China says photo of its troops at Russian border is fake news: Report
Beijing, Mar 18: China has dismissed as fake news rumours about sending troops to Russia, including a cropped picture showing a fully-loaded Chinese military truck convoy at the border with Russia, according to a media report on Friday.
A photo circulating on Twitter is a cropped version of a picture first published in 2021, China's internet watchdog said.
China had earlier denied reports that Russia had asked it for military support in its Ukraine military offensive.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country's internet watchdog, said on Thursday that there were many fake news reports online aimed at discrediting China's position on the war in Ukraine, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Friday.
A photograph of a long line of fully-loaded Chinese military vehicles travelling at night has circulated on Twitter, triggering speculation that China was providing assistance to Russia.
But it was actually an edit of an old shot from May 2021, the CAC said.
A tweet had said a photo of 200 to 300 People's Liberation Army (PLA) trucks was taken by a local driver on March 14 in the north-eastern Heilongjiang province, near Suifenhe, a town on the border with Russia.
The original photo was an official publicity shot of a PLA regiment's night transport exercise in the western region of Xinjiang last year, which was first published in the official PLA Daily on May 10, 2021, the CAC said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
