Difference in Maha Vikas Aghadi? After Controversial Anil Deshmukh Oped, Debate Starts Off Over Lockdown
Day after Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray asked the administration to prepare for a lockdown, its ally, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), refuted the plans said that preparation doesn’t mean the shutdown would happen. “The party does not want a lockdown in Maharashtra, and has told the CM too. Even now if people follow coronavirus
rules, we may be saved from a shutdown. Preparing for a lockdown doesn’t mean it will happen,” an NCP leader said.
Loyalty vs Revenge, Land vs Development: In Singur, Stage Set for Another Poll Thriller
A faded hoarding hangs outside the house of Rabindranath Bhattacharya in Singur. It shows him with Becharam Manna, his aide who worked tirelessly to ensure Bhattacharya’s win in the constituency back in 2011. Bhattacharya and Manna were two of the prominent local faces of an agitation against land acquisition in Hooghly district’s Singur between 2006 and 2008. A decade later, Manna is the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC)’s candidate from the seat. His wife is a TMC nominee in neighbouring Haripal, which Manna won in 2011 and 2016.
Maharashtra Coronavirus Tally Sees Dip by 9,000 Cases, Records 31,643 Infections in 24 Hrs
A day after reporting the highest one-day rise of 40,414 coronavirus positive cases, Maharashtra on Monday added 31,643 fresh infections, taking the overall tally to 27,45,518, the state health department said. With 102 fatalities, the death toll in the state went up to 54,283. The detection of fewer cases on Monday is attributed to reduced testing because of Holi holiday. Maharashtra has been conducting more than 1.50 lakh tests every day on average for the detection of coronavirus positive cases.
MV Ever Given Refloats, Suez Canal Traffic Resumes Week After Stuck Ship Cost Egypt Over $84 Million
The MV Ever Given was refloated and the Suez Canal reopened on Monday, sparking relief almost a week after the huge container ship got stuck during a sandstorm and blocked a major artery for global trade. “Admiral Osama Rabie, head of the Suez Canal Authority, has announced the resumption of shipping traffic in the Suez Canal,” the SCA said in a statement.
4 Hrs at Lab, 60 Mins at Wet Market, Days in Hotel: How Authentic is WHO’s Clean Chit to China on Virus Origins
A team commissioned by the World Health Organization to investigate the source of the coronavirus in Wuhan in January concluded that it was “extremely unlikely” that the pathogen originated in a top-security lab in the ground-zero Chinese city. And a WHO report — seen on Monday by AFP before its official release — found that Covid-19 was most probably first passed to humans from a bat through an intermediary animal, with investigators all but ruling out the laboratory leak theory.
Mehbooba Mufti Says Passport Not Issued Over ‘National Security’ Concerns, MEA Cites Cop Verification Report
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said that the government has denied her a passport over “national security” concerns. The Regional Passport Officer said her passport has been rejected based on an “adverse” police verification report. This comes days after the Enforcement Directorate grilled Mufti in a money laundering case.
What About Curbs in Polls, Ask Nizamuddin Markaz Attendees as Premises Reopen for Shab-e-Barat
After one year, the Nizamuddin Markaz building reopened for Shab-e-Barat prayers on Sunday after Court caps visitors at 50. Outside the six-storey building, an on-duty policeman checked the names of those arriving before letting them enter. The building was locked in 2020 after a case was registered against people who attended a Tablighi Jamaat congregation, allegedly in violation of Covid guidelines. The locality was subsequently named a ‘hotspot’.
