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Abuja, Sep 19 (IANS) The death toll of Lassa fever in Nigeria this year has risen to 171, despite measures by the government to reduce infections across the country, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) said on Sunday.

In its latest Lassa fever situation report, the NCDC said there have been a total of 917 confirmed cases, with 6,660 suspected cases recorded since the beginning of the year. In the week from September 5 to 11 alone, eight new confirmed cases and one death were recorded, Xinhua news agency reported.

So far, 25 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 102 out of the 774 local government areas in the most populous African country, the public health agency said.

With the death toll rising to 171, the NCDC said the case fatality rate was 18.6 percent, lower than that for the same period last year, which was 23.3 per cent.

The disease control center said the predominant age group affected is 21-30 years, with the male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases being 1:0.8.

According to the World Health Organization, Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family of viruses. Humans usually become infected with the Lassa virus through exposure to food or household items contaminated with urine or feces of infected Mastomys rats. The disease is endemic in the rodent population in parts of West Africa.

In some cases, Lassa fever has similar symptoms to malaria, appearing between one and three weeks after exposure to the virus. In mild cases, the disease causes fever, fatigue, weakness, and headache.

The NCDC said it remained committed to supporting state public health teams to achieve the goal of reducing the Lassa fever case fatality rate to a single digit.

The disease control agency said it is currently distributing medical response commodities to states and treatment centers as part of measures to control the spread of the disease.

--IANS
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Hove (England), Sep 19 (IANS) Opener Smriti Mandhana, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia struck half-centuries as India Women handed England Women a seven-wicket defeat in the first ODI of the series here on Sunday.

Electing to field the Indian bowlers capitalized on the conditions to restrict England to a modest 227/7 in their allotted 50 overs at the County Ground, here.

The batters then made hay as opener Mandhana top-scored with 91, Harmanpreet remained unbeaten on 74 while Yastika Bhatia struck a 47-ball 50 as India Women reached 232/3 in 44.2 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Mandhana set up the platform for the victory with a superb knock despite losing her partner Shafali Verma (1) early. The score was three runs when Shafali failed to control an uppish flick and was caught by Charlie Dean at mid-wicket off Kate Cross.

Mandhana found a good partner in Yastika as both of them raised 96 runs for the second wicket. Yastika was the next to go as she was bowled by Dean as she came down to hoist the off-spinner but was bowled through the gate as she missed the ball totally. Yastika scored 50 off 47 balls, hitting eight fours and a six.

Mandhana continued to build the innings in the company of skipper Harmanpreet as she missed the three-figure mark by nine runs. Mandhana and Harmanpreet propelled India towards victory as they raised 99-runs for the third wicket as they troubled the England bowlers no end. Mandhana was out with the score at 198 in the 37th over as she was caught by Davidson Richards off Cross.

Harmanpreet remained unbeaten on 74 as she guided India past the target in the company of Harleen Deol (6 not out off 20 balls).

For England, Kate Cross claimed 2/43 off her 10 overs.

It was the Indian bowlers that set up the match for India as they restricted England Women to a modest total.

Meghana Singh and Jhulan Goswami started the carnage for India as they reduced the hosts to 21/2 in the ninth over, sending back Emma Lamb (12) and Tammy Beaumont (7). England did recover a bit from that but kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Alice Davidson-Richards top-scored for England with an unbeaten 50 while Danni Wyatt contributed 43. Sophie Ecclestone struck 31 runs lower down the order as England recovered to cross the 200-run mark.

For India, spinner Deepti Sharma was the most successful bowler with 2-33 off her 10 overs as six off the seven Indian bowlers in action claimed at least a wicket each.

Brief scores:

England Women 227/7 in 50 overs (Alice Davidson-Richards 50 not out, Danni Wyatt 43, Sophie Ecclestone 31; Deepti Sharma 2/33, Jhulan Goswami 1-20) lost to India Women 232/3 in 44.2 overs (Smriti Mandhana 91, Harmanpreet Kaur 74 not out, Yastika Bhatia 50; Kate Cross 2-43) by 7 wickets.

--IANS

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Chennai, Sep 18 (IANS) Estranged AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu O. Panneerselvam has urged the state government to close schools as flu-related cases are on the rise in the southern state.

He called upon Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to immediately intervene in the matter and take steps to close down schools to prevent the spread of the disease.

In a statement issued on Sunday, OPS, as Panneerselvam is popularly known, said that it is the duty of the state government to maintain public health, pointing out that hospitalisation of children is on the rise in the state.

The former Chief Minister said, "The Tamil Nadu government should declare holidays in schools for some time and postpone the exam schedule till the time the cases come down. The government should take steps to create awareness among the people about the flu and make the necessary medicines available to them."

He also said that doctors have warned people above 60 years of age to be careful. OPS said that schools in Puducherry have already been shut till September 25 due to the spread of flu cases in the Union Territory.

--IANS
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Chandigarh, Sep 18 (IANS) Donning black T-shirts, students of Chandigarh University in Punjab's Mohali district continued to protest demanding justice over the alleged 'leaked objectionable videos' on Sunday.

Following protests by the students on Saturday night, a female MBA student of the private university was arrested by the police on Sunday morning on charges of making an objectionable video.

She has also been accused of filming her fellow hostellers and making the videos viral.

As the matter drew angry political reactions, the university authorities clarified that "no videos were found of any student which are objectionable, except a personal video shot by a girl which she shared with her boyfriend".

Also dismissing reports of suicide attempt by some students who were allegedly filmed, the authorities said "there are rumours that seven girls have committed suicide whereas the fact is that no girl has taken any such step".

Senior Superintendent of Police Vivek Soni, who is leading the investigation team, categorically told the media that no attempt to suicide was reported after the incident came to light. Also, he said, so far there is no evidence of the video going viral.

"As per the investigation, the accused made her own video and shared it with her boyfriend. There is no video of other students made by her. There is no evidence of that so far. A lot of misinformation and rumours are doing the rounds. We should respect the modesty of the accused student as we are investigating the matter," he said.

Soni appealed to the people and the students to maintain calm and help the police probe the matter.

As per reports, the accused hosteller sent nude images and videos to her male friend in Shimla, resulting in the footage being circulated online.

As the news spread, a massive protest was staged on the university campus on Saturday night with scores of hostellers raising 'we want justice' slogan.

The police had to resort to lathi charge to disperse the crowd.

Amid the raging controversy, Chandigarh University Pro-Chancellor R.S. Bawa said there are rumours that seven girls have committed suicide. "No girl has attempted any such step. No girl has been admitted to the hospital," he said.

"Another rumour is doing the rounds that 60 objectionable MMS clips have been found of different students. This is totally false and baseless. During the preliminary investigation conducted by the university, only one personal video was found which was shot by a girl who shared it with her boyfriend," Bawa said in a statement.

He added that all mobile phones and other materials have been handed over to the police for further investigation.

Meanwhile, terming the incident as unfortunate, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ordered a high-level probe into the matter.

The Chief Minister said that "daughters are our dignity and pride", adding that any such incident is highly condemnable.

He categorically said that anyone found guilty will not be spared and severe action will be taken against the perpetrators of this crime.

Requesting the students to maintain calm, Minister of School Education Harjot Singh Bains said, "The guilty will not be spared. It's a very sensitive matter and relates to the dignity of our sisters and daughters. We all, including the media, should be very very cautious."

Punjab State Women Commission Chairperson Manisha Gulati, who reached the university, said, "The probe is underway and law will take its course."

She also said that the commission will inspect all universities so that such incidents do not occur again.

Additional Director General of Police Gurpreet Deo told the media that a youth from Shimla is known to the accused girl.

"More details will be known once he is detained. Forensic probe of the girl's mobile phone will be conducted," he said.

Meanwhile, former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh tweeted, "The #chandigarhuniversity incident is shameful. Those responsible must be given exemplary punishment. The dignity & safety of our daughters should be of topmost priority. Hope police gets into action and sets an example against the culprits."

--IANS
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Damascus, Sep 18 (IANS) Israel has carried out 25 missile strikes inside Syria in 2022, killing 27 government soldiers and injuring 23 civilians, a war monitor reported.

The Israeli attacks destroyed about 73 targets, including buildings, warehouses, headquarters and vehicles, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Saturday.

The injured include a girl and at least three women, the Britain-based watchdog added.

The report comes just hours after an Israeli midnight missile strike on the airport of the capital Damascus and military sites south of the capital, killing five soldiers, Xinhua news agency reported.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday granted the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) four-day police custody of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan in connection with the Delhi Waqf Board graft case.

Amanatullah was placed under arrest by the ACB on Friday. The ACB had sought 14-day police custody of Amanatullah, but the court after hearing the arguments granted four-day custody of the AAP leader.

It has been alleged that while working as the Chairman of Delhi Waqf Board, Amanatullah illegally recruited 32 persons violating all norms and government guidelines. He has been accused of indulging in corruption and favouritism.

The then CEO of Delhi Waqf Board had issued a memorandum against such illegal recruitments.

Further, it has been alleged that as Chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board, Amanatullah had rented out a number of properties of the board illegally.

Amanatullah had also allegedly misappropriated the funds of Delhi Waqf Board comprising grants in aid from Delhi government.

"From the inputs received while questioning and on the basis of information collected by the Anti-Corruption Branch, four locations were searched. From these locations, Rs 24 lakh in cash and two unlicensed weapons and live cartridges were seized.

"Also, at one of the locations near the residence of Amanatullah, the search team comprising an ACP was attacked by the relatives and other known persons of the AAP leader," said Madhur Verma, Additional CP, ACB.

--IANS
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By Arun Lakshman
Chennai, Sep 17 (IANS) With Tamil Nadu recording the second highest number of suicides in the country after Maharashtra, a look at the reasons for the extreme step reveals that family and domestic issues are the single largest reason for people to commit suicide in the state.


Tamil Nadu topped the list of mass suicides in the country with 33 families taking their lives. The main reasons for mass suicide vary from domestic problems, illness, poverty and alcohol addiction of the family head.

Most of the people who committed suicide did it due to family problems, followed by illness. Drug abuse and alcohol addiction, marriage related issues, failure in love, bankruptcy or indebtedness, unemployment, failure in examination, career problems and poverty were the other main reasons for a person to commit suicide in Tamil Nadu.

Sradha, an NGO which is into counselling people contemplating suicide, in a study in Tamil Nadu said that the number of people taking their lives due to drug abuse and/or alcohol addiction is on the increase in the state. Around 4,300 people killed themselves due to this in 2021 alone.

Sudhir Krishnan, Coordinator, Sradha told IANS: "Our study on the reasons for suicide revealed that after domestic issues and illness, drug or alcohol addiction takes the maximum number of lives in Tamil Nadu."

"This has to be properly taken care of as there are possibilities of bringing these people back to leading a normal life. We have done the study so that we can intervene in this matter and with the state government support, many lives can be saved."

Except for hard core alcohol or drug addicts, the rest, according to Sudhir, can be brought back to the mainstream.

He added that while domestic issues can also be cleared in most cases, a person who is taking his life due to illness will be a difficult person to stop.

With the commencement of counselling for NEET students, the number of students who have taken their lives due to failure in NEET has come down. While 12 such cases were reported in 2021, in 2022 the number has come down to 1.

A counsellor with Sneha, a 24X7 helpline, told IANS, "There is progress in child behaviour as far as NEET is concerned and compared to 2021 this year it has come down tremendously. The department has contacted almost all the students who have taken NEET and proper counselling has helped the students and the results are there for all to see."

The Tamil Nadu government is also planning to increase the counselling helplines and has already had discussions with NGOs who are into suicide prevention and counselling.

--IANS
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Kalaburagi, (Karnataka) Sep 17 (IANS) Kalyan Karnataka region popularly known as the Hyderabad-Karnataka region celebrated Amrit Mahotsav on Saturday with fervour and geity.

The region attained freedom one-year after rest of the country attained Independence from the British.

A part of former kingdom of Hyderabad-ruled by Nizams, the region includes Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Kalaburagi. The people of the region were subjected to unheard brutality when they raised banner of revolt against the Nizams and fought to unite into Indian nation.

Finally, the Indian Army marched into the territory ending the monarch of the Nizams. The land which attained freedom with lot of bloodshed, remains backward region totally neglected by successive governments.

Though, top leader ls such as Rajya Sabha Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge emerged as major player in state politics, not enough has been done to raise the standards of the region in terms of infrastructure and standard of living. Most of the districts are among most backward in the state.

Speaking after hoisting the flag on the occasion of Amrit Mahotsav of Kalyana Karnataka here on Saturday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced that existing Bidar-Ballari road will be made as four-lane Express Highway.

He said the proposed express highway will play a vital role in improving the road connectivity in Kalyana Karnataka region.

Steps have been initiated to build the airports in Raichur and Ballari. With the assistance from Central Government, a ring road has been proposed covering Yadgir, Raichur and Kalaburgi.

Bommai said more encouragement is given to set up industries in this region. The Union Government has decided to set up a textile park in Kalaburgi, and the state government has resolved to establish textile parks in Raichur and Vijayapura.

The CM opined that politicians must forget and work if they wanted for the overall development of this region.

The BJP government has given Rs 100 crore and has resolved to make Kalaburgi City like an international city by providing WIFI connect, cable connect and other advanced facilities, he said.

At a time when the whole of Karnataka is progressing, the historically backward Kalyana Karnataka must grow just like the rest of state. Through Kalyana Karnataka, Nava Karnataka and Nava Bharath must develop, he added.

--IANS
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Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 17 (IANS) The Congress in Kerala on Saturday demanded immediate intervention of the Prime Minister or the President in the ongoing tiff between State Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

State Congress president K.Sudhakaran told the media in Alappuzha that all levels of decency has been breached in the war of words between the two 'heads' of the state.

"Things have reached a low and all what we hear is the tiff between the two is akin to two groups of youth taking on each other. It's high time that either the president or the prime minister intervened. Also the point raised by the Governor that there has been a threat to his life has to be taken very seriously," said Sudhakaran.

Khan has been taking on the Vijayan government and his party frequently, but it was on Friday night for the first time that Vijayan broke his silence and slammed Khan saying that his utterances does not befit the post he holds terming it "nonsense".

Backing Vijayan was CPI-M state secretary M.V.Govindan who slammed Khan and said he is deeply upset because he was expecting "something" which he did not get and hence was upset.

"It's now being doubted by many if Khan is functioning according to the rule book. He is taking cover under the media and uttering things which he should not. Now he says his life came under threat at the Indian History Congress in the company of renowned historian Irfan Habib who conspired,is really not tenable," said Govindan.

Left Democratic Front convenor and veteran CPI-M leader E.P.Jayarajan said the post of the Governor should be abolished.

"Vijayan is one Communists who calls a spade a spade and always tells things on the face. He is not one who plays behind the curtain. So Khan stops engaging in things which lowers his status," said Jayarajan.

However, coming to Khan's defence was BJP Union Minister of State for External Affairs V.Muraleedharan who said there is no point in Vijayan trying to air threats against Khan.

"If he does it, then he doesn't know who Khan is. Khan is just taking forward the policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fight against corruption. Vijayan can do all such acts in his party committee's and it would be best if he keeps Raj Bhavan out," said Muraleedharan.

--IANS
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By Atul Aneja
New Delhi, Sep 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed to the eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries on Friday the mantra of fusing technology with traditional assets to foster their collective rise in the post-Covid era.


With New Delhi set to hold the rotating presidency of the SCO, PM Modi nailed three areas where India can make a significant contribution to the eight countries of Eurasia - a region with which India has for thousands of years established deep commercial and spiritual links.

PM Modi cited start-ups, traditional medicine, and food security as domains where India can pioneer a collective initiative for the region.

"Today, there are more than 70,000 Start-ups in India, of which more than 100 are unicorns. Our experience can also be useful for many other SCO members. For this purpose, we are ready to share our experience with SCO member countries by establishing a new Special Working Group on Start-ups and Innovation," PM Modi said.

Referring to food security which has been disrupted due to Covid and the Ukraine war, the Prime Minister homed on to millets - a traditional grain grown in the SCO - as the "superfood" to fight hunger. The PM proposed that the SCO should hold a "Millet food festival".

"Millets are a superfood that have been grown for thousands of years, not just in SCO countries, but in many parts of the world, and is a traditional, nutritious, and low-cost alternative to dealing with the food crisis. The year 2023 will be celebrated as the UN International Year of Millets. We should consider organising a 'Millet Food Festival' under the SCO."

PM Modi also announced that India will set up an SCO working group on traditional medicine. "WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine was inaugurated in Gujarat in April 2022. This will be WHO's first and only global centre for traditional medicine. We must increase cooperation on traditional medicine among SCO countries."

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

--indianarrative