America suspends military cooperation with Russia

March 4, 2014

Washington, Mar 4: The US Defence Department has suspended all military-to-military engagements with Russia because of Moscow's military movement in Ukraine.russia

The suspension covers bilateral meetings, port visits and planning conferences, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, adding the Pentagon values the relationship it has developed with the Russian military in the last few years.

Kirby said the US Monday evening called on Russia to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine and to pull Russian forces in Crimea back to their bases "as required under the agreements governing the Russia Black Sea Fleet", Xinhua reported.

The spokesman also stressed that the US military has not changed its posture in Europe or the Mediterranean Sea.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the US trade representative was quoted by media as saying that the US has also put trade and investment talks with Russia on hold over the Ukraine crisis.

The moves came after US President Barack Obama said his administration was examining "a whole series of" economic and diplomatic steps to "isolate" Russia over its refusal to withdraw military forces from Crimea.

Washington and its allies have already decided to suspend preparations for the G8 summit slated for June in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Crimea, a multi-ethnic region in southeastern Ukraine with a large Russian  population, enjoys a high degree of autonomy after Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Russia has maintained its only Black Sea naval base there in the port of Sevastopol.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that his country could not stay aside if violent actions were taken against Russian speakers in eastern Ukrainian regions and Crimea.

But he has also stressed that Russia would take necessary measures according to international law and that further escalation of the crisis in Ukraine should be averted.

On Monday, the Russian foreign ministry refuted allegations of the NATO that Russia was conducting military escalation in Ukraine's Crimea.

"Providing security for fleet facilities and preventing possible attacks on our compatriots from extremists and radicals are the sole purposes of all troop  movements," the ministry said.

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News Network
May 10,2020

May 10: Delhi recorded five more deaths due to coronavirus, while 381 fresh cases of the virus were reported, the city government said on Sunday.

With the fresh cases, the virus tally in the national capital has climbed to 6,923.

Between midnight of May 8 and midnight of May 9, five fresh fatalities due to the virus were reported, taking the death toll to 73, the government said in its health bulletin.

While there are 4,781 active cases of the virus in the city, 2069 patients have so far recovered from COVID-19.

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News Network
April 16,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 16: Seven fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported from Kerala on Thursday, taking the total number of active cases to 147 in the state,even as over 88,000 people are under observation.

On Wednesday, only one positive case had been reported, thelowest in weeks.

While Kannur reported four cases, two were from Kozhikode and one from Kasaragod, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reportershere.

Five of those affected had come from abroad, while two have got it through contact with infected people.

Samples of 27 people, including 24 from the worst affected Kasaragod, have turned negative on Thursday.

He said 394 coronavirus cases have so farbeen detected from the state.

Over 80,000 people are under observation, including 532 in various hospitals.

Vijayan said 17,400 samples have been sent for testing of which 16,459 have returned negative.

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Agencies
June 30,2020

Seventy-seven per cent children below five years of age in Jammu and Kashmir were not able to access basic healthcare services like immunisation during the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19, CRY said on Monday citing a study.

The 'Rapid Online Perception Study about the Effects of COVID-19 on Children' was conducted during the first and second phases of the lockdown based on responses of parents and primary caregivers from all across the country, including Jammu and Kashmir, the NGO said in a statement.

It said a total of 387 respondents from Jammu and Kashmir participated in the study.

"Seventy-seven per cent children of age 0-5 years were not able to access basic healthcare services such as immunisation during lockdown - necessarily imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in Jammu and Kashmir," Child Rights and You (CRY) said.

It said as immunisation programmes witnessed a major setback during the lockdown across the country, the results of the survey across 23 states and Union Territories found nearly 50 per cent of parents with children below five years of age unable to access immunisation services.

"Worryingly, the figure was considerably high in Jammu and Kashmir with 77.14 per cent children below five years unable to get immunisation services," it added.

According to the study, in Jammu and Kashmir, nearly 35 per cent of the respondents said their children did not receive medical help during the lockdown, resulting in difficulties to cope with their children's illnesses and health hazards.

The study also talks about more systemic arrangements and logistical preparedness to ensure that children with no or compromised digital reach are not deprived from their Right to Education.

With online classes introduced as a substitute of schools during the lockdown, access to education for children remained a major issue of concern, as many of them, especially the ones from marginalised and financially poorer backgrounds found it difficult without smartphones and internet access.

The survey's findings revealed that nationally only 41 per cent households with children of school-going age could access online classes on a regular basis.

"Almost 90 per cent parents and primary caregivers reported that the lockdown has increased the screen time of their child to great or some extent. About half of the households recorded an increase of children's exposure to online activities during lockdown," it said.

The NGO said around 76 per cent parents agreed that they could keep a watch of their children's online activity to some extent.

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