LIVE: No foreign head as chief guest for Republic Day this year, says govt

It will be for the first time in over five decades that India will not have a chief guest at the Republic Day parade. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

4:34 PM

LIVE: Delhi orders poultry market to open after safety test

4:20 PM

NSG commandos contingent rehearsed at Delhi's Rajpath ahead of Republic Day

4:07 PM

Minor fire incident at Safdarjung hospital

A minor fire broke out in a room on the fourth floor of Safdarjung hospital on Thursday afternoon, a Delhi Fire Service official said. No one was injured in the incident. According to the fire department, they received a call about the incident around 1.24 pm. The fire broke out in a room used by the nursing staff in the OPD block situated on the fourth floor of the hospital.

 

Seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the fire was brought under control by 1.40 pm, said Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Service. The cause of fire is being ascertained. Officials suspect short-circuit may have led to the incident.

3:50 PM

Delhi reports 850 bird mortality, 468 complaints related to avian influenza

As many as 850 cases of bird deaths due to avian influenza have been reported in the national capital, Delhi's Animal Husbandry Department said here on Thursday. As per official data, till 10 am on Thursday, the Animal Husbandry Department has received 468 more "complaints related to bird flu". The department has further deployed 11 surveillance teams who are working to reach at the spot to collect samples from where complaints are made.

 

Speaking to ANI, Rakesh Singh, Director, Animal Husbandry Department, Delhi, said his department has directed people not to touch the dead birds with bare hands, and in absence of proper gears, they must wrap their hands with a polythene bag.

 

"We are getting reports from across Delhi and just from specific areas. We are getting reports of bird mortality in fewer numbers from overall Delhi, however, numbers of crow mortality is more," said Singh. He informed that a total of 46 samples were sent for testing on Monday and Tuesday, but added that no samples went for testing on Wednesday.

 

3:24 PM

No spread of bird flu in poultry in Delhi, all samples taken from Ghazipur market negative: Official

Bird flu has not spread among chickens in Delhi, an official said on Thursday after all the 100 samples taken from Asia's largest poultry market in Ghazipur tested negative. The results come a day after civic authorities imposed a temporary ban on sale and storage of poultry or processed chicken meat in view of the bird flu situation. Earlier, samples taken from crows and ducks at parks and lakes in the national capital tested positive for the avian influenza.

 

This had prompted the Delhi government on Monday to ban the sale of processed and packaged chicken brought from outside the city and shutting the wholesale poultry market in east Delhi for 10 days as a precautionary measure. The Ghazipur market located on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border is a key supplier of poultry products in the region. Chickens, geese, ducks and turkeys are among the poultry birds bred by farmers for their eggs and meat.

 

"Test results of 104 samples arrived on Wednesday evening. Of these, 100 samples were collected from 35 poultry birds in the Ghazipur market. All samples have tested negative for bird flu," the Delhi animal husbandry unit's senior official Rakesh Singh said. "It means there is no spread of avian influenza in poultry birds in Delhi," he said.

3:08 PM

Tamil culture, history, language essential for India's future, needs to be respected, says Rahul Gandhi

2:54 PM

Why are the Chinese people sitting inside Indian territory? asks Rahul Gandhi

2:46 PM

New Trump admin rule will raise wage cost for employing H-1B workers

The Trump administration has announced a final rule that will significantly raise the minimum wages the employers in the US must pay to foreign workers on visa programmes like the H-1B as part of the efforts to protect American workers from being undercut by cheaper labour from abroad.

 

Days before the exit of the administration of President Donald Trump, the US Department of Labor said that the final rule would help protect the wages and job opportunities of American workers by reforming the wage methodology it uses to set prevailing wage rates to prevent potential abuses of its Permanent Employment Certification, H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 Visa foreign worker programmes.

 

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. READ ON...

1:45 PM

Over 3,400 birds culled in Maharashtra's Parbhani district

More than 3,400 poultry birds have been culled at a village in Maharashtra's Parbhani district after bird flu was confirmed as the cause of death of hundreds of hens there, a senior official said on Thursday. Last week, around 900 hens died at a poultry farm in Murumba village of Parbhani. The district administration later decided to cull birds in one-km radius of the place where the deaths took place.

 

"The culling of birds was undertaken on Wednesday. A total of 3,443 birds were culled till last night," Parbhani collector Deepak Muglikar told PTI. Samples of some dead birds from Kupta village have also been sent to a lab for testing, he said. "There is no adverse report till now from anywhere else in the district. Residents of the Murumba village are fine and have no flu symptoms," the official said.

 

Earlier, over 11,000 birds were culled in Kendrewadi and Sukni villages of Latur to stop the spread of bird flu infection, Collector B P Prithviraj said on Wednesday. He said a report is awaited on the samples of birds found dead in Vanjarwadi village of Latur.

12:22 PM

US politics: Biden forgoing Amtrak trip to Washington over security fears

President-elect Joe Biden will no longer be taking an Amtrak train to Washington for his inauguration because of security concerns, a person briefed on the decision told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

 

The president-elect's decision reflects growing worries over potential threats in the Capitol and across the U.S. in the lead-up to Biden's January 20 inauguration.

12:15 PM

PayPal becomes first foreign firm in China with full ownership of payments

PayPal Holding Inc has become the first foreign operator with 100% control of a payment platform in China, according to Chinese government data, as the U.S. fintech giant eyes a bigger foothold in a booming market for online payments.

 

PayPal acquired the 30% stake it doesn't already own in China's GoPay, formally known as Guofubao Information Technology Co., on Dec. 31, 2020, according to shareholder data from the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System. Read on...

12:04 PM

WPI Inflation eases to 1.22% in December from 1.55% in November

WPI Inflation eases to 1.22% in December from 1.55% in November

11:48 AM

Rupee slips 3 paise to 73.18 against US dollar in early trade

Rupee slips 3 paise to 73.18 against US dollar in early trade

11:08 AM

Avian influenza not detected in poultry birds in Delhi: Animal Husbandry Unit

Avian influenza not detected in poultry birds in Delhi: Animal Husbandry Unit

11:06 AM

Madhya Pradesh: A kite festival organised in Bhopal on Makar Sankranti