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VS Achuthanandan turns 96, leaders wish oldest communist leader in the country

Agencies
October 20, 2019

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 20: Veteran CPI(M) leader and former Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan turned 96 on Sunday and celebrated the occasion by cutting a cake.

In the persence of close family members and well wishers, Achutanandan cut a cake and his wife gave him a small piece to mark the occasion.

As leaders from various political parties, friends, well wishers and media personnel turned up to wish him,Achutanandan thanked everyone.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan was among those who extended birthday wishes to the senior leader.

"Conveyed my heartiest wishes to Shri V S Achutanandan, former Chief Minister and senior leader on his 96th birthday.

Shri V S Achutanandan is one of the most respected political figures of Kerala," Khan tweeted.

The Governor would be visiting Achutanandan tomorrow to wish him personally.

CPI(M) state secretary, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Senior Congress leader A K Antony, telephonically wished Achutanandan on his birthday.

KPCC President Mullapally Ramachandran also wished the senior leader.

Born on October 20, 1923 in a working class family in Punnapra in Alappuzha district, VS had to end his education at the primary level and was soon attracted to the trade union movement in Alappuzha district.

A founder leader of the CPI(M), Velikkakath Sankaran Achuthanandan, popularly known as VS Achutanandan, whose life has been linked to the history of Communist movement in the state, including Punnapra-Vayalar uprising, is the oldest living Communist in India.

He was among the 32 leaders who walked out of the historical CPI national council meet in 1964 to form the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Achutanandan, who is the chairman of the Adminstrative Reforms Committee, had addressed party workers at an election convention at nearby Vattiyoorkavu, which is among the five assembly constitutencies where bypolls are being held on Monday.

VS, who had served as the Leader of Opposition and Chief Minister, was the star campaigner of the CPI(M)-led LDF in 2016 assembly elections, which saw the front riding to power in the southern state with a massive mandate of 91 seats.

After the assembly results came out, the CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury had described VS as the "Fidel Castro of Kerala" who would continue to guide and inspire the party, while naming Pinarayi Vijayan as the Chief Minister.

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News Network
June 17,2020

Jaipur, Jun 17: Police have registered an FIR against a television news anchor for allegedly making an objectionable comment on Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.

The FIR was lodged after a complaint against News 18 India anchor Amish Devgan by a "khadim" at the saint's dargah in Ajmer on Tuesday night.

"He is running a communal agenda against the Muslim community. The dargah of Sufi saint is visited not only by Muslims but by people of all religions and his comments have hurt the sentiments of all," Syed Sarwar Chishti said.

The anchor later apologised on Twitter. "In 1 of my debates, I inadvertently referred to 'Khilji' as Chishti. I sincerely apologise for this grave error and the anguish it may hv caused to followers of the Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti, whom I revere. I have in the past sought blessings at his dargah. I regret this error," Devgan tweeted.

Dargah SHO Hem Raj said a case was registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the IT Act for outraging religious feelings.

Another complaint was lodged by activist Muzaffar Bharti at the office of Ajmer's Superintendent of Police.

He accused Devgan and his team of trying to incite riots through "misleading and objectionable debates on communal issues".

He said Devgan made highly objectionable remarks on the revered saint, which shall not be tolerated.

"The dargah of Moinuddin Chishti is the symbol of brotherhood and harmony and crores of people of different religions all over the world have deep love and faith in the saint," he said.

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Agencies
July 29,2020

New Delhi, Jul 29: Coronavirus infections in India continue to mount as the country's total case tally crossed the 15-lakh mark.

India added 48,513 fresh cases in 24 hours, taking the total tally to over 15.3 lakh, according to the Health Ministry’s 8 a.m. update on July 29.

Key Figures

Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 15,31,669
Active cases: 5,09,447
Cured/discharged/migrated: 9,88,029
Deaths: 34,193
Number of fresh cases in 24 hours: 48,513
One-day recoveries: 35,175
One-day deaths: 768
India’s coronavirus epidemic is growing at the fastest pace in the world, increasing 20% over the last week, according to Bloomberg’s Coronavirus Tracker. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are among the states where the maximum number of daily cares are being reported.

Fresh cases continued to come in at a heightened pace, hovering just below 50,000 for the last six days.

Moderna Inc.’s vaccine candidate against Covid-19 protected against the virus in a trial that inoculated 16 monkeys, an encouraging step on the path to a defense for humans against the pandemic. Pfizer Inc., however, is preparing for the novel coronavirus to endure, leading to long-term demand for a seasonal shot to protect against Covid-19.

“There is a likely scenario that either the vaccine’s immunity will not be lasting forever,” said Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla in an interview Tuesday, “or that the virus will mutate, or that the virus will find ways to come back again and again.”

Even as the transmission rate of Covid-19 remains high in India, the pace of recovery has risen too. On Wednesday, India reported its third day of over 35,000 recoveries.

Global Update

Flare-ups in virus cases from Hong Kong to Europe are proving difficult for policy makers to wrangle. The U.S. neared 150,000 deaths from Covid-19, even as daily infections slowed in some hard-hit states. China reported 101 new cases, up from 68 a day earlier, with 98 of the total from local infections, mostly in Xinjiang.

Philippine health authorities warned that hospitals and infirmaries risk getting overwhelmed.

Globally, confirmed Covid-19 cases have topped 16.6 million with over 658,000 dead.

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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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