Today's News (19th Nov 2021)

Category: News in Brief
Published: Friday, 19 November 2021 11:22

Today’s News (19th Nov 2021)

by Annadatha Venkata Murali Manohar

Headlines

PM Modi to address the nation at 9am

Delhi pollution: AQI stagnant in ‘very poor’ category, stands at 332

Most important ingredient for Sexual Assault is Sexual Intent': SC quashes Bombay HC's 'Skin-to-Skin' Order

No protection, no hearing until we know where you are, says SC on IPS Officer Param Bir Singh's Plea

India, China to hold another round of military talks

India, Bangladesh Armies on Cross-border Cycling Expedition to Commemorate '71 War; 20 cyclists each from the two armies, 370 KMs - 10 days

Delhi Riots: Facebook says ‘Don’t want hate on site’, House Panel wants records of users’ Reports

India says Pak Law allowing Kulbhushan Jadhav Right to Appeal has shortcomings of earlier Ordinance, says it will be of little use

Second Chinese village along Arunachal border: Satellite images

The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) demands judicial inquiry, says magisterial probe unacceptable as govt can’t act as ‘judge, jury & excutioner’

J&K L-G Orders Probe into Hyderpora encounter after deceased's kin term it 'Fake', bodies of 2 Srinagar residents exhumed in Handwara encounter, civilians bodies exhumed after outcry

India, China agree on need to find early resolution along the LAC in the Western Sector and resolve pending issues, amid an ongoing stand-off between the troops of the two nations

Longest Lunar Eclipse of this Century will take place today on Nov 19; Assam & Arunachal, should be able to see; Earth will hide 97% of full moon from the Sun's rays

Dog found eating stillborn outside Madhya Pradesh Govt District Hospital, 2nd incident in 2 years; hospital ordered an inquiry in the shocking incident

Parts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh to receive more rains, high speed winds for next 24 hours

Muralidhar Pandey gets extension as director, department of justice, reports ANI

Will back calls taken in national interest: PM to bankers

India’s meat map: 7 out of 10 people relish non-veg items; East & South lead the way

Centre asks laggard states Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha, to expedite notifications of Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act 1996, that will complete 25 years in Dec, this year

Financial & Business News

Support ‘wealth, job creators’: PM to banks

Govt accepts Cairn's offer on retro tax; company to withdraw cases now, refund to follow

India's economic advisory council expects GDP to grow 7%-7.5% in 2022/23

Over 2.6 crore I-T returns filed, portal issues sorted: Government

Income Tax refunds of Rs. 1.19 lakh crore issued so far this fiscal

Telecom sector revenue may grow 4.5-5% on Dec Qrtr driven by residual impact of segmented tariff hikes taken in July, higher smartphone sales in the festive season, rapidly easing pandemic situation

DGCA: Domestic air passenger volume spiked 70.46% in Oct to 89.85 lakh over the same Oct 2020

NPCI arm, Network Intl join hands for UPI payment system in UAE; expected to commence in the first quarter of 2022

BSNL asks TCS to comply with 4G tender norms, finish equipment tests within deadline; offered 31 sites for the test; plans to float a tender for procuring equipment for 57,000 sites for 4G services

Skoda Auto unveils sedan Slavia in India; bookings with Rs 11,000 down payment; Kubota to invest over Rs 9,400 crore in Escorts to become a majority promoter

Paytm crashes in market debut as much as 28%, in a weak stock market debut, a week after IPO; One day's loss not whole picture, says Paytm Founder on weak market debut; no ‘cashback’ for investors

‘Can’t forecast long-haul game’s outcome based on Day 1 show’: Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Google to help Indian startups emerge stronger: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Kolkata-Singapore flights to resume at the end of November

Mumbai: BEST to launch ‘Ho-Ho’ bus service soon to boost tourism

Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) has re-used old buses of the state transport authority KSRTC, and launched the Foodie Wheels Cafe on the Vaikom backwaters to boost tourism in the region.

Columbia Asia rebranded as Manipal Hospitals

India says ‘no use’ as US asks Asian giants to tap oil reserves

Linking of WTO reforms by developed countries with S&DT unfair: Piyush Goyal

First estimate pegs cost of India’s net zero goal at $10 trillion

RBI panel suggests separate law to prevent illegal digital lending via apps

RBI panel recommends guardrails to digital lending

Alibaba says profit falls 81% as China tech crackdown bites

Asian shares mostly decline after US stocks shuffle lower

Oil at 6-week low as China readies crude oil reserve release

India needs $10.1 tn investment to achieve net-zero emission by 2070: Study

ETMONEY continues its rapid growth; manages over $3 billion investments on its platform

Unilever bags $5 billion deal with CVC for tea business

Start-ups helping brands accelerate their digital journey

GMR wins bid to develop and operate Kualanamu International Airport, Medan in Indonesia, with tie up with state-owned Angkasa Pura 2 (AP2)

Supreme Court order CBI probe into Hindustan Zinc Ltd divestment in 2002

Government moots exempting exploratory oil drilling from prior CRZ nod

Google for India: New India-specific features in Assistant, Search and Google Pay

Starbucks links with Amazon Go for first cashier-less café

Elon Musk sells more shares than he needs to pay current tax bill

Fortnite shuts down servers in China

SpaceX has revealed that it has no plans to bring the Starlink satellite service to China, as per a report by GizmoChina based upon inputs from a Tesla China spokesperson

US stocks: S&P, Nasdaq close at record highs on strong earnings

Corona Updates

World: 256,287,018; Active 19,642,197 (7.66%); Recovery 231,498,877 (90.33%); Vaccinated 7.59BN

India 34,483,759; Active 133,931 (0.39%); Recovery 33,885,132 (98.26%); Vaccinated 1.14BN

India reported 11,919 new Covid-19 cases and 470 deaths in the last 24 hours

India to roll out 3rd Covid vaccine dose? Expert Panel to hold key meet next week; be recommended as an additional dose and not a booster shot

Study: Covid-infected people with long-term exposure to Air Pollution more likely to get hospitalised; found association b/w higher exposure to NO2 & PM2.5 and increased disease symptoms

Europe only region with rising Covid toll: WHO

American Health Agency warns Antimicrobials Building Resistant Bacteria; being misused outside of hospital settings, drugs such as ivermectin and chloroquine are being used as unproven treatments

UK study: Delta AY.4.2 Covid variant less likely to show any symptoms; AY.4.2 variant growing at a rate of 2.8% a day since Sep; driving some of England's high infection rate

IIT-B study: infectious aerosols can linger in the air up to 10 times longer in "dead zones" in enclosed spaces

Pfizer announces plan to sell 10 million Covid Pills to US for $5 BN pending approval from regulators

Washington: US President Joe Biden announces that his country has purchased 10 million doses of the drug Pfizer against the Corona emerging Covid-19 virus, which is scheduled to be delivered at the end of this year

British Medical Journal: Donning a face mask more than halves the risk of getting Covid, according to a review of eight studies; hand-washing. Physical distancing, meantime, cuts the risk by a quarter

Bahrain records 22 new cases of Coronavirus

New Zealand approves India-made vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin

Turkey issues updated quarantine rules for vaccinated travellers from India

London: 100 million have or had long Covid-19, estimates study

Brazil records over 21.98 million Covid-19 cases

US CDC says delivered 561,149,025 doses of Covid-19 vaccine as of November 18 (Reuters)

US administers 446.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, says CDC (Reuters)

China reports 24 new coronavirus cases for Nov 18 vs 35 day earlier (Reuters)

Mexico reports 3,915 new Covid-19 cases, 356 more deaths, reports Reuters

Religious identity cues increase vaccination intentions, trust in medical experts among American Christians, says study (ANI)

Florida bans strict vaccine mandates in schools and businesses, reports Reuters

Macron says France does not need to lock down non-vaccinated people as Covid spreads, reports Reuters

Canada to authorize use of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine for children, reports Reuters quoting a source

Covid: Greece imposes further restrictions on unvaccinated, reports Reuters

Mexico sends some minors to US to get coronavirus vaccine, reports AP

Singapore business events bounce back post Covid, Hong Kong flounders, reports Reuters

Fully vaccinated Indian adults surpass those who have received just one jab

India has slid in vaccination among nations with 50 million+ population

Second Covid death in Gurugram this week: Both 70+, comorbid, fully vaccinated

Delhi records 47 fresh Covid cases, zero death

Thane's infection count grows by 98, death toll by one

State News

Gurudwaras in Delhi lit up on eve of ‘Gurpurab’

Haryana's Vigilance Bureau has arrested a Deputy Secretary of the HPSC & two others involved in manipulating the marks of candidates who appeared in the written examination for recruitment of Dental Surgeons, conducted by the HPSC on September 26, 2021: DPR Haryana (ANI)

Haryana will enforce odd-even traffic rule in four NCR districts

Jammu police launch app for hotels to monitor suspects

After years of trying, plan to clean Yamuna by ‘2025’

E-vehicles in Delhi can ply in no-entry hours

Morning stroll in Delhi may do you more harm than good

Just 30% of Delhi pollution of its own making, says Gopal Rai

SC allowed an NGO to file an appeal against a Delhi HC order, which upheld the Centre’s decision to appoint senior IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as Delhi Police Commissioner four days before his superannuation on July 31

Gurgaon: Corporation to demolish illegal buildings near ammo depot

Bengaluru: Covid test lapses by 1 minute, pregnant woman and 2 others denied boarding

School leaving Certificate shows Sameer Wankhede is Muslim, he threatened ex-wife: Nawab Malik

Court likely to rule on Wankhede Sr’s petition against Malik on Monday

Mumbai: Pocso court rejects plea to recall survivor for questioning

Siddharth Pithani to apply for bail again, in Sushant Singh Rajput drugs case

On Cam: Man washed away in flood waters on Tirupati-Kadapa highway in Andhra Pradesh

Academics News

India poised to become $313 bn education and skills market by 2030: Report

Naval Science Technological Laboratory (NSTL) proposed Andhra University (AU), in Visakhapatnam to introduce a Defence Technology course in MSc and also a Joint Ph.D. program. NSTL would provide opportunities to AU students for internships and apprenticeships: NSL director Dr. Y Srinivasa Rao and AU Vice-Chancellor Prof. PVGD Prasada Reddy

Allahabad University (AU) cut-off 2021 and counselling schedule of BSc (Maths) and BSc (Bio) and B.Com released

Supreme Court refuses to direct CBSE, CISCE to provide hybrid mode option for board exams

SC asks committee to examine afresh grievance of some students regarding marks in class 12 exam

Bhubaneswar: Govt school enrolment fell by 3% since 2018: Report

73 pc young Indians believe education quality in the country has improved, says new survey

Smartphones at home but not for studies in rural Assam: Survey

400 zero enrolment schools closed in Arunachal Pradesh: CM Pema Khandu

UPSC Civil Service exam 2021: Notice for exam centre change released

Bhubaneswar: Phase-II admission process of UG first year to begin from Nov 23

Karnataka postpones midterm exams for class 12 students

Kuwait News

His Highness the Crown Prince makes a phone call to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, during which he reassured him of the health of His Highness the Emir of the country

Leading Kuwaiti opposition politician Musallam Al Barrak and ex-member of parliament Khalid Al Tahous, returned home from exile in Turkey under an amnesty from the country’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad

Deputy Foreign Minister discusses with the British Ambassador the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries

Acting Minister of Defense: The Gulf Shooting 2021 exercise embodies the integration between the Kuwaiti, Saudi and American forces

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the condemnation and denunciation of the State of Kuwait, in the strongest terms, the continued attempts of the Houthi militia to threaten the security of the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by targeting the city of Khamis Mushait with two drones and Abha Airport with a drone

Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry: The remains of 19 Kuwaiti prisoners and missing persons that were brought from Iraq were identified through genetic fingerprint analysis by the General Department of Criminal Evidences of the Ministry of Interior, on the remains

A Kuwaiti official calls for the need to strengthen Arab cooperation for the optimal use of water resources

Director-General of the Office of the Martyr Salah Al-Ofan affirms that the State of Kuwait, the leadership, government and people will not forget the heroism of its martyrs, the missing and the martyrs, and that they will remain in the memory forever

Interior Minister: Training student officers according to the latest technological programs to confront developments in crime methods

The CEO of the Quorum Center for Strategic Studies and Economic Research Tariq Al-Rifai stated that the significant change in oil prices during the recent past and its rise to exceed $80 per barrel came as a result of the error and imbalance between supply and demand, as oil consumption is greater than production

Directorate-General of Fire Department (DGFD) said it has taken all legal measures against one of its employees from the payroll department who has allegedly embezzled two million dinars of government money.

Kuwait wins the presidency of the permanent committee for new media in the Arab States Broadcasting Union

His Excellency Ambassador Sanjay Bhattacharya, Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of Republic of India, during his visit to Kuwait, accompanied by Indian Ambassador to Kuwait, HE Sibi George, visited the headquarters of Reconnaissance Research – an active independent think tank – HE met with its founder and CEO, Abdulaziz Al-Anjeri, and his deputy, Yousef Al-Ghussein, in addition to a number of selected invited attendees who discussed local and Geo-political affairs in a Chatham house format. The discussions were extensive and focused on current developments, especially the future potential, requirements of India and Kuwait.

Minister of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Abdullah Al-Salman has once again sought the assistance of the Fatwa and Legislation Department of the Council of Ministers on the legality of collecting the 500 dinars fee to renew the residence permit of non-graduate expatriates 60 years and above asking if it is possible to reconsider this decision

The visa trade which was dealt successive blows after the authorities succeeded in identifying fictitious companies and profiteers there are suspicions the visa traders have become active once again after barely recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prosecutors in Kuwait have detained 18 people suspected of financing Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah

Air travel fares have recently dropped by 50 to 200 percent to some destinations after resuming full-capacity operations at Kuwait International Airport as of October 24.

A group of employees in Kuwait were run over inside their cleaning company by a man who is believed to be their manager. The employees were surrounding their manager’s vehicle because of unpaid salaries. They were attempting to prevent him from leaving the company premises; however, he ignored their demands.

Securitymen have taken into custody an unidentified Kuwaiti, in his 30s, for promoting alcohol and drug pills through his social media account.

The 31st meeting of the heads of the Gulf Scout Associations recommends continuing to support youth and volunteer work

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council demands that the Vienna talks address Iran’s destabilizing behaviour

Kuwait adds two gold and bronze medals at the end of the West Asian Billiards and Snooker Championship

Kuwait SC crowned the Futsal Super Cup by defeating Al-Qadisiyah (4-3)

Kuwait Football Association: Cash prizes in each round of the Premier League Football (STC)

Ministry of Information: Developing the third sports channel as a mirror for the achievements of young athletes

Kuwait Ministry of Health recorded 22 new cases of Corona, 28 recoveries and one death in the past 24 hours

Kuwait Ministry of Health, dealt with high efficiency with the Corona pandemic by taking all necessary measures to limit the spread of the virus

The Ministry of Interior had received a complaint from a restaurant car driver who stated that as he got out of his vehicle and went to deliver an order to a customer his vehicle was stolen. The security men after combing the area found the vehicle in damaged condition at a parking lot of Kuwait International Airport. The CID team was assigned to apprehend the thief and take legal measures.

The Court of Appeals scheduled a session for Tuesday to deliberate on the appeal of a well-known personality who was sentenced to five years in prison with hard labor and fined KD5,000 for drug abuse after his arrest upon arrival at Kuwait International Airport.

The Government Performance Follow-up Agency (GPFA) has submitted a report to the Cabinet with seven observations regarding the areas designated for food storage purposes in the country

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has been paying the price for the repercussions of the health crisis in many of its projects and stalled tenders due to the requirements of supervisory authorities. This has prompted the ministry to search for effective solutions to emergency situations, such as providing buses for students with special needs after the Ministry of Finance cancelled the transportation item from its budget.

A government study shows the remittances of expatriate workers from Kuwait during last year (2020) was about 12.9 percent of the total GDP with India making the lion’s share with 29.5 percent followed by Egypt with 24.2 percent, Bangladesh third with 9 percent, the Philippines fourth with 4.9%, Pakistan 4.3%, Sri Lanka with 2.1%, Jordan with 1.9%, Iran with 1.3%, Nepal with 1.2%, and Lebanon with 0.8% respective

While there is no Gulf country that imposes direct taxes, the study warned imposing taxes will negatively affect the efforts to enhance monetary and financial stability, since foreigners may resort to making transfers through informal channels and this will pose the risk to efforts to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism and will have negative repercussions on the overall economy in addition to contradicting the obligations of the member states to the International Monetary Fund, and will contradict the vision of Kuwait as a financial and commercial center.

National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim recently met the delegation of the chairpersons of scout associations in member-nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Chairman of Arab Parliament Scouts Union and Chairman of Kuwaiti Scouts Society MP Abdullah Al- Turaiji. The lawmaker inquired about the committee formed to investigate the incident that occurred on Sept 8, 2021 when two laborers died while working in the new passenger building at Kuwait International Airport (T2).

Pakistan & Afghanistan News

At least 2 killed in blast in Shiite district of Kabul, IS claims responsibility

Pakistan welcomes Sikh devotees from India and around the world: Foreign Office

Pakistan faces threat from within due to extremism: Minister

Pakistan opposition cries foul as parliament approves electronic voting

Overseas Pakistan gets voting rights as Pakistan parliament passes new law

Pakistan parliament passes bill giving Kulbhushan Jadhav right to file review appeal against conviction

Pakistan: Nearly 1,000 Christian, Hindu women fall victim to forced conversion every year, say rights activists

Pakistan: Foreign direct investment falls 12 per cent in July-October of current fiscal year

Pakistan Parliament approves chemical castration of habitual rapists

Pakistan releases hardline Islamist leader under a deal to end violence

Hoisting country’s flag at training sessions is nothing new for us: Pakistan team manager

Anxiety in Afghanistan as Taliban struggle for legitimacy: UN official

Russia to organize new special flights to deliver aid to Afghanistan soon: Envoy

International

Coalition to Support Legitimacy: We carried out a large-scale operation for legitimate military objectives

Coalition to Support Legitimacy: Intercepting and destroying a ballistic missile targeting Jazan

US Defense Secretary: US support for Ukraine’s sovereignty is ‘unwavering’

Brussels: The European Union says it will not hold any talks with the government of Belarus led by President Alexander Lukashenko to resolve the crisis of thousands of migrants stranded between Belarus and Poland, as a European working group puts ‘final touches’ on sanctions that the bloc plans to impose on officials in Mysink within days

Historic Step: French lawmakers voted to end wild animals being used in live circus shows, spelling an end to performing tigers, lions or bears

Amid China tension, Taiwan deploys 64 Advanced F-16 Fighter Jets in its Air Force with US help

Taiwan opens office in Lithuania, brushing aside China opposition

Russia carried out another successful test of its Zircon hypersonic cruise missile, one the latest additions to the country's arsenal of weapons called "invincible

Shooting at northern Virginia mall leaves 1 wounded: Police

Divided House debates Democrats’ expansive social, climate bill

Biden kicks off North American Leaders Summit with one-on-one meet with Trudeau, EV dispute discussion on cards

Top US diplomat Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Nigeria facing calls to rethink ties

Oklahoma governor spares death-row inmate in last-minute reprieve

Minnesota man Anthony Reese Jr charged in killing of couple Richard Pittman, April Carone and Carone’s unborn child, at Fargo Factory

Biden may nominate Indian American as ambassador at large for women’s issues

GOP paints Biden’s choice Saule Omarova, for bank regulator as radical

Georgia’s citizen’s arrest law key to defense in Arbery case

Black pastors rally outside trial over Arbery’s killing

Blinken demands Sudan allow peaceful protests after deadly day

Ex-Interpol Meng Hongwei’s wife Grace Meng takes on China government

US jobless claims drop seventh straight week to 268,000

Sports News

Biden says US considering diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics

2nd T20I: India aim to bag series against New Zealand; Ranchi set for full house, ‘heavy dew’ is only concern

Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) chief meets Mumbai senior team; felicitates Ajinkya Rahane

Surprised Dravid took up India head coach’s job: Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting

Ponting says he was approached by BCCI for India coach’s job before Dravid took it up

Boxing Day Test, Australia Open to go ahead at full capacity

India vs New Zealand: Too early to comment on Rahul Dravid’s coaching style, says R Ashwin

India vs New Zealand: Wily Ravinchandran Ashwin very hard to get away, as the off-spinner has an immaculate control over of his line, length and speed, says Martin Guptill

India vs New Zealand: Would love to pick Dravid’s brain, says Rachin Ravindra

PIL on India-New Zealand T20 match at Ranchi disposed of by HC without direction

Syed Mushtaq Ali: Vidarbha book Semifinal Berth with 9-wicket victory over Rajasthan (84/8 in 20 overs; chased down the target with 5.1 overs to spare); Hyd stun Gujarat by 30 Runs, Enter SF

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Tamil Nadu beat Kerala by 5 wickets, storm into last four

Of late, Rishabh Pant hasn’t lived up to my expectations: Inzamam-ul-Haq

Delhi beat Tamil Nadu in National T20 Cricket tournament for blind

Somerset seamer Jack Brooks apologises to Cheteshwar Pujara over ‘Steve’ nickname

English ‘drinking culture’ affected Asian and Black players: Former West Indies International Tino Best

Ex-Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq apologises for anti-Semitic messages

Veteran football commentator Novy Kapadia dies after prolonged illness

Sachin Tendulkar meets Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Bhopal this week; visits MP village Sewaniya to take stock of children’s social welfare projects

ISL: Indian Super League 2021-22 Season begins with ATK Mohun Bagan-Kerala Blasters clash

Badminton World Federation (BWF) gives Prakash Padukone lifetime achievement award

Doubts over China tennis star’s email raise safety concerns, star in eye of storm

ITF says player safety top priority amid concerns over China’s Peng

Prannoy beats Axelsen to sail into Indonesia Masters quarters

PV Singhu reaches quarter-finals in Indonesia Masters

ATP Finals: Zverev sets up semifinal clash with Djokovic, Medvedev beats Sinner

Responding to Nick Kyrgios, Novak Djokovic reiterates ‘freedom of choice’ on vaccin