HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 12.30 pm: NATION: DEL9 VIRUS-LD CASES COVID-19 death toll rises to 1,886; cases climb to 56,342 New Delhi: The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,886 and the number of cases climbed to 56,342 in the country on Friday, registering an increase of 103 fatalities and 3,390 infections in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry. BOM7 MH-ACCIDENT-2NDLD MIGRANTS 14 migrant workers crushed to death by goods train in Maha Aurangabad: At least 14 migrant workers sleeping on rail tracks were crushed to death by a goods train in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra on Friday morning, police said.

DEL14 GAS LEAK-MHA 'Minuscule technical leak' at Vizag factory; situation under control: Officials New Delhi: A "minuscule technical leak" had occurred at the chemical factory in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam where styrene gas leaked in the early hours of Thursday but it was controlled and the process of neutralisation is on, officials said on Friday. DEL32 PB-JET CRASH IAF Mig-29 crashes in Punjab's Nawanshahr, pilot ejects safely Nawanshahr (Punjab): A Mig-29 fighter aircraft of the IAF crashed in Chuharpur village here on Friday after it developed a technical snag, officials said.

DEL28 LOCKDOWN-RAHUL Centre needs to maintain transparency in fighting COVID-19: Rahul Gandhi New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the Government must start giving transparency to its actions in fighting COVID-19 by cooperating with states and making them partners in decision-making. MDS3 KA-LOCKDOWN-MIGRANT WORKERS Hundreds of migrant workers throng rly station,demand to be sent back home immediately Mangaluru: Hundreds of migrant labourers thronged the Railway station here on Friday after learning that the Karnataka governnment would be operating special trains to their home states and demanded that they be immediately sent back, police said.

CAL2 WB-VIRUS-SOCIAL STIGMA-MORTALITY Social stigma, low testing behind WB's high COVID-19 mortality rate: experts Kolkata: Social stigma and low testing are the key reasons for the high mortality rate among COVID-19 patients in West Bengal, where the disease, like elsewhere in the country, is still an urban phenomenon, experts say. By Pradipta Tapadar LEGAL: LGD1 GAS LEAK-GREEN-NOTICE    Gas Leak: NGT issues notices to Centre, LG Polymers India New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal issued notices to the Centre, LG Polymers India Pvt, Central Pollution Control Board and others on Friday in the Visakhapatnam chemical factory gas leak incident in which 11 people were killed and 1,000 exposed to it. BUSINESS: DEL23 BIZ-VIRUS-MOODYS-GDP Moody's Investors Service sees India's economic growth at 'zero' in FY21 Mumbai: Moody's Investors Service on Friday said it estimates India’s GDP growth to hit 'zero' in FY21 and pointed to a wide fiscal deficit, high government debt, weak social and physical infrastructure, and a fragile financial sector. DEL8 BIZ-STOCKS-OPEN Sensex rallies over 600 pts in early trade; RIL jumps 2 pc Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 600 points in opening session on Friday as strong gains in index-heavyweight Reliance Industries, massive foreign fund inflow and positive global cues boosted market sentiment.

FOREIGN: FGN17 VIRUS-UN-MIGRANTS Migrants stranded all over world at heightened risk of COVID-19: IOM United Nations: Thousands of migrants have been stranded "all over the world" where they face a heightened risk of COVID-19 infection, the head of the UN migration agency International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said. By Yoshita Singh FGN15 VIRUS-US-H1B-LD SENATORS COVID-19: Top senators urge Trump to temporarily suspend all new guest worker visas, including H-1B Washington: 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. By Lalit K Jha..