International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach paid a courtesy call in Tokyo on Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for the first time after arriving in the Japanese capital ahead of the Games, starting July 23. The meeting came on the day when Tokyo reported its highest number of Covid-19 cases in almost six months.

As the capital city is battling with rising infections, both IOC president Bach and Prime Minister Suiga assured that the Olympics will be “safe and secure”. Notably, the Japanese government imposed a Covid-19 state of emergency which will extend beyond the duration of the Games in Tokyo.

TOKYO 2020: FULL COVERAGE

Tokyo reported 1,149 new cases on Wednesday. This was the highest since 1,184 were reported almost six months ago on Jan. 22. It also marked the 25th straight day that cases were higher than they were a week earlier.

Absolutely necessary all participants take appropriate actions: PM

Suga asked Bach to ensure that the Olympics will be safe, particularly for the Japanese public, of which fewer than 20 per cent are fully vaccinated.

“To gain the understanding of our people, and also for the success of the Tokyo 2020 Games, it is absolutely necessary that all participants take appropriate actions and measures including countermeasures against the pandemic,” Suga told Bach.

“As the host of the games, I do hope that the IOC will make the efforts so that all athletes and stakeholders will fully comply with these measures.”

We do not bring any risks to Japanese people: IOC boss

Bach replied: “We’d like to reaffirm all our commitment on the side of the Olympic community to do everything, that we do not bring any risks to the Japanese people.”

Bach told Suga that 85 per cent of the athletes and officials living in the Olympic Village on Tokyo Bay will be fully vaccinated. He said almost 100 per cent of IOC members and IOC staff were “vaccinated or immune.”

The IOC also says between 70-80 per cent of international medical representatives were vaccinated.

The IOC and Tokyo organisers last week banned fans from all venues in Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures. A few outlying venues will allow some spectators, and fans from abroad were banned month ago.

About 11,000 athletes and tens of thousands of others will enter Japan for the Olympics. The Paralympics will add about 4,400 more athletes.

Japan has attributed about 15,000 deaths to COVID-19, a number low by many standards but not as good as most of its Asian neighbors.

Bach arrived in Tokyo last week and spent the first three days self-isolating in the five-star hotel that the IOC uses for its headquarters in Tokyo.

The IOC is pushing ahead with the Olympics, despite opposition in much of the Japanese medical community, partly because it is dependent for almost 75 per cent of its income on the sale of broadcasting rights. (With AP Inputs).

New Delhi: A Christian group has taken objection to the title of a book written by actress Kareena Kapoor Khan and filed a police complaint in Beed city of Maharashtra against her and two others on Wednesday, accusing them of hurting religious sentiments of the community, an official said.

Alpha Omega Christian Mahasangh president Ashish Shinde submitted the complaint at the Shivaji Nagar Police Station in Beed over the book, which has a second author. In the complaint, Shinde has referred to the title of the book, “Pregnancy Bible”, authored by Kareena Kapoor and Aditi Shah Bhimjani, and publised by Juggernaut Books.

The holy word ‘Bible’ has been used in the book’s title and this has hurt religious sentiments of Christians, he has said. Shinde has sought registration of a case under IPC section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) against the actress and the two others. A police official confirmed receiving the complaint, but said no FIR has been filed.

Shivaji Nagar Police Station in-charge Inspector Sainath Thombre told PTI,”We have received the complaint but no case can be registered here as the incident has not happened here (in Beed). I have advised him to file a complaint in Mumbai.” Kareena launched her book on July 9.

Calling it her third child, the 40-year-old actress, who gave birth to her second child, a boy, in February this year, shared a series of posts to promote the book on social media. According to the actress, the book is a personal account of what she experienced physically and emotionally through both her pregnancies. 

New Delhi: More than 1.2 crore central employees and pensioners have been waiting for the restoration of increased Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for a long time. However, the wait is finally over, as the Central government has reportedly decided to restore the increase in the allowance in a cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (July 14). 

Central government employees currently get a dearness allowance at the rate of 17 per cent. However, employees will now get a DA at 28 per cent of their basic pay.

How to calculate DA hike? 

The central government had earlier increased the dearness allowance by 4 per cent in January 2020, 3 per cent in June 2020 and 4 per cent in January 2021. According to the calculations, the total hike will become 28 per cent (17+4 +3+4). 

So, if an employee earns Rs 20,000 basic salary per month, his or her salary will increase by 11 per cent, which will be a hike of Rs 2200. You can similarly calculate your salary hike based on your basic pay.  

No decision on July 2021 DA hike

The Ministry of Labor has previously stated the figures of the All India Consumer Price Index for May 2021. The index for May 2021 increased by 0.5 points, taking it to 120.6. For those uninitiated, the index needs to be above the 130 mark for DA to increase by 4 per cent. The data for June is currently awaited. Also Read: Wholesale inflation eases to 12.07% in June as food, crude prices soften

If you add the speculated hike of 3 per cent in July 2021, then the total DA will stand at around 31 per cent of your basic salary. However, the government is yet to take a final decision on the DA hike for the month of July. Also Read: Wait is over! Revolt RV400 bookings re-open on July 15, here’s how to book yours

New Delhi: The Kerala Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC), or Class 10, exam results was announced on Wednesday (July 14) and it recorded an all-time high pass percentage. Over 4.2 lakh students had appeared for the class 10 board exams. This is the best-ever-result in history for the state.

As many as 99.47 per cent of students who appeared for the exam, held in the second week of April have cleared it. Last year the pass percentage was 98.8 per cent. The increase in pass percentage this time over the last year is 0.65. 

Making the announcement, Education Minister V Sivankutty said the impressive results reflected the resilience and hard work of students, teachers, and parents. 

Not only had Kerala held exams but it also carried on the evaluation process amid strict precautions. For SSLC 2021 results, over 12,000 teachers were involved. 

The number of students to get A+ grades or more than 90 per cent has also increased this year. A total of 1,21,318 students scored A + in all subjects. This is a rise from 2020 when 41,906 students got an A + in all subjects.

Due to COVID-19, the state board had restricted the portions to focus areas alone and students were given choice to attempt questions worth 40 marks from a set of questions worth 80 marks.

Kannur district recorded the highest pass percentage with 99.85 per cent of students becoming eligible for higher studies. Wayanad district that recorded the least pass percentage too has a whopping 98.14 per cent.

The record pass percentage is likely to lead to a heavy shortage of Plus One seats. The minister however said the government would make all arrangements so that all those who wish to pursue higher studies will get Plus One seat.

Owing to the pandemic, schools were not physically open during the 2020-21 academic year. Recorded classes telecast via education television channel Victers was the only option given to students.

भाजपा शासित उत्तर प्रदेश और असम द्वारा प्रस्तावित जनसंख्या नियंत्रण कानून का समर्थन करते हुए राजस्थान कांग्रेस सरकार के एक मंत्री ने कहा कि यह है कि भारत अपनी जनसंख्या को नियंत्रित करने के बारे में सोचना शुरू कर देता है।

एएनआई से बात करते हुए, राजस्थान के स्वास्थ्य मंत्री रघु शर्मा ने कहा, “बढ़ती जनसंख्या एक समस्या है। देश को इसे नियंत्रित करने के बारे में सोचना होगा ताकि आने वाली पीढ़ी बेहतर जीवन जी सके। यह ‘हम दो, हमारे एक’ (हम दोनों और एक बच्चा) का समय है।”

हालांकि, उन्होंने स्पष्ट किया कि उनके विचार पूरी तरह से व्यक्तिगत थे और प्रस्तावित विधेयक पर राजस्थान सरकार के रुख से उनका कोई लेना-देना नहीं था।

उन्होंने यह भी कहा कि उन्होंने राजस्थान के संदर्भ में बात की थी, जिसमें दो दशकों से अधिक समय से जनसंख्या नियंत्रण कानून है, जिसे 1995 में भैरों सिंह शेखावत के नेतृत्व वाली भाजपा सरकार द्वारा लागू किया गया था।

रिपोर्टों के अनुसार, उत्तर प्रदेश राज्य विधि आयोग ने एक मसौदा कानून के लिए जमीनी कार्य शुरू कर दिया है, जो राज्य सरकार की योजनाओं के लाभों को केवल दो या उससे कम बच्चों वाले लोगों तक सीमित करने की कोशिश करेगा। कानून का उद्देश्य लोगों को देश में सबसे अधिक आबादी वाले राज्य में जनसंख्या नियंत्रण में मदद करने के लिए प्रोत्साहित करना है।