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Eco/Invest/Demography

Facebook faces prospect of ‘devastating’ data transfer ban

The case stems from EU concerns that U.S. government surveillance may not respect the privacy rights of EU citizens when their personal data is sent to the United States for commercial use.
Meanwhile, Germany’s lead data protection regulator for Facebook is banning the social network from processing personal data from WhatsApp users because it views the messaging app’s new terms of use as illegal, it said on Tuesday.

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Small town reporters reveal Covid-19 carnage in India

Meanwhile, in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, the Divya Bhaskar newspaper found that 123,000 death certificates were issued between March 1 and May 10 – about 65,000 more than the same period last year though the state reported 4,218 Covid-19 deaths.

The Gujarat Samachar reported that an average of 200 bodies are being cremated daily using 72 tonnes of wood in Vadodara, compared with an average 60 corpses using 21.6 tonnes of wood before the pandemic.

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Truckers demand relief measures as losses mount to Rs 42,000 cr due to lockdowns

He said that the per day industry’s losses have gone up to Rs 1,600 crore in May from Rs 400 crore in the beginning of April as more states announced lockdown and lockdown-like restriction in the subsequent period amid the massive spike in Covid-19 infection cases in the country. ”In the first 15 days of April, the industry was facing Rs 400 crore per day, which rose to Rs 800 crore per day by April 30.

They have now doubled to Rs 1,600 crore per day till May 15. So, as of May 15, the industry’s cumulative losses were a whopping Rs 42,000 crore,” said Singh. He said that the rising diesel prices, besides the impact of the lockdown was adding to the woes of the industry.

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India to start evacuating parts of west coast as cyclone approaches

“It is very likely to intensify further during the 24 hours, and move north-northwestwards and reach Gujarat coast in the evening of 17th (May),” the India Meteorological Department said in a statement. Cyclone Tauktae, which formed in the Arabian sea, is expected to cross Gujarat with wind gusts of up to 175 kmph (109 mph) and is expected to make landfall in the state the following morning.
Four deaths have been reported from Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts in cyclone-related incidents.

India is preparing to evacuate thousands of people from low-lying areas along its western coast as a powerful cyclone is expected to make landfall on Tuesday morning in the state of Gujarat.

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COVID-19 kills many young children in Brazil, baffling Doctors

But experts say the variant appears to be leading to higher death rates among pregnant women. Some women with COVID are giving birth to stillborn or premature babies already infected with the virus, said Dr. André Ricardo Ribas Freitas, an epidemiologist at São Leopoldo Mandic College in Campinas, who led a recent study on the impact of the variant.

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