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Non-Life

Govt extends validity of motor vehicle documents till Sept 30 due to Covid

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said it has advised the enforcement authorities that the validity of fitness, permit (all types), licence, registration or any other concerned document(s) may be treated to be valid till September 30, 2021.

“This covers all documents whose validity has expired since Feb 1, 2020, or would expire by September 30, 2021. This will help out citizens in availing transport related services, while maintaining social distancing,” it said.

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Cathay Pacific working with Airbus on single-pilot system for long-haul

That promises savings for airlines, amid uncertainty over the post-pandemic economics of intercontinental flying. But it is likely to encounter resistance from pilots already hit by mass layoffs, and safety concerns about aircraft automation.

Lufthansa has also worked on the single-pilot programme but currently has no plans to use it, a spokesman for the German carrier told Reuters.

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COVID-19 cases surge in Africa, less than 0.8% of fully vaccinated, say officials

New cases are up nearly 30% in the past week and deaths are up by 15%, she said, with five countries — South Africa, Tunisia, Zambia, Uganda and Namibia — accounting for 76% of the new cases. The continent of 1.3 billion people has not yet been battered with an emergency during the pandemic on the scale of that recently facing India, but officials including Moeti continue to warn that such a catastrophe could hit.
“Africa is in the midst of a full blown third wave…We’ve seen in India and elsewhere how quickly COVID-19 can rebound and overwhelm health systems,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, told a news conference.

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UN chief: Desertification and drought destabilizing well-being of 3.2 billion people

Having contributed to the collapse of biodiversity and promoting zoonoses – diseases which jump from animals to humans
Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) called desertification “another reminder” that human health and that of the environment, are “deeply intertwined”.

Desertification and drought also increase water scarcity, at a time when two billion people still lack access to safe drinking water, said Ms. Azoulay, adding that “over three billion may have to confront a similar situation by 2050”.

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Nagaland staring at drought-like situation with no rain in sight: Minister

Addressing a press conference, he said the state is witnessing peculiar weather this year and a drought-like condition is feared if there is no rain within the next few weeks.

The state is facing rainfall deficiency of 20-59 per cent, except for the Mon district where the rainfall is in excess of 48 per cent, as per Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) data.

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Centre’s Motor Vehicle Act wont be applicable for old petrol, diesel cars in Delhi, says transport minister Kailash Gahlot

Gahlot said, “Delhi is in a peculiar position, because specifically for the national capital, there are orders from the Supreme Court and NGT. They have limited the life of petrol-run vehicles to 15 years and those which run on diesel to 10 years.”
The Delhi Transport Department will fine Rs 10,000 owners found flouting the rule

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GM boosts spending on electric vehicles, to add two new U.S. battery plants

“EV adoption is increasing and reaching an inflection point,” GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson told reporters on a conference call. “We want to be ready to be able to produce the capacity that we need to meet demand over time.”The No. 1 U.S. automaker said it will now spend $35 billion through 2025 on EVs, an increase of 75% from March 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the industry.

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