*CORONAVIRUS
- LOCKDOWN : INDIA*
India Heaven For Muslims says Union
Minister Naqvi after backlash from OIC, Arab countries' on Islamophobic in
India
New Delhi: India is heaven for Muslims and their social, economic and
religious rights are secure, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said today, in
response to a statement by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on
what it called "Islamophobia" in the country."India's Muslims are
prosperous. Those trying to vitiate the atmosphere can't be their
friends," Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was quoted as telling Press Trust of
India."The constitutional, social and religious rights of all the citizens
including minorities is India's constitutional and moral guarantee," he
said.The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) had in a statement on Sunday
urged India to take "urgent steps" to protect the rights of Muslims
and stop the incidents of "Islamophobia" in the country.In tweets,
OIC's Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission also said the Indian media
was negatively profiling the Muslims and subjecting them to
discrimination.Asked about the OIC criticism, Mr Naqvi said, "We are doing
our job with conviction. The prime minister whenever he speaks, he talks about
the rights and welfare of 130 crore Indians. If some cannot see this, then it
is their problem."The minister remarked that "secularism and
harmony" was not "political fashion but perfect passion" for
India and Indians.ndtv
UAE Princess Tweets Out Law On Hate Speech Amid Backlash Over
Islamophobic Posts In India
Princess Hend Al Qassimi, a member of the royal family of UAE, has
posted a part of the country’s law on hate speech on Twitter amid controversy
over Islamophobic posts by an Indian user on the social media platform.Last
week, Princess Qassimi had shared screenshots of those tweets and said that
anyone “openly racist and discriminatory in the UAE will be fined and made to
leave”.The man who posted the tweets was an Indian national working in Dubai.
He has since deactivated his account.In an interview to NDTV on Monday, she
said that she spoke about the offending tweets because “I didn’t like what I
saw.”She also said that she did not believe that such comments made by certain
people on Twitter reflected the opinion of all Indians.“One of the top five
countries we trade in is India. We do not deny this friendship,” she said.Later
she posted, “The whole world is on its nerves with Covid19, but the hate should
stop.”On Saturday, Princess Qassimi tweeted out a list of other religious
gatherings that had taken place in India around the same time, saying “all
gatherings can increase the spread.”She is among the several prominent Arab
figures who have criticised Islamophobic tweets, including one deleted by BJP
MP Tejwasi Surya recently. The Middle East leaders and intellectuals have also
questioned the treatment of Muslims in India.On Monday, Indian Ambassador to
UAE quote-tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said, “Discrimination is
against our moral fabric and the Rule of law. Indian nationals in the UAE
should always remember this.”
huffingtonpost
'Scorn, ridicule will not go unnoticed': UAE royal warns after BJP MP
Tejasvi Surya's tweet about Arab women
After Tejasvi Surya, singer Sonu Nigam shamed for his old Islamophobic
tweet
On Monday BJP MP Tejasvi Surya faced social media backlash after an
Islamophobic tweet by him resurfaced after years. On Tuesday, it was the turn
of singer Sonu Nigam to face humiliation on Twitter after an old, controversial
tweet surfaced.“God bless everyone. I'm not a Muslim and I have to be woken up
by the Azaan in the morning. When will this forced religiousness end in India.
And by the way Mohammed did not have electricity when he mad Islam...Why do I
have to have this cacophony after Edison," the singer had said in a series
of Tweets in 2017.His controversial tweets surfaced after reports that the
singer is in Dubai with his wife and son and is unable to travel to India due
to the ongoing pandemic. Many social media users tweeted with the screenshots of
his old tweets, calling the the current predicament of the actor an irony.The
singer was the top trending topic on Twitter following which he deactivated his
Twitter account."Now Sonu Nigam 🤣 ! Drub him royally
by putting him in a cell with a loudspeaker calling out the call for prayer 5
times a day," said one user.A user asked, "Sonu Nigam is Stranded in
Dubai, and that poor Soul must be Listening to the Azaan all the time . When is
he going to Tweet against Azaan in Dubai?"PTI
Govt preparing for a second wave towards May end as lockdown eases
New Delhi :Even as Union govt is looking at various options for
“gradual” lifting of the lockdown post-May 3 and hopes that the doubling time
of COVID-19 cases will increase to 12 days by then, sources said it is
preparing for a second wave in late May or early June, as restrictions are
eased.On Monday, Health Ministry said the doubling time — an epidemiological
metric of how long an infectious disease takes for the number of cases to
double — is 7.5 days, up from the 3.4 days before the lockdown. The govt hopes
that it will increase to 10 days by the end of the week, and 12 days by first
week of May.“At our worst, our doubling time was 3.4 days. We are expecting to
touch 12 by April-end or early May, but after that, as we gradually start to
open up — the lockdown will definitely not be lifted in one go — there will be
a gradual increase (in cases). We are looking at a second peak in late May or
early June, but now that awareness levels are high and people are getting used to the idea of
social distancing, masks etc, we do not anticipate the doubling time dipping to
below 5 days at that point,” said a source.It is likely that the cases will be
concentrated around urban and peri-urban areas, where COVID-19 management will
be less challenging than in rural areas.indianexpress
Coronavirus: Almost 19,000 people in India infected, toll rises to 603
India has 18,985 coronavirus cases and 603 deaths as of Tuesday evening,
the health ministry said. Of these confirmed cases, 15,122 people are being
treated, 3,259 people have recovered, and one person has left the
country.Indian Council for Medical Research, the country’s nodal body for the
coronavirus testing, advised states to not use rapid antibody tests for the
next two days. This came after Rajasthan said the kits mostly delivered
inaccurate results.scroll
India’s Covid-19 R0 down to 1.36 now, 25,000 cases by April-end at this
rate: IMS scientist
New Delhi: India’s battle against Covid-19 has shown some ray of
hope.The R0 value for Covid-19, which is a key parameter to describe the rate
of infection of coronavirus, has further reduced this week to 1.36 — from 1.55
on 11 April.R0 is the basic reproduction number of a disease and indicates the
number of people a patient can directly infect in a healthy population.The
metric has been estimated by scientists at the Institute of Mathematical
Sciences (IMS) in Chennai. “Starting from 13 April, the data shows a further
reduced rate of increase of the number of active cases, corresponding to an
effective reproduction number of 1.36,” Sitabhra Sinha, a scientist at the IMS,
told ThePrint. The value was as high as 1.83 on 6 April.
SC dismisses plea seeking relaxing of medical expenses for non-Covid-19
treatment
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea
seeking directions to the Centre, states and Union Territories for taking
immediate steps to relax all medical expenses of non-Covid-19 ailments during
the coronavirus pandemic.A bench of Justices N V Ramana, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and
B R Gavai dismissed the plea filed by lawyer Sourjya Das in which he said that
due to the nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus, the means of
livelihood and businesses of people have come to a halt resulting in financial
crisis in numerous families.The top court also rejected another petition which
sought making masks and sanitizers free of GST to make it cheaper at the time
of coronavirus.Das in his petition, said, “On perusal of the steps taken by the
respondents (Centre, States and UTs), it is valid to infer that the respondents
have not taken steps to relax/reduce non-Covid-19 related healthcare/ treatment
expenses during Covid-19 outbreak.PTI
1341 devotees were in Latur Ashram when Tablighis were demonised
Pune: When Tablighi Jamaat members were being accused of hiding in
Nizamuddin Markaz as they could not return to their homes after the meeting
held there, due to the sudden announcement of the lockdown, same situation was
being faced by over 1341 members of a sect, stranded in their Latur-based
ashram in Maharashtra.These Mahanubhavis or the sect members had gone to their
ashram located in Nilanga tehsil in Latur district of Marathwada region on
February 26.But the biased journalists who have shattered the fourth pillar of
democracy were in the forefront bashing Tablighis and remained tight-lipped
over the Ashram event.The programme of Mahanubhavis concluded on 29th March but
had to stay back due to lockdown coming into force from March 22.However, the
state government on Sunday (April 19) facilitated their journey through a
special order. The Disaster Management,
Help and Rehabilitation department on April 17 issued a special order
instructing the Latur district administration to make special transport
arrangements to shift all the 1341 followers of “Mahanubhav Panth” or sect to
Devdatta Ashram in Junnar, a distance of about 385 kms, while adhering to the
social distanorms.“All the followers were brought in to the Jadhavwadi- based
Shree Devdatta Ashram in Junnar tehsil in over 40 buses on Sunday,” said an
official from the Pune (Rural) Police.
Over 129 Kashmiri Labourers Stranded in Shimla Jama Masjid
SRINAGAR;More than 129 Kashmiri labourers are stranded in Shimla Jama
Masjid without food or money.After CPI(M) MLA Rakesh Singha sat on a dharna on
Monday, Himachal Pradesh government came into action and provided ration to
Kashmiri labourers stuck in Jama Masjid for the last 30 days. Singha is on
indefinite dharna at Shimla Deputy Commissioner's office. “We have age-old
relations with Kashmir. We too are dealing with apples. Kashmir also grows this
fruit. After Article 370 abrogation, so many people from Kashmir came here for
work. I got a call that people in Jama Masjid are not getting ration. The
administration said they are giving, but labourers denied. There was a
dispute,” said Singha over phone.Conservative figures reveal that there are
1400 to 1500 Kashmiris working in Himachal Pradesh. Most of the people are working as coolies and
daily wage labourers.For the last 29 days, nearly 129 labourers, mostly from
Anantnag and Kulgam districts in South Kashmir, are stranded in Jama Masjid at
Shimla. “Whatever we earned, was spent on food in the last 29 days. Even
quarantine is for 14 days, we have completed 29 days,” Bashir Ahmad, a labourer
from Kokarnag area of Anantnag district, told India Tomorrow over
phone.indiatomorrow
Kerala HC pulls up state govt on privacy issues concerning use of app
for gathering COVID-19 data
Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to inform the
Court on the steps taken to ensure that the confidentiality of the sensitive
medical information shared with New York-based software company Sprinklr, which
has been engaged by the Kerala Govt to manage the COVID-19 data of persons
under quarantine in the state, reported legal news website BarandBench. The
court was dealing with a petition filed citing data privacy concerns in sharing
such sensitive information with a private entity,Appearing for petitioner,
advocate Jaykar KS on Tuesday told the Court that the data is collected by Asha
workers on mobile applications, and that the information so pooled is sent to
the servers of Sprinklr, which is a private entity.IANS
ICMR asks states to stop using rapid Covid-19 tests after complaints of
patchy results
New Delhi: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has asked states to
stop using rapid antibody test kits for Covid-19 diagnosis for two days until
they are validated again. The directive came after the rapid antibody tests,
which reveal if a person has contracted coronavirus and developed antibodies
against it, were found to yield discrepant results. On Monday, Rajasthan had
approached the ICMR, India’s apex medical research body, with a complaint that
just over 5 per cent of the antibody tests had proved accurate.While the RT PCR
(real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) tests, the gold
standard to detect Covid-19 infection, can take up to a day to yield results,
rapid antibody tests take less than 30 minutes and require no laboratory. The
latter are also cheaper, costing up to Rs 500 a pop against around Rs 4,500 for
RT PCR.
Rajasthan stops use of rapid test kits over low accuracy
Rajasthan government has decided to stop the use of rapid test kits from
China as they were showing only 5.4 per cent accuracy in testing Covid-19
cases, according to Health Minister Raghu Sharma, on Tuesday.The kits, used on
Covid-19 positive patients, showed them negative too, Sharma added.The state
government has written to ICMR. "We are awaiting the ICMR's feedback. If
it asks us to stop testing, we will send these kits back," he said.Sharma
said the Health Department had set up a committee to test these kits' accuracy.
It should have been 90 per cent, but, according to the committee, the accuracy
was only 5.4 per cent.IANS
Not iftar parties, Delhi’s young Muslims will mark this Ramzan by
feeding the poor
New Delhi: No iftar parties, no special outings, and no taraweeh prayers
in mosques — Ramzan 2020 will be unlike any other that Indian Muslims have ever
experienced. And while community leaders have reiterated their appeals to stay
at home and observe the ritual fasting and prayers indoors, some younger
Muslims in Delhi have decided to spend the holy month doing something new to
help out people in the time of the lockdown.Prime Minister Narendra Modi last
week announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown to 3 May. Ramzan,
dedicated to fasting from sunrise to sunset every day, is tentatively set to
begin on 24 April in India, depending on the sighting of the moon.Union
Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi then held a meeting with
officials of various state waqf boards via video conferencing, to ensure there
aren’t any violations of the lockdown and social distancing guidelines during
Ramzan, spelt by some as Ramadan.Up to seven lakh mosques, eidgahs and dargahs,
along with other religious and social institutions, come under state waqf
boards across the country.
27 staff of private Tamil TV channel test Covid-19 positive
27 employees of a Tamil TV channel have been asked to get admitted to
hospital after they tested positive for coronavirus, according to a senior
channel official."27 employees, both editorial and non-editorial staff,
tested positive for Covid-19," a senior official of the channel told
IANS.IANS
Kedarnath shrine to open as scheduled after priests reject revised date
announced by Uttarakhand govt
In an embarrassment for the state BJP government, priests of Hindu
shrine of Kedarnath rejected the deferred dates of opening of the portals of
the temple and decided to open the temple on April 29.Interestingly, on Monday,
after a meeting between Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, state
Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj and erstwhile ruler of Tehri state Manujendra
Shah, it was decided that the portals of the Kedarnath and Badrinath temples
will open on May 14 and May 15 respectively, due to outbreak of COVID-19
pandemic. Uttarakhand Tourism minister Satpal Maharaj had announced the new
dates.However, this was not go down well with the priests of Kedarnath temple.
At a meeting held by ‘Dharamacharis’ presided by Bhima Shanker Ling, Rawal of
Kedarnath temple at Omkeshewar temple at Okkhimath, today, it was decided that
Kedarnath temple will open on April 29 at 6.10 am as per the earlier announced
dates
Angry commuters stuck en route as Delhi-Ghaziabad border sealed
With authorities ordering a ban on to and fro movement on the
Delhi-Ghaziabad border, a large number of daily commuters got stuck at the
inter-state checkpoint at the Ghazipur border on the National Highway-9 on
Tuesday morning.The commuters, angry over the sudden ban, could be seen arguing
with policemen manning the barricades on the route. There were queues of
vehicles stuck on both sides of the border.The orders to seal the Ghaziabad
borders were issued by DM Ajay Shankar Pandey on Monday, but many people were
unaware of the directive.IANS
Videos viral with false claim of poor slum dwellers and Muslims hoarding
food in Meerut
Two videos have gone viral with the claim that people from Muslims are
hoarding food supplies and wasting food amidst the lockdown imposed to tackle
coronavirus. A 90-second video of a man who claims to be reporting at a slum
near Gandhi Ashram has gone viral. In this video, the man says that since past
seven or eight days he has been visiting these slums to give food. However, he
claims that some people have been hoarding the relief food even when they have
more than enough supplies of their own. Later in the video, he enters a house
and shows various food items – a portion of chicken, a meagre quantity of flour
and nine food packets. The video also shows stacks of pooris lying on a table.
Just as the pooris are shows we can hear goats bleating in the background.
While the man walks out, we see a lady sitting on the ground. She said, “We
took them out because of the dal.” The man wraps up the video by requesting
people of Meerut not to distribute food at slums near Gandhi Ashram.The readers
should note that police officers can be seen in the viral video and the fact
that the man in the video made no communal comments. Several Facebook users
have posted a different one-minute video with the claim that Muslims are
hoarding food so that poor Hindus are starved. This video shows the man from
video 1 in an orange kurta. Just like the first video he appears to be
reporting. According to him, food is being wasted at a leprosy ashram. The video
shows a room where pooris are lying on the floor. It is pertinent to note only
the man who appears to be reporting can be seen in the video. The video
abruptly ends with the frame of stacks of jute bags.Just like video 1, no
communal comments were made by the man in the video.On April 12, Kumar Ajit
posted the viral video and wrote in Hindi, “#Caution #Food_Jihad has started,
loot the food and let it go bad, don’t let the food reach to any Hindu poor, so
that the government looks bad and poor Hindus die.Two videos went viral from
Meerut around April 10. The initial claim was that marginalised people are
stocking up food. However, several people subsequently shared it with the
communal narrative on social media. Alt News investigated both the videos and verified
that both claims do not hold water.altnews
Video of currency notes in Indore falsely viral as ‘Muslim conspiracy’
to spread coronavirus
A video where a few policemen are seen picking up notes with sticks from
a roadside and placing them inside a bag is doing the rounds on social media.
It is being claimed that a member of the Muslim community had thrown Rs 100, Rs
200 and Rs 500 notes to spread coronavirus.Twitter handle @SortedEagle posted
this video with the message, “They’ve found a new way to spread the virus now.
A resident of this area in Indore saw a Muslim chap scatter currency notes of
100, 200 & 500 in the locality for people to pick up & get infected.
Police was called & they collected them with protection. 10 grand scattered
around.”Alt News found a report published by Dainik Jagran on April 17, 2020.
According to the report, the incident took place at Indore’s Khatipura-Gori
Nagar road on Thursday. People informed the police after seeing some notes
scattered on the road after which they sanitised the notes and ceased them.
Furthermore, the police went through the footage of near-by CCTV camera but
they couldn’t find a suspected vehicle or a person. The report nowhere
identified the person suspected of having thrown the notes as a Muslim.altnews
Punjab Police Allegedly Assault Villagers, Then Arrest Them For 'Attempt
to Murder'
New Delhi: Amidst COVID-19 lockdown, a horde of Punjabi policemen,
packed in about 30 vehicles, allegedly stormed into houses of landless farm
labourers in Mansa and assaulted them in the early hours of April 12. Many
children, women and men were left bleeding and bruised. Two attacks allegedly
occurred within a span of less than 12 hours, with the first assault coming the
previous night around 8 pm. It reportedly began when five policemen chased some
strolling boys back into their houses, thrashing them with canes.The
provocation for April 12 morning’s illegitimate operation was the previous
night’s melee, in which an assistant sub-inspector had also sustained a severe
cut on his face reportedly from a shovel used by one of the boys while
resisting police violence.“Some 5-6 policemen stormed into our house. I was
cooking and my daughter was serving her brothers and father when they barged in
and started abusing and beating my son Hardeep*, who sustained a head injury,”
said Hardeep’s mother.A poor widow labourer said she was also beaten with
lathis when she tried to save her sons Noman* (19) and Pawan*
(16).Advocate-activist Jaswant Singh Grewal, who has taken up the matter to
bail out the arrested villagers, told The Wire that the Mansa police registered
the said case against the villagers after assaulting them.thewire
UP: A Muslim Doctor Who Treated COVID-19 Patients Dies of Same Disease
A doctor who had been involved in the treatment of COVID-19 patients
died after having contracted the disease, at Moradabad on Monday.The doctor has
been identified by local news reports as 35-year-old Nizamuddin. PTI has
reported that he headed the government-run Tajpur community healthcare
centre.Nizamuddin, who reports have said was an Ayurveda doctor, had been undergoing
treatment at the quarantine centre in the Teerthanker Mahaveer University
Hospital in the district.He had reportedly been associated with National Child
Health Programme.The Hindu has reported that the doctor had also been part of
the team that visited the “area where attendees of a religious congregation in
Delhi were found.”thewire
Centre allows Gujarat & UP to mobilise buses but turns down similar
request by Jharkhand
State governments in opposition ruled states are at receiving end of
growing unrest. Anger is mounting among workers and students stranded in other
parts of the country for the governments’ failure to ensure their return. On
the other hand, a growing number of people are asking why they are unable to mobilise
buses as BJP-ruled states of Gujarat, UP and Uttrakhand have done.All 3
BJP-ruled states mobilized hundreds of buses to ferry stranded pilgrims,
students and workers back home from other states. Why not a revenue rich state
like Jharkhand?nationalheraldindia
Petition in SC: MP has utterly failed to handle COVID-19, situation
beyond redemption
A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court for a direction to the
Centre and MP government to constitute a High Level Expert Monitoring Committee
for the state, to, inter alia, secure medical assistance to every sick person,
provide adequate number of PPE Kits to health workers, set up testing labs in
remote areas and increase the quantum of tests, reports legal news website
LiveLaw.in.The petitioner Chinmay Mishra, who is the president of the Madhya
Pradesh Sarvodaya Mandal, has averred that "Madhya Pradesh is one of the
most affected states from Corona virus", that "the Capital Bhopal and
Financial Capital Indore are most affected cities in Madhya Pradesh, that
"till 15.04.2020 there are 1053 positive cases of Corona Virus in Madhya
Pradesh out of which in Indore 646 cases and in Bhopal 170, and "that
Indore is having the worst mortality rate in entire country due to Covid
19".
As Millions Fear Starvation, Govt to Convert ‘Surplus’ Rice Into Ethanol
for Sanitiser
New Delhi: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has announced that the
‘surplus rice’ available with the Food Corporation of India will be “allowed to
be converted to ethanol for utilisation in making alcohol-based
hand-sanitizers”. The announcement came after a meeting of NBCC chaired by
petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan. It cited National Policy on Biofuels
2018, which says that if in a particular year there is projected to be excess
supply of food grains, these surplus quantities can be converted into ethanol. The
ministry has so far not clarified what it means by ‘surplus quantities of
rice’, at what price it intends to buy the rice from FCI and when.“I am
surprised that at this time we are talking about converting rice into
sanitisers. Millions who are outside PDS are on the brink of starvation. We are
already getting reports of hunger deaths from so many states across the
country. At this time, the focus of the government should be on finding ways to
ensure that the excess grain is distributed to those who need them and not on
making sanitisers,” said politician and social scientist Yogendra Yadav.thewire
*CORONAVIRUS – WORLD*
Global hunger could double due to coronavirus pandemic: UN
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/global-hunger-double-due-coronavirus-pandemic-200421135911446.html
The number of people facing acute food insecurity could nearly double
this year to 265 million due to the economic fallout of COVID-19, according to
the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).The impact of lost tourism
revenues, falling remittances and travel and other restrictions linked to the
coronavirus pandemic is expected to leave about 130 million more people acutely
hungry this year, in addition to 135 million already in that category, the WFP
said in a new report on Tuesday."COVID-19 is potentially catastrophic for
millions who are already hanging by a thread," said Arif Husain, chief
economist and director of research, assessment and monitoring at the
WFP."We all need to come together to deal with this because if we don't
the cost will be too high - the global cost will be too high: many lost lives
and many, many more lost livelihoods," he told reporters at a virtual
briefing in Geneva.Husain said it was critical to act quickly to prevent people
already living hand-to-mouth from selling their assets as it could take them
years to become self-reliant again. In some cases, such as when farmers sell
their ploughs or oxen, it could have knock-on effects for food production for
years to come, he added.
UK coronavirus death toll 40 percent higher than reported
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/uk-coronavirus-death-toll-40-percent-higher-reported-200421125350128.html
The true extent of Britain's COVID-19 death toll was more than 40
percent higher than the government's daily figures indicated as of April 10,
according to data that put the country on track to become among the worst-hit
in Europe.The Office for National Statistics said it recorded 13,121 deaths by
April 10 in England and Wales, which account for the vast majority of Britain's
population, compared with 9,288 in the government's daily toll for those who
died in hospital. The ONS figures include deaths in care homes and hospices as
well as in hospitals.Britain, which scientists say is probably now experiencing
the peak of the outbreak, has reported the world's fifth-highest national death
toll from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.The
global death toll from COVID-19 now stands at around 170,000.
Iraq eases restrictions ahead of Ramadan
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/coronavirus-dead-world-exceeds-170000-live-updates-200421005048334.html
Iraqi authorities will partially scale back the 24-hour curfew imposed
to contain the new coronavirus in a move to balance the restrictions for the
month of Ramadan.The new curfew will be implemented mainly at night, from 7pm
until 6am local time as of April 21 until May 11.The total ban, however, will
stay in place on Fridays and Saturday.Restrictions on public gatherings,
gatherings of more than three people and social distancing rules remain in
place while restaurants and cafes will be permitted to provide delivery
services only.
Indonesia bans traditional Ramadan exodus to rein in coronavirus
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/coronavirus-dead-world-exceeds-170000-live-updates-200421005048334.html
Indonesia will ban its traditional annual exodus of people streaming out
of cities at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, as the Southeast
Asian nation looks to curb the spread of coronavirus, President Joko Widodo
said.Indonesia's tally of 616 virus deaths is the highest in East Asia after
China, but Widodo had previously resisted a ban, seeking instead to persuade
people to stay put.But health experts had warned that allowing millions in the
world's biggest Muslim-majority country to travel to homes in towns and
villages over Ramadan, which starts this week, could accelerate the spread of
the disease.
o new corona cases in Lebanon in past 24 hours - health ministry
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/coronavirus-dead-world-exceeds-170000-live-updates-200421005048334.html
Lebanon recorded no new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours for the
first time during the country's outbreak, the health ministry said in its daily
report.It said that after 487 tests conducted in the last 24 hours the number
of infections stood at 677, with 21 deaths.
US oil prices fall back below zero amid coronavirus crisis
US oil markets have fallen back below zero as the coronavirus crisis
continues to take a toll on oil demand.The US oil price – which turned negative
for the first time in market history on Monday – climbed above zero overnight
before slumping back to -$4.29 a barrel as trading began in Europe on Tuesday.
A negative price means that traders are paying customers to take the oil off
their hands and it is the result of the US running out of space to store a glut
of crudecaused by the global coronavirus lockdown. West Texas Intermediate
(WTI), the benchmark for US crude prices, crashed to -$40 a barrel on Monday as
oil storage facilities filled to the brim and producers were forced to pay
buyers to take their barrels.John Browne, who was the head of BP from 1995 to
2007, said the negative US prices would remain low due to a chronic oversupply
of crude in the global market.“The prices will be very low and I think they
will remain low and very volatile for some considerable time,” Browne told BBC.
“There is still a lot of oil being produced that is going into storage and not
being used. theguardian
Coronavirus | Global death toll tops 170,000
The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 170,000 people globally,
close to two thirds of them in hardest-hit Europe, according to an AFP tally on
Tuesday.In total, 170,226 people have died from the virus around the world,
including 106,737 in Europe. With 42,364 deaths, the United States has the
highest mortality rate, followed by Italy with 24,114 fatalities and Spain's
21,282. France has 20,265 deaths and Britain 16,509.There are 2,483,086
recorded cases around the world, though the number of actual infections is
believed to be higher since many countries are only testing the most serious
cases. AFP
Trump says he will halt immigration, citing pandemic, as Georgia plans
partial reopening
US President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus outbreak took on
a sharper political tone with his pledge to suspend immigration into the
country, while Georgia and other U.S. states began lifting restrictions that
stalled their economies.Trump made the immigration announcement in a Twitter
message late on Monday night, suggesting his action would prevent further
contagion from outsiders while saving American jobs.Trump, elected in 2016 in
part on his vow to stamp out illegal immigration, had staked his re-election in
November on the strength of a U.S. economy now sapped by the economic shutdown
to stop the pandemic. He has since been pressing for states to begin easing
restrictions that have left a record 22 million people seeking unemployment
benefits.“In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy,” he tweeted,
referring to the pandemic, “as well as the need to protect the jobs of our
GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily
suspend immigration into the United States.” Reuters
Virus made biggest crisis since WWII: Turkish president
The human cost and economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic have
turned it into an era-defining global crisis, said Turkey’s president on
Tuesday.“With its economic fallout, the pandemic has turned into the biggest
crisis since World War II,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan.His remarks came during a
central executive board meeting of his ruling Justice and Development (AK)
Party via videoconferencing. Turkey has so far registered 90,980 cases with a
death toll of 2,140.
Saudi to ease restrictions in Ramadan
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/coronavirus-dead-world-exceeds-170000-live-updates-200421005048334.html
Saudi Arabia plans to ease curfew hours it imposed on several cities
during the month of Ramadan to allow people more time to shop for essential
needs within the boundaries of their neighbourhoods, state news agency (SPA)
reported on Tuesday.Currently, people living in areas under 24-hour curfew can
go out for healthcare and to supermarkets from 6am to 3pm. In Ramadan these
hours will start from 9am until 5pm, SPA said.
Pakistan records highest number of coronavirus deaths in a day
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/pakistan-records-highest-number-coronavirus-deaths-day-200421082118654.html
Pakistan has seen its highest rise in deaths in a single day from the
coronavirus, with 17 new cases taking the country's death toll from the highly
contagious virus to at least 192, according to government data.Monday also saw
the highest single-day rise in cases in Pakistan, with 705 confirmed cases taking
the country's tally to 9,214, according to the data.So far, at least 2,053
patients have recovered from COVID-19 in the country, leaving the active case
tally at 6,969.The increase in cases has occurred in conjunction with a modest
increase in testing capacity, as the government aims to ramp up to 25,000 tests
a day.
Coronavirus pandemic amplifying threat to press freedom: Reporters
Without Borders
Coronavirus pandemic is exacerbating threats to press freedom around the
world, with authoritarian states including China and Iran suppressing details
of the outbreak, activists said on Tuesday.Paris-based Reporters Without
Borders (RSF) said in its annual press freedom rankings that the pandemic was
"highlighting and amplifying the many crises" already casting a
shadow on press freedom.The outbreak had encouraged some regimes to "take
advantage of the fact people are stunned and mobilisation has weakened to
impose measures that would be impossible to adopt in normal times", RSF
secretary general Christophe Deloire told AFP. The rankings saw few major
changes from last year, with Nordic countries regarded as the most free and
isolated states Turkmenistan and North Korea footing the list of 180 countries.
RSF accused China and Iran -- in 177th and 173rd place respectively -- of
censoring major coronavirus outbreaks.PTI
*OTHERS*
Muslim Leaders Condemn Palghar Lynching and Communalization Bid, Commend
Swift Action of Maharashtra Govt.
New Delhi:Muslim leaders have unequivocally condemned the brutal
lynching of 2 Hindu saints and their car driver in Palghar area of Maharashtra.
They have also strongly condemned the desperate bid by right-wing people to
falsely give a communal colour to the painful incident. Muslims leaders have
lauded Maharashtra govt for swiftly arresting the culprits and nipping the
communalization of the incident in the bud.“The killing of 2 sadhus has again
blackened the face of our Indian society. This is a shameful and inhuman act.
This must be condemned in strongest words,” said Mohammad Salim Engineer, Vice
President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.He said: “Whoever are involved in the crime
should get punishment at the earliest. So that such incidents do not recur in
future. This is our demand. What is more regrettable is the whole incident
occurred in the presence of the police and cops were seen helpless.”“Whatever
happened in Palghar is very painful and regrettable,” said Dr Zafarul Islam
Khan, Chairman, Delhi Minorities Commission. Navaid Hamid, President, All India
Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, said: “The unfortunate incident which has happened
in Palghar is most draconian act of violence and needs condemnation without ifs
and buts. Anybody who indulges in lynching of innocents needs to be tried under
strict prevailing laws. But the incidents of lynching would not stop unless
govt enacts specific anti-lynching law.” Former MP and NCP leader Abdul Majeed
Memon said: “Mob-lynching needs to be condemned wherever it takes place and in
whatever circumstances it takes place and whoever is the aggressor and whoever
is the victim. When a human life is lost without judicial trial by people
becoming law unto themselves, it must be condemned by all right-thinking
people. Such incidents only diminish people’s faith in rule of law.”Muslim
leaders have strongly condemned the unsuccessful attempts by saffron groups and
individuals to falsely give a communal colour to the Palghar lynching.“People
of BJP’s IT Cell tried to maliciously generate impression as if some Muslim
killed those 2 sadhus. They wanted to create a big disturbance in the whole
Maharashtra and whole country. On the first day, they even mentioned a Muslim
name as the main instigator of the mob. Later it came out they had turned the
word ‘chor’ as Shoaib. The fact is there is no Muslim population around that
area. It is completely tribal-dominated area,” said Dr Tasleem Ahmed Rahmani,
President, Muslim Political Council of India.
In a series of tweets, Navaid Hamid also raised the issue before the
central government. Salim Engineer also condemned the trend to give communal
angle to every incident these days.indiatomorrow
Enact anti lynching law, Muslim body renews demand after 2 Sadhus
lynched in Palghar
All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, an apex body of Muslim
organisation, has demanded from the Prime Minister to enact an 'Anti Lynching
Law' in next parliamentary session after two Sadhus were lynched by a mob in
Palghar, Maharashtra.Navaid Hamid, the president of the Muslim body said,
"It is earnestly requested that to stop rising lynching cases, please
consider to enact Anti Lynching Law at the earliest available opportunity in
the upcoming parliamentary session."The Supreme court in its judgement on
lynching had issued guidelines for preventive, remedial and punitive measures
to combat lynchings.ExUnion Minister Salman Khurshid tweeted: "Violence
and hate like Corona know not where to stop. They tasted the blood of Akhlaq,
Pehlu, Ganesh, Junaid, Naeem, Mangesh. Now they have crushed abstinence of
Sadhus in Palghar. The blood they take is human and pure. It is our blood and
of prayer."IANS
Palghar lynching incident falsely communalised on social media
On April 16, three men were lynched by an armed mob near Gadchinchale
village which comes under the Kasa Police jurisdiction in Maharashtra’s Palghar
district. 3 days later, videos of the incident on social media were amplified
with an insinuation that it was a communally-motivated crime committed by
members of the Muslim community.One such video of the gruesome incident was
tweeted by some individuals with the claim that the mob can be heard saying,
“Maar Shoaib Maar”.Film director Ashoke Pandit twice claimed that the accused
involved in the incident is “Shoaib”.Suresh Chavhanke, the editor-in-chief of
Sudarshan News, also claimed that he is able to hear the word “Shoaib” in the
video.Delhi BJP’s Richa Pandey Mishra tweeted the video with the text, “Hit
Shoaib Hit, Kill them”. Similar tweets by handle ‘Yana Mir‘ and ‘This Posable‘
has garnered close to 2,700 retweets combined. Facebook page Our India posted
the same video with a similar communal narrative. It has been shared more than
2,200 times.An image of 2 deceased men was also shared on social media with a
graphic that accuses “the goons of Christian missionaries” for the attack.After
listening to several videos of the same incident taken from different angles,
Alt News found that the men are saying,
“Bass oye bass (Stop hey stop)”.
In the video posted below, the same can heard. Thus, the claim that one
of the perpetrators involved in the incident was Shoaib is baseless.Prominent
social media users like Suresh Chavhanke and Ashoke Pandit attempted to give
the incident a communal colour by claiming that the men involved in the
lynching were members of the Muslim community. The accused and victims both
hail from the same religion. There is no communal angle to the incident.altnews
Kashmir: Families of Slain Militants Allege Bodies Buried in Distant
Unmarked Graves
Baramulla: Amid rains and lockdown, 55-year-old Abdul Majid Mir of
Gantamulla area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district and five other locals on
Friday evening quietly buried bodies of two militants in a graveyard located on
the scenic Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road.Mir, who owns a tea stall in the village,
has been performing the task of digging graves for unidentified militants
killed in the encounters with forces in different parts of the Valley over the
past four years and was called here for the burial.“I received a phone call
from the local police at around 1 pm to get ready for performing the last rites
of two militants. The bodies were brought here at around 4 o’clock in the
afternoon, and we completed the entire burial process by 7 pm,” he says. Mir
says he could not see the faces of the slain militants as they were wrapped in
shrouds.Mir and villagers of Gantamulla have silently buried more than 100
militants in this graveyard meant only for unidentified and non-local
militants, as their funeral in populated areas of Kashmir can trigger law and
order problems.thewire
Witch-Hunt of Journalists in Kashmir, Now FIR Against The Hindu
Correspondent
Srinagar:After booking a young woman photojournalist Masrat Zahra under
UAPA, Jammu and Kashmir police have filed a FIR against The Hindu correspondent
Peerzada Ashiq for carrying what they termed as "fake news".Police on
Sunday verbally summoned Peerzada Ashiq and asked him to explain the alleged
factual inaccuracies in a story that was published on the same day.Kashmir
Press Club (KPC) said while Peerzada explained his case to police in Srinagar,
he was asked to travel to South Kashmir, some 40 kilometers away in the
evening, and present himself before a police officer in Anantnag district. “He
returned late in the midnight to his home in Srinagar. In the meantime, his
family was terrified and concerned about his safety,” said a KPC spokesman.The
story in question was published by the newspaper with a headline…“Kin allowed
to exhume bodies of militants in Baramulla”.Police said they received
information regarding a “fake news item" being published in The Hindu by
Peerzada regarding an encounter at Shopian and subsequent
developments.indiatomorrow
India Has Dropped 2 Places In World Press Freedom Index: Here's Why
India has dropped two places on the 2020 World Press Freedom Index by
Reporters Without Borders and is now ranked 142 out of a total 180 countries.
Norway leads the list fourth year in a row and North Korea is ranked in the
last place. India’s position in this year’s index, the report said, is heavily
affected by the situation in Kashmir. The Narendra Modi government abrogated
Article 370 of the Constitution in August last year and imposed a communication
blackout for several months. The government made it “virtually impossible for
journalists to cover what was happening in what has become a vast open prison,”
the report added.
MPs write to President protesting against ‘whim and fancy of a one-man
non government’ in MP
Senior Advocates and Rajya Sabha MPs Kapil Sibal and Vivek K. Tankha
have written a letter to the President of India, raising concerns over alleged
"undemocratic and unconstitutional functioning" of the Government of
Madhya Pradesh without a Cabinet, reports legal news website LiveLaw.in. The
two MPs said that they had been "constrained to approach" the Union
government in view of the "one man show" prevalent in the state.As
per them, the Governor of MP has promulgated two ordinances relating to
appropriation of funds amid the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, at the aid and
advice of the Chief Minister of the state Shivraj Singh Chouhan, alone.They
pointed out that such an exercise cannot be undertaken in light of Article 164
of the Constitution which mandates a 'Council of Ministers' to aid and advise
the Governor in the exercise of his functions."The Governor cannot act
without the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by Chief Minister.
Additionally, the proviso to Article 164(A) provides for the minimum strength
of the Council of Ministers to be not less than twelve including the Chief
Minister. Here the Council is missing, only the head exists," the letter
states.
Shivraj Singh Gets A Mini-cabinet But Cracks Clear In BJP-Scindia
Bonhomie
At long last, Shivraj Singh Chouhan formed his council of ministers –
albeit a tiny, five-member one – on Tuesday, 29 days after he was sworn-in as
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh after the fall of the Congress-led government
under Kamal Nath.The absence of a cabinet in general, or a health minister in
particular, at a time when the Coronavirus pandemic was rapidly claiming victims
across the state had become the most strident criticism against Chouhan over
the past month. Outlook had first reported on April 14 that Chouhan had
initiated cabinet formation talks and a final decision on the subject would be
taken by April 20.With the swearing-in of Narottam Mishra, Kamal Patel, Govind
Singh Rajput, Tulsi Silavat and Meena Singh as cabinet ministers, Chouhan has
made a belated, though still half-hearted, attempt to silence critics who
lashed out at him for becoming the longest-serving chief minister without a
cabinet. This iniquitous record was held by Karnataka’s B.S. Yediyurappa till a
few days back. The Karnataka CM had functioned without a cabinet for 22 days
after he returned to power last year following the fall of the H.D. Kumaraswamy-led
JD (S)-Congress coalition government.
China includes Arunachal in its updated map
China has included parts of Arunachal Pradesh within its international
boundaries, an updated version issued by Sky Map has revealed.Sky Map, China's
authority on digital maps, is constructed and operated by a unit directly under
Beijing's National Surveying and Mapping Geographic Information Bureau.
Recently, Sky Map users discovered that it has updated the country's map with
the latest national borders, including India's Arunachal Pradesh, a DW media
report said. IANS
Israeli coalition deal keeps Netanyahu in power
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/israel-netanyahu-gantz-sign-unity-government-agreement-200420162532262.html
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival have
announced that they have forged a deal to form an "emergency"
coalition government, ending the worst political crisis in the country's
history.The deal on Monday between Netanyahu's Likud Party and former military
chief Benny Gantz's Blue and White alliance ends months of political paralysis
and averts what would have been a fourth consecutive election in just over a
year.The power-sharing agreement means that Netanyahu will almost certainly
remain in office for the duration of his upcoming trial on corruption
charges.Netanyahu, in power consecutively for the past 11 years, is under
criminal indictment on corruption charges which he denies. They include
bribery, fraud and breach of trust.Under the three-year deal, Netanyahu will
serve as prime minister for the first half, with Gantz taking the job for the
second half.Gantz's party will take control of a number of senior government
ministries, including foreign affairs and defence, but Netanyahu's party will
gain influence over judicial appointments - a key demand of the prime minister
as he prepares to go on trial."I promised the state of Israel a national
emergency government that will work to save the lives and livelihoods of the
citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu tweeted.Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting
from West Jerusalem, said that there have been leaks to the media that
Netanyahu was trying to ensure that he could stay in an influential role even
after handing over the premiership to Gantz."As a deputy there are
concerns that perhaps he might be ruled out of that position again because of
these corruption charges that he faces," Fawcett said.
Palestinians condemn new Israeli 'annexation government'
https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/palestinians-condemn-new-israeli-annexation-government-1.1587410846346
Ramallah: The Palestinians condemned the formation of a new Israeli
“annexation” government Monday, saying the agreement would wreck hopes of
peace.“The formation of an Israeli annexation government means ending the
two-state solution and the dismantling of the rights of the people of Palestine,”
Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh tweeted.
Israeli citizen indicted for 'spying' for Iran is identified
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/israeli-citizen-indicted-spying-iran-identified-200421075154824.html
Israeli activist Ayman Haj Yahya has been identified as the individual
indicted for allegedly spying for Iran after he was arrested on March 16 by the
internal security agency Shin Bet and Israeli police.Haj Yahya - a well-known
political leader and activist within the Palestinian community in Israel - was
accused of having contacts with Iranian intelligence to recruit Arab citizens
in Israel.He was charged in court in the central city of Lod with "serious
infringement of the security" of Israel on Sunday.Israeli authorities
allege that Haj Yahya was in contact with Iranian agents during a trip to
Europe and also communicated with a member of the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) group in Lebanon.
Amnesty: Saudi Arabia executed record number of people in 2019
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/amnesty-saudi-arabia-executed-record-number-people-2019-200420151616663.html
Saudi Arabia executed a record 184 people last year, according to
Amnesty International, which said it was the highest number the rights organisation
has ever recorded in a single year in the country.In its 2019 global review of
the death penalty published on Tuesday, Amnesty reported Saudi Arabia stepped
up its use of the death penalty even as the rest of the world saw a decline in
executions, including in the Asia-Pacific region.Saudi Arabia executed 178 men
and six women in 2019, just over half of whom were foreign nationals. The
figure was 149 in 2018.The majority of executions were for drug-related
offences and murder."Saudi Arabia's growing use of the death penalty,
including as a weapon against political dissidents, is an alarming
development," Clare Algar, Amnesty International's Senior Director for
Research, Advocacy and Policy, said.
*views, Articles, FEATURES*
It Was Naive to
Expesct They Would Forget Their Hatred Towards Muslims in a Crisis:Irena Akbar
How the Palghar
Lynching Was Relentlessly Communalised on Social Media:Jignesh Patel
COVID-19 Crisis
Will Push Millions of Vulnerable Children Into Child Labour:Protiva Kundu
Hindutva agenda,
though muted, continues even during the war against COVID-19:Amulya Ganguli/IPA
Now that world has
spotted Hindutva bigotry, Modi insists that coronavirus doesn’t see
religion:Rohan Venkataramakrishnan
India's
Coronavirus-Related Islamophobia Has the Arab World Up in Arms:Seemi Pasha
https://thewire.in/communalism/indias-coronavirus-related-islamophobia-has-the-arab-world-up-in-arms
Compiled
and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 9:57 PM).
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