Gurugram:

A retired soldier was shot dead in Gurugram’s Khandsa village on Thursday and his family member beat up the assailant, killing him, police said.

Police said that they had taken possession of both bodies and started investigations

According to the police, the incident took place at around 2.40 p.m. as Sunil Fauji, 55, had left his plot in Khandsa village and Dinesh alias Tinu, 34, started firing at him.

Fauji tried to escape the spot but was unable to do so as he had suffered bullet injuries. He was taken to the hospital, where he died during treatment.

His relative Sohit, who was with him, attacked Dinesh with an iron rod and killed him on the spot, police said.

ACP, Crime, Varun Dahiya said that around 3 to 4 rounds of bullets were fired at Fauji and it seemed old enmity could be a reason behind the incident. It was also said that the duo had argued over an issue late on Wednesday night.

“The retired soldier died due to gunshot wounds while Dinesh died due to iron rod injuries. A detailed investigation into the matter is on,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Warsaw:

A man suspected of aiding a plot by Russian intelligence services to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been arrested in Poland, Polish and Ukrainian prosecutors said Thursday.

The Polish national, named only as Pawel K., is suspected of supplying information to Russian military intelligence and “helping the Russian special forces to plan a possible assassination attempt” against Zelensky, said a statement from Polish prosecutors.

It said the suspect had stated he was “ready to act on behalf of the military intelligence services of the Russian Federation and established contact with Russian citizens directly involved in the war in Ukraine”.

Ukrainian prosecutors had informed Poland about the activities, which had enabled them to gather “essential evidence” against the suspect, the statement added.

Ukraine’s chief prosecutor Andriy Kostin said the suspect had been tasked with “gathering and transmitting to the aggressor state information about security at Rzeszow-Jasionka airport” in southeastern Poland.

Zelensky frequently passes through the airport on his trips abroad. It is also used by foreign officials and aid convoys heading to Ukraine.

The suspect is in detention pending judicial procedures, the two countries’ prosecutors said.

“This case underscores the persistent threat Russia poses not only to Ukraine and Ukrainians but to the entire free world,” Kostin wrote on X, the former Twitter.

“The Kremlin’s criminal regime… organises and carries out sabotage operations on the territory of other sovereign states,” he added.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski commended the work of his country’s special services and prosecutors in the operation as well as cooperation with neighbouring Ukraine.

Warsaw has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest backers since the Russian invasion in February 2022, although ties have frayed recently in a dispute over agricultural imports.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Image used for representative purpose only.
| Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA

India’s pulses imports in fiscal 2024 surged 84% year-on-year to their highest level in six years after lower production prompted India to allow duty-free imports of red lentils and yellow peas, government and industry officials said on Thursday.

Higher imports by India, the world’s biggest importer, producer and consumer of protein-rich pulses, have been supporting global prices and helping bring down stocks in exporting countries such as Canada, Australia, and Myanmar.

India imported 4.65 million metric tons of pulses in the year ended March 31, 2024, the highest since fiscal 2018, and up from 2.53 million tons imported a year ago, according to provisional data shared by a government official who declined to be named.

In value terms, imports in the year jumped 93% to $3.75 billion, he added.

Lower production and the government’s decision to scrap import taxes in an attempt to bring down prices before the election led to a surge in imports, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house.

“There was a massive surge in imports of red lentils and yellow peas last year. Imports of black gram also rose,” the dealer said.

India red lentil’s imports from Canada more than doubled in the year to around 1.2 million tons despite diplomatic strains over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, the government official said.

Yellow peas imports from Russia and Turkey have been rising in recent months after New Delhi allowed duty-free imports in December, said a New Delhi-based trader.

India also imported pigeon peas and chickpeas to overcome a shortfall in production, the trader added.

The South Asian country usually imports pulses from Canada, Myanmar, Australia, Mozambique and Tanzania.

The pathogens include those that cause respiratory infections, for example, COVID-19, influenza, measles, MERS, SARS, and tuberculosis, among others. Image for representation.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Pathogens that transmit through the air will be described by the term ’infectious respiratory particles’ or IRPs, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The world health body has thus ended the lack of a common terminology to describe the transmission of these pathogens, which was particularly challenging during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement on Thursday came following wide-ranging consultations across multiple steps in 2021-2023.

“The challenge became particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic as experts from various sectors were required to provide scientific and policy guidance. Varying terminologies highlighted gaps in common understanding and contributed to challenges in public communication and efforts to curb the transmission of the pathogen,” the WHO noted.

The pathogens include those that cause respiratory infections, for example, COVID-19, influenza, measles, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and tuberculosis (TB), among others.

In its communication, the WHO said that individuals infected with a respiratory pathogen can generate and expel infectious particles containing the pathogen through their mouth or nose by breathing, talking, singing, spitting, coughing, or sneezing, and these particles should be described with the term IRPs. Also, IRPs exist on a continuous spectrum of sizes, and no single cut-off points should be applied to distinguish smaller from larger particles. 

The WHO said this facilitates moving away from the dichotomy of previously used terms — ‘aerosols’ (generally smaller particles) and ‘droplets’ (generally larger particles).

The WHO has published a global technical consultation report introducing the updated terminology for pathogens that transmit through the air following consultations with public health agencies and experts. The publication titled ‘Global technical consultation report on proposed terminology for pathogens that transmit through the air’ is the result of an extensive, multi-year, collaborative effort, and reflects shared agreement on terminology between the WHO, experts, and four major public health agencies — the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Together with a very diverse range of leading public health agencies and experts across multiple disciplines, we are pleased to have been able to address this complex and timely issue and reach a consensus,” Jeremy Farrar, Chief Scientist, WHO, said. “The agreed terminology for pathogens that transmit through the air will help set a new path for research agendas and implementation of public health interventions to identify, communicate and respond to existing and new pathogens,” Dr. Farrar added.

The health agency added that the descriptor ‘through the air’ can be used in a general way to characterise an infectious disease, where the main mode of transmission involves the pathogen travelling through the air or being suspended in the air. Under the umbrella of ‘through the air transmission’, two descriptors can be used — airborne transmission or inhalation, and direct deposition.

“This global technical consultation process was a concerted effort of many influential and experienced experts,” Gagandeep Kang, Christian Medical College, Vellore, and co-chair of the WHO Technical Working Group, said.

The consultation was the first phase of global scientific discussions led by WHO. Next steps include further technical and multidisciplinary research, and exploration of the wider implementation implications of the updated descriptors.