Indian Sub-continent

Mumbai, Apr 17 (PTI) The 'break the chain' restrictions in place in Maharashtra to tackle the surge in coronavirus cases may be extended beyond May 1 depending on the outbreak situation, state health minister Rajesh Tope said on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters in Jalna, over 400 kilometres from here, Tope said people have been supportive of the restrictions, though some violations of prohibitory rules under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) have also been reported.

Galsi (WB), Apr 17 (PTI) A day after a purported audio tape -in which she is heard proposing a rally with the bodies of Cooch Behar firing victims- surfaced, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that her phone is being tapped and said she will order a CID probe into it.

Addressing an election rally here, she accused the BJP of being involved in the conspiracy as the saffron party "cannot match" the ruling Trinamool Congress' campaigning on development programmes.

(Reuters) --- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appealed to devotees to keep a key Hindu festival symbolic as the country reported more than 200,000 new COVID-19 infections for the third straight day.

India reported 234,692 COVID-19 infections over the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to nearly 14.5 million, second only to the United States. Deaths in the country from COVID-19 rose by 1,341 to 175,649.

New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) A record single-day rise of 234,692 cases and 1,341 fatalities have pushed India's COVID-19 tally to 14,526,609 and the death toll due to the viral disease to 175,649, the health ministry said on Saturday.

The number of active coronavirus cases in the country has surpassed the 16-lakh mark, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed.

Kanpur: Nai Chungi crossing remains busy all the time but the crowd surges a little bit more during the evening. The devouts who fast flock to the place to buy water melon, grapes, bananas and other eatables too. The people living around the place get easy chance to get everything of their preference there. 

The traffic movement continues the whole day but the people's gathering to buy required items for Iftaar goes on for not more than one hour.

HERAT, Afghanistan, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Three policemen were killed in a car bomb attack by the Taliban militants in Zanda Jan district in Afghanistan's western Herat province on Friday, provincial governor Sayed Wahid Qatali said Saturday.

Taliban militants detonated an explosive-laden car next to the police checkpoint in Bazarak area of Zanda Jan district at 10:00 p.m. local time Friday, killing three policemen. The Taliban militants also fired at the security forces stationed there, according to the official.

ISLAMABAD, Apr 16 (APP): Amnesty International in its latest report has highlighted the shrinking space for freedom of expression in India.

Indian authorities repressed dissent through unlawful restrictions on peaceful protestors and by silencing critics.

Human rights defenders, including students, academics, journalists, and artists, were arbitrarily arrested, often without charge or trial.

KANDAHAR, Apr 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Four civilians were killed in an improvised bomb blast in Afghanistan’s southern province of Kandahar last night, local police confirmed today.

“The victims, including a woman and two children, were members of a family. The blast which occurred in Zartali locality of Shah Wali Kot district, also destroyed their vehicle,” provincial police spokesman, Jamal Barakzai, said.

Relatives of the victims were notified by the district police, he said.

16 Apr 2021; MEMO: Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, called on Arab and Muslim nations to intervene against Israeli violations against the holy site, the Palestinian Information Centre reported.

Erode (TN), Apr 16 (PTI): A Mahila Court here on Friday sentenced a head constable to five years rigorous imprisonment (RI) and fined him Rs 50,000 in a sexual harassment case involving a minor girl.

The prosecution case was that the nine-year-old girl of Sulure, Coimbatore district, was sleeping in a moving train when the policeman sexually harassed her.

The girl raised an alarm and her parents, along with co-passengers, got up and caught the head constable.

The incident happened on the night of September 1, 2018.