A change in the weather with winds easing and humidity rising have helped firefighters battling massive blazes in Oregon that have taken a deadly toll from one end of the state to the other.
Gov. Kate Brown said Friday that dozens of people were still missing and tens of thousands had been forced to flee their homes. The state’s emergency management director, Andrew Phelps, said officials are preparing for a mass fatality event and thousands of structures have been destroyed.
Oregon officials haven’t released an exact death count but at least eight fatalities have been reported. Marion County Sheriff Joe Kast said Friday evening that searchers had found two victims of the Beachie Creek fire near Salem. A 1-year-old boy was killed in wildfires in Washington.
Hundreds of firefighters were battling two large blazes that threatened to merge near the most populated part of Oregon, including the suburbs of Portland.
Brown said more than 40,000 Oregonians have been evacuated and about 500,000 are in different levels of evacuation zones, either having been told to leave or to prepare to do so. She dialed back a statement late Thursday by the state Office of Emergency
Management that said a half-million people had been ordered to evacuate statewide.
Scores of people were missing in Jackson County in the southern area of the state and in Marion County east of Salem, the state capital, Brown told a news conference. Authorities also announced that a man had been arrested on two counts of arson in connection with a fire in southern Oregon.
Improved weather helped efforts on the ground after days of high winds, heat and low humidity. The wind laid down quite a bit for us yesterday,” said Stefan Myers of the state’s fire information team.
Almost 500 personnel were working on the fires near Portland, which were just a few miles (kilometers) apart, with rugged terrain between them that limits boots-on-the-ground efforts to control the flames, Myers said. If the fires merge, they could generate enough heat to send embers thousands of feet into the air, potentially igniting other areas.
Authorities say more than 1,500 square miles (3,880 square kilometers) have burned in Oregon during recent days, nearly double the amount in a typical year and an area larger than Rhode Island.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee noted that the amount of land burned in just the past five days amounted to the state’s second-worst fire season, after 2015. He called the blazes climate fires rather than wildfires.
This is not an act of God, Inslee said. This has happened because we have changed the climate.” Jackson County Sheriff Nathan Sickler said a 41-year-old man was jailed on two charges of arson for a fire that started Tuesday in the Phoenix area in southern Oregon. The fire burned hundreds of homes and also had an ignition point in Ashland near a spot where a man was found dead. Authorities said the man denied starting the fire.
Sickler said authorities were working to locate missing people.
I think we’re somewhere in the neighborhood of, you know, around 50 individuals that, you know, we’re trying to locate maybe a little less, he said. “It’s going to be a process for sure. Evacuation centers were open across Oregon.
Kim Carbaugh fled her home Monday in Lyons with her husband, two children and two horses.
When we were driving away and I could see actual fire, the red and orange flames, at the time I didn’t feel scared, I had so much adrenaline we just had to leave, she said Friday from the livestock stables of an evacuation center at the State Fairgrounds in Salem.
The site was also housing hundreds of animals dogs, llamas, horses, pigs weighing hundreds of pounds, cows and chickens. Many people chose to camp or stay in RVs.
Charles Legg sat at a table with his 22-month-old son, who cooed and played with a dinosaur puzzle.
He’s OK, Legg said. He’s not eating as normal, he knows something is going on.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the government’s skill agenda is to create a workforce that matches the global demands and several efforts have been undertaken to enable a strong skill development ecosystem.
He also observed that the whole nation has come together under the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ mission and it is the need of the hour for every Indian to be self-reliant in these changing times, an official statement said.
In his address read out at a digital conclave, the Prime Minister stated that it is “the government’s skill agenda to create a workforce that matches the global demands and with this vision, several efforts have been undertaken to enable a strong skill development ecosystem.”
“There are many sectors witnessing the growing demand for skilled youth. This is an opportunity for our young workforce to convert the present challenges into opportunities and become the strong pillars of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’,” he added.
Stating that it is integral to lay emphasis on skilling, reskilling and upskilling, the Prime Minister said the role of trainers and experts is the most essential in this endeavour.
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship organised the digital conclave for the second edition of ‘Kaushalacharya Samadar 2020’.
Trainers across different sectors were felicitated for their contribution in building the country’s skilling ecosystem and preparing a future-ready workforce.
The Prime Minister further said “it is my belief that the trainers who are awarded today will inspire many others and will continue to contribute immensely in the lives of our youth and the country’s development.”
Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey said, “As the times are transforming, the role of trainers and assessors is becoming more crucial as they pave the roadmap for our young generation in meeting the industry demands of near future.”
A total of 92 trainers from diverse backgrounds and different categories such as entrepreneurship training, National Apprenticeship Promotional Scheme, Jan Shikshan Sansthan, Short Term Training under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, among others, were felicitated at the digital conclave.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday arrested Rhea Chakraborty after questioning her for three days in connection with drugs-related allegations in her boyfriend and actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case.
“Rhea has been arrested and due process of informing the family has been completed,” said deputy director of NCB, KPS Malhotra.
She was taken to a public hospital here for medical check-up and COVID-19 tests soon after her arrest.
Rajput, 34, was found dead at his Bandra apartment here on June 14.
Before entering the vehicle along with NCB officials, Rhea waved at the assembled media persons at the anti-drug agency’s office in south Mumbai.
Clad in black, Rhea reached the NCB office at Ballard Estate around 10.30 am on Tuesday and was also seen carrying a bag with her, while entering the office.
The 28-year-old girlfriend of Sushant Singh Rajput had in recent TV interviews denied that she consumed drugs.
Rhea was recently interrogated by the CBI probe team, camping at the DRDO guest house in Mumbai’s western suburb Santacruz and also questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case.
NCB recently arrested her brother Showik Chakraborty and Sushant’s manager Samuel Miranda on drug supply charges.
Sushant Singh Rajput’s father had filed an FIR against Rhea Chakraborty in Patna, accusing her of driving his son to suicide and misappropriating his money.
Rhea has denied the allegations on several occasions.
Flamboyant Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh, who retired last year, is eyeing a stint in the Big Bash League and Cricket Australia is trying to help him find a team, a media report has said.
No Indian player has ever featured in the BBL as the country’s cricket board (BCCI) doesn’t allow active players to take part in overseas league.
The 38-year-old Yuvraj had retired from international and domestic cricket last year, clearing the decks to ply his trade in foreign leagues across the globe.
According to a report in ‘Sydney Morning Herald’, Yuvraj’s manager Jason Warne of W Sports & Media has confirmed that Cricket Australia was trying to find a franchise that would be interested in the former Indian all-rounder.
“We’re working with CA to try to find him a home,” Warne said on Monday.
Yuvraj, the 2011 World Cup player of the tournament, last played for India in 2017.
The left-handed batsman has scored 8701 runs in 304 ODIs, besides taking 111 wickets for India. He has also played 40 Tests and 58 T20Is for the country.
However, as per the report, “interest in Yuvraj from BBL clubs had been modest to date.”
Australian Cricketers’ Association president Shane Watson, who plays for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, feels inclusion of Indian players to BBL would be “incredible”.
“It would be incredible for them to be able to play in these tournaments. That is the ideal situation. There are so many world-class T20 players in India that aren’t playing for India that could be potentially available to play in the Big Bash and other tournaments around the world,” Watson said.
“If that’s able to happen, that would make a massive difference.
Marking the sixth anniversary of the ‘Jan Dhan’ scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the initiative has been a “game-changer” and served as the foundation for many poverty alleviation initiatives.
After he led the BJP to power in 2014, this was one of his government’s first major projects under which bank accounts of crores of people, mostly poor, were opened.
“Today, six years ago, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana was launched with an ambitious aim of banking the unbanked. This initiative has been a game-changer, serving as the foundation for many poverty alleviation initiatives, benefitting crores of people,” the prime minister tweeted.
“Thanks to the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, the future of several families has become secure. A high proportion of beneficiaries are from rural areas and are women. I also applaud all those who have worked tirelessly to make PM-JDY a success. #6Years Of JanDhan Yojana,” he added.
The graphics shared by him showed that more than 40 crore bank accounts have been opened so far with more than 63 per cent of the beneficiaries belonging to rural areas. Over 55 per cent of them are women.
The government has said that it has been able to directly transfer welfare benefits to the needy due to the scheme.
Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa will be sworn in as the country’s new prime minister for the fourth time at a historic Buddhist temple on Sunday, consolidating the hard-line political dynasty’s grip on power.
The 74-year-old Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP) leader, who polled over 500,000 individual preference votes — the highest ever recorded by a candidate in the history of elections — will take the oath of office for the ninth Parliament at the sacred Rajamaha Viharaya in Kelaniya, a north Colombo suburb, according to an official statement.
The SLPP, led by Mahinda, registered a landslide victory in the general election, securing two-thirds majority in Parliament needed to amend the Constitution to further consolidate the powerful Rajapaksa family’s grip on power.
It won in 145 constituencies, bagging a total of 150 seats with its allies, a two-thirds majority in the 225-member Parliament. It polled 6.8 million votes (59.9 per cent).
The Cabinet of Ministers will be sworn-in on Monday, followed by the swearing-in of the state and deputy ministers, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
The new government has decided to restrict the size of the Cabinet to 26, though it can be increased up to 30 in terms of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.
The Rajapaksa family — including SLPP founder and its National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa, who is the younger brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa with the eldest being Mahinda — has dominated Sri Lankan politics for two decades. Mahinda previously served as the president for nearly a decade from 2005 to 2015.
President Gotabaya had won the November presidential election on the SLPP ticket.
In the parliamentary election, he was seeking 150 seats mandatory to execute constitutional changes, including to repeal the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which had curbed the presidential powers while strengthening the role of Parliament.
Reacting on the prospects of amending the Constitution, SLPP Chairman G L Peiris on Friday said it would only be carried out after much thought and consideration.
Clearly, some amendments are required. It cannot continue in this manner when it comes to governing the country, he told reporters.
After President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected, the 19A Amendment prevented him from dissolving Parliament to make way for a government which could support his programme of work while former opposition MPs urged that the dissolved Parliament be re-convened, he said.
From the results of the general election, it is evident that the government, people needed after the new President was elected, was quite different to that of the previous Parliament.
These things should be changed. If needed, the new government has the power to amend the Constitution, Peiris said.
When asked whether the Independent Commissions would be abolished, he said there was no such need.
“The intention of the Independent Commissions is to maintain apolitical institutions with appointments made by the Constitutional Council which should also be independent. Anyone can see that these purposes had not been served. To achieve these targets, some reforms are necessary, Peiris added.
Activists, already alarmed by the diminishing space for dissent and criticism in the island nation, fear such a move could lead to authoritarianism.
The biggest casualty from the election outcome was the United National Party (UNP) of former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe which managed to win only one seat. The country’s grand old party failed to win a single seat from any of the 22 districts.
Its leader and four-time prime minister was unseated for the first time since he entered Parliament in 1977.PTI
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday defended the use of the Rapid Antigen tests for diagnosis of COVID-19 in the national capital, saying the false reading rate for it is almost the same as that of the-PCR.
Sisodia said the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), over which the experts have expressed reservations due to high false negative rate, has its own merits, one of which is giving immediate results that can help in early isolation of a patient to contain the spread of the virus.
“I don’t think there is a problem with antigen tests. The false reading rate for antigen is almost same as that of-PCR which is around 30 per cent,” Sisodia told PTI in an interview.
He was responding to a question on why the Delhi government was not increasing the PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) — a laboratory technique widely used in the diagnosis of genetic diseases as well to measure gene expression in research and considered more reliable due to its sensitivity and — despite the High Court’s observations in this regard.
Delhi started ramping up coronavirus tests since June 18, especially after RAT was introduced. The increased number of tests proved to be an important pillar, according to experts, in containing the spread of the virus in the city where fresh infections per day had touched nearly 4,000 in June.
However, the bulk of the daily tests continue to be RAT.
Till July 30, more than 10.13 lakh tests were conducted in the national capital, according to the health bulletin of which some five lakh were conducted alone in that month.
Of the five lakh tests in July, 3.82 lakh tests were RAT while the rest were mostly PCR.
Last month, when Delhi’s case tally started showing a decline, several experts lauded the role of increased testing in curbing it. However, they expressed reservations about the reliance on RAT.
In virologist Shahid Jameel’s view, rapid antigen tests don’t have the same accuracy as-PCR tests.
“Delhi has almost completely switched to antigen based tests. A very large amount of tests are antigen tests and they have sensitivity of 50-60 per cent. It is possible that the reduced numbers (of cases) are because of the low sensitivity of the antigen test,” Jameel, CEO of the Welcome Trust/ DBT India Alliance, had told PTI last month.
Referring to lab sensitivity, he said the nasal swab, for instance, has to be put deep into the nasal cavity and maybe not everyone is trained adequately.
“It is not that PCR does not have false negative. Antigen test has its merits.- PCR test results come in two days and by then already many people are infected from the individual concerned. However, antigen test has immediate results which is effective in controlling its further spread,” Sisodia said.
On July 27, the Delhi High Court had asked the AAP government why it was going with RAT, which has a high rate of false negative results, as the primary test of COVID-19 infection.
The high court was also of the view that in light of the sero survey report and the high rate of false negatives of RAT,-PCR tests, whose numbers were plummeting, should be ramped up.
On August 4, the Delhi High Court also disapproved of the AAP government’s “resistance” to monitor its COVID-19 testing strategy, saying the administration appears to have developed “cold feet” as it was questioning maintainability of a plea for augmenting of testing numbers in the national capital on “technical” grounds.
However, in the instant matter, the focus of the court has been on ramping up testing in Delhi not just through RAT, but also through-PCR, CB-NAAT and TrueNat, it said.
Cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) is a recently introduced polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based method for detection of TB.
TrueNat is an indigenously developed portable version of CBNAAT and was also meant for detecting tuberculosis (TB).PTI
Adani Power on Thursday said its consolidated net loss widened to Rs 682.46 crore in the June quarter, mainly due to lower revenues on account of low power demand during the lockdown.
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 263.39 crore for the same period last year.
The total income of the company in the quarter declined to Rs 5,356.19 crore, from Rs 8,014.50 crore in the year-ago period, Adani Power said in a BSE filing.
The company’s consolidated net loss was Rs 2,274.77 crore for 2019-20, while total income stood at Rs 27,841.81 crore in the fiscal.
Average plant load factor (PLF or capacity utilisation) achieved during the first quarter of FY21 was 51 per cent, as compared to 78 per cent in Q1 FY20.
The PLF is lower due to the decline in power demand following the announcement of a nationwide lockdown to combat COVID-19, it said.
Consolidated units (of power) sold for the quarter stood at 12.7 BU (billion units), as compared to 16.5 BU in the same quarter previous fiscal.
Despite the lockdown, 3,300 MW Tiroda plant witnessed a good demand for power for the major part of the quarter.
Kawai plant (1,320 MW) also saw improved PLF in June 2020, after the lockdown was relaxed and power demand started to normalise.
However, it said, the Udupi plant witnessed a sharp fall in PLF due to a slump in power demand.
Mundra plant’s PLF was also affected by lower power demand and subdued short-term market tariffs.
On the other hand, all power plants were able to achieve or exceed normative availability under long-term PPAs (power purchase agreements) through diligent efforts, despite restrictions imposed during the lockdown, in fulfilment of their role as providers of the essential service of electricity generation, the company said.
“Adani Power continues to march ahead towards achievement of its vision to play an important role in fulfilling India’s growing demand for electricity. The Adani Group has a strong belief in India’s economic fundamentals and potential, and the role of the infrastructure sector in attaining long term growth.
“Achieving the Government’s ambitious targets for the infrastructure sector will call for a confluence of enabling policy actions, procedural reforms, and support from the financial sector, in order to reinvigorate investments by the private sector. We remain committed to sustainable growth and being an active contributor to nation building,” Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group, said.
As the firm continues to seize opportunities for value creation in a challenging market and a fast-changing competitive landscape, it is focusing on operational excellence and sustainability while taking long-term decisions to enhance strategic capability and resource flexibility, Anil Sardana, Managing Director, Adani Power, said in the statement.
“Having combated and overcome the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, our resolve is to excel in all spheres of our activity and to meet the aspiration of millions of Indians who don’t have access to affordable power, has only become firmer,” he said.PTI
The Supreme Court Thursday extended the protection from any coercive action till August 31 to TV news anchor Amish Devgan in connection with the cases lodged over his alleged defamatory remark against Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti during a show telecast on June 15.
A bench comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari took note of the fact that one of the FIRs against Devgan has been transferred from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh to Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
The bench, during the proceedings conducted via video conferencing, said the news anchor, represented by senior lawyer Siddharth Luthra and advocate Mrinal Bharti, will have to now amend his plea accordingly and deferred the hearing to August 31.
Now the UP government will have to file its response to Devgan’s plea in which he has sought quashing of the FIRs, stay on the investigation and the protection from any coercive action for his alleged comments against the sufi saint.
The bench made clear that the interim relief of protection to Devgan, granted earlier, shall remain operative.
The apex court, while granted interim relief to Devgan, had also stayed the probe in the cases related to the June 15 telecast against the journalist.
Five FIRs have been lodged against Devgan in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Telangana for using a derogatory term for the Sufi saint in the news debate show called Aar Paar’ on his channel on June 15.
However, he later tweeted an apology saying that he was actually referring to Muslim ruler Alauddin Khilji and inadvertently ended up naming Chisti.
As regards the interim relief, till the next date of hearing, we deem it appropriate to pass ad-interim relief in terms of prayer clause (A) and (B) (which seek stay of investigation in pending and future FIRs and the protection from possible coercive action), the top court had said in its June 26 order.
On July 8, the interim order of June 26 was extended till August 6 and now it will remain in operation till this month end.
Issuing notices to Maharashtra, Telangana and Rajasthan, the bench had earlier asked the petitioner to make the complainants, who have lodged FIRs, as parties to his plea.
Two FIRs for the alleged offence have been registered at Ajmer and Kota in Rajasthan and one has been lodged at Bahadurpura in Hyderabad, the plea said, adding that two such FIRs have been lodged at Nanded and Pydhonie in Maharashtra.
Devgan said he has already issued a clarification through a tweet and moreover, errors cannot be construed as criminal offences.
The journalist has said the plea concerned his life and liberty.
In a well-orchestrated manner – the petitioner has been made a victim of country-wide filing of false and baseless criminal complaint and FIRs on the one hand, and on the other hand, petitioner, his family and his crew has been abused unabashedly on social media and by personal messages by unknown persons. The petitioner has also received several death threats from various anti-social elements, the plea submitted.
It said that Devgan was holding a discussion on a petition filed before the top court on his show on June 15 on the issue of the Places of Worship Special Provisions Act.
During the course of the live heated discussion one of the panellists quoted Chisti (Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti) and inadvertently, petitioner (Devgan) who wanted to refer to the historical figure Khilji(Alauddin Khilji) as a marauder, mentioned the name Chisti’ , the plea submitted.
That immediately on realising his inadvertent slip of tongue during heated debate in his news debate show petitioner tendered a clarification and clarified that the name Chisti was mentioned by error and inadvertently, it said.
Devgan tweeted the clarification on his personal Twitter account on the intervening night of June 16-17 and moreover, the channel carried a video clarification featuring the journalist, the plea said.
One of the FIRs was lodged at Pydhonie police station in Mumbai against Devgan for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by referring to Chisti in derogatory terms in the TV programme on the complaint of Arif Razvi, general secretary of the Raza Academy.PTI
The Centre has released Rs 890.32 crore as the second instalment of the COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness package to 22 states and Union Territories, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.
The amount of financial assistance to each state and Union Territories is based on their COVID-19 caseload.
Those who received financial assistance in the second instalment include Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Sikkim, the ministry said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the Rs 15,000 crore package as part of the ‘Whole of Government’ approach wherein the Centre is leading the COVID-19 response and management, and supporting the states and UTs through technical and financial resources.
The second instalment of the aid will be used to strengthen public health infrastructure for testing, including procurement and installation of RT-PCR machines, RNA extraction kits, TrueNat and CB-NAAT machines, bolster infrastructure for treatment and development of ICU beds, installation of oxygen generators and procurement of bedside oxygen concentrators among others.
It would also be used for engagement, training and capacity building of necessary human resources and incentives to healthcare workforce and volunteers, including ASHA workers on COVID-19 duties, the health ministry said, adding that wherever necessary, volunteers registered on the COVID Warriors portal may also be engaged in coronavirus duties.
The first instalment of Rs 3,000 crore was released in April to all states and UTs to aid and enable them ramp up testing facilities, augment hospital infrastructure, conduct surveillance activities along with procurement of essential equipment, drugs and other supplies, the health ministry said.
As part of this package, states and Union territories have been strengthened with 5,80,342 isolation beds, 1,36,068 oxygen-supported beds and 31,255 ICU beds.
Also, 86,88,357 testing kits and 79,88,366 Vial Transport Media (VTM) have been procured by them. As many as 96,557 human resource has been added and incentive has been given to 6,65,799 human resources. The package has aided provision of mobility support to 11,821 staff, the ministry said.
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