February 2021 - Page 3 of 37

Feb272021 by News DeskNo Comments

Biden : Strikes in Syria Sent Warning to Iran to ‘Be Careful’

INTERNATIONAL

President Joe Biden is cautioning Iran against threatening U.S. troops in Iraq. He told reporters Friday that his authorization of airstrikes against facilities in Syria used by Iran-backed militia groups was meant to signal to Iran that it “can't act with impunity.” The administration is defending the airstrikes as legal and appropriate, saying they took out facilities that housed valuable “capabilities” used by militia groups to attack American and allied forces in Iraq. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said members of Congress were notified before the Thursday strikes. In a twist, several leading members of Congress in Biden’s own party denounced the strikes, while Republicans were more supportive. With inputs fr...

Feb272021 by News DeskNo Comments

India Records a Single Day Spike of 16,000 Covid Cases

INDIA

According to Union Health Ministry data India recorded a single day spike of over 16,000 COVID-19 cases for the third day in a row on Saturday, pushing the infection tally to 1,10,79,979, while the recoveries surged to 1,07,63,451. The data updated on Saturday early morning showed a total of 16,488 novel coronavirus cases were reported in a day, while the death count rose to 1,56,938 with 113 new fatalities. With active case count at 1,59,590, which comprises 1.44 per cent of the total infections. The number of recoveries reached 1,07,63,451, which translates to a national COVID-19 recovery rate of 97.14 per cent and the case fatality rate stands at 1.42 per cent.

Feb272021 by News DeskNo Comments

India Extends International Flight Ban till 31 March

INDIA

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a circular on Friday announced the ban on International commercial flights till 31 March. The ban on scheduled overseas flights was to end after an eleven-month gap on 28 February 2021. The circular mentioned that the dedicated cargo flights and flights under the bilateral air bubble pacts with select countries will continue to operate. The 27 countries currently under this bilateral air bubble pact with the government of India are Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Ukraine, the UAE, the UK, Uzbekistan and the US.

Feb272021 by News DeskNo Comments

“Threat of being Blacklisted by FATF has been Averted” – Federal Minister of Pakistan

INTERNATIONAL

Federal Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar assured the nation on Friday that the threat of Pakistan being blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had been averted. “We want to reassure the nation that the threat of blacklisting Pakistan has been averted,” said the federal minister while addressing a press conference in Islamabad, a day after the FATF granted the country four more months to complete the action plan. The minister said that Pakistan was given the “world’s toughest action plan” by the global watchdog on money laundering. He further said that a mere two of the 27 points had been addressed when the ruling party came into power country two years ago, but since then Pakistan has fulfilled 24 of those overall requirements. Azhar explained that w...

Feb272021 by News DeskNo Comments

New York Based, Clooney Foundation for Justice to Monitor the Trial of Aasif Sultan

REGIONAL

The New York-based Clooney Foundation for Justice has said that it will monitor the trial of award-winning Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan who has been detained in Kashmir for over two and a half years and faces the death penalty if convicted. In a press release, CFPJ said, Sultan is a journalist who wrote stories about human rights and political issues for the Kashmir Narrator. He has been imprisoned since his arrest in August 2018 and was only indicted 5 months later. He is now charged with supporting a Militant group (the Hizbul Mujahideen) and conspiring to kill a police officer, and if convicted after trial, faces the death penalty. Press and human rights organizations believe the charges actually stem from Sultan’s coverage of a Kashmiri militant killed by Indian security forc...

Feb272021 by News DeskNo Comments

Four Dead and 100 Wounded as Myanmar’s Military Regime Cracks Down on Protesters

INTERNATIONAL

At least four people - (three anti-coup protesters and a member of a civilian neighborhood protection group) have been killed by security forces and more than 100 wounded in nearly two dozen crackdowns by Myanmar’s military regime on demonstrations across the country over a two-week period beginning on the 7th of February. During the crackdowns, police and military personnel have used water cannon, tear gas, slingshots, rubber bullets, live ammunition and deadly air guns firing lead pellets. Several journalists covering the anti-coup protests have been deliberately attacked by police with batons and slingshots. On Saturday afternoon, during a raid against government personnel taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) at a dock in Mandalay, ...

Feb272021 by News DeskNo Comments

Saudi Prince Implicated Khashoggi’s Murder

INTERNATIONAL

Saudi Arabia's crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammad Bin Salman, approved an operation "to capture or kill" Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, according to a newly declassified U.S. intelligence report released Friday. U.S. intelligence officials came to that conclusion based on several factors, including the direct involvement of a top Bin Salman adviser in Khashoggi's murder and "the crown prince's support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad," the report states. The White House on Friday cleared the release of a long-delayed intelligence report that determined that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s day-to-day leader, ordered the operation that led to journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death in 2018. Following the release, the U.S. Treasu...

Feb272021 by News DeskNo Comments

Vehicular Movement Suspended on Srinagar-Jammu Highway After Landslides and Shooting Stones

REGIONAL

The authorities on Saturday suspended the vehicular movement on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway due to landslides and shooting stones at several places of Ramban district. An official said that due to landslides and shooting stones at Magerkot, the traffic movement has been suspended on the highway-connecting Kashmir valley with the Jammu region. He said that rainfall also triggered shooting stones and landslides at Panthyal and other areas on the highway. The official said that vehicles have been stopped at Ramban and Chanderkote in Ramban district, Chenani and Nagrote in Udhampur and Jammu districts respectively. Pertinent to mention that there was no traffic movement on the Highway on Friday in view of dry day as the day is meant for maintenance and repairs. Meanwhile, ME...

Feb272021 by News DeskNo Comments

Living in a One – Room Tin Shed, Parveena Ayoub from Ganderbal Shines in 10th Exam

REGIONAL

Shah Basit A very poor girl, living in tin shed, from a remote village in Ganderbal area of Central Kashmir has secured 97.8 percent marks in her matriculation exams. Parveena Ayoub, daughter of a laborer Muhammad Ayoub from Kurhama village in Ganderbal secured 490 marks out of 500, securing Grade A1 despite of all hardships and struggles. Parveena's father, Ayoub, has to support a family of six including his four daughters and wife and the family lives in a single - room tin shed with minimum source of income. Coming from a financially weak background, Parveena soared through all the hardships and with perseverance and efforts, she managed to secure good grades. While talking to the media, Parveena said, “I am thankful to my parents who helped me secure this rank....

Feb262021 by News DeskNo Comments

Number of Houseboats Reduces from 1500 to 950 in Last 5 Years

REGIONAL

Houseboats, which catches the eye of tourists at the world-famous Dal Lake and other water bodies are craving for the government's attention while the houseboat owners express concern over the embargo on the repair work. Talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), an association concerned has claimed that the houseboats cannot be preserved for more than 20 years if present policy towards them will not be changed at the earliest. Kashmir Houseboat Owners Association (KHBOA) President Abdul Hamid Wangnoo said that the number of houseboats is declining with each passing year. "There were 1500 houseboats five years ago in the four major water bodies including Dal Lake, Nigeen Lake, Chinar Bagh and river Jhelum, but at present only 950 are existing," Wangnoo said. Blamin...