Diesel most expensive fuel in Capital

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Diesel most expensive fuel in Capital

Petrol and diesel prices continued their cat and mouse chase in the Capital to become the most expensive auto fuel. Petrol is now just a whisker away to returning to its numero uno spot.

Oil marketing companies including IndianOil, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum on Saturday increased the price of petrol and diesel by 25 and 21 paise, respectively, completing three weeks of everyday rise.

This has led the price of petrol to Rs 80.38 a liter and diesel to Rs 80.40 a liter in Delhi, keeping the diesel still ahead in the pricing game, a feat it achieved on Wednesday for the first time ever in the country.

What has made the catching up game interesting again is the quantum of increase in the retail price of the auto fuels where balance seems to be shifting again towards Petrol.

The amount of increase in the petrol price in Delhi has been higher than distal for the last two days — on Friday petrol increased by 21 paise against 17 paisa increase in diesel prices, and on Saturday as well petrol increased by 25 paise a liter while diesel by 21 paise a liter.

Before this, for many days diesel price increase was higher than petrol.

Officials in OMC said that it is hard to predict which of the two fuels will be priced higher in the Capital as the gap between the two is almost negligible. But petrol prices have shown more volatility in international markets that may take it ahead once again in the coming days.

Apart from Delhi, the retail prices of petrol and diesel have followed the traditional path in other metros with petrol being priced at a premium of between Rs 5 and 8 per liter. The difference between the auto fuel prices in Delhi and other metros is because of the taxation structure.

While both petrol and diesel are at a similar level of taxes (state and center) in Delhi, it is higher for petrol in many other Indian cities.

Globally diesel is priced a tad higher than petrol. In India too, the base price of diesel is slightly higher than petrol but taxation at central and state levels changed the complexion of retail prices.

While auto fuel prices are now increasing for 21 days, the good news is that the quantum of fuel price increase has fallen.

If the price of petroleum products and crude hold their positions in global markets, then petrol and diesel prices rise can stop and we may even see marginal fall in prices.

Fuel prices have been increasing since June 7 when oil companies began the daily price revision mechanism after a hiatus of 82 days during the lockdown.

Prices of transportation fuel were last revised under the dynamic pricing policy on March 16 and there were few instances of price hike later only when the respective state governments hiked VAT or cess.

90% Flipkart sellers back on platform, 125% rise in new MSMEs

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90% Flipkart sellers back on platform, 125% rise in new MSMEs

As India gears up for unlock 2,0, eCommerce platform Flipkart on Saturday said it has enabled more than 90 percent of its sellers to resume operations on the marketplace.

Flipkart has also seen a 125 percent rise in new seller signing-up on the platform, in comparison to its existing seller base, in the April-June period, the company said in a statement.

Local MSMEs from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, and Tamil Nadu have shown maximum interest in taking their businesses online.

These sellers operate in various categories, ranging from women’s clothing, personal care, food and nutrition, home improvement tools, and baby-care products, said the company.

“By allowing MSMEs, artisans, and smaller traders in India to bring greater efficiencies in their operations with a strong market reach, e-commerce is further empowering these businesses to generate livelihood opportunities,” said Flipkart.

The most important need of the seller community, in these times, is that of working capital.

To address this, Facebook ran a special offer on loans through Flipkart’s Growth Capital program which is designed specifically to enable independence for MSMEs who operate online.

“Through the program, most of the transacting sellers can avail credit at competitive interest rates with an approval time of one day and disbursal within 48 hours. A 3-month moratorium period has been implemented on existing loans,” informed the company.

Further, any additional amount on sellers’ existing loans sanctioned during this period will have an extended financial limit with a 6-month moratorium period.

Flipkart also extended certain ongoing premium services availed by sellers to include the lockdown period in their subscription terms so that their investment is not hampered for a stipulated period of time.

Under the ‘Flipkart Samarth’ program, it has supported the livelihood of over 500,000 artisans, weavers, and micro-enterprises across the country.

NY to assist states with high COVID-19 infection rates: Cuomo

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NY to assist states with high COVID-19 infection rates: Cuomo

New York will offer to assist states with high COVID-19 infection rates due to the recent spike in the number of cases, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

Cuomo said at a briefing on Friday that 60,000 healthcare workers from outside New York came to help the state when it was at the epicenter of the crisis, and it is now ready to repay the favor, reports Xinhua news agency.

“We had numerous states who came to our assistance when we needed it and I was very appreciative. Massachusetts, Oregon, et cetera,” said Cuomo.

“We will never forget that graciousness and we will repay it any way we can.”

He said the state is also in touch with Arizona, Texas, and Florida to see if there is anything New York can do to help them combat the disease.

The Empire State now boasts a 1.1-per cent COVID-19 positivity rate based on a seven-day rolling average, the lowest of all big states in the country, according to the Governor.

Five upstate regions that started reopening first — North Country, Mohawk Valley, Central New York, Southern Tier, Finger Lakes — entered phase four on Friday.

Phase four allows low-risk indoor and outdoor arts and entertainment events, film, and TV production.

Higher education can resume and professional sports can be held without fans.

Social gatherings of up to 50 people are also allowed.

New York registered 14 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, while another 805 new cases were confirmed, bringing the statewide total to 391,220, according to the Governor’s office.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed on Friday phase three of reopening will begin on July 6.

“New Yorkers have shown incredible resilience during this crisis, and it’s because of their hard work that we are on track for Phase 3 on July 6,” he said at his briefing.

The Mayor also called on the state government to extend the state’s eviction moratorium until August 20, as a previous moratorium signed by Cuomo in March expired the past weekend and many New Yorkers are still reeling from the economic impact of the pandemic.

“So many people are hurting, so many people just don’t have money for rent. Keeping a roof over their head is crucial right now,” he said.

PM has surrendered and is refusing to fight Covid: Rahul

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PM has surrendered and is refusing to fight Covid: Rahul

Even as India witnessed a spike of over 18,000 fresh cases of novel coronavirus and total cases crossing five lakh mark, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his silence, saying he has surrendered and is refusing to fight the pandemic.

“Covid-19 is spreading rapidly into new parts of the country. The government of India has no plan to defeat it. Prime Minister is silent. He has surrendered and is refusing to fight the pandemic,” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet attaching a news report highlighting that the government has become less visible.

His remarks came after India witnessed the highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases adding over 18,000 patients in just 24 hours taking the tally to over half a million cases.

A total of 18,552 new cases took the tally up to 5,08,953 as India continued to be the fourth worst-hit among 213 countries.

Now, it is only a lakh case away from Russia, which is in the third spot behind the US and Brazil.

According to the health ministry data, 384 new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours taking the death toll to 15,685 in the country.

Musk calls Bezos a ‘copycat’ over Zoox acquisition

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Musk calls Bezos a ‘copycat’ over Zoox acquisition

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos a copycat after the e-commerce giant announced to purchase self-driving car company Zoox pegged at over $1 billion.

“@JeffBezos is a copy[cat] haha,” Musk tweeted late Friday with a link to an article about Bezos’ Zoox purchase.

Like Tesla, California-headquartered Zoox “is applying the latest in automotive, robotics, and renewable energy to design a symmetrical, bidirectional, zero-emissions vehicle from the ground up to solve the unique challenges of autonomous mobility”.

Zoox settled a lawsuit with Tesla in April after admitting that some new employees it hired from Tesla possessed documents when they joined Zoox. Tesla had filed a lawsuit in March last year against four former employees and Zoox.

Earlier this month, Elon Musk has slammed Blue Origin and Amazon Founder Bezos, saying it is time to break up the e-commerce giant and end its monopoly.

He tweeted after former New York Times reporter and prominent lockdown critic Alex Berenson published a screenshot, saying that his book titled “Unreported Truths about COVID-19 and Lockdowns: Part 1: Introduction and Death Counts and Estimates” has been censored on the e-commerce platform.

“This is insane @JeffBezos,” Musk said, tagging the Amazon CEO. “Time to break up Amazon. Monopolies are wrong!”

The book, however, was available for purchase soon after the Musk tweet.

Musk mocked Bezos’ moon plans last year, saying they make no sense.

Bezos had described his vision of humans living on miles-long, orbiting space stations called “O’Neill colonies”, named after physicist Gerard O’Neill, who first floated the concept.

“Makes no sense. In order to grow the colony, you’d have to transport vast amounts of mass from planets/moons/asteroids. It would be like trying to build the US in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean,” Musk tweeted.

Bezos has never replied to Musk on tweets against him.

Lewandowski voted Bundesliga’s Player of the Season

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Lewandowski voted Bundesliga’s Player of the Season

Bayern Munich’s free-coring striker Robert Lewandowski has been named as Bundesliga’s Player of the season.

Lewandowski won more than 50 percent of the votes and defeated the likes of Timo Werner, Jadon Sancho, Amine Harit, Erling Haaland, Kai Havertz, and Serge Gnabry.

Borussia Dortmund star Sancho finished second overall, with Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz completing the podium.

Lewandowski started the new season in perfect fashion and was deservedly voted Player of the Month for August. He continued to perform strongly throughout, and was once again the league‘s leading goalscorer, according to the official Bundesliga website.

The 31-year-old was chasing one record after another this season, becoming the first player in Bundesliga history to score in 11 consecutive matches at the start of the campaign. By that stage, he had already been on the scoresheet 16 times.

After netting against Fortuna Dusseldorf, the Pole completed his collection and has now scored against every current club in the top flight.

Lewandowski built on his August win and ultimately fired Bayern to a record eighth consecutive Bundesliga title with his 31st goal of the season in 1-0 win over Werder Bremen.

Facebook to label politicians’ harmful posts as advertisers pull out

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Facebook to label politicians’ harmful posts as advertisers pull out

As more advertisers pull out of its platform over poor handling of hate speech and misinformation, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Saturday that the social network will put warning labels on all posts that break its rules but are deemed newsworthy.

The announcement came after several top-notch advertisers like Coca-Cola, Hershey, and Honda joined over 100 brands who have decided to boycott advertising on Facebook.

Facebook’s decision now opens the door to label controversial posts by US President Donald Trump. Twitter has already flagged a couple of his controversial tweets while Facebook is facing widespread criticism for its inaction over Trump posts that glorified violence in the aftermath of the death of African-American George Floyd.

Zuckerberg said that they will soon start labeling some of the content we leave up because it is deemed newsworthy, so people can know when this is the case.

“We’ll allow people to share this content to condemn it, just like we do with other problematic content because this is an important part of how we discuss what’s acceptable in our society — but we’ll add a prompt to tell people that the content they’re sharing may violate our policies,” he explained.

There is no newsworthiness exemption to content that incites violence or suppresses voting.

“Even if a politician or government official says it, if we determine that content may lead to violence or deprive people of their right to vote, we will take that content down,” Zuckerberg said adding that there are no exceptions for “politicians in any of the policies I’m announcing here today”.

Earlier, telecom carrier Verizon announced to pull ads from Facebook and Instagram, joining advertisers like apparel brand North Face, ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, outdoor apparel stores REI and Patagonia, freelancing platform Upwork, shipping company Local Postal, password manager Dashlane and outwear company Arc’teryx to boycott the social network.

Facebook makes about 98 percent of its $70 billion annual revenue from advertising.

Zuckerberg also detailed plans to tighten policies ahead of the 2020 elections.

“Since the most dangerous voter suppression campaigns can be local and run in the days immediately before an election, we’re going to use our Elections Operations Center to quickly respond and remove false claims about polling conditions in the 72 hours leading into election day,” announced the Facebook CEO.

He said that Facebook will also ban posts that make false claims saying ICE agents are checking for immigration papers at polling places, which is a tactic used to discourage voting.

Google sends users to news sites 24 billion times every month

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Google sends users to news sites 24 billion times every month

Google is sending users to news sites 24 billion times every month, providing an opportunity for publishers to grow their audiences and show Google users ads or offers for subscriptions, the tech giant has revealed, saying it is invested in helping journalism not only survive but thrive.
Deloitte puts the value of each click for large publishers at roughly between 4-7 US cents.

According to Richard Gingras, VP, News, the value of news to Google is about informing and educating, not economics.

“Nearly all of our revenue comes not from news queries, but from queries with commercial intent, like someone searching for a new ‘toaster’ and clicking on an ad. Google gets paid for search ads only when someone clicks on one,” he said in a statement on Friday.

Google on Thursday announcing a new licensing program to pay publishers for high-quality content to help them weather the Covid-19 crisis.

To begin with, Google has signed partnerships with local and national publications in Germany, Australia, and Brazil, and is in discussions to expand to more partnerships and countries.

Gingras said that the company invests in ad technologies that thousands of news publishers around the world choose to use to grow their digital advertising businesses.

“We analyzed the revenue data of 100 news publishers globally with the highest programmatic revenue generated in Google Ad Manager. On average, we found news publishers keep over 95 percent of the digital advertising revenue they generate when they use Ad Manager to show ads on their websites,” he stressed.

Five years ago, it took an average of 19 seconds to load a page on a mobile browser.

“Instead of building a format to work just on Google, we combined forces with publishers and other tech companies to improve the mobile web for everyone. That was how the Accelerated Mobile Pages Project, or AMP, was born,” informed Gingras.

Following feedback from publishers who wanted to participate in the Top Stories Carousel feature in Google Search without using AMP, the company recently announced page performance signals.

“This change will allow all qualifying web content to be eligible for this feature while keeping high-quality user experience as a top priority,” said Google.

To date, The Google News Initiative (GNI) has provided funding to more than 5,300 local publications globally via a Journalism Emergency Relief Fund, an ad-serving fee waiver on Google Ad Manager, and a $15 million Support Local News Campaign to help alleviate some immediate economic constraints.

85th Covid death in Agra, 7 new cases take tally to 1,184

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85th Covid death in Agra, 7 new cases take tally to 1,184

One more fatality took Agra’s Covid-19 death toll to 85, with a total of 1,184 corona cases in the Taj city, while 991 patients have so far been discharged upon recovery, health officials said on Saturday.

The number of active cases now is 109, according to the district magistrate P.N. Singh.

The total number of samples collected so far is 20,610. Health department officials said efforts were being made to increase the daily size of samples, particularly in the 64 hotspots.

The administration is trying hard to involve private nursing homes and clinics in its strategy to combat Covid-19. A local private laboratory has been permitted to test samples at the government rates.

With the railways announcing the postponement of regular train services, a large number of people have lost their livelihood. The state roadways bus stands also look largely deserted.

However, the pressure on borders with Rajasthan and MP has increased as a large number of vehicles from Delhi are heading home. The police deployment on inter-state borders has been increased as each passenger in buses or other vehicles has to go through the screening process. The UP border at Fatehpur Sikri saw a long queue of vehicles waiting to cross the checkpoint to enter Bharatpur district to head for different locations in Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, the divisional commissioner Anil Kumar has directed the district administration to up the testing facilities and streamline treatment procedures to help people in need. An official said the focus now was on how to contain the spread of the virus in the hot zones where people were being screened and provided medical assistance.

On Friday, health camps were held at 21 spots to provide treatment to people. The technological up-gradation and improved management have helped a large number of people after Dr. Sanjay Kala took over as the principal of the SN Medical College, a few weeks ago.

The constant worry of the health department is the complacency that has set in after the lockdown was lifted, as the markets are not seen observing the guidelines. Customers crowding up shops are neither wearing masks nor observing social distancing, an official said.

Gujarat’s Covid tally goes over 30K, Ahmedabad crosses 20K

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Gujarat’s Covid tally goes over 30K, Ahmedabad crosses 20K

Gujarat saw a number of Covid-19 “records” on Friday, with its total cases jumping over the 30,000 marks to reach 30,158 with 580 new cases detected – matching Sunday’s number which was the highest so far.

Of the new cases, Ahmedabad reported 219, taking its total count over 20,000 marks with 20,058. In the past week or so, the total number of cases detected in Ahmedabad is decreasing from around 300 plus daily to now 200 plus.

While the situation in Ahmedabad is improving, the number of cases is rising in Surat, which, on Friday, recorded its highest number of cases — 182, taking its total to 4,058.

Surat was followed by Vadodara, which has a steady daily count of around 45 cases. Friday was no exception as 45 new cases took its count to 2,079.

Bharuch reported 16 cases, Gandhinagar 14, Rajkot 13, Jamnagar nine, Bhavnagar, Patan and Anand eight each, Mehsana seven, Surendranagar and Narmada six each, Kheda and Amreli five each, Panchmahals and Navsari four each, Kutch three, Junagadh, Botad, Chhota Udepur, Dahod and Morbi two each and Aravalli, Mahisagar and Sabarkantha one each.

One positive development was that the fatalities, which had been over 30 for almost the entire month of June, have now come down under 20 in the last few days. Of the 18 latest deaths, Ahmedabad reported eight, Surat three, while two each succumbed in Aravali and Bharuch and one each in Mehsana, Banaskantha, and Patan.

With this, the total toll in Ahmedabad has reached 1,401, while Surat is a distant second at 146, and Vadodara further behind at 49. There have been 27 deaths in Gandhinagar, 15 each in Aravalli, Panchmahals and Patan, 13 deaths each in Bhavnagar, and Anand and 11 have died in Mehsana.

The death rate of Ahmedabad which had been around 81 percent of the total toll also has come down less than 80 percent.

As many as 734 people, out of the toll of 1,772, have succumbed to the virus during 26 days of June.

Gujarat has one of the highest mortality rates for corona in the country – at 5.87 percent.

In a number of cases, Ahmedabad leads with 20,058, followed by Surat with 4,058, Vadodara with 2,079, Gandhinagar with 616, Mehsana with 235, Rajkot with 228, Bhavnagar with 225, Aravali and Bharuch with 187 each, Anand with 182, Jamnagar with 180, Banaskantha with 168, Panchmahals with 163, Patan with 162, Sabarkantha with 159, Kheda with 136, Mahisagar with 134, Kutch with 127 and Surendranagar with 112.

On Friday, health authorities carried out 5,901 RT-PCR tests, taking the total to 3,51,179.

A total of 532 patients were discharged, taking the number to 22,038.

The state has 6,348 active cases, out of which 6,287 are in stable condition, whereas 61 critical patients are still on a ventilator.

There are 2,34,424 people quarantined – 2,30,792 at home and 3,632 in government facilities.

UN experts call for action against China over human rights abuse

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UN experts call for action against China over human rights abuse

The United Nations experts have called on the international community to take collective and decisive action to ensure that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime ends violations of its international obligations and human rights of its citizens.

In a statement issued by the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), the experts, who are part of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, said that it is time for renewed attention on the human rights situation in China, particularly in light of the moves against the people of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), minorities of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the Tibet Autonomous Region, and human rights defenders across the country.

They urged the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to act with a sense of urgency to take all appropriate measures to monitor Chinese human rights practices.

The group has recommended a special session to evaluate the range of violations; the establishment of an impartial and independent United Nations mechanism — such as a United Nations Special Rapporteur, a Panel of Experts appointed by the HRC, or a Secretary-General Special Envoy — to closely monitoring, analyze and report annually on the human rights situation in China, particularly in view of the urgency of the situations in the Hong Kong SAR, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, and the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The experts also suggested that all member states and UN agencies in their dialogues and exchanges with China should specifically demand that China fulfills its human rights obligations.

Though the CCP has almost always rejected the criticism of the UN’s independent experts, unlike over 120 states, it has not issued a standing invitation to them to conduct official visits, the statement said.

In the last decade, despite many requests by Special Procedures, the Chinese government has permitted only five visits by independent experts (pertaining to rights involving food, discrimination against women and girls, foreign debt, extreme poverty, and older persons).

The independent experts urged the Xi Jinping government to invite the mandate-holders, including those with a mandate to monitor civil and political rights, to conduct independent missions and to permit those visits to take place in an environment of confidentiality, respect for human rights defenders, and full avoidance of reprisals against those with whom mandate-holders may meet.

K’taka Congress seeks legislative session on Covid situation

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K’taka Congress seeks legislative session on Covid situation

Accusing the ruling BJP government of failing to manage the coronavirus pandemic in the state, the Karnataka Congress on Friday called for a legislative session to discuss the grim situation arising out of rising cases of infection, especially in this tech city.

“The state government should convene the legislative session to discuss the grim situation in the state arising out of its failure to control the virus spread in Bengaluru and other cities,” opposition party’s state unit president D.K. Shivakumar told reporters here.

The party also asked the state government to bring out a white paper on the Covid-19 crisis in the southern state, as the cases have been rising by the day since unlock 1.0 was allowed from June 1.

“The central and the governments implemented the lockdown untimely, destroying the people’s health and the state’s economy, as strict measures were not taken to stop the infection from spreading as evident from the numbers,” party leader in the assembly and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.

With 445 fresh cases on Friday, the number of positive cases in the state crossed the 11,000-mark so far, including 144 cases in Bengaluru.

“As the extended lockdown was not strictly enforced, the infections have been rising over the last 2-3 weeks to 11,005 from 3,408 on June 1, with more relaxation of restrictions under unlock 1.0,” lamented Shivakumar.

As 6,916 patients, including 246 on Friday cured and discharged, the active cases are 3,905 across the southern state.

“The lockdown should be re-imposed now, as cases are increasing and they are expected to go up till September according to health experts,” asserted Siddaramaiah.

State Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, however, ruled out fresh lockdown as reviving the state’s economy was equally important.

“There will be no fresh lockdown in Bengaluru where all efforts were underway to control the spread of coronavirus as reviving the state’s economy was equally important,” Yediyurappa said at a meeting of city legislators and members of Parliament on measures to contain the pandemic.

Himani Shivpuri: A challenge to stay true to oneself

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Himani Shivpuri: A challenge to stay true to oneself

The Indian apparel industry has sought the government’s support in expediting the clearance of import consignments from China saying the undue delay is impacting their operations and might result in further financial losses.

“Lately, customs authorities at several ports are doing 100 percent examination of goods originating from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. This has created an undue delay in clearance of imported shipments of inputs which are meant for manufacture of garments for exports,” Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman A Sakthivel said in a letter to Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman M. Ajit Kumar.

AEPC is among several industry bodies which have in the past couple of days complained of delayed custom clearance amid stricter examination of imports coming in from China. The developments come amid the border tussle along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

“It is affecting factory operations as inputs are held up at ports and exporters are in fear that they will fail to meet the delivery schedule,” Sakthivel said.

The chairman said that the business was gearing up to get back to the normal after the relaxation of lockdown in India and other foreign countries, however, the recent delay in clearing the import consignments from China was adding to the crisis.

The apparel industry is dependent on several inputs that are domestically not available or as per the buyers’ nomination has to be imported. So far, such imports were subject to random and partial checks only, the AEPC letter said.

“The situation at all airports and seaports at Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Tuticorin, and others is precarious as there is an inordinate delay caused on all import consignments which are held up due to 100 percent open examination by customs, who are not processing the documents for the shipments originated from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan,” Sakthivel said.

The council has requested the government to urgently intervene in the matter to expedite the process of clearing the shipments of inputs that are held up at ports or going through 100 percent inspections.

“Special priority should be given to manufacturer exporters who are dependent on these imports to service their export orders,” Sakthivel added.

Apparel industry urges Centre to clear imports from China

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Apparel industry urges Centre to clear imports from China

The Indian apparel industry has sought the government’s support in expediting the clearance of import consignments from China saying the undue delay is impacting their operations and might result in further financial losses.

“Lately, customs authorities at several ports are doing 100 percent examination of goods originating from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. This has created an undue delay in clearance of imported shipments of inputs which are meant for manufacture of garments for exports,” Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman A Sakthivel said in a letter to Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman M. Ajit Kumar.

AEPC is among several industry bodies which have in the past couple of days complained of delayed custom clearance amid stricter examination of imports coming in from China. The developments come amid the border tussle along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

“It is affecting factory operations as inputs are held up at ports and exporters are in fear that they will fail to meet the delivery schedule,” Sakthivel said.

The chairman said that the business was gearing up to get back to the normal after the relaxation of lockdown in India and other foreign countries, however, the recent delay in clearing the import consignments from China was adding to the crisis.

The apparel industry is dependent on several inputs that are domestically not available or as per the buyers’ nomination has to be imported. So far, such imports were subject to random and partial checks only, the AEPC letter said.

“The situation at all airports and seaports at Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Tuticorin and others is precarious as there is an inordinate delay caused on all import consignments which are held up due to 100 percent open examination by customs, who are not processing the documents for the shipments originated from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan,” Sakthivel said.

The council has requested the government to urgently intervene in the matter to expedite the process of clearing the shipments of inputs that are held up at ports or going through 100 percent inspections.

“Special priority should be given to manufacturer exporters who are dependent on these imports to service their export orders,” Sakthivel added.

TRS-affiliated Singareni union protests over coal mines’ privatisation

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TRS-affiliated Singareni union protests over coal mines’ privatisation

Telangana Rashtra Samithi-affiliated union of Singareni employees on Friday staged a protest over the Centre’s decision to privatize coal mines.

Leaders and members of Telangana Boggu Ghani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS) staged protests at all the mines of Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) in the state and also at the company’s headquarters in Hyderabad.

The protestors raised slogans against the Central government for its decision to privatize 42 coal mines across the country.

TBGKS said the protest was organized on a call given by former MP K. Kavitha, who is the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister and TRS President K. Chandrashekhar Rao.

At the protest held at Singareni Bhavan in Hyderabad, TBGKS leaders raised slogans of ‘Modi down down’ and ‘Save Singareni’. Holding placards, the protestors staged the sit-in at the office.

Raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they also set afire an effigy. A couple of policemen were seen trying unsuccessfully to stop them.

TBGKS President Raji Reddy, Telangana Rashtra Samithi Karmika Vibhagam (TRSKV) President Ram Babu Yadav, and members of TBGKS participated in the protest at Singareni Bhavan.

They demanded the Central government to withdraw their decision to privatize coal mines. They also demanded the Centre to stop the e-auction of coal mines in the country.

TBGKS activists, and coal mine workers participated in huge numbers and alleged that the Centre’s decision to privatize the coal mines is against the interests of the public undertakings.

The protests were also held at Singareni mines spread across different districts in Telangana. The district leaders of TBGKS called for participating in the July 2 strike called by national-level unions of the coal miners.

They said privatization of a profit-making public sector undertaking would badly affect the interest of the workers. They said the employees would lose job security and various other benefits.

#FlashbackFriday: Madhuri, taekwondo and an ‘amazing family experience’

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#FlashbackFriday: Madhuri, taekwondo and an ‘amazing family experience’

Actress Madhuri Dixit Nene is on a nostalgia trip lately.

Posting a family photo from her Taekwondo days, she tweeted: “Testing day for our orange belts Martial arts uniform Flexed biceps Breaking boards and learning #Taekwondo together was an amazing family experience in focus, discipline & hard work! #FlashbackFriday.”

This comes just a few days after her tribute to her 1990 release, “Dil”. Recalling the shoot of the film, Madhuri had taken to Instagram and penned a post, sharing how much fun she had working with Aamir Khan.

“Working with @_aamirkhan was so much fun! I remember how #IndraKumar gave us an earful every day for joking around and playing tricks on the sets. Thanks to the team’s hard work & your love, the film did well and I also won my first Filmfare award. Fond memories #Grateful #Dil,” she had written.

ISL: Odisha FC rope in Gerry Peyton as assistant coach

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ISL: Odisha FC rope in Gerry Peyton as assistant coach

Odisha FC on Friday announced the signing of Gerry Peyton as assistant coach of the team ahead of the seventh edition of the Indian Super League (ISL).

The 64-year-old joined the Bhubaneswar-based side on a two-year deal on Friday.

Peyton played for numerous reputed clubs like West Ham United, Everton, Fulham, and Chelsea and was a member of the coaching teams of Arsenal, Fulham, and so on.

Before joining Odisha FC, the former goalkeeper of the Irish national team was the assistant manager of the Japanese club Shimizu S-Pulse.

Welcoming the new assistant coach, OFC President Rohan Sharma said: “I am thrilled to have someone of Gerry’s caliber helping us out this year. His 15 years of experience at Arsenal will give a great lift to the boys, particularly our goalkeepers. He is someone who can help us achieve excellence on and off the pitch.”

Peyton added: “I am looking forward to working in India with my friend and colleague Stuart Baxter along with all the staff and players. Together we aim to build a successful project at Odisha FC that will leave a legacy for all of Odisha for years to come.”

No fresh lockdown in Bengaluru, economy equally important: CM

TB Team
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No fresh lockdown in Bengaluru, economy equally important: CM

Asserting that reviving the economy was equally important, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Friday said there will be no fresh lockdown in Bengaluru despite the rise in coronavirus cases in the city.

“There will be no fresh lockdown in Bengaluru where all efforts were underway to control the spread of coronavirus as reviving the state’s economy was equally important,” Yediyurappa said at a meeting of city legislators and Members of Parliament on measures to contain the pandemic.

Ruling out re-imposing a lockdown across the city for any reason, the chief minister said areas where more positive cases were reported to have been declared as containment areas and sealed to prevent the virus spread.

The chief minister’s reiteration comes a day after state Revenue Minister R. Ashoka ruled out enforcing a lockdown in Bengaluru again, which began Unlocked 1.0 on June 1.

“No lockdown again in Bengaluru. Only containment zones in the city where a large number of Covid-19 cases are reported will be sealed,” Ashoka told reporters after a cabinet meeting on the growing number of infections in the city.

Of the 442 new cases reported from across the southern state on Thursday, Bengaluru accounted for 113, taking its tally of positive cases to 1,791. With 505 people discharged so far, including 30 on Thursday, active cases are 1,207.

Of the 170 COVID deaths in the state, Bengaluru accounted for 78.

Sharing the COVID data with the ruling and opposition lawmakers from the city, the chief minister said a nodal officer would be appointed in each Assembly segment for monitoring the cases and taking steps to contain them.

Apprising the legislators about the measures taken to contain the virus spread in the city, the chief minister said 50 percent of beds in private hospitals across the city have been reserved for COVID cases in addition to the state-run hospitals.

Assuring their support to the state government in its fight against the deadly infection, opposition lawmakers said there were complaints of delay in serving food to the COVID patients under institutional quarantine and shortage of personal protection equipment for healthcare warriors in state-run hospitals.

“Swab testing facility will be set in all 28 assembly segments across the city and separate ambulance facility to transport bodies of COVID patients will be provided,” assured Yediyurappa to the legislators.

The all-party meeting also suggested to the state government to take over huge marriage halls around the city’s outskirts to quarantine asymptomatic patients.

The chief minister asked the MLAs to visit the state-run hospitals and report to him on the situation in them for improving the facilities.

As state Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar is attending to his father, wife, and daughter who tested positive last week, the chief minister has entrusted the charge of supervising the COVID management in the city to Ashoka, who is an MLA from the city.

Of the 28 assembly seats across Bengaluru, 14 belong to the ruling BJP, 12 to the opposition Congress, 1 to the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and 1 is vacant as a by-election has not been held due to a court case over its verdict in the May 2018 assembly elections in the southern state.

Property dispute between Dasari Narayana Rao’s sons

Team TeluguBullet
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Property dispute between Dasari Narayana Rao’s sons

The property dispute between legendary and late filmmaker Dasari Narayana Rao’s sons has hit the headlines yet again. In a fresh row, Dasari’s elder son Prabhu has alleged that Arun Kumar has attacked them at their residence on June 24th mid-night.

As evidence, Prabhu released the CCTV footage of Arun Kumar jumping the entrance gate of Prabhu’s residence. After storming into the home, Arun reportedly man-handled Prabhu’s wife and father-in-law and even threatened them.

Based on the CCTV footage, Prabhu approached the Jubilee Hills Police station and lodged a complaint. Speaking to the media Prabhu claimed that the residence in which he is currently is staying is written on her daughter’s name by his father Dasari and so he has all the rights to stay in it.

Prabhu also added that he approached Dr. Mohan Babu, producer C Kalyan and actor Murali Mohan on this issue but they did not respond. He requested at least Mohan Babu to intervene in this and solve it at the earliest.

Kangana’s latest comments on Hrithik have gone viral

Team TeluguBullet
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Kangana’s latest comments on Hrithik have gone viral

The open spat between Kangana Ranaut and her alleged ex Hrithik Roshan is wideout in the open. While the issue had hit several headlines in the past and even a legal battle was fought, now the issue is back with Kangana making indirect comments on her Ex. Without naming Hrithik directly, Kangana took a jibe at him. Kangana’s latest comments on Hrithik have gone viral.

“He told his friends I was after his money. He tried to label me as a gold digger. Where is he today? He still lives in a rented house founded by his father,” Kangana said.

“When I had started my career, I didn’t have any material goals. Only a few years ago when I had a fallout with one of my exes and the whole legal case happened, it became a discussion that I came from a small town and I’m after his money,” Kangana told Pinkvilla.

She added, “It was like that, and girls are judged on that basis. I was looked at like that from an outside perspective that I’m a gold digger from a small town?”

“Today, I can proudly say that my ex lives in a rented house founded by his father and I have bought my house and office space on my own,” said Kangana.

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