Missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmed in Aligarh, claims suspicious letter

Washington, Feb 16: India and the United States share "unshakeable" ties, said US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS), Alice Wells, on Sunday, adding that the upcoming visit of President Donald Trump will further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

"The U.S. and #India enjoy a close partnership that grows stronger day by day. Together, we are breaking records. For example, we welcomed a record number of Indian exchange students to the US last year and hope to receive even more this year," said Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in a tweet attributed to Alice Wells.

"The ties between our countries are unshakeable, and we look forward to an even warmer relationship as @narendramodi hosts @POTUS later this month," it added.

Trump will pay a two-day state visit to India from February 24 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"India is at the heart of the Indo-Pacific region and plays an increasingly prominent role on the world's stage. The U.S. looks forward to partnering with #India at every step of the way, " Alice Wells further said.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Trump is expected to attend an event at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad on the lines of the ''Howdy Modi'' function that was addressed by the US President and PM Modi in Houston in September last year. Trump is slated to pay a two-day visit to India from February 24.

During the visit, Trump, who will be accompanied by First Lady Melania, will attend official engagements in New Delhi and Ahmedabad, and interact with a wide cross-section of the Indian society, the MEA said in a statement.

The announcement of Trump's first official visit to India was earlier made by the White House on Monday, which, in its statement, said that the US President and Modi had agreed during a recent phone conversation that the trip will "further strengthen the United States-India strategic partnership and highlight the strong and enduring bonds between the American and Indian people".

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 6: A 12-member team from Telangana on Friday visited Kerala to study how the state contained the spread of novel coronavirus.

Interacting with the team, Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja said, "The team will be given a presentation at National Health Mission and they will visit Alappuzha district to know how the health facilities are set up by Kerala Health Department on the grassroots level."

"The team comprising doctors and senior health officials will visit the control room set up by the Health Department and also will attend daily review meetings. They will also visit an isolation ward in the hospital and interact with doctors and nurses, " the minister said.

She added, "Kerala model is being followed by other states too. All states are working together and the country as a whole is fighting the coronavirus. They are sharing our experience. All of India is standing together. Contact tracing and isolation is the most important part."

Dr Mahaboob Khan, part of the Telangana team told media persons, that the discussion with the health minister was fruitful.

"Kerala was the first state in India where a positive coronavirus case was reported. All three positive cases reported have been discharged after testing negative. So we wanted to study how Kerala was able to contain it and the health system in place here, " he said.

New Delhi, Mar 24: Nearly 500 coronavirus cases have been reported in India so far, according to Health Ministry data on Tuesday.

According to the data updated Tuesday morning, the total number of COVID-19 cases rose to 492, including 446 active cases.

The figure includes 41 foreign nationals and the nine deaths reported so far, the Health Ministry said.

West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh reported a casualty each on Monday while seven deaths were earlier reported from Maharashtra (two), Bihar, Karnataka, Delhi, Gujarat and Punjab.

Thirty-seven people have been cured/discharged/migrated, it added.

The number of active cases at 446 saw an increase of 22 from last night's figure.

As cases of the viral infection surged, authorities have put almost the entire country under lockdown, banning gathering of people and suspending road, rail and air traffic till March 31.

Kerala has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases so far at 95, including eight foreign nationals, followed by Maharashtra which recorded 87, including three foreigners, according to the ministry data.

Karnataka has reported 37 cases of coronavirus patients, while cases in Rajasthan increased to 33, including two foreigners.

Uttar Pradesh has 33 positive cases, including a foreign national.

Telangana has so far reported 32 cases, including 10 foreigners.

Cases in Delhi rose to 31, including one foreigner, while Gujarat has reported 29 cases.

In Haryana, there are 26 cases, including 14 foreigners, while Punjab has reported 21 cases.

Ladakh has 13 cases, while Tamil Nadu has reported 12 cases, including two foreigners.

West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have reported seven cases each so far.

Chandigarh has six cases, while Jammu and Kashmir has four cases.

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have reported three cases each, while there are two cases each in Bihar and Odisha.

Puducherry and Chhattisgarh have reported a case each.