Breaking News: November 29 | Highlights

The opposition Grand Alliance in Bihar is likely to throw its hat in the ring for the Rajya Sabha seat, which has fallen vacant upon the death of former
Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, sources in the five-party coalition said on Sunday.

The Czech government said Sunday it is easing measures imposed to contain the new coronavirus due to falling numbers of new confirmed cases. Health Minister Jan Blatny said all stores, restaurants and bars can reopen on Thursday and a ban on Sunday sales is lifted.

Restaurants can be open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., though they are limited to 50% of their capacity. Stores and shopping centers also must limit the number of customers. Hair salons, fitness centers and gyms are allowed to reopen, as are zoos, museums and galleries.

The Czech Republic was among the hardest hit by a new wave of infections in the fall, but the number of new cases has been on a decline since Nov 4.

The country of almost 10.7 million had 518,649 confirmed cases with 8,054 fatalities. The day-to-day increase of new cases reached 2,667 on Saturday.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has increased the number of ICU beds to 500 in Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Covid Hospital at Delhi Cantonment, an official statement said on Sunday. The hospital was made operational on July 5 by the DRDO to treat COVID-19 patients from Delhi and other states. It has a total of 1,000 beds.

The statement said 3,271 patients were admitted to the hospital so far, out of which 2,796 have been cured/discharged.

At present, 434 patients are undergoing treatment in the hospital out of which 356 are civilians and 78 are service personnel, it said.

"The DRDO has increased the number of ICU (Intensive Care Unit) beds to 500 in Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Covid Hospital at Delhi Cantonment on the advice of the Union Government in view of the rising number of cases in Delhi-NCR. All the beds are provided with oxygen support," the statement said.

It said the hospital has been admitting patients from Delhi and states like Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. 

Heavy rains and strong winds are expected to lash parts of Kerala in the coming days under the influence of a low-pressure area off the south Andaman Sea and adjoining Bay of Bengal, with IMD issuing a red alert for Idukki district on Wednesday and fishermen restrained from putting out to sea from the midnight of November 30.

The IMD on Sunday issued an Orange alert for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts on December 2 anda yellow alert for Alappuzha, Kottayam and Ernakulam districts on the same day.

Red alert indicates heavy to very heavy rainfall of over 20 cm in 24 hours,an Orange alert (6 cm to 20 cm) and yellow alert (6-11 cm).

At least 34 people were killed on Sunday in two separate suicide bombings in Afghanistan that targeted a military base and a provincial chief, officials said.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks, which took place as Afghan government representatives and the Taliban hold face-to-face talks in Qatar for the first time to end the country’s decades-long war.

North India is likely to expect a harsher winter and can see a rise in the frequency of cold waves this season, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said on Sunday. The IMD, in its winter forecast for December to February, said below normal minimum temperatures are likely over north and central India.

“The winter is likely to be harsher in north India this season,” Mohapatra said.

He added that the night temperatures in north India are likely to be below normal, while the day temperatures are expected to be above normal.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) expelled Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi from the primary membership of the party for his 'anti-people activities'. 

K Anwar Sadat, Chief Executive Officer of Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), the state's nodal agency for Information and
communication technology in state's schools, has been appointed member of the NCERT Advisory Board.

The NationalCouncil for Education Research and Training (NCERT) is the apex body in school education under the Union Education Ministry.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "I never called the farmers’ protest politically motivated, neither I am calling it now."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "We will free Hyderabad from the 'Nizam culture' and work towards constructing a modern and new city flush with democratic principles. We will take it away from dynastic politics without doing any appeasement."

"Hyderabad has the potential to become an IT hub. Infrastructure development has to be done by the municipal corporation even though funds are given by State & Centre. The current corporation under TRS and Congress is the biggest impediment to this," Union Home Minister Amit Shah said.

I want to thank people of Hyderabad for showing immense support to BJP. I'm confident after roadshow that this time BJP is not fighting to increase its seats or strengthen its presence, but this time Mayor of Hyderabad will be from our party, Home Minister Amit Shah said.

Roshni was a scheme but it has been made a scam, says PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti

Four people were killed and seven others injured when a pick-up vehicle collided with a dumper in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan on Sunday, police said. The accident occurred in Deeg police station area when the victims were on their way to Haryana from Uttar Pradesh. The deceased were identified as Ghanendra (33), Uma (30), Jamuna Prasad (56) and pick-up driver Kasim (26), police said. The injured are being treated at the district hospital in Bharatpur.

As many as 759 new COVID-19 cases have been reported on Sunday in Thane, raising the tally in the Maharashtra district to 2,27,860. The death toll due in the district has gone up to 5,669 with 10 more people succumbing to the disease.

So far, Kalyan town in the district has reported 53,760 COVID-19 cases, followed by Thane city-51,040, Navi Mumbai-47,990 and Mira Bhayander-24,085. Among the fatalities, Thane city has recorded 1,228, Kalyan 1,057, Navi Mumbai-979 and Mira Bhayander-756, the official said.

Two people were charred to death on Sunday morning after their car fell into a ditch near a village in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh and caught fire.
The accident took place on the B B Nagar Road near Karothi village in the Syana police station area.

Prima facie it seems that the driver lost control of the vehicle, which then fell into the ditch and caught fire, station in-charge Jitendra Kumar Singh said.
The victims are yet to be identified, he added.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah holds a roadshow in Old City to appeal to the people to vote for the party in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) election. The campaigning for the GHMC election will end today. The polling will take place on December 1.

Borders of Haridwar in Uttarakhand will remain sealed today and tomorrow as a measure to ensure that devotees do not enter the district to take the holy dip in Ganga which is not allowed on the occasion of Kartik Purnima, says SSP Senthil Abudai Krishnaraj S

Nine more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, pushing the tally in the union territory to 4,698, a health department official said on Sunday.

Of the nine new cases, eight have travel history while one was detected during contact tracing. Ten more people recovered from COVID-19, taking the total number of recoveries to 4,518.

The archipelago now has 119 active coronavirus cases, while 4,518 people have recovered from the disease and 61 patients have succumbed to the infection till date.

Assistant Commandant Nitin Bhalerao, Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) 206 battalion of CRPF, who sustained injuries in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast by Naxals in the Sukma district on Saturday, succumbed to his injuries today. Seven other personnel also suffered injuries in the ambush.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the nation through his radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' at 11 am today

Five jawans of CoBRA 206 battalion injured in an IED blast by Naxals near Tadmetla area of Sukma district: ANI

 A 23-year-old man was injured when three unidentified men allegedly fired at him after a scuffle broke out between them on a petty issue in west Delhi's Janakpuri area on Saturday. The man has been identified as Raja Alam, a resident of Mahavir Enclave in west Delhi.