DH Evening Brief: May 20, 2021

Here are the top headlines this evening.

Declare 'black fungus' an epidemic, Union Health Ministry urges states

The Union Health Ministry has urged states and union territories to make 'black fungus' or mucormycosis a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, stating that the infection is leading to prolonged morbidity and mortality amongst Covid-19 patients. Read more

Chief ministers not allowed to speak at PM Modi's Covid-19 meeting, alleges Mamata Banerjee

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with district magistrates of 54 of 100 districts with highest Covid loads got into a political row with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saying she felt "insulted" at seeing that "CMs were made to sit like puppets" at the "casual" meeting in which only the PM and some BJP CMs made small speeches. Read more

Barge sinking: MVA demands Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation

Rattled by a large number of deaths of crew members and oil workers at ONGC’s Mumbai High offshore development area along Maharashtra coast, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi demanded the resignation of Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and action against the top brass of the public-sector oil exploration company. Read more

India sees a worrying dip in daily Covid-19 vaccinations

In a worrying trend, India administered less than 20 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccine for the sixth consecutive day on Wednesday as vaccination centres across the country halted the drive owing to the shortage of the life-saving tool amid the pandemic. Read more

CoviSelf: India's first self-use RAT kit gets ICMR approval

Testing of Covid-19 will now be possible sitting at home – in a matter of 15 minutes! Read more

ITR filing deadline for FY21 extended till September 30

The Centre on Thursday extended the deadline for FY21 ITR filing for individuals by two months till September 30. Read more

Karnataka may go for stricter lockdown in coming days

Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday indicated that police and the Home Department will go for stricter implementation of lockdown measures, like seizure of vehicles, in the days to come, by making them more effective, as the state battles second wave of Covid-19. Read more

DH Deciphers | What's the brouhaha over the Narada sting operation case?

The Narada sting operation case has once again ruffled the political feathers in West Bengal, this time just weeks after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) trounced the BJP in a bitterly fought assembly election. Read more

New cyclone warning in India as Tauktae toll rises

A major new storm was brewing in the Bay of Bengal off India's east coast on Thursday, forecasters warned just days after the biggest cyclone to hit the west of the country in decades left at least 110 people confirmed dead. Read more

A jolt to the hegemon

Himanta Biswa Sarma’s selection in Assam has shown that the Modi-Shah combine can be coerced and opens the possibilities of altering the power dynamics within the BJP. Read more

Not yet safe to restart international travel: WHO Europe chief

International travel should still be avoided as progress against the coronavirus pandemic remains "fragile", the World Health Organization's Europe director told a press conference on Thursday. Read more

Arctic has warmed three times faster than Earth since 1971: Report

The Arctic warmed three times faster than the planet as a whole between 1971 and 2019, a higher rate than previously thought, a scientific report warned Thursday. Read more