Agartala, May 21 (IANS) Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) supremo Mohan Bhagwat will visit Tripura for five days from May 23 and attend a series of events.

Sources said on Tuesday that Bhagwat would stay at Khayerpur Seva Dham in west Tripura and would attend a series of events before departing from the state on May 28.

Chief Minister Manik Saha, senior BJP leaders and ministers would meet the RSS Sarsanghchalak and discuss the prevailing political issues of Tripura.

He will meet with pracharaks of the northeastern region.

Political observers felt that Bhagwat’s visit to the northeastern state ahead of the counting of Lok Sabha votes on June 4 is significant as the RSS has been expanding its bases in the northeastern states.

Security has been further tightened in the Khayerpur Seva Dham areas in west Tripura in view of the visit of RSS chief.

–IANS

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Thiruvalla (Kerala) May 21 (IANS) Thousands bid adieu to Believers Eastern Church’s Metropolitan Bishop Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan at his church headquarters in Kerala’s Thiruvalla on Tuesday.

He was knocked down by a car while he was walking on the road early this month in Dallas, US. Two days later, on May 8, he passed away following a cardiac arrest.

His body was brought back to the church headquarters here on Sunday.

Since then thousands of people have paid homage to him including leading figures from all walks of society.

On Tuesday, his body was interned at the church headquarters. He was given a state funeral.

K.P. Yohanan, as he was known, became the founder and head of the Believers Church, based in Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district, in 2003. In 2017, it took the name Believers Eastern Church and he became the supreme head and was known as Metropolitan Bishop Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan.

In his early childhood, he developed an interest in the Bible and later studied theology in Dallas. In 1974, he married German national Giesla and they started the charity organisation Gospel for Asia. In the 1980s, Yohanan was known for his radio programme “Athmeeya Yatra”, which centred around the Bible.

In his career as an evangelist and then as the supreme head of the Church that he founded, he set up numerous Bible Colleges and also a state-of-the-art hospital and medical college at Thiruvalla.

During the Lok Sabha polls, his church was in the news when they pledged support to the BJP-led NDA candidates.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) India is set to play a pivotal role in facilitating the first-ever focused discussions on regulating tourism in Antarctica at the ongoing 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and 26th Meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) in Kerala’s Kochi, an official statement said on Tuesday.

The annual high-level global meetings, being held from May 20-30 in Kochi, have been organised by the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, and the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat.

The meetings are based on the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty — a multilateral agreement of 56 Contracting Parties signed in 1959 — of which India has been a part since 1983.

While discussions around regulating tourism have been ongoing in ATCMs since 1966, a dedicated working group for regulating tourism in Antarctica has been formulated for the first time at the 46th ATCM, hosted by India, said the ministry.

“India is honoured to lead this crucial initiative at the 46th ATCM, which is expected to bring a series of actionable recommendations to be incorporated into the broader framework of the Antarctic Treaty System. Antarctica represents one of the last frontiers of wilderness and scientific discovery,” Secretary, Earth Sciences, Dr M. Ravichandran, who is the head of the Indian delegation, said.

Calling it a collective responsibility, he implored nations “to ensure that all activities, including research and tourism, are conducted in a manner that preserves its ecological integrity for future generations”.

The meeting, with over 350 participants from nearly 40 nations, stressed the need for comprehensive regulations for sustainable and responsible exploration amid increasing tourism activities in Antarctica over the past few years.

Dr Ravichandran noted that “India has advocated for a comprehensive, proactive, and effective tourism policy anchored in precautionary principles”.

In the last 40 years, “India has established itself as a significant player in Antarctic research, environmental stewardship, and international cooperation within the framework of the Antarctic Treaty System”, added Dr Vijay Kumar, Adviser, Ministry of Earth Sciences, and Head of the Host Country Secretariat.

–IANS

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Chennai, May 21 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu Special Police commenced an investigation into an organ trading racket on Tuesday.

All Superintendents of Police have been directed to investigate whether any people from the state were sent to Iran.

This is following the arrest of Kerala native Sabith Naseer from Cochin International Airport following a tip-off from central agencies regarding his frequent travels to Iran from Kochi and other destinations.

Sabith Naseer was arrested on Sunday and is now under judicial custody.

According to his remand report, he has admitted to taking 20 people from various states of India to Iran to sell their kidneys.

While Sabith Naseer has not named anyone from Tamil Nadu as being part of the racket, police are not taking any chances and have begun a probe.

The Vigilance Department has asked all SPs to trace any missing persons cases or people who have recently gone to countries like Iran.

Central Intelligence agencies are also assisting the Tamil Nadu Intelligence and providing inputs on the movement of people from the four international airports in the state, including Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchi and Madurai.

According to information, the case is likely to be taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as this has international ramifications.

Iran had in 1988, legalised Living Non-Related Donation (LNRD) of kidneys and is considered the only country to do so.

This was reported in a 2008 study published by Rupert WL Major in the McGill Journal of Medicine.

Compared to this, there are stringent laws in India for organ donation.

The Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA) 1994 was enacted to provide a system of removal, storage, and transplantation of human organs for therapeutic purposes and for the prevention of commercial dealings in human organs.

Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act 2011 was enacted and the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules 2014 were notified in 2014.

Sabith has admitted that he used to get Rs 5 lakh per kidney donor and each donor was paid anywhere between Rs 5 to Rs 10 lakh.

He has also admitted that there is an organised network behind this.

However, sources said that the kidneys fetched much more than has been admitted by Sabith Naseer and that this was only the tip of the iceberg.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday visited the Embassy of Iran in New Delhi as the country observed a day’s state mourning in a mark of respect to Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.

“They will always be remembered as friends of India who contributed immensely to the growth of the India-Iran relationship. The Government of India stands in solidarity with the people of Iran at this very difficult time,” Jaishankar said in a post on X after visiting the Iranian Embassy.

Raisi and Abdollahian were among nine people who died after their helicopter crashed in Iran’s mountainous north-west area while they were returning from the Azerbaijan border after flagging off joint projects in the region.

The National Flag is being flown at half-mast on all buildings in India on Tuesday and no official entertainment has been scheduled for the day.

–IANS

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