India

New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) The nomination of former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to Rajya Sabha is a matter of "shame for the nation", the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) said on Wednesday.

Party's Malappuram (Kerala) MP and national general secretary P K Kunhalikkutty, in a statement, said Gogoi's nomination raised serious doubts about the independence of the judiciary.

Jammu, Mar 18 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday accorded sanction to rolling out the J&K Health Scheme to provide free of cost Universal Health Coverage to all residents of the Union Territory in convergence with Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY.

The decision was taken by the administrative council which met under the chairmanship of Lt Governor G C Murmu here, an official spokesperson said.

Srinagar, Mar 18 (PTI) The Kashmir Valley on Wednesday recorded its first positive case for novel coronavirus in Srinagar, mayor of Srinagar Municipal Corporation Junaid Azim Mattu said.

"I have been informed a short while ago that #Srinagar has had its first positive case for #Covid2019. It's a congested area in the city interiors. We have to be transparent to convey the gravity of the challenge and also seek serious measures and responsible behavior," Mattu said in a series of tweets.

19 March 2020; AFP: An activist with India's ruling party has been arrested after a volunteer fell ill from drinking cow urine at a party to combat the novel coronavirus, police said Wednesday, as interest grows in home remedies amid the pandemic.

Narayan Chatterjee, a Bharatiya Janata Party activist, was arrested by West Bengal state police late Tuesday for "organising the cow urine consumption event and compelling a civic volunteer to drink cow urine", Kolkata police chief Anuj Sharma told AFP.

Attari (Amritsar), Mar 18 (PTI) At least 29 Indians, who had gone to Dubai to watch a cricket match which was called off later, on Wednesday night returned to India through the land transit route of Attari-Wagah border here.

Earlier, when they entered India after being cleared by the Pakistan Immigration Authority, they were detained at Attari border, as they were not having requisite permission on their passport to return to India through Pakistan.

Mumbai, Mar 19 (PTI) The Food and Drugs Administration personnel raided a hand sanitiser manufacturing unit in suburban Nahur and seized substandard sanitisers worth Rs 25 lakh, officials said.

The sanitisers were manufactured illegally and were being exported without any valid licence and necessary permissions, officials said on Wednesday.

Mumbai, Mar 19 (PTI) Equity benchmark Sensex plummeted over 2,100 points and the Nifty gave up the 7,900 level in opening session on Thursday as global gloom over the Covid-19 pandemic continued to hammer equities.

The rupee too depreciated 60 paise to 74.87 against US dollar in morning session.

New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Thursday took oath as member of Rajya Sabha amid uproar by opposition members.

As Gogoi reached the designated spot to take the oath, opposition members raised slogans prompting Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to say that it was unbecoming of members.

Mahoba (UP), Mar 19 (PTI) A 12-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and gang-raped in Uttar Pradesh's Mahoba district, police said on Thursday.

The incident occurred in Kabrai area on Tuesday night when two persons came to the girl's house and took her to secluded place and raped her, the police said.

SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India blocked roads in Kashmir on Thursday after the insurgency-torn region reported its first case of coronavirus, as several other parts of the country imposed restrictions on public gatherings in attempts to prevent its spread.

Densely-populated South Asia has been slow to be hit by coronavirus compared to elsewhere in the world. But new cases in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka are all accelerating, with the total across the region topping 500. Five people have died of the disease in the region.