Today’s News (21st Aug 2021, Saturday)

Details: Category: News in Brief; Published: Saturday, 21 August 2021 07:44

by Annadatha Venkata Murali Manohar*

Happy Onam. !

Headlines

Paralympics: Indian Powerlifters depart for Tokyo with eye on medal; India will win at least 15 medals including 5 golds says Chef-de-Mission; Organisers say situation 'very difficult' as hospitals stretched by Covid cases

Rajnath Singh, during his visit to the Army Sports Institute in Pune, is likely to name the stadium in the campus after Neeraj Chopra

India seals deal with Russia to procure AK-103 Rifles in push of Military Modernisation; purchased to replace its ageing and obsolete weapons; under emergency financial powers

Ex-militant's death: Meghalaya ministers, MLAs getting extortion notes from Militant Group, admits CM; DGP's warning gets cops to remove sympathy posts from social media

7 lakes supplying water to Mumbai has 12.35 lakh million litres; 85.34% of total useful content, and will last for nine months and 20 days

MP CM Shivraj Chouhan slams poor state of roads in Bhopal, scraps body overseeing infra upkeep

Hisar-Mumbai Duronto Express flagged off, Journey will take 22 hours via Sadulpur, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Rings, Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Ratlam & Baroda

Artisans deserve better facilitators than NGOs and govts for their businesses to thrive; poor have little trust in Govt or NGOs. For most, it’s just a new person to ask for dole from in face of rudeness, stonewalling

Finance & Business News

Skoda will drive in an all-new sedan early next year – 2nd product under strategic India 2.0 initiative; to shore up volumes in the Indian market

Easy money fuels inflation and world-beating stocks in India

Apple delays office return to at least January in Covid rise

San Francisco: Bit Tech platforms Facebook Inc and Google have been hit with a series of antitrust lawsuits by the US federal government and states on charges they are operating monopolies and abusing their power

India looks to work with US on market access issues: Goyal

Jet Airways employees reject Jalan-Kalrock resolution move; move NCLAT over compensation

Facebook teams up with Indifi to help provide loans to small businesses

Oyo to hire more than 300 tech professionals

St. Kitts and Nevis Awarded Best Citizenships by Investment Programme by FT PWM report

In a first for India, a desi aviation company in New Delhi has taken an aircraft by leasing it from India. Leading private aircraft and helicopter operator JetSetGo said it is the first Indian leasing business to directly import an aircraft (Hawker 800 XP) through a lease of IFSC GIFT City, Ahmedabad; Earlier, a helicopter was leased from GIFT City and this is the first time for an aircraft

Luxury car makers stepping on gas on used car platforms

Imports have stopped from Afghanistan: Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Dr. Ajay Sahai

Sensex tumbles 300 points; Nifty ends below 16,500

China eyes pushing US IPO-bound firms to hand over data control: Report

China passes new personal data privacy law, to take effect November 1

US, India discuss ways to increase trade

CRED launches lending product CRED Mint

Many Indian companies slip in global valuation ranking, highest ranked RIL dips 3 places

Space Perspective, wants to make space travel ‘affordable’

Microsoft invests $5 million in Oyo

Corona Updates

World: 211,487,421; Active 17,811,295 (8.42%); Recovery 189,249,634 (89.49%); Vaccinated 4.88BN

India: 32,392,506; Active 368,122 (1.14%); Recovery 31,590,390 (97.52%); Vaccinated 566.60MN

Zydus Cadila becomes 6th weapon in India's armour; 3-dose jab approved; India gets its first vaccine for children 12 years and above

Delta variant that caused second wave driving infections in vaccinated people; vaccination continues to be very effective in reducing severe disease and death

UK Regulator approves antibody drug Ronapreve to prevent, tackle Covid-19; injection or infusion; acts at lining of respiratory system where it binds tightly to Covid; prevents it from gaining access to respiratory cells

Sydney tightens Covid-19 curbs, lockdown extended through September

Record Delta wave hits kids, raises fear as US schools open

New Covid-19 infections on the march in South Korea

Study supports widespread use of better masks to curb Covid-19 indoors

Delta crisis: US health system overwhelmed; 5 states see record hospitalizations

Singapore plans first quarantine-free travel program

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques directs to provide additional support to Tunisia to meet the needs of the health sector to confront Corona

Kuwait News

Stranded expatriates oil sector employees, unable to return to Kuwait are considered on Annual leave

Corona pandemic has put an end to men kissing men

Change in working hours proposed to solve traffic problem

EPA completes relocation of over 20m tyres dumped in Arhiya Area

Two perish, 4 hurt in accident on King Fahd Road

Not possible to cut expenditure

Civil Service Commission (CSC) okays list for Covid-19 Frontliner Reward

Mixed reactions to removal of Venus statue from 360 Mall

19 domestic workers held in raid

Expats on vacation in dilemma over policy of jabs for under 18 years of age

Sheikh Dr Basil Al Sabah meets with Ambassadors

The Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) keen to increase percentage of Kuwaitis in private sector

MoH to work on accelerating pace of vaccinations

Kuwait records 226 new infections and two deaths

Britain adopts a new treatment against the Corona virus

The Iraqi Prime Minister will visit Kuwait next week

The price of a barrel of Kuwaiti oil decreased by $3.20 to $67.47

Bahraini Ministry of Health: 79 new cases of Corona virus were recorded

Afghan News

Taliban's mammoth task ahead as economy in doldrums. Currency down 90%, world halts aid; won't form govt until Aug 31 as per 'deal with US'; Taliban revenge fears grow as targeted door-to-door visits surge; resistance forces recapture 3 districts; several Taliban fighters killed; UN report claims one in three Afghans at risk of severe or acute hunger

Relationship with Taliban, good ties with US: Qatar & media houses helped Afghan scribes out of Kabul; US set to expand evacuation flights from Kabul to Europe; NATO wants inclusive govt

Joe Biden: Kabul evacuation among "Most Difficult" in history; will mobilize every resource necessary "to conduct a thorough evacuation; He added I cannot promise what the final outcome will be, or... that it will be without risk of loss"

Had no radical views’: Army Veterans recall 1982 IMA batchmate ‘Sheru’ who is now among Top 7 Taliban leader; “well-built, not too tall and never religiously inclined; Uttarakhand govt sends names of 110 natives stuck in Afghanistan to Union Govt

Merkel and Putin to discuss Afghanistan, other ‘big’ issues

UNESCO calls for protection of cultural heritage in Afghanistan

Over 18,000 people evacuated since Sunday from Kabul airport: NATO official

60 Hindus and Sikhs shifted to Afghanistan safe place for India evacuation

Guard against Afghanistan payment defaults, exporters warned

US President: We are continuing to communicate with the Taliban to facilitate the evacuation. Any attack on our forces will be met with a ‘quick and strong’ response

Britain: Finding a long-term solution to the Afghan crisis may require dealing with the Taliban

The UAE announces its agreement to temporarily host 5,000 Afghans before they head to other countries

The US Department of Defense: 6 thousand people left Kabul in the last 24 hours on 17 flights

The Turkish President and the Prime Minister of Greece discuss by phone the Afghan developments and their repercussions on immigration

Bahrain announces its contribution to supporting relief efforts in Afghanistan and facilitating the evacuation process

NATO foreign ministers call for an immediate end to violence and formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan

International News

China approves three-child policy with sops (reduce families’ burdens as well as the cost of raising and educating children) to encourage couples to have more children

In midst of Afghan crisis, US VP Kamala Harris visits Vietnam

Russian 'Devil worshipping' couple accused of two 'Human Sacrifices'; victims stabbed to deaths; also face charges of drug trafficking after large quantities of drugs were found in their home

UK sanctions seven Russian intelligence agents over Navalny poisoning; Angela Merkel asks Putin 'to free Navalny' on Moscow visit; Russian Prez denies charges

2 children killed, 3 injured in suicide bombing targeting Chinese nationals in Pak’s Port City Gwadar

Teen arrested after knife attack in southern Swedish school

German on trial for killing 5, injuring 18 in car rampage

11 Malian soldiers killed, 10 wounded in ambush in central Mali

Texas Democrats return, end 38-day holdout over voting bill

Three dead, four missing in Malaysian floods

Biden administration to review climate impacts of federal coal leases

Singapore gets sweet pandemic distraction as Museum of Ice Cream opens

Hurricane Grace makes landfall near Mexico’s Tulum temples

Hong Kong students charged with ‘advocating terrorism’ denied bail

400 booked for harassing, molesting Tik Toker girl in Pakistan: Lahore police

Women comes face-to-face with 3-metre long (10-foot long) snake in Australian Supermarket

Beirut: Lebanese President Michel Aoun calls on the United Nations to take action to put an end to the Israeli violations of his country’s sovereignity

Ramallah: Head of the Information Office in the Mobilization and Organization Commission of the Fatah movement, Munir al-Jaghoub, announces the postponement of the announcement of the Cabinet reshuffle on the government of Muhammad Shtayyeh

Beijing: Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi says that the great changes currently taking place in Afghanistan reflect the Afghan people’s desire for security and stabilitiy, and their rejection of war and chaos that lasted more than 40 years

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s Royal Palace announces the appointment of the assistant head of the United Malays Organization *AMNO) Ismail Sabri as the new Prime Minister, weeks after a political crisis that toppled the previous government

Istanbul: Turkey announces that the death toll from the recent floods in three northern states of the country has risen to 79

Russian military official: Russian missile systems replied the Israeli attack in Syria

Sports News

Junior World Wrestling Champ: Silver for Sanju Devi, Bhateri; Saneh endures painful end to campaign; World Athletics U20 Champ: Sasha Zhoya breaks U20 110m Hurdles World Record

Rafael Nadal will not be playing in 2021 again as he is taking break to find a solution to his foot injury

Western & Southern Open to match Naomi Osaka’s prize money pledge for Haiti

Stefanos Tsitsipas angers Greek government over vaccination news

Virat Kohli, BCCI brass ‘informally’ chat over roadmap for T20 World Cup

We are gathering momentum nicely, says Eoin Morgan ahead of T20 World Cup

ICC T20 World Cup: Carlos Brathwaite to launch virtual trophy tour