Breaking News March 29

Authorities in Jammu on Monday suspended the operations of 12 retail medical stores and also confiscated drugs worth Rs 1.12 lakh during a supervisory check in the outskirts of the city.

Block Development Council (BDC) chairperson from north Kashmir's Gurez, Famida Bano, on Monday joined the BJP, a party spokesperson said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif in Dushanbe on Monday and discussed bilateral cooperation, including on the strategic Chabahar Port.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi denounced Myanmar's escalating crackdown on pro-democracy protests in talks Monday with his Indonesian counterpart, who is visiting Tokyo for security discussions focusing on China's growing assertiveness in regional seas.

Pakistani authorities on Monday imposed a partial lockdown in several more high-risk areas in the capital, Islamabad, and elsewhere in the country after the positivity rate from coronavirus infections jumped to over 11 per cent.

A U Asana, the AIADMK candidate for Karaikal (South) in the April 6 Assembly poll in Puducherry, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.

Three people died after two buses they were travelling in collided head-on in Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh. "Drivers of the two buses and a passenger have lost their lives. Five others have sustained serious injuries," a police inspector said.

Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Chhattisgarh reported a high number of COVID daily new cases. 84.5% of new cases are reported from these states. Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, and Chhattisgarh account for 80% of active cases. 

An earthquake of magnitude 4.1 on the Richter scale occurred near Campbell Bay, Andaman and Nicobar island. 

Five Naxals killed in an encounter with police in the Khobramendha forest area of Kurkheda in Gadchiroli district, Maharashtra. 

85-years-old mother of a BJP worker died today morning, a month after she was allegedly beaten up by TMC workers in Nimta area of North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal.

Four people -- two women, a teenage girl, and a boy -- of a family died and two others were seriously injured in a fire that broke out at their home when they were sleeping in the Mokhada area of Palghar last night, according to Palghar Disaster Management Department. 

President Ram Nath Kovind extended best wishes to countrymen on the occasion of Holi.

The total number of samples tested up to March 28 is 24,18,64,161 including 9,13,319 samples tested yesterday, as per the Indian Council of Medical Research. 

A stranded container ship blocking the Suez Canal was re-floated on Monday and is currently being secured. 

India reported 68,020 new COVID-19 cases, 32,231 discharges, and 291 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry.

• Total cases: 1,20,39,644
• Total recoveries: 1,13,55,993
• Active cases: 5,21,808    
• Death toll: 1,61,843 
• Total vaccination: 6,05,30,435

Dehradun district administration declares one area each in Dehradun City and Rishikesh as containment zones. 

Members of the US Navy sang a popular Hindi song at a dinner meeting between US Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Michael M Gilday and India's Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu. 

US Vice President Kamala Harris has greeted people on the occasion of Holi, saying the festival is all about "positivity, setting aside our differences, and coming together".