News

India, US ink key strategic pacts

• A joint statement spoke of reinforcing ties in health against the backdrop of the covid pandemic, supply chain resilience, keeping the Indo-Pacific region free and open, defence innovation, counter-terrorism, energy, space, cybersecurity and education

September toll collections cross pre-covid highs

• The increase in toll revenues every year is a function of rising traffic numbers and annual toll rate revisions (roughly 4%)
• The last time 100 million vehicles were seen at highways was in February, a month before the covid-led lockdown

PM Modi to innagurate first seaplane service in Gujarat on 31 October

The Prime Minister will take the official inaugural flight on October 31.

Bihar polls: PM Modi to hold rallies in Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Patna today

Voting for the first phase of Bihar assembly elections will be held today.

Donald Trump is a fighter, says First Lady Melania

• 'Donald is a fighter. He loves this country and he fights for you every single day,' said Melania
• The First Lady accused the democrats of having chosen to put their own agenda ahead of the American people’s well-being

US election: Battleground states see large turnout of early voters, says report

The report said that voter enthusiasm for and against Trump has also 'fuelled record-level early turnout across the country'

'Baptism by fire' for newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Barrett

• During Barrett's Senate confirmation hearing two weeks ago, Democrats focused on both Obamacare and election cases in voicing opposition to her confirmation
• No Supreme Court justice had ever been confirmed so close to a presidential election

Pompeo's Colombo trip: US Secy of State to hold talks with Lankan leadership

After his India visit, Pompeo will travel to Sri Lanka later Tuesday on an invitation extended by his Sri Lankan counterpart Dinesh Gunawardena

Taxpayers get time till 31 March to pay dues for dispute settlement

• This gives assessees seeking to end tax disputes under the scheme three more months to pay the disputed tax arrears without interest and penalty and close the case
• The earlier due date for filing a declaration under the scheme as well as for making the payment without extra charges was 31 Dec 2020

Barrett sworn in at court as issues important to Trump await

• She is expected to begin work as a justice on Tuesday after taking the second of two oaths required of judges by federal law
• When the court reopens to the public and the justices return to the courtroom, Barrett is expected to assume several duties reserved for the court's junior justice

Baba ka Dhaba: Delhi couple gets free cataract surgery

The medical procedure has been offered to the couple by Delhi's Sharp Sight Eye Hospital free of charge

Biden heads for Georgia, Trump the Midwest as US election enters final week

• Trump was to finish the day with a campaign rally in Omaha, Nebraska, in a sign that he expects a potentially tight White House race where every Electoral College vote counts
• Biden campaign lashed out at Trump's handling of the pandemic which has left more than 225,000 people dead in the US

Hong Kong liquidity to hit record high ahead of Ant IPO

• The HKMA has been conducting sales in recent sessions to weaken the currency to keep it within that trading band
• The IPO also coincides with the month end and the issuance of a government bond targeting retail investors, both of which also contributed to the demand for Hong Kong dollars

Big Tech earnings approach under antitrust cloud

• Microsoft, which posts its results late on Tuesday, has elevated its stock market value by a third in 2020 to $1.6 trillion
• Apple investors are mostly focused on the outlook for sales of the newest iPhone and growth in recurring revenue from apps, games and video and music streaming

'We're working on it:' Pope's COVID advisers and the mask

• Francis has courted some criticism for declining to wear a mask when indoors, even though Vatican regulations call for masks indoors and out when social distancing cannot be guaranteed
• The Vatican has declined to respond to questions about Francis and masks

Democrats push into Trump country as Biden visits Georgia, Bloomberg funds Texas

• Texas has long been seen as a bridge too far for Democrats in a presidential election and not worth the expenditure in the last days of a campaign
• Trump’s planned rally in Nebraska, meanwhile, suggests his campaign is preparing for a close finish

Novartis upbeat as drugmakers see hospitals coping with COVID

• Novartis's third-quarter core net income climbed 8% to $3.47 billion, above analysts' mean forecast of $3.32 billion
• Novartis shares were down 3.5% at 1420 GMT, the biggest fall on the benchmark Swiss Market Index

Huge anti-France rally in Bangladesh as Macron backlash widens

• In Dhaka, protesters set alight an effigy of Macron during Tuesday's march, in which police said 40,000 people took part
• Hundreds of armed officers used a barbed-wire barricade to stop the demonstrators, who dispersed without violence before they could get close to the French embassy

White House says chances slim on pandemic aid deal before election

'The chances are slim when you have someone like Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, when you look at the proposal they put forward and it still stands today,' says White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany

Boosting share of small businesses in economy a priority: Nitin Gadkari

Gadkari says that the government has set a target of adding five crore more jobs in the MSME sector which now accounts for about 11 crore jobs and 30% of the country’s GDP