Page 7 - Coronavirus

Study shows severe Covid infection may shrink cancer tumours in mice

The implications of this study extend beyond COVID and cancer. It shows how our immune system can be trained by one type of threat to become more effectiCancerve against another

Pralhad Joshi issues public apology for remarks on Justice Michael D'Cunha

The report alleged that the then BJP led government purchased Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits at inflated prices

Despite Covid crisis, India growing at 7-8%, says Dharmendra Pradhan

Though several developed economies suffered badly due to the Covid crisis, India continued to grow at 7 to 8 per cent during the last 10 years, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday. In his keynote address at the Indian School of Business (ISB) here, Pradhan said India is set to surpass Japan and France and become the third largest economy in the world in the next three to four years. "Several developed economies in the world suffered badly due to the Covid crisis. Still, we are thriving with a 7 to 8 per cent growth rate since last decade and we will continue to do that," he said. The Minister of Education said India has a low corporate tax as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very clear on not getting money to the exchequer by imposing more taxes, but more income in low slabs. He further said 46 per cent of the global digital payments are happening in India even as 25 crore people have been out of the poverty line.

Trump's economic agenda for 2nd term is clouding outlook for mortgage rates

Donald Trump's election win is clouding the outlook for mortgage rates even before he gets back to the White House. The president-elect campaigned on a promise to make home ownership more affordable by lowering mortgage rates through policies aimed at knocking out inflation. But his proposed economic agenda could potentially set the stage for mortgage rates to move higher, some economists and analysts say. Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including moves in the yield for US 10-year Treasury bonds, which lenders use as a guide to price home loans. Treasury yields rose in recent weeks even after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate, which influences rates on all types of loans including mortgages. Investors appeared to question how far the Fed should cut rates given the strength of the economy. Then yields surged further immediately after Trump's victory, sending the average rate on a 30-year mortgage up to 6.79 per cent, according to mortgage buyer ...

Pralhad Joshi targets Justice Michael D'Cunha over Covid panel report

The John Michael D'Cunha Commission report has recommended prosecution of the then Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah slams BJP on 'Covid scam,' awaits D'Cunha report

He said the cabinet will take a decision on the matter after the Justice John Michael D'Cunha Commission, formed to probe the alleged corruption during Covid, submits its report

Report recommends Yediyurappa's prosecution in Covid scam: K'taka minister

Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Saturday said Justice Michael D' Cunha Commission of Inquiry that investigated alleged irregularities in the purchase of equipment and medicines during the Covid-19 has recommended prosecution of then BJP Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and former minister B Sriramulu. It is clear that there was a "loot" in the purchase of equipment and medicines during Covid-19, he said. The report proves the Congress' allegation that the "then government made money over the dead bodies, misusing the situation", the minister added. "...there had been lapses. No one could question them during the pandemic. Making use of that situation, government of the day looted and took decisions convenient for them, in violation of rules. As an opposition party then, we (Congress) tried to highlight the issue. After coming to power in the state we constituted a commission of enquiry headed by a former judge to probe and submit a report," Rao said. Speaking to reporte

US posts $1.8 trn annual deficit, highest outside of Covid: Treasury data

Treasury officials highlighted that the widening was largely due to accounting for the Biden administration's broad student debt relief plan

Poorest countries confront 18-yr high debt as conflicts & disasters surge

A World Bank report reveals that 26 of the poorest nations are facing their highest debt levels since 2006, struggling with post-pandemic recovery, conflict, and increased disaster risks

Stability or ambition? Here is what Indian corporate CEOs prioritise

Amid shifts in corporate leadership, Indian CEOs seem to be favouring consistency over rapid change

Kamala Harris seizes on claims that Trump sent Putin Covid testing devices

The vice president said people were scrambling to get these kits during the pandemic

Inflammation in vital brain region could be driving long Covid: Study

Symptoms of long Covid, including fatigue and brain fog, have been linked to damage to the brainstem or the brain region, which acts as a "critical junction" between consciousness and all that is physically happening in the body, according to a study. The brainstem connects the spinal cord to two main parts of the brain -- cerebrum and cerebellum. Often dubbed as the 'control centre' of involuntary functions, the brainstem regulates basic life-sustaining activities such as breathing, heart rate and sleep, and located at the base of the brain. Symptoms of long Covid have been studied to persist in some patients for up to two years following initial infection. The previous studies have found prolonged inflammation to be one of the main drivers of long Covid. In this study, the researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, UK, looked at high resolution MRI brain scans of 30 patients, who had severe COVID-19 early in the pandemic, and found that the infection caused ...

XEC now in Australia. Here's what we know about this hybrid Covid variant

The latest variant to make headlines is called XEC. This omicron subvariant has been reported predominantly in the northern hemisphere, but it has now been detected in Australia too

Indian real estate mkt to jump manifold by 2047, to touch $10 trn: Report

Housing demand in Indian real estate market continues to be strong with no signs of slowdown and there is a need to boost supply to meet the requirements, according to realtors' apex body CREDAI. The association said that housing sales in any particular quarter could fall due to lesser number of launches, but consumer demand that has surged post COVID pandemic remains intact. CREDAI is holding its flagship conference 'CREDAI NATCON' here during September 23-26 being attended by more than 1,100 delegates. When asked about estimated fall in sales during the current quarter, CREDAI National Chairman Manoj Gaur said the new launches have been lower in the September quarter. "There is no inventory. There is a huge demand for residential properties from good developers at right locations and attractive prices," Gaur told reporters here. He was replying to a query about PropEquity latest data which estimates 18 per cent fall in sales across nine major cities to 1,04,393 units during ...

What is the new XEC Covid variant? Symptoms, spread, vaccine and prevention

The new Covid variant was initially detected in Germany in June, according to the BBC. Since then, it has been found in several other countries, including the UK, US, Denmark, and more

Amazon asks employees to return to office five days a week starting next yr

Companies have been allowing many employees to work from home since the pandemic, leaving downtown offices nearly empty in a number of cities such as San Francisco and Seattle

Cathay Pacific buys back warrants from Hong Kong government's 2020 bailout

Cathay made heavy losses and layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic and reported its first annual profit in four years in March, and paid its first dividend since 2019

Chhattisgarh scientists launch India's first Covid severity biomarker kit

The new biomarkers, created by the MRU team, are designed to identify patients at risk of severe Covid-19 in the early stages of infection

LIC ordered to pay Rs 50 lakh to Covid policy premium payer's family

A district-level consumer disputes commission in Kerala has ordered Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), India's largest insurer, to pay Rs 50 lakh in compensation to the family of a policy premium payer who succumbed to COVID-19, citing the insurer's technical lapse. The commission fined LIC Rs 50 lakh for violating its own guidelines, which require policy issuance within 15 days of receiving premium payment. In this case, LIC received over Rs 20 lakh as premium, but refunded it only after nine months. The Kottayam District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission further observed that LIC failed to inform the applicant about the temporary suspension of life insurance policies for non-resident Indians during the COVID-19 pandemic, prior to his demise. This omission denied him the chance to secure alternative coverage, constituting a grave service lapse, it said. According to an official release here, Jemon, a London-based expatriate, had purchased a Jeevan Umang life insurance policy f

IIL develops live-attenuated, needle-free intranasal Covid-19 vaccine

The contagion still killing 1,700 people every week across the world, says WHO