Latest Updates on Covid-19

How mental health has changed in baby boomers, Gen X across their adulthood

In both cohorts, mental health was generally at its best during a person's 30s; but, from middle age, average levels of psychological distress began to increase

Chinese Covid-19 drug shows promise against Nipah virus in early study

Researchers say an oral antiviral developed for Covid-19 showed promising results against the Nipah virus in laboratory and animal studies, offering a potential lead as India monitors confirmed cases

SC invokes Article 142 to cut loan liability of woman widowed by Covid-19

Invoking Article 142, the Supreme Court reduced a widow's loan liability after her husband died during the Covid pandemic, holding that strict enforcement of the bank's demand would cause extreme hard

Why Chinese travellers are cutting back on duty-free spending overseas

Chinese tourist numbers are rising across Asia, but duty-free sales remain weak as travellers spend less, skip group tours and buy more foreign brands at home instead of overseas

Lancet study shows most hesitant adults in UK accepted Covid-19 jabs later

Tracking vaccine attitudes across England, a Lancet study reveals that most people who were unsure about Covid-19 jabs eventually got vaccinated

The Edge of the Empire: Edward Wong's book on journeys in Chinese imperium

The personal story of a father and son provides insights into Chinese society, politics, and geopolitics, showing how the impulse to control and expand the Chinese empire is stronger than ever today

Ticker tape at the Sensex: The index that put India on the global map

From liberalisation to Covid, wars to market scams, the Sensex's 40-year journey mirrors how India's economy absorbed shocks and emerged stronger over time

BMC polls: Uddhav Thackeray releases booklet on Covid-19 track record

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has released a booklet highlighting the work he did during the COVID-19 pandemic when he was helming the Maharashtra government, a strategic move ahead of the civic polls. The booklet, released on Sunday, lists measures Thackeray took as chief minister to contain the pandemic in areas such as Dharavi and other parts of Mumbai during the Maha Vikas Aghadi's rule between 2019 and 2022. The Sena (UBT) last week announced an alliance with Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the Mumbai civic polls, but the parties haven't yet declared their lists of candidates. Elections to 29 civic bodies, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, will be held on January 15. The counting of votes will take place the next day. The election to the BMC can be viewed as a high-stakes battle for Uddhav Thackeray, as he attempts to reclaim control of the country's richest civic body, which has been under the undivided Shiv Sena from 1997 to 20

Hidden infections could be the missing link in long Covid, says new study

Researchers say long Covid may be fuelled by reactivated viruses and co-infections triggered by Covid-19, opening new avenues for diagnosis and treatment

China sues Missouri after state seeks to collect on $25 bn court judgment

Missouri's top prosecutor said China is suing after the state pressed federal officials for help collecting on a roughly USD25 billion court judgment related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said Tuesday in a news release that China is demanding a public apology from the state in a complaint filed in the Intermediate People's Court of Wuhan. The Chinese government also is seeking compensation equivalent to USD 50.5 billion plus legal fees and the right to claim further compensation. "This lawsuit is a stalling tactic and tells me that we have been on the right side of this issue all along, Hanaway said in the news release. At issue is a lawsuit Missouri filed alleging that China hoarded personal protective equipment during the early months of the pandemic, harming the state and its residents. A federal judge ruled for Missouri earlier this year after China declined to participate in the trial. It called the lawsuit very absurd when it was filed in ...

Covid-19 shot in pregnancy lowers severe illness, preterm birth risk: Study

New research shows pregnant people who received a Covid-19 vaccine were far less likely to be hospitalised or deliver prematurely than the unvaccinated

India's equity markets, economy: Will investors update their beliefs?

The Nifty is a club of giants - banks, financiers, software firms, pharmaceuticals, consumer staples, and commodity producers

USFDA preparing to issue 'black box' warning on Covid-19 vaccines

A black box warning is the strongest caution for prescription drugs and is usually reserved for alerting patients to possible adverse reactions that could lead to death or serious injury

Bolsonaro's conviction brings justice to those who lost loved ones to Covid

Simone Guimaraes, a retired 52-year-old teacher in Rio de Janeiro, lost at least five relatives to COVID-19: her husband, sister, two brothers-in-law and the godfather of her grandchild. She also lost friends and neighbours. She woke to the news on Saturday that Brazil's Supreme Court ordered the preemptive arrest of former President Jair Bolsonaro, whom she blames for her losses. A judge claimed Bolsonaro was intent on escaping days before he was set to begin a 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. It's a small beginning of justice starting to be served," she said. Impunity has to end at some point. And in his case, we endured a lot." Social media filled with posts Saturday remembering people lost to COVID-19, which also happened in September when the Supreme Court convicted Bolsonaro, even though the legal case had nothing to do with the former president's pandemic response. Guimaraes followed every

What makes long Covid long: New evidence raises concern and diagnostic hope

Research finds persistent immune and clotting abnormalities, underscoring the scale of India's long Covid burden and its impact on heart and vascular health

Supreme Court questions petitioners on reliance on UK Covid vaccine data

You trust the data put out by the United Kingdom but not the figures given by the Indian government, the Supreme Court on Thursday told the petitioners who claimed that authorities reported "alarmingly low" number of deaths due to adverse effects of Covid vaccine. A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing arguments on the pleas including the one which alleged that two women lost their lives in 2021 after taking the first dose of Covishield vaccine. It was alleged that after vaccination, both of them suffered from severe adverse effects following immunization. The top court reserved its order in the matter. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for petitioners in one of the pleas, said the same vaccine was used in the UK and India administered 30 times more jabs as compared to the UK. "The difference is so large that there seems to be a worrying discrepancy between the UK, which is putting its data transparently, and India which is hiding the data of deaths,

Covid in pregnancy linked to higher autism, speech and motor delays: Study

Children born to mothers infected with Covid-19 during pregnancy faced a 29% higher chance of developing autism, speech and motor delays by age three, a major US study finds

Homebound: The film pushes many buttons, and that keeps it from greatness

We don't remember Henry Fonda from the cinematic The Grapes of Wrath, nor Om Puri from Bhisham Sahni's Tamas (both excellent performances) but are awed by the films themselves

mRNA Covid shots could make cancer immunotherapy more effective, says study

Scientists have found that Covid-19 mRNA vaccines could enhance immune responses in cancer patients, potentially transforming how immunotherapy works

Study shows Covid-19 in fathers may affect offspring's brain, cause anxiety

Changes in sperm caused by COVID-19 in a mouse could affect the offspring's brain development and cause anxious behaviours, a study has found, suggesting that the viral disease may have long-lasting effects on future generations, even as the results would need to be verified in humans, researchers said. The team from Australia's Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health found that an offspring mouse conceived after a father has been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and developed COVID-19 symptoms have higher levels of anxiety-like behaviours. "We let male mice recover from SARS-CoV-2 infection for a few weeks before they mated with healthy females. We found that the resulting offspring showed more anxious behaviours compared to offspring from uninfected fathers," Elizabeth Kleeman, research officer and first author of the study published in the journal Nature Communications, said. All offsprings from COVID-19-affected fathers were seen to display increased anxiety-like ..