What will Covid do to India’s GDP mainstay? Economists paint grim picture even as businesses hold on to hope

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Rural India saved the country during the first Covid wave. This time Covid infections have spread to the interiors like wild fire. Synopsis When Covid reached our shores last year, average Indian households were already reeling from economic stress. But with higher govt spending and loan moratorium support, the country managed to ride the first … Read more

Covid probably India’s greatest challenge since independence: Raghuram Rajan

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COVID-19 pandemic is probably India’s greatest challenge since independence, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Saturday and added that in many places the government was not present to help the people for various reasons. Addressing a virtual event organised by University of Chicago Center in Delhi, Rajan said India needs a quick bankruptcy process … Read more

Israeli military says it bombed home of a top Hamas leader

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The Israeli military said on Saturday that it bombed the home of Khalil al-Hayeh, a top leader of Gaza‘s ruling militant Hamas group. The military alleged that the home served as part of what it said was the militant group’s “terrorist infrastructure.” Al-Hayeh is a senior figure in the Hamas political leadership in Gaza. His … Read more

Former Italy PM Berlusconi released from Milan hospital

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Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi was released from hospital Saturday after being admitted earlier in the week for complications linked to a coronavirus infection last year. The 84-year-old, who has been in and out of hospital in recent weeks, managed to exit Milan’s San Raffaele hospital while evading a throng of photographers and TV cameras … Read more

A card exempted a gay man from serving in Iran’s military. It may have cost him his life

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The 20-year-old Iranian had hoped to escape the country, where he felt stifled by the Iranian regime’s restrictions on homosexuality, and had dreams of modeling or becoming a make-up artist, his partner Aghil Abiat told CNN. In long phone calls and video messages with Abiat — who is a refugee in Turkey after being outed … Read more

Presiding officers saying no to virtual meetings of parliamentary standing committees disappointing: P Chidambaram

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After presiding officers of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha rejected demands for virtual meetings of parliamentary standing committees, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday said he was disappointed with their decision as discussing the pandemic was no state or defence secret. He said public pressure should be exerted on the presiding officers of both … Read more

Thousands join London protest against violence in Gaza

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Thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday to express solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. Organisers said immediate action is needed from the UK government to help end the “brutal” violence. At least 139 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, including 39 children, after a spiral of violence that began with … Read more