India

Indore (MP), Jan 8 (PTI) Nearly 450 chickens were culled in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city in the last 24 hours to prevent the spread of bird flu, a civic official said on Friday evening.

The Madhya Pradesh government has already ordered closure of poultry shops in Neemuch and Indore districts for a week after bird flu infection was found in some chickens.

"Nearly 450 poultry birds were culled and buried as per guidelines. We have also shut chicken shops in the city," municipal health officer Uttam Yadav said.

Mumbai, Jan 8 (PTI) Mumbai on Friday once again recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 317 which was worse than that of Delhi, an official of the India Meteorological Department said.

On Thursday too, the city's AQI was worse than that of the national capital.

The quality of air was worst in Colaba in south Mumbai on Friday as per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR-India).

With AQI of 352, the air quality in the area fell in the "very poor" category.

Kolkata, Jan 9 (PTI) A two-day special session of the West Bengal Assembly will begin on January 27 when the state government will table a resolution against the Centre's new farm laws and discuss the issue of agitating farmers.

State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee told reporters on Friday evening that a letter has been sent to Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay, urging him for convening the special session.

Issues related to GST will also be taken up during the session, he said.

Muzaffarnagar (UP), Jan 9 (PTI) A mother of a two-month-old child was killed by strangulation allegedly by her in-laws over a dowry dispute in a village in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Saturday.

The parents of the victim, identified as Annu, alleged that they found her dead on Friday evening when they went to check on her after she had called them, saying her husband was beating her.

The in-laws live in Mor Majra village, which comes under the Thana Bhawan police station limits.

New Delhi, Jan 9 (PTI) A Chinese soldier was apprehended by Indian troops from an area south of the Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh in the early hours of January 8, official sources said on Saturday.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldier had transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control and was taken into custody by Indian troops deployed in the area, they said.

Jaipur, Jan 9 (PTI) Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday asked people to be careful amid the outbreak of bird flu in several states of the country.

He said the state government is taking all necessary steps to check the spread of this flu.

Due to H5N1 and H5N8 viruses from migratory birds, bird flu is spreading in many states including Rajasthan, due to which birds are dying. Bird flu can spread from birds to humans, so we also need to be careful, Gehlot tweeted.

Shahjahanpur (UP) Jan 8 (PTI) An 11-year-old girl was allegedly raped in a village under Tilhar Police Station area here, police said on Friday.

The victim was lured and taken to an agricultural field on Thursday evening and allegedly raped, SP (rural) Nipun Aggarwal said.

Upon returning home, she told her family members about the incident after which a case was lodged and the 33-year-old accused identified as Ramesh was arrested, the SP said.

Ballia (UP), Jan 7 (PTI) A 38-year-old woman was allegedly raped by her neighbour in a village in Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh last week, police said on Thursday.

An FIR was lodged on Wednesday based on a complaint from the victim, who alleged that her 36-year-old neighbour came to her house when she was alone and raped her, station house officer of Rasra Kotwali police station Saurabh Rai said.

The woman was sent to the district hospital for a medical examination, and efforts are underway to nab the accused, he added.

New Delhi, Jan 7 (PTI) The government has cleared eight hydropower projects of 144 MW on the Indus river and its tributaries in Ladakh, the highest so far, sources in the Jal Shakti Ministry said on Thursday.

At present, there are several small projects, with a collective capacity of 113 MW on Indus in Ladakh, and the new projects will have much more capacity than those constructed so far, a senior official added.

New Delhi, Jan 7 (PTI) Indian economy is estimated to contract 7.7 per cent in 2020-21 compared to 4.2 per cent growth in the previous fiscal, mainly on account of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per the first advanced estimates of the national income released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Thursday, there was contraction in almost all sectors with the exception of agriculture.