Category: Breaking News

Elite and young independent travelers are crucial to the recovery of the travel sector as they are likely to be the first tourists to embark on international travel, however according to a survey by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, *35% of Gen Z and *48% of Gen Y are still extremely concerned about COVID-19.   Many travel and tourism influencers are drawn from this traveler group, and what they think of and write about in their travel experiences can be highly useful to travel marketing and so they will…

Indian government‘s ban on apps like TikTok, Helo and Vigo Video could result in a $6 billion loss to their parent company ByteDance.   As per a report by Global Times, the Indian government’s decision of banning TikTok, Vigo Video and Helo apps could cost their parent company ByteDance brings a serious financial stroke .   “A source close to ByteDance said that in the past few years, the company had invested more than $1 billion in the Indian market, and the ban could virtually halt ByteDance’s business there, causing…

Ongoing tensions on the border with China, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Thursday approved deals worth ₹38,900 crore. This includes procurement of 21 MiG-29 fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF), upgrade of 59 of them and acquirement of 12 Su-30 MKI aircraft.   The approvals come a week after Mr. Singh’s visit to Moscow for the Victory Day Parade, where he also held discussions on defence cooperation. On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Russian President Vladimir Putin to congratulate him on winning…

COVAXIN a vaccine candidate for pandemic COVID-19 has finally been developed successfully by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Virology (NIV). The SARS-CoV-2 strain was isolated in NIV, Pune and transferred to Bharat Biotech. The indigenous, inactivated vaccine was developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech’s BSL-3 (Biosafety Level 3) High Containment facility located in Genome Valley, Hyderabad, India.   The Drug Controller General of India – CDSCO, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare granted permission to initiate Phase I &…

Amidst China flexing its muscles in the region, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said 270 billion Australian dollars will be invested to modernise the country’s defence capabilities in the coming decade to maintain regional security and deter or respond to “aggression” in the strategic Indo-Pacific.   “The challenges and nature in the Indo-Pacific have meant we need a new approach and one that actively seeks to deter actions that are against our interests,” Morrison said.   China has been fast expanding military and economic influence in the Indo-Pacific region, triggering…

India is engaging in military and diplomatic level talks with China to resolve the stand-off at Ladakh. While both countries have tried to downplay the standoff and de-escalate the ongoing tension at the Himalayan border, the US has decided to recalibrate its defence commitments to counter emerging threats from China in Southeast Region. Citing Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) recently clashes with India, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned three US aircraft carrier strike groups which include other ships being deployed in the Indo-Pacific zone in a show of…

Lydall, Inc. (NYSE: LDL), a leading U.S. manufacturer of value-added engineered materials and specialty filtration solutions that create a cleaner, safer and quieter world, today announced the signing of a $13.5 million contract award with the United States Department of Defense (DOD). The contract will support Lydall’s investment in two new meltblown production lines – including one that had been announced on June 2 – in its Rochester, New Hampshire facility. This investment will significantly accelerate Lydall’s domestic production of meltblown filtration media that comprises the critical filtration layer of N95 respirators and…

Ludhiana Police has revealed that the number of suicide and domestic violence cases in the city have risen during the lockdown, with a total of 100 cases of suicide and 1,500 complaints of domestic violence being registered by the police in this duration, up dramatically from 60 and 850 respectively before the lockdown.   The police further attributed the surge in cases of suicide and domestic violence to depression, unemployment and financial issues.   Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Akhil Chaudhary says, “Suicide and domestic violence cases have increased during lockdown in Ludhiana, Punjab. 60 suicide cases and 850 complaints of domestic violence were reported before lockdown this year. During lockdown, 100 cases of suicide and 1,500 domestic violence complaints have been registered. Preliminary probe suggests that depression, unemployment and financial problems are some of the reasons behind suicides,” the officer stated further, adding that it had also been observed that suicidal…

Amid ongoing border tension between China and India following the June 15 standoff, the Indian newspapers and websites are banned in China.   Though Chinese newspapers and websites continue to be accessible in India, people in China can only access the Indian media websites with Virtual Private Network (VPN) server.   The Indian TV channels also can be accessed through IP TV as of now. And Express VPN has not been working in the Communist state for the past two days on the iPhone as well as desktops.   A virtual private network (VPN) is a powerful tool that gives users online privacy and anonymity by creating a private network…

In what is a remarkable milestone for global solidarity in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, over 30,000 people have now signed up with 1Day Sooner to be deliberately exposed to the coronavirus in a challenge trial to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine development. Some epidemiologists estimate that a challenge trial could accelerate COVID-19 vaccine development by months, saving tens of thousands of lives.    Preparation for COVID-19 challenge trials has begun. On June 9, Belgium allocated $22 million for the construction of challenge quarantine facilities. On June 15, Anthony Fauci said that the National…