Hindu Sena members vandalise Pak Airline office

New Delhi, Apr 25: With 1,429 more COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's count of coronavirus cases has reached 24,506, said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday.

Out of these, 18,668 patients are active cases and 5063 cases have been cured, discharged, or migrated.

The death toll stands at 775, with as many as 57 deaths reported in the last 24 hours.

According to the morning update by the ministry, Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit State with 6,817 cases of which 840 patients have recovered and 301 patients have died.

Gujarat now stands in the second spot with 2,815 cases, of which 265 have recovered and 127 people have died. Meanwhile, Delhi's count stands at 2,514 of which 857 patients have recovered, while 53 patients have lost their lives.

Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 figure stands at 1,755 with 866 patients recovered and 22 fatalities. Rajasthan has reported 2,034 cases of which 230 have recovered and 27 patients are dead.

Madhya Pradesh has reported 1,852 positive cases so far of which 210 patients have recovered and 92 patients have lost their lives due to the virus. In Uttar Pradesh, as many as 1,621 people have confirmed COVID-19, of which 247 recovered and 25 people have succumbed to it.

In Kerala, which reported the country's first COVID-19 case, 450 people have been detected positive for coronavirus.

New Delhi, Feb 3: In the third such incident inside of a week, two unidentified persons opened fire outside Gate No. 5 of Jamia Millia Islamia on Sunday night, the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) said.

A statement issued by the committee, a group comprising students and alumni of the university formed to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, said the attackers were on a red Rcooty.

No one was injured in the attack. One of the miscreants was wearing a red jacket, the statement said.

"Firing has taken place at Gate No.5 of Jamia Millia Islamia right now by two unidentified persons. As per report, one of them was wearing a red jacket and driving a red Scooty having vehicle no. 1532 or 1534," the statement said.

Police said they were verifying the JCC's claims.

Asim Mohammed Khan, former Congress MLA from Okhla, said the incident occurred around 11.30 pm. "We heard the gunshot. That is when we stepped out to see and the two men left on a Scooty," a student said.

"We have taken down the vehicle number and called police," he added.

This is the third firing incident in the Jamia Nagar area in a week.

On Thursday, a minor fired at anti-CAA protesters marching towards Rajghat, injuring a student.

Two days later, a 25-year-old fired two rounds in air in Shaheen Bagh in Jamia Nagar. No one was hurt in the incident.

The incident on Sunday night triggered panic in the area. A police vehicle had reached the spot after the incident but was chased away by angry students.

Hundreds of students and locals gathered outside the university.

Many raised slogans against the Delhi Police. They also staged a dharna outside the Jamia Nagar police station.

Shezad Ahmed, a JMI student and resident of Zakir Nagar, said they were not even allowed to protest peacefully.

"We are not going to be deterred by such incidents. We will continue with our protest," he added.

Kolkata, Jun 29: Sweet-loving Bengalis have something to cheer about in COVID-19 time as the West Bengal government decided to come out with a "sandesh" which will contain honey from Sundarbans and increase immunity, an official said on Sunday.

Cotton cheese made from cow milk will be mixed with pure honey from the Sunderbans to prepare the "Arogya Sandesh" which will also have extracts of tulsi leaves, an official of the Animal Resources Development Department said.

No artificial flavours would be added to the sweetmeat which will be available in the department's outlets in the city and neighbouring districts, he said.

The sandesh will boost the immune system as a whole but it is not a COVID-19 antidote, the official said.

Sunderbans Affairs Minister Manturam Pakhira said the honey for making Arogya Sandesh will be collected from beehives in places such as Pirkhali, Jharkhali and other parts of the Sunderbans and it will be stored in a scientific manner.

The sandesh is expected to hit the shelves in another two months and the pricing will be within the reach of the common man, the animal resources development department official said.

Earlier this month, a reputed sweetmeat chain of Kolkata came out with an "Immunity Sandesh" claiming that it contains various herbs and spices such as haldi (turmeric), tulsi, saffron, and cardamom and Himalayan honey, which will boost immunity to fight novel coronavirus.