US coronavirus deaths surge past 2,000
Washington: Deaths from the new coronavirus in the United States surged past 2,000 on Saturday, doubling in just three days, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
The number of deaths late Saturday was 2,010, about a quarter of them in New York City, the country's hardest-hit region, Johns Hopkins reported.
Confirmed cases in the United States topped 121,000, according to the tally.
The surge came as President Donald Trump said he was considering a quarantine on the greater New York area to slow the disease's move from the US epicentre.
New York has reported more than 52,000 cases, and 517 of the US deaths were in New York City.
"There's a possibility that sometime today we'll do a quarantine -- short-term, two weeks -- on New York, probably New Jersey, certain parts of Connecticut," Trump said, adding that it was important to protect Florida, a favourite winter destination for people in the northeast.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo objected to the idea, which he said Trump had not discussed with him.
"If you said we're geographically confining people, that would be a lockdown. Then we would be Wuhan, China, and that wouldn't make sense," Cuomo told CNN, referring to the city in central China where the virus outbreak began, which was almost totally isolated by Beijing.
Cuomo said he did not believe such an act would be legal, and added: "Why you would want to just create total pandemonium on top of a pandemic, I have no idea."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
