PM 'CONCERNED' OVER MASKLESS CROWDS AT HILL STATIONS, MARKETS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed concern over people crowding at hill stations and markets without wearing masks or observing social distancing norms, as he urged all to guard against complacency to prevent a third wave of the coronavirus spread.

He asked the people to shun the argument that they 'want to enjoy before the third wave of coronavirus' and stressed that there should be no compromise in following COVID-19 protocols.

"It is true that tourism, trade and business have been greatly affected due to the coronavirus. But today I will say with great emphasis that having huge crowds in hill stations, markets without masks and not following COVID protocols is a matter of concern and is not right," Modi said during an interaction with chief ministers of eight North-Eastern states through video conferencing.

The third wave can be prevented by remaining cautious and strictly following all protocols, he said and emphasised that the vaccination drive needs to be continuously ramped.

Modi said the COVID-19 situation was worrisome in some districts of the Northeastern region and urged the chief ministers to stay alert and act fast to check the further spread of the virus.

The health ministry has also flagged concerns over a surge in coronavirus cases in the Northeast states in the past few days and central teams have been deputed to seven states from that region -- Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura -- to support them in COVID-19 management.

While most parts of the country have seen a steady decline in the COVID-19 numbers, the northeast region has been a cause of concern with the number of cases either rising or not falling in line with the nationwide trend, experts have noted.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 4,24,154

New Cases in last 24 hours: 40,204

Recovered in last 24 hours: 40,966

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -1,385

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 623 (4,11,439)

Daily Tests (Monday): 17,40,325

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 1.8%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 23.0% / 5.6%

SITUATION DIRE, INDIA MUST TELL TALIBAN JOIN MAINSTREAM: AFGHAN ENVOY

Describing the situation in Afghanistan as “difficult, dire and problematic”, Farid Mamundzay, the country’s ambassador to India, has said Delhi should convey to the Taliban that if they cut ties with “regional terrorist groups” and give up violence to become part of the “mainstream society”, it will continue to support and assist Afghanistan politically and diplomatically.

In an interview to The Indian Express, Mamundzay said Indian development projects — roads, schools, dams among others — are “at risk” if the security situation deteriorates further. The exit of US troops has had the Taliban overrunning large swathes in Afghanistan, especially in the northern provinces which were never under their control.

India has committed about USD 3 billion towards projects in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan.

“Engagement of India with the Taliban is something that we cannot officially confirm at this stage. But of course, strong messages from India would certainly help convey messages of cutting ties with regional terrorist groups. Messages that India would continue to support Afghanistan should Taliban become part of the mainstream society again. India would continue to assist Afghanistan in education, politically, diplomatically.”

“Those would go a long way, I hope, with the Taliban. Taliban would realise that should they let go of violence, should they become part of the mainstream society, India would continue to partner with Afghanistan. So those are some of the messages that the Indian government can send to the Taliban,” he said.

The ambassador said Delhi’s decision to evacuate its Indian personnel from the consulate in Kandahar was to avoid any “potential” and “unwanted catastrophe”.

He said Pakistan holds “considerable amount of influence and leverage with Taliban”, and Kabul’s request to Islamabad has been to “productively utilise their influence to bring Taliban to the negotiating table, to make them agree to a process which would make this region prosper”.

Following the withdrawal of US troops, he said China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are playing a role in the current situation.

PM MODI WISHES ATHLETES LUCK AHEAD OF OLYMPIC GAMES

Prime Minister Narendra Modi donned the role of an interviewer during his virtual interaction with some of the known Indian athletes, who will represent India at the soon-to-start Tokyo Olympics.

During the virtual interaction, which was also attended by sports minister Anurag Thakur, law minister Kiren Rijiju, PM Modi quizzed several of the Tokyo-bound athletes about their struggles and motivation to stay to their mission despite struggles.

In the end, the PM regretted that he could not host the athletes before their departure due to the pandemic. “Pandemic has changed your practice and even the year of the Olympics. The whole country is behind you all. These wishes of 135 crore Indians are the blessings of the country for all of you before entering the field of sports,” said the Prime Minister.

The PM further said that our athletes symbolise our country’s future. Your commitment and competitiveness are the same qualities that are found in New India. Athletes reflect the New India and symbolizes the nation's future,” the PM said.

“Seeing the confidence and energy of young India, I am hopeful that the day is not far when only victory will become New India’s habit,” He advised players to give their best and asked the countrymen to “Cheer4India”.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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DON’T WANT TO FIGHT INSIDE CITIES, SAY TALIBAN, URGE PEOPLE TO REACH OUT TO THEM

The Taliban do not want to battle government forces inside Afghanistan’s cities and would rather see them surrender, a senior insurgent leader said on Tuesday, as the militants also warned Turkey against extending its troop presence.

The hardline Islamist group has swept through much of the north as foreign troops complete their withdrawal, and the government now holds little more than a constellation of provincial capitals that must largely be resupplied by air.

On Tuesday, the head of a Taliban commission that oversees government forces who surrender urged residents of Afghanistan’s cities to reach out to them.

“Now that the fighting from mountains and deserts has reached the doors of the cities, Mujahiddin (Taliban) don’t want fighting inside the city,” Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a message tweeted by a Taliban spokesman.

“It is better... to use any possible channel to get in touch with our invitation and guidance commission,” he said, adding this would “prevent their cities from getting damaged”.

The Taliban warned Turkey on Tuesday against plans to keep some troops in Afghanistan to guard Kabul’s main airport after the withdrawal of foreign soldiers, calling such a strategy “reprehensible” and warning of “consequences”.

Ankara, which has offered to run and guard the airport in the capital after Nato withdraws, has been in talks with the US on financial, political and logistical support. “If Turkish officials fail to reconsider their decision and continue the occupation of our country, the Islamic emirate... will take a stand against them,”the Taliban said.

GOOGLE IS FINED $592 MILLION IN DISPUTE WITH FRENCH PUBLISHERS

France’s competition regulator fined Google 500 million euros on Tuesday for failing to negotiate in good faith with French publishers in a dispute over payments for their news. The agency threatened fines of another 900,000 euros per day if Google doesn’t come up with proposals within two months on how it will compensate publishers and news agencies for their content.

Google France said in a statement it was “very disappointed” by the decision, and that the fine “doesn’t reflect the efforts put in place or the reality of the use of news content on our platform.” It said it is negotiating in good faith toward a solution, and that it’s on the verge of reaching an agreement with some publishers.

The dispute is part of a larger effort by authorities in the EU and around the world to force Google and other tech companies to compensate publishers for content. The company was forced to negotiate with French publishers after a court last year upheld an order saying such agreements were required by a 2019 European Union copyright directive. France was the first of the bloc’s 27 nations to adopt the directive, which lays out a way for publishers and news companies to strike licensing deals with online platforms. In Australia, Google and Facebook have signed licensing deals with news companies after the government passed a law this year requiring digital giants to help pay for journalism.

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RAHUL GANDHI MEETS PRASHANT KISHOR AHEAD OF LIKELY REJIG IN PUNJAB

Ahead of a likely organisational and government reshuffle in Punjab, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met poll strategist Prashant Kishor at his residence.

Other party leaders like Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, All India Congress Committee general secretary Punjab-in-charge Harish Rawat and K C Venugopal were also present during the meeting where they are learnt to have discussed the party's overhaul in Punjab and efforts to end factionalism in the state unit ahead of assembly elections.

Kishor had earlier met Punjab CM Capt. Amarinder Singh on the impending changes in the Punjab Congress.

Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu, who have been at loggerheads, have made a number of public statements against each other in recent months.

There was no official word on what was discussed at the meeting with Kishor which lasted about an hour, but sources said the new Punjab Congress body would be announced in the next few days and the discussions were focused on it. There have been hectic deliberations over the past few days over the likely changes in the Punjab government and the party's state unit.

The role for Sidhu in the organisation has remained a sticking point from the beginning as he is keen on the post of Pradesh Congress Committee chief, which is not acceptable to the chief minister.

Meanwhile, Sidhu took his colleagues in the Congress by surprise Tuesday, suggesting in a series of tweets his willingness to cross over to the AAP if the Congress high command doesn’t meet his demands.

“Our Opposition singing about me and other loyal Congressmen:- Tum agar AAP mein aaoge toh koi baat nahi… tum agar Congress mein rahoge toh mushkil hogi (if you move to AAP, then it will be good, if you stay in Congress, then it will be difficult),” Sidhu said in one of his tweets.

KANWAR YATRA: UTTARAKHAND FINALLY CALLS IT OFF, UP SAYS ON WITH CURBS

Amid fears of a possible third wave of Covid-19, the Uttarakhand government on Tuesday suspended the kanwar yatra even as neighbouring Uttar Pradesh is pressing ahead with the annual ritual that sees a heavy movement of pilgrims across states in the northern belt.

Speaking to reporters, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “We decided to cancel the yatra, according topmost priority to human life… A lot of discussions were held on the issue over the last few days. Our officials held talks with neighbouring states. The outcome of this exercise is that in view of the pandemic and with a new variant being detected in the state, we do not want Haridwar to be the centre of the pandemic… People’s lives are our priority. We can’t play with that… we won’t take any chances.”

Uttarakhand’s decision to suspend the yatra comes even as the administration in UP has started preparing for the yatra — “with restrictions”.

CRIMINAL, ANTI-TERROR LAWS SHOULD NOT BE MISUSED TO QUELL DISSENT: JUSTICE CHANDRACHUD

As many activists charged under anti-terror laws languish in jail, Supreme Court judge DY Chandrachud has said that criminal laws, including the anti-terror law, should not be misused to muzzle dissent.

“The criminal law, including anti-terror legislation should not be misused for quelling dissent or for the harassment of citizens,” Justice Chandrachud said on Monday. He was speaking on the ‘Role of the Supreme Court in protecting fundamental rights in challenging times’ at a conference hosted by the American Bar Association with the Society of Indian Law Firms and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Citing his own judgement in Arnab Goswami’s case, Justice Chandrachud said: “Our courts must ensure that they continue to remain the first line of defence against the deprivation of the liberty of citizens. Deprivation of liberty even for a single day is one too many. We must always be mindful of the deeper systemic implications of our decisions”.

Noting that the Supreme Court plays the role of a “counter-majoritarian institution”, Justice Chandrachud said it’s the duty of the court to protect the rights of socioeconomic minorities.

ZOMATO ALLOTS SHARES WORTH RS 4,195 CR TO ANCHOR INVESTORS AHEAD OF IPO

Online food delivery company Zomato on Tuesday allotted shares worth Rs 4,195 crore to anchor investors. The firm allotted a total of 552.17 million shares to close to 200 foreign as well as domestic investors at Rs 76 apiece. Some of the investors that received anchor allotment include New World Fund, Tiger Global, and BlackRock. Among the domestic investors Axis Mutual Fund, SBI MF, and HDFC MF received the allotment.

According to reports, the anchor book saw over 30 times more demand than the shares on offer. The total interest generated was in excess of Rs 1 trillion.

Anchor allotment, which is done a day prior to an IPO, provides cues to investors about the demand and the quality of the issue. Only institutional investors are eligible to subscribe to shares under the anchor quota. Up to 60 per cent of the shares reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) can be allotted under the anchor book.

SHOULD HAVE DUE DILIGENCE BEFORE ‘DEFAMATORY’ TWEETS: DELHI HC TO ACTIVIST

The Delhi High Court Tuesday directed activist Saket Gokhale to delete allegedly defamatory tweets against former Indian diplomat Lakshmi Puri and asserted that Gokhale should have conducted due diligence or sought clarifications before posting the tweets.

Last month, in a series of tweets, Gokhale had raised questions about an apartment that Puri had purchased in Switzerland. He sought an inquiry by the ED into the assets of the former diplomat and her husband.

However, Justice C. Hari Shankar has now asked him to delete the tweets and also restrained the activist from posting “defamatory or scandalous or factually incorrect tweets” against her or her husband.

The HC also rejected Gokhale’s contention that before posting messages on a social media platform against someone, no due diligence or preliminary enquiry into the facts is necessary. “Such a submission, if accepted, would place the reputation of every citizen in the country in serious jeopardy, and open to ransom at the hands of every social media vigilante, some of whose intentions may be less than honourable,” the court observed.

NASA INTERN MOCKED FOR POSING WITH HINDU GODS, GETS WAVE OF SUPPORT TOO

NASA’s attempt to showcase diversity backfired after an Indian-origin intern was mocked for posing with Hindu idols in a photo.

USA’s top space agency, NASA had posted a tweet with four photos as a reminder for its fall applications for internships.

However, some people mocked the photo of the Indian-origin girl for having Hindu idols next to her laptop in the photo for equating religion with science.

There were many people who came out in her support too and she received a wave of support from India.

AMRITA SHER-GIL WORK FETCHES RS 37.8 CR, SECOND-HIGHEST AFTER GAITONDE’S

A painting by Amrita Sher-Gil, In the Ladies’ Enclosure (1938), fetched Rs 37.8 crore (USD 5.14 million) at auction house Saffronart’s sale in Mumbai on Tuesday. This is the highest achieved by the artist in an auction, and the second-most expensive artwork by an Indian.

V S Gaitonde’s Untitled (1961), sold for Rs 39.98 crore in March this year at Saffronart, remains the most expensive by an Indian artist. The previous record for Sher-Gil was Rs 18.7 crore for The Little Girl in Blue (1934) at Sotheby’s auction in Mumbai in 2018/

An Indo-Hungarian artist, Amrita Sher-Gil died in 1941 at the age of 28.

1983 WORLD CUP HERO YASHPAL SHARMA DIES OF CARDIAC ARREST

India’s 1983 World Cup hero Yashpal Sharma, who was admired for being a gutsy middle-order batsman at the peak of his prowess, died on Tuesday after suffering a massive cardiac arrest. He was 66 and is survived by wife, two daughters and a son.

Yashpal collapsed at home after returning from his morning walk, in New Delhi.

He was known for his gutsy attitude and his stroke-filled half-century in the semifinal against England in the 1983 campaign at the Old Trafford will forever be etched in public memory.

Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar expressed shock at his teammate's demise. The 1983 squad had met on the sidelines of a book launch here a couple of weeks ago. "It is unbelievable. He was the fittest among all of us. I had asked him that day when we met about his routine. He was a vegetarian, teetotaller, used to have soup for dinner and was very particular about his morning walks. I am just shocked," Vengsarkar said.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word, loneliness to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word, solitude to express the glory of being alone. - Paul Tillich

OFF TRACK

A collector of rare books ran into an acquaintance who told him he had just thrown away an old Bible that he found in a dusty, old box. He happened to mention that Guten-somebody-or-other had printed it.

“Not Gutenberg?” gasped the collector.

“Yes, that was it!”

“You idiot! You’ve thrown away one of the first books ever printed. A copy recently sold at auction for half a million dollars!”

“Oh, I don’t think this book would have been worth anything close to that much,” replied the man. “It was scribbled all over in the margins by some clown named Martin Luther.”