Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Here are the big stories you need to follow today: India and China agree to disengage Following day-long talks between Corps Commanders on Monday, India and China have come to a "mutual consensus" to disengage on their disputed Eastern Ladakh boundary, an Army source told The Hindu "The Corps Commander level talks between India and China on June 22 were held at Moldo in a cordial, positive and constructive atmosphere. There was a mutual consensus to disengage. Modalities for disengagement from all friction areas in Eastern Ladakh were discussed and will be taken forward by both the sides," the source said. Meanwhile, Army Chief Gen. Naravane will travel to Ladakh on Wednesday to review the ground situation, discuss the ongoing stand-off with ground commanders, visit forward locations, and interact with troops on the ground. Jaishankar speaks of 'upholding international norms' External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. File External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, addressing a Ministerial meeting of the Russia-India-China grouping, spoke of "upholding international norms" as the only way to ensure a durable world order. The Indian Minister reminded his counterparts, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, of India's contribution during World War II, and spoke about the medical mission of Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis to support China as it faced a Japanese invasion. "Leading voices of the world must be exemplars in every way. Respecting international law, recognising legitimate interests of partners, supporting multilateralism, and promoting the common good is the only way to build a durable world order. This special meeting reiterates our belief in time-tested principles of international relations, but the challenge today is not of concepts and norms but equally of their practice," Jaishankar said. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 4,52,505 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 14,230. The Health Ministry continues to try and find statistical measures that could give a positive spin to a scenario where there are some 15,000 news cases every day. Today, it said that against the global average of 6.04, India has one Covid-19 death per lakh population, which is one of the lowest in the world. It credited the timely detection of cases, extensive contact tracing, and effective clinical management for the low mortality rate. Meanwhile, the Centre today said ₹2,000 crore has been allocated under the PM CARES fund for the supply of 50,000 ventilators to government-run Covid-19 hospitals across the country. A sum of ₹1,000 crore has also been provided for the welfare of migrant labourers. Safoora Zargar given bail Jamia Millia Islamia student Safoora Zargar was today given bail by the Delhi High Court. Zargar, who is 23 weeks pregnant, had earlier been denied bail three times. She had been arrested in connection with the recent north-east Delhi riots. Justice Rajiv Shakdher passed the order after the Central government, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, agreed to Zargar's bail plea on humanitarian grounds. Mehta said the order releasing her on bail should not be made a precedent. He also insisted on a series of conditions to be followed by Zargar after her release. These include stipulations that she cannot leave Delhi without permission, and should not indulge in activities that may hamper the investigation. Novak Djokovic tests positive for Covid-19 Serbia's Novak Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus on June 23, 2020 after taking part in a tennis exhibition series he organized in Serbia and Croatia. File Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked tennis player in the world, tested positive for the coronavirus today after taking part in a tennis exhibition series he had organised in Serbia and Croatia. Of the players who took part in the tournament, he is the fourth one to test positive. "The moment we arrived in Belgrade we went to get tested. My result is positive, just as Jelena's, while the results of our children are negative," Djokovic said in a statement. Djokovic has been criticised for organising the tournament and bringing in players from other countries amid the coronavirus pandemic. There were no social distancing measures observed at the matches in either country. "It was all born with a philanthropic idea, to direct all raised funds towards people in need and it warmed my heart to see how everybody strongly responded to this," Djokovic said in defence of the tournament. "We organised the tournament at the moment when the virus has weakened, believing that the conditions for hosting the Tour had been met." Fellow Serbian player Viktor Troicki also said today that he and his wife had tested positive, while Grigor Dimitrov and Borna Coric had confirmed over the weekend that they had tested positive. Patanjali claims it has developed a drug for Covid Yoga guru Ramdev addresses the media during the launch of 'Coronil' and 'Swasari' ayurvedic medicines, claimed by Patanjali Ayurved to cure coronavirus disease, in Haridwar on June 23, 2020. The Baba Ramdev-run company Patanjali today launched an Ayurvedic medicine kit that it claimed can treat Covid-19 within seven days and has shown "100 per cent favourable results during clinical trials on patients". The medicines, named "Coronil and Swasari", were developed based on research and trials on 280 patients across the country, Patanjali claimed. Later in the day, the AYUSH Ministry ordered Patanjali to stop advertising the drugs and provide details about the composition of the medicine that it claims as a cure for Covid-19. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued an advisory about alternative cure claims, which says that while "some western, traditional or home remedies may provide comfort and alleviate symptoms of COVID-19, there is no evidence that current medicine can prevent or cure the disease." Trump suspends H-1B visas U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a proclamation to suspend the issue of H-1B visas, which are widely used by Indian IT professionals. Trump said the step was essential to help millions of Americans who have lost their jobs due to the current economic crisis. Issuing the proclamation ahead of the November presidential elections, Trump chose to ignore the mounting opposition to the order by various business organisations, lawmakers, and human rights bodies. In Brief: Following a phone call by Saudi Arabia's Haj and Umrah Minister Mohammad Saleh Bin Taher Benten to Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, informing him that no international pilgrims will be allowed for Haj due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Indian government said it would reimburse Indian pilgrims who have already paid for travel. In a setback to the government's Vande Bharat mission, the U.S. is likely to bar Air India from operating charter flights. It has accused India of violating a bilateral agreement by excluding American airlines from participating in the repatriation charters from India. The U.S. government's Department of Transport (DoT) has said that the manner in which Air India is conducting operations under the guise of charter flights creates a "competitive disadvantage" for U.S. airlines. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Tuesday held a virtual meeting to discuss the current political situation, with party president Sonia Gandhi stating that the Narendra Modi government "gravely mishandled" the border situation by being in "denial" about Chinese intrusions. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. |
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