Real annual GDP accelerated in Jul-Sept to 7.4% from 7%. But, growth of nominal GDP slowed sharply to 6%

Biocon gained 1.82% to Rs 356 after the company said it received establishment inspection report (EIR) for small molecules API manufacturing facility in Bengaluru.

HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd is quoting at Rs 519.65, up 5.08% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 26.88% in last one year as compared to a 17.57% slide in NIFTY and a 20.42% slide in the Nifty Financial Services index.

India VIX cools 3% to 38.53.

SBI Card's net profit jumped 43.9% to Rs 1244.82 crore on a 33.8% rise in total income to Rs 9752.29 crore in the year ended March 2020 (FY20) over the year ended March 2019 (FY19)

States balance public health and economic well-being as more lockdowns expire; U.S. intelligence agencies confirm investigating if the coronavirus escaped from a lab in Wuhan; Apple and Amazon report profits. WSJ’s Shelby Holliday has the latest on the pandemic. Photo: Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg

California is the first state to borrow federal funds to cover rising jobless claims, United Airlines expects to cut its management ranks by 30%, and the FDA sets standards for antibody tests in a crackdown on fraud. WSJ’s Jason Bellini has the latest on the pandemic. Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press

President Trump said the White House coronavirus task force will continue indefinitely and Airbnb plans to lay off a quarter of its workforce. WSJ’s Jason Bellini has the latest on the pandemic. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP

The Trump administration steps up assertions that the coronavirus originated at a lab in Wuhan, governments around the world start to allow businesses to reopen, millions of imported masks fall short of N95 standards. WSJ’s Jason Bellini has the latest on the pandemic. Photo: Scott Keeler/Zuma Press

Sales decline 2.83% to Rs 616.61 crore

Sales rise 25.20% to Rs 3186.96 crore

Total Operating Income rise 11.47% to Rs 21740.68 crore

Sales decline 2.13% to Rs 476.13 crore

On 08 May 2020

The drug major on Friday (8 May 2020) informed that the inspection of its three units at Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh by the UK health regulator has been completed.

US stock market ended sharply higher on Friday (8 May) despite grim monthly jobs report as investors bet the worst of the coronavirus crisis has passed. Investors also hoped for an eventual reopening of the economy.

Adani Enterprises on Friday (8 May) said it has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary company, "Nanasa Pidgaon Road" on 8 May 2020.

The number of people in Italy who've died with COVID-19 infections has topped 30,000. The Health Ministry registered 243 deaths on Friday, bringing the total of those who died in the country to 30,201. Italy was the first country in Europe with a major outbreak of the coronavirus. Authorities say many more likely died with the infection at home or in nursing homes without being diagnosed. With 1,327 more cases registered in the 24-hour period ending Friday evening, Italy now tallies 217,185 confirmed coronavirus infections. Some 11,000 more people have recovered from the illness than are currently positive for the infection. Lombardy in the north continues to be the hardest-hit region, accounting for nearly one-half of the latest cases registered on Friday. Health and government authorities are concerned that partial easing earlier in the week of some lockdown measures, such as re-opening of public parks and gardens, could see an uptick in contagion if people ignore safety-distance ...

US President Donald Trump reached out to several world leaders, including those from Germany and Saudi Arabia, to discuss the coronavirus pandemic and the global economy on Friday, the White House said. Trump and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia discussed the latest positive developments in defeating the coronavirus pandemic and re-energising global economies, the White House said in a readout of the call. The two leaders agreed on the importance of stability in global energy markets and reaffirmed the strong United States-Saudi defence partnership, it said. Trump and King Salman also discussed other critical regional and bilateral issues and their cooperation as leaders of the G7 and G20, respectively, the readout of the call said. In a separate phone call with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, the two leaders discussed positive developments in defeating the coronavirus pandemic, research efforts and reopening the American and German economies. "The President ...

Arguing that a one-time payment of USD 1,200 to most of the Americans during the coronavirus outbreak is not enough, three top Democratic senators introduced a legislation on Friday to provide a recurring USD-2,000 monthly check to those struggling to make ends meet during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act, introduced by former presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders, Indian-origin Senator Kamala Harris and Senator Ed Markey, proposes to provide a monthly USD-2,000 check to every individual with an income below USD 120,000 throughout and for three months following the coronavirus pandemic. According to the proposal, married couples who file jointly would receive USD 4,000; USD 2,000 per child up to three children and it would be implemented retroactively from March. The coronavirus pandemic has caused millions to struggle to pay the bills or feed their families, Harris said. The previous CARES Act, she argued, gave Americans an important one-time ...

US lawmakers have introduced a legislation in Congress to give unused green cards or permanent legal residency status to thousands of foreign nurses and doctors to meet the urgent needs of the overstretched healthcare sector in the country. The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would allow for recapturing green cards that were approved by Congress but unused in past years, allowing thousands of additional medical professionals to serve permanently in the United States. The legislation would send green cards to 25,000 nurses and 15,000 doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that places like Iowa have the professionals they need to serve patients for years to come, a media release said. The move is likely to benefit a large number of Indian nurses and doctors, who are either on H-1B or J2 visas. In the House of Representatives, it has been introduced by lawmakers Abby Finkenauer, Brad Schneider, Tom Cole and Don Bacon. The bipartisan Senate companion bill is led by Senators ..

China continues to hide and obfuscate COVID-19 data from the world, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday, asserting that he has seen a significant amount of evidence suggesting that a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan was underperforming and the virus could well have emanated from there. "I have seen a significant amount of evidence that suggests that the lab was underperforming, that there were security risks at the lab and that the virus could well have emanated from there," Pompeo told Ben Shapiro in an interview. "But I am happy to suspend the decision about that. What we need are answers. There are still people dying," he said. By Friday, more than 78,000 Americans had died and 13 lakh tested positive for the coronavirus. Globally, more than 273,000 people have died and 39 lakh tested positive for the disease. The American economy and those of the rest of the world have come to a standstill. "We have got an economy now that is really struggling and it is all a ..

Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee and former US vice president Joe Biden alleged on Friday that President Donald Trump utterly failed to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic and said his entire economic strategy is focussed on helping the wealthy and big corporations. Referring to the record 2.05 crore jobs lost in April alone, resulting in an unprecedented unemployment rate of 14.7 per cent now -- the highest since the Great Depression -- Biden, in a major policy speech, said it is an economic disaster, worse than any in decades, and it was made all the more worse because it did not have to be this way. "Donald Trump utterly failed to prepare for this pandemic and delayed in taking the necessary steps to safeguard our nation against the near-worst-case economic scenario we are now living in," he said in his remarks on "Trump's Disastrous Economy". COVID-19 caused a massive economic challenge, but the crisis hit the US harder and will last longer because Trump spent the

The owner of a popular Indian-American grocery story has been charged with price gouging during the coronavirus pandemic, when the entire state is under stay-at-home orders. Following consumer complaints, an investigation office revealed that Rajvinder Singh, owner of the popular Apna Bazaar in California's Pleasanton, had allegedly increased the prices of grocery items following the emergency declaration by the governor on March 4. Based on evidence provided by customer receipts, the investigation confirmed that the pricing of several food items exceeded the 10-per cent increase allowed during a state of emergency, with some prices being as much as 200 per cent more than what was previously charged, according to a joint statement issued by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley. The food items listed in the complaint include yellow onions, ginger, green beans, instant noodles, tea, chili peppers, pomegranates and red yams. "We ..

Three sisters who worked in Mexico's government hospital system were found murdered by strangling, authorities in the northern border state of Coahuila announced on Friday, stirring new alarm in a country where attacks on healthcare workers have occurred across the nation amid the coronavirus outbreak. Two of the sisters were nurses for the Mexican Social Security Institute and the third was a hospital administrator, but there was no immediate evidence the attack was related to their work. The state prosecutor told local media the motive might have been robbery. State police said the bodies were found in a house in the city of Torreon. The Social Security Institute said they were killed on Thursday. The National Union of Social Security Employees called the killings "outrageous and incomprehensible". In other parts of Mexico, nurses have had been hit, kicked off public transport or had cleaning fluids poured on them amid fears they might spread the coronavirus. Mexican health ...

US Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary has the coronavirus, the White House said on Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide, said he was "not worried" about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex. Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive on Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president. She is married to Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser. The White House had no immediate comment on whether Stephen Miller had been tested or if he was still working out of the White House. Katie Miller had tested negative on Thursday, a day before her positive result. "This is why the whole concept of tests are not necessarily great," Trump said. "The tests are perfect but something can happen between a test where it is ...

A funeral home business leader for Brazil's state that covers much of the Amazon region says emergency coffin shipments have started to arrive for people who have died of COVID-19. Manuel Viana is president of the Amazonas Union of Funeral Companies and said Friday that more than 500 coffins were delivered by ship to Manaus, the largest city in Amazonas state. He says hundreds more are on the way and will be distributed in Manaus and other cities in the region. Manaus is one of the hardest hit Brazilian cities for coronavirus deaths and Viana says there are predictions that the city of more than 2 million could have more than 4,300 deaths in May. A Johns Hopkins University count says there have been more than 10,000 COVID-19 deaths so far in Latin America's largest and most populous country. A Brazil funeral home association last week requested an airlift of coffins to Manaus.

An appeals court should let a June 23 primary election in New York state proceed without voters and poll workers being forced to risk exposure to the coronavirus to vote for a Democratic candidate for president when the race is essentially over, lawyers for the state said Friday. The written arguments were filed by Attorney General Letitia James and Senior Assistant Solicitor Judith N. Vale after a judge ordered the state to include the presidential race on the ballot even though former Vice President Joe Biden is essentially running unopposed. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan has scheduled oral arguments for next Friday. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres said it was unconstitutional to eliminate the Democratic presidential primary after delegates for withdrawn candidates Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang complained that doing so weakens their standing at the Democratic Convention. She noted that a primary for contested races across New York state was ...

Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates has predicted that next year's coronavirus-delayed Tokyo Games may ultimately be amongst the great games ever, if not the greatest. The Sydney-born Coates, who oversees planning for the Tokyo Olympics for the International Olympic Committee, told the AOC's annual general meeting on Saturday that he would put aside any of his parochialism while hoping that Tokyo would supplant Sydney as the best ever. At the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Games, then IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch described the Australian event as the best Olympic Games ever during the closing ceremony. The best-ever"claims for Tokyo by Coates, who did not go into further details, come despite spiraling costs for the Japan games, which will now begin on June 23, 2021. Japan is officially spending $12.6 billion to organize the Olympics, but a government audit report last year said it was at least twice that much. It's all public money except for $5.6 billion .

China has reported 15 new asymptomatic coronavirus cases, taking their total to 836 while one new imported COVID-19 infection was confirmed, health officials said on Saturday. According to China's National Health Commission (NHC), as for Friday 836 asymptomatic cases, including 63 from overseas, were still under medical observation. The NHC said one imported case of coronavirus was reported on Friday and 15 new asymptomatic cases, all domestic ones, were confirmed in the country. Most of the asymptomatic cases were being reported from first coronavirus epicentres Hubei province and its capital Wuhan where no confirmed cases were reported for the 35 days, the local health commission said. Normalcy is returning to the province as the lockdown has been lifted and offices, business and factories have been opened since last month. The province still has 628 asymptomatic cases under medical observation, after 13 new cases were reported on Friday, the commission said. Death toll in China ...

Tyson Fury is mentally stronger than Anthony Joshua and would overcome his British rival in similarly commanding fashion to how he defeated Deontay Wilder, according to the WBC heavyweight champion's coach Andy Lee. Fury got his hands on one of the four major world belts again when he ended Wilder's long reign as champion, knocking the previously unbeaten American down twice on the way to a seventh-round stoppage in February. While he is contractually obliged to face Wilder for a third time and Joshua is scheduled to take on Kubrat Pulev next, the outbreak of coronavirus and subsequent suspension of major boxing shows has clouded the issue. Speculation is rife that a domestic bout could take priority but Lee can only see one outcome in a fight that would determine the undisputed world heavyweight champion. "I think (Joshua) is still an improving fighter," Lee told Sky Sports. "A little bit of inexperience and mentally he's not as strong as Tyson. "I think Tyson would beat him in eight

AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni has revealed that some of his squad members were still recovering from coronavirus. Serie A has been on hold since mid-March but Italian Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora said on Thursday he was hopeful group training could resume on May 18. "We have some infected players in the process of recovery," Scaroni told local media. Scaroni believes Italian football must live with COVID-19 and take an example from the Bundesliga which will restart on May 16. "We have to get used to living with the virus and this also applies to football," he said. "It is not possible to stand still until there is zero infection. Basically we can adopt the German formula that provides that those who are sick go into quarantine while their teammates continue." Milan technical director Paolo Maldini, together with his 18-year-old son Daniel, a youth team player, have both recovered from the virus. "Maldini father and son are doing well. There are players who are improving, but .

Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra's tenure as the chief of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has been extended till May next year after its annual congress was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to postpone the Congress, which was earlier scheduled to begin in New Delhi on October 28, was taken at an online meeting of the FIH Executive Board on Friday. "I'm looking forward to the numerous tournaments and competitions ahead of us, which we are preparing with full dedication and passion with all National Associations involved," Batra said. The exact date of the postponed congress will be confirmed as soon as possible, the FIH said in a statement. "This decision, made due to the current uncertainties following the global COVID-19 pandemic, is based on Art. 12.1 of the FIH Statutes, covering cases of force majeure," it added. The postponement means the tenures of all the current FIH office-bearers get extension until next year's ...

Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary has the coronavirus, the White House said, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide, said he was not worried about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex. Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president. She is married to Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser. The White House had no immediate comment on whether Stephen Miller had been tested or if he was still working in the White House. Katie Miller had tested negative Thursday, a day before her positive result. This is why the whole concept of tests aren't necessarily great, Trump said. The tests are perfect but something can happen between a test where it's good and then something ...

Several American lawmakers have introduced a legislation in Congress to offer the 40,000 unused green cards to thousands of foreign nurses and doctors to meet the urgent needs of the overstretched healthcare sector in the US, the worst hit nation by the coronavirus pandemic. The US has nearly 1,284,000 cases of confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 77,000 people have died due to the highly contagious disease. The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would allow for recapturing green cards that were approved by Congress but unused in past years, allowing thousands of additional medical professionals to serve permanently in the United States. The legislation would send green cards to 25,000 nurses and 15,000 doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that states like Iowa have the professionals they need to serve patients for years to come, a media release said. The move is likely to benefit a large number of Indian nurses and doctors in the US, who are either on H-1B or J2 visas. The ..

In a worrying development, a five-year old boy has died in New York from a rare inflammatory illness linked to the coronavirus, while the death of another seven-year-old boy is being investigated for possible links to the mysterious pediatric syndrome. The New York State Department of Health is investigating several cases of the severe illness in children and child deaths that may be linked to the serious inflammatory disease called "Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome Associated with COVID-19." There have been 73 reported cases in New York where children are experiencing symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome possibly due to COVID-19. On Thursday, a 5-year-old boy died in the New York City from these COVID-related complications, Cuomo said. Officials in Westchester County in upstate New York say that a 7-year-old boy died late last week at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Valhalla. Michael Gewitz, Physician-in-Chief of Maria Fareri Children's ..

Ivanka Trump's personal assistant has tested positive for the deadly coronavirus, making her the third White House staff member to be infected from COVID-19, a media report said on Saturday. The assistant, who works in a personal capacity for US President Donald Trump's daughter, has not been around her in several weeks, the CNN reported. She has been teleworking for nearly two months and was tested out of caution, the report quoted a source as saying. She was not symptomatic. Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner both tested negative on Friday, the person familiar with the matter told the US news channel. The development comes a day after President Trump confirmed that Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary Katie Miller had tested positive for the coronavirus. "She's a wonderful young woman, Katie, she tested very good for a long period of time and then all of a sudden today she tested positive," Trump said during a meeting at the White House. He said Miller had not come into ...

The U.S. government has awarded a $275 million border wall contract for construction that would begin in South Texas in January, at the start of President Donald Trump's second term if he is re-elected. Caddell Construction Company, based in Montgomery, Alabama, won the contract to build 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) of barriers in and around Laredo, Texas, a city of 260,000 people on the Rio Grande, the river that runs between Texas and Mexico. U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the contract award Friday night using funds it had previously received from Congress rather than military funding re-directed to the wall. The CBP said construction would begin in January 2021 pending availability of real estate. There is little existing wall separating Laredo and its sister city of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Much of the planned construction would cut through private land in neighborhoods close to the edge of the Rio Grande, requiring the government to take property through its power of ...

A new series based on actor Hilary Duff's character from "Younger" is in works at ViacomCBS. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the company is working with "Younger" creator Darren Star on the spin-off show that will see Duff returning as Kelsey Peters. The new show could be headed to Paramount Network, where the original series was slated to move for its sixth season. But the plans were shelved and the show remained in its original home on TV Land, which is owned ViacomCBS. "Younger", which started in 2015, features Sutton Foster as Liza Miller, a 40-year-old divorcee who has to manage her career in a publishing company having faked her identity as a younger woman to get her job, while her romantic and professional lives are measured against ups and comings. Duff's Kelsey Peters is a book editor at Empirical Press who befriends Liza after they start working together. The show also stars Nico Tortorella, Peter Hermann, Miriam Shor, Debi Mazar, Molly Bernard and Charles Michael

The WHO and the UN's postal agency have released a commemorative postage stamp on the 40th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, with the head of the global health body expressing gratitude to a top Indian-origin UN official. In May 1980, the 33rd World Health Assembly issued its official declaration that "the world and all its peoples have won freedom from smallpox." It was ended on the back of a 10-year WHO-spearheaded global effort that involved thousands of health workers around the world to administer half a billion vaccinations to stamp out smallpox. "When WHO's smallpox eradication campaign was launched in 1967, one of the ways countries raised awareness about smallpox was through postage stamps when social media like Twitter and Facebook was not even on the horizon," World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. "I especially want to thank my friend Mr Atul Khare, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support, for ...

Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy, the duo whose extraordinary magic tricks astonished millions until Horn was critically injured in 2003 by one of the act's famed white tigers, has died. He was 75. Horn died of complications from the coronavirus on Friday in a Las Vegas hospital, according to a statement released by publicist Dave Kirvin. Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend, Siegfried Fischbacher said in the statement. From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world. There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried. He was injured in October 2003 when a tiger named Montecore attacked him on stage at the Mirage hotel-casino in Las Vegas. He had severe neck injuries, lost a lot of blood and later suffered a stroke. He underwent lengthy rehabilitation, but the attack ended the long-running Las Vegas Strip production. The darker-haired of the flashy duo, Horn was credited with the idea of ...

Nepal has reported seven new coronavirus cases, taking the number of infections in the country to 109, the health ministry said on Saturday. Nepal is among the nations that has the least number of cases of the deadly coronavirus. The new cases involve three women and four men aged between 17 and 65 years. The women belonged to Udayapur district, while three men are from Kapilavastu district and one from Parsa district. With this, the total number of infections in the Himalayan nation has reached 109, it said. So far, 30 people have recovered from the disease, the ministry said. According to the Johns Hopkins University data, the virus has infected over 3.9 million people and claimed over 270,000 people worldwide.

Pop star Taylor Swift has announced an hour-long concert special "City of Lover" which will air on ABC. The announcement comes weeks after Swift was forced to cancel all of her 2020 live appearances and performances, including "Lover Fest East" and "Lover Fest West" , due to coronavirus pandemic. The special, which will air on May 17, was filmed in September at the L'Olympia Theater in Paris, where she performed in front of audiences from 37 countries. It will be available for streaming on Disney Plus and Hulu on May 18. "Excited to announce the City of Lover Concert! We filmed my show in Paris in September and thought it'd be fun to share it with you. May 17 at 10p ET on @abcnetwork and available the next day on @hulu and @disneyplus !#TaylorSwiftCityOfLover" the 30-year-old singer tweeted on Friday. The musical event gives fans unprecedented access to behind-the-scenes moments with the artist and marks her only concert performance this year, ABC Network said in a press ...

Pakistan on Saturday began easing the month-long lockdown despite a steady rise in the number of the coronavirus cases which rose to 27,474 after health authorities reported a big jump of 1,637 infections and 24 deaths in a single day. Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that Pakistan would begin easing its nationwide lockdown in a phase-wise manner by allowing various businesses to open up from Saturday, citing the economic crisis due to the shutdown, which was enforced in the country in March end. The first phase of easing lockdown began as the government announced removing restrictions by allowing more business to open and operate from dawn to 5pm. The federal government was trying to provide maximum relief to the people but due to the current economic conditions of the country, the lockdown must be eased, the Express Tribune quoted Khan as saying. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Adviser to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ajmal Wazir said the provincial government .

Singapore on Saturday saw a drop in its daily tally of new coronavirus cases as the city-state reported 753 new COVID-19 cases, taking the country's total to 22,460, majority of them foreign nationals, including Indians, living in dormitories. On Friday, Singapore reported 768 new cases of coronavirus. The Health Ministry said the vast majority of the 753 new cases reported on Saturday are work permit holders (foreigners) residing in worker dormitories. Nine cases are Singapore citizens or permanent residents (foreigners). As of Friday, 19,232 of the 323,000 foreign workers living in dormitories, or nearly six per cent, have tested positive for COVID-19, reported The Straits Times. Singapore had placed 18,402 coronavirus patients in isolation while 1,245 are hospitalised by Friday, according to a data from the Health Ministry. The Ministry said 1,245 cases were still in hospital while 20 people have died of the disease. Singapore currently has the highest number of coronavirus cases ..

An Indian teenager here has recorded songs in over 20 languages, including Arabic, to spread awareness on the COVID-19, saying music has always been her choice for effective communication, according to a media report on Saturday. Suchetha Satish's songs advise the people to keep distance, maintain cleanliness and practice hand washing regularly, the Khaleej Times reported on Saturday. Satish, who hails from Kerala, released her first coronavirus awareness song on March 16 in English, titled 'Say No To Panic', the daily reported. Since then, 14-year-old Satish, who holds the world record for singing in most number of languages in a concert, has recorded the awareness songs in Malayalam, Bengali, Arabic, Kannada, Tulu, Konkani, Marathi, Gujrati, Rajasthani, Sindhi, Himachali, Odiya, Manipuri, Nepali, Urdu, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Telugu, Kashmiri and Sanskrit. Her songs in Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Assamese were used by the Kerala government in its 'Break the Chain' campaign, the .

The flight from Italy was one of the last arrivals that day at the Stockholm airport. A Swedish couple in their 50s walked up and loaded their skis into Razzak Khalaf's taxi. I t was early March and concerns over the coronavirus were already present, but the couple, both coughing for the entire 45-minute journey, assured Khalaf they were healthy and just suffering from a change in the weather. Four days later, the Iraqi immigrant got seriously ill with COVID-19. Still not able to return to work, Khalaf is part of the growing evidence that those in immigrant communities in the Nordic nations are being hit harder by the pandemic than the general population. Sweden took a relatively soft approach to fighting the coronavirus, one that attracted international attention. Large gatherings were banned but restaurants and schools for younger children have stayed open. The government has urged social distancing, and Swedes have largely complied. The country has paid a heavy price, with 2,769 ...

A two-week course of an antiviral therapy, started within seven days of experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, may improve clinical recovery of patients and reduce their hospital stay duration, according to the first randomised trial of this triple drug combination. The study, published in the journal The Lancet, involved 127 adults from six public hospitals in Hong Kong, and tested the effectiveness of an antiviral drug combination in reducing the load of the novel coronavirus in their bodies. According to the researchers, including those from the University of Hong Kong, treatment involving combination of the drugs interferon beta-1b, plus the antiviral therapy lopinavir-ritonavir and ribavirin, is better at reducing the viral load than lopinavir-ritonavir alone. They stressed on the need for larger phase 3 trials to examine the effectiveness of this triple combination in critically ill patients, adding that these early findings were only observed in patients with mild to moderate ...

"Grey's Anatomy" star Caterina Scorsone and her musician husband Rob Giles have decided to part ways after 10 years of marriage. According to People magazine, Scorsone and Giles have decided to co-parent their three daughters: Eliza, seven, Paloma "Pippa" Michaela, three, and Arwen, who was born in December. "Caterina and Rob have separated. They remain friends and are committed to co-parenting their children in a spirit of love," the duo's representative said in a statement. The actor, known for playing Amelia Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy, tied the knot with Giles in 2009.

A Colombian advertising company is pitching a novel if morbid solution to shortages of hospital beds and coffins during the coronavirus pandemic: combine them. ABC Displays has created a cardboard bed with metal railings that designers say can double as a casket if a patient dies. Company manager Rodolfo Gmez said he was inspired to find a way to help after watching events unfold recently in nearby Ecuador. Families in the coastal city of Guayaquil waited with dead loved ones in their homes for days last month as COVID-19 cases surged. Many could not find or were unable to afford a wood coffin, using donated cardboard ones instead. Gmez said he plans to donate 10 of his new beds to Colombia's Amazonas department, where resources are in short supply. So far there is no indication whether the beds will be put to use and no orders have been placed.