TV anchor tenders apology after derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad

Bengaluru, Mar 9: Karnataka government has ordered holidays for children in lower and upper kindergarten classes in Bengaluru, in the wake of coronavirus outbreak and with positive cases being reported from states in its neighbourhood.

"Further to the advice received from the Health Commissioner, holidays have been declared for Lower and Upper Kindergarten classes in Bengaluru North, South and Rural districts due to coronavirus, " Karnataka Minister for Primary and Secondary Education S Suresh Kumar said on Sunday.

According to official estimates, no positive cases of coronavirus have been reported from Karnataka till now.

The state has strengthened all surveillance and containment measures against the possible spread of disease.

Till Sunday, 890 persons have been identified for observation including persons who have travelled to COVID-19 affected countries and contacts of COVID-19 positive cases.

Six persons have been admitted to selected isolation hospitals.

According to official estimates, till date 87,066 passengers have been screened at airports in Karnataka.

The number of COVID-19 cases in India climbed to 39 on Sunday with five people in Kerala testing positive for coronavirus. The deadly virus has caused the deaths of over 3300 people globally.

New Delhi, May 29: Opining that there is no harm in importing ideas from abroad Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an affiliate of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has suggested that India should take a cue from Pakistan and turn the “locust threat” into “chicken feed.

In an interview, Ashwani Mahajan, national co-convener of Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) said: “I saw an article which shows that Pakistan has turned the locust threat into an opportunity by converting it into chicken feed”

“If there is a good idea originating from anywhere, we should be open to exploring such ideas. We should adopt good ideas. There is no harm in that,” he added.

He also shared the article on Twitter and wrote: “Pakistan turns locust threat into chicken feed. Need to understand the idea and replicate it in India.”

The article stated “an innovative pilot project in Pakistan’s Okara district offers a sustainable solution in which farmers earn money by trapping locusts that are turned into high-protein chicken feed by animal feed mills”.

“It was the brainchild of Muhammad Khurshid, a civil servant in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, and Johar Ali, a bio-technologist from the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council,” according to the article.

Both Pakistan and India have been hit by locust attacks. These are desert locusts, which is one of the 12 species of short-horned grasshoppers. Swarms can comprise billions and travel up to 130 km in a day.

India has been battling the locust attacks with moderate success since December. However, the onset of monsoon could bring more trouble.

Gadag, Mar 28: At a time when the adminsitration is insisting on social diatancing due to COVID-19 outbreak, scores of people gathered in large numbers at an Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market in Gadag district to buy essential commodities.

Both men and women could be seen standing in large groups near the vendors to buy fruits and vegetables. Some of the customers were also heard bargaining with the sellers in the morning today.

A couple of days back, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised that social distancing is the only way to counter the spread of COVID-19, saying the virus does not discriminate and it can infect anyone.

Interacting with the people of Varanasi through video conferencing, the Prime Minister had stated that some people, despite being empowered with knowledge, are not pay heed to warning which is unfortunate.

He said the 'Mahabharata' war was won in 18 days and the war against coronavirus will take 21 days and the aim is to win it.

According to the Union Health Ministry, there are 873 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in India.