News updates: Madhya Pradesh HC asks protesting doctors to return to work immediately

Latest news updates: From Sabarmati train derailment to the doctors' ongoing protest, catch all the news developments from around the world here

7:29 PM

Gurugram private doctors suspend work in protest against Kolkata medic's murder

Doctors of private hospitals in Gurugram went on a strike on Saturday in protest against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's Medical College and Hospital.

 

At the call of the Indian Medical Association-Gurugram, doctors suspended OPD and operation theatre services, an IMA official said.

 

Doctors, along with the members of the Lions' Club and other bodies, gathered at John Hall in the morning from where they took to the street, demanding justice for the medic.

 

IMA's District President Dr Ajay Sharma said that the medics will be on strike till 6 pm Sunday and only emergency services will be operational.

 

"The culprits must get maximum punishment as soon as possible. The central government must make a law on the 2019 draft to prevent violence against medical establishments and personnel," said Dr Suresh Vashishtha, who was part of the foot march.

7:28 PM

Wrestler Vinesh Phogat receives a grand welcome on her arrival in Jhajjar

While talking about the grand welcome that Vinesh Phogat received, wrestler Bajrang Punia said, "We are wrestling for this love, there is nothing greater than this love...People of Jhajjar have always gave us grand welcome whenever we won a medal for the country...Today also they are welcoming us grandly..."

7:19 PM

Roads, apple orchards damaged after Himachal cloudburst

An overnight flash flood triggered by a cloudburst damaged the Rohru-Rampur Road in Himachal Pradesh's apple belt, officials said on Saturday.

 

The late-night cloudburst in the Rampur area of Shimla district also led to the closure of 132 roads, including National Highway 5.

 

A landslide near the Negulsari sliding point in Kinnaur has cut off the district from Shimla while 1,235 power supply schemes have been affected.

 

The officials said there were also reports of roads being blocked due to landslides and flash floods in Sirmaur and Chamba districts.

 

The cloudburst in the Taklopch panchayat of Rampur damaged several orchards but there has been no reports of human casualty, Deputy Commissioner (Shimla) Anupam Kashyap said.

 

Directions have been issued to repair the damaged roads and restore water and power supply, he said.

7:19 PM

Assam: Demonstrations, processions by doctors demanding justice for rape-murder victim

Doctors across Assam on Saturday joined the nationwide protest against the alleged rape and murder of a medic in a Kolkata hospital, demanding exemplary punishment for the culprits, a central law to ensure safety of medical professionals and better security infrastructure at their workplaces and public areas.

 

Outpatient departments and non-essential services came to a near halt in all hospitals during the day as doctors assembled on the premises, wearing black badges and displaying placards to press for their demands.

 

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had declared a nationwide withdrawal of non-emergency medical services for 24 hours from 6 am on August 17 to protest against the crime.

 

The withdrawal is across all the sectors wherever modern medicine doctors are providing services, the doctors' body said.

 

"We want justice for the victim and the family, that is our first demand. We also want to emphasise the need for awareness and education in the society so that such crimes are not repeated," a resident doctor at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) here said.

 

Another woman doctor said, "We don't have fixed duty hours. We are called from our hostel at 1 am in the night. How can we come and perform our duties when we lack basic security?"

 

"Justice delayed is justice denied, and we want swift, exemplary punishment," she demanded.

7:15 PM

Germany to cut Ukraine military aid in 2025 budget, says parliament source

Germany, the second largest contributor of aid to Ukraine, plans to halve its bilateral military aid to Kyiv in 2025, a parliamentary source told AFP Saturday. Instead the government of Olaf Scholz will bank on money generated by frozen Russian assets to continue supporting Kyiv, and is not planning "additional aid" to the 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) set aside in next year's budget. This year aid from Berlin amounted to 8 billion euros.

6:59 PM

Kolkata medico's rape-murder: Protests held in Telangana

Doctors including private medical practitioners took part in protests in Telangana on Saturday as part of the nationwide protest call given by the India Medical Association against the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata.

 

As part of the protests, major hospitals in the private sector stopped outpatient services and elective surgeries while outpatient services were suspended in government hospitals in Telangana.

 

During the protests, rallies were taken out, demonstrations were held at several places in the state condemning the brutal rape and murder of the woman doctor.

 

Doctors, medical students, medical staff were among those who participated in protests at different places even as junior doctors protests continued in Telangana today.

 

They raised slogans "we want justice", "No safety no duty" and demanded justice to the deceased doctor in Kolkata and implementation of a 'Central Protection Act' to ensure the safety of all healthcare personnel, including doctors and paramedical staff.

 

They held placards that read "No mercy to rapist", "hang the criminals", "stop violence against doctors" among others.

6:19 PM

Pak-origin man, involved in 26/11 terror attack, extraditable to India: US court

In a major setback to Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, who is sought by India for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that he is extraditable to India under the extradition treaty between the two countries.

6:14 PM

Gujarat doctors join nationwide protest; healthcare services hit

Healthcare services in Gujarat were affected as doctors from government and private hospitals took to the streets on Saturday amid the 24-hour nationwide protest over the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at a Kolkata medical college.

 

Doctors stayed away from the outpatient departments (OPDs) and did not conduct elective surgeries in several hospitals across the state as part of a strike call given by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Gujarat Junior Doctors' Association.

 

Doctors held protest gatherings and took out rallies, shouting slogans demanding justice for the woman doctor who was brutally raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9.

 

Dr Mona Desai, a former president of the IMA's Ahmedabad chapter, led a delegation of protesting doctors and submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in the state capital Gandhinagar.

 

"We have submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel with a list of demands, including an increase in security, making hospitals safe zones with CCTV cameras and enhanced security personnel so that doctors can work in a safe environment without fear," Desai later told reporters.

 

The strike affected OPD services in several government hospitals.

6:14 PM

Doctors in Mizoram protest against rape, murder of Kolkata medic

Healthcare services in Mizoram were severely hit as doctors in the state joined the nationwide protest demanding justice for the alleged rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata, an official said.

 

Services at the out-patient department (OPD) and non-essential units have been suspended in all the state-run hospitals, private facilities and church-run medical establishments, Indian Medical Association Mizoram state branch president Dr John Zohmingthanga said.

 

Apart from OPD, all private clinics were also closed in protest against the alleged rape and murder of the doctor, he said.

 

Only emergency services and blood banks were functional across the state, the official said.

 

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had declared a nationwide withdrawal of non-emergency medical services for 24 hours from 6 am on August 17 to protest against the crime.

 

Meanwhile, students of Zoram Medical College (ZMC), the state's lone medical college, staged a candle night vigil and procession at Falkawn near Aizawl on Friday night to protest against the ghastly incident in a health facility in West Bengal.

 

The woman post-graduate trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered in the seminar room of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9.

 

A civic volunteer has been arrested in connection with the crime the next day.

6:13 PM

Women Self-Help Groups to send one crore rakhis to CM Shinde

Women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) will send one crore rakhis to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to "express gratitude" for implementing various welfare schemes, a statement from Shinde's office said on Saturday.

 

The rakhis will be delivered to the chief minister on August 19, the day of Raksha Bandhan festival, it said.

 

The Shinde-led government announced the 'Majhi Ladki Bahin' scheme in this year's budget, ahead of assembly elections, and money under the scheme was recently deposited in the bank accounts of lakhs of women.

 

More than 2.5 crore women in the state would be getting Rs 1,500 every month in their bank accounts under the scheme, the CMO statement informed.

 

Besides, three gas cylinders are provided to women free of cost under the Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana, it said, listing other schemes for women. The government has initiated various welfare schemes for women to bring them in the mainstream of development, and hence members of Self-Help Groups under the UMED Abhiyan will be sending one crore rakhis from some 40,000 villages to the chief minister "for expressing their gratitude," the CMO release said.

5:36 PM

More than 4,500 Chhattisgarh doctors join nationwide protest

More than 4,500 doctors in Chhattisgarh on Saturday went on a 24-hour strike as part of the nationwide protest against the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata.

 

The protest which started at 6 am affected medical services except the emergency ones in major hospitals across the state.

 

"As a part of the nationwide protest call given by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), more than 4,500 government and private doctors have stopped their services in the state. No patients except those in need of emergency service will be attended till 6 on Sunday morning," said Dr Rakesh Gupta, president of the IMA's Raipur branch.

 

"We want the government to pay heed to our demands and introduce a law that will ensure protection for healthcare professionals from violence at workplace," he told PTI.

 

On Friday evening, members of the Junior Doctors Association, Indian Dental Association, Chhattisgarh Nursing Staff Association, Indian Physiotherapist Association, Pharmacist Association, Medical Representative and students of medical colleges along with IMA Raipur members took out a candle march in Telibandha area.

5:30 PM

DMRC to keep additional standby trains for Raksha Bandhan rush on Aug 19

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will keep additional standby trains ready to cater the rush of passengers on Raksha Bandhan festival on Monday, a statement said.

 

The DMRC will also deploy additional personnel at stations to cater to the extra rush of commuters by operating additional ticket counters, it said.

 

In order to facilitate passengers on the festival of Raksha Bandhan on Monday, the DMRC will be ready with additional standby trains on its corridors for induction into services to cater the rush, if required, it said.

 

The passengers are requested to use mobile applications -- DMRC Momentum 2.O, WhatsApp, Paytm, One Delhi, Amazon to buy QR tickets online -- to avoid rush at ticket counters or to buy national common mobility card/smart card from customer care centres, the statement said.

 

Guards/customer facilitation agents (CFA) will be deployed at major metro stations to help and guide commuters on the day, it added.

4:44 PM

Protest across Manipur against rape, murder of Kolkata doctor

Healthcare services were affected in Manipur on Saturday as doctors went on cease work in protest against the rape and murder of a medic at a hospital in Kolkata.

 

Outpatient departments were shut at all hospitals, including the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) and Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS).

 

"We stand in solidarity with our colleagues against the tragic incident as well as the hooliganism unleashed on the protesting students. We demand justice for the heinous crimes as well as safety at the workplace," said doctor Heisnam Angamba, who took part in a sit-in demonstration at the state-run JNIMS.

 

"The cease work will continue for 24 hours," Heisnam said.

 

Emergency and in-patient services, however, remained operational at the hospital.

4:39 PM

Nationwide doctors strike affects OPD services

4:36 PM

Several parts of the national capital receive rainfall bringing respite from heat and humidity