India slams Pakistan for persecuting Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities

India described Pakistan as an epicenter of terrorism and said no one deserves unsolicited lecture on human rights from Islamabad

India on Tuesday described Pakistan as an epicenter of terrorism and said no one deserves unsolicited lecture on human rights from Islamabad that has consistently persecuted its ethnic and religious minorities including Hindus, Sikhs and Christians Exercising the Right of Reply to the statements made by Pakistan at the 45th session of Human Rights Council (HRC) here, the Indian representative said that it has become habitual for Pakistan to malign India with false and fabricated narratives for its self-serving malicious purposes.

“Neither India nor others deserve this unsolicited lecture on human rights from a country that has consistently persecuted its ethnic and religious minorities, is an epicenter of terrorism, has the distinction of providing pensions to individuals on UN Sanctions list and has a Prime Minister who proudly admits training tens of thousands of terrorists to fight in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian diplomat said.

The diplomat said that it was not surprising that other relevant multilateral institutions have been raising serious concerns on Pakistan’s failure to stop terror financing and lack of effective actions against all terror entities in Pakistan. Highlighting the nefarious designs of Pakistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the diplomat said, “the mass influx of outsiders has whittled down the number of Kashmiris to an insignificant number in Pakistan occupied parts of Indian Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Laddakh…

US overtakes China with 82,000 Covid-19 cases; toll crosses 2,000 in Iran

It is, however, important to note that the US has been testing people at a much larger scale, when compared with other countries that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic

United States has now surpassed China in the number of Covid-19 cases around the world, with at least 82,404 people are known to have been infected with the deadly coronavirus, the Johns Hopkins University real-time Covid-19 tracker said on Thursday. It is, however, important to note that the US has been testing people at a much larger scale, when compared with other countries that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We now have 370,000 tests that have been done. The majority of those — over 220,000 in the last eight days, which, those of you who have been tracking the South Korea numbers, put us equivalent to what they did in eight weeks that we did in eight days,” Dr Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, told reporters on Thursday. Although the US has surpassed China’s 81,782 mark, the Covid-19-related death toll in the country is still lower than China, with 1,178 Americans having died as opposed to the 3,291 Chinese fatalities. At least 160 million Americans have been ordered to stay home as schools are closed, restaurants and bars have been closed in hope of the curtail spread of the lethal virus, The New York Times reported.

New York City is among the worst-hit cities as the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the city has reached 38,000 and 281 have died. On Wednesday, US Senate leaders and Trump Administration had reached an agreement regarding a $2 trillion package to rescue the economy from the coronavirus wrath, paving the way for swift passage of the legislation from both the chambers of Congress. Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus-related deaths worldwide exceeded 20,000, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)

US overtakes China with 82,000 Covid-19 cases; toll crosses 2,000 in Iran

It is, however, important to note that the US has been testing people at a much larger scale, when compared with other countries that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic

United States has now surpassed China in the number of Covid-19 cases around the world, with at least 82,404 people are known to have been infected with the deadly coronavirus, the Johns Hopkins University real-time Covid-19 tracker said on Thursday. It is, however, important to note that the US has been testing people at a much larger scale, when compared with other countries that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We now have 370,000 tests that have been done. The majority of those — over 220,000 in the last eight days, which, those of you who have been tracking the South Korea numbers, put us equivalent to what they did in eight weeks that we did in eight days,” Dr Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, told reporters on Thursday. Although the US has surpassed China’s 81,782 mark, the Covid-19-related death toll in the country is still lower than China, with 1,178 Americans having died as opposed to the 3,291 Chinese fatalities. At least 160 million Americans have been ordered to stay home as schools are closed, restaurants and bars have been closed in hope of the curtail spread of the lethal virus, The New York Times reported.

New York City is among the worst-hit cities as the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the city has reached 38,000 and 281 have died. On Wednesday, US Senate leaders and Trump Administration had reached an agreement regarding a $2 trillion package to rescue the economy from the coronavirus wrath, paving the way for swift passage of the legislation from both the chambers of Congress. Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus-related deaths worldwide exceeded 20,000, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)

MMTC signs second onion import order, to buy 11,000 tonnes from Turkey

The company had placed an order for the first consignment of 6,090 tonnes of onion from Egypt

State-owned trading firm MMTC, which is importing onion on the behalf of the Centre, has placed an order of 11,000 tonnes of edible bulb from Turkey as part of its efforts to boost domestic supply and ease soaring prices, sources said. This is the second import order placed by the MMTC. The public sector firm is already importing 6,090 tonnes from Egypt.

Last month, the Union Cabinet approved importing 120,000 tonnes of onion to improve the domestic supply and control prices that have skyrocketed to Rs 75-120 per kg across major cities now. The Centre has already banned exports and imposed stockholding limit on wholesalers and retailers for indefinite period.

According to sources, MMTC has contracted 11,000 tonnes of onion imports from Turkey and the consignments are expected in January next year. The company had placed an order for the first consignment of 6,090 tonnes of onion from Egypt which will be arriving at Nhava Sheva (JNPT), Mumbai in the second week of this month. The imported onion is being offered to state governments for distribution at the rate of Rs 52-55 per kg ex-Mumbai and Rs 60 per kg ex-Delhi.

To monitor onion prices, a Group of Ministers, chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah, has already been constituted. Finance minister, consumer affairs minister, agriculture minister and road transport minister are also members of this panel. A Committee of Secretaries (CoS) and Consumer Affairs Secretary Avinash K Srivastava is also constantly reviewing the situation…

China to remove business restrictions on foreign banks, brokers: Report

China has stepped up efforts to open its financial sector amid a festering trade war with the United States, with increased access to its financial sector among a host of demands from Washington

International News: China will remove business restrictions on foreign banks, brokerages and fund management firms, a cabinet meeting chaired by premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday said, according to state television.

China has stepped up efforts to open its financial sector amid a festering trade war with the United States, with increased access to its financial sector among a host of demands from Washington. The country caught traders off-guard with a surprise injection into the financial system via loans to banks, ahead of data on Friday which is expected to show a further slowdown in the domestic economy.

The People’s Bank of China added 200 billion yuan ($28 billion) of one-year cash through the medium-term lending facility. It kept the interest rate steady. The economy has been under pressure amid a prolonged trade dispute with the US and a slowing domestic economy, prompting the central bank to ease monetary policy by lowering corporate borrowing costs and cutting banks’ reserve ratios this year. Data released this week showed that China’s factory deflation deepened and imports and exports fell last month…