2 kids buried alive in classroom as wall collapses

New Delhi, Jun 5: Congress has named Mallikarjun Kharge as its candidate for ensuing biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.

Party interim president Sonia Gandhi approved Kharge's candidature on Friday, according to a Congress release by general secretary Mukul Wasnik.

The elections to fill the pending 18 Rajya Sabha seats from seven states will be held on June 19.

Mar 30: the UAE Cabinet approved a series of new initiatives, foremost among which was the automatic extension of residence permits expiring from March 1.

The residence visas would be extended for a renewable period of three months without any fees to ease the economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis on residents, official news agency WAM reported.

The Cabinet has also waived the administrative fines associated with infractions on the services provided by the Federal Authority of Identity and Citizenship, starting April 1 and lasting for a renewable period of three months.

The initiatives also entail granting a temporary license to use digital solutions for remotely notarising and completing judicial transactions.

Government services expiring from March 1 will also be extended from April 1 for a renewable period of three months. The decision applies to all federal government services, including documents, permits, licenses and commercial registers.

The UAE has introduced a slew of initiatives to control the spread of the Covid-19 virus, including the online renewal of driving licences and vehicle’s registration cards.

The country’s telecom regulator, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), also issued a directive that no mobile service with expired ID documents will be disconnected or suspended in the UAE.

The UAE has reported a total of 611 Covid-19 infections and five related deaths in the country.

A national sterilisation programme is underway that will continue until Saturday April 4, concluding on the morning of Sunday, April 5.

Carried out daily from 8pm until 6am the following morning, the programme will include the disinfection of private and public facilities.

Bengaluru, Apr 19: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan on Sunday said that "only essential and critical number of" employees of the Information Technology (IT) companies will be allowed to work from offices from April 20 onwards in Bengaluru, while others will have to continue working from home.

"Only essential and critical number of employees required will be allowed to turn up. In the next two days, it will be reviewed and a suitable decision will be taken. 

All the details will be communicated to the IT companies," Narayan said here.

Earlier on Saturday, in a meeting to review COVID-19 situation in Karnataka, it was considered that one-third of the employees of IT and biotechnology companies could be allowed to work from the office premises, while the rest should continue to work from home.

Earlier on April 17, the Deputy CM, after holding a video conference meeting with heads of the IT and biotechnology companies, had told reporters that up to 50 per cent of the workforce would have the opportunity to function from office premises after April 20.