COVID-19 cases near one million-mark

Confirmed COVID-19 infections are nearing the one million mark after “near exponential growth” saw global cases more than double in the past week. Since emerging in China in December, COVID-19 has spread across the globe, claiming over 47,000 lives and infecting more than 936,000 people. The World Health Organization chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned of the approaching milestone as new cases reached almost every country and territory across the world. India reported the 50th COVID-19 death, with the total number of positive cases rising to 1,965. The coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 30,000 lives in Europe alone, a global tally showed. Italy and Spain bore the brunt of the crisis, accounting for three in every four deaths on the continent. In the US, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Nevada imposed sweeping stay-at-home directives in response to the pandemic, putting over 80 per cent of Americans under lockdown as the number of deaths in the country nearly doubled in three days.

Global economy could shrink by 1 per cent in 2020

The global economy could shrink by up to 1 per cent in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a reversal from the previous forecast of 2.5 per cent growth, a UN body has said, warning that it may contract even further if restrictions on the economic activities are extended without adequate fiscal responses. The analysis by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs said the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting global supply chains and international trade. With nearly 100 countries closing national borders during the past month, the movement of people and tourism flows have come to a screeching halt. Meanwhile, the heads of WTO, UNFAO and WHO have asked all countries to ensure that trade-related measures taken to combat coronavirus don’t disrupt the food supply chain as millions of people globally are dependent on international trade for food security and livelihoods.

GST mop-up slips below Rs 1 lakh cr-mark

GST collections in March slipped below Rs 1 lakh crore-mark for the first time in four months to Rs 97,597 crore as COVID-19 lockdown that shut most businesses compounded tax collections in an already sluggish economy. Goods and Services Tax (GST) mop-up in March recorded a 8.4 per cent decline over March 2019 collection of Rs 1.06 lakh crore. The collections were lower on account of dip in revenues from domestic transactions as well as imports. In the last four months — November 2019-February 2020 — GST collection surpassed the Rs 1 lakh crore-mark. The number of GST returns filed during March was 76.5 lakh, lower than 83 lakh filed in February.

HC orders to remove blockades on NH near Kerala-Karnataka border

The Kerala High Court directed the central government to remove blockades erected by Karnataka on the national highways connecting the two states in the backdrop of coronavirus lockdown so as to allow free movement of vehicles carrying persons for urgent medical treatment. A bench gave the order on a PIL seeking directions for opening of the roads connecting Kasaragod in Kerala and Mangaluru, which had been closed by Karnataka in view of the lockdown. The order came amid reports of deaths of at least seven seriously ill persons after the ambulances carrying them to hospitals in Mangaluru, 15 kms from Kasaragod, were allegedly not allowed by Karnataka police on the borders. The court said the national highways come under the administrative jurisdiction of the central government and that the provisions of the National Highways Act clearly provide for the maintenance of such highways by it.

UK postpones COP26 climate summit to 2021

The UN’s COP26 climate change summit due to take place in the Scottish city of Glasgow in November has been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the British government has said. Some 30,000 people, including 200 world leaders, had been due to attend the 10-day conference for crucial talks to halt rising global temperatures. A UN panel in 2018 concluded that avoiding global climate chaos needed a major shift in society and the world economy. With the world currently on track for catastrophic temperature increases, the two-week summit had been meant to galvanise a renewed international commitment to an accord brokered in Paris in 2015 aimed at stabilising the Earth's climate.

Wimbledon cancelled for first time since WWII

Wimbledon organisers scrapped the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament for the first time since World War II as the coronavirus wreaks further havoc on the global sporting calendar. The cancellation of the only grass court major at the All England Club leaves the season in disarray, with no tennis due to be played until mid-July. Wimbledon was due to run for two weeks from June 29, with Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep set to defend their singles titles. Organisers had earlier ruled out playing Wimbledon behind closed doors and postponing the event would also have created its own problems, with shorter days later in the English summer. The US Tennis Association responded by saying the US Open was still due to take place as planned, from August 31 to September 13. The French Open, originally due to be held from May 24-June 7 has been postponed to September 20-October 4, shortly after the end of the US Open.

Afghanistan prepares to swap Taliban prisoners 

Afghanistan began the process of releasing from jail 100 Taliban militants in a prisoner swap for 20 of its security forces, a senior security official said. It is the first step towards freeing 6,000 prisoners held by the Afghan government and the insurgent group, among confidence-building measures key to the success of a peace deal between the US and the Taliban to end nearly two decades of war. Both sides confirmed the Taliban prisoners are to be released at the Bagram military base north of the capital, Kabul. But the site for the release of the Afghan security forces has yet to be firmed up. Washington signed a deal with the Taliban in late February that promised the withdrawal of US and foreign troops from Afghanistan by July next year, provided the Taliban start talks with Kabul and adhere to other guarantees. The deal required the Afghan government — which was not a signatory to the accord — to free 5,000 Taliban prisoners and for the insurgents to release 1,000 pro-government captives in return.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store