J&K records 3,969 fresh COVID-19 cases, 62 more deaths
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday recorded 3,969 fresh COVID cases, taking the infection count to 2,55,888, while 62 deaths in the past 24 hours pushed the toll to 3,355 in the Union Territory, officials said. Out of the fresh cases, 1,375 were from the Jammu division and 2,594 from the Kashmir division, they said. Read more on The Dispatch
Earthquake of magnitude 3.2 hits Doda
Jammu: An earthquake of magnitude 3.2 on the Richter scale hit Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district on Wednesday afternoon, officials said. Read more on The Dispatch
LG directs DCs, Health deptt to ensure five bed Covid care centre in every Panchayat
Srinagar: Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha on Wednesday directed all the Deputy Commissioners and Health department to keep five-bedded Covid Care Centre available in every Panchayat as many households may not have option for isolation. Read more on The Dispatch
INS Kochi returns to Mumbai after rescuing 188 people from Barge P305
New Delhi: INS Kochi has returned to Mumbai after rescuing 188 people from Barge P305 that had gone adrift on Monday in the wake of Cyclone Tauktae. Along with the rescued personnel, the ship also returned with the bodies of 22 victims who could not be saved. Read more on The Dispatch
Govt provides advance information on COVID vaccine doses supply availability till June 15
New Delhi: Union Health Ministry has been providing advance information on availability of COVID vaccine doses to be supplied to the States and UTs. It has written to the States and UTs on allocation of COVID vaccine doses during May and during first fortnight of June from the Government channel which is available free of cost. It also provided information about availability of vaccine doses that can be procured directly by States and Private Hospitals during May and June. This advance visibility will enable better and more effective planning by the States. Read more on The Dispatch
New Delhi: Ministry of Women and Child Development has appealed to people to inform at Childline Toll-free helpline no 1098 if they come across any child which needs counselling or any assistance . Read more on The Dispatch
New Delhi: President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dr. J A Jayalal has asked the Centre to scale up Vaccination on an extensive level. Speaking to a News Agency, Dr. Jayalal today said that the only way forward to tackle the pandemic is to vaccinate maximum people in the shortest possible time. He said that the Centre must procure maximum vaccines and decentralise the whole process as far as possible. Read more on The Dispatch
No air bubble with Singapore: Hardeep Singh Puri responds to Arvind Kejriwal
New Delhi: Responding to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that international flights have been closed since March last year. Mr. Puri said that there is no air bubble with Singapore. Read more on The Dispatch
Heavy rains in Amazon rainforest cause rivers to rise to near record levels
New Delhi: Heavy rains in the Amazon rainforest have caused rivers to rise to near record levels, flooding small Brazilian towns and threatening the state capital Manaus. Across the state of Amazonas, more than 4,00,000 people have been affected by flooding, said the state’s Civil Defence Service. The Rio Negro river was rising by about three centimetres a day and today streets in the centre of Manaus were already under water, according to city hall. Read more on The Dispatch
Quake rattles Nepal, dozens of houses flattened; injuries reported
New Delhi: A 5.8-magnitute earthquake struck Nepal’s central Lamjung district on Wednesday, injuring at least six persons and damaging dozens of houses, officials said. The epicentre of the quake, which occurred at 5:42 AM (05:27 IST), was located at Marshyangdi Rural Municipality of the district. The 5.8-magnitude quake damaged around two dozen houses and left six people injured, The Kathmandu Post reported. Read more on The Dispatch
New Delhi: Army Chief General MM Naravane on Wednesday asserted that Pangong Tso disengagement has been honoured from both India and China. In an interview to a news channel, General Naravane said, There has been no movement in any areas where both the sides have been disengaged. Read more on The Dispatch
Lt Governor releases Finance Department’s Annual Report- ‘Promoting Good Governance’
Jammu: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today released “Annual Report- Promoting Good Governance” compiled by the Finance Department showcasing major initiatives undertaken by the said Department during 2020-21 to bring transparency and accountability in the execution of the public works. Read more on The Dispatch
Singapore conveys strong objection to Arvind Kejriwal’s COVID-19 variant remark
New Delhi: Singapore government called in India’s High Commissioner today to convey strong objection to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s tweet on “Singapore variant” of COVID-19. The Indian High Commissioner clarified that Delhi Chief Minister had no competence to pronounce on Covid variants or civil aviation policy. In a series of tweets, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said the Delhi Chief Minister does not speak for India. He cautioned that irresponsible comments from those who should know better can damage long-standing partnerships. Read more on The Dispatch
BRO tunnel under Shinkun La in Ladakh
New Delhi: Cutting through the red-tape, the Union defence ministry has decided to ask the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to build a 4.25-kilometre tunnel under the 5,091-metre-high Shinkun La pass to make an all-weather axis from Manali to Leh via Darcha-Padun-Nimmu alignment to supply Indian Army formations in Ladakh sector. The snow-free axis is expected to be completed by 2024. Read more on The Dispatch
Dr Jitendra asks admin to involve JMC, SMC in Vaccination drive
New Delhi: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh today asked the local administration in Jammu & Kashmir to involve Jammu Municipal Corporation and Srinagar Municipal Corporation in the Vaccination drive in a big way because, being duly elected bodies of the two capital cities, these have a huge potential to augment the Modi government’s massive vaccination programme, so that it could turn into a “Jan Andolan”. Read more on The Dispatch
Life story: Saniya Mir, Martial art player
Jammu: Saniya Mir- 17 –years- old hailing from Bagh-i-Mehtab area of district Srinagar who is a national martial art player and had represented once on national level, twice on state level and 2 times on district level. Read more on The Dispatch
Case filed against ‘miscreants’ after video shows cows inside hospital in Ramban
Jammu: Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir”s Ramban district have registered a case against “miscreants” after an inquiry revealed that the cows inside a hospital were deliberately huddled inside to malign the image of the administration, officials said on Wednesday. Read more on The Dispatch
Shahid Choudhary, incharge of COVID management in Jmu, suffers heart attack
Jammu: Senior IAS officer Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, who was recently deployed to oversee COVID containment measures in Jammu zone, was hospitalised here early on Wednesday following a minor heart attack, officials said.
Choudhary, a 2009 batch IAS officer, is presently posted as the administrative secretary, Tribal Affairs Department. Read more on The Dispatch
Blood banks run dry, Thalassemia patients suffering
JAMMU: Blood Banks across Jammu and Kashmir have been facing acute shortage of blood and whatever stocks are left with them, are depleting fast as neither any donation drive is being conducted nor donors are coming forward to donate blood during this COVID-19 crisis. Read more on The Dispatch
One dead, two injured, six missing in Ramban mishap
Srinagar: A 22-year-old non-local resident was killed while two others were injured after a vehicle they were travelling in met with an accident at Chanderkot area in Ramban district. Six persons who were also travelling in the vehicle are still missing, officials said. Officials said that a vehicle (Innova) bearing registration number HR55J-1678 met with an accident at Duggi Pulli in Chanderkot. Read more on The Dispatch
American vaccines effective against COVID strain first found in India: US officials
Washington: COVID-19 vaccines that are available in the United States are effective against the deadly variant that was first detected in India, top US health officials said on Tuesday. The B.1.617 virus variant, first identified in India last year, has been classified as a ‘variant of concern’ at the global level by the World Health Organisation. Read more on The Dispatch
With five deaths, Ladakh reports highest single-day spike in fatalities due to COVID this year
Leh: With the death of five people, Ladakh has reported the highest single-day spike in fatalities due to COVID this year, raising the toll to 170, officials said on Wednesday. They said the total number of coronavirus cases has gone up to 16,784, with 202 fresh infections being reported in the union territory. Read more on The Dispatch
COVID-19: Record 4,529 fatalities in single day in country
New Delhi: India saw record 4,529 fatalities due to coronavirus in a single day pushing the COVID-19 death toll to 2,83,248, while 2,67,334 fresh infections were recorded taking the total tally of cases to 2,54,96,330, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. Read more on The Dispatch