News in Short

• Unemployment in the U.S. is swelling to levels last seen during the Great Depression of the 1930s, with 1 in 6 American workers thrown out of a job by the coronavirus, according to new data.
• In response to the deepening economic crisis, the House passed a nearly $500 billion spending package to help buckled businesses and hospitals.
• More than 4.4 million laid-off Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, the government reported. In all, roughly 26 million people have now filed for jobless aid.
• In the U.S., the economic consequences of the shutdowns have sparked angry rallies in state capitals by protesters demanding that businesses reopen, and President Donald Trump has expressed impatience over the restrictions.

• Eminent theatre personality Usha Ganguly died of Cardiac arrest at her residence in south Kolkata on April 23. She was 75.
• She founded the Rangakarmee group in 1976, which is known for non-conformist productions like Mahabhoj, Rudali, Court Martial and Antaryatra. Ganguly, who is credited for introducing a new form of alternative Hindi theatre in Bengal.
• Her Rangakarmee gave a separate idiom, a new language to theatre in Bengal and created a new audience, which had so far been familiar with Bengali group theatre and English theatre, in the late 70s and 80s.

• The President of India has appointed Justice DipankarDatta, senior judge of Calcutta high court as the Chief Justice of Bombay high court and also appointed Justice BiswanathSomadder of Allahabad high court as Chief Justice of Meghalaya high court and transferred Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq as Chief Justice of Orissa high court.
• The notifications were issued four days after the Supreme Court collegium recommended their names for the elevations and transfer.

• M.S. Dhoni was named IPL’s Greatest of All Time (GOAT) captain by a Star Sports jury on the 13th anniversary of the league.
• Dhoni, who has a staggering win percentage of 60.11, pipped Rohit Sharma, who has led Mumbai Indians to a record four titles. Dhoni has led CSK to eight finals, the most by any captain in the IPL.
• Besides Rohit, Dhoni also faced stiff competition from Gautam Gambhir who helped KKR bag two titles. Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and David Warner were also a part of the elite nominee list.

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated through videoconference a mobile virology research and diagnostics laboratory (MVRDL). It has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), together with ESIC Hospital, Hyderabad, and the private industry.
• The mobile lab will be helpful in carrying out diagnosis of COVID-19 and in virus-culturing for drug screening, convalescent plasma-derived therapy, comprehensive immune profiling of patients towards vaccine development and early clinical trials specific to Indian population.
• The laboratories comply with the biosafety standards of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) so as to meet international guidelines.