Demonstrators protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline were injured on Sunday after increased tensions. Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas after a group of protesters moved into restricted areas. Authorities also doused protesters with water from fire hoses despite frigid temperatures. Photo: James MacPherson/AP Photo

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The Afghan Health Ministry said that 49 new COVID-19 cases have been registered in the country in the past 24 hours, which led the total cases surge to 714 on Tuesday.Kabul registered 18 new cases, maximum highest in the country, leaving behind Kandahar with 15 cases, Balkh 6 cases, Herat and Ghazni 4 new cases each, and Nangarhar 2 cases, according to the health ministry's data cited by Tolo News.At least 40 people have recovered from the virus in the country while 23 have succumbed to the highly contagious infection, the Health Ministry spokesman said.In the meantime, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board approved immediate debt relief for 25 countries--including Afghanistan--in order to help these countries focus on COVID-19 response."Today, I am pleased to say that our Executive Board approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the IMF's member countries under the IMF's revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund's response to ..

People in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) are facing discrimination at the time of COVID-19 outbreak as they are being denied benefits under the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme launched by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.Pakistan government launched the Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme under which Rs. 12,000 grant is to be provided to around 12 million families across the country including those from PoK.But like all other schemes announced by Pakistan in the past, this too has excluded an already discriminated and deprived PoK populace of the benefits, as the residents have received nothing but despair after standing in long queues for hours outside the designated banks.A local woman said, "Our house caught fire and everything got burnt. Even our daughter faced severe injuries. Today we have nothing with us, not even food and we are getting no help. Our daughter got treated in Rawalpindi but now we don't have money to continue with her treatment. We came to know that we will be ...

Prolonged or intermittent social distancing may be necessary even until 2022 to prevent future Covid-19 seasonal outbreaks, a new study has said.Researchers from Harvard University, led by Stephen Kissler, used estimates of seasonality, immunity, and cross-immunity for two betacoronaviruses from time series data from the United States, to inform a model of Covid-19 transmission, Xinhua news agency reported.Recurrent wintertime outbreaks of Covid-19 "will probably occur after the initial, most severe pandemic wave," researchers wrote on in the study 'Projecting the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 through the postpandemic period', published in the online journal Science.The researchers added that without a vaccine or other interventions, "prolonged or intermittent social distancing may be necessary into 2022."Noting that "a key metric for the success of social distancing is whether critical care capacities are exceeded," the study said that "additional interventions, including ...

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers of local stocks today

The Fund Managers of the year have been selected based on risk-adjusted returns

Global uncertainties and weak corporate earnings are enough to give any fund manager the jitters

Sales decline 12.66% to Rs 406.57 crore

Sales decline 6.19% to Rs 656.05 crore

Sales rise 27.54% to Rs 13.20 crore

For the full year, net profit rose 43.91% to Rs 1244.82 crore in the year ended March 2020 as against Rs 864.97 crore during the previous year ended March 2019

Sales decline 10.50% to Rs 237.94 crore

Sales decline 2.72% to Rs 6.09 crore

Sales decline 53.40% to Rs 276.85 crore

Sales decline 8.53% to Rs 175.13 crore

Sales rise 49.79% to Rs 21.69 crore

Sales decline 2.13% to Rs 476.13 crore

At least six security personnel, including an Army major, were killed on Friday when a roadside bomb struck a patrol vehicle in a remote area in southwestern Pakistan, close to the border with Iran. The Army said in a statement that a vehicle of paramilitary Frontier Corps was targeted through a remote-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) in Kech district's Buleda area, about 14 km from the Iran border. A major and five soldier embraced shahadat while one soldier was injured, according to army. No one took responsibility but Baloch militants often target the security forces in the province. It is the first major attack on the forces in Balochistan since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Ivanka Trump's personal assistant has tested positive for the deadly coronavirus, making her the third White House staff member to be infected from COVID-19, a media report said on Saturday. The assistant, who works in a personal capacity for US President Donald Trump's daughter, has not been around her in several weeks, the CNN reported. She has been teleworking for nearly two months and was tested out of caution, the report quoted a source as saying. She was not symptomatic. Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner both tested negative on Friday, the person familiar with the matter told the US news channel. The development comes a day after President Trump confirmed that Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary Katie Miller had tested positive for the coronavirus. "She's a wonderful young woman, Katie, she tested very good for a long period of time and then all of a sudden today she tested positive," Trump said during a meeting at the White House. He said Miller had not come into ...

Pakistan on Saturday began easing the month-long lockdown despite a steady rise in the number of the coronavirus cases which rose to 27,474 after health authorities reported a big jump of 1,637 infections and 24 deaths in a single day. Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that Pakistan would begin easing its nationwide lockdown in a phase-wise manner by allowing various businesses to open up from Saturday, citing the economic crisis due to the shutdown, which was enforced in the country in March end. The first phase of easing lockdown began as the government announced removing restrictions by allowing more business to open and operate from dawn to 5pm. The federal government was trying to provide maximum relief to the people but due to the current economic conditions of the country, the lockdown must be eased, the Express Tribune quoted Khan as saying. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Adviser to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ajmal Wazir said the provincial government .

A church in Pakistan's Punjab province was allegedly vandalised by a group of armed men over a land dispute on Saturday, police said. The incident came at a time when the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in its latest report has pointed out that religious minorities in Pakistan, including the Hindu and Christian communities, continued to suffer in 2019, facing forced conversions and persecution under blasphemy laws. The minorities remained unable to enjoy the freedom of religion or belief guaranteed to them under the country's Constitution, the HRCP had said in its annual report -- State of Human Rights 2019 -- released recently in Islamabad. Local Christian leader Aslam Parvez Sahotra told PTI that a group of armed men led by a person named Malik Aun Abbas demolished the gate and boundary wall of the church in Kalashah Kaku, some 40 km from Lahore, over a land dispute. Following the incident, community leaders lodged a police complaint. Ferozwala Station House Office (SHO) .

: The 10th standard public examination will be conducted in Tamil Nadu after the COVID- 19 attack wanes and the resultant lockdown goes, state education Minister K Sengottaiyan said on Saturday. A decision on the exam would be taken based on the recommendations of a high-level education committee and getting concurrence from health officials, he said at Savakkatupalayam village near Gobichettipalayam where he distributed welfare schemes to 450 handloom weavers. The Minister said candidates appearing for the board exams would be seated in line with social distancing norms stem the spread of coronavirus. He said schools for the coming academic year would be re-opened only after the coronavirus attack blows over. He further said 2,000 mathematics teachers would be roped in to provide online training to students. Similarly, students keen on accountancy would be given online classes, he said. Replying to a query, the Minister said a decision on increasing the retirement age for

The making of a movie without large crews and outdoor shoots and movies themselves sans party scenes, background dancers or even the staple romantic clinches that could be the existential crisis facing mainstream cinema in the immediate post-corona world. Bollywood, after all, has always been about people, whether on screen or off it, in front of the camera or behind it, say industry insiders as they grapple with the uncertainties of life and work after lockdown and contemplate the dimensions of a radical makeover. Filmmaking has always been a collaborative effort with hundreds of people working in tandem to translate the written word into images but that may change. Producers and directors also wonder how they will manage social distancing with a large crew once they are back on sets. According to actor-producer Sanjay Suri, there will be behavioural changes on the sets and "cinematic intimacy will take time to return". "Not because of lack of ideas but purely behavioural changes on

Regular saving in relatively safer financial instruments yielding moderate returns can work wonders over a long period of time.

Could India’s inflexible and rather aggressive attitude in global climate negotiations jeopardise its domestic mitigation of the real threats from climate change? Darryl D’Monte summarises the key take-aways from a TISS conference that dwelled upon this and related issues.

In this edition we look at a powerful documentary on the Muzaffarnagar communal riots that shook the nation in September 2013, the plight of Pakistani Hindus refugees in Delhi, the intent behind settling the forest rights claims of tribals, the crime, atrocities and discrimination against Dalits which is on  rise, the sad state of our nation's health care system, the message of Pope Francis’s latest Encyclical, and much more.

In this edition we look at the implications of the recent amendent to the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), the performance of the present government which completed one year in the office, the poor menstrual hygiene effecting our older school-going girls, the sad state of sanitary conditions in the slums of Assam, how Muslim women are stepping out to set up businesses in Kashmir while in Uttar Pradesh they suffer as their husbands are being branded a terrorist, the review of Harsh Mander's latest book, and much more.

Studies from China and the US show the limitations of Bt-based resistance. The bollworm evolves to resist the toxin eventually, and a number of secondary pests remain unaffected. Suman Sahai argues that this is not really a workable strategy except in the first few years.

Shale gas and oil reserves are being eyed hungrily by an industry that is looking at the sunset of conventional reserves. But fracking is full of risks, and we must address those first, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.

Most villagers in U.P.'s Hardoi district, except for a miniscule few associated with social or political organizations, were not aware of the passage of the new Employment Guarantee Law last year. Since then, its coming into force in 22 districts of U.P. has not impressed them either. Sandeep Pandey notes why.

Videh Upadhyay urges the SC to take a comprehensive approach, protecting forests and those whose livelihood and culture are tied to nature.

A letter from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs urges states to recognise the habitat rights of vulnerable tribal groups under the FRA. Meenal Tatpati, Rashi Misra and Subrat Kumar Nayak analyse the Dongria Kondh experience to underline what’s necessary to do so effectively.

The pressure of ill-informed popular sentiment coupled with a retributive judicial system may lead to an award of capital punishment for rapists, as it has in the Delhi 2012 case, but that does very little to address the much larger problem of VAW in all its dimensions. Ammu Joseph explains.

The pressure of ill-informed popular sentiment coupled with a retributive judicial system may lead to an award of capital punishment for rapists, as it has in the Delhi 2012 case, but that does very little to address the much larger problem of VAW in all its dimensions. Ammu Joseph explains.

As the Congress promises priority to agriculture, it needs to strike a balance between its policies and those of the Left Front. Ashok B Sharma reports.

Moments after a customer approaches this cart, the vendor pours tender coconut juice into a funnel-like part. Chilled juice comes out of a stainless steel tap below, filling a 250 ml glass, for Rs.10. Shree Padre reports about Fruit Hut Beverages, a Hyderabad-based firm that has launched the Coco Fresco brand.

New developments in India's nuclear posture vis-a-vis China inevitably impact the Pakistani nuclear program as well. We must recognise this implicit risk in our attempts at military parity with China, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

India would do well to consider its options in light of its national interests. Loose nukes are certainly a concern, but talk of taking them out is cavalier, and we must put the brakes on that, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

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.

Our government and the National Security Adviser are promoting 'defensive offence' as India's Pakistan strategy. Firdaus Ahmed explains why that's not the case and that our strategy is more 'offensive-compellence' than 'defensive offence'.

Commanding general of Western Command, KJ Singh recently described Pakistan’s repeated military posturing in the broad framework of history as “the hallmark of being idiotic”. But can India really afford to say that? Firdaus Ahmed presents an incisive inward-looking analysis.

The mob came from three different directions. Each group was preoccupied with its own murder. Bhayyalal's wife and daughter had their skulls smashed in, and his boys were beaten to death with sticks. Dilip D'Souza listens to the 'background' of yet another caste murder.

By consolidating several different laws for the food sector, the proposed bill seeks to establish a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards. The scientific development of the food processing industry is also sought. M R Madhavan and Kaushiki Sanyal present a legislative brief.

With only 14 functional State Security Commissions in the country, and those too with flawed compositions and diluted roles, the efforts towards minimising government interference in police functioning have naturally been lax. Navya PK cites critical findings of a CHRI Report that shows the present sad state of our SSCs.

On 18 March, at a discussion organised by Daksh India, Nick Robinson from the Harvard Law School explored in detail the phenomenon of judicial delays, sharing insights from his work in both India and the US. Pavan Kulkarni summarises the points raised.

The Bt Cotton debate is a vexing one. Proponents praise the technology, while NGOs charge that it has failed farmers and is too risky. Dr Ronald Herring teaches political economy and political ecology at Cornell University and has been studying the transgenic movement in India. He talked with India Together's Subramaniam Vincent.

Hundreds of Pakistani Hindus have taken refuge in India, seeking a better life, especially after the present ruling party had promised in its election manifesto to make India the ‘natural home’ for  all persecuted Hindus. But has India kept its word? Devanik Saha meets the refugees to seek an answer.

As the spectre of communal violence raises its ugly head yet again in the build-up towards elections, India Together talks to Ramachandra Guha to explore the threats to the secular imagination in India and the hopes for religious pluralism in the democracy.