NEW YORK: A five-year-old boy in New York state has died from a rare inflammatory disease believed to be caused by the new coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Friday.“There have been 73 reported cases in NY of children getting severely ill with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease...

SEOUL: North Korea condemned the South on Friday for holding military drills, saying the situation was returning to before the diplomatic rapprochement of 2018, as leader Kim Jong Un – whose health was the subject of intense speculation in recent weeks – reached out to traditional ally...

As India enters an extended coronavirus lockdown, the government is actively pursuing contact tracing to help control infections.

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Artificial intelligence could be enormously beneficial to society, and it could also lead to catastrophe. Governments can play a role determining the outcome of AI’s development.

The KLPGA Tour has raised the total purse for its first major championship of the season, which resumes next week after a break of several months due to the coronavirus epidemic.The KLPGA said Thursday that it decided to raise the prize money for the KLPGA Championship from W2.3 billion to W3 billio...

More than two months after a black man was shot to death while jogging on a Sunday afternoon, Georgia investigators conceded that the facts show enough evidence to jail a white father and son on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault.  The investigation appeared stalled by local author...

Rawalpindi : The Rawalpindi Police with assistance of other security institutions staged a flag march in the city to create awareness among public on prevailing alarming situation due to coronavirus pandemic and preventive measures adopted by the Punjab government.According to the police...

Criticising the Sindh government for “playing politics” over the holding of mourning religious congregations by issuing a notification to ban such congregations, the Majlis-e-Wahdat Muslimeen announced on Friday that the Yaum-e-Ali procession would be organised on Ramazan 21 after...

Microchip Announces the 53100A Phase Noise Analyzer for Precision Oscillator Characterization

The governments of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan on Friday announced the partial easing of lockdown measures imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, even as the number of infections in the country registered a record daily increase.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced the lifting of the countrywide lockdown in phases from Saturday by reopening all construction-related industries and shopping centres for five days a week from Fajr (early morning) till 5pm and outpatient departments (OPDs) in hospitals.

The premier, who had announced the decision after a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) attended by the chief ministers of the four provinces, had acknowledged that the lockdown was being eased "at a time when our curve is going up" but maintained that "it is not edging up as we were expecting.”

The trend continued on Friday, with the country recording 1,807 cases of Covid-19 from the three provinces of Punjab, Sindh and KP alone, and the national tally nearing 27,000. It is the highest daily increase in the number of infections since Pakistan confirmed its first case on February 26.

Also read: Pakistan's Covid-19 death toll doubles in last 10 days

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

A notification issued by the KP relief department said businesses associated with the construction industry will be exempt from closure subject to them following the standard operating procedures (SOPs) already issued for industrial units and sale points.

Businesses of steel and PVC pipes, electric appliances, manufacturers of steel and aluminium equipment, ceramic and paint industries, sanitary, paints, steel and aluminium works, and hardware stores will be allowed to open four days a week, not later than 4:00pm. They will remain closed on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

All factories which are not included in the negative lists of factories will also be allowed to resume operations.

According to the notification, all shops will be allowed to remain open for four days a week and not later than 4:00pm, subject to their implementation of the government's SOPs.

Meanwhile, Adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister on information, Ajmal Wazir, told a press conference in Peshawar that educational institutions in the province will reopen as per the federal government's instructions and the province will not take an independent decision in this regard.

He added that discussions were being held on inter-district and intra-district transport with transporters and the decision will be shared with the public whenever it is taken.

Punjab

Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan said that the provincial government will submit a recommendation to the Centre for not lifting the lockdown in the province's major cities.

Speaking to reporters in Lahore, he said: "We have seen that there is a hype about coronavirus in some big cities. Therefore, we are submitting this recommendation to the federal government and if it is approved, then the lockdown and standard operating procedures will remain in big cities like Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and Gujranwala."

Examine: The lockdown dilemma

He added that higher secondary board examinations in Punjab will be cancelled and students will be promoted based on last year's grades. Schools will reopen on July 15.

As per the federal government's decision, OPDs in the province will open from May 9, Chohan said.

He added that the SOPs for congregational and Taraweeh prayers in mosques as announced by President Arif Alvi will remain in place.

The first session of the Punjab Assembly since the pandemic began was also to be held today.

Sindh

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah told a press conference in Karachi that under "phase two" of the easing of the restrictions, businesses linked to construction industries will be allowed to open while observing the preventive guidelines. Selective OPDs will also be allowed to resume services.

Industries will no longer be required to submit an application to resume operations; however, they will have to submit an undertaking and forward the details of their employees to the government.

Shops will be allowed to open after sehri (dawn) and will be required to close at 5pm. They will remain closed on Saturdays and Sundays which will be "safe days with 100 per cent lockdown", the chief minister said.

The businesses permitted to resume from Monday include shops in rural areas and neighbourhood shops situated in residential localities, excluding large market places.

Shah said marriage halls, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants in the province will remain closed and there will be no congregations or sports events either.

"These guidelines will remain applicable until May 31. This is what the federal government has outlined and we are ready to comply with these directives," he said.

The chief minister appealed to citizens to stay at home as much as possible. "If you are allowed to leave your homes, according to the directives issued by the government, then make sure to follow standard operating procedures. Wear a mask," he said.

Referring to the increase in Covid-19 infections, he added: "I am seeing the rise in cases, but for national integrity and uniform policy we are going along."

In a statement released by the CM House later in the day, Shah denied media reports stating that the lockdown will end on Monday, saying: "We are entering the second phase of the lockdown with some extra restrictions, particularly at hotspots."

He maintained that air, train and public transport will continue to remain suspended.

Balochistan

In Balochistan, a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan approved the move to turn the lockdown imposed in the province into a 'smart lockdown', under which restrictions are enforced in virus hotspots only, according to Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani.

He announced that markets will be allowed to open from 3am till 5 in the evening.

Shopkeepers and traders will be bound to implement SOPs for precautionary measures while legal action will be taken against the violators, Shahwani said in a tweet.

CHANDIGARH/GURGAON: There is a ray of hope for real estate projects awaiting change of land use (CLU) licences from the state government. The department of town and country planning on Tuesday submitted a revised sub-regional plan to the NCR Planning Board (NCRPB). The builders, however, will have to wait till the board approves the revised plan. Last month, the Punjab and Haryana high court had barred the state government from issuing CLU licences to developers or government agencies in NCR because of the same reason. Earlier, the NCRPB had highlighted loopholes in Haryana’s draft of the sub-regional plan, but the government failed to incorporate the changes. After a rap from […]

After a lacklustre first half, home sales across the top six cities in the country are expected to rise 26 per cent in the second half of 2014 compared to a year ago, according to a research report by property advisory firm Knight Frank. A negative sentiment among home buyers due to the slow economy, high interest rates, inflation and also political uncertainty had tempered home sales in the first half of the year. While new launches in the period dropped 32 per cent, sales volume was down 27 per cent. But now, with a positive election result, a stable government at the centre and sops for the housing sector […]

BANGALORE: Online real estate portal CommonFloor has raised $30 million (over Rs180 crore) in its fifth round from existing investor Tiger Global. In January, the Bangalore-based company had raised about Rs 65 crore from Tiger Global and Accel Partners. Sumit Jain, cofounder and chief executive officer of CommonFloor, confirmed the investment. “We will invest in technology, product development, hiring and expanding to at least 22 new cities in the next one year,” he said. While the company did not disclose the valuation it received, Jain said that Common Floor expects to earn a revenue of $25 million in the next one year. “We have grown 100% in terms of revenue […]

The project aimed to improve access of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to commercial financing and market opportunities, thereby fostering growth, competitiveness, and employment creation in India. There were three targeted outputs. First was enhance credit delivery through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and participating financial institutions in the MSME subsector. Second was increased SME productive and managerial capacity and related new jobs created for new markets.

This video defines State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and guides borrowers on how to assess their viability to participate as bidders under ADB funded projects.

Dentons’ Real Estate team advised CPI Property Group (CPI), the largest commercial property owner in the Czech Republic, Berlin and the CEE region, on the acquisition of a 50.3% share in the ownership of Chałubińskiego 8 office building in Warsaw. The divestment was made by First Property Group, an investment company and the manager of real estate funds operating in Great Britain and Central Europe.

Dentons has advised KPS Capital Partners, a global private equity firm focused on investing in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, on its acquisition of the Lufkin rod lift solutions business from Baker Hughes. 

Global law firm Dentons has advised the Israeli biotech company Pluristem on a €50 million loan provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB). The financing is part of a cooperation agreement between the EIB and the Israel Innovation Authority, which aims to strengthen Israeli-EU cooperation in innovative research in the field of biotech, pharmaceutical research and public health.

Dentons has advised real estate developer Danescroft Land Limited, as part of a joint venture with Bridges Fund Management, on the acquisition of Ashdown House in Hastings, St Leonards-on-Sea for future redevelopment.

Dentons has advised TSXV listed Bragg Gaming Group Inc., a next generation gaming group, on the sale of its online media division to SN&CK Media Limited. The sale follows a strategic review initiated by CEO, Dominic Mansour, and will allow Bragg to focus its efforts and resources on Oryx,  the group's rapidly growing B2B online gaming business.

Dentons Hong Kong has been recognised for its work at the IFLR Asia-Pacific Awards 2020 and Asian-mena Counsel: Deals of the Year 2019. These recognitions have highlighted the capabilities of the Firm in a wide range of practice areas.

The Health Sector Development Program, supported by the ADF facility and additional ADF grant funding for a total of $20 million, is improving primary health care delivery and information systems in Bhutan.

While the the stock markets, the corporate world and a large section of the country’s citizens are celebrating the election verdict, 45-year-old Shailesh Singh, a Delhi-based executive, is a worried man. Singh has been hunting for an apartment in the National Capital Region (NCR) for the past six months but has not been able to zero in on one. Now he is afraid that in the euphoria generated by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) decisive victory, real estate prices may start rising again, making his purchase more expensive. Why prices won’t move up Singh’s worries might be premature. Realty experts are of the view that while there might be some […]

Bangalore/Mumbai: HDFC Property Fund, the private equity arm of Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd, has raised $250 million (around `1,500 crore today) through an offshore fund. It hopes to raise another $150 million by the end of the year, said a person directly familiar with the development who did not want to be named. On Friday, HDFC Property Fund informed the BSE that it had raised the capital through its second international fund, saying “the recently closed fund will focus on investing primarily in residential property developments in major cities across India”. The cumulative assets under management now exceed $1 billion, the statement added. The new fund, which started raising […]

Financial constraints are a significant barrier for India's SMEs participating in global value chains.

Regulatory reforms should focus on building up market competition, which indirectly forces state-owned enterprises to improve their operation toward efficiency.

Financial constraints are a significant barrier for India's SMEs participating in global value chains.

Regulatory reforms should focus on building up market competition, which indirectly forces state-owned enterprises to improve their operation toward efficiency.

NEW DELHI: One would imagine that office rents would go down with a strong bounceback in demand for space from corporates. Pure economics, one would think? Not really. Office rentals are likely to climb up in the coming months because of a shortage of quality spaces in key business districts around the country. “In certain key locations, rentals could go up 20-25 per cent in the next 12 months,” says Sanjay Dutt, executive managing director for South Asia at property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield. The situation has been brought on by the fact that most developers and even private equity players have chosen to focus on the residential property market […]

Bengal has rationalised property valuation by doing away with the discrepancies between the registration authorities and their actual market value. The move comes into effect across Kolkata and suburbs , sources in real estate body Credai said. Earlier, the registered value of a property was anywhere between 10 and 50 per cent higher than the prevailing market rate. The difference between the market rate and the registered value was deemed as income and taxed. “As a result of this discrepancy many people were either holding back their purchases or not registering their properties ,” Harsh Patodia, President, CREDAI-Bengal, said. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/credai-hails-rationalisation-of-property-valuations-in-bengal/article5614557.ece

NEW DELHI: Realty firm Logix group plans to raise Rs 250 crore from foreign investors for the development of its ongoing mixed-use commercial project in Noida. The company is developing this commercial project at an investment of Rs 1,000 crore and is looking to raise FDI to complete this project. The 6-acre project ‘Noida City Center’ includes a 7 lakh sq ft shopping mall, 2.5 lakh sq ft office towers, two hotels with combined 400 rooms and 100 service apartments. “Total project cost of this commercial project is Rs 1,000 crore,” Logix group CMD Shakti Nath said. The investments are largely met through internal accruals, he said, adding that the […]

HARMAN Professional Solutions and IBM (NYSE: IBM) Watson Internet of Things (IoT) today unveiled Voice-Enabled Cognitive Rooms. Using IBM's Watson artificial intelligence (AI) technology and HARMAN AKG microphones, JBL speakers and AMX AV control and ...

CES 2020 – LAS VEGAS, NV – JANUARY 6, 2020 – It’s time to ditch your generic, piercing smartphone alarm. The JBL Horizon 2 Bluetooth clock radio and speaker duo customizes the wake-up experience to help make anyone a morning person. Following the success...

Stamford, Connecticut – February 03, 2020 – HARMAN International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, has launched the world’s first active road...

HARMAN International, filiale à 100% de Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, spécialisée dans les technologies connectées pour les marchés de l'automobile, des particuliers et des entreprises, annonce un nouveau record de sa marque JBL avec 100 millions d'enceintes portables livrées dans le monde entier. JBL consolide ainsi sa position de leader dans le domaine de l'audio portable et de créateur de catégories. La marque repousse les limites de l'innovation en donnant vie à la musique, afin que tout le monde puisse la ressentir. Aujourd'hui, JBL équipe les musiciens, les athlètes, les sites et les voitures les plus épiques du monde, tout en étant le leader du marché des enceintes portables avec 34,2% de parts de marché.

Slimmer, punchier bass and more immersive sound; JBL has taken home entertainment to the next level. With three brand new products launching today at IFA including a compact, all-in-one solution, a deep bass beauty and a surround-sound room-filler, there is something for everyone in JBL’s new soundbar range.

Slimmer, punchier bass and more immersive sound; JBL has taken home entertainment to the next level. With three brand new products launching today at IFA including a compact, all-in-one solution, a deep bass beauty and a surround-sound room-filler, there is something for everyone in JBL’s new soundbar range.

Andrew Wong knew from an early age that running a restaurant required improvisation, having watched his parents steer their London Chinese restaurant through nearly 30 years of good times and bad.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth honored those who died in World War Two on Friday, the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, and used the occasion to say she was proud of how people had responded to the coronavirus pandemic.

Gymnasts all around the world are making the best of things as they try to keep fit while gyms are closed due to the coronavirus and Italy is no exception.

Olympic medallist Marco Lodadio of Italy transforms his garden swing into the rings gymnastic apparatus.

Nick Lehane's performance piece, Chimpanzee, in London for the first time, reveals how tragedy stalked the amazing achievement of raising chimps in human families

Modifying bacteria found in the guts of bees could help protect the insects against lethal infections affecting hives worldwide

Bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia, form alliances and coordinate the timing of their clicking noises to attract females and deter other males

Ethereal photos of life’s building blocks, Earth’s toughest creature and a close-up of a gem win Olympus Global Image of the Year Life Science Light Microscopy Award regional prizes

Vampire bats are social creatures that build relationships through grooming and food-sharing, but when they feel ill, they self-isolate and call out for contact far less

The Silicon Valley venture capital firm known for its early backing of companies such as Uber Technologies Inc is raising a new fund, but without one of its most prominent general partners, a source...