Author: IANS

Thiruvananthapuram, April 18 (IANS) The data privacy row involving coronavirus suspects’ details being reportedly transferred by the LDF government in Kerala to the US-based company Sprinklr intensified on Saturday with a minister saying “there is nothing secret in the world now.” The opposition Congress has demanded Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s[Read More…]

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi here on Saturday thanked the central government for taking note of his warning and amending the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy to check opportunistic takeovers of Indian companies amid the coronavirus pandemic. “I thank the government for taking note of[Read More…]

New York, April 18 (IANS) Researchers have developed a new portable device that can help clinicians isolate drug-resistant strains of bacterial infections and difficult-to-detect micro-particles such as those making up Ebola and coronaviruses. The micro-device uses magnetic nano-beads to isolate minute bacterial particles that cause diseases, said the study published[Read More…]

Kolkata, April 18 (IANS) Stylish former India batsman V.V.S. Laxman, who is Bengal cricket team’s batting consultant for the project Vision Programme, will guide the batters and look into what went wrong at the top of the order during the last Ranji Trophy season via video conferencing and by watching[Read More…]

Kolkata, April 18 (IANS) The coronavirus death count in West Bengal increased to 12 on Saturday with the audit committee confirming two more loss of lives in the state, a top official said. With 23 new cases being reported since Friday, the number of coronavirus active cases reached 178, said[Read More…]

Chandigarh, April 18 (IANS) Even though his Congress party government in Punjab has made wearing a face mask in public a must, legislator Navjot Singh Sidhu has been seen mingling with people and frontline healthcare workers without wearing a mask to extend a helping hand to those who are fighting[Read More…]

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Former Janata Dal leader and election strategist Prashant Kishor on Saturday slammed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for what he called preaching on the lockdown but not raising the issue of state’s migrant workers stuck in other states. “Across the country, people from Bihar are[Read More…]

Chandigarh, April 18 (IANS) Paraplegic soldiers and their families at the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Center in have been making cloth face masks in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, a statement said on Saturday. A large quantity of masks has been provided to some hospitals for their use. The masks are[Read More…]

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Congress MP and spokesperson Manish Tewari here on Saturday came out in support of students stranded in Rajasthan’s Kota and urged Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to think compassionately to bring them back to their families in the state. “If UP can get its students[Read More…]

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) The All India Tennis Association (AITA) said on Saturday that it is hoping to launch domestic tournaments starting with state level tournaments from July 2020 provided the ongoing country-wide lockdown is lifted in the next two months. “AITA proposes to start tournaments for all age[Read More…]

Chandigarh, April 18 (IANS) Assistant Commissioner of Police (North) Anil Kohli, who was posted in Ludhiana city, on Saturday succumbed to coronavirus, taking the virus toll to 16 in Punjab. The 52-year-old officer was diagnosed positive on April 13. The officer was on a ventilator in a private hospital in[Read More…]

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Indian captain Virat Kohli has kickstarted the ‘Trim at Home’ challenge and in the process, shaved off a part of his trademark beard. Kohli posted an Instagram video of him trimming his beard and in the caption said, “While we’re all indoors, it’s extremely important[Read More…]

Ranchi, April 18 (IANS) One more person linked to the Tablighi Jamaat was reported coronavirus positive in Ranchi on Saturday, taking the total number of cases to 33 in the state. The 33rd patient belongs to the Tabligi Jamaat and is a Caribbean resident. He was part of the group[Read More…]

Amaravati, April 18 (IANS) Two more people died of coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh while 31 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, officials said on Saturday. A death each was reported from Krishna and Kurnool districts, taking the death toll in the state to 16. According to a[Read More…]

Srinagar, April 18 (IANS) The Indian Army on Saturday provided monetary support to families of victims killed in Pakistan shelling on the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K’s Kupwara district. Defence sources said the monetary support to families of those civilians killed in Pakistan shelling in Kupwara district earlier this[Read More…]

Los Angeles, April 18 (IANS) “Joker” star Joaquin Phoenix was almost cast as Batman way back in the nineties. After George Clooney’s 1997 outing as the caped crusader in “Batman & Robin” flopped, “Black Swan” director Darren Aronofsky was tipped to direct a new Batman film, and Phoenix was his[Read More…]

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) The Centre on Saturday said that under the Lifeline Udan initiative, 274 flights have transported around 463.15 tonnes of medical supplies across the country till April 17. “274 flights have been operated under Lifeline Udan by Air India, Alliance Air, IAF and private carriers. 175[Read More…]

San Francisco, April 18 (IANS) As the US registered over 22 million job losses – nearly wiping out all the job gains since the Great Recession – Bay Area was not unaffected and lost 27,000 jobs in March, including tech-heavy Santa Clara County that lost 8,400 jobs. According to The[Read More…]

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) The Union Health Ministry on Saturday said 4,291 or about 30% of coronavirus cases in the country have been traced to Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi out of 14,378 cases in the country. In Delhi, 63% of the reported 1,707 cases are linked to the[Read More…]

Washington, April 18 (IANS) Genetic variability in the human immune system may affect susceptibility to, and severity of infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The findings published in the Journal of Virology may help shed new light into the puzzling question of why the disease[Read More…]

Bengaluru, April 18 (IANS) The city police have issued over 2 lakh passes to people to carry out essential services amid Covid-19 lockdown, according to an official, here on Saturday. “We have crossed 2 lakh KSP Clear online passes, issued for seamless service of essentials in Bengaluru,” tweeted Additional Commissioner[Read More…]

Ujjain, April 18 (IANS) Putting duty before self, a Madhya Pradesh policeman walked around 550 km over a period of 16 days to return to his place of posting in Ujjain district. Head Constable Ramesh Singh Tomar, posted at the Neelganga police station, had gone to Gawalior in March for[Read More…]

–Indo-Asian News Service arm/