Eurozone Finance Ministers Were Not Unanimous About Policy Decision

Eurozone finance ministers failed to agree on any common or coordinated fiscal action to the crisis created by coronavirus pandemic. But they met only to promise a strong economic policy response to the alarming situation.

Statement by Eurogroup of ministers

After a length discussion in a conference hall, the group said that it welcomed the measures already taken by other European institutions mainly the European Central Bank, the European Commission and individual states. But the group remained silent on their plan, if the crisis over the European economy deepens.

Paolo Gentiloni, the European Commissioner in charge of economic matters, indirectly accepted the failure of the meeting by saying that the meeting set the right tone for a coordinated policy response by the institutions and member states.

Eurozone bailout fund role in economic crisis

The ministers have different views on the role that the European Stability Mechanism (ESM)can play in the event of the financial crisis shaking the monetary union to its core. The members countries weren’t unanimous on the rules that will govern its actions.

The ESM is governed by its founding members and it frames its conditions for taking action when a country asks for aid. Klaus Regling, the head of ESM, said that the institution was sitting on around €410 billion of unused lending capacity and it is about 4% if the eurozone’s GDP.

Investors and general public in Europe were expecting a more massive fiscal response to the crisis but they were disappointed by the eurozone’s inability to arrive at a significant decision.

Source: https://on.mktw.net/2x8tVjF

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RBI Starts New Security Rules For Credit/Debit Cards

The new rules for credit/debit cards that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued in January, will come into force on Monday. The new rules will increase security by reducing frauds. Also, they will boost convenience of the user and security of transactions.

RBI rules for credit/debit cards

According to new rules,only domestic card transactions at ATMs and PoS terminals will be allowed at the time of issuance/reissuance of card. For international transactions, online transactions, card-not-present transactions and contactless transactions, the card holders will have to separately set up services on their cards.

These rules will come into force on March 16 and will be applicable to both the old and new cards. Old card holders have time to decide whether they need all services. Presently these services are provided with all cards but after the new rules, customers would have to ask for the services.

Also, the RBI directed the banks to allow mobile baking and net banking service to enable limit and enable and disable service 24×7. As soon as a customer makes changes in his/her credit/debit card service, his/her bank will notify him/her through SMS/email.

The cardholders will have the facility to switch on/off and set/modify transaction limits for all types of transactions – domestic and international, at PoS/ATMs/online transactions/contactless transactions etc.

Prepaid cards and those used at mass transit system are kept free from the ambit of new credit/debit card rules. These cards will continue to get the services they have.

Source: https://bit.ly/3b3mqJN

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Coronavirus Infects Spreads To Uttarakhand

The total number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 110 that includes 17 foreigners – 16 Italian tourists and a Canadian. Uttarakhand reported its first case of COVID-19 on Sunday. The number of people died due to coronavirus is two – one each from Delhi and Karnataka.

Coronavirus spread in the country

With 32 positive cases, Maharashtra has the highest number of COVID-19cases in the country. Kerala has recorded 22 cases and it includes three patients that were discharged last month. Uttar Pradesh has 12 coronavirus patients and Delhi has 7. Ladakh has 3 patients of coronavirus and Jammu and Kashmir and Telangana have two each. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab have reported one case each.

Steps taken to contain the virus

According to health ministry data, 12,76,046 passengers have been screened at 30 designated airports. The government has traced the 4,000 people that came into contact with 93 COVID-19 patients. Also, there are 42,000 people under community surveillance.

The data further says that are sufficient personal protective equipment (PPEs). Also, that over 80,50,000 N95 masks and PPEs have been procured for health workers.

The government said that there was little need to panic because it wasn’t a community transmission. The infection had been tracked and there had been only a few cases of local transmission. It further said that it wasn’t a health emergency in India.

It also clarified that the suspected case of COVID-19, a 71-year man in Maharashtra, was tested negative. He returned from Saudi Arabia recently and died in a private hospital.

Source: https://bit.ly/2TThtND

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COVID-19 Test Only For Selected Persons

A suspected case of coronavirus was turned back by RML hospital because he had no history of foreign travel and nor was in contact with a coronavirus patient. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has directed the hospitals to test those selected cases.

ICMR guidelines for coronavirus testing

The government body said that all the people with viral symptoms need not to be tested for COVID-19 because there had been on “community transmission” in India. “Community transmission” is a case where the source of a disease remains obscure.

Special Secretary in the Union Health Ministry, Sanjeev Kumar, said that the country is utilizing only 10% of its total capacity to test COVID-19. He further said that the coronavirus test is free and that the country has a much higher capacity but it was utilizing only 10% of it. Also, 80 lakh masks and safety equipment had been bought for health workers.

Experts criticized the approach

Ramanan Lakshminarayan, founder and director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) criticized the approach saying that the people would spread the disease, if they didn’t know that they were infected. He said that the country was capable in both public and private but the question was that whether the country was deploying that capacity.

The government said that 10,000 tests could be performed daily utilizing 1 lack kits distributed across many centres. But the government should conduct tens of thousands of tests daily before the situation goes out of control.

Source: https://bit.ly/2U99afL

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Suspense Over Kamal Nath Government Deepens

There is doubt whether the Madhya Pradesh assembly will hold “motion of confidence” as per the directions of Governor Lalji Tandon. The cabinet on Sunday contended that the Governor can’t direct the state assembly because he doesn’t have the power. Also, the cabinet asked the Chief Minister Kamal Nath to take call on the issue.

In case, the government delays the issue, the opposition can introduce the “no confidence” motion against the government that has come into minority after 22 JyotiradityaScindia loyalists left the 15-month old government. Mr. Scindia was sidelined in the party since the assembly polls.

Highlights of the story

• CM Kamal Nath said that the Governor told him that the proceedings of the state assembly should be carried out smoothly. CM told the Governor that he would talk to the speaker regarding this on Monday.

• The Congress had asserted that it was the prerogative of the Speaker to decide about the proceedings of the house. But BJP said that the Speaker was bound by the decision of the Governor.

• After a cabinet meeting, CM Kamal Nath claimed that he had the numbers to win the trust vote.

Jyotiraditya Scindia, former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minster and BJP leader Narendra Singh Tomar met Solicitor General to discuss the future of the 22 rebel MLAs.

• The Congress had moved its MLAs to Bhopal for the floor test. They were lodged in a resort in Jaipur.

• Chief Minister Kamal Nath said that the rebel MLAs were kidnapped and kept in Bengaluru. Also, that they weren’t allowed to meet their families.

Source: https://bit.ly/2xLcyGh

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Taylor Swift Donned These Outfits During Her Performance Tour

Taylor Swift can make the world sing and dance on her performance. Also, she can dazzle the audiences with her iconic looks. The Blank Space singer has received multiple awards in multiple tours in the latest Reputation Stadium Tour, she was more popular due to her outfits.

Taylor and Camila in Miami

Dressed in a violet-pink leotard, she gave a stunning performance with singers Camila Cabello and Charli XCX but it was her outfit that remained the center of attraction for the audiences in Miami.

Black Space singer chose a rainbow

In Manchester, Taylor Swift donned a rainbow sequined leotard and put on black boots to complete the dress. Her dress made the audiences crazy more than her performance with Camila and XCX. The audiences were talking more about her rainbow dress.

Singing in the rain

Since it was raining all the time, most of the Reputation Tour was washed in rain but Taylor Swift turned the moment into an opportunity to reveal her true colors. She put on a blue leotard and a shimmery jacket to complete the Rockstar look. The audience appreciated her performance in rain.

Singing with Selena

Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez make the best pair and this was evident when the Blank Space singer performed alongside Selena. And Swift was looking simply amazing in a snake-print leotard and black boots along with a shimmery jacket. And both the singers surprised the audiences with their eclectic performance.

Source: https://bit.ly/38W0G0F

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US Summoned Chinese Ambassador Over His Tween On US Army’s Role In Coronavirus

Taking serious note of a senior Chinese official tweeting that the US military started the COVID-19 pandemic, the US on Friday summoned China’s ambassador, Cui Tiankai. Also, the top US diplomat for Asia, David Stilwell, made a stern presentation to Cui.

US sent summon to China

The China was trying to deflect criticism its role in starting a global pandemic and not telling the world, said a State Department official. He further said that spreading conspiracy theories was dangerous and that they won’t tolerate that for the good of Chinese people and the world.

Tweet of Chinese official

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian tweeted that patient zero in the global pandemic might have come from the United States – not the Chinese metropolis Wuhan that was the epicenter of the pandemic.

Tweeting in both Mandarin and English, he said that it might be the US army that brought the epidemic to Wuhan. He further asked US to make its data public to be transparent. But Zhao has a history of making provocative statements on social media.

Cui’s response to US

Ambassador Cui Tiankai is known for his diplomatic approach that is in stark contrast with Zhao. The ambassador said that the China looked forward to work closely with the US to fight COVID-19 for a secure future.

Conspiracy theories

Earlier there was a theory that Russia had systematically spread disinformation that US was behind the coronavirus in an effort to damage US reputation. Similarly, Iran’s firebrand former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, asked WHO to investigate why adversaries of US are hardest hit with virus.

Source: https://bit.ly/3cRPjtY

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Bill Gates Quits From Microsoft To Focus On Philanthropy

Microsoft announced that its co-founder Bill Gates has left its board of directors. The 64-year-old Gates has already stopped his activities in day-to-day operations of the company for more than a decade. But on Friday, he officially resigned from Microsoft to devote more time to philanthropy.

Bill Gates doing philanthropy

Gates and his wife, Melinda has launched a foundation. And he wants to devote more time to the philanthropy work. He was in the board of directors of Microsoft until early in 2014 but now he has completely discharged himself of his duties.

In 2000, Gates relinquished the post of CEO in the favor of Steve Balmer to find more time for his charitable foundation. In 2014, when Satya Nadella became third CEO of Microsoft, Gates resigned from the post of chairman.

Life of Bill Gates

Grew up in Seattle with two sisters, William H. Gates was regularly listed among the world’s richest people.His father William was an attorney and his mother Mary was a schoolteacher. Also, she was a chairwoman of United Way International.

Gates founded Microsoft with Paul Allen, who was also his childhood friend, in 1975 but he began programming at the age of 13. One anecdote about Gates is that he tinkered a computer program in school to put himself him classes meant for girls. But he dropped out of Harvard to start Microsoft.

Soon Microsoft became the world’s top software company as the personal computer market grew. Finally, he turned his attention from computers to philanthropy and humanitarian work and launched a foundation for this job.

Source: https://bit.ly/2TQflGA

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IPL 2020 Will Commence On April 15

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 has been postponed to April 15 from March 29 due to coronavirus scare. The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) released a statement regarding postponement of IPL.

BCCI statement

The statement reads that the decision to postpone IPL is taken as a precautionary measure as COVID-19 is now become a pandemic. But the statement should be read with the announcement that the Delhi government make about coronavirus. It said that that the government won’t allow any sporting activity in the capital due to health crisis.

The statement further reads that the board is sensitive towards public health and all its stakeholder. Also, it will take all necessary steps to ensure that all people including cricketers and fans remain safe from the virus. The board will work with all concerned ministries and authorities to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia made announcement

Manish Sisodia said that the gatherings of over 200 people at sporting events or conferences won’t be allowed until further notice. The restrictions on large gatherings were put for the purpose of prevention of COVID-19 epidemic. India has more than 70 coronavirus cases so far.

Source: https://bit.ly/2vXoNPt

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COVID-19 Is A National Emergency In US

US President Donald Trump declared coronavirus a national emergency and free up $50 billion in federal funds to vastly ramp the testing facility to battle against the outbreak. He said that he was declaring a national emergency to unleash the full power of the federal government.

Donald Trump on battling COVID-19

He said that the next eight weeks were crucial but he was hopeful of winning the battle. The all US States are asked to set emergency centers. Also, the federal government will partner with private companies to accelerate production of test kits for coronavirus.

Trump also asked every hospital to activate emergency preparedness plan to provide medical assistance to Americans everywhere. He said that the government would remove every obstacle to deliver the care the Americans are entitled to.

The US health secretary also got new authority to waive a series of regulations like telemedicine and allowing medical facilities to bring more staff.

US authorities were criticized

The authorities were facing criticism over lack of test kits that allowed the virus to take the country into its grip. Earlier the Trump administration announced that it was funding $1.3 billion in two labs that would develop the kits that give authentic results in one hour. These firms are DiaSorin Molecular of California and QIAGEN of Maryland.

Meanwhile the US Food and Drug Administration has already given green signal to Swiss Pharmaceutical giant Roche to develop a faster COVID-19 kit. Also, Roche has promised that half of the kits would be available early next week.

Source: https://bit.ly/3aZAmV7

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