Early trends showed the AINRC and Congress in a neck-and-neck race

Leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Tuesday morning met via videoconference to deliberate on a strategy to combat and overcome the COVID-19 crisis, ensuring peaceful life of people and sustainable development of countries in the region.In his capacity as ASEAN Chair 2020, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired the virtual summit, attended by the heads of state or government of the 10 ASEAN members- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and the ASEAN secretary-general, Xinhua news agency reported.The leaders are expected to focus their discussions on containing and preventing the spread of COVID-19, supporting people in the countries hit by the disease, including providing consular assistance to ASEAN citizens living, working and studying in other ASEAN nations or a third country, and minimizing socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic.They are also expected to adopt a ...

A US-based research company has found that China limited the flow of the Mekong River following the construction of a number of its sprawling dams in its territory in the backdrop of a severe drought in the region last year.The report comes at a time when the entire world is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic since late last year, when the virus first made its appearance in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei province."The satellite data does not lie and there was plenty of water in the Tibetan Plateau, even as countries like Cambodia and Thailand were under extreme duress," said Alan Basist, who co-wrote the report, which was released on Monday, for Eyes on Earth, a water resources monitor."There was just a huge volume of water that was being held back in China," Basist was quoted by New York Times as saying.Farmers and fishermen across the Mekong region were devastated as the water level in portions of the river dwindled due to dams commissioned by China which has been .

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 ...

When seasonally adjusted numbers continue to exhibit the influences of seasonal effects, much as first-quarter readings on gross domestic product have regularly been doing, statisticians refer to it as residual seasonality. And that effect hampers seasoned economists from making clear-eyed judgments on the strength of the economy.

AIADMK was leading in Mayiladuthurai, Poompuhar, Sankari, Udhagamandalam and Athur, the EC said

AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa was leading by over 5,000 votes in RK Nagar in the city against her nearest rival Shimla Muthuchozhan of DMK

Jayalalithaa leading by over 16,000 votes in Dr RK Nagar constituency, ahead of her DMK rival Shimla Muthchozhan

It usually only takes such a harsh step when there is evidence that muscle power has been used

Amazon Prime Video has given a second season order for Greg Daniels' show "Upload". The season two renewal comes just a week after the show premiered on Amazon Prime Video, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The single-camera sitcom, featuring Robbie Amell and Andy Allo, takes place in the near future, where people who are near death can be "uploaded" into a virtual afterlife of their choice. "I am thrilled to continue a great relationship with Amazon Studios and this wonderful cast and find out what happens next to Nora and Nathan and Ingrid and their 2033 world. With this news I can stop drawing my season 2 flip book," Daniels said in a statement. "Upload" is executive produced by Daniels and his producing partner Howard Klein.

Crouching over the sun-drenched soil, Alfred Abayev picks up a charred fragment of a Soviet warplane downed in a World War II battle with advancing Nazi forces. You can see it was burning, he says, pointing at the weathered trace of a red star. Abayev and members of his search team rummage the steppe for remains of the Red Army soldiers who fell in the autumn of 1942 in fierce fighting with Nazi troops pushing toward the Caspian Sea south of Stalingrad. Stiff resistance by the Red Army stopped the Wehrmacht onslaught in the steppes of Kalmykia, and months later the enemy's forces were encircled in Stalingrad and surrendered, a major defeat for the Nazis that marked a turning point in World War II. The search for remains of fallen Red Army soldiers near Khulkhuta, in Kalmykia, a southern province that lies between the Volga River and the Caspian Sea, is part of a broad effort by myriad volunteer groups across Russia to pay tribute to fallen World War II soldiers. Russia's losses stood .

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said he is "totally healthy" and not suffering from any disease. In a statement, Shah said rumours about his health conditions have been spread through social media. "I am totally healthy and I am not suffering from any disease," he said in the statement in Hindi which was posted on his Twitter handle.

Andre Harrell talks to the WSJ’s Lee Hawkins about the reasoning behind his decision to fire Sean Combs as his A&R at Uptown Records. Photo Associated Press

The destinies of the people of Kolavipalam village in North Kerala and the endangered Olive Ridley turtles are bound together. M P Basheer explores.

"If we really love Andrews' memory," said Gandhi when his close friend passed away, then "we may not have hate in us for Englishmen, of whom Andrews was among the best and noblest." Ramachandra Guha visits his grave.

Researchers around the country gathered to discuss solutions to the key water-related problems India faces. From conflicts between states, to water-saving agricultural practices, to receding glaciers, a number of issues were raised, and their economic and social implications weighed. Surekha Sule reports.

The practical management of water systems has become detached from the knowledge gained through research, which has made great progress in the last two or three decades. Because critical elements of research have been externalised, the induction of new inter-disciplinary learning has been greatly limited, writes Jayanta Bandyopadhyay.

A permanent solution should be sought to defend ships and their crew who, refusing to be party to unscrupulous trade, end up being eliminated, with their deaths portrayed as suicides, writes Shabeena Zaheer who lost her son.

Betsey Johnson gave fans a sneak peek at her dance moves when she brought “Dancing With the Stars” partner Tony Dovolani onto the runway after her New York Fashion Week show.

Mixpanel’s efforts to fuel rapid growth cost the startup, which is now struggling to regain its stature in a highly competitive industry.

'If they get less than 150, they will be communal as far as the other parties are concerned. 150 will be a communal number and 150 and above will be a secular number!' Cho Ramaswamy on the 2009 Lok Sabha election.

'Today's national picture, where the power rests with the states and not with the Centre, is like the picture of India before the British took power in India,' says thinker Dr Ashok Mitra.

Now that the numbers are out and it is nowhere near as spectacular as expected/feared by some or hyped by many -- it is Narendra Modi's lowest in three elections -- it is a sobering thought. Is this the best he can do, wonders Saisuresh Sivaswamy.

Struggling to preserve their livelihood in the face of the rapid expansion of the Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone in Gujarat, the women and men of nearby fishing villages are trying hard to come to terms with a changing world. Geeta Seshu has more.

The success of Operation Sarp Vinash must be understood from independent scrutiny of the Army's claims, as well as analysis of new military strategy, says Firdaus Ahmed.

It has not been easy to keep track of the frequent announcements of modifications in environmental law and regulation since the new government assumed power at the Centre. Kanchi Kohli presents a round-up of these proposed and implemented amendments.

Indifference, impatience, aggression and denial have been among the common responses to rape as a multi-layered problem. In the concluding part of her article, Ammu Joseph draws attention to all that fosters a culture of violence against women in our society and why it is unamenable to hasty remedies.

Having failed to meet the challenges of the post-green revolution era, agricultural research has reached a dead end, says Devinder Sharma.

The leading ladies of Bengali theatre in the late 19^th and 20^th centuries presented an intriguing portrait of women caught between two worlds, liberated in a way, yet shackled in others. A recent performance as tribute to these artists leads Shoma Chatterji to reminisce their lives and times.

Most Indian languages do not have a specific word for the female traveller. The traveller is by definition male, a fact that provokes Namrata R Ganneri to delve deeper into the gendered nuances of travel and its implications for women.

The Kerala government's pet 'Seaplane' project, initiated with minimal homework and impact assessment, has run into stiff opposition from environmentalists and local communities. P N Venugopal reports on the developments.

P Sainath reports on the serious problem of rural hunger in Andhra Pradesh, and the politics of free lunches.
Part II : Hi-tech, low nutrition

The worse things have become in Anantapur district, the more fancy cars have shown up in town. Drought, says P Sainath, is the organised plunder of the poor.

A better tomorrow must be for us all, not just for the middle and upper classes. This has little to do with morality, altruism or idealism, but much more to do with realism says Dilip D'Souza.

The public's perception that government facilities and services are poor has led them to abandon these in favour of private providers. But those are not necessarily better, writes R Balasubramaniam.

Soumik Dutta writes about how Limbu-Tamang tribal seat reservation in the Sikkim legislative assembly could change the political scenario in Sikkim.

At least sixteen committees and panels – from the National Farmers Commission led by Professor M S Swaminathan to the Planning Commission's fact-finding-mission led by bureaucrat Adarsh Misra – came this year to Vidarbha, apparently peeved by and concerned over the suicide crisis. Nothing has come of all this yet, notes Jaideep Hardikar.

"This is the first year I sowed wheat on an acre of land because of availability of water in the bund along my farm," informs a three-acre farmer Vasanta Kolhe in Hatgaon village, Yavatmal district, Maharashtra. His income will see a little improvement this year, thanks to a bund that students built. Jaideep Hardikar reports.

एक ब्राजीलियन  वेबसाइट पर Jeep Compass का नया मॉडल लीक हुआ है. इसके मुताबिक, इस मॉडल का नाम Jeep Grand Compass होगा जो कि एक 7-सीटर SUV होगी.

हम आपको बता रहे हैं कोरोना वायरस (Coronavirus) से जुड़ी 5 चीजें जिन्हें गूगल (Google) पर भूलकर भी ना सर्च करें...

प्रियंका और निक सबसे पहले अमेरिका के मशहूर डॉजर्स स्टेडियम में स्पॉट किए गए. ऐसे में जहां कुछ लोगों के लिए यह एक गॉसिप थी वहीं कई लोगों को यह जानने में दिलचस्पी रही कि 'देसी गर्ल' का दिल चुराने वाले निक जोनास आखिर हैं कौन?

एक डेटा के अनुसार दुनिया में 'गेम ऑफ थ्रोंस' वेब सीरीज देखने वालों में भारतीय चौथे नंबर पर हैं.

Vande Bharat Mission: India’s evacuation operation picks up pace via air and sea

I am not suffering from any disease: Amit Shah

North Korea fired five short-range projectiles into the sea on Monday, Seoul officials said, in a continuation of weapon launches it has carried out in an apparent response to ongoing South Korea-US military drills it sees as a provocation.

Just three days after its last order notifying containment zones, the district administration on Friday added 11 new containment zones in the Gurugram block. Most are in old Gurugram. The district now has 32 containment zones.

Drone video footage released by the department of national parks shows a 30-strong herd of dugongs on Wednesday off Libong island in Trang province. They were feeding on sea grass and occasionally surfaced to breathe.

The Vande Bharat Mission gained momentum, with two flights — one from Singapore and another from Riyadh — landing in Delhi and Kairapur airport in Kerala. The Operation Samudra Setu by the Indian Navy to evacuate Indians stranded abroad using naval ships kicked off from the Maldives on Friday. ​​The ship of the Eastern Naval Command is scheduled to reach Kochi by Sunday.