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Four cases of a coronavirus variant believed to be particularly infectious that recently emerged in Britain have been confirmed in Madrid, the regional government said Saturday, the first cases detected in Spain. All four cases involved people who recently arrived from the UK, the Madrid regional government’s deputy health chief Antonio Zapatero told a news conference. “The patients are not seriously ill, we know that this strain is more transmissible, but it does not cause more serious illness,” he said. “There is no need for alarm,” Zapatero added. There are another three suspected cases of the coronavirus variant but the results of tests will only be available on Tuesday or Wednesday, Zapatero said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi often choses to dress in a traditional attire while attending an event of a particular region and this time it was a Kashmiri “pheran” as he launched the Ayushman Bharat scheme to extend health insurance benefits to residents of Jammu and Kashmir. Pheran is a Kashmiri form of cloak, worn by locals. Sources close to the prime minister said he had received the pheran as a gift in winters last year from a farm labourer from Jammu and Kashmir. PM Modi had planned to wear this during his visit to the region, but the trip could not materialise due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Asserting that the people of Jammu and Kashmir were deprived of their rights for decades, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)-SEHAT, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the UT on Saturday, was another testament of his resolve towards the welfare of the erstwhile state. “The launch of PMJAY-SEHAT scheme is yet another testament of PM @NarendraModi’s resolve towards the health security and welfare of every person of J&K who remains deprived of their rights for decades,” Mr Shah tweeted.

Volkswagen India has officially teased the upcoming Taigun compact SUV, suggesting the launch is around the corner. The carmaker released a teaser video of the Taigun on its official social media account. The SUV has been listed on VW’s official India website for collecting online enquiries. Specifically designed for the Indian market, the SUV was showcased at the 2020 Auto Expo in February. It will be based on the company’s MQB A0 IN platform, which will also be used on VW Group’s upcoming models, such as the production version of Skoda ‘s Vision-IN concept. This all-new product from Volkswagen will be slightly inspired by the T-Cross that is already on sale in the international markets. It will flaunt elements like wider grille with horizontal chrome slats and logo in the centre, horizontally positioned LED headlights with LED DRLs, muscular bonnet, neatly designed bumper, large intakes, fog lamps. The production version is expected to get sporty alloys, wheel arch cladding, roof r

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said the “sanskar” and lessons learnt from stalwart leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) helped him succeed in his political life. He was writing a book on the value system of the RSS and its “karya-paddhati” (working methodology) and how it can impact corporate and management sectors, the senior BJP leader said. Mr Gadkari was speaking at the Yeshwantrao Kelkar Yuva Award program at the 66th national convention of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the RSS’ student wing. Journalists in India and abroad ask him how he was able to execute big infrastructure projects successfully, the union road transport minister said. “I am neither engineer and techno savvy nor was I a genius or brilliant student. I ask them (journalists) do you know the RSS, its ideology, its style of functioning?” he said.

Telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Saturday said that it has started using 3G spectrum for 4G services in Mumbai and claimed that customers in the metro city will get higher data speed with the refarming of spectrum. Vodafone Idea has 5 megahertz of spectrum in 2100 Mhz band which was being used for 3G services. “Supplementing the existing 4G infrastructure with the expansion on 2100 MHz layer has brought about enhanced data speeds, besides a better indoor network experience for Vi customers in Mumbai. We request all Vi 3G customers to visit the nearest retail outlet at the earliest to upgrade to a 4G SIM, free of cost and start experiencing the full potential of Vi GIGAnet 4G,” Rajendra Chourasia, Operations Director- Mumbai, Vodafone Idea said in a statement. Vi (Vodafone Idea) who are on 3G connection can get faster 4G experience when they use a 4G handset and a 4G SIM. “This development coming on the heels of the deployment of 5 MHz of 2100 MHz spectrum band, means that Vi customers

India continued to log more coronavirus recoveries than fresh COVID-19 infections, which rose by 23,067 in the last 24 hours, government data shows. Some 24,661 people fought off Covid in this period while 336 people died of the illnesses. With this, the country’s total coronavirus cases shot to one crore, one lakh and 46 thousand with 1,47,092 deaths, so far. Country’s active coronavirus cases – or those still receiving medical attention – dropped further to 2.81 lakh. Kerala, the country’s worst-hit state with more than 63,000 active Covid cases, has moved the Supreme Court against the High Court’s order which increased the number of devotees allowed to enter Sabarimala temple to 5,000 per day. The state has quoted central government guidelines and possible spread of UK’s coronavirus mutation to restrict daily visitors to 2,000 during pilgrimage season. In the last 24 hours, the state recorded 5,177 new infections with 22 deaths. In the past day, most Covid-related deaths were seen i