Top Stories

Flood situation deteriorates in Bengal's Malda and South Dinajpur (Lead) (23:32)
Kolkata, Aug 19 (IANS) Notwithstanding an overall improvement in the flood scenario in northern West Bengal due to the reduced rainfall, the situation deteriorated in parts of Malda and South Dinajpur districts on Saturday, as reports of affected people looting relief materials came from a couple of places.

Growing numbers of cardiac patients in 30-40 age group in India (22:02)
Hyderabad, Aug 19 (IANS) Cardiologists attending a global conference here have voiced concern over the growing numbers of cardiac patients in the age group of 30-40 years in India.

NF railway hopes to restore full connectivity by Aug 28 (21:58)
Maligaon/Kolkata, Aug 19 (IANS) With the flood fury continuing in West Bengal and Bihar, train services on Northeast Frontier Railway were still in disarray, as its network still remained breached in Bihar's Kishanganj, Katihar and Araria districts and full connectivity could not be restored before August 28, a release said on Saturday.

River interlinking will reduce impact of floods: Uma Bharti (21:30)
New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti on Saturday reviewed the flood situation in different parts of the country and said that long-term solution to mitigate impact of floods and drought lies in interlinking rivers besides building large storages.

Civic bodies seize 250 kg of banned polythene (21:24)
New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) A week after the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) order to ban plastic bags less than 50 micron thickness in Delhi, the civic bodies on Saturday claimed to have seized about 250 kilos of them here.

Gorakhpur deaths government-made tragedy: Rahul Gandhi (Lead) (21:00)
Lucknow, Aug 19 (IANS) Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday met a few of the families who lost their children in the Gorakhpur hospital tragedy to express sympathies and said it was a "government-made tragedy" since the deaths occurred due to lack of oxygen.

Nine Chhattisgarh officials suspended over cow deaths (20:26)
Raipur, Aug 19 (IANS) In the wake of the uproar over the death of 250 cows in Durg and Bemetra districts of Chhattisgarh, nine officials of the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry department have been suspended and issued show-cause notices, officials said on Saturday.

Ethiopia to host global meet on maternal, child health (19:52)
Rabat, Aug 19 (IANS/MAP) Ethiopia will host an international conference on maternal and child health on August 24 and 25 under the theme "Overcoming critical obstacles to maternal and child survival".

Rain brings respite, mercury drops 9 degrees in Delhi (Second Lead) (19:50)
New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) Rain in the national capital on Saturday brought the mercury down by nine degrees Celsius with the maximum temperature recorded at 29.6 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season's average.

Sierra Leone mudslides, floods death toll rises to 467 (19:42)
Freetown, Aug 19 (IANS) The death toll in the mudslides and flooding in Sierra Leone has climbed to 467 and is expected to rise further, officials said.

Pakistan's 'Mother Teresa' laid to rest in Karachi (19:10)
Islamabad, Aug 19 (IANS) A state funeral was held in Karachi on Saturday for Ruth Pfau, a German doctor and nun who dedicated her life to eradicating leprosy in Pakistan and earned international acclaim as the country's "Mother Teresa".

Assam floods: 225 animals dead in Kaziranga (Lead) (18:40)
Guwahati, Aug 19 (IANS) At least 225 animals have died in the Kaziranga National Park in Assam as a second wave of devastating floods lashed the state, park officials said on Saturday.

Bombay HC aids man suffering from rare genetic disorder (18:24)
Nagpur, Aug 19 (IANS) The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court has rushed to aid a 26-year old man suffering from a rare genetic disorder by directing the government and BSNL to pay for his treatment requiring over Rs 2 crore per annum, his lawyer said on Saturday.

Laser-based tool may help detect heart attack, stroke risk early (18:20)
Sydney, Aug 19 (IANS) A new diagnostic tool that uses near-infrared light to visualise the fatty build-up in the arteries, may help in the early detection of patients at risk of heart attacks and strokes, researchers have found.

Privacy issues haunt Bihar's flood-hit women (16:08)
By Imran Khan
Katihar/Kishanganj (Bihar), Aug 19 (IANS) Even as over 10 million people uprooted by the floods in 15 districts of Bihar grapple with survival issues amid inadequate relief, the womenfolk face problems of another kind -- privacy issues amid inhuman living conditions.

Assam floods: 225 animals dead in Kaziranga (15:40)
Guwahati, Aug 19 (IANS) At least 225 animals have died in the Kaziranga National Park in Assam as a second wave of devastating floods lashed the state, park officials said on Saturday.

Heavy rain causes water-logging, traffic jams in Delhi (Lead) (15:28)
New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) Heavy rain in the national capital on Saturday brought relief from the sweltering heat but caused water-logging leading to traffic snarls in parts of the city.

Increase in cigarette prices may reduce smoking in elderly (14:58)
New York, Aug 19 (IANS) Raising cigarette prices by a dollar can increase the possibility of older people quitting smoking by 20 per cent, researchers say.

Birth pill linked to lower risk of arthritis in women (14:52)
London, Aug 19 (IANS) Besides birth control, contraceptive pills may also aid in decreasing the risk of women developing rheumatoid arthritis -- two to three times more common in women than in men -- as compared to those who do not use pill, new research shows.

High BP during pregnancy may up heart disease risk later (14:28)
Toronto, Aug 19 (IANS) Women who experience high blood pressure condition during pregnancy are likely to face an increased risk of heart disease and hypertension later in life, according to a study.

Workplace flexibility may boost women's careers post childbirth (13:46)
London, Aug 19 (IANS) Providing flexibility to women at their workplace may help them to maintain their careers after childbirth, says a new research paper.

People won't allow Rahul Gandhi to make Gorakhpur a picnic spot: UP CM (13:16)
Lucknow, Aug 19 (IANS) Hours before Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi lands in Gorakhpur to meet the families of children who died at the BRD Medical College, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said people in Delhi are trying to make the city a picnic spot.

Scientists use supercomputers to preview total solar eclipse (12:12)
Washington, Aug 19 (IANS) Using supercomputers, researchers have forecast how the corona of the sun -- the aura of plasma that surrounds the sun and extends millions of kilometres into space -- will look during the upcoming total solar eclipse on August 21.

UP power shortage adds to humidity woes (10:02)
Lucknow, Aug 19 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh is facing an acute shortage of power as the demand for electricity has peaked due to humid conditions, an official said on Saturday.

Rainy Saturday morning in Delhi (10:02)
New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) It was a rainy Saturday morning in the national capital with the minimum temperature recorded at 29 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average.