The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the new coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency after the death toll in China increased to 213 on Friday, with 9,692 confirmed in the country’s 31 provincial-level regions. As 98 confirmed cases were reported from 18 countries, outside China, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the WHO, told the media on Thursday night: “I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of 2019nCoV, not because of what is happening in China, but because of what is happening in other countries. “In many ways, China is actually setting…
Author: Our Correspondent
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme of the government which gives Rs 6,000 a year to farmers may see a cut in budgetary allocation. It is learnt that the allocation for PM-Kisan may be slashed by 20 percent to about Rs 60,000 crore in the upcoming general budget from Rs 75,000 crore. The amount allocated to the scheme was Rs 75,000 crore, in the budget estimate of 2019-20. The reason for this massive cut is the obstacles being faced in its implementation in some of the states. Under the PM-Kisan scheme, farmers are given a total of Rs…
Leading Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar filmed a Discovery channel programme with Bear Grylls in Karnataka’s Bandipur Tiger Reserve on Thursday, an official said. “Yes, Akshay Kumar shot for a day in Bandipur on Thursday for a Discovery channel programme,” Chief Wildlife Warden Sanjay Mohan told IANS. The Discovery channel had sought permission for shooting between January 28 and January 30. The actual shooting with the actors, Rajinikanth and Kumar, was only for one day each on Tuesday and Thursday. “The Discovery team had come to my office. We told them they would have to follow the rules strictly. If they…
The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed proceedings initiated in a Thiruvananthapuram court by a 45-year-old woman, claiming to be the daughter of renowned singer AnuradhaPaudwal, who is a recipient of the Padma Shri and the National Film Award, was married to music composer ArunPaudwal. A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant issued notice to the woman on a plea filed by Paudwal, who moved the top court seeking direction to transfer the case from the Thiruvananthapuram court to Mumbai. The woman in a Thiruvananthapuram family court claimed the couple was her…
India womens hockey captain Rani Rampal on Thursday won the 2019 World Games Athlete of the Year award. The prize, which is voted for by the public, is given for outstanding performance, along with social commitment and fair behaviour. “It is my privilege and honour to win this award,” said Rani. “The award goes to my team and my country. It is always nice when your country recognises your effort. It is even better when the international sports community recognises it. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me. 2019 was a great year for our team because…
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath convened an emergency meeting at his official residence to take stock of the hostage situation in Farukkhabad district where a criminal has held about 20 children hostage since the past five hours. Uttar Pradesh DGP O.P. Singh, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Avanish Awasthi and other top officials were also present in the meeting. The Chief Minister, sources said, expressed his displeasure at the slow reaction of the local police and said that the rescue of the children should be of prime importance. The man, identified as Subhash Batham, had invited children for the birthday…
With just two days remaining for the execution of the convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the curative petition of Akshay, one of the convicts in the case, seeking a stay on the death sentence. A five-judge bench headed by Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justices Arun Mishra, R.F. Nariman, R. Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan, considered Akshay’s petition in-chambers. “The application for oral hearing is rejected. The application for stay on the execution of death sentence is also rejected,” said the top court. Earlier, the apex court had dismissed the curative petitions…
Kerala Health Minister K.K. Shailaja on Thursday confirmed India’s first-ever positive case of coronavirus in Thrissur. A girl student who returned from China’s Wuhan has tested positive, the Minister said. Shailaja, however, said there is no need to panic, adding the girl is being kept in isolation in a hospital. “So far, we have sent 20 samples for testing of which 10 turned negative, results of six are awaited, and one case tested positive. Four other samples have also been sent,” Shailaja said, adding a second gene sequence test is to be done. “The patient returned from Wuhan where this…
Three chief ministers of northeastern states — Assam, Tripura and Manipur — along with MPs and top leaders of the BJP would campaign for the saffron party candidates contesting the February 8 assembly polls in Delhi, party sources said on Thursday. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sources in Agartala and Guwahati said that Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and his Manipur counterpart N. Biren Singh would soon join the election campaign in the national capital. “Besides the Chief Ministers, many MPs from the northeast and senior BJP leaders would take part in the Delhi election…
The Special Task Force of UP Police on Wednesday arrested Gorakhpur-based doctor Kafeel Khan from Mumbai for allegedly making an inflammatory speech on the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act at the Aligarh Muslim University on December 12, 2019. According to the officials, Khan, accompanied by Swaraj India’s Yogendra Yadav, tried to malign the government and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s image in his speech. “Khan gave this speech on December 12, 2019 at the AMU. He was addressing the students. The whole incident was video recorded by Sub-Inspector Danish. The video clearly shows that how he spoke against the Indian government,” UP STF…