Sensex, Nifty tumbles over 3.6% after global sell-off

Agencies
February 6, 2018

Feb 6: The BSE Sensex cracked below the 34,000-mark by plunging about 1,275 points or 3.6 per cent in opening trade today due to across-the-board losses after investor sentiment was hit by a sell-off in world markets.

Extending its falling streak for the sixth straight session, the 30-share index fell by 1,274.35 points, or 3.66 per cent, to 33,482.81 with all sectoral indices led by realty, consumer durables, metal and banking tradings in the negative zone.

The index had lost 1,526 points in the previous five sessions after its remarkable over 2,200-point gain in January month.

Also, the broader NSE Nifty cracked below 10,300-mark by falling 390.25 points, or 3.65 per cent to 10,276.30.

Market sentiment took a beating in line with sharp losses at other Asian markets after a record-breaking loss on Wall Street after investors fret over rising US borrowing costs, brokers said.

The US Dow suffered its deepest fall in history, erasing all of its 2018 gains, while the S&P 500 took a beating to sit down for the year yesterday.

Asian markets followed the trend with Tokyo diving more than 5 per cent, Hong Kong 4 per cent and Sydney 3 per cent, Singapore 2.3 per cent, Seoul 3 per cent, Taipei 3.7 per cent, and Shanghai 2.1 per cent.

The heavy profit booking comes after months of surges fuelled by corporate earnings, global outlook and optimism over the US economy.

In domestic markets, caution ahead of RBI monetary policy meeting which begins later in the day and the rupee depreciating by 29 paise to 64.36 against the dollar too dampened the sentiment, brokers said.

Strong selling pressure dragged down all the Sensex and the Nifty components.

Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 1,263.57 crore in yesterday’s trade, as per provisional data.

The laggards include Tata Motors, Yes Bank, Axis Ban, SBI, Asian Paint,Tata Steel, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, L&T and Hero MotoCorp, plunged by up to 7.55 per cent.

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Zakir Husain
 - 
Tuesday, 6 Feb 2018

Baloon must burst somehow....

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News Network
April 10,2020

Melbourne, Apr 10: Scientists have identified six drug candidates from more than 10,000 compounds that may help treat COVID-19.

The research, published in the journal Nature, tested the efficacy of approved drugs, drug candidates in clinical trials and other compounds.

"Currently there are no targeted therapeutics or effective treatment options for COVID-19," said Professor Luke Guddat from the University of Queensland in Australia.

"In order to rapidly discover lead compounds for clinical use, we initiated a programme of high-throughput drug screening, both in laboratories and also using the latest computer software to predict how different drugs bind to the virus," Guddat said.

The project targeted the main COVID-19 virus enzyme, known as the main protease or Mpro, which plays a pivotal role in mediating viral replication, the researchers said.

This makes it an attractive drug target for this virus, and as people don't naturally have this enzyme, compounds that target it are likely to have low toxicity, they said.

"We add the drugs directly to the enzyme or to cell cultures growing the virus and assess how much of each compound is required to stop the enzyme from working or to kill the virus. If the amount is small, then we have a promising compound for further studies," said Guddat.

After assaying thousands of drugs, researchers found of the six that appear to be effective in inhibiting the enzyme, one is of particular interest.

"We're particularly looking at several leads that have been subjected to clinical trials including for the prevention and treatment of various disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, stroke, atherosclerosis and cancer," Guddat said.

Researchers said compounds that are already along the pipeline to drug discovery are preferred, as they can be further tested as antivirals at an accelerated rate compared to new drug leads that would have to go through this process from scratch.

"With continued and up-scaled efforts we are optimistic that new candidates can enter the COVID-19 drug discovery pipeline in the near future," Guddat said.

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Agencies
February 18,2020

British lawmaker Debbie Abrahams' e-Business visa was revoked as she was involved in anti-India activities and the cancellation was conveyed to her on February 14, government sources said on Tuesday.

Asserting that the grant, rejection or revocation of a visa or electronic travel authorisation is the sovereign right of a country, the sources said Abrahams was issued an e-Business visa on October 7 last year which was valid till October 5, 2020 for attending business meetings.

"Her e-Business visa was revoked on February 14, 2020 on account of her indulging in activities which went against India's national interest. The rejection of the e-Business visa was intimated to her on February 14," a source said.

Abrahams, who chairs a British parliamentary group on Kashmir, was denied entry into India upon her arrival at the New Delhi airport on Monday.

Government officials had said on Monday also that she was informed in advance that her e-visa had been cancelled.

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Agencies
March 21,2020

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday launched a Health Alert on WhatsApp where over 1.5 billion users can ask questions and they will be provided with reliable information about new coronavirus 24/7.

This will also serve government decision-makers by providing the latest numbers and situation reports, WhatsApp said in a statement.

To contact the WHO Health Alert, save the number +41 79 893 1892 in phone contacts, and then simply text the word 'Hi' in a WhatsApp message to get started.

The service responds to a series of prompts and will be updated daily with the latest information.

"You can also visit the WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Hub at whatsapp.com/coronavirus," and click on the WHO link on the homepage to open up a chat with the WHO Health Alert if you have WhatsApp installed," said the micro-blogging platform.

The WHO Health Alert will provide official information on topics such as how to protect yourself from infection, travel advice, and debunking new coronavirus myths.

The service is initially launching in English but will be available in all six languages within the coming weeks (English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.)

"Digital technology gives us an unprecedented opportunity for vital health information to go viral and spread faster than the pandemic. We are proud to have partners like Facebook and WhatsApp, that are supporting us in reaching billions of people with important health information," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO.

The WHO Health Alert is the latest official NGO or government helpline to become available on WhatsApp, joining the Singapore Government, The Israel Ministry of Health, the South Africa Department of Health, and KOMINFO Indonesia.

Earlier this week, WhatsApp, in partnership with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and UNDP, launched the WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Hub. The hub offers general tips and resources for users around the world to reduce the spread of rumours and connect with accurate health information.

WhatsApp also announced a $1 million grant to the International Fact Checking Network to support fact-checking for the #CoronaVirusFacts Alliance.

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