News updates from Hindustan Times: ICMR revises strategy for Covid-19 testing and all the latest news

Here are today’s top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

ICMR revises strategy for Covid-19 testing in country

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday updated its strategy for testing coronavirus disease Covid-19 as the number of infected people crossed 90,000-mark. The revised strategy proposes all symptomatic individuals with history of international travel in the last 14 days to be tested. It also says that all symptomatic contacts of laboratory confirmed cases, healthcare workers at the frontline of battle against Covid-19 and patients of Severe Acute Respiatory Infection or SARI to be tested. Read more

NDRF preps for rescue ops as super cyclone Amphan heads for Odisha, Bengal

As Odisha and West Bengal brace for cyclone Amphan, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said Monday it has boosted its strength to face the twin challenge of the storm and the Covid-19 pandemic. “A total of 37 teams have been deployed by NDRF in West Bengal and Odisha, out of which 20 teams are actively deployed and 17 are on standby in the two states,” NDRF Director General S N Pradhan said in a video message. Read more

China accuses Indian troops of trespass in Galwan Valley region in Aksai Chin

China on Monday accused India of building “illegal” defence facilities in the Galwan Valley region of the disputed Aksai Chin area, which is controlled by Beijing but claimed by New Delhi. Chinese border troops enhanced control measures in the area, a state media report said quoting an anonymous military source. Read more

On NREGA outlay, Rahul Gandhi tweets thank you to PM Modi. Then takes a dig

Former congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for approving a 66% jump in the allocated budget for the flagship rural job guarantee scheme initiated during the Congress rule. However, he ended his congratulatory note by taking a dig at the PM for one of his statements regarding the scheme in parliament. Read more

Uttar Pradesh okays Priyanka Gandhi’s request for Congress to run 1,000 buses for migrants

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday accepted Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s request to allow the Congress to run 1,000 buses to ferry migrant workers to their home in the state. Additional chief secretary, home, Awanish Awasthi in a response to the letter wrote that the state government accepts the proposal. He asked the Congress leader to submit details of 1,000 buses, their drivers and conductors so that they could serve the migrant workers. Read more

Japan braces for worst postwar slump as pandemic tips economy into recession

Japan’s economy slipped into recession for the first time in 4-1/2 years in the last quarter, putting the nation on course for its deepest postwar slump as the coronavirus crisis ravages businesses and consumers. Read more

World AIDS Vaccine Day 2020: All you need to know

AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome) is one of the most serious health conditions to have affected people globally, and there are 2.1 million people living with the condition in India alone. It is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)which affects the T lymphocytes in the body. The infection can spread from one person to another through sharing of needles, blood, or from unprotected sex. It can also be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery, or breastfeeding. Read more

CISCE introduces Project work in ISC 2021 exams for maths, English papers

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has decided to introduce a 20-mark project work for subjects English and Mathematics for students who will be taking the Indian School Certificate (ISC) examination in 2021. Earlier the plan was to introduce the project work from ISC year 2022 examination, said a notice issued by the Council. Read more

Satyajit Ray’s sleuth Feluda detects coronavirus disease in an hour. Watch

An accurate and low-cost strip test that can detect the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) within one hour is expected to be available for the first phase of testing in four weeks. Called Feluda, the test is named after a fictional detective created by the late Satyajit Ray, although it is also an acronym for FNCAS9 Editor-Linked Uniform Detection Assay. The test uses CRISPR gene-editing technology to identify and target the genetic material of Sars-CoV2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Watch the video for more details. Read more

Cats fight each other on live TV, their journalist mom tries hard to steal focus

Who doesn’t remember having fake wrestling matches with their siblings? These pretend-fights usually ended with someone getting actually hurt, physically or emotionally. They also had an added side effect of causing much grief to mom who either had to break the fight, act as a mediator or on some rare occasions pretend she didn’t notice the fight at all. This viral video will remind you of that whole scenario. Only, the fight is between two kitty siblings and the pretending has to be done by their hooman - who just happens to be live on TV at the time. Read more