JAMMU, Oct 26: Weather was dry in J&K during the last 24 hours, and the MeT office said on Wednesday that dry weather with hazy morning is likely during the next 24 hours.
“Weather is likely to remain dry in J&K during the next 24 hours with hazy morning,” an official of the MeT department said.
Jammu had 14.7, Katra 13.8, Batote 7.9, Banihal 4.8 and Bhaderwah 5.5 as the minimum temperature.
Srinagar had 4.7, Pahalgam 0.3 and Gulmarg 1.5 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature today.
Drass in Ladakh region had minus 4.2, Kargil minus 0.3 and Leh minus 3 as the minimum temperature. (Agencies)
Dry weather, hazy morning likely in J&K in next 24 hrs: MeT
Kharge formally takes over as Congress president
New Delhi, Oct 26: Veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge formally took over as Congress president on Wednesday after he was handed over the certificate of election to the top post at a function at the AICC headquarters here.
Kharge, the first non-Gandhi to head the party in 24 years, had defeated Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor in a direct contest for the president’s post in the grand old party after the Gandhis opted out of the race.
Kharge was handed over the certificate of election as the Congress president by the party’s central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry.
Mistry said he hopes other parties will draw a lesson from the Congress and hold polls for party presidency by secret ballot.
Outgoing Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former chief Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also present at the event which was attended by several top party leaders.
Ahead of his taking over, Kharge visited Rajghat and paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi. He also visited the memorials of former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi and former deputy prime minister Jagjivan Ram, and paid tributes to the leaders. (Agencies)
India an important manufacturer of vaccines for world: White House
WASHINGTONOCTOBER 26: India is an important manufacturer of vaccines for the world, the White House said, acknowledging the crucial role the country played in supplying vaccines against COVID-19 globally.
“Because of its incredible manufacturing capacity, (India) has been a major exporter of vaccines,” Dr. Ashish Jha, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, told reporters at a news conference here on Tuesday.
Responding to a question, Dr. Jha said the QUAD partnership – a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan and the US — on coronavirus was important to the Joe Biden administration.
“I think India is an important manufacturer of vaccines for the world. I mean not just for India itself, this is a really important thing,” he said at the White House news conference.
Defending the Biden administration’s decision to supply vaccines to the world, Dr. Jha said the U.S. will continue making them available for every low and several low- and middle-income countries.
“There are about 100 countries that are eligible to get free vaccines through COVAX —where we donate the vaccines still available for donation,” he said. According to Dr. Jha, every major variant that hit the U.S. originated from outside the country. “So, the notion that we can somehow wall ourselves off and not be affected by what’s happening in the rest of the world is just naïve,” he said.
“It’s just not how transmissible viruses like this work. So even if you think about it from a very narrow self-interest, it’s very important that we get much of the world vaccinated, that we help build out the kind of vaccination program. But beyond self-interest, you know, America is a country that has deeply engaged in the world,” he added.
Dr. Jha claimed that Mr. Biden had restored American leadership on global health in a way which is “very different from the previous President”.
“So, for a whole set of reasons, it’s very, very important that America continues to lead, €4.02 billion is a small investment to make to better protect Americans and better protect the world,” Dr. Jha said. (Agencies)
4649 dengue cases, 7 deaths reported in J&K this year so far: Official
SRINAGAR, Oct 25: At least 3,784 dengue cases and seven deaths have been reported in Jammu and Kashmir this year so far with six from Kashmir division.
A top health official that around 15003 tests have been conducted so far and 4,649 have been tested positive.
Of 4,649 cases 90percent of cases which is 3,784 cases are from Jammu district only.
They added that cases include 154 from Samba, 64 from Kathua, 320 from Udhampur, 83 from Reasi, 47 from Rajouri, 22 from Poonch, 116 from Doda, 29 from Ramban, 13 from Kishtwar and six from Kashmir besides that 12 from other states. Also, seven people have died.
As per the data, today 37 dengue cases in two children and 35 adults were reported in J&K.
According to official data, the highest number of 1,837 cases were reported in 2013 but this year, the figure has surpassed the previous one.
India adds 830 Covid cases, lowest single-day tally in 197 days
New Delhi, Oct 26: India’s COVID-19 caseload climbed to 4,46,45,768 on Wednesday with 830 fresh infections, the lowest single-day rise in 197 days, while the number of active cases came down to 21,607, according to Union health ministry data.
The death toll due to the viral disease climbed to 5,28,981 with one new fatality, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The active cases comprise 0.05 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.77 per cent, the ministry said.
A decrease of 942 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.67 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate stood at 1.05 per cent, the ministry said.
The number of people who have recuperated from COVID-19 surged to 4,40,95,180 and the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.18 per cent, it said.
So far, 219.57 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive, according to the ministry.
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 one-crore mark on December 19.
India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 last year, three crore on June 23 and four crore on January 25 this year. (Agencies)
Jitendra Singh Takes Dig At Mehbooba Mufti, Says ‘India’s Democracy Far Better Than Any Country In World’
JAMMU, Oct 25: Union minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday took a dig at PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti for using the elevation of Rishi Sunak as Britain’s prime minister to lament alleged divisiveness in India, saying that India’s democracy is far better than that of any other country in the world.
The Minister of State for Personnel, without naming anybody, questioned the mindset which is “possibly motivated by reluctance to accept the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is part of India”.
“Anybody who is familiar with the history of independent India and the history of Indian democracy would have no doubt that democracy in India is far better than any other country’s in the world,” Singh told reporters here.
For example, India has witnessed more than one presidents either from the minority or from the weaker sections, he said.
“I am proud to say that during the Vajpayee regime, we had APJ Abdul Kalam as the President of India. After Prime Minister Modi took over, we had Ram Nath Kovind and now we have (Droupadi) Murmu.
“Incidentally, all of them are either from the minority section or from the weaker section, and if you think Jammu and Kashmir is also part of India, I think everybody would accept that the President (of India) is also the President for Jammu and Kashmir,” the minister said .
“But what worries me is that the mindset which articulates such kind of phrases and such kind of observations is possibly motivated by reluctance to accept the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is part of India,” said Singh, who is a Lok Sabha member from Udhampur constituency of the Union territory.
The minister was asked to respond on remarks by PDP chief and former J&K chief minister Mufti.
“Proud moment that UK will have its first Indian origin PM. While all of India rightly celebrates, it would serve us well to remember that while UK has accepted an ethnic minority member as its PM, we are still shackled by divisive & discriminatory laws like NRC & CAA,” Mufti had tweeted on Monday. (Agencies)
Infiltration Bid Foiled in Tangdhar Kupwara, 1 Terrorist Killed, Operation Continues: Police
SRINAGAR, Oct 26: A terrorist has been killed as Infiltration bid was foiled by Security forces in Sadpura Tangdhar area of North Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Wednesday, officials said.
A top police officer told that a Infiltration bid was foiled in Sadpura area of Tangdhar by joint team of Police and 3/8 Gorkha Rifles.
One unidentified terrorist has been killed so far in the gunfight as operation continues in the area,the officer added. More details shall follow. (Agencies)
Jan Abhiyan;Animal Husbandry Department hold integrated awareness camp in Bhadarwah
By King RJ
Bhadarwah, Oct 25: To aware people about the different welfare schemes sponsored by Government, Animal Husbandry organised integrated awareness camp for farmers of Bhadarwah under Union Government’s Jan-Abhiyan initiative.
The programme was organized by Animal Husbandry Department Doda led by Cheif Animal Husbandry Officer (CAHO) Doda Moin-ud-Din, in which district heads of 5 departments including Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, FIshries, Sheep Husbandry and horticulture department participated.
On the occasion BDC Chairman Bhadarwah Omi Chand was the chief guest, while Sarpanch Shabir Ahmed Khan was the guest of honour.
More than 100 farmers associated with Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and allied departments participated in the event.
CAHO Doda Moin-ud-Din said that with an aim to aware people especially farmers about the different schemes, we organized Integrated awareness camp here, in which farmers were informed about different schemes for their welfare including Integrated Dairy Development Scheme, Integrated Poultry Development Scheme, Animal Husbandry KCC, beside they were sensitize about Prevention and control measures to control Lumpy Skin Disease.
Queries of farmers related different issues were listened and answered during the camp, out of which maximum were redressed on the spot.
Dr Ajaz Hussain, LDO Bhadarwah, VAS Dr Saheem Goni, Dr Imran Magray, Dr Fayaz Ahmed, Dr Aqib Zarger (SH), PRI members, volunteers of UMEED Group were present in the camp.
Free medicines were also distributed among the participants. Partial solar eclipse visible from most parts of India
New Delhi, October 25: A partial eclipse of the sun began in India on Tuesday evening and it will be visible for the longest duration from Dwarka in Gujarat.
The partial eclipse is visible over most of India including some parts in the northeast.
The ending of the eclipse will not be visible from India as it will be in progress after sunset.
The obscuration of the sun by the moon will be approximately between 40 and 50 percent at the time of the maximum eclipse in the north-western parts of the country. In other parts of the country, the percentage coverage will be less.
In Delhi and Mumbai, the percentage coverage of the sun by the moon at the time of the greatest eclipse will be around 44 per cent and 24 per cent respectively.
The duration of eclipse from the beginning up to sunset time will be one hour and thirteen minutes in Delhi and one hour and nineteen minutes in Mumbai.
In Chennai and Kolkata, the duration of the eclipse from the beginning up to sunset time will be 31 minutes and 12 minutes respectively.
In Dwarka, the partial sun eclipse will be visible for one hour and forty-four-and-a-half minutes. The partial solar eclipse occurred a day after Diwali.
The eclipse is visible in the region covering Europe, the Middle East, north-eastern parts of Africa, western Asia, the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Indian Ocean.
India will witness a total solar eclipse on August 2, 2027.
A solar eclipse occurs on a new moon day when the moon comes in between the earth and the sun and when all three are aligned. A partial solar eclipse will occur when the lunar disk covers the solar disk partially.
An official release said eclipsed sun should not be viewed with the naked eye, even for a very short time.
It will cause permanent damage of the eyes leading to blindness even when the moon covers most portion of the Sun. Safe technique to observe the solar eclipse is either by using a proper filter like aluminized mylar, black polymer, welding glass of shade number 14 or by making a projection of the sun’s image on a white board by telescope. (AGENCIES)
Rishi Sunak takes charge as UK’s first Indian-origin PM after meeting King Charles III
LONDON, Oct 25: Rishi Sunak has formally taken charge as Britain’s first Indian-origin Prime Minister after an audience with King Charles III on Tuesday, a day after he was elected the new leader of the Conservative Party in a historic leadership run.
Outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss chaired her final Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday morning before making her way to Buckingham Palace to formally tender her resignation to the 73-year-old monarch.
Sunak then arrived at the palace for his meeting with the King, who then invited him to form a government as the UK’s 57th Prime Minister and the monarch’s second in just over six weeks.
The 42-year-old former Chancellor of Exchequer, a devout Hindu, is the youngest British prime minister in 210 years. He is also Britain’s first Hindu Prime Minister.
Sunak, the second prime minister in as many months and the third this year, will make his first prime ministerial address on the steps of 10 Downing Street, expected to be joined by his wife Akshata Murty and daughters Krishna and Anoushka. He is then expected to start finalising his Cabinet, with the key roles of Chancellor, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary expected to be announced soon.
”The UK is a great country, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge,” said Sunak in his first address as Prime Minister elect on Monday, with reference to the economic turmoil he is inheriting following former prime minister Liz Truss’ disastrous tax-cutting mini-budget last month.
”We now need stability and unity and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together; because that is the only way we will overcome the challenges we face and build a better, more prosperous future for our children and our grandchildren. I pledge that I will serve you with integrity and humility and I will work day in day out to deliver for the British people,” he said.
Sunak’s victory on Diwali has resonated among the Indian diaspora groups across the UK, who have hailed it as a “historic moment” in British social history.
”Rishi Sunak becoming the first British Indian Prime Minister is an historic moment. This simply would not have been possible even a decade or two ago,” said Sunder Katwala, Director of British Future think tank.
“But we should not underestimate this important social change. When Sunak was born in Southampton in 1980, there had been no Asian or black MPs at all in the post-war era. There were still no black or Asian Conservative MPs when he graduated from university in 2001. That Rishi Sunak is set to be Prime Minister during the coronation of King Charles III next spring tells an important story about our society, where we have come from and where we are going in the future,” he said.
The Archbishop of Canterbury urged Britons to pray for Rishi Sunak as he enters No. 10 Downing Street at a turbulent time.
”At a time of great difficulty and uncertainty for this country, please join me in praying for Rishi Sunak as he takes on the responsibilities of leadership,” Justin Welby wrote on Twitter.
”May he, and all leaders of all parties, work across divides to bring unity and offer stability for those who need it most,” he said.
Sunak’s victory in the Tory leadership race came at the end of a dramatic few days in Westminster since Liz Truss resigned last Thursday in the wake of a disastrous tax-cutting mini-budget and several policy U-turns.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson ruling himself out from the contest over the weekend and Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt conceding defeat just moments before the shortlisting deadline on Monday paved the way for a remarkable political comeback for Sunak – having lost the Tory membership vote to Truss just last month.
However, his popularity as the frontrunner among his party colleagues was replicated yet again as more than half the Tory MPs came out publicly in his support. He now faces the enormous challenge of steering the UK economy through massive inflationary turbulence and also uniting the different wings of a divided Conservative Party. (Agencies)