WHO Gives Strict Warning On Novel Coronavirus

The World Health Organization warned the world that the novel coronavirus might never go away. Michael Ryan, the emergencies director of WHO said that the world had a new virus for the first time and therefore it was very difficult to predict when the world would prevail over it.

WHO’s warning on novel coronavirus

It could end up becoming just another endemic said Michael Ryan. While speaking to the media in a virtual conference in Geneva, the director gave example of HIV and said that it didn’t go away and that the world had come to terms with that virus. Also, he said that there was a very long way to go before the world could return to normal. The director stressed on the need to stay the course.

Ryan condemned attacks on healthcare workers

He termed attack on doctors, nurses and paramedics to be over-reactions from ill-informed communities. He further said that COVID-19 brought the best out of the world but at the same time the disease also brought the worst out of the people. He asked the world to resist those senseless acts.

Condition of novel coronavirus

The virus has taken almost the entire world in its grip. There are over 4.2 million infected persons and nearly 300,00 have been killed by the virus worldwide. Countries are taking strict control measures including lockdown but these measures need to be continued for a long time to tide the wave of virus.

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Indian Economy Got 20 Lack Crore Boost

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a mega economic package in addition to giving hits at Lockdown 4 in his Tuesday night address to the nation. The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will give more details about the financial package in the coming days.

Highlights of the PM’s speech

• Announcement of 20 lack crore package for all sectors. A task force under the leadership of Finance Minister is studying the economic fallout of the pandemic. And it will soon come out with a solution.

• The 20 lack crore package also includes the 1.7 lack crore announced in March. The fiscal package is 10% of India’s GDP.

• It is said that the fiscal package is inspired by the 30-billion-pound fiscal stimulus announced by UK government.

• The PM said that the fiscal stimulus was aimed to lessen the financial burden of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

• The government will allow paying wages for the firms that retained their labor force throughout the lockdown period.

• The PM mentioned that the package would focus on land, labor, liquidity and law. It would help small businesses and farmers.

• The PM also included well-being of the migrant workers in his speech and said that the financial stimulus would be a real help for the workers.

• Lockdown 4 will start on May 18 but this time there will be more relaxation for the areas that are almost free from the virus. It is to be noted that lockdown has brought the economy to a grinding halt.

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

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PM Hints Lockdown To Stay Post May 17

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hinted that the nationwide lockdown could be extended beyond May 17 but with some relaxation. Yesterday, he had a meeting with chief ministers over video conferencing where he asked the CMs to send their suggestions on easily lockdown by May 15.

PM talked to CMs

The meeting concluded with CMs getting time to give their suggestions as many states want to resume economic activities after a long lockdown. But at the same time, they agreed to keep certain areas under restrictions as the cases of novel coronavirus aren’t showing any sign of easing.

Exit formula for lockdown

There is no clear strategy on easing restrictions but it is agreed upon that the lockdown will be lifted in a phased manner with restrictions lifting one by one depending on the number of cases coming from different areas.

The lockdown 1 stopped all activities across the length and breadth of the country but some restrictions were eased in lockdown 2. The lockdown 3 saw more freedom in certain areas. But the time isn’t ripened to life the lockdown completely. The states will give their suggestions on easing out the lockdown.

Coronavirus in India

In India, the number of COVID-19 patients have crossed 67,000 mark on Monday and it is expected to increase in the coming days. AIIMS director Dr. Randeep Guleria had already said that the peak of coronavirus had yet to come. According to him, the coronavirus peak would come in June or July.

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

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Railway Resumes Passenger Train Service But With Limitations

Indian Railways is going to resume its passenger train service from May 12 but with certain restrictions. These trains will run on selected routes and tickets for the trains could be booked from 4 pm today. It is to be noted that passenger train service was suspended on March 25 when a nationwide lockdown was imposed on the country.

Resumption of passenger train service

In the beginning, 15 trains from New Delhi to various destinations will be run. The destinations covered in 30 journeys will include Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jammu, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Tripura.

All trains will have AC coaches and there will be limited stops in the journey. According a statement issued by Indian Railways, these would be special trains connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad, and Jammu Tawi.

Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal confirmed running of special trains with his tweet. He tweeted that the Railways would start operation of passenger service with 15 special trains.

Ticket booking and other conditions

Ticket for the special trains can be booked online. Only the IRCTC website and mobile app are allowed to sell tickets. And the passengers are warned not to buy tickets from agents. Only passengers with confirmed tickets will be allowed to board the trains and they will have to come with due protection. Also, the passengers will have to go through virus screening at the platforms.

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

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Tel Aviv Has A Street Named After Rabindranath Nath Tagore

Israel has a street named after Rabindranath Tagore. It is in Tel Aviv right opposite the main gates of Tel Aviv university. On May 7, on the 159th anniversary of poet Rabindranath Tagore, the official Twitter handle of Israel in India shared a picture of the street to coasmmemorate the birthday of the great poet.

Rabindranath Tagore in Tel Aviv

Whether Tagore went to Israel could be a matter of debate but Israel had a street dedicated to Rabindranath Tagore. History of the street goes back to 1961 when the then municipality decided to celebrate the birth centenary of the poet. And the name of that street is still unchanged.

Israel said in its Twitter handle that Israel honored Rabindranath Tagore and that they had named a street in Tel Aviv in memory of the valuable contribution of Rabindranath Tagore to mankind. The Twitter handle also shared pictures of that street.

As soon as the Israeli tween went viral, its Twitter handle started receiving messages from different people. They were very thankful to Israel for honoring Rabindranath Tagore in the sincerest manner.

Celebration of the birthday of Rabindranath Tagore in India

While Israel choose to share a picture of the street named after Rabindranath Tagore to pay its tributes to the great poet, in India, people found innovative ways to pay their homage to Tagore in the lockdown period.

Nandy Sisters – Antara and Ankia – gave a balcony concert of Tagore’s classics … Read the rest

IMD Includes Gilgit-Baltistan And Muzaffarabad In Its Weather Forecast List

Cities under Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) are now included in the forecast list of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). The IMD will mention Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad that are part of PoK in its forecasts.

IMD eyes PoK

PoK cities are now part of area covered by the northwest division consisting of nine sub-divisions – Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi-Chandigarh-Haryana, Punjab, east Uttar Pradesh, west Uttar Pradesh, east Rajasthan and west Rajasthan.But IMD Director General M Mohapatra said that the IMD had been mentioning the PoK cities in its daily forecast since the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir since last August.

But the head of Regional Meteorological Department Kuldeep Srivastava said that the change was introduced on May 5 when after Pakistan’s Supreme Court allowed elections in PoK. The move was taken to strengthen India’s claim over PoK.

IMD takes PoK to international stage

According to internal sources, IMD wants the PoK cities to be in the list of forecasts for the RMC. Since IMD has included PoK in its daily national bulletin and local bulletin, it has the point to get these cities listed in the list of RMC.

IMD is World Meteorological Department nominated Regional Meteorological Center that releases forecasts for severe weather conditions to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan detailing forecasts for the next five days.

Pakistan is preparing to hold elections in PoK according to the directive of its Supreme Court. But India has raised objections to this move to strengthen its claim on PoK.

Source: https://bit.ly/3b9nv2g

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Rabindranath Tagore Expressed His Interest In Ramgarh

The great poet Rabindranath Tagore once chosen Ramgarh for establishing Vishwa Bharati University when he visited this place in 1901. Impressed with the scenic beauty of the place after spending some days in Ramgarh, the creator of national anthem thought of making university at this place. He even bought land from his British friend Dariyaz for the university.

Gurudev in Ramgarh

It was in 1901 that Ramgarh had the pleasure of receiving Gurudev. And the poet bought 40 acres of land in Falapatti Nainital district for making Himanti Garden that is known as Tagor Point in the present time. Also, the poet penned a portion of Gitanjali in Ramgarh. And it is well known that he received the Nobel Prize for his creation. But later the university was founded in Kolkata.

Stayed with his daughter

In 1903, he brought his 12-year old daughter Renuka to Ramgarh after the demise of his wife Mrinalini. At that time, Renuka was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was under treatment. But she couldn’t live long with the disease. Saddened by the death of his daughter, the great poet composed a soul-touching poem Shishu.

Nishank rekindled hope

On April 17, 2000, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, who was the Minister of Culture and Religion in the then government of undivided UP, allocated Rs. 50 lakh for Tagore Museum and Beautification but the work couldn’t progress due to system related difficulties. But Dr. Nishank has again expressed his intention to revive the project as the Minister of Human Resource in the present Uttarakhand government.

Source: https://bit.ly/3cgo5fO

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India Launches Biggest COVID-19 Rescue Mission

India is launching is massive rescue mission through air and sea route for the people stranded abroad due to coronavirus pandemic. There are more than 3 lakh people stuck in different places in Europe and US. But this time, the rescued people will be charged for the service. Rescue from Europe will cost Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 1 lakh from the US. Naval warships will rescue people from West Asia and Maldives.

Highlights of the story

• Indian citizens excluding OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) will be rescued in this operation. National carrier will fly 14,800 Indians in 13 countries back home in 64 flights.

• The evacuation will start on May 7 with 10 flights bringing back 2,300 Indians.

• In the coming days, the government will send 10 flights to UAE; 7 each to US and UK; 5 each to Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Kuwait and Philippines; 2 each to Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. Also, there will be flights for Malaysia and Bangladesh.

• The flights will carry between 200 to 300 passengers to maintain social distancing. Also, the passengers will be asked to declare their medical condition like fever, cough, diabetes and any respiratory disease.

• People with valid visas could also take advantage of the rescue flights depending on the permission granted by their destination countries.

• All passengers will be screened before boarding and only asymptomatic people will be rescued. At home, they will be quarantined for 14 days.

• Naval ships – INS Shardul, INS Magar and INS Jalashwa – and 30 aircraft of Indian Air Force including Boeing Co.’s C-17 Globemaster and Lockheed Martin Corp.’s C-130J Super Hercules will … Read the rest

Amazing Ways Of Celebrating Mother’s Day 2020 On May 10 In Lockdown

Mother’s Day 2020 will be celebrated on May 10amid national lockdown due to novel coronavirus. But it doesn’t mean that you have to postpone the celebration or keeping it simple to only phone and messaging. You can still find amazing ways to wish Happy Mother’s Day to your mom on 10th May.

Plan an online movie

If your mother loves movies, you can help her watch a movie from the comfort and safety of her home. Here you can take advantage of various apps that can turn your large television into a movie theater. Or, if you are away from your mother, you can gift her an app with which she can watch her favorite movie on her mobile.

Group video call

Mother’s Day is the right time to call your mother. Housewives can take advantage of group video calling facility to connect to their mothers. Sons staying away from their mothers can also celebrate Mother’s Day via video calls.

Plan lunch or dinner

Lockdown won’t allow you to venture out for hunting the best dinner table but you can order sumptuous meal from online food delivery websites for your mother. If you are staying with your mother, you can enjoy a family dinner on Mother’s Day. If you are away, you can still order tasty meal for your mother.

Create an attractive video

Collect all pictures of your mother from your family album and present them like a story. It will be like a photo feature for your mother.

Source: https://bit.ly/2Wc1V9b

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Booze To Cost 70% More In Delhi From Today

Delhi government decided to add a 70% corona tax on liquor sale. The tax will be applied to the MRP (maximum retail price) of each bottle. The decision was taken on Monday and it will be implemented from Tuesday. The government wants to increase its revenue with liquor sale.

70% on liquor sale in Delhi

The Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal chaired a cabinet meeting on Monday morning to discuss ways to harvest liquor sale to boost revenue of the state that is down by more than 100% in comparison to last year. Delhi’s revenue in April 2019 was Rs. 3,500 crore but it plunged to Rs. 300 crore in April 2020.

The CM discussed the corona tax model with his cabinet colleagues and ordered charging 70% for per bottle from the buyers. After the renewed price, a bottle that costs Rs. 1,000 on MRP will now cost Rs. 1,700 due to the tax. The additional tax will help boost the revenue in the coming days.

Liquor sale in Delhi

Delhi government has authorized agencies to sell liquor in the capital. These agencies are DTTDC, DSIDC, DSCSC and DCCWS. And they are allowed to issue licenses to private firms to sell liquor from the government authorized premises.

On Monday, the standalone liquor shops located outside the marketplaces opened their shutters to sell booze. And people came out in thousands to buy liquor. But the worst thing is that they didn’t follow social distancing guidelines while buying liquor.

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

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