Missing gunman at UAE Consulate in Kerala attempts suicide, hospitalised

Tezpur (Assam), Mar 2: Seven boys, who had appeared for their class 10 board examinations, were apprehended on Sunday for allegedly raping and killing a 12-year-old girl in Assam's Biswanath district, police said.

The girl was hanged from a tree after the crime.

The incident happened on Friday in Chakla village under the jurisdiction of Gohpur police station, they said.

A senior police officer told PTI that the culprits, all of them High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examinees, were on the run, but were nabbed by a police team.

The accused after the examination had called the victim to a house on the pretext of organising a party and raped her, the officer said.

It is suspected that the girl was raped on Friday night and then hanged from a tree in a forest near the house, the senior police officer said.

The body was found on Saturday.

New Delhi,  Apr 2: Muslim cleric Imam Umer Ilyasi appealed to all the individuals who attended Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi recently, not to hide from the government and not to be scared of it.

"I appeal to all the Muslim brothers and mosque managing committees involved in the Jamaat congregation to please come out and inform the government. You do not need to feel scared of the government," Ilyasi told news agency.

He added: "You do not need to feel scared of the government. If you are quarantined, it doesn't mean you will be punished. This is for your and other people's safety."
On the subject of people likely to be quarantined, he said that if one does get quarantined, he or she must not think those quarantine facilities are jails. "If you are quarantined, it doesn't mean you will be punished. This is for your and other people's safety. Quarantine is the cure, you do not need to worry about it," he added.

Ilyasi further appealed to the people that one must not associate religion with the coronavirus outbreak. "Islam talks about saving one person's life and securing a person's life. Do not connect the outbreak with religion as this outbreak does not affect any religion or caste in particular," he said.

With regards to the lockdown being imposed by the centre, he said: "I appeal to all that we must obey the lockdown judiciously as there is no medicine or cure for this disease."
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's latest bulletin said that there are 1,834 coronavirus positive cases in India, including 1,649 active cases, 144 cured/discharged/migrated people and 41 deaths.

Raipur, Jan 9: An outbreak of bird flu has been reported from a state-run poultry farm in Chhattisgarh's Korea district, prompting the authorities to cull over 15,000 birds and step up vigil on poultry birds within 10 km radius of the affected area, officials said on Thursday.

So far, 15,426 chickens and quails have been culled and 30,000 eggs destroyed after the highly contagious H5N1 virus was detected among birds at the poultry farm and hatchery in Baikunthpur town, located around 300 km from here, they said.

There has been no case of infection in humans so far due to the outbreak of avian influenza, they said.

"After some chickens and quails were found dead on December 7 last year in the farm, their samples were collected and sent to local laboratories for testing," Dr R S Baghel, deputy director, veterinary department, Korea, told news agency.

When the disease was not properly detected, samples were further sent to Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh where veterinarians suggested symptoms of chronic respiratory disease, following which their line of treatment was followed.

"Despite the treatment, the abnormal deaths of birds continued," Baghel said.

Later, the samples were sent to Bhopal-based National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases where tests were found positive for the H5N1 virus on December 23, he said.

"Immediately after getting reports of bird flu, we took permission from the Korea district administration, as per the standard procedure, and culled all 15,426 birds (chickens and quails) and destroyed 30,000 eggs in the farm and its adjoining areas," the official said.

Of the total culled birds, nearly 641 chickens were being reared by locals within one km radius of the farm. The locals were given compensation for the culling of their birds, he said.

"We have completed the culling process and sealed the farm. After sanitising the area in 10 km of its radius, we submitted a report to the state's directorate of veterinary services on Wednesday," Baghel said.

"No human has been affected due to the outbreak and the situation is under control. We are waiting for further directives from the higher authorities," he said.

The official said for the next three months, they will be conducting surveillance in 10 km radius of the affected area during which blood samples of birds will be regularly sent to Bhopal for testing.

"We will continue our observation for next three months," he added.

Meanwhile, state veterinary services director C R Prasanna said, "No human has so far been affected due to avian influenza and workers at the poultry farm at Baikunthpur have been given medicines as a precautionary measure."

Nearly 40 villages fall within the purview of 10 km radius of the affected area from where random sampling of poultry birds will be done for next three months to check whether they are infected with avian influenza, he said.

"Necessary steps are being taken to prevent bird flu from spreading to other areas," he added.