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Wed, 15 July 2020
150 countries sign up for COVID-vaccine plan

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23:43   150 countries sign up for COVID-vaccine plan
More than 70 rich countries have signed up to a global coronavirus vaccine initiative intended to ensure that any effective shots are fairly distributed around the world - but which may also allow them to buy more vaccines to stockpile for their own citizens.
  
In a statement on Wednesday, the vaccines alliance Gavi reported that 75 countries have said they would join its new "Covax facility" along with another 90 low-income countries that hope to receive donated vaccines. 

Gavi told donor governments that when an effective inoculation is found within its pool of COVID-19 candidates, all countries will receive enough to cover 20 per cent of their populations, including rich countries that may have their own stockpiles. It said countries would be encouraged, but not required, to give up any doses they might not need.

"For the vast majority of countries, whether they can afford to pay for their own doses or require assistance, it means receiving a guaranteed share of doses and avoiding being pushed to the back of the queue," Gavi CEO Seth Berkley said in a statement.

Dozens of vaccines are being researched, and some countries, including Britain, France, Germany and the United States, already have ordered hundreds of millions of doses before the vaccines are even proven to work.
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23:26   Amarinder Singh tests COVID-19 negative, urges all ministers to get tested
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has tested negative for COVID-19 on Wednesday, read an official statement by CMO.

The CMunderwent the test after Cabinet Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa tested positive for coronavirus. 

In the wake of this, Singh urged all the ministers, MLAs and department secretaries to get themselves tested. Two other ministers, Sukhjinder Randhawa and Aruna Chowdhary, also got themselves tested today, while some had undergone the test yesterday. Their test results are awaited.

Captain Amarinder has been calling upon all the people of Punjab to go for testing at the first sign of symptom or suspicion of COVID infection. Early detection is the way to beat the disease and check fatalities, he stressed. 

-- ANI
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22:50   No talks held between Pilot and us: BJP leader
Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday said that no talk has been held between Sachin Pilot and the BJP, comments that came after rebel Congress leader noted that he would not be joining the saffron party. 
  
In a statement, Shekhawat said his remarks on Tuesday that it would be a matter of happiness if anybody with a mass base joins the BJP, should not be interpreted to suggest that the party has rolled out a carpet to welcome him.

"I had said it is a matter of happiness if anybody with a mass base joins our ideological platform. Our state (Rajasthan) president and any other senior leader would have spoken with similar intentions. But this should not be interpreted to suggest that we are welcoming somebody with open arms or waiting for him eagerly by rolling out a carpet," he said. 

The senior BJP leader from Rajasthan also denied that his party leaders have held talks with Pilot. 

Shekhawat noted that the Congress leader has himself said that he was not in touch with anybody. 
 
The BJP leader also slammed Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and said people are waiting for his government's departure. 

Only time will tell how many days it is going to remain in power, he said. 

-- PTI
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22:26   1,647 new COVID-19 cases in Delhi
Delhi recorded 1,647 fresh coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the tally in the city to over 1.16 lakh, while the death toll from the disease climbed to 3,487, authorities said.
 
This is the fifth consecutive day when fresh cases have been less than 2,000.
While the cases have gradually dipped from July 11-13 -- July 11 (1781), July 12 (1574) and July 13 (1246), on Tuesday it saw a marginal rise to 1606, which continued on Wednesday.

In the last 24 hours, as many as 41 fatalities have been recorded, according to the Delhi health department bulletin.
The number of active cases on Wednesday stood at 17,807, down from 18,664, the previous day.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held a meeting to review hospital-wise data on deaths and analysis of COVID-related fatalities in the national capital. 
On Wednesday, the number of containment zones stood at 659. 

-- PTI
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21:42   PM congratulates students, says those unhappy must remember one exam doesn't define them
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated his "young friends" for clearing the class 10 and 12 CBSE board examinations and said those not happy with the outcome should remember that one exam does not define who they are.
  
"Congratulations to all my young friends who have successfully passed their Class X and XII CBSE examinations. Wishing them the very best for their future endeavours," the prime minister tweeted.

Modi said for those who "aren't happy" with their CBSE Class 10 and 12 results, "I want to tell them -- one exam doesn't define who you are".

"Each of you is blessed with numerous talents. Live life to the fullest. Never lose hope, always look ahead. You will do wonders," he said.

For class 12, the pass percentage went up from 83.40 last year to 88.78 this year.

In class 10 results announced Wednesday, there has been a marginal increase of 0.36 per cent in the pass percentage against last year.

The overall pass percentage recorded was 91.46.

-- PTI
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21:18   Govt should loosen purse strings: Nobel winner
Nobel prize winner Abhijit Banerjee on Wednesday said that in the short run, the government should loosen its purse string to provide bigger funds to the poor as the recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is going to be longer and more painful.
 
"In the short run, I think the government's basic general thinking is use whatever instruments you have to give people some money. That's probably a good instinct. I think the amounts are wrong, it should be bigger, it's going to be a longer and more painful recovery and that will demand a more generous system and I think in the middle of this, redesigning systems is a bad idea," he said.
He added that whosoever needs a ration card should be provided without asking questions such as "are you a citizen, are you this, are you that, are you entitled" in the short run.
But in the medium run, he said 'One Nation-One Ration Card' based on a generous interpretation of who is entitled would be a good thing.
"In the short run, the government should loosen the purse strings but trying to invent new instruments is a bad idea," Banerjee said.
He also said that in the very short run, the government should not try to do much.
"Trust in the system is important at this point and keeping that in mind, it is very important that we do not get into the politics of who is entitled to what. That will further undermine trust in the system. This is the time when trust is extremely important," he noted.
He added that there is a need to re-think about the entire welfare system and in that context, take into account urbanisation of poverty and "how we find something commensurate for urban population".
Banerjee also said that although Universal Basic Income would not solve the problem of COVID-19 crisis directly, it is important to open channels to have a way to send money.
He also said MGNREGA is not designed for emergency response. 

-- PTI
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20:42   Rajinikanth to launch party in Nov: Close aide
Karate Thiagarajan, former Deputy Mayor of Chennai and close aide of Rajinikanth, has revealed that the actor will launch his party in November, this year.

Karate said, "Superstar Rajinikanth said on March 12, that he will launch his party. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, he was unable to launch his party in August, based on my confirmed source he will launch the party in November." Cornering Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief MK Stalin over Thoothukudi custodial death case, Thiagarajan compared him with Rajinikanth and said the issue came to limelight when the actor posted about the same on social media.

"MK Stalin is no match for Rajinikanth. Stalin takes stand in every matter and also raised his voice in the custodial death case of father and son and even met the family of the deceased. However, when after two days Rajinikanth tweeted about the case, it went viral all over the world," Thiagarajan said.

On being asked about the forthcoming Assembly elections that how Rajnikanth would withstand with the leadership of Stalin, and successful running government of Edappadi K Palaniswami, he said that Stalin has already lost the fight with the chief minister.

"I think it will be between Rajinikanth and Edappadi Palanisami as MK Stalin will come to the third position. He has already lost the fight with the Chief Minister," Thiagarajan. 

-- ANI
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20:20   66 animals die as flood waters submerge Kaziranga national park
As many as 66 animals have died in the floods in Assam's Kaziranga national park, an official said on Wednesday.

P Shivkumar, Director of Kaziranga national park, informed that Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will be visiting the area to inspect the current situation. 

"This year's flood was among the highest floods in the states. So far, 66 animals have died and 170 animals have been rescued from the national park," he informed.

The forest officials are being assisted by the civil administration, police administration and the villagers in the area, he said. 

-- ANI
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19:30   Rajnath Singh to visit Ladakh on Friday: Sources
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Ladakh on Friday to take stock of the country's military preparedness and review the overall situation, government sources said on Wednesday, as India and China move to finalise a framework for a complete disengagement at friction points on their border.
 
Singh will be accompanied by Chief of Army Staff Gen MM Naravane and it will be his first visit to Ladakh after the standoff between the armies of India and China on the Line of Actual Control began on May 5.
Singh's trip comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise visit to Ladakh on July 3 during which he also addressed troops and signalled the country's firmness in dealing with the India-China border row.
The sources said Singh will carry out a comprehensive review of the security situation in the region with Gen Naravane, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Yogesh Kumar Joshi, Commander of the 14 Corps Lt Gen Harinder Singh and other senior Army officials.
From Ladakh, the defence minister will travel to Srinagar where he will hold a high-level meeting with senior military officials on Saturday to review the situation along the Line of Control with Pakistan, the sources said.
Singh was originally scheduled to visit Ladakh on July 3 but it was deferred.
Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a bitter standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for over eight weeks since May 5.
-- PTI
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19:16   Armed forces get special powers for individual procurement
In view of the border row with China in eastern Ladakh, the defence ministry on Wednesday granted special powers to the three services for individual capital procurement programme worth Rs 300 crore to meet emergent operational requirements, officials said.

They said there was no cap on the number of procurement programmes and that each acquisition under the emergency requirement category should not cost more than Rs 300 crore.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

'The DAC delegated the powers for progressing urgent capital acquisition cases of up to Rs 300 crore to the armed forces to meet their emergent operational requirements,' the defence ministry said in a statement.

The decision, it said, will shrink the procurement timelines and ensure placement of orders within six months and commencement of deliveries within one year.

It said the special meeting of the DAC was convened considering the prevailing security environment along the northern borders and the need to strengthen the armed forces for the defence of the country's borders.

The three services have started buying a range of military equipment, weapons and platforms in the last few weeks in the midst of the tense border row with China in eastern Ladakh.   -- PTI 
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18:50   IIT-D launches 'most affordable' Covid test kit
Claimed to be the world's most affordable diagnostic kit for coronavirus, a low-cost test kit developed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) here was launched on Wednesday.

According to IIT officials, the base price of the the RT-PCR assay developed by IIT Delhi is Rs 399.

Even after adding the RNA isolation and laboratory charges, the cost per test will go up to Rs 650 and will be considerably cheaper compared to currently available kits in the market.

It can deliver results within three hours.

Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' launched the test kit named 'Corosure' which will now be available for use at authorised testing labs.

"The Corosure Kit has been developed indigenously and is much cheaper than other kits.

"The country requires cheap and reliable testing for the country which can help control the pandemic. The kit has received ICMR approval with the highest score and DCGI approved with a very high sensitivity and specificity," he said at the launch.

Referring it to as world's most affordable COVID-19 diagnostic kit, the HRD Minister said the innovation is a step towards 'Make in India'.

IIT Delhi, which became the first academic institute to get Indian Council of Medical Research nod for a COVID-19 testing method, gave non-exclusive open licence to 10 companies for commercialising the test, but with a price rider of R 500 for the assay needed for testing.

The kit Corosure has been commercialised by Newtech Medical Devices.

According to the team at IIT Delhi, the current testing methods available are 'probe-based', while the one developed by them is a 'probe-free' method, which reduces the testing cost without compromising on accuracy.

Using comparative sequence analyses, the IIT Delhi team identified unique regions (short stretches of RNA sequences) in the COVID-19 and SARS COV-2 genome.

"These unique regions are not present in other human coronaviruses providing an opportunity to specifically detect COVID-19," Professor Vivekanandan Perumal, lead member of the team, had said.

"Primer sets, targeting unique regions in the spike protein of COVID-19, were designed and tested using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The primers designed by the group specifically bind to regions conserved in over 200 fully sequenced COVID-19 genomes. The sensitivity of this in-house assay is comparable to that of commercially available kits," Perumal added.   -- PTI
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18:17   Mumbai has surplus ventilators, says BMC
23 new Covid positive cases have been reported in the Dharavi area of Mumbai, today. The total number of cases rise to 2415 including 99 active cases. However, here's why the figures in Mumbai are not worrying according to the BMC.

The BMC said it has received 446 ventilators from the Central govt till date, financed through PM CARES Fund. These ventilators were not received at once but in phases. "We arranged their assembling and  installation in various Covid centres of BMC hospitals.

"Covid facilities presently have 1053 ventilators in active condition and out of these 125 are not in use because Mumbai doesn't have that many patients who are to be put on ventilators so these are installed but are not in use.

"This doesn't mean that these ventilators are left to collect dust but this is an indicator that Mumbai's Covid situation is getting better and not even total available ventilators are needed. 

"Mumbai already has 70% recovery rate of Covid patients and this is a good sign."
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18:07   Cabinet rejig: Modi likely to reward Scindia, pick young leaders
A month-and-half after completing one year of his second term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is contemplating a cabinet reshuffle.

There are several reasons why Modi should be reshuffling his cabinet. There are at least half-a-dozen ministers who hold two or even three portfolios.

For instance, Piyush Goyal is in-charge of Commerce, Industry and Railways, Nirmala Sitaraman holds Finance and Corporate Affairs, and Ravishankar Prasad is the Minister for three varied portfolios such as Law and Justice, Electronics, and Information Technology and Communications.

The speculations got intense last week as the prime minister held a meeting with Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda and discussed restructuring the party organisation, and reorganising his cabinet.

There is enough headroom for Modi to carry out this exercise as currently there are 56 ministers in his cabinet 23 with cabinet rank, 24 with the minister-of-state rank and 9 holding independent portfolios. If Modi were to follow the recommendations of the administrative reforms committee, his cabinet strength could go up to 80.

The reshuffle is expected to infuse new talent into the ministry. According to R.  Rajagopalan, veteran political observer, Modi has short-listed 15 to 20 young MPs, many first-timers, among whom one or two may find a berth in his cabinet.

He is committed to inducting Jyothiraditya Scindia, who recently got elected to Rajya Sabha on a BJP ticket.

He rebelled from the Congress and walked away with his supporters, pulling down the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh, for which he would be rewarded.

Read the full report HERE
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17:54   AI offers leave without pay for 5 years
Air India Board has approved a scheme whereby employees can opt to take leave without pay ranging from 6 months or for 2 years and the same can be extendable up to 5 years. 
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17:50   Vedanta guru to hold online session on July 26
At no time before has humanity been so collectively stressed as it is today.   Perhaps then, this is the right time for Swami Parthasarathy, the acclaimed Vedanta guru, to help us make sense of the dystopian world that we are witness to.   

On July 26 at 6.30 pm IST, Swami Parthasarathy will hold a live one-hour online session to discourse on the times, the stresses we face, and their resolution.   

A press release from the Vedanta Cultural Foundation elaborates: 'In this one-hour session, Swami Parthasarathy turns our attention within -- to identify the makeup of our personality and assess its condition.'   

Called 'Personal Rehabilitation -- From Concern to Composure', you can tune into the session by registering here.
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17:45   If anybody wants to leave Cong they will: Rahul
"If anybody wants to leave the party they will. It opens the door for young leaders like you," said Rahul Gandhi at an NSUI meeting today. 

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday accused rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot of involvement in horse trading with the BJP to topple his government in the state. Pilot was removed from the posts of the Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the state Congress president on Tuesday amid a tussle for power with Gehlot.

On Tuesday too, the CM had accused the rebel leader of playing into the hands of the BJP, which he said wanted a repeat of the Madhya Pradesh episode where the Congress government collapsed in March after a rebellion by Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said the party leadership spoke to Pilot several times but he and the other Congress MLAs did not come to attend the Congress Legislature Party meetings.
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17:36   Sanitizers are disinfectants like soaps, attract 18% GST: FM
The government on Wednesday said sanitizers are disinfectants like soaps, anti-bacterial liquids, dettol, among others, which attract 18 per cent duty under the GST regime. 

In a statement, the Finance Ministry said various chemicals, packing materials and input services, among others, used for manufacturing hand sanitizers also attract a GST rate of 18 per cent.

"Sanitizers are disinfectants like soaps, anti-bacterial liquids, dettol, etc., which all attract duty standard rate of 18 per cent under the GST regime," it said. 

Reducing the GST rate on sanitizers and other similar items would lead to an inverted duty structure and put domestic manufacturers at a disadvantage vis-a-vis importers of hand sanitizers, the ministry said. 

Explaining the rationale, it further said that lowering GST rates would make importing sanitizers cheaper as domestic industry would be at a disadvantage if raw materials are taxed at higher rate than the end product.

"Lower GST rates help imports by making them cheaper. This is against the nation's policy on 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'. Consumers would also eventually not benefit from the lower GST rate if domestic manufacturing suffers on account of inverted duty structure," it added. 


The Goa bench of Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) had recently ruled that alcohol-based hand sanitizers will attract 18 per cent duty under GST. Although the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has classified hand sanitizers as an essential commodity, the GST law has a separate list of exempted goods. -- PTI
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17:25   Reject BJP hospitality, return: Surjewala to Pilot
Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala on Wednesday said if dissident leader Sachin Pilot is not joining the BJP, he should stop accepting that party's hospitality in Haryana. The reference was to reports that MLAs close to the rebel leaders are holed up in hotels in Gurgaon in Haryana, where the BJP is in power. He also repeated the party's appeal to Pilot, asking him to come back to the family. 

"I have seen Pilot's statement in the media that he will not join the BJP. If you do not want to go to the BJP, stop accepting the hospitality of the BJP immediately," he said.

He told reporters that Pilot should free the Congress MLAs who are staying in two luxury hotels and under the security of the Haryana police. Surjewala said the party leadership spoke to Pilot several times but he and the other Congress MLAs did not come to attend the Congress Legislature Party meetings. Pilot was sacked Tuesday as Rajasthan's deputy chief minister and the president of the state unit of the Congress. -- PTI 
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17:07   Desi entrepreneur donates $34 million to India's Covid-19 initiative
'The Wadhwani Foundation July 7 announced the launch of its Sahayata Initiative, a project aimed at mitigating the economic and health impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in India. The Rs 200 crore -- about $34 million -- initiative is funded solely by Indian American tech entrepreneur Romesh Wadhwani, founder and chairman of the Symphony Technology Group,' reports Sunit Sohrabji in India West.   

'India is facing a very difficult time of health and economic distress. Each of us has an obligation to do what we can to help our fellow citizens get through this crisis,' the billionaire tells India West in an interview.   

Accordingly, 'The Sahayata Initiative will start with 50 small businesses in India in August, increasing progressively to 500 small businesses per month. The program's goal is to engage with 10,000 SMEs. The Wadhwani Foundation will provide 100 consultants pro bono; several partner organizations will provide 250 consultants on a heavily-subsidized fee basis,' Sunit Sohrabji writes, here.
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16:54   Infosys Q1 net profit up 12.4% to Rs 4,272 cr
The country's second-largest IT services major Infosys on Wednesday reported a 12.4 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,272 crore for June 2020 quarter. The company had posted a net profit (before minority interest) of Rs 3,802 crore in the year-ago period, Infosys said in a BSE filing. Its revenue grew 8.5 per cent to Rs 23,665 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 21,803 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal, it added. Globally, businesses have been impacted by COVID-19 pandemic.

While Indian IT firms had seen some impact in March, this is the first full quarter factoring in the impact of disruption and lockdowns in various parts of the world, including India. The company expects its FY21 revenue to grow by up to 2 per cent in constant currency terms. -- PTI
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16:51   Jobs to kin of WB govt employees who died Covid: CM
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said her government will provide jobs to the family members of state employees who died while leading the fight against COVID-19. At least 12 state government employees have died due to coronavirus infection, she said. Banerjee said that the state government will also honour the deceased employees -- doctors, policemen and health workers -- with medals and certificates. PTI
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16:41   Will distribute Covid vaccine via Jio's infra: RIL
Nita Ambani, Reliance Foundation Chairperson & founder says the war against Coronavirus is far from over. "Reliance Foundation is gearing up to partner with the govt and local municipalities for rapid mega-scale COVID testing across India with the help of Jio's digital infrastructure. I can assure you as soon as a Corona vaccine becomes available, we will volunteer by using the same digital distribution and supply chain to ensure that the vaccine reaches every nook and corner of our country."
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16:22   Sensex, Nifty close flat as market loses steam on fag-end RIL selloff
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty surrendered most of the day's gains to end marginally higher on Wednesday following an intense selloff in heavyweight Reliance Industries at the fag-end of the session. During the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 777 points, driven by positive sentiment across global markets on hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine. 

The index, however, made a U-turn in the last hour of trade and settled just 18.75 points, or 0.05 per cent, higher at 36,051.81. On similar lines, the NSE Nifty closed 10.85 points, or 0.10 per cent, up at 10,618.20. It had soared 220 points during the session. Reliance Industries (RIL) plunged around 4 per cent after scaling its life-time high of Rs 1,978.50 (intra-day) as investors rushed to book profits after the company's annual general meeting. 

RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani announced that Google will invest Rs 33,737 crore to buy a 7.7 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, completing RIL's capital-raising target for the digital arm. Bharti Airtel, ONGC, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and SBI were also among the laggards. -- PTI
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16:11   82 cops died of Covid in Maha since March
A total of 82 Maharashtra police personnel, including six officers, have succumbed to COVID-19 infection since the outbreak in March this year, a senior official said on Wednesday. A total of 6,400 personnel have been infected so far, of whom 5,100 have recovered while 1,213 others, including 150 officers, have been undergoing treatment at various hospitals, the official said.


With 48 deaths of its personnel, including three officers, the Mumbai police accounts for the highest number of COVID-19 fatalities in the state. Since the lockdown was enforced in March, there have been 313 incidents of assault on policemen and 54 incidents of attack on health workers, the official said.

As many as 879 persons have been arrested in connection with these attacks, he said. Police have registered 1,77,491 cases under section 188 (disobeying the order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and arrested 30,452 persons. 91,805 vehicles have been impounded, the official said. A fine of Rs 13.40 crore has been collected for various offences during the lockdown. PTI
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16:08   Demolition of Telangana secretariat stayed
The Telangana High Court on Wednesday extended the temporary stay on demolition of buildings of the state secretariat till July 16. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy which was hearing a petition filed by Prof P L Vishweshwar Rao and Dr Cheruku Sudhakarhad on July 10 ordered a stay on the demolition till July 13. Later, the stay was extended till July 15 directing the government to submit the state cabinet resolution on the demolition in a sealed cover.
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15:59   'We would see who would blink first'
"Every time the Chinese raised the issue of our patrol crossing the line, I told them let's not fight over a line that does not exist yet. Commanders resolved such situations sitting across the table, sometimes we posed veiled threats about creating problems elsewhere along the 800 km frontier as a tit-for-tat."

Major General Somnath Jha (Retd) in conversation with Archana Masih/Rediff.com. Read the interview here
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15:37   All should have access to internet: Google CEO
Sundar Pichai, Google CEO: "Everyone should have access to the internet. Proud to partner with Reliance Jio to increase access for the hundreds of millions in India who don't own a smartphone with our 1st investment of $4.5bn from the Google For India Digitization Fund."


Google has agreed to invest Rs 33,737 crore to buy a 7.7 per cent stake in Reliance Industries' technology venture, adding to a slew of investments since April that has crossed Rs 1.52 lakh crore. California-based Alphabet Inc joins Facebook Inc, which opened the investment cycle in Jio Platforms by picking 9.99 per cent stake for Rs 43,573.62 crore, as well as chipmaker Intel Corp and Qualcomm Inc.

"We are delighted to welcome Google as a strategic investor in Jio Platforms. We have signed a binding partnership and an investment agreement under which Google will invest Rs 33,737 crores for a 7.7 per cent stake in Jio Platforms," RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani said at the company's annual general meeting.
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15:23   'Main Mulayam Singh Yadav' trailer out, film to release on 2nd October
The much-awaited trailer of 'Main Mulayam Singh Yadav' was finally dropped by the makers on Wednesday.The trailer gives a glimpse of the political drama with a powerful ensemble cast. As the title suggests, Main Mulayam Singh Yadav is a biography of the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in which debutant Amyth Sethi will be portraying the title role.

The trailer is power-packed with brilliant action and stirring dialogue sequences. Scenes are not only intriguing but also informative as they provide an insight into the inspiring life of Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The film is directed by a well-known Bengali Director Suvendu Raj Ghosh. He has portrayed the life events of former Chief Minister of UP in a very engrossing manner.

The music and background score complements the flavour of true events that makers are trying to highlight. This one is indeed the best political biopic Bollywood movie to look forward to.
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15:04   Being handsome isn't everything: Rajasthan CM
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot addresses the press: "Horse trading was being done in Jaipur, we have the proof. We had to keep people at a hotel for 10 days, if we had not done that, the same thing that is happening in Manesar now would have happened back then.

"I have been in politics for 40 years, we love the new generation, the future will be theirs. This new generation, they have become central ministers, state presidents if they had gone through what we did in our time, they would have understood.

"Speaking good English, giving good bytes and being handsome isn't everything. What is inside your heart for the country, your ideology, policies, and commitment, everything is considered."
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14:39   ADB appoints EC Ashok Lavasa as new vice-president
Multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday said it has appointed Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa as vice-president for private sector operations and public-private partnerships.

"He is currently one of the Election Commissioners of India and previously served in a range of senior posts including as Union Finance Secretary of India; Union Secretary for the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change; and Union Secretary for the Ministry of Civil Aviation," ADB said in a statement. 

Lavasa will succeed Diwakar Gupta, whose term will end on August 31. He has extensive experience in public-private partnerships and infrastructure development at the state and federal levels, with deep knowledge on public policy and the role of private sector, it said. The former Finance Secretary was appointed Election Commissioner in January 2018. -- PTI
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14:28   Google buys 7.7% stake in Jio for Rs 33,737 cr
Google to invest over Rs 33,737 cr for 7.7 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, says Mukesh Ambani at the company's annual general meeting. Ambani says target of capital raise for Jio Platforms is complete with onboarding of Google.

India's richest Indian Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday said India's first cloud-based video conferencing app JioMeet has seen 5 million downloads within days of its launch. Reliance Industries earlier this week launched JioMeet video conferencing app with unlimited free calling, which is being seen as rate war on rival Zoom. JioMeet video conferencing app is available across Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and web. Addressing the company's 43rd annual general meeting, Ambani said JioMeet has seen 5 million downloads by users within days of its launch.
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14:13  
Rajnath Singh will be accompanied by Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, and will be visiting forward locations there.
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14:00   Rajnath to visit Ladakh for 2 days on July 17
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh heads to Ladakh on July 17-18, will visit forward areas on second day, reports say. Singh is expected to meet troops and discuss the ground situation with military commanders. The meeting is expected to bring out further modalities for disengagement and more specifically the relocation of troops at the flashpoints at Pangong Tso and Hot Springs.
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13:55   Trump ends preferential economic treatment for Hong Kong
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to end the preferential economic treatment for Hong Kong after China imposed a controversial national security law in the Asian trading hub to curb autonomy and democratic freedoms.

The Trump administration has been openly critical of Beijing's sweeping national security law aimed at limiting Hong Kong's autonomy and curb political dissent against the ruling Chinese Communist Party. 

Trump said he also signed legislation to sanction Chinese officials responsible for cracking down on political dissent in Hong Kong. 

"Today, I signed legislation and an executive order to hold China accountable for its oppressive actions against the people of Hong Kong," Trump said at a White House press conference on Tuesday. The president also said he signed an executive order ending US preferential treatment for Hong Kong, a former British territory handed over to China in 1997. 

"Hong Kong will now be treated the same as mainland China. No special privileges, no special economic treatment and no export of sensitive technologies. In addition to that, as you know, we are placing massive tariffs and have placed very large tariffs on China.

"First time this has ever happened to China, billions of dollars have been paid to the US, of which I have given quite a bit to the farmers and ranchers of our country because they were targeted, and that has been going on for three years," he said.

"This was the first time anybody did anything like that and prior to the plague pouring in from China, they were having the worst year economically in 67 years," Trump said. -- PTI
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13:54   Maratha reservation: SC to conduct day to day hearing from July 27
The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that from July 27 it would commence day to day hearing through video conferencing on a batch of pleas challenging Maharashtra law granting reservation to Marathas in education and jobs. The top court, which refused to pass any interim stay order on the quota, said chances of physical court seem remote due to the persisting COVID-19 pandemic. 

A bench of Justices L N Rao, Hemant Gupta and S Ravindra Bhatt asked the parties said that all parties should sit together and decide on modalities of hearing like who will take how much time and no one shall repeat the arguments. 

During the hearing, senior advocate Shyam Divan appearing for some of the petitioners, said that this type of a case needs to be heard in a physical court. -- PTI
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13:44   Doors have not closed for Pilot: Cong
The Congress' doors have not closed for Sachin Pilot, the party's national general secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pande said on Wednesday, a day after the rebel leader was removed as state deputy chief minister.
 
Pilot has said he worked very hard to bring the Congress back in power in Rajasthan and clarified that he is not joining the BJP.
"The party's doors have not been closed for Pilot. May God give... good sense and he realises his mistake. I pray that he comes out of the elusive trap of BJP," Pande said in a tweet. -- PTI 
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13:40   India's global strategy is in tatters, govt has no idea: Rahul
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a fierce attack on the government's foreign policy, saying the country is losing power and respect everywhere and the current dispensation does not know what to do.
 
"India's global strategy is in tatters. We are losing power and respect everywhere and the Government of India has no idea what to do," he tweeted.
He cited a media report that claimed that Iran has dropped India from the Chabahar rail project, citing funding delays.
The former Congress president has been attacking the government on its foreign policy and the Congress party has been alleging that it has failed. -- PTI 
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13:19   No need for Raj Assembly floor test now: BJP
Update on the situation in Rajasthan:  Gulab Chand Kataria, Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly says, "We do not feel  the need of a floor test as of now. If we feel the need, the BJP will sit together and decide. We had decided the timing of our meeting based Sachin Pilot's press conference, but now that it has been cancelled, I have told Vasundhara Raje-ji to try to arrive here by evening."

Meanwhile, the Congress said it doors have not closed for Sachin Pilot. The party's national general secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pande said on Wednesday, a day after the rebel leader was removed as state deputy chief minister, that Pilot has said he worked very hard to bring the Congress back in power in Rajasthan. "The party''s doors have not been closed for Pilot. May God give... good sense and he realises his mistake. I pray that he comes out of the elusive trap of BJP," Pande said in a tweet.
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13:10   Kejri thanks BJP, Cong for helping battle Covid
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal press conference on the Covid situation in the national capital. "As per estimates, 2.25 lakh cases were predicted by 15 July in Delhi but after united efforts, the cases today are half of the prediction. Today we have 1.15 lakh cases. If the Delhi Government had decided to battle COVID-19 alone, we would have failed. That is why we went to everyone including central government, NGOs & religious organisations. I thank all parties including BJP and Congress.

On 1st June there were 4,100 beds in Delhi, today there are 15,500 beds. Today there are 2,100 ICU beds, of which 1,100 are vacant. Because of this, today people have the confidence that in case they need to be hospitalised, there will be no shortages."
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12:58   CBSE Class X results declared
Central Board of Secondary Education Class 10 exam results announced. Marginal increase in pass percentage since last year, 91.46 pc students pass class 10 exam
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12:51   Hetero supplies 60,000 vials of generic Remdesvir
Hetero Healthcare Ltd is supplying 60,000 vials of Covifor, generic version of Remdesivir injection in the country from July 13 to 20, the company website said.
     
Covifor is the first generic brand of Remdesivir, which is meant for treatment of COVID-19 patients that are adults and children, hospitalised with severe symptoms of the disease.
     
The drug is available in 100 mg vial (Injectable).
     
It needs to be administered intravenously in a hospital, critical care setting, under the supervision of a registered medical practitioner.
     
Out of 60,000 vials, Maharashtra, which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country will get 12,500 followed by Delhi and Telangana with 10,000 and 9,000 respectively.
     
According to the website, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka will get 7500, 6000, 2000 and 3000 respectively while the rest of the country will get 10,000 injections.
     
The company has supplied the drug to as many as 166 hospitals in Maharashtra and 53 in the national capital.
     
When it comes to Telangana , Hetero supplied 14,502 vials, the information available at 11 AM on the site on Wednesday said.
     
Remdesivir is the only drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for Emergency Use Authorisation treatment of adult and paediatric patients hospitalised with suspected or laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infection.
     
Meanwhile, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, which also has a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences Inc to register, manufacture and sell the investigational drug, Remdesivir in 127 countries including India is yet to get a nod from the DCGI to start making the drug in the country, sources said. -- PTI
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12:51   My loyalty is to Cong ideology: Sanjay Jha
Sanjay Jha, who has been suspended by the Congress for anti-party activities, on Wednesday said he is loyal to the party's ideology, but his "fidelity is not to any individual or family.
Jha, who has been critical of the way the Congress handled issues regarding rebel party leader Sachin Pilot, said he remains a Gandhi-Nehruvian idealist which is a vanishing breed within the Congress.
The entrepreneur-turned-politician also said he will continue to raise issues that are fundamental to the resurgence of his party, and added that the battle has just begun.
His comments came a day after Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat in a statement said Jha has been suspended from the party with immediate effect for anti-party activities and breach of discipline".
Jha in a tweet on Wednesday said, "My loyalty is to the Congress ideology. My fidelity is not to any individual or family. I remain a Gandhi-Nehruvian idealist (a vanishing breed within Congress). I will continue to raise issues that are fundamental to the resurgence of my party. The battle has just begun."
Reacting to his suspension, Jha on Tuesday wondered what "anti-party activities" he had indulged in to invite the action from the Congress.
He was dropped Jha as the All India Congress Committee spokesperson last month after he wrote a newspaper article critical of the party.
He has also been critical of the way the Congress handled issues pertaining to rebel party leader Sachin Pilot, who was on Tuesday sacked as Rajasthan's deputy chief minister and the party's state unit president. -- PTI 
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12:48   Mantra to stay relevant is to improve skills, says PM Modi
The mantra to stay relevant in times of coronavirus is to "skill, re-skill and upskill", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday.
 
Addressing a virtual event to mark five years of the Skill India mission, he said skill is timeless and it keeps getting better with time and it makes you different from others.
 
He also said that in today's rapidly changing world, millions of skilled people are needed and there is a huge potential, especially in the health services.
 
"In this time of corona (virus), this question has become even more important. I have only one answer: the mantra to stay relevant is skill, re-skill and upskill," he said.
Referring to migrant workers who returned to their home states during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, Modi said these people, with a special skill set, have started rejuvenating villages. 
 
"Someone is painting the school, while someone is building a house with a new design," he said. -- PTI   
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12:44   Civil services candidates now allowed to get medical tests done in states
Civil services candidates can now get their medical tests done at designated hospitals in states and union territories, according to the recently amended rules by the Personnel Ministry in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The civil services examination is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission annually in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview or personality test -- to select officers of the prestigious Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service and Indian Police Service among others.
A candidate called for the personality test by the Commission is required to undergo medical examination, according to the rules. 
The rules provide that a candidate must be in good mental and bodily health and free from any physical defect likely to interfere with the discharge of his duties as an officer of the service. 
The UPSC has decided to conduct personality test of candidates shortlisted through the civil services main examination 2019 from July 20. The interview could not be completed earlier due to coronavirus-induced lockdown announced in late March.
The Ministry of Personnel issued an order on Tuesday amending the existing rules to say in addition to the designated hospitals in Delhi, the medical examination of the candidates shall also be carried out in the designated government hospitals in the states/UTs, in view of the situation arisen due to COVID-19 pandemic. 
Earlier rules said the medical examination shall be conducted by the government in New Delhi in the hospitals as to be decided as per requirement.
The Commission has already postponed the date of the civil services preliminary examination 2020, earlier scheduled for May 31, to October 4 due to the COVID-19 situation. -- PTI
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11:12   Senior Cong leaders advise Pilot: Have patience
A day after Sachin Pilot was sacked as Rajasthan's deputy CM and chief of the Congress party in the state, Digvijaya Singh, senior Congress leader and 2-time CM of Madhya Pradesh has this message for Pilot: "Sachin Pilot was made an MP, a Central Minister, Rajasthan Party Chief and Deputy CM, what is his age? He is still young, he should have some patience. His actions have been against the party discipline. These youngsters do not have patience."

And another message from former Assam CM Tarun Gogoi: "My advise to Sachin Pilot to be patient, not to be emotional. Having bright future your turn will come. I also had similar hurdles but ultimately patience helped. Better not to run after power which will come automatically. Ashok Gehlot may also give due recognition to Mr Pilot. Chief Ministership is not your birthright. The problem with these young leaders besides lack of patience is that they didn't come from the grassroots, including my son!"

To this, his son Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, tweeted, "You can't touch the highs without facing the lows. Overcoming adversity is an essential part of being a Congress person. I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments expressed in this interview by my father Shri @tarun_gogoi."

Sachin Pilot today said he was not joining the BJP, asserting that he had worked hard to defeat the saffron party and bring the Congress back to power in Rajasthan. Pilot told PTI that some leaders in Rajasthan were trying to fuel speculation that he is joining the BJP and he would like to categorically state that he was not doing so.
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10:48   Squirrel in US tests positive for bubonic plague
In the first case of plague in the United States this year following the deadly coronavirus outbreak, a squirrel in Colorado has tested positive for the bubonic plague, a rare but serious bacterial infection that is transmitted by fleas.

The squirrel tested positive on July 11 in the town of Morrison, according to a news release from the Jefferson County Public Health department cited by CNN. The disease has been around for centuries and is responsible for the deadliest pandemic in human history. 

An estimated 50 million people in Europe died during the Black Death pandemic of the Middle Ages.Health officials warned the public that it can infect both humans and animals if proper precautions are not taken.The disease can be transmitted from flea bites and infected animals. 

While modern antibiotics can prevent complications and death if treated quickly enough, it's still a major threat to both humans and animals.The disease can cause painful, swollen lymph nodes. Fever, chills and coughing are also symptoms humans can experience.

On July 7, Chinese authorities confirmed a case of the bubonic plague in inner Mongolia. Local authorities in the town of Bayannur issued a citywide warning for plague prevention shortly after it was confirmed, which will remain in place for the rest of the year. -- ANI
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10:33   Heavy rain warning for Mumbai, suburbs today
The India Meteorological Department has issued warnings of heavy rains in the city and suburbs today. Citizens are requested to follow all necessary precautions, stay away from the shore and not venture into waterlogged areas. A 3.28-meter high tide is expected at 7:02 pm: BMC
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10:30   Zydus Cadila begins human clinical trials of Covid vaccine candidate
Drug firm Zydus Cadila on Wednesday said it has started human clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate ZyCoV-D. In the phase of trials, the company will be enrolling over 1,000 subjects across multiple clinical study sites in India, it said in a regulatory filing. 

The adaptive phase I/ II human clinical trials of ZyCoV-D have commenced with the first human dosing, it said, adding that the adaptive phase I/II dose escalation, multi-centric study will assess the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of the vaccine. 


Earlier this month, Zydus had received approval from domestic authorities to start human trials for its COVID-19 vaccine contender - the second Indian pharmaceutical firm to get such nod amid a surge in novel coronavirus infections worldwide. 


It got approval a few days after India's first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine candidate COVAXIN, developed by city-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research and National Institute of Virology, got the nod for human clinical trials from the Drug Controller General of India Shares of Cadila Healthcare, the listed entity of the group, were trading at Rs 356.50 apiece on BSE, up 0.81 per cent against their previous close. PTI
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10:25   Cong sends notice to Pilot, 18 others
A notice has been issued to Sachin Pilot and 18 other party members, for not attending the Congress Legislative Party meetings. "If they don't respond within two days, then it will be considered that they are withdrawing their membership from CLP," Rajasthan Congress in-charge Avinash Pande.
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10:03   I am not joining BJP: Sachin Pilot
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who was removed as the president of Congress' state unit on Tuesday, said that he is not going to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"I'm not joining BJP," Pilot told news agency ANI.

The Congress had removed Pilot as Rajasthan Congress chief on Tuesday. 

He was also dropped by chief minister Ashok Gehlot from the cabinet after a meeting of the Congress' legislature party.

Rajasthan education minister Govind Singh Dotasra was named the new Congress chief in Rajasthan.
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09:48   China's aggression against India show how CPC thinking: US NSA
China's "very aggressive" actions against India, including the brutal attack on Indian soldiers in eastern Ladakh, and its moves in the South China Sea and Hong Kong give a "good insight" into how the ruling Communist Party of China is thinking these days, United States National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien has said.
The Indian and Chinese armies were locked in a standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh since May 5. 

The tension escalated in the Galwan Valley on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed during a violent face-off with Chinese soldiers.
"The Chinese have been very aggressive with India," O'Brien said on Tuesday alleging that during the recent clash they beat some of the Indians so badly they were disfigured and could not be identified.
"This is a dispute between India and China, but China has shown itself for what it was. Chinese troops ambushed the Indians. They beat 20 Indians to death. They beat them so badly with clubs with nails in them and wrapped with concertina -- barbed wire," O'Brien told Fox News Radio in an interview.
He was responding to a question on the recent Chinese aggressive behaviour against India in eastern Ladakh. 
Responding to a question on US-India bilateral relations, he said, India is a democracy and is a great friend of the United States. 
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President (Donald) Trump have a super relationship," O'Brien said.
"In fact, it was the last foreign trip that I took with the president before the COVID crisis hit, was to India, and we had a great reception of the Indian people there. We have a lot in common with them, we speak English, we're democracies. We've got a growing, very strong relationship with India,"O'Brien said.
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09:41   India reports biggest spike with 29,429 cases
India recorded 29,429 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking total number of cases to 9,36,181, the Union health ministry said.

With 582 deaths in last 24 hours, the country's death toll has now reached to 24,309.

As per health ministry's data, the total positive cases stand at 9,36,181 including 3,19,840 active cases.

As many as 5,92,032 patients have been recovered from the disease taking country's recovery rate to 63.20 per cent.
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09:23   Covid can be as serious as Spanish Flu: US Doc
United States top infectious disease specialist, Anthony Fauci, on Tuesday said that coronavirus a pandemic of "historic proportions" has the potential to be as serious as the 1918 Spanish Flu in which over 50 million people globally died.

"I think we can't deny that fact," CNN quoted Fauci as saying during a Georgetown University Global Health Initiative webinar. 

"If you look at the magnitude of the 1918 pandemic where anywhere from 50 to 75 to 100 million people globally died, that was the mother of all pandemics and truly historic. I hope we don't even approach that with this, but it does have the makings of, the possibility of ... approaching that in seriousness," he said.

The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, the deadliest in history, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide -- about one-third of the planet's population.

The challenge in the US now is the resurgence of infections in the South and Southwestern part of the country.

Fauci said California, Florida, Arizona and Texas are the states to watch now.

"They're seeing record numbers of cases, most interestingly, among young individuals," Fauci said.

So far, over 13 million cases have been reported worldwide and 5,75,000 people have died due to the pandemic. -- ANI
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09:07   Modi to address digital conclave on World Youth Skills Day today
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver a video address on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day at 11 am today. 

This day marks the fifth anniversary of the launch of Skill India Mission.

The Digital conclave is being organized by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

A UN recognised event, WYSD is celebrated each year on July 15. 

Its aim is to recognize the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship, and to highlight the crucial role of skilled youth in addressing current and future global challenges, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. -- ANI
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09:01   US is 'very seriously taking a look' at TikTok: White House
Banning mobile applications such as TikTok by countries like India takes a big tool away from the surveillance work of China, a top White House official said on Tuesday.
The Trump administration is "very seriously taking a look" at TikTok, WeChat and some other apps coming out of China, US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien told Fox News Radio in an interview.
"India has already banned those apps, as you know. And if they lose India and the United States, they lose some western European countries, that takes a big tool away from the espionage work or the surveillance work of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party)," he said in response to a question on the dangers posed by apps like TikTok.
"The kids who are using TikTok -- and it can be a lot of fun -- but there are a lot of other social media platforms they could use. TikTok is getting facial recognition on you," O'Brien said.
"They are getting all of your personal, private data, your most intimate data. They are getting to know who your friends are, who your parents are. They can map all your relationships," he added.
All the information is going straight to massive super computers in the cloud in China, O'Brien said, adding, "So China is going to know everything about you. They are going to have biometrics on you. You ought to be very careful regarding who you give such personal information to."
The Trump administration, he said, is looking not just at TikTok but at WeChat and some other Chinese apps as well, because the Chinese are veracious consumers of America's personal data.
"They will either try and get you to give it to them for free through WeChat or TikTok -- if they cannot get it that way, they will steal it," O'Brien said.
China, he said, has hacked into Marriott and stolen the personal data of hundreds of millions of people, including their passport numbers.
"They have hacked into Experian and other credit rating agencies to get most intimate credit details. They have hacked into Anthem healthcare so that they can get medical details.
"So this is not just an advertiser trying to find out what you are interested in searching for on Google so they can sell you a different brand of car, this is a country that is looking to get every bit of personal, private information they can, so they know everything about you," O'Brien said.
"There are social credit scores in China. They give people scores based on how compliant they are with Communist Party dictates. They are going to be able to put social credit scores together on all Americans and everyone in the world soon because of artificial intelligence and super computing.
"We need to make sure that does not happen," the US National Security Advisor said. -- PTI 
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08:31   Trump confident of winning November election
United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday exuded confidence of winning the November polls, asserting that he will turn around the country's economy for the second time.
"This is a very important election. We have done a great job. We had to turn it off, as I said, turn it off, now we have started it again. As you know, they announced two weeks ago record job numbers, almost five million people, and that be the last month, which was also a record, 2.8 million people. Nobody has ever done what we have done and now we are doing it twice," Trump told reporters at a White House press conference.
"And I think by Election Day, you are going to see some incredible numbers. The third quarter is going to be really good. The fourth quarter is going to be great, but the next year is going to be one of the best economic years. So hopefully, I will be able to be the president, where we say look at the great job I did," he said.
Trump was responding to a question on whether he will win the November presidential polls. "Do you see yourself as the underdog in this race? Do you see yourself losing in the fall?" he was asked.
"No, I do not. I think we have really good poll numbers. They are not suppression polls. They are real polls," the president asserted.
"We won a race where it was the same thing, 2016. We had polls that were fake. They turned out to be fake. Not all, couple of them got it right. Three of them, to be exact, three of them. One of them was unsuspecting, but they got it right. They were very proud of it. But we had, in 2016, something even more so. But we got in," he said.
The media, Trump said, does not treat him fairly.
"They never have and perhaps they never will. But maybe they will only turn this around for a second time. And it is going to happen very quickly. When we turn it around for a second time, maybe they will. I think we are doing very well in the polls and I think you have a silent majority, the likes of which this country has never seen before," Trump said. -- PTI
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08:14   US revokes new student visa rule
The Trump administration has agreed to rescind its July 6 rule, which temporarily bared international students from staying in the United States unless they attend at least one in-person course, a federal district court judge said on Tuesday.
The U-turn by the Trump administration comes following a nationwide outrage against its July 6 order and a series of lawsuits filed by a large number of educational institutions, led by the prestigious Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, seeking a permanent injunctive relief to bar the Department of Homeland Security and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement from enforcing the federal guidelines barring international students attending colleges and universities offering only online courses from staying in the country.
As many as 17 US states and the District of Columbia, along with top American IT companies such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft, joined MIT and Harvard in the US District Court in Massachusetts against the DHS and the ICE in seeking an injunction to stop the entire rule from going into effect.
"I have been informed by the parties that they have come to a resolution. They will return to the status quo," Judge Allison Burroughs, the federal district judge in Boston, said in a surprise statement at the top of the hearing on the lawsuit.
The announcement comes as a big relief to international students, including those from India. In the 2018-2019 academic year, there were over 10 lakh international students in the US. According to a recent report of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, 1,94,556 Indian students were enrolled in various academic institutions in the US in January.
Judge Burroughs said the policy would apply nationwide.
"Both the policy directive and the frequently asked questions would not be enforced anyplace," she said, referring to the agreement between the US government and MIT and Harvard.
Congressman Brad Scneider said this is a great win for international students, colleges and common sense.
"The Administration needs to give us a plan to tackle our public health crisis - it can't be recklessly creating rules one day and rescinding them the next," he said in a tweet.
Last week, more than 136 Congressmen and 30 senators wrote to the Trump administration to rescind its order on international students.
"This is a major victory for the students, organisers and institutions of higher education in the #MA7 and all across the country that stood up and fought back against this racist and xenophobic rule," said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.
"Taking online classes shouldn't force international students out of our country," Congressman Mikie Sherrill said in a tweet.
In its July 6 notice, the ICE had said all student visa holders, whose university curricula were only offered online, "must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status".
"If not, they may face immigration consequences, including but not limited to the initiation of removal proceedings," it had said.
In their lawsuit, the 17 states and the District of Columbia said for many international students, remote learning in the countries and communities they come from would impede their studies or be simply impossible.
The lawsuit alleged that the new rule imposes a significant economic harm by precluding thousands of international students from coming to and residing in the US and finding employment in fields such as science, technology, biotechnology, healthcare, business and finance, and education, and contributing to the overall economy. -- PTI
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08:09   No plans to speak to Chinese president: Trump
United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said of late he has not spoken with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and has no plans to do so.
"No, I have not spoken to him, one. No, I do not. I have no plan to speak to them," Trump told reporters at a White House press conference.
He expressed anger over China's inability to prevent the spread of the coronavirus out of the country, from where it originated.
"Make no mistake, we hold China fully responsible for concealing the virus and unleashing it upon the world. Could have stopped it, they should have stopped," Trump said as he also lashed out at the World Health Organization for siding with China on this issue.
"They were really a puppet of China," he said.
Trump also slammed former vice president Joe Biden, who is his Democratic challenger in the November presidential polls, for being "soft" on China.
"By contrast, my administration acted very early to ban travel from China, from Europe, saving all of these lives. Incredible. And I want everyone to know, I want every citizen to know that we are using the full power of the federal government to fight that China virus and keep our people safe. Through Operation Warp Speed, we will deliver a vaccine in record-breaking time," he said.
"He (Biden) said the idea that China is our competition is really bizarre. He is really bizarre. He said China is not a problem. No. Nobody has ripped us off more than China over the last 25, 30 years, nobody close, and he says China is not a problem. Now he takes it all back. Now he wants to be mister tough guy. But for years, 47 years, he never came out against China, never said anything bad, just the opposite," the president said.
He said Biden expresses more fawning praise about China on an ordinary day than about America.
"On July 4, Biden attacked the United States and said we had never lived up to the ideals of our fathers, our forefathers or our founding fathers, those founding ideals, and yet he enthusiastically stated that China is a great nation and we should hope for its continued expansion. Well, we all wish well to China, but what China has unleashed on the world, it is hard to even fathom. -- PTI
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02:00   China pushing territorial claims: Japan
Taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic, China has further staked its territorial claims in the East China Sea, Japan said in its annual defence review.

The report said that China 'is continuing to attempt to alter the status quo in the East China Sea and the South China Sea'.

Citing the defence white paper, Nikkei Asian Review reported that there have been 'relentless' intrusions in the areas around the Senkaku islands as called by Japan or Diaoyu in China.

Besides, China has been asserting its claims in the recent days in the South China Sea by establishing administrative districts around disputed islands while the neighbouring countries have been busy with dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.

The recent Chinese intrusions have not only been condemned by the US but have also invited the latter to conduct military drills in the South China Sea.

After the 36th ASEAN summit was held last month, a joint statement was issued by the members of the bloc expressing concerns over the current situation in the South China Sea.

The ASEAN leaders stressed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and over-flight above the South China Sea, as well as upholding international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, in the South China Sea, working actively towards the full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in its entirety, and the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, consistent with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.

On the ASEAN's decision, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had tweeted, 'The United States welcomes ASEAN Leaders' insistence that South China Sea disputes be resolved in line with international law, including UNCLOS (United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea). China cannot be allowed to treat the SCS as its maritime empire. We will have more to say on this topic soon.' -- ANI

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