Page 10 - Coronavirus

Indian diaspora breaks record with $107 billion remittance surge in FY24

According to a survey by the Reserve Bank of India on post-Covid-19 remittances, the United States emerges as the primary contributor, constituting 23% of the total amount

Norway starts stockpiling grain, citing pandemic, war & climate change

The Norwegian government on Tuesday signed a deal to start stockpiling grain, saying the COVID-19 pandemic, a war in Europe and climate change have made it necessary. The deal to store 30,000 tons of grain was signed by agriculture and food minister Geir Pollestad and four private companies. The wheat, that will belong to the Norwegian government, will be stored by the companies in facilities across the country. In a statement, Norway's ministry for agriculture and food said the building up of a contingency stock of food grains is about being prepared for the unthinkable." Norway will sign further stockpiling contracts in the coming years, with the goal of building up the reserve until 2029. The aim is to have some 82,500 tons of grain in store by the end of the decade "so that we then have enough grain for three months' consumption by Norway's population in a crisis situation that may arise, Pollestad told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. As of the first quarter of this year, Norway has

Pandemic exposure lowered wage aspirations of rural women: World Bank

The research was conducted in Haryana on a sample of 3,180 female vocational trainees between June and August 2022

ADB approves $170 million loan to strengthen health sector in India

The $170 million policy-based loan will help in the implementation of the government's National Health Policy 2017

Goods demand slowing, global growth outlook likely to weaken: Report

Global retail sales were 'well below' pre-Covid trend observed between 2017 and 2019, it says

8th Pay Commission: Govt gets proposal for hike in DA, basic pay, pension

With a decade between each pay commissions, the next installment is expected to take effect from January 1, 2026

EPFO discontinues Covid-19 advance facility: Check details of other options

A non-refundable advance was provided to the EPF members during the outbreak of the first wave of Covid-19 and another advance in the second wave

Recovery in overseas travel by Chinese lags due to costs, visa snags

The Chinese currency has fallen more than 2% against the dollar since the start of the year, raising costs in yuan terms for Chinese travellers abroad

Employment in informal sector below pre-Covid level, shows NSO data

According to the factsheet, the number of unincorporated enterprises rose by 2 million between July 2015-June 2016 and October 2022-September 2023 to 65.04 million

Traders demand resumption of border trade with China through Lipulekh pass

Indian traders involved in border trade with China through the Lipulekh pass in Pithoragarh district since 1992, have requested the central government to take up the issue of resumption of border trade through this route with Beijing. The trade route was closed rather suddenly after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, forcing Indian traders to return from the Taklakot mart in Tibet leaving behind their woollen products. Five years have passed but the route has not been opened, an organisation of border traders in Dharchula said. The traders who belong to the Bhotia tribe started to raise their demand for reopening of the trade route through Lipulekh after China recently began the process of implementing a pact, in which it had agreed to open all 14 trade passes with Nepal. The implementation of the agreement inked by China and Nepal in December, 2022 began on May 25 this year, when China opened Piangi pass situated in Dolpa district of eastern Nepal, president of Bharat

10.5 mn flights scheduled to crisscross skies, jets burn fuel like its 2019

The International Air Transport Association is anticipating record passenger numbers this year, and planes that will be about as full as they were before the virus using record amounts of fuel

Fauci testifies publicly before US panel on Covid origins, controversies

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert until leaving the government in 2022, faces heated questioning Monday from Republican lawmakers about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. A Republican-led subcommittee has spent over a year probing the nation's response to the pandemic and whether US-funded research in China may have played any role in how it started. Democrats opened the hearing saying the investigation so far has found no evidence that Fauci did anything wrong while missing an important opportunity to prepare for the next scary outbreak. Fauci alternately a trusted voice during the pandemic and the target of partisan attacks, even death threats spent 14 hours over two days in January being grilled by the House panel behind closed doors. On Monday, they're questioning him again, in public and on camera for the first time since he ended more than five decades of government service. This time around he'll face a new set of questions about the credibility of

Here's why revenge travel is finally losing its appeal after three years

Travel demand is far from falling off a cliff. But there are signs that our wanderlust is downshifting from never-ending to a more normal pattern

Centre, states gear up to tackle infectious zoonotic disease outbreaks

Centre announces detailed advisory on bird flu, Kerala government intensifies Nipah prevention efforts

China falling emissions since Covid signal peak carbon may already be here

Emissions fell 3 per cent in March from the prior year, the first annual decline since January 2023, Lauri Myllyvirta, senior fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute, said

Covid-19 effect: Global healthy life expectancy slumps to 2012 level

According to WHO's latest report, global life expectancy and healthy life expectancy dropped to 2012 levels of 1.8 and 1.5 years, respectively, eradicating a decade of progress

HC upholds validity of extending assessment orders' time limit during Covid

The court observed that the government is empowered to extend the limitation period for taking actions that could not be completed or complied with due to force majeure

TN govt assures no need for panic amid new Covid wave in Singapore

The new Covid wave in Singapore is a "milder infection" and there was no need for panic and Tamil Nadu has the required infrastructure to face any situation, a top official said on Wednesday. Dr T S Selvavinayagam, Director, Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPHPM), said "there has been no significant (hospital) admissions" in Singapore following the outbreak. "In the last few weeks, it is being reported that there are Covid cases in South Asian countries like Singapore. As far as we (TN) are concerned, there is no need for any apprehension...the Singapore variant, KP.2 is a sub variant of Omicron and has been reported in some parts of India," he said. As many as 290 cases of KP.2 and 34 cases of KP.1, both sub-lineages of Covid-19 that are responsible for surge in cases in Singapore, have been found in India, according to official data. In a video released by the DPHPM, Selvavinayagam said the variant has been "so far giving only milder infection, no severe ...

Indian overseas spending hits all-time high of $31.7 billion in FY24

The yearly remittance data shows a robust inclination among Indians towards international travel, with expenditures totalling $17 billion in FY24

'Unusual' form of cell death underlies lung damage in Covid patients: Study

An unusual form of cell death could lead to a Covid patient's lungs suffering extreme damage, potentially resulting in life-threatening conditions such as inflammation and acute respiratory disorders, according to new research. The ability to inhibit this unusual form of cell death -- ferroptosis -- can offer doctors new ways of to treat Covid-19 lung disease, the study suggested. Cell death, where a cell stops functioning, can be natural or could result from causes such as a disease or an injury. The most common form of cell death involves cells "chopping up" the molecules inside, researchers explained, adding that this occurs in humans, both when they are ill or are ageing. However, in ferroptosis, the relatively uncommon form of cell death, cells die because their outer fat layers collapse, the researchers at Columbia University, US, said. In this study, they analysed human tissues and collected autopsies of patients who died of respiratory failure caused by Covid-19 infection.