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."
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Jharkhand: 6 arrested for kidnapping Bengal businessman, associate
Khunti (PTI): Six persons have been arrested for allegedly abducting a West Bengal-based businessman and his associate in Jharkhand's Khunti district and demanding a ransom of Rs 10 lakh, police said on Sunday.
The incident occurred on Friday in Tilmi area under the jurisdiction of Jariyagarh police station. Upon receiving information, police rescued both victims, they said.
Torpa Sub-divisional Police Officer Christopher Kerketta said, "We have rescued both the victims and arrested six people for their alleged involvement in the crime."
The businessman, identified as Haru Mukherjee (65), had come to the house of his associate, Vijay Oraon (40), to recruit labourers for work at a brick kiln.
The accused hail from different parts of Khunti, and police also seized a four-wheeler, three motorcycles, and five mobile phones from their possession, the officer said, adding an FIR has also been registered and further investigation is underway.
