Hundreds others were wounded many of whom received bullet and pellet injuries and are undergoing treatment in various hospitals.
Awesome photos of the month: February Here are some of the best photographs clicked across the globe in the month of February.
Irom Sharmila, the woman who was on a hunger strike for 16 years, leads a quiet life, and recently became a mother of twin girls.
Oscar Pistorius returns to court on Friday after being cleared of murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, but the South African Olympic and Paralympic sprinter could still be convicted of culpable homicide for the "negligent" shooting of the model.
There is growing alarm at the inexorable rise of China, both of its military prowess and its aggressive bullying of other countries plus its subjugation of whole portions of its own population.
The rural parts of the Varanasi constituency have voted better compared to the urban areas. The Election Commission, which gives out an interim figure of the overall polling statistics, states that polling was anything between 55.34 to 57 per cent in the nigh-profile constituency.
With nearly 100 countries closing national borders during the past month, the movement of people and tourism flows have come to a screeching halt. The contraction could be even higher if governments fail to provide income support and help boost consumer spending.
When 17 million Indians seek their fortune abroad it only means people are losing faith in the government's ability to honour its promises, says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
In a rare honour, the United States has named a mountain in Antarctica after eminent Indian-American scientist Akhouri Sinha whose pioneering biological research expedition has provided vital data about animal populations.
The Union Health ministry put the number of positive cases at 82, eight more since Thursday night, which includes the woman and a 76-year-old man from Karnataka who became the country's first coronavirus fatality besides 17 foreign nationals, Health Ministry officials said.
Disgraced South African track star Oscar Pistorius returns to court on Monday to find out whether he will serve a long stretch behind bars for the negligent killing of his model girlfriend, or walk out a free man.
'Politically, Tamil Nadu has faced several setbacks in the past -- the water sharing issue with Karnataka, on Katchatheevu, on the Tamil fishermen issue...' 'In all these issues, the central and state governments acted in an inefficient and incompetent manner.' 'That must have stayed in the minds of the people.'
Parasite's razor-sharp characterisations ensure that the picture is thoroughly entertaining though it falls short of greatness, declares Sreehari Nair.
Japan basked in the glow of its World Cup soccer team's historic win over Colombia, a victory that has lifted the nation's mood after an earthquake struck its second-biggest metropolis Osaka.
'Professor C Y Bayly was undoubtedly the tallest of his generation. For so many of his students who were privileged to be taught by him he was much more than the rarest of rare scholar.' Professor Seema Alavi remembers a teacher who left an indelible imprint on India history.
Ambassador Natarajan Krishnan and Ambassador Shankar Bajpai helped shape Indian foreign policy at a glorious, but difficult, time in history, recalls Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The Left has ideologically become irrelevant globally, says the finance minister.
The desecration of Vidyasagar's statue during Amit Anilchandra Shah's rally, which the TMC projected to be a 'Bhojpuri' and 'Dhokla' invasion on West Bengal's culture, may help her gain some favour with middle-class and erudite Bengalis in the last phase of the polls.
The entire gamut of China's activities is aimed at keeping India on tenterhooks, cause fatigue to its troops and keeping its security system unstable, so that it cannot play a meaningful role in international geopolitics as an effective partner of the US and Japan, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
The move was aimed at 'reaffirming China's claim over the state'. China claims the state as 'South Tibet'.
India's largest airline has also told its crew members -- who are working on flights connecting India with East Asian countries like Thailand and Singapore -- to wear N95 masks at all times when they are on ground.
186,267 Indian students were studying in the US in 2016-2017.
'Modi is still immensely popular and, therefore, he can sustain any number of policy failures.' 'Modi himself has worn multiple faces so it would be naive to think that the Modi of 2021 will be the same Modi that will be campaigning for re-election in 2024.'
'The logical step is to challenge the very legitimacy of the Chinese claim over Tibet,' recommends Inspector General Gurdip Singh Uban (retd).
'Does a thousand-year-old sculpture worshipped in a thriving religion belong to a foreign museum or the temple from which it was extracted?' Congress MP Shashi Tharoor asked angrily. 'They legitimately belonged to India and people of past, present and future generations are interested in re-possessing them,' a central information commissioner declared last month.
Gandhi accused Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik of being remote-controlled by Modi
'A very vast majority of us will catch it at some point, about 8 out of 10 won't feel much worse than a common cold's nuisance, if at all, but some will die.' 'A very, very vast majority, at least about 98 per cent of those infected, if not more, under any circumstances, will live through it,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
'Whether Lord Ram is a historical person is not the subject before the court.' 'The court was asking every time if can anyone show the exact birthplace of Lord Ram on the basis of documents.' 'I have shown that on the basis of documents. And these documents are not (based) on my beliefs.'
'What aspect of the air strikes would make it possible for a voter to change her mind?' asks Aakar Patel.
After 41 days of tears, anguish and at times gruesome testimony in the Pretoria High Court, Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee who became one of the biggest names in athletics, will learn this week whether he will spend the next 25 years behind bars.
Referring to COVID-19, she said her husband's administration will not stop fighting until there is an effective treatment and vaccine available to everyone.
The anti-CAA protest was an ugly rant more consistent with the violent chaos of anarchy, argues Vivek Gumaste.
'It did not start as a Hindutva slogan.' 'It started to tease the TMC and slowly it got internalised and the BJP started countering with Jai Shri Ram slogans because Mamata was getting provoked.'
India is too diverse to be governed centrally and with a single system. The way forward is for the central government to keep the monopoly of military power and a share of national resources while the provinces must have greater autonomy, recommends Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Counting's underway and the fate of the candidates is awaited. As we wait for the results with bated breath, here's how your heavyweights are faring for now.
Rajneesh Gupta gives us a list of noteworthy statistics from first-class and Ranji Trophy
Schools and colleges, closed since October 31, were shut on Saturday as well, while several universities postponed their exams.
Why are students being forced to go abroad to study?
BCCI's decision to not send Indian teams for the Asian Games drew sharp criticism from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on Saturday, which accused the influential cricket board of treating the sport just as a business venture.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rahul Gandhi and BSP supremo Mayawati will descend on Varanasi on Saturday making it their battleground ahead of the last phase of Uttar Pradesh polls, a schedule that has put the administration on its toes.
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