In a victory for universities and foreign students, President Donald Trump's administration has dropped its order to deny visa status to those taking only online cases because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal Judge Allison Burroughs said on Tuesday that the government agreed to rescind the rule that would have required foreign students on F-1 or M-1 visas to leave the US or transfer to another university if they cannot take at least some in-person courses. Those staying on could have faced deportation. The judge made the announcement about the government backtracking during an emergency hearing asked by the two <keyword id="51717" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Institutions">institutions</keyword> that was held by teleconference and lasted only a few minutes. The case was brought in the federal court in Boston by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and <keyword id="97117" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Harvard-University">Harvard University</keyword> on July 8 and it had snowballed with scores of colleges and tech companies backing them in court briefs and 18 state attorneys general filing another case against the order. The Trump administration's order issued last week reversed another issued in March that permitted students to take all their courses online because of the national COVID-19 emergency -- which still continues. Many universities, including Harvard, have announced plans to conduct only online classes in the Fall semester starting in August or September, while some like Columbia and Yale plan to offer a hybrid programme that combines online and in-person teaching if local authorities permit classroom attendance. The administration's order against online only teaching seemed to be a tactic to force educational institutions to comply with Trump's agenda to open the nation fully before the November election. When the case was filed, Harvard President Larry Summers said, "It appears that it was designed purposefully to place pressure on colleges and universities to open their on-campus classrooms for in-person instruction this fall, without regard to concerns for the health and safety of students, instructors, and others." At least two other cases against the government's order are pending before other federal courts: One is by Johns Hopkins University in Washington and the other is by the University of California in San Francisco. Harvard and Yale said in court documents that although it may be argued that the students can continue their studies online from their home countries, "they may have their research and learning inhibited by time zone variations, unavailable, unreliable or state-managed Internet connections, and other barriers to online learning". They said that students can suffer irreparable harm from the order if they are forced out of the country. Tech companies, including Google, Microsoft and <keyword id="6354576" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> said in their brief that "America's future competitiveness depends on attracting and retaining talented international students". According to <keyword id="9577026" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-international-institute-of-education">the International Institute of Education</keyword>, there are over one million foreign students in the US and of them about 200,00 are from India. several US institutions are dependent on tuition from foreign students, many of whom pay full fees. But another factor of importance to both the universities and the economy is the pre-ponderance of graduate students in engineering and science. Foreigners make up over 75 per cent of graduate students in electrical, computer, petroleum and industrial engineering fields, according to Inside Higher Ed. They not only back up the faculty as teaching assistants and researchers, but go on to work for or found tech companies. (Arul Louis can be reached at <keyword id="9577027" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="arul-lians-in">arul.l@ians.in</keyword> and followed on Twitter at @arulouis) --IANS al/rt

Trump administration drops plan to deport foreign students taking online-only classes amid coronavirus pandemic

<ul><li>Donald <keyword id="6354862" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="trump" source="Orion">Trump</keyword> has been ordered to pay $5 million in damages to a woman who accused him of rape but he does not face prison time because it was a civil case.</li><li>The jury did not accept her claim of rape, but declared him liable for sexual abuse and defamation.</li></ul>New York, In a legal setback, former US President Donald Trump has been ordered to pay $5 million in damages to a woman who accused him of rape but he does not face prison time because it was a civil case. A jury gave the verdict on Tuesday in a civil case hinging on an attack in a fitting room in a high-end store decades ago and Trump defaming her by calling her accusations a "hoax". The jury did not accept her claim of rape, but declared him liable for sexual abuse and defamation. E. Jean <keyword id="319153" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="carroll" source="Orion">Carroll</keyword>, 79, brought the case against the front-runner to be the Republican Party's presidential candidate next year, Trump, who she said had raped her decades ago, but was not sure when it happened. In a post on Truth Social media, Trump characteristically called the verdict a "continuing of the greatest witchhunt of all time" and said he would appeal. There was a large crowd of demonstrators outside the courthouse denouncing his treatment of women when the verdict came down. Carroll was a columnist for the Elle magazine at the time she said she was attacked around 1996. Trump is facing a criminal case brought by a local prosecutor in New York accusing him of falsifying business records to cover up payments made to a woman who claimed to have had an affair with him. If convicted in that case, he could be sentenced to prison time, although that would not bar him from running for election under the US Constitution. The first former President to face criminal charges, Trump was arrested and produced in court last month but was released pending the trial that could take place early next year. The latest opinion poll by ABC News and The Washington Post taken before the verdict showed him six percentage points ahead of President Joe Biden. Trump, who is busy campaigning for his presidential run, did not take the witness stand to contest Carroll's case. Several women have accused him of rape and sex abuse, but the thrice-married Trump, who once revelled in the image of a playboy, has not faced criminal charges. A damning piece of evidence introduced against him related to a video of him using an obscenity and saying, "When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything, grab 'em by the (genitals)." During a deposition - testimony and cross-examination outside a court to speed up the trial - he defended the statement saying that "historically that is true" when asked about it by Carroll's lawyer. A video of his statement made during the cross-examination was shown to the jury, a citizens' panel made up of three women and six men, which gave the verdict in less than three hours of deliberations after eight days of the trial. Carroll herself took the stand at the trial as did two other women who said that they had been abused by Trump, one of them while on a plane. "I'm here because Donald Trump raped me," Carroll told the jury and gave a graphic description of Trump abusing her with his fingers before raping her. She said that the encounter took place in the lingerie department of the department store when he approached her on the pretext of trying to find a gift for a woman friend. He banged her head on the wall of a fitting room before the attack, she said. Carroll first made the accusations public while the presidential race was heating up in 2019 in a magazine excerpt ahead of the publication of her book, What do We Need Men For"? in which she wrote about the assault more than two decades after the attack. He was unaffected by the disclosure and he contested the election next year, even as other women made accusations against him. Trump's lawyer Joe Tacopina questioned Carroll's credibility, saying that she did not report the attack to the police, didn't remember the day it took place and brought it up decades later. Two friends of Carroll testified that she had told them about the assault around the time it took place. <keyword id="1800165" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="lisa-birnbach" source="Orion">Lisa Birnbach</keyword> said that Carroll told her about the assault minutes after it happened but declined her offer to accompany her to make a police complaint. Trump is caught in a web of legal issues. New York State Attorney General Leitia James has filed a civil case over his and his adult children's business practices. A state prosecutor in Georgia is looking into allegations that Trump interfered in the election results and a federal special counsel is examining if he had a role in the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress by his supoporters. Federal prosecutors are also investigating his handling of classified documents that he took from the White House when he left office. (Arul <keyword id="160192" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="louis" source="Orion">Louis</keyword> can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis) SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-launches-passkeys-for-hassle-free-login-to-gmail-and-youtube-without-a-password-heres-how-to-set-them-up/articleshow/99977103.cms">Google launches Passkeys for hassle-free login to Gmail and YouTube without a password - here's how to set them up</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/apples-safari-is-the-worlds-second-most-used-and-least-vulnerable-desktop-web-browser/articleshow/99926825.cms">Apple’s Safari is the world’s second-most-used and least vulnerable desktop web browser, yet only 1% of Indians use it</a>

In legal setback, Trump ordered to pay $5M to woman in sex abuse case (Ld)

An Indian-origin girl has won the US <keyword id="165744" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="national-spelling-bee" source="Orion">National Spelling Bee</keyword> championship regaining the title for the community after two breaks in the streak of victories going back to 2008. Harini <keyword id="50804" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="logan" source="Orion">Logan</keyword> was declared the champion beating out 234 children from around the US and abroad who had won local contests, and she gets a prize package of $52,500. The runner up was Vikram <keyword id="6358486" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="raju" source="Orion">Raju</keyword>, who gets $25,00, and <keyword id="14102490" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vihan-sibal" source="Orion">Vihan Sibal</keyword> came in third, winning $15,000. Of the 14 finalists who survived three days of gruelling contests in <keyword id="6354998" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="washington" source="Orion">Washington</keyword>, 11 were of Indian origin. Logan, who is 14, is a class 8 student at a <keyword id="96396" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="montessori" source="Orion">Montessori</keyword> school in Austin, Texas. Children of Indian origin have dominated the contest, which tests not only the rote memorisation of spellings but also the knowledge of the origin of words and their structure and usage. Since <keyword id="2080133" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="balu-natarajan" source="Orion">Balu Natarajan</keyword> won it in 1985, 20 Indian-origin children have won it. They monopolised it from 2008 to 2018, but in 2019 a non-Indian girl was among the eight co-winners. The other seven were of Indian origin. There was no contest in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic and an African-American girl won when it resumed last year. The final elimination round this year had the children select the correct meaning of words from a list of choices, rather than just spell words. Logan was initially knocked out in this round but was reinstated when the judges ruled that her answer was also correct. She and Raju duelled for several rounds in which both either mis-spelt the words or got them right. To break the deadlock they went into a "spell-off" in which they had to rapidly spell correctly as many words as possible within 90 seconds. Logan defeated Raju by spelling 21 words correctly to his 15. The <keyword id="165749" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="spelling-bee" source="Orion">Spelling Bee</keyword>, which has been held since 1925, is sponsored by the EWScripps media company. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis) SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/tech-startups-lay-off-over-20k-employees-globally-amid-economic-slowdown-and-russia-ukraine-war/articleshow/91966366.cms">Tech startups lay off over 20k employees amid economic slowdown and Russia-Ukraine war: report</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/reliance-mg-motor-and-castrol-team-up-to-build-electric-charging-infrastructure-across-india/articleshow/91966297.cms">Reliance, MG Motor and Castrol team up to build electric charging infrastructure across India</a>

Indian American girl wins US Spelling Bee and the runner-up is an Indian too

<keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>'s Minister of State for External Affairs, V. <keyword id="370211" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="muraleedharan" source="Orion">Muraleedharan</keyword> has given an assurance that despite restrictions on exports, India will provide food to countries that "are most in need" because of the <keyword id="6355101" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword> conflict. "Let me make it clear that these measures allow for export on the basis of approvals to those countries who are required to meet their food security demands," he said on Wednesday explaining India's food export policy at the Ministerial Meeting on "Global Food Security Call to Action" convened by US Secretary of State, Antony <keyword id="10620101" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="blinken" source="Orion">Blinken</keyword>. He added: "This will be done on the request from the concerned governments. Such a policy will ensure that we will truly respond to those who are most in need." India's assurance came as Secretary-General Antonio <keyword id="379852" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="guterres" source="Orion">Guterres</keyword> warned that the Russian invasion of Ukraine "threatens to tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity, followed by malnutrition, mass hunger and famine". The crisis has been precipitated by the disruption in supplies from Ukraine and <keyword id="6358826" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>, which Guterres said "produce almost a third of the world's wheat and barley and half of its sunflower oil". Muraleedharan's assurance sought to dispel an impression created by some international media reports that India will not pitch in to help the countries facing starvation because of the export restrictions announced last week. The restrictions only apply to future commercial transactions. The UN chief said "there should be no restrictions on exports," while also adding that "surpluses must be made available to those most in need". But Union Minister Muraleedharan said "open markets must not become an argument to perpetuate inequity and promote discrimination" -- approaches that he asserted, created problems with the availability of Covid vaccines. The wheat export restrictions were introduced only "to manage our own overall food security and support the needs of neighbouring and other vulnerable developing countries," he added. India "has never been found wanting" when it came to helping countries in distress, whether it was the Covid-19 pandemic or conflicts. "We have provided food aid in the form of thousands of metric tonnes of wheat, rice, pulses and lentils to several countries, including our neighbourhood and Africa, to strengthen their food security," Muraleedharan said. He added that India has donated 50,000 tonne of wheat to Afghanistan, sent 10,000 tonne of rice and wheat to Myanmar and was also assisting Sri Lanka. "In keeping with our ethos of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', which means 'the world is one family', and our 'Neighbourhood First Policy', we will continue to assist our neighbours in their hour of need, and stand by them, always," the Indian diplomat said. Guterres called for ensuring that sanctions and restrictions did not lead to food shortages. He said "there is no effective solution to the food crisis without reintegrating Ukraine's food production, as well as the food and fertiliser produced by Russia and Belarus, into world markets -- despite the war". With Moscow facing several sanctions, the UN Secretary-General said, "Russian food and fertilisers, must have unrestricted access to world markets without indirect impediments." But Russia must also "permit the safe and secure export of grain stored in Ukrainian ports," he added. Blinken said the allegations that sanctions on Russia were causing food shortages were "false". "When we imposed sanctions on Russia in order to end the war as quickly as possible, we deliberately and carefully created exceptions for agricultural goods and fertiliser," he added. Blinken asked "countries to step up with substantial new contributions to fill the gaps faced by humanitarian organisations and agencies that are battling food insecurity which are forcing humanitarian groups to make incredibly wrenching decisions about when and where to cut lifesaving assistance". (Arul Louis, the author of this article, can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis) SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/ways-to-save-more-money-after-your-monthly-expenses/articleshow/91650065.cms">Ways to save more money after your monthly expenses</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/top-9-types-of-nfts-heres-the-complete-list/slidelist/91643024.cms">Crypto 101 – Understanding the different types of NFTs</a>

India assures food aid to countries 'most in need' despite export controls

<keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> has warned against "hoarding and speculation" running up prices of foodgrains to "unjustifiable" levels and urged for ensuring "equity" and "affordability" in the availability of food to all. "Open markets must not become an argument to perpetuate inequity and promote discrimination," said Minister of State for External Affairs, V. <keyword id="370211" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="muraleedharan" source="Orion">Muraleedharan</keyword> on Thursday at the <keyword id="159214" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="security-council" source="Orion">Security Council</keyword> debate on 'Conflict and Food Security'. The session was convened by the US, which is the <keyword id="51646" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="council" source="Orion">Council</keyword> President for this month, in an effort to draw attention to the growing threat of starvation. US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, and the World Food Programme (WFP), the number of people affected by food insecurity due to conflict rose from nearly 100 million people in 2020 to 139 million in 2021 and the <keyword id="6354424" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="world-bank" source="Orion">World Bank</keyword> believes that Russia's war in <keyword id="6355101" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword> could add another 40 million people. He accused Moscow of weaponising food by blocking exports from Ukraine. He denied Russian claims that the US sanctions were blocking food exports and said food, seeds and fertilisers were exempted. Russia and Ukraine provide nearly 30 per cent of wheat exports and the war has disrupted international supplies leading to the crisis. UN Secretary-General <keyword id="300649" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="antonio-guterres" source="Orion">Antonio Guterres</keyword> said the problems of conflict and hunger go hand in hand globally. "Last year, most of the 140 million people suffering acute hunger around the world lived in just ten countries: Afghanistan, Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Nigeria, Pakistan, south Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen" and of them, eight were on the agenda of this Council because of conflicts, Guterres added. And "the war in Ukraine is now adding a frightening new dimension to this picture of global hunge," he said. Muraleedharan said while low-income countries face problems of rising costs and availability of foodgrains, even India with adequate food stocks confronts "an unjustifiable increase in food prices". He added: "It is clear that hoarding and speculation are at work. We cannot allow this to pass unchallenged." He referred to the problem with the availability of Covid-19 vaccines to developing countries when the pandemic was at its worst in warning against making "open markets" paramount. Muraleedharan said: "It is necessary for all of us to adequately appreciate the importance of equity, affordability and accessibility when it comes to food grains. We have already seen to our great cost how these principles were disregarded in the case of Covid-19 vaccines." India "has recognised the sudden spike in global prices of wheat which put our food security and those of our neighbours and other vulnerable countries at risk," he added and reiterated India's offer to send foodgrains to them despite the restrictions on commercial exports. "We are committed to ensuring that such adverse impact on food security is effectively mitigated and the vulnerable cushioned against sudden changes in the global market," the <keyword id="6357801" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="union" source="Orion">Union</keyword> Minister said. Criticising the World Trade Organisation restrictions on wheat exports because India's stocks are made up of procurement from farmers at support prices, Muraleedharan added, "The growing shortage can only be addressed by going beyond constraints that bind us presently." He said, "In this context, we welcome Secretary-General's call for exempting purchases of food by WFP for humanitarian assistance from food export restrictions with immediate effect. But we need to go beyond that to make a real difference." Regarding food security within India, the Union Minister added: "India is running the world's largest food-based safety net programme, which has seen a paradigm shift from welfare to a rights-based approach." During the Covid-19 pandemic, food assistance was provided to 800 million people and cash transfers to 400 million people, he said. Muraleedharan stressed diplomacy and dialogue to end the Ukraine conflict and without this course "there will be severe repercussions in the global economy". Blinken, however, said, "In this council, a few members have repeatedly used language lamenting the suffering caused by this war and calling on 'all sides' to bring it to an end. Let's not use diplomatic language to obfuscate what are simple facts: The decision to wage this war is the Kremlin's, and the Kremlin's alone." "If Russia stopped fighting tomorrow, the war would end. If Ukraine stopped fighting, there would be no more Ukraine," he added. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis) SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/economic-tension-on-all-time-high-as-pakistani-rupee-breaches-200-mark-in-interbank-trading/articleshow/91661814.cms">Economic tension on all-time high as Pakistani rupee breaches 200-mark in interbank trading</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/oscar-winner-a-r-rahman-says-india-should-tell-west-stories-from-its-own-narrative/articleshow/91660659.cms">Oscar winner A R Rahman says India should tell 'West stories' from its own narrative</a>

India encourages 'equity, affordability' of food, warns against hoarding and unjustified prices

New York, An expert on energy and climate change, <keyword id="35801" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sonia-Aggarwal">Sonia Aggarwal</keyword>, was named on Thursday by President-elect <keyword id="99719" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Joe-Biden">Joe Biden</keyword> as the senior advisor for climate policy and innovation, the latest of several key Indian American nominees for his administration. She led America's Power Plan, bringing together 200 electricity policy experts, at <keyword id="3174443" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Energy-Innovation">Energy Innovation</keyword>, of which she was a co-founder and Vice President, according to the biography from Biden's <keyword id="3872383" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="transition-team">transition team</keyword>. Aggarwal also directed the team that developed the Energy Policy Simulator to analyse the environmental, economic, and public health impacts of climate and energy policies Earlier, she managed global research at ClimateWorks Foundation, "where she worked on the McKinsey carbon abatement cost curves and led research for the American Energy Innovation Council", the biography said. Born and raised in Ohio, Aggarwal has a masters at Stanford University in civil engineering. Indian Americans named to important positions in the administration of Biden, who will take over as President, and <keyword id="180909" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kamala-Harris">Kamala Harris</keyword>, as Vice President next Wednesday, include Neera Tanden, who will be the director of the Office of Management and Budget with cabinet rank, and Vivek Murthy, the Surgeon General, both of whom will have to be confirmed in their positions by the Senate, and Vedant Patel, to be his assistant press secretary, Vinay Reddy to be the director of speechwriting and Gautam Raghavan, to be the deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel. Among others are: Atul Gawande and Celine Gounder, members of the COVID-19 task force; Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the National Economic Council; Sabrina Singh, deputy press secretary for Harris; Mala Adiga, policy director for Jill Biden, who will become the First Lady, and Maju Varghese, executive director of their inauguration -- the swearing-in ceremony and the festivities around it. At the powerful National Security Council, the nominees are Tarun Chhabra, senior director for technology and national security; Sumona Guha, senior director for South Asia, and Shanthi Kalathil, coordinator for Democracy and Human Rights. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis) --IANS al/vd

Indian American Sonia Aggarwal to be US President-elect Joe Biden's climate policy adviser

<keyword id="15548" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="US-President">US President</keyword> <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> has said that India does not give a "straight count" on the Covid-19 deaths. During the presidential debate on Tuesday night between him and Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden, they both sparred on the extent of the deaths caused by the pandemic. Biden said that the 200,000 people who died of the coronavirus were 20 per cent of the global death toll of 1 million while the US population is only 4 per cent of the world. Trump shot back, aceWhen you talk about numbers you know how many people died in China? You know how many people died in Russia? You don't know how many people died in India. They don't give you a straight count." Trump said that the pandemic was China's fault, but Biden tried to deflect China's role wanting to pin the blame for its ravages on Trump. The first debate was held in Cleveland was about domestic issues and there were no international questions on the agenda set out Chris Wallace of Fox News, who was the moderator for the debate. The mention of India and the two other countries brought a passing reference to foreign countries. Earlier in his news conferences, he has mentioned India's record of conducting Covid-19 tests as the second-best in the world and only behind the US. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter at @arulouis) SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/top-10-richest-tech-billionaires-in-india-in-hurrun-richest-list/slidelist/78380931.cms">India’s richest tech billionaires in 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/new-names-added-to-richest-indians-list-hurun/slidelist/78384070.cms">The newest entrants on Hurun Rich List 2020 — Over 70% of the new faces are self-made billionaires</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/google-doodle-celebrates-zohra-sehgal-everyones-favourite-dadi-an-indian-royal-and-doctor-who-star/articleshow/78377815.cms">Google Doodle celebrates Zohra Sehgal — Everyone's favourite dadi, an Indian royal and Doctor Who star</a>

US President Donald Trump clubs India with China and Russia — claims they don't give a 'straight count' on COVID-19 death toll

United Nations, Asylum rights must be respected for Sikhs and Hindus who may be fleeing religious persecution in <keyword id="6354541" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="afghanistan">Afghanistan</keyword> where a <keyword id="6413131" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="gurdwara">gurdwara</keyword> was bombed this week killing at least 25 people, according to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's Spokesperson <keyword id="2143550" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Stephane-Dujarric">Stephane Dujarric</keyword>. Asked at his briefing on Thursday specifically if Sikhs and Hindus who are are under attack there should be given asylum in India, he said, "The asylum regime, the refugee regime must be respected the world over." The UN High Commissioner for <keyword id="52767" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Human-rights">Human Rights</keyword>, <keyword id="118875" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Michelle-Bachelet">Michelle Bachelet</keyword>, has opposed the Indian Citizenship (Amendment) Act that seeks to help religious minorities fleeing persecution in Afghanistan, <keyword id="3001" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pakistan">Pakistan</keyword> and Bangladesh by providing expedited citizenship to Sikhs, Hindus and other non-Muslim minorities from those countries. Earlier, Dujarric had issued a statement that Guterres condemned the attacks on the gurdwara. "He expresses his deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured. The Secretary-General reiterates that attacks against civilians are unacceptable and those who carry out such crimes must be held accountable," Dujarric added. The Islamic State terrorist organisation has stated that it carried out the attack on gurdwara in Kabul on Wednesday killing at least 25 people and injuring several people. The hours-long attacked several hours. (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) --IANS al/pgh/

UN bats for asylum rights for Hindus, Sikhs fleeing Afghanistan

New York, US President <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> has declared a national emergency over the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> outbreak in the country and reached an agreement with the Democrats on a relief package. The national emergency he declared on Friday will make more funds available for fighting the fallout of the disease and cut red tape for finding medical solutions while its symbolism will reflect the seriousness of the situation. Later, both he and Speaker <keyword id="128640" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nancy-Pelosi">Nancy Pelosi</keyword> said that a deal had been reached to pass a relief package to help those after by the pandemic. The Democrat-controlled House of <keyword id="185742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="representatives">Representatives</keyword> was scheduled to vote on it Friday night and Republican-majority Senate was expected to approve it on Monday after cancelling its spring recess. The battered stock markets zoomed as Trump declared the national emergency at a White House news conference. After having plummeted by more than 9 per cent on Thursday, the markets gained about the same percentage, most of the uptick coming dramatically while Trump spoke. Trump said the emergency declaration was "to unleash the full power of the federal government" and that up to $50 billion will be available to states and territories to meet the challenge. He said: "I'm urging every state to set up emergency operations centres effective immediately." Trump said that under the emergency the rules would be made flexible to allow doctors and hospitals to deal with the crisis. Health Secretary Alex Azar and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be empowered to waive rules for developing medications and tests and for promoting telemedicine. The declaration came as the number of coronavirus cases in the US hit 1,800 with 41 deaths hitting all aspects of life from the economy and politics to education and entertainment. Although Trump had criticised the relief package proposed by the <keyword id="155982" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Democratic-Party">Democratic Party</keyword> during the news conference, he tweeted his support for it asserting it includes his "direction" for free coronavirus tests and paid sick leave. Pelosi wrote to her fellow Democrats that they had reached an agreement on the package to be known as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin negotiated the deal on behalf of the Trump administration as the President and the Republican leaders in Congress have bad relations with Pelosi, having traded personal insults. In keeping with the Republican philosophy of involving the private sector Trump announced several initiatives with corporations while declaring the emergency. The showpiece of the private-public partnership is an initiative with Google that will enable people to screen themselves online to see if they needed a COVID-19 test and if they are a candidate for it where to get it. Trump said that 1,700 engineers will be working on the projects with Google. He met with several executives of private companies before the news conference to work out their participation and some of them spoke to the media about their programmes. The retailer Walmart with a large national footprint and others said they will make available their facilities for COVID-19 testing. Trump defended his administration's response to the crisis saying that it was following the procedures in place that were not designed for a crisis like the coronavirus and that changes would be made to deal with similar crises should they arise in the future. Seema Verma, who heads the two separate federal health insurance programmes for senior citizens and for the poor, noted that a lot of the deaths were among older people and said that several new regulations are being put in place to protect those in nursing homes for the elderly. Pressed by a reporter who accused him of being "selfish" by not getting himself tested for the coronavirus after having been photographed in the company of someone who had come done with it, Trump said that he would undergo the test but would not say when or commit to making it public. Trump and medical experts with him said that people should undergo tests only when a doctor advises them to take them. He declared the emergency under a 1988 law for funnelling aid to states and local administrations. Unlike in India, a state of emergency in the US does not involve limiting civil rights and it only paves the way for providing funds for dealing with the fallout of the coronavirus and for relaxing laws and regulations to speed up medical response. Senate Republican leader Chuck Schumer has said that under the law known as the Stafford Act $42.6 billion could be immediately available from the Disaster Relief Fund. Trump has been under criticism for his handling of the coronavirus crisis by not responding soon enough or adequately. Schumer and 35 other senators had written to Trump on Wednesday asking him to declare the state of emergency to make the funds available. (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) --IANS al/ksk/

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