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Remove 22% tax. Let companies buy back shares and stabilise market: Anil Agarwal No one has seen this kind of gut-wrenching fall in financial markets. What is your view of the world? We are clearly not living in normal times!The world is not clear. Global leaders are developing strategies and have sealed their borders. Schools, colleges, cinema halls are being closed. Everybody is cautious. In India, our prime minister has made a very deep move. We in India are absolutely fine but we cannot be in contact with people. Definitely that has an impact the world over. Nobody’s sure how...

‘Chinese Virus’ tweets Donald Trump amid US-China blame game over coronavirus TOKYO : President Donald Trump for the first time on his Twitter feed used the phrase “Chinese Virus,” stepping up friction between the world’s two biggest economies as each tries to deflect blame for a deadly pandemic. Trump, who has previously called the disease a “foreign virus,” tweeted on Tuesday: “The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus.” Trump has previously retweeted a supporter who called it a “China virus.” Source: Livemint

Jack Ma joins Twitter in a Covid-19 world, posts first tweet on mask donation to the US Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Jack Ma has joined Twitter. In his first tweet, Ma posted photos of a China Eastern Airlines plane with boxes of coronavirus test kits and face masks slated to be shipped and donated to the U.S. from Shanghai. “All the best to our friends in America,” he wrote, which garnered more than 3,500 retweets and 20,000 likes in the first hour after posting. He describes himself as a “teacher, philanthropist, entrepreneur” in his newly created profile, which topped...

Pakistan PM Imran Khan begs for debt waiver as coronavirus cases rise New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday (March 17) sought a debt waiver for countries witnessing a rise in coronavirus cases.  Imran Khan took to Twitter to express his concern over poverty and hunger in wake of the outbreak of the deadly virus and said, “Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI expresses his concern over poverty and hunger as a consequence of the Corona Pandemic. Moreover, he urges the world community to think of some sort of debt-off for vulnerable countries.” Source: Zee News

‘Iron bro’ Pakistan’s Prez Arif Alvi in Beijing to show solidarity with covid-19-hit China Pakistani President Arif Alvi arrived in Beijing late on Monday night, hours after Islamabad and Beijing confirmed his two-day visit, in an apparent show of his country’s solidarity with China amid the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak. Alvi arrived in China in the backdrop of Pakistan reporting a sharp rise in the number of covid-19 cases on Monday with the total number of infections rising to 121, the highest in south Asia. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying confirmed the visit on Monday evening. Source: Hindustan Times

Iraqi President Salih appoints Adnan al-Zurfi as new PM-designate Iraqi President Barham Salih has appointed Adnan al-Zurfi as the country’s new prime minister-designate in the latest bid to resolve a months-long political crisis. Al-Zurfi has 30 days to form his cabinet which he must then put to a vote of confidence in Iraq’s fractious Parliament. The 54-year-old former governor of the holy Shia city of Najaf heads the Nasr parliamentary grouping of former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. Source: Aljazeera

Italian architect of Barcelona Olympic Stadium Vittorio Gregotti dies of coronavirus Italian architect Vittorio Gregotti, who designed the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics stadium, died of the coronavirus on Sunday at the age of 92, said reports. According to Italian media, Gregotti was hospitalized in Milan after contracting COVID-19, and eventually died of pneumonia. Gregotti’s wife Mariana Mazza is also said to be hospitalized. However, further details on not available on the reason for her hospitalization. Gregotti’s fellow Italian architect Stefano Boeri posted a condolence message on Facebook for the former where he said, a master of international architecture who created...

Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz asked to form government Israel’s president has asked former military commander Benny Gantz to form a governing coalition, presenting a serious challenge to caretaker prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim to the premiership.  Mr Gantz, who has faced off against Mr Netanyahu in three elections since April 2019, appears to have brought together an unlikely grouping of rival politicians who have set aside deep ideological divisions to try to topple the veteran Mr Netanyahu.  Source: Financial Times

No need of prohibitory orders, awareness key to prevent coronavirus spread: Nitish Kumar Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said that awareness was the key to combating the scourge of coronavirus and there should not be any panic on any count. Talking to media persons at the Bihar Legislative Assembly during the ongoing Budget session, which has been curtailed as a precautionary measure, Kumar said there was no need to impose section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), as had been done in a few districts. “I have already directed the officials to lift it, as there...

Andhra Chief Secy asks Election Commission not to delay local polls over COVID-19 fears Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney wrote to the State Election Commissioner (SEC) N Ramesh Kumar on Sunday, saying that the state is prepared to handle the containment of COVID-19 for three to four weeks, and that the situation can be unpredictable after that. He requested the SEC to revoke the decision to postpone the local body election process in the wake of COVID-19 disease.  Stating that the state government’s Medical and Health Department has taken necessary precautions to contain the disease in the state, Sawhney...