In a letter to Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said it has come to the notice that some states are trying to curb inter-state movement of oxygen supplies from manufacturing units situated in their areas. He said, some states are also mandating manufacturers and suppliers located in the state to restrict their oxygen supplies to the hospitals of the state.

Bhalla emphasised that medical oxygen is an essential public health commodity and any impediment in the supply of medical oxygen in the country may critically impact the management of patients suffering from COVID-19 in other parts of the country. He asked the States and Union Territories  to ensure no such restriction is imposed on the movement of medical oxygen between states and transport authorities shall be instructed to accordingly allow free inter-state movement of oxygen carrying vehicles.

It is also said that no restrictions shall be imposed on oxygen manufacturers and suppliers to limit the oxygen supplies only to the hospitals of the state in which they are located. He said, there shall be free movement of oxygen carrying vehicles into the cities, without any restriction of timings, while also enabling inter-city supply without restriction.

The Home Secretary also requested that all states and Union Territories may constitute multi-disciplinary teams, comprising representatives of the health, industry, transport and other related departments, to continuously monitor the availability of medical oxygen in their jurisdictions. Bhalla said, any shortfalls or related problems that are encountered in this regard, should be immediately brought to the notice of the Central Control Room that has been established in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

The decision came after long hours of debate in which legislators blasted Vizcarra, but also questioned whether a rushed impeachment process would only create more turmoil in the middle of a health and economic crisis.
Lawmakers appeared to be far short of the two-thirds majority vote required to remove Vizcarra from office, but even if he dodged the impeachment attempt, analysts warned that he would not escape the ordeal entirely unscathed.
It remained unclear Friday night when a vote would be held.

Vizcarrra's ability to carry forward the anti-corruption agenda he has sought to make the hallmark of his short administration could be further jeopardised if Vizcarra is perceived as having engaged in influence peddling himself.
“His credibility in carrying through that agenda is already problematic,” said Jo-Marie Burt, a senior fellow with the Washington Office on Latin America. “This really hangs in the balance.”

The political turmoil rocking Peru has briefly distracted attention from one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks and involves a cast of characters that could easily fit into a soap opera. At the center of the ordeal is Vizcarra's relationship with a little-known musician known as Richard Swing and nearly $50,000 in questionable contracts that he was given by the Ministry of Culture for activities like motivational speaking.

A covert audio recording shared by Edgar Alarcón — a lawmaker himself charged with embezzlement — appears to show Vizcarra coordinating a defense strategy with two aides, trying to get their stories straight on how many times the musician had visited him.

In remarks before Congress Friday, Vizcarra asked for forgiveness for the upheaval the audios have generated but insisted he has committed no crime. He called for a proper investigation and urged lawmakers not to aggravate the nation's already precarious situation by rushing through an impeachment proceeding. “Let's not generate a new crisis, unnecessarily, that would primarily affect the most vulnerable,” he said.

During a long day of debate, many lawmakers expressed frustration with Vizcarra, blasting his apology as a weak attempt to make amends and demanding a thorough investigation. But numerous legislators also said they couldn't support an impeachment that itself was rushed and full of flaws, held before an official probe reaches any conclusions. “It's not the moment to proceed with an impeachment which would add even more problems to the tragedy we are living,” lawmaker Francisco Sagasti said.

Vizcarra became president in 2018 after Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned the presidency under pressure by Congress after the discovery of about USD 782,000 in undisclosed payments to his private consulting firm by Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, which is at the center of a regionwide corruption scandal. Odebrecht has admitted to paying some USD 800 million in bribes to officials across Latin America, and nearly every living former Peruvian president has been implicated in the scandal.

Vizcarra, at the time a vice president serving as Peru's ambassador to Canada, is an engineer by training and was considered an unknown political novice. But he has managed to become a highly popular president, recently getting a 57% approval rating in a poll despite Peru' s severe economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis and the high infection rate.

Many Peruvians see him as a frank-talking leader who has taken on corruption, dismissing Congress last year in a brash move cheered by citizens as a victory against a dishonest class of politicians and pushing through initiatives to reform how judges are chosen and bar politicians charged with crimes from running for office. “He's the only president who without a lot of power has faced off against those shameless people,” said Pedro Quispe, a retired teacher out selling face masks on a recent day.

Steve Levitsky, a Harvard University political scientist, said Vizcarra has made “some modest steps forward” when it comes to corruption. “He hasn't been able to carry out all the political reform that he and his allies hope to,” Levitsky said.
“But corruption in middle-income countries is never eliminated in a single presidency.”

Vizcarra tried to halt the impeachment by filing a lawsuit with the Constitutional Tribunal, but magistrates ruled Thursday that the process could proceed, under the belief that lawmakers would not actually be able to oust him. While analysts have criticised the rushed procedure in which the impeachment proceeding was initiated within hours of the audio's release, many agreed that the president owes Peruvians an explanation.

Vizcarra didn't delve into details in his statement Friday, though he did point to inconsistencies in statements by a former aide who made the audios and said the only proven misconduct is having been illicitly recorded. “The best thing the president could do is go to Congress, explain the audios and go hibernate,” said Alonso Cárdenas, a politics professor at the Antonio Ruíz de Montoya university in Lima. “Let his ministers take the spotlight until his government is up.” To what degree the current scandal could nonetheless taint the seven months he has left in office remains to be seen.

Black holes (BH) cannot be observed directly, but their presence can be detected by the huge amount of energy that is liberated through temporary accumulation of matter outside the BH, before it dives into the BH, a process called accretion.
 
Scientists have found the formula that can assess the spectrum emitted from the accretion discs around black holes. Spectra of accretion discs can help estimate the mass of the black hole. 
 
Accretion flow around BH is composed of ionised plasma, which is a soup of bare electrons and protons. Since electrons are more prone to radiative losses than the protons, it is expected that around a BH, electrons and protons would settle down into two separate temperature distributions. Therefore, the two-temperature equations are generally solved to obtain the emitted spectrum from the electron temperature distribution. This is known as two-temperature modeling of accretion flows.
 
Scientists from Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), investigated the nature of these two-temperature flows. 
 
The research led by Shilpa Sarkar and Indranil Chattopadhyay from ARIES along with Philippe Laurent from IRFU / Service d’ Astrophysique and Laboratoire Astroparticule et Cosmologie, which has been recently accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A), found that the number of unknown variables in the two-temperature regime exceeds the number of equations present. Hence, we get multiple solutions for the same set of constants of motion, like total energy or mass-inflow rate.
 
Looking for an unique solution, scientists have developed a new formula called the Sarkar & Chattopadhyay form of entropy formula that can only be applied near the horizon where gravity overpowers any other interactions like energy exchange terms between ions and electrons. This novel approach helped in selecting a unique solution out of the multiple solutions of accretion disc spectrum emission around a BH. Entropy is the measure of randomness in any system. In two temperature solutions, the formula for measure of entropy does not exist. This new formula allows to measure the entropy of the flow close to the black hole horizon. According to the second law of thermodynamics, nature select or prefer those processes which maximize entropy. ARIES team showed that there exists one solution for which the entropy is maximum and thereby broke the multiplicity of solutions.
 
 
Using this formula, they found that with the increase of the mass supply to the central BH, the accretion disc becomes brighter and more high energy photons are emitted. With the increase of mass of the BH, luminosity increases, and the bandwidth of the emitted spectrum, both in the high energy and low energy range, increases, but the spectral shape does not change. In other words, matter around a massive BH will produce a lot of photons in the low energy and high energy band, but around a smaller BH, it will emit predominantly in the X-rays. 
 
According to the ARIES team, this is the first time any approach of removing degeneracy from two-temperature theory has been proposed. It is necessary to obtain a correct solution, and hence a correct spectrum for any accretion flow around BH as any arbitrary choice of solution would give us a wrong picture of the system. The results could contribute in the understanding of physical processes around extreme objects like BHs.

Japan is the only country which India has an annual summit as well as 2 plus 2 dialogue "The fact, tells how much more in sync we have become in terms of how we look at the world and define our interests," said the minister. 

Addressing an event on India-Japan ties on Friday, Jaishankar said that there has been a very visible increase in economic cooperation between the two countries with an increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows from Japan.

"FDI inflows from Japan have gone up. The number of Japanese companies in India has gone up. ODA (Official development assistance) disbursements and projects which Japan is doing, that has scaled up,"

Addressing the event Japan’s Charge De Affairs in Delhi, Toshihide Ando stressed on exploring new areas of partnership between the two countries. He said that the collaboration between Japan and India is multi-faceted including a growing service sector, “Efforts should be on touching upon new frontiers including IT, 5G AI and others”.  The Japanese diplomat also said that in an increasingly uncertain world Japan-India bring about an assurance over peace, stability, and prosperity by working with other like-minded countries. 

Referring to the Covid pandemic which has expanded the sense of National Security globally EAM said “We started thinking of Health security as an aspect of National Security, but increasingly, I think people will look for Economic Security and to some degree supply chain security as integral elements.” Highlighting the global supply chain issue he said that strategic autonomy today has a meaning in terms of a resilient and trusted supply chains and this is a new version that is opening up as an area of cooperation between India and Japan.

On the business environment in India and investors comparing it with other countries in the world, EAM Jaishankar said “I think there's got to be realism, India is India, but if you take a country with completely different political-sociology and say, well I get that there, well, that's a different country. Japanese investors can't wait for the perfect investment conditions to come in."

EAM reiterated that ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ is all about manufacturing for the world, it is about creating jobs. “It is also about making ourselves a more capable player as compared to the rest of the world. India needs to have an employment-centered economy.” 

He said that in the changing times of world with the Corona pandemic every country has a right to pursue its National interest, but, he said, “Part of international relations is how do you temperate National interest with requirements of Global common good”

Report by Abhishek Jha 

The 1.9-kilometre long Kosi mega bridge has been completed at a total cost of 516 crore rupees. With the construction of the bridge the rail distance between Nirmali and Saraigarh would come down from the present 298 kilometres to 22 kilometres.

The project was completed during the COVID-pandemic where the migrant labour also participated. The dedication of this project will fulfil the 86-year old dream and the long wait of the people of the region. During the heavy flood and severe Indo-Nepal earthquake in 1934, the rail link was washed away and thereafter due to the meandering nature of river Kosi no attempt was made to restore this rail link for a long period.

The bridge connects the Mitihila and Kosi region. This  bridge is of strategic importance along the Indo-Nepal border. It would also make it easy for long distance travel to Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai for the people of the region.

The Prime Minister also flagged off a demu train from Supaul Railway Station on Saharsa-Adampur-Kupaha section.

Among the 12 other projects to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister are two new railway lines, five electrification projects, one electric locomotive shed and third line project between Barh and Bakhatiarpur.

The two new railway lines are the Hajipur-Ghoswar-Vaishali section as well as Islampur-Nateshar section and Karnauti- Bakhtiarpur by-pass rail line between Barh-Bakhtiarpur.

The railway electrification projects include Muzaffarpur- Sitamarhi sections, Katihar-New Jalpaiguri, Samastipur-Khagaria, Bhagalpur- Shivnarayanpur and Samastipur-Jaynagar sections.

Speaking on this occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said history has been created in connectivity and prosperity of Bihar after construction of historical Kosi Rail Mahasetu. PM Modi said the bridge has connected Mitihila and Kosi region. The dedication of this project has fulfilled the 86-year old dream and the long wait of the people of the region.

The project was completed during the COVID-pandemic where the migrant labour also participated. PM Modi said, 90 per cent rail line in Bihar has been electrified.

The Prime minister said, Opposition is misguiding people by protesting the Agriculture reforms Bill. PM Modi said, the new bill will truly free the farmers from middlemen and all obstacles. He said that these agrarian reforms will provide new opportunities to farmers to sell their produce, which will increase their profits.

PM Modi asserted that these legislations will empower farmers in the country and will ensure that they get the benefit of modern technology. He said that various powers are engaged in confusing the farmers regarding the provisions of the new legislation.

PM Modi assured farmers that the system of MSP and government procurement will continue as before. He exhorted that these bills will additionally fortify the farmers by giving them many more options.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, the dream of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee has been fulfilled after dedication of Kosi Rail Mahasetu. Nitish Kumar thanked PM Modi for speedy construction of setu. He demanded for extension of Hajipur-Vaishali to Supaul.
 

As a small token of gratitude, Delhi Capitals, through its digital initiative "Salaam Dilli", recognised the contribution of some frontline workers from Delhi NCR.

Inspired and humbled by the efforts of these courageous citizens, the Delhi Capitals official match jersey will bear the "Thank You COVID Warriors" message for the entire duration of this season.

On Thursday, members of the Delhi Capitals squad, including CEO Dhiraj Malhotra, Assistant Coach Mohammad Kaif, and senior players Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra, interacted with these COVID heroes through a virtual meet. On the occasion, the participants also unboxed a surprise delivery package, which comprised a letter of gratitude and personalised jerseys on behalf of the Delhi Capitals team.

Under the 'Salaam Dilli' initiative, Delhi Capitals featured the following COVID warriors from the city:

Manika Bhadwar: Fed underprivileged people through her own kitchen 

Pomilla Gupta: Ran a kitchen for stray dogs during the lockdown 

Sourav Das & Laxmi Das - Distributed home-made masks for free, installed mask vending machines in public places 

Atul Gogia - Stood at the frontline to treat COVID patients 

Niharika Dwivedi - Donated personal savings to buy air tickets for a family of migrant workers 

Amit Phogat & Ravinder Dharwal - Delhi Police constables who donated, and ran a plasma donation network

A press communique issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan today morning said, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has been assigned the charge of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries in addition to his existing portfolios.
 

US government believes a COVID-19 vaccine will be available as soon as January and the distribution plans are outlined in two documents released by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the US Department of Defence.

Trump Administration plans on delivering a ‘safe and effective’ COVID-19 vaccine to multiple sites with no cost for the providers and no out of pocket charge for the recipient.

In a statement, US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that there may be limited availability of the vaccine in the initial stages and in such an event, front line workers and essential workers will be given priority.

The statement also mentioned that while the Pentagon will be assisting in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, it will be administered by civilian health workers.

Blazars are one of the most luminous and energetic objects in the universe powered by material falling onto a supermassive black hole at the center of the host galaxy – the luminosity being because of their a jet composed of ionized matter traveling at nearly the speed of light towards an observer (the Earth). Six scientists spanning over three countries--- India, Serbia, and the USA studied some of the brightest blazers called TeV (Tera-electron Volt) blazars and found that they stand out as a semblance of stability of brightness among the blazar family in the short duration.

While their brightness varies in the long duration, they maintain their brightness levels in short duration. Blazars are among one of the most favourite astronomical transient objects, and their study could provide clues to the processes happening close to the black hole, not visible through direct imaging. The scientists, including researchers from Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, took 1741 image frames during 2013 – 2019 by using two (1.04 m and 1.3 m) telescopes, in ARIES, India and two (0.6 m and 1.4 m) telescopes in Serbia.

A detailed study of the optical flux and spectral variability of three extreme TeV (Tera-electron Volt, i.e., 10 12 eV) gamma-ray emitting blazars, namely 1ES 0229+200, 1ES 0414+009, 1ES 2344+514 was carried out by this team. In the study by Dr. Ashwani Pandey and Dr. Alok C. Gupta, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Journal, a detailed study of the flux, color and spectral index variations of the three extreme TeV blazars was carried out on diverse timescales- as short as within a day, and as well as on months to years timescales.

The study also explained the physical processes responsible for such variations. According to the team, in TeV emitting blazars, peak of spectral energy distribution lies in the UV/X- ray range. Thus in optical bands, magnetic fields and electrons energies are less, causing short term optical flux stability or low amplitude variability. Variations on months to years timescales can most likely be explained by the propagation of shocks along with the jet, due to which the electrons at the shock front get accelerated to very high energies.

These high energy electrons are then cooled via different emission processes while leaving the shock front. Other possible explanations for months to years timescale variations include a change of the magnetic field and/or change in the Doppler factor caused by either helical motion of the emitting region within the jet or wiggling of jets or helical jets. In this age of multi-wavelength (MW) time-domain astronomy in which the transient astronomical sources are of great interest due to their rapid change in flux, simultaneous MW observation of a particular transient source on an extended period of time is important for understanding the emission mechanism in different electromagnetic (EM) bands.

Reports Tapas Bhattacharya

The U.S. case count rose to 6,626,242, with the national death toll reaching 196,661 as of 19:22 Eastern Standard Time, according to the CSSE.

Since the outbreak started in the United States, the federal government has been making attempts at political meddling in scientific research and reports of public health agencies and health experts, which severely damaged the credibility of institutions including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

It was also recently reported that Michael Caputo, assistant secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has allegedly interfered in the CDC's weekly reports on COVID-19 in the past few months.

The HHS on Wednesday announced in a statement that Caputo is taking a 60-day medical leave of absence from his post, while his scientific advisor Paul Alexander would also be leaving the department.

Alexander had previously told the press team of Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, that Fauci should not promote mask-wearing by children during an MSNBC interview, according to U.S. media reports.

As the world organization commemorates it 75th anniversary this year, Guterres warned that the organization faces its own "1945 moment," noting that efforts must be made to "meet that moment."

"In this 75th anniversary year, we face our own 1945 moment. We must meet that moment," Guterres told journalists at a hybrid press conference held at the UN headquarters in New York City.

"And we must show unity like never before to overcome today's emergency, get the world moving and working and prospering again, and uphold the vision of the Charter," said the UN chief.

The UN was established after World War II with the aim of preventing future wars, succeeding the ineffective League of Nations. On April 25, 1945, 50 government representatives met in San Francisco for a conference and started drafting the UN Charter, which was adopted on June 25, 1945 and took effect on Oct 24, 1945, when the UN began operations.

Pursuant to the Charter, the organization's objectives include maintaining international peace and security, protecting human rights, delivering humanitarian aid, promoting sustainable development, and upholding international law.

At its founding, the UN had 51 member states. The membership now is 193, representing almost all of the world's sovereign states.

In Mumbai, there will be Generally cloudy sky with Light rain. The temperature is likely to hover between 26 and 32 degree Celsius. Chennai is likely to witness Generally cloudy sky with Light rain. The minimum temperature was 26 degree Celsius while the maximum is expected to be around 32 degree Celsius. Kolkata may have a Partly cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers. The minimum temperature was 28 degree Celsius while the maximum is likely to be 34 degrees.
       
On to the North, in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the minimum temperature was recorded at 25 degree Celsius in Jammu while the maximum will be around 36 degrees. The city will have mainly clear sky. In Srinagar, the temperature will hover between 12 and 30 degree celsius. The city is likely to have mainly clear sky.
         

Ladakh will also have Mainly Clear sky. The temperature may hover between 9 and 26 degree Celsius. In Gilgit, the minimum temperature was 13 degrees and the maximum will be 28 degree Celsius. The city will have a mainly clear sky.
Muzzafarabad is also likely to have Mainly Clear sky. The minimum temperature was 18 degree Celsius and the maximum is expected to be around 35 degree Celsius.
         
In Dehradun, the minimum temperature was 24 degree Celsius and the maximum will be around 33 degrees. The city is expected to have Partly cloudy sky with possibility of development of thunder lightning. Chandigarh may witness Partly cloudy sky. The temperature may hover between 27 and 36 degree Celsius.
         
In Hyderabad, the minimum temperature was 22 degree Celsius while the maximum is expected to be around 29 degree Celsius. The city will experience Generally cloudy sky with Heavy rain. The temperature in Ahmedabad is expected to hover between 27 and 34 degree Celsius. The city will have Generally cloudy sky with Light rain. Guwahati may experience a Generally cloudy sky with Light Rain or Drizzle. The minimum temperature was recorded at 26 degree Celsius while the maximum will be around 34 degrees.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin refused to give any clear-cut response to the question on disengagement by sending the troops back to their respective positions and restoring the status quo of April. Wang expressed hope that both sides will follow through the 5-point agreement reached between both the foreign ministers in Moscow. He also said China is ready to work with India to resolve the border standoff peacefully. Both the sides are working to implement the 5-point consensus after the Moscow agreement between both the foreign ministers.

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh had said, India wanted to peacefully resolve the border standoff with China and would like the Chinese side to work with India. He stated that there is no commonly delineated Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the border areas between India and China and there is no common perception of the entire LAC.

That’s the reason why India and China have many agreements and well-defined protocols in place for border and troops management and to avoid any escalation at the border. Two sides in a meeting on June 6, 2020 agreed on a process of disengagement that involved reciprocal actions.

Both sides also agreed to respect and abide by the LAC and not undertake any activity to alter the status quo. However, in violation of this the Chinese side created a violent face off on June 15th at Galwan. China has not yet responded to India’s demand of restoring the status quo ante of April 2020 when reports first came in of movement of Chinese troops and armament in Eastern Ladakh.

Report by Anshuman Mishra/ Beijing

Welfare activities are being organised across the country to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday. Bharatiya Janata Party is organising a week-long Seva Saptah to mark the occasion. Several programmes related to cleanliness, distribution of sanitation pads, wheel chairs and social service are being organized from 14th to 20th of this month across the country.

Party leaders and workers all over the country are undertaking various welfare programmes to celebrate the birthday. President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Home Minister Amit Shah and other Cabinet colleagues extend greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Prime Minister of Nepal K P Sharma Oli greets PM Narendra Modi on his birthday. In a tweet, PM Oli says, the two leaders will continue to work closely together, towards strengthening relations between the two countries.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Goyal said, despite the presence of several IT platforms for investing in India such as in departments of the central government, and state single window clearances, investors have to visit multiple platforms to gather information and obtain clearances from different stakeholders.
 
He also said the cell is being planned as a one-stop digital platform to obtain all requisite central and state clearances and approvals to start business operations in the country. Goyal said, the investment clearance cell will be a national portal that integrates the existing clearance systems of various ministries and departments of the government and of states without disrupting the existing IT portals of ministries.

Moving at an agonizing 3 mph, or about as fast as a person can walk, the storm made landfall at 4:45 a.m. local time on Wednesday close to Gulf Shores, Alabama, about 30 miles from Pensacola. It accelerated to a light jog as it battered the Pensacola and Mobile, Alabama, metropolitan areas encompassing nearly 1 million people.

It cast boats onto land or sank them at the dock, flattened palm trees, peeled away roofs, blew down signs and knocked out power to more than a half-million homes and businesses. A replica of Christopher Columbus' ship the Nina that had been docked at the Pensacola waterfront was missing, police said.

Sally tore loose a barge-mounted construction crane, which then smashed into the new Three Mile Bridge over Pensacola Bay, causing a section of the year-old span to collapse, authorities said. The storm also ripped away a large section of a fishing pier at Alabama's Gulf State Park on the very day a ribbon-cutting had been scheduled following a USD 2.4 million renovation.

By the afternoon, authorities in Escambia County, which includes Pensacola, said at least 377 people had been rescued from flooded areas. More than 40 people trapped by high water were brought to safety within a single hour, including a family of four found in a tree, Sheriff David Morgan said.

Authorities in Pensacola said 200 National Guard members would arrive Thursday to help. Officials also announced a three-day dusk-to-dawn curfew in the county, where the storm turned some Pensacola streets into white-capped rivers for a time. By early afternoon, Sally had weakened into a tropical storm, with winds down to 70 mph (110 kph), but the worst may be yet to come, with heavy rain expected into Thursday as the storm pushes inland over Alabama and into Georgia. For much of the day, it was moving at just 5 mph (7 kph), concentrating the amount of rain dropped on any one place.

Morgan estimated thousands more will need to flee rising waters in the coming days. County officials urged residents to rely on text messages for contacting family and friends to keep cellphone service open for 911 calls. “There are entire communities that we're going to have to evacuate,” the sheriff said. “It's going to be a tremendous operation over the next several days.”

West of Pensacola, power poles leaned halfway over in Perdido Key, Florida, as Joe Mirable arrived at his real estate business to find the two-story building shattered, its contents scatted on the ground. Digging through the ruins, Mirable pointed out a binder labeled “Hurricane Action Plan.” “I think the professionals got this one wrong,” he said before the wind blew away his hat.

More than 2 feet of rain (61 centimetres) was recorded near Naval Air Station Pensacola, and nearly 3 feet (1 metre) of water covered streets in downtown Pensacola, the National Weather Service reported.
“It's not common that you start measuring rainfall in feet,” said forecaster David Eversole. “Sally's moving so slowly, so it just keeps pounding and pounding and pounding the area with tropical rain and just powerful winds. It's just a nightmare.”

It was the second hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast in less than three weeks and the latest blow in one of the busiest hurricane seasons ever recorded, so frenetic that forecasters have nearly run through the alphabet of storm names with 2 1/2 months still to go. At the start of the week, Sally was one of a record-tying five storms churning simultaneously in the Atlantic, strung out like charms on a bracelet.

Like the wildfires raging on the West Coast, the onslaught of hurricanes has focused attention on climate change, which scientists say is causing slower, rainier, more powerful and more destructive storms. An emergency crew rescued two people on Dauphin Island, Alabama, after the hurricane ripped the roof off their home and the rest of the house began to crumble. “As things started to peel off and fall apart, they got scared and called for assistance,” Mayor Jeff Collier said. He said no one was injured.

In Orange Beach, Alabama, the wind blew out the walls in one corner of a condominium building, exposing the interiors of condos on at least five floors, video posted online showed. At least 50 people were rescued from flooded homes and taken to shelters, Mayor Tony Kennon said. “We got a few people that we just haven't been able to get to because the water is so high,” Kennon said. “But they are safe in their homes. As soon as the water recedes, we will rescue them.”

"The IBSA Foreign meeting attended by foreign ministers of all three members of the group adopted a joint statement on the Reform of the UN Security Council, as a common endeavour of the Global South. The Ministers emphasized the need for the international community to redouble efforts and bolster commitment to not only reform of the UN Security Council but also towards the expansion of its membership by including representation from emerging and developing countries.  
 
The representation, in both the permanent and non-permanent categories, should be for achieving a representative, inclusive, equitable, responsive, and effective UN Security Council said the joint statement. 
 
Highlighting that, while a comprehensive reform of the United Nations system remains a crucial international undertaking, on which there has been some progress, the minister reiterated that advancing the reform of the Security Council should remain an urgent and key priority.
 
The failure to reform the Security Council has serious implications for international peace and security. Significant and accelerated reform is critical to ensure that this organ is more representative, effective and responsive, and remains capable of delivering on the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, said the Joint statement.
 
Expressing dissatisfaction on the transparency and frustratingly slow pace of reforms in the Inter-Governmental Negotiations process, the three ministers insisted that the time has come to move towards a result-oriented process, with provision for substantive negotiations based on a single comprehensive text, in a formal setting.
 
The IBSA meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday was held virtually. The meeting was chaired by EAM Jaishakar and attended by his South African Counterpart Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor and Brazilian counterpart Fabio Marzano.
 
The Ministers also discussed various issues of global significance including peace, security, countering terrorism, climate change, sustainable development, multilateral trading system, disarmament, non-proliferation issues and South-South Cooperation. 
 
Further, the Ministers shared their experience on COVID-19 pandemic situation and appreciated the work done by the IBSA Fund for Alleviation of Poverty and Hunger. Brazil and South Africa also congratulate India on its successful election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the term 2021-2022.

Abhishek Jha

Apart from this the Prime Minister shall also inaugurate 12 rail projects related to passenger facilities for the benefit of the Bihar State. These include a new railway bridge on the Kiul River, two new railway lines, 5 Electrification projects, one Electric Locomotive Shed and 3rd Line Project between Barh-Bakhtiyarpur.

The dedication of the Kosi Rail Mahasetu is a watershed moment in the history of Bihar and the entire region connecting to the North East.

In 1887, a meter gauge link was built in between Nirmali and Bhaptiahi (Saraigarh). During the heavy flood and severe Indo Nepal earthquake in 1934, the rail link was washed away and thereafter due to meandering nature of river Kosi no attempt was made to restore this Rail link for long period.

The Kosi Mega Bridge line project was sanctioned by Government of India during 2003-04. The Kosi Rail Mahasetu is 1.9 KM long and its construction cost is Rs. 516 Crore. This bridge is of strategic importance along the India-Nepal border. The project was completed during the COVID-Pandemic where the migrant labour also participated in its completion.

The dedication of this project will fulfil the 86 year old dream and the long wait of the people of the region. Along with the dedication of the Mahasetu, the Prime Minister shall also be flagging off the Saharsa- Asanpur Kupha demo train from the Supaul Station. Once the regular train service begins, this would prove to be highly beneficial to the Supaul, Arariya and Saharsa districts. It would also make it easy for long distance travel to Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai for the people of the region.

The Prime Minister shall also be inaugurating two New Line projects at Hajipur-Ghoswar-Vaishali and Islampur-Nateshar. Shri Modi shall also be inaugurating the Karnauti-Bakhtiyarpur link bypass and 3rd line between Barh-Bakhiyarpur.

The Prime Minister shall also be inaugurating the Railway Electrification projects of Muzaffarpur – Sitamarhi, Katihar–New Jalpaiguri, Samastipur-Darbhanga-Jaynagar, Samastipur-Khagaria, Bhagalpur-Shivnarayanpur Sections.

The Lt Governor made an impromptu visit to block Khanmoh of the district in connection with the 21-days long Jan Abhiyan/ Awami Muhim, which is being held as a prelude to the flagship Back to Village-3 programme throughout Jammu & Kashmir. During the tour, he inspected the proceedings of the administration’s efforts in providing door-step governance to the public.

He also interacted with the locals availing benefits of the program as well as the field staff of departments, enquiring about the progress on beneficiary oriented schemes in the block and the steps being taken for reaching out to the deserving and needy people by ensuring universal coverage of beneficiaries under various Social Assistance and Welfare schemes.

Deputy Commissioner Srinagar briefed the Lt Governor about the coverage of beneficiaries under various schemes in the block, road development works, interventions in the education & health sector, and about public demands related to water supply and sports.

Interacting with the public, the Lt Governor underscored the commitment of the government for ensuring participatory planning and empowering the people by providing opportunities for the articulation of their demands and issues. He assured the people that all their issues shall be considered and addressed on merit. ‘Government officials have been directed to attend weekly programme to help the PRIs and the local public for formulation of plans, working out solutions for local issues, judicious use of financial resources for best possible outcomes on the developmental and socio-economic landscape’, he remarked.

The Lt Governor observed that under the Jan Abhiyan/ Awami Muhim, Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police shall conduct weekly public hearings in their offices every day except Wednesdays and Sundays, 10.30 am to 11.30 am, and advised the public to project their issues and demands. Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police and senior district officers shall personally visit each sub-divisional headquarters every Wednesday during the Jan Abhiyan/Awami Muhim period and hear public grievances.

He further stressed upon them to address public grievances religiously and visit all subdivisions on a rotational basis for a larger reach of the Jan Abhiyan. ‘Once the system is established thoroughly, the initiative shall be extended up to the block/tehsil headquarter level’, announced the Lt Governor.

Later, responding to the public demands the Lt Governor stated that his vision for development is based on realistic planning backed by financial and technical aspects; and he encourages actual developmental initiatives instead of mere announcements. He directed Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar to submit proposals on demands projected by the locals including up-gradation of hospital and schools, sports grounds, water supply schemes, road development, and other demands. He further asked the Deputy Commissioner for clearing the bottlenecks and expedite the process for the establishment of Degree College.

The Lt Governor reiterated that all panchayats of the UT are free to utilize funds under 14 FC, MGNREGA, and the additional amo

unt of Rs 10 lakh according to the needs and demands of the local population. He stressed on cleanliness and hygiene in villages and directed for dovetailing of funds under 14th FC, MGNREGA, and B2V for local interventions in both creation of infrastructure and working out labour component for manpower to ensure this. He also called for prioritizing the procurement of transformers under B2V funds for the creation of buffer stock to ensure timely replacement of transformers in case of damage.

Addressing the youth, the Lt Governor announced that a number of initiatives have been launched and many others are in pipeline for their overall development. He said that the government is committed to provide the requisite handholding to the youth and measures for skill development are already in offing. He announced that an online career counseling platform has been launched on a pilot basis in district Ganderbal and Udhampur for students, which aims to provide career education guidance to the students at an early stage of their studies to choose an appropriate academic and career options.

Similarly, the Lt Governor informed the public about the establishment of two Centers for Invention, Innovation, Incubation & Training (CIIITs) in Jammu & Kashmir in collaboration with Tata Technologies. The two centers are being built at Government Polytechnic College, Jammu and Government Polytechnic College, Baramulla and shall be established at a cost of approximately Rs 360 crores, which are aimed at bringing qualitative improvements in the field of technical education and to create a learning environment for training manpower to cater to the industry requirements in J&K and outside.

‘The District Development Plan shall be based on the ground assessment made with feedback of the local populace and the officers of the administration would act as facilitators in the overall developmental processes’, assured the Lt Governor.

The Lt Governor said that under a comprehensive approach adopted by the UT administration, all roads from UT headquarters to District headquarters and from District headquarters to Block/Tehsil headquarters shall be made pothole-free in the first phase.

The Lt Governor stressed that people should not face any difficulty in accessing the services of the government. The Lt Governor also called for saturation of individual beneficiaries of all Centrally Sponsored Social Assistance and Welfare schemes on a mission mode.

Later, the Lt Governor also handed over various certificates and sanction letters to beneficiaries under different departmental schemes as a token of service delivery to be ensured by the Government in such camps regularly.

During the tour, the Lt Governor was accompanied by Advisor, Sh Baseer Ahmad Khan; Principal Secretary Information Department & PDD; Sh Rohit Kansal and Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, and other senior officers.

Representing India, Union Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar, congratulated the Saudi Presidency for exemplary work in bringing together the nations of the world to address the urgent environmental challenges and propose impactful solution.  He also shared the efforts made by India towards achieving land degradation neutrality, and towards attainment of global goals of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Prakash  Javadekar said, India is committed to work with G20 nations for a better world. He said, India is blessed with vast bio-diversity and ecosystem.

Union Minister Prakash Javedkar elaborated on efforts made by India for protection of environment, forests and wildlife as well as for combating pollution, coral reef management and climate change. The Minister highlighted the efforts made by National Coastal Mission Programme under which government has taken several steps to protect coral reefs in the country. He said that India is walking the talk on Paris Agreement and its Climate commitments. Javadekar said, India has taken significant steps to protect environment and forest and wildlife as well as combating pollution and climate change. 

Union Minister applauded the launch of Global Initiative to Reduce Land Degradation and Coral Reef program at the G20 Environment Ministers meeting.As the world is arising out of the Global pandemic of Covid-19, Union Minister Prakash Javedkar at the Environment Ministers Meeting  committed to scale up the efforts in addressing the environmental challenges at all levels and to urgently take concrete actions to conserve and restore the environment.

- Tapas Bhattacharya’s report

Government has allowed the sale of fifty percent of the tickets on intercity trains online while the rest of the tickets are to be sold on the stations. No standing ticket will be issued. Prior to this, only 50 percent of the seats on the trains were allowed to be occupied by passengers in order to maintain social distancing. 

In the meanwhile, Bangladesh reported 21 deaths and 1615 new cases of Corona infection in the country on Wednesday. According to the latest figures released by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) till Wednesday, 4823 people have died due to Corona in the country. The number of people infected by the virus  stands at  3.42 lakh after testing 17.70 lakh people.

Even though the sample to infection ratio has been above 19 percent in the country, the number of active cases has been declining. The number of recoveries in the last few weeks has consistently been above the number of new cases bridging down the total number of active cases in the country to 89,879. The recovery rate in Bangladesh has gone up to 72.36 percent. 

Adding to the number of high profile cases in Bangladesh, the state Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury has been diagnosed with Coronavirus infection.

- Rajesh Jha/Dhaka

"According to the results, our house has decided to name Yoshihide Suga prime minister," lower house speaker Tadamori Oshima told parliament after the votes were counted.

Suga, 71, won an easy victory, taking 314 votes of 462 valid ballots cast in the lower house of parliament, where his ruling Liberal Democratic Party holds a commanding majority with its coalition partner.

He bowed deeply as lawmakers applauded following the announcement, but made no immediate comment.

He is expected to announce his cabinet later Wednesday, with local media reporting he will retain a number of ministers from Abe's government.

Suga has said he will prioritise keeping coronavirus infections under control and kickstarting Japan's economy, and has promised to continue Abe's key policy programmes.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has congratulated Excellency Yoshihide Suga on the appointment as Prime Minister of Japan. In a tweet, the Prime Minister said, "Heartiest congratulations to Excellency Yoshihide Suga on the appointment as Prime Minister of Japan. I look forward to jointly taking our Special Strategic and Global Partnership to new heights."

She was formerly a member of parliament and also served as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Education, where she was responsible for the establishment of a large number of national institutions of higher education.

She served as the founding director of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. She was former President of India International Centre (IIC) and an IIC Life Trustee and the Chairperson of the IIC International Research Division. She was 91.

- Jyotika Grover

Sources said that during his visit which lasted a few hours only, he called on External Affairs Minister S Jaishakar in the presence of National security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla. During the meeting, Khalilzad briefed the Indian side about the US assessment of the ongoing Intra Afghan Negotiation and shared the US perspective on the Afghan peace. The two sides discussed future steps and possible cooperation between India and the US in furthering the Afghan peace process.
 
EAM Jaishankar had participated in the inaugural session of the intra-Afghan negotiations held in Doha on 12 September via video conferencing. During his address, EAM had conveyed that India’s policy on Afghanistan had been consistent. India believes any peace process must be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled, has to respect the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and preserve the progress made in the establishment of a democratic Islamic Republic in Afghanistan. He also underlined that the interests of minorities, women, and vulnerable sections of society must be preserved and the issue of violence across the country and its neighbourhood has to be effectively addressed.

The US interlocutor’s Delhi visit precedes his meeting with senior leaders and officials of the Pakistan government in Islamabad on Monday.

During his interaction in Delhi Khalilzad appreciated India’s participation in the Intra-Afghan Negotiations. The two sides also deliberated upon how to promote regional and international cooperation with regard to Afghanistan. India has always maintained that it will continue its support for strengthening peace, security, unity, democratic and inclusive polity, and protection of rights of all sections of the Afghan society. India enjoys goodwill among all factions of Afghanistan and has been actively engaged in the development and humanitarian work in the strife-torn nation. India is one of the largest development partners of Afghanistan, with a commitment of more than US $ 3 billion, and over 400 projects have been completed in all the 34 provinces of Afghanistan with Indian assistance.

Today’s discussions of Khalilzad with senior Indian leaders are a reflection of the India-US strategic partnership which provides for close consultations between the two countries on bilateral, regional, and international issues of mutual interest.
 
The formal negotiations between the Afghan Government and the Taliban have begun on Monday. The talks are happening to negotiate a power-sharing arrangement between the warring factions to eventfully put an end to decades of war. Apart from the US, Afghanistan, the Taliban, and Qatar which is hosting the talks, the discussions over the weekend were also attended by representatives from India, Pakistan, Russia, Germany, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Norway, and the United Nations.

Report by Abhishek Jha