A bulk of the COVID-19-related fact-checks in April were related to communal rumours, most of which were false allegations against Muslims of purposefully spreading the virus, claimed a report by BOOM Live. BOOM Live, a fact-checking platform that works with social media companies like Facebook, said its study analysed 178 fact-checks on COVID-19 related to misinformation/disinformation around the pandemic from January to May this year. "During April, a new trend was observed communally charged disinformation targeting Muslims became more frequent," the report said. By the end of April, a bulk of BOOM Live's fact-checks (34 unique fact checks) were on communal rumours, it claimed. The report further noted that after several members of the Tablighi Jamaat an Islamic missionary group tested positive, "Islamophobic rumours around them purposefully spreading the virus became viral on the internet". Other trends also witnessed in April were: spike in fake news related to politics, more .

BJP leaders on Saturday reacted strongly to rumours about Home Minister Amit Shah's health, with party president J P Nadda terming these as "inhuman" comments which are "extremely condemnable". Several leaders of the ruling party took to Twitter to express their anguish at the rumours on social media after Shah put out a statement to assert that he was "totally healthy" and rejected speculation of his ill-health. They also wished Shah, Nadda's predecessor as party president, a long and healthy life. BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said spreading such rumours could be a "political ploy" of those who are rattled by Shah's working style and decisions. Party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain claimed that people behind them are "enemies of the nation". In his tweet, Nadda said, "Making inhuman comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is extremely condemnable. Spreading such misleading remarks about anyone's health shows the mindset of people doing so. I strongly condemn

Per Supreme Court's order without environment clearance mining of sand is prohibited across the country but as Kanchi Kohli reports reality is different. Illegal sand mining is on rise to meet the increasing demand of the construction industry and impacting the ecosystem of our rivers and communities depending on the river.

Activists and governments alike demand that future deliberations on water issues be brought within the legitimate fold of the UN, and not hosted by private and corporate interests. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

When Executive Engineer S K Nagarwal reported corruption in railway track laying in West Bengal, his saga with colluding officials and contractors began. Now, supported by the S K Dubey foundation, a citizens' forum has sprung up to protect Nagarwal and other whistleblowers. Varupi Jain reports.

Two years after being appointed to the National Advisory Council, Aruna Roy has decided to decline a new term. While expressing happiness over some of the work the NAC has been able to do in the past, she now believes that the space for the advisory body to function as a forum for public consultation has diminished.

The White House announced new guidelines Monday to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, and asked the public to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people. Photo: Erik S. Lesser/Shutterstock

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Trump administration supports a plan to send checks to Americans, likely within the next two weeks, to mitigate household and business interruptions caused by the spread of the new coronavirus. Photo: Evan Vucci/Associated Press

The Indian army’s evolving China strategy, leading to its preparedness for an offensive on that front, seems to have undergone a bit of dilution, as evident in North Block posturing. Is it merely a run-up to Modi’s China visit or is there more to it? Firdaus Ahmed explores.

The European Patent Office at Munich recently ran into opposition to a broad spectrum patent granted on all GM soyabean varieties to a Monsanto owned company.

Simple interventions and sustained joint efforts by civil society groups and the local panchayat have resulted in significant improvements in communication and increase in health awareness in some of Rajasthan's most backward districts. Swapna Majumdar reports.

US President Donald Trump on Monday nominated an Indian-American attorney to a federal court in New York.

Trump wore safety goggles during the factory tour but did not wear a mask despite sign that read: 'Attention: Face Mask Required in this Area. Thank You!'

Ivanka Trump's secretary became the third White House employee to test negative for coronavirus on Friday following Donald Trump's valet and Mike Pence's aide.

Serum, the world’s largest maker of vaccines by volume, is mass-producing the vaccine candidate developed by the University of Oxford.

The upbeat sentiment follows gains of over 1% in main U.S. and European stock indexes on Thursday.

Recently, when pictures of Jasleena Matharu sporting vermillion and dressed as a new bride surfaced on the Internet, netizens started speculating if she tied the knot with Anup Jalota.

Bollywood actress Rakul Preet Singh has slammed rumours that she was purchasing alcohol amid the lockdown.

Iulia is currently quarantining with Salman and his family at his Panvel farmhouse. Actress Jacqueline Fernandez and model Waluscha De Sousa are also present there.

The new Redmi K20 seems to have all the muscles to flex over the OnePlus 7.

A finance ministry task force acknowledged stress in the telecom sector and said the SC judgement mandating companies to pay around Rs 1.35 lakh crore.

What makes things worse is that the government data and statistics fail to capture the essence of their everyday lives, and stories and narratives from the tribals themselves are conspicuously absent from mainstream literature.

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes pipped Red Bull's Max Verstappen to win the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Alice Wells, the acting top US diplomat for South Asia, announced her retirement on Sunday as President Donald Trump looks increasingly likely to go a full term without a Senate-confirmed State Department official focused on the subcontinent.

The Forum has written a letter to Chief Secretary Rajiv Sinha, who assured that the government will do whatever is needed for the safety and security of the doctors and health care workers in Bengal.

On learning about the sudden rush of people at the deputy collector's office near Gota bridge, police officials immediately reached the spot and persuaded the migrants, mostly from UP and Bihar, to disperse.

Thackeray also admitted that while the spread of the virus has been contained, the state has not succeeded in breaking the chain of infection yet.

Amit Shah issued a statement saying that rumours about his health were being spread through social media.

It is clear that Sonia now wants to make COVID-19 the launching plank of sorts of for the Congress. And, in many ways it is the return of Manmohan Singh as the trump card.

The Union Home Minister took to Twitter to clarify that these are just rumours and that he has been working as the country deals with the coronavirus pandemic.

Director Atlee wished Shah Rukh Khan on his birthday with a short message, sharing his photo with the actor at the party.

An H-4 visa is issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to the immediate family members of the H-1B visa-holders, most of whom are Indian IT professionals.

Tension between USA and China has reached fever pitch in recent days as they have exchanged barbed comments on each other's handling of the coronavvirus.

The guidance contained detailed advice for making site-specific decisions related to reopening schools, restaurants, summer camps, churches, day care centers and other institutions.

US Vice-President Mike Pence has also tested negative.

Trump and Putin spoke by phone, also discussing the global coronavirus pandemic, the White House said.

The decision by close Trump ally Attorney General Bill Barr effectively reversed 18 months of work by the department and FBI under Barr's predecessors.

Top Republican senators urged US President Donald Trump on Thursday to suspend all new guest worker visas for 60 days and certain categories of new guest worker visas, including H-1B, for at least a year or until unemployment figures return to normal levels.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the "Russia hoax" made it very difficult for the leaders of the two countries to deal with each other.

Attorney Douglas Wigdor is well known for his work on prominent cases related to sexual harassment and assault. He represented six women who accused Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood producer, of sexual misconduct.

More than 2,64,000 people have died of COVID-19 globally and 37 lakh tested positive for the disease.

During a meeting with the governor of Texas in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump told reporters he had little contact with the man and would be tested daily going forward. Neither Trump nor Pence wore masks during the meeting.

The US President said all the American journalists with the Pulitzer Prize should be forced to give it back because they were all wrong.

The H-1B work visa for foreign technology professionals is highly popular among Indians and a large number of Indians also opt for the EB-5 investors visa.

The memo gives Biden campaign representatives new language to use in their attacks on Trump and shows a campaign honing an increasingly aggressive tone ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

The unprecedented collapse in April driven by the coronavirus fallout sent the unemployment rate to 14.7%, well beyond the peak hit in late 2009 during the global financial crisis.

She asserted that more money is required for testing and vaccine development in the US and across the world.

Trump, asked if those who serve him food would now cover their faces, told Fox News in an interview that such White House staff had already started wearing face masks.