Covid-19 vaccination likely to begin in India by Jan 12

Agencies
January 7, 2021

New Delhi, Jan 7: The much-anticipated inoculation programme against COVID-19 in the country is expected to begin by January 12, government sources said.

"In all likelihood, the Covid immunisation drive is expected to start early next week. Considering the preparations, the roll-out may start on January 11 or latest by January 12," a senior government official inducted in the vaccine distribution programme said.

The sources also informed that the government has started preparing the freight carrying the vaccine vials for transportation to different hubs located across the country. The agencies involved in the vaccine roll-out programme will start dispatching the vaccine vials from Thursday onwards, they added.

"The dispatch is expected to start late on Thursday evening or early in the day on Friday," the officials said.

As per the information received, the vaccines from their manufacturing units will be transported to the central hub in Pune. From there, they will be moved to regional hubs situated at different locations across the country.

Agencies were told that Karnal in Haryana and Delhi will serve as regional hubs for the storage and roll-out of the vaccines in the northern part of the country. Chennai and Hyderabad will serve as regional hubs for the distribution of vaccines in southern India. For the eastern part, Kolkata is designated as the distribution point, while the distribution in the western region of the country will be covered by the central hub only.

However, no official announcement has been made by the government yet apart from the official statement that the immunisation drive will start within 10 days from the date of approval of the vaccines. The vaccines -- Covaxin by Bharat Biotech and Covishield by Serum Institute of India -- were approved for emergency use authorisation on January 3.

Meanwhile, Suneela Garg, public health expert and professor of excellence at the Maulana Azad Medical College, who is also a key member of the task force handling vaccination in Delhi, said that the government should start the immunisation drive by January 12 as the preliminaries have been finalised.

"All the arrangements for the roll-out have been made and the scheduled dry run would confirm the preparations. The vaccine doses are ready to be dispatched. After the dry run, there would be no reason to delay the roll-out. The government should start immunisation by January 12," she added.

The second nationwide dry run for COVID vaccine is set to be conducted across 33 states and Union Territories on Friday. The mock drill will be conducted in all the districts of the country, except for Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, since the former has already conducted dry run on January 5 while the latter conducted it on Thursday.

The first dummy drive was held on January 2 where only five districts had taken place.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan met the health ministers of states and Union Territories on Thursday and guided them on conducting the dry run.

The government has trained around 1.7 lakh vaccinators and 3 lakh vaccination team members for the process to be followed at the vaccination centres during the inoculation drive, which would include beneficiary verification, vaccination, cold chain and logistics management, bio-medical waste management, Adverse Effect Following Immunisation (AEFI) management and reporting on the Co-WIN software.

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News Network
November 22,2024

Mangaluru: A man fell victim to an online scam, losing Rs 1.7 crore after fraudsters posed as officials from TRAI. According to a complaint filed at the CEN police station, the incident began on November 11, when the complainant received a call from an unknown number at 9:49 am.

The caller, claiming to represent TRAI, alleged that another mobile number registered under the complainant's name was involved in illegal activities in Andheri (East), Mumbai. The caller further stated that an FIR was lodged against the complainant for harassment under the guise of marketing. He was instructed to contact Andheri (East) police station immediately or risk his mobile service being deactivated within two hours.

The complainant was subsequently connected to an individual named Pradeep Sawant, who claimed the complainant was implicated in a money laundering scheme linked to the Naresh Goyal fraud case. Sawant alleged that a fraudulent bank account under the complainant's name was opened at Canara Bank, Andheri, and used to purchase a SIM card for illegal activities. He warned that the complainant could face arrest.

Later, the complainant was contacted via WhatsApp video call by individuals posing as Rahul Kumar (a police officer) and Akanksha (a CBI officer). They allegedly sent fabricated CBI documents to his WhatsApp number. The fraudsters demanded money to "resolve" the case. Fearing threats, the complainant allegedly transferred Rs 1.7 crore through RTGS in batches of Rs 53 lakh, Rs 74 lakh, and Rs 44 lakh between November 13 and 19. A case has been registered at the CEN police station and an investigation is ongoing.

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News Network
November 14,2024

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The UN special rapporteur for Palestine has slammed Israel’s parliament for passing a law authorizing the detention of Palestinian children, who are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” in Israeli custody.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in a Thursday post on X, characterized the experiences of Palestinian minors in Israeli detention as extreme and often inhumane.

The UN expert highlighted the grave impact of this policy, noting that up to 700 Palestinian minors are taken into custody each year, a practice she described as part of an unlawful occupation that views these children as potential threats.

Albanese said Palestinian minors in Israeli custody are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” and that “generations of Palestinians will carry the scars and trauma from the Israeli mass incarceration system.”

She further criticized the international community for its inaction, suggesting that ongoing diplomatic efforts, which often rely on the idea of resuming negotiations for peace, have contributed to normalizing such human rights violations against Palestinian children and the broader population.

The comments by Albanese came in response to Israel’s parliament (Knesset) passing a law on November 7 that authorizes the detention of Palestinian children under the age of 14 for “terrorism or terrorist activities.”

Under the legislation, a temporary five-year measure, once the individuals turn 14, they will be transferred to adult prison to continue serving their sentences.

Additionally, the law allows for a three-year clause that enables courts to incarcerate minors in adult prisons for up to 10 days if they are considered dangerous. Courts have the authority to extend this duration if necessary, according to the Knesset.

The legislation underscores a shift in the treatment of minors and raises alarms among human rights advocates regarding the legal and ethical ramifications of detaining children and the conditions under which they may be held.

Thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of children and women, are currently in Israeli jails—around one-third without charge or trial. Also, an unknown number are arbitrarily held following a wave of arrests in the wake of the regime's genocidal war on Gaza.

Since the onset of the Gaza war, the Israeli regime, under the supervision of extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has turned prisons and detention centers into “death chambers,” the ministry of detainees and ex-detainees’ affairs in Gaza says.

Violence, extreme hunger, humiliation, and other forms of abuse of Palestinian prisoners have been normalized across Israel’s jail system, reports indicate.

Over 270 Palestinian minors are being detained by Israeli authorities, in violation of UN resolutions and international treaties that forbid the incarceration of children, as reported by Palestinian rights organizations.

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News Network
November 12,2024

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Mysuru, Nov 12: Zameer Ahmad Khan, the Tourism and Waqf minister of Karnataka, who stirred a controversy by addressing the Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy as ‘Kaala Kumaraswamy’ has tendered apologies for his remarks.

Speaking to reporters in Mysuru on Tuesday, Minister Zameer stated that he will apologise if remarks have hurt JD-S workers.

“We both are very close. Then, in a total of 24 hours, we were together for 14 hours. He used to fondly address me as “kulla” (shorty) and I used to address him as “kariyanna” (blacky, kaalia),” Minister Zameer stated.

“I am not addressing him as ‘kaalia’ for the first time. I have not said something highly derogatory. It is being made as big in the backdrop of elections. With love, he used to call me a shorty and I called him a blacky. If I had caused pain to anyone by my words I apologise,” he said.

He further stated: “Kumaraswamy had said that he didn’t want the votes of the Muslim community. But now they are attempting to purchase Muslim votes. Against this backdrop, I have made the remark.”

Minister for Home G. Parameshwara stated on Tuesday, “Minister Zameer and Kumaraswamy are close friends. Their comments against each other are not significant.”

Zameer Ahmad Khan, the Tourism and Waqf minister of Karnataka stirred a controversy on Monday as he addressed the Union Minister as ‘Kaala Kumaraswamy’.

JD-S on Tuesday demanded a public apology and resignation of Minister for Waqf and Tourism Zameer Ahmad Khan over his ‘racist’ remarks.

“Remember, there is no place here for your divisive policies. You have insulted the people by making ethnic, racist and discriminatory statements. You should apologize to the people of the state and resign,” the JD (S) demanded in the post.

Union Parliamentary Affairs and Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju reacted sternly to the racist jibe and stated, “I strongly deplore Congress Minister Zameer Ahmed calling Union Minister and former Chief Minister of Karnataka Kumaraswamy as 'Kaalia Kumaraswamy'.

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