Breaking News: Congress workers stage protest against LPG price hike, throw cylinders in lake

The Zika virus is not spread by aerosols or contact and is not a major cause for concern at this time, as Dr Mathew Varghese, Public health expert and former director of St Stephens Hospital, Delhi said on Saturday. “Zika virus is not spread by contact or aerosols. It is spread by mosquitos. That is a different epidemiology. I would not worry about it at this point in time. Epidemiologists and the Kerala Public Health dept has to be concerned that from somwhere Zika has come, and find a way to control the virus and mosquitoes. We should not create a scare among the people,” ANI quoted Dr Varghese as saying.

MP Congress workers staged protest against hike in LPG prices by throwing gas cylinders in Dewas’ Meetha Taalab on Saturday.

“PM Modi is not able to control inflation in the country. He should resign. We demand immediate rollback of LPG price hike,” ANI quoted a youth Congress worker as saying.

Maharashtra logged 8,296 new Covid-19 cases and 179 fatalities in the last 24 hours. More than 6,000 people recovered from the disease since the previous day.

Himachal Pradesh Police has deployed extra dedicated force to enforce Covid-19 appropriate behaviour in tourist hot spots like Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala, Rohtang Tunnel, Kasauli and Dalhousie, reported ANI.

Delhi on Saturday reported 76 new cases, one death and 81 recoveries in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate has declined to 0.09 per cent.

Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla on Saturday reviewed the steps taken by state governments for checking the spread of Covid-19 in hill stations and tourist locations. States should ensure strict adherence to the protocols prescribed in respect of wearing masks, social distancing, etc, the home secretary said during the meeting.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday credited BJP’s win in panchayat polls to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visionary policies and pro-people outreach.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said the state will have a new independent department of indigenous faith and culture, reported ANI.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said some tension is going on in both Assam-Nagaland and Assam-Mizoram borders and state police has been deployed to protect the constitutional boundary. “Being gateway to the northeast, we are always open to discussions but do not encroach on our land,” ANI quoted him as saying.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday met Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi.

Kerala health minister Veena George on Saturday said the state has a total of 14 positive cases of Zika virus. “Our department is on high alert and monitoring the situation closely. For Covid, we have always tried to keep number of cases below medical capacity. No one died in Kerala due to lack of oxygen supply,” ANI quoted George as saying.

PM Narendra Modi congratulated Pham Minh Chinh on his appointment as PM of Vietnam during a phone call on Saturday. PM Modi expressed confidence that India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will continue to become stronger under his able guidance, reported ANI.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Saturday took suo motu cognizance of an incident wherein a woman was allegedly attacked and misbehaved with and her saree was pulled in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh. Chairperson Rekha Sharma urged the Director-General of Police, Uttar Pradesh to immediately intervene in the matter and take strict action against the men involved.

The ongoing lockdown to curb the spread of the Covid-19 disease has been extended till July 19.

As voting began for the UP Uttar Pradesh block panchayat presidents on Saturday morning, a clash broke out between workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Sumerpur area of Hamirpur city, according to news agency ANI.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Saturday said that the incident of violence on Republic Day this year needs an “impartial investigation”, for which the farmers may have to knock on the doors of the United Nations (UN). Read more

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee on Saturday revised the penalty for noise pollution rules. According to the committee’s order, a fine of ₹10,000 will be imposed for pollution through loudspeakers, while a fine of ₹1,00,000 will be imposed for diesel generator sets of over 1,000 KVA.

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most-populated country, is currently grappling with a severe shortage of oxygen supplies to treat critical patients infected with coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be chairing a meeting with the revamped council of ministers on July 14, news agency ANI reported on Saturday.

The India Meteorological department said on Saturday that light rain or thundershowers are likely in Delhi as monsoon is expected to reach the Capital today. This will be the most delayed monsoon in Delhi in the previous 15 years.

Amid stabilisation of the daily caseload and pressure from citizens for more relaxations, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is expected to review the Covid-19 situation in the next few days. Read more

Prominent YouTube vlogger Karl Rock has blacklisted by the Indian government for violating multiple visa norms. Karl, who is originally from New Zealand, was found doing business on a tourist visa, a Union home ministry official told news agency ANI, adding he is barred for one year and his visa has been cancelled.

India’s caseload of the coronavirus disease climbed to 3,07,95,716 on Saturday after 42,766 new cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, according to the Union health ministry’s update at 8am. As many as 1,206 people succumbed to the viral disease on Saturday, taking the toll to 407,145. Read more

The Rath Yatra festival in Odisha’s Puri this year will be celebrated without the participation of devotees, similar to the previous year, along with strict adherence to coronavirus disease protocols (Covid-19) in order to curb the spread of the viral disease, the Jagannath temple administration said on Friday. Read more

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced a Covid assistance package of ₹532 crore for 32 lakh Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) workers in the state who have worked in the last 3 months of this year. Read more

Fuel prices in India were once again hiked on Saturday and breached the ₹100-mark in many cities.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jairam Thakur on Friday appealed to the tourists arriving in the state to follow all coronavirus disease (Covid-19) protocols. Read more

After Haiti President Jovenel Moise was found assassinated at his private residence on July 7, the government has now asked the United States and the United Nations to send troops to secure the country’s ports, airport and other strategic sites, a minister told news agency AFP on Friday.

“We thought that the mercenaries could destroy some infrastructure to create chaos in the country. During a conversation with the US Secretary of State and the UN we made this request,” elections minister Mathias Pierre said.