India also witnessed a dip of 8448 in its active cases in the last 24 hours. As of Wednesday morning, there are 7,40,090 active cases of coronavirus in India.

For the fifth consecutive day, the active cases of coronavirus remained below 8 lakh in India.

India has a recovery rate of 88.8 percent. Six states – Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal- account for 64 percent of the country’s total active cases.

According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 9,72,00,379 samples have been tested up to October 20 with 10,83,608 samples being tested on Tuesday (October 20).

However, a top ICMR official warned that a person may get reinfected with Covid-19 if the antibodies against the infection diminish in the body in five months’ time after recovery.

Officials at the World Health Organisation reiterated the importance of adhering to quarantine rules for those who test positive and those who have come in contact with a positive case, as Europe faces a surge in numbers.

Globally, the infections have topped 40.2 million, with over 1.1 million deaths. Soaring cases in US battleground states pose a challenge for President Donald Trump two weeks before the election.

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Conspiracy theorists have long been alleging that the US government is involved in an alien coverup. Adding up the heat to these bizarre theories, a YouTube channel named Disclose Screen has released a video that shows a flying saucer-like object getting transported in a truck. The alleged UFO loaded in the truck seems to have slid down the truck and it was seen parked on the side of the road in the video.

The eerie clip uploaded by the YouTube channel soon went viral, and viewers also shared their thoughts regarding this bizarre sighting. Most of the people who watched the video claimed that this is a strong sign that substantiates the presence of aliens on earth.

However, skeptics argued that this object loaded in the truck could be most probably a prop designed for a Hollywood movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcEH0fKDtD8&feature=emb_title

The video was later analyzed by self-proclaimed alien hunter Scott C Waring, who is currently operating from Taiwan. Waring revealed that the saucer-like object in the truck could be an alien vessel or a flying craft developed by the US army with the help of aliens. He also added that military vessels are not used to transport this vessel so that the public will not notice the journey.

“Because lack of military trucks and police vehicles causes less alarm and draws less attention. Especially if they only have to take the craft short distances. Why not fly it you ask? If it is a new disk which was given to the US military from aliens in trade for items…then who is going to know how to pilot it? No one, thus moving it to a secure location for pilot testing is important. This is 100% alien or it would not need to be transported anywhere. Maybe traded for, maybe a UFO crash in the area,” wrote Waring on his website UFO sightings Daily.

The conspiracy theorist also suggested that this flying object could be most probably transported to Area 51, the alleged secretive military base in Nevada desert.

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Trump split the difference between Senate Republicans’ insistence on $200 payments and the House Democratic bill that extended the existing $600 benefit through January 31, 2021.

But he said states, already reeling from the loss of tax revenue due to the coronavirus-induced recession, would be responsible for covering $100 a week of the extra payments. He said the states could take the money out of the federal aid they’ve already received, some of which remains unspent.

The president also signed orders extending a moratorium on evictions, which had expired this month; continuing to waive the interest on student loans; and giving workers earning less than $100,000 and their employers a payroll tax holiday through the end of the year.

His actions before a cheering crowd of guests at his Bedminster golf club came after White House officials failed to reach a deal with congressional Democrats.

Republicans have balked at spending more than $1 trillion to address the coronavirus after passing a tax law in 2017 that increased the deficit by $2 trillion over 10 years, while Democrats pushed for at least $2 trillion, down from their original a $3 trillion legislation.

Trump blamed the Democrats for blocking stimulus legislation even though the House has passed a bill while the Senate has failed to pass anything.

The president said the extra $400 for the unemployed was “the money that they need” and gives them “a great incentive to go back to work.”

He called the $600 payment “a disincentive,” a position refuted by the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and independent studies by Yale University and economist Ernie Tedeschi.

Trump did not say when the extra money would start appearing in unemployment insurance payments, only that it would be “soon.”

The president did not rule out future negotiations and it is possible that his actions will be challenged since Congress, not the president, has the power under the Constitution to decide how federal dollars are spent.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., criticised Trump’s actions and called for the White House to return to the table.

“We’re disappointed that instead of putting in the work to solve Americans’ problems, the president instead chose to stay on his luxury golf course to announce unworkable, weak and narrow policy announcements to slash the unemployment benefits that millions desperately need and endanger seniors’ Social Security and Medicare,” the lawmakers said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who waited more than two months to respond to the Democratic stimulus bill, applauded Trump’s move, saying, “Struggling Americans need action now.”

Missing for now was a second round of $1,200 stimulus payments, as well as more funds for the pay check protection programme for small businesses, two issues that had been part of the negotiations.

Trump suggested that he might divert some of the trillions of dollars already approved by Congress for addressing the coronavirus but not yet spent.

“We have a lot of money that was unspent and we’ll be able to do things with the money,” he said.

He indicated one obstacle to an agreement was the Democrats’ insistence on providing federal aid to state and local governments whose budgets have taken a beating as tax collections dried up due to the cornavirus-induced recession.

Federal aid to state governments was a key component of President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus law passed in response to the Great Recession. It accounted for 42% of the package, or $330 billion, according to the California State Legislature’s fiscal and policy analysis office.

Trump said that if he was re-elected, he would not ask the businesses and workers to pay back the payroll taxes and even suggested he would extend the moratorium or permanently cut the tax.

Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress publicly opposed the moratorium on payroll taxes, which fund the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, but Trump insisted they really supported it. “Everyone wants it,” he said.

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Amid mounting pressure and crisis, ByteDance, owner of TikTok has now decided to relocate from Beijing to London. The new move from TikTok will surely upset Donald Trump, as he is very much keen to ban the application from the US soon.

According to a report published in the Sun, ByteDance has finalized this decision, and they have even received a green signal from the British government, headed by Boris Johnson.

This recent move of TikTok is to assure everyone that they are no longer under the thumb of the Chinese state, and if they succeed in relocating to London, countries like India will be compelled to lift the ban of the application.

In the meantime, Microsoft had revealed that they are continuing talks with ByteDance to acquire TikTok. Even though there are no updates regarding the progress of these negotiations, it has been learned that Microsoft is apparently planning to conclude the talks by September 15.

Kevin Mayer, CEO of TikTok had several times revealed that they are not a part of any political agenda. He has also made it clear that the ultimate aim of his company is to create a vibrant and dynamic platform for everyone to enjoy.

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As coronavirus scare looms up in the United States, Anthony Fauci, one of the lead members of the Trump Administration’s White House Coronavirus Task Force has urged the citizens of the country to wear Goggles or face shields to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

Fauci made these remarks while talking to ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton. According to Fauci, face shields and Goggles are also a must to prevent the drastic spread of coronavirus, as there is mucosa in the eyes, through which the pathogen could enter the body.

“If you have goggles or an eye shield, you should use it. It might if you really want perfect protection of the mucosal surfaces. You have mucosa in the nose, mucosa in the mouth, but you also have mucosa in the eye. Theoretically, you should protect all the mucosal surfaces. So if you have goggles or an eye shield you should use it,” said Fauci.

Even though not universally recommended, Fauci strongly believes that the usage of Goggles and face shields could protect someone more when compared to another person who only uses a face mask.

It was around a few days back that Fauci called coronavirus outbreak a perfect storm with no end in near sight. The expert also made it clear that completely eradicating this pathogen from the planet is a practically impossible task. However, he assured that the development of a vaccine and effective social distancing measures could drastically reduce the spread of the pathogen.

Even though the United States is adopting all necessary measures to contain coronavirus, this pathogen is wreaking havoc in all nooks of the nation. According to the latest statistics, coronavirus has claimed the lives of more than 1,54,000 people, and the number of positive cases has risen to 4.5 million.

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However this 26 year old nurse didn’t live to see another day and she never expected that it would be her husband who became her killer.

Coral Springs police, through their investigation, found out that Merin’s husband Philip Mathew (34) was responsible for her murder. He was later taken into custody, from a hotel in Coral Springs as he wanted to commit the crime before Merin leaves to a new place.

Philip fatally stabbed her multiple times, when she was returning home after night duty at the COVID ward in Boward Hospital. He also drove his car over her at the parking lot of the hospital.

As per the reports of the police, the incident is believed to be part of a domestic dispute between the couple. Philip has sustained some self-inflicted injuries after the incident.

Eye witnesses reported that Merin begged for her life and asked him to spare her because of their two year- child Nora.

According to Merin’s relatives, she was staying away from Philip, following some issues between them and was planning to quit the job at the Coral Springs hospital.

Merin Joy  hails from Piravom, Kottayam.

Philip Mathew alias Nevin is a native of Veliyanad, Kottayam has been charged with first degree murder.

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According to the analysis by Reuters, the state would rank fourth worldwide for the most new daily cases if it were a country. Meanwhile, more than 40 hospitals in Florida said their intensive care facilities are reaching capacity.

The latest increase was reported a day after Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom was reopened at Walt Disney World in Orlando on July 12. However inside the complex, only a limited number of guests were allowed and all the safety measures was followed including mask wearing, use of sanitizer and temperature checks.Hospitalizations and positive test rates are also rising in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas.

Meanwhile, after months of pandemic spreading across the country, US President Donald Trump worn a mask in public for the first time during his visit to Washington D.C. area military medical center on July 11 . He had previously refused to wear a mask in public saying that it is an individual’s choice whether to wear face coverings or not. He even mocked Democratic rival Joe Biden for wearing a mask.

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Praising Kerala for the way it has handled the coronavirus surge, Nobel-laureate and economist Amartya Sen said COVID-19 would be a transformatory movement in the state and it has dealt with the pandemic combating bureaucracy and red tape.

Sen was speaking during a webinar on development titled ‘Kerala Dialogue’, organised by the Kerala government, to bring together thinkers, policy-makers, professionals, scientists and the public to a space where they could rethink and re-imagine development for a world disrupted by the pandemic. Sen appreciated the public healthcare system and the high level of literacy in the state.

Sen came down heavily on the “unplanned and unstructured lockdown” in India and said it caused distress and hardship. However, the government implemented the lockdown in an authoritarian manner.It was a disaster for the daily wage labourers,” Sen said.

Well-known philosopher and social critic, Noam Chomsky, who also participated in the talk, said the way Kerala responded to the Covid-19 pestilence was a surprise to the whole world.

“The differences in the way between Kerala and the rest of India, and the rest of most of the world, on how they reacted to the crisis was quite startling.Not many places have dealt with it the way Kerala has.This pandemic has brought out very sharply the extraordinary inequality that has been, of course always there, but greatly exaggerated through the neo-liberal period,” Chomsky said.

Asked if there will be a fundamental change in the world at the end of the pandemic, Chomsky claimed countries like the US are trying to prolong the current situation and move to more dictatorships, restrictions and people-watching.

“But there are movements all over the world to counter this.Coordinating this can be a huge force.They can make changes and they are all trying to create a new world,” Chomsky said.

Sen also pointed out that the collapse of the public system, which has happened in Europe, has not happened in Kerala. “Though Europe had a tradition of public sector intervention it is not there now but that kind of reliance on the public sector can still be seen in Kerala,” he added.

WHO Chief Scientist, Dr Soumya Swaminathan said countries, which responded to the early warning issued by the World Health Organization, were better prepared to face the pandemic.
“On January 30, WHO issued an emergency alert for global Covid-19 defence. But Kerala had already started preventive measures in early January, anticipating potential problems. That is why the first cases from Wuhan could be discovered.Following this, Kerala was able to locate, quarantine those who had contact with them and contain the outbreak. Kerala has been able to contain the disease as fast as possible due to proper preventive measures,” Swaminathan said.

Chomsky said Vietnam has confronted this pestilence and not a single Covid related death was reported there. He also pointed out that South Korea has also effectively controlled the pandemic without even a lockdown. “Taiwan, Hong Kong and New Zealand are other countries that dealt with the disease. In Europe, Germany was able to prevent the spread of the disease in a good way.What saved them was that Germany did not adopt a commercial hospital system like the US,” he said.

Chomsky said it was doctors from “poor Cuba, who have been the victims of the US economic assault for more than six decades”, who moved to Italy to help them out.  “This pandemic was able to show the extraordinary inequality of the world. In the United States, it was most pronounced….Blacks and their descendants from Spain and South America suffered the most in the United States,” he claimed.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who also participated in the discussion, said Kerala was starting a new conversation on development. “The Left Front is launching the Kerala Dialogue to bring new concepts and sustainable development models,” Vijayan said.

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