School meal kills 20 children in eastern IndiaJuly 17, 2013 - 09:32 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - At least 20 children have died and more are sick after eating free meals at a primary school in eastern India, Belfast Telegraph said. Bihar state official Abhijit Sinha said another 27 children and the school cook were in hospital in Patna, the state capital, 10 of them in a serious condition. The children, aged between eight and 11, fell ill on Tuesday, July 16 soon after eating meals in the school in Masrakh, a village 50 miles north of Patna. They were rushed to a local hospital and later to the state capital for treatment. PK Sahi, the state education minister, said a preliminary investigation suggested the food, cooked in the school kitchen, had traces of phosphorous, which is used to preserve rice and wheat. Malnutrition is one of the major health concerns among Indian youngsters and many state governments have launched midday meal programmes for poor children. Bihar state chief minister Nitish Kumar has ordered an inquiry and authorities have suspended a food inspector and registered a case of criminal negligence against the school's headmaster. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |