Mexican Senator Armando Rios Piter told CNN that he plans to introduce a bill this week that would stop Mexican purchases of American corn.

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

Nazeem, first elected to the assembly from Karaikal as a 29-year old DMK worker in 1991, retained the seat in all subsequent elections

Modi's tweet in the morning adjured people to be a part of 'festival of democrtacy'

The main fight is between the Congress-DMK combine and the ruling All India NR Congress (AINRC)

A total of 344 candidates, including 96 independents, are in the fray in the polls held on May 16

Early trends showed the AINRC and Congress in a neck-and-neck race

While it lost elections in the ruling Assam and Kerala, Indian National Congress has received some form of relief as it has emerged as single largest party with 15 seats at Puducherry and could form government in the Union Territory.Together, the ...

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

Leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Tuesday morning met via videoconference to deliberate on a strategy to combat and overcome the COVID-19 crisis, ensuring peaceful life of people and sustainable development of countries in the region.In his capacity as ASEAN Chair 2020, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired the virtual summit, attended by the heads of state or government of the 10 ASEAN members- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and the ASEAN secretary-general, Xinhua news agency reported.The leaders are expected to focus their discussions on containing and preventing the spread of COVID-19, supporting people in the countries hit by the disease, including providing consular assistance to ASEAN citizens living, working and studying in other ASEAN nations or a third country, and minimizing socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic.They are also expected to adopt a ...

The Afghan Health Ministry said that 49 new COVID-19 cases have been registered in the country in the past 24 hours, which led the total cases surge to 714 on Tuesday.Kabul registered 18 new cases, maximum highest in the country, leaving behind Kandahar with 15 cases, Balkh 6 cases, Herat and Ghazni 4 new cases each, and Nangarhar 2 cases, according to the health ministry's data cited by Tolo News.At least 40 people have recovered from the virus in the country while 23 have succumbed to the highly contagious infection, the Health Ministry spokesman said.In the meantime, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board approved immediate debt relief for 25 countries--including Afghanistan--in order to help these countries focus on COVID-19 response."Today, I am pleased to say that our Executive Board approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the IMF's member countries under the IMF's revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund's response to ..

Experts have criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping for concealing, destroying and fabricating information about the rampant spread of COVID-19 and suppressing the data by silencing and criminalising dissent.In a report published by The Times of Israel, Human Rights Advocate Irwin Cotler said, "There is authoritative and compelling evidence -- including a study from the University of Southampton -- that if interventions in China had been conducted three weeks earlier, the transmission of COVID-19 could have been reduced by 95 per cent".The daily reported that Dr. Ai Fen, Director of the Emergency Department at the Central Hospital of Wuhan disseminated information about the novel virus to several doctors, one of them being Li Wenliang in late December last year. Wenliang passed away after contracting the contagion in February while Ai has recently disappeared."On January 1, 2020, Dr. Li Wenliang -- the "hero" and "awakener" -- was reprimanded for spreading rumours, and was summoned ..

Two out of three members of a family, residing in Kathmandu, have tested positive for COVID-19 a month after they returned from the UK.The family underwent a Rapid Diagnostic Test on Monday when they showed traces of infection. They were then rushed to Patan Hospital and kept in isolation where they underwent PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) method for further confirmation.The Ministry of Health and Population said in a statement, "A family of three residing at Sun City Apartment of Pepsi Cola Town Planning were tested for COVID-19 on April 13 where two persons, a 58-year male, and an 81-year female were tested positive while undertaking RDT procedure and were further tested under the PCR procedure which also confirmed that they were positive for the virus,""Other people who are residing in that apartment also would be tested for the virus and the tracing also has been started for those who came in contact with them," the statement added.The apartment has been sealed off since Monday ..

Nepal has decided to extend its nation-wide lockdown imposed in view of surging coronavirus cases for 12 more days till April 27.The decision taken during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday comes after a sudden rise in coronavirus cases in the Himalayan country. This would be the third extension to the lockdown that was first imposed on March 24.The Council of Ministers' meeting chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli decided to extend the lockdown till April 27. Earlier meeting of the Cabinet had extended the lockdown till April 15, which was set to end on Wednesday mid-night.The Nepali government has also decided to ban all commercial international flights till April 30.Two more people have tested positive for the coronavirus in the national capital. They had a travel history to the United Kingdom.Ministry of Health and Population said in a statement: "A family of three residing in Sun City Apartment of Pepsi Cola Town Planning were tested for COVID-19 on April 13 where two persons, a ...

Spain's number of total deaths due to the coronavirus crossed 18,000 with 547 new deaths on Tuesday, which is a slight increase in the number of daily deaths reported as per the Spanish Health Ministry.On Monday, Spain had reported 517 deaths, which was one of the lowest daily increase reported in the last three weeks. As per the data from Johns Hopkins University, the current toll in Spain stands at 18,056.The Spanish authorities have also recorded a fall in the number of active cases for the first time since the outbreak. The authorities on Tuesday observed that the active cases had come down by 299 in the last 24 hours. Spain has now 86,981 active cases.Spain's overall tally of cases including the dead and recovered stands at 172,541. It has reported the third-highest fatalities in the world just behind the United States (23,649) and Italy (20,465)With 172,541 total cases, Spain is only behind the United States in the number of overall cases. The United States as of Tuesday has ...

The Indian Consulate General in Dubai has issued an advisory on partially resuming the passport services for Indian applicants through BLS Sharjah Centre from April 15 onwards.The advisory from the consulate general says that the applications for renewal of passports that have expired or would expire on or before April 30, 2020 will be processed initially.The Consulate General in Dubai also listed the ways people can apply for the renewal of passports.Those people who want to apply for renewal can send an email to the consulate at the email address- passport.dubai@mea.gov.in with an explanation of the emergency for the renewal.The Consulate would then give an appointment at the BLS International Exclusive Centre for Indian Passport and Visa Services at Sharjah.As per the advisory, the applicant will have to prepare the application online and attach all required documents before visiting the centre at the appointed time.The passport services were suspended in the wake of the COVID-19 ..

The Department of Health and Social Care has reported that at least 12,107 people have died in the UK hospitals due to the coronavirus.This is an increase of 778 since the last update. 93,873 people in the country have tested positive for the coronavirus, as per CNN.There has been a discrepancy in the UK while reporting the deaths recorded among elderly residents.David Behan, chairman of home operator HC-One, has said that there could be discrepancies which may result in underreporting of deaths.Meanwhile, the Heathrow Airport in London, which is one of the busiest airports in Europe, has predicted a decline in passenger demand by over 90 pc in April, as the virus has halted the travel.

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.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its Global Financial Stability Overview released on Tuesday has noted that early in 2020, global financial markets remained afloat as there was a sense of optimism on the back of supportive monetary policy, reduced trade tension and tentative signs of stabilisation in the global economy. However, the spread of COVID-19 has posed a risk that has seen the prices of risk assets and commodities fall at unprecedented speed.The document released by the IMF says that the equity markets experienced the fastest drop in history with the S and P 500 falling 20 per cent from its peak in just 16 trading sessions.The asset price declines reached about half the magnitude seen in 2008-09 at the worst point of the sell-off, and implied volatility spiked across asset classes, in some cases to levels last seen during the global financial crisis.Financial Counsellor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF, Tobias Adrian while releasing the

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 number of coronavirus cases reported in France has passed 100,000, top French health official said on Tuesday."As of this evening, we have passed the 100,000 mark in terms of test-confirmed coronavirus cases," Jerome Salomon told reporters.France now has 103,573 confirmed cases, with 5,497 new infections recorded in the past 24 hours.The death toll is 15,729. Of them, 10,129 were hospital patients. The number of people who died in hospitals in the past day is 559.On Monday, President Emmanuel Macron extended the nationwide lockdown until May 11. Restrictions on public life went into effect on March 17 in a bid to limit the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

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 ..

As coronavirus pandemic deepens, over 117 million children in 37 countries are expected to miss out on receiving live-saving measles vaccine, the United Nations said on Tuesday.Measles immunisation campaigns in 24 countries have already been delayed and more will be postponed, the World Health Organization and the UN children's fund UNICEF said."Together, more than 117 million children in 37 countries, many of whom live in regions with ongoing measles outbreaks, could be impacted by the suspension of scheduled immunisation activities," Measles and Rubella Initiative (M & RI) said in a statement.New WHO guidelines endorsed by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation aim to help countries to sustain immunisation activities during the COVID-19 pandemic."The @MeaslesRubella Initiative supports recommendations to: temporarily pause preventive immunisation campaigns where there's no active outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease continue routine immunisation services, ..

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown with relaxation to some sectors.Addressing the media in Islamabad on Tuesday, Khan said, "We made the hard decision of imposing lockdown in the country which was very well implemented due to cooperation of the people."He said that the spread of coronavirus had slowed down to 30 per cent of the projected target, Radio Pakistan reported.The Prime Minister said ventilators, protective clothing, and other gear "have been reaching the country to meet the demand".Imran Khan announced to open the construction industry in cities from today as this has the lowest risk factor in terms of coronavirus spread.Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar said the industries that are exempted from the lockdown are export sector, chemical manufacturing plants, e-commerce, software development and planning, paper and packaging units, industries with labour on-site, cement and fertilizer plants, mines and ..

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.

Michigan [USA], April 15 (ANI): Indian automaker Mahindra is joining the "Arsenal of Health" efforts spearheaded by General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. in Michigan to make medical Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers fighting COVID-19.More than 20 Mahindra employees of the Michigan plant are making medical shields from windshields. This innovative ease-of-use box-shaped design will be used by doctors, nurses, local frontline healthcare workers and first responders."MANA's Michigan employees have taken an all-hands-on-deck approach to the COVID-19 fight," said Rick Haas, President and CEO, Mahindra Automotive North America (MANA)."We have a company full of people who love to design and make things and they are not people who like to stand on the sidelines. We have ideas coming in from across the company and we are looking hard at all of them." Haas added.MANA is working with the state, Michigan's congressional delegation, trade organisations, Oakland County and .

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

Prolonged or intermittent social distancing may be necessary even until 2022 to prevent future Covid-19 seasonal outbreaks, a new study has said.Researchers from Harvard University, led by Stephen Kissler, used estimates of seasonality, immunity, and cross-immunity for two betacoronaviruses from time series data from the United States, to inform a model of Covid-19 transmission, Xinhua news agency reported.Recurrent wintertime outbreaks of Covid-19 "will probably occur after the initial, most severe pandemic wave," researchers wrote on in the study 'Projecting the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 through the postpandemic period', published in the online journal Science.The researchers added that without a vaccine or other interventions, "prolonged or intermittent social distancing may be necessary into 2022."Noting that "a key metric for the success of social distancing is whether critical care capacities are exceeded," the study said that "additional interventions, including ...

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.

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.

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.

Total 23 issues of 33 industry category of Topix index were in positive territory, with Mining, Securities & Commodities Futures, Iron & Steel, Real Estate, Nonferrous Metals, and Glass & Ceramics Products issues being notable gainers, while Electric Power & Gas, Other Products, Air Transportation, Information & Communication, and Foods issues were notable losers.

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. 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.

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.

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.

General fiscal deficit in FY19 expected to be 5.8 per cent of GDP, compared with 6.4 per cent the previous year

When seasonally adjusted numbers continue to exhibit the influences of seasonal effects, much as first-quarter readings on gross domestic product have regularly been doing, statisticians refer to it as residual seasonality. And that effect hampers seasoned economists from making clear-eyed judgments on the strength of the economy.

Mutual fund CEOs highlight the lack of level playing field vis-a-vis other asset classes while adding that technology will improve penetration and bring in efficiencies

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.

The scope of the project includes constructing approaches on NH-1 (Srinagar-Sonmarg-Gumri Road) on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (annuity) basis

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