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Morning Digest: No WHO bar on India testing HCQ; schools,colleges still not allowed to open says Home Ministry, and more

A select list of stories to read before you start your day

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Coronavirus | No WHO bar on India testing HCQ as a preventive drug, says WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan

The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) moratorium on testing hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), the controversial anti-malarial drug, for treating COVID-19, which was announced on Monday, doesn’t imply that India should pause testing the drug as a preventive, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, WHO, told The Hindu.

Lockdown | Schools, colleges still not allowed to open: MHA

No decision has been taken on the opening of schools and colleges and all education institutions across the country are still prohibited to open, the Union Home Ministry (MHA) said on Tuesday night. The statement by the Home Ministry spokesperson came after a section of media reported that the Ministry has given permission to all States to open schools.

Coronavirus | Aarogya Setu app is now open source, says government

Amid concerns over privacy of data being collected by its coronavirus contact tracing app, the government on Tuesday said it was open sourcing Aarogya Setu— a long-standing demand by privacy and security experts.

India-China LAC standoff | Narendra Modi reviews situation with NSA, CDS and 3 Service Chiefs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday reviewed the current situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the ongoing standoff with China with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Bipin Rawat and the three Service Chiefs, multiple sources said. The meeting comes a day before the biannual Army Commanders conference.

Direct booking for Vande Bharat flights

Indians stranded around the world may soon be able to book Vande Bharat flights directly on Air India’s website, according to a senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs. “We are doing this as a trial, but the airline will continue to be assisted by our foreign missions and the criteria for identifying passengers in distress will also apply,” the source explained.

Online ticket booking, masks likely when monuments, museums re-open

When museums, monuments and archaeological sites re-open to the public, visitors may have to buy tickets online, wear masks and follow social distancing norms, according to Union Culture Ministry officials who are preparing a post-COVID-19 lockdown standard operating procedure (SOP).

Piyush Goyal blames Maharashtra for non-running of 55 trains

The political slugfest over running of Shramik Special trains continued with Railway Minister Piyush Goyal taking to Twitter to allege that the Maharashtra government failed to provide passenger details due to which at least 55 such trains could not be run on Tuesday.

CID probe initiated against Arnab Goswami

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Tuesday announced that a fresh probe would be conducted by the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) against Republic TV founder Arnab Goswami in connection Alibaug resident Anvay Naik's suicide in 2018.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets PLA, urges battle preparedness

Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 26 called on the military “to think about worst-case scenarios” and “scale up battle preparedness”. He made the remarks during his annual meeting with the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) representatives attending the National People’s Congress or Parliament in Beijing.

BCCI mulls change in Ranji format

The BCCI is considering a change of format for the Ranji Trophy. The proposal is to split the Elite teams into five groups instead of the current three, The Hindu has learnt. At the moment, Elite Groups A and B have nine teams each while Group C has 10. The Plate group has 10 teams.