Indian Sub-continent

NEW DELHI, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- India's federal health ministry Friday said all international passengers arriving in the country would have to undergo mandatory seven-day home quarantine starting from Jan. 11.

The order has been issued in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in India driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

"All travellers (including those 2 percent who are selected for random testing on arrival and found negative) will undergo home quarantine for seven days and shall undertake RT-PCR test on the eighth day of arrival in India," read the order.

New Delhi, Jan 7 (PTI) Drugmaker Lupin on Friday said it has launched antiviral medication Molnupiravir under the brand name Molnulup in the country for the treatment of COVID-19.

Molnupiravir has been given emergency use authorisation by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for treatment of adult COVID-19 patients who have a high risk of progression of the disease, including hospitalisation.

"The approval for Molnulup is timely as India is again experiencing an upward spike in COVID-19 incidences.

Bhopal, Jan 7 (PTI) The alleged mastermind behind the creation of 'Bulli Bai' app, Niraj Bishnoi, has been suspended by the Madhya Pradesh-based engineering college, where he was a B Tech student, following his arrest, an official of the institute said on Friday.

Bishnoi, a student of the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) Bhopal campus, was arrested on Thursday from Jorhat in Assam.

Lucknow, Jan 6 (PTI) Amid various political parties seeking to woo voters with promises of free power and other freebies ahead of the assembly polls, the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday announced a 50 per cent cut on farmers' electricity bills for running their tubewells.

The Chief Minister's office made the announcement on its official Twitter handle that said the decision to slash the power bills has been taken in the interest of farmers.

New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) India on Thursday said there was no "material change" in the situation that would allow holding of the stalled SAARC Summit, days after Pakistan reiterated its offer to host it.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday said Islamabad was ready to host the summit and that India could attend it virtually if it does not want to participate in-person.

Kendrapara (Odisha), Jan 7 (PTI) A rare albino salt-water crocodile has been recently sighted at Odisha's Bhitarkanika National Park, a forest officer said on Friday.

Rajnagar Mangrove (Wildlife) Divisional Forest Officer J D Pati said that the albino crocodile was sighted in the hatchery and rearing complex of crocodiles at Dangmal in the national park.

New Delhi, Jan 7 (PTI) The single day rise in coronavirus infections was recorded above one lakh after 214 days, taking India's total tally of COVID-19 cases to 35,226,386 which includes 3,007 cases of Omicron reported across 27 states and UTs, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

Out of the total Omicron cases reported so far, 1,199 people have recovered or migrated.

Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of 876 cases followed by Delhi at 465, Karnataka 333, Rajasthan 291, Kerala 284 and Gujarat 204.

Muzaffarnagar (UP), Jan 7 (PTI) A nine-year-old girl was allegedly raped by two boys in the district, police said.

The incident took place a few days ago but a police complaint was lodged on January 5, police said on Thursday.

According to the police complaint filed by the victim's parents, the girl was playing near her house when the two accused -- aged 10 and 14 -- took her away and later allegedly raped her.

Police said the girl was sent for medical examination and that further investigation was underway.

New Delhi, Jan 7 (PTI) Amid a surge in Covid cases, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has asked Delhi and neighbouring districts to immediately strengthen health infrastructure, maintain buffer stocks of essential drugs and ensure that oxygen supply equipment is fully functional.

At a meeting convened to review the COVID-19 situation in the national capital and adjoining districts on Thursday, Bhalla also favoured ramping up of testing in all districts of Delhi-NCR where the number of tests is low.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Each year on Jan. 17, Shahana bakes a cake and invites friends to her home in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. They sing happy birthday for her son, even light a candle. But it’s a birthday without the birthday boy.

Her son, Asfand Khan, was 15 in December 2014 when gunmen rampaged through his military-run public school in Peshawar killing 150 people, most of them students, some as young as 5. Asfand was shot three times in the head at close range.