Meet Zeenath PA, the Kochi social worker whose handmade wigs are helping Cancer survivors reclaim their identity.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said there is no need to panic about COVID-19 cases, even as she asserted that the hospitals were fully prepared to tackle if the number rises.
An audio clip recently surfaced on social media of the purported conversation between the accused, Dr Shashikant Deshpande, who was then additional district surgeon at the Udgir Government Hospital in Latur, and Dr Shashikant Dange, who was posted at a COVID-19 care centre.
In a measured but scathing attack, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of committing a 'big sin' by creating a controversy over Vande Mataram and claimed that the government pushed for a debate on the national song as the West Bengal assembly polls were approaching.
From Rs 73k to over Rs 1.2L between January-December 2025 -- is buying gold in 2026 still sensible?
Amid an uptick in Covid cases in some parts of the country, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Rajiv Behl said the severity of infections as of now is generally mild and there was no cause for worry. Speaking about new Covid variants being traced, he said genome sequencing of samples in the west and south have shown that the new variants are not severe and are Omicron sub-variants. These are LF.7, XFG, JN.1 and NB. 1.8.1. The first three are more prevalent, Dr Behl said. "Samples from other places are being sequenced and we will know in a day or two if there are more variants." The ICMR DG said there has been an uptick in cases --first from the south, then west and now from northern India. All these cases are being monitored through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). Besides that, ICMR's nationwide respiratory virus sentinel surveillance network is keeping a watch on emerging infections and pathogens, he said. "Whenever cases increase, we look at three things. It's dependent on three factors with the first being how transmissible it is, conversely how fast the cases are increasing. Previously we saw Covid cases double in two days, but this time it is not that cases are increasing rapidly. "Secondly, are the new variants evading our previous immunity? When new variants come, they evade immunity -- be it natural or from the vaccine. But there's nothing to worry about at the moment," Dr Behl said. He also said that the third factor is the percentage of severe cases in all Covid instances. "Are we getting a very severe disease without comorbidities? As of now, the severity is generally low. There's nothing to worry about. We should be vigilant and we should always be prepared," the ICMR DG asserted. Dr Behl also informed reporters that the Union Health secretary chaired a meeting on Sunday that was also attended by the director general of health services and himself. "We have been closely monitoring the situation. We should be vigilant at this moment, but there is no cause to worry. The general public should be vigilant. There is no need to take any such action as of now," he said. The officer added that the WHO database has been showing that the new variants were not causing severe disease. "People do not need to take any immediate action. They should follow normal precautions. So, there is nothing special to do right now." Asked about the need for a booster dose, he said there is no need for vaccination as of now. "India has the capability to make vaccines and if need be, we can make any vaccine in no time."
'In general, I needed a short break from sports because I had worked extremely hard for the Paralympics. I was happy with my performance, but not winning a medal left me a little disappointed. I channelled my energy into other things... overall, the past year has been wonderful in its own way.'
As of May 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies LF.7 and NB.1.8 subvariants as Variants Under Monitoring, not as Variants of Concern or Variants of Interest. But these are the variants that are reportedly driving the rise in Covid cases in China and parts of Asia.
'There'll be extended periods where things aren't working in your favour. But if you believe in the cause profoundly, then you simply persevere.'
'Conservation is is fundamental to the resilience of our communities and the health of our planet,' says Dr Ramakant Panda, who is considered to be one the world's top heart surgeons.
There are 4,026 active cases in India and five fresh deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours.
All states have been instructed to ensure availability of oxygen, isolation beds, ventilators and essential medicines in view of rising cases of Covid, official sources said on Wednesday.
China Eastern Airlines has resumed its Shanghai-Delhi service after a five-year gap, marking the first mainland Chinese carrier to restore direct flights to India this year. The resumption follows the resolution of border tensions and aims to boost trade, economic, and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
'Non-compatible with Western Civilization' is about as vague and jingoistic as it gets and Trump saying this gives full license to his acolytes to go full throttle on making life as difficult and scary as possible for as many non-white people as possible,' notes Sree Sreenivasan.
An Arunachal Pradesh woman was allegedly detained at Shanghai airport for nearly 18 hours after Chinese immigration officials refused to recognise her Indian passport, claiming Arunachal Pradesh is part of China.
Chinese airline China Eastern is set to begin its Delhi-Shanghai flight from Sunday, days after IndiGo's flight to Guangzhou from Kolkata, marking the resumption of the flight services between the two countries after a gap of five years.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in the assembly on Tuesday that singer Zubeen Garg's death while swimming in the sea in Singapore is a case of 'plain and simple murder'.
The committed expenditure recorded a 9.37 per cent increase, reaching Rs 15.64 trillion.
The Supreme Court of India denied bail to a man accused of being associated with ISIS, citing concerns about a potential 'ring of terror' plot. The decision came after the accused challenged a lower court's denial of bail in a case involving charges under UAPA and IPC.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
There have been more instances of a management team buying out the owners of a company after the pandemic. There are eight such transactions, called management buyouts (MBOs), in the five years ending 2024, according to data from tracker LSEG shared with Business Standard.
Overall hiring volumes grew by 17 per cent year-on-year across key consumption-linked sectors during the August-October period, driven by heightened consumer sentiment, attractive festive promotions, and wider geographic penetration, according to a report.
Yuvraj Singh has been coaching the Punjab left-hander for years, grooming him into one of the best batters in T20 cricket.
Bangladesh women's pacer Jahanara Alam has alleged that captain Nigar Sultana Joty "beats up" junior cricketers, a charge that has been rejected by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
'The momentum is driven by rising affluence, strong demand from HNIs (high net worth individuals) and NRIs (non-resident Indians), an increased appetite for larger, well-located homes by branded developers, and support from the economy.'
Cricket Australia (CA) announced a net deficit of A$11.3 million ($7.34 million) for the 2024-25 financial year on Thursday, with a steep increase in costs offsetting a jump in revenue from hosting the Border-Gavaskar series against powerhouse India.
The best course for the government at this time would be to tighten the seat belt a little more, without compromising on its investments in creating better infrastructure and giving a push to privatisation, points out A K Bhattacharya.
England 'quietly confident' heading into Ashes series, says Wood
The Election Commission is set to announce the schedule for the Bihar legislative assembly elections on Monday. The announcement will be made at a press conference at 4 pm.
While ever more hostage to Twenty20's global carve-up, cricket will take a breath from next week to indulge its most time-honoured rivalry as Australia and England battle in the Ashes.
Over 2019 to 2023 West Bengal and Jharkhand saw the share of girl child marriages in total weddings rise.
November is a busy month on OTT with several series arriving, in their next season after being vastly successful in earlier instalments.
As deposit growth lags credit expansion, Indian banks face shrinking low-cost Casa inflows, rising funding costs, and structural shifts driven by UPI, e-Kuber, and digital savings trends, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Philippe's outing in Perth was his first International appearance on home soil after years of playing overseas, including most of his 15 previous games in COVID-19 bubbles.
There have been 41 cases of Covid in the most recent four-week period ending mid-January, with three deaths.
'It seems you are getting into a mess that's going to take a while for you to get out of!'
'I will not be surprised if there is a 7 per cent handle in front of the decimal place for the full financial year.'
The Supreme Court of India has advised a petitioner, who claims to have suffered disability due to the side effects of the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, to file a suit for damages instead of pursuing his plea before the court. The court suggested that filing a suit could provide quicker relief than waiting for a potentially lengthy decision on the petition.
The Supreme Court has directed all states and Union Territories to report on the implementation of guidelines for addressing mental health issues and suicide among students in educational institutions. The Centre has also been asked to file a compliance affidavit.
'When you compare Bihar's poverty from its earlier times, then there is a huge difference. Things have improved a lot. And migration has played an important role in reducing poverty.'
