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Washington: China’s aggressiveness and the coercive nature in the resource-rich Indo-Pacific region is a frequent topic of discussion among the Quad nations, the Pentagon has said. In November 2017, India, Japan, the US and Australia gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence, amidst China’s growing military presence in the strategic region. There are lots of outcomes to the Quad relationship. And they don’t all have to do with China… It’s not that the Quad exists simply to counter China or their influence, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters on Thursday at a news conference here. Now, obviously, what China’s doing in the Indo-Pacific region, the aggressiveness, the coercive nature with which they try to press their claims, certainly is a frequent topic of discussion with all our allies and partners, and certainly inside the Quad, he said. What the

Pune: The Phase 2/3 trials of Covovax COVID-19 vaccine for children between the age of 7 and 11 began at Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College and Hospital in Maharashtra’s Pune on Wednesday. “Pune’s Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College Hospital began phase 2/3 trials of Covovax in children between 7 and 11 years of age on Wednesday. Nine children have been enrolled for the trial here,” said Dr Sanjay Lalwani, the Medical Director of the hospital. “For the children who wish to enrol their parents are counselled in local vernacular language and the audiovisual consulting process is documented. Once the parents give their consent, then the volunteer is subjected to an RT PCR test and an antibody test. Although, this does not stop them from being a part of the trial,” he added. Covovax is the Indian version of COVID-19 vaccine developed by US-based Novavax Inc and it is being manufactured in India by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII). Nine centres have been identified across India

Mumbai: In a bid to evade a fine for violating traffic norms, a man here dragged an on-duty traffic police personnel on the bonnet of his car for almost 1 km. The incident took place in Andheri (west) yesterday and an FIR has been registered against the driver of the car. Speaking to reporters, an official said that constable Vijaysingh Gurav, 48, was on duty below Azad Nagar metro station in Andheri when a car entered from the wrong side and moved towards SV Road. He asked the car driver to stop the vehicle for violating traffic norms, but he tried to flee after waiving some ID card. However, Gurav jumped and sat on the bonnet of the car even as the driver accelerated the speed. The constable was dragged for around 1km before he was thrown off after the car entered a lane. Gurav rushed to a police station and lodged a complaint against the car driver under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) like 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of

New Delhi: As large number of Indians are still stranded in Afghanistan, the Centre is reportedly mulling to allow commercial flight operations from Kabul to India soon. The last commercial flight between India and Afghanistan was operated by Air India on the Kabul-Delhi route on August 15, the day Kabul fell to the Taliban. Afghanistan airspace was declared ‘uncontrolled’ by the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on August 16. For the unversed, the Taliban took full control of the Kabul airport on August 31 after the last batch of US forces left Afghanistan on August 30. Officials said that the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India has received a letter from civil aviation wing of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan seeking permission for Afghan national carriers to resume scheduled commercial flights between the two countries.  The letter dated September 7, 2021 also mentioned that the Kabul airport has become operational. What does the lette

New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry on Thursday cleared the air on a third booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, saying talks in this regard are not pertinent at present as according to some studies, more than 95 per cent of the antibodies persist for over a year among COVID vaccinated persons. Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava said the call of the hour is to give the two-dose vaccination. “We have had some studies in India, including Bengaluru, where some hospitals have found that more than 95 per cent of the antibodies persist for over a year. Therefore, the talk of a booster dose is not pertinent,” Bhargava said at a press briefing. “Currently, the talk of the booster is not pertinent. The call of the hour is to give the two-dose vaccination or which is the full vaccination. That is our agenda and that has to be continued,” he added. India’s cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage has reached nearly 89 crore doses, the Union Health

Breaking News LIVE Updates October 1, 2021: Navjot Singh Sidhu will continue as the Punjab Congress chief and a coordination panel is likely to be set up, which is expected to be consulted before any major decisions by the Punjab government in future. The All-India Congress Committee (AICC) is expected to make an announcement in this regard. The development in the Punjab Congress comes on a day when former CM Amarinder Singh was in Delhi and said he will quit the Congress, which he asserted was going downhill with senior leaders being ignored. But Amarinder scotched speculation of his joining the BJP. Meanwhile, the threat of a cyclonic storm hitting Gujarat appeared to have receded by Thursday evening as remnants of cyclone Gulab which had turned into a depression moved away westwards. The depression is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm away from the Gujarat coast, as per the IMD. Thereafter, it is likely to continue to move towards Pakistan-Makran coasts. source https://w

New Delhi: In a bid to resolve the ongoing crisis in Punjab, the Congress party has decided to set up a three-member panel comprising Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Navjot Singh Sidhu and AICC general secretary in charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat.  Reports said that the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) is expected to make an announcement in this regard. Meanwhile, it has also been reported that Sidhu will continue as the Punjab Congress till the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections 2022, however, it is still unclear how the differences over the appointment of the DGP and the AG will be dealt with.  The decision was reportedly taken at a meeting at the Punjab Congress Bhavan between chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Sidhu, who had resigned from the post of the state party chief on Tuesday. The development comes on a day when former chief minister Amarinder Singh was in Delhi and said he will quit the Congress, which he asserted was going downhill with senior leade

New Delhi: As the city stares at a possible shortage of alcohol and crowding outside vends owing to closure of 260 privately-run liquor shops, the Delhi government on Thursday assured that steps are being taken to ensure people don”t face problems, saying state-run vends have been instructed to keep sufficient stocks. Under its new excise policy, the Delhi government has allocated fresh licences to private firms for 850 shops that will enter retail business from November 17. In view of this, all the private liquor vends were directed to shut shop by September 30. The remaining liquor stores run by Delhi government agencies will also wrap up business on November 16. During this transition period of nearly one-and-half-month, only government-run shops will open which is likely to cause shortage and other problems. In a statement, the Delhi government said the national capital is going to witness a transition phase in the liquor management. “However, the Delhi government is putting

Shimla: In a shocking incident, an eight-storey building collapsed due to a landslide triggered by recent rains in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday evening, a senior official said. State Disaster Management Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said that the incident occurred at Ghoda Chowki near Hali Palace in Shimla at 5.45 pm. He further added that no casualties have been reported in the incident so far. Meanwhile, a video of the building collapse is also being surfaced on social media. The government has issued an order to carry out the investigation. As per the sources, the muti-storey building was announced as unsafe by the local authorities. Due to this reason, the building had been vacated. However, other buildings located near the vicinity of the collapsed building had developed cracks after this massive incident. Suresh Bharadwaj, the Urban Development Minister has visited the spot to look into the situation. He has advised the district administration to give immediate relief to the

New Delhi: China’s provocative behaviour, amassing of troops and its unilateral attempts to alter the status quo resulted in serious disturbance of peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh, said India on Thursday. Addressing the media, MEA’s spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that Beijing continues to deploy a large number of troops and armaments in the border areas and, in response, Indian armed forces had to make “appropriate counter deployments”. Bagchi remarks come in response to Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying’s claim that the “root cause” of the tensions between the two countries was New Delhi following a “forward policy” and “illegally” encroaching Chinese territory.Hua made the statement during a daily briefing on September 29. Rejecting the statement by the Chinese side, Bagchi said: “It was the amassing of a large number of troops by the Chinese side, their provocative behaviour and unilateral attempts to alter status quo

New Delhi: The government on Thursday extended the validity of motor vehicle documents like driving licence, registration certificate and permits till October 31, 2021, in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said it has asked the enforcement authorities to treat documents, including those related to fitness, permit (all types), driving licence and registration, as valid till October 31. “Taking into consideration the grim situation still continuing due to condition for prevention of COVID-19 across the country, it is advised that the validity of all above referenced documents…whose extension of validity could not, or was not likely to be granted due to lockdown and which has expired since February 1, 2020 or would expire by October 31, 2021, the same may be treated as valid till October 31,2021,” it said. READ OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION: Centre Extends Validity of Motor Vehicle Documents This will help citizens in availing transport

New Delhi: All those teachers and non-teaching staffers of Delhi government schools who have not taken the COVID-19 vaccine yet will not be allowed to attend school from October 15 and they will be considered as being on leave, the Directorate of Education (DoE) reportedly said on Wednesday. The Directorate of Education has directed to authorities concerned to ensure that all teachers and school staff who have not been vaccinated, should be vaccinated by 15th October, or else they would “not be allowed to attend the school and their absence will be treated as on leave,” news agency ANI tweeted. “We all are aware that the country is threatened with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to take all effective measures to prevent the spread of the same. The schools under DoE have been reopened in a phased manner, so it is the prime concern of the Delhi government that the environment of the schools remain safe with the appropriate implementation of SoPs and measures,” DoE Director Udit

Panaji: As the COVID-19 situation continues to improve, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said that physical sessions for classes 9 to 12, which have been shut in Goa since the outbreak of COVID-19 last year, may resume before the Diwali festival. Addressing the media, Sawant said that an expert committee of doctors has given its go-ahead for the resumption of these classes in a phased manner. The decision of the expert committee would be placed before the state COVID-19 Task Force, which will take a final call on it, he said. Once the task force gives its approval, the state education department would be informed and it will start the classes step-by-step,” the CM said. “These classes may resume before Diwali,” he said. Sawant said classes 10 and 12, whose students have to appear for board exams, could resume first, followed by classes 9 and 11.” Depending on the infrastructure of schools, the classes will begin for classes 9 to 12 by following all COVID-19 protocols and

Jaipur: The government is making efforts to ensure there is one medical college or an institution for post-graduate medical education in each district of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday. He also said that the government’s focus is on preventive healthcare, and ayurveda and yoga are being promoted in view of the same. “We are working on a new national health policy to transform the health sector of the country. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to Ayushman Bharat and now Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, etc. are part of this,” the PM said. “This pandemic has taught a lot in the health sector across the world. Every country is engaged in dealing with this crisis in its own way. India has resolved to increase its strength, self-reliance during this time,” he added. The gap in medical education and delivery of health services is being reduced, the prime minister said in a virtual ceremony to mark the foundation stone laying of four medical colleges and inauguration of the

New Delhi: Palki Sharma Upadhyay, Executive Editor of WION has been felicitated with the prestigious TV Anchor of the Year award at the IAA Leadership awards 2021 held on 24th September at Taj Landsend, Bandra West, Mumbai. Ms. Upadhyay who has contributed 20 years to the field of journalism and has been with WION for 4 years currently hosts the prime-time news program Gravitas. The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association established the IAA Leadership Awards to honour individuals in the fields of Marketing, Advertising, and Media, who have made enormous professional contributions and delivered business success to their companies. India’s First Global News channel WION has more than 35 bureaus across global cities and expanding its footprint in 190 countries across Africa, Europe, Russia, USA, South America, APAC region, and MENA region and is currently accessed across 4 billion connected devices globally. Transforming the age-old pattern of western narratives on

New Delhi: A day after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday. This comes amid speculation that the former Congress leader could join the BJP. Just after the meeting between Amarinder Singh and Doval ended, Amit Shah met Doval, sources said. Delhi: Former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh leaves from the residence of NSA Ajit Doval pic.twitter.com/1pusKM9HhO — ANI (@ANI) September 30, 2021 Amarinder Singh had met BJP leader Amit Shah on Wednesday evening. The meeting lasted for around an hour at Shah’s official residence. However, after meeting Shah, Singh said that they discussed farmers’ stir. He said he urged Amit Shah to resolve the crisis soon. On Wednesday, Singh tweeted after the meeting with Shah: “Met Union Home Minister @AmitShah in Delhi. Discussed the prolonged farmers’ agitation against #FarmLaws & urged him to resolve the crisis urgently with repeal of

Kabul: While the Indian government is yet to take a final decision on resumption of flights to Kabul, a flight from Turkey and Uzbekistan will be landing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday, reported  International Radar. This is the first time Kabul is hosting commercial flights from the two countries after the Taliban takeover, reported The Khaama Press News Agency. Earlier, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in a letter asked the Indian government to resume their commercial flights to Afghanistan. However, India’s decision on the resumption of commercial flights to Afghanistan is still under review. “The decision to resume flights to Kabul is under review by the Ministry of Civil Aviation,” an official of the ministry said. The Taliban recently requested India’s aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to resume commercial flight operations to Kabul, which were closed after August 15. “The Civil Aviation of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

CBSE Results 2021: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is expected to declare the results of Class 12 private candidates and special examination results today i.e., September 30, 2021, at 12 pm on the official websites of the Board – cbse.gov.in and cbseresults.nic.in. CBSE Class 12 private candidates and students who appeared for the CBSE Class 12 special examinations are advised to visit the official website of the Board at 12 pm to check and download the result. Earlier, CBSE had informed the Supreme Court of India that the CBSE Class 12 private candidates and special examination results will be released on September 30. CBSE improvement exam for class 12 students was held from August 25, 2021, to September 15, 2021. CBSE Private Candidates, Special Exams Result 2021: How to check? Visit the official website of CBSE —cbseresults.nic.in or cbse.gov.in Go to the Private Candidates examination section Click on the result link in the Improvement exam Result link 2021

New Delhi: A restaurant that allegedly denied entry to a saree-clad woman here was issued a closure notice by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation for operating without a proper trade license, following which the owner said he has shut operations. SDMC officials said on Wednesday that a closure notice was issued to the Aquila Restaurant located at Ansal Plaza in Andrews Ganj for operating without a valid licence. The September 24 closure notice said the area public health inspector found during a check on September 21 that the facility is running without a health trade licence and under unhygienic conditions. It also flagged encroachment on public land. “The public health inspector again inspected the site on September 24 and found that the trade is running under the same condition. You are directed to close the trade within 48 hours of the receipt of this notice failing which suitable action including sealing will be taken without assigning further notice,” the SDMC notice issued

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying he is sinking the party and his opponents don’t have to do anything as long as he is there. “Rahul Gandhi is sinking Congress, disposed off a well-established Punjab government,” the MP CM said at a public rally in Prithvipur. The remarks come amid the ongoing political crisis in Punjab Congress after state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu resigned. Taking a dig at the Congress, Chouhan said Sidhu has “run away” after Captain Amarinder Singh was “removed” from the post of Punjab Chief Minster because of Sidhu, for which he again blamed Rahul Gandhi. “Amarinder was removed because of Sidhu, now Sidhu has run away as well. We don’t have to do anything as long as Rahul Gandhi is there,” Chouhan said. In a surprise move, Sidhu tendered his resignation to the party’s leadership from the post of President of Punjab Pradesh Congress on Tuesday. A minister and some other leaders co

New Delhi: India recorded a single-day rise of 23,529 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, taking the overall infection tally to 3,37,39,980, while the count of active cases dipped to 2,77,020, the lowest in 195 days, reported news agencies citing the Union Health Ministry data. The death toll due to the virus has climbed to 4,48,062 with 311 daily fatalities being recorded, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of active cases has declined to 2,77,020, comprising 0.82 per cent of the total infections the lowest since March 2020, the ministry said. The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.85 per cent, the highest since March 2020, it added. A decrease of 5,500 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. Coronavirus in India: 5 Points to know Also, 15,06,254 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the country on Wednesday, taking the total number of such examinations done so far to 56,89,56,439, the data showed. The daily positivity rate was

IT DEPARTMENT RECRUITMENT 2021: The Income Tax (I-T) Department has issued a notification inviting applicants to fill 28 vacancies including for the positions of Income Tax, Tax Assistant and Multi-Tasking Staff. The applications have been invited from the meritorious sportspersons fulfilling the eligibility criteria for appointment to the posts in IT Department, UP (East) Region. September 30 is the last day to apply. However, interested and eligible candidates domiciled in the Northeastern states, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Jammu and Kashmir, and Kerala can apply till October 8. Here are the important details you need to know about Income Tax Department Recruitment 2021: Vacancies: Inspector of Income Tax – 03 Tax Assistant – 13 Multi-Tasking Staff – 12 Eligibility Criteria: Educational qualification Inspector of Income Tax – A candidate should have a degree from a recognized University or equivalent Tax Assistant – A candidate should have a degree from

New Delhi: A decision on Hyderabad-based pharma major Bharat Biotech’s submission seeking emergency use listing (EUL) of its COVID-19 vaccine — Covaxin will be made in October, said the World Health Organisation (WHO). The WHO’s statement came a day after reports of the EUL to be further delayed surfaced. At present, the status of assessment for Covaxin is ongoing . Bharat Biotech had submitted EOI (Expression of Interest) on April 19 for its vaccine. The latest Status of COVID-19 vaccines within WHO EUL/PQ evaluation process’ guidance document dated September 29 on the WHO website said that the decision date for Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is October 2021. The WHO said it began rolling data of the vaccine on July 6. Rolling data allows the WHO to start its review right away, as information continues to come in, to accelerate the overall review process. According to the WHO, submissions to WHO for prequalification or listing under the emergency use procedure are confidential. If a pro

Shillong: At least six people were killed as a bus carrying around 21 passengers fell into a river in Meghalaya, reported NDTV quoting the police. The night bus was travelling from Tura to Shillong when it fell into the Ringdi river in Nongchram on Wednesday midnight, it said. Rescue team and emergency services have been rushed to the accident site to help the victims. Four bodies have been fished out of the river while two are still said to be trapped inside the bus, the NDTV report added quoting sources. Sixteen passengers have been rescued and taken to the nearby hospital, the police was quoted as saying. The driver of the bus is believed to be among the dead. Further details are awaited. source https://www.india.com/news/india/meghalaya-bus-accident-news-today-6-killed-as-bus-falls-into-ringdi-river-in-meghalaya-driver-among-dead-4995502/

Thiruvananthapuram: The National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune informed the government about the presence of antibodies against the Nipah virus in the bat samples collected by them, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said on Wednesday. “NIV Pune informed us that they found antibodies against the Nipah virus from the samples of bats that they had collected from a particular place. ICMR is doing further studies on this,” Veena George said. Kerala reported its first death due to the Nipah virus on September 5 following which the Centre advised immediate public health measures for the state. A central team visited Kerala’s Kozhikode district after the 12-year-old boy died after getting infected by Nipah and collected samples of Rambutan fruits from the nearby vicinity to identify the source of infection. Veena George said the state government had gone for strict quarantine of people. “We also did strict surveillance of 75,000 people from where the case was first reported. So it mea

Bengaluru: The district authorities have sealed Sri Chaitanya Girls’ Residential School in Bengaluru after 60 of its students tested positive for Covid-19. Of those who tested positive, only two are said to be symptomatic. Bengaluru Urban District Commissioner J Manjunath said the students tested positive on September 26. The Covid-19 tests were conducted on 480 students as one of the students from Bellary developed Covid-like symptoms. The symptomatic students had been admitted to hospital and the rest quarantined at a proper medical facility, the DC was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. Worried parents and guardians have called asking if they can take their children back home, but Manjunath stressed that there was no cause for worry. “This is a boarding school… students were there for one month. When they came to the school, they had no symptoms. Out of the 60 who tested positive (on Sunday evening) only two are symptomatic. Our team is there… we have tested everyone,” he said.

Raipur: Amid a political crisis in Punjab Congress and recent change in leadership in the state, the suspense over the possibility of change in leadership in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh also continues. The political heat appears to be once again escalating in Chhattisgarh after over a dozen Congress MLAs reached Delhi on Wednesday. The political circle in the state was abuzz with speculation that the legislators have gone to express their support to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. However, the MLAs who reached the national capital said their visit was linked with the proposed tour of former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to the state. “Around 15-16 party MLAs have reached Delhi and are staying at different places. Rahul ji’s visit to Chhattisgarh is proposed. We wanted to convey a request to Rahul ji through our state in-charge P L Punia ji that he should extend a little the duration of his tour so that all the MLAs could get benefit of it,” said Brihaspat Singh, the party MLA from Rama

Chandigarh: The Punjab government on Wednesday decided to ease restrictions on public gatherings in the wake of improvement in the COVID-19 situation in the state. According to the decision, the government has allowed an indoor gathering of 300 people and outdoor gathering of 500 people. Earlier, it was 150 for indoor and 300 for outdoor gatherings. While reviewing the Covid situation in the state, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi asked the School Education Department to encourage students to attend classes by following necessary health protocols, according to a government release. Likewise, he also asked the Social Security, Women and Child Development Department to reopen ‘anganwadi’ centres while strictly following the prescribed Covid safety norms. Expressing satisfaction over the decline in positivity rate of Covid cases, the chief minister also asked the Health Department to ensure strict compliance to Covid safety protocols including wearing of face masks and maintainin

New Delhi: Living in Delhi and planning to have some booze on the weekend? You may face problems in getting your favourite brands of liquor as around 40 per cent of liquor vends in the national capital that are run privately will shut down from October 1, Friday for the next one-and-half months. Under the new excise policy of the Delhi government, all the 850 liquor vends, including the 260-odd private outlets, have been given to private firms through open tender. However, the new licence holders will start retail sale of liquor in the city not before November 17. Meanwhile, in the transition period of nearly one-and-half months, only government-run liquor vends will remain open and these will close down on November 16. “There are already problems in getting one’s favourite brands since the private liquor store in my neighbourhood has depleted its stock as it is wrapping up business. Permanent closure of private shops means more problems,” said a Laxmi Nagar resident, Dhiraj Kumar.

Breaking News LIVE Updates September 30: Bypolls to Bhabanipur seat, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting, and two other constituencies – Jangipur and Samserganj seats in Murshidabad district are being held today amid tight security and measures to tackle rain. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC have been imposed within 200 metres of the polling centres. By-elections are also being held for one assembly in Odisha – Pipili. Meanwhile, remnants of Cyclone Gulab have been bringing torrential rains to central Maharashtra including in parts of Mumbai. In view of likely a new tropical cyclone formation, the IMD has predicted heavy rains for several other states such as Gujarat and Bihar. Heavy rains are also expected to lash the cities of Delhi and Kolkata. Stay tuned to India.com for all the latest updates. source https://www.india.com/news/india/west-bengal-bypolls-odisha-bypoll-today-bhabanipur-jangipur-samserganj-pipli-delhi-rains-mumbai-mahara

New Delhi: A restaurant that allegedly denied entry to a saree-clad woman here was issued a closure notice by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation for operating without a proper trade license, following which the owner said he has shut operations. SDMC officials said on Wednesday that a closure notice was issued to the Aquila Restaurant located at Ansal Plaza in Andrews Ganj for operating without a valid licence. The September 24 closure notice said the area public health inspector found during a check on September 21 that the facility is running without a health trade licence and under unhygienic conditions. It also flagged encroachment on public land. “The public health inspector again inspected the site on September 24 and found that the trade is running under the same condition. You are directed to close the trade within 48 hours of the receipt of this notice failing which suitable action including sealing will be taken without assigning further notice,” the SDMC notice issued

Seoul: South Korea will launch its first homegrown space rocket next month as it is in the final stages of preparations, the science ministry said on Wednesday. The Ministry of Science and ICT said the rocket, Nuri, will lift off October 21 as scheduled at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, 473 km south of Seoul, Yonhap news agency reported. The Nuri is now erected on a launch pad for a propellant fill test, known as a wet dress rehearsal, to check its systems in extreme climate conditions, the ministry said. The ministry said it set the preliminary launch period from October 22-28 considering the possibility of schedule changes depending on weather conditions. The country has invested around 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) in the project since 2010 and finally unveiled a test model of the rocket in June this year. The 200-ton Nuri will carry a 1.5-ton mock payload for the October launch ahead of its launch with a 200-kilogram satellite and a 1.3-ton dummy payload on May 19 next year.

New Delhi: Tight security arrangements are in place ahead of bypolls in West Bengal and Odisha. In Bhabanipur, over 15 companies of central forces have been deployed. Earlier this month, the Election Commission had announced holding bypolls on September 30 in one assembly constituency of Odisha and three of West Bengal, including the Bhabanipur seat where Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee intends to contest. Apart from Bhabanipur Assembly Constituency, the bypolls will also be held in Samserganj and Jangirpur of West Bengal and Pipili in Odisha on September 30. The EC said the counting will be held on October 3. Main contestants in Bhabanipur: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the Trinamool Congress candidate in the Bhabanipur by-election in south Kolkata, while the BJP has fielded Priyanka Tibrewal, and CPI(M)’s Srijib Biswas is in the fray. Speaking to news agency PTI, the EC officials said that prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC were imp

San Francisco: Amazon has finally announced its long-rumoured “Astro”, a home assistant robot that can manage video calls, recognises users, and come to find them when someone calls. Astro will provide all the features of Alexa on wheels. The new home assistance will cost $1,449.99, but as part of the Day 1 Edition program, it will be available for an introductory price of $999.99 with a six-month trial of the Ring Protect Pro subscription included. It will be available in limited quantities, and Amazon plans to start granting invitations and shipping devices to customers in the US later this year. “We have designed Astro to handle a lot of the data processing on the device, including the images and raw sensor data it processes as it moves around your home. This helps Astro respond quickly to its environment. In addition, your visual ID is stored on the device, and Astro uses on-device processing to recognise you,” the company said in a statement. Astro can move autonomously around

New Delhi: A police constable shot himself to death at the gates of the Delhi High Court, where he was posted on duty, a senior police official said on Wednesday. According to the official, the deceased personnel was from Rajasthan Armed Constabulary and was currently deployed in the High Court security. “The constable, identified as Tinku Ram, shot himself with his service weapon — an INSAS gun — near gate No.3 of the High Court,” sources said. A police team, including senior officials, have reached the spot where the incident occurred. The 30-year-old constable, hailing from Kotkasim in Alwar, had just joined back on duty Wednesday morning at around 9.30 a.m. after a leave. Official sources said that no suicide note was recovered from the site of the incident. “The police is currently probing the circumstances that forced the constable to take this extreme step,” an official said. The incident comes just five days after the Rohini Court shootout in which a key gangster, Jitend

Chandigarh: Nearly 24 hours after Navot Singh Sidhu resigned as the Punjab Congress chief, state chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi said that he had a conversation with Sidhu and requested him to “talk it out and resolve the issue”. Addressing the media soon after his second meeting of the state cabinet in Chandigarh, CM Channi said, “Whoever is party president, is head of the family. I had called him (Navjot Singh Sidhu) and told him that the party is supreme… I have spoken to him on phone and told him let’s sit, talk it out and resolve the issue.” “I have no ego to talk about all the issues and am willing to sit down with all the leaders for discussions,” said CM Channi, hours after Sidhu posted a video on Twitter explaining his sudden resignation. Earlier in the day, Sidhu broke his silence raising questions over the appointments of the director-general of police, advocate general, and “tainted” leaders. Taking to Twitter, Sidhu shared a video post and said he was ready to mak

New Delhi: Real estate company, Supertech Limited moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking modification of the court’s August 31 judgment by which it had directed the demolition of the 40-storey twin tower building of Supertech’s Emerald Court project in Noida. In its application before the Supreme Court, Supertech has prayed that the judgment be modified such that only one of the two towers be demolished while the other is kept in tact. This is because demolition of one of the towers, T17 will ensure compliance with minimum distance requirements and national building code. The Court in its judgment had ordered demolition of towers T16 and T17. Supertech has stated that it is not challenging the legality or substance of the August 31 judgment but only seeks a modification to save “crores of rupees”. It has contended that by demolishing T17 alone, the minimum distance requirement from another building, T1 can be achieved. T16 can be kept intact since it is already at a distan

New Delhi: Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has written to the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), requesting the government to resume commercial flights to Kabul in Afghanistan. The letter is currently under review by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA). India had stopped all commercial flight operations to Kabul post August 15. The letter, addressed to Director General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar, has been written by Alhaj Hameedullah Akhunzada, acting minister, Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority. “The intention of this letter is to keep the smooth passenger movement between two countries based on the signed MoU and our National Carriers (Ariana Afghan Airline & Kam Air) aimed to commence their scheduled flights. Therefore, Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority requests you to facilitate their commercial flights,” the letter said. Akhunzada further said, “As you are well informed recently, the Kabul Airport was damaged and dysfunctional by American troo

New Delhi: The Delhi government has decided to extend the validity of all transport documents, including existing driving license, and permits, till November 30. According to Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, this step has been taken keeping in view the problems of the common people, especially during the Covid times, and to reduce overcrowding at zonal offices. The transport department will issue necessary orders regarding this extension soon, an official said. In recent times, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government has taken several steps to avoid people’s gathering at zonal offices for licence related queries and tasks. Under this initiative, soon Delhiites will be able to get a learning driving licence at home as most of the transport services will be brought under the ambit of the online system. The Delhi government is also planning to include around 88 Delhi University colleges in license making task which will be open for college students as well. In a bid to make

New Delhi: Good news for travel lovers! India’s favourite neighbouring holiday spot Thailand is finally set to reopen for tourism. The country is looking to attract Indian travelers during the traditional holiday season to boost its tourism-reliant economy that’s been hit hard by the absence of mass holidaymakers from countries including China. According to Bloomberg, the Thai tourism industry expects Indians to resume travel in large numbers next month during Diwali. “That should help spark a tourism revival as it coincides with the planned waiver of quarantine for vaccinated visitors from Nov. 1 said Somsong Sachaphimukh,” vice president of the Thai Tourism Council. With the outbound Chinese travel not expected to resume anytime soon, Thailand is betting on travelers from other origins to take advantage of its relaxed rules for tourists. “Indians, who made up the third-largest group of visitors to Thailand before the pandemic, may head again to Thai beaches for holidays, conferen