Beijing,  Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac has said that its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, CoronaVac, has been found to induce immune response in initial human trials.

No severe adverse events were reported in either the phase-1 or phase-2 trials, said the company on Saturday, while revealing preliminary results of the trials.

Islamabad,  Former Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, his son confirmed in a tweet.

In his tweet on Saturday, Kasim Gilani blamed incumbet Prime Minister Imran Khan and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for his father contracting the virus, reports The Express Tribune.

Shimla, The Himachal Pradesh government on Monday said the temples and restaurants in the state will open from June 8 and not from June 1.

A government spokesman told the media they would open after the standard operating procedure and guidelines were issued by the Centre.

Thereafter, a decision would be taken by the state Department of Language, Art and Culture and the Department of Tourism.

Shimla - Himachal Pradesh Transport Minister Govind Singh Thakur on Tuesday said the state government is going to start bus services within the state from June 1.

Himachal Road Transport Corp (HRTC) buses would be plied with 60 per cent passenger capacity to ensure social distancing.

Sirmaur - Demonstrating ongoing support and recognition of the valuable contribution and commitment that The Kalgidhar Society makes to humanity irrespective of caste, colour, creed or religion; World Humanity CommissionÒ headquartered in New York, USA has awarded a Certificate of Appreciation to this Himachal Pradesh based educational and social development NGO.

Shimla, Amid the lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic, the Himachal Pradesh government has provided a special relief to 5.69 lakh social security pensioners by making an advance payment of Rs 217.86 crore, officials said on Thursday.

The pension has been given for six months in advance for those settled in remote areas and three months to other beneficiaries.

Shimla, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday said 68,000 people wanted to return to the state.

Also about 300 students would be arriving from Ukraine soon, he said, adding that all of them would be kept under institutional quarantine.

In a path breaking move, Akal Academies conducted the Terminal Exams of their students this week from classes 3rd onwards. Till this news report has been filed, around 30,000 students have already appeared for their assessments. This was preceded by intensive online classes for their students from 22 March 2020 onwards.

Shimla, The Himachal Pradesh government, here on Saturday, decided to relax curfew in morning hours (5.30 a.m. to 7 a.m.) from Sunday to help people take morning walk.

The decision was taken at a meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, held to review the coronavirus epidemic situation in the state.

Chandigarh, Authorities in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday said a decision is yet to be taken to reopen the shops providing non-essential goods and services across the state amid imposition of curfew as per the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) latest order.

The order needs review and clearance at the high level as the state is under imposition of curfew, an official said.

Chandigarh, India may soon see a shortage of medicines as nearly 55 crucial pharmaceutical facilities that are part of Asia's largest pharmaceutical hub Baddi in Himachal Pradesh have closed their operations for nine days to contain the spread of coronavirus, trade insiders said on Monday.

Earlier, these units were operating at 25-30 per cent of capacity with in-house employees.

Shimla, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday said that state-based pharmaceutical majors were manufacturing hydroxychloroquine to meet worldwide demand in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

He said that about 250 pharma units in Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh areas of the hill state had resumed production, with many manufacturing the said medicine.

The Chief Minister interacting with representatives of pha

Shimla, The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, on Tuesday decided to reduce salaries and honorariums of the Council of Ministers and legislators by 30 per cent for a year.

The money would be used to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 in the state.

Shimla, Four more members of the Tablighi Jamaat, who returned from the congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin Markaz in March, have tested positive for the coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh, taking their total number to 11.

A health official on Tuesday said with the four new cases, the total number of positive cases rose to 18. One patient has been discharged.

Shimla, A coronavirus positive patient spitting on someone will be booked on charge of attempt to murder, Himachal Pradesh Director General of Police S.R. Mardi said on Monday.

He said such an incident was reported from a hospital in the hill state.

"And in case any person gets infected thus and dies of COVID-19, a case of murder would be registered against the accused patient," he said in a video message to the media.

Shimla, A laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Himachal Pradesh has developed a hand-sanitizer that contains natural flavours, active tea constituents and alcohol content as per WHO guidelines.

The product is free from parabens, triclosan, synthetic fragrance and phthalates, says CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology that is based in Palampur town in Kangra district.

Shimla, More snowfall in Shimla, Dalhousie and higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday intensified the cold wave conditions in the state.

"Popular tourist spots Shimla, Kufri, Chail and Dalhousie received overnight snowfall, while lower hill experienced rains, plummeting the minimum and maximum temperatures by several notches," Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office here, told IANS.

Shimla, The cold spell was slated to extend for a couple of days more in Himachal as many places in the hill state were likely to witness rain and moderate snow, weather officials said on Wednesday.

Most prominent tourist places like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Manali, and Dalhousie, located in the mid-hills, may witness moderate snowfall between March 12 and 13, the weatherman said.

Shimla, After a long break, popular tourist resorts Shimla, Manali and Dalhousie got fresh snow on Saturday, while the lower hills across Himachal Pradesh experienced rains, pushing down the mercury by several notches.

Hoteliers, however, cheered up in the hope that tourists will converge in large numbers till Holi that falls on March 10.

Tourist spots near Shimla such as Kufri, Fagu, Narkanda and Chail too experienced snowfall, turning the hill stations even more picturesque.

Solan (Himachal Pradesh), A regional centre has been set up in Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry in Nauni near here to study and conserve species of flora in the western Himalayas, officials said on Thursday.

The High Altitude Western Himalayan Regional Centre was inaugurated on Wednesday by CK Mishra, who is Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

The centre will carry out intensive and extensive field surveys to explore and document floral diversity of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh over 1.57 lakh sq km under its jurisdiction.

Dharamsala, Hundreds of Tibetans and their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who have been living in exile at McLeodganj near here in Himachal Pradesh for over half a century, on Monday began celebrations of the three-day Losar or New Year festival.

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), the elected government of the exiled Tibetans, has greeted Tibetans across the world.

Mandi, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday laid the foundation stone of Tertiary Cancer Care Centre at Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College at Ner Chowk near Mandi worth Rs 45 crore.

"The state has initiated various innovative and ambitious schemes to double the income of farming community by 2022 as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and rearing of milch animals could play important role in it," said the Chief Minister.

Shimla, Popular tourist destinations Shimla and Kufri again received snowfall on Friday, while the lower hills across Himachal Pradesh were lashed by rain, bringing the temperature down by several notches.

Towns in upper Shimla district were cut off temporarily with snow cover piled on roads, officials said.

Hoteliers welcomed the snowfall as they looked forward to more tourist footfalls this weekend.

Dharamsala, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Wednesday congratulated Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on his party's success in the Assembly elections, saying his initiative to incorporate aspects of inner mental development into the school curriculum is laudable.

Expressing appreciation of the vibrant democracy that the people of India have enjoyed since the country became independent in August 1947, the Nobel Peace Laureate said: "The people of Delhi will continue to benefit from your able leadership."

Shimla, The Himachal Pradesh government is aiming to increase its forest area by 30 per cent by 2030 and to achieve this goal initiatives have been taken up, an official said on Tuesday.

Plantation campaigns are being carried out by the state Forest Department in identified places. Last year by involving 1,18,932 people, 26,47,146 saplings were planted, a government spokesperson told IANS.

This campaign was run for five days and it was for the first time record saplings were planted under a campaign.

Shimla, More snow fell over Shimla, Manali and Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, making the tourist towns more picturesque, but traffic was hampered in many parts of the state as a thick blanket of snow piled on the roads.

The temperatures remained below the freezing point in many places after widespread snow and rain, a meteorological department official here told IANS

Dharamsala, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has advised the Chinese to chant a mantra to contain the spread of coronavirus, his office said on Wednesday.

A group of Chinese Buddhists from mainland China has sought the Dalai Lama's advice on ways to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Shimla, More snowfall in Shimla, Manali, Dalhousie and higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday intensified cold wave conditions in the state.

"Shimla received fresh snowfall, plummeting the maximum temperature to 5.5 degree Celsius in comparison to 8.9 degree Celsius a day earlier," an official at the meteorological office here told IANS.

The minimum temperature was 1.9 degree Celsius.

Shimla, Facing extreme freezing temperatures, people in Himachal Pradesh's remote Kaza town in the Spiti Valley celebrated India's 71st Republic Day.

The district administration hoisted the national flag at an altitude of 3,720 metre with temperature nearing minus 10 degrees Celsius.

Shimla, A cold wave continues to sweep Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, with its higher reaches shivering under sub-zero temperatures.

There are chances of snowfall in mid and higher hills from Monday night as western disturbances are approaching the region, an official at the meteorological office here told IANS.

The minimum temperature in Shimla was 5.7 degrees Celsius, down from Friday's 4.5 degrees, he said.

New Delhi, President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders across the country conveyed their greetings to the people of Himachal Pradesh on its 50th Statehood Day.

On January 25, 1971 Himachal Pradesh was carved out as the 18th State of the country, after being a Union Territory for over 15 years.

Shimla, Two students of the Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry (UHF) in Nauni in Solan district are among the 100 students to witness the Republic Day parade from the Prime Minister's box.

The university on Friday said the students who have been selected are Sachin Mittal, a post-graduate in food technology, and Reena Kumari, a Senior Research Fellow with the Department of Vegetable Science.

Shimla, A girl student of a Himachal Pradesh school did an act of bravery in 2018 when she was in Class IX by rescuing her family members, comprising his ex-serviceman grandfather, and the driver who met a road accident, her teacher said on Wednesday.

Alaika Sharma, 15, of Anuradha Public Senior Secondary School in Maranda near Palampur town in Kangra district was travelling with her family in a car that skidded off the road and rolled down the hill in September 2018.

"Alaika was travelling with her mother and grandfather in a car when it met an accident at an isolated place," her teacher Renu Katoch told IANS.

Shimla, A cold wave continued to grip Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, with higher reaches experiencing more snow for a second consecutive day.

There was widespread rainfall in low and mid hills, said an official.

The meteorological office here said the western disturbance would be active in the region again on January 16, but temperatures would remain low.

Shimla, The hills of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday saw a marginal rise in the mercury owing to cloudy conditions but temperatures still remained below freezing in many areas of the state. The weatherman forecast more rain and snow across the state.

"There are chances of widespread rain and snow in the state till Monday," an official of the Met Office here told .