From the Newsroom: Toll rises in Chhattisgarh Naxal attack

In your evening news brief, bodies of 17 more security personnel killed in an encounter with Maoists recovered; Rahul Gandhi promising that every poor person in Kerala will get Rs 6,000 every month "without fail" and the UK is to trial a system of "Covid status certification" at events including football matches.

Bodies of 17 more security personnel killed in an encounter with Maoists in Chhattisgarh were recovered on Sunday with Union Home Minister Amit Shah assuring that their sacrifice will not go in vain.

With this, the total toll of security personnel has risen to 22. Officials said the deceased included personnel from the CRPF, its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) and the District Reserve Guard (DRG) while some of their weapons were also missing.

Shah spoke to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhagel and took stock of the situation after the encounter in a forest along the border between Bijapur and Sukma districts in Chhattisgarh.

As the campaign for the April 6 Assembly polls draws to a close, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday gave a further push to his 'Nyuntam Aay Yojana' (NYAY) to reach out to the voters, promising that every poor person in the State will get Rs 6,000 every month "without fail", if the UDF is voted to power. "The UDF is proposing something revolutionary. Something that has never been tried in any Indian state before," Gandhi told a UDF meeting organised at Vellamunda in Mananthavady.

Britain is to trial a system of "Covid status certification" at events including football matches in the coming weeks as a possible way out of virus restrictions, the government said late Saturday.

The Downing Street statement confirmed that Britain plans to issue identification showing whether people are vaccinated, have antibodies or have tested negative, despite opposition from lawmakers in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's own party.

The government is to announce Monday that the system will be tested at events from mid-April including the FA Cup Semi-Final and Final at Wembley Stadium, the statement said.