Spelling Bee cancelled for first time since WW-II due to coronavirus pandemic
Washington: For the first time since World War-II, the prestigious spelling bee tournament, which has been dominated by Indian-Americans over the years, has been cancelled for 2020 in view of the coronavirus pandemic.
The competition, which is only open to students in elementary and middle school, will return on June 1, 2021. However, the eighth graders who qualified this year for their last try at the national title won't be able to participate next year, spelling bee officials said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Our hearts go out to the spellers who won't get their final shot at winning because of the pandemic and the difficult decisions it is prompting us to make. They are now part of a widely expanding group of children and adults who are missing out on opportunities due to the coronavirus," said Paige Kimble, executive director of the Bee.
Organisers of the Scripps National Spelling Bee cancelled the event citing "no clear path to safely set a new date in 2020".
The action is due to the ongoing concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus and uncertainty around when public gatherings will be possible or advisable, they said in a statement.
The decision follows the Bee's announcement on March 20 that it was suspending the national finals with hopes to reschedule. The only other time the spelling bee, an annual event since 1925, was cancelled was from 1943 to 1945 because of World War II.
"Our thoughts immediately go to our spellers and their families. The students have dedicated time and effort to their passion for learning. They should be proud of all they have accomplished by winning spelling bees at the classroom, school and regional level," Kimble said.
Nevertheless, our first priority has to be to the health and well-being of our spellers and their families and the hundreds of staff and spectators that come together for Bee Week," she said.
Last year, after running out of words that were challenging enough for the contestants, the Spelling Bee ended in a eight-way tie resulting in an unprecedented octo-champs.
Six of the champions were Indian-Americans Rishik Gandhasri, Saketh Sundar, Shruthika Padhy, Sohum Sukhatankar, Abhijay Kodal and Rohan Raja. The two others were Erin Howard and Christopher Serrao.
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Rupee falls 4 paise to 90.24 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee opened weak and declined 4 paise to 90.24 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, as geopolitical uncertainties triggered by the US intervention in Venezuela fuelled the demand for the American currency.
According to forex traders, the rupee is expected to trade lower due to geopolitical development, even though a lower crude prices could provide some cushion.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.21 against the US dollar and lost further to trade at 90.24 against the greenback in early deals.
On Friday, the rupee settled lower by 22 paise at 90.20 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.36 per cent higher at 98.50.
The US on Saturday carried out a military operation in Venezuela an deposed President Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump said the US would "run" the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at USD 60.70 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex declined 135.81 points to 85,626.20 in early trade, while the Nifty was down 25.75 points to 26,302.80.
Foreign institutional investors turned net buyers, picking up equities worth Rs 289.80 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
The latest RBI data released on Friday showed India's forex reserves jumped by USD 3.293 billion to USD 696.61 billion in the week to December 26. The overall kitty had increased by USD 4.368 billion to USD 693.318 billion in the previous reporting week.
