The Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday said the situation was "normal" in RR Venkatapuram village, where a styrene vapour leak from the LG Polymers plant claimed 12 lives and left over 300 people hospitalized with various ailments. Director General of Police D Gautam Sawang and Special Chief Secretary (Industries) Karikal Valaven inspected the plant and spoke to the LG Polymers plant management. Later they told reporters "everything is normal and there is no need to panic." Even as Sawang was inspecting the vapour leak spot and talking to the management on the measures taken to restore normalcy, irate villagers staged a protest demanding immediate closure of the plant. According to the DGP, temperature at the styrene storage tank, where the vapour leak occurred, has come down, as also the PPM (ambient air quality) level. "Definitely the air is also fresh and there is nothing to worry about. In the coming days, life will come back to normalcy," the DGP said. "Just to ..

BJP president J P Nadda said on Saturday that making "inhuman" comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is "extremely condemnable". "Making inhuman comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is extremely condemnable. Spreading such misleading remarks about anyone's health shows the mindset of people doing so. I strongly condemn it and pray to God to grant them good sense," Nadda said in a tweet. His tweet came after Shah, also Nadda's predecessor as the BJP president, asserted in a statement that he is "totally healthy" and rejected rumours being spread about his ill health on social media.

One more person has tested positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya, taking the total number of cases in the state to 13, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Saturday. Of the total 13 COVID-19 cases, only two are active including the fresh case in Shillong. "Unfortunately we have another positive case in Shillong. Its a person working in the same house. As a precaution health department was retesting all the primary contacts and in the process we found this positive case. The person is safe and healthy and showing no symptoms," the chief minister tweeted. Senior Health department officials said the person had tested negative twice in the past. Meghalaya has reported 13 COVID-19 cases till date with one death. Ten persons have recovered from the disease. The first COVID-19 positive case in the state was Dr John Sailo Ryntathiang, who tested positive on April 13. The 69-year-old doctor died two days later and eight of his family members and two of his domestic help have also ..

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's manic following just keeps on increasing with India and Chennaiyin FC midfielder Anirudh Thapa being the latest to join the badwagon of his awestruck fans. Dhoni is one of the co-owners of Chennaiyin FC, the twice winners of Indian Super League in 2015 and 2017-18 season. The 22-year-old Thapa treasures his interactions with Dhoni during times when former India cricket captain would drop in to meet the Chennaiyin footballers. "He (Dhoni) used to come whenever we had a team lunch. He would stay back to talk to the boys and shared his experiences. He's a very down to earth guy. Obviously Thala is my favourite cricketer," Thapa said. "There were others who also asked him to come and sit with them, but instead he always preferred to sit with the footballers. He would say Let me sit with the boys and let me share some experiences'." Thapa, who has played 24 matches for India since 2017, said Dhoni would also share his on and off-field experiences with the ...

An NGO from Indore in Madhya Pradesh has sent a letter petition to the Chief Justice of India seeking direction to government authorities to ensure people with disabilities, or Divyangjan, reach their homes safely amid the lockdown for the novel coronavirus outbreak. The letter was sent to the CJI on Friday, Anand Service Society's directors Gyanendra and Monica Purohit told PTI. "More than 150 Divyang persons are stuck in different parts of the country and waiting endlessly to go back to their homes. We have sent a letter petition to the Chief Justice of India requesting him to issue necessary directions to the concern authorities," Purohit said. "After our successful mission to rescue 23 speech and hearing impaired persons, a large number of people with disabilities have approached us to make arrangements for their safe return to their homes. "We need government support for it and, therefore, requested the Chief Justice of India to give necessary directions to National

: The number of active COVID-19 cases slid below the 1,000 mark to 999 in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday though the overall tally rose to 1,930 with the addition of 43 in the last 24 hours ending 9 am. The COVID-19 toll in the state also increased by three to 44 while 45 more patients were discharged from hospitals, according to the latest bulletin. Chittoor district saw a sudden spurt in cases, with 11 reported in the last 24 hours ending 9 am on Saturday, as some people who returned from Koyambedu wholesale market in Chennai city tested posted for coronavirus. It is suspected that these people contracted the disease at Koyambedu and several others who also returned from the place were sent to quarantine, sources here said. Visakhapatnam too continued to show an upward trend as five fresh cases were registered, taking the total in the district to 62. The major hotspots Kurnool, Krishna and Guntur reported six, 16 and two fresh cases. In the last 24 hours, Krishna reported two

The Indian Railways has operated 302 Shramik Special' trains since May 1 and ferried home more than 3 lakh migrants stranded in various parts of the country amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, officials said. The national transporter has planned to operate 47 trains on Saturday, out of which 34 trains have already departed, they said. Every Shramik Special train has 24 coaches, each with a capacity of 72 seats. The railways, however, is allowing only 54 people in a coach to maintain social distancing norms by not allotting the middle berth to any passenger. While the railways has not yet announced the cost incurred on the special services, officials indicate the national transporter has spent around Rs 80 lakh per service. The government had earlier stated that the cost of the services has been shared on 85:15 ratio with states. Since the beginning of running the Shramik Special trains, Gujarat remained one of the top originating stations followed by Kerala. Among the receiving ...

Four persons were detained by Ahmedabad police on Saturday for allegedly spreading misinformation about Union Home Minister Amit Shah's health by creating a fake Twitter account in his name. Earlier in the day, Shah had issued a statement saying that rumours about his health were being spread through social media, and he was in good health and not suffering from any disease. The local crime branch detained four persons for spreading misinformation about Shah's health, special commissioner of police (crime) Ajay Tomar said. A screenshot of a fake Twitter account in Shah's name with his photo, claiming that he was suffering from a serious ailment, had gone viral on social media platforms, Tomar said. The suspects were detained from Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar and they were being questioned, he said. A case has been registered in this regard under sections 66(c) (punishment for identity theft) and 66(d) (cheating by personation using computer resource) of the Information ...

Stopped by police from proceeding further, hundreds of migrant workers going home on foot created a ruckus at a Ganga bridge on the National Highway-24 in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha district, officials said on Saturday. According to them, the workers started arriving at the bridge from the Delhi side on Friday afternoon and wanted to go home at the earliest. Dhanoura Circle Officer Monica Yadav said they had assured them that buses would be arranged for their journey but they were adamant on going home on foot. Amroha DM Umesh Mishra said they arranged buses for them but some of the workers on bicycles refused to go in these. They wanted to proceed on their bicycles, he said.

In Vadhan's new book, there is an anti-hero who takes law into his hands but the author says this is not meant to glorify vigilantism and the character's only agenda is to enforce law through a fiery and extreme form of justice system and not destabilize anything. The story of "Fear of God" weaves law, corruption, vigilantism and courtroom drama to follow the three central characters who are looking to achieve the same thing but through different means. A parliamentarian is brutally murdered. The vigilante's next target is a war hero and top constitutional lawyer. A top police officer has to race against time to stop the killings. The vigilante is as devious as he is effective in instilling the fear of God into those who think they are above the law. When asked whether the anti-hero taking law into his hands in a way glorifies vigilantism, Vadhan says, "But then, what is the goal of this anti-hero? Is he a voice against law? He only reiterates that one has to obey the law to be ...

Joining the efforts of the government to combat coronavirus, a group of young women equipped with a latest hi-tech machine is conducting fogging in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district. The five women, aged between 18 and 22, have already covered six villages in the district and are also distributing masks and educating people about COVID-19. "We are volunteers of NGO 'Team Khalsa' and have managed to get the machine to conduct fogging, especially in remote areas which usually remain unattended," Gagan, the leader of the five-member group, told PTI. She said they have already covered Chhakhar, Vishal Jatta, Sambal, Sui and Kahjahir villages in the past one week. "We are targeting one village for sanitisation and awareness every day," Gagan said while distributing face masks in Cherry Swail village. Asked about the challenge and the response of their families, she said they are cooperating and appreciating their efforts. "We had a tough time convincing our parents for permission as ...

Bihar Information and Public Relations Minister Niraj Kumar on Saturday hit back at the Congress for demanding his resignation due to the expiry of his MLC tenure, asserting he is holding his ministerial post as per constitutional provisions. Congress national spokesperson and Bihar MLC Prem Chandra Mishra Mishra had on Friday termed as "unethical and against constitutional norms" the continuance of Bihar ministers Niraj Kumar and Ashok Choudhary in their posts despite the expiry of their tenures in the legislative council earlier this week. Both the JD(U) leaders were sworn-in as ministers a year ago, during a Cabinet expansion by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar shortly after the NDA's stupendous victory in the Lok Sabha elections. They are among 17 members of the 75-strong legislative council whose tenure ended on Wednesday. The Election Commission is yet to announce a poll schedule for the Upper House. Building Construction Minister Ashok Choudhary and IPRD Minister ...

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said Rs 18,253 crore has been disbursed to 9.13 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme during the ongoing nationwide lockdown. Under the PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) scheme, each farmer gets Rs 6,000 in a year in three equal installments directly in bank account. Front-loading the release of the first installment under the PM-KISAN scheme was part of the Rs 1.70 lakh crore Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) announced on March 26 to protect the poor from the impact of the coronavirus lockdown. The lockdown was imposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 25 to curb the spread of COVID-19, and since then it has been extended twice. With regard to further assistance to farmers, the finance minister said that 3 crore farm loan borrowers have opted for a three-month moratorium. "Since March 2020, 9.13 crore farmers have been paid Rs 18,253 crore under PM-KISAN during the #lockdown. About three crore farmers with

A 62-year-old man died due to coronavirus in Noida, becoming the second COVID-19 fatality in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district, officials said on Saturday. The resident of Sector 66 was among the two people who tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the officials said. "He expired yesterday (Friday) evening. The cause of the death was cardio-respiratory failure, District Surveillance Officer Sunil Dohare said in a statement. The other person who tested positive for COVID-19 is a 52-year-old man residing in Sector 45's Khajoor Colony, the officer said. "Total 100 reports have been received in the last 24 hours of which two were positive and the rest negative for COVID-19. The cumulative positive cases of coronavirus in Gautam Buddh Nagar are now 216," Dohare said. A 60-year-old man from Sector 22 died on Friday due to respiratory failure, becoming the first COVID-19 casualty in Gautam Buddh Nagar, officials had said.

The number of active cases of coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh went up to 1,800 on Saturday, while nearly 1,400 people have been discharged so far, a senior official said. Principal Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said the national recovery percentage was 30 per cent but the figure was 43 per cent in Uttar Pradesh. "It is a matter of satisfaction that people are recovering and returning home," he said. The number of active infection cases is 1,800 as against 1,761 on Friday, while the number of people who have fully recovered has risen from 1,387 to 1,399, the official said. Prasad stressed that community surveillance will play an important role in coming days with the return of tens of thousands of migrants. There was a need for the 'gram nigrani samitis' in rural areas and 'mohalla nigrani samitis' in urban areas to work strictly, he said. "All those returning (to the state) are being kept in 21 days' home quarantine and those returning from abroad are also being put in quarantine.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir climbed to 836 on Saturday as 13 more people, including two nurses, tested positive for the disease, officials said. While 12 of the fresh cases are from the Kashmir Valley, one is from Jammu, they said. "Thirteen new COVID-19 cases were detected in the union territory on Saturday," the officials said. The total number of cases in Jammu and Kashmir has now reached 836, they said. "Of these, 767 are in Kashmir, while 69 are in the Jammu region," they added. Among the fresh cases detected on Saturday, three are from Super Speciality Hospital, Shireen Bagh here -- including two staff nurses and an attendant of a patient from Shopian, said Dr Salim Khan, COVID-19 nodal officer at Government Medical College, Srinagar. According to the officials, there are 459 active cases in the union territory -- 446 in Kashmir and 13 in Jammu -- and 368 patients have recovered. A total of nine COVID-19 patients have died in Jammu and Kashmir.

A 25-year-old man was thrashed and left unconscious with serious injuries on suspicious of being a coronavirus carrier' in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh. The incident took place on Friday evening outside a chemist shop in the Shivpuri locality of Aligarh. Police have booked six people in this regard. Abdul Samad fell unconscious after the accused attacked him, alleging that he was a coronavirus carrier', police said on Saturday. He was rushed to Malkhan Singh District Hospital by members of his family who arrived at the spot after people raised an alarm. According to the victim's father Laiqur Rehman, Samad was feeling dizzy after his Ramzan fast on Friday night. He had gone to a chemist shop in the neighbourhood to purchase some medicine where he was accosted by some people, who abused and beat him up without any provocation. Had not the family rushed him to the hospital, the injuries could have been fatal, the father claimed. Samad is now out of danger and has been referred to Jawaharlal .

A 21-year-old married woman allegedly committed suicide by hanging at her house in a village in Bundi district on Saturday, police said. The deceased woman was identified as Uma Jangid (21), wife of Dinesh Jangid and a resident of Nayagaon village of Kapren town in Bundi district, SHO of Kapren police station Budhiprakesh Nama said. The woman allegedly committed suicide by hanging from the ceiling fan of her room on Saturday early morning while other members of the family were asleep, the SHO said. Prima facie, it appears that the woman took the extreme step due to family reasons, he opined. However, no suicide note was recovered from her possession. Uma got married to Dinesh in 2017. Her parents who had reached here after the death said their daughter did not have any complaints about her in-laws, the policeman said, adding that the couple did not have any child. The body was handed over to her family members after a post-mortem was conducted later in the day, Nama said. A case was ..

A 62-year-old man died due to coronavirus in Noida, becoming the second COVID-19 fatality in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district, officials said on Saturday. The man, a resident of sector 66, died on Friday but the report of his COVID test came out as positive on Saturday, they said. "He expired yesterday (Friday) evening. The cause of the death was cardio-respiratory failure," District Surveillance Officer Sunil Dohare said in a statement. Another person who tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday is a 52-year-old man residing in sector 45's Khajoor Colony, the officer said. "Total 100 reports have been received in the last 24 hours of which two were positive and the rest negative for COVID-19. The cumulative positive cases of coronavirus in Gautam Buddh Nagar are now 216," Dohare said. On the brighter side, two patients were discharged after recovering from the disease on Saturday, according to the statement. The two men, aged 23 and 40, were undergoing treatment at the ...

BJP leaders on Saturday reacted strongly to rumours about Home Minister Amit Shah's health, with party president J P Nadda terming these as "inhuman" comments which are "extremely condemnable". Several leaders of the ruling party took to Twitter to express their anguish at the rumours on social media after Shah put out a statement to assert that he was "totally healthy" and rejected speculation of his ill-health. They also wished Shah, Nadda's predecessor as party president, a long and healthy life. BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said spreading such rumours could be a "political ploy" of those who are rattled by Shah's working style and decisions. Party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain claimed that people behind them are "enemies of the nation". In his tweet, Nadda said, "Making inhuman comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is extremely condemnable. Spreading such misleading remarks about anyone's health shows the mindset of people doing so. I strongly condemn

The ruling JD(U) on Saturday slammed AAP for claiming that it bore the cost of ferrying migrant workers from Delhi to their home in Bihar, saying the party was speaking "half-truth" as the Arvind Kejriwal government has sought reimbursement of the payment. The Janata Dal (United) headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar accused the Aam Admi Party (AAP) of resorting to "cheap politics to gain popularity". The JD(U) also came down heavily on Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav for lapping up the issue to attack the NDA dispensation, asking him to stop the rhetoric and do something good for the people of Bihar. The AAP had on Friday claimed that the Kejriwal government paid for the migrant labourers travelling home after the Bihar government left them in the lurch. The train carrying 1,200 migrant labourers left for Muzaffarpur, Bihar today. The Arvind Kejriwal government will bear their full travel cost, Delhi minister Gopal Rai had tweeted on Friday. In a ...

A youth was arrested in connection with the rape of a 15-year-old girl in Muzaffarnagar's Kidwai Nagar on Saturday, police said. He was arrested after almost four months of the incident. Police said the girl was raped by the accused, identified as Nadeem, on January 16. He has been on the run since then, they said.

State-owned Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd on Saturday said it reported a 35 per cent increase in sales of complex fertilisers, marketed under Suphala brand, last month. "Despite enormous logistic and other challenges posed by COVID-19 lockdown, Rashtriya Chemicals Fertilizers Ltd (RCF)...registered an increase of 35.47 per cent in sale of its NPK fertilizers SUPHALA in the month of April, 2020 as compared to April 2019," an official statement said. Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda congratulated the RCF for this sale performance. He expressed satisfaction that different fertiliser PSUs under his ministry are working hard to assist Indian farmers in overcoming difficulties of the lockdown announced to curb COVID-19 spread, the statement said. RCF chairman and managing director S C Mudgerikar said the company is ensuring continuous supply of fertilisers to the farmers, with adequate safety and hygiene. RCF has contributed Rs 83.56 lakh to PM-CARES Fund and

Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in greater strength on Saturday to curb free movement, a day after some people under quarantine were caught in a traffic jam in Bhadarwah of Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, officials said. Out of the total 20 districts in the Union territory, Doda and Poonch in Jammu division are coronavirus free with no reported case till date. Doda district was recently declared a green zone by the administration and simultaneously some relaxations in lockdown restrictions were announced following which people started resuming their normal activities and vehicles also started plying in different areas, including Bhadarwah town. However, alarm bells started ringing when a group of labourers, who are under administrative quarantine after being brought back from outside Jammu and Kashmir this week, were caught in a massive traffic jam in the middle of the main market while being taken to a hospital in the hilly town for COVID-19 testing on Friday, the .

After hiking liquor price by 75 per cent early this week, the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to reduce the number of retail liquor outlets, by a further 13 per cent, to 2,934 by this month end to curtail alcohol consumption and help people "move towards a better life." According to Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) Rajat Bhargava,the government has also taken a number of steps to check illicit distillation of liquor and inter-state trade of non-duty paid liquor. Now, the state government has also decided to constitute an independent Special Enforcement Bureau to deal with illicit liquor, with special focus on districts bordering neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana. Retail liquor business in the state is currently run by the government, through the AP State Beverages Corporation Limited, and the number of outlets was brought down to 3,500 from 4,380 in August last year. With the latest decision, the number will drop further to ...

The National School of Drama (NSD) is planning to take theatrical knowledge and experience to "every nook and corner" of the country" through an online series of lectures, demonstrations, master classes and hands-on training sessions. The webinar series, starting from Sunday, will offer one of a kind experience to those "who are not in physical contact with the regular theatre practice" given to the nation-wide lockdown during the COVID-19 crisis, Suresh Sharma, Director In charge, NSD announced on Saturday. "Due to this ongoing pandemic we feel that the artists are feeling very abandoned as they are not getting the chance to perform. Since we all know the act of theatre is all about a working together in a group, but due the ongoing situation this has become impossible. "National School of Drama has initiated an online platform where the people who are sitting at home can connect with us and utilize their time to grab the knowledge. This not only will help to enhance their skills ...

Four policemen, including an assistant sub inspector, were injured when a group of men attacked them in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan on Friday night. The incident occurred in Chhoti Sadri area near the house of the state Cooperative Minister Udai Lal Anjana with the BJP alleging that Anjana too slapped a policeman, a charge denied by the minister. A former up-sarpanch Kanhaiya Lal had a spat with some youths in Kesunda village over some petty issue. After some time, the youths caught Kanhaiya Lal and thrashed him, police said. On information, a team of four policemen, led by ASI Shishupal Singh, rushed to the spot where the members from Kanhaiya Lal hit them. The policemen got injured. The ASI has received critical injuries, Chhoti Sadri police station's SHO Ravindra Pratap Singh said. Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria wrote a letter to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday alleging that the minister, Udai Lal Anjana slapped a police constable after which the mob present .

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh warned Pakistan on Saturday against its "persistent attempts" to spread narco-terrorism in India, asserting that the police force was "keeping a close watch" on anti-national activities across the border even during a crisis. Our eyes are open to what Pakistan is doing, Singh said, hours after the NIA arrested a "notorious narco-terrorist" who acted as a conduit for Pakistan-based terror groups. The central agency said in a statement that it, along with the Punjab and Haryana police, arrested Ranjit Singh alias Cheeta, a resident of Amritsar, from Haryana. It said investigation in a drug case against Singh showed Pakistan-based outfits were using narcotic trade to generate funds for terror activities in India. Assuring people that no matter how much the force has been busy with Covid duties, the Punjab chief minister said, the police was keeping a watch on the borders. "Pakistan is not letting up on its attempts to push drugs, weapons and drug ...

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Saturday lashed out at the Rajasthan government, saying it gave politics precedence over people's health and failed to contain the coronavirus spread. The Jodhpur MP said asked the state Congress government to introspect over deficiencies in dealing with the situation in his constituency, which is also the hometown of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. "Had there been no deficiencies, the government would not have failed in tackling coronavirus in Jaipur and Jodhpur, said Shekhawat. He alleged that the state government gave priority to politics over people's health' due to which the condition worsened' in the state, especially Jodhpur. In a statement, Shekhawat also accused Gehlot of not taking serious steps to contain coronavirus cases, saying the chief minister was indulging in politics of appeasement. Referring to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's claim that the Centre did not release funds for the state, Shekhawat said adequate budget ...

A 23-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping a girl on multiple occasions, recording the act and using it to blackmail her in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district, police said. The incident took place in a village under the Khanpur Police Station limits and the arrest was made on Friday, they said. The 17-year-old girl and her father had approached the Jhawalar SP with their complaint on Thursday, following which a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, DSP and Circle Officer Bhanwar Singh Hada, who is investigating the case, said. The accused, identified as Saddam Hussain Pinjara, was on Saturday produced before a Jhalawar court which sent him to two days' police remand. In her complaint, the minor alleged that the accused, who is her neighbour, took her to an isolated place around three months ago and raped her at knifepoint and also clicked her pictures and recorded the

The Punjab Police on Saturday arrested from neighbouring Haryana Ranjeet Singh Rana, an alleged drug smuggler who was wanted in connection with a 532-kg heroin haul from Attari last year, officials said. He was arrested from a hideout in Haryana's Sirsa district, the police officials said. Facing over 10 criminal cases, Rana alias Cheeta was one of the key links in the network engaged in smuggling a large number of consignments of drugs and illegal weapons through the Indo-Pak border, the police said. Among other cases, Rana was wanted in the narcotics haul case in which the Customs department seized 532 kg of heroin worth Rs 2,700 crore on June 29, 2019 from 600 bags of rock salt at the Integrated Check Post in Amritsar's Attari. Rana was said to be the kingpin of the narcotics haul. "We have nabbed him (Ranjeet) from Sirsa," Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta told PTI. His brother Gagandeep Singh was also arrested, the state police chief said. Giving details of the

A man was arrested in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday for allegedly raping a nine-year-old girl, police said. Indar Singh Tanwar (23) lured the girl by offering her Rs 100 when she was on her way to the fields and allegedly raped her behind a tree on Friday, said a police officer. Kotwali police station in-charge D P Lohia said the girl told her family members about the incident after returning home, and a complaint was filed. Tanwar was arrested under IPC section 376 (rape) and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act and further probe was on, he said.

The Karnataka government has clarified that migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons can hire and use buses provided by state-run road transport corporations on payment basis for travel to other states with relevant permissions. Inter-State travel of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourist, students and other persons stranded in different states due to lockdown were recently permitted to travel through notified entry and exit points of Karnataka by the government. The Shramik special train services too have been ferrying migrant labourers stranded in the state to destinations like Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh among others. In a circular, Revenue (Disaster Management) Principal Secretary T K Anil Kumar said similar facility on payment basis be made available by state run road transport corporations- KSRTC/NWKRTC/NEKRTC/ BMTC to transport workers to industries permitted under the issued guidelines.

Nearly 3,000 patients were provided assistance for treatment and medicines by the Srinagar district administration in Jammu and Kashmir through its helpline amid teh coronavirus-driven lockdown, officials said. The IVRS-based call centre was inaugurated by Lt Governor Girish Chandra Murmu on April 17 and it replaced a series of helpline numbers launched in March aimed at attending to health emergencies on priority during the lockdown. A dedicated fleet of 10 vehicles and a team of 12 professionals have been deputed on the job round-the-clock for attending to issues related to health emergencies, demands related to dialysis, chemotherapy, diabetes and other such ailments, the officials said. Apart from the IVRS call centre, they said four mobile numbers have also been made available. Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar Shahid Iqbal Choudhary empanelled 13 dialysis centres across the city for providing dialysis services, the expenses of which are borne by the district administration. Most ..

Saudi Arabia plans to build Neom, a futuristic megacity in the middle of the desert. But residents resisting evictions and a historic collapse in oil prices have raised new questions about the project.

Wonder Land: The coronavirus lockdown model is about to collapse beneath its own weight, undermined by politics, confusion about the virus itself, and the basics of human nature. Images: AFP/Getty Images Composite: Mark Kelly

The South Korean company behind the hit video "Baby Shark" is hoping to expand its empire with films and merchandise while pursuing the next viral sensation. Its strategy aims to beat competitors in an increasingly crowded space for children’s attention. Image: Pinkfong

Ratings agency Crisil today said the upcoming payment banks (PBs) will largely focus on the underbanked areas like the East, Northeast and Central regions, and the existing lenders should not worry about them. "We do not expect them to ...

A wave of new technologies is giving people like Max Plansky, who are unable to speak due to a debilitating condition, a more personal synthetic voice. Photo/Video: Denise Blostein/The Wall Street Journal

Dipa Karmakar, the first female Indian gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, will be performing one of the sport's most dangerous and difficult moves in Brazil in August. Photo: Karan Deep Singh/The Wall Street Journal

At the world's biggest ship-recycling yard at Alang, India, life is becoming harder as fewer ships arrive. Here's why. Photo: Karan Deep Singh/The Wall Street Journal

Clif Bar & Co. is among only 5% of U.S. employers that offer a child care center on-site or near its offices. Kate Torgersen, an 18-year employee, explains how bringing her three children to the company's "Base Camp" child care center has benefited her as a working mother. Photo: Tim Hussin for The Wall Street Journal

The poor have filled up marshland, resurfaced uneven land, all with their own labour, and built their homes. "People should get the right to shelter," says Kadvi Wagri, another one of the growing stream of homeless. These voices should not be silenced, says Kalpana Sharma.

Aiming to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks, the Ministry of Environment and Forests published a 'good practices in regulation' note earlier this year. Sunita Dubey finds that instead, the charter may further weaken environmental protection.

Governments in India have been using key provisions in environmental regulations to create and protect 'Ecologically Sensitive Areas'. Recently, the Supreme Court also pressed a state government on an ESA commitment. Kanchi Kohli reports on the practice and challenges.

The National Environmental Appellate Authority came into being in 1997 for citizens concerned with environmental impact to challenge central government clearances. But the Law Commission of India pointed out not long ago that this forum of final appeals "had very little work". Kanchi Kohli discovers more.

Extensive air pollution over Asia has drawn considerable attention from the global atmospheric science community. In India, as in other Asian countries, the government as well as scientists are wary of motivated criticism, but still have much to do to put the environment in order, writes Darryl D'Monte.

Kerala’s Left-dominated 141-member legislative assembly adopted a resolution on 11 July urging New Delhi to withdraw the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification of 2006. The resolution says the notification is “against the interest of Kerala State, nature, environment and people.” M Suchitra reports.

The contrast between the stand taken by India at Copenhagen and at the earlier UN Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 couldn't have been starker, writes Darryl D'Monte.

Eco-pioneer Mohammed Dilawar’s nest boxes, specially designed to bring back sparrows and other birds into urban areas, are a hit among bird-lovers in many Indian metros and of course, the target group – the birds – themselves, writes Savita Hiremath.