Live: 24 women in Congress' fourth list of 61 candidates in Uttar Pradesh
Live news: Kerala is in lockdown today for slowing down Covid-19; IndusInd Bank's consolidated net profit jumps 50% to Rs 1,242 crore in the third quarter.
 "Rahul Gandhi")
Rahul Gandhi | Photo: ANI
Beijing seals off more residential areas, reports 12 Covid-19 cases
Beijing officials said Sunday they sealed off several residential communities in the city's northern district after two cases of COVID-19 were found.
Residents in the Anzhenli neighborhood in Chaoyang district were sealed off on Saturday, and will not be allowed to leave their compound.
Beijing is on high alert as it prepares to host the Olympic Games opening on Friday.
While the cases are low compared to other countries in the region, China has double down on its zero-tolerance policy, which includes breaking the chain of transmission as soon as it is found.
The city is also setting up 19 points in the area to test residents every day until Friday, officials said at a briefing on the pandemic, according to state-backed Beijing News.
The Chinese capital reported a total of 12 cases of COVID-19 between 4 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday, said Pang Xinghuo, the vice head of the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control. All those cases came from people who were already under some kind of pandemic control measures.
24 women in Congress' fourth list of 61 UP candidates released Sunday
The Congress on Sunday released fourth list of 61 candidates including 24 women for the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh to be held in seven phases.
So far the party has given tickets to 127 women in UP. In the first list of 125 candidates, 50 are women; in the second list of 41 candidates, 16 are women; and in the third list of 89 candidates, 37 are women.
The fourth list includes candidates from Rae Bareli and Amethi. From Harchandpur, Surender Vikram Singh has been given ticket and from Sareni, Sudha Dwivedi has been fielded. Both seats are in Rae Bareli. In Amethi from Gauriganj, Mohd Fateh Bahadur is being fielded.
Pharma industry eyes higher fund allocation for health in budget
India has been facing the Covid pandemic for two years now and the pharma industry has witnessed ups and downs during this period while the government has introduced some policies to strengthen India's healthcare industry during the crisis.
But public health expenditure, as a share of country's gross domestic product, is still low and the industry stakeholders are hopeful of a change this year as Covid has provided an opportunity to increase health spending in this budget.
"The Indian pharmaceutical industry is of strategic importance for the country, providing access to affordable quality medicines across the world. The pharmaceutical industry is science-based and knowledge-driven with scientific developments evolving at a rapid pace. The budget should spur innovation and set the pace for taking the pharmaceutical industry to the next level," Sudarshan Jain, Secretary General, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, told IANS.
He said that the primary thrust for the Indian pharmaceutical industry going forward should be to move up the value chain by scaling up R&D and innovation to meet the unmet needs of patients across the world.
"The industry should evolve from 'Make in India' to 'Make and Discover in India, for India and World' fulfilling the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," he added.
Miffed over seat allocation, DMK workers block TN minister's car
A section of DMK workers on Sunday blocked the vehicle of Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister Senthil Balaji alleging that he was instrumental in allocating two seats for the alliance party in the forthcoming urban civic body elections in the corporation here and neglecting the party in the process.
The DMK workers were waiting at three gates of the 750-bed KMCH Medical College and Hospital where Balaji inaugurated new medical equipment.
As the minister came out, the workers blocked his car and raised questions on allotting seats in Ward 18 and 54 to the DMK's alliance party and damaging the prospects of the ruling party, police said.
However, Balaji, who is DMK in-charge of the district and also negotiating with alliance parties on seat allotment, left without responding to the workers.
Police removed the protesting workers and cleared the road for the minister's convoy to go forward.
Study finds exercise slows progression of Parkinson's disease
Researchers have discovered that people with early-stage Parkinson's disease, who regularly got one to two hours of moderate exercise twice a week, may have less trouble doing daily physical activities later.
The study has been published in the 'Neurology Journal'.
Researchers found that those who exercised regularly over five years did better on cognitive tests and had slower progression of the disease in several aspects.
"Our results are exciting, because they suggest it may never be too late for someone with Parkinson's to start an exercise program to improve the course of their disease," said study author Kazuto Tsukita, MD, of Kyoto University in Japan and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.
"That's because we found that to slow progression of the disease, it was more important for people with Parkinson's to maintain an exercise program than it was to be active at the beginning of the disease," Tsukita added.
Import-export keeps happening: Anupriya Patel on exit of OBC leaders from BJP
Apna Dal (S) president Anupriya Patel on Sunday said "import-export" of leaders happens before elections and the recent exit of OBC legislators from the BJP will have no impact on the winning prospects of the NDA in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
Ahead of the elections, which will begin next month, OBC leaders Swami Prasad Maurya, Dara Singh Chauhan and Dharam Singh Saini quit the Yogi Adityanath cabinet and the BJP to join the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) along with some MLAs.
"It has become a tradition for leaders to switch sides before elections. Entry-exit and import-export keeps happening. I do not think people see this as something positive. They see it as opportunism," Anupriya Patel, a Union minister and a prominent backward community leader whose party is an ally of the BJP in the state, told PTI in an interview.
When asked about the exit of the other backward class (OBC) leaders, she said, "It is not going to affect the health of the (BJP-led) National Democratic Alliance (in the state)."
Delhi court denies bail to Bulli Bai App's alleged creator Niraj Bishnoi
A Delhi court has dismissed the bail application of Niraj Bishnoi, the alleged creator of the Bulli Bai app, saying his offence was not only against the essence of womanhood but was also designed to disturb communal harmony.
Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana denied the relief to the accused on January 29, noting that the allegations against him were serious in nature and the investigation was at a nascent stage.
Several complaints were received by police stations in the country regarding the listing of Muslim women for "auction" on the 'Bulli Bai' mobile application with photographs sourced without permission and doctored. It has happened for the second time in less than a year.
The app appeared to be a clone of 'Sulli Deals' which triggered a similar row last year.
Bengal Guv attacks Mamata govt again, alleges violence, human rights abuse
Asserting that no amount of "insults" will deter him from performing his duties, Dhankhar said violence and democracy do not go together, and urged all to become messenger of peace and non-violence as a tribute to the father of the nation.
"I cannot see the hallowed land of Bengal getting blood drenched (in violence) and becoming a laboratory for trampling of human rights. People are saying that the state is turning into a gas chamber of democracy," Dhankhar said at Gandhi Ghat on the bank of Hooghly river at Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas district.
France's Macron calls on Iran to release 62-yr-old jailed researcher
French President Emmanuel Macron called for the immediate release of a French-Iranian researcher imprisoned in Iran, officials said Sunday.
Macron made the plea in a long phone call on Saturday with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, according to a statement from the French presidency.
Fariba Adelkhah, a 62-year-old anthropologist, has been detained in Iran since June 2019. She had been under house arrest since October 2020, but was sent back to prison earlier this month.
Adelkhah was given a five-year sentence for gathering and collusion against Iran's security. French authorities said her conviction is purely political and arbitrary.
Lata Mangeshkar responding well to treatment: Maharashtra Health Minister
Being admitted for nearly a month in Mumbai's Breach Candy hospital, legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar is currently showing positive signs of improvement in her treatment against COVID-19 and pneumonia.
Giving a health update about the megastar, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope informed, "I spoke with Dr Pratit Samdani who is treating singer Lata Mangeshkar. She's recovering, was on a ventilator for some days, but is better now. She is no more on ventilator. Only oxygen is being given to her. She is responding to the treatment."
The veteran singer had been admitted on January 8, after she was diagnosed with COVID-19 and pneumonia.
Dr Pratit Samdani, who is treating her, said that her ventilator support was removed two days ago as there was an improvement in her health, though she will continue to be under medical observation in ICU.
Cong leader Taqueer Raza Khan's daughter-in-law joins BJP ahead of UP polls
Nida Khan, the daughter-law of Congress leader Maulana Taqueer Raza Khan joined Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday.
Khan, along with several leaders from Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Paty (BSP), and Congress joined the party on Sunday. The joinees include leaders like former Uttar Pradesh Minister and SP leader Shivcharan Prajapati and BSP leader Gangaram Ambedkar.
This comes as a huge blow for these respective parties ahead of the state assembly polls, which are scheduled to be held in February and March this year.
Nida Khan said while talking to ANI, "I have joined BJP because it brought Triple Talaq law and worked for empowerment of women of all religions."
In a first, Assam to conduct leopard census from January 31
A first-of-its-kind Leopard census in Assam's forest and non-forest areas, initiated by North Kamrup Forest Division in Amingaon will kick off from January 31.
The counting will be done via the camera-trapping method. 50 cameras will be installed in Sila Reserve Forest, Changsari, NIPER, AIIMS etc surrounding Amingaon.
According to Divisional Forest Officer Sunnydeo Choudhary, the camera trapping will be done for a period of 24 days and data from each camera will be extracted at an interval of every seven days.
A one-week execution program has been planned by North Kamrup Forest Division for conducting the census that will involve verifying camera traps, the study of maps, in-depth discussion with senior forest officials, volunteer participation plan, field survey and target location selection.
Molestation case against local politician in Maharashtra
Police in Maharashtra have registered a case on charge of molestation against a local politician, an official said on Sunday.
The case was registered at Virar police station on Saturday under IPC Section 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty) following a complaint by a woman auto-rickshaw driver, who alleged that the accused used to call her and seek sexual favours, senior police inspector Suresh Warade said.
The complainant had beaten up the accused with slippers on January 24 and a video of it went viral on social media platforms on Saturday.
No arrest has been made so far, the police said.
Fielding Yogi from Gorakhpur will also maintain party grip on other seats, BJP hopes
The BJP seems to have strategically fielded Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur Urban in the assembly elections to maintain its sway over 62 seats in the region following desertion by some ministers hailing from the area.
Party insiders say Adityanath had campaigned vigorously in the 2017 polls in the region which had helped the saffron party win 44 of the 62 seats in Gorakhpur and nine other neighbouring districts.
The party has also got a prized catch in influential Congress leader R P N Singh to check the erosion in its support base among OBCs in the wake of recent exit of backward caste leaders like Swami Prasad Maurya and Dara Singh Chauhan as well as Om Prakash Rajbhar, who had quit earlier.
Maurya and Chauhan have joined the Samajwadi Party along with some OBC legislators. Rajbhar had contested the last polls in alliance with the BJP and was made a minister, but bid adieu to the saffron camp ahead of the 2019 general election.
Odisha reports 19 more Covid deaths; toll mounts to 8,594
The Odisha government on Sunday confirmed death of another 19 persons due to Covid-19. The death toll in the state has now risen to 8,594.
According to State health department, highest five Covid deaths were reported from Khurda district while three deaths occurred in Ganjam, two in Angul, two in Nabarangpur and one each from Bhadrak, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Puri districts.
This list does not reflect deaths occurring on a particular day. It gives details of past deaths for which the death audit process has been duly completed and the cause of death has been identified as due to Covid-19, said the department.
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First Published: Jan 30 2022 | 6:36 AM IST
