Ranchi, October 16 (IANS): A minor girl was gang-raped and killed in Jharkhand's second capital Dumka on Friday, the second such incident in the Santhal Pargana region of the state in the past one week. According to the police, a 12-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped and murdered in Thadi village under the Ramgarh police station in Dumka district on Friday. The girl had gone to attend her tuition classes on her bicycle. After she did not return home for a lone time, her f

London, October 16 (IANS): In the fight against novel coronavirus, scientists have developed a score that can accurately predict which patients will develop a severe form of Covid-19. The measurement, called the Dublin-Boston score, is designed to enable clinicians to make more informed decisions when identifying patients who may benefit from therapies, such as steroids, and admission to intensive care units. Until this study, no Covid-19-specific prognostic scores were available

CHENNAI, OCTOBER 16 (IANS): A judge in the Madras High Court bench in Madurai on Friday turned emotional on the delay in taking a decision on the 7.5 per cent reservation for students of government schools in medical college admissions. The state government told the court that it will not come out with the prospectus for medical college admissions till Governor Banwarilal Purohit takes a decision on the Bill for reservation for students of government schools. The Bill passed

VIJAYAWADA, OCTOBER 16 (IANS): Another sensational case is challenging the city police in less than a week's time, in which a girl died of stab injuries, even as her friend is battling for his life. Nagendra and Divya Tejaswini of Krishthurajapuram area in Vijayawada were found with stab injuries in the girl's home on Thursday. Tejaswini subsequently succumbed to her injuries while Nagendra is undergoing treatment. "When this incident happened, only those two peop

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 16 (IANS): BJP strongman in south and Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan, has hit out at the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Front government in Kerala over the recent gold smuggling case, and demanded the Chief Minister's resignation. Muraleedharan, while addressing the media from a BJP podium, alleged that Vijayan has lost the moral right to remain in the chair of Kerala Chief minister given the latest developments which put a question

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 16 (IANS): Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad has tested positive for Covid-19. "I have tested positive for Covid-19. I am in home quarantine. Those who came in contact with me in the last few days may kindly follow the protocol," Azad tweeted on Friday. In the Rajya Sabha, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu recently recovered from the infection, while many other members had also tested positive during the recently held Monsoon Session

New Delhi, October 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India has been providing free ration to about 80 crore poor for the last 7 to 8 months during coronavirus pandemic, which entails a cost of around Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Modi said this after releasing a commemorative coin of Rs 75 denomination to mark the 75th anniversary of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The Prime Minister also dedicated 17 recently developed biofortified varieties of 8 crops to

New Delhi, October 16 (IANS): To enhance military cooperation, Indian Army Vice Chief Lieutenant General SK Saini will visit the United States for three days where he is to meet counterparts. "The aim of the visit is to enhance military cooperation between both the armies," the Indian Army stated. The visit is planned from October 17 to October 20. The Army Vice Chief will visit the US Army Pacific Command (USARPRAC), the Army component of Indo-Pacific Command (INDOP

Ballia (Uttar Pradesh), October 16 (IANS): In an unexpected turn of events, BJP MLA from Ballia, Surendra Singh, has come out to defend Dhirendra Singh, an accused in the firing incident at a Panchayat meeting in which one person was killed. The incident happened on Thursday evening. "The accused was beaten and his father was also beaten. If someone attacks someone's family, then a reaction to the action will happen. Dhirendra Singh has been my close associate and what h

New Delhi, October 16 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India has been providing free ration to about 80 crore poor for the last 7 to 8 months during coronavirus pandemic, which entails a cost of around Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Modi said this after releasing a commemorative coin of Rs 75 denomination to mark the 75th anniversary of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The Prime Minister also dedicated 17 recently developed biofortified varieties of 8 crops to

New Delhi, October 16 (IANS): The Delhi High Court on Friday stayed trial court proceedings in a defamation case filed by a BJP leader against Congress parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor over the latter's 'scorpion' remark vis-a-vis Prime Minister Narendra Modi and issued notice. Justice Suresh Kumar Kait ordered the stay and issued the notice on Tharoor's plea for quashing of the criminal defamation case filed by BJP leader Rajiv Babbar. The plea was filed through ad

New Delhi, October 16 (IANS): With a spike of 63,371 coronavirus cases and 895 deaths in 24 hours, India's tally reached 73,70,469 cases, the Union Health Ministry data said on Friday. Out of these, 64,53,779 have been discharged, 8,04,528 are currently active while 1,12,161 lost the battle against the pandemic. According to the Ministry, India continues to have one of the lowest deaths per million population globally, presently pegged at 80. "Some states and UTs are

MUMBAI, October 15 (Reuters): Floods brought by heavy rains and overflowing rivers across large swathes of western and southern India have killed at least 60 people since Wednesday and damaged rice, cotton and other crops worth billions of rupees, officials said. The worst affected state was Telangana, where excessive unseasonal rainfall on Wednesday and Thursday flooded its capital Hyderabad, home to major companies and startups such as Microsoft, Accenture, Amazon and TCS

Hyderabad, October 15 (IANS): Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday said that due to heavy rains and flash floods, the state suffered losses to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he urged the Centre to release Rs 1,350 crore immediately for rehabilitation and relief works. Heavy rains and floods during last three days have wrecked havoc in various parts of the state, especially Hyderabad. The Chief Minister on Thursday he

New Delhi, October 15 (IANS): The Union Health Ministry on Thursday said the country's doubling time of Covid-19 cases has sharply increased to 70.4 days from 25.5 days in mid-August, which is nearly thrice the time being taken earlier. "This indicates a substantial fall in the daily new cases and the consequent increase in time taken to double the total cases," the Ministry tweeted as India recorded a spike of 67,708 coronavirus cases and 680 deaths in 24 hours, as th

BENGALURU/KOLKATA, October 15 (Reuters): Already on track to overtake the United States with the world's most novel coronavirus infections, India is bracing for a surge of cases in coming weeks as it heads into its main holiday season with an economy freed of virus restrictions. The recent experience of the southern state of Kerala, which was praised for its initial handling of the pandemic, indicates how rapidly the situation can worsen. Reported infections there have

NEW DELHI, October 15  (Reuters): Indian authorities sent teams of scientists out to various parts of the capital, New Delhi, and surrounding districts on Thursday to clamp down on illegal factories and construction sites as part of efforts to combat worsening winter air pollution. Fifty teams from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) would track down industrial emissions, dust from building sites and smoke from burning rubbish - some of the main sources of the city&

Srinagar, October 15 (Reuters): Kashmir’s main political parties announced a grand alliance on Thursday to seek a peaceful restoration of its autonomy after India's release of the last major Kashmiri political leader from lengthy detention. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked the Muslim-majority region’s special status last year, cracked down on opposition and rounded up hundreds of people to forestall protests. On Tuesday, the gove

New Delhi, Octòber 15 (IANS): India and the Netherlands on Thursday unveiled plans for a joint thrust in the e-health sector, with the aim of providing digital health facilities and security to every Indian. Part of India's ambitious National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), this cooperative initiative will see the two countries work closely to create capacities and put in place the requisite technology backbone to enable this revolutionary initiative. The alliance was a

NEW DELHI, October 15 (Reuters) - Indian authorities sent teams of scientists out to various parts of the capital, New Delhi, and surrounding districts on Thursday to clamp down on illegal factories and construction sites as part of efforts to combat worsening winter air pollution. Fifty teams from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) would track down industrial emissions, dust from building sites and smoke from burning rubbish - some of the main sources of the city's air