Morning Digest: India puts its COVID-19 recovery rate at 21.9%, Saudi Arabia ends death penalty for minors, and more

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

Police personnel on vehicles moving in the Chittinagar area (near tunnel), a red zone, cautioning people on coronavirus threat, in Vijayawada on Sunday.

Coronavirus | India puts its recovery rate at 21.9%

The death toll due to  COVID-19  continued to rise on Sunday, with the country registering a total of 826 fatalities and 26,917 cases, according to the Union Health Ministry. While the death toll rose by 46, the number of cases spiked by 1,975 since Saturday evening.

Yes Bank case: CBI takes Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan into custody

The CBI on Sunday took custody of  Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan  in connection with the  Yes Bank case . The two were earlier kept in quarantine after they were tracked down to Satara in Maharashtra.

Home Minister ‘personally supervising’ anti-COVID measures: govt. report tells SC

A status report filed by the government in the Supreme Court said Union Home Minister Amit Shah is personally supervising the implementation of directives and advisories issued by his ministry in the fight against COVID-19.

Saudi Arabia ends death penalty for minors

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has ordered an end to the death penalty for crimes committed by minors, according to a statement by a top official.

The decision comes on the heels of another ordering judges to end the practice of flogging , replacing it with jail time, fines or community service and bringing one of the kingdom’s most controversial forms of public punishment to a close.

COVID-19 facilities will help Odisha’s snakebite victims, say experts

The Odisha government’s move to add ventilator facilities to treat COVID-19 patients is likely to provide a much needed weapon for another serious threat — snakebite.

Assam was able to curb community transmission, says Minister

Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said preventing community transmission had been the highlight of the fight against COVID-19 in the State.

Coronavirus | Declare sanitary pads an essential commodity, says Pad man

Sanitary pads for women should be declared an essential commodity and their production should be allowed as there was an alarming demand and scarcity during the COVID-19 lockdown period, ‘Pad man’ Arunachalam Muruganantham said. He also urged ensuring the availability of raw material for the manufacture of sanitary pads.

Coronavirus | Food controller in Madhya Pradesh answers RTI queries in 12 hours

Information sought under the Right to Information Act usually takes days, even months, to reach applicants. And when the entire Madhya Pradesh government machinery is combating the  COVID-19  outbreak and offices are shuttered amid the lockdown, the right appears to have been temporarily suspended too, but not in Rewa district.

Over 30% ED officials resume work from office

Over 30% of officials and staff of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have started attending offices in the States where there are no specific restrictions on opening the office premises.

Athletics | Once I scribbled Adidas on my spikes, now I wear custom-made shoes: Hima Das

Sportswear giant Adidas now manufactures custom-made shoes for Hima Das with her name printed on them but country’s top quarter-miler on Sunday revealed that there was a time when she had to write the famous brand name manually on her sub-standard spikes.