With the Coronavirus outbreak wreaking havoc across the globe with millions of people being infected and scores of lives claimed, government have made wearing face masks mandatory for people. The decision has made face masks a prized commodity for people.

Traffic in California came to brief halt after drivers had stopped to pick up face masks that were littered on the road. Although it is not clear how the masks ended up spilled on the highway, CBS reported that a man was spotted throwing boxes of masks on the road from a white truck.

The California Highway Patrol-Hayward posted pictures of the incident on their Facebook page where scores of masks were found lying on the southbound lanes of Interstate 880. “Multiple individuals stopped in lanes and stepped out of their vehicles to pick up masks,” read the post, adding that debris has been cleared and the lanes were opened.

The post also appealed drivers not to step out of their vehicle on an active freeway. Many users commenting on the post criticized the driver who reportedly threw the mask on the road, instead of donating it. One user said, “Just terrible! That person has no respect.” Another user said, “The highway does not have a need for medical masks. Therefore, I would have donated to an entity that did! A user said, “What a waste of something necessary now.”

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

China, where the deadly coronavirus first emerged in December last, reported just one COVID-19 case, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Saturday. The death toll remained at 4,633 with no new fatality. As of Friday, the total confirmed cases on the mainland were 82,875. As many as 77,685 patients have been recovered, the NHC said.

One new imported coronavirus case was reported on Friday with no new local infection, it said. China has reported a total of 1,671 imported COVID-19 cases, including seven in critical condition. The Hubei province and its capital Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, have not reported any coronavirus case for 28 consecutive days since April 4, local health commission said on Saturday. Hubei also lowered its COVID-19 emergency response from the highest level to the second-highest on Saturday.

The lowering of the emergency level shows a major breakthrough in Hubei's prevention and control against the coronavirus, Hubei Vice-Governor Yang Yunyan told media. Meanwhile, 20 new asymptomatic cases were reported on Friday, taking the total number of such patients to 989. Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others.

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

Australian flag carrier, Qantas on Tuesday extended international flight cancellations till the end of July, but said that it was in a strong position to endure disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company said that domestic flights would be cancelled till the end of June and international services until the end of July, adding that domestic and trans-Tasman services could be quickly reinstated should restrictions ease in coming weeks, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Australia has done an amazing job of flattening the curve and we're optimistic that domestic travel will start returning earlier than first thought, but we clearly won't be back to pre-coronavirus levels anytime soon," Group CEO Alan Joyce said.

"With the possible exception of New Zealand, international travel demand could take years to return to what it was."

The company, which includes budget branch Jetstar, also revealed it had secured a further A$550 million ($354 million) in debt funding, placing it in a stronger position to endure the COVID-19 crisis.

According to Qantas, by reducing expenditure and borrowing against its fleet of aircraft, the company could survive several recovery scenarios, including one where current travel restrictions persisted until December 2021.

The reduction in expenditure is largely due to the standing down of more than 25,000 staff who were forced to use leave entitlements before receiving delayed financial assistance from the government.

"The impact of this stand down is deeply regrettable but has been greatly softened by the Australian Government's JobKeeper program, which the Group commenced paying several weeks ahead of the official payment start date," the airline said in a statement.

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

Four top Republican senators have urged President Donald Trump to suspend all new guest worker visas for 60 days and certain categories of new guest worker visas, including the H-1B, for at least a year or until unemployment figures return to normal levels in the US amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic, which has so far claimed 76,000 lives and infected over 1,256,000 in the US, has ravaged the labour market, and 1 in 5 American workers have filed for first-time unemployment benefits since mid-March, when the lockdown hit businesses across the country, the world's largest economy.

1/5th workforce out of work

The letter to president Trump, dated May 7, has been signed by Senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Chuck Grassley and Josh Hawley. "More than 33 million Americans have filed for unemployment coverage just since mid-March, and approximately one-fifth of the American workforce is currently out of work. "This is a stunning difference compared with the historically-low nationwide unemployment rate of just 3.5 per cent in February this year," the senators said in their letter.

"To protect unemployed Americans in the early stages of economic recovery, we urge you to suspend all non-immigrant guest worker visas for the next 60 days," the senators said.

'Suspend EB-5 visa too'

"That suspension should, at a minimum, include H-2B visas (non-agricultural seasonal workers), H-1B visas (specialty occupation workers) and the Optional Practical Training programme (extension of foreign student visas after graduation). We also urge you to suspend the EB-5 immigrant visa programme, effective immediately," the lawmakers wrote. The H-1B work visa for foreign technology professionals is highly popular among Indians and a large number of Indians also opt for the EB-5 investors visa.

Worst monthly record

The US unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression, as 20.5 million jobs vanished in the worst monthly loss on record. The figures are stark evidence of the damage the coronavirus has done to a now-shattered economy.

The collapse of the job market has occurred with stunning speed. The government's report Friday noted that many people who lost jobs in April but didn't look for another one weren't even counted in the unemployment rate. The impact of those losses was reflected in the drop in the proportion of working-age Americans who have jobs: Just 51.3%, the lowest on record.

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

[Source: Research & Innovation] A total of 117 innovative solutions to tackle the coronavirus have been selected as winners of the European Innovation Council-led #EUvsVirus Hackathon.

A cluster-based approach to lending is likely to be the best strategy for optimal results in the shortest possible time to accelerate credit flow to the MSME sector

Once the menace of COVID-19 pandemic is over, a new ecopolitical order will emerge which will be more focussed on human development, infrastructure around health and education, climate preservation and most importantly on people

Experts believe there was already a visible turnaround in the pharma sector, both on the domestic as well as on the exports side even before any traces of COVID-19

Medicine has a lot to learn from 'football' about developing new approaches to clinical methods says new research. The research, published in the

Outbreaks of chikungunya and Zika viral diseases can now be predicted by identifying dengue fever "hot spots". Dengue, chikungunya and Zika viral disease

The current outbreak of dengue is spreading fast to the outlying districts paralleling with the people traveling from Dhaka to the different districts on the eve of Eid.

In waterlogged Patna with 640 patients being tested positive mostly in the last four days, fear of a dengue outbreak is looming large, revealed sources.

Nearly 433 people have been confirmed to be affected by dengue since January including Navneet Sehgal, principal secretary, Khadi Gram Udyog. Sehgal

Highlights: The current global crisis with COVID-19 infection provides telehealth the ideal opport

HIV outbreak among people who administer drugs in Indiana from 2011 to 2015 could have been prevented if the state's top health officials had responded sooner on warnings, reports a new study.

Combination of a vaccine and a medicated cream was found to be a promising strategy to dramatically reduce the recurrence of genital herpes, said Yale investigators.

Super bowl fans, watch out. Sitting long hours at night watching the big game on TV can rob your good night's sleep. But, if you're a football fan, it hard to get rid of the super bowl.

Italy's 15 percent rise in its contribution to the United Nations to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria shows its commitment to the health sector, says Foreign Minister Emanuela Del Re.

World Health Organization (WHO) recommended lateral flow urine lipoarabinomannan (LAM) assay to help detect active tuberculosis in HIV patients with severe disease rapidly.

To end AIDS epidemic by 2030 according to World Health Organization goals, tuberculosis must also be reduced, said Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS).

Sensitive and specific assay to detect different serotypes of Salmonella has been developed, which would paving the way for rapid serotyping directly from specimens.

Eighteen individuals developed symptoms of bacterial infection, and all these patients were admitted to hospitals, of which 14 have been discharged.

Around 880,000 more ventilators are in demand globally because of COVID-19 pandemic, revealed GlobalData analysis. According to GlobalData analysis,

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) found that targeting overactive immune cells in the brain with an experimental drug

Cholera outbreak kills six people in Cameroon, Yaounde capital, Central Africa. Cases of this outbreak have been documented since May 2018 in four districts

Two hundred school kids have fallen sick after following a flu outbreak in Australia. A team of specialist cleaning staff were sent to the Middle Park

Strategic changes need to be made to government response teams to stop the cholera epidemic in Yemen. By the implementing these suggested changes the

On 16 October 2017, an OECD delegation met in Tbilisi the Georgian First Deputy Minister and Head of Georgia Revenue Service Giorgi Tabuashvili and Deputy Minister Lasha Khutsishvili to discuss the progress of the country in implementing the new international standards to combat tax avoidance and tax evasion.

The 2017 edition of the Factbook describes corporate governance practices in 47 countries by providing an easily accessible and up-to-date, factual underpinning for understanding countries’ institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks. It complements the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance by tracking how countries are actually implementing them.

Simon Kuper on how top players’ diets have changed — and why old habits die hard

One of the world’s most talented young players tells Simon Kuper about his first season in Spain and what makes Messi special

Decision by Saudi Arabia and UAE to send teams follows two-year boycott of gas-rich state

Even big names make poor decisions but we can draw lessons on how to approach change

Universities and business schools are facing unprecedented challenges across the world

Mismanagement and corruption leave some of nation’s biggest teams on brink of collapse

Corneliu Porumboiu’s film introduces us to a man with big ideas for the beautiful game

Bloc faces worst recession in its history as report calls for pan-European recovery plan

Patrick Jenkins and guests discuss a surprise candidate to succeed Ross McEwan as head of Royal Bank of Scotland, Goldman Sachs's nascent Marcus brand and Igor Kolomoisky's bid to reverse the nationalisation of Ukraine's PrivatBank. With special guest Harit Talwar of Goldman Sachs.

Contributors: Patrick Jenkins, financial editor, David Crow, banking editor, and Max Seddon, Moscow correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The singer’s old label boss called the song ‘a morbid mess’, but it shot to number one in the US. Ahead of the 40th anniversary of Elvis’s death in August, FT pop writers Peter Apsden and David Cheal discuss the song's origins, dark appeal and afterlife. Credits: 104pro Media, Legacy Recordings, Entertain Me Ltd, Spectrum, Omnivore Recordings, Vengeance Records  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

G20 agriculture ministers urge governments not to disrupt global supply chains

Adding a sporting dimension to your career can be therapeutic

Pandemic puts more pressure on Masayoshi Son’s bet on beleaguered WeWork

Business ease in adapting to lockdowns changes attitudes to remote set-ups

Office group founder files lawsuit over largest investor’s decision to pull out of $3bn tender offer

Approval ratings for the billionaire president have more than doubled

The FT News Briefing is a rundown of the global business stories you need to know for the coming day, from the newsroom of the Financial Times. If you enjoy it, subscribe to the FT News Briefing wherever you get your podcasts, or listen at FT.com/newsbriefing. 

Western governments pledged trillions of dollars in stimulus measures to limit the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday. The FT’s global business columnist Rana Foroohar explains what it could mean for Wall Street and Main Street. Plus, Impossible Foods raises $500m in a round that will help the US-plant based burger group to see through the economic upheaval caused by the current crisis, and Joe Biden solidifies his status as the frontrunner to take on Donald Trump in November.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Potential adversaries could seek to exploit vulnerabilities triggered by pandemic, warn analysts

Recently sanctioned London-listed company seeks to simplify ownership structure

Japanese tech group’s splurge on its own shares is not enough to impress investors

The Japanese tech investment group is looking increasingly challenged