Dawood Ibrahim's properties worth $6.7 billion frozen by British authorities: Report

Udupi, Apr 24: While several state governments and NGOs are actively working to provide essentials to the needy amid the COVID-19 lockdown, a fisherwoman in Karnataka's Udupi has proved that even a small gesture of help for others can make a huge difference in the society.
A fisherwoman, Sharadakka, distributed rice to 140 needy families in her neighbourhood during the ongoing lockdown. The contribution was made by spending all her life savings amounting to Rs 30,000. The amount was saved by her over a period of time in an effort to build a house for herself.
On Thursday Udupi Deputy Commissioner G. Jagadeesh visited her and ensured help to build her house.
"Spending her meagre earnings, Sharadakka generously filled many empty stomachs amid the nation-wide lockdown, which is a matter of pride," said the Deputy Commissioner.

Newsroom, May 2: The Delhi Police’s move to book Delhi Minorities Commission chairman Zafarul Islam Khan under sedition charges over his social media statement condemning Hindutva bigots has raised many eyebrows. 

A pubic statement has been issued in solidarity with Zafarul Islam Khan by a group of NGOs and citizens which condemned the media trial targeting Khan.

The statement demanded legal action against those who are distorting Khan's Facebook post and spreading false propaganda against him.

Delhi Police Special Cell registered the FIR against Khan on the complaint of a Vasant Kunj resident. The complaint came to the Lodhi Colony office of the special cell, after the assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Safdarjung Enclave forwarded it.

The investigation has been handed over to special cell inspector Praveen Kumar.

According to the FIR, Khan has been booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code -- 124 A (sedition) and 153 A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc,).

Khan on April 28 had posted controversial comments on his Facebook page. "Mind you, bigots, Indian Muslims have opted until now not to complain to the Arab and Muslim world about your hate campaigns and lynchings and riots. The day they are pushed to do that, bigots will face an avalanche," Khan had written on Facebook.

However, the Delhi Minorities Commission's chief on Friday had apologised for his controversial remark and had said that he never tried to tarnish the image of India. He also removed the controversial post from the social media and issued a prolonged clarification.

Mysuru, Mar 13: A state-of-the-art viral research laboratory in the city has been identified as one of the testing laboratories for the detection of COVID-19, official sources said here on Friday.

The samples of suspected cases could be sent to the lab for analysis and it would take about three hours to get the results.

The Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL), which was set up from Central grants and functions at the Microbiology Department of K.R. Hospital, has been authorised to carry out the tests. This lab in Mysuru is among the 52-plus laboratories in the country.

Though the VRDL is equipped to carry out the tests, the sole authority of confirming the virus lies with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune. VRDL is also the sole agency for collection and transportation of suspected samples of COVID-19 to NIV.

VRDL, which is part of the Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, functions on the advice of NIV.

According to the guidelines issued by ICMR, the results of the tests done here have to be shared with NIV the same day and the labs are not supposed to disclose the results since the NIV is the only authority to declare positive cases. Also, confirmation from the NIV should be awaited in case the samples test negative for COVID-19. The ICMR, in the guidelines made available on its website, has advised clinicians at labs to isolate the patient tested positive for COVID-19 in the identified facility and follow bio-safety precautions.

VRDL is a part of a network of labs established by the Department of Health Research, Government of India. The rise in the number of viral outbreaks and the resultant mortality had been cited as key reasons for the launch of network of such hi-tech labs in the country.

The NIV and the National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi, are the top laboratories for the network, while the National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, is the supervising authority for the data generated by the network of labs, sources added.