In an effort to halt the spread of the coronavirus, New York City has begun suspending service to its entire subway system nightly between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. so cleaning crews can disinfect its thousands of trains. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Main Street: Ordinary Americans protesting to reopen the economy face only contempt from elites. Images: AFP/Getty Composite: Mark Kelly

Potomac Watch: Congress has found its own neat and plausible answer to the Covid-19 pandemic: spend, spend some more. Thankfully, a few elected leaders are starting to realize it’s wrong. Image: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Watch the 1975 trailer for "Jaws," in which a deadly threat forces reluctant politicians to order a shutdown of the economy. Image: Universal Pictures via Everett Collection

Main Street: Decades after Hong Kong gave refuge to Martin Lee's father, a former Kuomintang general, his son, the founder of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, has just been arrested. Images: KeystoneSTF//AFP/Getty Composite: Mark Kelly

A US-based immigration agency has allowed non-immigrants to "unexpectedly remain" beyond their authorised period of stay due to COVID-19 outbreak.The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which administers the country's naturalisation and immigration system, said that amid such conditions, most non-immigrants can timely file an application for the extension of their stay or change in status.The agency stated that application forms and petitions are available on its online website."Where applicable, employment authorisation with the same employer, subject to the same terms and conditions of the prior approval, is automatically extended for up to 240 days after I-94 expiration when an extension of stay request is filed on time," the agency said.The USCIS has granted the flexibility to non-immigrant workers for filing late applications as the spread of the virus continues to keep daily lives at a standstill.The

A US-based research company has found that China limited the flow of the Mekong River following the construction of a number of its sprawling dams in its territory in the backdrop of a severe drought in the region last year.The report comes at a time when the entire world is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic since late last year, when the virus first made its appearance in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei province."The satellite data does not lie and there was plenty of water in the Tibetan Plateau, even as countries like Cambodia and Thailand were under extreme duress," said Alan Basist, who co-wrote the report, which was released on Monday, for Eyes on Earth, a water resources monitor."There was just a huge volume of water that was being held back in China," Basist was quoted by New York Times as saying.Farmers and fishermen across the Mekong region were devastated as the water level in portions of the river dwindled due to dams commissioned by China which has been .

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a telephonic conversation with President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas and the two leaders discussed challenges posed by the COVID-19.As per an official release, "the two leaders discussed the challenges posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and apprised each other of the steps being taken in their respective countries to control the situation."Prime Minister Modi also appreciated the measures taken by Abbas' authorities to protect their population from the virus and assured all possible support from India for these efforts.The two leaders will stay in touch over various issues regarding the global pandemic. Palestine has so far reported 308 confirmed cases of coronavirus and two deaths so far.

Airline passenger revenue is set to plunge by USD 314 billion in 2020, which is a decline of 55 per cent from 2019 due to coronavirus as per the updated analysis released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).On March 24, the IATA had predicted an estimated loss of USD 252 billion in revenues, which is 44 per cent decline in passenger for airline industry due to severe travel restrictions lasting more than three months as governments across the world try to contain the disease.As per a release by IATA, the world is heading for a recession. The economic shock of the COVID-19 crisis is expected to be at its most severe in Q2 when the GDP is expected to shrink by 6 per cent (by comparison, GDP shrank by 2 per cent at the height of the global financial crisis). Passenger demand closely follows GDP progression. The impact of reduced economic activity in Q2 alone would result in an 8 per cent fall in passenger demand in the third quarter."The release added: "Travel ...

The coronavirus outbreak has killed more than 24,000 people in the United States, the highest number of fatalities in any country, data from the Johns Hopkins University showed on Tuesday.As of 1.20 pm EDT (5.20 pm GMT), fatalities in the US reached 24,485, according to the university's Coronavirus Resource Center.At least 584,073 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the US, the largest number of infections among all countries.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Tuesday (local time) welcomed the decision of India's Supreme Court to relax conditions for the release of individuals detained as "foreigners" in Assam's detention centres due to concerns with the spread of COVID-19."We welcome this decision as a first step," a statement by USCIRF quoted its Chair Tony Perkins as saying."We urge the Indian Supreme Court to continue on this promising path and order the release of all those detained in the detention centres on humanitarian grounds. Even two years as a minimum time for release is unreasonable given the threat of detention centres becoming a breeding ground for the spread of COVID-19," he added.In response to an application submitted by the Justice for Liberty Initiative, the Supreme Court on Monday ordered the release of detainees held for at least two years and lowered the personal bond amount necessary to secure release from Rs 100,000 to 5,000.Coronavirus has impacted ..

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he has instructed his administration to halt World Health Organisation's funding while a review is being conducted in the WHO's "role in severely mismanaging and covering up" the spread of coronavirus after it emerged in China."Today I'm instructing my administration to halt funding of the World Health Organization. We will redirect global health and directly work with others. All of the aid that we send will be discussed at very, very powerful letters," Trump said during a press conference.The US President has been critical of the world health body stating that the organisation was aware of the dangers of the coronavirus months before it took action.The United States has been the worst-hit country from the coronavirus. The virus has killed over 25,000 people in the country since the outbreak. There are at least 594,207 cases of coronavirus in the US.The US President also said the funding would be suspended while officials conduct a review "to

The number of people infected with the new coronavirus worldwide has surpassed 1.8 million with 71,779 cases verified over the past 24 hours, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.According to the update, the global count of confirmed COVID-19 cases has reached 1,844,863, with the majority of them concentrated in Europe (943,272) and the Americas (644,986).The death toll has grown by 5,369 cases over the past day to a total of 117,021 fatalities, the report read.

Wilson Witzel, the governor of the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, has been tested positive for coronavirus."On Friday, I began feeling ill and asked for a coronavirus test. Today the result came and it turned out to be positive," Witzel said in a video message posted on his Twitter page on Tuesday evening.The governor said that he had several symptoms of the disease, including fever, sore throat, and fatigue, Sputnik reported."Right now, I feel better and I will continue to work while in self-isolation, following the recommendations of doctors," Witzel further said.Brazil has reported 24,000 cases of coronavirus since the outbreak of the disease.Several political figures, including presidential communications secretary Fabio Wajngarten, have tested positive for the disease during the ongoing outbreak.

The number of coronavirus cases in the United States has topped 600,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The death toll has surpassed 25,000.While the number of cases stands at 602,989, a total of 25,575 people have died from the deadly virus in the country, reported Sputnik citing Johns Hopkins University.A total of 46,515 people have recovered as per the university's data.

Wearing masks and gloves, South Korean voters cast their ballots on Wednesday to elect 300 parliamentary lawmakers amid the coronavirus outbreak.Voting kicked off at 6 am (local time) and was to run until 6 pm (local time) at 14,330 polling stations across the country, according to the National Election Commission (NEC). The number of eligible voters is 44 million, according to Yonhap news agency.The once-in-four-years legislative election is widely seen as a referendum on President Moon Jae-in, whose five-year term will end in mid-2022, as well as a test of the country's fight against COVID-19 under the leadership of Moon, The Strait Times reported.South Korea has received international praise for its massive testing capability and other innovative measures, such as drive-through testing and high-tech contact tracing.Experts, therefore, expect the ruling Democratic Party (DP) to extend its lead in Parliament, given that the government's handling of the virus outbreak is viewed ...

A political activist from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) has alleged that Pakistan has been regularly violating ceasefire at the Line of Control these days to infiltrate terrorists into Kashmir valley amid COVID-19 spread.Amjad Ayub Mirza, a political activist and author based in Glasgow told ANI, "It is Pakistan, which is responsible for ceasefire violation. We, the people of PoK are aware of this fact that always Pakistan initiates a ceasefire violation to which India retaliates."The activist said that like always, time too, the ceasefire violation was started by Pakistan which created problems for locals, even in the areas of Jammu that do not even come in the jurisdiction of the ceasefire line.Divulging further on the heinous activities conducted by Pakistan, the activist said, "There can be three reasons for them to do so. Firstly due to the coronavirus outbreak, the establishment has been exposed over the mishandling of the pandemic. The country does not even have proper ...

Defying all orders from the state to refrain from religious congregations to curb the spread of COVID-19, prominent ulemas and religious scholars from across Pakistan on Tuesday stated that the five daily prayers and the Friday prayers would be held in mosques. They, however, mentioned that all precautionary measures advised by the government will be implemented.The statement from the ulemas, cited by Dawn, comes as the government announced it would continue the lockdown imposed in light of the coronavirus outbreak, easing restrictions for some industries which it said were 'low-risk'.Authorities in all provinces had officially restricted congregations in mosques, including for Friday prayers, to five people or less for the past two weeks. However, several instances of violation of government orders, and confrontation with police trying to enforce these orders, have been reported since then.Speaking at a press conference after the meeting between representatives from the ...

The US Department of Justice on Tuesday (local time) said it has repatriated approximately USD 300 million (RM 1.292 billion) to Malaysia in additional funds misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (MDB), the Asian country's investment development fund.The government of former Prime Minister Najib Razak set up the 1MDB fund in 2009 to promote economic development in Malaysia through global partnerships and foreign direct investment.The Justice Department estimated that some USD 4.5 billion was siphoned out of Malaysia by high-level fund officials and their associates between 2009 and 2014 in a scandal that called for Razak's resignation -- including Mahathir Mohamad, one of the former's predecessors.The funds were laundered through financial institutions in several jurisdictions, including the United States, Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg."We are pleased to make this latest repatriation of an additional USD 300 million in stolen 1MDB funds," Assistant Attorney General

Risk sentiment deteriorated after a news report, citing inadvertently released results, said the closely watched antiviral drug remdesivir had had no effect on patients in its first randomised clinical test.

Risk sentiment deteriorated after a news report, citing inadvertently released results, said the closely watched antiviral drug remdesivir had had no effect on patients in its first randomised clinical test.

Industrial stocks performed strongly with Transurban gaining 3.7% and Brambles up 4.2%. Healthcare out-performed with a gain of 6% in Sonic, 3.7% in Ramsay Healthcare, and 2.6% in CSL. Info tech and real estate sectors were up more than 3%.

A partial reopening of the economy in Alaska, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and others boosted investor sentiments. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state will likely begin to reopen the economy in certain areas with certain precautions after May 15. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he expected the U.S. economy to bounce back in the months after June, once the lockdowns are dismantled.

Investors continue to struggle against positive news of lifting restrictions and re-opening the economy against what is expected to be the sharpest and most severe downturn since the great depression.

Wall Street stocks opened higher amid continued investor confidence following steps by a number of US states to reopen their economies. In the United States, some governors are rolling back curbs and allowing restaurants, hair salons and other businesses to reopen despite warnings by health experts that moving too fast might lead to new outbreaks. President Donald Trump, running for re-election amid a slump that has wiped out more than 10 million jobs, is pressing other governors to lift lockdowns. Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, one of the hardest-hit and most populous states, says controls will be eased only after numbers of new cases decline.

Investor confidence has been lifted as major countries and several US states reopen for business and central banks seem poised to inject more stimulus to offset the economic hit from the pandemic.

Wall Street stocks opened higher amid reaction to developments regarding the use of Gilead Sciences' antiviral drug remdesivir as a potential new treatment for Covid-19 patients. Gilead Sciences said on Wednesday that preliminary results of a coronavirus drug trial showed at least 50% of patients treated with a five-day dosage of remdesivir improved and more than half were discharged from the hospital within two weeks. Later Wednesday, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said NIAID's remdesivir drug trial, which enrolled about 800 patients, showed quite good news and that the drug would set a new standard of care for Covid-19 patients.

Investor sentiment around the world was brightened by Gilead Sciences Inc.'s announcement that preliminary results of a coronavirus drug trial showed at least 50% of patients treated with a five-day dosage of remdesivir improved and more than half were discharged from the hospital within two weeks. Later Wednesday, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said NIAID's remdesivir drug trial, which enrolled about 800 patients, showed quite good news and that the drug would set a new standard of care for Covid-19 patients. Globally, the coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 3.1 million and taken at least 226,771 lives, according to data compiled by John Hopkins University.

U.S. officials are beginning to explore proposals for punishing or demanding financial compensation from China for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The move could splinter already strained relations between the two superpowers at a perilous moment for the global economy. Senior officials across multiple government agencies are expected to meet Thursday to begin mapping out a strategy for seeking retaliatory measures against China, as per reports. Officials in American intelligence agencies are also involved in the effort. President Trump has fumed to aides and others in recent days about China, blaming the country for withholding information about the virus, and has discussed enacting dramatic measures that would probably lead to retaliation by Beijing.

Local shares fell in early trade on reigniting tensions between the world's top two economies after U.S. officials tried to pin blame for the coronavirus pandemic on China.

A ramping up of tensions between the White House and China over the origins and handling of the coronavirus pandemic weighed on markets around the world. The U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he believed that a mistake in China was the cause of the spreading coronavirus pandemic, though he did not present any evidence for the claim.

U.S. stocks eked out a second consecutive day of gains as investors weighed a cloudy picture of the economy against U.S. businesses starting to slowly reopen after a period of stultifying coronavirus lockdowns.

Banks stocks were lower. National Australia Bank ended the day 2.3% lower Westpac and ANZ both declined about 1.5% while Commonwealth Bank dropped 0.8%.

The major averages finished the session on opposite sides of the unchanged line, as traders weighed optimism about some states reopening against some dismal employment data. The ADP jobs report showed that US companies lost 20.2 million jobs in April. The government's April jobs report is due Friday.

The latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed that the services sector in Australia continued to contract in April, and at a steeper pace, with a Performance of Services Index score of 27.1. That's down from 38.7 in March and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Total 21 issues of 33 industry category of Topix index were in negative territory, with Air Transportation, Insurance, Land Transportation, Iron & Steel, Nonferrous Metals, and Oil & Coal Products issues being notable losers, while Other Products, Electric Appliances, Metal Products, Construction, and Pharmaceutical issues were notable gainers.

Markets drew some comfort from the latest round of economic results out of China. Data on Thursday showed an unexpected surge in export activity in the world's second-largest economy in April, growing 3.5% from the previous year

Total 32 issues of 33 industry category of Topix index were in positive territory, with Iron & Steel, Nonferrous Metals, Marine Transportation, Land Transportation, Wholesale Trade, Real Estate, and Securities & Commodities Futures issues being notable gainers.

The Australian share market got a boost on hopes for an economic recovery at home after the government unveiled plans to end most coronavirus restrictions by July. Prime Minister Scott Morrison's announced a plan to ease social distancing restrictions in a three-step process, which would remove all curbs by July and get nearly 1 million people back to work amid a decline in coronavirus cases.

The gains in Mainland China share market were driven by reports that top US and Chinese trade representatives discussed their Phase 1 trade deal earlier in the day, with China saying it would work with Washington to improve the atmosphere for implementing the Phase 1 trade deal signed this year. The officials also agreed to "strengthen cooperation on macro economy and public health."

Price band fixed at Rs 55 to Rs 60 per share

Receives bids for 39.24 lakh shares

Receives bids for 100.44 crore shares

The litigants in a recent Supreme Court case suggested using the American Community Survey, an annual sample of 2.5% of U.S. households that asks about citizenship, to estimate the citizen voter-age population.

Global uncertainties and weak corporate earnings are enough to give any fund manager the jitters

The transcript of President Trump's call with Ukraine shed light on a method for classifying documents that's even more top secret than top secret. WSJ spoke to a former National Security Council official to understand the intricacies of the White House server security system.

Interview with President, Boeing India

Motor Vehicles Act does not adequately address concerns of construction, mining and earth moving equipment makers

The government is in discussion with the European Union (EU) and Australia for FTAs. The country already has such trade pacts with Asean

Releases new industrial and investment promotion policy