Current Final

Tag: India

  • Indian ‘super spreader’ guru leads to 40,000 quarantines

    Indian ‘super spreader’ guru leads to 40,000 quarantines

    At least 40,000 people who may have caught the coronavirus from a ‘super-spreader’ guru are under strict quarantine in 20 villages of Indian Punjab after linked to just one man.

    According to BBC, the 70-year-old guru, Baldev Singh, had returned from a trip to Europe’s virus epicentre Italy and Germany when he went preaching in more than a dozen villages in Punjab state. The 70-year-old died of coronavirus — a fact found out only after his death, according to the BBC.

    The guru and his two associates — who have also tested positive — ignored self-isolation orders on their return from Europe, and were on their preaching tour until Singh fell ill and died. He had visited a large gathering to celebrate the Sikh festival of Hola Mohalla shortly before he died. The six-day festival attracts around 10,000 people every day.

    A week after his death, 19 of his relatives have tested positive.

    India has 640 confirmed cases of the virus, of which 30 are in Punjab. However, experts worry that the real number of positive cases could be far higher given that the South Asian country has one of the lowest testing rates in the world. There are fears that an outbreak in the country of 1.3 billion people could result in a catastrophe.

  • Pakistan is the happiest country in South Asia, 66th in the world

    Pakistan is the happiest country in South Asia, 66th in the world

    The United Nations (UN) on World Happiness Day (March 20) released its World Happiness Report which ranked 156 nations according to how happy their citizens are. The report placed Pakistan on the 66th position making it the happiest country in South Asia. Pakistan was previously at the 67th position and has improved its ranking in the recent report. Meanwhile, India has slipped from the 140th to the 144th position, making it one of the most unhappy nations in the world.

    The happiest nation in the world is Finland, who is receiving the honour for the third consecutive year. At number two and three is Denmark and Switzerland followed by Iceland at number four and Norway at number 5.

    Countries are ranked on six key variables that support well-being including income, freedom, trust, healthy life expectancy, social support and generosity.

    One of the authors of the report John Helliwell in a statement said, “The happiest countries are those ‘where people feel a sense of belonging’, where they trust and enjoy each other and their shared institutions. There is also more resilience, because shared trust reduces the burden of hardships, and thereby lessens the inequality of well-being.”

    However, the impact of the lockdowns imposed by several countries due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak has not been taken into account. Much of the data was collected in the years 2018 and 2019. The author of the report predicts that the lockdown conditions imposed on residents could, paradoxically, boost happiness in future.

    In a first, the report also compared happiness and well-being in different cities. While Helsinki in Finland topped the list, Karachi was declared the happiest city of Pakistani and South Asia at number 117 followed by Lahore on the 122nd spot. The happiest cities in the world include Aarhus, Denmark (2), Wellington, New Zealand (3), Zurich, Switzerland (4), Copenhagen, Denmark (5) and Bergen, Norway (6).

    On the other hand, Kabul is the least happy city followed by Sanaa in Yemen and Palestine’s Gaza.

  • Coronavirus makes its way to Indian military as soldier tests positive

    Coronavirus makes its way to Indian military as soldier tests positive

    An Indian Army soldier, posted in the mountainous region of Ladakh, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, The Economic Times reported on Wednesday.

    According to reports, the soldier’s father had returned from Iran on February 27. At the time, the soldier was on leave. He rejoined his post on March 2.

    After returning to Ladakh, his father was quarantined at a local hospital where he tested positive for COVID-19 on March 6. A day later, the soldier was quarantined. On Monday, he also tested positive for the virus.

    During his quarantine period, the soldier was staying in his native village and helping his family. His sister, wife and two children have also been placed in quarantine.

    The soldier and all his colleagues were placed in isolation after the former tested positive.

    Earlier on Wednesday, another army official attached to the College of Military Engineering in Pune has been asked to self-quarantine after he showed symptoms of flu.

    As of now, 147 people have tested positive in India.

    To contain the spread of the coronavirus, India’s Health Ministry has announced a temporary travel ban from the European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK) and Turkey.

  • 254 Indian Shia pilgrims have reportedly tested positive for coronavirus

    254 Indian Shia pilgrims have reportedly tested positive for coronavirus

    Indian journalist Sidhant Sibal tweeted that a number of Indians pilgrims from Union territory of Ladakh in the central city of Qom in Iran have been confirmed with Coronavirus.

    “Indian mission in Iran & local authorities are reaching out to them,” she wrote in her tweet.

    Another Indian journalist Aditya Raj Kaul tweeted:

    In response to these reports by the Indian media, Indian External Affairs Ministry officials on Tuesday said they cannot confirm whether more than 250 Indians in Iran have tested positive for coronavirus but acknowledged that they were aware of such a list of people being circulated.

    MEA Additional Secretary Dammu Ravi was asked several times about Indians in Iran testing positive.

    “Of course in a situation like that, you will find some positive cases among the Indian pilgrims given the extensive spread of virus in Iran,” Ravi told the media.

    “Rest assured that every care is being taken by mission in cooperating and coordinating with the government of Iran for safety of Indians there. The ambassador is giving a lot of attention to them,” he said.

    “Cannot confirm that over 250 Indians in Iran have tested positive for coronavirus and whether the list that is being circulated is authentic or not ,” he said in response to a question about media reports claiming that more than 250 Indians in Iran have tested positive for the virus.

    He, however, said that it was not possible that all the tests of the Indian pilgrims would have come out negative as they were located in Qom.

    Video of MEA briefing:

    According to Bloomberg, India could become the next global hotspot for virus cases, with experts warning containment measures that proved successful elsewhere in Asia may not work in the world’s second-most populous country.

  • ‘Nawaz Sharif as PM barred Foreign Office from speaking against India,’ ex-diplomat claims

    ‘Nawaz Sharif as PM barred Foreign Office from speaking against India,’ ex-diplomat claims

    Former spokesperson for the Foreign Office (FO) Tasneem Aslam has claimed that former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif had barred the FO from commenting against India and its spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is currently in Pakistan’s custody.

    “Nawaz Sharif did not want to say anything against India and Jadhav through the Foreign Office,” she claimed during an interview with a YouTube channel being run by journalist Isa Naqvi.

    When asked if Nawaz’s instruction benefited the country, Tasneem, who worked as FO spokesperson twice — from 2005 to 2007 under military ruler General (r) Pervez Musharraf and during the last Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government between 2013 and 2017, said it “did not benefit the country” but she did not know “whether it benefited Nawaz’s own interests or not”.

    She said Nawaz had business interests in India and he did not meet Muslim leaders of India-held Kashmir when he visited India as the premier. “Usually, every PM of Pakistan meets Hurriyat leaders but Nawaz Sharif did not meet them when he visited India.”

    Nawaz had visited India in 2014. Aslam further said even in his speech at the United Nations (UN) summit, Nawaz did not talk about India and Jadhav but on the Kashmir issue.

    Meanwhile, PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb told Dawn that the comments by a retired FO official bore no resemblance to reality. “It is a false and biased expression of an individual’s views, based on her personal predilections.”

    Recalling efforts made by Nawaz to resolve the Kashmir dispute, she said that “the principled manner in which he dealt with the issue of Pakistan’s relations with its eastern neighbour was well documented”.

    Marriyum added that the former premier’s address to the UN General Assembly in 2016 contained the most forceful references ever to the issue of Kashmir and the most powerful condemnation of the atrocities and brutalities of the Indian occupation forces.

    The former diplomat’s statements have not been very well-received by Twitterati either.

    What do you think of Tasneem’s statement? Let The Current know in the comments.

  • Coronavirus: IPL likely to begin without foreign players

    Coronavirus: IPL likely to begin without foreign players

    Chennai Super Kings Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kasi Vishwanathan has made it clear that the fresh visa advisory from the Indian government has made it almost impossible for foreign players to join their respective teams in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) before April 15 unless the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) gets special permission.

    According to Indian media reports, the CEO said that most of the foreign players were booked on business visas and in such a scenario the fresh advisory sent out by the government on Wednesday said that they won’t be allowed entry till April 15, despite the cricketing tournament beginning later this month.

    “Most of the players are travelling with business visas and that is how they come and play in the IPL. So, it will be impossible for them to join the teams unless the BCCI gets special permission. As of now, it is not possible as the diktat is pretty clear and we cannot go against the government,” he said.

    Asked what could be the best way forward, he said, “The BCCI needs to sit down with the government and I mean both the central and the state governments across the board and get to some understanding on how they need to go forward. Unless special permission is given, it will not be possible for foreign players to join the teams.”

    A second meeting of the Group of Ministers — Cabinet Committee — on Wednesday had cancelled all visas, except for a few official categories, till April 15 in the wake of the growing coronavirus scare.

  • Indian political organisation plans ‘gaumutra party’ to fight coronavirus

    Indian political organisation plans ‘gaumutra party’ to fight coronavirus

    With the sixth case of coronavirus being confirmed in India, the Hindu Mahasabha — a political organisation formed to protect the rights of the Hindu community and to safeguard Hinduism — has decided to organise a gaumutra [cow urine] party to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread in New Delhi.

    As per the details, Party President Chakrapani Maharaj has told The Print that there was a need to create greater awareness among the people on “how cow urine and cow dung, besides consuming cow products, can help eliminate coronavirus”.

    “Just like we organise tea parties, we have decided to organise a gaumutra party, wherein we will inform people about what is coronavirus and how, by consuming cow-related products, people can be saved from it,” Maharaj, who heads one of the two factions of the Mahasabha, said.

    “The event will have counters that will provide gaumutra for people to consume. At the same time, we will also put cow products like cow-dung cakes and agarbatti made from that. Upon using these, the virus will die immediately.”

    The event will be first organised at Hindu Mahasabha Bhawan in Delhi, following which such ‘parties’ will be held across the country.

    “We are in touch with gaushalas (cow shelters) across the country, who can collaborate and work with us in our mission to eliminate corona,” he said, adding that coronavirus had come to India because some ministers angered it by publicly consuming chicken.

  • Young man dies while making TikTok video

    Young man dies while making TikTok video

    TikTok has claimed another life in India as a young man was killed while recording a video on the railway tracks. Vikas died on the spot after he was electrocuted by the tracks.

    According to reports, the incident took place in Haryana. The 25-year-old was making a video with his friends at 4 am when he climbed up the electrical pole for a better shot. He continued to climb higher and accidentally touched one of the high voltage wires overhead. He was the only casualty in the incident.

    When he died, his friends ran away. The body was there on the wire for almost two hours. Some passersby saw the body and informed the police.

    Government Railway Police (GRP) shut off the power and took down the body. The deceased was sent to a hospital.

    Meanwhile, the police have seized his mobile phone for investigation. They suspect that Vikas and his friends had been drunk when they attempted to make the TikTok video that sadly took his life.

    Vikas lived alone with his mother. His elder brother is currently serving a prison sentence while his father has passed away.

    TikTok related deaths are not uncommon in the sub-continent. Recently a teenager in Sialkot accidentally shot himself while making a TikTok video.

  • Pressure chamber seized from Chinese ship could be for Pakistan’s nuclear weapons: Indian media

    Indian media reports have quoted Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) experts as saying that the industrial autoclave — a pressure chamber used to carry out industrial and scientific processes — seized from Chinese ship Dai Cui Yun, can be used for the manufacture of very long-range ballistic missiles or satellite launch rockets.

    According to Hindustan Times, the ship on February 3 was detained by Customs at Kandla Port in Kutch District of the Indian state of Gujarat while en-route to Port Qasim in Karachi “on the basis of an intelligence tip-off” and later allowed to proceed to Pakistan on February 20 after dual-use equipment was seized.

    The autoclave was declared as an industrial dryer.

    According to top government and intelligence officials, the DRDO’s technical experts and missile scientists informed the Kandla Customs, the Ministry of External Affairs and national security planners on Tuesday morning that the seized 18 metres by 4 metres autoclave could indeed be used in the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) platforms.

    “The autoclave can be used for the manufacture of the motor of very long-range missiles, with range upwards of 1,500 kilometres or even in the construction of a motor for the launch of satellites. Pakistan has the Shaheen-II missile in the 1,500-2,000 kilometre range and the platform was tested last May,” the report quoted an official as saying on the condition of anonymity.

    Islamabad’s nuclear missile programme is not indigenous and is based on Chinese design with Beijing helping Islamabad since the 1980s. India claims it is for no other reason that China is blocking India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) till Pakistan is also allowed to enter the nuclear club”.

    The report added that given the seizure of the autoclave, Indian “friends” such as France and the United States (US) “could now pressure Beijing to allow India into the NSG”.

  • Delhi riots: Indian Muslims put end to decade-old land dispute with Sikhs to thank them

    Delhi riots: Indian Muslims put end to decade-old land dispute with Sikhs to thank them

    Muslim and Sikh communities have decided to put an end to a 10-year-old land dispute that had led to riots in Saharanpur city of Uttar Pradesh (UP) back in 2014 and claimed at least three lives.

    As a gesture of gratitude for the help offered by Sikhs during Delhi riots starting last week, the Muslim community has decided to forego its claim on a piece of land that had been purchased by the gurdwara management and was a bone of contention between the two religious communities of India.

    The dispute pertains to an incident that took place two decades ago when a gurdwara committee in the Kutubsher area purchased land around an existing gurdwara with the objective of expanding the complex. After the acquisition, some old structures in the area were demolished including, allegedly, a mosque.

    Things turned violent when in July 2014 construction work to expand the gurdwara complex began. This led to large scale violence and arson which resulted in the deaths of three people and injured 33.

    The matter subsequently reached the Supreme Court of India (SCI). But now Muslims have decided to forego its claim on the piece of land. Instead, they will be allotted land at another location nearby and the gurdwara management will pay for the construction of the mosque.

    “In view of the great service and support rendered by the Sikhs to Muslims in Delhi throughout the protests and most recently during the riots in Delhi, the Masjid committee in Saharanpur decided to give up its claim over the land as a token of gratitude and thanksgiving,” Nizam Pasha, who represented the Muslim side in the Supreme Court, told The Quint.

    The petitioner, Moharram Ali, has also said that the gesture comes as a show of gratitude for the help and aid provided by the Sikh community to affected families in Delhi’s communal violence. “Sikhs stand for humanity. They help people in need. The helped people affected by the communal violence in Delhi. This is God’s work.”