News in Short

• Swarms of desert locusts swept Jaipur as the insect onslaught spread wider to parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
• Scientists are blaming the higher frequency of cyclones originating in the Indian ocean in 2019 for the increased incidents of locust attacks this year.
• The desert locust is considered the most destructive migratory pest in the world and a single swarm covering 1 square kilometre can contain up to 80 million locusts.

• The Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation (KSMDMC) has officially partnered with Flipkart to supply mangoes to consumers’ doorsteps at no extra cost.
• This year, due to Covid-19, the online demand for mangoes has increased.  The price of the produce will be fixed by farmers and Flipkart will recommend the best marketing packages which can be adopted.
• Consumers can place orders on Flipkart’s platform for varieties such as Alphonso, Badami, Apoos, Banganpalli, Kesar, Neelam, Himam Pasand, Sendur, and Mallika, in batches of 3 kg.

• Costa Rica became the latest country to legalize same-sex marriage when a ruling from its supreme court went into effect ending the country’s ban.
• Costa Rica is the sixth country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage, following most recently Ecuador, which allowed it last year. It is also permitted in some parts of Mexico.
• The issue took center stage in Costa Rica’s 2018 presidential election after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued an opinion that countries like Costa Rica, which had signed the American Convention on Human Rights, had to move immediately to legalize gay marriage.

• Delhi recorded the hottest day in May in the last 18 years as the maximum temperature at the Safdarjung observatory rose to 46 degrees Celsius.
• The last time the temperature reached this mark was on May 19 , 2002. As per the IMD, the all-time highest temperature to have been recorded in this month was 47.2 degrees Celsius on May 29, 1944.
• The city has also received considerably less rainfall this month compared to the previous four Mays since 2016. Delhi has recorded 3.2mm rainfall so far this month, whereas in May 2019 it had recorded a total rainfall of 26.9mm.

• Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., has announced a new randomised, open-label study to test the combined efficacy of two antiviral drugs, Favipiravir and Umifenovir.
• The two antiviral drugs have different mechanisms of action, and their combination may demonstrate improved treatment efficacy by effectively tackling high viral loads in patients during early stages of the disease.
• The new combination clinical trial will be called FAITH – (FA vipiravir plus Um I fenovir (efficacy and safety) Trial in Indian Hospital setting). As many as 158 hospitalised patients of moderate COVID-19 infection will be enrolled in the combination study and randomised in two groups.