California officials probe 2 separate deaths of African-American men

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Authorities in California were investigating two separate deaths by hanging of African-American men as “Black Lives Matter” protests continued to spread across the US.

City and county officials have called for an independent investigation into the death of Robert Fuller, 24, who was found hanging from a tree on June 10 near the city hall of Palmdale, Xinhua news agency quoted the Los Angeles Times as saying in a report on Sunday.

On Sunday, protesters marched from the site of Fuller’s death to the Sheriff’s Department station to demand an investigation.

The Los Angeles County medical examiner-coroner’s office initially called the death a suicide.

But Fuller’s family and civic leaders quickly pushed back, insisting that it be investigated as a homicide and demanding an independent probe and autopsy.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger also requested that California Attorney General Xavier Becerra conduct an independent investigation into Fuller’s death, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Fuller is the second African -American man whose body was found hanging in a tree in Southern California in less than two weeks.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said the investigation into the death of Malcolm Harsch, 38, is ongoing, reported the newspaper.

Harsch’s body was found on May 31 near the Victorville City Library.

The County Sheriff’s Department said on Saturday that foul play was not suspected in the death of Harsch.

But in a statement to a Southern California news outlet, the Victor Valley News, Harsch’s family said they found it hard to accept his death was a suicide, noting that he had recent conversations with his children about seeing them soon and that he did not seem to be depressed to anyone who knew him.

“Two Black men were found hanging from trees in California in the last 2 weeks… Authorities are calling them suicides. What Black man do you know who hangs himself from a tree? These are lynchings. Not ‘modern-day lynchings,’ old school ones,” tweeted Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles on Sunday.

7 held for con job in UP Secretariat

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The UP Special Task Force (STF), on Sunday, arrested seven people, including the private secretary of a minister of state, for duping people after promising to award them contracts.

Additional superintendent of police (ASP), STF, Vishal Vikram Singh said 14 people, including some journalists and staff of the Vidhan Sabha secretariat, were involved in duping an Indore-based trader, Manjit Singh Bhatia, for a fodder supply contract.

Bhatia has allegedly duped of Rs 9.72 crore by the conmen.

Singh said that more arrests and recoveries were likely in the matter soon.

The accused had easy access to the secretariat and even used a room there as their office, which made people believe that they were capable of awarding government contracts.

The ASP said those arrested were identified as Rajneesh Dixit, who is the private secretary to the minister of state, a contractual class four employee Dheeraj Kumar Dev, Ashish Rai and A.K. Rajeev a.k.a. Akhilesh Kumar (who claims to be a journalist).

Anil Rai, Rupak Rai and Uma Shankar Tewari were arrested later on Sunday night.

He said total of Rs 28.32 lakh was also recovered from the houses of Ashish Rai and.

He said the names of seven more people, including Arun Rai, Monty Gurjar, Santosh Mishra, Amit Mishra, Dil Bahar Singh Yadav as well as home guard Raghubir Yadav and driver Vijay Kumar, who were deployed with officials of the animal husbandry department, had come to light.

Sharing further details, the ASP said the STF was conducting a probe into the complaint of Manjit Singh Bhatia for the past few weeks during which it was revealed that Ashish Rai met Bhatia posing as a deputy director, animal husbandry, in a room at the Vidhan Sabha secretariat.

The STF official said the home guard and the driver and other staff helped Ashish Rai in misleading the complainant and procured Rs 9.72 crore with the promise to provide the contract.

The STF official said they tried to threaten the complainant when he demanded his money back. The accused got an Azamgarh criminal to issue threats to Bhatia.

A FIR was lodged against the accused at the Hazratganj police station on Saturday night when the complainants’ allegation was found true during initial investigation.

They have been booked on charges of fraud, forgery, criminal breach of trust, impersonation and criminal conspiracy, as well as Prevention of Corruption Act.

More arrests are likely to be made in the coming day,” the official said.

Facebook won’t pay publishers for using news content in Australia

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Facebook has rejected a call from the Australian government to pay media companies for using their content, saying there is no significant commercial benefit from having news on its platform.

The government had ordered the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to develop a mandatory code of conduct for Facebook and Google that will force the tech giants to pay media companies for using their content.

In response to a concepts paper released by the competition watchdog, Facebook said it would not affect its revenue if the news were not available on its service, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Monday.

“If there were no news content available on Facebook in Australia, we are confident the impact on Facebook’s community metrics and revenues in Australia would not be significant because news content is highly substitutable and most users do not come to Facebook with the intention of viewing news,” the company said in response.

The competition watchdog was tasked with creating a “lever-playing field” for the traditional news media which is currently bearing the brunt of Covid-19 pandemic like elsewhere in the world.

Facebook said that the absence of news on Facebook would mean “publishers miss out on the commercial benefits of reaching a wide and diverse audience, and social value would be diminished because the news would be harder to access for millions of Australians.”

A spokesperson for Facebook Australia and New Zealand had earlier said that the company was “disappointed” by the Australian government’s announcement.

Facebook has pledged to invest an additional $100 million to support journalists at a time when ad revenues are declining due to the economic impact of the new coronavirus.

The social networking giant said “poorly considered regulation” in Australia could force it to reconsider its investments in local news initiatives and an “unworkable” code could force platforms to reduce access to news.

Facebook reported double-digit growth in Australian advertising revenue last year with $674 million. Google reported $4.3 billion in ad revenue in the country.

A draft mandatory code is scheduled to be released for consultation by July end.

The mandatory code of conduct “will cover issues including the sharing of data, a ranking of news content online and the sharing of revenue generated from news”.

It will be enforced through penalties and sanctions and will include a binding dispute resolution process.

“Australia needs a strong and sustainable news media ecosystem and the government recognizes the importance of public interest journalism,” Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said earlier.

Palestine urges UN session over Israeli annexation plan

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Palestine has submitted an official request to hold a UN session to discuss Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank and take appropriate steps towards it, a senior official said.

“This request came as part of the Palestinian leadership plans to prevent Israel from implementing its annexation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad al-Maliki told the radio station Voice of Palestine on Sunday.

The UN Secretary Council (UNSC) is going to hold a virtual meeting on June 24 to discuss the report of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on implementation of Secretary Council Resolution 2334, al-Maliki said.

Al-Maliki said that Palestine is going to talk about the seriousness of the Israeli annexation plan during the coming meeting, hoping that the members of the UNSC would speak about it in order to prepare for the emergency session of the UN General Assembly when its date is set.

In April, Israel’s new unity government formed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, the leader of Blue and White Party, had agreed to impose Israeli sovereignty on the Palestinian territories, which they called as “part of the historic lands of Israel” as of July 1.

On May 7, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said that American President Donald Trump’s administration supports Israel’s application of sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The annexation is part of Trump’s Middle East peace plan.

The Palestinians – who claim all of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem – have rejected the idea.

Israel has occupied the territories since the 1967 Middle East war.

More than 600,000 Jews live in about 140 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Delhi govt makes U-turn on making nursing homes Covid facilities

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The Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi on Sunday withdrew its earlier decision to declare small and medium nursing homes as “COVID nursing homes”.

According to a new order issued on Sunday (June 14), the previous decision has now been “withdrawn with immediate effect”.

The government on Saturday had declared that small and medium multi-specialty nursing homes in the national capital which have 10 to 49 beds will be declared as “Covid nursing homes”.

“With the Delhi government’s decision, over 5,000 beds will be available for coronavirus patients. In the next few days, our officials will talk to owners of each nursing home to solve their problems,” the Delhi CM had tweeted.

However, the sudden U-turn seems to have happened after the Delhi Medical Association wrote to Kejriwal, objecting to the move.

Gujarat’s Covid toll inches towards 1,500, cases now 23,590

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With a mortality rate of 6.26 percent and almost 30 deaths daily due to Covid-19 since the start of this month, Gujarat’s toll climbed to 1,478 on Sunday, while the coronavirus case tally rose to 23,590.

Meanwhile, 442 patients were discharged from hospitals across the state on Sunday.

On Sunday, the health authorities carried out 4,942 RT-PCR tests from which 511 fresh cases were detected across the state.

Although the number of positive cases being detected from ‘hotspot’ Ahmedabad is gradually coming down from around 80 percent to nowadays under 70 percent, the total number of cases detected every day across the state seems to be soaring, with the 500 figure becoming common. More and more positive cases are being detected in Surat, and Gandhinagar as well as areas like Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Aravalli and even Surendranagar.

Out of the new cases on Sunday, 334 cases were detected in Ahmedabad, followed by 76 in Surat, 42 in Vadodara, nine in Surendranagar, eight in Gandhinagar, six each in Aravalli and Bharuch, three in Bhavnagar, Mahisagar, Anand and Amreli, two each in Mahesana, Sabarkantha, Patan and Kheda, and one each in Banaskantha, Rajkot, Panchmahals, Botad, and the Narmada as well as a patient from another state.

Sunday saw yet another 29 patients succumbing, out of which Ahmedabad accounted for 22. Four patients from Surat and one patient each from Amreli, Mahesana, and Panchmahals also succumbed to the virus.

Despite the share of Corona positive cases from Ahmedabad having come down to 70.53 percent, its death toll rate remained the same, at around 81 percent (80.51 percent exactly). A total of 437 people, out of the total 1,478, have succumbed to the virus during the fourteen days of June.

Till date, out of the total deaths, 1,190 have died in Ahmedabad alone, followed by 100 in Surat, 45 in Vadodara, 21 in Gandhinagar, 14 in Panchmahals, 13 each in Bhavnagar and Aravalli, 12 in Anand, 10 in Patan, nine in Mahesana and eight in Banaskantha.

With Sunday’s 442, a total of 16,333 patients have been cured and discharged in the state.

Of the state’s total cases, Ahmedabad continues to lead with 16,640, followed by Surat with 2,579, Vadodara with 1,558, Gandhinagar with 467, Mahesana with 185, Bhavnagar with 169, Banaskantha with 151, Rajkot with 149, Aravalli with 144, Sabarkantha with 137, Anand with 128, Mahisagar with 120, Panchmahals with 119, Patan with 114, Kheda with 105, Kutch with 103, Bharuch with 84, Surendranagar with 75, Jamnagar with 73, Botad with 66, Valsad with 57 and Gir-Somnath with 50 cases.

A total of 2,88,565 RT-PCR tests have been carried out in the state.

There are 5,779 active cases, out of which the condition of 5,713 is stable, whereas 66 critical patients are still on a ventilator.

Right now, there are 2,14,885 people quarantined in the state, where 2,08,666 are home quarantined and 6,219 in government facilities.

Gujarat CM reviews situation as quake of magnitude 5.5 hits state

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Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Sunday evening ordered the district collectors of Kutch, Rajkot, and Patan to take stock of the situation after tremors of 5.5 magnitudes were felt across the state.

An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale was felt in almost all parts of Gujarat on Sunday evening. The short span tremor triggered panic and people came out on to the streets for safety.

So far no loss of life or damage to property has been reported from any part of the state.

The tremors were felt at around 8.13 p.m. in almost all parts of Gujarat. Though the magnitude of the tremor was high, the duration was very short, which apparently did not cause any damage.

The National Center for Seismology has pinpointed the exact location of the tremor in Kutch near Bhuj.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani spoke to district collectors of Kutch, Rajkot and Patan and ordered them to take stock of the situation and assess the damage if any.

The Gujarat Chief Minister also instructed the Disaster Management Cell’s control room to be operational and be on standby.

23 journalists among 237 new Covid cases in Telangana

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Twenty-three journalists were among 237 people testing positive for Covid-19 in Telangana on Sunday, pushing the state’s tally to 4,974.

Three deaths were also reported during the last 24 hours, ending at 5 p.m. on Sunday. With this, the death toll has mounted to 185.

For the second day in a row, the state registered over 200 cases. Sunday’s figure is the second-highest single-day jump. The highest jump (253) was recorded on Saturday.

Of the new cases reported on Sunday, Greater Hyderabad accounted for 195 cases. The remaining cases were reported from 15 other districts.

The new cases in Hyderabad include 23 journalists who were reportedly covering the Telangana Secretariat. This is the first time that journalists in such a large number have tested positive in a single day.

A 36-year-old TV journalist had died of Covid-19 on June 7. About a dozen journalists had already tested positive.

Meanwhile, one more employee at the Telangana Secretariat tested positive. A staff member in the Information Technology Department was found infected by the virus.

The Secretariat has already seen a few Covid cases among the employees. This sent panic among the staff with only a few attending the duties for more than a week.

The officials have already installed thermal scanner cameras to check the body temperature of the employees before allowing them into B.R.K. Bhavan.

The entry of visitors has also been restricted to the Secretariat.

Sunday also saw another MLA testing positive. Nizamabad Rural MLA Bajireddy Goverdhan was found infected by the virus.

Goverdhan of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad for treatment.

Earlier, TRS MLA from Jangaon, Muttireddy Yadgiri Reddy had tested positive. His wife, driver, gunman and cook too found to be infected.

Security guards and personal assistants of politicians and top officials were also affected by Covid-19.

Finance Minister Harish Rao went into self-quarantine after his personal assistant in his constituency Siddipet tested positive. Though the minister tested negative, he went into self-quarantine at his house as a precautionary measure.

Out of the state’s tally of 4,974 cases, 449 were registered among migrants, deportees and foreign returnees.

According to officials, 2,377 people have so far recovered. A total of 2,412 people are currently undergoing treatment in hospitals.

Anand Vihar railway station to house isolation coaches

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The Indian Railways has decided to shift all the five train services from Anand Vihar railway station to old Delhi railway station to house the isolation ward coaches for the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) patients, officials said on Sunday.

According to a Northern Railway official, the services of five trains that started on June 1 are being shifted to Old Delhi railway station from Anand Vihar railway station.

The services of five trains will be shifted to Old Delhi railway station from Tuesday.

He said, the decision has been taken as the railways has planned to use the Anand Vihar railway station for isolation ward coaches to treat Covid-19 patients.

The coaches are equipped will all the medical facilities required for the treatment of Covid patients.

The decision came hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that 500 railway isolation coaches will be deployed in Delhi for Covid-19 patients.

The Railways has converted 5,231 coaches into isolation ward for Covid-19 patients.

Earlier in the day, the National transporter said it has deployed 204 of such coaches in four states so far, with 54 coaches being deployed at Delhi’s Shakurbasti railway station maintenance depot.

Railway officials said that the capacity in the capital will be scaled up to 500 coaches in the coming days for 8,000 Covid-19 patients.

Haryana has good recovery rate: Govt

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In Haryana, patients suffering from coronavirus have shown good recovery in the last week, an official said on Sunday.

A total of 1,523 patients have recovered whereas 2,797 new patients were admitted in health facilities or home isolated in the same period. A special focus is placed on timely tracing of COVID positive cases and treatment thereof, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Rajeev Arora said.

He said the state has also taken the initiative to start calling patients on phone who are in home isolation to take feedback from them on various issues like availability of regular health services to them.

By calling them not only is feedback taken but their issues are also being resolved.

Further, psychological counseling is being provided by the calling agents to lower their stress and anxiety related to COVID, which is the need to tackle the pandemic.

Upset over economic loss, C’garh farmer destroys papaya, banana crops

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An anguished Chhattisgarh farmer razed his standing crop of papaya and banana, spread over 50 acres, after failing to get adequate market price due to conditions created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The farmland, owned by Anuj Agrawal, is situated in village Chakravay, around 50 km from Raipur. He himself used a tractor to raze the tonnes of fruits.

A despondent Agrawal said: “Generally the plantation is done in May, then the season starts from December and continues till April. The market picked up slowly but fell a week before Holi. After Holi came to the lockdown, due to which fruit traders from other states did not come to buy the produce.

“The farmland had 25 acres of papaya and 25 acres of banana plantation. All sales were dependent on local traders and middlemen,” he said.

Agrawal said that horticulture farming of this level costs around Rs 1 lakh-1.25 lakh investment. The per-kilogram of input cost is around Rs 5-6 but the local traders are procuring it at Rs 2-2.50 per kg. This does not even recover the labour cost of plucking the fruits, he said.

Agrawal underlined that his decision to destroy the crops was not an easy one.

“We had cared for the farm like a child. I have to move on and have to prepare the land for the next crop. So, with a heavy heart, I had to destroy it by ploughing the field,” he said.

COVID-19: 6 deaths in Gurugram on Sunday

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Six more patients died of coronavirus in Gurugram on Sunday, a day after six people succumbed to the deadly virus.

Gurugram Civil Surgeon Dr Virender Yadav confirmed the deaths.

With this, a total of 31 people have lost their lives in Gurugram city, with 27 of them dying in the last 11 days.

Apart from the deaths, health officials also detected 169 corona, positive patients, on Sunday.

Gurugram currently has 3,294 positive cases which is almost 45 percent of the total cases in Haryana. The total number of cases in Haryana is 7,208.

Sushant Singh Rajput: B’Town condolences continue

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Bollywood continued expressing grief and disbelief over the demise of Sushant Singh Rajput, all of Sunday. The actor was found hanging in his residence by his maid on Sunday morning.

Among those who took to social media later on Sunday to express condolences was Salman Khan. “U will be missed … #RIPSushant,” wrote the superstar in a short message conveying his grief.

Sushant’s co-stars and director from his debut film “Kai Po Che” (2013) also took to social media to express grief. “This is so unfair. Gone too soon. I’ll always cherish our conversations on acting and cinema. You’ll be missed bhai. May God give strength to his family and loved ones. Rest in Peace brother,” wrote Rajkummar Rao.

Amit Sadh, who also starred in the film, tweeted: “I am sorry… I did not come to your rescue… Will regret all my life for not reaching out! Right now very sad but will cherish the time we shared filming Kai po che…Rest in peace bhai.”

“Kai Po Che” director Abhishek Kapoor wrote: “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the loss of my friend. We made two very special films together. He was a generous and fabulous actor, who worked very hard to breathe life into his characters. I pray for his family, shoes loss is unmeasurable. He was a huge science buff and what consumed by what lay beyond in the universe. I’m going to miss you brother. Stay interstellar.”

Neeraj Pandey, who directed Sushant in the blockbuster “MS Dhoni: The Untold Story”, recalled an incident while expressing his sorrow.

“One day Sushant dropped in at the office and as I opened my arms for our customary hug, he surprised me by bending and touching my feet.
‘Ab ye kya nautanki hai?’
‘Sir dil kiya aur aaj se jab bhi miloonga, yahi hoga.’
‘Khush raho.’
And since then he kept dropping in and every time he used to reach out, I used to stop him and say, ‘khush raho.’
Obviously, it didn’t work.
RIP Sushant. You are a favourite. Will always be. And let me try once again. Jahan bhi ho… khush raho,” wrote Neeraj Pandey.

Vaani Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra, Sushant’s co-stars in the 2013 release, “Shudh Desi Romance” also took to social media to share their emotions.

“Sush I will miss you buds,” wrote Parineeti.

“It’s heartbreaking. Lots of love.. RIP

Young actress Sara Ali Khan did not have words to express her grief. She just posted emojis of love, broken heart and tears.

Bollywood couple Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ai Khan shared their condolences on Sushant’s death on the actress’s Instagram account. “This is such terrible news. Praying you find peace Sushant. Strength to his family. Saif and Kareena,” they wrote.

Among industry colleagues who expressed condolences was Sonu Sood. “Today we lost a friend, a colleague & this loss is irreparable. I request my friends from the media not to sensationalize this, I request everyone not to share images. A boy who came to this city with dreams in his eyes and achieved so much has left us forever. Let him go in peace,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, for all those who have reacted with disbelief over the news, filmmaker Anubhav Sinha had an angry retort: “Shut up that you can’t believe it.”

Earlier in the day, as reported by IANS, several of Sushant’s Bollywood colleagues expressed grief. They include Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithtik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Saif Ali Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Anushka Sharma, Swara Bhasker and Riteish Deshmukh, besides Sushant’s co-stars including Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Kiara Advani. Filmmakers including Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and Ekta Kapoor also expressed condolences over his shocking death.

IIT-KGP directs faculty members not to write anything critical of govt

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The Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur, one of the country’s premier educational establishments, asked all its faculty members not to participate in radio broadcasts or write anything on subjects critical of the state and central governments.

The circular, signed by institute registrar BN Singh, was issued on June 6 to all the faculty members and it said that the staff of IIT-Kharagpur is governed by conduct rules as laid down in the acts and statutes of the institute.

“It is not a new circular. It was passed in both the Houses of Parliament in 1961. It is also therein the IIT rule book. But people don’t read that these days and that is why we have to issue the circular from time to time to our faculty members for their knowledge,” IIT-Kharagpur registrar Singh told IANS on Sunday over the phone.

Singh said that the directive is applicable to all IIT employees. It is an internal circular reminding about the conduct rules for all the staff of IITs.

“You have to understand one thing first that it is not a gag order at all. It is an internal practice of basic code of conduct,” the registrar said.

According to the recently-issued circular, no employee of IIT-KGP shall, except with the previous sanction of the competent authority or any other authority empowered by it on this behalf, or in the bonafide discharge of his duties, participate in a radio broadcast or contribute any article or write any letter, in his own name or anonymously, to any newspaper or periodical.

The notification circular also said that no such sanction shall be required if such broadcast or contribution is “of a purely literary, artistic or of scientific character”.

Telangana to conduct 50,000 Covid tests in 10 days

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Concerned over the mounting number of Covid-19 cases, the Telangana government on Sunday decided to conduct 50,000 tests in and around Greater Hyderabad over next week to 10 days.

Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao announced that these tests would be conducted in 30 Assembly segments of Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Vikarabad, Medchel, and Sangareddy districts.

“We have taken a decision to conduct tests on 50,000 people as a precaution to protect Hyderabad. People should not panic. However, everyone should follow the personal hygiene and precautions,” the Chief Minister said at a meeting with Health Minister E. Rajender and senior officials to review the situation.

The meeting decided to contain the spread of Covid-19 with strict measures in Hyderabad and its surroundings.

The Chief Minister asked the officials to utilise the services of the private labs and hospitals in conducting 50,000 tests. He said the officials should finalise the guidelines for conducting tests, and the fee collected by the private labs and hospitals.

KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, wanted the officials to offer home quarantine for those who tested positive but have no serious symptoms.

The decision to conduct 50,000 tests came amid the surge in the number of infections, especially in Greater Hyderabad and mounting criticism by the opposition parties for conducting fewer tests.

It came a day after the state reported 253 cases, the highest in a single day, pushing the state’s tally to 4,737.

KCR said that more focus should be put on Hyderabad and the four districts around it. He also instructed that measures should be taken on a war footing in the 30 Assembly segments in these five districts.

The Assembly segments where the tests will be conducted are Uppal, LB Nagar, Maheswaram, Ibrahimpatnam, Rajendranagar, Seri Lingampalli, Chevella, Pargi, Vikarabad, Tandoor, Medchel, Malkajgiri, Qutballpur, Kukatpally, Malakpet, Amberpet, Musheerabad, Khairatabad, Jubilee Hills, Sanath Nagar, Nampally, Karawan, Gosha Mahal, Charminar, Chandrayangutta, Yakutpura, Bahadurpura, Secunderabad, Secunderabad Cantonment and Patancheru.

“Hyderabad is like the heart of Telangana state. It is a city with more population. It is one of the Metropolitan cities in the country. It is a responsibility of all of us that the health of citizens, the image of the city and the progress and development of it should be maintained on a permanent basis. Though the spread of coronavirus is less in the State, more number of positive cases are being reported from Hyderabad and its surrounding places. There is a need to put an end to this,” he said.

KCR reiterated that the government is ready to offer treatment to the coronavirus positive patients whatever may be their number. Test kits, PPE Kits, ventilators, ICU beds, beds, masks are available with the government adequately. “Nobody should entertain any fear. Besides taking measures on a war footing to contain the virus, the government is in all preparedness to offer medical treatment to the patients with all the commitment and alertness,” he added.

The officials pointed out that compared to other states, the spread of virus is less in the state. They also said that there is an increase in the percentage of recoveries while there is a fall in the death rate.

They stated that when compared to other places in the State, number of positive cases are being registered in Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchel districts followed by Sangareddy and Vikarabad districts.

Typhoon Nuri makes landfall in China

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Typhoon Nuri made landfall in China’s Guangdong province on Sunday morning, the National Meteorological Centre (NMC) said.

Nuri hit Hailing Island in Yangjiang city at around 8.50 a.m., becoming the first typhoon to make landfall in China this year, Xinhua news agency quoted the NMC as saying.

The NMC has renewed the blue alert for typhoon and the yellow alert for rainstorms.

It forecast strong wind in parts of the South China Sea and Guangdong and rainstorms in Hainan and parts of Guangdong and Guangxi from Sunday to Monday.

Meteorological authorities have advised ships to return to harbor and cautioned against floods and geological disasters in these regions.

Used to ask captain for ball just to feel a part of XI, says Srinath

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Javagal Srinath led the Indian pace attack for nearly a decade after the retirement of Kapil Dev. India may possess a prolific fast bowling battery across formats now, but Srinath’s career was at a time when they were far more dependant on the spinners to do the job.

Srinath said that the dependence was so high that he had to often ask the captain to be given the ball.

“I’m not complaining, but that’s the way the situation was. In India, there were times when we used to play just one fast bowler. Sometimes we played just for the sake of playing a fast bowler. Wickets were absolute rank turners in the initial part of my career,” Srinath told SportsKeeda.

Srinath made his ODI and Test debut in October and November 1991 respectively under the captaincy of Mohammed Azharuddin.

“You need to be a permanent part of the team and to be getting wickets all the time. Three spinners used to do 80 or 90 percent of the bowling, I would sometimes feel awkward like ‘what is my role here’. I used to go and ask the captain to hand me the ball, at least let me be satisfied with my inclusion for XI.

“That was the case. Indian conditions suit spinners better but at the same time, it puts you in a faster thinking mode. So the reverse swing came handy but I never lost hope. I understand that winning is more important,” Srinath added.

Srinath was an almost alone warrior for India in the fast bowling department for much of his career before Zaheer Khan cemented his place. The situation is in stark contrast to the present era where the likes of Japrit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma are regulars for India in Tests while they also have equally capable back up fast bowlers in the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav.

“Spinners used to rule the roost those days; fast bowlers had little role to play but things have changed now. Today you have three fast bowlers operating before the spinners come on. Just like the traditional way of fetching wickets,” said the ICC match referee.

Trump stresses ending endless wars to military graduates

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US President Donald Trump said in his remarks to graduates of the US Military Academy that the country was “ending the era of endless wars”.

“We are ending the era of endless wars. In its place is a renewed, clear-eyed focus on defending America’s vital interests,” Trump told the more than 1,000 cadets of the academy also known as West Point on Saturday.

He noted that the task of the US military is neither to rebuild foreign nations nor to “solve ancient conflicts in faraway lands that many people have never even heard of”.

“We are not the policemen of the world,” he added.

Admissions to the military academy are extremely tough.

Besides fulfilling educational and physical requirements, a candidate will have to be nominated by a member of Congress, the vice president or the president to be admitted to West Point.

Trump’s speech came at a time when his administration is drawing up plans to pull out troops from various places around the globe.

A joint statement issued by Washington and Baghdad on Thursday said that the US would continue reducing its military presence in Iraq over the coming months.

Trump reportedly directed the Pentagon to reduce nearly 9,500 US troops from the 34,500 troops that are permanently assigned in Germany, which led to opposition from Republican lawmakers.

Last week 22 Republican members of Congress wrote to Trump, warning him of a significant force drawdown in Europe would serve Russia’s interests at the expense of US national security.

There are also reports saying that the Trump administration is looking at a range of options to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan at an early date, with one possible option targeting this November.

The peace agreement signed late February between the US and the Taliban called for the full withdrawal of the US military from Afghanistan by May 2021 if the Taliban no longer supports terrorist groups.

UK govt urged to revise social distancing rule to help pubs survive

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The UK government has been urged to revise the incumbent 2-meter social distancing rule to help bars and pubs sustain their business amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pubs and bars in England may be able to reopen in early July amid the government’s efforts to ease the lockdown, but “further safer working guidance” for these businesses was yet to be announced, reports Xinhua news agency.

So as to help the industry survive health crises, associations were calling on the government to review and revise their social distancing guidelines.

“The industry has been given a glimmer of hope with July 4 as a target for the earliest possible date for the reopening of pubs. But sadly, if no reduction (on social distancing measures) is made before that, this could result in devastating pub closures and job losses in communities,” Emma McClarkin, chief executive of British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

According to the figures released by the BBPA, leading trade associations representing brewers and pubs, the current social distancing rule means that only about a third of England’s pubs will be able to reopen.

“The biggest challenge we face right now, as a social environment that we have inside our pubs, is social distancing measures,” she said, noting the current 2-meter rule in the country will be “extremely difficult” for pubs to operate.

“No two pubs are the same, it’s why we love the great British pub — it’s full of character: nooks, crannies, small pinch-points which will make it extremely difficult for some of our pubs to operate under (the rule of) 2 meters,” said McClarkin.

She told Xinhua that the industry had been calling for the government to adopt the World Health Organization (WHO) guidance, which recommends keeping at least 1-meter social distancing.

According to BBPA’s estimations, it would allow around 75 percent of England’s pubs to be able to reopen, and “would really get the pub economy going again”, if the social distancing measures could be reduced to 1 meter.

Some countries, like China, have adopted the 1-meter rule but made face masks mandatory in public places, while some others including Germany and Italy have a 1.5-meter rule.

But the UK, along with Canada and Spain, insists that people should keep a 2-meter distance.

The association released findings Thursday that overall sales of beer in the first quarter of 2020 were down by 7.2 percent year-on-year to 1.5 billion pints, the lowest level since the record began two decades ago, as the industry is facing the biggest crisis ever.

Although pubs across the country have closed their doors during the lockdown period, some have found ways to adapt their business to serve communities.

A select number of Greene King pubs in London have launched a “pub grub” delivery and takeaway service for customers, which operates on a click-and-collect basis and has largely been successful. Due to this, the chain is looking to expand the service across the country.

Corona explodes in rural MP, urban scene worsens

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While Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Narottam Mishra and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan are patting themselves for containing the corona spread in the state, the epidemic has marched into the rural areas at an alarming rate. The urban scenario continues to be even more worrying than it has been since the lockdown days.

With a primitive healthcare infrastructure in the rural areas, the state will have a herculean task to deal with the outbreak, according to the latest panchayat and rural department report.

Official statistics have not been put in the public domain so far. But sources in the panchayat department reveal that 50 out of 52 districts are in the grip of the epidemic.

Large-scale migration of the labor force has only aggravated the problem with 951 persons testing positive in 462 villages of 184 tehsils of the 50 districts. Thirty-two deaths were recorded till Friday night. The migrant and non-migrant villagers have almost equally borne the brunt of the epidemic.

Among the 951 patients in rural areas, 479 were laborers, including migrants who returned to the state following the lockdown. As per the data, 336 people were infected in rural Madhya Pradesh on May 21, and of them, 130 were laborers and 206 were other villagers.

Meanwhile, additional chief secretary of the Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Manoj Shrivastava, said the state government was working hard to contain the viral spread in the rural areas.

Over 14.82 lakh migrant laborers had returned to their homes from other states so far, he said. At present, 12,04,315 migrant laborers and villagers are home quarantined or lodged in isolation centers, the official said.

The Chief Minister had on Thursday spoken to village heads about the possible effect on the rural areas after the massive movement of people from other states to or through Madhya Pradesh.

Swab samples of 29,881 people have been collected for testing from rural areas of the state so far. The infection, which was detected in 186 villages on May 21, has spread to 462 villages in just 22 days, the report revealed.

Villages in Hoshangabad and Niwari districts have escaped the corona fury so far.

Villages in Indore district have recorded the highest number of rural Covid-19 cases with 90 persons testing positive for the infection, followed by 51 in the villages of Khargone, 50 in Bhind, 43 in Neemuch, 42 in Gwalior and 41 in Burhanpur. At least 14 people have succumbed to the infection in eight villages of Indore, with six deaths reported from Bank village alone.

On the urban front, Indore and Bhopal districts reported 120 corona positive cases on Saturday. Indore, which seemed to be flattening the curve, was back to the old form. The city reported 57 cases to Bhopal’s 63. Neemuch with 12 cases was another district with figures touching the double-digit. The other districts recorded a marked decline on Saturday.

The state reported 198 cases on Saturday with seven fatalities. The overall count of positive cases in the state has reached 10,641 with 447 deaths. The health bulletin reported 7,377 recoveries till Saturday.