SC ORDERS COMFORT FOR TRAVELLING WORKERS

"What is the estimated time required to shift migrants?"

"What arrangements are being made and what's being done to ensure that they

are given information?"

"Are workers being asked to shell out money?"

"Is food being supplied to them during the waiting period? Why should there

be a food shortage among people?"

These were some of the probing questions posed by the Supreme Court on

Thursday to the Centre on the plight of the migrant workers who remain

stranded across the country without food, shelter, and transportation ever

since the nationwide lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic came in effect

from March 25.

Issuing an interim order later, a three-judge bench of Justices Ashok

Bhushan, S K Kaul and M R Shah said, "several lapses have been noticed" in

the process of registration, transportation and providing food and water to

migrants. It ordered that no fare either by train or bus would be charged

from the migrant labourers and that it should be shared by states. The

Supreme Court also ruled that the originating state should provide meal and

water at the station while the Railways need to provide the same during the

journey.

The court also said that the stranded ones should be provided food by the

states concerned at places, which shall be publicised and notified for the

period that they are waiting for their turn.

It also directed that those migrant workers found walking on the roads,

immediately be taken to shelters and provided food and all facilities should

be provided to them.

Stating that all necessary details regarding the number of migrant workers

and the plan to transport them should be brought on record, the court said

Railways needs to provide trains as and when the state governments put in a

request.

Faced with a barrage of questions from the top court, Solicitor General

Tushar Mehta targeted "prophets of doom" and said they "only spread

negativity". "State governments and ministers are working overnight but none

of these people acknowledge that.these armchair intellectuals do not

recognise the nation's effort," SG Mehta told the apex court.

"They earn in crores. Have they spent a penny?" SG Mehta retorted. "People

are working tirelessly. From safai karamcharis to the Prime Minister.Don't

allow this to become a platform for political speeches."

ALREADY ENGAGED WITH CHINA TO PEACEFULLY RESOLVE ISSUE: INDIA TO TRUMP

In response to US President Donald Trump's offer to mediate between Delhi

and Beijing over tensions along the Line of Actual Control , India Thursday

said it is already engaged with China to "peacefully resolve" the issue.

"We are engaged with China to peacefully resolve this issue," said the

Ministry of External Affairs' official spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.

The MEA spokesperson, however, refrained from addressing the US President's

tweet, and also did not reject any third-party mediation as it had done in

the past.

Trump had Wednesday tweeted offering to mediate between the two nations and

saying the United States had informed both India and China about being able

to mediate their "now raging border dispute".

In the past, Trump had offered to mediate between India and Pakistan over

Kashmir, but this is the first time that he has made such an offer to India

and China.

The MEA spokesperson said: "Our troops have taken a very responsible

approach towards border management and strictly follow procedures laid out

in bilateral agreements and protocols with China to resolve any issue that

may arise in border areas."

The MEA spokesperson also said the two sides have "established

mechanisms-both military and at diplomatic levels- to resolve situations

which may arise in the border areas peacefully through dialogue, adding that

India remains firm in its resolve to ensure the country's sovereignty and

national security."

He also said that the Indian armed forces "scrupulously follow the consensus

reached by our leaders and the guidance provided", while referring to the

decisions at the Wuhan and the Mahabalipuram summits between PM Modi and

Chinese President Xi Jinping. "At the same time, we remain firm in our

resolve to ensuring India's sovereignty and national security," he said.

INDIA HITS OUT AT PAK OVER RAM TEMPLE COMMENT

India has dismissed as "absurd" a statement by Pakistan accusing the RSS-BJP

of advancing the "Hindutva" agenda with the commencement of construction of

a Mandir in Ayodhya at a time when the world is grappling with the

coronavirus epidemic.

"India is a nation served by the rule of law and which guarantees equal

rights to all faiths. Pakistan's Foreign Office may take time out and read

its own constitution to realise the difference," said the Ministry of

External Affairs spokesperson.

The spokesperson also replied back to the statement casting aspersions on

the Supreme Court for its November 9, 2019, judgment clearing the way for

construction of a Ram Temple on two counts - failing to uphold the demands

of justice and making clear that the minorities are not safe in India.

"Given its record, Pakistan should be embarrassed to even mention

minorities. After all, numbers don't lie even if they do," said the

spokesperson. "As for the judiciary, Pakistan must realise that theirs is

thankfully not the norm. There are others elsewhere with credibility and

integrity that Pakistan understandably finds difficult to recognise," he

added.

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

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 1,65,376 (+7,301) / 59,05,415 (+1,15,844)

Total Deaths 4,711 (+177) / 3,62,024 (+4,592)

Total Recovered 70,920 (+3,171) / 25,79,691 (+82,073)

Active Cases 89,745 (+3,953) / 29,63,700 (+29,179)

Serious / Critical Cases - N.A. / 53,972 (+998)

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

Country, Total Cases / Total Deaths / Recovered Cases / Active

Cases

1 USA 17,68,461 / 1,03,330 /

4,98,725 / 11,66,406

2 Brazil 4,38,812 / 26,764 /

1,93,181 / 2,18,867

3 Russia 3,79,051 / 4,142 /

1,50,993 / 2,23,916

4 Spain 2,84,986 / 27,119 /

1,96,958 / 60,909

5 UK 2,69,127 / 37,837 / N/A

/ N/A

6 Italy 2,31,732 / 33,142 /

1,50,604 / 47,986

7 France 1,86,238 / 28,662 / 67,191

/ 90,385

8 Germany 1,82,452 / 8,570 /

1,63,200 / 10,682

9 India 1,65,386 / 4,711 /

70,920 / 89,755

10 Turkey 1,60,979 / 4,461 /

1,24,369 / 32,149

11 Iran 1,43,849 / 7,627 /

1,12,988 / 23,234

18 Pakistan 61,227 / 1,260 / 20,231

/ 39,736

22 Bangladesh 40,321 / 559 / 8,425

/ 31,337

96 Sri Lanka 1,530 / 10 / 745

/ 775

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

Deaths)

State / Confirmed Cases / Active Case / Recovered /

Deceased

Maharashtra 59,546 / 38,948 / 18,616 /

1,982

Tamil Nadu 19,372 / 8,676 / 10,548 /

148

Delhi 16,281 / 8,470 / 7,495 / 316

Gujarat 15,572 / 6,609 / 8,003 / 960

Rajasthan 8,067 / 3,072 / 4,815 /

180

Madhya Pradesh 7,453 / 3,082 / 4,050

/ 321

Uttar Pradesh 7,170 / 2,758 / 4,215 /

197

West Bengal 4,536 / 2,573 / 1,668 /

295

Andhra Pradesh 3,245 / 1,053 / 2,133

/ 59

Bihar 3,185 / 2,120 / 1,050 / 15

Karnataka 2,533 / 1,666 / 818 /

47

Telangana 2,256 / 844 / 1,345 /

67

Punjab 2,158 / 172 / 1,946 / 40

Jammu and Kashmir 2,036 / 1,150 / 859 /

27

Odisha 1,660 / 766 / 887 / 7

Haryana 1,504 / 604 / 881 /

19

Kerala 1,089 / 526 / 555 / 8

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

CHINA PASSES CONTROVERSIAL HONG KONG LAW

China's Parliament on Thursday passed new legislation for Hong Kong that

will for the first time empower Beijing to draft national security laws for

the Special Administrative Region (SAR).

At the closing session of the annual National People's Congress (NPC) in

Beijing, the draft legislation was passed overwhelmingly, with 2,878 votes

for, one against and six abstentions in the Communist Party-controlled

legislature.

The law, called the "NPC Decision on Establishing and Improving the Legal

System and Enforcement Mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative

Region to Safeguard National Security", essentially empowers the NPC to

draft new national security laws for Hong Kong.

UK Foreign secretary Dominic Raab and home secretary Priti Patel are

exploring options to grant full citizenship to people in Hong Kong who have

'British National (Overseas)' status as one of the responses to Beijing

imposing a security law in the former British colony.

The announcement came soon after a joint statement by the UK, US, Canada and

Australia expressing "deep concern" over the new law.

TRUMP SIGNS ORDER TARGETING SOCIAL MEDIA GIANTS' LEGAL PROTECTIONS

President Donald Trump signed an order Thursday seeking to strip social

media giants like Twitter of legal immunity for content on their platforms

in a move slammed by his critics as a legally dubious act of political

revenge.

The executive order calls on government regulators to evaluate if online

platforms should be eligible for liability protection for content posted by

their millions of users.

If enforced, the action would upend decades of precedent and treat internet

platforms as "publishers" potentially liable for user-generated content.

Trump told reporters at the White House he acted because big tech firms

"have had unchecked power to censor, restrict, edit, shape, hide, alter any

form of communication between private citizens or large public audiences."

"We can't let this continue to happen," Trump said.

The move comes a day after an angry tirade from the US leader against

Twitter after the platform for the first time labelled two of his tweets, on

the increasingly contentious topic of mail-in voting, with fact-check

notices, calling them misleading.

THE REST

========

SOME NORTHERN STATES BATTLE WITH LOCUST SWARMS

At a time when India is grappling with Covid-19, a locust crisis is swarming

over northern parts of the country, with several states issuing advisories

to prevent a desert locust attack. With India battling the worst desert

locust outbreak in three decades, the crop-destroying insects have now

spread to Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh after arriving in

Rajasthan.

In its latest update, the United Nations's Food and Agriculture Organisation

(FAO) desert locust information center said much of these movements were

associated with strong westerly winds. "Several successive wave of invasions

could be expected till July in Rajasthan with eastward surges across

northern India as far as Bihar and Orissa followed by westward movements and

a return to Rajasthan on the changing winds associated with the monsoon.

These movements will cease as swarms begin to breed and become less mobile.

Swarms are less likely to reach south India," the UN body said in its latest

update.

According to the Locust Warning Organisation (LWO), which monitors locust

swarms, there is no immediate danger of the swarms heading towards Delhi.

The insects feed on a large variety of crops. If not controlled, locust

swarms can threaten the food security of a country.

KARNATAKA WANTS TO REDUCE AIR TRAFFIC FROM FIVE STATES, PROHIBITS ENTRY BY

ROAD FROM THREE

The Karnataka government Thursday decided to restrict air travel from five

states - Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan -

and incoming passengers by road from three - Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and

Gujarat - in view of the rising Covid-19 tally. Trains that are already

running will continue to do so.

"This is in view of several passengers from these states testing positive

for Covid-19 in Karnataka, leading to a rise in fresh cases in the state in

the last few days," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy

said after a Cabinet meeting held in Bengaluru.

He further added that asymptomatic cases from these states have burdened

quarantine facilities in the state. "The sudden hike in numbers has also

resulted in tests taking more time to be completed. These restrictions will

be in place for the next few days," Madhuswamy said.

However, those seeking to travel to these states from Karnataka will be

allowed to do so, officials clarified.

A couple of hours after his media briefing post the Cabinet meeting,

Madhuswamy clarified that the Karnataka government "had not announced a

complete ban" on flights from the five states, and instead decided to

"lessen air traffic" to the state. "We have written to the Centre requesting

to take steps to lessen (incoming) air traffic to the state, with the sacred

intention that there may not be adequate quarantine facilities if there is

huge turnout in a short span of time," he added.

GOVT PLANS FOR THIRD, BIGGER PHASE OF 'VANDE BHARAT MISSION'

The government is planning for phase three of the 'Vande Bharat Mission' as

over three lakh stranded Indians have registered themselves with Indian

missions abroad for evacuation on compelling grounds.

The first phase was a modest 64 flights and a couple of sorties by naval

ships that brought back over 16,000 Indians. The ongoing second phase that

will last till June 16, plans to bring back another one lakh Indians.

So far in phase two, over 45,000 Indians have returned, including about

8,000 migrant workers, 7,656 students and over 5,000 professionals. About

5,000 have returned through land border immigration checkpoints from Nepal

and Bangladesh.

"A total of 3,08,200 persons have registered with our missions abroad for

repatriation to India on compelling grounds," said government sources. If

international flights do not resume, the third phase will mean a logistical

exercise that will dwarf phase two.

GLIMMER IN COVID SURGE: LESS THAN 5% OF ALL PATIENTS REQUIRE CRITICAL CARE

As returning migrants and easing lockdown push the coronavirus far and wide,

an analysis of statewise data shows that when it comes to Covid patients

requiring critical care, their share, even in high-burden states like

Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, remains low. So is the demand

for ventilators.

Similar is the case in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha

where the migrant influx is pushing up Covid numbers.

Of the total 83,004 active cases on May 27, less than 3500 needed any kind

of intervention - oxygen therapy, ICU or ventilators.

A total of 1,868 patients needed ICU (2.25 per cent), of whom just three

were on ventilators while 1585 people (1.91 per cent) were on oxygen. This

trend has remained largely unchanged since the first cases came in.

Until May 15, 18,855 ventilators were available in the country for Covid

care, this number would have gone up since. In addition, 60,000 ventilators

have been ordered.

These figures assume significance given the apprehension about medical

infrastructure being overwhelmed by the pandemic as testing ramps up and

more cases pour in.

Replying to a question on the way ahead during Lockdown 4.0, Niti Aayog's Dr

Vinod Paul said: "Our goal is to control the pandemic and then restore

normalcy so that life can go on. That balance is key to all decisions on

restrictions. We have to make sure that the size of the pandemic remains

below our capacity to treat patients."

In Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar where returning migrants are a cause

for concern, so far no patients are on ventilators, oxygen or in the ICU.

Of the 2,680 active cases in Uttar Pradesh till May 27, 61 needed ICU and 38

needed oxygen. No patient was required to be put on a ventilator.

In Maharashtra, which has seen the most number of deaths, the percentage of

people on oxygen is just 2.21 per cent. In Delhi the percentage is 3.56 but

on May 27, when the number of active cases in Maharashtra was 36012, there

were just 796 people on oxygen while in Delhi, of the 6954 active cases, 248

were on oxygen.

Overall, the percentage of people on oxygen (1.91% of total active cases in

the country) is an important metric because it has often been seen in Covid

cases that patients recover quickly after a few days on oxygen. However, if

timely oxygen is not given, there are increased chances of organ damage and

quick deterioration.

Bengal has the highest percentage of people in the ICU: 10.34% of the 2240

active cases - and also a relatively high proportion (5.8%) on oxygen.

LAW SCHOOL GRADS HIRE PLANE TO FERRY MIGRANTS

Over 165 migrant workers were ferried back home to Jharkhand from Mumbai in

a chartered flight, arranged by the alumni network of a Bengaluru-based law

school, making it the first such instance in the country amid the Covid-19

lockdown, an official statement said.

The Air Asia flight carrying 169 migrant workers and five children left

Mumbai at 6.25 am and reached Ranchi around 8.25 am. An airline spokesperson

said the National Law School (NLS) Alumni Association had taken on lease a

180-seater A320 plane, a first such operation by the budget carrier since

passenger services resumed in the country.

"We have been working closely with the organisers, who we understand have

independently crowd-funded their efforts to assist migrants," the official

said in a statement.

EPL TO RESTART ON JUNE 17

The English Premier League season will restart on June 17, three months

after it was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With restrictions on the broadcasting of Saturday 3pm games lifted, the

league said all 92 remaining matches will be broadcast live in the UK by its

existing broadcast partners: Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC Sport and Amazon

Prime.

"Today we have provisionally agreed to resume the Premier League on

Wednesday 17 June. But this date cannot be confirmed until we have met all

the safety requirements needed, as the health and welfare of all

participants and supporters is our priority," said Premier League Chief

Executive Richard Masters.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

We must not indulge in unfavorable views of mankind, since by doing it we

make bad men believe that they are no worse than others, and we teach the

good that they are good in vain. - Walter Savage Landor

OFF TRACK

A brash man entered a high-priced restaurant, selected a choice table, sat

down and unfolded a napkin over his lap. He drank a glass of water and then

unwrapped a package of home-made sandwiches.

When the astonished manager came over to remonstrate, the sandwich eater

demanded, "Who are you?"

"I am the manager," came the icy reply.

"Just the man I want to see. Why isn't the orchestra playing?"