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MP Congress elects BJP leader to the post of its youth wing general secretary and this is not satire: Read what happened

OpIndia Staff
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MP Congress elects BJP leader to the post of its youth wing general secretary and this is not satire: Read what happened

In an incident which has left the grand old party red-faced, the Madhya Pradesh Congress has elected a BJP leader for the post of the secretary of a district unit of the youth wing of their party in the organisational election held between December 10 and 12. The Youth Congress’s organisational elections ended on December 18 (Friday) and BJP leader- Harshit Singhai was “elected” by 12 votes.

The incident came to the fore when Harshit Singhai started receiving congratulatory messages over his new “post” in Jabalpur.

It’s been nine months since Harshit Singhai walked out of Madhya Pradesh Congress

Singhai was one of the leaders who quit Congress in March when scores of party MLAs and workers followed Jyotiraditya Scindia to the BJP. However, surprisingly the change has not displayed in Congress’s records in these past nine months.

Though the election of Harshit Singhai for the post of the youth wing general secretary now stands revoked, the blooper by the party’s state unit was being plugged as a crude display of the party’s disconnect with ground realities.

I had written to Rahul Gandhi and the former CM of Madhya Pradesh Kamal Nath when I left: BJP leader Singhai

Speaking about Congress party’s goof-up, the BJP leader remarked: “The most laughable is the fact that no one was interested in the polls and I was elected general secretary. I left the Congress on March 10 with Scindia-ji. I filled in my nomination for the Youth Congress polls three years ago.”

“When I joined the BJP with Scindia-ji, I requested the party that my name be dropped from the Youth Congress polls but nothing was done. When I called again, they asked me to send a mail explaining the circumstances in which I left the party. I had written to Kamal Nath (former Chief Minister) and Rahul Gandhi. This is what the Youth Congress has done across Madhya Pradesh. Those who are not in the party anymore are being elected,” said Singhai explaining that after nominations for the post of the youth wing general secretary was submitted, the polls kept getting delayed. They were first stalled because of the Madhya Pradesh election in 2018 and later because of the national election, confirmed Singhai.

Congress accuses BJP of resorting to “cheap tactics”

Meanwhile, the former state Youth Congress chief Kunal Chaudhary lashed out at Singhai accusing him of resorting to “cheap tactics” to malign his former party and lying about withdrawing his nomination. He said as soon as the error was flagged, the appointment was cancelled.

MP Youth Congress election coordinator Maqsood Mirza opined: “It’s a cheap publicity stunt of BJP. Singhai filed his nomination in March. Later, he joined BJP but he didn’t withdraw his nomination purportedly. The election process was held online and nobody paid attention as there were more than 1800 nominations and Singhai was not a popular leader.”

Was he, or was he not: Video emerges that shows farmers ‘beating up’ Ajit Anjum, journalist refutes: Full story

Jinit Jain
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Was he, or was he not: Video emerges that shows farmers ‘beating up’ Ajit Anjum, journalist refutes: Full story

Social Media websites were recently awash with videos of a scuffle between farmers and an unknown person at the protest site along the Delhi Border. Several social media users shared the video, claiming that the unknown person was none other than senior journalist Ajit Anjum, who was ‘beaten up’ by the farmers while reporting about the ongoing farmers’ protests.

The video that has gone viral on the internet showed a raft people, presumably, protesters involved in a scuffle with unknown people, close to the protest site on a highway.

Ajit Anjum refutes allegations, claims he intervened to stop the scuffle

However, soon after the video went viral with the claim that Ajit Anjum has been at the receiving ends of the blows rained by the protesting farmers, the journalist quickly took to Twitter to refute the allegations that he had had a scuffle with the protesters. Anjum claimed that he was in the middle of the chaos because he was trying to settle the matter between the two sparring parties.

“Some people are making this video viral with incorrect information. Some boys had entered into a brawl over an argument with a photographer. Seeing tempers flying high, many people like me came forward to end their raging dispute. The video is from that time,” Anjum tweeted while rejecting the allegations that he was being roughed up by the protesters.

Despite his clarification, the video continued to spread like wildfire, along with the rumours that Ajit Anjum has been thrashed by the protesters at the protest site when he had gone to cover the farmers’ protest. Peeved by the resilience of the viral video, Anjum issued another tweet, stating that the fake news machinery is rolling along even after he issued a clarification that he wasn’t manhandled at the protest site.

“The mechanism to make fake news viral is still in place. I am reiterating that nobody has manhandled me. I did not quarrel with anybody. I, along with others only tried to separate the two fighting parties who got embroiled in a scuffle on a comment made by the photographer. This information is for everybody who is constantly calling to check on me,” Anjum said.

Mumbai Police arrests Suresh Raina and Guru Randhawa for violating Covid norms, cricketer says not aware of local rules

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai Police arrests Suresh Raina and Guru Randhawa for violating Covid norms, cricketer says not aware of local rules

The Mumbai Police has arrested cricketer Suresh Raina, singer Guru Randhawa and other celebrities for violating Covid norms. Bollywood celebrity Susanne Khan, former wife of Hrithik Roshan, has been booked. They have been let out on bail after a case was registered.

Senior inspector of Sahar Police Station S Mane told the Indian Express, “A raid was conducted around 2.30 am at the Dragonfly Club near Mumbai airport. We found that the guests and those operating the club were not following lockdown measures, like wearing masks or observing social distancing. We arrested 34 persons that included seven staff members.”

According to the IE report, the Police arrested Suresh Raina and Randhawa under Sections 188 (disobedience to order duty promulgated by public servant) and 269 (acts in a way that could spread an infection) among others. “There were some women celebrities as well but we did not arrest them. They were served with a notice and allowed to go,” Mane added.

Raina’s management team has issued a statement after being released on bail. “Suresh was in Mumbai for a shoot which extended to late hours and was invited by a friend for a quick dinner post the same prior to him taking his flight back to Delhi. He was not aware of the local timings and protocols,” it said.

The statement added, “Once pointed out, he immediately complied with the procedures laid out by the authorities and regrets the unfortunate and unintentional incident. He always holds rules and laws laid down by governing bodies with the highest regard and will continue to do so in the future as well.”

The Maharashtra Government had announced night curfews on Monday across major cities to prevent the further spread of the Coronavirus.

Read why Canada had once denied asylum to renowned Balochistan activist Karima Baloch, who has now been mysteriously found dead

OpIndia Staff
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Read why Canada had once denied asylum to renowned Balochistan activist Karima Baloch, who has now been mysteriously found dead

Karima Baloch, an activist and former chairperson of Baloch Students Organisation – Azad, who was a staunch critic of the Pakistan Army and government atrocities in Balochistan, has been found dead under mysterious circumstances in Toronto Canada Tuesday.

The spokesperson of the Baloch National Movement said that the martyrdom of Karima Baloch, a BNM leader living in exile in Canada and former chairperson of Baloch Student Organisation (BSO), is a great loss to the Baloch nation and the national movement.

The Canadian refugee, who spent her life fighting for the rights of the people of Balochistan was named as one of the world’s 100 most “inspirational and influential” women in 2016 by the BBC. She is believed to be one of the most prominent women leaders from Balochistan who often spoke on the atrocities and militarization of Balochistan. The activist had received acclamation for her “campaigns for independence for Balochistan,” an area that had been under the British rule until 1947 and was later acceded to Pakistan as one of the country’s four provinces.

Karima Baloch had championed the cause of women in Balochistan and was raised issues pertaining to barbarities perpetrated by the Pakistani Army in the region.

She had recently accused the Justin Trudeau government in Canada of facilitating Pakistani army officials by giving them refuge.

Canada denied refuge to Karima Baloch claiming BSO’s involvement in “subversion” against the Pakistani govt

Lots have been written and said about Karima Baloch’s activism, but little has been spoken on how her voice against Pakistan’s oppression in Balochistan, had become a stumbling block for her when she approached the Canadian government seeking asylum in 2016. According to reports, though she was later allowed to take refugee, the Canadian authorities had initially rejected her asylum request, which she made after she escaped from Pakistan in 2016 with the help of a few friends and Baloch activists, fearing for her life due to threats from the Pakistan army and intelligence agencies.

The Canada Border Services Agency had in 2016 rejected her request because of the Baloch Students Organisation – Azad’s involvement in “subversion” against the Pakistani government. In their order, Canadian border officials had then said that Mehrab is inadmissible on security grounds for being a member of an organization that engages, has engaged or will engage in an “act of subversion against a democratic government” as “understood in Canada.

An official of Pakistani High Commission in Ottawa had strongly responded to Karima Baloch’s asylum plea and contested that her claims that her life was in danger in Pakistan were untrue.

For the uninitiated, Pakistan has declared Baloch Students Organisation, which Karima Baloch was an active member of then, a terrorist organisation. Pakistan has accused BSO of working at the behest of the Indian intelligence RAW. A claim which Karima Baloch had vociferously refuted.

‘Fake accusations’ of BSO being a RAW agent by Pakistan a cover-up: Baloch activist

Karima had stated that BSO-Azad has no contacts with Indian intelligence RAW or any other intelligence agency of any country. Speaking to DNA, Karima had in 2016 claimed that the ‘fake accusations’ of a RAW agent by Pakistan is to cover up on its atrocities in Balochistan. She had stated that there is no Indian presence or involvement in Balochistan.

“The allegation of Indian involvement in Balochistan is an excuse to label ingrown Balochistan freedom movement as a proxy war to cover up the war crimes Pakistani state has committed in Balochistan. Pakistan wants to show the world that its ruthless policy is in self-defence against foreign aggression. But, the world is not blind, deaf and dumb. It is now an open secret that almost 7 decades old Baloch movement is an indigenous movement, not a proxy war imposed by an outsider. In fact, we are in self-defence against Pakistani aggression because it occupied our land illegally, and without our consent”, the Baloch activist had said.

After the Baloch activist was found dead today under mysterious conditions, many have accused Pakistan ISI of the killing.

Hathras Case: The victim and accused Sandeep Singh were romantically involved, says CBI charge sheet

OpIndia Staff
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Hathras Case: The victim and accused Sandeep Singh were romantically involved, says CBI charge sheet

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) charge sheet on the Hathras case, filed on December 18, has reportedly mentioned that the victim and the accused Sandeep Singh were in a romantic relationship. The CBI reportedly found a record of a total of 115 calls exchanged between the victim and the accused from October 2019 to March 2020.

The UP police during their investigation had found out that Sandeep used to receive regular phone calls from the number registered in the name of the victim’s brother. Sandeep Singh belongs to the same village and was constantly in touch with the victim. The family of the victim has, however, denied having spoken to Sandeep before. The witnesses had reportedly told the CBI that the victim’s family had found out about their relationship and a fight had taken place between the two parties outside Sandeep’s house.

According to reports, Sandeep was angry after the victim stopped talking to him. The victim had reportedly stopped talking to the accused after March 2020 and the accused had started suspecting her.

CBI charge sheet made victim’s last statement as the basis

The CBI filed the charge sheet on the basis of the final statement given by the victim on September 22. The matter be heard on January 4 in a special court set up under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Amid the opposition from the opposition leaders as well as the family of the victim, the Uttar Pradesh government had transferred the investigation of the case to the CBI for a fair and impartial investigation.

The incident took place on September 14 after which the victim was admitted at Safdurjung hospital in Delhi where she passed away on September 29. The initial medical report did not mention rape. The victim’s brother had also not mentioned rape in the complaint registered on the day of the incident. The rape allegations surfaced much later on September 22 when the police recorded the statement of the victim. The CBI report has been filed under sections 302, 376, 376A and 376 D of the Indian Penal Code and under the relevant provisions of the SC and ST Act.

The Hathras case had created massive political debates in the country, especially after media reports twisted facts and started claiming that the victim had been brutalised. It is notable here that the initial statements of the victim, the family’s FIR and statements had all alleged a strangulation attempt. However, later, the family had added the charges of rape and eventually gang rape to their list of allegations. Since the victim was a Dalit, political parties had tried to exploit the caste violence angle. Medical and forensic reports had dismissed sexual assault claims. The entire timeline of the case, media misreports, political spins and controversies, and the government’s actions can be read here.

‘Ad revolution, not education revolution’: Here are 10 questions by Kapil Mishra to Manish Sisodia about Delhi’s education system

OpIndia Staff
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‘Ad revolution, not education revolution’: Here are 10 questions by Kapil Mishra to Manish Sisodia about Delhi’s education system

BJP leader Kapil Mishra on Tuesday took to Twitter to expose the hollow claims made by the AAP government in Delhi regarding the state’s education system. Mishra stated that Delhi had witnessed an “advertising revolution” and not “education revolution” as alleged by the AAP leaders and asked 10 questions of the Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

“I challenge you to answer these ten questions,” Mishra tweeted while sharing his queries.

AAP government claimed government schools improved, data doesn’t back that claim: Kapil Mishra

Citing the Economic Survey Report commissioned by the Delhi Government, Mishra asked why the students in Delhi were leaving the government schools to join private ones despite AAP government’s assertions that the standard of government-run schools in the national capital have improved dramatically. Mishra said the survey revealed that the share of private schools in the national capital increased to 45.4 per cent in 2017-18 as compared to 2014-15 when it was 30 per cent.

Another question asked by Kapil Mishra is why were the government schools in Delhi witnessing a continuous drop in the number of students appearing for 10th and 12th examination even though the population of the city was steadily rising.

“In 2014, 1 lakh 66 thousand students appeared for the 12th examinations. In 2015, 1 lakh 40 thousand appeared. Subsequently, in 2016, 1 lakh 31 thousand took 12th exams and in 2017 and 2018, 1 lakh 21 thousand and 1 lakh 11 thousand appeared for the 12th board exams. What has led to this dramatic fall in the number of students appearing for the 12th exams? Mishra asked.

Students in 9th and 11th were failed to show results for 10th and 12th standards have improved: Kapil Mishra

Mishra has alleged that with the intention of showing better results for the 10th exams, more than 50 per cent of the students are being failed in the 9th exams. He alleged that in 2016-17, 47.7 per cent of students were failed in the 9th grade and asked why 20 per cent of the students who had passed 10th examinations failed in the 11th standard.

“It means as compared to ninth standard, only half of them qualify for the 10th examinations and only one-third of them go on to give their 12th examinations. This figure is worst since India’s independence. Lakhs of students are being failed in 9th and 11th standards so that good results in 10th and 12th standard can be boasted in advertisements,” Mishra alleged.

The BJP leader has asked what are reasons that lakhs of students have failed examinations, dropped out of the government schools and got enrolled in the private schools.

Education budget remained unutilised during AAP’s tenure in Delhi: Mishra

Mishra has also raised questions on Delhi government’s budget allocation for education. He has alleged that the AAP government is spending more on the publicity of its Education policies than on the education itself.

“In the 2017-18 budget, why were the Rs 2000 crores allocated for education budget not utilised? In the last 5 years, the education budget has more or less hovered around Rs 2000 crores-mark, indicating that only announcements were made but work wasn’t done,” Mishra said.

Furthermore, Mishra raised pertinent questions regarding the development of new schools in Delhi. He has contended that the Delhi government has not built a single new single during its tenure. He added that only 15,000 temporary new rooms were built in 3,000 old schools.

“Is it Education revolution to build just 5 classrooms in every school, that too temporary rooms?” Mishra asked.

Kapil Mishra questions if the Delhi government’s education revolution is an advertisement revolution

“How many teachers were recruited in the last 7 years? Why the position of principal is vacant in 70 per cent of the schools? Why 76 per cent of the schools do not have a water connection?” Mishra further asked.

“Delhi neither saw new schools nor new colleges. Teachers were not recruited, education budget remained unutilised, water drinking facility at schools continue to remain poor, but what it saw were only advertising and media management. Is this education revolution or advertisement revolution?” Mishra asked.

The BJP leader has also raised aspersions against the deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, asking him to explain his brother-in-law’s relationship with the owner of the agency that puts up hoardings and banners in Delhi.

Once lauded for its coronavirus model, Kerala overtakes Maharashtra in active Covid-19 cases

OpIndia Staff
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Once lauded for its coronavirus model, Kerala overtakes Maharashtra in active Covid-19 cases

As per the latest Covid-19 cases reported by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, out of 2,92,518 active cases in India, Kerala has 60,670 active cases that is more than Maharashtra that has 60,593 active cases.

Kerala’s performance in managing the Covid-19 pandemic has been deteriorating from the last few months, and it is staying in the top five states to report maximum new cases of coronavirus. And now, it is number one state in maximum number of active cases.

According to the Kerala government’s Covid-19 dashboard, the state was doing well till the last week of July, after which the situation started to worsen. The first case in the state was reported in January 2020. By September 10, the graph became problematic for the state when it crossed the 100k mark. In October, the state was at third position in total number Covid-19 cases. It took Kerala six months to report 100,000 confirmed cases, but in less than three months since September 10, the state has recorded over 600,000 cases.

Graph of Covid-19 cases in Kerala (Image: Kerala Gov Covid Dashboard)

Once lauded for its Covid model, Kerala is struggling to control coronavirus

In the beginning, Kerala’s Covid-19 model was lauded across the country. Media houses praised the CPI(M)-led Kerala government in every possible way while ignoring notable work done by other states like Uttar Pradesh in containing the disease. Even World Health Organization published a report on Kerala’s Covid management in July. During that period, the Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP-led Maharashtra government struggled to contain the disease, and Maharashtra is still in the top five states with the highest number of cases.

Kerala model and international media

‘Kerala model’ was lauded globally with international media hailing the state government for effectively arresting the coronavirus spread.

Kerala model on how to fight covid-19

By April 2020, media reports were published asking the world to learn from Kerala model.

Al Jazeera hailing Kerala model

Al Jazeera also hailed Kerala model.

On May 14, 2020, British Daily newspaper The Guardian had hailed Kerala’s health Minister KK Shailaja as ‘rockstar’.

Shailaja KK ‘rockstar’

Shailaja KK even presented the ‘Kerala model’ at a UN meet in June this year.

In fact, in a bid to get praise from the hostile foreign media, Kerala Health Minister Shailaja KK even badmouthed about other Indian states to BBC. She claimed that Goa did not have any hospitals.

So what just happened there?

What went wrong in Kerala

Kerala has a large population of overseas Indians. The first case was reported in the state as early as January 30 and it crossed 7-lakh mark of reported cases on December 20. The state that has experience with epidemic outbreaks did well initially, and as the lockdown was in place in India, the administration managed to control the outbreak. However, as the relaxations kicked in and the people started to have a sense of safety, the precautionary measures were ignored. It resulted in a spike in the number of cases, and things began to move against the state. It has to be noted that when number of cases were increasing in Kerala in May, the CM had decided to ease restrictions around Eid.

In November when the state was among the highest contributors of new Covid cases, Kerala’s health minister KK Shailaja said that the demographic and epidemiological reasons were behind the new surge in cases. She added that the festivals and several political protests in recent times contributed to the spike in the confirmed cases. “The return of migrants from other parts of the state and abroad also had contributed to the situation,” she said.

Currently, Kerala and Maharashtra together count for 40% of the active cases compared to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that counts only for 7% of the total active cases. It has to be noted that UP’s population alone surpasses Kerala’s and Maharashtra’s population put together.

New York: Muslim boxer on the run after killing activist daughter extradited from Kuwait

OpIndia Staff
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New York: Muslim boxer on the run after killing activist daughter extradited from Kuwait

A Muslim boxer named Kabary Salem accused of murdering his 25-year old daughter has been extradited to New York from the Middle East where he was tracked down by the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) Regional Fugitive Task Force on December 3.

According to the New York Post, the body of the victim named Ola Salem was found in a park in Staten Island in New York last year. The boxer was indicted by a Staten Island grand jury on November 5 for the murder of his daughter. He was brought back from Kuwait to New York on Friday.

Victim’s body was found dumped in a park

Salem had reportedly fled the United States soon after the body of his daughter was recovered in October last year by a person jogging in Bloomingdale Park in Staten Island’s Prince Bay neighbourhood. The body that was found covered in leaves had been dragged through the woods around 30 feet. Ola Salem, who lived in Rosebank, advocated for Muslim women suffering from domestic violence through her volunteer work at the New York-based organisation Asiyah Women’s Centre.

Salem had also killed a boxing opponent in 2000

52-year old Kabary Salem is a former professional middleweight boxer from Egypt. He is reportedly known by the name ‘The Egyptian Magician’. He competed in the 90s and through early 2000s. He is also reported to have participated in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics. According to New York Post, in September 2000, Salem had killed an opponent named Randie Carver, after repeatedly headbutting him. Carver did not gain consciousness after being knocked out by Salem in 10th round and passed away a couple of days later from head trauma.

‘Yell for women’s freedom’ lands Playboy model in trouble, could face seven years in Turkish prison: Read Details

OpIndia Staff
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‘Yell for women’s freedom’ lands Playboy model in trouble, could face seven years in Turkish prison: Read Details

Habitual offender Marisa Papen is in trouble for a 2018 incident when she posed nude at the Hagia Sophia in Turkey and laying naked on the Turkish flag. According to reports, the Playboy Model is facing seven years in jail for the racy photographs that gained a lot of traction.

According to The Sun, she has been accused of “insulting the signs of the state’s sovereignty” by Turkish prosecutors who branded the photographs “lurid acts” and “obscene”. Marisa Papen is reportedly shocked that Turkish authorities are going after her for the photographs.

The development comes days after she launched her website ‘Naked Atlas’. The website contains all the countries where Marisa Papen has captured nude photographs. She has built a reputation for herself as a troublemaker by posing nude in front of iconic structures all over the world. It is pertinent to mention that Hagia Sophia was a museum when she posed nude there. It has been converted to a Mosque since.

The Belgian model was arrested in 2018 for posing naked in front of the Vatican. She was arrested in Egypt for the same reason at the Karnak Temple in Kuxor. Again, she caused outrage by posing naked near Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall.

But that has not deterred her zeal to pose nude around the world. Apparently, she is doing it for women’s freedom. In an interview with The Sun Online, she said, “It’s a yell for freedom. I want to go back to a time when women were queens.” “That’s why I want to go to all these countries where women are suppressed. Like I said it’s a yell for freedom and I want them to see my message,” she added.

After the UK discovers new strain of Coronavirus, six passengers aboard London-Delhi flight test COVID positive

OpIndia Staff
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After the UK discovers new strain of Coronavirus, six passengers aboard London-Delhi flight test COVID positive

On Tuesday, a government official informed that six people aboard were diagnosed with the Wuhan Coronavirus after they landed in Delhi from London on Monday night via an Air India flight.

The development comes after the United Kingdom warned against the emergence of a new strain of the Wuhan Coronavirus in the country. As per reports, 5 people had tested Coronavirus positive at the Delhi airport. However, one passenger who came from London took a connecting flight to Chennai and was diagnosed with the infection there.

While speaking about the development, Health Secretary (Tamil Nadu) J Radhakrishnan informed, “We are testing for COVID-19 passengers of flights originating or halting in the UK. One such passenger tested positive yesterday.” He emphasised that it was ‘incorrect’ to assume that the patient was infected with the newly discovered strain of Coronavirus.

“We will send his samples to the National Institute of Virology, Pune. We are also identifying the people who travelled to the UK in the last 10 days & ensuring they all test negative in RT-PCR testing,” he stated.

UK discovers new strain of Coronavirus

As per reports, the authorities have conceded that the virus has gone ‘out of control’ in the UK. “Unfortunately the new strain was out of control. We have got to get it under control,” informed UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock. The new variant, discovered in September, is said to be 70% more transmissible than its counterpart.

“There is no current evidence to suggest (it) causes a higher mortality rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments, although urgent work is underway to confirm this, “chief medical officer Chris Whitty emphasised. A notification was thus issued by the Public Health England on Friday to the UK government after modelling the said virus strain. The new strain has reportedly been discovered in South Africa, Denmark, Netherlands and Australia.

India suspends UK flights temporarily

Yesterday, the Indian government has decided to temporarily suspend all flights originating from the UK to India till 31st December. “Considering the prevailing situation in the UK, Indian govt has decided that all flights originating from the UK to India shall be temporarily suspended till 11:59 pm, 31st December. This suspension to start w.e.f. 11.59 pm, 22nd December,” a tweet posted by the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.

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