Ferrari's Felipe Massa believes second place would have been within his grasps at the Italian Grand Prix had it not been for a slow pit stop

Robert Kubica made the most of a drying circuit to top the timesheets during the final practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix

Jean-Eric Vergne impressed for Red Bull as he set the fastest time on the opening day of the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi

A downpour at the Suzuka circuit severely restricted running for the final practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix amid concerns qualifying could be postponed to Sunday

Kimi Raikkonen put Ferrari at the top of the Jerez timesheets for the third day in four as the first week of pre-season testing came to a close on Wednesday

India's health minister said the country is carrying out 95,000 tests per day.

We may be spending less by not travelling to work, but with an uncertain future it’s time to take stock of personal finances

With gyms shut, taps turned off in pubs and the prospect of a holiday a distant dream, many people are finding their outgoings have dropped since lockdown. But the shadow of a looming recession and concern about whether jobs will even exist when offices reopen, means many are looking at their finances even more closely.

So what are the best ways to improve them amid extraordinary times and an uncertain future?

Another 626 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain, bringing the total Coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 31,241, environment secretary George Eustice said. The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

Earlier in the day, the National Health Service (NHS), England, said a six-week-old baby has become one of the latest to die after testing positive for the novel Coronavirus. Chairing the Downing Street daily press briefing, Eustice unveiled a £16-million fund to help support charities which feed some of the country's most vulnerable people hit by the pandemic.

"It is absolutely vital they have the resources they need and this funding will help the most vulnerable in our society get the food they need at this enormously challenging time," he said. The funding is part of the 750-million-pound pot announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak for charities across Britain during the Coronavirus outbreak. As to the exit strategy of lockdown measures, the secretary told reporters that there is not going to be "dramatic overnight change" in the country's lockdown measures.

16m pounds
Fund unveiled to help support charities

Russia reports 10,817 cases in 24 hours

The overall number of Coronavirus cases in Russia increased to 1,98,676 on Saturday after the emergence of 10,817 new infections in the last 24 hour, health authorities said. According to the country's anti-Coronavirus crisis centre, the death toll currently stood at 1,827, while 31,916 people have recovered from the illness so far.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

It seems that there is rampant poaching of pangolins taking place during the lockdown in the Konkan belt, and their scales are being illegally sold in the local black market. During the raids, the forest department recovered two kilograms of pangolin scales and six nails. The pangolin is one of the most trafficked wild animals across the world as there is a huge international demand for its scales.

Range Forest Officer (RFO), Vaibhav Borate, said, "Based on the tip-off received from our sources, our forest department team raided the house of Kalpesh Tukaram Balgude at Karanjali [Balgudewadi] village near Dapoli. During the search operation of the house, our team recovered one tortoise shell, one jungle hare, and 22 kg of pangolin scales and nails. We have taken the accused into custody and investigation is on."

As evidence related to wildlife trade have been found from the house of the accused, the forest department is exploring the possibility of him doing this regularly. The forest department team has registered an offence under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

According to the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) website, "Major threats to pangolins in India are hunting and poaching for local consumptive use and international trade. Another reason for hunting pangolin is its meat. There is now greater evidence of its inclusion in illicit international trade, in particular its scales, from India through Myanmar to China and South-East Asian countries as the most likely, final destinations. Inadequate information on population and distribution further accentuates the threats arising from hunting and poaching."

The Indian Pangolin is found sporadically throughout the plains and lower slopes of hills from south of the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, except the north-eastern region. The Chinese Pangolin is found in India in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and the northern part of West Bengal.

Why Pangolins?

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world, for their scales [made of keratin], which are boiled off their bodies for use in traditional medicine. Their meat is a delicacy in Vietnam and China; and their blood, which is considered to be a healing tonic.

Pangolin could help find cure for COVID-19?

Soon after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, there were many media reports that claimed that the endangered pangolin was linked to the initial outbreak of the disease in China. However, this hasn't been proven yet. Now, a research conducted by the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, has revealed that certain genes sense when a virus enters the body, and trigger an immune response in most mammals. They found that pangolins, which have been called the 'missing link' between bats and humans, lack two of those virus-sensing genes. This means that not only are the endangered animals carriers, but they also seem to be immune to it, via an unknown mechanism. This evolutionary advantage and its understanding may give way to possible treatment options for COVID-19.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

Quartz countertops resist staining, scratching and high temperatures. They cannot be etched by chemical cleaning agents and therefore remain smooth and hygienic. Quartz stone countertops do not require...

Ongoing change is the law of Nature. The world is not going to be the same as we see it today. The rule of change is also the same for the management world. Hence we need future managers who not only are adapted to the changing scenario...

A group of major international companies has pledged to tackle inequality and promote diversity in their workplaces and supply chains as part of an initiative sponsored by the French Presidency of the G7 and overseen by the OECD.

This report brings together data on patents, trademarks and scientific publications of the world’s top corporate R&D investors to shed light on the role of these key players in shaping the future of technologies, artificial intelligence in particular.

Korea tops a new OECD PISA survey that tests how 15-year olds use computers and the Internet to learn. The next best performers were New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Hong-Kong China and Iceland.

The workshop identified key challenges in the design and implementation of one-stop shops in Hungary and ways to address them.

A group of major international companies has pledged to tackle inequality and promote diversity in their workplaces and supply chains as part of an initiative sponsored by the French Presidency of the G7 and overseen by the OECD.

Korea tops a new OECD PISA survey that tests how 15-year olds use computers and the Internet to learn. The next best performers were New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Hong-Kong China and Iceland.

Switzerland tops for the first time the OECD fixed broadband ranking, with 39.9 subscribers per 100 inhabitants, followed closely by the Netherlands (39.1) and Denmark (37.9). The OECD average is 25.6, according to new OECD statistics.

In this issue of "Pension Funds in Figures", preliminary data and early estimates for 2014 show that pension funds’ assets exceeded USD 25 trillion in OECD countries. The largest increases are found in Estonia, Korea, Luxembourg and Turkey, where pension funds’ assets rose by more than 20% compared to...