Chile’s Police are training their dogs to sniff people’s sweat to identify people who are infected by COVID-19.
Currently, 3 golden retrievers and a labrador are being trained.
Dogs have more than 300 million olfactory receptors, and can detect smells 50 times better than humans.
With the ability to smell 250 people an hour, it has been decided to deploy dogs with an officer in places such as railway stations or airports.
Chile’s national police, the Carabineros, and specialists at the Universidad Catolica de Chile have come together to kickstart the training program and hope to send the dogs on field by the end of August.
“The virus has no smell, but rather the infection generates metabolic changes” which in turn leads to the release of a particular type of sweat “which is what the dog would detect,” said Fernando Mardones, a Universidad Catolica Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology.
He added that there is evidence that dogs can Mardones can detect diseases such as tuberculosis, parasite infections, and even early stages of cancer.
A British-based charity Medical Detection Dogs made use of the sharp sense of smell of dogs to identify human diseases. This was set up in 2008.
They had also trained canines in late March of this year to detect COVID-19.
He added that evidence already exists that dogs can detect diseases such as tuberculosis, parasite infections, and even early stages of cancer.
Canines can detect subtle changes in skin temperature, potentially making them useful in determining if a person has a fever.
Sweat samples taken from COVID-19 patients will be treated at the Universidad Catolica’s clinic.
For the sake of global peace and prosperity, the incumbent Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has revived the memories of brutality of the Ottoman Empire, by virtually converting the Church-turned-Mosque-turned Museum, Hagia Sophia into a Muslim place of worship thus turning Turkey into an Islamist Republic from an earlier version of it being atleast a namesake secular state. This shade of fanatism of the Turkish President stems from his ambitions to become a modern-day Khalifa of the Muslim world, reinvigorating the supremacy of the Ottoman Turks over other Muslim nations.
Hagia Sophia has now become a battleground between the Christian Right and the Muslim Right, and as far as India, a secular republic situated miles away is concerned, it is a trivial matter.
However, when we zoom into this triviality, we can understand the connections between India and the Hagia Sophia mosque.
The Hyderabad Nizam happens to have an intimate, historical connection with the current situation in Turkey. The Hyderabad Nizam and Turkish Caliphate – two of some of the world’s most orthodox Muslim families are deeply connected with the marital ties. The links dates to the days of Princess Niloufer of the Turkish Royal Family and Durru Shehvar, the daughter of Khalifa Abdul Majid. The Ottoman and Hyderabad Nizam’s family came close to each other during the days of the Khilafat Movement, which itself was started by Muslims in non-partitioned India to protest against the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.
Maulana Shaukat Ali, the Khilafat Movement leader and his brother Maulana Mohammad Ali demanded that the Nizam of Hyderabad start paying a pension of 300 pounds a month to the Khalifa-in-exile. During 1924, Turkey had become a Republic and the Caliphate was abolished then. As a necessary corollary, the royal family was sent in exile. The Khalifa, Abdul Majid had settled down in Nice, a southern French Mediterranean port city. Nizam was the world’s richest man at the time and Islamist elements, including those in India were desperate to support and restore the Ottoman Caliphate. The Hyderabad Nizam and the Caliph thus shared a typical ruler-clergy relationship.
Seven years later, the Khalifa was looking for a match for his daughter, Durru Shehvar. Again, it was the Khilafat Movement leader who proposed the match between her and Azam Jah, the elder son of the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan who was then the richest man in the world. The story then had a twist. The marriage was not easy to pull off. Durru was the daughter of the Caliph-in-exile and thus sought by Muslim royals across the world. There was a disagreement regarding the Mehr (dowry in lieu of maintenance) amount and it was finally settled at 40,000 Pounds. With Shaukat Ali’s intervention, the Caliph offered for the same Mehr, his brother’s daughter Princess Niloufer in marriage to Nizam’s younger son Moazzam Jah.
Later, when Abdul Majid died and his daughter Durru Shehvar wanted to get him buried in the graveyard attached to the holy mosque in Madina, Niloufer had come to her cousin’s rescue. She had contacted Ghulam Mohammed, a former official in the Nizam’s Government, who was at the time the President of Pakistan to ensure that Majid got buried in Saudi Arabia. Till his very last, Nizam or its officials and the last Caliph of Islam maintained close ties. Hagia Sophia was turned into a museum under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a secular leader, in 1934. Today, the conversion of Hagia Sophia to a Mosque is virtually a revival of the Caliphate era, which in turn, has an intimate link with India. The conversion of the historical building might be gaining a colour of Christianity vs Islam, but the cathedral-turned-mosque-turned-museum-turned-mosque also has an India connection.
This is a fully indigenous system manufactured by L&T who makes the platform system, parachutes manufactured by Ordnance Factory.
The P7 Heavy Drop System is capable of para dropping military stores up to 7-ton weight class from IL 76 aircraft. This will help our special forces to operate in a hostile environment and difficult terrain more effectively.
This heavy drop system will also be useful for our infantry forces to receive emergency supplies during field operations.
DRDO has developed P7 Heavy Drop System which is capable of para dropping military stores up to 7-ton weight class from IL 76 aircraft. This system is fully indigenous & being manufactured by L&T who makes the platform system, parachutes manufactured by Ordnance Factory: DRDO pic.twitter.com/BMYGXdI4ck
Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) is a pioneer in the field of Aerial Delivery Systems, has designed and developed the Heavy Drop P-7 Parachute system to airdrop 9.5 Ton (Max all Up mass) class payload using IL 76 Aircraft.
The P-7 heavy drop system comprises of Parachute system and Platform system. The parachute system is a three stage system and is designed to airdrop a payload ranging from 5 ton to 9.5 ton.
In the first stage, Extractor Parachute pulls out the payload from aircraft and then initiates twin canopy of the auxiliary parachute system.
Auxiliary Parachutes pull and assist in the deployment of the Main Parachute and brake parachute system. The main parachute system is a cluster of five canopies. After deployment, the Main Parachute brings the payload to steady-state and safe Rate of Descent.
Mahindra and Mahindra are going to produce defence vehicles under Mahindra Defence Systems, subsidiary.
The company already manufactures and supplies heavily armoured defence vehicles to the Indian armed forces and exports to other countries.
To help protect Indian soldiers from Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and mines Mahindra Defense Systems has developed a ‘Mine Resistant Ambush Protected’ vehicle.
The company recently took to Twitter to share some details about this heavy-duty machine.
This speciality vehicle will be used by our soldiers when they are on United Nations Peacekeeping mission.
This is a heavily armoured vehicle, designed to survive blasts and is suitable for conflict zones. The speciality vehicle also gets interrogation arms to lift roadside IEDs (improvised explosive device).
Mahindra Defence revealed that this vehicle has been designed, produced, and exported from India. Needless to say, this feat was due to receive appreciation from Mahindra Group’s chairman, Anand Mahindra. He, in his tweet, called it a ‘Mean Machine’ that it will help keep peacekeepers safe. He also joked about how it would be a perfect vehicle to use in Mumbai traffic if it were legal.
Mahindra Defence Systems developed including the Mahindra Marksman, used by Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF)’s Quick Reaction Team (QRT).
The residents of the remote village of Edamalakkudy in Idukki district of Kerala have been under self-declared lockdown since July 1 to prevent the spread of COVID19.
The first tribal Panchayat in Kerala is considered to be the Edamalakkudy in Idukki. This Panchayat falls under the Munnar Wildlife Division in Kerala. The secretary of the Edamalakkudy Vana Samrakshana Samithi (VSS), Ramesh, informed that the residents announced ‘self-lockdown’ so that the spread of COVID-19 can be prevented. He also added further that the residents have decided not to move outside the Edamalakkudy unless the disease gets under control.
The above decision was taken with respect to the ban on the outsiders entering the tribal village. This ban was applied in June by the director of the Scheduled Tribes Development Department and is strictly followed in the Munnar division to date.
The 2011 Census says that there are a total of 2400 residents in the Edamalakkudy. The reports suggest that as soon as the pandemic rose, all the residents practiced social distancing all over the Edamalakkudy and followed all the rules and regulations regarding keeping themselves clean. Since the start of the pandemic, they have actively participated in keeping themselves and their surroundings clean and safe.
Sachin Pilot told the Indian Express on Wednesday that he is not joining the BJP. Speaking to the press after his rebellion against the Gehlot government cost him his position in the party and the government, he had affirmed that he had worked hard to defeat the BJP and that he had no intentions of joining it.
Pilot was sacked yesterday from the Congress party as well as from the Deputy Chief Minister position, after he missed two meetings in a row with the Congress legislature. Two of his loyalists, Vishwendra Singh, and Ramesh Meena, where are also removed from state cabinet positions. All of his other loyalists also face flak from the Congress party in the form of notices after they took his side over Gehlot.
Soon after the sacking, Pilot tweeted, “Satya ko pareshan kiya ja sakta hai, parajit nahi (Truth can be harassed, not defeated).” In another tweet at night, he said: “My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all those who have come out in my support today.”
In the light of this, Rajasthan’s BJP unit is reported to convene today to discuss the state of affairs. Former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Vasundhara Raje is expected to arrive in Jaipur today to attend a crucial strategy session of the party.
Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari inaugurated various new economic corridor projects and laid foundation stones for worth over Rs 20000 crore in Haryana on Tuesday through video conferencing along with Chief Minister Manohar Lal.
The projects which have been inaugrated, include the 35.45 km 4-lane Rohna/Hasangarh to Jhajjar section of NH 334B costing Rs 1183 crore, the 70 km 4-laning of Punjab-Haryana Border to Jind section of NH 71 costing Rs 857 crore, and the 85.36 km 2-lane with paved shoulders Jind-Karnal Highway on NH 709 costing Rs 200 crore.
The Minister also laid foundation stone for 227 km 6-lane access controlled Greenfield expressway from Ismailpur to Narnaul on NH 152D in 8 packages costing Rs 8650 crore, the 46 km 4-lane Gurugram Pataudi-Rewari section of NH 352W costing Rs 1524 crore, the 14.4 km 4-lane Rewari Byepass costing Rs 928 crore, the 30.45 km 4-lane Rewari-Ateli Mandi section of NH 11 costing Rs 1057 crore, the 40.8 km 6-lane Narnaul Byepass on NH 148B, NH 11 and Narnaul to Ateli Mandi section of NH 11 costing 1380 crore, the 40.6 km 4-lane Jind-Gohana (Pkg 1, Greenfield alignment) of NH 352A costing Rs 1207 crore, the 38.23 km 4-lane Gohana-Sonipat section of NH 352A costing Rs 1502 crore, and the 40.47 km 4-lane UP-Haryana Border to Roha on NH 334B costing Rs 1509 crore.
These projects are set to improve connectivity within Haryana as well as between the states of Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. It will cut fuel expenses and travel time and boost in the development of poorer regions.
He said that the building of infrastructure will catapult India to become a $ 5 trillion dollar economy and said that these projects are part of the National Infrastructure Pipeline worth ₹100 lakh crore.
A thrust on infrastructure will help boost economic activity by generating more employment at a time when the economy has been hit by COVID19.
Minister Gadkari said that the government will complete projects worth ₹2 trillion by 2021.
C/2020 F3 NEOWISE , a new comet discovered by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer telescope has been clearly visible to the naked eye from July 14 in parts of northern hemisphere. The comet was discovered on March 27.
Although binoculars or a telescope will provide a better view, the comet can also be seen without them and is said to be best visible half an hour before sunrise and after sunset.
Dr. Subhendu Pattnaik, Deputy Director of Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Odisha had earlier said that the comet will be visible in the north western part of the sky from July 14 after sunset for around 20 minutes for the next 20 days.
In the coming days, it will rapidly climb higher in the sky. Around 30th July it can be seen near Ursha Major (Saptarshi Mandal) for an hour. A pair of binoculars or a small telescope can enhance its visibility. After July it will fade away very fast and will not be visible,” he had said.
The comet is likely to get brighter in the next coming days as it nears the sun. It is called 21st century comet because People often refer to extremely bright comets as “comets of the century”. The last comet that was termed so was Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997.
Comets are cosmic snow balls of frozen gases, rock, and dust that orbit the Sun in a highly elliptical path. In frozen condition, they are the size of a few hundred kilometres may be compared with the size of a small town. As they approach the sun, they heat up and melt to form a tail that stretches away from the Sun for millions of kilometres in the opposite direction. There are likely billions of comets orbiting our Sun in the Kuiper Belt and in the periphery of our solar system – the Oort Cloud.
Madan Ravichandran, the News Head of Channel Vision has come out with his second video as part of his #MadanDiary series.
This video is set to rattle the high echelons of the party and the pillars of Arivalayam as an unidentified man discloses about the DMK indulging in illegal deer hunting and the mafia behind it.
On July 12, Thiruporur DMK MLA Idhayavarman was caught for brandishing a gun in broad day light and firing multiple rounds in the middle of a road in which one of the bullet hit a passer-by. He had fired at the car of a real estate agent Kumar while travelling along the East Coast Road owing to a property dispute.
Many had reported that Kumar had encroached on a temple land to lay a path to reach his plot, to which the members of the village had objected. It was said that Idhayavarman was ‘helping the Hindus’ to get back the temple land. It was also said that it was because Kumar and his men had attacked Idhayavarman with sickles that the latter took the gun and fired. Though the mainstream Tamil news channels conducted a debate on this issue, it was steered in such a way that what Idhayavarman did was justified, Madan said. Madan says that had it been an MLA belonging to any other party these channels with huge financial, technical and human resources would have resorted to their ‘investigative journalism’ to come out with the minute details. This showed their biasedness and inclination towards the DMK, he alleges.
Madan took interest in the case as it involved a DMK MLA and conducted his own investigation which has exposes shocking details.
To add weight to his case, he has interviewed a villager belonging to the Thiruporur region who spells out the back story of the DMK MLA and the guns. The man’s identity has been withheld after his consent. “If these people can go to any extent to bring down me, think of this poor man from a village and what they might do to him for revealing these details”, Madan says. He says that he is willing to submit all documents and let the man testify before a court of law if at all legal proceedings are initiated against him for revealing the details.
Madan in his interview with the villager asks in the beginning if his identity can be revealed. The man requests not to as he says that he is a daily wage labourer and doesn’t have the strength to take such powerful men.
The villager reveals that there exists an illegal deer hunting mafia in which the DMK MLA Idhayavarman is involved. “Idhayavarman using gun on men is only recent news but before this he used them for hunting deer”, the villager says. He adds that many VIPs come for deer hunting in the surrounding regions of his village. “The hunted deer and its meat are given to important party men. MK Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin loves deer meat. Many in my village also say that” the villager says. He notes that the deer count in the region has reduced due to this illegal deer hunting.
Madan intervenes to ask if whether the information that he is revealing are hearsay or has he seen the DMK MLA Idhayavarman hunting deer for real. The villager notes that he has infact seen it for himself sometime back when he was doing the rounds in his farm. He says he was strolling in his farm one night, when he had seen Idhayavarman shoot a deer which was later taken by the DMK MLA and his men in a car to be taken elsewhere.
Madan asks that the gun that was fired at Kumar was a pistol while for hunting bigger rifles are used. “They hunt with the bigger rifles but it seems that he has smaller pistols too”, the villager says.
Incidentally, the police had seized a small pistol and also a bigger rifle when they arrested Idhayavarman and his father Lakshmipathy.
Guns seized from DMK MLA Idhayavarman
At a later point in the video, Madan asks the man how is Idhayavarman able to hunt deer and give to it to the party leaders like Udhayanidhi Stalin as he claims, given that there are people like forest rangers, journalists or even people in the village who might come to know of it. The man says that the hunting happens in wee hours when everybody is asleep. “Everybody in the region knows that Idhayavarman is the man who hunts. He has been interesting in hunting since he was young. It is his area. If you ask anybody, they will tell you about Idhayavarman.”, the villager notes.
Madan asks about the background of Idhayavarman and how such a person in the party has guns with him and whether he has any affluence. The villager notes that the father of Idhayavarman was a chairman of the village and his grandfather, a munsif.
He also says that Idhayavarman’s father had written and handed over a Vanniyar community’s marriage hall built by members of the community out of their savings. Later the family is said to have used their money and muscle power and demolished the hall using a JCB and sold off the age old timbers and stone pillars used to build the hall for a good price. It is to be noted that Idhayavarman belongs to the Vanniyar community.
Madan interjects to say “It is said that Idhayavarman is a devotee of Lord Murugan and that he had shot at Kumar who had encroached a temple land and that Idhayavarman was ‘helping the Hindus’ to get back the temple land. What do you say of this?” to which the villager replies “Let him be a Hindu and a Murugan devotee. But it is he who has struck several land deals with Kumar earlier. He has even got money from Kumar for election expenses.” The villager says that Kumar is also from the Vanniyar community.
Towards the end of the interview with the villager, Madan double-checks whether if he is revealing all these being conscious given that people might accuse him not being in his senses. The villager ratifies that he is in his full senses and even has supporting evidences to back his claims.
Madan says that both he and the villager are ready to face legal consequences if they are accused of spreading false information.
In what will be a brilliant piece of engineering and a bold move, the Indian government has given in-principal approval to construct a strategic tunnel below the Brahmaputra river, the Hindustan Times reported .
This bridge when finished will be all-weather connectivity between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh,
This four-lane underwater tunnel will connect Gohpur and Numaligarh towns in Assam which is situated near the China border and enable rapid movement of military transport and supplies.
The underground bridge will be designed in such way to allow all transport vehicles to cruise at a speed of 80 Km/h.
The bridge will be 14.85 km long and it will all be underwater. Construction is expected to begin by December of this year and the contract has been given to National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHAIDCL) along with Louis Berger who will be the private player.
The underwater tunnel will be built in three phases and the Indian Army had suggested the construction of a tunnel to be similar to the Channel tunnel between Britan and France.
Being underwater, the bridge will have a natural cover from being targeted by enemy forces.
In the last six years, the Modi government has made a lot of investment in developing the long-ignored infrastructure in our eastern border shared with China. This development comes amid the ongoing tensions between India and China.
Rapid troop deployment is the key to safeguard our borders and roads and bridges built in strategic locations can be the difference between victory and defeat.
The recent clash in the Galwan Valley has necessitated the need for infrastructure to ease troop movement.
