The face of Progeria dies, aged 15

Mumbai: A 15-year-old boy who was suffering from Progeria and had become the face of a campaign against the rare genetic disorder in the country has died. Nihal Batla, from Bhiwandi in adjoining Thane district, was fighting the disease that aged him eight times faster than normal. Nihal and his family had taken up the challenge of raising awareness about the incurable disease, which has an incidence of one in 40 lakh. Progeria or Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome causes accelerated ageing in children, leading to premature death mostly due to heart attacks. PTI

Transit of Mercury over sun on May 9

Kolkata: A transit of Mercury over the disc of the sun will take place in the afternoon of May 9 and will be visible from India after a gap of about 10 years. The transit of Mercury is a phenomenon in which the planet will be seen as a small black dot travelling from one end of the solar disc to the other. This phenomenon is seen when Mercury passes between the sun and the Earth and it happens only when the three are lined up. PTI

UP district creates 47,000 jobs in a day

Lucknow: On Sunday, as International Labour Day was celebrated the world over, in the small town of Gonda, 130 km from here, a record of sorts was set: the creation of 47,000 rural jobs in a single day. This, in a state which has attracted negative publicity for its track record on creating rural jobs under MNREGA, the rural jobs scheme. As a result of careful planning, construction work was simultaneously started in 1,054 gram panchayats on a single day. The works included digging of ponds and drains, levelling of grounds, making of semi-permanent roads and compost pits. IANS

U’khand High Court CJ shifted to Andhra

Dehradun: Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court KM Joseph, who was recently in the news for quashing the President’s rule in the state, has been transferred to the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Justice Joseph had assumed charge as the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand HC in July 2014. ANI

Showers help contain flames in U’khand

Dehradun: A long awaited spell of showers lashed most parts of Uttarakhand on Wednesday, supplementing fire dousing operations across the state in a huge way. Chief Secretary Shatrughna Singh said 90 forest fires were sighted during the day of which 76 were extinguished and the remaining will also soon be brought under control. The three IAF choppers were not used for water sprinkling operations. TNS

Mallya’s resignation accepted by Ansari

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari on Wednesday accepted the resignation of Vijay Mallya, accused of defaulting bank loans of over Rs 9,000 crore. The announcement was made by Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien. It came hours after the ethics committee of the Rajya Sabha recommended the liquor baron’s expulsion. Committee chairman Dr Karan Singh said, “The committee hopes that by taking such a stern action, a message will reach that Parliament is committed to take such steps as are necessary against erring members.” TNS

Pranav Pandya nominated to RS

New Delhi: Pranav Pandya, head of the All World Gayatri Pariwar, has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Modi government. The 65-year-old, an MD in medicine, heads the Gayatri Pariwar, a mission that “follows the principles of human unity and equality. It is guided by the principles of Vedic sages who propagated the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family)”. PTI