The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will elect five new non-permanent members to the council today. France took over the Presidency of the powerful 15-member Security Council for the month of June. The United Nations General Assembly last month adopted a decision to hold the Security Council Elections under new voting arrangements taking into account restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
India is a candidate for a non-permanent seat from the Asia-Pacific category for the 2021-22 term. Its victory is given since it is the sole candidate vying for the lone seat from the grouping. New Delhi’s candidature was unanimously endorsed by the 55-member Asia-Pacific grouping, including China and Pakistan, in June last year.  Each year the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members out of ten in total, for a two-year term.
 
The 10 non-permanent seats are distributed on a regional basis. This year, Canada, Ireland and Norway are vying for two seats in the Western Europe and Other countries category, Mexico is the only candidate for the one Latin America and Caribbean seat while Kenya and Djibouti will contest the seat available for the African group. Beginning in January 2021, the new members will serve a two-year term on the UNSC.

On the first day yesterday,Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with 21 States and Union Territories through video conferencing. During his interaction, the Prime Minister observed that timely decisions taken to combat the pandemic have been effective in containing its spread in the country. He said, its early preparedness approach helped the country to chalk out measures to save many lives.
 
Mr Modi said, when India’s fight against COVID-19 will be analysed in the future, the time will be remembered for how the Centre and States worked together to fight the pandemic. The Prime Minister said, they have presented an example for cooperative federalism to the world. Mr Modi said that even a single loss of life due to coronavirus is saddening and the nation should not lower it’s guard even during the unlock. He urged every citizen to strictly follow all necessary precautions including wearing mask, maintaining Do Gaj ki Doori and washing hands regularly with soap. Mr Modi said, they have tried to save each and every life.
 
The Prime Minister said, even though India has a huge population, coronavirus has not assumed as life threatening a form as in the rest of the world. He said that health experts worldover are praising the discipline shown by Indians, adding that the recovery rate in the country is now over 50 percent. He also noted that India is amongst the nations with the least deaths due to coronavirus.
 
First part of the two day interaction yesterday witnessed participation of States and Union Territories including Punjab, Assam, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Goa, Manipur, Nagaland, Ladakh, Puducherry, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman Diu, Sikkim and Lakshadweep.

The Union Government today said that the recovery rate has reached to 52.79 per cent in the country and a total of one lakh 86 thousand 935 people affected with Corona virus have cured so far. During the last 24 hours, six thousand 922 people recovered from this virus. Presently, the total number of active Corona cases in the country is one lakh 55,227.
 
Health and Family Welfare Ministry said that a total of 10 thousand 974 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours taking the total number of cases to three lakh 54,065. India registered the highest death toll today since the outbreak of Corona virus in the country. In one day, a total of two thousand three deaths were reported taking the nationwide toll to 11 thousand 903. With this, the case fatality rate reached to 3.36 per cent. Meanwhile, Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR said that a total of one lakh 63 thousand 187 tests of Corona virus samples were conducted by the various laboratories in the country within 24 hours. This is the highest number of tests conducted by the laboratories in a single day. So far, 60 lakh 84 thousand 256 tests have been conducted.
 
ICMR is continuously scaling up its testing facilities for COVID-19 by giving approval to government and private laboratories. As of now, total 924 laboratories across India have been given approval to conduct the test for COVID-19 including 674 government laboratories and 250 private laboratories’ chains.
 
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data reveals that more than 69 per cent COVID-19 cases are from the five States and Union Territories – Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. In terms of recovery rate, top five States and Union Territories are Chandigarh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab wherein the recovery rate is above 72 per cent. There are 17 States and Union Territories in India, wherein the recovery rate is above the national average of cured patients.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid homage to the martyred soldiers in Galwan Valley and said, the loss of soldiers is deeply disturbing and painful. He said, the soldiers displayed exemplary courage and valour in the line of duty and sacrificed their lives in the highest traditions of the Indian Army.
 
In a tweet, Mr. Singh said, the nation will never forget their bravery and sacrifice. He said, his heart goes out to the families of the fallen soldiers. Defence Minister said, the nation stands shoulder to shoulder with them in this difficult hour and the Nation is proud of the bravery and courage of the breavehearts.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with Chief Ministers of 15 States and Union Territories through video conferencing on the second day today. The Prime Minister will discuss with them the situation emerging following the first phase of nationwide Unlock and plan ahead for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The States and Union Territories include Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana and Odisha. On the first day yesterday, the Prime Minister interacted with 21 States and Union Territories through video conferencing.

During his interaction, the Prime Minister observed that timely decisions taken to combat the pandemic have been effective in containing its spread in the country. He said, its early preparedness approach helped the country to chalk out measures to save many lives. Mr Modi said, when India’s fight against COVID-19 will be analysed in the future, the time will be remembered for how the Centre and States worked together to fight the pandemic. The Prime Minister said, they have presented an example for cooperative federalism to the world.

Mr Modi said that even a single loss of life due to coronavirus is saddening and the nation should not lower it’s guard even during the unlock. He urged every citizen to strictly follow all necessary precautions including wearing mask, maintaining Do Gaj ki Doori and washing hands regularly with soap. Mr Modi said, they have tried to save each and every life. He emphasized that with all modes of transport now open, in last few weeks, thousands of Indians returned from abroad and hundreds of migrant workers reached their home towns. The Prime Minister said, even though India has a huge population, coronavirus has not assumed as life threatening a form as in the rest of the world. He said that health experts worldover are praising the discipline shown by Indians, adding that the recovery rate in the country is now over 50 percent. He also noted that India is amongst the nations with the least deaths due to coronavirus.

Prime Minister noted that due to the efforts of the past few week, several green shoots in the economy are visible which are encouraging the country to forge ahead. Mr Modi highlighted the increased sale of fertilizers, larger year on year sowing of Kharif Crops and digital payments in retail sector as few benchmarks. He also mentioned the historic reforms introduced by the Central government, including provisions to provide automatic collateral free loans to MSMEs and boosting the agrarian economy as measures which will ensure creation of strong and sustained demand in the country.

Mr Modi emphasized the need to focus on both life and livelihood. He said, on the one hand, there is a need to boost health infrastructure with emphasis on testing and tracing, economic activity will also need to be increased. The Prime Minister said, the decisions need to be taken keeping in view both current needs and future requirements. He appealed to the Chief Ministers to turn crisis into opportunity.Mr Modi said, the views and the experiences of all states and Union Territories will be discussed to strategize future roadmap of nation’s fight against the global pandemic.

First part of the two day interaction yesterday witnessed participation of States and Union Territories including Punjab, Assam, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Goa, Manipur, Nagaland, Ladakh, Puducherry, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman Diu, Sikkim and Lakshadweep. The Chief Ministers thanked the Prime Minister for his leadership during such a challenging time and uniting the country to fight for the collective fight against the virus. They provided feedback about existing health infrastructure in their states and efforts for augmentation to tackle the impact of the virus. They mentioned about the awareness campaigns being run by them, help being provided to workers who have returned home, usage of Aarogya Setu app, and kickstarting of economic activities in the states.

Speaking on the occasion, Home Minister Amit Shah said that while the country has so far fought a successful battle against the pandemic, the road ahead is long and suggestions given by the Prime Minister regarding use of mask and face cover, maintaining do gaz doori should be followed by all. The meeting assumed significance in the wake of the rising number of novel coronavirus cases in the country. This was the sixth meeting of the Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers since the announcement of nationwide lockdown in March.

Currently, the country is under the fifth phase of the lockdown which entails much more relaxations than the previous ones. Under the first phase of nationwide Unlock, the Centre and state governments have eased several restrictions for the convenience of public and businesses to ensure that economic activities gather momentum. AIR correspondent reports that earlier, the Prime Minister had held a detailed meeting with senior ministers and officials on 13th of this month to review India’s response to Covid-19 pandemic. The meeting had reviewed the national level status and preparation in the context of the pandemic.

A cheap and widely available drug can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus.

The low-dose steroid treatment dexamethasone is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus, UK experts say.

The drug is part of the world’s biggest trial testing existing treatments to see if they also work for coronavirus.

It cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth.

Had the drug had been used to treat patients in the UK from the start of the pandemic, up to 5,000 lives could have been saved, researchers say.

And it could be of huge benefit in poorer countries with high numbers of Covid-19 patients.

The UK government has 200,000 courses of the drug in its stockpile and says the NHS will make dexamethasone available to patients.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there was a genuine case to celebrate “a remarkable British scientific achievement”, adding: “We have taken steps to ensure we have enough supplies, even in the event of a second peak.”

Chief Medical Officer for England Prof Chris Whitty said it would save lives around the world.

Latest coronavirus updates
About 19 out of 20 patients with coronavirus recover without being admitted to hospital.

Of those who are admitted, most also recover but some may need oxygen or mechanical ventilation.

And these are the high-risk patients dexamethasone appears to help.

The drug is already used to reduce inflammation in a range of other conditions, including arthritis, asthma and skin some conditions.

And it appears to help stop some of the damage that can happen when the body’s immune system goes into overdrive as it tries to fight off coronavirus.

This over-reaction, a cytokine storm , can be deadly

In the trial, led by a team from Oxford University, about 2,000 hospital patients were given dexamethasone and compared with more than 4,000 who were not.

For patients on ventilators, it cut the risk of death from 40% to 28%.

For patients needing oxygen, it cut the risk of death from 25% to 20%.

Chief investigator Prof Peter Horby said: “This is the only drug so far that has been shown to reduce mortality – and it reduces it significantly. It’s a major breakthrough.”

Lead researcher Prof Martin Landray said the findings suggested one life could be saved for:

every eight patients on a ventilator
every 20-25 treated with oxygen
“There is a clear, clear benefit,” he said.

“The treatment is up to 10 days of dexamethasone and it costs about £5 per patient.

“So essentially it costs £35 to save a life.

“This is a drug that is globally available.”

When appropriate, hospital patients should now be given it without delay, Prof Landray said.

But people should not go out and buy it to take at home.

Dexamethasone does not appear to help people with milder symptoms of coronavirus who do not need help with their breathing.

The Recovery Trial, running since March, also looked at the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which has subsequently been ditched amid concerns it increases fatalities and heart problems.

The antiviral drug remdesivir, meanwhile, which appears to shorten recovery time for people with coronavirus, is already being made available on the NHS .

The first drug proven to cut deaths from Covid-19 is not some new, expensive medicine but an old, cheap-as-chips steroid.

That is something to celebrate because it means patients across the world could benefit immediately.

And that is why the top-line results of this trial have been rushed out – because the implications are so huge globally.

Dexamethasone has been used since the early 1960s to treat a wide range of conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.

Half of all Covid patients who require a ventilator do not survive, so cutting that risk by a third would have a huge impact.

The drug is given intravenously in intensive care and in tablet form for less seriously ill patients.

So far, the only other drug proven to benefit Covid patients is remdesivir, which has been used for Ebola.

That has been shown to reduce the duration of coronavirus symptoms from 15 days to 11.

But the evidence was not strong enough to show whether it reduced mortality.

Unlike dexamethasone, remdesivir is a new drug with limited supplies and a price has yet to be announced

Seven steps to freeing yourself from being lonely:

Have you had the experience of feeling lonely, like there is no one around and no one to talk to, as you sink into a state of sadness or anxiety that you fear you will never get over? Does such a feeling overwhelm you at times? If you’ve had such feelings of loneliness, you are far from alone. Loneliness is one of the most common, if unpleasant emotions that millions of people experience. For some, it may be a passing emotion. For others, it’s a recurring sense of desperation and sadness. But for all of us, it is part of being human.

Loneliness can lead to excessive drinking or binge eating, to suppress those unpleasant feelings. It can lead to depression and rumination, as you dwell on the question, “Why am I alone?” It can also lead to hopelessness. But having a strategy to deal with loneliness can be an important safeguard against depression, substance abuse, or even making bad choices for partners.

Let’s take a look at seven ways you can cope with feelings of loneliness:

1. Normalize Loneliness

As John Cacioppo, a researcher in the field of loneliness, points out, loneliness is on the rise — from 11 percent to 20 percent in the 1970s and 1980s to 40 percent to 45 percent in 2010. So you are not alone in feeling lonely. Perhaps the recent breakdown of connectedness can be related to the decline of family connections, higher divorce rates, people moving more frequently, the decline of church attendance, or declining participation in organizations like the PTA and labor unions. As Harvard social historian Robert Putnam illustrated in his book, Bowling Alone, people in the 1950s would participate in things like bowling leagues, but now they bowl alone. As widespread and increasingly frequent loneliness is, we must recognize that we need to have strategies for coping with it.

2. Relate loneliness to your values of connection.

It may sound invalidating, but we can also ask, “What is loneliness good for?” I would suggest that loneliness reminds us of the value of connection, intimacy, or simply sharing experiences with others. We evolved to live in smaller communities with daily face-to-face contact — and shared child-rearing. That has changed for most people, but loneliness may remind you of the fact that you value connecting with other people, and that this value is an important part of being human. Don’t give up on connection when you are feeling lonely.

3. Have a plan.

The first part of developing a plan is to identify your “trouble times” for loneliness. It might be evenings, weekends, or holidays. Have a plan in advance for these times. On weekends you might make plans with friends or family; you might go to museums, concerts, bike rides, guided walks, church or synagogue events, or connect with people on Meetup.com or other sites. I like thinking of turning yourself into a tourist for a day or a night. Or if your worrisome time is at night, have a plan for a couple of nights each week when you might connect with someone; it could simply be on Skype. Plan some videos to watch, music to listen to, attend a yoga class, join a health club, take up a hobby. A friend of mine, who is incredibly resilient, took up the guitar and swimming — separately — at the age of 68. He experiences great enthusiasm with these activities. What’s your plan?

4. You don’t need someone else to do something rewarding.

So often people will say, “I have no one to do things with.” You don’t need someone else to go to the movies, go for a walk, work out, go to a concert, or take up a new hobby. Some people say, “I feel self-conscious doing these things by myself.” Try to identify what those self-conscious thoughts are — they may be things like, “People will see me alone and think that I am pathetic.” But how do you know what others think? And even if they did think that, why should you care? Maybe doing things alone means you are independent, empowered, and free.

THE BASICS
Understanding Loneliness
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In fact, doing something by yourself might actually be a good way to meet new people. Imagine that you are at a museum or bookstore, and you start talking to someone next to you about a painting or a book. Or imagine that you are taking a cooking or yoga class and start talking to people. Empower yourself by getting out and realizing that you don’t need someone else to do things with. You have yourself.

5. Identify your loneliness thoughts.

Write down some of the thoughts that you have when you are lonely. These might include thoughts like those above, or the following:

I will always be alone.
If I am alone, I have to feel lonely and unhappy.
I must be a loser, because I am alone.
I can’t stand feeling lonely.
If you have these or other negative thoughts, then you are like millions of other people who feel stopped in their tracks by loneliness. But you can try some of these rational and helpful responses:

You are only alone for these moments (minutes, hours), and you will be interacting with other people soon — at work, waiting in line, talking to a friend, or participating in an activity. You are not on a deserted island.
Just because you are alone doesn’t mean that you have to feel sad and lonely. You can look at it as an opportunity to do some things that you like. You might enjoy having the peace to read something you like, listen to your own music, cook your favorite food, watch your favorite movie, or visit a museum at your own pace.
The idea that you are a “loser” because you are alone makes no sense: Everyone is alone at some time. And as recent research shows, about 45 percent of people experience loneliness. Being alone is a situation — and situations change.
The idea that you cannot stand being alone also doesn’t make sense. It may be true that you don’t like being alone, but it’s the way you relate to it that matters. If you relate to loneliness with protest, anger, desperation, or defeat, then it will be unpleasant. It might be more helpful to relate to it with the idea that feeling lonely or being alone comes and goes and that it is something we all cope with. Accepting what is might be better than catastrophizing something we all experience.

6. Direct compassion and tenderness toward yourself.

Rather than thinking that you need to rely on others for love, acceptance, and compassion, you might direct these thoughts and feelings toward yourself. This can include acts of lovingkindness toward yourself such as making yourself a healthful treat or buying yourself a simple gift; directing loving thoughts toward yourself by giving yourself support for being who you are and by being your own best friend; and by recalling a loving person from your childhood (your mother, grandmother, father, aunt) whom you recall showing tenderness toward you. Taking care of yourself and soothing yourself is a wonderful antidote for loneliness.

7. Build a community of connectedness.

We all need some connection with other people — or even animals. So many people — friends, family, patients — have told me how much love and connection they experience with their pets. So consider getting a cat or a dog. Or go to your local animal shelter and offer to volunteer. One woman I know volunteered for several months at a shelter, “socializing the kittens.” Talk about great work to have.

Another way of connecting is to do volunteer work, because we all need to be needed. You can search online in your community for volunteer organizations that correspond to your interests. Perhaps it’s working with kids, older people, cancer patients, or the poor. I doubt that you will feel lonely when you are showing kindness toward someone.

And make plans to see people. (This includes using social media.) Just because you haven’t been in contact much lately doesn’t mean you can’t take the initiative. Or join organizations where people share your interests — political, cultural, religious, or social.

Being alone doesn’t mean you have to feel lonely. And feeling lonely doesn’t mean that you have to feel that way indefinitely. All emotions pass, depending on what you’re thinking and what you’re doing.

It’s up to you.

Hello everyone so today we are going to talk about myths and their facts, So what do you what is myth! Myth is a combination of stories or narratives which is told by our ancestor. At night time, our ancestors will speak about the stories of god and devils. They are so many myths that people usually believe in them. We should stop believing in myths and think about the facts.

Now I am going to tell you some myths and also their facts.

1.MYTH:- People say that when we sneeze our hearts skip a beat for a second.

FACT:- Sometimes our heart changes its rhythm but our heart never stops for a second, while sneezing.

2. MYTH:-Since from our childhood, it has been told that we should or we get blind.

FACT:-Carrot help us to prevent us from muscle degeneration but carrot don’t improve your sight.

3.MYTH:-We should not use the phone during the light storm.

FACT:-Smart phone has the radio waves which doesn’t conduct electricity.

4.MYTH:-In science we had studied that our body have 5 sense.

FACT:- It’s not true we have at least 21 senses in our body like the sense of balance and temperature.

So these are some myths and facts.

There is a myth or a story about Tiyanak. There is a story that while we walk alone in woods and we hear about the baby crying that is called Tiyanak. When people start to follow the sound of a baby crying and found out a baby and when they hold the baby it suddenly will change into a monster and swallow you.

There are also other stories like Kapre, Orpheus and Eurydice.

So this is a famous story which must have heard from our ancestors. Some common myths seem to be true that we must learn from our parents or school.

When we hear something like this type of thing which seems to be impossible then we should start searching for the fact.

I hope you all enjoyed reading the article. Let me know in the comment box which you have heard.

Thank you for reading the article and have a delightful day.