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Washington: The US has designated four more top state-run Chinese media houses as "foreign missions", terming them as "propaganda" outlets "controlled" by the ruling Communist Party of China, a move that could further escalate tensions between the two countries. The four Chinese media outlets designated as foreign missions on Monday are China Central Television, China News Service, the People's Daily and the Global Times, taking the total number to nine. This could add up to the increasing tensions between the US and China as President Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed Beijing for the coronavirus pandemic that has had a serious impact…

Kolkata: A 42-year-old man who lived in Bengaluru with his wife and son flew into Kolkata today and shot dead his mother-in-law at her home in an upscale apartment building. His father-in-law ran out of the flat, locking it behind him as he shouted for help. Police arrived to find both the mother-in-law and the man lying dead inside. They also found a suicide note in which he confessed he had killed his wife in their Bengaluru home before travelling to Kolkata to commit the second murder. Police in Bengaluru rushed to the man's home in the city's Whitefield neighbourhood and…

Congress president Sonia Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urging the Centre to extend the provision of free food grains for a period of three months more up till September 2020, as unemployment is on the rise across India, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown imposed to curb its spread. “Nearly three months since the country went into a strict lockdown and millions of Indians are at risk of slipping into poverty. The provision of 5 kg free food grains per person per month under the National Food Security Act in addition to regular entitlements….the…

The Calcutta Municipal Corporation has resumed issuing birth and death certificates, a service that was suspended during the lockdown, but the promised service to accept applications online is yet to roll out. In the absence of an online facility to submit applications, many people are not being able to apply for certificates out of fear that they might be infected by the coronavirus in the crowded offices of the civic body. Civic officials, too, are fearing the same following the easing of the lockdown norms. Before the lockdown was imposed, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) used to accept only 100…

New Delhi: As India and China held talks at Moldo on the Chinese side of Chushul to resume discussions on disengagement, the home ministry reviewed the progress of road construction in border areas. Sanjeeva Kumar, Secretary (Border Management) reviewed infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de-facto border dividing India and China, for the second time in five days, underscoring the government's determination to proceed with the plan after the Ladakh face-off. India's stress on developing the Ladakh region by building roads through the Galwan valley into Shyok is believed to be the main trigger for Chinese aggression in…

The Central Board of Secondary Education will inform the Supreme Court of its position on pending board examinations on Tuesday, and let the Court take a final call on cancellation, according to senior officials at the Human Resource Development Ministry. The SC is hearing a plea by a group of parents of CBSE students who wish the exams to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the CBSE counsel said that the Board is in the process of taking a decision on the issue and would apprise the court at the next hearing on June 23. They have…

Bengal on Sunday reported the seventh drop in eight days in active Covid-19 cases that brought the number down to 5,093 now, a drop of 600 active cases since June 13. The eight-day period also saw 3,755 recoveries or over 45 per cent of the total number of recoveries in the state since the onset of the pandemic. The total number of recoveries has crossed 8,000. In these eight days, recovery rate also rose by over 17 per cent to 59.49. A month ago, the recovery rate was 36.64 per cent. However, Bengal reported 15 more Covid-19 casualties, which has…

Supreme Court allowed annual Puri Rath Yatra festival in a very "restricted manner" in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Earlier the apex court had stayed this year's Rath Yatra due to Coronavirus pandemic. Centre told the apex court that Rath Yatra in Puri can be allowed without public participation as the 'tradition of centuries may not be stopped'. The Odisha government also supported the Centre's stand in the apex court and will coordinate with the Centre to hold the Rath Yatra. The order was passed in a plea seeking modification of the apex court's 18 June order staying this…

New Delhi: The Intelligence agencies have alarmed a high-alert for the National Capital, with inputs suggesting that four to five terrorists from Jammu and Kashmir have sneaked in to Delhi with an intention to carry out a major terrorist attack. Delhi Police has started to search for these terrorists in all the possible places where terrorists could be hiding. The reports have suggested that while some terrorists have already entered the National capital, some are still trying to enter. All hotels, lodges and guest houses have been put on look out by Delhi Police, with vehicles with Jammu Kashmir registration numbers…