Indian Sub-continent

NEW DELHI, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- At least six paramilitary troopers belonging to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were wounded Saturday in a blast that took place in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, police said.

The blast went off at a railway station in Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh.

KABUL, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from suicide explosions inside a mosque in Kandahar city, capital of Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, has risen to 32, while 68 others were wounded, the state-run news agency said on Friday.

According to local media Bakhtar News Agency, the explosions occurred inside a Shiite Muslim mosque building at midday when hundreds of worshippers were offering Friday prayers.

At least four assailants were reportedly involved in the deadly attacks.

NEW DELHI, Oct 15 (NNN-PTI) – India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 34,037,592 today, as 16,862 new confirmed cases were registered in the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry’s latest data.

An additional 379 deaths from the pandemic were recorded, taking the total death toll to 451,814.

There are currently 203,678 active COVID-19 cases in the country, after a decline of 2,908 in the number recorded in the past 24 hours.

SRINAGAR, Oct 15 (NNN-PTI) – A junior commissioned officer (JCO) of the Indian army and a trooper were killed, in a fierce gunfight with militants in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said today.

The gunfight broke out at Dera Ki Gali, in Surankote area, close to the Line of Control (LoC) in frontier Poonch district, about 185 km south-west of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least 16 people lost their lives and 32 others were injured in a blast that targeted a mosque in Kandahar city, capital of southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province on Friday, local media reported.

The explosion targeted the Imam Barga mosque of Shiite Muslims, causing heavy casualties, Tolo news channel quoted eyewitnesses as saying.

Spokesman for the Interior Ministry Qari Sayed Khosti has confirmed the blast without giving details.

Mumbai, Oct 14 (PTI) A special court here which granted bail to Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik's son-in-law Sameer Khan has observed that there was no evidence to establish that Khan was involved in drug trafficking.

Special judge for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act cases A A Joglekar granted bail to Khan and two others last month. A detailed order became available on Wednesday.

New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) The wholesale price-based inflation eased to a six-month low of 10.66 per cent in September, helped by moderating food prices even as crude petroleum witnessed a spike.

WPI inflation has remained in the double-digit for the sixth consecutive month beginning April, and a lower rate of inflation was recorded in March at 7.89 per cent.

Chatra (Jharkhand), Oct 14 (PTI) Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday said closure of some mines, and inundation of a few others due to monsoon led to the crisis but there is no need to panic as the situation is improving.

Visiting the Ashoka mine of the Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) at Piparwar in Chatra district of Jharkhand, Joshi said the power plants in the country will continue to receive the required amount of coal.

"We are witnessing an improvement now," he said, asked about the current situation.

New Delhi, Oct 15 (PTI) The condition of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is admitted to AIIMS, is stable and improving, a hospital official said on Friday.

Singh was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on Wednesday evening after he complained of weakness following fever.

The 89-year-old former prime minister has been admitted to a private ward in the Cardio-Neuro Centre of the hospital and is under the care of a team of cardiologists led by Dr Nitish Naik.

Singhu border/Chandigarh, Oct 15 (PTI) A man was lynched, his hand chopped off and the body tied to a metal barricade at a farmers' protest venue at Kundli near the Delhi-Haryana border, a gruesome incident being blamed on a group of Nihangs.

In a video clip that has gone viral on social media platforms, some Nihangs are seen standing as the man lies on the ground in a pool of blood with his chopped off left hand lying next to him.

The Nihangs are heard in the clip saying the man has been punished for desecrating a holy book of the Sikhs.