India

New Delhi, Apr 24: The death toll due to the novel coronavirus rose to 723 with 37 fatalities reported since Thursday evening, while the number of cases saw a record jump of 1,752 to go up to 23,452 cases on Friday, according to the Union health ministry. The previous highest single day increase was on April 20 when 1,540 cases were reported. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 17,915 as

New Delhi, Apr 24: The Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) on Friday accused Delhi Police of framing two of its members - Meeran Haider, Safoora Zargar, along with student leader Umar Khalid, as part of "an imaginary conspiracy behind the recent North East Delhi riots". While Haider was arrested on April 2, Zargar was taken in custody on April 10 for their alleged involvement in fuelling the riots

New Delhi, Apr 24: The Central government said on Wednesday that the number of COVID-19 cases in the country is now doubling in every 10 days, adding that had the lockdown not been imposed on time, the number of cases would have sky-rocketed to over one lakh by now. "Had we not taken the decision to impose nationwide lockdown, we would have had around one lakh COVID-19 cases by now. This is a

New Delhi, Apr 24: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has termed the government decision to freeze Dearness Allowance of Central government employees for a year as "insensitive and inhuman." The former Congress President in a tweet said: "Lakhs and crores are being spent on the Bullet Train and New Delhi's Central Vista which should have been suspended, but the government has deducted DA of Central

New Delhi, Apr 24: The trajectory of COVID-19 cases could have plateaued and might even fall for some weeks after the lockdown is lifted but India is likely to see a second wave in late July or August with a surge in the number of cases during the monsoon, say scientists. The timing of the peak will depend on how India is able to control physical distancing and on the level of infection spreads

Kozhikode, Apr 24: A four-month-old baby girl, who had tested positive for COVID-19 and suffering from congenital heart disease, died in a hospital here in Kerala early Friday after suffering a cardiac arrest, officials said. This is the third COVID-19 death and the first infant fatality in the state where two elderly people had succumbed to the disease earlier. The baby was admitted to the

Kochi, Apr 24: The central government on Thursday submitted a statement in the Kerala High Court on the three petitions challenging the contract between Kerala government and US-based data analytics company Sprinklr. Assistant Solicitor General P Vijayakumar filed the statement on behalf of the central government, which is the second respondent in the case. The statement said that the contract

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 24: The month of Ramzan will be observed from Friday in Kerala. The crescent moon was seen at Kappad beach in Kozhikode on Thursday. Amid nationwide lockdown in the wake of COVID-19, there will be no group prayers at mosques. The devotees have been directed to offer prayers at homes. Palayam Mosque Imam, VP Suhaib said, "Usually at mosques in Thiruvananthapuram, devotees

New Delhi, Apr 23: With an increase of 1,229 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the total number of cases reached 21,700, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday. The tally is inclusive of 16,689 active cases, 4,325 patients have been cured/discharged and migrated, while 686 patients who have died due to the deadly virus. According to the ministry's data, Maharashtra

New Delhi, Apr 23: The entire Muslim community cannot be held responsible for one group's "crime", Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Thursday while reacting to instances of Muslims being blamed for the spurt in COVID-19 cases after Tablighi Jamaat congregation here, and asserted that most of the minority community members have condemned the group's action. In an interview to