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OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI
JAIPUR l SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2021 l Pages 14
3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 171
08 FACTS
SCHEDULED INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS - EXCEPT REPATRIATION SERVICES AND FLIGHTS CARRYING ESSENTIAL GOODS - WERE SUSPENDED IN MARCH LAST YEAR, AMID THE COVID LOCKDOWN
1 2
AIR TRAFFIC COMES AMID SOUTH AFRICAN B.1.1.529 STRAIN CORONA VARIANT
I
ndia will resume scheduled international flights from December 15, subject to conditions, the Civil Aviation Ministry said Friday evening, noting that the “matter has been reviewed and the competent authority” had decided to resume such flights (to and from India). “Resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services, to and from India, has been examined in consultation with Ministry of Home Affairs, External Affairs and Health, and it has been decided... may be resumed from December 15,” the ministry said. The Aviation Ministry said 14 countries designated by the Health Ministry as ‘at risk’, and with whom there is an existing ‘air bubble’ agreement, would be allowed to resume 75 per cent of pre-
ABOUT NEW VIRUS
PACK YOUR BAGS
SKIES OPEN DEC 15 India to resume international flights with 14 nations
Covid operations (or a minimum of seven frequencies per week). These 14 countries are United Kingdom, Singapore, China, Brazil, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and New Zealand. The list
also includes South Africa, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong countries that have confirmed cases of the new B.1.1.529 variant of the coronavirus.
Countries designated as ‘at risk’ but without ‘air bubble’ agreements with India would be allowed to resume 50 per cent of bilateral capacity entitlements, the Aviation Ministry said.
‘NO CASE OF SA’s B.1.1.529 COVID-19 VARIANT REPORTED IN INDIA SO FAR’ New Delhi: The new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529, which is causing an increase in new COVID-19 infections in South Africa, has not been found in India so far, said official sources on Friday. “We don’t know very much about this yet. What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations. And the concern is that when you have so many mutations, it can have an impact on how the virus behaves,” Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s the technical lead on Covid-19, said in a briefing.
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adnavis and Patil were in Delhi to discuss “organizational matters” with the central leadership, said a BJP leader. Pawar traveled to Delhi to attend a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on defense and his schedule had been planned a week ago, an NCP source said on Friday.
IN THE COURTYARD BUNDI: ARREST WARRANTS AGAINST EXUNION MIN BHANWAR JITENDRA, 2 OTHERS Bundi: In a property case dating back to 2017, the Bundi CJM Court on Friday summoned with arrest warrants former Union Minister Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, former zila pramukh Srinath Singh Hada and Jitendra Singh’s father-inlaw Bijendra Singh. Advocate PC Bhandari said that matter relates to Ashapura Mata Trust for which accused had prepared a fake deed & claimed possession on the property. P2
SINGLE LEASE DEED CASE: ACB LOSES BATTLE IN COURT, GOVT TO APPEAL IN HC Jaipur: Friday brought with it a bad news for the state bureaucracy as the application filed by the ACB in the infamous single lease case was rejected by ACB court. In this regard, the state govt had decided to withdraw the case for which an application was filed. The decision to withdraw was taken for retired IAS GS Sandhu, Nishkam Diwakar and RAS Onkar Mal Saini. Notably, Sandhu, who had moved court seeking permission to travel out of the country for personal reasons as he has visa till 11 December, has been given permission with conditions. Meanwhile, Judge Mukesh of ACB court has given a next date for argument on charge. Now the govt will appeal in the High Court against the decision of the ACB Court.
Tel Aviv: The Israeli Health Ministry says it has detected the country’s first case of a new coronavirus variant in a traveller who returned from Malawi. The Health Ministry said in a statement Friday that the traveller and two other suspected cases have been placed in isolation. It said all three are vaccinated but that it is currently looking into their exact vaccination status. Meanwhile, Belgium said on Friday it has detected the first announced case in Europe of the new Covid-19 variant, in an unvaccinated person returning from abroad.
Ajmer: Three women tourist from France, who were vaccinated against Corona, tested positive in Pushkar on Friday. Pushkar Hospital in-charge Dr. RK Gupta said they came to Delhi last Friday and from there reached Pushkar on Tuesday and were staying in a hotel located at Panchkund Road. On Thursday, their health deteriorated and got the Covid test done which came out to be positive. Meanwhile, in Jaipur, 3 more students tested positive on Friday.
Statement came on a day when state BJP leaders Devendra Fadnavis and Chandrakant Patil as well as NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his party colleague Praful Patel were in the national capital navis met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, sources said. Speaking to reporters in Jaipur, Rane said, “BJP will form government in Maharashtra in March.” Asked to elaborate, he said toppling and forming governments is done in secrecy and it can not
ISRAEL DETECTS ITS FIRST CASE OF NEW CORONAVIRUS VARIANT
3 VACCINATED FRENCH TEST +VE IN PUSHKAR
Rane’s bombshell: BJP will form govt in Maha in March
Mumbai: Union minister Narayan Rane on Friday claimed that the BJP will form government in Maharashtra in March. Incidentally, the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government will complete two years on Saturday. Fad-
l The B.1.1.529 variant has 50 mutations overall, including more than 30 on the spike protein alone.
be discussed in public. ‘’State (BJP) president Chandrakant Patil has spoken about this and I hope it comes true,’’ Rane said. Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole told reporters in Nagpur that the Shiv SenaNCP-Congress government will complete its
full term. “BJP keeps making big predictions and they don’t come true....Nobody believes BJP,’’ he said. Sources in the BJP and NCP played down the significance of the visits of their respective leaders to the national capital at the same time.
12 NURSING STUDENTS TEST +VE IN BENGALURU, 9 SYMPTOMATIC
CORONA CATASTROPHE INDIA
10,549 new cases
488
new fatalities
RAJASTHAN
21
new cases
00
new fatalities
‘Protect judiciary from motivated, targeted attacks’ New Delhi: Calling upon the lawyers and judges as part of one large family, CJI NV Ramana urged them to protect the judiciary from ‘targeted and motivated attacks’. Addressing an event organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association on the occasion of Constitution Day, CJI Ramana said, “I want to tell all of you, that you must assist judges and the institution. We are all ultimately part of one large family. Protect the institution from motivated and targeted attacks. Do not shy away from standing up for what is right, and against what is wrong.”
Bengaluru: 12 students of a nursing college in Bengaluru - 11 of them fully vaccinated - have tested positive for COVID-19. Nine are symptomatic. The outbreak at Spurthy College in Marasur comes as a medical college in Karnataka’s Dharwad was also declared a COVID-19 cluster after the number of students and staff infected went up to 182 from 66 a day before. All positive students are first-year BSc students. One of them had not been vaccinated because she had tested positive in June this year.
New Delhi: India is headed towards a crisis, which is “a matter of huge concern” for those having faith in the spirit of democracy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this morning in an all-out attack on the Congress. PM lashed out at the “dynastic parties” at the Constitution Day event, which 14 opposition parties skipped a day after Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge
COVID STRICTNESS BACK IN SCHOOLS AS MORE THAN 20 STUDENTS TEST +VE
First India Bureau Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has taken an important decision to give 4 percent reservation to Divyangjan (specially-abled individuals) in direct recruitment as well as promotions of the State Government. Along with this, provision has also been made to give the benefit of relaxation in upper age
CM Ashok Gehlot
limit and minimum marks in direct recruitment to handicapped persons. Gehlot has also approved the circular for their effective compliance. Turn to P10
l There is speculation on the variant’s origin, but it may have evolved from a single patient. l First identified in South Africa this week, the strain has spread to nearby countries, including Botswana, where fully vaccinated people have been infected. l In South Africa over 100 cases have been linked to this variant, with four more in Botswana. l Two cases have been detected in Hong Kong - where travellers (who got the Pfizer jab) from parts of southern Africa were isolated l As the patients were in separate rooms, there is concern this variant is airborne. Seems like vaccine evasion could be real with this variant l The UK, Singapore and Israel have stopped flights from South Africa, Botswana and four other African nations. Germany and Italy have also banned most travel from South Africa
PM slams dynastic politics: Not good at all for healthy democracy
CM Gehlot approves circular for 4% reservation in promotion for Divyangjan Nodal officers will be appointed in every department for effective implementation
l There are also 10 mutations on the receptor binding domain part of the variant, compared to two for Delta variant.
Jaipur: With more than 20 school students testing positive for Corona in Jaipur in the last ten days, the home department on Friday issued revised guidelines for the schools allowing online classes, no pressure to send students to school, and the school will be shut for 10 days if students are found corona positive. Besides, morning prayer meetings and crowded programmes have been banned in the school premises. The canteens in schools will have to be closed and the premises will have to be sanitized daily. P3
Ashok Gehlot @ashokgehlot51 Salute the supreme sacrifice of our police and security officials, who laid down their lives in the terror attacks on 26/11 in Mumbai. The nation shall remain forever indebted.
held a strategy meet in a prelude to the next week’s winter session. “Party for the family, by the family... do I need to say more? If a party is run by one family for many generations, then, it isn’t good for a healthy democracy,” the PM said in his address. “Dynastic parties are a matter of great concern for those who want to protect the Constitution. India is headed towards a crisis.”
14 OPPN PARTIES BOYCOTT EVENT New Delhi: At least 14 Opposition parties on Friday boycotted the Constitutional Day at Parliament, protesting against the undermining of the Constitution. This was a repeat of 2019 when the entire Opposition boycotted the function in protest against the way in which BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister in an early morning coup. Referring to Modi’s remarks that family-run parties are a danger to democracy, Congress Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma said PM Modi wants to obliterate the memory of those who sacrificed their life for the freedom.
CRUCIAL READ WORST IN 7 MONTHS: SENSEX WIPES OFF `7.36 LAKH CRORE Mumbai: The biggest market crash in seven months erased Rs 7.36 lakh crore of investor wealth on Friday as traders sold whatever they could as many countries detected a new mutation of the coronavirus. Benchmark indices broke many support levels placed on technical charts.
ROW OVER NAMAZ IN GURGAON AGAIN WITH JAI SHRI RAM CHANTS Gurgaon: Muslims offering namaz at a designated open site in Gurgaon’s Sector 37 were interrupted once again by right-wing Hindu groups, with tensions mounting as they performed a ‘prayer’ that claimed to commemorate the 26/11 terror attacks. Around 25 people offered namaz amid Hindu chants.
SC NOTICE TO CENTRE, RAKESH ASTHANA AGAINST HIS APPOINTMENT AS DELHI CP New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre and Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana on a plea of NGO CPIL against the Delhi High Court order of upholding Asthana’s appointment as police chief. A Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna sought a response in 2 weeks.