Bihar: At least 27 people have died after a bus fell into a roadside pit and caught fire in Bihar's East Champaran district today, reported ANI.
The accident occurred under the Kotwa police station area, which is nearly 75 km from the state capital.
Speaking to ANI, Bihar Disaster Management and Relief Minister, Dinesh Chandra Yadav, said,"It is a really sad incident. There is a provision to give compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of dead in such cases and it will be given."
The bus was on its way to Delhi from Muzaffarpur.
Separate teams of the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been rushed to the spot with gas cutters. District magistrates of Muzaffarpur and East Champaran have also been asked to supervise rescue operations from the spot.
“It is a really painful incident. Local administration officials are present at the spot. We will extend all possible help to the families of those who died,” said chief minister Nitish Kumar while speaking at a public function in Patna, according to ANI.
The CM, along with those present at the event, observed a minute of silence and prayed for the victims.
(With Agency inputs)
Communication problems have worsened in the interior areas following floods last month which washed away several bridges and approach roads, affecting the lives of people in Parasali, Sunakhandi, Palma and Kalyansinghpur GPs.
However, the administration is yet to do anything significant even though reports of people including pregnant women crossing the river by means of rafts have been making headlines in the media.
Also Read: Odisha seeks choppers as flash flood situation in Kalyansinghpur remains grim
“We have no other option but to put our lives at stake to cross the river for our daily needs, be it school, market or even office works,” said a resident.
On the other hand, the local administration has promised to ensure safety of people by making necessary arrangements.
“We have already sent a detailed survey report and requisition for necessary funds for construction of an approach road and high-level bridge over the river. Besides, we have also planned for an alternative stone patching on river bed level if necessary,” Rayagada Sub-Collector Prabir Kumar Nayak told OTV.
Addressing a massive election rally in Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh, Modi said despite the fact that the BJP organisation in Odisha is weak as compared to other states as only one leader is elected to the Parliament, the people of the state have finally reposed their faith on BJP and as a result of which the party has been able to garner massive win. “I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Odisha, especially to the rural voters, for the unprecedented performance of my party in the rural elections,” the Prime Minister said in his address.
Coming down heavily on the ruling BJD, Modi said the gimmick of the regional party, which has been hoodwinking the people of Odisha, will not work this time as the outcome of the Panchayat polls has made it clear that the people are in no mood to believe in its misinformation campaign against the BJP government at the Centre.
"Most people want their doctor to think highly of them," said the study's senior author Angela Fagerlin from University of Utah in the US.
"They're worried about being pigeonholed as someone who doesn't make good decisions," she added.
Insights into the doctor-patient relationship came from an online survey of two populations.
One survey captured responses from 2,011 participants who averaged 36 years old. The second was administered to 2,499 participants who were 61 on average.
About 60 to 80 per cent of people surveyed were not forthcoming with their doctors about information that could be relevant to their health, according to the study published online in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Besides fibbing about diet and exercise, more than a third of respondents did not speak up when they disagreed with their doctor's recommendation.
Another common scenario was failing to admit they did not understand their clinician's instructions.
In both surveys, people who identified themselves as female, were younger, and self-reported as being in poor health were more likely to report having failed to disclose medically relevant information to their clinician.
The trouble with a patient's dishonesty is that doctors cannot offer accurate medical advice when they don't have all the facts.
"If patients are withholding information about what they're eating, or whether they are taking their medication, it can have significant implications for their health. Especially if they have a chronic illness," said the study's first author Andrea Gurmankin Levy, Associate Professor at Middlesex Community College in Middletown, Connecticut, US.
The world's population could level off at around nine billion in a few years, compared to just over 7.6 billion now.
"It will be harder to feed nine billion people in 2050 than it would be today," said one of the researchers Gibran Vita from Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
For the study, the researchers analysed changes in the populations of 186 countries between 1975 and 2014.
"We studied the effects of two phenomena. One is that people on average have become taller and heavier. The second is that the average population is getting older," said Vita.
An average adult in 2014 was 14 per cent heavier, about 1.3 per cent taller, 6.2 per cent older, and needed 6.1 per cent more energy than in 1975.
The researchers expect this trend to continue for most countries.
"An average global adult consumed 2,465 kilocalories per day in 1975. In 2014, the average adult consumed 2,615 kilocalories," Vita said.
Globally, human consumption increased by 129 per cent during this time span.
Population growth was responsible for 116 per cent, while increased weight and height accounted for 15 per cent, the study.
"Previous studies haven't taken the increased demands of larger individuals and aged societies into account when calculating the future food needs of a growing population," said Felipe Vasquez from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
Varun Dhawan was interacting with media at the success meet of 'Sui Dhaaga' along with his co-actors Anushka Sharma, Raghuveer Yadav, Yamini Das and Sawan Tank on Friday in Mumbai.
Varun has worked in critically acclaimed films such as 'Badlapur' and 'October.' Post-Sui Dhaaga, there is a talk of him becoming a strong contender for National Film Awards for his impressive performance in the film.
Talking about audience's changing perspective towards him over the years, Varun said, "I don't know how to react when people talk about my work. My career has been bit funny until now."
He said when he started off, people would call him a 'chocolate boy' and they didn't talk about his acting. "They would say he is there because of his body. Now, I have entered sixth year of my career, and this year, people have talked about my performances. So, it is very encouraging for me," he said.
"I always felt that I am a good actor, but I think it took some time for people to realize that. I am genuinely thankful to the audience because that's what matters to me," said the actor.
'Sui Dhaaga' is based on 'Make in India' campaign launched by the government in 2014, which was aimed at promoting the country's indigenous industries.
Since its release, 'Sui Dhaaga' has managed to collect Rs.62.50 crore in India and has crossed Rs 100 crore figure combining domestic and international markets.
On the success of 'Sui Dhaaga', Varun said, "It's a mixture of content and commerce. So, it feels really nice when a common man appreciate your performance. This film is a tribute to a common man."
Varun Dhawan will be seen in Dharma Productions 'Kalanka' along with Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Aditya Roy Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha in lead roles.
It is scheduled to release on April 19 next year.
The spokesperson for the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB), Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said the mass burials will be held in the outskirts of Palu, one of the city most affected by the disaster where 821 of the 832 victims died, reports Efe news.
Sutopo said that the authorities decided to open the mass grave in order to bury the victims who have already been identified and to prevent the spread of disease.
Meanwhile, rescue teams continue to search for survivors and other victims under the collapsed buildings demolished by the 7.5-magnitude earthquake, which has left 540 people hospitalised and at least 16,732 others displaced.
The authorities are also working to restore basic services such as electricity supply in Palu, where several electric generators were deployed by a Hercules aircraft of the Indonesian Air Force to facilitate the process, according to the BNPB spokesperson.
The Palu airport was reopened to commercial flights on Sunday, but humanitarian aid flights will be given priority, according to the authorities.
The Indonesian Health Ministry is supplying additional medical personnel and equipment.
An official release said that Modi saw presentations of IAS officers of the 2016 batch as part of their valedictory session as Assistant Secretaries.
Eight presentations were made by the officers on themes such as raising farm income, soil health cards, grievance redressal, citizen-centric services, power sector reforms, tourist facilitation, e-auctions and smart urban development solutions.
Modi noted that the Assistant Secretaries' programme offers the junior-most and senior-most officers the opportunity to interact with each other.
He urged the young officers to imbibe the best from the experiences they had during their attachment to various ministries as part of this programme.
"The Prime Minister encouraged the officers to develop a connect with people around them and with the people they serve in course of their duties. He said that developing a close rapport with people is one of the keys to achieving success in their tasks and objectives," the release said.
The findings, led by researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada, suggest that our brains may simply be wired to prefer lying on the couch and that human brains work harder to pick physical activity over relaxation.
"We knew from previous studies that people are faster at avoiding sedentary behaviours and moving towards active behaviours," said Matthieu Boisgontier, a postdoctoral researcher at UBC.
"The exciting novelty of our study is that it shows this faster avoidance of physical inactivity comes at a cost -- and that is an increased involvement of brain resources. These results suggest that our brain is innately attracted to sedentary behaviours," Boisgontier said.
For the study, published in the journal Neuropsychologia, the team recruited young adults, and made them sit in front of a computer, and gave them control of an on-screen avatar.
They then flashed small images, one a time, that depicted either physical activity or physical inactivity. Subjects had to move the avatar as quickly as possible towards the pictures of physical activity and away from the pictures of physical inactivity--and then vice versa.
Meanwhile, electrodes recorded what was happening in their brains.
Participants were generally faster at moving toward active pictures and away from lazy pictures, but brain-activity readouts called electroencephalograms showed that doing the latter required their brains to work harder.
Boisgontier noted that the failure of public policies to counteract the pandemic of physical inactivity may be due to brain processes that have been developed and reinforced across evolution.
However, the question is whether people's brains can be re-trained or not.
"Anything that happens automatically is difficult to inhibit, even if you want to, because you don't know that it is happening. But knowing that it is happening is an important first step," Boisgontier said.
About 35 per cent of those in the age group are aware of Internet, said the report named "AfterAccess: ICT access and use in India and the Global South". It was published by Lirneasia, a policy and regulation think tank in collaboration with the Cellular Operators Association of India.
"The lack of Internet awareness is a considerable problem in India, with just 35 per cent of the 15-65 (years) population aware of what the Internet is. The level of use is thus even lower at 19 per cent," said the report.
On the findings of the report Chief Executive Officer of Lirneasia Helani Galpaya said: "India has only connected around 20 per cent of the adult people who you would expect to be on line. So that's pathetic... and the contradiction is, this (India) is one of the most affordable markets in the world."
The report further showed that out of the total Internet users in the age group of 15-65 years, around 27 per cent mostly spend time on social media.
"It is important for reporters and media outlets to understand that how they report on suicide can have a real impact across the population," said study co-author Mark Sinyor, a psychiatrist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University of Toronto in Canada.
The findings, published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), suggest that exposure to media reporting on suicide may lead some vulnerable people to similar behaviour, a phenomenon called suicide contagion, and in some circumstances, may also lead to help-seeking behaviour.
"When media reports include resources such as crisis services and messages of hope, it can have a positive impact on the public, and potentially help persons in crisis by reminding them that suicide isn't the only option and that help is available," Sinyor said.
For the study, researchers from Canada, Austria and Australia examined the relationship between potentially harmful and helpful elements of print and online media reports about suicide.
They looked at almost 17,000 articles in 13 major publications (including The New York Times) in the Toronto media market and suicide deaths in Toronto from 2011 to 2014.
Specifically, the study looked for a link between certain types of reporting and suicide deaths within the seven days after publication.
From 2011 to 2014, there were 6,367 articles with suicide as the major focus and 947 suicide deaths in Toronto over the same period.
Several elements were associated with increased suicides, such as describing the method -- especially in the headline -- describing suicide as inevitable and reporting on suicide in celebrities. Articles about murder-suicides were associated with decreased suicides.
"This study emphasises the importance of responsible reporting and identifies that relatively few media reports included helpful information such as crisis resources and messages of hope," Sinyor said.
"Millions of people across the world and in the WHO South-East Asia Region are infected with viral hepatitis without knowing... less than one in 10 infected people are estimated to know their status," WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia Poonam Khetrapal Singh said.
Further, less than 10 per cent of those who do know their status are receiving appropriate treatment, it said. This lack of awareness and proper treatment is same in the region as well as the world across, the WHO said in a statement.
"This lack of awareness and treatment lead to progressive liver damage and can cause life-threatening conditions such as fibrosis and liver cancer, resulting in an estimated 410,000 deaths in the region every year," Singh said.
It also allows viral hepatitis to spread. About 40 million people live with chronic hepatitis B in the region while an estimated 10 million live with chronic hepatitis C. Urgent action is needed to find, test and treat the missing millions suffering viral hepatitis, WHO said.
As per the time-bound targets of WHO's Regional Action Plan, at least 50 per cent of the infected people should know their status and at least 75 per cent of those diagnosed with the disease should get treatment by 2020.
Further, more than 90 per cent newborns should receive the hepatitis B vaccine's birth dose, while at least 95 per cent of children should complete the vaccine's three-dose schedule. Increased injection safety in health facilities is likewise critical, WHO said.
"Health authorities should deploy clear messaging regarding the disease's signs and symptoms, where they can get tested and seek treatment, and how hepatitis infection can be prevented for example by vaccination for hepatitis B, and safe sex and safe needle usage for hepatitis B and C," Singh said.
She further suggested capacity building of health workers at all levels to identify symptoms and test for the disease. The health workers must have better access to quality point-of-care diagnostics and laboratory testing. All testing kits should be affordable and quality assured.
Responding to a question by OTV News Editor Radhamadhab Mishra on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call ‘Vocal For Local’, Gandhi said, “There can be talks over local-vocal, but most importantly people need money in their pockets. There is an urgent need to support the people.”
Gandhi further stated that there will be a lot of opportunities for growth and development after Corona crisis gets over but today the reality is that we need to fight the virus.
When asked whether there are any lapses in aggressive testing, Rahul Gandhi stated that we should look forward and address basic issues of the country.
“Restarting economy, creating demand and providing comfort to labourers/ migrants and assure them that they can return back to cities without any fear,” said Gandhi.
Reiterating his earlier comments, the former Congress president said that the lockdown is only a pause button and fight back against the virus has to be transitional with utmost care to be taken of people who are most vulnerable.
Gandhi said that NYAY Yojana (minimum income guarantee scheme) could be implemented for a temporary period which would help in increasing the demand side and help the people in distress.
https://twitter.com/otvnews/status/1261571896107241478
The Finance Minister has announced three tranches of the Rs 20 lakh crore relief package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make the country self-reliant (Atmanirbhar) and help mitigate financial woes caused due to the prolonged lockdown.
“Modi Ji should think about direct cash transfer, 200 working days under MNREGA, money for farmers etc. because all of them are the future of India," Rahul Gandhi said.
"The need of the hour is to give money to people directly into their pockets and people do not require loans at this moment," he added.
https://twitter.com/otvnews/status/1261566525997289472
(Edited By: Suryakant Jena With Agency Inputs)
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