Karnataka govt extends coronavirus lockdown till April 21 midnight
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Sunday issued fresh orders to continue the stringent lockdown measures issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs till the midnight of April 21.
The government is considering lockdown relaxation after April 21, and the state cabinet that is scheduled to meet on Monday is likely to discuss this, sources said.
Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar in his capacity as Chairman, State Executive Committee, has issued directions to all departments, district Deputy Commissioners, Superintendent of Police and other Heads of Departments that they shall continue to implement the measures presently in force in the state to contain the spread of COVID-19, till the midnight of April 21, the order said.
Noting that the Union Home Ministry on April 14 had issued directions to states that lockdown measures will continue to remain in force upto May 3, it said, the Ministry with an intention of mitigating hardship of the public has allowed select additional activities from April 20, as per the guidelines.
Hours after announcing that two-wheelers will be allowed to ply on roads and IT/BT companies can resume operations with 33 per cent strength after April 20, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday had rolled them back, citing public opinion as the reason.
However, the decisions announced by Yediyurappa after a meeting of senior ministers on Saturday, which remain unchanged so far include- identifying containment zones and the activities to be permitted in non-containment zones.
Also, appointing incident commander to each containment zone and giving them magisterial power; 33 per cent workforce of Government Departments will be allowed to work and they should come in contract buses, that would be hired exclusively for them; prohibitary orders will be continued till May 3; Malls, showrooms will remain closed.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
