NEET-PG exams postponed amid covid surge, new date to be decided later

News Network

April 15, 2021

In view of a fresh wave of Covid-19 cases across India, the Central Government on Thursday decided to postpone the NEET-PG medical entrance exams. The National Board of Examinations (NBE) was scheduled to conduct the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Postgraduate on 18 April.

The next date of the NEET-PG medical entrance exams, which will decide the fate of an estimated 1.7 lakh medical aspirants, will be decided later, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said today.

Taking to Twitter, Dr Vardhan wrote, "In light of the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Government of India has decided to postpone NEET-PG 2021 exam, which was earlier scheduled to be held on April 18. Next date to be decided later. Decision has been taken keeping well-being of our young medical students in mind."

The postgraduate medical entrance test is conducted for admission to MD, MS, PG Diploma programmes for the academic session 2021.

Earlier today, a group of student doctors moved the Supreme Court asking for postponement of the NEET-PG medical entrance exams. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde was scheduled to hear the matter tomorrow.

The petitioners reportedly said that forcing doctors, who treat coronavirus patients on a daily basis, to attend a physical exam would put thousands of lives at risk.

Several medical aspirants are using hashtag postponeneetpg and other similar hashtags on Twitter to urge the NBE to postpone the exam amid an increasing coronavirus cases.

The students are demanding that the exam be held after a few weeks, until the peak of Covid-19 cases is crossed.

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International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant for war crimes

News Network

November 21,2024

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant over war crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The court’s Pre-Trial Chamber I issued warrants of arrest for Netanyahu and Gallant "for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest”, it confirmed in a statement Thursday.

It is the first instance in the court's 22-year history it has issued arrest warrants for Western-allied senior officials.

In its statement, the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I, a panel of three judges, said it has rejected appeals by Israel challenging its jurisdiction.

The chamber said it has decided to release the arrest warrants because "conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing", referring to Israel's ongoing onslaught on Gaza.

Netanyahu and Gallant, it said, “each bear criminal responsibility” for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts,” as well as “intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”

All 124 states that signed the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court, are now under an obligation to arrest the wanted individuals and hand them over to the ICC in the Hague.

The court relies on the cooperation of member states to arrest and surrender suspects. The Netherlands' foreign minister quickly said his country was prepared to enforce the warrants while 93 nations earlier reiterated their support for the ICC.

Triestino Mariniello, a lawyer representing Palestinian victims at the ICC, called the warrants "a historic decision".

He noted that the court had endured "pressure and threats of sanctions" from the US government, but acted nonetheless.

As expected, the Tel Aviv regime rejected the rulings, with its security minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling the warrants “anti-Semitic through and through.”

The ICC said Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required.

Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court.

Israel unleashed its bloody Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023. So far, it has killed at least 43,985 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 104,092 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel faces an ongoing South Africa-led genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

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