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WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said the five million cases mark would be a "tragic milestone"The World Health Organization said Wednesday it had registered a new daily record number of COVID-19 cases as it quickly neared the "tragic milestone" of five million total infections. The UN agency's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that on Tuesday, there were "106,000 cases reported to WHO — the most in a single day since the outbreak began" in December. The WHO was also getting to grips with U.S. President Donald Trump's reform ultimatum, giving the organisation 30 days to overhaul its operations otherwise its…

A loud 'thundering' sound in several areas of Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon triggered panic among the city residents. Some people took to Twitter, wondering if an earthquake had hit the Karnataka capital as doors and windows shook after the noise. However, the officials ruled out the possibility of it being an earthquake. As per Srinivas Reddy, the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) director: “Earthquake activity will not be restricted to one area and will be widespread.” “We have checked our sensors and there is no earthquake activity recorded today," Bangalore Mirror mentioned Reddy as saying. Karnataka State Disaster…

Mohamed Ghalib is reading the Quran when we get through to him on the phone. This is the month of Ramzan, and it seems significant that the calligrapher is reading the Islamic holy book that was once transcribed by artists like him. Today, 58-year-old Ghalib, is reportedly the last katib or calligrapher, working in Old Delhi’s Urdu Bazaar. Once the stars of the vernacular Urdu press, which relied on Katibs to transcribe material for newspapers and magazines, these calligraphers are among the last practitioners of an art that goes back to the golden era of Arabic writing, which underpins the…

Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education on May 20, 2020, confirmed that it will be conducting the Goa SSC Board Exams 2020 from May 21 to June 6. The complete schedule or date sheet of the SSC 2020 examination is released on the Board’s official website gbshse.gov.in. The candidates who are to appear in the exam can check their schedule there. The Higher Secondary Exams or the 12th standard exams were carried out yesterday on various centres across the state successfully. The exam was of Marathi language. The students of SSC are also expecting similar arrangements for their exam…

In a sharp criticism of China over border tensions with India, the US on Wednesday described Beijing’s actions as “disturbing behaviour” and said the skirmishes were a reminder of the threat China posed as it sought to use its power, whether in the South China Sea or on the borders with India. Senior US official Alice Wells, the outgoing acting assistant secretary of state, told journalists that the border brawls were “a reminder that Chinese aggression is not always just rhetorical. Whether it is in the South China Sea or along the border with India, we continue to see provocations…

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid tributes to Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary. Former prime minister Gandhi was assassinated on this day in 1991 in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur by a suicide bomber (LTTE group) during an election campaign. "On his death anniversary, tributes to former PM Shri Rajiv Gandhi," Modi tweeted.

Last month, the world’s two biggest tech companies--Apple and Google--partnered to fight the spread of coronavirus disease. Now, both companies have announced the launch of Exposure Notifications API. This tool can help authorities of different countries create Exposure Notification apps. Note: “Exposure Notifications” technology is not a substitute for traditional contact tracing and the new tool simply minimises privacy concerns. “Both companies are firmly grounded in the fact that it’s another tool at the disposal of public health authorities PHAs — not a silver bullet,” said Apple and Google in a joint statement. Apple and Google explains them as alerts…

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has refused to allow early hearing of a plea seeking registration of FIR in relation to the attack on students and teachers at JNU on January 5 saying courts have to hear only urgent cases owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.The court noted that investigations pertaining to the violence at JNU campus were in progress and dismissed the plea. The court was hearing a plea filed by Sucharita Sen, who suffered head injuries during the attack by masked people inside the campus on January 5, seeking early hearing of an application for registration of an FIR…

Despite good yield, COVID-19 casts a shadow on its salesThe sweet lime growers in Mukundapuram are in a deep trouble despite the yield being very good due to continuous availability of irrigation water, as COVID-19 cast a shadow on sales of the most sought-after fruit for instant recharge with its juice during summer. Grown in over 2,000 acres in this village alone in Garladinne mandal, which has one of the largest chunks of land dedicated for this crop, farmers were buoyant after failure of the crop in 2018 and 2019 due to shortage of irrigation water. Sweet lime, which was…

Nepal has officially unveiled a new political map of the country showing the regions of Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh of Uttarakhand, as part of its sovereign territory. Launching the map at a press conference, Minister of Land Management Padma Kumari Aryal said the government of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli was committed to protecting territorial sovereignty and integrity of the country. “It is a historic moment of happiness for the people of Nepal. The government will not allow erosion of self-esteem of our people. Nepal will publish the new map and make it part of the school textbooks,” said…