Around 20 Delhi Metro employees test positive for COVID-19

News Network
June 5, 2020

New Delhi, Jun 5: Around 20 staff members of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) have tested positive for COVID-19, all of them are asymptomatic and are doing well, said DMRC officials.

In a statement, the DMRC said, "Along with the rest of the country, DMRC is also fighting the battle against COVID-19. Delhi Metro's employees have shown exemplary resilience in reporting back to their duties to keep the Metro system in all readiness for the eventual resumption of services."

"Some employees, scattered across the NCR have unfortunately been infected by the virus as well. They are all safe and recovering gradually. However, in this hour of crisis as well, the spirit of Delhi Metro continues to be high," the DMRC stated.

DMRC Managing Director, Dr Mangu Singh, in a message today asked all employees to adhere to social distancing norms and wished those afflicted with the virus a speedy recovery.

"This indomitable spirit will surely help the Delhi Metro, whenever we resume our services in the days ahead," said DMRC.

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News Network
March 12,2024

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Male, Mar 12: India has begun withdrawing military personnel operating surveillance aircraft in the Maldives after the new pro-China president ordered them to leave, local media reported Tuesday.

The Mihaaru newspaper reported that 25 Indian troops deployed in the southernmost atoll of Addu had left the archipelago ahead of March 10, the official start of the withdrawal agreed by both sides.

President Mohamed Muizzu came to power in September on a pledge to kick out Indian security personnel deployed in the Maldives to patrol its vast maritime border.

Following talks with New Delhi, the two sides had agreed to complete a withdrawal of 89 Indian troops and their support staff from the nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands by May 10.

Mihaaru said the three Indian aircraft -- two helicopters and one fixed-wing plane -- will be operated by Indian civilian staff, who have already arrived.

There was no official confirmation from either the Maldivian or Indian authorities, but Mihaaru said the Maldivian National Defence Force confirmed the Indian withdrawal had begun.

Last week, the Maldives signed a "military assistance" deal with China as the Indians prepared to leave.

The Maldivian defence ministry said the deal was to foster "stronger bilateral ties" and that China would train its staff under the pact.

India is suspicious of China's growing presence in the Indian Ocean and its influence in the Maldives as well as in neighbouring Sri Lanka.

Both South Asian island nations are strategically placed halfway along key east-west international shipping routes.

Relations between Male and New Delhi have chilled since Muizzu won elections in September.

New Delhi considers the Indian Ocean archipelago to be within its sphere of influence, but the Maldives has shifted into the orbit of China -- its largest external creditor.

Muizzu, who visited Beijing in January where he signed a raft of infrastructure, energy, marine and agricultural deals, has previously denied seeking to redraw the regional balance by bringing in Chinese forces to replace Indian troops.

India last month said it was bolstering its naval forces on its "strategically important" Lakshadweep islands, about 130 kilometres (80 miles) north of the Maldives.

The Indian naval unit based on the island of Minicoy will boost "operational surveillance" of the area, the navy said.

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News Network
March 11,2024

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The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government on Monday announced the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The move to notify the rules of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act came before the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Notably, the CAA was an integral part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The law was passed by Parliament on December 11, 2019 after Modi government 2.0 came to power.

“Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will be notifying today, the Rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA-2019). These rules, called the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 will enable the persons eligible under CAA-2019 to apply for grant of Indian citizenship,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement on X.

“The applications will be submitted in a completely online mode for which a web portal has been provided,” it added.

RULES NOTIFIED BEFORE LOK SABHA POLLS

The issue of CAA has drawn massive protests across India in 2019, with some parties calling the legislation divisive.

The government has debunked such narratives and called CAA a “law of the land” that would be implemented.

Speaking at a business summit last month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the CAA rules will be implemented before the Lok Sabha polls.

“Our Muslim brothers are being misled and instigated (against the CAA). The CAA is only meant to give citizenship to those who came to India after facing persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It is not for snatching anyone’s Indian citizenship,” he had said.

ABOUT CAA

The notification of the rules is set to pave the way for the migrants from neighbouring countries to find citizenship in India.

The CAA amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to provide Indian citizenship to migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who belong to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian communities and had entered India on or before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution in their home countries.

The CAA will help refugees from these neighbouring countries, who don’t have documents.

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News Network
March 7,2024

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Mohammed Asfan, a 30-year-old from Hyderabad, was killed months after he was duped into joining Russia's war against Ukraine, the Indian Embassy in Moscow said on Wednesday. 

Ministry of External Affairs has said around 20 Indian nationals are working as support staff to the Russian army. Asfan's family had said that he along with two other men reached Russia in November last year after they were promised jobs as helpers in Russian government offices.

Asfan last spoke with his family on December 31 last year, just weeks before they were informed of his death. 

"We have learnt about the tragic death of an Indian national Shri Mohammed Asfan. We are in touch with the family and Russian authorities. Mission will make efforts to send his mortal remains to India," the embassy said in a post on X.

How he was duped

•    Asfan worked in a cloth showroom in Hyderabad.
 
•    According to his family, Asfan was cheated by a Dubai-based agent who runs a YouTube channel called 'Baba Vlogs' and talked about helping people get work permits for the country in his videos.
 
•    The agent promised several men high-paying jobs as security guards in Russia and had taken ₹ 3 lakh each from them, the family said.
 
•    After reaching Moscow, Asfan and others were made to sign a Russian document. They realised later that they were recruited as "helpers" in the Russian army, Asfan's brother Imran said.
 
•    Imran said one of the agents who duped Asfan into going to Russia contacted him recently to tell him that Asfan's contract was cancelled. He also claimed that Asfan was injured but not dead, Imran said.
 
•    Asfan's family were first informed about his death by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who had written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar about men from different Indian states being cheated into taking part in the war on the pretext of high-paying jobs in Russia.

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