NEWS

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has planned a three-day long training programme for all its MLAs from November 12. The training will focus on the principles of the party and the schemes by the Centre. More than fourteen hundred MLAs from around the country will participate the training at Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini (RMP) in Mumbai.

Assam state BJP president Bhabesh Kalita told media, “As key spokespersons, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP’s national president JP Nadda, national general secretary BL Santhosh, NEDA (North-East Democratic Alliance) convenor, chief minister of Assam Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma will participate in the training programme and all key spokespersons will train the BJP MLAs.”

New Delhi:  The air quality in the national capital improved slightly on Saturday due to higher wind speed, which is expected to flush out pollutants further over the next two days, weather experts said. According to Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) Sameer app, the city's air quality index (AQI) stood at 449 in the severe category at 8 am on Saturday. It was 462 on Friday.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'. Due to rampant bursting of crackers on Diwali on Thursday despite restrictions in place, the air quality in Delhi was the poorest in five years post the festival with rise in incidents of stubble burning in neighbouring states.

India has begun choosing Covid-19 patients ahead of the rollout of the second phase of World Health Organization’s Solidarity trial to check the efficacy of two drugs, country’s chief trial coordinator Sheela Godbole told media.

The Solidarity trial, an international clinical trial meant to help find an effective treatment for Covid-19, compares options against the standard of care and assesses its relative effectiveness against the disease.

By enrolling patients in multiple countries, the trial aims to rapidly discover whether any of the drug slows disease progression or improves survival. Last year, it tested Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir and Interferon.

New Delhi: Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede on Saturday said that he will continue assisting the cruise drugs case amidst several personal and service-related allegations against him. A Special Investigation Team from the NCB has taken over six of its investigations, out of which one involves the arrest of Shah Rukh Khan‘s son Aryan Khan.

“Yes, I will continue (assisting the cases). Please ask the DDG too,” said Wankhede. Senior IPS officer Sanjay Kumar Singh, DDG Operations at NCB headquarters, who is heading the SIT, responded, “yes he will continue assisting and we have already begun our investigation.”

The team will probe the six cases, which have national and international ramifications, in order to conduct deeper investigation to find out forward and backward linkages, the NCB had said on Friday.