Doctor performs unique heart surgery, claims first in India

from a private city hospital claimed to have performed India’s first mitral valve replacement without opening up the chest.

The mitral valve is one of the heart valves that prevent mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. “Usually, an open-heart surgery is performed to replace the mitral valve. However, in this case, the patient is frail old woman, who would not have been able to withstand a major surgery. So, we decided to do a transcathetral mitral valve replacement, where the valve is accessed from a tiny hole near the groin,” said Dr Praveen Chandra, chairman of interventional cardiology at Medanta, Gurgaon.

Deepa Gupta, 82, had lost a lot of weight in the last one year, had started feeling tired all day and could barely move around. This is because the mitral valve that had been replaced nearly 10 years ago had deteriorated. She also had a pacemaker that needed a change of battery. “We took her to many hospitals and they all said all they could do was replace the battery for the pacemaker. She was too weak to withstand another valve replacement surgery. But, even after the batteries were changed, she still had to keep gasping for breath and could not move around much,” said Sudha Gupta, her daughter.

This came after the proposed affidavit was reported online and by TV channels.

Rohingyas are a minority in Myanmar’s Rakhine, where an intense military crackdown — likened to an ethnic cleansing by the United Nations — has driven hundreds of thousands to flee to Bangladesh and India.

Close to 40,000 Rohingya Muslims live in India after fleeing Myanmar over the past decade. Nearly 15,000 have received refugee documentation, according to the United Nations, but India wants to deport them all. Last week, UN’s human rights chief criticised India’s decision as lacking ‘basic human compassion’.

According to the affidavit that may or not be filed, the government has flagged purported links of some unauthorised Rohingya immigrants to militant groups based in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The government has also said the refugees are vulnerable to radicalisation by groups like the Islamic State.

The document mentions refugees being involved in “illegal/ anti-national activities i.e. mobilisation of funds through hundi/ hawala channels, procuring fake/fabricated Indian identity documents for other Rohingyas/ Bangladeshis, and also indulging in human trafficking”.

Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan has filed a petition on behalf of two immigrants challenging the government’s decision to begin deporting them to Myanmar. The Supreme Court asked the government for its response which will likely be filed ahead of the next hearing next week. Many of the Rohingya refugees who fled to India have settled in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, UP, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.

Former RSS ideologue and Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan leader KN Govindacharaya has also moved the apex court seeking to make him a party in the case filed by the two Rohingya Muslims. Govindacharya has opposed their plea, saying they were “a burden” on the country’s resources and posed a serious threat to national security.

“At 4.15 pm, contact was established with two terrorists who were in hiding. Both were killed in a very brief and crisp encounter, and there was no collateral damage,” he disclosed, adding that two rifles were recovered from the spot.

Both Ismail and Kasim hailed from Pakistan.

Ismail, an A-plus category militant involved in 15 criminal cases including murder, had taken over the reins of the LeT’s south Kashmir operations after his predecessor — Abu Dujana — was killed in an encounter last month. Khan said the operation was successful because Kashmiris wanted the terrorists to pay for their crimes. “These people had attacked unarmed Amarnath yatris, and there was widespread condemnation of the attack,” he added.

Security forces are still hunting for two others, a local resident and a Pakistani militant, involved in the Anantnag attack. Major General BS Raju, general officer commanding of Victor Force, said the operation was important because Ismail’s death was likely to create a vacuum in the LeT leadership.

Dujana (27) and another militant were shot dead in a shootout between militants and security forces at Pulwama’s Hakripora

“Japan in committed to Make in India. If Japan’s high-level technique mergers with India’s best human resources, India will become the factory of the world,” Abe said, referring to the Modi’s government’s ambitious plan to turn India into a global manufacturing powerhouse.

A crucial portion of their declaration was about collaborating in Africa, where 54 resource-rich countries present a ripe market. The partnership merges India’s Act-East and Japan’s Indo-Pacific strategies with their policy for engagement with the African continent, home to 15% of the population.

The support of these countries is also vital for New Delhi and Tokyo’s aspirations of a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.

The unveiling of the strategy follows China’s one belt, one road (OBOR) connectivity plan that also aims to deepen engagement with Africa and countries in the region.

The joint statement called for countries in the region to “ensure development and connectivity infrastructure in an open, transparent and non-exclusive manner based on international standards and responsible debt financing practices, while ensuring respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, the rule of law, and the environment”.

These are the very concerns India raised while staying away from OBOR since it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

In Beijing the foreign ministry spokesperson said Beijing was “open and welcome normal development of relations between the countries in the region. We hope that relations will be conducive to regional peace and stability and can play a constructive role in this regard”.

Sonu and seven accomplices had attacked Monu Dariyapur on April 30, while he was travelling in a car with his personal security officers – assistant sub-inspector Vijay Kumar and constable Kuldeep – and two others (accomplices Arun Setani and Yogesh) through outer Delhi’s Mianwali Nagar.

The assailants fired indiscriminately at the occupants of the car, killing Monu, Vijay Kumar and Setani. The other two were injured.

The gangster was reportedly furious that Monu had married his cousin against her family’s wishes. More than 40 bullets were fired in the incident, 20 of which struck Monu alone.

Sonu had joined hands with Haryana-based gangster Rajesh aka Raje, who was also looking for support to kill a rival, to attack his former friend. Monu was accorded police protection in view of a previous attempt on his life.

Six of the accused, including Raje, were arrested in the last four months. Sonu remained underground, constantly moving from one hideout to another across Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to escape detection.