Germany grants BioNTech, CureVac $745 million to speed up COVID-19 vaccine work
BERLIN: Germany awarded $745 million in funding to biotech firms BioNTech and CureVac on Tuesday to speed up work on COVID-19 vaccines and expand German production capacity. In a warning against political pressure to rush the process, Research Minister Anja Karliczek stressed that safety should remain the utmost priority to ensure vaccines will be accepted […]
WHO praises AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trial pause
GENEVA: A World Health Organization (WHO) official on Tuesday said that the decision by AstraZeneca to pause global trials of its experimental coronavirus vaccine after an unexplained illness showed the firm was prioritising safety. “This is what we want to see with trials, it is a well-run trial. Safety is always critical, it is crucial […]
China coronavirus vaccine may be ready for public in November: Official
BEIJING:Coronavirus vaccines being developed in China may be ready for use by the general public as early as November, an official with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. China has four COVID-19 vaccines in the final stage of clinical trials. At least three of those have already been offered to essential […]
Multiplex association appeals to government to reopen cinemas, says jobs are at stake
NEW DELHI: Appealing to the government to allow theatres to reopen on an urgent basis , the Multiplex Association of India on Tuesday said the movie exhibition sector that provides employment to lakhs of people had lost an estimated Rs 9,000 crore in the last six months. The cinema body, which represents all the multiplex […]
Amazon to hire 100,000 more workers in its latest job spree this year
By Jeffrey Dastin Amazon.com Inc on Monday said it is recruiting 100,000 more workers – the fourth hiring spree it has announced for the United States this year – to keep pace with e-commerce demand that jumped during the pandemic. The world’s biggest online retailer said the positions are for full and part-time work in […]
Valneva to supply up to 190 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to UK
French vaccine maker Valneva VLS.PA said on Monday it would supply the UK with up to 190 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine candidate, VLA2001, over a five-year period. Under the agreement, and if the vaccine development is complete, Valneva will initially provide the UK government with 60 million doses in the second half of […]
Indian government to infuse $2.72 billion in state-run banks
NEW DELHI: India’s government sought parliamentary approval to inject 200 billion rupees ($2.72 billion) in state-run banks in the current fiscal year, to help lenders mitigate the expected surge in bad loans due to the pandemic. In April, Reuters reported that New Delhi had assured state banks that it is ready to provide capital support […]
Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia to lift travel restrictions from January 2021
NEW DELHI: Saudi Arabia has announced that it will lift travel restrictions from January 2021. In a statement on Sunday, the Interior Ministry attributed the delay in lifting the restrictions due to the severe Covid-19 situation in some countriesm reports Xinhua news agency. The Health Ministry said it has the right, according to the situation, […]
Regular reviews of implementation of economic package under Aatma Nirbhar Bharat being done: Finance Ministry
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 12th, 2020, announced a special economic and comprehensive package of Rs 20 lakh crore – equivalent to 10% of India’s GDP – to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in India. He gave a clarion call for Aatma Nirbhar Bharat or a Self-Reliant India Movement. He also outlined five […]
US budget deficit hits record $3 trillion through 11 months
WASHINGTON:The US budget deficit hit an all-time high of 3 trillion for the first 11 months of this budget year, the Treasury Department said on Friday. The ocean of red ink is a product of the government’s massive spending to try to cushion the impact of a coronavirus-fuelled recession that has cost millions of jobs. […]
Need to take a relook at urban planning in Covid-19 era: Housing Secretary
MUMBAI: It is necessary to relook at the way urban planning is done in the COVID-19 era, Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra said on Friday. Speaking at a virtual seminar jointly organised by CII and JLL, Mishra said the real estate industry will have to embrace technology in various aspects as the […]
24 candidates score 100 percentile in JEE Mains
NEW DELHI: A total of 24 candidates have scored 100 percentile score in the Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE) Mains 2020 examination. The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Friday late night declared the results JEE Mains. Over 8.67 lakh students had appeared in the JEE Main this year which was conducted from September 1 to 6, […]
Why can’t funds for construction workers be used for others as well: Supreme Court
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Friday asked the Centre as to why it cannot issue an Ordinance that funds collected under the welfare scheme meant for building and construction workers across the country be used for other workers as well during the COVID-19 pandemic. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said […]
Industrial production declines 10.4 per cent in July
NEW DELHI: Industrial production shrank by 10.4 per cent in July, mainly due to lower output of manufacturing, mining and power generation sectors, official data showed on Friday. Explaining the reasons behind the fall in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said a large number of industrial units […]
Moody’s revises India’s FY21 GDP contraction to 11.5%
NEW DELHI: Moody’s Investor Service on Friday enhanced the contraction rate of India’s FY21 GDP to (-)11.5 per cent from an earlier estimate of (-)4 per cent. The revision comes days after India reported a massive 23.9 per cent contraction in the first quarter GDP of the current fiscal. Consequently, Moody’s revised the forecast for […]
MCA extends deadline for submission of cost audition report till November
NEW DELHI: In a circular, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) said that the decision has been taken in the wake of the pandemic. “In view of the extraordinary disruption caused due to the pandemic, it has been decided that if cost audit report for the financial year 2019-20 by the cost auditor to the […]