The Nation Newspaper

Tag: India

  • U.S., India to co-host Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad Nov. 28-30

    THE United States (U.S.) and India will co-host the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) between November 28 to 30 in Hyderabad, India.

    A statement by the organisers said Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump will lead the United States’ delegation to the summit, which will focus on supporting women entrepreneurs and fostering economic growth globally.

    President Donald J. Trump announced the summit during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House on June 26, 2017.

    The theme of GES this year is: Women First, Prosperity for All, which highlights that when women do better, countries do better.

    GES 2017 will create an environment that empowers innovators, particularly women, to take their ideas to the next level.  Their voices are critical to global security, prosperity, and peace.

    GES, which is organised annually since 2010, is the preeminent annual entrepreneurship gathering that convenes over one thousand emerging entrepreneurs, investors and supporters from around the world.

    “This year marks the first GES held in South Asia and the event underscores our broad and enduring partnership with India.

    “Through two and half days of training and mentoring sessions, networking, and investment matchmaking, the United States and India will forge new collaborations and launch new initiatives, while reducing the barriers inhibiting international growth and innovation.  The summit will focus on four key industry sectors: Energy and Infrastructure, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Financial Technology and Digital Economy, andMedia and Entertainment,” the organisers said.

     

  • Indian police couple sacked over faking Everest climb

    Indian police couple sacked over faking Everest climb

    Two police officers who claimed they were the first Indian couple to conquer Mount Everest have been sacked after an investigation confirmed they had faked the ascent.

    Dinesh and Tarakeshwari Rathod had claimed they had successfully reached the 8,848-metre summit in May last year.

    Their claim came under suspicion after fellow mountaineers pointed out inconsistencies in photos posted online.

    Police in Maharashtra state’s Pune city on Tuesday said that a departmental inquiry confirmed the couple had “morphed photographs” to show they successfully summited the peak.

    “Both of them were dismissed from police service because they supplied false information on reaching the top of Everest to us as well as the Nepalese government,” senior city police officer Sahebrao Patil said over phone.

    “We are not pressing any charges against them since we have already given very serious punishment in the matter,” he added.

    Soon after the climb, commentators had pointed out that the duo were wearing different boots in the alleged summit pictures than at other points in the ascent, where changing footwear is practically impossible.

    They also said that the date was too late in the season to complete the climb.

    Nepalese authorities have banned the couple from mountaineering in the country for 10 years after concluding that they had doctored the images, and their summit certificates would be revoked.

    The organiser of the so-called expedition, Makalu Adventure Travel, was exempted from punishment for cooperating in the investigation.

    Two Sherpas who supported the false claims failed to show up for questioning.

  • Baby born ‘pregnant’ with his twin stuns doctors in India

    Baby born ‘pregnant’ with his twin stuns doctors in India

    A baby in India was born “pregnant” with his half-formed twin in a rare case that has astonished the medical fraternity in the country.

    Radiologist Bhavna Thorat said some mass with the presence of bones was discovered early July in the then foetus’ abdomen during a routine scan of the 19-year-old pregnant mother.

    “In the post-natal scans, we spotted another half-formed baby with a brain, arm and legs in a foetal sac in the baby’s abdomen.

    “The mother had conceived twins.

    “But here a twin got enveloped in the body of another twin, leading to a condition of a host baby and its parasitic twin, who grew up to 13 weeks and then stopped.

    “This was a rare case of foetus-in-foetus, a congenital anomaly in which a malformed and parasitic foetus grows inside the body of a baby,’’ Thorat added.

    After his birth on July 20 at Bilal Hospital in Thane, near the western city of Mumbai, the baby underwent surgery recently to have the foetus removed.

    Paediatric surgeons at a separate hospital operated on July 25 to remove the unborn twin, a male about 7 cm in length and weighing around 150 grammes.

    “There were no complications. Both the mother and the baby boy are still admitted but are in good health,’’ gynaecologist Neena Nichlani told newsmen.

    Nichlani and Thorat said only 100 such cases have been documented worldwide.

    “A foetus-in-foetus is estimated to occur once in every 500,000 live births,’’ Thorat said.

  • Floods in India’s northeast kill 83 people

    Floods in India’s northeast kill 83 people

    Floods in India’s northeast have killed at least 83 people and led to the death of three rare one-horned rhinoceros at a national park that has the world’s largest concentration of the species.

    The floods caused by torrential rains across the hilly states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur over the past two weeks, have also triggered landslides.

    Authorities say in  all,  no fewer than two million people have been displaced.

    “Assam is the worst hit with 53 lives lost so far in floods and landslides with some two million people displaced,” Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told Reuters.

    “Relief and rescue operations are going on a war footing.”

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent a team of federal government officials, led by junior home minister Kiren Rijiju, to assess the damage.

    The overflowing Brahmaputra River has also completely marooned the Kaziranga wildlife sanctuary in Assam, forcing animals to flee to safer areas.

    A one-horned rhinoceros drowned on Friday, taking the toll of the endangered animals in the flooding to three, Assam’s forest minister, Pramila Rani Brahma, told Reuters.

    The Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site, is home to an estimated 2,500 rhinos out of a world population of some 3,000.

    She said nearly 60 other animals, mostly deer and wild boars, have been killed in the floods.

  • Badminton: 11 countries for 3rd Lagos Badminton Classics – Chairman

    Badminton: 11 countries for 3rd Lagos Badminton Classics – Chairman

    The Lagos State Badminton Association (LSBA) has said that 11 countries would feature in the 3rd Lagos International Badminton classics from July 26 to July 29 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.

    The association’s chairman, Francis Orbih, told a news conference on Thursday that the Gov. Akinwunmi ambode has also increased the tournament’s prize money to 20,000 dollars.

    With the increase, the competition becomes biggest ever to be staged in Lagos and in Africa.

    “A total of 20,000 dollars have been set aside as the total prize money for the entire competition.

    “The competition will also have Nigeria’s best players compete among quality international ranked players and get a chance to be ranked as well,’’ Orbih said.

    According to Orbih, the international athletes will Israel’s Misha Zilberman who is ranked 68 in the world.

    Others will come from Sri Lanka, Portugal, Republic of Benin, Egypt, Italy, Cameroon, Uganda, India and Ghana.

    He said that Nigeria’s Habib Temitope ranked number 512 in the world will lead the challenge by the national players.

    Meanwhile, Deji Tinubu, the Chairman, Lagos State Sports Commission, has extolled the brilliance and the dedication of the LBSA as one of the best associations working hard.

    Tinubu said the association would always get the backing of the sports commission to carry out their objectives because over the years, it had shown commitment in developing youths through badminton.

    “It is good to know that the classics are back and I want to agree that it is indeed back for good.

    “We at the sports commission are happy about how the LSBA has carried itself and the sport’s fans,’’ he said adding that the governor remained an ardent fan of the game.

    “This is why we have once again partnered this edition and also gone ahead to raise the prize money.

    “We hope at the end of the tournament that Nigerian youths can gain from the international players in the areas of mentoring and maintaining a good relationship,’’ Tinubu said.

    The winner of the Men and Women’s Singles will earn 2,000 dollars each, while the second place winners get 1,500 dollars and the second runners-up 650 dollars each.

    The doubles and mixed doubles winners will get 725 dollars each, while the runners-up and the second runners-up take 400 dollars and 175 dollars respectively.

    He noted that the prize monies would be given as directed by the International BVadminton Federation.

  • India: Supreme court suspends ban on trade of cattle for slaughter

    India: Supreme court suspends ban on trade of cattle for slaughter

    India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended a government ban on the trade of cattle for slaughter.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government in May decreed that markets could only trade cattle for agricultural purposes, such as plowing and dairy production, on the grounds of stopping cruelty to animals.

    The slaughter of cows, considered holy in Hinduism, were banned in most parts of India, but Hindu hardliners and cow vigilante groups have since increasingly declaring themselves since Modi’s government came to power in 2014.

    Muslims, who make up 14 per cent of India’s 1.3 billion people, said that the May government decree against the beef and leather industry employing millions of workers was aimed at marginalising them.

    The Supreme Court, in issuing its decision, stressed the hardship that the ban on the trade of cattle for slaughter had imposed.

    “The livelihood of people should not be affected by this,” Supreme Court Chief Justice Jagdish Khehar said in his ruling.

    India’s meat and leather industries are worth more than 16 billion dollars in annual sales.

    “After the decision, the government told the court it would modify and reissue its May order,’’ Additional Solicitor-General P.S. Narasimha said.

    The issue has become highly emotive with a wave of attacks on Muslims suspected of either storing meat or transporting cattle for slaughter.

    An estimated 28 people have been killed in cow-related violence since 2010.

    At the ending of June, after months of silence on the violence, Modi condemned lynchings.

    Media has reported that at least two cases of attacks on Muslims since Modi spoke out.

    Abdul Qureshi, Head of the Muslim All India Jamiatul Quresh Action Committee which supports the meat sellers, welcomed the court decision.

    “We have to restore the confidence of cattle traders that they can resume their business.

    “It’ a victory for us,” Qureshi, who had lodged a petition with the Supreme Court against the government ban said.

  • Police say three drown, five missing in India while taking selfies, videos

    Police say three drown, five missing in India while taking selfies, videos

    Police on Monday said three men died and five remain missing after their boat capsised in a river in central India while they were taking selfies and videos for social media.

    The police said the accident occurred on Sunday evening when a group of 10 men, between 21 and 28 years, were out on a fishing boat on the Vena river near the city of Nagpur.

    Area police chief Chandrashekhar Bahadure said the boatman rescued two men and three bodies were fished out Monday afternoon.

    “During initial investigations, we found that the group was busy taking videos and selfies on the boat that is suspected to have caused the tragedy,” Bahadure said.

    “Survivors say the boat lost balance and overturned when a number of men came to one side to pose for either selfies or videos.

    “The men had also posted a video on Facebook minutes before the boat tipped over,” he said.

    Police said divers and national disaster response force personnel were assisting in the rescue but it was unlikely there would be survivors.

    India has had the highest number of selfie-related deaths, according to new research.

    A study by Carnegie Mellon University found that between March 2014 and September 2016, 60 per cent of the 127 “selfie deaths” across the world, occurred in India.

    In 2016, police in Mumbai created 16 “no-selfie zones” after a university student fell into the sea and drowned while taking a photo of herself with her phone.

  • EU worries over 372 trade barriers against exporters

    EU worries over 372 trade barriers against exporters

    The EU has expressed worry over 372 trade barriers against its exporters in 2016 largely by some of the G20 countries.

    The union in its annual report published on Monday stated that largest share of the barriers came from Russia, Brazil, China, India and Indonesia.

    The EU expressed concern that Russia introduced the largest number of new trade barriers faced by European exporters in 2016.

    According to the report, the measures introduced by Russia could potentially affect trade flows worth up to 12.26 billion euros (13.71 billion dollars).

    The report stated that along with Russia, the other countries topping the list of places that have introduced the most new protectionist measures in 2016 include Switzerland and Algeria.

    “We clearly see that the scourge of protectionism is on the rise. It affects European firms and their workers.

    “Wines and spirits, agriculture as well as fisheries were the sectors recorded with the highest number of new reported barriers.

    “It is worrying that G20 countries are maintaining the highest number of trade barriers,” Cecilia Malmstroem, the EU Trade Commissioner said.

  • Nigerian woman cured of rare cancer in India

    Nigerian woman cured of rare cancer in India

    Thirty seven-year old Amina Abubakar was not sure that she would  survive after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 by a Nigerian hospital.

    But it was a wrong diagnosis for Amina, who was a final year medical student. As it turned out, she was actually suffering from skin cancer.

    After struggling for more than three years, Amina can now breathe easily. Thanks to the treatment that cured her at a city hospital in Bengaluru, India.

    She was bed-ridden for more than three years under heavy antibiotics and other cancer treatments.

    But the last 20 days made her recover miraculously. That is after the doctors removed a 5 kg tumour from her breast.

    Amina said, “I found a lump on the left breast in November 2014 and then was diagnosed as chronic mastitis in a  local hospital in Nigeria. I have suffered a wrong diagnosis and lack of treatment for years. I was physically and mentally broken and was unable to deal with the pain and the foul smell that comes with cancer.”

    Unable to find any cure in Nigeria, Amina, whose father was also once treated in a city hospital, decided to travel to Bengaluru.

    “My family and I got very anxious about this situation and on the recommendation of a local doctor decided to visit Dr. Anthony Pais at Cytecare for treatment.

    ” But it wasn’t easy for the city doctors to cure her as the disease was rare.

    “Skin cancer on the breast and infiltrating it is the rarest of the rare cancers in the world. This was the first treatment for a rare form of skin cancer  Syringocystadeno carcinoma paplliferum, which was diagnosed and treated in the world. It is one such case where the right diagnosis was the game changer in the treatment of the disease,”claimed Dr Anthony Pais. “There are two types of skin cancer melanoma and nonmelanoma, most of them being non-melanoma. Among all the nonmelanoma skin cancers, 75% of them are basal cell cancers; 20% of them are squamous cell cancers and about 2% of them being adnexal skin tumours. Most of these adnexal tumours are benign.

    The rarity of this adnexal skin cancer involving the breast is the rarest of the rare cancer. In this case, the problem started with the wart and with a birthmark close by, which is technically called a nevus. This grew over a period of time.” Amina, who got a new lease of life, will head for Nigeria today. She will continue a follow-up at a local hospital for a couple of months more. Curious case of cancer According to Dr. Pais, it is very difficult to know about the disease or diagnose it at an early stage. So, there is no precaution and can’t be prevented. Moreover, it is not genetic.

    Excessive exposure to sunlight can be one of the reasons. People living near the Equator are more prone this type of cancer as they are exposed to direct ultraviolet rays. One might diagnose this case to be that of a breast cancer which can be followed by unnecessary chemotherapy. The treatment is for the skin cancer arising on the breast infiltrating into it. So, proper surgery and radiotherapy is the answer. People should consider screening if they have any ulcer for more than three months. They should do that in case of moles or itching that appears for a months.

  • Emeteole: Image of everything football- Christian Chukwu

    Emeteole: Image of everything football- Christian Chukwu

    Former Super Eagles Coach, Christian Chukwu, has described late Kelechi Emeteole, also a former Super Sand Eagles coach, an “an image of everything football.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Emeteole died in the early hours of Wednesday in a New Delhi hospital in India, where he was receiving treatment for throat cancer.

    Emeteole was aged 66.

    Chukwu, who spoke with NAN on Thursday in Enugu, said it was unfortunate for the former coach to depart for the great beyond when his wealth of experience was still needed.

    He added that “I am yet to recover from the shocking news of Emeteole’s death yesterday.

    “I am personally saddened with the development. Emeteole lived on and for football.

    “He was an epitome of everything football, who passionately love the game and gave his best and time to see it grow.

    “A good team player and one that understand the need for team-work, and to maintain a united team while as a player in the national team and in all the club sides he had handled.

    Chukwu and Emetole were former team mates in the then Green Eagles under the tutelage of late Yugoslavian coach, Tihomir “Tiko” Jelisavčić popularly known as “Father Tiko”

    He was also a member of the bronze winning squad at the 10th African Cup of Nations in Ethiopia in 1976.

    Emeteole won 17 caps for the national team between 1975 to 1977 and scored four goals.

    Popularly known as “Caterpillar”, Emeteole played alongside Idowu Otubusen, Samuel Ojebode, Zion Ogunfehinmi, Kunle Awesu, Muda Lawal, Joe Erico and others too numerous to mention.

    He also plied his trade with Rangers International FC of Enugu at the height of the club’s reign in Nigeria and the African continent.

    For his coaching career, Emeteole later served as an assistant coach of the Super Eagles.

    Between 2007 and 2009, he was the Head Coach of the beach soccer national team, now known as the Super Sand Eagles.

    Emetiole also had coaching stints with notable clubs like: Spartan FC later known as Iwuanyanwu Nationale of Owerri, El-Kanemi of Maiduguri, Lobi Stars of Makurdi, and International FC and Rangers International of Enugu.

    He led Iwuanyanwu Nationale to the final of CAF Champions League in 2009.