Panic has struck the crew and passengers of the luxury cruiseliner that has been quarantined off a port in Japan since February 5. An Indian crew member on-board Diamond Princess told that the captain of the ship announced today that 66 people have been tested positive for the new coronavirus. He is one of the 160 Indian crew members on the ship. More than 3,700 passengers and crew are facing two-week quarantine. Binay Kumar Sarkar, a chef from north Bengal who had earlier gone on social media to appeal to the Indian government for help, that there was full-fledged panic…
Author: Our Correspondent
Following the search operations at his residence here last week, the Income Tax department has summoned actor Vijay. According to reports, Vijay has been summoned by IT department here for further explanations. However, senior IT officials declined to confirm or deny the summons. Last week, as a part of search operations at AGS Group, the IT department officials had brought Vijay from Neyveli where he was shooting for his next movie. The IT officials carried out a search operation at his residences here. Later, in a statement last week, the IT department said Vijay’s investment in immovable properties and remuneration…
Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Kiren Rijiju, informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday that 627 sportspersons are currently receiving monthly pensions under the Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons scheme. Indian sportspersons winning medals in international sporting or paralympic events are eligible for lifelong pension upon retirement, or after attaining the age of 30 years, whichever is later. In a written reply to a question, Rijiju said that monthly pensions, ranging between Rs 12,000 and Rs 20,000, are being disbursed under the scheme to medal winners at international sporting events such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and…
Hilal Akbar Lone, National Conference (NC) leader and son of party MP Muhammad Akbar Lone, was on Monday booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA). In the last five days, six mainstream leaders from the region belonging to National Conference and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have been slapped with PSA, which allows detention of any individual for up to two years without a trial or charge. The total number of mainstream leaders booked under the detention law has now mounted to seven. On Thursday, two former Chief Ministers — Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti — were booked under PSA. Earlier,…
Two days after Goa Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao urged the central government to revoke the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), calling the law “divisive” and “discriminatory”, state BJP general secretary Narendra Sawaikar on Monday urged him to stop claiming benefits under Article 30 of the Indian Constitution, which protects minority educational institutions from government discrimination. The Congress has called Sawaikar’s condemnation of the Archbishop’s views as “autocratic”. Earlier in a tweet, Sawaikar, a former Lok Sabha MP on Monday said: “If #CAA is discriminatory than Article 30 of Constitution of India is more discriminatory. Don’t claim benefits at taxpayers money by…
Making a significant observation on the blockade at Shaheen Bagh by anti-CAA protesters in Delhi, the Supreme Court on Monday said that “you can’t block public roads indefinitely” and that the “protests can’t continue like this in public places”. Hearing a plea for directions to the authorities to remove the Shaheen Bagh blockade, a bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph issued notices to Delhi Police and others and scheduled the next hearing on the matter for February 17. During the hearing on the matter, Justice Kaul said that the protest at Shaheen Bagh had continued for many…
Storm Ciara, named the “storm of the century”, has slammed the UK as gale winds and heavy rain have triggered tornado warnings and blackouts, shut highway and grounded flights. The Met Office on Sunday night issued several National Severe Weather Warnings for strong winds travelling up to 144 km per hour throughout the weekend, including an Amber warning for much of England and Wales, reports Xinhua news agency. Storm Ciara also brought about heavy rains and widespread travel chaos, with passengers travelling on Sunday and Monday morning being urged to check for updates beforehand. In Lancashire, the fire chief warned…
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that he was confident that the Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government was going to fulfill the expectations of the Tamil people within united Sri Lanka. Rajapaksa is on a visit to New Delhi. After assuming office, he accepted Prime Minister Modi’s invitation and chose India for his first foreign tour. Prime Minister Modi said he was confident that the Sri Lankan government “will realize the expectations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace and respect within a united Sri Lanka”. For this, he said, it will be necessary to carry forward the…
Over 100,000 people have been screened for coronavirus infection at various Indian airports as a preventive measure, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare here on Sunday. “As on Sunday, 197,192 passengers in 1,818 flights were screened at 21 airports. The universal screening for passengers from Singapore and Thailand, besides Hong Kong and China, is continuing at earmarked aero-bridges,” the Ministry said. The screening is also being done at seaports and border crossings. According to the Ministry, 9,452 people are under community surveillance in 32 states and Union Territories. States were strengthening their rapid response teams to counter…
2G mobile internet services which were suspended in Jammu & Kashmir on Sunday morning were restored in the afternoon. The authorities snapped 2G internet services across Kashmir with mild curbs in parts of Srinagar on the death anniversary of Parliament attack mastermind Afzal Guru who was hanged. Internet services were blocked in J&K hours ahead of abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. Mobile phone services were restored last month but the broadband services are still suspended. Over 300 whitelisted websites are accessible while there is a ban on the rest.