India

Chandigarh, May 17 (PTI) The World Health Organization on Monday donated 100 oxygen concentrators to Haryana.

The vital medical equipment was handed over to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in a simple function at Gurgaon.

WHO representative, national professional officer and regional team leader (North India), Dr Vishesh handed over the concentrators to Khattar on behalf of WHO, a state government statement said here.

The chief minister thanked WHO for the gesture.

New Delhi, May 17 (PTI) Despite the second coronavirus wave entering rural areas and lockdown in several states, the demand for work under rural employment scheme MGNREGA is on the rise, according to the data released by Rural Development Ministry on Monday.

In the wake of the pandemic, there have been casualties in operating staff for implementation of rural development schemes and those work in the front have witnessed casualties due to COVID-19, the ministry said in a statement.

Kolkata, May 17 (PTI) Two arrested Trinamool Congress ministers, an MLA and a former party leader, who were arrested by CBI in the Narada sting tape case, were taken to Presidency Correctional Home in Kolkata late on Monday night, sources in the central probe agency said.

Ministers Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim, TMC MLA Madan Mitra and former leader Sovan Chatterjee were taken from Nizam Palace, a building that houses the CBI office, to the prison amid tight security after medical tests.

New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) India's COVID-19 death toll climbed to 278,719 with a record 4,329 fresh fatalities, while the single day rise in coronavirus cases stood at 2.63 lakh, the lowest in 28 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

The country reported a total of 263,533 new cases in a span of 24 hours, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,52,28,996, the data updated at 8 am showed.

A total of 2,59,170 cases were reported in a span of 24 hours on April 20.

New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) Padma Shri awardee and eminent cardiologist Dr K K Aggarwal, who gained more prominence in recent months by posting informative videos about COVID-19 on social media, has died of the same disease, a statement posted on his Twitter handle said.

Aggarwal, 62, who was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here and was on ventilator support since last week, died at 11.30 pm on Monday after a lengthy battle with COVID-19, according to the statement.

New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) The BJP hit out at the Congress on Tuesday over an alleged toolkit of the opposition party, saying it wants to tarnish the image of the country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by calling the new strain of the coronavirus the "India strain" or the "Modi strain".

Kanpur: Issuance of the driving license whether learning or permanent is still not attended at the regional transport office here. What has begun is a fitness test of the vehicles by the official concerned.

According to the news the office was opened with as many as 33 per cent of staff on Monday and the fitness of vehicles was also checked. At the head office in Panki there were done fitness test of more than two dozens of vehicles by following defined guidelines.

Even the cash counters were also started functioning. 

NEW DELHI (AP) — A powerful cyclone that emerged in the Arabian Sea made landfall on India’s western coast on Monday, hours after authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and suspended COVID-19 vaccinations in one state.

Cyclone Tauktae, the most powerful storm to hit the region in more than two decades, came ashore in Gujarat state with heavy rain, a battering storm surge and sustained winds of up to 165 kilometers (103 miles) per hour, the India Meteorological Department said.

Amethi (UP), May 17 (PTI) A 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped repeatedly by a youth in the past one year, police said here on Monday.

The crime came to light when the girl complained of pain in her stomach and was found seven-month pregnant, police added.

When questioned, the girl said she was raped by the youth several times in the past year had taken a pill from a local chemist to abort pregnancy, resulting in pain in the stomach.

Kolar, May 17 (PTI) A 30-year-old man has been arrested for marrying two sisters, including a minor, and remanded in judicial custody, police said on Monday.

Umapathi from a village in Mulabagilu in Kolar district of Karnataka married his sister's daughters, one aged 19 and the other 16.

"Umapathi's sister agreed to the marriage because her second daughter had speech-related problems," a police officer told PTI.