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The Economics Times March 26, 2020 PTI A warm and humid weather is linked to slower spread of the novel coronavirus, according to a study which suggests that Asian countries experiencing monsoon may experience lesser transmission of the virus. The scientists, including Qasim Bukhari from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology  (MIT) in the US, assessed data on the number of COVID-19 infections in different parts of the world and compared it with two parameters of weather from all the regions - temperature and humidity. The findings, described in SSRN repository, show that 90 per cent of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, transmissions until March 22, 2020 have occurred in regions with temperature between 3 and 17 degrees Celsius. They added that these regions also had between 4 to 9 gram per cubic metrer (g/m3) of absolute humidity - a measure of the amount of water vapour per cubic metre of atmosphere. According to the MIT scientists, the total number of cases in coun

The Economics Times March 26, 2020 PTI When the world is fighting the coronavirus pandemic, 64 per cent businesses in India said they are ready to ride through the current crisis, according to a survey. Overall 64 per cent of Indian businesses are ready or getting ready to ride through the ongoing crisis due to COVID-19, while 3 per cent of small and medium businesses (SMBs) said they are well prepared and 39 per cent of large businesses said they are gearing up, according to the survey by job site Indeed. The survey was done among 150 employers of SMBs, large organisations and gig economy businesses across 10 cities in India. It showed that businesses are adapting by leveraging collaboration technology to ensure uninterrupted work and developing new policies as the situation evolves to make remote working effective and efficient.  The gig economy is best prepared, with 83 per cent of businesses emphasising their contingency plan includes frequent communication

Hindustan Times March 26, 2020 The 21-day lockdown imposed across the country has effectively led to the suspension of fundamental rights of citizens and the same can be done only through an imposition of emergency as per the Constitution and not an order under the Disaster Management Act (Act) as was done by the central government, a petition filed before the Supreme Court on Thursday argued. The petition filed by Centre for Systemic Accountability and Change claimed that the divergence in steps taken by various state governments have led to confusion and lawlessness in the country and a unified command between central and state governments is required to deal with the situation. “This is the biggest emergency in independent India and it must be addressed as per Constitutional provisions through unified command between Central and State Governments”, the petition stated. It, therefore, sought imposition of financial emergency under Article 360 of the Constitution, a step

Hindustan Times March 26, 2020 Pakistan violated the ceasefire agreement yet again on Thursday while the rest of the world is busy battling the deadly coronavirus contagion. Indian troops said they retaliated to Pakistani firing at the Line of Control in north Kashmir’s Uri sector on Thursday afternoon. Locals said the firing went on for a couple of hours in the afternoon and damaged a house which was hit by a shell fired by the Pakistani side, however, no loss of life was reported. The Indian Army blamed Pakistan for the ceasefire violation and said the Indian forces manning the LoC retaliated to Pakistani firing. The locals claimed that several mortar shells landed in the villages of Mothal, Silikote, Hatlthanga and Churunda, all located on the zero line. The latest ceasefire violation spread panic in the villages in Uri, especially those close to the LoC. Irshad Ahmad, a resident of Uri said the firing continued for two hours. “The fresh firing has spread panic in

Times Of India March 26, 2020 Rajat Pandit India is keeping a watchful eye on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) amid reports that China has now also taken to deploying underwater  drones   apart from hydrographic survey and oceanic research ships in the region. The concern in the Indian security establishment is that while such surveys are undertaken for deep-sea mining and other commercial activities, they are also critical for submarine and anti-submarine warfare operations. International business magazine Forbes on Sunday reported China had deployed adozen “Sea Wing” underwater drones from specialist research vessel Xiangyanghong 06 in the IOR in mid-December before recovering them last month. These long-range Sea Wing gliders, which can operate for months on end, made “more than 3,400 observations” for the winter survey of the “joint ocean and ecology research project” run by the Chinese ministry of natural resources. The Forbes report said though the Chine

DAWAN March 26, 2020 At least 25 people were The attack highlights country's killed on Wednesday in an attack on a Sikh temple in Afghanistan’s capital where worshipers were offering morning prayers, the latest brutal assault claimed by the militant Islamic State (IS) group. The incident highlights the country’s ongoing security crisis and comes as the impoverished nation reels from a massive cut in US aid and struggles with a raging insurgency, political deadlock, and rising coronavirus cases. Pakistan condemned the assault and said there could be no justification for such an attack. In a statement, its Foreign Office expressed solidarity with the people of Afghanistan. A witness to the attack, Singh Sonny, said a man dressed in a police uniform burst into the temple in central Kabul, shot a guard and started attacking worshipers in the main hall. “Several other attackers also entered the building and they were going from room to room shooting people,” Sonny said.