Indian Sub-continent

Muzaffarpur, Jun 16 (PTI) Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday visited the families of the children suffering from suspected acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) even as the death toll rose to 93 in the district.

Vardhan, his deputy Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey visited the SKMCH.

"I assure the people of the area, especially the affected families, that the government will extend all possible help and measures to the state government," the Union health minister told reporters here.

New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday sworn in seven-term member of Parliament Virendra Kumar as the protem speaker of Lok Sabha.

Kumar will oversee the oath-taking of newly elected LS members on Monday and Tuesday.

On Wednesday, as soon as a new speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha is elected, his role will cease to exist

Kumar, 65, won the Lok Sabha election from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh on a BJP ticket.

He was a minister of state in the previous Modi government.

Raipur, Jun 16 (PTI) A man was shot dead by Naxals in Chattisgarh's Sukma district, around 500 kilometres from here, police said Sunday.

Madkam Nanda (28) was sleeping in his house in Bonkamadgu village late Saturday night when a group of Naxals raided the house and shot him multiple times, a Maraiguda police station official said.

The village is on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border and police teams have rushed to the site to apprehend the killers, he added.

Srinagar, Jun 16 (PTI) As the revered Amarnath Yatra commences on July 1, Kashmiri separatists Sunday asserted there was no threat to the annual pilgrimage and urged the pilgrims and tourists visiting the state not to pay heed to any "false propaganda".

They said people of the Valley will continue to retain and nourish the tradition of brotherhood and communal amity.

Hyderabad, June 16 (PTI): A self-styled godman was taken into custody for allegedly raping a 19-year-old girl at her house here under the pretext of ridding her house of evil spirits, police said Sunday.

The accused (25), claiming to have supernatural powers, had told the teenager's parents there were evil spirits in her house and that he would help in getting rid of them, and then took them to a shrine in Bidar district of Karnataka a week ago, police said based on a complaint.

Mumbai, Jun 16 (PTI) Actor Ayushmann Khurrana says the country is unique because it has people of all kinds, but one should not be "blindly proud" of it.

The Bollywood actor, who is gearing up for the release of "Article 15" that tackles the issues of caste-based discrimination, says people of the country are sensitive towards each other.

Mumbai, Jun 17 (PTI) More than 40,000 doctors in Maharashtra are boycotting work on Monday as part of a strike call given by their apex body IMA in support of their agitating colleagues in West Bengal, an official said.

Doctors, from various government and private hospitals in the state, are mainly boycotting the OPD (Out-Patient Department) and other non-essential health services, he said.

New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) Leader of the House and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah were among those who took oath as Members of the 17th Lok Sabha that commenced here Monday.

As soon as the House met, the Members stood in silence for a few minutes as per the convention after the assembling of the new House.

When Modi's name was called out by the Secretary General for taking oath, Members from the ruling NDA thumped the desk greeting the Prime Minister with slogans such as 'Modi Modi' and "Bharat Mata ki Jai.

New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) Healthcare services at government and private hospitals in the national capital will be hit on Monday as scores of doctors, including those at AIIMS, have decided to boycott work for a day in support of their striking colleagues in West Bengal.

A doctor was tied to a tree and his wife and 15-year-old daughter were gang raped in front him by a group of armed men in Bihar’s Gaya district.

According to The New Indian Express, doctor was returning home from his private clinic with his wife and daughter on his motorcycle, he was waylaid by the goons near Sondiha village under Konch police station late on Wednesday evening. The family was also robbed of cash, jewellery and other valuables they had at the time before being released.