Pktack: May 2020

Sunday, 31 May 2020

NTA extends application deadline for UGC NET, JNUEE and other exams till 15 June due to coronavirus pandemic

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has extended the last date for submission of application forms for various exams till 15 June, 5 pm. The fees can be submitted up to 11.50 pm on 15 June.

The dates for exams such as IGNOU PhD and Open MAT (MBA) 2020, ICAR 2020, JNU Entrance Exam (JNUEE) 2020, UGC NET 2020 and CSIR UGC NET 2020 have been pushed forward in view of the requests from students and hardships faced by them due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier, the application deadline for these exams was 31 May. The dates for the respective examination will be displayed on the website.

NTA conducts Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) entrance examination for admission to undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD courses in Agricultural Universities.

Those who want to work as an assistant professor or qualify for junior research fellowship have to take the University Grants Commission's National Eligibility Test (UGC NET). On the other hand, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) UGC NET is held for selecting assistant professors and junior research fellows in subjects related to Science stream.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Entrance Exam (JNUEE) takes place for admission into postgraduate and MPhil programmes in Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

NTA has over the last month cautioned candidates about fake information being circulated on social media regarding various exams conducted by it.

It has asked them to only rely on the official website for any information related to exams. Last month, the agency alerted NEET (UG) 2020 candidates after it was brought to its notice that some people are asking for application details from them on calls, SMS and emails.

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Protests over killing of George Floyd: Burning police vehicle becomes symbol of unrest in New York City

New York: On Friday night in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, protesters descended on an unoccupied New York Police Department van, which quickly became the target of all their anger and angst.

After chasing officers away, people threw rocks, glass bottles, and “anything and everything” at the van, according to one protester, who would only identify himself as Mike. After failing to turn over the vehicle, protesters set it on fire by burning their signs inside it, he said.

Soon, images and videos of the vehicle, with windows broken and engulfed in red flames, spread across social media during the first night of protests in New York City following the death of George Floyd, a Minnesota man who died on 25 May after a Minneapolis police officer pinned him down by his neck for several minutes.

By Sunday morning, the department said that 47 police vehicles had been damaged during protests, 13 of them burned in ways that were similar to the attack on the first police van in Fort Greene, according to officials.

These vehicles have become the symbol of the unrest and have begun a debate over who is escalating the violence. Some protesters have cheered the destruction as a victory against law enforcement and a manifestation of the pent-up rage against the growing number of incidents of police brutality, while officials have said the damage is proof that a violent element is trying to hijack a tradition of peaceful protest in the city.

A police car is set on fire at the corner of Snyder Avenue and Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn on 30 May. By Chang W Lee © 2020 The New York Times

“No place in America has protected protests more than New York City,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday. “And we will continue to do so whatever someone’s views but it has to be nonviolent. We honour the tradition of civil disobedience.”

In Union Square on Saturday, protesters climbed onto a police department vehicle, which had a shattered windshield and lights blaring, as onlookers cheered. One image on social media from Brooklyn on Saturday night showed a cyclist taking a selfie in front of a department vehicle that had a broken windshield and was covered in black spray paint.

At least four people have been charged in connection with Molotov-cocktail attacks on police vehicles.

A woman from the Catskills region, Samantha Shader, 27, was arrested on charges that she had thrown a firebomb at a police van in Brooklyn on Friday, the police said. Her 21-year-old sister, Darian Shader, interfered with the arrest and was also taken into custody, the police said.

Minutes after that first firebomb on Friday, the police said Urooj Rahman, 31, and Colinford King Mattis, 32, coordinated a Molotov-cocktail attack on an empty police vehicle, and ignited a small blaze in the back seat. Both were arrested.

The total cost of the vehicle damage Saturday night alone “is estimated to be in excess of $750,000 and expected to go up,” said Sergeant Mary Frances O’Donnell, a spokeswoman for the department.

One encounter between protesters and a police vehicle has become a flashpoint in the debate over who is to blame for the escalating violence.

At around 8 pm on Saturday, two police department vehicles drove through a crowd of protesters, scattering dozens of people who had surrounded the cars, according to videos of the incident and accounts from bystanders.

“I wish the officers found a different approach,” de Blasio told reporters Saturday night, but he added that “the protesters in that video did the wrong thing to surround that police car, period.”

He said the police had seen that tactic before in the past two days, and it could be “very, very dangerous to everyone involved.” He said the incident would be investigated.

One witness to the incident said the scene in Prospect Heights had, initially, been peaceful.

Ede Fox, 48, said she was sitting in her parked car on Flatbush Avenue when suddenly the protest turned chaotic when a police SUV sped down the avenue behind the crowd. “They only seemed to stoke the fires rather than de-escalate,” said Fox, who formerly worked in city government and ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2017. “When they pushed into the crowd, I was stunned.”

The New York Fire Department helps put out a vehicle fire in Brooklyn on 30 May. By Chang W Lee © 2020 The New York Times

Soon protesters began to throw plastic water bottles and other items, including orange cones, at the vehicle.

Another police SUV arrived, moving through the crowd. The first vehicle, which was stalled in front of a barricade and a line of protesters, suddenly lurched forward at a high speed. People scattered, officers got out of the SUV, and a protester walked up to the vehicle and busted a window. There were no injuries reported.

In an interview on Sunday, Fox said she had become frightened. “To be honest, I thought this was a moment that the officers would start shooting or the protesters would start a fire.”

A protester jumped atop the SUV and appeared to be pleading with others to be peaceful, Fox said. “I think she was telling people to stop being violent,” she said.

Azi Paybarah and Nikita Stewart c.2020 The New York Times Company

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George Floyd death: Protesters set fires near White House, clash with DC police hours before curfew kicks in

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across America again Sunday, with peaceful demonstrations against police killings of black people overshadowed by unrest that quickly ravaged parts of cities from Pennsylvania to California. City and state officials had deployed thousands of National Guard soldiers, enacted strict curfews and shut down mass transit systems, but that did little to stop many cities from again erupting into unrest.

An hour before the 11 pm curfew, police in Washington, DC, fired a major barrage of tear gas stun grenades into the crowd of more than 1,000 people, largely clearing Lafayette Park across the street from the White House and scattering protesters into the street.

As the protests grew, President Donald Trump retweeted conservative commentator Buck Sexton who called for “overwhelming force” against violent demonstrators. Trump was briefly rushed to the White House underground bunker, used in the past during terror attacks, by a nervous Secret Service, The New York Times reported.

CNN reported that the DC Fire Department was extinguishing a blaze in the basement of St. John's church. The church, which is just a few blocks from the White House, is known as the "Church of Presidents" because many presidents have attended services there. Protesters piled up road signs and plastic barriers and lit a raging fire in the middle of H Street.

Some pulled an American flag from a nearby building and threw it into the blaze.

Others added branches pulled from trees. A cinder block structure, on the north side of the park, that had bathrooms and a maintenance office, was engulfed in flames.

Demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd start a fire near the White House in Washington AP.

Several kilometres north, a separate protest broke out in Northwest DC, near the Maryland border. The Metropolitan Police Department says there were break-ins at a Target and a shopping centre that houses Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue Men’s Store, TJ Maxx, a movie theatre and speciality stores. Police say several individuals have been detained.

The entire Washington, DC, National Guard — roughly 1,700 soldiers — was being called in to help control the protests, according to two Defense Department officials who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.

At least 4,100 people have been arrested over days of protests, according to a tally compiled by The Associated Press. Arrests ranged from looting and blocking highways to breaking curfew.

Protesters in Philadelphia hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at police, officials said, while masked crowds broke into upscale stores in a San Francisco suburb, fleeing with bags of merchandise. In Minneapolis, a truck driver drove into a massive crowd of demonstrators nearly a week after the death of George Floyd, a black man who pleaded for air as an officer pressed a knee into his neck.

'They keep killing our people'

In Salt Lake City, a leading anti-police brutality activist condemned the destruction of property but said broken buildings shouldn’t be mourned on the same level as black men like Floyd.

“Maybe this country will get the memo that we are sick of police murdering unarmed black men,” said Lex Scott, founder of Black Lives Matter Utah. “Maybe the next time a white police officer decides to pull the trigger, he will picture cities burning.”

Yet thousands still marched peacefully, with some also calling for an end to the fires, vandalism and theft, saying it weakened calls for justice and reform.

“They keep killing our people,” said Mahira Louis, 15, who marched with her mother and several hundred others through downtown Boston. “I’m so sick and tired of it.”

The officer who pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck has been charged with murder, but protesters are demanding the other three officers at the scene be prosecuted. All four were fired.

“We’re not done,” said Darnella Wade, organiser for Black Lives Matter in neighbouring St. Paul, where thousands gathered peacefully in front of the state Capitol. “They sent us the military, and we only asked them for arrests.”

Minnesota governor Tim Walz brought in thousands of National Guard soldiers to help quell the violence that had damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings in Minneapolis over days of protests. On Sunday, in a display of force, long lines of state patrolmen and National Guard soldiers lined up in front of the Capitol, with perhaps a dozen military-style armoured vehicles behind them.

A demonstrator is silhouetted by a fire during a protest of the death of George Floyd near the White House in Washington. AP

Curfews across the US

Disgust over generations of racism in a country founded by slaveholders combined with a string of recent racially charged killings to stoke the anger. Adding to that was angst from months of lockdowns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately hurt communities of colour, not only in terms of infections but in job losses and economic stress.

The droves of people congregating for demonstrations threatened to trigger new outbreaks, a fact overshadowed by the boiling tensions.

The scale of the coast-to-coast protests rivalled the historic demonstrations of the civil rights and Vietnam War eras.

Curfews were imposed in major cities around the US, including Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. About 5,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen were activated in 15 states and Washington, DC.

Thousands of demonstrators marched peacefully through Boston in several protests during the day, but some clashed with officers as night fell, throwing rocks, bricks and glass bottles and torching a police vehicle.

Authorities fired volleys of tear gas to disperse hundreds of demonstrators in downtown Atlanta as a curfew took hold. Some on the fringes of a largely peaceful protest set off fireworks and burned construction materials near a park where police and National Guard troops turned out in force.

In Indianapolis, two people were reported dead in bursts of downtown violence this weekend, adding to deaths reported in Detroit and Minneapolis in recent days.

In tweets Sunday, Trump blamed anarchists and the media for fueling violence.

Attorney-General William Barr pointed a finger at “far left extremist” groups. Police chiefs and politicians accused outsiders of coming in and causing the problems.

At the Minneapolis intersection where Floyd was killed, people gathered with brooms and flowers, saying it was important to protect what they called a “sacred space.” The intersection was blocked with the traffic cones while a ring of flowers was laid out.

Among in Minneapolis was Michael Brown Sr, the father of Michael Brown, whose killing by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, set off unrest in 2014.

“I understand what this family is feeling. I understand what this community is feeling,” he said.

With inputs from agencies

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Uttar Pradesh directs 15 districts to remain vigilant after locust attacks in Jhansi, Sonbhadra, Jalaun, Lalitpur

Lucknow: Agriculture Department of Uttar Pradesh Government on Sunday asked 15 districts to remain vigilant following locust attacks in four districts of the state.

In a press statement, the Agriculture Department said that along with Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab, locust attacks were seen in Jhansi, Lalitpur, Sonbhadra, Jalaun districts of the state. Keeping this in mind the department has advised Agra, Mathura, Saharanpur, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Mahoba, Banda, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur and Mirzapur districts along with Jhansi, Lalitpur, Sonbhadra, Jalaun districts to remain vigilant.

In the statement, the department said that actions to combat locust attacks have been initiated. "State and district level disaster relief teams have been constituted to combat locusts. In various districts of the state, 486 vehicles, 5,365 tractors mounted sprays, 2,172 Nagar Nigam tanker/tractors, 2,423 Nagar Nigam sprayers, 29,744 sugar mills/sugarcane department sprayers, 54,967 sound-producing instruments, including DJ, have been arranged," read the statement.

"A total of 86 vehicles of the fire department, 1,288 tractor mounted sprayers, 312 Nagar Nigam tractor/tanker, 204 Nagar Nigam Sprays and 18,261 sound-producing instruments have been arranged in Jhansi, Lalitpur, Jalaun, Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Mahoba, Banda, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Agra, Mathura, Saharanpur, Shamli, Muzaffarpur and Baghpat districts," the statement added.

Locusts, known as 'Tiddi Dal' in north India, is a type of insect that usually moves in large numbers and devastates crops. Earlier this year, several parts of Rajasthan had reported locust attacks.

The Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) of the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has warned of another attack in May-June this year. Notably, the first locust attack of this year was reported from Ganganagar, a district in north Rajasthan bordering Pakistan, on 11 May.

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Cyclone expected to hit Maharashtra in 2-3 days as low pressure area forms over Arabian Sea, warns Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday requested fishermen to avoid venturing into the sea as a cyclone is expected to hit the Arabian Sea. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has informed that a low-pressure area has formed near the southeast Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep.

While addressing a press conference, Thackeray said, "In the next 2-3 days, a cyclone is expected to hit us. I request fishermen to avoid fishing in the sea for the next 3-4 days."

Thackeray said that the government has received a complaint that beds are falling short in the hospitals.
"We received a complaint that beds are less, I don't deny these complaints. There were some instances where we lacked beds. Earlier, we had only three hospitals for infection cases and now we have 2,500 hospitals. Earlier, we had only 400 beds and now we have 2.5 lakh beds all over the state, including those which are in quarantine centres. Out of these, 25,000 beds have oxygen facility," he said.

The Chief Minister thanked railways minister Piyush Goyal for the trains and said that around 11 lakh migrant workers have been sent to their native places. "Last time, when I spoke about trains, Piyush Goyal got angry, but today I want to thank him for arranging trains. Nearly 11 lakh migrants have returned to their homes by 800 trains," Thackeray said.

Speaking on the exam of the students, he said that the government has decided that it will take the average of semester exams and will allot marks to the students. "The situation is not conducive to take exams. Several lakhs of students will come to take the exam, distancing will be difficult. We have decided that we will take the average of semester exam and will allot marks to the students. Those who still want to sit in exam will be given the opportunity in November or October when the situation gets safer," he said.

Thackeray said that he was not worried about government and no one can harm his government. "Now, the time has come that responsibility and precautions together have to put together. You (people) have taken many precautions and if we stand together, there won't be any danger to us. There is no danger to this government, it won't collapse," he said.

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Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates: India reports 8,392 new infections, 230 deaths in past 24 hours; toll now at 5,394 with over 1.9 lakh cases

10:01 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in Kerala Latest Update

Train carrying 276 passengers departs from Trichy

#WACH Tamil Nadu: Tiruchirappalli-Nagercoil Train with 276 passengers departed from Trichy Railway Station today morning as train services resume in Trichy Division of Southern Railway. pic.twitter.com/yXxZakGF2O
— ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2020

09:57 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Update

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu remain worst-hit

With 67,655 confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far, Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state, followed by Tamil Nadu (22,333) and Delhi (19,844).

With 67,655 confirmed novel coronavirus cases, Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state in the country. According to the latest data from the Union Health Ministry, the state has reported 2,286 COVID-19 deaths so far. As many as 29,329 patients have recovered.

With 22,333 confirmed novel coronavirus cases, Tamil Nadu remains the second worst-affected state in the country. According to the latest data from the Union Health Ministry, the state has reported 173 COVID-19 deaths so far. As many as 12,757 patients have recovered.

With 19,844 confirmed novel coronavirus cases, Delhi remains the third most-affected region in the country. According to the latest data from the Union Health Ministry, the national capital has reported 473 COVID-19 deaths so far. As many as 8,478 patients have recovered.

09:45 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in Delhi Latest Update

Traffic seen at Delhi-Ghaziabad border

Traffic movement at Delhi-Ghaziabad border near Ghazipur after government lifted restrictions on inter state and intra state movements, reports ANI.

Traffic movement at Delhi-Ghaziabad border near Ghazipur after government lifted restrictions on inter state and intra state movements. #Unlock1 pic.twitter.com/o7leiNCp5o
— ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2020

09:40 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Update

India reports 8,392 new infections, 230 deaths in past 24 hrs

India on Monday reported a spike of 8,392 new COVID-19 cases and 230 deaths reported in the last 24 hours in India. The total number of cases in the country now at 1,90,535 including 93322 active cases, 91819 cured/discharged/migrated and 5394 deaths, said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

09:32 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Update

India registers 1.9 lakh cases, 5,394 deaths

Coronavirus cases in India have risen to 190,535 with 8392 new cases on Monday. The toll has risen to 5,394 with recoveries are at 91,818 and active cases are now at 93,322, according to the latest bulletin by the health ministry.

09:19 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in Uttar Pradesh Latest Update

Salons open in Moradabad

Salons reopen in Moradabad after the state government allowed salons and beauty parlours to operate with conditions of social distancing and other precautionary measures, reports ANI.

Salons reopen in Moradabad after state government allowed salons and beauty parlours to operate with conditions of social distancing and other precautionary measures. #Unlock1 pic.twitter.com/YhGoCXR4B2
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) June 1, 2020

09:15 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Update

Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation and Ahmedabad bus services resume

From Monday Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus services in state districts and Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) will resume after almost two and a half months. Health guidelines issued by the government are being followed by the passengers, drivers and conductors. Ministry of Home Affairs' guidelines regarding #Unlock1 have come into effect today and will remain effective till 30 June.

09:00 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Update

First train among 200 special trains departs from Mumbai for UP

Mahanagari Express, the first train among 200 special trains, departed on Monday from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus for Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.The ministry of railways (MoR) after consultation with ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) and ministry of home affairs (MHA) had earlier announced that train services shall be further partially restored with effect from June 1. Over 1.45 lakh passengers will travel on 200 trains from Tuesday.

08:54 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in US Latest Update

US sends more than 2 million doses of HCQ to Brazil

The US has sent to Brazil more than 2 million doses of a malaria drug, Hydroxychloroquine, touted by President Donald Trump as potentially protecting against and treating the coronavirus, even though scientific evidence has not backed up those uses, PTI reports.

08:46 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak Latest Update

Global COVID-19 cases cross 61.6 lakh; US worst-hit country

The total confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the world stand at 61.6 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins University CSSE. This figure includes COVID-19 patients who have recovered and the overall global death toll which stands at 3.71 lakh.

With over 17.8 lakh reported cases till date, the United States is the worst-affected country in the world. The US is followed by Brazil, Russia, the United Kingdom and Spain.

08:31 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Update

Mumbai to get 100-member medical team from Kerala

A 100-member medical team from Kerala will help doctors in Mumbai tackle the COVID-19 outbreak as active cases continue to rise in India's financial capital, reports moneycontrol. An advance team has already reached Mumbai's Seven Hills Hospital, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said on 31 May.

08:25 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in Maharashtra Latest Update

Maharashtra allows film, TV shoots with social distancing

Last evening, the Maharashtra government gave permission to resume shooting for films, television, and web series. The state government has laid down conditions for resumption of shooting work. Units will have to adhere to social distancing norms and hygiene practices.

08:17 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in US Latest Update

US will consider rejoining WHO if it ends corruption, reliance on China: White House

The US will consider rejoining the World Health Organization if it ends corruption and reliance on China, the White House said on Sunday.

President Donald Trump on Friday terminated America's relationship with the WHO and accused the global health body of being hand in glove with China in sharing inaccurate information to the world about the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 370,000 people globally.

The WHO needs to reform. What the president said, if the WHO reforms and ends the corruption and ends the reliance on China, the US will very seriously consider coming back, US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien told ABC News.

08:10 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in Haryana Latest Update

Haryana to open interstate borders from 1 June, places of worship from 8 June

The Haryana government on Sunday issued fresh guidelines for the next phase of lockdown and decided to open its interstate borders, including those with Delhi from 1 June and places of worship, hotels and malls from 8 June.

Seeking to follow the Centre's guidelines for the next phase of lockdown, starting 1 June, the state government also decided to allow interstate movement of people and goods. As per the fresh guidelines issued by Haryana, the lockdown in containment zones will continue till 30 June.

07:57 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in Delhi Latest Update

Noida-Delhi border to stay sealed except for exempted services, people

The Noida-Delhi border will remain sealed for the movement of people to and from the national capital, the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration said in its latest guidelines for the COVID-19 lockdown issued on Sunday.

The decision has been taken based on a Health Department report on Sunday which said the source of infection in 42 percent of the coronavirus cases detected in the district in the last 20 days has been tracked to Delhi, according to the guidelines.

"Therefore, it has been decided in the public interest that status quo shall be maintained with respect to the inter-state border," stated the guidelines signed by District Magistrate Suhas LY.

07:52 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Update

Jharkhand, Andhra, Maharashtra express concerns over running shramik trains

In a marathon meeting which ended hours before the Railways began operating 200 special passenger trains, the national transporter said its trains will run as per schedule with minor changes in stoppages to address the concerns expressed by Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra about the planned services from 1 June.

Sources said a high-level meeting was convened at the railway headquarters to resolve the matter. They indicated that the three states have raised concerns over the rising cases of the coronavirus as the reason behind their opposition to the movement of trains.

"Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have expressed reservations about running of trains or number of stoppages as planned. The matter is being discussed with the states. Any further development in this regard will be intimated," a railway spokesperson said.

07:47 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Update

India now seventh worst-hit country in world

India has now become the world''s seventh worst-hit country in terms of coronavirus cases, according to the World Health Organization's coronavirus tracker. The US, Brazil, Russia, UK, Spain and Italy are the countries that have reported more cases than India as of now.

As the fourth phase of the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus draws to a close, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country has risen to 1,82,143 and the number of deaths has risen to 5,164. The country recorded 8,380 new infections and 193 deaths in the past 24 hours.

Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST Updates: COVID-19 cases in India have risen to 190,535 with 8392 new cases on Monday. The toll has risen to 5,394 with recoveries are at 91,818 and active cases are now at 93,322, according to the latest bulletin by the health ministry.

The US will consider rejoining the World Health Organization if it ends corruption and reliance on China, the White House said on Sunday. President Donald Trump on Friday terminated America's relationship with the WHO and accused the global health body of being hand in glove with China in sharing inaccurate information to the world about the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 370,000 people globally.

Last evening, the Maharashtra government gave permission to resume shooting for films, television, and web series. The state government has laid down conditions for the resumption of shooting work. Units will have to adhere to social distancing norms and hygiene practices.

The country recorded 8,380 new infections and 193 deaths in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, several states announced that they would extend the lockdown till the end of June, albeit with some relaxations.

State-wise cases and deaths

The death toll has gone up by 193 since Saturday morning, of which 99 deaths were reported from Maharashtra, 27 from Gujarat, 18 from Delhi, nine each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, seven from West Bengal, six each from Tamil Nadu and Telangana, five from Bihar, three from Uttar Pradesh, two from Punjab, and one each from Haryana and Kerala.

Of the total 5,164 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 2,197 deaths, followed by Gujarat (1,007), Delhi (416), Madhya Pradesh (343), West Bengal (309), Uttar Pradesh (201), Rajasthan (193), Tamil Nadu (160), Telangana (77) and Andhra Pradesh (60).

The death toll reached 48 in Karnataka, 44 in Punjab, 28 in Jammu and Kashmir, 20 in Haryana, 20 in Bihar, nine in Kerala, and seven in Odisha.

Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand have each registered five COVID-19 fatalities, Chandigarh and Assam have recorded four deaths each, while Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh have reported one COVID-19 fatality each so far.

More than 70 per cent of the deaths are due to co-morbidities, the ministry said.

According to the health ministry data updated in the morning, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 65,168, followed by Tamil Nadu at 21,184, Delhi at 18,549, Gujarat at 16,343, Rajasthan at 8,617, Madhya Pradesh at 7,891 and Uttar Pradesh at 7,445.

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 5,130 in West Bengal, 3,636 in Bihar, 3,569 in Andhra Pradesh, 2,922 in Karnataka, 2,499 in Telangana, 2,341 in Jammu and Kashmir, 2,233 in Punjab and 1,923 in Haryana.

Odisha has reported 1,819 coronavirus cases, Kerala has 1,208 cases, Assam has 1,185, Uttarakhand has 749, Jharkhand has 563, Chhattisgarh has 447, Himachal Pradesh has 313, Chandigarh has 289, Tripura has 268, Ladakh has 74 and Goa has 70.

Manipur has reported 62 COVID-19 cases, Puducherry has 51 cases of infection, Nagaland has recorded 36 cases, while Andaman and Nicobar Islands has registered 33 infections.

Meghalaya has registered 27 cases, Arunachal Pradesh has reported four cases, Dadar and Nagar Haveli has two cases, while Mizoram and Sikkim have reported a case each till now.

States extend lockdowns

Maharashtra extended till 30 June the lockdown in the entire state, and announced easing of restrictions and phase-wise resumption of activities under the "Mission Begin Again".

As per the revised guidelines issued on Sunday, all markets, market areas and shops, except malls, will be allowed to functionfrom June 5 on odd-even basis.

While all private offices can operate with up to 10 per cent their employee strength as per the requirement from June 8 with others working from home.

This will exclude COVID-19 containment zones, the guidelines said.

Under ''Mission Begin Again'', outdoor physical activities like morning walks, cycling will be allowed. Self employed persons like plumbers, electricians, pest control staff and technicians will be allowed to work, but they will have to follow social distancing norms. Garages can also function and customers can visit them with prior appointment.

These activities will be permitted in the red zones of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), including Mumbai, as well as Solapur, Pune, Aurangabad, Malegaon, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, Akola, Amravati, Nagpur. However, such activities will not resume in COVID-19 containment zones, it said.

In Madhya Pradesh, the lockdown in containment areas will remain in place till 30 June 30 but people won't need e-passes for intra-state and inter-state travel in personal vehicles from Monday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said.

The decision to re-start inter-state public transport will be taken on June 7, he added in a televised address on Sunday night.

The chief minister said a decision to re-open schools, colleges, coaching centres will be taken in July after a dialogue with stakeholders.

However, he said, schools will be opened for Class XII board exams.

Public movement on streets will remain completely banned between 9 pm and 5 am, while the ban earlier was between 7 pm to 7 am.

In Delhi, opening of salons, shops in malls on an odd-even basis and religious places are among the activities the state government is likely to allow in the coming days.

The Delhi government may extend the lockdown in containment zones till June 30, an official told PTI, adding that the city administration will permit all activities, including in religious places, allowed by the Centre in a phase-wise relaxation plan.

A decision on opening of cinema halls and gymnasium may be taken later.

However, measures for maintaining social-distancing like 20 passengers in a bus, two people, excluding the driver, in four wheelers and one person in an autorickshaw will continue to be in place.

Sources said that neighbourhood religious places are likely to be allowed to open even as famous ones which witness large footfall will remain closed for some more days.

The government will come up with detailed guidelines for the next phase of relaxations on Monday.

The government is likely to prohibit people''s movement from 9 pm to 5 am during which all non-essential activities will not be allowed. At present, the timing is from 7 pm to 7 am.

Fourth phase of lockdown accounts for nearly half of total cases

The fourth phase of the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, which began on May 18, saw 85,974 COVID-19 cases till 8 am on Sunday, which is nearly half of the total cases reported in the country so far.

Lockdown 4.0, which will end on May 31 midnight, has accounted for47.20 percent of the total coronavirus infection cases, number crunching from the Union Health Ministry data reveals.

The lockdown, which was first clamped on 25 March and spanned for 21 days, had registered 10,877 cases, while the second phase of the curbs that began on 15 April and stretched for 19 days till 3 May, saw 31,094 cases.

The third phase of the lockdown that was in effect for 14 days ending on 17 May, recorded 53,636 cases till 8 am of 18 May.

The first case of COVID-19 in India?was reported on January 30 from Kerala after a medical student of Wuhan university, who had returned to India, tested positive for the virus.

The country had registered 512 coronavirus infection cases till 24 March.

With the fourth phase of lockdown ending on Sunday, the home ministry on Saturday said 'Unlock-1' will be initiated in the country from 8 June under which the nationwide lockdown will be relaxed to a great extent, including opening of shopping malls, restaurants and religious places, even as strict restrictions will remain in place till 30 June in the country's worst-hit areas

While announcing the extension of the lockdown in containment zones across the country, the Home Ministry said temples, mosques, churches and other religious places and shopping malls will be allowed to open in a phased manner from 8 June, while a decision on opening of schools and colleges will be taken in July in consultation with states.

With inputs from PTI

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As human rights crisis brews in Assam's tea plantations, businesses must step up to end cycle of deprivation

Each morning, millions of Indians start their day with a hot cup of chai. The custom of sipping on this sweet, milky beverage is one of the few practices that transcend class, linguistic, and religious boundaries in the country. Chai is such an integral part of the Indian cultural identity that mentioning its foreign origin almost feels blasphemous. But the truth is that before 1900, the only connection an Indian person could have had with tea was tending to British-owned plantations. Today, a majority of the tea powder used to prepare chai is sourced from Assam. However, there is little discussion around how the state became one of the biggest tea-growing regions of the world.

The first Anglo-Burmese war, which concluded in the late 1820s, resulted in the incorporation of the North-East Indian territory of Assam into the British Empire. In the 1830s, British explorers foraging this newly acquired land discovered tea forests growing in the plains of Assam. This discovery presented the British with an opportunity to break the Chinese monopoly on tea and cultivate it within the Empire. In 1848, industrial spy and botanist Robert Fortune was sent on a trip to the interiors of China to steal secrets of tea horticulture and manufacturing. In what could be called nothing short of industrial espionage, Fortune smuggled tea plants and seeds into India, to cross with the wild Assamese variety. Meanwhile, in England, resolutions were passed for a public company to be formed to scale up the Assamese tea enterprise. This company was to be called ‘The Assam Company’.

An Assamese tea garden in colonial India. Wikimedia Commons

In the initial years, the company attempted to employ Assamese locals, but this did not work out well. Local labour was disinterested in plantation jobs and was hard to tie down. The quest for migrant labour began in the 1860s. During this period, the British were in the midst of recruiting a Coolie workforce — a system of indentured labour to replace the recently abolished practice of slavery. Tribal groups of Central and Eastern India were seen as fitting candidates and were deployed to colonial plantations all over the world, including Assam.

Official investigations carried out in the years 1863 and 1873 reveal that labourers in Assam were not paid the minimum wage, the recruitment process was abusive, and the poor living conditions and use of corporal punishment resulted in high mortality rates. In her paper about the recruitment of women for colonial Assam’s tea plantations, historian Dr Samita Sen describes the tea industry in India as “the most spectacularly successful colonial business enterprise”. “In the case of Assam," she continues, “built upon a highly exploitative and draconian labour regime."

Fast forward to present day, where the tea industry is India’s largest private sector employer, estimated to be employing around 3.5 million workers. Globally, India is the second largest producer of tea. While plantations have expanded to other parts of the country, Assam remains a key producer. Most workers employed in the state's plantations are descendants of the Coolie workforce created 150 years ago. One would imagine that the passage of time has seen them integrate into the Assamese society and enjoy protection of their human rights as promised by independent India’s Constitution. This is, however, far from the ground reality.

Low wages, a high rate of illiteracy, coupled with the lack of alternative employment opportunities have resulted in these workers falling into a vicious circle of poverty and deprivation, one generation after the other.

Civil society organisations working to improve the situation have reported hazardous working conditions, poor healthcare facilities, gender-based discrimination, and dilapidated housing facilities. The lack of a strong labour union also results in workers getting paid lower wages than the national average. Their identity as tribal migrants and non-native Assamese leaves these workers without much agency to negotiate their terms of employment. Although the Plantation Labour Act of 1951 seeks to ensure fair treatment and socio-economic security, workers continue to be exploited because implementation is not systematic.

While these issues deserve government scrutiny, businesses must also play their part if the situation is to improve. Tea produced in Assam has a global market and is purchased by some of the biggest beverage corporations around the world. For instance, UK-based giants such as Unilever and Tata Tetley are known to purchase tea from the state. In fact, it is an indispensable component in the standard English Breakfast tea blend. This means that all English breakfast teas sold around the world are likely to contain tea sourced from Assam.

A growing number of international law practitioners and scholars have been pushing for corporations to be held accountable for the way workers are treated along their supply chains. Traditionally, ensuring labour and human rights is seen as the responsibility of governments. However, it is known that several factors, such as the level of economic development, corruption, and legal infrastructure impact the extent to which governments are able to protect workers. Corporations often maintain the stance that when it comes to the rights of workers employed in developing countries, their sole duty is to abide by national laws, even if those laws do not to meet international (or their home countries’) human rights standards.

Although some tea companies do pay attention to Assam and have supported or devised specific programmes to address human rights-related problems in the region, issues are not tackled in a systematic manner. On the whole, the gap between the situation on the ground and what companies report on Assam is striking. To make a significant impact on the human rights of plantation workers, businesses need to move away from the window dressing approach of corporate social responsibility (CSR) that allows them to cherry-pick issues that they wish to address. They must instead move to a more robust approach — one that places the protection of human rights at its core. Such an approach would entail acknowledging and identifying human rights issues in the supply chain, reporting about them in a transparent manner, and implementing strategies to ensure that all workers are protected to a degree that is seen as at par with international standards.

This shift may happen soon, at least for European companies. Several European countries are currently working towards implementing a human rights due diligence legislation. This would mean that companies are required to not only report but also to act to prevent, mitigate and redress human rights violations throughout their supply chains. This novel approach, embedding the UN Guiding Principles into law, could be a game-changer for Assam workers.

Madhura Rao is a researcher with Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Her work focuses on the role of international and European law in food supply chains. She is the co-author of Corporate Responsibility for Human Rights in Assam Tea Plantations - A Business and Human Rights Approach.

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Coronavirus Outbreak: India becomes 7th worst-hit country after US, UK, Italy, Russia; cases cross 1.82 lakh, toll at 5,164

New Delhi: India has now become the world's seventh worst-hit country in terms of coronavirus cases with its tally of 1,82,143, according to the World Health Organization's COVID-19 tracker.

According to the WHO tracker, a total of 59,34,936 cases have been recorded globally with 3,67,166 deaths as of 10:30 PM Sunday.

India registered its highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases on Sunday with 8,380 new infections reported in the last 24 hours, taking the country's tally to 1,82,143, while the death toll rose to 5,164, according to the Union Health Ministry.

According to the WHO tracker, India is the seventh-most affected nation in terms of COVID-19 cases after US, Brazil, Russia, UK, Spain and Italy.

The US is the worst-affected country in terms of cases with 17,16,078 infections, while India is at the seventh spot with 1,82,143 cases. Germany has 1,81,482 cases, Turkey has 1,63,103 cases and Iran has 1,48,950, according to the WHO tracker.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in India stands at 89,995, while 86,983 people have recovered and one patient has migrated to another country, according to the health ministry. "Thus, around 47.76 percent patients have recovered so far," a senior health ministry official said.

There has been a sharp spike in coronavirus cases in the last few days in India. On Saturday, India had also registered a record single-day spike of 265 deaths due to the pandemic.

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Manipur extends lockdown till 30 June as cases rise to 71; state increases number of testing labs, to get dedicated COVID-19 hospital soon

Imphal: Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh announced on Sunday extension of the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown till 30 June.

Stating that lockdown was one of the preventive measures to stop further spread of the disease, Singh maintained the decision to extend the curbs was taken to save the lives of the people.

He said the operations of the MSME sector, agriculture and horticulture related activities, and work under the NREGA will be allowed during the lockdown.

However, social distancing norms, advisories and protocols laid down by WHO and the Health Ministry must be obeyed by the people, Singh said.

The chief minister also announced that a 100-bed dedicated COVID-19 hospital would be set up within 10 days in the state.

Highlighting some of the measures taken up by the government to tackle the pandemic, he said the number of tests in the laboratories at Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) and Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) here have increased to above 1,000 tests daily and thermal scanners have been installed at Imphal airport.

Singh stated that the government has directed the chief medical officers of all districts to recruit volunteers and trained nurses.

The number of institutional and community quarantine centres has also been increased so as to accommodate the natives who are returning from different states, he added.

Urging the people not to panic, the chief minister said there was no community transmission of the disease in the state till now. He said that around 28,000 people who were stranded in various parts of the country have been brought back to the state.

The meetings of Manipur State Consultative Committee for COVID-19 were being held every week to discuss the present situation and chalk out plans to fight COVID-19 in the state, he said.

COVID-19 awareness leaflets have been published in around 24 different tribal dialects, Singh said.

The chief minister said 71 COVID-19 cases have been detected so far in the state out of which 11 patients have recovered. He wished a speedy recovery to all the patients who undergoing treatment.

Singh also thanked the efforts of the frontline workers, mediapersons and students' organisations, among others, for their support in fighting the pandemic.

Later, he congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the firts anniversary his second term. Singh expressed gratitude to the Modi-led government for fulfilling the "long-cherished dream of the people" of Manipur by extending Inner Line Permit system to the state.

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Vizag gas leak: Styrene tanks at LG Polymers plant were outdated, lacked temperature sensors, finds NGT-appointed committee

New Delhi: A committee appointed by India’s top environmental court has blamed “gross human failure” and lack of basic safety norms for a gas leak in a South Korean-owned chemical factory in Visakhapatnam that killed 12 people and sickened hundreds.

The committee said the tanks from which the gas leaked on 7 May at the LG Polymers plant in Vishakhapatnam, a port city in Andhra Pradesh state, were outdated and lacked temperature sensors.

Workers at the factory were slow to respond to the leak and the chemical company lacked experience in monitoring and maintaining tanks full of chemicals that sat idle for weeks due to India’s coronavirus lockdown, said the committee's report, which was issued Thursday and accessed and reviewed by The Associated Press.

LG Polymers is owned by LG Chem Ltd, South Korea’s largest chemical company, which produces a range of industrial products, including petrochemicals, plastics and batteries used in electric vehicles. It is part of the family-owned LG Corp conglomerate, which also has an electronics arm that globally sells smartphones, TVs and computers.

The gas that leaked from the plant was styrene, which is used to make plastic and rubber. Styrene gas is a neurotoxin and can immobilize people within minutes of inhalation. It can be fatal at high concentrations.

Days after the mishap, the AP found out that the plant lacked environmental clearance before the leak.

LG Chem had maintained that LG Polymers India operated the plant “while abiding environmental regulations” and said it was closely monitoring efforts to handle the aftermath.

After the leak, police charged LG Polymers with culpable homicide, including negligence in handling toxic substances.

LG Chem began operating the plant in Vishakhapatnam in 1997. Its Indian operation is one of the leading manufacturers of polystyrene in the country. The Vishakhapatnam plant has around 300 workers.

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India expels two Pakistan diplomats for espionage; fake Aadhaar cards recovered from duo, say officials

India on Sunday ordered two officials of the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi to leave the country within 24 hours after they were apprehended on charges of spying, according to several media reports.

The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said the Indian government had declared the officials “persona non grata” for indulging in activities incompatible with their status as members of a diplomatic mission. The MEA said a strong protest was lodged with the Charge de Affairs of the Pakistan High Commission over the activities of its two officials against India's national security.

The Delhi Police's special cell detained Abeed Hussain and Tahir Khan, who work in the visa section of the Pakistan High Commission, NDTV reported. The two worked for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and used fake identity papers to move around, sources told NDTV.

Representational image. PTI

Officials of the special cell of Delhi Police, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Hindustan Times that three officials of the Pakistani mission were detained at Bikanervala Chowk in Karol Bagh at 10.45 am on Sunday while allegedly trying to obtain classified materials on the Indian security establishment.

Hussain, 42, an assistant in the Pakistani mission, Khan, 44, a clerk in the mission, and Javed Hussain, 36, a driver were under surveillance for the past few months, officials told Hindustan Times. “They were caught red-handed while obtaining documents on the Indian security establishment from an Indian national and handing over cash and an iPhone to him,” an official said.

The two initially claimed they were Indians and even produced fake Aadhaar cards, officials told the newspaper. “Later, during interrogation, they confessed they were officials at the Pakistan High Commission and worked for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI),” a second official said.

They were trying to extract information regarding the Indian Army and Indian Railways, The Economic Times reported. Those familiar with the investigation told The Economic Times Tahil would 'proactively' scout for contacts in the Delhi establishment.

"He was actively pursuing officers and middle-rung employees using money and in some cases honey-trap them using social media accounts. The details regarding Indian officials to be contacted were shared by his senior in Pakistan. Personal social media accounts of government officials in India were monitored closely,” a senior police official told the newspaper.

Pakistan condemned India's decision, saying the action has been accompanied by a negative, pre-planned and orchestrated media campaign. Pakistan's foreign office said that the two staff members of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi were lifted by the Indian authorities on 31 May on "false and unsubstantiated charges".

They were, however, released on the High Commission's intervention, it said. "The Indian action has been accompanied by a negative, pre-planned and orchestrated media campaign, which is a part of persistent anti-Pakistan propaganda," Pakistan's Foreign Office said in a statement.

"We condemn the detention and torture as well as threatening and pressuring of the diplomatic officials to accept false charges," it said. It said the Indian action is in "clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as well as the norms of diplomatic conduct especially in an already vitiated atmosphere".

The action against the two officials came in the midst of frayed ties between the two countries over reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir by India and fierce fighting along the border earlier in the year.

Pakistan had downgraded diplomatic ties by expelling the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad following India's decision to withdraw special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into two Union Territories in August.

With inputs from agencies

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Antifa explained: All you need to know about the movement Donald Trump wants to declare a 'terrorist organisation'

Seeking to assign blame for the protests that have convulsed cities across the country, President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States would designate antifa, the loosely affiliated group of Far-Left anti-fascism activists, a terrorist organisation.

The president’s critics noted, however, that the United States does not have a domestic terrorism law and that antifa, a contraction of “anti-fascist,” is not an organisation with a leader, a defined structure or membership roles.

Rather, antifa is more of a movement of activists whose followers share a philosophy and tactics. They have made their presence known at protests around the country in recent years, including the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

Who are the members of antifa?

It is impossible to know how many people count themselves as members. Its followers acknowledge that the movement is secretive, has no official leaders and is organised into autonomous local cells. It is also only one in a constellation of activist movements that have come together in the past few years to oppose the Far Right.

Antifa members campaign against actions they view as authoritarian, homophobic, racist or xenophobic. Although antifa is not affiliated with other movements on the Left — and is sometimes viewed as a distraction by other organisers — its members sometimes work with other local activist networks that are rallying around the same issues, such as the Occupy movement or Black Lives Matter.

What are its goals?

Supporters generally seek to stop what they see as fascist, racist and far-right groups from having a platform to promote their views, arguing that public demonstration of those ideas leads to the targeting of marginalised people, including racial minorities, women and members of the LGBTQ community.

“The argument is that militant anti-fascism is inherently self-defence because of the historically documented violence that fascists pose, especially to marginalised people,” said Mark Bray, a history lecturer at Dartmouth College and the author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.

Many antifa organisers also participate in more peaceful forms of community organising, but they believe that using violence is justified because of their views that if racist or fascist groups are allowed to organise freely, “it will inevitably result in violence against marginalised communities,” said Bray, whose defence of the anti-fascist movement has incited criticism and generated support at Dartmouth.

File image of protesters with antifa symbols on their shields. By Hilary Swift © 2020 The New York Times

When did the movement begin?

Although the Merriam-Webster dictionary says the word “antifa” was first used in 1946 and was borrowed from a German phrase signalling opposition to Nazism, more people began joining the movement in the United States after the 2016 election of Trump to counter the threat they believed was posed by the so-called alt-right, Bray said.

One of the first US groups to use the name was Rose City Antifa, which says it was founded in 2007 in Portland, Oregon. It has a large following on social media, where it shares news articles and sometimes seeks to dox, or reveal the identities and personal information of, figures on the Right.

The antifa movement gained more visibility in 2017 after a series of events that put a spotlight on anti-fascist protesters, including the punching of a prominent Alt-Right member; the cancellation of an event by a right-wing writer at the University of California, Berkeley; and their confrontation of white nationalist protesters in Charlottesville who turned violent.

What distinguishes antifa from other protest groups?

Bray said antifa groups often use tactics similar to anarchist groups, such as dressing in all black and wearing masks. The groups also have overlapping ideologies, as both often criticise capitalism and seek to dismantle structures of authority, including police forces.

How have politicians and others reacted?

The movement has been widely criticised among the mainstream Left and Right. After the protests in Berkeley, California, in August 2017, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decried “the violent actions of people calling themselves antifa” and said they should be arrested.

Conservative publications and politicians routinely rail against supporters of antifa, who they say are seeking to shut down peaceful expression of conservative views. These critics point to moments when purported antifa members have been accused of sucker-punching Trump supporters.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York University who studies fascism, said she worried that antifa’s methods could feed into what she said were false equivalencies that seek to lump violence on the Left with attacks by the Right, such as the killing of a protester in Charlottesville by a man who had expressed white supremacist views.

“Throwing a milkshake is not equivalent to killing someone, but because the people in power are allied with the Right, any provocation, any dissent against right-wing violence, backfires,” Ben-Ghiat said.

Between 2010 and 2016, 53 percent of terrorist attacks in the United States were carried out by religious extremists — 35 percent by right-wing extremists and 12 percent by left-wing or environmentalist extremists, according to a University of Maryland-led consortium that studies terrorism.

Militancy on the Left can “become a justification for those in power and allies on the right to crack down,” Ben-Ghiat said. “In these situations, the Left, or antifa, are historically placed in impossible situations.”

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Sandra E Garcia c.2020 The New York Times Company

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Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates: India now world's seventh worst-hit country with over 1.8 lakh cases; Delhi-Noida border to remain shut

07:57 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in Delhi Latest Update

Noida-Delhi border to stay sealed except for exempted services, people

"Therefore, it has been decided in the public interest that status quo shall be maintained with respect to the inter-state border," stated the guidelines signed by District Magistrate Suhas LY.

07:52 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Update

Jharkhand, Andhra, Maharashtra express concerns over running shramik trains

07:47 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Update

India now seventh worst-hit country in world

Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST Updates: As the fourth phase of the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus draws to a close, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country has risen to 1,82,143 and the number of deaths has risen to 5,164.