News Flash (8th July 2020): Top 10 Stories Of The Day

1. DU final year exams for UG courses to be held after Aug 15

On Wednesday, the DU (Delhi University) informed Delhi High Court that it has decided to further postpone the online open book exams till August 15 considering the rising number of coronavirus cases. DU had recently updated its date sheet for the upcoming examination, which was scheduled to begin from the 10th of July for both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. 

2. After reducing syllabus for class 9 &10, CBSE deletes topics of federalism, citizenship for class 11 

In a bid to reduce the burden on students amid the coronavirus crisis, the CBSE has chosen to drop key study topics like Democratic Rights, Food Security in India, Federalism, Citizenship, and Secularism from the syllabus of Class 11 students. This decision comes after the board announced the reduction of the syllabus for Classes 9-12 up to 30%. The key chapters that have been taken out from class 10 syllabus include democracy and diversity, and gender, religion, and caste. Similarly, class 12 students now won’t be studying India’s relations with its neighbors and demonetization.

3. Doctor’s prescription no more required for doing COVID test in Mumbai

On Tuesday, the BMC decided to rid away from the requirement of a doctor’s prescription for the Covid-19 test for all high-risk contacts, even if they are asymptomatic. This was done to speed up the coronavirus testing. Before this, under the BMC testing guidelines, only those with symptoms were allowed the Covid-19 swab test through a public or a private doctor’s prescription. A high-risk contact, a close family member, of a Covid-19 positive patient was allowed to get tested if they develop symptoms after the fifth day of quarantine. Even for that purpose, a prescription from a doctor was compulsory. Prior to the new testing guideline, symptomatic health workers, front line workers, pregnant women and in some cases dialysis and cancer patients only were allowed to get themselves tested. 

Now, however, BMC’s Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani has said, “A high risk contact, with or without symptoms, has to give a self-declaration to the laboratory that his close contact has tested positive and that he requires a test. This declaration is enough for testing.”

4. US sends out a formal 1-year notice to quit World Health Organization

After almost a month of US President Trump’s announcement of breaking away from WHO, the US government has sent a letter giving the United Nations a one-year notice for the U.S. to quit the World Health Organization, thereby formalizing President Donald Trump’s decision to quit the agency in spite of the uncontrollable surge of coronavirus cases in the country.  

The letter is sent to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres which has made U.S. withdrawal from WHO official on July 6, 2021, under a requirement for a one-year notice, according to Stephane Dujarric, the secretary-general’s spokesman. There remains no doubt though that if Democratic rival Joe Biden gets elected as the State’s new president, he would reverse Trump’s decision.

5. Usain Bolt shares first pictures of his newborn daughter, names her ‘Olympia’

Eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt has shared the first picture of his new born daughter and has also revealed her name to the fans worldwide. The newborn will now be recognized as,  ‘Olympia Lightning Bolt’. Bolt and his girlfriend Kasi Bennett were blessed with Olympia in the month of May. Wishing his girlfriend Kasi on her birthday, Usain wrote, “I look forward to what the future will bring for us but be reassured…I’ll be the rock for this family.”

6. Instagram rolls out new 15-second video making feature named ‘Reels’ in India

Photo sharing app Instagram has rolled out its new feature ‘Reels’ in India that enables users to create short-form videos of up to 15 seconds set to music or other audio. Reels videos will appear on Instagram’s Explore tab, feed of followers, and can also be shared as Stories. After the ban of TikTok, Instagram’s feature is most likely to get a massive response by the users. The feature is also currently being tested in Brazil, France, and Germany.

7. Do not to charge fees till schools reopen: Rajasthan Govt to private schools

The Rajasthan government recently barred the private schools in the state from taking advance fees until they reopen. On April 9, the state government had barred schools of Rajasthan from taking an advance fee for the period of three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Now, this order has been extended till reopening of schools,” the School Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra said.

8. Kulbhushan Jadhav declines file review petition against death sentence

Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was arrested in Pakistan on charges of terrorism and spying for India’s intelligence agency, was invited on June 17 to file a petition for review and reconsideration of his death sentence and conviction. The Pakistan government has informed Kulbhushan Jadhav has refused to file a review petition against his death sentence. Jadhav was sentenced to death in 2016 in Pakistan for allegedly spying for India’s intelligence agency. His execution was stayed after India moved the International Court of Justice against the verdict in May 2017, as reported by Scroll media. 

9. Mumbai house of BR Ambedkar vandalized by unidentified men

Dr. BR Ambedkar’s house in Dadar, Mumbai, popularly known as ‘Rajgruha’, was vandalized by unidentified goons on Tuesday evening. Sujat, Dr Ambedkar’s great-grandson testified, “The family was at the residence. The unidentified men threw stones at two rooms – one was a museum and a photo gallery with Babasaheb’s books and belongings and the other was our office/meeting room.” Taking note of this incident, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray said, “Rajgruha is revered not just for followers of Dr. Ambedkar, but also cutting across community lines. We won’t tolerate anyone insulting Rajgruha. I have ordered the police to take strict action against the offenders.”

10. Levi’s fires 15% of its corporate staff due to sharp fall in sales

Levi Strauss an American clothing company is going to cut  700 jobs constituting around 15% of its corporate workforce due to the sharp fall in the sales amid pandemic. The company recently announced that it witnessed a net revenue decline of 62% on a reported basis and a net loss of $364 million in the second quarter. Levi’s stores remained shut for around ten weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.