Top news of the day: Public health experts say government blundered on migrant workers policy; Modi asks Indians to stay more vigilant than ever, and more

The major news headlines of the day, and more.

Migrant workers who arrived from Mumbai rush to board a local train at Danapur railway station in Bihar on May 31, 2020.

Coronavirus | Public health experts accuse government of blundering on migrant workers policy

“Had the migrant persons been allowed to go home at the beginning of the epidemic when the disease spread was very low, the current situation could have been avoided,” says the letter jointly authored by the Indian Public Health Association, the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine and the Indian Association of Epidemiologists. Two of the signatories are part of a government-constituted committee to advise it on containing the pandemic. | CIC admonishes official for denying RTI data on stranded migrants, asks government to put it online

Mann Ki Baat |

Stay more vigilant than ever against threat of COVID-19, says Modi

The Prime Minister also spoke of the large humanitarian crisis over inter-State workers, who he said had faced the worst of the pain during this period. | Mizos laud people of Bihar for kindness to train passengers

Coronavirus |Crossed wires at Ahmedabad hospital leave family distraught

Negative test results for COVID-19 led to a bizarre incident at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital earlier this week, with the family of a deceased patient informed by hospital authorities that he was alive just hours after they had performed his cremation.

India coronavirus lockdown Day 68 updates | Helpline numbers | Interactive map of confirmed coronavirus cases in India |State-wise tracker for coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates | Download The Hindu’s multi-language e-book on essential COVID-19 information

LAC standoff | Army rejects video purportedly of ongoing standoff with China

The video shows a large number of Indian security personnel armed with batons and ‘police’ shields next to a lake shouting and collecting stones as some soldiers are seen coming from the hill top some distance away. One security person is seen shielding what appears to be an injured Chinese soldier. Both the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police operate along the LAC.

There is a growing intolerance against the judiciary fuelled by social media, says Supreme Court judge

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said imputations were being made against judges for their decisions. Justice Kaul was part of the Bench which recently took suo motu cognisance of the migrant workers’ crisis . In a recent hearing of the case, the Bench saw Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submit how “a handful of people give certificates to judges of neutrality only if judges abuse the Executive!”

Low pressure area into Arabian sea may become cyclonic storm, says Met

“A low pressure area has formed over southeast and adjoining east central Arabian sea and Lakshadweep area with associated cyclonic circulation extending up to mid-troposphericlevels,” the regional Meteorological Centre, Mumbai, said in a tweet.

Youth killed in second lynching in a week in Assam

Jorhat district officials said the man, identified as Debasish Gogoi from Nakachari Milgaon near Mariani town, succumbed to injuries on May 30 night at the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital, about 20 km away.

Amendment to formalise new map tabled in Nepal parliament

The bill was tabled by Nepal’s Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Shiva Maya Tumbahangphe amid high drama on the streets with reports that senior diplomats wanted to reach the parliament to witness the historic session. | Supporter turned antagonist: The problem posed by Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli

Protests over George Floyd’s death: Tear gas and burning cars in U.S. cities as unrest continues

The unrest has since become a national phenomenon as protesters decry years of deaths at police hands. | America’s tinderbox moment

Microsoft cuts editorial staff, to replace them with AI: Report

Microsoft is reportedly laying off at least 50 news production workers and replacing them with artificial intelligence (AI) — based algorithms to perform their editorial duties. | ‘Hack-for-hire’ firms targeting financial services, healthcare amid COVID-19 pandemic: Google

Coronavirus |Former boxer Dingko Singh tests positive for COVID-19

The 41-year-old was flown to the national capital earlier this month to undergo radiation therapy and had returned to Manipur after being diagnosed with jaundice once again. “He was negative when he left from Delhi but has tested positive on his return to Manipur,” a source told PTI.