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Patna, Sep 3 (IANS) Firebrand Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister, Giriraj Singh has demanded a survey of madrasas and mosques in Bihar similar to that in Uttar Pradesh.

"We demanded from the Nitish Kumar government to conduct survey on the madrasas and mosques of Bihar, especially in Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region. We must have data about who are running madrasas and mosques in these regions and who are staying in them," Singh said.

"The Yogi Adityanath government has taken the right decision and is conducting the survey of madrasas and mosques in Uttar Pradesh. We need the approach in Bihar as well to check at least those who are taking shelters in madrasas and mosques," the Union MInister added.

Seemanchal region of Bihar is considered Muslim dominant area of Bihar where more than 60 per cent population belongs to Muslim community. Moreover, a large number of Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals are also residing there illegally.

--IANS
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Gandhinagar, Sep 2 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday made five "key promises" to farmers in Gujarat while addressing a rally at Dwarka town in the state's Saurashtra region.

He said if the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is voted to power, his government will procure wheat, rice, cotton, groundnut etc. at the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

The other promises include waiving farm loans, re-conducting the survey of agricultural land earlier conducted by the BJP government which will be scrapped and re-survey will be hold.

The AAP leader has promised to give power supply during day time for 12 continuous hours apart from giving assistance -- if crop fails -- Rs 20,000 per acre.

"Narmada projects field canals will be completed in entire Narmada command area," he said.

The Delhi Chief Minister has reiterated to give stipend to unemployed youth and will create 10 lakh government jobs in one year. The AAP leader has appealed to give his party one chance in Gujarat.

--IANS
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Sharjah, Sep 2 (IANS) Spin twins, leg-spinner Shadab Khan and left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz shared seven wickets between themselves as Pakistan thrashed Hong Kong by 155 runs in the final Group A match of Asia Cup 2022 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.

After sparkling knocks from Mohammad Rizwan (78 not out), Fakhar Zaman (53) and Khushdil Shah (35 not out) carried Pakistan to a daunting 193/2, Hong Kong were blown away by pacers and spinners to be bundled out for 38, giving the Babar Azam-led side their biggest-ever win by runs in T20Is.

The win also means that Pakistan qualify for the Super Four stage from Group A while Hong Kong crashed out of the competition. It also sets up another India-Pakistan showdown in the Super Four match in Dubai on Sunday, exactly a week after meeting in the first Group A match of the tournament.

Nizakat Khan began well by crunching a drive square of the wicket off Shahnawaz Dahani. But Naseem Shah took him out in the next over, chipping straight to cover. Four balls later, Shah castled Babar Hayat for a four-ball duck. More trouble followed for Hong Kong as Dahani bounced out Yasim Murtaza and mid-on ran forward to complete a low catch.

From there, Shadab and Nawaz took over to totally dismantle Hong Kong's challenge with the bat. Shadab bamboozled with his googly, taking out Aizaz Khan and Haroon Arshad. Nawaz, on the other hand, took out Kinchit Shah, Scott McKechnie and Zeeshan Ali.

Post drinks break, Shadab's wrong'un castled Ayush Shukla and then trapped Mohammad Ghazanfar lbw to complete a resounding thrashing of Hong Kong at the hands of Pakistan.

Brief scores: Pakistan 193/2 in 20 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 78 not out, Fakhar Zaman 53; Ehsan Khan 2-28) against Hong Kong 38 all out in 10.4 overs (Nizakat Khan 8, Shadab Khan 4-8, Mohammad Nawaz 3-5) by 155 runs

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Twitter, which is locked in a legal battle with the Indian government over content blocking orders, banned 45,191 accounts of the Indian users in the month of July over violation of its guidelines, the microblogging platform said in its monthly compliance report on Friday.

Twitter suspended 42,825 accounts for promoting child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and similar content in India, while blocking another 2,366 accounts for promoting terrorism, it said in its monthly compliance report as per the new IT Rules, 2021.

The microblogging platform received 874 grievances in the country through its local grievance mechanism between June 26-July 25, and took action on 70 complaints.

In June, Twitter had banned more than 43,140 accounts of the Indian users.

"While we welcome everyone to express themselves on our platform, we do not tolerate behaviour that harasses, threatens, dehumanises, or uses fear to silence the voices of others," Twitter said in the report.

Under the new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media platforms, with more than 5 million users, have to publish monthly compliance reports.

Twitter receives complaints in its Grievance Officer-India channel that relate to account verification, account access, or seeking assistance or information regarding an account or Twitter's enforcement actions.

In addition, Twitter processed 124 grievances which were appealing account suspensions.

"These were all resolved and the appropriate responses were sent. We overturned none of these account suspensions after reviewing the specifics of the situation," said the company.

The compliance report came as whistleblower Peiter Zatko, former head of security at Twitter, alleged that the Indian government forced the platform to "hire a government agent on its payroll" and "grant access to sensitive user data", a claim which has been dismissed by Twitter.

In May, Twitter moved the Karnataka High Court against the Indian government's order to take down some content on its platform.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Noting the "shocking data" of decreasing water quality in Yamuna river, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has said it shows "utter lack of adequate action" and monitoring by higher authorities of Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

The green court made the remark while dealing with a plea against pollution of Yamuna.

"Delhi has many areas that don't have a proper sewer network. Over 20 per cent of the population is yet to get a proper sewer network. Moreover, over 80 per cent of the sewage treatment plants (STP) don't meet the standards," the plea pointed out referring a DPCC official.

The greivance also highlighted a media report published in January which mentioned that the pollution in Yamuna has worsened with the faecal bacteria level being at a record high of 14 times than what existed three months ago.

In the order recently passed by NGT chairperson Adarsh Kumar, it was noted that unfortunately the authorities concerned did not consider the sensitivity of the matter.

Noting that the grim situation, the tribunal directed the Chief Secretary of Delhi to ascertain latest factual position and submit his report via mail within two months with explanation as to why coercive and penal measures be not taken in terms of fixing accountability for such blatant failure of the authorities in protecting the water quality of the Yamuna.

It may also be necessary to seek similar reports from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The reports of Chief Secretaries may be in a consolidated manner in the light of inter-departmental review and ground realities, the court said.

"It remains a matter of concern that authorities should not be able to maintain river flowing in the Capital of India clean inspite of clear roadmap Afor its rejuvenation and clear directions of Tribunal," the order said.

"How the continuing loss to environment and public health should be ignored is beyond anyone's comprehension. It is shocking to note the data relating to water quality of Yamuna and the pollution load posted by DPCC on its website depicting that drains remain un-trapped even after a year of the last order. This shows utter lack of adequate action and monitoring by higher authorities," the order read.

Further the green court asked Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to review the situation at higher levels and take remedial action and also sought the earlier-appointed Central Monitoring Committee to file its latest status report.

--IANS
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New York, Sep 2 (IANS) For the first time, astronomers have used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to take a direct image of a planet outside our solar system.

The exoplanet called 'HIP 65426 b' is a gas giant, meaning it has no rocky surface and could not be habitable.

The exoplanet is about six to 12 times the mass of Jupiter, and these observations could help narrow that down even further.

It is young, about 15 to 20 million years old, compared to our 4.5-billion-year-old Earth.

"This is a transformative moment, not only for Webb but also for astronomy generally," said Sasha Hinkley, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Exeter in the UK.

The image, as seen through four different light filters, shows how Webb's powerful infrared gaze can easily capture worlds beyond our solar system, pointing the way to future observations that will reveal more information than ever before about exoplanets, the space agency said in a statement.

This image shows the exoplanet 'HIP 65426 b' in different bands of infrared light.

A set of masks within each instrument, called a coronagraph, blocks out the host star's light so that the planet can be seen.

Astronomers discovered the planet in 2017 using the SPHERE instrument on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile and took images of it using short infrared wavelengths of light.

Webb's view, at longer infrared wavelengths, reveals new details that ground-based telescopes would not be able to detect because of the intrinsic infrared glow of Earth's atmosphere.

Since 'HIP 65426 b' is about 100 times farther from its host star than Earth is from the Sun, it is sufficiently distant from the star that Webb can easily separate the planet from the star in the image.

"It was really impressive how well the Webb coronagraphs worked to suppress the light of the host star," Hinkley said.

Taking direct images of exoplanets is challenging because stars are so much brighter than planets.

The 'HIP 65426 b' planet is more than 10,000 times fainter than its host star in the near-infrared, and a few thousand times fainter in the mid-infrared.

"Obtaining this image felt like digging for space treasure," said Aarynn Carter, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

In July, James Webb Space Telescope produced the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) The Congress on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to acknowledge the efforts of previous governments in building INS Vikrant -- India's first Indigenous aircraft.

"India's 1st indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant commissioned today is a collective effort of all govts since 1999. Will PM acknowledge? Let's also recall original INS Vikrant that served us well in 1971 war. Much reviled Krishna Menon played a key role in getting it from UK," veteran Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted.

The aircraft carrier keel was laid in 2009 during UPA government and was launched during that period, he Congress said.

Prime Minister Modi commissioned the fully indigenous developed aircraft carrier INS Vikrant this morning. After unveiling the aircraft carrier, the Prime Minister said India has joined the select club of nations who have developed indigenous aircraft carrier.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minster said: "INS Vikrant a floating airfield, a floating town and the power generated in it can light up 5,000 houses, while the cables can run to Kashi from Kochi."

He that its deck is up to the size of two football fields and its the example of government aim to make India self reliant in defence sector.

Though the security of Indo-Pacific region is our priority, but in the past it was ignored, he said.

Unveiling the new flag of the Navy, the PM said: "Indian Naval flags carried a sign of slavery which has been replaced with a new one inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj."

The new Naval Ensign that draws inspiration from the seal of great Indian emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, depicts steadfastness, while the octagonal shape represents the 8 directions symbolizing multi-directional reach of the navy, Prime Minister Modi said.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will be meeting his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister is reaching Kerala to participate in the South Indian Chief Ministers' conference, also being attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The discussions between the two Chief Ministers will be mainly centred around Siruvani and Mullaperiyar water sharing issues.

Located inside deep forests in Palakkad district of Kerala, the Siruvani dam is a major source of drinking water for the people of Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu.

Notably, after the 2019 floods in Kerala, the state water resources department has been maintaining water levels below the Full Reservoir Level (FRL). The Kerala irrigation department has been maintaining the water level of Siruvani dam at 44 ft since 2019 instead of 49.5 ft which is the water level agreed between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Lowering of water level by five feet will lead to a shortage of 122.05 mcft (million cubic feet) which is 19 per cent of the storage capacity of the dam.

The Water level in Siruvani dam has gone up following incessant rains in the catchment areas of the dam and on Thursday the water level touched 43.5 ft and Coimbatore receives 101.4 MLD of water from Siruvani. However once the water level touches 44 ft, the water will be discharged.

Sources in the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department told IANS that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister will take this matter up with his Kerala counterpart and try to convince him of the necessity of maintaining the FRL of Siruvani dam so that drinking water for Coimbatore is not affected.

Mullaperiyar dam issue which is again a contentious one between Kerala and Tamil Nadu will also come for discussion during the meeting between the two Chief Ministers.

--IANS
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Chitradurga (Karnataka), Sep 2 (IANS) Lingayat seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru who has been arrested for sexually assaulting minor girls, was on Friday shifted from the jail to a hospital in Karnataka's Chitradurga district after developing chest pain and breathlessness.

Police sources said that the accused seer who was lodged in prison following his arrest on Thursday night, collapsed complaining of chest pain and breathlessness.

He is presently being treated at the emergency ward of the hospital, where doctors are conducting ECG, echo tests and chest scan.

The sources added that he might be shifted to the Jayadeva hospital or the Apollo hospital in Bengaluru for additional treatment.

They further said that due to the development, the investigation might be hampered as they were preparing to take him into custody.

The seer is facing charges under the Prevention of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. He is alleged raping girls aged 15 and 16, with help of a lady warden, junior pontiff and other staff.

Earlier in the day, a district and sessions court sent him to a 14-day judicial custody.

--IANS
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Beijing, Sep 2 (IANS) More than 21 million people are under a Covid lockdown in Chengdu after a fresh outbreak was detected in the Chinese city, the media reported.

On Thursday, Chengdu, the capital of the southern Sichuan province, reported 157 new Covid-19 cases, including 51 asymptomatic, the BBC reported.

The lockdown came into effect on Thursday, with residents being asked to remain indoors while just one person per household has been allowed to step out for essential shopping.

Authorities have also imposed a ban on people leaving or entering the city as health officials have termed the current situation as "extremely complex and severe" and blamed the outbreak on mass gatherings.

Mass testing will begin in the coming days, the BBC said but added that there was no immediate information on when the lockdown will end.

This latest development is in line with China's "zero Covid policy" require cities to enter strict lockdowns, even if just a handful of cases are reported.

In March, China imposed its largest lockdown in Shanghai which lasted for two months and led to widespread reports of food shortages and poor living conditions in quarantine centres, the BBC reported.

Wuhan, the city where the virus originated in late 2019, went into a lockdown in July after the discovery of four positive cases.

Other restrictions currently in force elsewhere in China include Shenzhen in the south and Dalian in the north-east.

Although the Covid pandemic originated in China, the country so far has reported a total of 243,822 cases and 5,226 deaths, way less than the worst-hit countries like the US, Brazil and India.

--IANS
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