The resident doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi said that their strike would continue. The AIIMS RDA also said it will provide free elective OPD services of around 36 specialties to patients outside Nirman Bhawan from 11 am.
They have been on an indefinite strike since August 12, suspending all elective and non-essential services including OPDs and wards to protest the rape-murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. 
The protesting doctors have been demanding justice for the victim and a security act for medical personnel.
The AIIMS RDA also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention for the enactment of a central law via an ordinance to protect healthcare workers and institutions across the nation.
They also drew PM Modi’s attention to the subsequent vandalism at the state-run Kolkata hospital and the “worrying rise in violence against doctors, healthcare workers, and medical institutions” across the country.
A group of Padma Awardee doctors has urgently appealed to President Droupaid Murmu for immediate intervention following the Kolkata incident. The doctors highlighted the rise in violence against healthcare professionals, particularly against women.
The Union health ministry had last week assured the protesting doctors of all possible efforts to ensure their safety. The Ministry on August 17 said it will form a committee to suggest measures for ensuring the safety of healthcare professionals.
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has taken up the rape-murder case and a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud will hear the matter on Tuesday.
The case is already being heard by the Calcutta High Court, which has ordered that the probe be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI, overriding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee‘s August 18 ultimatum to the state police.
The body of the postgraduate trainee doctor was found in the seminar hall of the state-run hospital in Kolkata on August 9, triggering nationwide protests. A civic volunteer has been arrested in connection with the crime the next day.

US Vice President Kamala Harris holds a narrow lead over her Republican rival Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll. The four-point lead is a small but notable improvement for Democrats in the election race, a month after polls had shown then-presidential nominee Joe Biden and Trump in a dead heat.

Harris’ progress marks a significant boost to the Democrats ahead of their national convention which begins tonight. Harris will officially accept her nomination as the Democratic presidential nominee at the convention.

While Harris stands at 49 percent, Trump is not far behind at 45 percent, the survey shows. If third-party candidates are included, Harris is at 47 percent, Trump at 44 percent and Robert F Kennedy Jr at 5 percent. 

In July, Trump took the lead with 43 percent, Biden was at 42 percent and Kennedy at 9 percent.

As Harris’ lead in the new Post-ABC-Ipsos poll gives Democrats a slight edge, the poll still points to a tight November election in November. Seven swing states Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada will hold the key to doors of success for the two presidential candidates.

But other public polls have indicated that Harris has gained ground in almost all swing states since Biden left the race.

The current US president’s sudden exit from the poll race was set in motion after his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate against his predecessor Trump. The gaffe-prone president put up a weak fight against his rival prompting several Democratic leaders and donors to call for him to step down from the election race.

After remaining defiant for months, Biden finally yielded to the pressure on July 21 and endorsed his deputy Harris for the Democratic nomination. 

The Democrats now hope to extend this lead ahead of their convention tonight and the upcoming debate between the two nominees. The key speakers endorsing Harris at the convention will include Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton.

The US vice-president spent Sunday campaigning in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. 

​The US vice-president spent Sunday campaigning in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.