India

New Delhi, Mar 17 (PTI) Nirbhaya gang rape and murder convict Akshay Kumar has filed a second mercy petition before President Ram Nath Kovind just three days before his scheduled hanging on March 20.

Officials at Tihar Jail, where the hanging is scheduled to take place, said Kumar filed the petition addressed to the President on Tuesday evening.

"This plea will also be forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Delhi government," they said.

Srinagar, Mar 17 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday barred foreign tourists from entering the Union Territory as a precautionary measure in view of coronavirus outbreak.

"Advisor to the Lt. Governor Baseer Ahmad Khan has issued necessary orders in this regard. Secretary Tourism, Director Tourism and DCs have been asked to ensure implementation of the order with immediate effect," an official spokesman said.

New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) Rajya Sabha Congress MP Ripun Bora on Wednesday highlighted problems being faced by people due to shortage and high prices of sanitisers and masks amid outbreak of coronavirus.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the House, he said the government has asked people to take precautionary steps like cleaning of hands.

KANPUR: Just to test the price of eggs, the consumers bought one complete crate and it was available at a much lesser price. It proved to a degree that there was ample consequence of the coronavirus on the consumption of the essential commodities in our daily lives.

At one stockist in Jajmau area, one crate of 30-count eggs were available below one hundred. 

The fear of coronavirus has definitely restricted the people to consume the egg and as a result, the demand has decreased. This has brought the price down, this trend reflects in the open market.

Mumbai, Mar 18 (PTI) Equity benchmark Sensex plunged over 1,709 points on Wednesday as talks of stimulus measures to cushion the economic blow of the Covid-19 pandemic failed to cheer markets across the globe.

The BSE barometer swung over 2,488.72 points in a highly volatile session, before ending 1,709.58 points or 5.59 per cent lower at 28,869.51.

Thane, Mar 18 (PTI) A case was registered on Wednesday against the owner of a furniture shop at Bhiwandi in Thane district for issuing a misleading advertisement which claimed that mattresses sold at his shop cure the coronavirus.

The accused, whose name was not disclosed by the police, owns two furniture showrooms in Bhiwandi.

NEW DELHI, March 18 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Malaysia’s diplomatic missions are helping hundreds of Malaysian citizens stranded in India due to travel disruptions following the coronavirus outbreak.

About 200 Malaysians were stuck in south India and 73 were in New Delhi looking for flights to get home, Malaysian diplomats and other sources told Bernama.

Malaysians travelling in India were stranded after the Indian government announced new measures against the coronavirus outbreak.

Lucknow, Mar 17 (PTI) A factory manufacturing fake hand sanitisers was busted by district administration officials here on Tuesday, officials said.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of Lucknow administration and drug administration department conducted a raid at Mahalakshmi Chemicals in Nishatganj locality and recovered 10,000 bottles, 100 ml each, of fake sanitisers, said a senior official.

New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) The Congress-ruled Rajasthan government on Monday moved the Supreme Court challenging validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, saying the law was violative of fundamental rights such as right to equality and life under the constitution.

Rajasthan became the second state after Kerala to move the top court invoking Article 131 of the Constitution under which a state is empowered to directly move the top court in case of a dispute with the Centre.

Mumbai, Mar 16 (PTI) The Indian rupee continued its downward spiral and plunged 50 paise to 74.25 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday as concern over the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic outweighed the US Fed's emergency interest rate cut and the RBI's liquidity enhancing measures.

Forex traders said the fall in the domestic unit was in line with other Asian peers amid mounting fears of a coronavirus-led economic slowdown.