Recalling India's move on SAARC for a regional strategy, New Delhi appreciated Pakistan finally showing enthusiasm for regional calls on COVID-19. Pakistan on Thursday hosted a SAARC meet on the coronavirus pandemic and had also invited India along with other grouping members.

India was represented by Director General of Health Services, assisted by experts from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Most SAARC countries were represented at the official level.

A fresh war of words erupted between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar Thursday after the former wrote a scathing letter accusing Dhankhar of repeatedly interfering in the functioning of the state administration.

In a strongly worded five-page letter to the governor, which Mamata released to the public, she asked him to judge who has crossed the limit of constitutional dharma and decency between the two constitutional functionaries.

The aerosol levels over northern India has plummeted to a 20-year-low for this time of the year, according to satellite data published by US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The US space agency's satellite sensors observed aerosol levels at a 20-year low post the countrywide lockdown, implemented to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah on Thursday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and said that the entire world is praising the way he handled the coronavirus pandemic in India.

The Minister took to Twitter to praise PM Modi, saying that the truth is 'self evident'.

The central government on Wednesday directed all the states and Union Territories (UTs) to encourage more corona warriors to undergo online training courses in order to handle the Covid-19 pandemic efficiently.

The government said that brave and dedicated doctors, healthcare workers, police and other volunteers require enhanced capacity and updated information to keep in-step with the latest advances in techniques and global understanding of the virus.

India ordered airlines this week to stop selling tickets. Hardly any listened.

Four of the country’s top six airlines, which together control 80 per cent of the local market, are selling domestic flight tickets for as soon as the third week of May, searches on their websites showed.

South Korea's Hyundai Motor's first-quarter net profit slumped 44 per cent to its lowest level for the quarter in a decade as the spreading coronavirus outbreak hit demand for cars worldwide, the company said on Thursday.

Net profit for January-March was 463 billion won ($376 million), far below an average Refinitiv estimate of 607 billion won drawn from 15 analysts.

In a setback to those seeking entry into the US for employment purposed, American President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order suspending immigration for 60 days to protect the jobs of Americans laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The temporary freezing of immigration will affect people who are legally seeking entry into the country for employment purposes but not the ones who are already living in the country, the order said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said that coronavirus will remain with us for a long time and said that the body declared it a global pandemic at the 'right time'.

Make no mistake: we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time. Looking back, I think we declared the emergency at the right time on January 30, he added.

Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership during the coronavirus crisis, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has commended government's proactive measures such as lockdown and expansion of focused testing in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

In a letter to Prime Minister Modi, the philanthropist billionaire said he was glad that the Indian government is fully utilising its exceptional digital capabilities in its COVID-19 response and has launched the Aarogya Setu app for coronavirus tracking, contact tracing, and to connect people to health services.

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