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Showing posts from January, 2021

HM Amit Shah reviews law and order in Delhi

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A day after farmers' tractor rally turned violent in Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday took stock of the security situation and measures taken to ensure peace in the city, officials said. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and senior officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Delhi Police attended the meeting. The home minister reviewed the law and order situation in Delhi, which witnessed violence during the farmers' tractor rally on Tuesday, a Home Ministry official said. Shah was also briefed by the officials about the steps taken to ensure peace in the national capital, the official said. There is a possibility of police taking action against farmers leaders, who signed an agreement with the police on the carrying out peaceful tractor rally through designated routes but failed to keep the promise, another official said. The central government has already deployed around 4,500 paramilitary troops to assist the Delhi Police in maintaining law and order. After

With blazers and sneakers, Kamala Harris brings in new style of power dressing

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Vice President-elect Kamala Harris ' understated and elegant signature style of blazers combined with sneakers signals a new way of power dressing. Harris, 56, has created history by becoming the first woman, first Black and first Indian-American vice president of the United States. Emerging as a woman of conviction and dedicated towards her work, Harris makes sure her approachable personality is reflected through her attire, several US media outlets reported. Her no-nonsense wardrobe often features sharp blazers, skinny pants, pearls and Converse sneakers. “Her style is understated, tailored, elegant, businesslike, with a touch of whimsy,” said Susan E. Kelley, who runs the blog What Kamala Wore, in a report in the New York Post. “The clothes don't wear her; she wears the clothes,” Kelley said. That professional polish mixed with West Coast nonchalance signals a new way of dressing for the corridors of power, it said. Harris opted to wear a dress designed by two Black designer

Gill's 91 keeps India in hunt for win in final Test

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Shubman Gill announced his arrival on the global stage with a sublime 91 while Cheteshwar Pujara surpassed all pain threshold barriers to keep India on course for a challenging 328-run target, taking the score to 183/3 at tea on the final day of the fourth Test here on Tuesday. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane (24 off 22 balls) looked good before Pat Cummins (2/22 in 17 overs) dismissed him to keep Australia in hunt during an engrossing session of a high quality Test match. Gill on Tuesday showed he is there to rule world cricket despite missing out on a hundred as his disdainful treatment of Mitchell Starc will be remembered for a long time. Pujara, on the other hand, saw Australian try out a menacing short ball tactic. He took a few on the helmet, a few more on the chest and other parts and a painful one on the knuckles to remain unfazed on 43 off 168 balls as India need to either score 145 runs or bat out another 37 overs to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. With Rishabh Pant (10 batting, 2

Japan widens virus emergency to 7 more areas as cases surge

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Japan expanded a coronavirus state of emergency to seven more prefectures Wednesday, affecting more than half the population amid a surge in infections across the country. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also said Japan will suspend fast-track entry exceptions for business visitors or others with residency permits, fully banning foreign visitors while the state of emergency is in place. Suga's announcement comes less than a week after he declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and three nearby prefectures. The new declaration, which adds seven other prefectures in western and central Japan, takes effect Thursday and lasts until Feb. 7. “The severe situation is continuing, but these measures are indispensable in turning the tide for the better," Suga said at a news conference, bowing as he sought understanding from the public. He said he put the seven prefectures in urban areas under the state of emergency to prevent infections from spilling over into smaller cities where medica

Cold wave grips Delhi, mercury dips to 3.2 deg C

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A cold wave gripped Delhi on Wednesday as frosty winds from the snow-clad western Himalayas continued to sweep the plains and brought the minimum temperature down to 3.2 degrees Celsius, the IMD said. "Dense" fog blanketed parts of the city, lowering visibility to 50 metres and affecting traffic movement. Cold wave conditions prevailed at the Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city. It recorded a minimum of 3.2 degrees Celsius, four notches below the normal, said Kuldeep Srivastava, the regional forecasting centre head of the India Meteorological Department (IMD). In the plains, the IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius. A severe cold wave is when the minimum is 2 degrees Celsius or less. Cold and dry northerly/northwesterly winds from the western Himalayas have been barrelling through the plains, bringing down the minimum temperature in north India, Srivastava said. Similar conditions will prevail in th

Trump pledges 'orderly' transfer of power to Biden on January 20

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Outgoing US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that there will be an "orderly" transfer of power to Joe Biden on January 20. Trump's remarks came minutes after a Joint Session of the US Congress formally certified the Electoral College victory of Biden as the next US President and Kamala Harris as the Vice President in the November 3 election. "Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th," Trump said in a statement. Commenting on the certification, Trump said the decision "represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history." "It's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again," Trump said while repeating false claims about the election fraud. Biden, 78, and Harris, 56, are scheduled to be sworn in as the President and Vice President of the country on January 20. The inauguration is going to

Farmers defer Jan 6 tractor march by a day over poor weather forecast, to intensify stir

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Farmers protesting against the new Central agriculture laws Tuesday deferred their proposed tractor march from January 6 to January 7 due to a bad weather forecast, even as they asserted they will intensify their stir in the coming days. Addressing a press conference at Singhu Border here, Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav said "it has been seven months" since the new laws came into force and the government has held seven round of talks with farmers since then, but it has not listened to "seven words" of farmers which are: "we want repeal of the farm laws". Union leaders said thousands of farmers will take out the tractor march from all protest sites -- Singhu, Tikri, Ghazipur and Shahjahanpur (Haryana-Rajasthan border) -- the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) on January 7. Yadav said the decision to defer the march was taken over a forecast of bad weather conditions on Wednesday. The national capital has been receiving intermittent rains for the past three

Delhi pvt hospitals asked to set up isolation units for positive UK passengers

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The Delhi Government has directed four prominent private hospitals to establish isolation units for international passengers who have travelled from or transited through UK in the past four weeks and tested Covid positive, on payment basis with immediate effect. These private hospitals are Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital in Saket, Batra Hospital and Research Centre in Tughlakabad Institutional Area, Fortis Super Speciality Hospital in Vasant Kunj and Sir Ganga Ram City Hospital. "In order to create institutional isolation facility in the private sector for international passengers who have travelled from or transited through UK in the past four weeks, 25th November to 24th December and tested positive, authorities of following private hospitals are directed to establish separate (isolation) unit on payment basis with immediate effect," Dr. R.N. Das, Medical Superintendent of Nursing Homes, stated in an order dated December 30. As many as 38 positive patients, who have tr