Healthcare

Business

Disease X: The next pandemic, already on the way, could kill 50 million people

September 25, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: The next pandemic is ‘already on the way, and it could kill around 50 million people globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned, according to the media reports on Monday. The global health monitor has dubbed the anticipated next pandemic as “Disease X”, stating that it might already be […]

Defence

Pakistan: Now, 40% of people under poverty, says World Bank

September 23, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: With poverty in Pakistan rising from 34.2 percent to 39.2 percent within a year, the World Bank has cautioned the nearly bankrupt South Asian country to take urgent steps to achieve financial stability as about 100 million people in a country of 240 million now live below the poverty line. […]

Business

Microfinance: Obama, Hillary, and over 160 others urge Dhaka to acquit Nobel Laureate M. Yunus

September 1, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Former US President Barack Obama, ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and over 160 other global leaders have urged Bangladesh to suspend ongoing legal action against Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Laureate and the Father of Microfinance. Concerned over a string of court cases against Professor Muhammad Yunus, 83, these global leaders, in […]

Business

Fukushima: Chinese protest, abuse Japanese after release of ‘contaminated’ waters into the Pacific

August 28, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Water wars to control this elixir of life are common in several countries. But the Chinese are angry at their Japanese counterparts for releasing allegedly ‘contaminated’ waters from the ill-fated Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. The Fukushima nuclear disaster was caused by a powerful earthquake and the […]

Business

Roving Periscope: Imprisoned, ex-Pak PM Imran now “satisfied” with jail facilities!

August 28, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Although they are multiple crisis-ridden, many people in Pakistan have never lost their sense of black humor. For example, when the Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 landed on the southern pole of the Moon last week, a Pakistani man told a TV news channel with a straight face that Pakistan need not […]

Business

Roving Periscope: Nearly 2 mn “excess deaths” in China in two months, says US study

August 26, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Has the Covid-19 pandemic really subsided or morphed into an endemic? Or it’s just going unreported? A new Covid variant called EG.5 or “Eris” has surfaced in the United Kingdom, and may have already killed two million in China, where it is dominant now, the reports said. Reports have now […]

Business

Quick commerce: Zepto, India’s 1st unicorn in 2023, raises $200 mn in Series E

August 25, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the two Mumbaikars, both just 19, dropped out of Stanford University and launched their startup, and now each of them has a net worth of over Rs. 1,000 crore. No wonder, their startup Zepto on Friday raised USD 200 million at an evaluation of USD 1.4 […]

Business

Inflation: FinMin cautions about price pressures amid uncertainties

August 22, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Recent inflationary trends in prices of essential commodities, including tomatoes and onions, have prompted the Finance Ministry to caution the people that these pressures may remain in the months ahead and require greater vigilance. In its monthly Economy Review report for July 2023, released on Tuesday, the ministry said the […]

Business

Roving Periscope: Dark days ahead as China’s real estate bubble bursts

August 19, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: And, the wolf has finally knocked on the Dragon’s doors! A year after China’s humongous real estate sector, which contributes as much as a third to the Asian nation’s GDP, came under a cloud, Evergrande, the biggest player in the property market has filed for bankruptcy, the media reported on […]

Business

Confidence: From fragile to foremost economy in 9 years, says Sitharaman

August 10, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Asserting that the Indian economy is currently the fastest-growing in the world, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that a global ranking company has moved its rating for India from fragile to foremost in the last 9 years of the Narendra Modi government. Addressing the Lok Sabha during the […]