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Indian PM receives 'UNEP Champions of Earth' award

Agencies
October 3, 2018

New Delhi, Oct 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday received the 'UNEP Champions of the Earth for 2018' award, United Nations' highest environmental honour, from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres here.

The PM, who received the award from Mr Guterres and head of the UN Environment programme Erik Solheim during a special ceremony at the Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra here, called it an award for commitment of 125 crore people of the country for environmental protection.

'This is an award for the commitment of 125 crore people of the country for the cause of environmental protection. Champions of the Earth award is an honour for the tradition of India, which looks at nature as a form of God,' the PM said. 

Dedicating the award to the common people of India, Mr Modi said, 'This is an honour for the tribals living in jungles, who value the jungles more than their lives. This is an honour for the great women, for whom reuse and recycle has been part of daily life.'

Describing the climate and calamity as being directly related to culture, the Prime Minister, speaking at the event, where External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Environment Minister Harshvardhan and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma were present, said 'If climate is not the focus of culture, calamity cannot be prevented. When I say 'Sabka Saath,' I also include nature in it.'

Speaking on the occasion, the UN Secretary-General said, 'We are recognising a statesman, who embodies true leadership. In Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have a leader, who realises the issue of climate change and understands the benefits of climate action. He knows the problems and also works to solve them.'

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Solheim said, 'the most important raw materiel is not gold, oil, energy or any mineral. The missing raw materiel is political leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is providing it to India and the world.

Earlier, addressing the gathering, Ms Swaraj said, 'Champions of the Earth Award is a fitting recognition of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership towards making our world a cleaner place. He was firm that the agreement in Paris has to stay and the world must come together.

'As Prime Minister, Mr Modi has taken numerous steps for the protection of the environment,' she added.

The Prime Minister has been selected in the leadership category for his pioneering work in championing the International Solar Alliance and for his unprecedented pledge to eliminate all single-use plastic in India by 2022.

Mr Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron were jointly awarded the honour for their pioneering work in championing the International Solar Alliance and promoting new areas of cooperation on environmental action.

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Agencies
July 27,2020

New Delhi, Jul 27: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said he is not going to lie about Chinese transgressions in eastern Ladakh even if it costs him politically, asserting he will say the truth as far as Indian territory is concerned.

Gandhi made these remarks in a tweet, along with an over-a-minute-long video, as part of a series launched by him on the India-China face-off along the Line of Actual Control(LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Asked in the video how he would react to people who say his questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on China weakened India, the former Congress chief said, "If you want me to lie that the Chinese have not entered this country, I am not going to lie. I will simply not do it. I do not care if my whole career goes to hell. I am not going to lie."

"This disturbs me. Frankly, it makes my blood boil. How can some other nation just come into our territory?"

"Hiding the truth is anti-national. Bringing it to people's attention is patriotic," Gandhi said.

"So frankly, I do not care if it costs me politically. I do not care if I have no political career at all after that. But I am going to say the truth as far as Indian territory is concerned," he added.

Gandhi has been repeatedly attacking the prime minister and the government over Chinese transgressions on the LAC in eastern Ladakh.

"As an Indian, my number one priority is the nation and its people," he said on Monday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has hit back at Gandhi over his attack on the government on the Ladakh face-off, alleging he is seeking to politicise defence and foreign policy matters and "wash their past sins of 1962 and weaken India".

BJP president JP Nadda has also alleged that for years, a dynasty has been trying to destroy Modi, while adding that those who want to destroy the prime minister will only end up causing further damage to their own party.

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News Network
March 28,2020

Mar 28: A 69-year-old patient, hailing from Chullikal in Ernakulam District, passed away at Kalamasserry Medical College at 8:00am.

The patient had come from Dubai recently and was quarantined.

He arrived in Kerala on March 16 and was tested positive for Coronavirus on March 22, Medical College nodal officer A Fathahudeen said.

He was undergoing treatment for heart ailment and blood pressure. He had earlier undergone a bypass surgery.

Forty nine passengers in the flight he came are under quarantine.

A close relative and the driver who picked him up from the airport are coronavirus positive.

Since the deceased had no contact with any others in the state since his arrival, his route map was not processed.

Kerala reported 39 fresh cases of coronavirus on Friday, taking the total number of people under treatment to 164. The total number of confirmed cases from the state is 176, but, of this, 12 had recovered.

Of the 39 cases, 34 are from the worst affected northernmost district of Kasaragod, two from Kannur and one each from Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kollam.

With a positive case being reported from Kollam, all 14 districts in the state have been affected by the pandemic.

The worst affected Kasaragod has 76 positive cases, the highest and most of the affected are Non Resident Keralites from the Gulf.

A total of 1,10,299 people are under surveillence and 616 are in isolation wards of various hospitals.

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Agencies
February 16,2020

Lucknow, Feb 16: Resident doctors at the AMU's Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital on Sunday demanded that the charges slapped against Dr Kafeel Khan under the National Security Act be withdrawn.

Dr Khan was arrested by the UP Special Task Force from Mumbai on January 29 in connection with a speech he had delivered during an anti-CAA protest at Aligarh Muslim University on December 12.

The Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) held a protest march on the hospital campus against the slapping of the NSA against the Gorakhpur doctor after he was granted bail in connection with the alleged hate speech.

RDA president Dr Hamza Malik said the move was a "blatant attempt to crush dissent and a violation of the Constitution of india".

He said by targeting the doctor, the UP government had done a great disservice to the entire medical community.

The AMU Students' Coordination Committee also described the decision to charge Dr Kafeel under the NSA a "direct assault" on a member of the medical fraternity who is "known for his upright behaviour and a champion of free speech".

Committee spokesperson and former AMU Students' Union president Faizul Hasan said by charging Dr Kafeel under the NSA even after he got bail was "a direct violation of a Supreme Court ruling on such issues".

Hasan said Dr Kafeel's fate should serve as an eye-opener for the rest of the country regarding the democratic rights in Uttar Pradesh.

The doctor was earlier arrested for his alleged role in the death of over 60 children within an week at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur in August 2017. Short supply of oxygen at the children's ward was blamed at that time for the deaths.

About two years later, a state government probe cleared Khan of all major charges, prompting him to seek an apology from the Yogi Adityanath government.

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