Lucknow, May 20: BSP supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav met here on Monday after exit poll projections that the NDA is all set to form the government again at the Centre.
Yadav, who had formed a coalition with the BSP and the RLD to take on the BJP, drove to the residence of Mayawati.
Details of what transpired between the two top leaders was not known immediately.
Beijing, Jan 24: As China stepped up measures to control the spread of coronavirus, locking down Wuhan and Huanggang cities in the Hubei province where several Indians live, the Indian Embassy here has set up hotlines for their assistance.
Chinese officials assured all assistance, including food supply, to the Indians who stayed put in the province, the Indian Embassy here said in a press release on Thursday.
Wuhan and its surrounding area became the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak as the confirmed cases climbed to over 600 mostly from the city and the province with 17 deaths so far.
China has virtually sealed Wuhan and Huanggang cities, halting all public transport, including flight services, and advised people to stay at home and follow the precautions. The two cities put together have a population of over 17 million people.
Chinese officials said the measures have been taken to prevent the spread of the virus to other cities and the world.
Concerns arose for India too as about 700 Indian students, mostly studying medicine in different Chinese universities, resided in Wuhan and its neighbouring areas.
While many of them were believed to have left home for the Chinese New Year holidays, others remained in the city to complete their academic work. However, the exact number is not yet known.
“The Embassy of India has been receiving queries from Indians in Hubei province as well as their relatives in India in connection with the evolving situation of coronavirus infection in China,” the embassy press release said.
The embassy is in touch with relevant Chinese authorities in Beijing and Wuhan as well as Indians in Hubei Province, especially in Wuhan, it said.
“We are closely monitoring the evolving situation in China, including the advisories issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO),” the embassy said.
According to the embassy, Chinese authorities have assured all assistance to residents of Wuhan, including food supply.
“At present, it is reported that supermarkets (particularly those that are government-run) and e-commerce services, including food delivery, continue to remain operational in Wuhan,” it said.
The embassy has started two hotlines for those who wish to get in touch with the Mission in this regard in the following phone numbers: +8618612083629 and +8618612083617.
“All are advised to also keep track of the embassy's social media accounts (Twitter:@EoIBeijing; Facebook: India in China) for updates on this evolving situation,” the release said.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign ministry said all assistance would be provided to consular officials of the foreign missions to ensure the safety of the foreigners in the country.
Asked whether China would consider any request from the respective countries to move their citizens out of Wuhan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, “We always help foreign consular officials in China in their official jobs, we offer them all the assistance and convenience necessary and we work to guarantee foreign citizens' legitimate rights and interest in China.”
He said while specific detailed would be provided by local officials, China in principle, has always handled issues according to domestic laws, international laws and bilateral consular agreements.
New Delhi, Jun 26: The Road Transport and Highways Ministry has issued a notification to enable citizens with mild to medium colour blindness to obtain a driving licence.
An official release said that the Ministry has been taking measures to enable divyangjan citizens to avail transport-related services, especially driving licence.
It said the ministry received representations that the colour blind citizens are not able to get a driving licence due to requirements in the declaration about physical fitness (Form I) or the medical certificate (Form IA).
The release said that the issue was taken up with expert medical institution and advice sought.
The recommendations received were that mild to medium colour blind citizens be allowed to drive and restrictions should only be on the severe colour blind citizens.
"This is also allowed in other parts of the world," the release said.
The notification seeks to amend Form 1 and Form 1A pertaining to Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989.
Rome, Mar 21: Italy on Friday reported a record 627 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, taking its overall toll past 4,000 as the pandemic gathered pace despite government efforts to halt its spread.
The total number of deaths was 4,032, with the number of infections reaching 47,021.
Italy's previous one-day record death toll was 475 on Wednesday.
The nation of 60 million now accounts for 36.6 percent of the world's coronavirus deaths.
Italy has seen more than 1,500 deaths from COVID-19 in the past three days alone.
Its current daily death rate is higher than that officially reported by China at the peak of its outbreak around Wuhan's Hubei province.
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