#death toll crosses 47 thousand

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 Falling shrapnel misses journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul by a hair during the bombing by the Israeli occupation forces of the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City today, just barely avoiding the reporter as he was monitoring the situation in the city. ]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏘️💥🚑 🚨

265 DAYS OF ISRAELI GENOCIDE: EGYPT AND UAE TO PARTICIPATE IN OCCUPATION OF GAZA DAY AFTER END OF WAR, ZIONIST MERKAVA TANKS ROLL INTO AL-SHUJAIYA, CLOSED BORDER CROSSINGS AGGRIVATE FAMINE CONDITIONS IN GAZA, GENOCIDE CONTINUES AS CIVILIANS SLAUGHTERED

On 264th day of the Israeli occupation's ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed a total of 3 new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of no less than 47 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, while another 52 others were wounded over the previous 24-hours.

It should be noted that as a result of the constant Israeli bombardment of Gaza's healthcare system, infrastructure, residential and commercial buildings, local paramedic and civil defense crews are unable to recover countless hundreds, even thousands, of victims who remain trapped under the rubble, or who's bodies remain strewn across the streets of Gaza.

This leaves the official death toll vastly undercounted as Gaza's healthcare officials are unable to accurately tally those killed and maimed in this genocide, which must be kept in mind when considering the scale of the mass murder.

The United Arab Emirates, in conjunction with the Arab Republic of Egypt, is prepared to participate in the occupation of the Gaza Strip with a "security force" which will remain following the day after the end of the war, according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The United States intends on assembling the so-called security force, which is part of the vision U.S. officials have for managing the Gaza Strip following an end to the Israeli occupation's ongoing genocidal war in the Palestinian enclave.

According to reporting in the Hebrew and Arab newspapers, the U.S. has made some progress in preparing plans for Gaza, having received qualified support from Cairo and Abu Dhabi to form an occupying force, which is expected to work alongside "local Palestinian officers."

Officials from Egypt and the UAE have set certain conditions which, they say, must be fulfilled as conditions for their participation in the plan, including the condition that any force assembled for the occupation of the Gaza Strip must be paired with a path for the establishment of a future Palestinian State.

The demand comes despite Occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's continued refusal to allow the establishment of a Palestinian State, one of the main issues the Hamas Resistance movement intended on bringing to the international conversation when it initiated the October 7th Al-Aqsa Flood attacks in the occupied territories.

Local reporting also states that Egypt is further demanding a full withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from Gaza, a condition that could conflict with Netanyahu's insistence on maintaining security control over the Gaza Strip, however tenuous that control may be.

Simultaneously, the UAE has insisted that the United States fully participate in any occupying force in Gaza after the war. However, Secretary Blinken has ruled this out, telling his Arab counterparts that the United States would not participate with its own forces.

However, Blinken has since assured his counterparts that the United States fully intends on helping establish and train any future security forces, and has assured America's partners that their participation would be contingent on a temporary mandate, which would eventually be replaced by a full Palestinian body, with the goal of the occupation of Gaza being to eventually have the Palestinian Authority take control over the Strip, unifying the West Bank and Gaza into a single entity on its way to establishing a Palestinian state.

In other news, the living conditions in the Gaza Strip is rapidly deteriorating as the Israeli occupation army continues its closure of the Rafah border crossing, preventing the free-flow of humanitarian aid and depriving thousands of severely sick and wounded Palestinians from seeking medical treatment abroad.

For more than 45 days, the Zionist entity has closed the Rafah crossing after taking control over the Palestinian side of the border during operations in early May, beginning with its ground invasion of the southern Gazan city of Rafah.

In that time, the Israeli occupation has prevented desperately needed humanitarian aid crom crossing into Gaza, while refusing to allow sick and wounded Palestinians from leaving Gaza to receive medical treatment overseas, leaving much of the Gaza Strip without essential supplies such as food, medicine and fuel.

The scarcity of such supplies have been reflected by the number of deaths due to malnutrition and a lack of medical supplies since October 7th, with the number of deaths resulting from famine currently at 46. Most of the deaths have been among children from northern Gaza, according to reporting.

In the meantime, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, said that "about 96% of Gaza’s population (2.1 million people) face high levels of acute food insecurity, including more than 495,000 who face catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity in the fifth stage.”

Griffiths described a situation in which "families face severe food shortages and starvation, and nearly half a million people face catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity that remain unsustainable.”

An international report recently published indicated that "more than 495,000 people (22% of the population) face catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity in the fifth stage, in which families face severe food shortages, starvation, and exhaustion of the ability to cope."

Griffiths continued by mentioning that humanitarian access in the south of Gaza, containing more than two million Palestinians, has decreased significantly with the closure of the Rafah crossing, while obstacles to passing through the Karm Abu Salem border crossing have also increased, pointing to the concentration of population in areas that largely lack potable water, sanitation and hygiene, healthcare and other basic infrastructure.

This increases the risk of the spread of disease, which can have disasterous effects on the health and nutrition of large segments of Gaza's Palestinian population.

According to the previous report, in order to obtain food for their families, half of all Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to exchange their clothes for money, while a third of families have resorted to collecting trash to sell for money and food.

Additionally, half of all families reported they did not have enough food, while more than 20% reported going entire days and nights without food. At the same time, more than 300'000 tons of waste have accumulated in population centers, posing severe risks to the health of nearby families.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation's slaughter continued for another day, with reports in the Palestinian and Hebrew media detailing a new advance of Israeli tanks into the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.

According to local reporting, the Israeli occupation army called on Palestinians in the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, to abandon their homes and shelters and to head towards the designated so-called "humanitarian zone", south of the Gaza Strip.

Previous safe zones established by the Israeli occupation forces have faced repeated bombardments and attacks, which have resulted in several well publicized massacres of civilian families.

At the same time, Zionist Merkava tanks advanced into the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, while occupation drones and aircraft fired missiles and dropped bombs near civilians, resulting in a number of casualties.

Local reports state that an Israeli drone bombed areas near the Al-Tunisi Cemetery, east of the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, resulting in several deaths and injuries.

Medical sources in the Gaza Strip say that a number of civilians were killed, and others wounded, with local paramedic and civil defense crews unable to reach them, due to the violent bombardment by occupation fighter jets targeting the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, even as the Zionist army advanced into the area.

At the same time, Israeli occupation aircraft opened fire on people, trapping them in their homes and shelters, while local correspondants report that thousands of civilians were displaced by the Israeli occupation's bombing, shelling and gunfire in various areas of Gaza City.

The Israeli occupation forces also forced civilians in the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, the New Neighborhoods, along with the Al-Turkman and Al-Tuffah neighborhoods, to evacuate their homes towards the southern Gaza Strip by passing down Salah al-Din Street as the occupation army follows them.

Meanwhile, according to reporting in the Palestinian media, a number of citizens were killed and wounded as a result the Israeli occupation's bombardment of the city of Khan Yunis, south of Gaza.

Witnesses report that the Zionist occupation army bombed a number of Palestinian homes in neighborhoods west of the city of Rafah, also south of Gaza, while the Israeli occupation forces detonated with explosives or burned down homes in the Brazil neighborhood, west of Rafah, resulting in large numbers of casualties who arrived at the European Gaza Hospital.

Similarly, Zionist warplanes bombed the Al-Khansaa School in the town of Abasan, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, which houses displaced Palestinian families, injuring a number of civilians.

Occupation armored vehicles and artillery went on to violently shell the Al-Khuza'a area, east of Khan Yunis, resulting in several casualties.

Palestinian Civil Defense reported that the occupation army, on Thursday morning, bombed 5 homes in the Al-Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City, as well as the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, east of the city.

The bombing of four of the targeted homes in the Al-Sabra neighborhood led to the deaths two Palestinian civilians, and wounded a number of others, while several people remain missing under the rubble.

Occupation fighter jets also launched a raid on a house belonging to the Al-Wahidi family on Al-Mughrabi Street, in the Al-Sabra neighborhood, resulting in several casualties.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces bombed the Al-Alami neighborhood of the Jabalia Camp, resulting in the deaths of at least 8 Palestinians, and wounding several others.

Occupation raids also hammered the Al-Zaytoun, Tal al-Hawa, and Shiekh Ajlin neighborhoods of Gaza City, with smoke visibly rising from targeted homes in the city.

Zionist jets also bombarded areas in the vicinity of the Wadi Gaza Bridge, north of the Nuseirat Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, coinciding with intense artillery shelling of the area.

Additionally, on Thursday morning, the Israeli occupation forces bombed and shelled neighborhoods east of the Bureij Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, killing several people and wounding a number of others.

Another civilian was killed, and two others wounded, while collecting firewood outside the city of Deir al-Balah, also in central Gaza, as a result of shelling by Israeli artillery detatchments.

As a result of the Israeli occupation's ongoing war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, the current infinitely rising death toll now exceeds 37'765 Palestinians killed, including over 15'000 children and upwards of 10'000 women, while another 86'429 others were wounded since start of the current round of Zionist aggression, beginning with the events of October 7th, 2023.

June 27th, 2024.

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@WorkerSolidarityNews

[kisansatta]

कोरोना : देश में कोरोना मामले 24 लाख के पार, मौतों का आंकड़ा 47 हजार के पार

नई दिल्ली : देश में लगातार कोरोना वायरस के मरीज लगातार बढ़ते जा रहे है | बता दें कि देश में बढ़ते मामलों के बीच अब तक देश में कोरोना मरीजों का आंकड़ा 24 लाख के पार हो गया है | बता दें कि देश में अब तक 47 हजार से अधिक लोगों की मौत हो गई है। स्वास्थ्य मंत्रालय द्वारा जारी ताजा आंकड़ों के अनुसार पिछले 24 घंटे में सर्वाधिक कोरोना के 66 हजार 999 मामले सामने आ गए हैं और 942 लोगों की मौत हो गई है। वहीं इस दौरान सर्वाधिक आठ लाख 30 हजार 391 टेस्ट हुए हैं।

स्वास्थ्य मंत्रालय के अनुसार देश में अब तक कोरोना के 23 लाख 96 हजार 638 मामले सामने आ गए हैं। इनमें से छह लाख 53 हजार 622 एक्टिव केस है। वहीं 16 लाख 95 हजार 982 मरीज ठीक हो गए हैं। 47 हजार 033 लोगों की मौत हो गई है। अब तक कुल दो करोड़ 68 लाख 45 हजार 688 सैंपल टेस्ट हो गए हैं। रिकवरी रेट 70.77 फीसद और मृत्यु दर 1.96 फीसद है।

टैक्सपेयर्स को तोहफा देंगे पीएम मोदी

मृत्यु दर गिरकर 1.96% हुई

राहत की बात है कि मृत्यु दर और एक्टिव केस रेट में गिरावट हुई है | मृत्यु दर भी गिर कर 1.96% हो गई | इसके अलावा एक्टिव केस जिनका इलाज चल है उनकी दर भी घट कर 27.27% हो गई है | इसके साथ ही रिकवरी रेट यानी ठीक होने की दर 70.76% हो गई है | भारत में रिकवरी रेट लगातार बढ़ रहा है |

राम मंदिर, आर्टिकल 370,के बाद कामन सिविल कोड की बारी? लेकिन थोड़ा रुककर

देश में कोरोना वायरस के लिए जांच की क्षमता को बढ़ाते हुए एक दिन में सात लाख से अधिक नमूनों की जांच की गयी है और अब तक 2.65 करोड़ से ज्यादा नमूनों की जांच की जा चुकी है. मंत्रालय ने कहा कि एक दिन में जांच की संख्या तेजी से बढ़ रही है और भारत में पिछले कई दिन से रोजाना छह लाख से अधिक नमूनों की जांच की जा रही है |

https://kisansatta.com/corona-corona-cases-in-the-country-cross-24-lakh-death-toll-crosses-47-thousand/ #CoronaCoronaCasesInTheCountryCross24Lakh, #DeathTollCrosses47Thousand Corona: Corona cases in the country cross 24 lakh, death toll crosses 47 thousand Corona Virus, National, Top, Trending #CoronaVirus, #National, #Top, #Trending KISAN SATTA - सच का संकल्प

[skypalacearchitect]

[Source only allows 1 free article per month, so I’m copying it all here]:

Date: May 27, 2020, 10:47 AM

On Nov. 25, 2019, while thousands of women took to the streets of Mexico City to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Abril Pérez was shot to death by a hitman. The 48-year-old executive of a Mexican online retail store and mother of three was on her way to the airport to return home to Monterrey after a custody hearing. She’d recently divorced Juan Carlos García, a former Amazon Mexico CEO and the father of her children, whom she had accused of attempted murder 11 months prior for allegedly creeping into her home in the middle of the night and beating her with a baseball bat. The gunman and his driver were arrested in March, but García, the suspected mastermind behind Pérez’s death, has reportedly fled to the United States.

What remains an open question is what role the United States played in the murder itself. As coronavirus-related lockdowns worsen the threat of domestic violence for women around the world, women in Mexico face an additional danger: the flood of American guns into the country. “The U.S. talks about how drugs and migrants cross the border from Mexico,” said Maura Roldán, a researcher on gun violence from Mexico City. “But it hasn’t recognized its role in the rise in violence in Mexico. It doesn’t mention the fact that it’s providing the guns.”

While it’s impossible to know the provenance of the murder weapon in Pérez’s case—Mexican homicide databases do not include this information—what is certain is that a steady stream, or torrent, of American firearms since the early 2000s has contributed to a spike in gun-related deaths in Mexico, in turn transforming and exacerbating gender violence. Seventy percent of guns recovered as part of a criminal investigation in Mexico are traced back to the United States, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

That influx of guns has taken a toll on women’s safety. Ten women were killed each day in 2018, according to Mexico’s national statistics agency. Roldán and a handful of other researchers and activists, almost all women, point to another statistic: In 2018, six in 10 of those women were fatally shot.

“The proliferation of guns, the huge presence of guns, including in homes, is changing the nature of domestic violence,” said Ana Pecova, the director of the human rights organization Equis. “In the past, a fight would descend into punches. Now, a gun gets pulled out, and a woman ends up dead.”

Not only has gender violence become more lethal, but it has also spilled out of homes and into the streets. Since 2009, more women have been killed in public spaces than in domestic settings, according to a 2015 report by Data Civica. While fewer women than men die of gun violence, the rates at which women are dying from firearms are growing faster: Between 2007 and 2018, gun violence rates for women rose 357 percent (compared to 311 percent for men), and 500 percent in public spaces (347 percent for men), according to Estefanía Vela Barba, one of the authors of the Data Civica report who continues to research the link between gun violence and femicide. Gun-fueled gender violence in public spaces is multifaceted. It can be outsourced intimate partner violence, as is suspected in Pérez’s case. Or it can be cartel messaging.

The scale of violence in Mexico, which abets both forms of public gender violence, comes down to the country’s drug war and the militarization of public security, local experts and activists said. Then-President Felipe Calderón’s mission to uproot organized crime in Mexico has, since its start in 2006, spectacularly failed, fracturing and multiplying cartels, and leading to soaring levels of violence, the most prominent evidence of which is the disappearance of some 61,000 people. While the violence can be blind to gender—stray bullets are indiscriminate—it is often targeted. There are clues in the swirl of statistics: rape, mutilations such as cut off breasts, or shots to the genital region all point to violence against women specifically. But many bodies are hidden or destroyed, or mistabulated. While government registries counted 1,012 femicides last year, activists say the number is likely much higher.

The data in Mexico correlates neatly with a short history of increasingly relaxed gun control laws in the United States and the steady growth of both a legal and illegal firearm trade. The 2004 expiration of the assault weapon ban in the United States ramped up the production and sale of military-grade weapons. By the time Mexico declared its drug war two years later, American manufacturers were ready to pump these high-grade weapons into Mexican military arsenals. Organized crime responded by ratcheting up its own caches, buying more weapons through its own channels: third-party straw purchases; buying on the extensive black market, which lately consists of bringing gun parts in piecemeal fashion across the border and assembling them in Mexico; and even obtaining weapons directly from Mexican security forces. Some 20,000 firearms were reported lost or stolen from state and federal police between 2006 and 2017.

Citizens, caught in the middle of a bloody turf war, armed themselves too. Though Mexico boasts some of the world’s strictest gun control laws, 16.8 million firearms were estimated to be in civilian hands in 2017, according to the Small Arms Survey. Only a small fraction of these were registered. Due to the vast illegal trade, it’s impossible to know exactly how many American guns are sold into Mexico. But the numbers are large enough that Mexican authorities are concerned—and even more so recently.

A slump in domestic sales since 2017 has further turned U.S. gun manufacturers’ attention toward Mexico. In a bid to support the industry, the Trump administration recently moved firearm export oversight from the State Department to the Commerce Department, in what John Lindsay-Poland, the director of Stop U.S. Arms to Mexico, said is designed to loosen oversight and increase the number of firearm exports. “For the U.S., I contend that the assault weapons ban is a foreign-policy issue,” said Lindsay-Poland. “U.S.-sourced assault weapons are used in many more crimes in Mexico than in the U.S.”

In addition to reinstating the assault weapons ban, Eugenio Weigend Vargas, the associate director for gun violence prevention at the Center for American Progress think tank, said the United States should implement universal background checks and ensure stricter regulation of American gun stores. “The measures we advocate for won’t just reduce violence in the U.S., but will also reduce gun traffic to Mexico and Central America,” Vargas said. “The more guns there are, the more domestic violence.”

Meaghan Beatley is a journalist based in Barcelona. She has written for the Nation, the New Statesman, National Geographic and others.

[newstfionline]

Monday, August 2, 2021

Frustration as Biden, Congress allow eviction ban to expire (AP) Anger and frustration mounted in Congress as a nationwide eviction moratorium expired at midnight Saturday—one Democratic lawmaker even camping outside the Capitol in protest as millions of Americans faced being forced from their homes. Lawmakers said they were blindsided by President Joe Biden’s inaction as the deadline neared. More than 3.6 million Americans are at risk of eviction, some in a matter of days. The moratorium was put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the COVID-19 crisis when jobs shifted and many workers lost income. The eviction ban was intended to prevent further virus spread by people put out on the streets and into shelters. Congress approved nearly $47 billion in federal housing aid to the states during the pandemic, but it has been slow to make it into the hands of renters and landlords owed payments.

Breakneck pace of crises keeps National Guard away from home (AP) In the searing 108-degree heat, far from his Louisiana health care business, Army Col. Scott Desormeaux and his soldiers are on a dusty base near Syria’s northern border, helping Syrian rebel forces battle Islamic State militants. It’s tough duty for the soldiers. But their deployment to the Middle East last November is just a small part of the blistering pace of missions that members of the Louisiana National Guard and America’s other citizen-soldiers have faced in the past 18 months. Beyond overseas deployments, Guard members have been called in to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and protests against racial injustice. For many, it’s meant months away from their civilian jobs and scarce times with families. While Guard leaders say troops are upbeat, they worry about exhaustion setting in and wonder how much longer U.S. businesses can do without their long-absent workers. “This past year was an extraordinary one for the National Guard,” said Gen. Dan Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau. Does he worry about exhaustion setting in? “That’s something I’ve been very concerned with right from the start.”

Western Wildfires May Take Weeks To Months To Contain (NPR) Pockets of the American West continued to burn over the weekend, as another nine large fires were reported on Saturday in California, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. The 87 fires still active in 13 states have consumed more than 1.7 million acres. Just shy of 3 million acres have been scorched since the start of 2021, with months left in what experts predict will be a devastating fire season. In southern Oregon, the Bootleg Fire has become the largest active blaze in the country. The 413,000-acre inferno was contained at 56%, as of Saturday night. A fire line has been constructed around the entire perimeter, ranging from 100 to 150-feet wide between the burn and unburned areas.

Bacon may disappear in California as pig rules take effect (AP) Thanks to a reworked menu and long hours, Jeannie Kim managed to keep her San Francisco restaurant alive during the coronavirus pandemic. That makes it all the more frustrating that she fears her breakfast-focused diner could be ruined within months by new rules that could make one of her top menu items—bacon—hard to get in California. “Our number one seller is bacon, eggs and hash browns,” said Kim, who for 15 years has run SAMS American Eatery on the city’s busy Market Street. “It could be devastating for us.” At the beginning of next year, California will begin enforcing an animal welfare proposition approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2018 that requires more space for breeding pigs, egg-laying chickens and veal calves. National veal and egg producers are optimistic they can meet the new standards, but only 4% of hog operations now comply with the new rules. Unless the courts intervene or the state temporarily allows non-compliant meat to be sold in the state, California will lose almost all of its pork supply, much of which comes from Iowa. Animal welfare organizations for years have been pushing for more humane treatment of farm animals but the California rules could be a rare case of consumers clearly paying a price for their beliefs.

Why are so many migrants coming to one of Europe’s smallest countries? Blame Belarus, officials say. (Washington Post) Europe’s newest migration crisis is unfolding in one of its most unlikely places. Lithuania, a Baltic nation roughly the size of West Virginia with fewer than 3 million residents, hasn’t been known as a destination for undocumented immigrants: Each year, the country sees roughly 70 people unlawfully cross its border with Belarus. In July, the number skyrocketed to more than 2,600, consisting mostly of immigrants from Iraq and sub-Saharan Africa. Officials expect the numbers to grow in the coming weeks. This new flow of people did not begin organically, Lithuanian and European Union officials say. Instead, they say, it is the result of an audacious plan by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to weaponize migration in response to E.U. sanctions. In June, Lukashenko threatened to allow human traffickers and drug smugglers to stream into Europe. E.U. officials say they have evidence that his government is also encouraging immigrants to travel there: coordinating with a Belarusian travel agency to offer tourist visas, setting up flights and then transporting people from Minsk to the Lithuanian border. Lithuania, which has virtually no experience with large numbers of immigrants, has scrambled to construct a barbed wire fence along the border.

Thousands protest against COVID-19 health pass in France (Reuters) Thousands of people protested in Paris and other French cities on Saturday against a mandatory coronavirus health pass for entry to a wide array of public venues, introduced by the government as it battles a fourth wave of infections. It was the third weekend in a row that people opposed to President Emmanuel Macron’s new COVID-19 measures have taken to the streets, an unusual show of determination at a time of year when many people are focused on taking their summer break. The number of demonstrators has grown steadily since the start of the protests, echoing the “yellow vest” movement, that started in late 2018 against fuel taxes and the cost of living. An interior ministry official said 204,090 had demonstrated across France, including 14,250 in Paris alone. This is about 40,000 more than last week.

Turkey evacuates panicked tourists by boat from wildfires (AP) Panicked tourists in Turkey hurried to the seashore to wait for rescue boats Saturday after being told to evacuate some hotels in the Aegean Sea resort of Bodrum due to the dangers posed by nearby wildfires, Turkish media reported. Coast guard units led the operation and authorities asked private boats and yachts to assist in evacuation efforts from the sea as new wildfires erupted. A video showed plumes of smoke and fire enveloping a hill close to the seashore. The death toll from wildfires raging in Turkey’s Mediterranean towns rose to six Saturday after two forest workers were killed, the country’s health minister said. Fires across Turkey since Wednesday have burned down forests and some settlements, encroaching on villages and tourist destinations and forcing people to evacuate. In one video of the Bodrum fire filmed from the sea, a man helping with the evacuations was stunned at the speed of the fire, saying “this is unbelievable, just unbelievable. How did this fire come (here) this fast in 5 minutes?”

Afghans flee (NYT) A mass exodus is unfolding across Afghanistan as the Taliban press on with a military campaign and the U.S. withdraws. At least 30,000 Afghans are leaving each week and many more have been displaced. The Taliban have captured more than half the country’s 400-odd districts, according to some assessments, sparking fears of a harsh return to extremist rule or a civil war. The sudden flight is an early sign of a looming refugee crisis, aid agencies warn.

As the Taliban closes in, Afghan forces scramble to defend prisons holding thousands of militants (Washington Post) Huddled in brightly lit yards late one recent night, hundreds of inmates taunted a team of about a dozen special forces who were rounding the walls along the top of Kunduz prison. The appearance of elite soldiers was an anomaly, a sign to the prisoners that something was happening. “What’s going on?” they shouted. “Is tonight going to be our last night in here? Taliban fighters planned to storm the compound that evening, according to information gathered by local intelligence officers. Government forces hoped the show of force would spur prisoners—some in possession of smuggled cellphones used to communicate with the Taliban—to wave off the attack. Without enough fighters to hold the city’s front lines and reinforce the prison, the special forces’ move was a gamble. But it appeared to work: The night passed without incident. As Taliban militants close in on Afghanistan’s provincial capitals, they are inching closer to central prisons that house around 5,000 of their fellow fighters, leaving the government scrambling to secure the detention facilities. If just a fraction of the detainees were to escape, Afghan security officials warn, it would hand the militants a significant advantage on the battlefield, where they are already making steady gains.

Burkina Faso sees more child soldiers as jihadi attacks rise (AP) Awoken by gunshots in the middle of the night, Fatima Amadou was shocked by what she saw among the attackers: children. Guns slung over their small frames, the children chanted “Allahu akbar,” as they surrounded her home in Solhan town in Burkina Faso’s Sahel region. Some were so young they couldn’t even pronounce the words, Arabic for “God is great,” said the 43-year-old mother. “When I saw the kids, what came to my mind was that (the adults) trained these kids to be assassins, and they came to kill my children,” Amadou told The Associated Press by phone from Sebba town, where she now lives. She and her family are among the lucky ones who survived the June attack, in which about 160 people were killed—the deadliest such assault since the once-peaceful West African nation was overrun by fighters linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State about five years ago. As that violence increases, so too does the recruitment of child soldiers. The number of children recruited by armed groups in Burkina Faso rose at least five-fold so far this year, according to information seen by the AP in an unpublished report by international aid and conflict experts.

Behind the Rise of U.S. Solar Power, a Mountain of Chinese Coal (WSJ) Solar panel installations are surging in the U.S. and Europe as Western countries seek to cut their reliance on fossil fuels. But the West faces a conundrum as it installs panels on small rooftops and in sprawling desert arrays: Most of them are produced with energy from carbon-dioxide-belching, coal-burning plants in China. Concerns are mounting in the U.S. and Europe that the solar industry’s reliance on Chinese coal will create a big increase in emissions in the coming years as manufacturers rapidly scale up production of solar panels to meet demand. That would make the solar industry one of the world’s most prolific polluters, analysts say.

Americans Spend Nearly 60 Billion Hours a Year on Google (PC Magazine) Collectively, Americans spent 57.3 billion hours on Google per year. Its video equivalent, YouTube, comes in second with 29.6 billion hours, followed by Facebook with 9.7 billion hours.

[southeastasianists]

All across Asia, and around the world, people have been urged to keep a safe distance and maintain good personal hygiene amid the coronavirus pandemic. But if your “home” is a prison dormitory that holds five times the 100 inmates it was designed to, doing either is almost impossible.Overcrowding is the norm in the prison systems of many developing nations, but the Philippines has long held the dubious distinction of having one of the most jam-packed in the world.

In Manila City Jail, one of an estimated 933 correctional facilities in the country, sweaty bodies lie in cells, toilets, stairways and other poorly ventilated areas, as inmates try to grab some sleep wherever they can. Some even have to take turns.

Poor living conditions – such as the subdivided units or caged homes that impoverished Hongkongers live in, packed migrant workers’ quarters in cities across Southeast Asia and slums with no running water – are traditionally fertile ground for disease transmission.

But with Asia’s largest prison systems plagued by low health care standards and a limited ability to test inmates, experts say any outbreak is likely to be deadlier than in the general population. Already, the suspension of prison visits to prevent the virus from spreading has taken a toll on the mental well-being of inmates.

Field workers and researchers interviewed by This Week in Asia say now is as good a time as ever for the authorities to reduce prison populations and consider initiatives to reform justice systems, while channelling more funds into rehabilitation and health programmes for inmates.

“I actually think things are in dire straits,” said Clarke Jones, criminologist and senior research fellow at the Australian National University. “Prisons and jails [in Southeast Asia] have become so neglected and overcrowded that it will be near impossible to manage if Covid-19 takes a real hold.”

Jones said official records were not transparent and publicly available information on jails was limited.

“There have been many deaths but they are kept secret, not recorded, and [the bodies are] cremated soon after death,” he said. “I don’t think we will ever know the true infection and fatality rates … due to corruption, lack of reporting, and lack of any health care.”

The problem of overcrowding is compounded by chronic underfunding and a general lack of resources. Across Metro Manila’s 47 jails, for instance, “one single doctor is responsible … for a staggering 45,000 inmates”, according to Tobias Brandner, a prison chaplain and professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who wrote a research paper on the subject last year.

“Around HK$550 (US$71) per inmate per year is budgeted for medical needs,” he wrote, adding that for food “less than HK$10 (US$1.29) is available per inmate per day”.

“Not surprisingly, most of the visitors in the entrance area of the [Manila City Jail] wait with large food containers for their relatives behind bars,” Brandner said.

A lack of food further increases the prison population’s vulnerability to a coronavirus outbreak, as malnutrition compromises the immune system.

The fact that “most people who are incarcerated in Asia are young, between 15 and 30 years old … is a good thing” when it comes to Covid-19, said Ziad Tohme, a former doctor who works with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Amid rising concerns about the psychological health of prison inmates cut off from the outside world is the well-being of one group – pregnant prisoners and the 19,000 or so children who live with their mothers behind bars around the world.

“The anxiety and stress created by not being able to communicate with family members or seek mental health support are of significant concern for vulnerable women who have often experienced traumatic violence,” Rope said.

She added that ongoing assessments of the pandemic’s impact on women prisoners showed that those in some areas had it better than others.

“For example, in Kenya where women rely on charities and family members for sanitary pads, they have had a shortage of these vital supplies because such visits are now banned,” she said. “We also know that women are greatly impacted by separation from their children and, at a time like this, it is of huge concern.”

Fear of the pandemic among prisoners has led in recent weeks to several violent riots in detention facilities, such as in Indonesia.

“Inmates are under huge pressure,” said Brandner, the professor, noting that violence could erupt in other prisons. “They are as fearful as everyone else, but they are cramped together, they don’t have anywhere else to go and now they can’t receive regular visits.”

Brandner said that in places like the Philippines, the pandemic was creating “an imbalance in the ecosystems of some prisons”.

Religious groups would often go in and offer food, personal hygiene items and free medical consultations, as well as spiritual and practical advice to mitigate prison hardships – but most of this has stopped.

“It has a great impact on the psychological, material and spiritual well-being of the inmates,” Brandner said. “This isolation is a high price to pay.”

But inmates have not been left completely in the lurch. The ICRC has donated dozens of tablet devices for prisoners in the Philippines to use to call their relatives.

In the Manila City Jail – on the country’s largest island of Luzon where a lockdown has been imposed – visits have stopped but personnel have remained inside the jail, as part of a “carefully worked out and documented strategy to prevent the entry of Covid-19”, said Jones, the criminologist, who recently spoke with the warden there. The facility had not recorded any infections as of end-April.

“Morale is high due to the psychosocial programme they are running for personnel and inmates alike,” he said, adding that a Skype room was set up for inmates to stay in contact with loved ones.

“There are no security issues or unrest as the inmates are kept well informed and consulted on most management issues.”

Official data shows that the Philippines’ prison system is running at about 500 per cent over capacity. As of March, there were 134,748 detainees in the country – a number that has ballooned in recent years largely due to the government’s bloody anti-drugs crackdown.

More than 300 of the country’s prisoners have been diagnosed with Covid-19 – most of whom are housed in detention facilities on the island of Cebu. At least four have died.

But detainees are reporting higher death rates, according to Human Rights Watch, whose deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said “unreported deaths of inmates show the urgent need for the Duterte government to be transparent about the spread of Covid-19 inside the country’s overcrowded prisons”.

In response to the pandemic, Filipino authorities recently released about 10,000 inmates, including some who were serving sentences of six months or less, those being held ahead of trial who could not afford bail, and certain sick and elderly prisoners.

Harry Tubangi, health-in-detention programme manager for the ICRC who is based in the Philippines, noted that the crisis presented uncharted territory for the authorities.

He said his organisation had helped set up five Covid-19 isolation centres for prisoners with more than 500 beds in total, but the length of time waiting for test results – sometimes “more than a week or two weeks” – had made things challenging.

“First thing is to identify suspected cases and isolate them, and then be able to test them and determine the level of severity,” he said. “You also have to sort out patients who have Covid-19 from those who have other infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis.”

Thousands of inmates in Philippine prisons are thought to die of infectious diseases every year.

In total, the country has officially recorded more than 10,000 coronavirus cases and upwards of 650 deaths – numbers that are only expected to rise as it struggles to bring the outbreak under control.

The country is not alone in having prisons that are poised to become a flashpoint for the virus.

In Pakistan, where more than 22,000 infections have been confirmed, about 100 prisoners had tested positive as of April 21 – but the authorities there are only testing inmates who show symptoms, according to Ali Haider Habib of advocacy group Justice Project Pakistan.

Even though prison visits have been suspended, Habib said there had still been a large influx of inmates – about 500 new prisoners a day in some facilities.

“With such a massive churn rate and with prison staff going in and out, Pakistan’s prisons could be on the verge of a serious outbreak if a preventive strategy and contingency plans are not implemented effectively,” he said.

There were many vulnerable detainees in Pakistan, Habib said, with some of the most at risk being the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions.

About 2,400 inmates were already infected with other diseases and viruses such as HIV, while 600 or so had a mental illness – putting them “at particular risk because they are not always able to understand and follow instructions or maintain personal hygiene”, Habib said, citing the Covid-19 deaths that were reported after an outbreak in two psychiatric wards in South Korea.

As well as reducing Pakistan’s prison population, Habib called on the authorities to take other “emergency measures”, such as ramping up testing capacity for both prisoners and staff “and ensuring adequate medical facilities along with the presence of doctors and health care professionals”.

In neighbouring India, prisons were placed under lockdown and thousands of pretrial detainees released on parole after the authorities discovered the virus had begun to spread through the country’s correctional facilities.

It is unclear how many Indian inmates have caught Covid-19, but 19 detainees of Madhya Pradesh state’s Indore Central Jail and 77 inmates at Arthur Road jail in Mumbai tested positive last week.

Madhurima Dhanuka, lawyer and head of the Prison Reforms Programme for the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, told the Associated Press measures needed to be taken soon in India or things would “become extremely difficult”.

“It is a terrifying situation,” she said.

Last month, Indonesia announced that about 30,000 inmates were expected to be released to curb the spread of infection inside correctional facilities. Myanmar also said that about 25,000 people would be freed unconditionally, while Iran granted more than 85,000 people a temporary release and told them to await further instructions.In Thailand, where a group of inmates escaped after rumours of a coronavirus outbreak, jail sentences for 8,000 inmates have been suspended.

Kittipong Kittiyarak, executive director of the Thailand Institute of Justice, said the authorities should consider implementing alternatives to imprisonment as well as ordering a temporary or early release for vulnerable groups and those with non-violent, minor offences.

But even this would not be enough to avoid “catastrophic consequences” in the midst of this pandemic and any similar future crises, he said.

“The virus has brought to the foreground systemic problems that have existed in criminal justice policies for decades, and that is the overutilisation of incarceration as the primary form of sentencing,” he said.

“Especially in this part of the world, punitive drug policies have led to a sharp rise in the number of prisoners.”

In Australia, a group of more than 370 lawyers, academics and advocates signed an open letter urging the authorities to release prisoners, or at least consider the possibility of doing so.

The country’s most populous state of New South Wales had taken steps to pass emergency legislation allowing the government to release selected prisoners early, said Lorana Bartels, a criminology professor at Australian National University who co-authored the open letter.

But no releases have yet happened and “overall, the response has been to focus on measures such as increased hygiene, isolation and distancing, rather than using this as an opportunity to review the operation of the criminal justice system more broadly”, she said.

The pressure on Australia’s prisons was only likely to increase, Bartels warned, given legislation that may not allow those accused of transgressions considered particularly offensive in a pandemic to be released on bail.

While Australia had been relatively successful at minimising community spread of the coronavirus, which had helped prevent major prison outbreaks like the ones seen in the United States and elsewhere, Bartels said she was disappointed at limited moves made to address the penal system’s underlying issues.

Among these are the “over-representation of indigenous people [and] people with poor physical and mental health”.

She said she was among those calling for “justice reinvestment” – or diverting the significant amounts of funding allocated to prisons in Australia to “evidence-based community projects that address the underlying causes of crime”.

According to the latest Penal Reform International report, the majority of people in prison around the world come from disadvantaged backgrounds and are likely to have a history of abuse and neglect.

Brandner, the prison chaplain and professor who also advocates for reducing global prisoner numbers, said that the Philippines’ judicial system needed to be reformed.

“People spend a very long time in detention without being sentenced,” he said.

“Also, more people could serve their sentences in the community instead of being incarcerated.”

Jones, the criminologist, agreed, saying it was difficult to reform a country’s correctional system without a wider change in its judicial system.

“Corruption plagues most systems in developing countries, so most of the money going into rehabilitation or health care gets siphoned off to correctional personnel,” he said.

“Many facilities don’t want to reduce congestion levels as they will lose out on the food budgets, and therefore won’t get money in their back pockets.”

In some cases, Jones said, it was prison gangs – rather than the authorities – who provide inmates with health care and rehabilitation using their own resources.

Tohme, the ICRC expert, said that countries tended to see prisoners as a financial burden, with many among the general populace disconnected from life inside detention facilities.

“But everyone is at risk of being detained. You can drive your car and run over someone,” he said. “Health care in detention is a human right and a public health issue.”

[desainn]

83 Mythical Creatures & Descriptions

This list does not include…

Sci-fi races (sullustian, eldar, sangheili, duros, etc.)

Half-breeds (half-orc, half-elf, etc.)

Sub species (Mirrodin vedalken, hill dwarf, mountain dwarf, etc.)

Types of giants (human giant, giant spider, giant worm, etc.)

Literally thousands of mythical or divine beings I did not think of

1. Saproling - A diverse race of plant entities that dwell in the forests of Dominaria.

2. Dwarf - There are two main races of dwarves (According to WoTC): hill dwarves, and mountain dwarves. They are fairly self-descriptive, however mountain dwarves have improved vision in dark environments. Dwarves are known for their metalworking abilities, short stature, and sturdy build. Some sources claim they can live for an average of 400 years.

3. Elf - A highly debated race prominent in tales ranging from Santa Claus, to MTG. Ignoring the idea of the tiny shoemaking elves of Earth, elves are human-height, thin, agile, stealthy, and in-tune with nature. Warriors of this species often use light swords, long bows, daggers, and staffs.

4. Vedalken - Tall, blue-skinned, knowledgeable beings from MTG and D&D, but most prominently the former. Vedalken have six fingers on each hand. Mirrodin Vedalken have four arms, but that trait is reserved to only members of the Vedalken race from that plane. Believing perfection to be inachievable, Vedalken. Jew progress as a never-ending march to a state of perfection that can never be achieved.

5. Merfolk/Merrow - Female merfolk are commonly known as mermaids- the aquatic (or sometimes amphibious) race of blue- or green-skinned humanoids with fish tails, and oceanic jewelry.

6. Elemental - A diverse group of magical beings centered around a specific element. These are most commonly fire, life, ice, water, and lightning.

7. Angel - Heavenly, winged humanoids. Disregarding Christian ideas of angels, they can be skilled healers, or marksmen. You already know about this one.

8. Demon - The unholy counterpart to angels. Often winged, demons pocess magic capabilities encompassing fire, death, and anger. These beasts reside in the underworld, or hell.

9. Specter - Cloaked figures armed with scythes, who ride undead beasts through the sky. Opposed to flesh, many specters are made of black mist enveloped in dark cloth.

10. Goblin - Thieves, hooligans, and mechanics. Goblins are often in the background committing some silly crime. They can be utilized as comic relief, or cannon fodder, whichever results in their death the quickest (because seriously, these dudes have the highest death rate of anything in this list)

11. Orc - Large, lean warriors wielding clubs, or other blunt weapons. Orcs are commonly portrayed with green skin, and two large stubs of teeth on their lower jaw, sticking out of their mouths.

12. Giant - A collection of large, clumsy humans, spiders, worms, or serpents.

13. Centaur - A mythical Greek idea of a man (or woman) made of a horse from the waist down. Skilled with a bow, or lance.

14. Siren - Two ideas. One: mermaids that sing to lure unwitting sailors into treaterous seas. Two: humans with light blue wings on their arms.

15. Nymph - Nymphs wander in forests, disguised a women. When a traveler approaches, sword sheathed, and shield lowered, the nymph allows its illusion to fade, revealing an evil monster beneath.

16. Minotaur - A bipedal bull with two arms, and two legs that runs around in mazes. “Minotaurs hate tar tar sauce. They’re deathly allergic to tar tar sauce”.

17. Screecher - A flying zombie-demon that screams as it glides.

18. Fairy - Tiny winged humans that flutter through forests. Often times, they will betray travelers, and loot them.

19. Pixie - A fairy that doesn’t lie about being evil, it just accepts that it is. Occasionally, pixies will catch something on fire.

20. Unicorn - A mystical white horse with a golden or ivory horn on its forehead, often bearing pink or blue tails and manes. They love to plunder their horns into tourist’s chests’.

21. Ogre - Either Shrek, or a dungeon-dwelling humanoid with ten blue tentacles, each wielding a different weapon.

22. Troll - A small, dirty man who will collect tolls for crossing bridges. Nothing a crossbow can’t fix.

23. Zombie - The reanimated corpses of lost ones through the use of magic.

24. Fomori - An advanced aquatic race, that builds beautiful cities under the sea. In addition this, they possess vast arsenals of explosives.

25. Stitcher - A zombie made from parts of many deceased creatures.

26. Djinn - Blue- or gray-skinned, mountain-dwelling monks with the ability to levitate themselves.

27. Thrull - A beast faintly resembling a gray-skinned, Balt ox with no horns. The Orzhov Syndicate of Ravnica utilized thrulls as pack animals for transport, and as a container for storing mana, until it would be sucked out of the creature.

28. Rendhorn - A cross between a rhino, and a wolf.

29. Arynx - A large wild cat.

30. Aven - Humanoid birds that live on Dominaria.

31. Semicore/Wierd - An artificial creature that contraditicts its own existence. For example, a membrane of water, and an interior of fire.

32. Naxie - Merfolk-like, semi-humanoid, aquatic and residing in unusually deep forest ponds and lakes, groups of naxies drag travelers stopping for a drink, into the water to eat them.

33. Dragon - A fire-breathing, reptilian beast with near-impenetrable scales. Dragons also boast wings, enabling them to fly.

34. Drake - Similar to a dragon, but leaner.

35. Draco - A serpent dragon that cannot breath fire.

36. Serpentine - A humanoid shake.

37. Truffle - A mushroom person.

38. Hydra - A three-headed dog from Hades.

39. Kobold - Small dragonic men from D&D.

40. God - Magnificent, holy, divine beings. No one knows for sure. Let’s keep it at that.

41. Ent - Tree-like golems that reside in forests. Some ents offer wisdom, others kill travelers.

42. Reaper - A cloaked, reanimated skeleton armed with a scythe, and wielding death magic.

43. Reanimated Skeleton - A skeleton made living through the use of necromancy. Can be destroyed with a hard push.

44. Golem - Living rock or metal creature, sometimes tasked with the defense of an area.

45. Gremlin - A red-skinned animal on Kaladesh with an appetite for Aether.

46. Cyclops - A one-eyes humanoid, sometimes appearing to be human, but other times as large as an orc.

47. Pegasus - A winged horse.

48. Titan - A god-like creature with great strength, and power. Not quite a god, but not a mortal either.

49. Ghoul - A ghost that retains some remnants of it’s past body.

50. Ghost - A spirit that escaped it’s body after death.

51. Phantom - A formless ghost that remains in the mortal realm.

52. Harpy - A colorful bird with a woman’s face.

53. Manticore - A powerful demon lion,

54. Werewolf - Werewolves are sometimes thought of as humans that morph into savage wolf humanoids, in the presence of a full moon. Other times, they remain wolf beings at all times.

55. Elephantine - Humanoid elephants.

56. Wyvern - A sky-dwelling dragon that resides on floating islands, that is sleek, white-, blue-, or green-skinned, and about a three-fourths the size of dragons.

57. Dragonborn - A powerful dragonic man, also called a half-dragon. Skilled with blades of all sorts.

58. Aetherborn - Aetherborn are gray-skinned, black-eyed humanoids spawned spontaneously as a byproduct of the Aether refinement process on Kaladesh. The Aether that makes up heir bodies is gradually returned to the Aethersphere, and in only 3 to 4 years, they have dissolved entirely. One adult human contains enough Aether to allow a single Aetherborn to survive 12 more days. Some members of this race with questionable morals (most notably Gonti) will kill humans in scores, to preserve their own lives.

59. Spirit - A shapeless ghost that retains the ability to communicate with the living.

60. Haunt - A spirit visible as a cloud of thin, black mist, a faintly glowing core, and often wearing a tattered gray cloth.

61. Mimic - Mimics hide in dungeons as chests, or doors. When an unwitting dungeoneer opens the mimic’s disguise, a purple-tongued, toothy beast attacks them. Chest mimics are able to hop around.

62. Vampire - Pale-skinned humans with two pointed fangs, yellow or red eyes, a black cloak, the ability to live forever, a fear of sunlight, and a thirst for blood. Some sources claim that humans bitten by vampires become vampires themselves, however this is unlikely. Weaknesses include silver, wooden stake to the heart, and garlic.

63. Humonculus - One-eyed, blue-gray skinned humanoids created artificially. Though stichers in a technical sense, Humonculus are alive.

64. Devil - Red-skinned, long-horned humanoids that explode upon death.

65. Skywhale - Long-finned whales that float through the atmosphere effortlessly.

66. Griffin - A lion with an eagle’s head, wings, and feet.

67. Abzan Hound - A humanoid dog, skilled with a bow.

68. Leviathan - A large sea serpent whose size is comparable to that of a whale.

69. Nice

70. Naga - A large snake with human arms and facial features near the head.

71. Slime - Gelatin creatures that bounce around. Slimes retain their shape as a flat gumdrop.

72. Horror - Mutant creatures merged together. Mutants have multiple of everything, are terribly boney, and are encased in a loose and thin sheet of skin.

73. Myr - Drones crested by the Mirrodin, that could do nothing but watch the corruption of their planet at the hands of the Phyrexians.

74. Chimera - A winged lion with an eagle’s head, and a snake for a tail.

75. Ooze - An acidic, shapeless slime.

76. Nim - A corrupted zombie reanimated without the use of magic.

77. Hobbit - Short humanoids somewhat resembling a cross between dwarves and humans. They live in houses built into the hillsides, in the Lord of The Rings.

79. Sky Manta - A stingray that flies in the sky.

80. Souleater - A demonic creature that comsumes souls opposed to organic matter.

81. Dementor - From the Harry Potter series, dementors have no legs, wrinkled gray skin, a circular mouth, and “look like something that decayed in water”. They guard the Azkaban Prison.

82. Eternal - A zombie transferred into an artificial body to make it stronger, live forever, and travel through planar gates.

83. My gf

Tell me anything I missed; it will only cause this list to grow stronger, much like any attempt at killing a semicore with pyromancy.

[todaynewsj]

The number of corona identities in the world has crossed 1 crore 80 lakh has been crossed

The number of deaths in Corona in the world has exceeded 6 lakh 88 thousand. And so far the number of corona patients identified has crossed 1 crore 80 lakh . 5 thousand 391 people died all over the world in one day. And at this time 2 lakh 47 thousand 490 people have been identified. 1,123 people have died in the United States in the last 24 hours. With this, the number of deaths in the country has dropped to 1 lakh 57 thousand. About 50 million people have been diagnosed with corona in the country so far. Meanwhile, the death toll in Brazil has exceeded 93,000. 1,046 people died in the country in one day. In Brazil, more than 17 million people have been identified in Corona so far. On the other hand, the corona of more than 50,000 people has been identified in India for 4 consecutive days. As a result, the number of identities in the world's second most populous country has exceeded 17 million. And in the last 24 hours, 852 people have died in the country. With this 37 thousand 403 people died in India. Another 784 people died in Mexico, another North American country. Mexico is now the third deadliest country in the world for corona. The total death toll in the country now stands at more than 47,000. The number of corona identified there is 4 lakh 34 thousand 193 people. Read the full article

[ladystylestores]

North Korea declares an emergency over coronavirus: Live updates | Coronavirus pandemic News

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un placed the city of Kaesong near the border with South Korea under total lockdown over coronavirus concerns, and declared a state of emergency to contain a potential outbreak, North Korea’s state media reported on Sunday.

Vietnam was back on high alert for the coronavirus after medical officials in the central city of Da Nang detected the country’s first locally transmitted case in three months.

Thousands of protests hit the streets of Jerusalem to denounce Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as alleged corruption in his government.

Some 15.9 million people around the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while more than 641,000 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. More than 9.18 million people have recovered.

Here are the latest updates:

Sunday, July 26

04:05 GMT – Italian city slaps $1,150 fines against violators of mask rules

Failure to wear a mask inside stores in the southern city of Salerno has proven costly, AP news agency reported.

Three people in the port city in the Campania region received 1,000-euro ($1,150) fines on Saturday, Corriere della Sera reported.

Campania Govenor Vincenzo De Luca signed an ordinance on Friday establishing fines up to 1,000 euros for not wearing masks in closed public places. Similar fines were handed out on the tourist island of Ischia, in three cafes and in a restaurant, also in the Campania region.

Campania accounted for 21 of Italy’s 275 new virus cases on Saturday, according to Health Ministry officials. Five deaths were reported in the nation of 60 million since Friday, raising Italy’s confirmed death toll to 35,102.

03:50 GMT – Greece reports 31 new COVID-19 cases

Greek authorities have announced 31 new coronavirus cases in the last day, with eight from arrivals from abroad. There were no reported deaths, AP news agency reported.

This developed as authorities announced that visitors from Bulgaria and Romania will need to present a negative test for the virus, taken over the 72 hours preceding their arrival. This measure will go into effect Tuesday.

Greece’s health minister Vassilis Kikilias says eventual vaccination against the coronavirus will not be mandatory, but “strongly recommended.” Kikilias says “vulnerable groups” such as the elderly and those with serious underlying diseases, will have priority.

Total confirmed cases in Greece stand at 4,166 infections and 201 deaths.

03:30 GMT – South Korea COVID-19 cases down as imported infections fall

A child model presents a creation during a fashion show, wearing a mask as a measure to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease, in Seoul on Friday [Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters]

South Korea’s new coronavirus cases dropped to under 60 on Sunday, a day after the country recorded its highest figure in nearly four months due to a surge in infections among people arriving from abroad, Yonhap news agency reported.

The country added 58 new cases, including 46 cases from abroad, bringing the total to 14,150, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

The number of new infections was down 55 from Saturday, when the country’s new cases surged to 113, including 86 cases from South Korean workers’ returning home from Iraq and Russian sailors. It marked the first time since April 1 for the country to report more than 100 cases.

There were no additional deaths, keeping the total death toll at 298.

03:19 GMT – Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 305 to 205,269

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 305 to 205,269, Reuters news agency reported on Sunday quoting data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases.

The reported death toll was unchanged with 9,118, the tally showed.

02:43 GMT – France expands free COVID-19 testing as infection rates rise

French health authorities are making COVID-19 tests available free of charge without prescription as they closely monitor an uptick in infections after the lifting of lockdown measures, Reuters news agency reported on Sunday.

PCR nasal swab tests, which detect COVID-19 infections caused by the novel coronavirus, will be freely available on demand under government orders published on Saturday.

France has recorded 30,192 deaths attributed to the coronavirus, among a total of 180,528 cases of the disease, according to statistics published on Friday.

The number of new daily infections rose above 1,000 for a second day running – around their daily level when lockdown measures were eased in May, following two months of confinement.

02:30 GMT – Lebanon reports highest daily count of COVID-19 cases

Lebanon has reported the highest daily count of coronavirus cases with 175, bringing the total to more than 3,500, according to AP news agency.

Lebanese officials warn of a spike in infections following the easing of restrictions after the country’s only airport opened on July 1. Government officials have urged people to observe social distancing and wear masks.

The country of about 5 million has 47 confirmed deaths and 3,582 reported cases. The government is considering reintroducing restrictions, including closing gyms and nightclubs, which reopened for business after the country relaxed its lockdown.

02:09 GMT – Costa Rica registers record 931 new coronavirus cases and 11 deaths

Costa Rica’s Health Ministry has reported a record 931 new coronavirus cases and 11 deaths, both single-day highs for the small Central American nation where 72 percent of all its confirmed cases have been registered since the beginning of this month.

In total, Costa Rican authorities have reported 14,600 cases and 98 deaths in the country of 5 million people, according to Reuters news agency.

Despite the increase in cases, hotels are operational and the government has announced European, British, and Canadian tourists will be allowed to enter the country beginning August 1. 

01:40 GMT – Mainland China reports 46 new coronavirus cases, including 22 in Xinjiang

Beijing partially reopened movie theatres on Friday as the threat from the coronavirus continues to recede in China’s capital [Mark Schiefelbein/AP]

China reported 46 cases of the new coronavirus in the mainland for July 25, up from 34 cases a day earlier, Reuters reported on Sunday, quoting the country’s health commission.

Of the new infections, 22 were in the far western region of Xinjiang, according to a statement by the National Health Commission. Thirteen were in the northeastern province of Liaoning, while the remaining 11 were imported cases.

China reported two new asymptomatic cases, down from 74 a day earlier.

As of the end of Saturday, mainland China had 83,830 confirmed coronavirus cases, the health authority said. The COVID-19 death toll remained at 4,634.

01:04 GMT – North Korea’s Kaesong placed under lockdown

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un placed the city of Kaesong near the border with South Korea under total lockdown over coronavirus concerns and declared a state of emergency to contain a potential outbreak, AP news agency reported on Sunday quoting North Korea’s state media.

The “maximum emergency system” was implemented after a person was found with suspected COVID-19 symptoms in the city, the Korean Central News Agency said. It said the person is a runaway who had fled to South Korea years ago before illegally crossing the border into the North early last week.

If that person is officially declared a virus patient, he or she would be the North’s first confirmed coronavirus case. North Korea has steadfastly said it has no single virus case on its territory, a claim questioned by outside experts.

01:00 GMT – Mexico reports 6,751 new coronavirus cases, 729 new deaths

Mexico’s Health Ministry has reported 6,751 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 729 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 385,036 cases and 43,374 total deaths.

The government has said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases, according to Reuters news agency.

00:29 GMT – Brazil registers 1,211 coronavirus deaths, health ministry says

Brazil registered an additional 1,211 deaths attributable to the novel coronavirus over the last 24 hours and another 51,147 confirmed cases, Reuters news agency reported quoting the health ministry.

The South American nation has now registered 86,449 deaths and 2,394,513 total confirmed cases as of the end of Saturday.

00:16 GMT – Israelis protest against Netanyahu’s handling of pandemic

Police use water cannons during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s alleged corruption and his government’s handling of the coronavirus disease crisis, near his residence in Jerusalem early on Sunday [Ronen Zvulun/Reuters]

Thousands of protesters hit the streets of Jerusalem to denounce Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as alleged corruption in his government.

Images from Jerusalem showed some of the protesters clashing with police outside the residence of Netanyahu on Saturday night.

The number of people to test positive for coronavirus in Israel topped 60,000 on Saturday as the government struggled to contain a resurgence in infection rates.

With a population of nine million, Israel has reported a total of 455 fatalities from the pandemic.

Israel was one of the first countries to impose a nationwide lockdown and initially was successful in clamping down on the outbreak, before cases surged anew.

00:01 GMT – US state of Arizona reports over 3,700 new cases

Hurricane Hanna roared ashore on the United States’ Gulf Coast in the state of Texas, bringing winds that lashed the shoreline with rain and storm surge – and even threatening to bring possible tornadoes to a part of the country trying to cope with a spike in coronavirus cases.

The first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season made landfall Saturday afternoon at 22:00 GMT. As of Saturday evening, it had maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (145 kph).

Many parts of Texas, including the area where Hanna came ashore, have been dealing with a surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, but local officials said they were prepared for whatever the storm might bring.

________________________________________________________________

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

You can find all the key developments from yesterday, July 25, here.

Source link

قالب وردپرس

from World Wide News https://ift.tt/2ElHDn5

[trinitystennfeld]

#DDay75thAnniversary

Below is a modified version of my Instagram post from today:

Just 75 years ago, more than 150,000 young soldiers from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada stormed the beaches of Normandy on a bold mission to turn the tide of the Second World War and drive the Nazis out of Western Europe for good. Allied casualties that day were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead. The overall D-Day death toll was much higher when you consider the thousands of German soldiers killed, as well as French civilians caught in the crossfire.

Beyond the Orientation Table above, you can see Omaha Beach, where the bloodiest beach landing for US forces on D-Day took place, with an estimated 2,000 casualties.

Just opposite of the beach is Normandy American Cemetery, where 9,380 of our military dead have been laid to rest. Standing in that hallowed place with marble crosses as far as the eye could see was one of the most sobering experiences of my life.

This is my friend Harold. He flew multiple D-Day missions over Normandy in his C-47, first dropping paratroopers, then pulling gliders, and finally picking up the wounded. He lost his wingman that day.

Here is a picture of me and Harold today. It was truly a gift, not to mention an honor, to sit with him and hear his stories and relive his memories (though painful) of the day on which he and his fellow soldiers forever changed the course of history.

I am forever grateful to those who have served and continue to serve. God bless you all.

[todaybharatnews]

via Today Bharat With this, the recovery rate reached 63.12 per cent. The Health and Family Welfare Ministry said, a record 28 thousand 472 people have recovered in the past 24 hours. Presently, the total number of active corona cases in the country is four lakh 11 thousand 133. The Health Ministry said, a total of 37 thousand 724 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the country within 24 hours taking the total number of cases to 11 lakh 92 thousand 915. In a single day, 648 deaths have been reported taking the nationwide toll to 28 thousand 732. However, the case fatality rate is continuously declining in the country and it reached 2.4 per cent. Meanwhile, Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR said that a total of three lakh 43 thousand 243 tests of corona virus samples were conducted by the various laboratories within 24 hours. So far, laboratories have conducted one crore 47 lakh 24 thousand 546 tests. ICMR is continuously ramping up the testing facilities in the country. At present, a total of one thousand 276 laboratories across India are conducting the tests for Covid-19 including 892 government laboratories and 384 private laboratories' chains. AIR correspondent reports that in terms of recovery rate of coronavirus cases, Delhi is at the top with 84.82 per cent recovery rate followed by Ladakh, Telangana, Haryana and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In these five States and Union Territories the recovery rate is above 75 per cent. 19 States and Union Territories have better recovery rates than the national average of 63.12 per cent. In terms of number of people recovered from Covid-19, Maharashtra is leading the tally followed by Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Telangana. There are 29 States and Union Territories which have lower fatality rates than the national average of fatality rate 2.4 per cent. In the total active cases, above 68 per cent caseloads are from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

[breakingnews365]

Coronavirus World Updates: Nearly 2500 people died in US in last 24 hours

Coronavirus World Updates: Nearly 2500 people died in US in last 24 hours

New York. The coronavirus is now ravaging the entire world. Around 38 million people worldwide are infected with the coronavirus. At the same time, the death toll from corona in the world has crossed 2 lakh 65 thousand. In the US alone, around 2500 people have died in the last 24 hours. According to statistics, a total of 38,15,561 cases have been reported worldwide. At the same time, the number…

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Coronavirus anxiety and depression (Washington Post) As the U.S. death toll nears 100,000, with unemployment soaring and people in some parts of the country still under coronavirus restrictions, a third of Americans are showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression, according to new Census Bureau data. After three months of fear and isolation, and amid continuing uncertainty, it’s the most definitive sign yet of the psychological toll exacted by the pandemic.

Spread of coronavirus fuels corruption in Latin America (AP) Even in a pandemic, there’s no slowdown for swindlers in Latin America. From Argentina to Panama, a number of officials have been forced to resign as reports of fraudulent purchases of ventilators, masks and other medical supplies pile up. The thefts are driven by price-gouging from manufacturers and profiteering by politically connected middlemen who see the crisis as an opportunity for graft. “Whenever there’s a dire situation, spending rules are relaxed and there’s always someone around looking to take advantage to make a profit,” said José Ugaz, a former Peruvian prosecutor who jailed former President Alberto Fujimori and was chairman of Transparency International from 2014-17.

Americans try to leave Brazil ahead of coronavirus travel ban (Washington Post) Americans made plans to leave Brazil on Tuesday, hours before a U.S. ban on arrivals from the country was due to take effect. U.S. citizens and green-card holders are exempt from the prohibition, intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus from Latin America’s hardest-hit country. But foreigners in Brazil have struggled to leave the country in recent weeks. The State Department on Tuesday advised all Americans who wished to leave to do so immediately. Jennifer Ribachonek had been scheduled to return to the United States on Friday to care for her parents. Both are set to undergo surgery next month. But her Latam Airlines flight was canceled shortly after the White House announced the travel ban on Sunday. Brazil imposed travel restrictions against foreigners, including Americans, in March. Flights between the two countries, and throughout Latin America, have been sharply limited. Latam, based in Santiago, Chile, the region’s largest airline, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday.

A new Russian stealth bomber? (Foreign Policy) Russia has begun constructing a prototype for its first stealth bomber, according to a Russian state news agency. The aircraft is called the PAK DA and will be designed to match the capabilities of the U.S. B-2 stealth bomber. China is also at work on its own stealth bomber, the Xian H-20.

Northern India wilts under crippling heat wave (AP) As India braces for a hotter than usual summer, many cities in the country’s north are reeling under an intense heat wave with the temperatures on Wednesday crossing a scorching 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). The temperatures in northern India are the highest that the country has seen in decades for this time of the year, and the hot spell is projected to last until Friday. Temperatures in the capital of New Delhi have also soared beyond 47 C (116 F) this week and some states issued advisories urging people to remain indoors and hydrated.

India eases its lockdown (Washington Post) The resumption of domestic flights this week is a clear signal that India is moving to end the world’s largest lockdown, an unprecedented experiment that affected more than 1.3 billion people. The restrictions caused massive job losses, widespread food insecurity and an exodus of workers from India’s cities. Now India is bracing for what comes next. While the lockdown slowed the spread of the novel coronavirus, experts say, it did not succeed in flattening the curve. Instead, the number of fresh cases is rising. India ranks fourth in the world in the number of new cases a day. The shift is an acknowledgment of the economic devastation caused by the shutdown in a country where there is little social safety net. The Indian economy is expected to shrink in the current financial year for the first time since 1980, and more than 100 million people have lost their jobs.

China’s Young Struggle for Jobs in the Post-Outbreak Era (NYT) Relations with the United States are at their lowest point in decades and Hong Kong is seething with fear and anger, but China’s biggest problem by far is getting its people back to work. Millions of workers were laid off or furloughed while China battled the coronavirus outbreak. Many of those who kept their jobs have seen their pay cut and future prospects narrow. China’s youngest workers in particular have entered perhaps the country’s toughest job market in the modern era. Many are reducing their expectations to take any job they can get. The pressure is about to intensify: Another nearly 8.7 million young college graduates are waiting in the wings this year. China is not the only country where younger workers are facing a jobs crisis—young adults in the United States are particularly vulnerable in the downturn. But for the world, global growth will be hard to rekindle until China gets fully back to work. And the damage to the Communist Party could be long lasting. It derives its political power from the promise of delivering a better life for the Chinese people, a promise that has become increasingly difficult to fulfill.

Hong Kong police arrest 300 as thousands protest over security laws (Reuters) Police in Hong Kong fired pepper pellets and made 300 arrests as thousands of people took to the streets on Wednesday to voice anger over national security legislation proposed by China, that has raised international alarm over freedoms in the city. In the heart of the financial district, riot police fired pepper pellets to disperse a crowd, and elsewhere in the city police rounded up groups of dozens of suspected protesters, making them sit on sidewalks before searching their belongings. A heavy police presence around the Legislative Council deterred protesters planning to disrupt the debate of a bill that would criminalise disrespect of the Chinese national anthem.

World watches as South Korea cautiously returns to life (AP) The baseball league is on. Students have begun returning to school. And people are increasingly dining out and enjoying nighttime strolls in public parks. As South Korea significantly relaxes its rigid social distancing rules as a result of waning coronavirus cases, the world is paying close attention to whether it can return to something that resembles normal—or face a virus resurgence. South Korea once had the world’s largest number of coronavirus cases outside mainland China, but its daily caseload has since dropped to around 10-30 and occasionally has hit single digits in recent weeks.

An early U.S. exit from Afghanistan? (Foreign Policy) With an eye on November’s presidential election, U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for a quicker withdrawal of the roughly 12,000 U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan according to the New York Times. The Pentagon is reportedly trying to calm the president’s urgency, and bring the withdrawal schedule more in line with the May 2021 date agreed in the U.S.-Taliban peace deal. Any training and capacity building that U.S. troops have been conducting with Afghan forces has had to be put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, potentially delaying withdrawal even longer. U.S. officials estimate that up to 50 percent of Afghan security forces have the virus.

[brajeshupadhyay]

Coronavirus Outbreak Updates: Confirmed cases in Delhi jump by 428 to 5,532, toll rises to 65; 1,542 recovered so far

00:04 (IST)

Coronavirus in Gujarat Latest Updates

Private hospitals in Ahmedabad asked to open within 48 hours

Private hospitals, clinics, nursing homes in Ahmedabad to be asked to open within 48 hours or lose licence PTI quotes an official as saying

00:00 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

Ten contacts of cop who died of COVID-19 quarantined

10 contacts of the deceased police constable (who tested positive for Covid-19 in his report that came today) have been quarantined, ANI quotes Delhi Police as saying

23:57 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

Another batch of foreign returnees reaches Leh

Operation Namaste- Another batch of foreign returnees arrived in Leh after quarantine at Indian Army facility in Jodhpur. Reception & screening assistance provided by Fire& Fury Corps. Mortal remains of two patients also received with due honours: Indian Army Northern Command pic.twitter.com/IXZ2FIp99i

— ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2020

23:51 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

Cases in Delhi jump by 428 to 5,532

428 positive cases and one death reported in Delhi today, taking the total number of positive cases to 5532 and toll to 65. 1542 persons have recovered so far, including 74 people who were cured today.

23:47 (IST)

Coronavirus in Maharashtra Latest Updates

26 cops from Mumbai's JJ Marg police station test positive

At least 26 personnel at Mumbai's JJ Marg Police Station have tested positive for the coronaviurs, reports PTI. All of them including, 12 officers are undergoing treatment, an official told the news agency.

23:43 (IST)

Coronavirus in Indiai Latest Updates

Air India opens bookings on evacuation flights to London, Singapore and US

Air India on Wednesday said it was taking bookings for flights being run under the MHA's evacuation plan to London, Singapore and select destinations in the US from 8 to 14 May. However, passengers would have to meet eligibility criteria and the airline said it will take no responsibility in case the applicants dont meet the eligibility criteria.

23:22 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

ICMR initiates clinical trial on efficacy of convalescent plams therapy

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has initiated a multi-center clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma to limit COVID-19 associated complications in moderate disease, reports ANI.

23:03 (IST)

Coronavirus in Maharashtra Latest Updates

Pune records nearly a hundred new cases

99 more tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Pune in the last 24 hours while seven persons died due to the viral infection. Total number of cases in the district is has risen to 2,300, including 665 recoveries and 127 deaths, said the health department.

23:01 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

Navy ships to repatriate nearly 2,000 Indians from Male

Two Indian Navy ships have left for the Maldives to bring back nearly 2,000 Indian citizens stranded in the country due to the coronavirus lockdown. 

In a video, tweeted by All India Radio, Indian high Commissioner Sunjay Sudhir said that the two Navy ships will bring the stranded citizens from Male to Kochi and Tuticorin. Sudhir termed it the biggest evacuation exercise of its kind from the neighboring country. 

According to sources, Indians facing medical issues, women and those having lost their jobs will be a priority of the evacuation programme. Many Indians are employed in the hospitality sector in Maldives and have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maldives: Two ships of Indian navy deployed to repatriate around two thousand Indian nationals to Kochi and Tuticorin; Indian high Commissioner Sunjay Sudhir terms it the biggest evacuation exercise of its kind from the neighboring country. @HCIMaldives pic.twitter.com/WDyQe0Hhkv

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 6, 2020

22:38 (IST)

Coronavirus in Rajasthan Latest Updates

Four deaths, 159 fresh cases in Rajasthan; total cases rise to 3,317 

Rajasthan reported a total of 159 fresh cases and four deaths till 9 pm on Wednesday with Jodhpur accounting for the highest number of new COVID-19 infections. 

Of the 159, Jodhpur accounts for 50 patients while 43 were reported in Jaipur. The number of cumulative positive cases in the state as of Wednesday 9 pm stands at 3,317.

With four new deaths reported on Wednesday, the total fatality from the novel coronavirus in the state now stands at  93,.

22:22 (IST)

Coronavirus in Telangana Latest Updates

Telangana reports 11 fresh COVID-19 cases; total rises to 1,107

Eleven fresh cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Telangana on Wednesday, taking the number of people infected by the virus in the state to 1107, according to PTI. 

All the 11 fresh cases have been reported from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area, a COVID-19 bulletin said.

No death occurred today and the number of people who succumbed to the virus continued to be 29, the bulletin added.

It said 20 people were cured/discharged on Wednesday and the number of people discharged till date stood at 648. The number of people undergoing treatment in hospitals (active cases) as of today was 430.

- PTI

21:47 (IST)

Coronavirus in Punjab Latest Updates

Home delivery of liquor to start in Punjab from 7 May

Home delivery of liquor will start from 7 May in Punjab with the state excise and taxation department issuing an order for opening of liquor vends on Wednesday, reports PTI. The liquor stores would be allowed to open only during the curfew relaxation period, which is from 9 am to 1 pm, officials said. However, the timing of delivery of liquor will be decided by the respective assistant excise and taxation commissioners in consultation with deputy commissioners, the order stated.

The delivery of liquor at people's doorsteps will be allowed only during the lockdown period, the order said. Only two litres of liquor will be allowed through home delivery to a buyer against a cash memo. People deputed for home delivery of liquor will be issued identity cards by the department and they will also carry curfew pass, as per the order. Home delivery of Punjab Medium Liquor (PML) will not be allowed, it said.

21:42 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

CRPF headquarters re-opened

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) headquarters reopened today after having remained off bound since last Saturday, after a driver tested positive for coronavirus, reports ANI. During the period, the entire HQ building was duly fumigated as per the existing sanitization protocols, said the security force.

21:38 (IST)

Coronavirus in Haryana Latest Updates

Haryana records one more death, 46 new cases

  Haryana reported one more coronavirus death on Wednesday as the number of people testing positive for the infection rose to 594 with 46 fresh cases.  So far, the virus has claimed seven lives in the state.  The latest victim of the infection is a 25-year-old Panipat man who died on Monday. His test report came on Wednesday, confirming him to be coronavirus case, officials told PTI .

  21:35 (IST)

Coronavirus in Gujarat Latest Updates

11 inmates, three staffers at Ahmedabad's Sabarmati jail test positive in one week

  Eleven inmates and three jail staff members at the Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad have tested positive for coronavirus in the last one week, an official said on Wednesday. However, none of the 11 prisoners, who include both convicts and undertrials, came in contact with other around 2,500 inmates as they had been already isolated, said Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sabarmati jail, DV Rana. Three staff members — two havaldars and one jail

sahayak (constable)— were the latest to test positive for virus, he said.

21:29 (IST)

Coronavirus in Maharashtra Latest Updates

Mumbai COVID-19 cases cross 10,000 

  With 769 fresh infections, casse count in Mumbai climbed to 10,527 while toll rose by 25 to  412, PTI quotes the  Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation as saying.

21:18 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

Two staffers in Shahdara DM's office test positive, says report

India Today reported that two staffers in the Shahdara DM's office tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday.

21:13 (IST)

Coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh Latest Updates

Special train carrying 1,030 migrants arrives in MP from Telangana

A special train carrying around 1,030 migrant workers arrived at Habibganj railway station in Bhopal from Telangana.

Madhya Pradesh: A special train carrying around 1030 migrant workers arrived at Habibganj railway station in Bhopal from Telangana. #CoronaLockdown pic.twitter.com/MIj1lTUMeD

— ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2020

21:07 (IST)

Coronavirus in West Bengal Latest Updates

Bengal govt allows home delivery of liquor

The West Bengal government on Wednesday allowed home delivery of liquor, India Today reported. 

21:01 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

Nitin Gadkari says Centre will try to resume bus transport soon

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said, "Soon government will try to resume bus transport based on some guidelines. There is a need to resume air, railways, and bus transport as people are stranded. I think it needs to be done."

20:49 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

Five flights to bring back Indians stranded in Saudi Arabia tomorrow

As part of the evacuation of Indians stranded abroad, the Centre has decided to operate five Air India flights from Saudi Arabia. The first flight will operate from Riyadh to Kozhikode on Thursday.

20:47 (IST)

Coronavirus in Nagpur Latest Updates

44 new COVID-19 cases reported in Nagpur

The Nagpur municipal corporation said that 44 new cases of coronavirus have been reported in the city on Wednesday, taking total number of cases to 200.

Of these, 139 cases are active. 58 patients have recovered while three others succumbed to the infection in the city.

20:37 (IST)

Coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh Latest Updates

Uttar Pradesh reports 118 new COVID-19 cases today

With 118 new positive cases in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, the tally for COVID-19 positive patients in Uttar Pradesh reaches 2,998. Total 60 deaths have also been reported so far.

20:26 (IST)

Coronavirus in Maharashtra Latest Updates

1,233 new COVID-19 cases, 34 deaths reported in Maharashtra today

The Maharashtra health department said that 1,233 new coronavirus cases and 34 deaths were reported in the state on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 16,758; toll stands at 651.

20:23 (IST)

Coronavirus in China Latest Updates

China says 'won't prioritise' international investigation on source of COVID-19 till pandemic ends

AFP reported the China ambassador to UN as saying that Beijing will not prioritise inviting international experts in to investigate the source of COVID-19 until after the pandemic is beaten.

20:18 (IST)

Coronavirus in Gujarat Latest Updates

Gujarat reports 380 new COVID-19 cases today

The Gujarat health department said that 380 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the state in the last 24 hours. Total number of cases in the state is now at 6,625, including 1,500 cured/discharged and 396 deaths.

20:15 (IST)

Coronavirus in Tamil Nadu Latest Updates

711 new COVID-19 cases reported in Tamil Nadu today

The Tamil Nadu health department said that 711 coronavirus cases were reported in the state on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases to 4,829.

20:02 (IST)

Coronavirus in Odisha Latest Updates

Odisha health update today:

Total positive cases —185 Recovered — 61 Death — 02 Active cases — 122

19:57 (IST)

Coronavirus in Odisha Latest updates

Over 35,000 people returned to Odisha since 3 May

Since May 3, 35540 people have returned to Odisha from other parts of the country by trains, buses and other vehicles. Quarantine for 14 days is compulsory for the returnees to Odisha: Govt of Odisha

19:46 (IST)

Coronavirus in Karnataka Latest Updates

Siddaramaiah slams Karnataka govt over cancellation of trains for migrants

Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Wednesday criticised the Karnataka government for the decision to cancel trains taking migrants back to their native states.

"The decision of CMO  to cancel trains for migrants is not just inhuman but also violation of fundamental rights," he said, adding, "The argument of CMO that construction will not happen if migrants go back just exposes CM's mindset. He is willing to sacrifice the lives of helpless labourers for the sake of invisible hands."

"The decision to go back or to stay back should be with the labourers and not with the government. Labourers are free to choose health or work. Who will take responsibility if something goes wrong? Are we still practicing bonded labour?" he added.

Had the interests of labourers been taken care by the concerned stakeholders, migrants may have stayed back. Even govt did little to address their concerns. I strongly urge @CMofKarnataka to arrange trains for those migrants who wish to go back.#MigrantLivesMatter 4/4

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 6, 2020

19:39 (IST)

Coronavirus in Jharkhand Latest Updates

Two more COVID-19 cases reported in Ranchi today

Two more cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Ranchi, taking the total number of cases to 127 in Jharkhand, out of which 37 patients have recovered, said Jharkhand Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni.

19:36 (IST)

Coronavirus in Punjab Latest Updates

Punjab govt says shops will remain open from 7 am to 3 pm in state

The Punjab home department said that shops will remain open from 7 am to 3 pm in the state. District authorities shall ensure that there is no overcrowding and social distancing is maintained as already advised.

19:28 (IST)

Coronavirus in Maharashtra Latest Updates

One death, 68 new COVID-19 cases reported in Dharavi today

The BMC said that one death and 68 new coronavirus cases were reported in Mumbai's Dharavi on Wednesday. The total number of cases in the area stands at 773, which includes 21 deaths.

19:20 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

Centre prohibits export of alcohol-based sanitisers

Export of alcohol based sanitizers has been prohibited by Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce and  Industry.

Export of alcohol based sanitizers has been prohibited by Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry pic.twitter.com/ZbyAbNMAqw

— ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2020

19:11 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

MHA writes to Bengal chief secy over COVID-19 situation in state 

The Ministry of Home Affairs secretary Ajay Bhalla on Wednesday wrote to West Bengal chief secretary Rajiv Sinha saying that the coronavirus testing in the state was very low and the mortality rate was higher than any other state.

"Response to COVID-19 in West Bengal is characterized by very low rate of testing in proportion to population and very high rate of mortality of 13.2 percent by far highest of any state. 

"This is reflection of poor surveillance, detection and testing in the state. There is also need to increase random testing in crowded clusters," he said.

19:05 (IST)

Coronavirus in Karnataka Latest Updates

Former Karnataka minister slams state govt over cancellation of trains

State Govt cancels trains. Thousands of people,in groups of 10/20,are just WALKING TO UP.@CMofKarnataka this is inhuman.They are so disturbed as to walk home,pls don’t force. Some may die.Govt can not be the paid agent of real estate lobby.Send them well so they want to come back pic.twitter.com/pxnxh7ALBH

— Krishna Byre Gowda (@krishnabgowda) May 6, 2020

19:02 (IST)

Coronavirus in Assam Latest Updates

Assam's first COVID-19 patient recovers, says report

The first coronavirus patient in Assam has recovered after over a month since the infection, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

"The 52-year-old was a cancer patient too, and spent nearly 35 days in the hospital. Assam reported one more recovery on Friday — the patient was released from the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital in Guwahati.

Both were confirmed by Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who said that the patients were discharged from hospital after testing negative in three consecutive tests," the report said.

18:47 (IST)

Coronavirus in Puducherry Latest Updates

Puducherry CM tells Centre to consult states before classifying zones

Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy on Wednesday said the Centre should consult the states before deciding on extending the lockdown and classifying as red, orange and green zones according to the severity of the COVID-19 spread.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "Only, the state governments know the ground realities and the prevailing situation, hence the Centre should hold consultations with the states and take a decision on the extension of the lockdown."

He said only after getting the recommendation of the states should the Centre take a decision on the stretch of containment zone and also on further extension of the lockdown.

(PTI)

18:35 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

Delhi govt says summer vacation will be till 30 June

The Delhi directorate of education said that summer vacation in government and government-aided schools shall be observed as usual from 11 May to 30 June for students.

"However, keeping in view COVID-19, students shall not be called to schools for any teaching learning activity during summer vacation," the statement said.

Summer vacation in govt & govt aided schools shall be observed as usual from 11th May to 30th June for students. However, keeping in view #COVID19, students shall not be called to schools for any teaching learning activity during summer vacation: Delhi Directorate of Education pic.twitter.com/fiintlCr65

— ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2020

18:23 (IST)

Coronavirus in Gujarat Latest Updates

All non-essential shops to be closed from 12 am tomorrow to 6 am on 15 May

The Ahmedabad municipal corporation on Wednesday said that all shops except those providing milk and medicines in the city to remain closed from 12 am on 7 May to 6 am on 15 May.

18:15 (IST)

Coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh Latest Updates

No new COVID-19 case reported in Gautam Buddha Nagar today

The Gautam Buddha Nagar administration said that no new coronavirus case was reported in the district on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases in the district to 192 so far, including 83 active cases.

18:06 (IST)

Coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh Latest Updates

One person tests positive for COVID-19 in Himachal today

The Himachal Pradesh government said that one person tested positive for coronavirus in the state on Wednesday. Total number of cases in the state at is at 43, including three active cases, 34 recovered, and two deaths.

17:54 (IST)

Coronavirus in Odisha Latest Updates

Five new COVID-19 cases reported in Odisha

The Odisha health department said that five new coronavirus cases were reported in the state on Wednesday, taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 185 including 122 active cases, 2 deaths and 61 cured/discharged.

17:44 (IST)

Coronavirus in Karnataka Latest Updates

Karnataka govt raises excise duty on liquor by 11%

Reports said that the Karnataka government on Wednesday hiked the excise duty on liquor by 11 percent "to mop up revenues, two day after allowing its sale". This hike is in addition to the six percent that was announced in the budget, India Today reported.

17:37 (IST)

Coronavirus Pandemic Latest Updates

UN, World Bank issue guidelines to begin schools safely

Reports said that guidelines were laid down by the UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank and World Food Programme for the "best interests of children and overall public health considerations, based on an assessment of the associated benefits and risks to education, public health and socio-economic factor, must be central to national and local authorities' decisions to reopen schools."

17:29 (IST)

Coronavirus in Gujarat Latest Updates

Gujarat Congress blames 'Namaste Trump' event for COVID-19 spread in state

The Gujarat Congress on Wednesday alleged that the 'Namaste Trump' event organised by the state BJP government in on February 24 here was responsible for the spread of coronavirus in the state.

State Congress president Amit Chavda said his party wants an independent probe through a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into this, and will approach the Gujarat High Court soon against government's "criminal negligence".

"People were asked to stand shoulder to shoulder on the road to greet the leaders. Lakhs of people were brought to the stadium in buses. This triggered spread of the virus. This event was not a mistake, but a criminal negligence. The 'Namaste Trump' event was responsible for community transmission of the virus," Chavda alleged.

"We will soon file a petition in the Gujarat High Court demanding a judicial inquiry in it through an SIT having field experts as its members. We will demand action against the government, GCA and the 'Trump Abhivadan Samiti' (committee formed to organise the event) through this petition," he added.

(PTI)

17:25 (IST)

Coronavirus in Kerala Latest Updates

No COVID-19 case reported in Kerala today

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that no coronavirus positive case was reported in the the state on Wednesday. The number of total cases in the state is at 502, including 30 active cases.

17:18 (IST)

Coronavirus in Karnataka Latest Updates

Karnataka reports 20 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours

The Karnataka health department said that 20 more coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours. The total number of cases in the state is at 693, including 354 discharged and 29 deaths.

17:03 (IST)

Coronavirus in West Bengal Latest Updates

112 new COVID-19 cases reported in West Bengal

The West Bengal government said that 112 coronavirus cases were reported on Wednesday, taking the total cases in the state to 1,456. Four deaths were also reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total toll to 72.

16:54 (IST)

Coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh Latest Updates

UP govt says 19 trains carrying people stranded in other states

Uttar Pradesh additional chief secretary Awanish Awasthi said that 19 trains carrying people stranded in other states have arrived in the state. More trains will be arriving. Around 1,200 persons are accommodated in each train.

Coronavirus Outbreak Updates: 428 positive cases and one death reported in Delhi today, taking the total number of positive cases to 5532 and toll to 65.

Two Indian Navy ships have left for the Maldives to bring back nearly 2,000 Indian citizens stranded in the country due to the coronavirus outbreak.

In a video, tweeted by All India Radio, Indian high Commissioner Sunjay Sudhir said that two Navy ships will bring nearly 2,000 Indians from Male to Kochi and Tuticorin.

Rajasthan reported a total of 159 fresh cases and four deaths till 9 pm on Wednesday with Jodhpur accounting for 50 new infections.

Of the 159,  43 were reported in Jaipur. The number of cumulative positive cases in the state as of Wednesday 9 pm stands at 3,317, while the fatalities from COVID-19 rose to 93 with the four new deaths reported on Wednesday.

Eleven fresh cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Telangana on Wednesday, taking the number of people infected by the virus in the state to 1,107, according to PTI.

All the 11 fresh cases have been reported from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area, a COVID-19 bulletin said. No death occurred today and the number of people who succumbed to the virus continued to be 29.

With 769 fresh infections, case count in Mumbai climbed to 10,527 while toll rose by 25 to  412, PTI quotes the  Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation as saying.

As part of the evacuation of Indians stranded abroad, the Centre has decided to operate five Air India flights from Saudi Arabia. The first flight will operate from Riyadh to Kozhikode on Thursday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs secretary Ajay Bhalla on Wednesday wrote to West Bengal chief secretary Rajiv Sinha saying that the coronavirus testing in the state was very low and the mortality rate was higher than any other state.

"Response to COVID-19 in West Bengal is characterized by very low rate of testing in proportion to population and very high rate of mortality of 13.2 percent by far highest of any state.

"This is reflection of poor surveillance, detection and testing in the state. There is also need to increase random testing in crowded clusters," he said.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that no coronavirus positive case was reported in the the state on Wednesday. The number of total cases in the state is at 502, including 30 active cases.

The Border Security Force (BSF) on Wednesday said that while performing operational and essential duties, 85 more personnel have been infected with COVID-19. It's reiterated that in each establishment of BSF, SOPs are strictly being followed.

Instructions of MoHFW are enforced and religiously followed to check spread of pandemic, the statement added.

After the West Bengal government prohibited the entry of a goods truck through border crossings between India and Bangladesh, the Ministry of Home Affairs wrote a letter to the West Bengal chief secretary saying that the state's action to restrict movement of essential supplies violated the MHA order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

"Under new guidelines on lockdown measures issued vide MHA order under Clause 12, no State/UT shall restrict cargo movement for cross-border land trade under treatries with neighbouring countries," read the letter written by Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla.

Haryana reported 555 confirmed cases so far after seven more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday. The state has reported six COVID-19 deaths till now, said Haryana Health Department.

Nineteen fresh cases have been detected in Karnataka on Wednesday taking the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 692. This figure includes 29 deaths, one non-COVID death and 345 discharged persons.

Among the new cases, 13 are from Bagalkote alone, The Hindu reported.

Centre's decision to raise petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10-13 per litre unfair, should be withdrawn, said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a tweet on Wednesday. In a tweet in Hindi, Congress leader said: 'The ongoing battle with Coronavirus is causing severe economic hardship for our millions of brothers and sisters. At this time, instead of lowering prices, the government's decision to increase the tax per liter is unfair and should be withdrawn.'

After sixty fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported in Andhra Pradesh in the past 24 hours, the total confirmed cases in the state climbed to 1,777 on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that 12,76,781 samples have been tested for COVID-19 across the country till 9.00 am on Wednesday.

The Karnataka government announced an economic package of Rs 1,610 crore to provide relief to various sections of the society amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a journalist with the Deccan Herald, the relief package will benefit farmers, labourers, entrepreneurs, weavers and daily wage earners to overcome the financial crisis faced due to the lockdown imposed in view of COVID-19.

A one time relief of Rs 5,000 will be provided to people.

Senior leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday castigated the government on its coronavirus response, saying that new or higher taxes will impoverish families further.

Opposing Centre's decision to impose higher tax burdens when economic activity has ground to a halt, the former finance minister said, "Governments should give money to the people in times of distress, not squeeze and take money from the people."

After 296 fresh cases were registered in Delhi in the past 24 hours, the total confirmed cases in the National Capital rose to 5,104 on Wednesday, said Health Minister Satyendra Jain.

With 35 more individuals testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Rajasthan, the total confirmed cases in the state climbed to 3,193 on Wednesday, according to the health department.

While, another fatality due to COVID-19 took the toll to 90. The recovery rate stood at 48 percent after 1,536 patients were discharged.

Three BSF camps in Tripura's Dhalai district were sealed and declared "containment zones" after 40 personnel including two children tested positive for COVID-19 since Saturday.

On Tuesday, 13 more BSF personnel including a mess worker at 138 batallion posted in Ambassa sub-division tested positive.

The state health department sealed the BSF camp at Jawaharnagar, Karina border outpost and BSF base at Gandacherra, where the cases were detected and declared areas within 3-km radius into containment zones.

As many as 14,182 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far, thereby taking the recovery rate at 29% on Wednesday. While, the infectious disease has claimed the lives of 1,694 people across the nation with the mortality rate being at 3.3 percent.

India registered 49,391 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday with 1,694 COVID-19 deaths, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Of the total, there are 33,514 active cases. The recovery rate across the nation stood at 29 percent after 14,182 were discharged.

An airlift operation will commence on Thursday with 64 flights bringing back close to 15,000 Indian nationals from 12 countries in the first week of the ambitious exercise to repatriate lakhs of people.

The operation, as foreign minister S Jaishankar said in a tweet, is titled 'Vande Bharat Mission'.

The official handle of Aarogya Setu contact-tracing app, developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, asserted late on Tuesday that "no personal information of any user has been proven to be at risk".

The reply from the team came in response to a tweet by Elliot Alderson, a French security researcher, earlier in the day, who claimed: "Hi @SetuAarogya, A security issue has been found in your app. The privacy of 90 million Indians is at stake. Can you contact me in private? Regards. PS: Rahul Gandhi was right."

A clause limiting the government's liability to user data for its Aarogya Setu contact tracing app has made some legal experts question whether, in case of unauthorised access to the information, a legal recourse would be the only option available, especially since the app has been made mandatory for a significant section of citizens.

According to the app's terms and conditions, the user "agrees and acknowledges that the Government of India will not be liable for…any unauthorized access to your information or modification thereof."

The nationwide tally of COVID-19 cases rose by a record 3,900 on Tuesday while deaths from the deadly coronavirus topped the 1,500-mark with nearly 200 more fatalities, even as the Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said "fighting coronavirus is no rocket science" and that "people may remember this pandemic as a blessing in disguise if they imbibe good hygiene practices".

Vardhan told PTI that India has been able to stave off community transmission of COVID-19 and hoped that the "behavioural changes" brought about by the infection could become the "new normal" for a healthy society after the pandemic abates.

In its 5 pm official update on the COVID-19 situation in India, the Health Ministry said the death toll due to COVID-19 has risen to 1,583 with 194 fatalities reported since Monday evening, while the number of cases saw a big jump of 3,875 to reach 46,711.

However, a PTI tally of numbers reported by different states and Union territories till 6.30 pm showed more than 47,000 people testing positive for the virus so far, while it put the death toll at over 1,500. It also showed nearly 13,000 COVID-19 patients having recovered.

Tamil Nadu, Gujarat report huge spike in COVID-19 cases

Tamil Nadu reported 508 new cases on Tuesday, which took its tally past 4,000, while in Gujarat too, 441 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus, taking its total to more than 6,200. Several other states also reported rising numbers.

Experts, however, said the peak of this deadly virus outbreak was yet to come and may be witnessed in India over the next 4-6 weeks, while another spurt might be seen later during the winter season.

The numbers suggested that more than one-third of the total confirmed cases across the country have been detected in the past one week, with only a few urban centres in a handful of states including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi accounting for a bulk of it.

Govt to bring back Indians stranded abroad

Fears also emerged that India's tally may increase further with the government announcing plans to bring back a large number of Indians from various countries, beginning on Wednesday.

PTI quoted sources as saying that over three lakh people have registered for the evacuation from the Gulf region itself.

While the absolute number of cases and the toll in India is lower than many others, with more than 2.5 lakh people having lost their lives and over 35 lakh having been infected worldwide ever since the emergence of this virus in China last December, the lockdown restrictions have been lifted in several countries and many of them are now reporting few or zero cases.

Government officials, however, maintained that India has managed to stave off a community transmission risk and the country remains in a "comfortable" position in terms of managing the COVID-19 crisis, though they cautioned against any laxity at the field level.

Meanwhile, scores of migrant workers, desperate to travel back to their native states amidst the coronavirus-induced lockdown, on Tuesday came out on streets in Ahmedabad and Surat in Gujarat, officials said.

While more than 1,000 migrant workers carrying luggage gathered in Nikol area in Ahmedabad following a rumour that buses would be run for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, several others came on streets in Varachha area of Surat city.

According to PTI, Gujarat has seen the maximum movement of migrant workers to their home states in about 35 shramik special trains, followed by Kerala from where 13 such trains have left.

Among the receiving states, Bihar has accepted 13 trains, with 11 more currently on the journey and six in the pipeline, the data shows.

Neighbouring Uttar Pradesh has received 10 such trains and five more are on their way, with 12 in the pipeline, the data shows.

The West Bengal government has, however, given clearance to only two trains -- one each from Rajasthan and Kerala -- and they are on their journeys to the state, the data shows.

Highest single-day jump in toll and cases

The Health Ministry said the country recorded a record single-day increase of 195 deaths and 3,900 cases between Monday 8 am and Tuesday 8 am. These included fatalities reported from West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, among other places.

At the same time, the recovery rate has improved to 28.17 percent, health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said during a press briefing on the COVID-19 situation.

"We are very comfortable in terms of managing COVID-19 as of now, but any laxity at the field level or any lack of cooperation may have its consequences,” he warned. Agarwal also said that the delay in reporting of COVID-19 cases by certain states has led to the sudden spurt in figures.

The country's top medical institute AIIMS' Director Randeep Guleria, however, claimed that the COVID-19 curve has remained relatively flat so far, but cautioned that the continued rise in the number of cases at a steady rate is a cause of concern.

Different modelling experts have predicted that a peak in the number of cases of COVID-19 may occur in the next four to six weeks — that is by the end of May or the middle of June, Guleria said, while stressing on the need to remain extra vigilant and to make efforts to reduce the number of cases in the hotspots.

"However, the number of cases continue to rise at a steady rate and this is a cause of concern. Every citizen should understand his responsibility and sincerely follow the principles of lockdown and social distancing, especially if they are in hotspots or containment areas," Guleria, a pulmonologist, said.

He also said that the country may see a rise in COVID-19 cases during the winter again.

Must do 'balancing act' between health, economy: Harsh Vardhan

The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said in a report that India's unemployment rate has soared to 27.11 percent amid the COVID-19 crisis, from below 7 percent in mid-March.

The Mumbai-based think tank said the rate of unemployment was the highest in the urban areas, which constitute the most number of the red zones due to the COVID-19 cases, at 29.22 percent, as against 26.69 percent for the rural areas.

Separately, Vardhan also underlined the importance of the nationwide lockdown, imposed since 24 March and scheduled to remain in place till 17 May, and said health should be on the radar just as much as the economy.

  “The government has to do a balancing act,” Vardhan said on the need to focus on the health of people as well as on the economy.

He also said the nation, in a post-coronavirus future, could well look back on the pandemic period as a “blessing in disguise” if Indians imbibe hand, respiratory and environmental hygiene and practise it daily.

"By now we know that fighting coronavirus is no rocket science. If behavioural changes such as hand, environmental and respiratory hygiene, which are being practiced more rigorously during this period, get imbibed in society it will become the new normal," Vardhan said.

Other than smallpox and polio, no other viral infection has been completely eradicated from this country. Other diseases keep recurring, the minister said, indicating that COVID-19 might be here for the long haul.

In the meantime, new cases that were detected on Tuesday included the serving and retired armed forces personnel in the Army's Research and Referral hospital in the National Capital.

Authorities also sealed a floor of Shastri Bhavan, which houses several important ministries, after a senior official of the Law Ministry tested positive for the coronavirus. This was the second incident of a government building being partially cordoned off in the Lutyen's Delhi within a week, after the NITI Aayog building in the high-security zone was sealed on 28 April for 48 hours after a director-level officer tested positive for the virus.

Before that, Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, which houses the Civil Aviation Ministry, was sealed for sanitisation.

In other such incidents, the CRPF headquarters and a portion of the BSF headquarters were also sealed recently. These buildings are in CGO Complex in the national capital.

UK's COVID-19 toll crosses Italy's casualties

Britain on Tuesday became the first country in Europe to confirm more than 30,000 coronavirus deaths, and infections rose sharply again in Russia, even as other nations made great strides in containing the scourge. China marked its third week with no new reported deaths, while South Korea restarted its baseball season.

China and South Korea together reported only four cases on Tuesday, while Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand were among the countries having reported no cases for two consecutive days.

Also, focus seems to have shifted globally towards developing a vaccine with several world leaders committing more than $8 billion since Monday for this purpose.

In the US, some states took continued steps to lift the lockdown restrictions that have thrown millions out of work, even as the country recorded thousands of new infections and deaths every day.

Underscoring the stakes, New York state reported 1,700 more people died in nursing homes than it had previously counted.

The British government said about 28,700 people with COVID-19 had died in hospitals, nursing homes and other settings, while Italy reported close to 29,100 fatalities. Both figures are almost certainly underestimates because they include only people who tested positive, and testing was not widespread in Italian and British nursing homes until recently.

With inputs from agencies

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China restricts travel for 35 million people as the death toll rises.

The authorities on Friday greatly expanded a travel lockdown in central China to include 12 cities near the center of the outbreak, effectively penning in 35 million residents — nearly the population of Canada — in an effort to contain the deadly virus.

The new limits — abruptly decreed ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, China’s busiest travel season — were an extraordinary step that underlined the ruling Communist Party’s deepening fears about the outbreak of a little understood coronavirus.

Just one day after China restricted travel in and from Wuhan, a city of 11 million people and the capital of Hubei Province, and four nearby towns, the government announced plans to suspend public transportation services covering more than half the population of the province.

The rapidly expanding outbreak has overwhelmed the province’s hospitals and fueled fears of a global pandemic. Chinese health officials reported on Friday that there had been 26 deaths from and 830 cases of the coronavirus, a sharp increase.

On Thursday morning, the authorities imposed a travel lockdown in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. Airlines canceled hundreds of flights to Wuhan, leaving thousands of people stranded.

Later in the day, officials said they would also halt public transportation in the nearby cities of Huanggang, Ezhou, Zhijiang and Chibi, which are together home to more than nine million residents. And by Friday, restrictions had been announced in eight other cities.

China reports two deaths outside the epicenter.

The official death toll from the mysterious coronavirus increased by more than a half-dozen in 24 hours, while the number of confirmed cases jumped by more than 200.

The majority of the deaths have occurred in Hubei Province in central China, but two deaths have been confirmed outside the epicenter.

One patient died in Hebei Province, more than 600 miles north of Wuhan, the authorities announced on Thursday.

Another death was confirmed in Heilongjiang, a province near the border with Russia, more than 1,500 miles from Wuhan.

The disease has also been detected in Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States, in travelers who had visited China.

Residents, some displaying symptoms of the virus, are turned away from overrun hospitals.

As Wuhan residents waited in long lines at hospitals to be checked for possible coronavirus infections, some residents complained they were not able to get the treatment they needed.

Xiao Shibing, 51, has had a fever for 15 days and finds it difficult to breathe. When he went to a hospital, he was not given a test for the new coronavirus, said his daughter, Xiao Hongxia. He was told he had a viral chest infection and was sent home.

Mr. Xiao’s family has continued to seek treatment, visiting other hospitals but being turned away by at least three because of a shortage of beds, his wife, Feng Xiu, said. “It is like kicking a ball from here to there,” she said.

Cai Pei, 41, said his wife began coughing and developed a fever three days ago. He wrote on Weibo that hospitals would not admit her, and he had difficulty finding masks and cold medicine in local pharmacies.

They still do not know if she is infected with the new coronavirus or some more common ailment.

“Sometimes I can only hide and cry, but I couldn’t tell her and had to reassure her that it is not the virus,” Mr. Cai said by phone. “It is very scary. If it’s real, we have a child and elderly parents at home. What if we all get sick?”

Anxiety hangs over residents on Lunar New Year’s Eve.

The Lunar New Year is the most important holiday in the traditional Chinese calendar and celebrations start on the eve, which this year falls on Friday. Chinese are expected to travel home in time to help wrap dumplings or fry sticky rice cakes for all-important reunion dinners with their extended families. At midnight, families around the country would set off firecrackers and fireworks.

But these celebrations are set to be far more muted this year, particularly in Wuhan and other parts of Hubei Province where the authorities have imposed travel restrictions.

In Wuhan, people waited anxiously on Friday outside Hankou Hospital, one of the medical facilities designated to test for the coronavirus, as their relatives sought treatment inside.

Several of them said the Lunar New Year would pass this year without the usual celebrations or vacation travel. They and other residents said that the city is now also confronting food supply problems because so many shops and markets have closed, adding to the hardships caused by the city shutdown.

“We won’t have a new year celebration tonight. There’s no feeling for it, and no food,” Wu Qiang, a city resident in his 50s who was waiting outside the hospital entrance for word about his son, told a New York Times correspondent.

Mr. Wu said he understood the need to close off the city, but added that city authorities should ensure that enough shops and markets are selling fresh food. He said his son had been sneezing, setting off alarm at home.

“I think he’s O.K., but now even an ordinary sneeze makes you worry,” Mr. Wu said. “You start to think every cough or sneeze might be the virus.”

Chen Yanming, 47, who said her father may have contracted the coronavirus, said she was melancholic and anxious as the Lunar New Year came. She said her father had had a high fever for a few days and was being treated inside the hospital.

“Today should be the Chinese people’s happiest day,” she said, “but this sickness has destroyed that feeling.”

Hospitals in Wuhan make urgent appeals for supplies and help.

Hospitals and medical workers at the center of the outbreak made urgent appeals for supplies, as stocks of surgical masks and other equipment quickly flew off shelves.

“Shortage of medical supplies, request help!!!” the Wuhan Children’s Hospital said Thursday in a post on Weibo, a Chinese social network.

The hospital asked for donations of surgical masks, disposable garments, protective goggles and gloves.

Several other hospitals, including the Hubei General Hospital, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University and the Central Hospital of Wuhan posted similar notices.

The central government on Thursday acknowledged the severe strain on resources, and the Ministry of Finance announced an urgent allocation of one billion renminbi, about $144 million, for epidemic prevention and control work.

State news media also carried reports of people volunteering to help ease the strain on health workers.

Young doctors at the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University volunteered to take on additional shifts or to take over from colleagues with children, the state broadcaster CCTV reported.

A team of 30 volunteers in Wuhan mobilized to drive doctors to and from hospitals, while others have offered to help the local Red Cross answer phone calls and publicize requests for help from hospitals, according to a report by the China Business Journal.

Masks may help, but experts say it’s more important to wash your hands.

Many infectious disease specialists say that cheap, disposable masks that cover the nose and mouth can help prevent the spread of infections if they are worn properly and used consistently.

But there isn’t much high-quality scientific evidence on their effectiveness outside health care settings, experts say.

Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, chairwoman of the public health committee for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said surgical masks are “the last line of defense.”

The masks will, however, block most large respiratory droplets from other people’s sneezes and coughs from entering your mouth and nose, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Coronaviruses are primarily spread through droplets, he said.

Dr. Mark Loeb, an infectious disease specialist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, said a study during an outbreak of the SARS coronavirus found that any type of protection — whether a mask or a respirator — reduced the risk of infections in health care workers by about 85 percent.

“The most important message was that the risk was lower if they consistently used any mask,” he said.

The American and British governments on Friday urged travelers to avoid the city of Wuhan and the surrounding area amid growing signs that the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus is worsening.

The American Embassy in Beijing advised travelers from the United States to avoid Hubei Province, where Wuhan is the capital. It said the State Department had already ordered nonemergency government personnel to leave the city. It further warned that the Chinese government might prevent travelers from arriving or leaving.

The notice from the State Department was a Level 4 advisory, the sternest warning the United States government issues regarding travel. Other Level 4 warnings issued by the State Department cover travel to Syria, North Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq, Venezuela and Yemen, among other places.

The warning is a step up from Washington’s earlier cautions. Just a day before, the American government had been advising travelers to “exercise extreme caution” when traveling to the Wuhan area.

The British government, in a notice dated Thursday, similarly advised against all but essential travel to Wuhan.

A Texas student may be infected, health officials say.

A Texas A&M University student was being isolated at home on Thursday as health officials said they were examining whether he could be the second known case of Wuhan coronavirus in the United States.

The man had traveled from Wuhan, China, where the outbreak of the respiratory illness began, and health care providers determined that he met the criteria for coronavirus testing, health officials in Brazos County, Texas, said. They said they would promptly announce if testing confirmed the patient’s illness was a case of Wuhan coronavirus.

Texas A&M said in a statement that the immediate health risk to those on its campus in College Station was considered low.

The case marked a growing roster of people being monitored around the United States since officials identified the country’s first confirmed Wuhan coronavirus patient in Washington State this week. Officials have been working to contact people who were on his flight home from the Wuhan region, and on Thursday they increased the number of people they have identified as having had close contact with that patient in recent days to 43. Those people will get daily check-ins from medical personnel to monitor their health.

Reporting was contributed by Chris Buckley, Javier Hernández, Vivian Wang, Austin Ramzy, Elaine Yu, Tiffany May, Carlos Tejada, Russell Goldman, Gillian Wong, Paulina Villegas, Steven Lee Myers, Denise Grady, Karen Zraick, Roni Caryn Rabin, Carl Zimmer and Rick Gladstone. Amber Wang, Albee Zhang, Claire Fu, Elsie Chen, Yiwei Wang and Zoe Mou contributed research.

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(Bloomberg) -- Authorities are assessing mass property damage across southeastern Australia after searing temperatures and strong winds exacerbated catastrophic wildfires Saturday in one of the worst days of the weeks-long crisis.Dozens of communities, from small towns on the south coast of New South Wales, to alpine villages in neighboring Victoria state, were razed as fires grew so large they generated dry thunderstorms. Milder weather, including patchy rain, across scorched areas brought some relief Sunday, though flame-fanning wind gusts have frustrated efforts to quell about 200 blazes before fire conditions worsen later in the week, authorities said.Thousands of people, including tourists, heeded the advice of authorities and evacuated a 350-kilometer (217-mile) stretch of coastline as well as dangerous inland areas over the past few days to escape the intensifying infernos. But many remained, hosing down their properties to protect against falling embers as they anxiously waited to see if the winds would blow the fire front in their direction.The unfolding tragedy, that’s blackened about 5 million hectares (12.3 million acres) across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia alone, has prompted millions of dollars of donations and support from international celebrities, sports stars, and the British Royal Family.Australia Fire Maps: Where the Devastating Wildfires Are BurningTwo people died in wildfires that have destroyed more than a third of South Australia’s Kangaroo Island, devastating the national park and farmland and severely damaging the luxury Southern Ocean Lodge resort. Penrith, on the outskirts of Sydney, reached a record 48.9 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) Saturday, symbolic of the dangerous weather conditions that have fanned ferocious flames and sparked new blazes further south.Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Saturday an unprecedented level of military support to boost firefighting and recovery efforts as the national death toll from four months of infernos rose to 23.A video set to electronic music posted on Morrison’s Twitter and Facebook accounts outlining the additional measures sparked thousands of comments. Some praised the deployment of as many as 3,000 army reservists, while others, including the Australia Defence Association, lambasted the 50-second clip, which spawned mocking renditions.Morrison told reporters Sunday that the video was produced to “communicate as simply and helpfully” as possible what the government is doing to help people.Australia’s Wildfire Crisis: Key Numbers Behind the DisasterHere’s the latest (all times local):Emergency warnings (4:30 p.m.)Emergency warnings remain for three wildfires in Victoria, and one has prompted a call to evacuate now, even as cooler weather has brought some relief, the state’s Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp told reporters in Melbourne. About 800,000 hectares (2 million acres) have been burned in East Gippsland and 180,000 hectares have been razed in the state’s northeast, he said.“We have had a couple of very difficult days,” Premier Daniel Andrews told the media briefing. “Today is a bit easier.”The number of people unaccounted for across the state has fallen to four from seven earlier Sunday, Andrews said. His government will contribute A$2 million ($1.4 million) to a Victorian Bushfire Fund supported by Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd., almost matching pledged donations from the public, to support relief and recovery efforts in affected communities.Flights canceled (3:00 p.m.)Qantas Airways Ltd. canceled afternoon flights arriving in and departing from Canberra, where air pollution was at least four times higher than the minimum threshhold for “hazardous, ” prompting the release of particulate-filter masks from the national stockpile. Mail deliveries to the national capital were suspended Friday by Australia Post, which cited the impact of poor air quality on the safety of its workers.Eden threat (2:50 p.m.)Fire activity has eased around the southeastern New South Wales town of Eden, the New South Rural Fire Service said. Earlier, massive wildfires that crossed the Victorian border encroached on the coastal town, prompting warnings from authorities for those remaining there to leave.Dozens of people had sought shelter on Eden’s wharf, but police say that area is no longer safe, ABC reported. The Rural Fire Service said people in the town should seek shelter in a solid structure and enact their fire plans.The Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Adelaide is stationed offshore with about 400 personnel to aid relief efforts.Energy impact (1:17 p.m.)Extensive wildfire activity in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales has hindered electricity supplies, the state’s Department of Planning, Industry & Environment said in a statement.The Australian Energy Market Operator, TransGrid, and state and territory governments are working closely to keep power supplies on, but weather conditions Sunday may cause power to be turned off in parts of the network ahead of peak evening demand.New Zealand aid (12:40 p.m.)New Zealand will send three helicopters and crew and two army combat engineer sections to Australia as part of additional support for wildfire-fighting efforts, Defense Minister Ron Mark said.The New Zealand contingent will deploy in the coming week to the Royal Australian Air Force’s Edinburgh based in Adelaide, South Australia, and will remain in Australia at least until the end of January, Mark said in a statement Sunday.Fire Emergencies (12:30 p.m.)Firefighters are battling 48 blazes across Victoria state, including two that represent a severe threat, the state’s Emergency Management Commissioner Crisp told reporters in Melbourne.About 900,000 hectares have been razed, mostly in the state’s East Gippsland region. Seven people are unaccounted for in the state, which has maintained “disaster” footing to heighten the political response to the crisis, which Crisp described as “dynamic” and “dangerous,” even as cooler weather and rain helped quell the firefronts.Recovery agency (11:30 a.m.)Australia will mount a national bushfire recovery agency to run for two years to support the health and well-being of people affected by the wildfires and recovery efforts, Morrison told reporters in Canberra. The government’s midyear budget projections are still on track even with the additional fire-fighting costs, he said.The government is calling for helicopter support from allies to help combat the wildfires, Defense Minister Linda Reynolds said during the briefing.Losses mount (11:08 a.m.)The Insurance Council of Australia estimates fire-related losses at A$375 million from 5,850 claims received so far. It’s the “widest ranging bushfire catastrophe that we have ever declared,” Campbell Fuller, a spokesman for the council, told ABC television.Assessments of property damage from Saturday’s inferno are expected to be tallied later Sunday.Milder weather (8:15 a.m.)Milder conditions in New South Wales are providing some relief after a “very long night for many residents,” New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.No one is unaccounted for in the state. Authorities may have estimates of the extent of property damage as early as Sunday afternoon, she said.Almost 150 “volatile, dynamic” fires are still blazing across the state, Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said, after the service’s second-busiest day.“It was an awful day yesterday, a very difficult day,” Fitzsimmons said, adding that hot weather forecast later in the coming week may bring more fires.Property losses will run into the “hundreds,” he said. Four firefighters were injured battling blazes in New South Wales, and a 47-year-old man died from a cardiac arrest after aiding efforts.Property damage (7:30 a.m.)Communities are bracing for news of property damage and loss early Sunday after another long night for firefighters. Southern New South Wales was ablaze into the early hours, with two emergency-level fires burning, including in the Bega Valley, near Victoria’s northeastern border.Cooler weather and light rain across parts of eastern Victoria has provided some relief and enabled firefighters to reduce the number of emergency-level fires to 4 from 17.‘Atomic bomb’ (5 a.m.)Officials issued new emergency warnings for bushfires that hit communities including Buldah, Cann River and Club Terrace in Victoria, saying it’s too late to leave. Hours earlier, residents of Dandongadale and Nug Nug were advised to evacuate immediately.At midnight, the fire service in New South Wales said the threat is “still not over” with seven fires at emergency warning and 11 labeled watch and act. A statewide total fire ban remains in effect for Sunday.“This is not a bushfire,” New South Wales Transport Minister Andrew Constance told ABC radio. “It’s an atomic bomb.”\--With assistance from Edward Johnson and Ben Bartenstein.To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Melbourne at j.gale@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Stanley JamesFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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