The week in 5 charts | Nipah outbreak, Earthquake in Morocco, Anantnag encounter, and more

From the Nipah virus returning to Kerala to TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu being arrested in a multi-crore scam case, here are five charts that will help you understand some of the key stories from last week

From the Nipah virus returning to Kerala to TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu being arrested in a multi-crore scam case in Andhra Pradesh, here are five charts that will help you understand some of the key stories from last week

(1) Nipah breaks out again in Kerala

Nipah scare returned to Kerala, with two deaths reported from Kozhikode district on Tuesday. Four people, including a healthcare worker, are currently under treatment after testing positive for the virus. So far, 100 samples have been sent for lab tests.

The infected people include Mohammadali, 47, of Maruthonkara who died on August 30 and M. Haris, 40, of Ayancheri, who died on September 11. Mohammedali’s nine-year-old son, his 24-year-old brother-in-law, a 24-year-old healthcare worker, and a 39-year-old Cheruvannur native are the others who are currently under treatment. The contact list of the infected persons has gone up to 1,080 now. Among them 624 are in the high-risk category of which 327 are healthcare workers.

Since May 2018 when Kerala reported the first Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode district, there have been three more outbreaks of Nipah virus including the latest one in late-August 2023. Three of the four Nipah outbreaks in Kerala in 2018, 2021 and 2023 have been in Kozhikode district; the 2019 outbreak was in Ernakulam district.

Following the confirmation of the outbreak, State Health Department formed core committees for surveillance, sample testing and research management, contact tracing, and patient transportation management, among others.

Editorial | Unified approach: On the Nipah outbreak in Kerala and a One Health approach

Kozhikode district administration has declared several wards of Maruthonkara, Ayancheri, Thiruvallur, Kuttiadi, Kayakkodi, Kavilumpara, Vilyappilli, Changaroth, and Purameri panchayats as containment zones. All wards of Faroke municipality and Kolathara, Kundayithode, Cheruvannur East, Cheruvannur West, Beypore Port, Beypore and Punchappadam divisions of Kozhikode Corporation have also been declared as containment zones.

The district administration has also declared holiday for all educational institutions, including professional colleges, in Kozhikode.

Back in 2018, when the Nipah outbreak was initially reported in Perambra, about 40 km from the city, people led normal lives outside without much restrictions in urban areas. However, now, the entire district is on high alert because the disease has been confirmed to have spread around the hospital in Kozhikode city where the index patient was admitted.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Nipah has a relatively high case fatality ratio, and is an emerging zoonotic disease of public health importance in the South East Asia and Western Pacific WHO Regions.

(2) Anantnag operation enters fifth day

The operation to flush out terrorists hiding in Gadole forest area in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district entered the fifth day on September 17 as security forces widened the area of operation to neighbouring villages and fired several mortar shells towards the forest.

Security forces are using drones and helicopters for surveillance of the dense forest area where terrorists are believed to be holed up since Wednesday after killing two Army officers and a deputy superintendent of police in the initial exchange of fire, the officials said.

Meanwhile, three terrorists were killed in another encounter that broke out between the security forces and terrorists in the Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Saturday. The Indian Army accused the Pakistan Army of providing fire cover to infiltrators in Baramulla’s Uri Sector.

The number of infiltrations have come down in six years since 2017 from 136 to 14 last year.

Similarly, the number of terrorism-related incidents in India have decreased from a high of 2,802 in 2001 to 206 in 2023. This decreasing trend is seen in the number of fatalities, too.

However, the ways terrorism is carried out is changing. The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles like drones to drop arms and carry out attacks has thrown up new challenges. In 2021, drones were used by the Lashkar-e-Taiba to attack the Indian Air Force base in Jammu. No casualties were reported, but two more drone attacks were attempted at military targets. This was the first time such an attack happened at an Air Force base.

More recently, drones were also involved in the Poonch attack in April this year. Five soldiers were killed and another injured by militants who ambushed a solitary Army vehicle. Drones were suspected to have dropped arms and ammunition that were used by the terrorists.

Another challenge is the use of Improvised Explosive Devices. One such IED was used by extremists in Chhattisgarh in April this year to blast an army vehicle. In the incident, 11 personnel were killed.

(3) The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor

An event held on the sidelines of the recently-concluded G20 summit in the capital, saw the establishment of the “India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor” (IMEC). The event included Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the U.S. President Joe Biden, and the leaders of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the European Union (EU), Italy, France, and Germany.

The project, which forms part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), may also serve as a counter to China’s economic influence in the Eurasian region, observers have suggested.

What is the corridor?

As per the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the proposed IMEC will consist of railroad, ship-to-rail networks (road and sea), and road transport routes (and networks), extending across two corridors, that is, the east corridor - connecting India to the Gulf, and the northern corridor - connecting the Gulf to Europe. The railway, upon completion, would provide a “reliable and cost-effective cross-border ship-to-rail transit network to supplement existing maritime and road transports routes”. 

It would enable the transportation of goods and services from India to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Europe, and back. All in all, it is expected that the corridor would increase efficiency (relating to transit), reduce costs, enhance economic unity, generate jobs, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. This is expected to translate into a “transformative integration of Asia, Europe and the Middle East.” The map below shows which cities are involved in the IMEC network as transit or final nodes.

But there are also hurdles that still remain. While IMEC has been proposed to counter the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China, Chinese presence cannot be wished away along the IMEC route, officials said. “This is because Piraeus port is controlled by China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company which is a Chinese state-owned company. Also, Chinese companies like PowerChina, China State Construction Engineering Corporation and so on have qualified for multiple packages for Phase one and two of Etihad Rail,” a senior official from a public sector undertaking (PSU) said.

Soruce: by Net Desk

(4) Devastating earthquake in Morocco kills thousands

Morocco’s devastating 6.8-magnitude earthquake last week has killed more than 2,500 people, and the country continues to face loses with aftershocks felt on the September 12 to 14 . The death toll is estimated to rise over 2,500 as rescuers still try to reach remote areas in the High Atlas Mountains. The epicentre of the earthquake last week was north of the western Atlas mountains, south of Marrakesh. According to estimates by Morocco’s National Institute of Geophysics and the US geological survey, the depth is between 8km and 26km. This is 71km south-west of Marrakesh.

The earthquake toppled buildings in mountainous villages and ancient cities which have not been built to withstand such force. This was also the biggest earthquake to hit the North African country in the past 120 years. In historic Marrakech, people could be seen on state TV clustering in the streets , afraid to go back inside buildings that might still be unstable. The city’s famous Koutoubia Mosque, built in the 12th century, was damaged, but the extent was not immediately clear. Its 69-meter (226-foot) minaret is known as the “roof of Marrakech.” Moroccans also posted videos showing damage to parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Earthquake on September 9, 2023 Magnitude 6.8 by Net Desk

In 1960, a magnitude 5.8 tremor struck near the Moroccan city of Agadir and caused thousands of deaths. That quake prompted changes in construction rules in Morocco, but many buildings, especially rural homes, are not built to withstand such tremors. In 2004, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake near the Mediterranean coastal city of Al Hoceima left more than 600 dead.

(5) TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu arrested in AP Skill Development Scam

Andhra Pradesh witnessed a tense drama that was unprecedented in a long time, following the arrest of Telugu Desam Party national president N. Chandrababu Naidu by the CID at Nandyal in the early hours of September 9 for his alleged complicity in a multi-crore ‘Skill development scam’. The CID has named the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister as Accused 37 (A37) in the case.

Announcing the arrest at a press conference in Amaravati, Additional Director-General of Police (CID) N. Sanjay claimed to have prima facie evidence of Mr. Naidu’s key role in the siphoning of approximately ₹371 crore belonging to A.P. Skill Development Corporation through fictitious companies during the TDP rule between 2014 and 2019.

Mr. Naidu is currently lodged in the Rajahmundry Central Prison following his judicial remand by the ACB Court in Vijayawada on September 10.

Out of the ₹371 crore released by the government, only ₹58 crore was spent on purchasing the software, Mr. Sanjay said. The remaining amount was diverted to various shell companies by using fake invoices, he alleged.

The private companies too had not contributed their share of 90% of the project cost, the CID officer alleged.

Mr. Sanjay said that as per the tripartite agreement entered into by the A.P. Skill Development Corporation, the companies had to release 90% towards their share prior to the government releasing its share of the cost.