8 Indian sailors stranded on ship off UAE coast for months cry out for help

News Network
January 13, 2019

Hyderabad, Jan 13: Eight sailors from India have literally been shackled to the sea at the Sharjah anchorage and have urged the government to get them out of a ship which has practically been abandoned.

There are 10 sailors onboard the ‘M V Azraqmoiah’, including one from Sudan and another from Tanzania. Among the eight Indian sailors, Ramesh Gadela and Yalla Rao Chekka hail from Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. The other Indians have been identified as Capt Ayyapan Swaminathan, Bharath Haridass and Gurunathan Ganesan from Tamil Nadu, Alok Pal from Uttar Pradesh, Naskar Sourabh from West Bengal and Rajib Ali from Assam.

The ship was detained by the UAE coast guard on April 15, 2016 and the passports and seaman books of the sailors were confiscated. “It is as if we are slaves who have been abandoned. We are living pathetic lives and are unable to return home as we have not been given a sign off by the management. Our salaries are also pending for several months,” Captain Ayyapan Swaminathan told TOI on phone.

“We need help to return to our country,” Ramesh said in a video. The video has been forwarded to the authorities concerned by Shaheen Sayyed, a human rightsdefender working with ‘Justice Upheld’, an international humanitarian organisation.

In the recent Gaja cyclone in Tamil Nadu, Capt Swaminathan’s family suffered a huge loss as their house was destroyed. “My family managed to stay alive. But I have not been able to send them any money,” he said.

The sailors were recruited by Mumbai-based Rassiya Shipping Services Private Limited, Oath Marine Services Private Ltd and Krishnamrutam Enterprises Pvt Ltd. The ship’s management, Elite Way Marine Services, Abu Dhabi, has run into financial issues and thus, the crew are not being paid. The crew is said to be suffering from health issues too. They are getting limited provisions from the Consulate General of India, Dubai, which the crew allege are insufficient. The Federal Transport Authority of UAE has banned the ship’s commercial operations. “Everyone knows about our plight but we are still suffering,” Ayyapan rued.

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News Network
February 26,2020

Feb 26: In his first reaction to incidents of violence in Delhi which have left at least 20 people dead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday appealed for peace and brotherhood, and said he has held an extensive review of the prevailing situation in various parts of the national capital.

He also said it was important that calm and normalcy was restored at the earliest.

“Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy,” Modi tweeted.

Stressing that peace and harmony are “central to our ethos”, Modi said, “I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times.”

At least 20 people have been killed since Sunday in communal violence in Northeast Delhi, triggered after clashes between pro and anti-CAA protestors over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

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News Network
July 1,2020

Washington, Jul 1: The United States has approved four coronavirus vaccine candidates for clinical trials, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) head Stephen Hahn told reporters.

"Four vaccines have been approved for moving into clinical trials... and another six are in the pipeline for us to review," Hahn said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

The US Administration launched in May Operation Warp Speed, a joint project of Health and Defense Departments, which aims to deliver 300 million doses of a vaccine for COVID-19 by January 2021.

The country's top pandemics expert Anthony Fauci warned on Tuesday, however, that there is no certainty the United States will be able to develop a vaccine against COVID-19 that works and will be safe.

Data on vaccine effectiveness, he added, may be available in the winter or early next year.

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News Network
June 16,2020

New Delhi, June 16: Tensions along the Line of Control border between India and China have spiked with an Indian army officer and two soldiers killed in the Galwan area of Ladakh, the Indian army said in a statement on Tuesday.

This is the first time in decades that a clash involving casualties has taken place on the 3,488 kilometre border between India and China.

"During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place yesterday night with casualties. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers. Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation," said an official statement.

The two sides had made headway in talks last week with army chief General MM Naravane saying disengagement was in progress. The development had come after weeks of tension, including an incident in which patrolling soldiers from the two sides came to blows on the banks of Pangong Lake, resulting in injuries.

The two armies have since thinned out some forces in a positive signal but soldiers, tanks and other armoured carriers remained heavily deployed in the high-altitude region, an official had said.

India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 and have not been able to settle their border despite two decades of talks. Both claim thousands of kilometres of territory and patrols along the undemarcated Line of Actual Control - the de-facto border - often run into each other, leading to tensions. 

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Angry Indian
 - 
Tuesday, 16 Jun 2020

where is our angry desh bakth RSS and sanghi...hiding in rat hole or @%#hole...now you can show your 56 inch chest to chinese...when pakistan destroyed our two fighter jet that time i relised we are making an monkey army not indian army...still time exist, still we have courage army...but we lack leader...we have maron PM...and some dog follower..they only know to bark in media and whatsapp...in reality they are just real na pustak...

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