MASSIVE PROTEST IN DELHI AS HATHRAS REMAINS OUT OF BOUNDS FOR MEDIA, LEADERS

A massive protest erupted in Delhi on Friday evening as hundreds of civil

society activists, students, women and political leaders gathered at Jantar

Mantar against the alleged gangrape of a young woman in Hathras district and

the UP GovernmentÂ’s response to it.

Wearing masks and raising slogans against the UP administration, they

demanded justice for the 19-year-old victim and asked Chief Minister Yogi

Adityanath to resign.

The protest was to be held at India Gate initially but had to be shifted to

Jantar Mantar owing to the prohibitory orders in place in the Rajpath area.

Several political leaders, including from the Aam Aadmi Party and the Left,

joined the protest.

Most of them said they were outraged over the way UP Police cremated the

body of the victim, who died at DelhiÂ’s Safdarjung Hospital, a fortnight

after she was allegedly raped by four upper-caste men. The womanÂ’s family

has alleged that the police forced them to conduct the last rites in the

dead of the night. But local police officers have said the cremation was

carried out “as per the wishes of the family”.

“What is happening in UP is goondaraj,” lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan

said. “The police have surrounded the village, are not allowing opposition

leaders and mediapersons to enter it and have taken away the mobile phones

of the family members of the victim.”

IG, Aligarh Range, Piyush Mordia told the media, “Till the time the SIT is

present in the district, it is a sensitive matter. As soon as the SIT

leaves, the blockade will be lifted and you will be free to visit.”

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who joined the protest for the first

time since he became chief minister for the third time, said this is a fight

for justice for the victimÂ’s family.

“Media and the BJP are repeatedly asking why are the people protesting

against the Hathras rape case. Lakhs of people gathered at India Gate to

demand justice for Nirbhaya, while there were many rape incidents even

before Nirbhaya and even after Nirbhaya,” AAP’s chief spokesperson Saurabh

Bhardwaj said. “The reason that the people have joined today in huge numbers

is that in this rape case of Hathras, every officer of the administration,

whether it was SHO, DM, DSP, ADG, or chief minister of Uttar Pradesh,

everybody is trying to save the accused starting right from September 14

till today,” he added.

Attempting to visit the village, Trinamool Congress MPs Derek OÂ’Brien,

Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Pratima Mandal and former MP Mamata Thakur ran into a

wall of police and district officials on Friday.

On Thursday, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had

been stopped from going to the village.

AFTER SOME GIVE AND TAKE, OPPN SET TO CLOSE SEAT DEAL IN BIHAR

After days of negotiations and hard bargaining, the RJD-led opposition Grand

Alliance in Bihar on Friday seemed to have more or less arrived at a

seat-sharing arrangement, although the parties are yet to make an official

announcement on the details, as they are said to be keeping an eye on the

developments in the NDA.

The development came on a day Congress president Sonia Gandhi addressed a

virtual rally and launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Union

government.

Sources in the Congress claimed the RJD has agreed to give it 68 to 70

seats. The Congress had contested 41 seats in 2015, winning 27.

Sources in the Left confirmed that between the three parties they have been

allotted 29 seats. The CPI is set to get six seats, while the CPI(M) is

likely to fight on four. The CPI(ML), which has three MLAs in the current

House, is set to contest 19 seats, leaders said.

The RJD will contest around 138 seats, leaving half-a-dozen seats to Mukesh

SahniÂ’s Vikas-sheel Insaan Party (VIP). Two seats could be given to the

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), it is learnt.

Addressing a “Gandhi Chetna Rally” to mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma

Gandhi, the Congress president launched a scathing attack on the BJP.

“Today, some people swear by Gandhiji’s name but demolish his ideals and

principles through their actions,” Sonia said. “There is violence, anarchy,

atrocitiesÂ…mistreatment everywhere. Deliberately an environment of

discrimination has been created in the society where atrocities are being

inflicted on innocent people.

“Enough is enough. I want to say that some people are running the government

by creating an atmosphere of emotion, confusion and fear (bhavna, bhram aur

bhay). You (people) need to remain alert and cautious and take the right

decisions.”

CENTRE MOUNTS A 100-DAYS CAMPAIGN TO PROVIDE PIPED WATER TO CHLDREN

Marking the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Centre on Friday

mounted a 100-days campaign to provide piped potable water connections to

all schools and Anganwadi Centres in the country.

The campaign is under the aegis of the Union government's ambitious welfare

scheme, Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).

JJM, implemented by Jal Shakti Ministry through its National Jal Jeevan

Mission, aims to provide every rural household with piped potable water

supply by 2024.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for the 100-days special campaign at a

program on Tuesday, saying that ensuring safe water to children is a

priority, as they are the most vulnerable to water-borne diseases.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

DONALD TRUMP HOSPITALIZED

President Donald Trump was hospitalized Friday after learning he had the

coronavirus and experiencing what aides called coughing, congestion and

fever, throwing the nationÂ’s leadership into uncertainty and destabilizing

an already volatile campaign only 32 days before the election.

Trump was flown to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after being

given an experimental antibody treatment.

The White House shrouded TrumpÂ’s condition in secrecy, saying little more

than that he had “mild symptoms,” and officials characterized the hospital

stay as a precautionary measure. But the normally voluble president remained

almost entirely out of public view, skipped a telephone call with governors

at the last minute and uncharacteristically stayed off Twitter nearly all

day while people close to the situation said his fever and other symptoms

worsened as the hours wore on.

“I want to thank everybody for the tremendous support,” Trump, wearing a

suit and tie but appearing unusually pale and lethargic, said in an

18-second video taped just before getting on the Marine One helicopter and

then posted on Twitter in his first public comment of the day. “I’m going to

Walter Reed hospital. I think IÂ’m doing very well, but weÂ’re going to make

sure that things work out.”

The presidentÂ’s illness touched off a cascade of concern, suspicion,

calculation and recrimination in response to a president hospitalized with a

potentially life-threatening health condition for the first time in nearly

40 years. The White House was left in a state of shock while the capital

pondered what-if scenarios in case the situation worsens.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presidentÂ’s Democratic challenger who

was on a debate stage with Trump on Tuesday, was tested twice Friday, with

negative results both times. Biden said he sent his prayers for a speedy

recovery while also implicitly faulting the president for a casual and even

reckless approach to the virus.

WOULD HAVE SACKED ARMY CHIEF IF KARGIL WAR WAS CONDUCTED WITHOUT INFORMING

ME: IMRAN KHAN

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that he would have sacked the

Army Chief had the Kargil war with India been started without informing him.

Nawaz Sharif, who was the prime minister during the Kargil war, has long

maintained that he was not aware of what was happening when the conflict

broke out in 1999. He says the then army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf had

attacked Kargil without informing him.

“I would have sacked the army chief if Kargil operation was conducted

without informing me,” Khan said in an interview to private news channel

Samaa TV on Thursday.

Khan also said that he would sack the ISI chief if the latter asked him to

resign. The comment was made in the context of three-time prime minister

SharifÂ’s claim that the ISI chief asked him to step down in 2014 when Khan

had unleashed a big protest sit-in the national capital.

Imran Khan said the army was keeping the country united and slammed Sharif

for targeting the military establishment. “Look at Libya, Syria, Iraq,

Afghanistan, Yemen; the entire Muslim world is ablaze [so] why are we safe?

If it weren’t for our army, our country would’ve been in three pieces…” he

said.

Sharif recently made two speeches from London, where he has been staying

since November 2019 on medical grounds, directly attacking the army for

interference in politics and claimed that Khan came to power through its

support.

Khan also said that it was not the armyÂ’s job to run the government and

failure of a democratically elected government should not be used to impose

a martial law.

THE REST

========

CONG MAKES RANI JHANSI A POLITICAL ISSUE IN MP AS SCINDIAS ARE NOW ALL IN

BJP

Former Congressman Jyotiraditya ScindiaÂ’s defection to the BJP has now

allowed the Congress in Madhya Pradesh to “appropriate” Rani Laxmibai, one

of the leading figures of the first war of Independence or the 1857

rebellion.

Historians accuse the Scindia dynasty of betraying the queen of Jhansi and

joining hands with the British to scuttle the 1857 rebellion or the Sepoy

Mutiny 163 years ago. But given that the members of the erstwhile royal

family were either in the BJP, Jan Sangh, or the Congress since the last

many decades, political parties never really talked about the familyÂ’s

alleged treachery.

But now, for the first time in decades, all politicians in the Scindia

family are with the BJP, including JyotiradityaÂ’s aunts Vasundhara Raje and

Yashodhara Raje — the latter is a minister in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan

cabinet.

In its effort to appropriate the Jhansi ki Rani, Congress in its bypoll

manifesto has promised to install statues of Rani Laxmibai in the Gwalior

region — where 16 of the 28 poll-bound constituencies are located, party

sources said. The bypoll is scheduled on 3 November.

'DID SUSHANT DIE BY SUICIDE OR MURDER?': MAHARASHTRA HOME MIN ASKS CBI

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Friday said Mumbai Police was

investigating actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death case very well but suddenly

the case was handed over to the CBI.

"People have been waiting for the last 1.5 months to see the results of the

CBI inquiry. Did Sushant Singh Rajput die by suicide or was he murdered?

Mumbai Police was investigating very well when suddenly the case was handed

over to the CBI. They should tell us the result at the earliest," said

Deshmukh.

In a veiled attack on the BJP, Deshmukh said a national political party

tried to defame Maharashtra and Mumbai Police for political gains, ahead of

Bihar polls while underlining that AIIMS stated there was no trace of poison

in late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's body as per viscera report.

COVID DEATHS IN INDIA REACH I LAKH MARK

IndiaÂ’s coronavirus-related deaths crossed the 1 lakh mark on Friday, three

days after the global toll touched 1 million. This means India now accounts

for nearly 10 per cent of the worldÂ’s Covid-19 deaths.

India has of late been contributing between 15 per cent and 25 per cent of

global deaths daily. Between 4,000 and 6,000 people have been dying every

day; and India has been reporting more than 1,000 daily deaths for over a

month now. This is not surprising given that India has been discovering far

more cases than any other country.

IndiaÂ’s case fatality ratio (CFR), or the number of deaths out of total

confirmed infections, has been declining for over three months now. CFR fell

from 1.76 per cent to 1.56 per cent during September.

Maharashtra accounts for more than a third of IndiaÂ’s deaths, having

recorded almost 38,000 fatalities so far. It also has a very high CFR of

2.67 per cent.

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have recorded more than 9,000 deaths each – but

their CFRs are in line with the national average, around 1.5 per cent.

The country’s highest CFR is in Punjab – 3 per cent. The state has a

relatively low caseload of 1.15 lakh, but nearly 3,500 deaths. Almost 2,000

deaths were reported in September, when cases rose by 60,000.

Kerala, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, and even Andhra Pradesh seem to be doing

relatively well in preventing deaths. These states have among the lowest

CFRs among states with 1 lakh cases or more.

Deaths per million population are still less in India – nearly half the

world average. Only about 72 deaths per million population have occurred in

the country so far; globally this number is 131. This has led to questions

about the authenticity of IndiaÂ’s death numbers. Many scientists and health

experts do, in fact, believe that deaths in India might be somewhat

under-reported, but no one is quite sure to what extent. But then again, all

of India’s neighboring countries have an even lower date rate – Pakistan/29

per million, Bangladesh/32 pm, Nepal/18 pm, Sri Lanka/0.6 pm.

RELIANCE DEVELOPS RT-PCR KIT THAT CAN GIVE COVID-19 RESULTS IN 2 HRS

Reliance Life Sciences has developed an RT-PCR kit that promises diagnosis

of COVID-19 infection in about two hours, company sources said.

At present, COVID-19 RT-PCR test, which is a real-time reverse

transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) test for the qualitative

detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2, takes up to 24 hours to give a

diagnosis.

The sources said computational biologists at Reliance Life Sciences, a

subsidiary of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries Limited,

analysed more than 100 genomes of SARS-CoV-2 sequenced in India and designed

unique RT-PCR primers for developing quantitative-Real Time PCR (RT-PCR) kit

for COVID-19 detection.

As per ICMR results, the kit shows 98.7 per cent sensitivity and 98.8 per

cent specificity.

The kit is said to be simple to use and uses readily available simple

reagents and primers which can be synthesised in India.

A separate study by Reliance Life Sciences has indicated that the death rate

for COVID-19 pandemic may significantly reduce by the end of 2020.

BURJ KHALIFA DISPLAYS MAHATMA GANDHIÂ’S IMAGE

Images of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of IndiaÂ’s freedom movement, were

displayed on DubaiÂ’s Burj Khalifa on Friday as a tribute on his 151st birth

anniversary.

On Gandhi Jayanti in 2018, a special LED show on the Burj Khalifa marked the

commencement of the two-year line up of programmes of 150 years of Gandhian

ideologies in the UAE.

The show was jointly organised by the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the

Consulate and Emaar Properties.

Images of Gandhi and the Indian flag were beamed on the worldÂ’s largest

LED-illuminated facade once again on the same day in 2019.

LOW-PROFILE INDIAN ORIGIN BROTHERS BUY BRITISH SUPERMARKET CHAIN ASDA

Elusive, low profile, India-origin brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa pulled off

an acquisition bigger than the Tatas when they successfully bid for the

British supermarket chain Asda.

Walmart Inc., the American retail giant that owns ASDA, confirmed on Friday,

EG Group, controlled by the Issas, and TDR Capital, a private equity firm,

have together agreed to buy Asda for £6.8 billion. Under the deal, the Issa

brothers and TDR Capital will secure a majority stake in the company, with

Walmart, which wholly possessed Asda after purchasing the firm for £7

billion in 1999 (when the Issas were working in their Gujarati parentsÂ’

petrol station on the outskirts of Manchester), retaining a minority

shareholding. Asda has already been retailing in three of EGÂ’s forecourts on

a trial basis. This experiment will now expand to many more EG outlets.

The Tatas, in a major foray into the British market, had obtained Corus

Steel, previously British Steel, for £4.3 billion in 2007 and Jaguar Land

Rover for £1.15 billion.

FRENCH OPEN: HALEP PUNISHES ANISIMOVA; THIEM EASES PAST RUUD; RAFA RAGES ON

Top seed Simona Halep extracted brutal revenge on American teenager Amanda

Anisimova with a 6-0 6-1 victory to move ominously into the fourth round of

the French Open today. Anisimova caused a huge upset last year when she

comfortably beat Romanian Halep, then the defending champion, in the

quarterfinals, but could not reproduce that form as she received a 54-minute

claycourt lesson.

Halep was in typically miserly mood, making only seven unforced errors and

waiting for the 19-year-old Anisimova to make mistakes, of which she made

32.

Claycourt master Rafael Nadal powered his way into the fourth round with a

merciless 6-1 6-4 6-0 demolition of Italian Stefano Travaglia. The second

seed will next meet American Sebastian Korda. Nadal encountered little

resistance, hitting 28 winners and saying stars started to align in Paris.

Third seed Dominic Thiem was not at his best but still had enough firepower

to see off NorwayÂ’s Casper Ruud with a 6-4 6-3 6-1 win and march into the

fourth round. US Open champion Thiem struggled with his serve in the opening

set, facing six break points, but improved as the match progressed under the

closed roof.

IndiaÂ’s Rohan Bopanna and CanadaÂ’s Denis Shapovalov lost 6-2 6-2 to USAÂ’s

Jack Sock and CanadaÂ’s Vasek Pospisil in the menÂ’s doubles first round.

IPL: SRH POST 164, CSK FAIL TO CHASE

Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Chennai Super Kings by seven runs in their IPL

match in Dubai yesterday. Youngsters Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma lifted

Hyderabad to 164/5. Their top guns not contributing much, Garg (51 not out)

and Abhishek (31) raised a 77-run stand for the fifth wicket as SRH

collected 53 runs in the last four overs. SRH then restricted Chennai to

157/5. Ravindra Jadeja scored 50 off 35, while captain MS Dhoni scored 47

off 36.

SRH now have 2 wins from 4 matches while CSK have 1 win from their 4

matches.

INDICATORS

(Indian markets were closed yesterday on account of Gandhi Jayanti)

Nasdaq 11,075 (-251) Dow 27,683 (-134), S&P 3,348 (-32)

US$-Rs. 73.20 GBP-Rs. 94.50, Euro-Rs. 85.78, UAE Dhm-Rs.19.92, Can$-Rs.

55.00, Aus$- Rs. 52.39

GBP 0.77 /US$, Euro 0.85 /US$, Jap.Yen 105.32 /US$, Aus$ 1.39 /US$, Sing

1.36 /US$, Bang Taka 83.24 /US$, Can$ 1.33 /US$, Mal Ring 4.15 /US$,

Pak Re 164.38 /US$, Phil Peso 48.45 /US$, Russian Rouble 78.02 /US$, NZ$

1.50 /US$, Thai Baht 31.53 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 28.08 /US$, Norway NOK 9.32

/US$

Bitcoin - USD 10,545

Dollar Index 93.90 Brent Crude 39.27 BDI 1,869

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,899 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 5,030 / 4,930

Silver (Rs. Per KG) 60,700

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Attitude is the mind's paintbrush. It can color any situation. - Greek

Proverb

OFF TRACK

Husband texts to wife on cell..

"Hi, what r u doing Darling?"

Wife: I'm dying..!

Husband jumps with joy but types "Sweet Heart, how can I live without U?"

Wife: "U idiot! I'm dying my hair.."

Husband: "Bloody English Language!