BEGINNING TUESDAY, 15 REGULAR TRAINS TO AND FROM NEW DELHI

in a major decision that signals a gradual resumption of normal activities after 47 days of lockdown, the government Sunday said inter-state train services for all passengers — not just stranded migrant workers — will commence from tomorrow. Passenger rail services were shut for about 50 days since March 21 to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Initially, the Railways will run 15 pairs (30 return journeys) of air-conditioned “special trains”, modelled on the Rajdhani, connecting 15 major cities with New Delhi. Eight of these (16 return journeys) from New Delhi to Mumbai, Patna, Kolkata, Dibrugarh, Jammu Tawi, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar, will run daily.

The services from New Delhi to Agartala and Secunderabad will be once a week; from New Delhi to Madgaon, Ranchi, Bilaspur and Chennai twice a week; and to Thiruvananthapuram thrice a week. The booking for reservation in these trains will start at 4 pm on May 11 and will be available only on the IRCTC website (https://www.irctc.co.in/). Ticket booking counters at the railway stations shall remain closed and no counter tickets (including platform tickets) shall be issued

Describing Sunday’s move as part of “plans to gradually restart passenger train operations”, a government statement said, “Thereafter, Indian Railways shall start more special services on new routes, based on the available coaches for Covid-19 care centres and adequate number of coaches being reserved to enable operation of 300 trains every day as ‘Shramik Special’ for stranded migrants.”

Government sources said there were indications that this was a “trial” to get a sense of the demand for inter-state movement, and assess its compatibility with the outbreak containment strategy. The situation may be re-evaluated in about a week or 10 days, they said.

The fares will be similar to those for Rajdhani trains. Tatkal bookings and waitlists will not be allowed. Only those without any Covid-19 symptoms will be allowed to travel. They will be screened at departure, and required to wear a “face cover”.

There would be only a few stops, mostly coinciding with operational stoppages, officials said. Only Rajdhani-model trains have been allowed since these do not have unreserved coaches, given the need to maintain social distancing.

INDIAN, CHINESE TROOPS CLASH IN LADAKH, SIKKIM; SEVERAL INJURED

Indian and Chinese troops have physically clashed at two separate locations along the disputed and un-demarcated frontier between the two countries.

Details are emerging of an ongoing development in Eastern Ladakh that is much bigger in scale and has wider ramifications than the clash in North Sikkim on Saturday.

Sources have confirmed that on the night intervening May 5 and May 6, a clash ensued at a spot called ‘finger 5’ on the northern bank of the Pangong Tso (Lake) in Eastern Ladakh. It was one of the spots were pitched battles were fought during the India-China war (Oct-Nov) 1962. In an earlier incident in 2017 near the same spot, troops had hurled stones at each other.

In the latest incident Indian and Chinese troops have been injured, confirmed a senior official while with holding back confirmation of either the nature of injuries or the numbers of those injured.

The Pangong Tso, a 135 km-wide glacial-melt lake, straddles both countries. It has boat patrols from either side. Eastern Ladakh — a land of barren tree-less landscape dotted with high mountains and equally high passes — has been virtually militarily “tailored” to prevent a repeat of 1962 — when China, with exceptions like Rezang La, literally overran the Indian military defences.

Elsewhere in North Sikkim, a clash on Saturday led to injuries to troops, including four from the Indian side. Aggressive behaviour and minor injuries to both sides took place, sources confirmed. Some 150 troops are believed to be involved in the fracas in which blows were exchanged. “Troops disengaged after dialogue and interaction at local level,” Army officials confirmed Sunday morning. At least four Indian and seven Chinese troops are said to be injured.

PM MODI TO INTERACT WITH CMs TODAY

With a week left the third phase of the lockdown to end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting with Chief Ministers of various states on Monday afternoon to discuss boosting economic activities and the next course to be adopted by the Centre and the state governments in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

This will be the fifth meeting through video-conferencing by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chief Ministers on the collective fight against the spread of COVID-19 amid an increase in the number of positive cases registered in various states.

For over a week now, the Railways has been running Shramik Special trains to ferry the stranded migrants even as a political tussle broke out over the passenger fare being collected from travellers, with many states announcing to underwrite the costs. Yet, with a ceiling of 1,200 passengers per train and attendant formalities, there are reports from various states that migrant workers are opting for a more arduous journey by foot.

The efforts to open sectors such as agriculture bore fruits with procurement going on in many states, while others, including manufacturing in other permitted areas, are yet to resume in the manner the government may want them to operate. This is both on account of the strict social-distancing norms as well as lesser availability of skilled labour.

INDIA NEEDS ‘WHOLE-OF-GOVT APPROACH’ TO CONFRONT STRATEGIC UNCERTAINTIES: ARMY CHIEF

The time has come for India to adopt a “whole-of-government approach” in decisively confronting the “strategic uncertainties” looming on its horizon as well as non-traditional threats like pandemics, Army Chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane has said, strongly pitching for broadening the country’s national security doctrine.

Talking about complex geo-political power play in India’s neighbourhood, Gen Naravane said the Indian armed forces are determined to “cement” the country’s reputation as a net security provider in the region. “There is an entire spectrum of strategic uncertainties that looms on the horizon and a whole-of-government approach is the need of the hour to deal with them,” the Army Chief said.

Though Gen Naravane did not elaborate, his comments came in the backdrop of Pakistan-supported Taliban’s aim for a role in power structure in Afghanistan and China’s persistent efforts to expand military ties with countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and the Maldives.

The Army Chief further said India needs to broaden its understanding of national security and must examine non-traditional threats like pandemics as they have the potential to inflict severe damage on the country.

COVID-19 DASHBOARD – (Nos. IN INDIA / Nos. WORLDWIDE)

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 67,157 (+4,353) / 41,80,922 (+80,193)

Total Deaths 2,212 (+111) / 2,83,868 (+3,437)

Total Recovered 20,969 (+1,668) / 14,93,401 (+51,926)

Active Cases 43,976 (+2,574) / 24,03,653 (+24,830)

Serious / Critical Cases (Not Available) / 47,032 (-649)

Top impacted nations so far: (And some of India’s Neighbours)

Country / Total Cases / Deaths / Total Deaths per 1M Pop.

USA 13,67,638 / 80,787 / 244

Spain 2,64,663 / 26,621 / 569

UK 2,19,183 / 31,855 / 469

Italy 2,19,070 / 30,560 / 505

Russia 2,09,688 / 1,915 / 13

France 1,76,970 / 26,380 / 404

Germany 1,71,879 / 7,569 / 90

Brazil 1,62,699 / 11,123 / 52

Turkey 1,38,657 / 3,786 / 45

Iran 1,07,603 / 6,640 / 79

China 82,918 / 4,633 / 3

Canada 68,848 / 4,870 / 129

Peru 67,307 / 1,889 / 57

India 67,161 / 2,212 / 1.6

Pakistan 30,941 / 667 / 3.1

Bangladesh 14,657 / 228 / 1.4

Sri Lanka 863 / 9 / 0.4

Top 17 impacted Indian States so far: (Total No. of Confirmed case / No. Of Deaths)

State / Confirmed Cases / Active Case / Recovered / Deceased

Maharashtra 22,171 / 17,140 / 4,199 / 832

Gujarat 8,195 / 5,157 / 2,545 / 493

Tamil Nadu 7,204 / 5,198 / 1,959 / 47

Delhi 6,923 / 4,781 / 2,069 / 73

Rajasthan 3,814 / 1,465 / 2,241 / 108

Madhya Pradesh 3,614 / 1,723 / 1,676 / 215

Uttar Pradesh 3,467 / 1,735 / 1,653 / 79

Andhra Pradesh 1,980 / 1,010 / 925 / 45

West Bengal 1,939 / 1,337 / 417 / 185

Punjab 1,823 / 1,626 / 166 / 31

Telangana 1,196 / 415 / 751 / 30

Jammu and Kashmir 861 / 469 / 383 / 9

Karnataka 848 / 394 / 422 / 31

Haryana 703 / 394 / 300 / 9

Bihar 696 / 336 / 354 / 6

Kerala 513 / 20 / 489 / 4

Odisha 377 / 306 / 68 / 3

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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CORONAVIRUS: CHINA REFUTES 24 'LIES' BY U.S.

China has issued a lengthy rebuttal of what it said were 24 "preposterous allegations" by some leading U.S. politicians over its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak.

A 30-page, 11,000-word article posted on the Ministry's website on Saturday night repeated and expanded on the refutations made during the press briefings, and began by invoking Abraham Lincoln, the 19th century U.S. President.

"As Lincoln said, you can fool some of the people all the time and fool all the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time," it said in the prologue.

The article also cited media reports that said Americans had been infected with the virus before the first case was confirmed in Wuhan. There is no evidence to suggest that is the case.

Keen to quash U.S. suggestions that the virus was deliberately created or somehow leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the article said that all evidence shows the virus is not man-made and that the institute is not capable of synthesising a new coronavirus.

The article also provided a timeline of how China had provided information to the international community in a "timely", "open and transparent" manner to rebuke U.S. suggestions that it had been slow to sound the alarm.

Meanwhile, the WHO has denied a media report that claimed that Chinese President Xi Jinping personally asked WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom to ‘delay a global warning’ regarding the coronavirus outbreak during a phone call in January.

The WHO, on its part, called the claims “unfounded and untrue.” In a series of tweets, the WHO clarified that there was never a phone call between chief Tedros and Xi Jinping.

UK PM UNVEILS 'CONDITIONAL PLAN' TO REOPEN SOCIETY

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday announced a phased plan to ease a nationwide coronavirus lockdown, with schools and shops to begin opening from June 1 - as long as infection rates stay low.

Starting this week, he said the government would be "actively encouraging" people to return to work where they could not do so from home, for example in manufacturing or construction.

Unlimited outdoor exercise would be allowed from Wednesday, with sports such as golf, tennis and fishing permitted as long as they only involved members of the same household.

In the second phase, Mr. Johnson said nurseries and children up to the age of 11 could start to return to school from June 1 at the earliest, and some non-essential shops could reopen.

By July, "we will hope to re-open at least some of the hospitality industry and other public places" that could enforce social distancing, for example cafes in parks.

The plans presented by Johnson only apply to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can decide their own schedule for easing - and have indicated they will not follow yet.

THE REST

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FORMER PM MANMOHAN SINGH ADMITTED TO AIIMS WITH CHEST PAIN

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been admitted to AIIMS on Sunday evening after he complained of chest pain. According to the sources, the doctors are examining his condition. “He is under observation and the examination is going on,” said a senior doctor from the hospital.

NUMBER OF CRITICAL COVID-19 PATIENTS HAS HALVED ACROSS THE COUNTRY

The number of patients turning critical due to the coronavirus disease Covid-19 has halved, the Union health ministry has said.

Till last week, 9.2 per cent Covid-19 patients admitted to a hospital were in a critical condition, according to health ministry. Out of these, 4.8 per cent were in the ICU, 3.3 per cent required oxygen support and 1.1 per cent were on the ventilator. But the condition improved this week.

The latest figures show that only 4.67 per cent patients are in a serious condition. Out of these, 2.41 per cent are in ICU, 1.88 per cent people need oxygen support and only 0.38 per cent are on ventilator. This shows that the number of critical patients has halved.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had said on Sunday that no Covid-19 case has been reported in 10 states and union territories in the last 24 hours and the recovery rate has increased to over 30 per cent, asserting that India was moving fast on the path of success in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

KULBHUSHAN JADHAV CASE: PAKISTAN CALLS SALVE’S CLAIMS INACCURATE

Pakistan said on Sunday it had “fully complied” with the judgment of the International Court of Justice in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case while rejecting the allegations by India’s lead counsel Harish Salve.

During an online interaction, Salve, India’s legal counsel in the case at the ICJ, had said India resorted to “back-channel” efforts to “persuade” Islamabad to release Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer who is on death row in Pakistan on charges of spying and terrorist activities. In the online session organised by Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad, an all-India lawyers’ association associated with the RSS, Salve said India needed to decide whether to go to ICJ for further consequential directions as Pakistan had not moved ahead.

Salve also said that till date, Pakistan had refused to share the FIR, the chargesheet or the military court judgment. “We were hoping that through the back-channel, we may be able to persuade Pakistan to let him go. If they want to say on humanitarian grounds or whatever, we want him back. We said, let him go. Because it’s become a big ego problem in Pakistan. So, we were hoping they would let him go, they haven’t,” Salve said.

“We firmly reject the Indian Counsel’s baseless and inaccurate assertion that Pakistan has not complied with the ICJ’s judgment in the case. Pakistan has fully complied with the judgment and remains committed to continue doing so as the case proceeds further,” Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said.

JAVED AKHTAR CALLS TO END AZAAN ON LOUDSPEAKERS

Azaan is an integral part of the faith, not the gadget, says veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar, asking that the Islamic call to prayer on loudspeakers should be stopped as it causes "discomfort" to others.

"In India for almost 50 years Azaan on the loud speak was Haraam. Then it became Halaal and so halaal that there is no end to it, but there should be an end to it. Azaan is fine but loud speaker does cause of discomfort for others. I hope that atleast this time they will do it themselves," Akhtar tweeted.

When a user asked his opinion on loudspeakers being used in temples, the 75-year-old writer said everyday use of speakers is a cause of concern.

"Whether it's a temple or a mosque, if you're using loudspeakers during a festival, it's fine. But it shouldn't be used everyday in either temples or mosques. "For more than thousand years Azaan was given without the loud speaker. Azaan is the integral part of your faith, not this gadget," he replied.

WORLD’S RICHEST TEMPLE STRUGGLES FOR CASH TO PAY SALARIES TO STAFF

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, the world’s richest temple trust that runs the Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala, which has lost Rs 400 crore in revenue during the lockdown, now does not have enough cash to pay salaries and meet daily expenses.

Officials said the trust was deliberating ways to resolve the crisis without having to touch the eight tons of gold reserve and Rs 14,000 crore fixed deposits.

The temple has been closed in view of the lockdown for the past 50 days and it’s not clear when the temple will be reopened for public worship.

With salary and other allowances for 2020-21 pegged at Rs 1,385.09 crore, TTD has to shell out approximately Rs 120 crore towards it every month even during the lockdown. In addition, the TTD has to extend financial support in the form of grants of nearly 400 crore to healthcare institutions run by it.

GOLD BONDS OPEN TODAY FOR SUBSCRIPTION WHEN INVESTMENT DEMAND IS RISING

The second tranche of gold bonds of this fiscal year (2020-21) will open for subscription tomorrow at a time when the investment demand for the precious metal is rising. Series II of sovereign gold bond scheme 2020-21 will close for subscription on May 15. The issue price of the latest gold bond scheme has been fixed at 4,590 per gram while the issue date is May 19. Those applying online and making payment through digital mode will get a discount of ₹50 per gram. For such investors, the issue price of bond will be ₹4,540 per gram of gold.

Sovereign gold bonds are issued by the RBI on behalf of the government.

Investors will have the option to exit after the fifth year. Bonds are also traded on stock exchanges, offering buy or sell option to investors, subject to liquidity.

These bonds offer an annual interest rate of 2.50% to investors. Capital gains, if any, at maturity is tax-free. This is an exclusive benefit available on gold bonds. Physical gold or other forms of investments like gold ETF or gold mutual funds don't qualify for this benefit.

‘X Æ A-12’: ELON MUSK EXPLAINS HOW TO PRONOUNCE HIS SON’S NAME

While Elon Musk and his partner Claire Grimes’ creative name for their newborn son ‘X Æ A-12’ left netizens scratching their heads, the CEO of SpaceX has recently explained the meaning and how to pronounce the name and it is not as complicated as many thought it to be.

During a podcast with American comedian Joe Rogan, Musk explained the way to pronounce his son’s name.“First of all, my partner’s the one that mostly came up with the name. I mean it’s just X, the letter X, and the ‘Æ’ is pronounced, ‘Ash,’ and then, A-12 is my contribution.” He then elaborated that ‘A-12’ stood for “Archangel 12, the precursor to the SR-71, coolest plane ever."

However, the unusual name may not be accepted according to Californian state rules, CNN reported. Names can only use the 26 alphabetical characters of the English language, according to the state constitution.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Men willingly believe what they wish. - Julius Caesar

OFF TRACK

Jack's grandfather left him ten million dollars, and the next week Diane agreed to marry him. After three months of married life, Jack noticed that his beautiful new wife was ignoring him more and more. Whenever they went out in public, she ignored him and flirted with other men. Finally, he decided to confront her.

"Diane," he said, "was the only reason you married me was because my grandfather left me ten million dollars when he died?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she replied, "I don't care who gave you the money!"