MANIPUR TIMES

  May 24,2021 New Delhi:   D elhi recorded 1,649 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest since March 30, and 189 fatalities on Sunday, while the positivity rate slipped to 2.42 per cent, even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal extended the lockdown in the capital by another week.  This is the second day on the trot that the number of deaths remained less than 200.  This is also the lowest daily spike in cases recorded since March 30 (992) and the first time that the count has gone below the 2,000-mark since April 1, when 2,790 people tested positive for the infection.  Meanwhile, India delayed the process of bulk-buying vaccines unlike several other nations and may now have few options available in the international market. "Aren't we a little late to the table on this one?" said Dr Gagandeep Kang, a top virologist who is also a member of the Supreme Court-appointed committee on medical oxygen.  "The rest of the world has been buying vaccines at risk for a year, so w...

  Don’t force me to use my constitutional powers: WB Governor to TMC Govt              KOLKATA :     W EST Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has warned the State’s newly-elected Trinamool Congress (TMC) Government to “not force me to use my constitutional powers”, sparking a fresh artillery exchange with the ruling party. “He forgot his constitutional position by calling for a change in the State. His appeal was rejected, so old man is now obviously frustrated,” said Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, while reacting to the Governor’s warning. Governor Dhankhar has been touring ‘violence-hit areas’ since the Trinamool returned to power with a landslide. His visit to Sitalkuchi in Northern Bengal provoked angry response from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who reminded Dhankhar of his constitutional obligations of working on the ‘aid and advice’ of the elected Government. The trip to Sitalkuchi, hit by poll-time violence wh...

  UN General Assembly To Consider Call For Myanmar Arms Embargo         U nited Nations, United States: The UN General Assembly on Tuesday is set to consider a draft non-binding resolution calling for "an immediate suspension" of the transfer of weapons to the military junta of Myanmar, a UN official said Sunday. Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are non-binding but carry strong political significance. If an approval by consensus cannot be reached then the full General Assembly  193 member states  will vote on the measure. Introduced by Liechtenstein, with support from the European Union, Britain, and the United States, the measure will be considered at the plenary meeting set for Tuesday at 1900 GMT. The draft resolution calls for "an immediate suspension of the direct and indirect supply, sale, or transfer of all weapons, munitions, and other military-related equipment to Myanmar." "The meeting will be in person," a U...

  Barcelona routs Chelsea 4-0 to win Women’s Champions League final for 1st time          B arcelona’s slow start two years ago doomed its European dream so this time it came out firing against Chelsea, scoring after just 32 seconds  route to a 4-0 victory and its first Women’s Champions League title on Sunday. In a ruthless offensive display, Barcelona’s attackers sliced through Chelsea’s defense and did all of their scoring inside 36 minutes, beginning with an own-goal. Barca is the first team from Spain to win Europe’s top club competition, which had been dominated recently by seven-time champions Lyon. In its only other appearance in the final, Barcelona lost 4-1 to Lyon in 2019 after conceding a goal after five minutes and falling behind 4-0 before halftime in Budapest. “The idea is to keep dominating European football,” Barcelona coach Lluis Cortes said. “Winning this game is part of the journey and losing in Budapest was part of it, too.” Makin...

  Over 200 dead, UN Security Council hears pleas to end Israel-Palestine violence, no action yet    P alestinian and Israeli leaders both appealed for support at a UN Security Council session Sunday but little action was in sight despite soaring violence, with China accusing the United States of obstructionism.  After a delay pushed by the United States, Israel's critical ally, the Security Council held its first public meeting on nearly a week of violence that has claimed 200 lives.  Opening the virtual session, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the violence "utterly appalling" and urged both Palestinian militants Hamas to stop firing rockets into Israel and the Jewish state to stop its massive air campaign on the Gaza Strip.  "Fighting must stop. It must stop immediately," Guterres said.  "It has the potential to unleash an uncontainable security and humanitarian crisis and to further foster extremism, not only in the occupied Palestinian ter...

  Myanmar beauty queen takes up arms against junta                 H tar Htet Htet, who represented Myanmar in the first Miss Grand International beauty pageant in Thailand in 2013, has taken up arms against the southeast Asian country's military junta.   Eight years after competing against 60 contenders in the beauty pageant, the 32-year-old gymnastics instructor has joined ethnic armed groups in Myanmar's border regions.   On her Facebook page, she wrote: “The time has come to fight back. Whether you hold a weapon, pen, keyboard or donate money to the pro-democracy movement, everyone must do their bit for the revolution to succeed."   "I will fight back as much as I can. I am ready and prepared to give up everything. I am even ready to pay with my life," she wrote.  “The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall. (Che Guevara) We must Win,” tweeted Htar Htet Htet....

  Taliban declare three-day Afghan ceasefire for Eid holiday                         T he Taliban on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire in Afghanistan to mark this week's Eid al-Fitr holiday, just two days after the government blamed the insurgents for bombs outside a school that killed more than 50 people, mostly young girls.   "Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate are instructed to halt all offensive operations against the enemy countrywide from the first till the third day of Eid," a statement released by the insurgents said.   "But if the enemy conducts any assault or attack against you during these days, stand ready to robustly protect and defend yourselves and your territory," it added.   Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, and the holiday begins according to the sighting of the new moon.   The ceasefire comes after the government blamed the Taliban for the a...

  Myanmar counts cost of coup, 100 days on               O ne hundred days after the military seized power in Myanmar, the nun who pleaded for protesters on her knees in the street says the coup has cast a pall of fear and depression over the country.   The image of Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng kneeling in the dust, arms spread, begging police not to shoot "the children" went viral in March as an uprising swelled in Myanmar.    Today, the 45-year-old nun works in a clinic in Myanmar's northernmost Kachin state, tending to patients injured by security forces, sickened from stress, and even those who try to kill themselves.   "With the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and brutal actions of the military, there are more people who feel depressed and want to commit suicide," she told AFP.    "People are living in fear and they feel hopeless."   On Tuesday, 100 days will have passed since the generals made ...

    Covid-19: India records 3.66 lakh new cases, 3,700 deaths in 24 hour s                       I ndia's daily rise in coronavirus cases retreated from the 400,000 mark on Monday, while its daily rise in deaths also fell after two straight days of more than 4,000 fatalities. The health ministry reported 366,161 new Covid-19 infections and 3,754 more deaths. India's total caseload now stands at 22.66 million, with 246,116 deaths.   Over the last week (May 3 to May 9) India reported more than 27,000 deaths and over 27.4 lakh new cases, its highest weekly Covid numbers to date. However, the growth of cases in this period, at 5 per cent, was also the lowest during the second wave, indicating that perhaps the second wave had reached, or was nearing its peak. Deaths grew at a faster pace of nearly 15 per cent, with the daily case fatality rate crossing 1 per cent for the first time in the second wave in the last three days...

  Underworld don Chhota Rajan's death rumours, AIIMS official said 'He is alive now'             M eanwhile, there was another rumour that underworld don Chhota Rajan had died due to corona virus infection, which has been reported to be incorrect. The AIIMS official has confirmed his survival. Chhota Rajan was admitted to AIIMS Hospital for treatment with covid infection in the past. Chhota Rajan had tested corona positive as he was lodged in Tihar jail. Underworld don Chhota Rajan's death rumours, AIIMS official said 'He is alive now ' He was admitted to the hospital in the last week of April after his report came positive. His condition remained stable for several days, but he succumbed to his injuries on Friday. Chhota Rajan was booked in more than 70 cases including several cases of kidnapping and murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for criminalising the murder of senior Mumbai journalist Jyotirmay Dey. However, he was recently released ...

  Myanmar's Karen Insurgents Burn Another Government Outpost                     G uerrilla soldiers from Myanmar’s Karen ethnic minority burned down a government military outpost on Friday after capturing it without a fight when its garrison fled, a senior Karen officer said. The position is approximately 15 kilometers (nine miles) from a larger camp that the Karen National Liberation Army stormed and burned 10 days earlier. The KNLA is the armed wing of the Karen National Union, the main political organization representing the Karen minority, whose homeland is in eastern Myanmar.  The Karen and the Kachin in northern Myanmar are the two major ethnic armed organizations that have allied themselves with the movement against the junta that took power in Myanmar after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February.  The role of the ethnic fighting groups has become more important as the number of peop...

  WHO warns of airborne transmission of corona  World Health Organisation (WHO) has admitted that there is a possibility of airborne transmission of the coronavirus. In its updated guidelines, WHO has included safety measures for the same. “Current evidence suggests that the virus spreads mainly between people who are in close contact with each other, typically within 1 metre (short-range). A person can be infected when aerosols or droplets containing the virus are inhaled or come directly into contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth,” it said. WHO added: “The virus can also spread in poorly ventilated and/or crowded indoor settings, where people tend to spend longer periods of time. This is because aerosols remain suspended in the air or travel farther than 1 metre (long-range).” “People may also become infected by touching surfaces that have been contaminated by the virus when touching their eyes, nose or mouth without cleaning their hands.” “Further research is ongoing to bet...