBEVAX as a heterologous booster for adults above 18 yrs old.

On June 4, this year Biological E. Limited (BE), a Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical and vaccines company announced that its CORBEVAX COVID-19 vaccine has been approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) as a heterologous booster dose after 6 months of administration of primary jabs of Covaxin or Covishield vaccines for restricted use in the emergency situation for the individuals aged 18 years and above.

“BE’s CORBEVAX is the first such vaccine in India to be approved as a heterologous COVID-19 booster.

Recently, BE has furnished its clinical trials data to the DCGI who after a detailed evaluation and deliberations with the Subject Experts Committee, granted their approval for administering the Corbevax vaccine as a heterologous booster dose to people who have already taken two doses of either Covishield or Covaxin,” an official statement from BE read.

“BE’s clinical trial data showed that Corbevax booster dose provided significant enhancement in immune response and excellent safety profile required for an effective booster,” it added. Mahima Datla, Managing Director, Biological E.

Limited, said, “We are very happy with this approval, which will address the need for COVID-19 booster doses in India. We have crossed yet another milestone in our COVID-19 vaccination journey.

This approval reflects that once again sustained world-class safety standards and high immunogenicity of Corbevax.” “BE has conducted a multicentre Phase III placebo-controlled heterologous booster clinical trial in 416 subjects from 18 to 80 years of age who were previously vaccinated with two doses of either COVISHIELD or COVAXIN at least 6 months prior to the administration of Corbevax as a booster dose,” the statement read further.

“The booster dose of Corbevax increased the neutralizing antibody titers in the Covishield and Covaxin groups significantly when compared to the placebo,” it added. So far, India’s Cumulative COVID-19 vaccination Coverage has exceeded 207.03 Crore (2,07,03,71,204) till 7 am on August 10.