New Delhi, June 11

Amandeep Singh Gill, senior diplomat and Panjab University alumni, has beaten a crowded field to become the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's first Envoy on Technology. He replaced Italian and EU diplomat Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, who was in an acting capacity for the past five months.

A Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Electrical Communications from Panjab University, Chandigarh, Gill joined the diplomatic service in 1992. Besides stints in Tehran and Colombo, he has largely specialised in disarmament, strategic technologies and international security affairs.

New Delhi, June 11

The increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country over the last few days should not be a cause for panic, health experts said on Saturday, highlighting that no new variant of concern has been found and the rise so far is limited to a few districts.

They also pointed out towards non-adherence of Covid-appropriate behaviour and people being unenthusiastic about getting the booster dose, which possibly has increased the pool of population susceptible to the infection.

Seventeen districts in the country, including seven in Kerala and five in Mizoram, are reporting a weekly Covid positivity rate of more than 10 per cent, while in 24 districts, including seven in Kerala and four each in Maharashtra and Mizoram, the weekly positivity rate is between five and 10 per cent, an official source said.

Thiruvananthapuram, June 11

A day after the LDF government in Kerala transferred Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau Director MR Ajith Kumar through a late night order, the opposition Congress on Saturday sought to know the reason behind the sudden decision and asked CM Pinarayi Vijayan to break his silence following allegations by the key accused in gold smuggling case.

Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly VD Satheesan alleged that the police had tried to mount pressure on gold smuggling case key accused Swapna Suresh to withdraw her recent statement making fresh revelations against the CM and his family. — PTI

Prime accused's Lawyer faces case

Kerala police have registered a non-bailable case against Krishna Raj, a lawyer of Swapna Suresh, for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through the social media.

Jaunpur (UP), June 11

A nine-year-old boy was killed and 18 others were injured when their vehicle collided head-on with a container truck within the Baksha police station limits in this Uttar Pradesh district, police said on Saturday.

Additional Superintendent of Police (city) Sanjay Kumar said the accident occurred late on Friday night, when the members of a wedding party were returning home in the Saraikhwaja police station area.

The container truck hit their vehicle on the Lucknow-Varanasi Road, the SP added.

There were 19 people in the vehicle, including 17 minors.

The injured passengers were taken to a hospital, where Ajay (9) was declared dead.

The SP said five people been hospitalised, while 13 were discharged after giving first aid.

Etah (UP), June 11

The sister of a bride was killed and 10 people were injured when gunshots were fired during a quarrel at a marriage function here in the early hours of Saturday, police said.

Superintendent of Police (SP), Etah, Udai Singh said the incident occurred in Fardpur village under the Jasrathpur police station limits.

"An argument broke out between the family members of the bride and some villagers over applying colours. During the ruckus, someone fired a gun that resulted in the death of Sudha, 35, while 10 people were injured," he said.

Sudha was the bride's elder sister. The condition of three of the injured is said to be critical.

Police have lodged an FIR against some local people. "We have also detained some suspects who are being questioned about the incident," the officer said.

Thane, June 11

A 25-year-old woman from Thane district who was being assaulted by her husband in a central African nation has been brought back here by the 'Bharosa Cell' of the MBVV police's Crime Branch, an official said on Saturday.

The woman was married for the last one year and was being beaten up by her husband, who is employed in a company there, for the past several weeks, Bharosa Cell Assistant Inspector Tejashree Shinde told PTI.

"She was unable to contact her mother here as she was not given a mobile phone or allowed to step out of the house. The house-help let the woman make a video call to her mother here. Her mother approached us and we contacted the Indian Embassy there. After completion of all formalities, the woman was sent to India on June 9 and reunited with her mother," the official said.

Mumbai, June 11

A 43-year-old businessman and his driver, who got down from their car to save an injured bird on Bandra-Worli Sea Link, died after being hit by a taxi on May 30, police said on Friday.

The CCTV footage of the accident was making the rounds on social media platforms since morning.

The accident occurred on May 30 afternoon when businessman Amar Manish Jariwala, a resident of Nepeansea Road, was going towards Malad, an official said.

"En route on Bandra Worli Sea Link, a bird was hit by their car, following which Jariwala got down to save the injured bird. A speeding taxi hit Jariwala and his driver Shyam Sundar Kamat. Jariwala was declared dead on arrival by doctors of a nearby hospital, while Kamat died post admission," he said.

A case was registered against taxi driver Ravindra Kumar Jaiswar (30) for rash and negligent driving and he was arrested, the Bandra police station official said.

Hyderabad, June 10

Days ahead of BJP's national executive meeting here, the Telangana Police arrested BJP leader J Bala Krishna Reddy and booked state BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar on charges of defaming the government by making false accusations against the Chief Minister.

The police claimed that a skit televised live by some TV channels on June 2 was aimed at misleading the people and to provoke hatred and unrest. The BJP's cultural wing member Boddu Yellanna, who had performed in the skit, has also been booked.

New Delhi, June 10

Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav highlighted Union Government's welfare measures for workers, including increasing the maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, at the plenary session of the ongoing International Labour Conference of the International Labour Organisation at Geneva.

Participating in the session, Yadav homed in on measures taken to advance workers' welfare and social security, especially during the turbulent Covid pandemic times.

He said database of over 280 million workers had already been created. About 3.2 million vendors were provided collateral free loans to help them under Swanidhi scheme.