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<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Foreign investor Bharti Infratel [/INST] Charts news. Title: Why Foreign Investors Are Favouring Bharti Infratel. Short_description: Foreign investors increased their stake in Bharti Infratel Ltd. over the last five years from 6 percent to 43 percent.. Description: Foreign portfolio investors increased their stake in , over the last three years from 16 percent to 43 percent, the most among its peers., Multiple reasons have contributed to the trend. They include:, Shares of India’s second-largest tower operator have dropped nearly 28 percent over the past three years, compared with a 31 percent decline in the BSE Telecom Index in the same period.. Publisher: Sharad Dubey. Date Created: 20 Feb 2019, 5:00 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to JLL China Unit Sale Draws Country Garden Sunac arm [/INST] China news. Title: JLL China Unit Sale Draws Country Garden, Sunac Arms. Short_description: JLL China Unit Sale Draws Country Garden, Sunac Arms. Description: Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s property management business in China has attracted prospective suitors including Country Garden Services Holdings Co. as the U.S. firm is seeking more than $500 million in a sale, according to people familiar with the matter., The property management arm of Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings Co. is working with an adviser to evaluate a potential offer, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. China Resources Mixc Lifestyle Services Ltd. and Sunac Services Holdings Ltd. have also shown interest in the asset, the people said., JLL is pursuing a potential divestment of its property management business in China, Bloomberg News , last month. A sale could also coincide with more Chinese developers’ property management units looking to list in Hong Kong, as they aim to capitalize investor enthusiasm for a sector that’s less vulnerable to government policy changes and economic cycles than real estate development itself., Deliberations are ongoing and companies might not proceed with any bids for the JLL unit, the people said. Representatives for JLL and Sunac Services declined to comment, while representatives for Country Garden Services and China Resources Mixc didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment., The Chicago-based real estate services firm operates in more than 80 countries and employs about 91,000 people, according to its 2020 annual report. The firm reported $16.6 billion revenue in 2020, of which 58% came from property and facility management services, according to the report., JLL generated $3.1 billion in revenue from providing real estate services in Asia Pacific, of which 32% came from the Greater China region, according to the report., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Vinicy Chan. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 1:18 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to New Zealand China Uyghurs abuse [/INST] China news. Title: China Lashes New Zealand After It Condemns ‘Abuses’ of Uyghurs. Short_description: China Lashes New Zealand After It Condemns ‘Abuses’ of Uyghurs. Description: China criticized New Zealand after its parliament passed a motion declaring “severe human rights abuses” are taking place against Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang., The motion “grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs, and runs counter to international law and basic norms governing international relations,” the Chinese Embassy in Wellington said in a , on its website. “The Chinese side deplores and firmly opposes such action.”, New Zealand has in recent years tried not to upset China -- its largest trading partner. That position is becoming difficult to maintain as a spat between China and Australia, New Zealand’s closest ally, escalates. China said Thursday that it was , a formal economic dialogue with Australia, causing the Australian dollar to fall., Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said earlier this week that New Zealand’s differences with China were becoming more difficult to reconcile., China has detained “upwards of 1 million” ethnic minorities including Muslim Uyghurs in the western region of Xinjiang, according to a United Nations assessment. The U.S. and lawmakers in several Western nations have said China’s actions there amount to genocide. Beijing says it is fighting terrorism while providing economic opportunities to adults and education to children., The parliamentary motion about China’s actions in Xinjiang, agreed to by all MPs after a debate Wednesday, calls for New Zealand’s government to “work with all relevant instruments of international law to bring these abuses to an end.”, The motion put forward by the libertarian ACT party was watered down to gain the approval of Ardern’s governing Labour Party, ACT deputy leader Brooke van Velden said., The original version called on parliament to recognize that minorities in Xinjiang “are suffering crimes against humanity and genocide,” van Velden said., “The British parliament had a debate about genocide,” she said. “Here in New Zealand, other parties, who had the power of veto, would not allow this debate to proceed if the motion mentioned genocide.”, Ardern responded by saying she was pleased the motion gained the support of the whole parliament., “I’m pleased that unlike many other countries, where there’ve been abstentions from motions, where government parties in particular have not voted in favor, we have a statement that is strong and that is clear,” she told reporters., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Matthew Brockett. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 10:55 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Hong Kong Unemployment Drops March high [/INST] China news. Title: Hong Kong Unemployment Drops in March After Hitting 2004 High. Short_description: Hong Kong Unemployment Drops in March After Hitting 2004 High. Description: , Hong Kong’s unemployment rate eased from a 17-year high as the economy emerges slowly from its pandemic slump., The jobless rate fell to 6.8% in the January-to-March period from 7.2% previously, the first decline since November, according to a government report Thursday. That’s better than the 7.1% median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The underemployment rate also fell to 3.8%., Government officials have hinted at a gradual easing of coronavirus restrictions, which would help spur the economy after an extended recession that began before the pandemic. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam told the state broadcaster this week the worst seems to be over, with the economy likely to see growth of about 3% to 5% for the full year., Challenges remain in combating the virus though, including a population skeptical of vaccinations and continued obstacles in starting up a Hong Kong-Singapore , . The city also , from India, Pakistan and the Philippines for 14 days earlier this week because of the spread of virus variants., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Eric Lam. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 2:16 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to billionaire Li Ka Southeast Asia Tech startup bet [/INST] China news. Title: Billionaire Li Ka-shing Bets on Southeast Asia’s Tech Startups. Short_description: Billionaire Li Ka-shing Bets on Southeast Asia’s Tech Startups. Description: , Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s private investment firm Horizons Ventures Ltd. will make Southeast Asia a priority, with the region’s digital economy booming as the pandemic drives more people to use the internet., Horizons Ventures will focus in particular on Southeast Asia’s biggest market, Indonesia, co-founder Solina Chau, Li’s long-time confidante, told Bloomberg News in a statement sent by text message., The firm, whose early bet on Zoom Video Communications Inc. contributed to a , in Li’s wealth during the pandemic, has over the past year invested in three Indonesia-based startups in funding rounds that have raised more than $210 million. Partnering up with Jakarta’s Alpha JWC Ventures, one of Southeast Asia’s largest venture capitalists, Horizons seeks to identify young companies that could be the region’s next most popular., The investment firm is pivoting into developing economies after previously focusing on North America, Europe and Israel. Covid-19 is fueling a rapid digital transformation and burgeoning startup scene in Southeast Asia as more people use digital services, generating some of the region’s largest listings. New internet users quadrupled year-on-year in 2020 to 40 million in its six largest economies -- bringing 70% of their total population online -- according to an annual study by Google, Bain & Co. and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte., “In the past, we , more innovation, opportunities and founders with science and technology background in the U.S., Europe and Israel, but now we are seeing Indonesia and broader Southeast Asia really going through a very critical juncture,” Frances Kang, a director of Horizons Ventures, told Bloomberg in an interview. The company “will only deploy more capital” into the region, she said, and has set up a team looking into opportunities there., Horizon Ventures and Alpha JWC have over the past year invested in Indonesian online stock brokerage Ajaib, rapidly-expanding coffee chain , and capsule hotel operator , . Alpha manages some $200 million across two funds and has invested in more than 40 startups., Still, the region’s political uncertainties and fragmented markets remain challenging for investors. Two of Southeast Asia’s leading economies, Thailand and Malaysia, have seen recent government upheavals, and memories of the 1997 and 2008 financial crises linger., Recent mega deals in Southeast Asia include the , listing of Singapore’s ride-hailing firm Grab and a similar deal for Indonesian online travel company Traveloka, with a potential valuation of , ., Li, 92, joins other high-profile global investors chasing the region’s growth potential. His son Richard Li, chairman of Hong Kong’s Pacific Century Group, has teamed up with American tech mogul Peter Thiel to set up two blank-check companies seeking merger and acquisition targets in Southeast Asia. Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. and billionaire Mohamed Mansour, meanwhile, have invested in Grab, the region’s , startup., Horizons Ventures has made early investments in a number of other tech giants including Facebook Inc. and Spotify Technology SA., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Xiaoying Zhao. Date Created: 07 May 2021, 2:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Trade Deal Application Showdown Taiwan China [/INST] China news. Title: Taiwan’s Trade Deal Application Sets Up Showdown With China. Short_description: Taiwan’s Trade Deal Application Sets Up Showdown With China. Description: Taiwan’s request to join the Asian-Pacific’s biggest working trade deal, coming just days after China’s , its own bid, presents the member nations with a difficult choice - admit one, both or neither?, Both Beijing and Taipei have , to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in the past week. That creates the possibility of a long and politicized application process, with the members divided between democracies such as Japan, Australia and Canada pushing for Taiwan’s accession, and Southeast Asian nations keen to remain in China’s good graces, making them vulnerable to pressure from Beijing to thwart Taipei’s bid. , Officials in Taipei are aware of the challenge they face. , “China always obstructs Taiwan’s room to maneuver on the international stage. This is something everyone’s aware of,” Taiwan’s chief trade negotiator John Deng said at a briefing Thursday. “So if China is able to join first, it’s clear that Taiwan’s application will be at risk.”, The original goal of the $13.5 trillion trade agreement was to create a western-led alliance to counterbalance China’s economic might in the Pacific region. While it was initially spearheaded by the U.S., Japan assumed a key role in reviving the plan after former President Donald Trump withdrew in 2017., CPTPP member countries account for over 24% of Taiwan’s international trade, according to a cabinet statement Thursday., It will be a challenge for Taiwan to reach the required consensus among all 11 nations for its application to succeed, according to Drew Thompson, a former U.S. defense official who is now a visiting senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy., “They will need to develop a smart strategy that reflects both their own domestic politics as well as the interests of key CPTPP members,” he said in a email Thursday. “Taiwan will have to satisfy many constituencies, but it might make sense to start with one big player, such as Japan, and work bilaterally to achieve Tokyo’s overt support, leveraging that support to convince other members to constructively engage Taipei.”, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen urged Japan to support her government’s efforts to join the deal in a tweet in Japanese Thursday, adding that her government has been preparing to join for the past five years and is prepared to accept all the rules., Read more: , Japan welcomed Taiwan’s bid and would respond “based on a strategic point of view and with the public’s understanding,” Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu said Thursday in New York, according to a Kyodo News , . That contrasts with his statements about China’s application last week, when he , that Japan would have to look properly at whether China was “ready to reach the high level of TPP.” , Joining the group would be seen as a major political coup for Tsai, who’s government views Taiwan as a de facto sovereign nation awaiting broader international recognition. However China claims the island as part of its territory and vehemently opposes any moves that imply separate statehood for Taiwan, such as joining international organizations. , Taiwan and China already peacefully coexist as members of the same trade organization as both are part of the World Trade Organization, although Taiwan is a member as “the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.” Eager to eliminate as many political barriers as possible, Taiwan’s government used the same designation in its application to join the CPTPP.  , China’s Taiwan Affairs Office laid out its stance on a possible Taiwanese application earlier this month, saying in a statement on Sept. 8 that Taiwan must adhere to Beijing’s “one-China principle” and any other countries must avoid implying Taiwan is a sovereign country in their dealings with Taipei., That likely means that China needs to join before Taiwan, and the official title of Taiwan can’t be the “Republic of China,” according to Henry Gao, associate professor of law at Singapore Management University, who has written extensively on Chinese law and the World Trade Organization., In response to questions about Taiwan’s application, New Zealand’s foreign ministry referred to the island as “Chinese Taipei,” another moniker used to avoid diplomatic problems.  , Jeremy Huai-Che Chiang, a former researcher at the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation focusing on Southeast Asian relations, sees countries in the region as unlikely to upset China over Taiwan due to Beijing’s economic weight and past record of punitive measures., However, “I do think this is smart maneuvering on the part of Taipei,” he said via message Thursday. “Given that consensus is needed for membership, and the different geopolitical times that we are in right now, it will likely put a ‘two-or-nothing’ pressure on existing members.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Samson Ellis &. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 1:46 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Repay Retail Investors China Urges Evergrande Default [/INST] China news. Title: China Urges Evergrande to Avoid Default, Repay Retail Investors. Short_description: Financial regulators in Beijing issued a broad set of instructions to China Evergrande Group.. Description: Financial regulators in Beijing issued a broad set of instructions to China Evergrande Group, encouraging the embattled developer to take all measures possible to avoid a near-term default on dollar bonds while focusing on completing unfinished properties and repaying individual investors., In a recent meeting with Evergrande representatives, regulators said the company should communicate proactively with bondholders to avoid a default, but didn’t give more specific guidance, a person familiar with the matter said. The developer has an $83.5 million , due Thursday, with a 30-day grace period to make the payment., There’s no indication that regulators offered financial support to Evergrande for the bond payment, and it’s unclear whether officials believe the company should eventually impose losses on offshore creditors. Policy makers are trying to learn more about who holds Evergrande’s bonds, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing sensitive information., Two holders of an Evergrande dollar bond with a coupon due Thursday said they hadn’t received payment as of 5 p.m. Hong Kong time. , A lack of clear public communication from senior Chinese leaders on Evergrande has left the company’s fate shrouded in uncertainty. Dow Jones reported on Thursday that authorities instructed local government agencies and state-owned enterprises to step in only at the last minute should Evergrande fail to manage its affairs in an orderly fashion. Authorities have signaled a reluctance to bail out the developer, according to Dow Jones, which cited officials familiar with the discussions., Fears of an Evergrande failure have caused a sharp rise in borrowing costs for other junk-rated Chinese developers and cast doubt on the health of some smaller Chinese , . Individual investors, homebuyers and suppliers have staged , at Evergrande offices across the country, while markets from Hong Kong to New York have convulsed this week as traders weighed the prospect of financial contagion from the world’s most indebted developer., Even though Evergrande’s crisis can be traced in part to President Xi Jinping’s campaign to rein in over-leveraged property companies and discourage moral hazard, his government is unlikely to welcome a messy default that could threaten economic and social stability. Large cash , into the financial system by the People’s Bank of China in recent days suggest policy makers are already focused on shoring up sentiment., Evergrande, the PBOC and the nation’s financial and housing regulators didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Two holders of the dollar bond with a coupon due Thursday said they hadn’t received payment as of 5 p.m. Hong Kong time. , Speculation that Evergrande may avoid a worst-case scenario helped lift its bonds and stock on Thursday. The company’s 8.25% dollar note due 2022 climbed 6.7 cents on the dollar to 31.9 cents as of 7:09 p.m. local time, hitting session highs after Bloomberg reported regulators’ instructions to Evergrande. The bonds pared some of their gains after the Dow Jones report and are still pricing in expectations of a deep haircut. Shares jumped 18% in Hong Kong before the Bloomberg report, paring this year’s loss to 82%., The rally was fueled in part by a vaguely worded , from Evergrande on Wednesday, in which the company said an interest payment on one of its yuan-denominated bonds had been “resolved via negotiations off the clearing house.” The developer likely struck a deal with local bondholders to postpone the payment without having to label the move a default, analysts said., It’s unclear whether Evergrande would be able to pull off something similar for its dollar bonds. While some of the notes are likely owned by billionaire founder Hui Ka Yan and his , , holders also include global investment firms that might be less willing to go along with opaque payment , ., Deeply discounted prices for Evergrande dollar bonds suggest investors view a restructuring of some kind as all but inevitable. Offshore bondholders are widely seen as near the bottom of Beijing’s priority list of Evergrande creditors, though that assessment may depend in part on how worried authorities become about Chinese companies’ access to dollar funding. The turmoil at Evergrande, Asia’s biggest issuer of junk bonds, has sent yields on an index of junk-grade Chinese dollar bonds to a decade high., In a meeting with Evergrande employees on Wednesday, Hui emphasized the importance of resuming construction on unfinished properties, according to Jiemian, a Chinese media outlet. He also said Evergrande will ensure repayment of investment , ., Property sales are a key source of cash for Evergrande, though the company has struggled to attract buyers in recent months amid waning confidence in its ability to deliver on projects. Homebuyers in China often have to make large down payments on properties that may take years to complete. About 1.5 million buyers are currently waiting for Evergrande to deliver unfinished homes., The company is also trying to offload assets to raise cash, with mixed success. It said earlier this month it hadn’t made material progress on plans to sell stakes in its electric-car and property services units. Evergrande has hired Houlihan Lokey and Admiralty Harbour Capital to “explore all feasible solutions” to ease its liquidity problems., While the developer doesn’t have any bonds maturing until 2022, it faces about $669 million in coupon payments this year. The bulk of its $300 billion-plus in total liabilities are to homebuyers, suppliers and local financial institutions., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 3:14 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Foreign Spying Measures company China [/INST] China news. Title: China Announces Measures to Prevent Foreign Spying in Companies. Short_description: China Announces Measures to Prevent Foreign Spying in Companies. Description: China’s top spy agency announced measures to fight infiltration by “hostile forces” in companies and other institutions, state media said, in the latest sign of businesses getting caught in the competition between Beijing and Washington., The new rules allow Chinese security authorities to draw up lists of companies and organizations considered susceptible to foreign infiltration and require them to take security measures, the official Xinhua News Agency said Monday, citing a senior official with the Ministry of State Security., “Overseas espionage and intelligence agencies and hostile forces have intensified infiltration into China, and broadened their tactics of stealing secrets in various ways and in more fields, which poses a serious threat to China’s national security and interests,” Xinhua said., The rules were issued amid increasingly tense relations between China and the West, as Washington seeks to counter Beijing’s increasing economic and security clout. The powerful Ministry of State Security has played a central role in that struggle, most obviously with its high-profile detentions of foreign citizens such as Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who are awaiting verdicts after spying trials., State-owned enterprises have been increasing counterintelligence supervision on personnel traveling overseas since at least 2019, the Global Times newspaper reported separately Monday, citing an unidentified staff member in charge of foreign affairs at the headquarters of a central SOE in Beijing., “Staff going on business trips to foreign countries, such as countries of the Five Eyes alliance -- the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada and New Zealand -- have been told to strictly report their travel destinations, agendas, and meetings with foreign personnel, and they must get approval from their direct superiors before the applications are reviewed by the headquarters,” the person was quoted as saying., The enterprise has also strengthened pre-departure anti-spying education through seminars and short movies, where cases of foreign intelligence work are shown, the state enterprise staff told the newspaper. The company has required staff “involved in sensitive fields or those holding important files” to leave their devices such as mobile phones, laptops, and USB drives at home before going abroad., “For visits to countries that have been categorized as high-risk in terms of spying activities, we will evaluate if the trips are necessary and would advise against going if they are not essential,” the staff member was quoted as saying., The regulation didn’t specify which industries or companies would be on the list, but it said the list will be drawn up based on the level of confidentiality that the industry involves, the degree of foreign involvement and whether there have been previous incidents that endangered national security, according to the Global Times., To carry out anti-espionage missions and eliminate the hidden dangers of foreign espionage, the regulation also gives national security organs access to buildings, internal materials, electronic kits, facilities, or computers and information systems of the companies involved, the report said., China’s state security authorities will make further efforts to “organize and mobilize all social forces to jointly prevent and curb espionage activities and other acts hurting national security to strengthen the national security shield,” Xinhua said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 7:11 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Factory Outlook Eases Economic Recovery moderate China [/INST] China news. Title: China’s Factory Outlook Eases as Economic Recovery Moderates. Short_description: The economy is still recovering but at a slower pace.. Description: , A gauge of China’s manufacturing industry slipped in April and the services sector also weakened, suggesting the economy is still recovering but at a slower pace., The latest data adds more caution to China’s outlook after the economy showed more , in the first quarter, as retail sales climbed and industrial output growth moderated., The PMI figures show “China’s economy continued to recover steadily,” Zhao Qinghe, an economist at the statistics bureau, said in a statement accompanying the data release. But “some surveyed companies said problems such as chip shortages, poor international logistics, shortages of containers, and rising freight rates are still serious,” he said. A slowdown in manufacturing supply and demand and rising cost pressures are also issues, he said., Both manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors remained comfortably in expansionary territory, confirming that the recovery is well underway. The non-manufacturing PMI again outpaced manufacturing, supporting our view of the services sector catching up and manufacturing activity peaking., -- Chang Shu, chief Asia economist, See the full note here, Manufacturers, especially those in upstream sectors, are benefiting from , and , , while the U.S. fiscal stimulus is giving a boost to exporters, allowing them to increase production. However, measures to contain carbon emissions in heavy-polluting industries may be weighing on some manufacturing output., Stronger consumer confidence is boosting services industries, especially after travel restrictions imposed earlier in the year were lifted. The outlook for construction is more complicated though, with local governments , to finance infrastructure projects and approvals for fixed-asset projects dropping sharply in the first quarter compared with previous years. The real estate sector is also faced with stricter financing rules. The construction sub-index in the non-manufacturing PMI fell 4.9 points to 57.4., The “services PMI slowed more than manufacturing PMI due to deleveraging reform in the real estate sector, and this will continue,” said Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING Bank NV in Hong Kong. But there should be a rebound as domestic tourism picks up over the long holiday starting May 1, she said., Other key details:, High-frequency indicators tracked by Bloomberg show the economy , in April from the record growth in the first quarter, with strong exports and rising business confidence supporting the recovery., In a separate report Friday, the Caixin Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index -- a private gauge of China’s manufacturing activities that tracks smaller companies than the official PMI -- rose to the highest level this year. The increase was supported by significant expansion in both manufacturing demand and supply, as “manufacturers stayed confident about the economic recovery and keeping Covid-19 under control,” according to a statement by Caixin and IHS Markit., “Details of both official and Caixin surveys pointed to continued improvement in smaller enterprises while the large and medium enterprises’ growth moderated,” said Liu Peiqian, an economist at Natwest Group Plc, adding that the chip shortage may have temporarily impaired the pace of growth but the recovery trend is intact., The data suggests the central bank’s tapering of its stimulus “should only happen in a gradual way and the targeted easing for corporates are still necessary to support further growth,” Liu said. “We expect the People’s Bank of China to keep benchmark rates unchanged throughout 2021 while focusing on gradually guiding credit growth lower.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 6:44 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Hydrogen Plan timing Uncertain China [/INST] China news. Title: China is Formulating a Hydrogen Plan But Its Timing is Uncertain. Short_description: China is Formulating a Hydrogen Plan But Its Timing is Uncertain. Description: China is drafting a plan to develop its hydrogen industry as it seeks to cut emissions., The strategy is being developed by the government’s top economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, according to people familiar with the matter., The plan will focus on the cleanest form of the gas, or , , which is produced from water using renewable energy, and will encourage the construction of more hydrogen stations to power vehicles, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. The release of the plan is still pending final decisions on targets and technology standards, the person said., The government typically drafts programs for specific industries to complement the goals laid out in its overarching five-year plans, the last of which -- China’s 14th -- was unveiled in March. The 13th plan included separate blueprints for energy sub-sectors from solar to geothermal and coal-bed methane, which were were all published by the end of 2016, the first year of the period, or early 2017., The NDRC didn’t respond to a fax requesting comment., Attention on hydrogen in China has surged in recent months after a slew of announcements by companies promising investment in the emerging technology. The firms entering the race to develop the fuel include clean energy giants, oil refiners and even steel-makers., The NDRC’s plan will help establish the scale of China’s ambitions for the fuel amid some of the firmer targets already set out by other nations. The European Union has said its investment in hydrogen could hit 470 billion euros ($565 billion) by 2030., In the meantime, the global imperative to cut emissions has received a huge boost from U.S. President Joe Biden’s commitment to climate action, culminating in this week’s summit attended by the world’s top leaders including China’s President Xi Jinping., China is by far the biggest contributor of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and has faced pressure from other nations to accelerate its path to peak emissions and set out in more detail how it intends to reach net-zero., The China Hydrogen Alliance said this week that the fuel could account for 20% of the nation’s energy mix by 2060, the deadline that Xi has set for China to become a carbon-neutral country., The NDRC’s plan is also likely to draw on other governmental efforts, including as yet unpublished proposals from the National Energy Administration on energy technology, which will be heavily focused on hydrogen., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 12:18 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to South Set Economic Divide North China [/INST] China news. Title: China’s Economic Divide Between North and South Set to Widen. Short_description: China’s Economic Divide Between North and South Is Set to Widen. Description: , The economic divide between China’s prospering southern regions and lagging northern areas will continue to widen in coming years, with huge implications for growth, debt and policy making, according to Nomura Holdings Inc., The gap between the north and the south has grown over the past decade, with southern provinces benefiting from export dependence and the internet boom, while resource-rich northern regions were dragged down by slower fixed investment, falling commodity prices and population migration. Nomura estimates that northern China’s share of the national economy shrank to 35.2% last year from 42.9% in 2012., The pandemic has worsened the divide and latest gross domestic product data show regional disparity in the recovery too. Coastal regions with exports and private firms playing a bigger role in the economy have had a firmer rebound than land-locked provinces, according to latest provincial GDP figures., Weaker growth in the north has meant rising fiscal pressures and debt. More than 60% of bond defaults in the country came from northern China in 2020, with the level rising significantly from 2019, Nomura economists led by Lu Ting wrote in a report Tuesday. The ratio of local government fiscal revenue to fiscal expenditure in the north was 42.7% in 2020, compared with 51% in the south, suggesting a heavier reliance in the north on transfer payments from the central government, they said., Low birth rates and net population outflows from the north also suggest the divide may persist in coming years. Nomura estimates the average annual population growth for the north was only 0.3% from 2017 to 2019, well below 0.8% growth in the south., Nomura divides northern and southern China by the Qin Mountains and Huai River Line, with 15 provinces and cities in the north, such as Beijing and Hebei, and 16 in the south, including Shanghai and Jiangsu., The regional gap is expected to worsen as China looks to reduce carbon emissions, cut economic dependence on the property sector and impose financial discipline on local governments, Nomura said, increasing the risks of systemic financial crises and social instability. The economy in the north is historically more investment-driven and relies more on heavily-polluting industries compared to the south., “Beijing may need to walk a tightrope, balancing long-term targets against short-term stability,” Nomura said. The government could ease some of its anti-pollution measures, especially on producers of base materials in the north, and step up fiscal transfers to cities that are financially squeezed by tightening property measures, it said., Regional GDP data released this month show the tropical island province of Hainan benefited from its duty-free policies in the first quarter, posting the fastest growth of China’s provinces except for Hubei, the epicenter of last year’s coronavirus outbreak., On a two-year average basis, growth in the first quarter was still below the levels seen in early 2019, indicating the economy hasn’t fully bounced back from the pandemic. For those that reported average data, the northeast rust belt of Tianjin, Henan and Inner Mongolia were among the worst performers., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 3:28 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Taiwan Central Banker currency policy Turning point [/INST] China news. Title: Taiwan Central Banker Says Currency Policy Faces ‘Turning Point’. Short_description: Taiwan Central Banker Says Currency Policy Faces ‘Turning Point’. Description: , Foreign demand for a slice of Taiwan’s increasingly profitable companies is threatening to upend the central bank’s decades-old currency management policy., Central bank board member Chang Chien-yi told Bloomberg in a rare interview that the institution won’t be able to fight currency appreciation if the Taiwan dollar rises on economic fundamentals as the competitiveness of local industries improves., “The next two years will be an important turning point,” Chang said Wednesday. “The central bank will have to respect the markets. It won’t be able to forcefully slow the currency’s appreciation.”, The Taiwan central bank’s currency management has come under increased scrutiny, with the U.S. Treasury saying in April that it wants to , over the “structural undervaluation.” Investors have piled into the island’s tech-driven markets, as the economy outperforms peers that are still gripped by the pandemic, making the Taiwan dollar the best performer in Asia this year., The U.S.-China trade war has sparked a major , of supply chains and given opportunities to a wide range of Taiwanese exporters, according to Chang. It will also allow Taiwan’s central bank to rethink its currency policy, as exporters may be able to thrive without foreign-exchange support, he said., The Taiwan dollar rose to its highest level since July 1997 in April. Strategists are predicting that it will charge higher in the coming months, while the options market is also showing waning demand to hedge the currency against strength in the greenback. One-month risk reversals are holding close to the lowest level since March., The currency rose 0.3% to close at 27.908 against the dollar on Friday., “The comments suggest that the central bank will be willing to tolerate more currency strength, though they are wary of the impact that could have on firm profitability if it moves too much,” said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Singapore., “It will be more important than ever for Taiwanese companies to manage their foreign exchange risks,” he said. “With the outlook for global trade looking very positive, we are likely to see further strength in the Taiwan dollar.”, Around 97% of companies in Taiwan are small and medium-sized enterprises and many of them are exporters, Chang said by phone. These companies have traditionally been very vulnerable to fluctuations in exchange rates, according to Chang, who also serves as the president of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research., “If the Taiwan dollar strengthened, not only might these companies have worked for nothing, they could also be at risk of going bankrupt, which could have caused all kinds of societal problems,” he added. “SMEs didn’t have the means for currency hedging and they didn’t have a lot of cash on hand.” , Chang’s remarks are the latest signs of a new openness and tolerance for public debate at Taiwan’s typically taciturn central bank. Last month, two current and one former member of the policy board co-authored a book discussing how much damage the bank’s efforts to maintain a weak currency had done to the economy over the past 20 years., Chang, who joined the policy board in January last year, applauded the bank for improving transparency under current Governor Yang Chin-long. But, he pointed out that there are other areas the bank still needs to improve on., Almost all of the time at quarterly board meetings is taken up by reports from each of the bank’s departments, leaving little time to fully discuss policies, according to the recently published book -- a view that Chang agrees with., Most importantly, he said, the central bank should clearly define its monetary-policy goals, which would allow board members to discuss it in greater depth., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Miaojung Lin &. Date Created: 07 May 2021, 2:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to European Businesses Urge China Inward Turn [/INST] China news. Title: European Businesses Urge China to Open Up, Avoid Inward Turn. Short_description: European Businesses Urge China to Open Up, Avoid ‘Inward’ Turn. Description: European businesses in China urged the country to steer away from what they see as an “inward” turn of the economy to achieve self-sufficiency, which has impeded their operations and prospects., China has stepped up control over foreign firms’ supply of technology and components to Chinese clients over national security concerns, according to a report by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. That’s driving European businesses to localize development and supply chains and creating an increasingly difficult business environment, the paper said., Beijing’s focus on , such as semiconductors domestically as part of its , could result in massive misallocation of resources, according to the European Chamber, which represents over 1,700 companies operating in China. A lack of further opening and structural reform of the economy could also lead to slower innovation and growth, according to the paper released Thursday. , “It’s a bit more challenging to operate in China than it was two or three years ago,” Joerg Wuttke, president of the chamber, said at a recent press conference. “We have this problem of contradiction between the self-reliance that China is aiming for and the openness that it’s always talking about.”, China released a five-year plan for its economy in March, which placed a , on increasing spending on research and development to turn the nation into a , . The blueprint raises concerns that economic policy making increasingly could be driven by national security concerns, according to the European Chamber, which laid out some 930 recommendations for the government in the report., Foreign companies in different industries receive drastically different treatment, according to the report. For example, the government’s policies are favorable for companies in the machinery, chemicals, semiconductors and green energy sectors that have technology needed to upgrade China’s industrial sectors or support its green goals, according to the report. , For consumer goods, authorities sees it as necessary to keep a foreign presence to maintain competition and supply. But foreign companies in network equipment, telecommunications and most things digital increasingly are unwelcome, the European Chamber said., The Cyberspace Administration’s , , released in August on the basis of the cybersecurity law, is “having a considerable, negative impact” on European companies, it said. , The regulation requires European telecom equipment and service providers, as well as producers of certain software, to undergo a national security review involving as many as 12 government departments before they can supply new equipment or services. Many companies are localizing their production and research to cope with the review, while some see the inevitable result being their exit from the market, according to the paper., European companies also are facing increasing pressure from government guidelines encouraging Chinese companies to adopt “autonomous and controllable” technologies and avoid relying on foreign suppliers, it said. , Wuttke raised the example of Swedish telecom giant Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, which , only 2% market share in the latest bid to supply 700MHz radios for China Mobile Ltd.’s 5G network development. That was down from 11% in a previous round and came after Sweden , Chinese vendors Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. from its own 5G roll-out., Some European-made fire brigade equipment and health care equipment also was banned from being sold to Chinese clients in some provinces, according to Wuttke. , “We hope this national security self-reliance will not impact innovation, but we see receding diversity,” Wuttke said, adding that “diversity matters” in driving innovation. , In another sign of China’s rising insulation from the world, the number of foreigners living in Beijing and Shanghai plunged 28% to about 227,000 people in 2020 from a decade earlier, according to census data cited in the report. , Part of that decline may be due to the many foreign residents of China who have been unable to return due to restrictions enacted during the pandemic. , U.S. businesses operating in China said they’re constrained by the nation’s Covid-zero policy, according to a separate report released Thursday by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. , Pandemic restrictions on entry into China will hurt the country’s competitiveness if the government doesn’t make adjustments, the report said, asking that the government allow locally based foreign workers to have family members join them in China. , ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 6:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to China Huarong Tells Media Bond payment prepared [/INST] China news. Title: China Huarong Tells Media It’s Prepared to Make Bond Payments. Short_description: China Huarong Tells Media It’s Prepared to Make Bond Payments. Description: Embattled bad-debt manager China Huarong Asset Management Co. has ample liquidity and is prepared to make its bond payments, an executive told local media after weeks of uncertainty over the company’s future., Recent rating downgrades by international agencies “have no factual basis” and are “too pessimistic,” Xu Yongli, Huarong’s vice president and board secretary, said in an , with the state-run Shanghai Securities News on Friday. The company is in a good financial position and has made proper arrangements and adequate preparation for its future bond payments, he added., It’s the first time Huarong, which has $22.9 billion of outstanding offshore debt, has publicly commented on its finances and ability to meet obligations since delaying releasing its 2020 results at the start of the month. That had fueled investor concern over the company’s liquidity and whether it will receive government support, triggering a rout in its bonds that jolted Asian credit markets., Huarong is operating normally with support from the finance ministry, which controls the company, and there is no evidence indicating a change to its shareholding structure, nor any signs of change in the government’s support for it, Xu said. The support Huarong has obtained from the government is “no different” from other enterprises., The company is now actively working with auditors to release its 2020 results as soon as possible, Xu told the Xinhua News Agency-owned newspaper. The interview was also shared by the firm’s official WeChat account. , Xu’s remarks echo , by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, which said earlier this month Huarong is operating normally and has ample liquidity. That failed to allay concerns among international investors, prompting , including Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investor Service to downgrade the company’s ratings this week., The ratings agencies lack a comprehensive understanding of the company and the environment it’s operating in, Xu said. He called on the market and investors to be “rational.”, Read more: , ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 6:31 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to hiding Rich Taxman hard China [/INST] China news. Title: China's Rich Can Run From the Taxman, But Hiding Is Harder. Short_description: China's Rich Are Finding It Harder Than Ever to Hide From Taxman. Description: (Bloomberg) -- At home and abroad, wealthy Chinese are facing myriad new , as Beijing ratchets up the pressure on tax dodgers., State media are filled with , trumpeting the revision of the tax code and government efforts to name and shame offenders. Familiar faces have already been caught in the clampdown. China’s highest-paid movie star, Fan Bingbing, was ordered to pay more than $100 million in back taxes and fines in October after a months-long tax , , sending a , through the domestic film industry., A global financial-disclosure system -- the Common Reporting Standard -- is beginning to bite for those stashing money overseas. Last year, China started automatically exchanging information alongside roughly 100 jurisdictions about accounts belonging to people subject to taxes in each member country., The crackdown comes as wealth in the Middle Kingdom reaches new heights. A Chinese billionaire was minted every few days in 2018, according to a UBS Group AG estimate, and Boston Consulting Group said personal wealth in the nation surged to a record $24 trillion, with $1 trillion held abroad., It means the global game of cat and mouse between the armies of accountants and asset managers working to minimize the tax payments of their clients, and the governments and regulators arrayed against them, is particularly heated in China., “After the introduction of the CRS rules, high-net-worth individuals are pretty nervous and overwhelmed,” said Liu Shuang, a former anti-avoidance specialist for the Chinese tax bureau who now leads a wealth tax management team in Beijing and has seen demand for her advice soar since last year. “In addition to concerns about back taxes, they are also worried about the exposure of overseas assets.”, The tax authorities of CRS member countries share annual reports that detail reportable accounts, their balances and their beneficiaries. So if a Chinese tax resident opens a bank account in the U.K., British authorities will send this information to Beijing as part of their report, and vice versa. It’s a broad remit -- a reportable person under CRS is any entity or individual who’s a resident of a CRS signatory state -- although some assets such as real estate are excluded., “Even tax havens have signed up,” said Tania Waterhouse, a tax lawyer and former director at the Australian Tax Office. “There’s just no hiding from it.”, A few holdouts remain but political, economic or social upheaval in those places makes them less favored as tax shelters. Another quirk is that the U.S. hasn’t signed on to the accord. The world’s wealthiest nation has opted to stick with its 113 separate bilateral agreements, called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, which requires foreign banks to scour client lists and report anyone who could be a U.S. citizen, or face being barred from operating in the country., While the wealthy of all nationalities have sought to legally circumvent CRS, some Chinese may have embraced such products with particular zeal, according to tax specialist Liu., “Chinese people are keener to spend money to solve problems via shortcuts,” she said. “It’s this kind of mentality that has caused many people to fall into traps, not only exposing their wealth but also losing money.”, China’s State Administration of Taxation didn’t respond to a faxed request for comment., Chinese citizens were among those who flocked to certain residence and citizenship schemes offered in places such as Cyprus and the Seychelles that could have been used to undermine CRS, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which oversees the initiative. In October, the OECD sought to , on many of these., Plenty of strategies don’t even get that far, Liu said. “More than 99 percent of the so-called CRS-avoidance methods or products in the Chinese market aren’t very reliable,” she said, adding that many of her clients had lost money after paying for passports and products that didn’t work., The OECD’s Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes keeps watch for anything it deems to undermine CRS. Radhanath Housden, head of the organization’s Automatic Exchange of Information Unit, said it reviewed several hundred exemptions and multiple schemes since the CRS rollout began., “The Global Forum works continually to ensure the effective implementation of the CRS, closely monitoring all available information sources including the OECD’s avoidance disclosure facility,” said Housden, who noted the organization’s responses include engaging with tax authorities to highlight exploitative behavior by the financial sector. “Anything intended to avoid reporting must be addressed by the governments.”, Bloomberg reviewed a copy of a 108-page draft document from early 2018 that seemingly outlines a Singaporean stratagem allowing Chinese persons to legally avoid CRS. Capari Asset Management, identified in the draft document as the manager of the mooted fund, says it was inadvertently prepared, outdated, never approved for marketing purposes and that the final form of the fund complies with CRS., Still, the draft’s existence underscores the demand among Chinese clients to find ways to minimize taxes and maintain confidentiality., Pages of flow charts and checklists lay out in Chinese and English how the fund isn’t required to report to Singapore’s tax authority or foreign governments. The package includes a sample certificate confirming the structure’s non-reporting status., The fund may have originally contemplated designation as a non-reporting financial institution for the purposes of CRS by operating as a retirement fund, according to a tax specialist who reviewed the document, asking not to be identified because he works in the field. Bundling separate accounts together so that each made up less than 5 percent of the overall fund and fulfilling various other conditions, such as locking them up until retirement, could have seen it defined as a broad participation retirement fund, which isn’t reportable under CRS., Last April, Singapore activated relationships with China for the automatic exchange of financial account information, likely making the approach untenable. In June, the OECD further stymied any such strategies with updated guidance clarifying that the 5 percent test should be applied at the level of the sub-fund., Had it gone ahead, the product would have generated hefty fees. The draft stipulates a one-off establishment fee of $15,000 and annual fees of $20,000 for the vehicle, an indication of how sought-after such services are. And not just for tax reasons. A desire for privacy isn’t unreasonable, wealth advisers say. Confidential accounts may protect against kidnappings or extortion in countries where law and order is tenuous., In any case, Capari says that the fund in its final form is registered for CRS reporting., “These are not authorized marketing materials from Capari,” Kevin Fan, a managing director, said in an email. “None of our funds are CRS-exempt vehicles and we have every intention to meet all CRS and taxation obligations.”, A spokeswoman for PricewaterhouseCoopers, whose logo also appears on the draft document, said the accounting firm hasn’t provided CRS advice to Capari or rated any of its investment products, and isn’t involved in the marketing of Capari products. PwC’s engagement in relation to the fund is limited to providing advice for potential investors in the fund on the Australian and Chinese tax implications, she said. Amicorp Trustees (Singapore) Ltd., named as the fund’s trustee, said it didn’t author or approve the documents., China continues to close loopholes. In the past, rich Chinese could avoid paying taxes on overseas earnings by acquiring a foreign passport or green card, while keeping their Chinese citizenship. But this year the government has started taxing global income from all holders of “hukou” household registrations -- the most expansive way to identify Chinese nationals -- regardless of whether they are citizens elsewhere. Authorities have also introduced a new data platform, dubbed Golden Tax System Phase III, which gives them a more comprehensive picture of individuals’ finances., China’s underground banks could now face criminal charges if they abet illegal foreign exchange transactions. Gifts of assets to relatives or third parties may be taxed while a property tax law could go into effect as soon as 2020., Anxiety over how the new rules will be enforced has already triggered a flood of Chinese clients seeking to create overseas trusts., Four Chinese tycoons transferred more than $17 billion into family trusts late last year with the ownership structures all involving entities in the British Virgin Islands. The moves come as China’s super rich brace for the possibility of the government going after the wealthy to push through tax cuts for the lower- and middle-classes this year., It all means the desire to shift money abroad is higher -- and riskier -- than ever., ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Tom Metcalf, . Date Created: 21 Feb 2019, 2:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to China Politburo Reiterates Sharp Turn Macro Policies [/INST] China news. Title: China Politburo Reiterates No Sharp Turn in Macro Policies. Short_description: China Politburo Reiterates No Sharp Turn in Macro Policies. Description: , China’s top leaders pledged to deepen supply side reform and drive a rebound in domestic demand, staying the course for now to bolster the economy’s recovery., The state will continue to keep macro policies consistent to boost a recovery in manufacturing and private investment, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a meeting of the Communist Party’s Politburo , by President Xi Jinping. The meeting also called for strengthening and improving regulatory supervision of the so-called platform economy and avoiding an inflation in home prices., “The current economic recovery is unbalanced and unstable,” according to the report of the meeting, which said the government will strive to achieve a more balanced economic growth. “It is necessary to make use of the current window of opportunity, when pressure on stable growth is relatively small, to promote economic stability and improvement.”, Prudent monetary policy will keep liquidity ample and appropriate, Xinhua said., The 25-member Politburo, the Communist Party’s top ruling body, met in Beijing on Friday to review the economy’s performance and set plans for the months ahead. Policy makers are trying to provide enough fiscal and monetary support to maintain the pace of the recovery while avoiding any debt blowouts., The world’s second-largest economy , 18.3% in the first quarter from the low base last year, when China became the world’s first nation to go into lockdown to curb coronavirus cases. Yet beyond the record rate, infrastructure investment has slowed, and manufacturers are being challenged by a strong yuan and rising commodity prices. While consumer spending has picked up, its recovery will depend on the outlook for wages and jobs., Leaders also pledged to promote carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in an orderly manner while actively developing new energy sources, according to the statement. Xi has previously pleged that China will achieve carbon neutrality by 2060., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 5:13 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to near pressure point Liquidity Tightens bond China [/INST] China news. Title: China’s Bonds Are Near Pressure Points as Liquidity Tightens. Short_description: China’s Bonds Are Near Pressure Points as Liquidity Tightens. Description: A much-anticipated selloff in China’s bond market, the world’s second largest, may not have materialized yet, but it is on its way if key indicators are any guide., Producer prices are surging, activity gauges are on the rise and foreign bond buying has ground to a halt. What’s more, swap markets signal tighter liquidity., All of this spells higher bond yields. Traders who had , for a supply deluge in April that would have hurt China’s bond markets now face the risk of a crunch for yields this month., Here are four charts that show how the pressure is building:, China’s bond market has a habit of lagging behind economic indicators and an alternative gauge based on Premier Li Keqiang’s insights shows how much catching up may lie in store., The index of bank loans, electricity production and rail freight volume has popped to the highest levels since 2010. The move is particularly notable given how closely the gauge correlates with the nation’s five-year non-deliverable interest rate swap, pointing to higher rates in the near term., Producer prices, which have demonstrated a stronger link to Chinese government bond yields than consumer prices, are running red hot. While the surge is due in part to the low base effect from last year, there is still room for acceleration given the sharp increases in the cost of commodity inputs for the nation’s manufacturers. The next installment for the data is due on May 11., Foreign buying of Chinese bonds took a breather in March, according to the most recent , from ChinaBond. With global funds trimming holdings by 16.5 billion yuan ($2.5 billion), the drop-off in demand suggests high yields may be in order to entice buyers back., The spread between China’s 10-year bond and similar maturity Treasuries has narrowed to around 160 basis points, from a record of more than 250 basis points in November. China’s 10-year yield closed at 3.15% on Thursday., The slower-than-expected inclusion in FTSE Russell’s flagship global bond index -- over three years instead of 12 months -- reinforces this over the short term., Short-dated interest rate markets in China are starting to taking notice, and they’re pointing to tighter liquidity coming soon., The current three-month swap sits around 2.31%, though one that begins in three months is 12 basis points higher. This shows markets are getting ready for less liquidity, though this hasn’t reverberated out the yield curve yet., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Stephen Spratt. Date Created: 07 May 2021, 2:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Evergrande trader Sell Dollar Coupon Stock Gains [/INST] China news. Title: Evergrande Traders Sell Into Stock Gains With Dollar Coupon Due. Short_description: Evergrande Traders Sell Into Stock Gains With Dollar Coupon Due. Description: China Evergrande Group’s stock rallied before paring the advance, an indication that investors remain wary over debt talks as the distressed developer faces a key coupon payment test on a dollar bond. , The Hong Kong-listed shares gave up gains of as much as 32% to end Thursday nearly 18% higher. The earlier surge came as a delayed reaction to news that a unit of the developer had negotiated interest payments on yuan notes, with trading shut Wednesday for a holiday. , “The ‘resolved’ onshore coupon probably signaled that the authorities are trying to contain a disorderly default and working on a restructuring plan,” said Thu Ha Chow, a portfolio manager at Loomis Sayles Investments Asia Pte. “The property sector continues to remain very volatile as it waits for a resolution for Evergrande. The quick rise was probably due to short-covering but it seems like there are still sellers into strength.”, With a coupon payment due on Evergrande’s 2022 dollar bond on Thursday, traders have been looking for any signs that the world’s most-indebted developer would be able to navigate its way through $300 billion of liabilities without going into default. While Evergrande’s onshore property unit , provide details on the negotiated yuan bond payment in its Wednesday statement, it was the first clue laid out on the roadmap., Evergrande’s rebound spurred a broader rally in Chinese stocks and the bonds of other developers, which had been sold earlier on contagion fear. And in a sign of support for the volatile market, China’s central bank , the most short-term liquidity in eight months into the financial system., The rally in Evergrande’s Hong Kong stock has seen about 738 million shares change hands, compared with the one-year daily average of 40 million. Short interest as a percentage of its free float dropped to 15% on Tuesday from about 20% 10 days ago, according to the latest IHS Markit data.  , Still, a major backer for Hui Ka Yan’s company said Thursday that it may exit all of its holdings in another sign that investors are losing confidence. Chinese Estates Holdings Ltd. sold 108.9 million Evergrande shares from Aug. 30 to Sept. 21, according to a statement to the Hong Kong exchange., Evergrande’s onshore property unit had said in a vaguely-worded filing that an interest payment due the following day on one of its yuan-denominated bonds “has been resolved via negotiations off the clearing house.” It didn’t specify how much interest would be paid or when., The filing “displayed that maintaining bond solvency was still on the agenda for Evergrande and also raised hopes for investors that creditors are to an extent open to resolution,” said Justin Tang, head of Asian research at United First Partners. “The read-through is that an orderly restructuring/negotiation is still on the cards for other onshore and offshore creditors and could buy the time Evergrande so desperately needs.”, Fear that Evergrande could trigger systemic risks in China rocked global markets earlier this week, spurring a slew of analysts , that Beijing would provide enough support such that it won’t become a Lehman moment. At least seven Chinese banks , in recent days sought to assuage investors over their exposure. , “If a large default can be done in an orderly and hopefully transparent process, then it can give investors confidence in the system,” said Loomis’s Chow, “This is especially as defaults become a more regular feature of the China credit market, in line with other global credit markets.”, Attention is now turning to a $83.5 million coupon payment that Evergrande is slated to deliver Thursday on the 2022 dollar note. The coupon on the 8.25% security, which has a 30-day grace period before a missed payment would constitute a default, is part of $669 million of bond interest due through the end of this year. , Evergrande’s 8.25% dollar bond due 2022 climbed 3.5 cents on the dollar to 28.7 cents as of 4:09 p.m. local time, according to Bloomberg-compiled prices. , Also helping improve investor sentiment is a local media report that cited Evergrande founder Hui as saying that the company needs to resume construction to ensure smooth completion of property projects. He also pledged to ensure repayment of the company’s investment products. , In a broader sign of better mood in Asia’s dollar bond market, four Chinese firms were offering fresh deals Thursday, ending a three-day lull amid holidays and concern about contagion from Evergrande’s debt woes. Even a junk-rated developer, Jiayuan International Group Ltd., was among the potential issuers. , ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 2:10 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Swine Fever Lockdown Reshapes Pig Industry China [/INST] China news. Title: China’s Swine Fever Lockdown Reshapes $300 Billion Pig Industry. Short_description: China’s Plan to Restrict Hog Transport Will Reshape $300 Billion Pork Industry. Description: , China’s plan to control the transport of live hogs to rein in the spread of African swine fever is set to reshape the market and create regional price differences in the world’s biggest consumer and producer of pork., The country will be split into five regions from May, the agriculture ministry said last week, and live pigs will not be allowed across the boundaries. The move will push down pork prices in the main producing areas in the north and increase the cost of the popular protein in demand centers in the south. If the controls stay in place over the longer term, companies will be forced to open more pig farms closer to where their customers are., China’s hog industry was devastated by African swine fever in 2018 and, while herd sizes have recovered since then, a recent resurgence drove up , to a record last month. Prices have fallen, however, as the culling of herds increased domestic supply. Pigs are a very important source of protein in China with the market for pork sales worth about 2 trillion yuan ($308 billion) a year, according to figures from the Dalian Commodity Exchange., Some 20% of China’s pigs, or about 140 million live animals, are transported each year, mainly from the northeast to the south to meet demand for fresh meat, said Lin Guofa, a senior analyst at consultancy Bric Agriculture Group., “Some areas that used to call themselves no-pig counties or no-pig cities will have to build pig farms,” he said. But transport of frozen meat instead of live hogs will be encouraged, which will lead to an expansion of the cold-chain industry, Lin said., Northeast China is the top pig-producing region due to an abundant corn supply and relatively easy access to land, while the northwest region of Xinjiang has also been , as an area in which to expand pork production., Wholesale pork prices are down around 30% this year, commerce ministry data show. They were 31.33 yuan a kilogram on April 16, the least since mid-2019. , The controls will depress prices in the north in the short term and push them up in the south, according to Wang Zhong, chief consultant at Systematic, Strategic & Soft Consulting Co. That may eventually prompt big pork producers -- including Muyuan Foodstuff Co., New , Liuhe Co. and Wens Foodstuff Group Co. -- to build more hog farms in the south and more slaughtering facilities in the northeast and northwest., The new rules are similar to systems developed in Brazil and Spain, which have been successful in getting rid of African swine fever, the agriculture ministry , . While “the virus is still widely distributed and difficult to eradicate in the short term,” regional controls are an “inevitable choice,” it said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 26 Apr 2021, 1:33 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to China Delays Coal Imports Australia [/INST] China news. Title: China Delays Coal Imports From Australia. Short_description: China Delays Coal Imports From Australia as Tensions Simmer. Description: (Bloomberg) -- China has delayed customs clearance of coal imports from Australia by as long as 40 days, according to a leading industry body, raising speculation that the world’s biggest shipper of the commodity is being targeted at a time of strained relations between the two nations., Customs officials are taking longer to clear Australian coking coal imports, especially in northern regions, Han Lei, an analyst at China Coal Transport & Distribution Association, said on Wednesday. A few southern ports have started to slow approvals of thermal coal from Australia as well, he said., The measures, in place since last month, come as political tensions simmer between Australia and China, its biggest trading partner. Calls seeking comment from China’s General Administration of Customs weren’t answered., In recent months, Australia has , a takeover bid by a China-linked company, clamped down on technology investments, and agreed to , on a naval base in Papua New Guinea, a move seen as a direct counter to China’s influence in the Pacific. For its part, China in November launched an anti-dumping probe into imports of Australian barley., “China is sending a warning sign to Australia amid the two countries’ deteriorating relations since last year,” Feng Dongbin, chief analyst at China Coal Resource, said by phone from Shanxi province. “Overall, China is still determined to control imports this year, but this time it starts with Australia.”, China regularly tweaks import limits to steer its coal market, the world’s largest. Those measures typically target thermal coal as the government tries to ease the country’s reliance on the fuel. The curbs this year are aimed mainly at coking coal. Australia is the world’s largest exporter of this variety, which is used to make steel., BHP Group, the largest mining company and an exporter of coking coal to China, said the measures are a reflection of how China wants to manage its consumption of domestic and imported coal and aren’t targeted at Australia. “These pertain to China’s trade with the whole world,” Andrew Mackenzie, chief of the Melbourne-based company, said on Tuesday after the miner posted earnings. “It’s not particularly Australian in its nature.”, “I don’t believe for one moment this is linked to some of the higher level issues of relationships between China and the rest of the world, and including with us,” Mackenzie said., While China sources almost half of its overseas coking coal from Australia, the shipments make up only a sliver of the country’s needs due to its huge domestic mining industry. In Australia, the raw material accounts for 16 percent of the country’s , from commodity exports, according to government figures., Coking coal futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange have risen 3.6 percent in the past month., “The impact on China will be muted,” said Zhao Chaoyue, a research director at Sinowealth Capital Co., adding that steel mills had built up their coal stockpiles before the Lunar New Year break. “When inventories are depleted, there may be some supply tightness as political underpinnings suggest the curbs won’t be resolved soon.”, ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 20 Feb 2019, 11:42 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Affordable Covid Refuge business Class masse [/INST] China news. Title: Business Class Opens to Masses as Affordable Covid Refuge. Short_description: Business Class Opens to Masses as Affordable Refuge From Covid. Description: Business class was that silent and spacious sanctuary for the well-heeled, at least until the pandemic destroyed global aviation. But as flights creep back, this once-exclusive haven is being invaded, by the masses., Flush with cash and a record number of air miles after a year on the ground, leisure travelers are splurging on premium seats for their first trips back. They’re not just after the plated food, champagne and little cosmetics that typically come with the higher fares. Rather, they’re trying to minimize the risk of catching Covid in the cheek-to-cheek jostle of coach., The popularity of these lucrative seats -- especially among passengers who’d usually shoehorn into economy -- is an unexpected boon for airlines weathering a crisis that’s forecast to have cost them a staggering , by the end of 2021. As vaccinations roll out at pace in the Middle East, the U.K. and the U.S., free-spending vacationers are emerging as a new market to exploit for carriers desperate to claw back revenue., New York resident Jennifer Arnold, an avid scuba diver, is flying to the Maldives via Doha on Qatar Airways in May. Though vaccinated, Arnold, who is retired, said securing a business-class seat was essential., “It was strictly to try to sit in an area with fewer people,” said Arnold, who used points for the outbound leg and paid for her return flight. “I wouldn’t have taken this trip if I had to fly in coach while the virus is still raging in so much of the world.”, There’s every chance these people will become permanent residents up the pointy end. Carriers from Deutsche Lufthansa AG to Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. are now starting to question whether business travel as the world once knew it will ever return to pre-crisis levels. That means for the next few years at least, there’ll be a steady supply of premium-class seats priced to sell to the general public -- for cash, loyalty points or a mix of both., Fares are already way off their peak as airlines stimulate a recovery. Transatlantic business-class tickets on Delta Air Lines Inc., British Airways and American Airlines Group Inc. in late May , . Those seats, particularly for last-minute bookings, could have cost as much as $9,000 before Covid, said Brian Kelly, founder of travel-advice website , ., Flying to Miami from New York last month, Kelly found first-class seats were sold out on every single flight from all New York airports three weeks in advance. “I’ve been traveling New York-Miami for years and I’ve never seen that,” he said., “People are swimming in points,” Kelly said in an interview. With more than 3 million people getting coronavirus jabs every day in the U.S. alone, air-travel demand “is about to skyrocket,” he predicts., According to Qantas Airways Ltd., leisure passengers are taking up a larger share of the business-class cabin as they upgrade or redeem loyalty points. Redemption flights meanwhile more than doubled to record levels when domestic travel restrictions eased in November, the airline said. A representative for Delta said customer appetite for “premium experiences” has grown along with travel demand., Leisure passengers’ desire to sit in a classy cabin is partially offsetting a stunted recovery from traditional business-class customers. Companies around the world have scaled back travel, either out of caution or to save money. And executives who used to fly at the drop of a hat for face-to-face meetings are more often making do with the video calls that have characterized remote work in the crisis., “I personally believe that business travel is going down,” Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive Officer Shai Weiss said at the World Aviation Festival last week. “We’re going to see the emergence of the premium leisure market. People have saved a lot. They’re going to treat themselves.”, Jeff Paine, a Canadian who lives and works in Singapore, used points and cash to fly business class last month to Bangkok, and then onto Phuket with Singapore Airlines Ltd. He , flying premium in the middle of a health crisis would be less stressful., “I was trying to make some part of this journey easy,” said Paine, 51. “I had to get health insurance, Covid insurance, a certificate of entry, a visa, which isn’t usually needed, and quarantine bookings. It was challenging.”, Premium-economy cabins, which can be even more profitable than business-class sections, might play a key role in any aviation recovery, said Rob Morris, global head of consultancy at aviation data and analytics company , . A quasi-blend of spartan economy and opulent business class, premium economy could capture those corporations flying on tighter budgets as well as leisure passengers wanting a little more comfort, he said., “I can see premium economy becoming a bigger part of the overall real estate,” Morris said., To be sure, traditional business travel may bounce back faster than anticipated once vaccinations in multiple countries make widespread quarantine-free travel possible. That would likely push up premium cabin fares and squeeze out some leisure flyers., For now though, pent-up demand to see friends and family is so strong in some markets that it’s the corporates that are getting squeezed. Qantas has , of business traffic return, even as travel in Australia booms. Delta’s domestic leisure bookings have reached 85% of normal levels, while the corporate recovery is “slow but steady,” the U.S. airline said this month., “Summer is going to be about managing leisure demand,” Delta President Glen W. Hauenstein said on a an earnings call. “There’s a little less opportunity in terms of saving that last seat for the business customer.”, Tim Clark, president of Gulf airline Emirates, sees echoes today from the global financial crisis more than a decade ago, when business traffic also fell away. But even if that happens again, airlines can sell out their business class and premium economy cabins by dropping fares 15% to 20%, Clark said., “You take what you can get and you ensure you fill your aircraft,” he said at the World Aviation Festival., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Angus Whitley. Date Created: 26 Apr 2021, 2:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to China Tensions Spill Europe Moves Biden [/INST] China news. Title: China Tensions Spill Over as Europe Moves Toward Biden’s Side. Short_description: EU’s executive branch and Germany have each formulated legislation that would make life harder for Chinese entities to invest.. Description: A major investment deal reached in December between the European Union and China — after , of painful negotiations — may end up being the high-water mark for ties that are quickly deteriorating again., Since then, the EU’s executive branch and Germany have each formulated legislation that would , for Chinese entities to invest, while joining the U.S. in swapping tit-for-tat sanctions with Beijing. Italy’s government has turned from an enthusiastic backer of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative to , planned acquisitions by Chinese companies. And in France, China’s ambassador , when summoned in March, citing “agenda reasons.”, Taken together, the moves signal a hardening of the European stance on Beijing. And the biggest shift could be yet to come, with polls showing the German Greens party on course for a , in government after September’s election, raising the prospect of a more China-skeptic chill from Europe’s biggest economy., Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang last week, and the two pledged closer cooperation on Covid-19 vaccines and fighting climate change. Yet the talk in Berlin is that optimism around the relationship is gone, and one Chinese official characterized ties with Europe as on a downward trajectory. Whether the Greens come to power in Germany or not, EU-China relations are at a critical juncture, said the official, asking not to be identified speaking about strategic matters., The multiple signs of strain suggest Europe’s biggest players are moving closer to the views of President Joe Biden’s administration in its standoff with China. As Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds talks in London this week with his Group of Seven counterparts, a Europe more aligned with Washington would signal some repair to the damage done to transatlantic ties by the Trump administration, with implications for trade, tariffs and access to technology., “There’s been a mood shift,” said Joerg Wuttke, Beijing-based president of the European Chamber of Commerce in China and a board member of the Mercator Institute of China Studies in Berlin, one of the entities sanctioned by China in March., He cited the “perfect storm” of China’s assertiveness toward Taiwan, its move to impose political control over Hong Kong, and international sanctions over alleged human-rights abuses in the Xinjiang region, overlaid by the fact that China hasn’t followed through on its promises of opening up economically., To be sure, Europe is not uniform in its outlook, with EU members such as Hungary still eager to engage with China. And whereas Biden has said that China can expect “extreme competition” from the U.S. while it also seeks to work with Beijing on global issues such as climate change, Europe faces more of a dilemma as its strives to forge its own path., Economic ties remain paramount since China is the EU’s biggest trading partner, with a total volume of some $686 billion in 2020 outstripping U.S.-China trade of $572 billion. Yet now even the Netherlands, which is among China’s top 10 trading partners, is growing , , protecting its high-tech companies from takeover and enacting a dedicated China strategy. According to the Chinese official, the U.S. has forced the EU to take sides., The sentiment was different just four months ago when Merkel helped steer the bloc to seal the EU-China , , which Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said was “an important landmark in our relationship with China.” Still subject to ratification by the European Parliament, it would provide improved access to the Chinese market for European investors while committing China to “ambitious principles” including on forced labor., Yet by late March, the EU had joined the U.S., Canada and the U.K. in imposing sanctions on China over alleged mistreatment of  Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang, including forcing them to work. Beijing responded with its own sanctions, while a , saw Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB subject to an unofficial boycott., “The EU has recently added more agenda items tied with human rights, ideology, democracy,” said Zhang Monan, senior fellow at the U.S.-Europe Institute at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges in Beijing. “This kind of opposition and friction is expected to continue.” She added that the EU is expected to formulate policy independently since it doesn’t want to be subordinate to the U.S., The European Commission is now proposing rules to levy fines and block deals targeted at foreign state-owned companies, while Merkel’s cabinet approved additional powers over foreign investment last week aimed at high-tech sectors including artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Both measures would hinder China., EU governments are set to criticize China for its crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong, according to a draft statement seen by Bloomberg ahead of a meeting next week of the bloc’s foreign ministers. The EU will pledge to “facilitate mobility” for Hong Kong citizens who face “repression due to their political beliefs” and retaliate further if China targets any EU citizens or businesses for supporting democracy in the financial center, according to the draft., China had hoped to separate economic issues from political issues and to bind Europe with its huge consumer market, but that’s increasingly impossible now, said an academic at a Chinese government-affiliated think tank. Ratification of the CAI has become more challenging, said the person, who is not authorized to comment publicly due to rules on speaking to foreign media., Signs of the tensions were on show during the virtual talks led by Merkel and Li. In a departure from usual practice, the opening remarks were not live-streamed and there was no concluding press conference. A transcript posted several hours later by Germany showed that Merkel addressed human rights, saying there were differences of opinion particularly over Hong Kong., “China and Germany have different views on some issues, this is a fact,” Li told Merkel, urging Germany not interfere in internal matters, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Li said he hoped they could “eliminate unnecessary distractions” to maintain “healthy and stable” bilateral ties., The shift in Europe has not been lost on Washington. A Biden administration official said there’s been a sea change in European thinking, coming on board with the U.S. stance on China. There’s been real evolution in Germany too, the official said., That change could get more pronounced if the Greens convert their opinion poll lead into a strong showing or even victory in September, with Merkel set to step aside. While all coalitions involve policy trade-offs, the Greens have a harsher line on China than the current administration, , an end to Beijing’s “blatant human-rights violations” and for closer European and transatlantic coordination on China., A coalition with the conservatives as suggested by polls would see continuity in German foreign policy but with “different nuances” on China, said Jana Puglierin, head of the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations. “The Greens would clearly advocate a less mercantilist policy than we have seen under Merkel,” she said., For now, Europe is determined to avoid decoupling entirely with China. French President Emmanuel Macron and Merkel held a joint call with Xi in April, and a , in China’s Global Times on April 28 referred to “optimism and confidence in China-Germany cooperation” despite the risk of “some impacts” after the election. Merkel’s would-be successors and business leaders know the “great potential” of Europe working with China, it said, “so they need to ensure healthy ties won’t be interrupted by any third party or internal conservative forces.”, Still, Wuttke at the European trade chamber said that China underestimates the concern over human rights in Germany. Especially after the departure of Merkel, who favored engagement with China, that’s likely to “translate into possibly more assertive policy in Berlin,” he said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 4:31 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Foreign Helpers Hong Kong Variant [/INST] China news. Title: Hong Kong to Test All Foreign Helpers After Variant Found. Short_description: Hong Kong Quarantines Apartment Building for 3 Weeks as Variant Case Found. Description: Hong Kong will quarantine residents of a roughly 400-unit apartment building for 21 days and test all of the city’s foreign domestic helpers after finding the first locally acquired case of a Covid-19 variant., The infected person was a 39-year-old domestic helper living in a building in the Caribbean Coast complex in the Tung Chung neighborhood, the government said. A 10-month-old baby who lived with her was also infected, it said., All foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong will need to be tested for Covid by May 9, Food and Health Secretary Sophia Chan said at a Friday evening briefing. Exemptions will apply to helpers who have completed two vaccine doses at least 14 days prior., Domestic helpers will be required to be vaccinated in order to renew their contracts, officials said., “The reason is not to have any prejudice against any particular group, the whole consideration is about risk,” said Secretary for Labor and Welfare Law Chi-kwong. “The nature of their work is looking after family members, and many of them are very elderly. Also because of them staying in Hong Kong, during the rest day, they have to meet friends, take a break but then that may cause a risk of cross-family infection, so the whole consideration is a matter of risk.”, The building was locked down starting Thursday night. All residents were required to take Covid tests, and will be taken to serve their three-week quarantine in government centers even if they test negative., Ronald Lam, controller of the government’s Centre for Health Protection, said Thursday night that the source of the person’s infection remained unknown, and that preliminary test results showed the variant N501Y, which was first found in South Africa, and a mutation, E484K, which may help the pathogen resist vaccines and antibody treatments., “Given it is the first locally infected case in the community involving mutant strains and it also transmitted to one of the family members, we think the situation is very grim,” Lam said. “We have to conduct a series of measures for prevention and control.”, The lockdown of an entire building could fuel frustration with Hong Kong’s erratic Covid response, with business owners and residents alike angered by inconsistent and confusing measures, including the stopping and starting of in-person school classes and byzantine new rules for restaurants that can stay open later if staff and patrons have been immunized., Kabeeta Gurung, 49, a resident of the building in Caribbean Coast who runs an international kindergarten in Tung Chung, talked about the lockdown., “It’s very well managed but at the same time it’s very contradictory,” she said. “The protocols for testing were amazing. The booths were set up and the fences put up, but we were all herded, literately hundreds of us -- I was sort of backing into someone’s back.”, Gurung said she was fully vaccinated and had received her second dose more than two weeks ago. “What’s the point of getting vaccinated? Why couldn’t they done a home quarantine?” she said., The city is working to incentivize vaccinations, but its rollout is being hampered by a perceived lack of urgency amid low daily caseloads, distrust of local government messaging following unprecedented unrest, and widespread public concern about the effectiveness and the extremely rare side effects of vaccines., People coming from Hong Kong who are participating in a quarantine-free , with Singapore due to start next month must have had two vaccine doses at least 14 days before flying., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Felix Tam &. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 10:10 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Immigration Law Hong Kong Exit Ban Concern [/INST] China news. Title: Hong Kong’s Immigration Law Raises Concern Over Exit Ban. Short_description: Hong Kong Passes New Immigration Bill Raising Fears of Exit Ban. Description: Hong Kong’s government passed an immigration law that raises concern it could be used to prevent dissidents from leaving the city., The , passed Wednesday allows the city’s immigration director to block an airline passenger or crew member from boarding a departing plane. The legislation, which takes effect on Aug. 1, also expedites the handling of refugees, including speeding up the repatriation of claimants who have been rejected., Several prominent pro-democracy activists and politicians have fled abroad from Hong Kong in recent months to escape the threat of prosecution. The city has a pursued a flood of criminal cases against dissidents, securing a 14-month prison sentence earlier this month against media tycoon Jimmy Lai for attending unauthorized protests., The Hong Kong Bar Association , concern in February that the law could give “unfettered power” to impose a travel ban and , on the government to make clear that it would not apply to Hong Kong residents. The group said Thursday it didn’t have anything to add to its earlier statements., The government has , the worries as “complete nonsense,” saying that the law is aimed at tackling a surge in refugee claims in recent years and denied it will have any impact on locals’ ability to come and go from the Asian financial center., The Civic Party said in a statement that it was “deeply shocked” that the law passed despite the concerns of the public., The pro-democracy group said that if the legislation was intended to stem the flow of people to the city to claim refugee status, it should explicitly limit the government’s powers to arriving flights “to avoid the possibility the authorities expand their power to prohibit Hong Kong people from leaving in the future.”, Lawyer Michael Vidler of Vidler & Co. Solicitors said the lack of debate before the law’s passage has fed suspicions about how it will be used. “Any legislation which has been pushed through without there being proper consultation or consideration and review in light of the input by civil society is usually going to be problematic,” he said., The U.S. State Department says in a travel , for China that the country uses “exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries without due process of law.” Two Australian journalists , China last year after saying they had been initially banned from leaving., See: , Beijing has tightened its political grip over Hong Kong following historic and sometimes-violent protests in 2019 through measures including the imposition of a national security law last year., Former Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui is among the people to flee clampdown, and last month , in Australia. He had gone to Europe while on bail for criminal charges and then traveled to the U.K., A group of 12 Hong Kong activists was , in August last year by the Chinese coast guard as they tried to run to democratically ruled Taiwan by speedboat. Before the voyage, 10 had been charged by Hong Kong authorities for their involvement in the demonstrations., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Kari Soo Lindberg. Date Created: 28 Apr 2021, 4:35 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Blistering Rally Steel boom Iron Ore Sights [/INST] China news. Title: Iron Ore’s Blistering Rally Sets Sights on $200 as Steel Booms. Short_description: Iron Ore’s Blistering Rally Sets Sights on $200 as Steel Booms. Description: A surge in steel consumption as the world emerges from its pandemic-induced slump is set to drive iron ore to an unprecedented high as the biggest miners struggle to keep up with the frenzied pace of demand., Expectations are building that benchmark prices can get to $200 a ton -- topping the record $194 hit more than a decade ago -- as Chinese steelmakers ramp up production in defiance of government attempts to rein in output to control the industry’s carbon emissions. That’s tightening an iron ore market that hadn’t fully recovered from a supply shock more than two years ago., “Iron ore prices could go higher in the short-term and exceeding $200 a ton is definitely possible,” said Kim Christie, a senior analyst at consultancy Wood Mackenzie Ltd. It would only take extra supply concerns, or additional strength in Chinese steel production, for prices to get there, she said., At the heart of spot iron ore’s 14% climb last month, helping drive the , commodities rally, has been rising steel prices from Asia to North America. Particular focus has been on China, where the economy has boomed and a swath of measures aimed at cleaning up the world’s biggest steel industry pushed mill profitability to the highest in more than a decade., “What these high margins do is incentivize mills to build up stocks and to charge more high-grade ore to lift productivity,” said Erik Hedborg​, principal analyst at CRU Group. “We have seen a bit of an ‘additional iron ore demand’ for the purpose of increasing inventories.”, Iron ore futures on the Singapore Exchange advanced 0.4% to $186.50 a ton on Wednesday amid muting trading, with China shut for a holiday., Benchmark 62% spot iron ore was at $187.20 a ton on Friday, while 65% ore was at $223.30. Mills typically turn to material with higher iron content during periods of steel production restrictions as a way to lower emissions. Morgan Stanley has called China’s supply reforms a possible “game changer” for demand for premium ore, with grade differentials unlikely to normalize any time soon., Citigroup expects benchmark prices to hit $200 within weeks. There will be a deficit of 18 million tons during the first three quarters of 2021 amid improved global steel demand and a slight miss in top miners’ shipments. The bank had previously predicted a 1 million-ton surplus., BHP Group and Rio Tinto Group , last month that quarterly shipments dropped on weather-related disruptions in Australia, though both maintained full-year guidance. Vale SA churned out less ore than expected, highlighting its struggles to boost volumes after a tailings dam disaster in early 2019., China is on track to make more than 1 billion tons of steel for the second year in a row despite production curbs in several provinces. The government’s recent , to rebates on export taxes are also unlikely to be sufficient to deter output, according to Wood Mackenzie’s Christie., “If China wants to slow steel production, it needs to temper domestic demand” which is highly leveraged toward construction, Christie said. “We expect to see additional measures from the government aimed at cooling steel demand, especially in the property sector, and that will likely be the catalyst for a correction in iron ore prices.”, More broadly, Chinese authorities have flagged plans to strengthen controls on raw material markets. The China Iron and Steel Association has said steelmakers are facing operational pressures due to elevated input costs., Analysts expect iron ore to ease over the course of the year, citing factors including China’s steel-output measures taking effect and iron ore supply growth accelerating. Still, some market watchers have estimates for the second half of the year that are above $100 a ton. Citigroup has forecast a drop to that level only under its most bearish scenario, while WoodMac says prices won’t get below that threshold for another 12 months., “We do also see fundamentals potentially easing with Brazilian supply lifting as we continue into the year,” said Dim Ariyasinghe, a research analyst at UBS Group AG. “Ultimately, while there is underlying steel demand and margins are positive, we expect to see continued strength in the iron ore price.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Annie Lee. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 12:31 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to result Past April deadline China Huarong Delays [/INST] China news. Title: China Huarong Delays 2020 Results Past April Deadline. Short_description: China Huarong Delays Release of 2020 Results Past April Deadline. Description: China Huarong Asset Management Co. said its 2020 earnings results would be delayed past an April 30 deadline, potentially further fraying investors’ nerves after mounting worries over potential defaults by the state-owned bad-debt manager caused a meltdown in its bonds., The company’s auditors need more time to finalize an unspecified transaction before it can publish the results, according to a , posted on Chinamoney.com, which is run by China Foreign Exchange Trade System. Huarong reiterated that its operations are stable and all lines of business are running normally., The firm, China’s largest distressed-asset manager, missed an earlier March 31 deadline to announce preliminary results, also saying that its auditors needed more time. The company’s shares have been suspended since April 1., China Huarong’s initial delay of the announcement stoked concerns over its financial health and kicked off an almost two-week plunge in its dollar bonds. Three major credit firms, Moody’s Investors Service, Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings, have put the company’s debt rating on review for a potential downgrade., The issuer’s 5.5% dollar bond due 2025 is indicated at 80 cents on the dollar, while the 4.5% perpetual note is indicated at 73 cents, Bloomberg-compiled prices show., The Hong Kong stock exchange, where the shares are listed, has a deadline of April 30 for companies to file final 2020 results. Trading in China Huarong’s shares , resume until it it provides a financial update. In some extreme cases, Hong Kong’s stock exchange can cancel listings if shares are suspended for a prolonged period., Market worries eased after , that Huarong made moves to pay off bonds maturing in April. Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the company proposed a sweeping , which includes offloading its unprofitable, non-core businesses to revive profitability and avoid the need for a debt restructuring., China’s Ministry of Finance, Huarong’s biggest shareholder, is considering , its ownership stake to Central Huijin Investment Ltd., a unit of the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg earlier this month., China is also considering a , that would see the central bank assume more than 100 billion yuan ($15.4 billion) of assets from China Huarong to help the company clean up its balance sheet, Bloomberg reported last week., Huarong is one of four state-owned entities , in 1999 to help manage bad debt in the country’s banking system. The firm listed in Hong Kong after a $2.5 billion initial public offering in 2015, giving it a market value of more than $15 billion. Its shares last traded at a third of that., Under former Chairman Lai Xiaomin, Huarong expanded into areas including securities trading, trusts and other investments, deviating from the original mandate of disposing of bad debt. But it has faced challenges since Lai came under investigation in 2018. He was executed earlier this year for bribery after a brief trial, an unusually harsh sentence for such a crime., The company owes bondholders the equivalent of $41.8 billion, with $16.9 billion of that falling due by the end of next year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Huarong , a 92% drop in net income for the first half of 2020 as the value of some assets fell in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: John Cheng. Date Created: 25 Apr 2021, 2:39 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Surprise Bond Reprieve Crunch Fears China [/INST] China news. Title: China’s Surprise Bond Reprieve Raises Fears of Crunch in May. Short_description: China’s Sovereign Bonds Defy Expectations of an April Reckoning. Description: , Fears of a selloff in China’s sovereign bond market have proved wrong, with traders now bracing for the pressure to build through May., Instead of surging higher this month, benchmark 10-year yields are comfortably below their half-year average and little changed from late March, thanks to a , in debt issuance by municipal authorities., Traders had been , a seasonal increase in local bonds at a time when China’s commercial banks -- the biggest buyers in the market -- typically funnel funds to clients to meet tax payments. Banks would then offload sovereign notes so they could snap up the riskier but more lucrative munis. That failed to happen in April, and there’s now concern of a bigger liquidity crunch next month., “The supply pressure will erupt eventually,” said Xing Zhaopeng, a senior China strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Shanghai. “Happening later than expected means there will be more buildup,” said Xing, who forecasts local government debt issuance and annual tax settlements will drain a combined 800 billion yuan ($124 billion) in May, resulting in liquidity falling 1.6 trillion yuan short of what will be needed., The reckoning didn’t come in April because local authorities are still drawing on leftover funds from previous debt sales, , . And with the , limiting cash injections into the economy, taking some heat out of the stock market, investors bought into money-market funds, adding to liquidity in the system., The 10-year yield touched a near three-month low of 3.15% on April 21 and is set to end the month little changed around 3.18%. That compares with about 1.65% on Treasuries of the same maturity. Japanese 10-year government bonds yield little more than zero and German bunds are deep in , ., Qi Sheng, an analyst at Founder Securities Co. in Beijing, believes a downtrend in Chinese yields now looks “more clear than ever.”, “The closely-watched April tax period passed more smoothly than expected and didn’t cause a shortage of funds,” Qi said. “Economic fundamentals haven’t changed, nor have the direction of central bank policy or credit risks.”, Read: Carry Trades in China, Korea Rank Best in Low-Yield Covid World, Bond sales in China are closely scrutinized as investors attempt to gauge the pace of policy normalization in the world’s second-biggest economy. Stock traders have , recent moves by the People’s Bank of China to roll over medium-term lending facilities as signs of tapering, while others point to larger-than-expected local government debt quota as indications that driving an economic recovery remains a priority for Beijing., Others are concerned that pressure points will surface before long., While regional governments have so far sold fewer bonds than in previous years, the quota for special debt issuance remains at a whopping 3.65 trillion yuan. Though that’s lower than what was permitted in 2020, it exceeds the 3.5 trillion yuan expected by economists surveyed., Global funds , holdings of Chinese government debt for the first time in two years in March., “The supply pressure on government bonds didn’t appear in April as fiscal expenditure was very seasonal because local governments were able to use leftover funds,” said Sun Binbin, chief fixed-income analyst at Tianfeng Securities Co. in Shanghai. Liquidity in the banking system could be 850 billion yuan short of what is needed in May as issuance accelerates again, said Sun., And although local authorities sold only 222.7 billion yuan of special bonds for infrastructure spending between January and April -- five times less than in 2020 -- the pace did pick up this month., Funding costs for non-bank financial institutions were also lower than usual in April, allowing them to purchase more negotiable certificates of deposit from banks, said Liu Yu, an analyst at Guangfa Securities. This is set to change in May, crimping the amount of funds banks have at their disposal, she wrote this week., Meanwhile, finance ministry official Xu Jinghua said the issuance window this year for local government special bonds will be relatively narrow, as the new quota hasn’t been fully allocated, and that the securities should be sold at a balanced pace, Chinabond magazine reported., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 2:46 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to New Flash Point U.S. Allies hotspot China [/INST] China news. Title: China’s New Flash Point With U.S. Allies Is a Hotspot for Spying. Short_description: China’s New Flash Point With U.S. Allies Is a Hotspot for Spying. Description: Ever since fighting ended in the Korean War nearly seven decades ago, Baengnyeong has been a key location for U.S. allies in Seoul to spy on North Korea. Yet now the island is on China’s radar., China spooked South Korea in December by sending a warship past a self-imposed boundary near the island to probe the limits of the country’s claims in the Yellow Sea. The move, described as rare by South Korean lawmakers, comes as China’s military bolsters its presence in the disputed waters., Roughly 5,000 residents on Baengnyeong have also become wary of an influx of Chinese fishing boats near the island, which sits in a strategic location perpendicular to the Bohai Strait — the main waterway providing access to Beijing. In years past the island’s quartzite beach — one of a handful of natural runways in the world — was used for sorties in the Korean War., “North Korea was definitely our major concern,” Park Soon-ae, who collects seafood on the island for a living, said as about a dozen Chinese fishing boats bobbed in waves nearby. “You see the sea behind me? That sea will be filled with Chinese fishing vessels in a few weeks when the crab season comes. And now what, warships? This can’t be true.”, Much of the focus on Beijing’s naval expansion often revolves around Taiwan and disputed territory with American allies Japan and the Philippines, which together make up the so-called First Island Chain blocking China from easy access to the Pacific Ocean. But China’s increased activity in the Yellow Sea — known as the West Sea in Seoul — shows that Beijing is also worried about a scenario in which the U.S. imposes a blockade much closer to its shores., “China wants to make the sea a buffer zone to expand its maritime influence and secure a path for its fleets to exit to the south — and the ROK stands in its way of realizing that goal,” said Shin Won-sik, a former general in South Korea’s military who now serves as a lawmaker with the parliament’s Defense Committee, referring to South Korea’s official name. “Its ultimate goal is to gain full control in the West Sea, to prohibit the U.S.’s maritime activity in the waters and enable swift military action in times of emergency.”, Caught in the middle is Baengnyeong, which sits just 13 kilometers (8 miles) from North Korea and has long been a focus of intelligence agents from the two Koreas. South Korea’s military has installed dozens of radars on the island, some easily seen by the public. In 2013, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stared at the island through binoculars and threatened to engulf it in flames. A year later a North Korean drone ,  on Baengnyeong in an alleged attempt to spy on South Korea’s surveillance capabilities., One key problem is that three unilateral maritime boundaries near the island remain disputed, opening the door for potential conflict. Back in 1953, after fighting stopped, U.S.-led forces unilaterally drew a maritime border known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL) that put Baengnyeong and other islands under South Korea’s control. In 2010, an international investigation concluded North Korea torpedoed the South Korean warship Cheonan near the island, killing 46 sailors — an allegation Pyongyang denies., Beijing authorities set a boundary in 2013 staking out China’s so-called maritime Area of Operations (AO) line along 124 degrees east longitude in the Yellow Sea about 50 kilometers west of Baengnyeong. The headquarters of China’s North Sea Fleet sit across the waters in the port of Qingdao, and the deployment of new aircraft carriers requires more space to maneuver in the Yellow Sea., South Korea’s territorial claims, meanwhile, extend 20 kilometers west of Baengnyeong, with a buffer zone of about 30 kilometers between its line and China’s boundary. According to military documents acquired by Shin through his position on the Defense Committee, Chinese ships appeared near Beijing’s self-claimed AO every day last year to “patrol and monitor its neighboring countries’ military power.”, In December, Shin added, Beijing sent a patrol ship into the buffer zone about 40 kilometers away from Baengnyeong, prompting South Korea’s Navy to respond immediately by sending a battleship that was guarding the Northern Limit Line. Shin, who is a member of the main opposition People Power Party, said the Chinese aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong conducted around 20 maritime exercises last year in the area while anti-submarine drills took place about 10 times., South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff had no comment on Shin’s remarks or Chinese patrols. China’s Foreign Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment about Chinese military activities near the island., China’s goal in the West Pacific is to deter the U.S. and its allies from projecting power in areas containing core national interests, according to Zhao Tong, a senior fellow at the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing., “This requires the PLA to prioritize the modernization of its naval power and acquire sea-control capabilities to deny access to key theaters around its coast,” Zhao said, referring to the People’s Liberation Army in China., For China, which often casts President Xi Jinping’s policies in historical terms, memories of foreign armies descending on Beijing through the Bohai Strait are still relevant. China reacted harshly when the U.S. sent an aircraft carrier to the Yellow Sea in 2010 for a joint naval drill with South Korea, according to Zhang Baohui, director of the Center for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong., “The Yellow Sea constitutes a core national security interest of China,” he said., While Chinese trawlers have fished near South Korea’s waters for years, tensions with China began to ratchet up in 2016. South Korea accused Chinese fishing boats of deliberately ramming a South Korean Coast Guard cutter, causing it to sink., China has used fleets of trawlers to assert territorial claims in other places around Asia such as the South China Sea. In March, the U.S. and Philippines blasted China for sending a “maritime militia” of more than 200 vessels to a disputed reef in the waters. Beijing insisted they were merely sheltering from bad weather., On Baengnyeong, residents are growing impatient with China’s moves and want President Moon Jae-in to do more. South Korea’s leader has sought to balance ties with China, the country’s biggest trading partner, and the U.S., its main security partner for more than seven decades., South Korea is planning to build airports to serve civilian and military aircraft on Baengnyeong and the Yellow Sea island of Heuksan further to the south. Residents said the airport would help them feel safer, but they wanted the government in Seoul to do more to deter China., “The military and Coast Guard should crack down on these Chinese fishing boats,” said Im Goon-jae, a 63-year-old resident who works for the island’s hospitality industry. “They need to block them far out.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jeong-Ho Lee. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 4:56 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Coal Crunch Hits Fertilizers Food Security China [/INST] China news. Title: China Warns on Food Security as Coal Crunch Hits Fertilizers. Short_description: China Warns on Food Security as Energy Crunch Hits Fertilizers. Description: China once again warned of the impact of skyrocketing energy prices on fertilizer supplies and signaled concern that food security could be affected. , The National Development and Reform Commission said fertilizers are important for agricultural production and , , and urged authorities to ensure stable prices and prioritize the supply of raw materials and energy to chemical fertilizer companies, according to a WeChat statement. , The global fertilizer market is , due to extreme weather, plant shutdowns and government sanctions, hitting farmers already buckling under the strain of rising costs and stoking fears that , could worsen. In China, the rally has caught the attention of regulators, adding to a range of commodities that Beijing is , . The NDRC, China’s top economic planner, vowed in June to crack down on urea hoarding and price gouging. , Urea futures in Zhengzhou hit a new high Thursday, tracking a rally in coal prices. While natural gas is the primary feedstock for nitrogen producers around the world, most Chinese producers use coal, making them vulnerable to Beijing’s increasingly strict policies around air pollution and the environment more broadly., Shares of Chinese fertilizer companies were mixed after the NDRC statement. Xinyangfeng Agricultural Technology Co. fell by the daily limit in Shenzhen, while Luxi Chemical Group lost as much as 7.1%. In contrast, Hong Kong-listed Sinofert Holdings Ltd., China’s top fertilizer supplier and a unit of state-owned Sinochem Group, gained as much as 5.7%. , ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jasmine Ng. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 9:23 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to China Port Signals Trouble Australia Probe Beijing [/INST] China news. Title: Australia Probe of China Port Signals Trouble for Beijing. Short_description: Australia Probe of China Port Signals Trouble for Beijing. Description: Five years ago, Australia’s defense chief dismissed worries over a Chinese company leasing a port used by U.S. Marines as “simply absurd.” Now the government in Canberra is weighing whether to force a sale due to national security concerns., Defence Minister Peter Dutton confirmed over the weekend that his department will advise the government on what to do with the port. Asked whether the government would consider forced divestiture, he told the Sydney Morning Herald that officials would consider the national interest., The decision risks further hurting China-Australia ties, which have plummeted since Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an independent investigation into the coronavirus origin and strengthened defense ties with the U.S., India and Japan. It will also have ramifications far beyond Australia as the U.S. pushes countries to avoid cutting deals with Chinese companies on strategic infrastructure investments, from ports to undersea cables to 5G networks., While Australia has cited national security in to block Chinese companies like Huawei Technologies Co., scrapping an existing deal would be unprecedented in the modern era, according to Hans Hendrischke, a professor of Chinese business and management at the University of Sydney. He , that China is turning more toward venture capital in developed markets as direct investment becomes untenable., “It’s an escalation that’s part of the decoupling process that’s happening globally connected with Chinese companies -- and long-term, major infrastructure investments,” Hendrischke said of Australia’s decision. “There has been pressure on Australia to revoke that deal because it’s seen to clash with U.S. interests.”, Back in 2015, when the Northern Territory government sold a 99-year lease for the Port of Darwin to Chinese firm Landbridge Group for A$506 million ($391 million), Australian officials played down any criticism. Dennis Richardson, who was then secretary of the Defense Department, rejected concerns the People’s Liberation Army could gain access to the port as “alarmist nonsense.”, “The notion that Landbridge is leasing Darwin somehow or other as part of a broader strategic play by China and this gives the PLA navy access to Darwin is simply absurd,” Richardson told lawmakers in Canberra at the time. He said there was no chance of China spying on U.S.-Australian communications because naval vessels go silent in any commercial port., In a sign of how rapidly times have changed, Australia’s Home Affairs Secretary Michael Pezzullo last week told his staff that “in a world of perpetual tension and dread, the drums of war beat.” While he didn’t directly mention China, he said free nations were watching “worryingly the militarization of issues that we had, until recent years, thought unlikely to be catalysts for war.”, China has sought to blame Australia for the downturn in ties while accusing Morrison’s government of “, .” Asked last week about speculation Australia would move to scrap the Darwin lease, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said his government would “firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese businesses investing and operating overseas.”, “We , the Australian side will look at bilateral cooperation in an objective and rational light and stop disrupting normal exchange and cooperation with China,” Wang told reporters in Beijing., Should Morrison’s government decide to revoke the port deal, it will “most definitely” happen as it has a constitutional right to override laws made in the Northern Territory, as well as additional powers in relation to defense matters, said , , a professor of international law at the Australian National University., “The major issues if the Commonwealth seeks to revoke the arrangement would be the commercial legal consequences,” including penalties or compensation, Rothwell said. While the Port of Darwin’s commercial arrangements aren’t in the public domain, the matter could be settled quickly depending on the position of the federal government, he said., Economic ties between the nations have taken a hit in recent years. China‘s trade reprisals at Australia have hit a range of commodities from coal to beef to barley and lobster, while Chinese investment Down Under plunged to about A$1 billion last year from a peak of A$16.5 billion in 2016, according to Australian National University , ., Even so, the proportion of Australian exports to China climbed to 43% by the end of 2020 even as the relationship unraveled thanks to the relentless rise in iron ore prices as China’s early emergence from Covid-19 spurred demand for the steelmaking ingredient. Major producers have struggled to keep pace with demand from Chinese steel mills, pushing the price to $193 a ton in April, just shy of its 2010 record., Although China was the top buyer of Australian wine before the tariffs, accounting for 40% of shipments, strong European sales have helped counter the slump. The key danger ahead relates to international education and tourism, which are currently in stasis due to , of international borders: China accounts for more than a third of foreign students in Australia and Chinese tourists account for 15% of visitors., Despite the hit on some sectors of the economy, Australia’s tough stance on China is likely to play well with voters, according to Natasha Kassam, a former Australian diplomat who is the director of the Lowy Institute’s public opinion and foreign policy program., “It would be very significant and send a strong message in terms of future Chinese investment,” she said when asked about the ramifications of a forced sale of the Darwin port lease. “Australia was probably thinking a year ago it could reach a new settling point with China, but that’s proven elusive.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jason Scott &. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 6:11 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Growth Surge Masks Uneven Recovery Vaccine risk Hong Kong [/INST] China news. Title: Hong Kong’s Growth Surge Masks Uneven Recovery, Vaccine Risk. Short_description: Hong Kong’s Strong Growth Masks Uneven Recovery, Vaccine Risks. Description: , Hong Kong’s economy posted its fastest growth in more than a decade in the first quarter, though the recovery is an uneven one led mainly by exports and held back by weak consumer spending and a slow vaccine rollout., After declining for a record six quarters, gross domestic product surged 7.8% from a year earlier, advance data showed Monday, beating all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The figures were partly distorted by the low base a year ago when the economy was in lockdown, but the quarter-on-quarter expansion, a better reflection of growth momentum, also outperformed., The latest data show an export sector that’s booming but consumption that remains subdued. The city’s hotels and retail shops are reliant on tourism spending, especially from visitors from the mainland, and border closures have hurt those sectors. Retail sales unexpectedly slowed in March, according to a government report Tuesday., The city’s ability to reopen and fully rebound from the pandemic will depend on its , rollout, with low participation so far hindering the economy’s outlook., “Having a high vaccination rate is important to have the border open between Hong Kong and China and also between Hong Kong and other foreign economies,” said Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING Bank NV. “Without the border open economic activities will only grow slowly.”, Hong Kong has endured its most economically challenging two-year stretch in its history, posting unprecedented back-to-back annual contractions in 2019 and 2020 as the city grappled with waves of political unrest, fallout from the deteriorating U.S.-China relationship, and the Covid-19 pandemic., The economy has recently showed signs of stronger recovery. Exports surged above HK$400 billion ($51.5 billion) for the first time ever in March while unemployment dropped the most since 2003 in the month, easing back from a 17-year high., Although retail sales by value gained in February for the first time since 2019, the growth rate unexpectedly slowed to 20.1% in March, according to government data released Tuesday, much lower than the 34% projected by economists. Spending has improved with the relaxation of some social distancing controls, but the near-term outlook remains challenging with tourism in the doldrums, the government said., The government will announce revised figures for first-quarter GDP as well as its latest projections for full-year growth on May 14. Financial Secretary Paul Chan has previously estimated the economy will expand 3.5% to 5.5% in 2021, but that’s likely to be revised higher now, given the strong growth data., Citigroup Inc. raised its full-year growth forecast by 2 percentage points to 6%, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists upgraded theirs to 9.2% from 4.6%., Still, economic activity remains below pre-recession levels as the pandemic and social distancing measures continue to weigh on consumer spending and tourism, the government said in its report Monday. While export demand is set to remain strong, “the revival of tourism-related activities will likely be slow in view of the still austere pandemic situation in many places around the world,” it said., “Gradual relaxation of social distancing bodes well for domestic activities,” said Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. “What’s concerning is the relatively slow vaccination rate and the variant of virus strain. The government will maintain a tough stance in virus control measure.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Eric Lam. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 5:47 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to travel Restart Vaccines equal [/INST] China news. Title: When It Comes to a Travel Restart All Vaccines Are Not Equal. Short_description: Vaccine Travel Rules Widen the Rift Between China and the West. Description: , With the resumption of global travel on the horizon, some people are discovering that their choice of vaccine could determine where they’re allowed to go., Already, the European Union is planning to allow Americans vaccinated with shots approved by their drug agency to enter over the summer, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen suggested in a New York Times interview Sunday., This means that those who have shots by Chinese makers like Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and Sinopharm Group Co. Ltd. are likely to be barred from entry for the foreseeable future, with stark consequences for global business activity and the revival of international tourism., As inoculation efforts ramp up around the world, a patchwork of approvals across countries and regions is laying the groundwork for a global vaccine bifurcation, where the shot you get could determine which countries you can enter and work in., For Chinese citizens who venture abroad regularly, and western nationals wanting to pursue business opportunities in the world’s second-largest economy, a dilemma is emerging about which shot to opt for. China so far recognizes only Chinese-made shots, and its vaccines are not approved in the U.S. or Western Europe., Hong Kong citizen Marie Cheung travels to mainland China regularly for her work with an electric vehicle company, a routine that’s been interrupted by lengthy mandated quarantine stays since the pandemic began., Of the two vaccine options available in the city -- one from Sinovac and another developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE -- Cheung plans to sign up for Sinovac for easier movement in and out of the mainland. Meanwhile, her British husband will go for the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, she , boost his chances of visiting family in the U.K., “For people who need to work in or return to mainland, the Chinese vaccine is the only option for them,” Cheung said. “Westerners will only choose the vaccine recognized by their home country.”, For millions of people worldwide who can’t choose which vaccines they get, the risk of more places becoming selective about which shots they recognize, especially given the vaccines’ varying efficacy rates, creates the possibility that even fully inoculated, people’s travel could still be limited -- with consequences for international business activity and the tourism industry., The EU plans to introduce vaccine passes as of June, which will allow travel for those inoculated or recently recovered from Covid and are thus considered immune. According to the draft of the regulation -- subject to ongoing negotiations between EU governments and the European Parliament -- all vaccines approved by the bloc’s drugs regulator will be acceptable for travel, though EU members are “encouraged” to accept vaccines that have secured World Health Organization approval for emergency use and recognize certificates issued by non-EU nations. The final decision on which vaccines will be accepted rests on individual member states., “A global division of peoples based around vaccine adoption will only exacerbate and continue the economic and political effects of the pandemic,” said Nicholas Thomas, associate professor in health security at the City University of Hong Kong. “It will risk the world being divided into vaccine silos based on vaccine nationalism rather than medical necessity.”, Many countries have shut their borders amid the pandemic, some allowing entry only to citizens, and even then with weeks-long quarantines after arrival. While vaccines are seen as the way to remove those entry barriers, considerable uncertainty remains over how, or if, nations will differentiate the at least 11 shots available worldwide., Governments from China to Europe are discussing vaccine passports -- easily accessible and verifiable certifications stating that an individual has been inoculated -- but it’s unclear if countries will pursue universal recognition of all shots, or be selective on which they choose to recognize, particularly with the rise of virus variants and questions over whether the current crop of vaccines are as effective against them., China , visa application requirements for foreigners who had been inoculated with Chinese shots in March, including the ability to skip Covid tests or fill out travel declaration forms. The country’s homegrown vaccines are only available in some countries, like Brazil, Pakistan and Serbia. You can’t get Sinovac or the other Chinese shots in the U.S., But in a sign that Beijing may be cognizant of the economic costs of being selective on vaccines, the Chinese embassy in Washington , this week that travelers who had taken certain western shots could still enter the country if they were departing from Dallas in Texas. State media has , that the Pfizer-BioNTech shot is likely to be approved mid-year., “We do think that it’s important to get a very high percentage of the community vaccinated and the best way to do that is to offer choice,” said Ker Gibbs, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. As a key market and source of business for companies around the world, China’s border restrictions -- among the world’s strictest -- have “had a major impact on our ability to conduct business,” he said., “Just speaking with our members, mobility is a high priority for us both in terms of allowing our executives to come in and out of China, but also to have their dependents travel back to China,” Gibbs said. “That’s been a big problem.”, China isn’t the only place that’s restricting access to people with certain vaccinations. Iceland currently omits Chinese and Russian vaccines from the , of those it approves for entry., The question of vaccine recognition is a key one for tourism-dependent countries, with the $9 trillion , effectively paralyzed since the pandemic began., China’s approach to this issue may impact their decision-making, as Chinese tourists have been among the biggest groups of foreign visitors to travel hot spots in Southeast Asia, , and New Zealand and capitals as far away as Paris before the pandemic., There were 155 million outbound tourists in 2019 spending more than $133 billion abroad, according to the China Tourism Academy, a government think tank and subsidiary of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. While Indonesia, home to Bali, and Thailand have approved and are administering Chinese shots, New Zealand and Australia -- which has seen its relations with China deteriorate the past year over the virus and trade -- do not., “I don’t know how practical it will be for western countries to recognize Chinese vaccines given the geopolitical environment,” said Ether Yin, a partner at Trivium China, a Beijing-based consultancy. “But there won’t be a true resumption of global travel or economy without the inclusion of China, plus dozens of economies who used Chinese vaccines.”, Katy Niu, a 26, Chinese citizen, is a skiing enthusiast and frequent traveler living in Beijing. It’s unclear whether she’ll be returning to international slopes like those in Japan’s Hokkaido anytime soon. Prior to the pandemic, she used to travel internationally at least three times a year, from shopping on Paris’s Champs Elysées to relaxing on a Southeast Asian beach., Niu hasn’t gotten a vaccine yet, saying she didn’t , any urgency since she’s not currently able to travel -- and doesn’t see it opening up in the near future., “If other countries don’t recognize the Chinese vaccine, does that mean vaccination is not going to make a difference?” she said. “We are not offered a western vaccine anyways -- we don’t have a choice.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 26 Apr 2021, 2:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to fitch Cuts China Growth Forecast Property curb [/INST] China news. Title: Fitch Cuts China’s Growth Forecast to 8.1% on Property Curbs. Short_description: Fitch Cuts China’s Growth Forecast to 8.1% on Property Curbs. Description: , Fitch Ratings lowered China’s economic growth projections for 2021 and 2022 as a slowdown in the property market weighs on domestic demand. , Gross domestic product is forecast to expand 8.1% this year, down from a previous projection of 8.4%, while the forecast for 2022 was cut to 5.2% from 5.5%, the ratings company said in a statement Thursday, based on its global report released last week., The cooling in the property sector is the key driver behind the forecast downgrades, although pandemic-related restrictions imposed in July and August also weighed on China’s recovery, it said. , Other highlights from the statement:, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 8:41 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Huarong Investors Earnings Delay Respite chaos [/INST] China news. Title: No Respite for Huarong Investors as Earnings Delay Adds to Chaos. Short_description: No Respite for Huarong Investors as Earnings Delay Adds to Chaos. Description: What investors in China Huarong Asset Management Co. want is transparency over its future. What they’re getting is a lesson in how opaque Chinese state-owned companies can be., On Sunday, the embattled firm announced it wouldn’t publish its 2020 earnings by the end of this month -- the deadline required by Hong Kong’s stock exchange. Instead of providing clarity, the company released a thinly-worded , in Chinese only, mostly reiterating information that investors already knew. There was no indication of when results would be published or if anything has changed since its April 1 filing to the city’s exchange, where China Huarong shares trade., Reaction in the offshore bond market was negative on Monday, underscoring concerns among international investors that they’re low on China Huarong’s priority list. The bad-debt manager chose to publish the widely anticipated update on an online platform run by China’s interbank and foreign exchange trading system, rather than on Hong Kong’s exchange as would be typical for a listed company. Last week, the company’s offshore unit , it returned to profit in a statement posted on its WeChat account., “Bondholders have no leverage over management,” said Owen Gallimore, head of trading strategy at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group. “Initially we were told that it was a simple auditor delay, in-line with many others companies’ late filings at the time. Then we were comforted that ‘operations normal and liquidity ample’ with the annual report out soon. But we are still waiting.”, China Huarong’s 3.75% dollar bond due 2022 fell 3.5 cents on the dollar to 81.9, while the firm’s 4.5% perpetual bond dropped 5.4 cents to 70.3 cents, Bloomberg-compiled prices show., The offhand approach to international investors comes with a cost. Increased uncertainty boosts volatility in the company’s investment-grade debt, making the instruments trade more like stressed bonds. This effectively prevents China Huarong from selling more dollar debt, making it harder for the firm to refinance. The company has some $7 billion in local and offshore bonds maturing this year, including S$600 million ($453 million) and 915 million yuan ($141 million) notes both due April 27, Bloomberg-compiled data show., There’s a broader impact too as investors become more , toward Chinese firms. While ultra-safe firms like Bank of China Ltd. units and Tencent Holdings Ltd. have raised funds in the offshore bond market this month, only one first-time Chinese dollar-bond issuer has tapped the market. That’s down from a monthly average of about eight deals from debut issuers last year. Spreads on a Bloomberg Barclays index of investment-grade Chinese dollar bonds rose to nine-month highs in mid-April., The central government may be encouraged by such concerns, provided they don’t turn into panic. President Xi Jinping wants to introduce moral hazard to the nation’s financial markets so that investors punish companies for poor governance, rather than expecting Beijing to bail them out., As for China Huarong -- its most important shareholder is the state, and public disclosures will likely be dictated by officials more focused on ensuring an outcome that doesn’t undermine financial stability. As China’s largest bad loan manager, the company is a key player in the country’s $54 trillion financial industry., Still, given bond and stockholders are likely to bear some of the cost of a successful resolution to China Huarong’s financial issues, greater openness would be welcomed. Because official communication from China Huarong is lacking in frequency and detail, investors have to turn to , , where interpreting the news can also be difficult., China’s regulator has asked banks to extend some loans by at least six months, said a Friday REDD report. The central bank is considering taking on some China Huarong assets, people with knowledge of the matter , Bloomberg News last week. Another , from Reorg Research said a debt restructuring for China Huarong International Holdings Ltd. was one option under consideration., While frustrated bondholders can always sell, holders of the Hong Kong shares are stuck in limbo with no resolution in sight., “Stock investors can’t really do anything at the moment,” said Jackson Wong, Amber Hill Capital Ltd. asset management director in Hong Kong. “It’s very hard to price the stock. Doing off-market transactions involves complex valuations and high trading costs -- only very large institutions could choose to do so if the stock remains suspended for a longer time.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Sofia Horta e Costa &. Date Created: 26 Apr 2021, 11:03 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Record High chinese industry Surge copper [/INST] China news. Title: Copper’s Surge Toward a Record High Is Hitting Chinese Industry. Short_description: Copper’s Surge Toward a Record High Is Hitting Chinese Industry. Description: Copper’s surge toward a record high is starting to cause stress for industrial consumers in China, the world’s largest market for the metal., Some Chinese manufacturers of electric wire have , units and delayed deliveries or even defaulted on bank loans, according to a survey by the Shanghai Metals Market. End-users such as power grids and property developers have also been pushing back delivery times, while producers of copper rods and pipes saw , this week, said the researcher., Copper topped $10,000 a metric ton on Thursday for the first time in a decade and has been among the best performers in a scorching surge in metals prices. The rally is being , by stimulus measures, near-zero interest rates and the global economic recovery from Covid-19., “Domestic copper users are feeling the pain right now after the recent surge caught them off guard,” said Fan Rui, an analyst at Guoyuan Futures Co. “Electric wire producers are being hit the most, with smaller plants keeping run rates low as the spike is seen slowing the pace of investment by power grids.”, A gauge of China’s manufacturing industry , in April and the services sector also weakened, suggesting the economy is still recovering but at a slower pace. To be sure, analysts at banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are predicting further gains for the metal as the global economy picks up pace., Copper fell 0.6% to settle at $9,825 a ton on London Metal Exchange at 5:53 p.m. in London. The metal reached $10,008 on Thursday, the highest since February 2011. Aluminum also declined, while nickel rose., In sign of potential weakness in Chinese physical demand, the spot contract traded at a discount of as much as 215 yuan a ton ($33) to Shanghai futures’ prices this week, the widest in about 10 months. The appetite for imports is also low, with the Yangshan copper premium, paid on top of benchmark LME prices, slumped to the lowest since data were first published in 2017., And there is a precedent for demand destruction in China amid higher prices, according to BMO Capital Markets analyst Colin Hamilton. Hamilton pointed to 2006 where prices recorded the largest January-April gain on record and came amid a credit-fueled sudden acceleration in developed world demand., “2006 was the only year this century where annual Chinese copper consumption fell on a y/y basis, as marginal buyers simply stepped away,” Hamilton said in a note., Higher price levels also could see marginal buyers pull back in the near term and look to substitute in the medium term., “$10,000/t copper now is the biggest danger to future demand use, particularly in these nascent trends where material selection is still evolving,” said Hamilton. “There is no doubt copper may be best for electrical or heat transfer performance, but with the ratio to , now well above the 3.5:1 level where we consider substitution accelerates, the risk is clear.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 12:16 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Industrial Profits Surge Prices Climb Output China [/INST] China news. Title: China’s Industrial Profits Surge as Output and Prices Climb. Short_description: China’s Industrial Profits Surge as Economy Booms, Prices Rise. Description: , Profits at Chinese industrial firms soared in March, supported by a , and , , as well as statistical distortions from last year’s low base of comparison., Industrial profits climbed 92.3% in March from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday, retreating from the dramatic increase of , in the first two months of the year, but still outpacing the , gain in December., The statistics bureau said the steady recovery was partly due to faster production and sales, but warned of a number of risks clouding the outlook., “There are still greater uncertainties in the global epidemic developments and the international environment, and the recovery between industries is still uneven,” Zhu Hong, an economist with the bureau, said in a statement. Rising commodity prices are also pushing up costs for businesses, she said., Industrial profit growth will likely slow in coming months “as the base becomes more challenging and output starts to peak.”, “Even with a slowdown, profit growth should still remain strong in the coming months -- likely in the double digits. This should continue to sustain the industrial sector’s capacity to retain workers and invest -- helping to support the broader recovery.”, Eric Zhu, China economist, For the full report, click here., The economy posted record growth in the first quarter, with signs of a more balanced recovery underway. Growth in industrial production remained solid in March, while producer prices climbed by the most since July 2018, boding well for profits as companies charge higher prices for their goods., Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said the strong figures should be interpreted with caution given last year’s low base because of the virus lockdown and seasonally high numbers in March. Producers are also facing “several supply shortages and high commodity prices,” he said., In the first quarter, industrial profits grew 137% from a year ago. State-owned firms outperformed private companies, with profit growth of 199% and 91.9% respectively. Auto manufacturers were big winners, with profits rising 843%, as well as ferrous metal processors, whose profits grew 780%., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 7:16 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to industry Steel Home Overhaul China [/INST] China news. Title: China Wants More Steel at Home as Industry Faces Overhaul. Short_description: China has slapped steel exporters with higher taxes on a range of products.. Description: China slapped steel exporters with higher taxes on a range of products as authorities ramp up efforts to cut output and clean up one of the biggest carbon emitters., Rebates on export taxes for some goods will be removed, and tariffs on some products raised starting May 1, the Ministry of Finance said on its , Import fees on pig iron, semi-finished and scrap steel will be dropped. The measures highlight an increased focus on servicing the domestic market and come as the country’s steel mills grapple with raw material costs that have surged to historic highs., China churns out half the world’s steel, and is the biggest exporter, but has vowed to reduce output in 2021 as part of a drive to contain carbon emissions from one of its dirtiest industries. The tax changes could alter global steel trade and tighten markets in the middle of a global boom., While the tax changes may have some cooling effect on domestic prices, investors “remain very confident” about a tight Chinese steel market, analyst Lin Lin at CRU Group, said by phone. The volumes covered by these tax changes are small by comparison to China’s huge domestic output., The existing levies on imported products were only 1% or 2%. For exported products -- including everything from hot-rolled coil to some types of pipes and stainless steel -- the removal of rebates means exports are subject to value-added tax. Additionally, the ministry said taxes will be increased on exports of pig iron ore and some ferro-alloys., A global spike in steel demand has sent prices from China to North America climbing to, year highs, threatening to undermine Beijing’s push for lower output. While that drive has centered on a swathe of production restrictions, including the hub of Tangshan, mills are instead boosting supply amid bumper profits and on concerns that there may be more curbs to come., The spike in steel production has also lifted iron ore to around a record. The tax changes will “reduce import costs, expand the import of steel resources and support the reduction of domestic crude steel output”, the ministry said., Steel joins other major industrial commodities in climbing, adding to concerns about inflation as China tries to keep its economy on track. The country has flagged plans to strengthen controls on the raw materials market to help limit costs for companies., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 28 Apr 2021, 3:07 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Fitch Cut Overshadows April Repayments Huarong Bonds Slump [/INST] China news. Title: Huarong Bonds Slump as Fitch Cut Overshadows April Repayments. Short_description: China Huarong Downgraded by Fitch on Doubts Over Beijing Support. Description: China Huarong Asset Management Co. bonds dropped after a three-level downgrade by Fitch Ratings overshadowed the embattled distressed-debt manager’s repayment of local and offshore notes due on Tuesday., Fitch cut Huarong to BBB from A, becoming the first of the big three international ratings firms to downgrade the state-owned company after it missed a deadline to release 2020 results by March 31. The firm’s financial leasing unit rating was also reduced three notches, to BBB-. Speculation that Huarong may restructure its debt has jolted credit markets across Asia, with Chinese officials and Huarong itself offering little guidance about the company’s fate., The downgrade added to selling pressure on Huarong’s bonds even as the company has continued to meet near-term liabilities. Huarong units repaid 960 million yuan of bonds and S$600 million of offshore debt maturing Tuesday, according to company statements. Huarong’s 3.75% dollar bond due 2022 fell 2.3 cents on the dollar to 79.5 cents as of 3:30 p.m. in Hong Kong while its 4.5% perpetual bond dropped 8.9 cents to 61.8 cents, according to Bloomberg-compiled prices., The lack of transparency over government support for Huarong may hamper the company’s ability to refinance its debt in offshore markets, Fitch said. The firm lowered its rating on Huarong’s senior unsecured perpetual notes to BB+ from A-, and retained a negative outlook on both the perpetual notes and Huarong as a whole., The cut to junk territory for the perpetuals underscores how quickly perceptions of Huarong have changed. After trading near par for much of the past few years, the company’s dollar bonds have plunged this month as investors questioned assumptions about Chinese government backing that have underpinned the creditworthiness of state-owned borrowers for decades. Huarong, which is controlled by China’s finance ministry, is among the nation’s most systemically important companies outside its state-owned banks., “The government may continue to have a high incentive to provide extraordinary support, considering China Huarong’s policy role and the potential contagion risk for the refinancing of similar policy-driven GREs, but Fitch believes timely indication of support has not yet materialized,” the ratings firm said in a statement on Monday. There is “increasing uncertainty over the company’s liquidity, particularly its offshore funding,” Fitch added., Huarong has some $23.3 billion in outstanding offshore debt, $4.2 billion of which matures through the end of this year, Bloomberg-compiled data show. The drama surrounding the company has effectively shut it out from overseas public debt markets and prompted scrutiny over the issuer’s maturity schedule as investors search for any possible signs of tightening liquidity at the firm., On Sunday, Huarong announced it , its 2020 results by the end of this month -- missing another deadline from Hong Kong’s stock exchange and prompting a fresh selloff in the company’s bonds. The firm released a brief statement in Chinese, mostly reiterating previous statements. There was no indication of when results would be published or if anything has changed since its April 1 filing to the stock exchange, where Huarong shares had been trading before their start-of-month suspension., Huarong is also under review for a potential downgrade at Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Erin McClam &. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 4:43 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Chinese Travel Booms Lags Pre Covid Levels [/INST] China news. Title: Chinese Travel Booms While Spending Still Lags Pre-Covid Levels. Short_description: Chinese Travel Booms While Spending Still Lags Pre-Covid Levels. Description: , Chinese travel surged over the Labor Day holidays to exceed pre-pandemic levels while spending continued to lag, signaling a slow recovery in consumption., There were 230 million domestic trips over the five-day break, a 3.2% increase from 2019, , government data. Consumers are still reluctant to spend though, with tourism revenue rising to 113 billion yuan ($17.4 billion), or 77% of the level reached two years ago., While revenue picked up from the previous public holidays in April, the figures show consumers aren’t splurging as they have before, given a still uncertain economic outlook and weak labor market. The Communist Party’s Politburo, the top decision making body, , last week the economic recovery is still uneven and pledged to raise people’s income to help spur domestic demand., Stocks of tourism and movie businesses dropped Thursday as investors rushed to take profit after the holiday break., Citigroup Inc. economists said consumption, especially on services, is emerging as a new growth driver, but it may not yet be the time for many to spend on expensive leisure activities. They also cited relatively soft prices of travel products and a possible shift toward short-distance tourism as a reason for subdued revenue., Other entertainment activities also performed well during the break. Box office revenue , about 1.6 billion yuan during the break, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported citing Maoyan Entertainment​​​​​​. Meanwhile, the pandemic has encouraged quality trips, with small-group private tours surging 230% from 2019 and high-end hotels taking up 40% of total hotel bookings, Xinhua reported citing Ctrip International Ltd., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 11:02 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Fatter Genetics pig China [/INST] China news. Title: China Wants to Improve Genetics of Its Pigs So They’re Fatter and Eat Less. Short_description: China Wants to Improve Genetics of Its Pigs So They’re Fatter and Eat Less. Description: , China will work to improve the genetics of its hog herd and other livestock in the coming decade with the aim of breeding animals that produce more meat and -- at the same time - consume less grains., Sow herd productivity is about 30% lower than in developed countries and dairy cows produce only 80% of the milk than their peers in some leading markets, Shi Jianzhong, an official with the agriculture ministry’s National Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources Committee told reporters on Wednesday. China has to rely on overseas stock to produce white-feathered broiler chickens, he said., The drive to improve livestock genetics is part of China’s goal of , on imports to feed its massive and increasingly affluent population. However, the nation will continue to bring in animals from overseas to improve its domestic stock to catch up faster with advanced countries, said Chen Yaosheng, an official at the ministry’s National Pig Genetic Improvement Program., China flew in 10,433 live swine worth $25 million in the first quarter, with the imports mainly coming from Denmark and the U.S., customs data show., Millions of tons of feed grains will be saved and pressure on land will ease if hog quality can be improved to match that in advanced countries, said Sun Haoqin, another official on the livestock genetics committee. The move will also support China’s shift to industrialized hog and chicken farms, he said., The , will run through 2035 and covers hogs, dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep and chickens. Once completed, China will be internationally competitive in terms of breeding stock, according to the agriculture ministry. , ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 28 Apr 2021, 2:01 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to CICC Fends Wall Street Hiring takeover China [/INST] China news. Title: China’s CICC Fends Off Wall Street With Hiring, Takeovers. Short_description: China’s CICC Fends Off Wall Street With Hiring, Takeovers. Description: As global banks make inroads into China’s $15 trillion asset management market, China International Capital Corp. is launching a counter-offensive spanning from overseas acquisitions to hiring., CICC is searching for potential targets among medium-sized, Asia-focused managers including stock houses and hedge funds, said Frank Xu, head of asset management. Without takeovers, the size of his business line is already expected to jump at least tenfold in the coming decade from a relatively low base, as mandates from commercial banks drive asset growth., The Chinese broker is also looking for acquisitions in the wealth business as part of a “game of scale,” Clark Wu, head of wealth management mainly serving retail clients, said in a joint interview. It hasn’t singled out a target yet, he added., “We are very interested in acquisitions in the international market” for controlling or smaller stakes, Xu said. “The key is business cooperation to complement each other’s strengths.”, China’s asset management sector faces the biggest impact from the opening up of the financial industry, with global giants like BlackRock Inc. estimated to grab a share of as much as 15% in 10 years, CICC analysts wrote in November. Still, with plans to acquire new businesses and talent, local firms may remain dominant given their deeper understanding of what Xu called a “complex and tightly knit ecosystem.”, “CICC is confident in adapting to such an ecosystem,” he said., Now controlled by China’s sovereign wealth fund, CICC was set up in 1995 as the nation’s first Sino-foreign investment bank. While Morgan Stanley exited 15 years later, CICC’s “internationalized gene brings it a unique core competitiveness,” CSC Financial Co. analysts led by Zhao Ran wrote in a March 26 report., Revenue from wealth management operations jumped 71% last year to 5.6 billion yuan ($862 million), only slightly behind investment banking. Income from asset management doubled. Profit climbed 70%., Xu expects his division to add “hundreds of billions of yuan a year” in assets as commercial banks tap CICC to manage client money after regulators banned guaranteed returns on their once-popular wealth management products. Demand for non-conventional services such as product design is also strong, he said., “Money pours in, but they can hardly handle it themselves,” he said of the banks., Such prospects would be enviable to foreign managers, who have flocked for a piece of the pie from Chinese institutions and rich individuals. They need to overcome obstacles ranging from a lack of distribution channels to an absence of onshore track record before accumulating an estimated minimal 50 billion yuan to break even, CICC analysts estimated., For wealth management, Wu said he doesn’t have such ambitious growth targets but is more focused on delivering asset allocation solutions popular with clients, although “the room for imagination is even bigger on the retail side.”, CICC’s flagship private wealth management solution has attracted more than 25 billion yuan since its launch in September 2019 as its stable performance appealed to more high-net-worth clients, Wu said. The maximum decline of the product known as China 50, which invests in private funds, was an average 3% during market slumps between Feb. 18 and March 12, less than the 11.4% drop in the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index, he said., Besides competition, cooperation with global players has also been extensive. About a quarter of the more than 30 global firms with a private securities fund license have tapped CICC to distribute products, and China 50 has included some in its underlying portfolio, according to Wu., Behind the growth story is a war for talent, which is key to winning client trust as the industry shifts from selling products for commissions to growing client assets for , fees., CICC may expand a team of private wealth advisers focusing on providing asset allocation strategies to 1,500 by the end of this year from fewer than than 1,000 currently, Wu said. Its research group dedicated to screening asset managers has expanded to about 200, already the largest among local peers., At the asset management department, which will be converted into a separate subsidiary once the company obtains a second mutual fund license, Xu expects the number of staff to keep growing by 20% to 30% annually in the next few years. He hired more than 150 experienced people last year alone, expanding the team to about 350 now., To supplement organic growth in asset management, Xu said CICC is looking to acquire smaller rivals in Asia managing , “tens of billions of dollars,” to help tap growing global demand for Chinese assets. After CICC bought a majority stake in Krane Funds , LLC in 2017, the U.S. manager known for China-focused KraneShares exchange-traded funds expanded assets by more than 30-fold., “That was an initial, small success,” Xu said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 26 Apr 2021, 8:42 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Aussie Dollar Falls Prey China Rift commodity Soar [/INST] China news. Title: Aussie Dollar Falls Prey to China Rift Even As Commodities Soar. Short_description: Aussie Dollar Falls Prey to China Rift Even As Commodities Soar. Description: Australia’s dollar took a beating after tensions with China escalated, underscoring its sensitivity to geopolitical tensions even as commodity prices are soaring., The currency weakened against all its major peers after China , an economic dialogue with the South Pacific nation in the latest , between the two trading partners. The currency may decline further if Beijing follows up with more restrictions that could further strain the relationship, according to strategists., The Aussie’s drop defies a rally in commodity prices and reinforces how trade tensions are exerting a greater influence on the currency’s moves. , , Australia’s top export earner, is heading for a record while other resources such as , and oil are also gaining amid signs of a global growth recovery., “Any official China government announcement to further weaken the relationship with Australia is a negative for Australia’s export outlook and thus for Australian dollar,” said Sean Callow, strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in Sydney. “The fall in the Aussie is a bit surprising but it is a good test of sentiment.”, The Aussie dropped as much as 0.6% to 77.01 U.S. cents after China’s announcement, before trimming its losses to trade at around 77.24 cents., Stocks also retreated. China’s CSI 300 Index fell as much as 1.7% while Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gauge slid 0.8%., The tensions “may not show up in Australia’s terms of trade or the BHP, Rio Tinto profits in the short term, but the level of uncertainty and risk over the longer term are real,” said Kyle Rodda, an analyst at IG Markets Ltd. “China is trying to break some of its dependence on key suppliers like Australia, and the latest news may be one example of such.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 10:48 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to State Media Population Year Peak China [/INST] China news. Title: China’s Population May Peak Next Year, State Media Says. Short_description: China’s population may peak as early as 2022, the state media reported.. Description: China’s population may peak as early as 2022, state media reported, ahead of a once-in-a-decade census survey that’s yet to be published., The number of deaths may exceed births as early as next year, the state-run Global Times newspaper quoted independent demographer He Yafu as saying. That would be much earlier than previously , ., A declining and aging population would have broad effects across the economy and society, likely slowing the economy’s growth rate and making it increasingly harder for the government to pay for services such as pensions and , ., China’s birth rate has been declining steadily since the 1970s, due to improved education for women and the introduction of the “one child policy” aimed at limiting the population size. Beijing relaxed that policy in 2015 in the , of reviving the birth rate, but the change has had little impact, with experts citing the rising costs of raising a child as the main barrier to larger families., The census report is set to underline a sharp slowdown of the birth rate in the world’s most populous country. The results were initially meant to be published sometime in April, but there’s been no indication from the government on the timing of the release. That’s prompted many people to question the delay on Chinese social media, especially after the Financial Times reported this week that the census will show a decline in the population, citing unidentified sources., The State Council, a top government body, , in 2017 that the population peak would come “around 2030,” while a 2019 report from a state-backed think tank forecast the population would stop growing in 2029 after reaching 1.42 billion people. More recently, government-linked economists had suggested the peak would come during the next few years., Cai Fang, a specialist in population economics, told a forum last year that the peak , . Cai was at a government-linked think tank then and is now a member of the central bank’s monetary policy committee. Researchers at the central bank this month , of birth restrictions., It’s unlikely the latest census report will show a drop in the population, researchers said., Wang Feng, a demographer at the University of California Irvine, said the census usually undercounts new births in the year it is conducted, for a range of reasons connected with the fact it is carried out door-to-door during the course of a calendar year. A smaller-scale survey is also conducted to estimate the rate of under-counting and adjust the number upwards to produce a more reliable population estimate, he added., It’s “highly unlikely” there’ll be a drop in the total population in the census, Lu Jiehua, a professor of demographics at Peking University, told the Global Times. The results of the census may give impetus to changes in family planning policy and prompt the full lifting of birth restrictions by 2022, the newspaper said, citing unnamed Chinese experts., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Tom Hancock. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 9:39 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Rebutting Report Population Grew Drop China [/INST] China news. Title: China Says Population Grew in 2020, Rebutting Report of Drop. Short_description: China Says Population Grew in 2020, Rebutting Report of Drop. Description: China said its population increased in 2020, countering concerns that its upcoming census will show a possible decline as the nation ages rapidly., “China’s population continued to grow in 2020, and the detailed numbers will be released in the seventh census report,” the National Bureau of Statistics said in a one-line statement Thursday, without giving further details., The once-in-a-decade census report was initially meant to be published sometime in April, but there’s been no indication from the government on the timing of the release. The Financial Times reported earlier this week that the population declined last year, citing unidentified sources, though a story from the state-run Global Times rebutted that, quoting an independent demographer He Yafu saying the population may peak as early as 2022, much earlier than previous , ., A declining and aging population would have broad effects across the economy and society, likely slowing the economy’s growth rate and increasing the government’s fiscal burden to pay for services such as pensions and health care. The stock prices of infant care and fertility companies fell on the news after a two-day rally which was likely prompted by the reports of a decline in population stoking hopes the government would further loosen birth controls., China’s birth rate has been declining steadily as the nation grows more prosperous and women’s education levels rose. The introduction of the “one child policy” went further in curbing births to limit the size of the population, but even after Beijing relaxed the policy in 2015, there was little impact in reversing the trend. The birthrate , to a record low of 10.48 per 1,000 people in 2019., The State Council, a top government body, , in 2017 that the population would peak “around 2030,” while a 2019 report from a state-backed think tank forecast the population would stop growing in 2029 after reaching 1.42 billion people., Cai Fang, a specialist in population economics, , a forum last year that the peak could come in 2025. Cai was at a government-linked think tank then and is now a member of the central bank’s monetary policy committee. Researchers at the central bank this month , for the removal of birth restrictions., Whether the “population peaked or not, this census likely sent an alarm on the speed of population aging, and indicates the urgency to change the birth control policy,” said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management., A faster-than-expected peak in China’s population could spark questioning of the country’s one-child policy that was sometimes brutally enforced with measures including forced abortion., Some people mocked the delay in releasing the census results on social media, with one Weibo user commenting on the Financial Times report by saying “Doesn’t this show China’s one-child policy has achieved complete success?” Another asked “how many people and families suffered from forced abortions? The fact shows that birthrate would naturally drop as the economy grows. Those who made the decisions need to take responsibility.”, Such grievances prompted Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Global Times newspaper, to defend the family planning policies. “I don’t think the new trend in population is a major political problem. I believe the state has abundant measures and capacity to intervene and facilitate adjustment,” Hu , Wednesday on his personal Weibo account., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 12:26 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Oil Tanker Leaks Cargo Ocean Near China Refining hub [/INST] China news. Title: Oil Tanker Leaks Cargo Into Ocean Near China’s Refining Hub. Short_description: Tanker Spills Oil Into Yellow Sea Off China’s Key Refining Port. Description: A 900-foot crude tanker leaked oil into the ocean just outside China’s biggest refining center, raising the specter of environmental damage and disruption of shipments., The A Symphony, a Suezmax tanker that’s capable of carrying about 1 million barrels of crude, was struck by a bulk carrier at an anchorage site off Qingdao port in the Yellow Sea, causing it to spill, according to Goodwood Ship Management, the technical manager of the vessel. Nearby vessels are being instructed to stay at least 10 nautical miles (18.5 kilometers) away from the area, China’s maritime safety agency said in an , on Tuesday., All of the tanker’s crew have been accounted for and no injuries have been reported, the ship manager said in a statement. While local response experts have been deployed to contain the oil spill and begin clean up operations, the efforts are being hampered as the port is closed due to poor visibility, it said., The spill could threaten operations at Qingdao port in Shandong province, the biggest crude-receiving terminal for the world’s largest importer, and a hub for, that account for about a quarter of China’s total processing capacity. , can take months -- even years -- to clean up, and could also damage the area’s ecosystem as well the livelihoods of people who depend on the sea., The leak was at the emergency-response stage, and hadn’t yet reached the pollution-evaluation level, an official at the dangerous goods anti-pollution department at the Maritime Safety Administration said by phone. Calls to the Ministry of Transport went unanswered., The vessel was most recently signaling Qingdao as its next destination, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. It had a draft of 17.1 meters, suggesting it was full., Before heading to China, the ship had visited the waters off Malaysia’s Sungai Linggi, a popular spot for so-called ship-to-ship transfers in which oil is moved from one vessel to another. Such activities are sometimes carried out to transfer cargoes between vessels, or to obscure the origin of the oil on-board., The cargo on board is a bitumen mix, according to MTI Network, an external company representing the vessel’s technical manager Goodwood. It remains too soon to evaluate the size of the spill., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Alfred Cang &. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 3:13 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to China Banks Downplay Risks Evergrande Missed payment [/INST] China news. Title: China Banks Downplay Risks After Evergrande Missed Payments. Short_description: China Banks Downplay Risks After Evergrande Missed Loan Payments. Description: A number of China’s publicly-traded banks rushed to assuage investors who are concerned about risks from the deepening crisis at China Evergrande Group., At least 10 banks told investors over the past two days that they have sufficient collateral for loans to the developer and the risks are controllable. China Minsheng Banking Corp., which topped the list of Evergrande’s principal banks at the end of last year, said on Thursday its exposure to the firm has dropped about 15% from June last year and most of the loans have land, properties or projects under construction as collateral. , China Zheshang Bank Co. said Evergrande borrowings totaled 3.8 billion yuan ($588 million), while Industrial Bank Co. said it has gradually reduced exposure to Evergrande and fully strengthened risk management on existing business with the developer. China Everbright Bank Co. said its outstanding loans to Evergrande amounted to 5.4 billion yuan and the lender has already made provision charges to avoid a major hit in the worst-case scenario, Cailian reported., The world’s most indebted developer’s cash crunch has become a key focus for global investors. Risky assets plunged around the world on Monday amid fears that an Evergrande collapse might spark financial contagion and curb growth in the world’s second-largest economy, where 27% of the loans are for the real estate sector, more than any other industry. , Evergrande missed interest payments due Monday to at least two of its largest bank creditors, people familiar with the matter had said, taking the cash-strapped developer a step closer to one of the nation’s biggest debt restructurings. Banking shares tumbled on the mainland on Wednesday as China’s financial market opened after a two-day public holiday., HSBC Holdings Plc, one of the biggest international banks in China, had yet to see any direct impact from the escalating problems at Evergrande, Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn said at a Bank of America Corp. conference on Wednesday. HSBC’s asset management arm has been among large holders of Evergrande debt, along with the likes of BlackRock Inc. and UBS Group AG. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, HSBC held a little over $200 million of Evergrande’s dollar bonds., Evergrande has borrowed about 572 billion yuan from banks and other financial institutions including trusts, nearly half due in less than a year, according to its latest financial statements. State-owned Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., among the top three principal banks, haven’t made disclosure on their exposure yet. , “Evergrande’s default crunch and its contagion impact present a potential systemic risk to China’s financial system,” Citigroup Inc. analysts led by Judy Zhang wrote in a note. They estimated that about 41% of the banking system assets were either directly or indirectly associated with the property sector by the end of last year and any plummet in property prices may lead to a knock-on effect on banks’ asset quality due to higher default rates in related sectors and lower collateral value., Chinese banks, with 50.8 trillion yuan of outstanding loans to developers and homebuyers, have already been hit by surging defaults as authorities escalated their curbs on the real estate sector in recent months, including adding controls on financing for developers and pledging not to use housing as a short-term tool to stimulate the economy., In late August, ICBC said that its non-performing loans to real estate companies almost doubled in the first half, while troubled loans to the sector at China Construction Bank Corp. jumped 28%. China Merchants Bank Co. suffered an almost fourfold jump in bad loans to real estate. , ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 5:47 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to China Huarong Leaves rating Firms Guessing State Support [/INST] China news. Title: China Huarong Leaves Rating Firms Guessing on State Support. Short_description: China Huarong Leaves Rating Firms Guessing on State Support. Description: Moody’s Investors Service became the second major ratings firm to downgrade China Huarong Asset Management Co. this week amid a lack of visibility over the central government’s support for the embattled bad-debt manager., Huarong’s credit rating was lowered to Baa1 from A3, Moody’s said in a statement Thursday, adding the firm remains on watch for further downgrade. The cut reflected the company’s weakened funding ability due to market volatility and increased uncertainty over its future, according to the statement. The move follows Fitch Ratings, which , its main rating on Huarong by three notches to BBB early this week., Investors and ratings agencies alike are struggling to get clarity over Beijing’s plans for the company, which has $22.9 billion of outstanding offshore debt. Only the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission has , on Huarong, which is majority-owned by the nation’s finance ministry. The commission said the company is operating normally and has ample liquidity. Huarong itself has provided little new information since it delayed releasing its 2020 results at the start of the month, which triggered a rout in its bonds., The firm’s perpetual dollar bonds fell after the Moody’s downgrade, with a 4.5% note down 1.4 cents on the dollar at 64.1 cents and a 4% note dropping 0.9 cent to 63.1 cents, according to Bloomberg-compiled prices., Both ratings firms cited a lack of clarity over the scope and extent of Beijing’s future support for the bad-debt manager. Moody’s , their assumed levels of government support for Huarong also remain under review due to a lack of information. Fitch also , ambiguity over state support for the firm, noting its expectations “are based on our own assumptions and all the information we have received” was in its downgrade statement., The world’s top three rating companies placed Huarong under review for a potential downgrade earlier this month as concerns grew about the state-owned firm’s financial health and fate after it missed a March deadline for releasing 2020 results. Since then, investors have been , about details of a potential restructuring and whether investors will ultimately bear some of the costs. The drip-feed of news has instead offered a , of potential outcomes about Huarong’s future and authorities’ intentions., Huarong has $3.7 billion in offshore bonds maturing through the end of this year, Bloomberg-compiled data show. The drama surrounding the company has effectively shut it out from overseas public debt markets and prompted scrutiny over the issuer’s maturity schedule as investors search for any possible signs of tightening liquidity at the firm., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 2:27 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Credit Suisse Partial Stake Chinese Partner Talks Ping [/INST] China news. Title: Ping An in Talks for Partial Stake in Credit Suisse’s Chinese Partner. Short_description: Ping An in Talks for Partial Stake in Credit Suisse’s Chinese Partner. Description: Ping An Insurance Group Co. has agreed to acquire a majority stake in the newly-established Founder Group for as much as 50.75 billion yuan ($7.9 billion)., The Chinese insurer plans to buy a 51.1% to 70% stake in the new Founder Group, whose assets include Founder Securities Co., Founder Technology Group Corp. and China Hi-Tech Group Co., according to a statement to Shanghai stock exchange on Friday. The size of the deal could range from 37.05 billion yuan to 50.75 billion yuan, the , ., Peking University Founder Group Corp. has been in court-led restructuring proceedings since early last year and has defaulted $3 billion of dollar bonds and 34.5 billion yuan of onshore bonds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In January, Ping An Insurance was introduced as one of the investors as Founder Group continues with its restructuring plans., The announcement confirmed an earlier , that Ping An was in talks to acquire a partial stake in Founder Securities. Peking University Founder Group holds an about 28% stake in the Shanghai-listed broker., A working team from Ping An has been conducting due diligence on Founder Securities, the Chinese partner of Credit Suisse Group AG, people familiar with the matter have said. The Chinese insurer is considering to combine Founder Securities with Ping An Securities Co., according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private., Shares in Founder Securities pared losses after the Bloomberg News report on Friday. It closed 3.8% lower after falling as much as 8.4%. The company has a market value of about $11.7 billion., Ping An Securities is among the few major Chinese brokers that remain private. The companies, if combined, could have total assets of 245 billion yuan ($38 billion), making the entity one of China’s top 10 players, according to data compiled by the Securities Association of China., The deal comes as China’s $1.4 trillion securities industry is facing rising pressure as Wall Street firms such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are in line to gain full control of their brokerage ventures. The intensifying competition could fuel consolidations among local brokerages and winnowing out those that can’t compete., Credit Suisse last year raised its stake in its securities joint venture with Founder from 33% to 51% and is seeking to , as soon as possible. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are also racing to be the first with 100% ownership in their China’s joint ventures., Meanwhile, local brokers are beefing up their capital and competitiveness over the past few years. Citic Securities Co. bought Guangzhou Securities Co. in a $2 billion deal in 2019. A potential merger between China’s two largest investment banks -- Citic and CSC Financial Co., is gaining traction, Bloomberg , in July., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 2:16 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to China Denounces Benefactor rude remark [/INST] China news. Title: Duterte Says China a Benefactor, Denounces ‘Rude’ Remarks. Short_description: Philippines’ Duterte Says China Still a Benefactor Amid Tensions. Description: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said China remains a benefactor, as the Southeast Asian nation seeks to increase vaccine delivery from the mainland amid brewing tensions in disputed waters., “China remains our benefactor,” Duterte said in a taped televised briefing Monday evening. “Just because we have a conflict with China doesn’t mean to say that we have to be rude and disrespectful.”, Duterte made the comment hours after Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, in a Twitter post, lashed at Beijing in an expletive-laced demand for China to remove ships from areas in the disputed South China Sea. Locsin on Tuesday apologized to China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi “for hurting his feelings.”, Tensions between the two nations have risen in recent weeks, with the Philippines repeatedly , Chinese ships’ presence, which Beijing has maintained is normal and legitimate. The U.S. has , the Philippines, saying that China’s “maritime militia” threaten nations., “The Huangyan Island is China’s territory and its adjacent waters are under China’s jurisdiction,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a , Tuesday, urging the Philippines to “respect China’s sovereignty and jurisdiction, and stop taking actions that may complicate the situation.”, Wang said conflicts between Beijing and Manila shouldn’t hurt cooperation, adding that China will continue to help the Philippines in combating the pandemic and supporting the economy., Duterte on Monday asked China to let Filipinos “fish in peace” in the South China Sea and said he never promised to retake disputed areas when he campaigned for president. At a 2016 election debate, Duterte , he would ride a jet ski to the South China Sea to personally stake claims if elected., Coronavirus vaccine orders from India may be delayed to September from this quarter or be reduced as infections in the South Asian nation , , Carlito Galvez, the Philippines’ vaccine czar, said in Monday’s briefing. A supply deal for 30 million Novavax Inc.’s shots with the Serum Institute of India is the Philippines’ biggest., Galvez said the government is negotiating for a monthly delivery of as many as 4 million doses from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and 2 million shots of Russia’s Sputnik V. As many as 4 million doses of both vaccines may arrive this month, as the government aims to inoculate 2 million people in May, Galvez said. For the country to achieve herd immunity, 500,000 people must be vaccinated each day, he said., While the country’s daily infections fall, use of intensive-care beds remains high, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said. Strong border control and compliance to quarantine protocols are needed to contain spread of more contagious variants, he said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Siegfrid Alegado &. Date Created: 03 May 2021, 10:00 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to well Policy support Headwinds Mount Economy China [/INST] China news. Title: China Vows Better Policy Support to Economy as Headwinds Mount. Short_description: China Vows Better Policy Support to Economy as Headwinds Mount. Description: Chinese policy makers reiterated the need to fine-tune economic policies as the world’s second-largest economy faces increasing headwinds from virus outbreaks and high commodity prices. , Policy should be preemptive and coordinated across cycles, the State Council, the equivalent of China’s cabinet, said in a statement after a , chaired by Premier Li Keqiang Wednesday. Governments at all levels should maintain the continuity and stability of macroeconomic policies and enhance their effectiveness, while also do a good job in preventing and controlling virus cases, it said., Efforts are needed to better coordinate fiscal, financial and employment policies in order to “stabilize reasonable expectations by the market,” it said. , China again vowed to make sure the economy is operating within a reasonable range, with further measures to boost consumption, guiding private capital to play a better role in expanding investment, and ensuring stable growth in foreign trade and foreign capital, according to the statement. While the employment situation is stable this year, efforts are still needed to maintain employment and help companies, it said. , The economy took a , in August from stringent virus controls and tight curbs on property. While China’s Covid zero approach helped to quickly quash the infections, retail sales growth suffered, slowing to 2.5% in August. , Facing the continued commodity boom, the State Council also pledged to use more market-based measures to stabilize commodity prices and ensure supplies of power and natural gas during the winter. , ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 7:29 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Huarong Shock Sends Dollar Bond buyer Names Best [/INST] China news. Title: Huarong Shock Sends Dollar Bond Buyers to Names They Know Best. Short_description: Huarong Shock Sends Dollar Bond Buyers to Names They Know Best. Description: The market drama surrounding China Huarong Asset Management Co. is prompting investors to become more selective with their purchases of Chinese dollar bonds, exacerbating the divide between the most established issuers and the rest of the market., Bank of China Ltd. units raised the equivalent of $2.35 billion in a, currency bond sale late Wednesday, with yield spreads on two dollar-denominated notes coming in tighter than recent comparable offerings from the bank. That followed a $4.15 billion deal from Tencent Holdings Ltd. last week, as well as recent issuance from China Construction Bank Corp.’s Hong Kong unit and a handful of well-known property companies including Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd., At the same time, only one first-time Chinese dollar-bond issuer has tapped the market since Huarong shocked investors by missing a deadline to report earnings at the end of March, down from a monthly average of about eight deals from debut issuers last year. Speculation that Huarong may restructure its debt pushed spreads on a Bloomberg Barclays index of investment-grade Chinese dollar bonds to nine-month highs last week. They remain elevated despite signs that the government may , Huarong with financial support., While Chinese policy makers may welcome more bond-market differentiation as they try to wean investors off implicit government guarantees, it’s unclear how big an adjustment Beijing is willing to tolerate. If lesser-known issuers struggle to sell bonds or face dramatically higher borrowing costs, it could prompt authorities to put a greater emphasis on resolving Huarong’s challenges without inflicting too much pain on bondholders., So far, spreads have remained well below levels that would suggest investors anticipate a severe impact on funding. But that could change quickly if Huarong announces a bond restructuring. The distressed-debt manager, which is controlled by China’s finance ministry, is among the nation’s most systemically important companies outside its state-owned banks., “We do think there will be lingering impact on China, particularly investment-grade bond spreads in the foreseeable future,” Jenny Zeng, co-head of Asia-Pacific fixed income at AllianceBernstein, said in an , on Bloomberg TV., Investors are assessing which sectors with low transparency or high leverage show similarities to Huarong, how government support should be priced going forward and how to interpret different reactions in offshore and onshore markets, Zeng said., Worries about Huarong have been most acute among offshore bondholders, in part because most of the company’s dollar debt contains a form of credit protection called a , that has yet to be fully tested in court. It’s unclear whether Huarong would be compelled to make good on more than $20 billion in dollar bonds if its offshore units were unable to repay., The company has said it has adequate liquidity and plans to announce the expected date of its 2020 earnings release after consulting with auditors., Huarong and China’s three other big state-owned managers of bad debt have about $5.2 billion of dollar bonds maturing this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Rebecca Choong Wilkins. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 10:44 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Delhi Makeover Fuels Anger Hit India Virus Modi [/INST] CityLab news. Title: Modi’s Sprawling Delhi Makeover Fuels Anger in Virus-Hit India. Short_description: The Central Vista project is estimated to cost billions at a time when India is grappling with a devastating coronavirus outbreak.. Description: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is rebuilding part of New Delhi, but the mammoth undertaking is drawing fire because it’s estimated to cost billions at a time when the nation is grappling with a devastating coronavirus outbreak and the economic fallouts of local shutdowns. , The planned changes will cement Modi’s legacy in one of the world’s oldest cities by reconstructing central Delhi, which houses the legislature and other historical buildings. The project covers an area as large as 50 football fields. India will get a new parliament building. The present 94-year-old structure, built during British colonial rule, will become a museum. Open spaces are poised to be repurposed for government offices. While many details haven’t been announced, media reports have ,  a new prime minister’s residence is likely to be built. All of it is to be readied for 2024, when Modi faces federal elections for a third term. , The massive project —  which local media have , could cost  about 200 billion rupees ($2.7 billion) — has grown more controversial as India’s coronavirus cases have exploded. On social media, some questioned the need for spending on new government structures at a time when the nation is dealing with severe fallouts from the pandemic. One cartoon doing the rounds on Twitter depicted Indians without jobs, food and ambulances alongside a picture of Modi announcing a new parliament., "The PM in his speeches since the pandemic broke, has repeatedly asked Indians to sacrifice — their time, job, lifestyle, their human and cultural tendencies to be gregarious,” Bengaluru-based historian Ramchandra Guha said via text message. “Now the citizens must ask the PM to sacrifice something for the nation as well. His project to redesign central vista was always controversial. It is now absolutely untenable. He should drop it. He still can and should.”  , Spokespeople at the housing and urban affairs ministry and the prime minister’s office didn’t respond to emails seeking comment., In recent weeks, a fresh wave of the coronavirus has roiled India, leaving hospital beds, medicines and oxygen in short supply. Crematoriums are overrun, and India has reported several days of more than 300,000 new daily infections.  Families are putting out , , begging for medicines and aid for relatives sickened with the virus. India has had more than 195,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic, and its economy plunged into recession last year, leaving millions of daily wage earners and others without jobs., Construction on the project has already begun in New Delhi, with cranes and building equipment blocking entire sections in the center of the capital city.  The government has said the architectural revamp is necessary because of the age and deterioration of current buildings. When , the foundation stone for the new triangle-shaped parliament building in December, the prime minister called it a “landmark opportunity to build a peoples’ parliament for the first time after Independence.” That hasn’t stemmed criticism from opposition parties, historians, , environmentalists and even former , . , “Given the other needs of the economy right now, and the government’s strained fiscal situation, it does raise questions about the priorities of the government and whether the money could be better spent elsewhere,” Akhil Bery, Washington-based South Asia analyst at risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said via email. “Infrastructure is needed throughout India, and investing this money into roads and railways might be more beneficial, especially in the short-term.”,  , Delhi is a city that’s been plundered, conquered and rebuilt many times in the past. It’s borne witness to the rise and fall of age-old empires like the Tughlaqs and the Mughals. There are references to it in the 5,000-year-old ancient Hindu text , . As a result, the planned changes have been evoking sharp emotions for months, even before the pandemic worsened in India.   , Critics cast the project as an attempt to erase institutional memories and point to the absence of public discussions around repurposing the heritage buildings., “It is ill thought out, the necessity of the project has not been established, the environmental clearances have been problematic,” said Anuj Srivastava, a former architect in the Indian Army’s , , who , a petition in the court against the project last year. “Nobody builds a new parliament unless you can’t re-purpose the old one, like the way Westminster is being restored and refurbished.”, The Supreme Court allowed the project to proceed, saying it didn’t violate environmental or land-use norms. However, one of the three judges on the panel expressed concern over the lack of public consultation before the project’s clearance., There are also apprehensions that the new buildings will erase historical memories, which should be preserved to better understand the past even when it’s difficult, said , , a professor of history in Jawaharlal Nehru University. “These memorials are a great reminder of what happened in the past and by preserving those we are remembering both atrocities, survival and possibilities of future.”, Construction on the new parliament will continue during the lockdown announced by the Delhi government, the Hindu newspaper , on April 19. , While the existing parliament was initially used by the nation’s British rulers, it has witnessed landmark events such as the passionate debates around the framing of India’s constitution and the historic speech of the nation’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, announcing India's independence from the British in 1947. , Now,  despite the mayhem caused by the pandemic, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party wants to leave its “stamp by constructing a new parliament building, redesigning the central vista which is sort of the heart of Indian powerdom,” said Manish Tewari, a member of parliament who is affiliated with the opposition Congress Party. , Part of the Modi government’s plan is to redevelop the central vista — a 3-kilometer stretch beginning from the president’s house, or Rashtrapati Bhawan, to war memorial India Gate — with 10 multi-story modern office complexes to provide more modern facilities for civil servants., Current plans suggest that many open spaces around India Gate that are visited by thousands daily may no longer be accessible to the public. “We common mortals will have no reason to go there, as government offices replace the quiet spaces of art, history, performance, leisure,” Narayani Gupta, a Delhi-based historian said., Modi’s government is also finalizing the future of other buildings built after India’s independence, such as Udyog Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan, and Shastri Bhawan — which are decades old and house key ministries., But the corner stone is the new parliament, which the government estimates will cost 9.7 billion rupees ($130 million). The aim is to complete it by 2022 in time to mark the , of India’s Independence. The proposed building’s aesthetics will include references from the present parliament and the nation’s traditional arts and crafts, according to Indian architectural firm HCP Design, Planning and Management Pvt., which is designing the Central Vista project. “The constitution hall and constitution gallery will symbolically and physically put the Indian People at the heart of our democracy,” the firm said in an email. Subterranean tunnels will connect the parliament building with the chambers of members of parliament. , The existing parliament, which cost 8.3 million rupees and has a circular perimeter and 144 columns, was conceived of about 100 years ago. In 1911, the British colonial rulers announced they were , the capital from the eastern state of Calcutta to Delhi — the seat of power for many rulers before them., British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker were roped in. Lutyens designed parts of the central vista in European classical architecture, with gigantic colonnades, cupolas and domes, while Baker brought in Indian architectural elements such as chattris (canopy-like structures), and jalis (latticed screens). After a wait of 20 years, in 1931, a new Delhi was finally unveiled. After independence India used the buildings for its government., These days, India’s government is facing a variety of geopolitical and economic challenges that deserve greater attention, said Aparna Pande, director of the Hudson Institute’s Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia. “It behooves Delhi to focus on building India’s military and economic capabilities, instead of seeking to rewrite history.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Shruti Srivastava &. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 6:59 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to India Gasps Oxygen Supply Metal maker breath [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Metal Makers Step Up Oxygen Supply as India Gasps for Breath. Short_description: Tata Steel, JSW Steel and Jindal Steel & Power are diverting industrial oxygen stocks for medical purposes as demand escalates. . Description: India’s metal producers are ramping up supplies of industrial-grade oxygen to state governments as demand surges amid a , in daily infections in the country., The country with the fastest-growing Covid-19 caseload is battling a lethal new wave of infections that started surging in March. On Thursday, infections topped 300,000, with some hospitals in the capital city , on oxygen supplies., Vedanta Ltd. is supplying oxygen from its zinc and steel units to state governments and the Anil Agarwal company is also seeking permission to restart an oxygen plant at its closed copper complex in Tamil Nadu, it said in a statement. The plant can supply 1,000 tons of oxygen a day, it said., India’s steel mills, including Tata Steel Ltd., JSW Steel Ltd. and Jindal Steel & Power Ltd., are also diverting their industrial oxygen stocks for medical purposes as demand escalates. Citizens have turned to social media to seek help, with , for help to secure medicines, hospital beds, and oxygen cylinders., Jindal Steel, India’s third-largest producer of the alloy by market value, is supplying oxygen to hospitals in the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha, regions where the company runs its operations. The diversion of oxygen supplies has so far not affected India’s steel output much as most steelmakers are supplying the gas from their safety stocks of liquid oxygen, according to V.R. Sharma, managing director at the company., “Maybe some 5% to 7% production loss can be there but it is nothing, and can be made up in times to come,” Sharma said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “The first and foremost priority is to save people and there is nothing more precious than lives.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Swansy Afonso. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 3:25 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Centre Boosts Vaccine Supply New Cases Drop Coronavirus India Updates state [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Coronavirus India Updates: New Cases Drop Marginally; Centre Boosts Vaccine Supply To States. Short_description: Track the latest updates on the second wave of Covid-19 in India here. . Description: Fresh cases of Covid-19 in India dropped for a second day, albeit marginally, as the country’s healthcare system continued to battle an unprecedented outbreak., Over 3.68 lakh people tested positive for the virus in a 24-hour period, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on May 3. Active infections crossed 34 lakh for the first time ever., More than 3,000 patients succumbed to the illness for the sixth straight day, overwhelming the country’s crematoriums and burial grounds. That took the total death toll above to 2.18 lakh., The central government will supply , in the next three days, said a May 2 press release by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This will help states accelerate vaccination of those above 45 years of age as well as healthcare and frontline workers., To vaccinate those aged between 18-45, states will have to procure their own supply., Serum Institute of India has said that it will supply 11 crore doses of Covishield to the Government of India over the next few months., The Pune-based company has already received Rs 1,732 crore as a 100% advance payment for those 11 crore doses, it said in a media statement. That will be over and above the 15 crore doses that the company has already supplied., Besides the Centre's supply, another 11 crore doses will be made available for states and private hospitals in the next few months, Serum said., The central government put up a separate statement to clarify that it has placed orders for additional vaccines from the two manufacturers Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech., In March, the Centre had ordered 10 crore doses of Covishield from Serum. Of those, as of May 3, over 8.7 crore doses had been received., The government had also ordered 2 crore doses of Covaxin from Bharat Biotech. It has received 0.88 crore doses from that order as of May 3., Additionally, the government also placed an order for 5 crore doses of Covaxin to be supplied in May, June and July, it said in the release. For this, the government has paid a 100% advance of Rs 787.5 crore.. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 03 May 2021, 9:41 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Coronavirus Fears traveler Brazil India Nigeria [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Nigeria Bans Travelers From India, Brazil on Coronavirus Fears. Short_description: Nigeria will deny entry to passengers who have visited India, Brazil and Turkey in the last 14 days.. Description: , Nigeria will deny entry to passengers who have visited India, Brazil and Turkey in the last 14 days to stop the import of coronavirus cases from the three countries., The travel advisory will take effect on May 4 and is subject to review after an initial period of 4 weeks, the Presidential Steering Committee on Covid-19 said in a statement Sunday. The government will introduce fines of $3,500 per passenger payable by airlines that ignores the new rules., Nigerian officials have expressed concern about the potential for a third wave of the disease in the country of 200 million, which would be worse than the first two. “These precautionary measures are a necessary step to minimize the risk of a surge in Covid-19 cases introduced to Nigeria” from parts of the world where the virus is running rampant, said the committee’s statement., India is currently suffering the world’s worst Covid-19 crisis, with daily infection rates topping 300,000 and death tolls in excess of 2,000. More than 400,000 people have died from the virus in Brazil, the second highest tally globally after the U.S., while Turkey last week imposed a lockdown that will run until May 17., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: William Clowes &. Date Created: 03 May 2021, 4:00 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to India Records World Day Surge Covid case high [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: India Records World’s Highest One-Day Surge in Covid Cases. Short_description: India marks a grim milestone with more than 3,00,000 new coronavirus infections in a day.. Description: India saw the world’s biggest one-day jump in coronavirus cases ever as a ferocious new wave grips the country, overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums and prompting frantic cries for help on social media., The South Asian nation reported 314,835 new infections Thursday, topping a peak of 314,312 recorded in the U.S. on Dec. 21. People took to Twitter and Instagram to call for everything from hospital beds to medicine and doorstep Covid-19 tests., The grim milestone shows how the pandemic crisis has shifted firmly to the developing world, where variants and complacency are threatening containment measures and there’s a lack of vaccines, with supplies dominated by richer nations., India now has almost 16 million cases, the second-most globally, as it struggles to provide enough shots for its 1.3 billion people despite being home to the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer. Lower vigilance around masks and social distancing have contributed to the resurgence, with large religious festivals and elections allowed to take place with few precautions., It stands in contrast to America, where cases are on a downward trend, helped in part by aggressive vaccinations. Even at the height of its outbreak, the U.S. only reported more than 300,000 cases on two days., India’s second wave is also more lethal after the country saw fewer fatalities than other developing nations earlier in the pandemic, , experts. Covid-related deaths have jumped to more than 184,000, still trailing the U.S., Brazil and Mexico, according to Johns Hopkins , ., On Bharath Pottekkat’s Instagram feed, one message screams “Mumbai please help! Lungs damaged due to pneumonia infection. In need of ICU bed.” Another reads “Plasma urgently required for treatment of Covid patient in Max Hospital, Delhi.” More follow. “Urgently needed Tocilizumab injection. Please DM if you know of stock in and around Mumbai.”, The relatively slow pace of vaccinations is adding to the problem. India has administered more than 132 million vaccine doses, according to data from its health ministry. That’s enough to cover only about 4.8% of its population, according to Bloomberg’s , ., The outbreak threatens to derail the Indian economy, which had just begun to recover after a nationwide lockdown last year pushed it into a historic recession. A new virus variant with a double mutation has also been detected locally, and concerns are growing that it’s driving the new wave., New Delhi’s largest hospital chain operator , to court Wednesday night to seek critical oxygen supply after 1,400 Covid-19 patients across the Indian capital were put at risk due to “dangerously low” supply levels., The Delhi High Court’s two-judge panel headed by Justic Vipin Sanghi expressed “shock and dismay” over the government’s neglect and directed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration to “beg, borrow, steal” but ensure adequate oxygen supply for hospitals., “This is just bad planning. Why didn’t we foresee this? This is not rocket science,” Justice Sanghi said during the hearing., The late-night courtroom drama, with the state and federal government lawyers bickering over oxygen supplies to the national capital, which has among the best health-care infrastructure in the country, is a grim indicator of a worse situation in the hinterlands., The ferocity of the second wave is also resonating with investors and analysts. Indian stocks and the rupee have turned Asia’s worst performers this month as sentiment soured, while credit default swaps also surged. Care Ratings Ltd. on Wednesday lowered India’s gross domestic product growth forecast for the current fiscal year to 10.2%, from as much as 11.2% last month. This is its second downward revision in less than a month., The outbreak is also prompting responses from other countries., Singapore on Thursday announced , on visitors from India. Australia will cut flights from India to reduce Covid risk, Indian news channel NDTV said in a tweet. The U.K. added India to its travel ban list April 20, and earlier this month New Zealand temporarily , arrivals of its citizens and residents from India due to a spike in the number returning infected with Covid. Hong Kong , flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines for 14 days starting April 20, while Macau has extended the quarantine requirement for travelers from those three countries to 28 days., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bhuma Shrivastava &. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 9:44 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Centre Boosts Vaccine Supply Lakh Jabs States Group Day [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Centre Boosts Vaccine Supply To States; 18-44 Group Get Under 1 Lakh Jabs On Day 1. Short_description: The central government will supply 56 lakh vaccine doses to states in the next three days.. Description: The central government will supply 56 lakh vaccine doses to states in the next three days, said a May 2 press release by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare., This will help states accelerate vaccination of those above 45 years of age as well as healthcare and frontline workers., As on May 1, BloombergQuint , that vaccine supplies—existing balance with states plus pipeline supply by the central government—had fallen to 96.44 lakh doses, enough for just 3 days of vaccination, based on the average vaccination rate in April., As on May 2, that aggregate number now stands at 1.34 crore doses—78,60,779 doses in stock with states and 56,20,670 arriving from the central government. That should give states about five days of supply., To vaccinate those aged between 18-45, the states have to procure their own supply, as per the central government’s Apr. 19 policy that lowered the eligible age to 18 years., Given just 11 days to do so, states have been scrambling to arrange supplies from the two domestic producers—Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech. Private hospitals can also provide vaccination by purchasing supplies from the open market. Both states and private hospitals can also import approved vaccines., As May 1, 11.20 pm, 84,599 beneficiaries of the age group 18-44 years received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine today, the ministry’s press release said. This marked the first day of vaccination for this age group.. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 02 May 2021, 5:20 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to indian delegation Self G-7 Meeting Isolates diplomat [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Indian Delegation Self-Isolates at G-7 Meeting of Top Diplomats. Short_description: India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar said he would self-isolate over possible exposure to coronavirus.. Description: The U.K. insisted a meeting of top Group of Seven diplomats in London should go ahead after India’s foreign minister said he would self-isolate over possible exposure to coronavirus., On Wednesday, the second day of the summit, the U.K. appeared to be pushing on through as a smiling Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was filmed welcoming fellow ministers to Lancaster House with fist bumps. On Tuesday afternoon, according to people familiar, he informed fellow ministers that there had been two positive cases among the Indian delegation, but that foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was not one of them., The news could have derailed a high-profile event that marked the G-7 debut of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken., India is not a member of the G-7, though it was invited as a guest by the U.K. to mark the focus on Asia and the Indo-Pacific, which was also the theme of a dinner where Jaishankar would have been invited but did not attend., Diplomats are , from Covid-19 quarantine rules under U.K. rules but have had regular tests while attending the summit., A U.K. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Public Health England have determined the risk to those in the meetings is low and they do not have to self-isolate. The official said the Indian delegation has yet to attend the G-7 at Lancaster House in London so do not pose a risk to the summit., Jaishankar will instead take part in the sessions on Wednesday virtually. An Indian official said that all members of the delegation were tested before departure and came back with negative results. The entire team is now self-isolating and officials are working with the U.K. to assess contagion concerns., The risk factor is especially high though as India is now battling the world’s worst coronavirus crisis, with hospitals and crematoriums overflowing and citizens forced to beg for oxygen on Twitter., U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson canceled a planned visit India last month as the South Asian nation’s second Covid-19 wave surged. Johnson held a virtual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday., “I think it’s very important to try to continue as much business as you can as a government,” Johnson told reporters when asked if going ahead with the event had been a mistake. “I will be seeing the Indian foreign minister later this afternoon and that will be a Zoom exchange, I’m given to understand.”, The question in the immediate is what kind of contact did Indian officials have with others. U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel met with Jaishankar, who so far during his stay has also seen counterparts from the U.S., France, Canada, South Africa as well as the European Union’s representative, Josep Borrell., Down the line however, it will raise the security stakes for when leaders are meant to gather in person in Cornwall next month and how to avoid similar scares in a larger and more important setting., The U.S. was advised that its “stringent masking, social distancing, and daily testing protocols” would permit its delegation to carry on as planned, State Department spokesman Ned Price said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Alberto Nardelli &. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 2:03 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to U.S. Stumble India China vaccine World [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: World Turns to China for Vaccines After India, U.S. Stumble. Short_description: U.S. looks to waive patents on shots but has donated few. Covid-ravaged India delays supplies, leaving China at the fore.. Description: , The world is fast becoming ever more reliant on China for vaccines, with India’s raging virus outbreak stifling its ability to deliver on supply deals, even as the U.S. tries to position itself as a champion of wider access., Over the past few weeks, leaders of some of the globe’s most populous nations have sought more shots from China despite concerns about their effectiveness. Demand is expected to rise even further now that the World Health Organization has , a vaccine from China’s Sinopharm Group Co. Ltd. and is expected to soon do the same for Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s. That will allow developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America to access them through Covax, the global vaccination effort., “China has become not just the largest exporter,” said , , a China specialist and senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. “In many countries it has become the only option.”, China’s reliability as a vaccine supplier is increasing its geopolitical clout at a time when the U.S. and the EU have been slow confronting the global pandemic as Covid hot spots rage out of control in India, Brazil and elsewhere. Compounding the difficulties, India’s crisis has dried up vaccine supplies and prompted many countries to turn toward China. Amid this backdrop, the U.S., for months preoccupied with its domestic vaccination push, has come under intense criticism for hoarding shots at the expense of a global response., President Joe Biden made it clear this week that the U.S. intends to start playing a more active role. On Wednesday, the U.S. threw its weight behind a movement to waive patents on Covid-19 vaccines to allow other countries to manufacture them. He’s vowing that the U.S. will become an “arsenal for fighting Covid-19” globally as outbreaks elsewhere in the world risk spawning dangerous variants that could prolong the crisis. The administration’s efforts so far include plans to give away 60 million doses of AstraZeneca Plc’s shot and to ramp up production of doses made by Moderna Inc., Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson., In the meantime, countries from Uruguay to Senegal to Indonesia have few places to turn apart from Beijing -- and China is making the most of it., The country has already shipped out about 240 million doses, more than all other nations combined, and has committed to providing another 500 million, according to , , a science information and analytics company. India, the world’s third-biggest supplier after China and the European Union, had exported 67 million doses to nearly 100 countries until the devastating Covid-19 outbreak prompted it to halt most deliveries in recent weeks., Access to the shots will provide a boost to the WHO-backed Covax effort, which relied heavily on the Serum Institute of India before the clampdown on exports., Covax has shipped more than 50 million doses to 121 countries and territories, well short of its goal and just a fifth of what the U.S. has administered domestically. A new pact with , has expanded Covax’s portfolio, but only a fraction of the 500 million doses it pledged will be available this year., WHO authorization of Chinese vaccines could make an immediate difference for governments waiting for that stamp of approval before giving them to citizens. Sri Lanka, for instance, has so far used less than 1% of its 600,000 Sinopharm shots on foreign Chinese workers., Some experts, though, are worried about the potential public-health impact of widely deploying Chinese vaccines that have demonstrated lower efficacy rates than those made Pfizer and Moderna. And Chinese shots have already been hampered by a lack of trial data and a preference for vaccines from the Western companies., “The WHO approval of Chinese vaccines will, in the medium term, help to strengthen Chinese power and authority within the region,” said , , an associate professor at the City University of Hong Kong and editor of several books on global health and foreign policy. “However, the low efficacy rate of the Chinese vaccines means that this is an easily contestable position if the Western countries can ramp up their own supplies.”, That’s all the more reason for China to seize the moment while it can. Foreign Minister Wang Yi vowed last week that China would provide vaccines to countries that had been dependent on India during a , with counterparts from South Asian nations., On the same day, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe spoke with Bangladesh about military cooperation. The country later approved emergency use of the Sinopharm shot after the bulk of 15 million doses it paid for from the Serum Institute failed to arrive., Last month Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to oppose “vaccine nationalism” in a call with Indonesia leader Joko Widodo, whose government green-lit Sinopharm for emergencies soon afterward. Indonesia also secured as many as 15 million more shots of Sinovac., “In plain view, India’s export ban has made Indonesia increasingly dependent on vaccine supplies from China,” said Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia., Other countries have had to play nice with China on geopolitical spats., India’s export delays deprived the Philippines of its biggest vaccine order at a time it’s sparring with China over a territorial dispute. President Rodrigo Duterte rebuked his top diplomat this week for an expletive-laced tweet denouncing Beijing over the spat while his government negotiates with Sinovac for a monthly delivery of as many as 4 million doses., “China remains our benefactor,” Duterte said. “Just because we have a conflict with China doesn’t mean to say that we have to be rude and disrespectful.”, Some countries relying on Chinese vaccines such as Chile have moved relatively swiftly. However, worries persist about their potency: A Chilean government study found in April that Sinovac’s vaccine is 67% effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 infections and wards off 80% of fatalities. In Israel, meanwhile, Pfizer’s mRNA shot was , to be 92% effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 infections and 99% effective at preventing deaths -- though it’s harder to transport and must be stored at ultralow temperatures., India is confident it can ramp up supplies again in a few months once the current outbreak is contained, according to a Foreign Ministry official in New Delhi who asked not to be identified. The government sees China trying to exploit India’s crisis but is confident that other countries understand its predicament, the official added., “The shipments are being repurposed for domestic purposes given the demand,” said Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi. “We have already stated that our external supplies would be done keeping in mind our domestic requirements.”, Meanwhile, from Pakistan to Brazil and Africa, many ordinary people have expressed a lack of confidence in Chinese vaccines. In some areas of Africa, which is using shots from the U.S., India, Russia and China, skepticism on vaccines mirrors that in parts of the developed world., “We are being told that these vaccines are meant to get rid of Africans, so for now I will watch and observe those that have been inoculated,” said Passmore Mwanza, a 29-year-old worker in Zimbabwe. “I don’t want to be part of an experiment of an outcome I don’t know.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Iain Marlow, . Date Created: 07 May 2021, 2:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Covid Loan Book bqdebate Healthcare [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: #BQDebates: How Should The ‘Covid Loan Book’ For Healthcare Be Deployed?. Short_description: In the 15th month of India’s battle against Covid-19, what’s the best way to deploy RBI’s new liquidity window for healthcare?. Description: On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India announced a special liquidity facility of Rs 50,000 crore to enable banks to step up lending to the healthcare sector, and incentivise banks into creating a , . This measure has been taken toward meeting the emergency funding needs of hospitals, vaccine manufacturers, medical equipment importers, and even patients, as India continues to be hit by record Covid-19 infections and deaths., In the 15th month of India’s battle against the coronavirus, what’s the best way to deploy this credit?, This is obviously a welcome policy by the Reserve Bank of India., Frankly, this aids healthcare infrastructure expansions which, provided the liquidity (was there), could actually have come a year ago. That could have really helped the country build up the capacity in time. However, the policy is always welcome., I just hope that there are a few things that are clear about the approach., One, I hope the fine print does not restrict the borrowing very significantly because that would obviously create a big challenge in terms of — who will have access, how much access, how fast that credit will flow through, and therefore how fast it will go to capacity building. The need is today and while they have incentivised banks to create and give this credit, I hope that the fine print is not restrictive. I would want to read the detailed fine print before making a detailed comment., Second, I hope that the timeline being kept for this is not very short. Because of the unknown nature and lack of visibility for surges and waves of Covid-19 that have happened, it led to an inability by healthcare providers to actually do long-term investment at the appropriate phase. That’s because you don't know how long it's going to last. So, by the time you roll out a hospital, expanded testing facilities, a production unit to manufacture oxygen, that would be a minimum of a two-to-six-month window depending on what you're trying to build. If you don't have visibility on the requirement of Covid testing or products or anything else, it becomes a futile exercise. One of the things that we’ve been requesting the government is to work closely with the private sector and share their mathematical modelling for how Covid-19 is going to continue to move from here and in the last year as well. I think that would really help the private sector make their own plans for investment., Assuming that somebody has the intent and keenness to make the investments, this credit flow will now be useful, but it is likely to be more toward the larger firms in healthcare who already have [credit] rating. It is unlikely that this credit will go down to the very small subset and the fragmented, unorganised sector. But even if it goes to the top firms of healthcare, I think that could help really increase capacity. In order for credit to get to smaller entities, I think equipment lending is an area that could benefit all segments of the industry, whether small or large. If equipment lending could be done in a better design that would really help. Even from a depreciation and tax perspective, I think that could be helpful., If this lending is done quickly, if it’s not restrictive in nature and is given for a fair period of time, this helps. But let's suppose they say ‘okay we only want to give this to you till 2022’, then frankly, by the time somebody takes the credit, by the time they invest, and by the time the capacity that gets built, we’re already in 2022. So, a lot of it depends on those details., While, of course, this is being done to fight Covid-19, I think the reality that everybody has seen is that India as a country has under-invested in its public healthcare infrastructure and private health infrastructure in the past 50-100 years. Changing that is imperative because there will be more pandemics and epidemics, Covid is not the last one of them. If we take a cue from some other countries and see what actually is essential for us is to build capacity because we don't know if the country will be hit by a third wave. In my opinion, a third wave is very likely because our vaccination programs will only kick off in July in full swing, considering the lack of current vaccines. Therefore, we will probably face a third wave, and even if we don’t, the point is that there are going to be many such incidents that are going to happen. We need to build capacity in advance. So, governments need to look at this as a more long-term plan in saying that, ‘look, let’s motivate the public and private sectors to really build capacity so that in the future when we get hit, we are not caught napping the way we have this time.’, It is my sense that while there could be a stable increase in demand for investment at the primary care level in the hospital sector, the current demand is not sustainable and is a bubble that needs more government and philanthropy support. Any significantly enhanced lending at this stage to the hospital sector for capital expenditures could result in defaults in the future. However, there appear to be significant opportunities to safely provide working capital finance and equipment finance for oxygen producers, hospitals, and for cylinders and tankers, particularly where the cylinders have multiple uses even later. Looking into what the TReDS platform needs to help in this market could prove to be useful., In my view, the core challenge for lending has always been access and product design. While, at the margin, there is certainly some value to small reductions in interest rates, and increased activity from banks, the key to access, particularly for higher risk sectors, without compromising systemic stability has been with the non-bank finance companies. This crisis provides an opportunity, as we had argued in an , , to place NBFCs on par with other corporate borrowers of banks, reduce the "pancaking of capital requirements", and allow a great deal of flexibility on product design to them., NBFCs have cost structures, reach, and design capabilities in high-risk areas that banks just do not have, and forcing banks to do high-risk lending poses challenges for systemic stability. We need safer banks and riskier NBFCs — our policy thrust seems to be in the opposite direction.. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 8:17 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Vaccination Centre mumbai drive Covid [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Covid 19: Mumbai Gets A Drive-In Vaccination Centre. Short_description: Mumbai’s municipal corporation has opened its first drive-in vaccination facility.. Description: Mumbai’s municipal corporation has opened its first drive-in vaccination facility., Located at Dadar West, at the Kohinoor Parking lot, the vaccination centre has 7 rooms and will vaccinate those above 45 years of age who are eligible for their second dose of Covishield, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said on Twitter., On the first day the drive-in center vaccinated 417 people. The booths were also serving on-foot traffic., These images were provided by BMC. BloombergQuint has not visited the facility., On May 6, the BMC Commissioner directed all zonal deputy municipal commissioners to set up one drive-in vaccination center in each administrative zone in the city within 24 hours., To be located in big open grounds, these centers will vaccinate only citizens above 60 years, by online appointment, said a BMC statement.. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 2:27 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Regulate Monopoly Power Covid-19 Vaccines reform half [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: This Is ‘Half-Reform’ On Covid-19 Vaccines. Fairly Regulate Monopoly Power. Short_description: India’s new vaccine policy is more laissez-faire than free markets. We are staring at chaos and abuse, writes Raghav Bahl. . Description: Half-knowledge, say the wise, is dangerous. Half-reform, say I, is equally destructive. Unfortunately, that’s what the government’s new vaccination regimen is, a ‘half-reform’., On the plus side, scrapping an unviable price cap is spot on. This will allow manufacturers to get a productive ‘return on capital’ and is the , spur to new investments in enhancing capacity. No coercion or fiat will get entrepreneurs to put money on a losing proposition. Period., But ‘free pricing’ is only a ‘half-reform’. Which is why, despite being the correct way to go, the government is encountering a tidal wave of criticism, for being ‘hasty’, ‘half-baked’, and ‘capitulating before big capital’. In fact, here is the distilled missive from Sonia Gandhi to Prime Minister Modi , :, Stung by a similar blowback from academicians and experts, the government is hitting out, especially at ‘free-market liberals and intelligentsia’ who have been relentlessly campaigning for these changes. “Now that we’ve done what you guys have been asking for, you’ve flipped and become critical. That’s unfair!”, is the refrain one hears from government sources., Is that correct? Are people like me (aka ‘free market liberals’) now condemning the government for doing exactly what we had been pushing for? No, that’s not quite correct. I applaud the fact that the state has relaxed its stranglehold on prices. I also cheer throwing open our market to foreign producers. Both actions will augment supplies. But is that it? Was there nothing more to be done?, The government defends itself, asking “what else was possible?”, thereby betraying an age-old blind spot, that is, , . In fact, this equation captures the contempt they have for free markets. They have never understood – , – that free markets are as opposed to laissez-faire as Milton Friedman is to Karl Marx., To think of free markets as being equal to laissez-faire is to broadcast your illiteracy to the world., Why have I taken this tiny tutorial on laissez-faire? Because by freeing only Covid-19 vaccine prices, without defining collateral regulation, the Modi government has propagated laissez-faire and has not created a free/competitive market for vaccines., Remember, the current market structure is akin to a ‘monopolistic utility’ – that is, there is one producer who dominates 90% of the market, and since the vaccine is a product that is critical to life, that producer can abuse his monopoly power. Imagine what would happen if a single water or electricity distributor (water and electricity being critical to life) could whimsically charge any price or deny any connection to any consumer? For example, he could ask me to pay Rs 100/litre while giving it free to my neighbour; he could even slap a 100-litre cap on my household while giving away gallons to my entitled neighbour. We would be living in a jungle, right? This is why monopoly power/pricing must be regulated fairly, not left unfettered., So, until several other vaccines have entered India, and Serum Institute’s market share has fallen to about 30-40%, , . Transparent rules will have to be crafted to ensure fairness:, I guess by now you’ve got what I mean when I say that the new rules on ‘free pricing’ of vaccines are a potentially destructive half-reform., Unless a cogent framework is simultaneously created to curb monopoly power and ensure fair distribution among states and private hospitals, we are staring at chaos and abuse., The ball is squarely in the Modi government’s court., In the federal spirit, it should set up a Vaccination Council (on the lines of the GST Council) so that its actions are fair, and more importantly, , .. Publisher: Raghav Bahl. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 8:14 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Infections Post Covid-19 vaccination Faulty Data Indian Government [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Indian Government Used Faulty Data To Claim Few Infections Post Covid-19 Vaccination. Short_description: The methodology used by the government is questionable, experts on virology have said.. Description: The central government has claimed that only two to four persons in every 10,000 vaccinated with either of the two Covid-19 vaccines being used in India are seeing breakthrough infections, when a vaccinated person gets infected. However, this is based on incomplete data--for nearly three months after vaccination began, the government's Covid-19 test form, used by both government and private laboratories, did not check if those being tested had been vaccinated. Cases of post-vaccination infection would therefore not have been detected and recorded, our ground investigation and review of documents shows., The methodology used by the government is questionable, experts on virology told us., In clinical trials, both the two-dose Covid-19 vaccines , and , being used have been shown to lower the risk of death, severe disease and mild infections in vaccinated individuals, even after only the first dose. Published , for Covishield showed a 70% vaccine efficacy in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 and 100% efficacy in preventing severe disease and death. Phase III trial results for Covaxin have not yet been published, but the , a slightly higher vaccine efficacy of 78%., is the degree to which a vaccine prevents infection in vaccinated groups, in closed, controlled clinical trials. Vaccine effectiveness, on the other hand, refers to how well a vaccine performs once it is approved for use and out in the real world., In appearing to demonstrate high vaccine effectiveness for both Covaxin and Covishield, however, the central government has used problematic data, we found. The numbers of persons receiving Covaxin and Covishield doses, and the number of breakthrough infections, i.e. Covid-19 cases reported by vaccinated persons after the first and second dose were shared by Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan at a , on April 21., "As everyone knows, there are two vaccines currently in use in our country. They prevent severe disease and death and definitely reduce infections; after vaccination, if we get infection, it is known as breakthrough infection," said , , Director General of the , . Only 0.02% to 0.04%--or two to four per 10,000--of vaccinated persons saw breakthrough infections after Covid-19 vaccination, which is a very small number, but even these few infections could be explained partly by the higher exposure of the infected persons compared to the general population, and to the ongoing second surge in India, added Bhargava., He ascribed "this small number" to healthcare and frontline workers who were the first to be vaccinated. "They are prone to more occupational exposure... But this is a very, very small number and not at all worrisome, and vaccination should continue," said Bhargava, "The second point is that the current highly transmissible second wave may also contribute little bit, or miniscule, to this percentage; otherwise this could have been even 0%.", At the same press conference, , , member (health), NITI Aayog and head of India's Covid-19 task force, said he wanted to make the point that these incidents of breakthrough infections are very low and, though research is going on, even if these occur there will be no severe Covid-19 disease, as per the data with the government till date. The government was systematically collecting data on breakthrough infections, he added., Until recently, however, ICMR's Specimen Referral Form (SRF), which laboratories are required to fill up when conducting a Covid-19 test, did not ask for information on whether the person being tested had been vaccinated against Covid-19 or not. On April 7--nearly three months after India began its vaccination programme--the , was , to include questions on whether the person being tested had received the Covid-19 vaccine; if so, then which one; and the dates on which the first and/or second doses had been received. This means that tests conducted for 81 days prior to April 7 did not contain this information, a senior official at the ICMR admitted, asking not to be named., Even now, the changed ICMR form has not fully made it to the ground, we found. The government's own National Centre for Disease Control's checklist of forms (accessible at , ) carries the , of the ICMR SRF form, without fields for vaccination information. The websites of large diagnostic test providers including , , and , all still have the old ICMR form until today. This means that many people who are testing positive for Covid-19 after getting vaccinated are still not being reflected in ICMR's data on breakthrough infections., Siddharth Chakravarty, a 38-year-old researcher with an NGO, got his first dose of the Covishield vaccine at a government primary health centre in Bengaluru on April 2. After experiencing mild symptoms, Chakravarty got himself tested for Covid-19 at a private lab in Delhi on April 19 and was positive. He was not required to give any details about prior vaccination, he said. (, reviewed his documents.), B. Sumana (name changed on request to protect identity), 69, got her first dose of Covishield on April 3 in Chennai. On April 17, she experienced mild Covid-19 symptoms and got herself tested at a private lab. Again, no details on prior vaccination were sought. She then received a text message confirming receipt of her sample with a link to the ICMR's Covid-19 Sample Collection Management System , , from which she could download her Sample Referral Form. In the personal details section was the question: received Covid-19 vaccine? The form had already been filled out with the answer "no", even though she had never been asked the question, and had actually received one dose. She tested Covid-19 positive. (, has reviewed all her documents.), At least two deaths from Covid-19 of vaccinated people have been , in mainstream media; a father-son duo of doctors in Kalyan, Maharashtra who died on April 17, had , . Relatives said they had tested positive for and died from Covid-19., sought a response from ICMR early on April 22, asking what methodology was used to collate numbers of breakthrough infections, and seeking clarifications about facts uncovered by our ground reporting. The article will be updated should they respond., "There is a , for conducting vaccine effectiveness trials in low and middle-income countries. The data presented by ICMR is not the way to measure effectiveness." said , , one of India's leading virologists. "For effectiveness, you need to identify the people who come for testing and then identify the number of vaccinated among those who test positive and those who test negative. You do not get a full picture if you start with only the vaccinated population and see whether they get infected," she said. "In addition to the problems on the ground that you are pointing out, there will also be [vaccinated] people who test positive later. There will be [vaccinated] people who feel sick, but never get tested" she said.. Publisher: Rukmini S. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 7:35 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to New Vaccine Policy Modi state [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: New Vaccine Policy: Can States Achieve What Modi Couldn’t?. Short_description: As the centre’s stranglehold on vaccine supply eases, will it lead to more sellers, wider coverage or more chaos?. Description: By permitting the participation of states and the private sector in procurement and delivery of vaccines, has the central government’s , made way for an acceleration of the Covid-19 national vaccination programme or has it simply passed on the burden to states, private entities and citizens?, Former Health Secretary K Sujata Rao cautioned this , vaccine policy will raise more questions than it answers., Interstate infectious disease control is on the concurrent list and so is a shared responsibility, she said in emailed remarks to BloombergQuint., “These past 73 years, Government of India has been supplying drugs and vaccines for infectious diseases under the National Program to the states. This is the first time I am seeing, and at such a critical time, central government abdicating its responsibility and leaving the states to buy their own vaccines at a price to be determined by the suppliers and at a price to be fixed by the companies! Never heard of anything more preposterous than that.”, That said, India has so far vaccinated 9.4 people in every 100, below mainland China’s 14, Brazil’s 16, Turkey’s 25 and the United States’ 64, according to data tabulated by New York Times and sourced from , project at University of Oxford. The world average is 12., As yet, 1.3% of our population is fully vaccinated., The numbers may not fully represent the logistical challenge of vaccinating a population of over 100 crore adults, but they make clear the pace needs picking up. The ferocity of the second wave has underscored that urgency., So far, only health care workers, frontline workers, and those above 45 years of age are eligible for vaccination — let’s call them target group 1., That’s an estimated 28 to 30 crore people. They’ve received 13 crore doses , . 1.84 crore people have received both shots., The central government has been procuring vaccines manufactured locally, by Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech, and allocating them to states to administer. These vaccines are available free at government hospitals, whereas private hospitals can charge up to Rs 250 per jab, of which Rs 150 goes to the centre., Serum Institute has supplied the centre 10 crore doses and committed to supply another 11 crore in the next three months, a company spokesperson said. Bharat Biotech is reported to have supplied just over 1 crore doses and is committed to another 9 crore. The company refused to confirm or comment. That’s 31 crore doses supplied or booked., As per the phase 3 policy announced last week, that becomes effective May 1, the centre has said it will continue to provide free vaccines at government hospitals for target group 1. These will hereon be provided to states based on criteria such as active cases, delivery speed and wastage., Hence, this target group will continue to get vaccinated, free, but the speed will vary state to state, maybe more now than it has so far due to change in allocation criteria., In this new policy, the central government has lowered the age threshold for vaccine eligibility to 18 years. That means 87-90 crore Indians are now eligible., But here’s the big change. The centre will not vaccinate those between 18 and 45 years of age, an estimated 60 crore people. That task has now been left to states and the private sector., A few questions arise, The biggest challenge is what will happen to the people who are under 45 years of age, K Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India, said to BloombergQuint in a phone interview., “Now, they have to depend upon the individual states to provide and the states would have to provide it free of cost. Would they have the wherewithal to provide it for so many people? Unless the price is also fixed at a level, because they will have to keep competing with the private markets. Then maybe a disadvantage would take place in terms of the price and even in terms of the amount of supply,” Reddy said., The central government will get 50% of all domestic vaccine production, as per the new policy., 50% of domestic vaccine production can now be supplied to states and be sold in the open market. Private hospitals will have to procure their vaccines from this share., States and private sector entities can also import vaccines., The most recent data provided by Serum Institute’s spokesperson and Bharat Biotech’s , indicates current capacity is about 12 crore doses a month., Serum Institute: 6 crore doses a month, Bharat Biotech: 5.8 crore doses a month, Serum , to expand to over 10 crore by July. Bharat Biotech will receive a , of Rs 65 crore to expand to 10 crore doses by September., The central government has also reportedly approved advance payments recently to both producers that may help fund further capacity expansion but those numbers are not discernable yet., Such help should have been advanced months ago, said Rao. It will take three months before enhanced supplies kick in, she added., Russian vaccine Sputnik V will soon be in India, first imported by Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. that expects to start supplying it by , . As of now it has an agreement for a total 25 crore doses that will cover 12.5 crore people., Six pharmaceutical firms have signed agreements with Russian Direct Investment Fund to produce Sputnik V in India — the target capacity is 85 crore doses a year or 42.5 crore people covered. “We are looking at producing 50 million doses (5 crore) or more a month of Sputnik V by this summer, or end of summer, in India,” Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive of RDIF, , Then there are others in the fray — Cadila, which expects regulatory approval for its vaccine, ZyCoV-D, by June — will potentially , to 24 crore annual doses., Besides, the new policy permits imports by states and private entities — but that will depend on availability of imported vaccines, regulatory clearance, supply chain requirements, etc. Vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and J&J have only now been invited to seek , from the Indian authorities., Reddy cites the states’ experience last year in securing imported Covid tests, safety gear, masks, etc. to say “it's perfectly alright if they negotiate directly with the supplier because then it's a free for all...”, The key hurdle will be availability and unintended-but-inevitable competition between states and with the private sector to lock-in sellers., Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech have supplied vaccines to the central government at Rs 150 per dose., In light of the new phase 3 vaccine policy, Serum Institute announced it will now charge central and state governments Rs 400 per dose and private hospitals Rs 600 per dose., Bharat Biotech published prices on Apr. 24. It will supply to states at Rs 600 per dose and to private hospitals at Rs 1,200 per dose., Imported Sputnik V will be priced at $10 or Rs 750, Dr. Reddy’s officials said in , ., Given the limitations on government finances, both central and state, it would have been best if both negotiated together for low prices, PHFI’s Reddy said. He commented before Serum published its prices and was speaking on domestic and imported supplies., “I think all states should be represented by the centre and the same price should be offered to the states as well. If they leave it entirely to the states, firstly, there will be a competition among states and secondly, there'll be a competition with the private purchasers.”, Multinational pharmaceutical companies are hard to negotiate with, warned Rao. Their terms are difficult to agree to and that is why for the H1N1 vaccine, India’s negotiations with Pfizer failed, she recounted., “In vaccines it is always about quality and accountability of the supplying company towards any adverse event post vaccination — a responsibility they (MNCs) often do not like to accept. They also do not like doing bridge studies or subject themselves to our regulators, etc. So accountability and price often become difficult to negotiate. It is for this reason that only Government of India can firm up the agreements and allow import. It is a matter that cannot be left to states.”, Some such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Assam have rushed to announce free vaccination for all above 18 years. Others like Maharashtra reportedly intend to divert funds from other programs to speed up vaccinations. Yet others like Kerala are assessing the budgetary impact., On social media, economists are suggesting ways states, already cash-strapped, could raise funds to support large-scale vaccination programmes., India Inc. has sought centre’s permission to use, for public vaccination., Besides vaccine supply, delivery infrastructure will need to be ramped up to accelerate and scale vaccination. That means more vaccine centers and vaccinators., Currently 60,637 government and 6,664 private cites are , vaccinations. Guidelines are available to operationalise vaccination centres at , ., “I think you can easily train a large number of people to give injections and even watch for side effects. But whether current regulations will permit that or not I do not know because there are a lot of regulations about who can give an intramuscular injection and who can’t,” said PHFI’s Reddy., Besides, a more dispersed vaccine programme, run by multiple entities, will need sharper coordination on data collection, of registrations and adverse reactions., Already, Serum Institute has requested all companies and private individuals to access vaccines via state and private health facilities., States will also need to work closely to ensure no gaps open up - for instance, migrant workers are vaccinated irrespective of domicile., “I think these are issues which are not insurmountable but need to be ironed out,” Reddy cautioned., Centre has limited its role to vaccinate 30 crore people. That’s 60 crore jabs, 31 crore ordered. 13 crore jabs administered since Jan. 16., States and private entities now have to vaccinate 60 crore people. That’s 120 crore jabs. Orders will be placed only now., The current domestic vaccine production capacity is approximately 12 crore doses a month. Current visibility on expansion indicates 21 crore doses a month by July. Imports additional., These numbers align with BofA’s ‘middle’ case scenario., With more buyers entering the fray, it’s possible supply will rise faster than earlier anticipated. Between states and corporates if urban, dense areas can get speedy, comprehensive vaccine coverage that may retard the virus spread as well., If India is able to ramp up from the current 25-30 lakh vaccine shots a day to 50 lakh a day, 50% of the population could be vaccinated by the end of the calendar year, estimates HSBC., Will that be enough? The proportion of the population that must be vaccinated against Covid-19 to begin inducing herd immunity is not known, the WHO , ., Ideally, experts say, the central government ought to have planned better. Even now it can help states with coordination, funding, etc. But states will bear a substantial part of the vaccination burden. So will the private sector, but on a voluntary basis., If the three work together there’s a slim chance of success. Otherwise, citizens will pay the price.. Publisher: Menaka Doshi. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 4:33 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Delhi Extends Lockdown Control Virus Outbreak Week [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Delhi Extends Lockdown by a Week to Control Virus Outbreak. Short_description: India’s capital extended by a week curbs it put in place to control a new wave of Covid-19 infections.. Description: , India’s capital extended by a week curbs it put in place to control a new wave of Covid-19 infections., The decision was announced by Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a Twitter post on Saturday. The lockdown was initially imposed on April 19 and has already been extended once., New Delhi has recorded an average more than 20,000 new infections daily for the past five days, according to government data. The nation’s daily cases topped a record 400,000 on Saturday, pushing the total virus numbers to more than 19 million, which is second only to the U.S., Read: India Needs to Shut Down to Beat , , , Tells Express, The spike in infections has overwhelmed the nation’s hospitals and crematoriums, which are working overtime to cope with the sick and the surging number of deaths. Hospitals in the state have also been facing a shortage of oxygen supply to treat patients, compounding the crisis., A Delhi hospital reported that 12 patients died due to shortage of oxygen on Saturday., “Everyday, we have been raising an alarm,” said Sudhanshu Bankata, executive director at the Batra Hospital, where the deaths occurred. “The situation is worsening.”, Kejriwal said he’s conveyed the concerns of the hospitals to the federal government as well as the courts, seeking intervention and help., “Many hospitals have said that they will have to turn down their patients,” he said. “Delhi needs oxygen.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Kartik Goyal &. Date Created: 01 May 2021, 6:48 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to U.K. booster Virus Update S. Africa Access shot [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: S. Africa Seeks Access to Shots; U.K. Boosters: Virus Update. Short_description: Track the global Covid-19 pandemic and the containment efforts here.. Description: New global coronavirus cases rose for the ninth consecutive week, by a record 5.7 million, as a 52% surge in India outweighed declines in most regions, the World Health Organization said. Companies around the world are , to help ease the crisis, as India’s death toll surpassed 200,000., Deutsche Bank AG is considering one of the , return-to-office policies among large international banks. Moves to restart travel in Europe are gathering pace, as Britain followed France with plans for a digital vaccine passport., Countries including Poland are making , to ease restrictions to boost their economies. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s deputy prime minister warned of a “very high” threat of a new outbreak after the nation , its first domestic case in a month., Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team , . Click CVID on the terminal for global data on cases and deaths., Countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America must engage the international human rights movement to ensure equitable access to vaccines, particularly for poor countries, South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said., “All of us should be committed to opposing what we refer to as ‘vaccine narrow nationalism’, the tendency by rich countries to want to accumulate the vaccines unto themselves and by so doing making vulnerable, poor countries to be unable to access the vaccine,” Mboweni said at a virtual event hosted by the South African Jewish Report newspaper., Maryland is dropping most outdoor mask requirements effective immediately and loosening other restrictions that were in place to stem the spread of Covid-19., Masks will still be required at all large venues, such as stadiums and concerts and indoors at all private and public businesses, Kata D. Hall, a spokeswoman for Governor Larry Hogan, said on Twitter., All restrictions will also be lifted on outdoor dining as of May 1 and standing service will be allowed at outdoor bars and restaurants, Hall said., The mask rules follow a Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention guidance that said they’re no longer required outdoors for those who have been vaccinated., The U.K. government has secured an , of the vaccine produced by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE to form part of a booster program to protect the most vulnerable people against Covid-19 before winter., Scientists at the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization are deciding which groups of people should get the booster shot later this year, after they have been given their first two doses., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has stopped searching for opportunities to produce Covid-19 vaccines for a developer partner, according to the generic drug giant’s chief executive officer, who said the vaccine makers have already secured needed manufacturing capacity., Chief Executive Officer Kare Schultz said in February that Teva was in discussions with top-tier shot makers about helping with production and distribution. Those talks ended after the companies clinched other manufacturing agreements and determined they had sufficient capacity to meet targets, , New York’s legislature , several of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s coronavirus-related executive orders, nearly two months after stripping him of pandemic-era emergency powers., The Senate and Assembly on Wednesday will reverse a Cuomo directive that required customers to order food with alcohol in bars and restaurants, according to a Senate Majority news release., The Indian Ocean Island nation of Mauritius has donated 200 oxygen concentrators to India to help its medical staff treat patients suffering from the coronavirus, Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth said on Twitter. Mauritius began its Covid-19 inoculation campaign in January using 100,000 Covishield vaccines it received from India’s government., Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna reduced the risk of being hospitalized for Covid-19 among fully immunized older adults by 94%, and by 64% for those who received only one of the two-shot regimens, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. The study evaluated 417 hospitalized patients who were 65 and older between January and late March, 130 of whom had received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. The results were in line with clinical trial findings, the report’s authors , ., New York City patrons can resume sitting and drinking at bars next week, Governor Andrew Cuomo said. The move aligns the city with regulations in the rest of the state., The ban on bar seating will be lifted on May 3. Cuomo also is eliminating the midnight food and beverage service curfew for outdoor dining on May 17 and the one for indoor dining beginning May 31., Cuomo has been easing restrictions as Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations drop., Athletes at the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer will be required to take daily coronavirus tests, a , requirement than previously announced., All participants are also required to take two virus tests before flying to Japan, according to a joint statement on the updated playbook released following a five-party meeting, including Tokyo 2020 and the International Olympic Committee., Thousands of people at a mass nightclub rave in the U.K. this week will be a key , of whether live events halted during the pandemic can reopen at full capacity as planned from the end of June. The two-day event in Liverpool, northwest England, is part of a national research program that so far appears to show people are happy to be tested to secure entry to large-scale events., Separately, Switzerland is considering permitting large public events to be held again from July. The government unveiled a program that will shoulder some of the costs -- , 5 million francs ($5.5 million) -- if an event gets , due to the pandemic., An OECD report on Wednesday , the economic disruption from the Covid-19 pandemic combined with heightened concerns about health and finances is fueling demands for greater government spending in most of the world’s richest countries., That’s despite an awareness it could mean more taxation., Thailand’s top business groups offered to join the government in a mass vaccination rollout from June as the Southeast Asian nation grapples with its worst outbreak since the pandemic began., Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha met with representatives of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Thai Bankers Association and the Tourism Council of Thailand on Wednesday and identified specific roles for the private sector in the rollout that aims to cover 70% of the nation’s population by the end of this year., Companies ranging from India’s biggest conglomerate to global giants like Amazon.com Inc. are , to help ease the country’s Covid crisis., Reliance Industries Ltd., the Tata group, global drug giants like Gilead Sciences Inc. and technology titans such as Alphabet Inc. are all rushing in supplies and funds. Blackstone Group Inc. Chairman Stephen Schwarzman said his private equity firm is committing $5 million to support India’s relief and vaccination services to “marginalized communities.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 4:27 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Lakh New Covid Cases update India death Coronavirus [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Coronavirus Updates: India Reports 4 Lakh New Covid Cases, 3,523 Deaths. Short_description: Track the latest developments in India’s second wave of Covid-19 here.   . Description: India continued to report a record surge in Covid-19 infections, with Maharashtra remaining the epicentre of the crisis., Over 4 lakh people tested positive for the virus in a 24-hour period, the highest number of fresh cases in any country in any day, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on May 1., Active coronavirus infections in India crossed 32 lakh for the first time ever., More than 3,400 patients succumbed to the illness for the third straight day, overwhelming the country’s crematoriums and burial grounds. That took the total death toll to 2.11 lakh., Maharashtra extended pandemic curbs by another two weeks as the state continues to battle the spread of the coronavirus. The existing restrictions on the movement of individuals and on business operations will now stay in effect till May 15, and will not expire on May 1 as earlier announced., U.S. President Joe Biden banned most travel to the U.S. from India beginning Tuesday as the country struggles to combat the worst surge of coronavirus cases in the world. Passengers on airplanes, buses and other forms of mass transportation in the U.S. will have to keep wearing masks., Australia will prohibit the entry of travellers who have been in India within 14 days of arriving from Monday. People found breaching the rule face as much as five years in jail, a fine, or both.. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 01 May 2021, 9:46 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Coronavirus India Latest Updates New Cases death [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Coronavirus India Latest Updates: Over 31,000 New Cases, 282 Deaths Reported . Short_description: Follow the latest updates on the Covid-19 pandemic in India here.. Description: India will facilitate door-to-door vaccinations for differently-abled persons and those with restricted mobility—for whom reaching vaccination centers is not a possibility, said NITI Aayog member Dr. VK Paul., An advisory has been issued for the same, he said during the health ministry's briefing on Covid-19. Vaccinations in such cases will be done under supervisions by a team at their homes by following specific guidelines, he added., India's active Covid-19 case load continued to hover around the 3 lakh-mark as a third wave looms over the country's healthcare infrastructure., As many as 31,923 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the last 24 hours according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on Sept. 23., Active cases, at 3.01 lakh, constitute 0.90% of the total tally, the lowest since March last year. India's recovery rate at 97.77%, is also the highest since then. , Total confirmed cases: 3,35,31,498, Total number of active cases: 3,01,640, Total patients cured/discharged/migrated: 3,28,15,731, Total deaths: 4,46,050, Number of fresh cases in last 24 hours: 26,964, Number of recoveries in a day: 31,990, Deaths recorded in a day: 282, Total vaccine doses administered: 83,39,90,049, Doses administered in the last 24 hours: 71,38,205. Publisher: Rishabh Bhatnagar. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 9:27 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to India Risks Vaccine Shortage Health Crisis World [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Vaccine Shortage in India Risks Prolonging World’s Health Crisis. Short_description: Shortage is likely to get acute starting May 1 when government opens up vaccinations for all adults.. Description: India is running out of vaccines just as a new wave of Covid-19 infections batters the country, complicating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to inoculate the nation’s workforce while threatening to drag out the world’s worst health-care crisis., In the financial hub of Mumbai, vaccinations began later than usual on Monday as vials ran low. The city has enough stock for the next three days but those getting their second dose will be accorded priority, the municipality said in a statement. This shortage is likely to get acute starting May 1 when the government plans to allow adults between the ages of 18 and 45 to get the jab, in addition to the ones above 45 that are eligible currently., India is still struggling to get back on its feet as overwhelmed hospitals ran out of oxygen while new cases have risen to about 3.5 million since mid-April. Vaccine production has also been hit by the stockpiling of certain essential raw materials by the U.S., In a tweet Sunday, President Joe Biden signaled help is on the way. Ingredients needed to produce Covishield, the Oxford University-AstraZeneca Plc vaccine made in India, have been identified and “will immediately be made available,” Emily Horne, a spokesperson for U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, said in a statement., India reported an unprecedented 352,991 new infections and 2,812 deaths on Monday for the prior 24 hours, though the actual toll may be much higher. These grim scenes are likely to continue for about a month, according to Ramanan Laxminarayan, director at the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy in New Delhi., “The latest epidemiological projections are that the peak won’t be reached for another two or three weeks nationwide,” Laxminarayan told Bloomberg TV on Monday. “The projections that are being used are that the peak will be at the point where the numbers will probably be three or four times that we have right now.”, Sankaran Punneri Peroor, 66, took his first dose on March 4 and is running out of time for the second. Several clinics canceled his appointment citing low stocks. On Monday morning, Peroor and his wife were among more than 100 people standing for hours under a scorching sun at the Maasaheb Meenatai Thackeray Hospital in Navi Mumbai. The hospital’s vaccination target for a day is 200., “I managed to get admission in another private clinic which is 10 kilometers away from my residence. But on the vaccination day, the registration itself was canceled,” Peroor said. “I am pursuing all efforts as the coronavirus is spreading like wildfire.”, The latest wave of infections, which Modi called a “storm,” follows an unexplained lull earlier this year, during which India exported or gifted more than 60 million doses of its vaccine., The resurgence in cases is also threatening to hinder the recovery of the $2.9 trillion economy, which slid into a recession last year because of lockdowns. Modi is reluctant to back a nationwide lockdown this year, but has left it to local governments to decide on measures needed to curb the spread of the virus., The country’s two main cities -- Mumbai and capital New Delhi -- have already imposed tight restrictions on movement of people. The latter extended its lockdown through May 2. The state of Maharashtra, home to the nation’s financial hub, tightened its curbs last week., The lockdowns are making it harder for citizens to commute and access vaccination centers, adding another layer of challenge., The Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in New Delhi, which has the capacity to vaccinate at least 600 people a day, is seeing only around 400 turn up, according to medical superintendent P.S. Nayyer., Mumbai’s so-called Jumbo Centre in Bandra Kurla Complex, which houses the Indian headquarters of global banks and a stone’s throw from the U.S. Consulate, had to suspend its shots on April 25 when it ran out of doses before supplies came in., “We have restarted our vaccination drive since morning,” said Rajesh Dere, dean of the facility, adding 200,000 people have had their jabs at his center since the start of the program., Additional help is also coming from the U.S. Development Finance Corporation. The agency will fund an expansion of the production capability of Indian vaccine maker Biological E Ltd., or BioE, to at least 1 billion doses by the end of 2022. Ventilators, therapeutics, rapid-test kits and personal protective equipment will be sent as well, according to the statement from Sullivan’s office., Separately, on ABC’s “This Week” program on Sunday, Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the U.S. will consider sending India stockpiled doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine currently unapproved for use in the U.S. He also cautioned he didn’t “want to be speaking for policy right now.”, At a Monday event, the head of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, urged rich nations to , more vaccines to ensure poorer countries aren’t left behind if the world wants to get through the pandemic., “The shortage of Covid-19 vaccines in India is an early warning,” said Chandrakant Lahariya, a New Delhi-based expert on public policy and health systems. “It reminds policy makers to do better planning and iron out the challenges identified.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: P R Sanjai, . Date Created: 26 Apr 2021, 3:56 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Moderate Covid-19 Treatment Cadila Healthcare Virafin Approval [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Cadila Healthcare’s Virafin Gets Approval For Moderate Covid-19 Treatment. Short_description: The company’s drug has received restricted emergency use approval for treating moderate Covid-19 infection in adults.. Description: has received restricted emergency use approval from the Indian drug regulator for one of its drugs in treating moderate Covid-19 infection in adults., The company said when administered early on after contracting the virus, pegylated interferon alpha-2b, or Virafin, will help “patients recover faster and avoid much of the complications”. A single dose subcutaneous regimen—or under the skin—of Virafin will aid the treatment, it said in an exchange filing., Shares of Cadila Healthcare rose 3% after the announcement., In a trial conducted across 20-25 centres in India, Virafin was able to control respiratory distress and failure, which is one of the major ways Covid-19 manifests, the company said. “The drug has also shown efficacy against other viral infections.”, The company said during its phase III clinical trials, a higher proportion of Covid-19 positive patients administered with the drug tested negative by day 7. “The drug ensures faster viral clearance and has several add-on advantages compared to other anti-viral agents,” it said., “The fact that we’re able to offer a therapy which significantly reduces viral load when given early on can help in better disease management,” Dr Sharvil Patel, managing director of Cadila Healthcare, was quoted as saying., In August last year, Cadila Healthcare launched a cheaper version of Covid-19 drug Remdesivir in India under the brand name Remdac. The Ahmedabad-based firm had also started human clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate ZyCoV-D in July.. Publisher: Rishabh Bhatnagar. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 4:38 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to big Covid Crisis Grip Modi India World [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: World's Biggest Covid Crisis Threatens Modi's Grip on India. Short_description: There’s a growing chorus of blame directed at Modi over his government’s handling of the pandemic.. Description: As India recorded more than 234,000 new Covid-19 infections last Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an election rally in the West Bengal town of Asansol and tweeted: “I’ve never seen such huge crowds.”, The second wave of the coronavirus has since grown into a tsunami. India is now the global coronavirus hotspot, setting records for the world’s highest number of daily cases. Images of hospitals overflowing with the sick and dying are flooding social media, as medical staff and the public alike make desperate appeals for oxygen supplies., The political and financial capitals of New Delhi and Mumbai are in lockdown, with only the sound of ambulance sirens punctuating the quiet, but there’s a growing chorus of blame directed at Modi over his government’s handling of the pandemic., Modi canceled another planned appearance in West Bengal on Friday to hold meetings on the pandemic response, and on Sunday he implored Indians to get vaccinated. Whether it’s enough to prevent the political fallout may become clear on May 2, when election results are due to be announced for the five states voting over the last month: West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry., “At this crucial time he is fighting for votes and not against Covid,” said Panchanan Maharana, a community activist from the state of Odisha, who previously supported Modi’s policies but will now look for alternative parties to back. “He is failing to deliver — he should stop talking and focus on saving people’s lives and livelihoods.”, Modi is seen by many as a polarizing leader whose brand of nationalism that promotes the dominance of Hindus has appalled and enraptured the nation. Despite policy stumbles in his first term, voters re-elected him in a landslide in 2019 in the absence of any viable opposition. In the last poll taken in January, during a lull in the epidemic, his popularity was 74%, down a touch from 78% last August but still impressively high. Whether the pandemic will dent his appeal remains unclear., “There is no doubt an outpouring of anger at the mismanagement of the Covid-19 crisis in India,” said Nikita Sud, who teaches international development at the University of Oxford and has published a book on Hindu nationalism. “The question is, will this anger trump the hate that has been systematically sown in our society for years? And will public memory last long enough for the pandemic-related anger to be manifested at election time?”, Those are not easy questions to answer., Modi’s government has sought to block some recent criticism of its response to the virus on Twitter, where the anger and disappointment in India’s leader is manifest. When Modi addressed the nation on Tuesday, it seemed that he had failed to grasp the growing sense of panic among citizens. As he spoke, without providing any details on how his government would turn the situation around, the Hindi hashtag that translates as “Stop the speech, not the oxygen” was tweeted more than 108,000 times. Other hashtags, including #ModiMadeDisaster and #ModiResign were also popular., Footage of Modi, unmasked, addressing huge crowds who were also mostly without masks or social distancing, stood in stark contrast to images of exhausted doctors and nurses desperately trying to create more capacity in the country’s decrepit, underfunded health system., Noting that at least six high courts are hearing disputes about Covid-19 management including oxygen shortages, the Supreme Court on Thursday , the federal government to come up with a national plan for the distribution of essential supplies and services., Yet it is far from guaranteed that the current crisis will cost Modi at the ballot box. For his followers, the government’s support for building a Hindu temple in Uttar Pradesh on the contested site of a former mosque and its move to abolish the special status of Jammu and Kashmir — the only Muslim majority region in India — are far more pressing priorities. Hindus make up 80% of the population., “The construction of the temple is important for us, why can’t Hindus build a temple in our own land,” said Govind Kumar, a factory worker, as he sat with his meager belongings at a Delhi bus station on Tuesday, waiting to return to his village in Uttar Pradesh after the capital went into lockdown. Of the pandemic, he said: “Nobody can control the situation, why only blame Modi?”, It’s a sentiment expressed widely in India. Some commentators attribute the support for Modi as akin to that of a messianic figure whose appeal goes beyond mere politics. Asim Ali of the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, writing in , on April 1, said that “Brand Modi seems to have escaped into the political stratosphere, untouched by the conventional laws of political competition.”, There are signs elsewhere that the pandemic may be too much for even the most populist of leaders to remain unaffected. President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil confounded his skeptics by maintaining his base despite dismissing the pandemic, only to be forced into concessions when cases soared this year. Donald Trump could arguably have won a second term in November if it wasn’t for the U.S. Covid-19 death toll, still the world’s highest., Modi’s decision to hold election rallies and green-light large religious gatherings in the face of a growing second wave “will not inspire confidence about India’s leadership and governance record in any objective observer or investor,” said Sud of Oxford., And India’s economy, which was showing nascent signs of recovery after falling into recession last year for the first time in decades, is now struggling again. As more cities and states have issued stay-at-home order or other movement restrictions, job losses have begun to tick up. Urban unemployment jumped to 10.72% for the week ending April 18 from 7.21% two weeks ago, according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy., The prime minister is also under fire for over-promising on India’s vaccination rollout, both domestically and globally, after he dubbed the South Asian nation the “pharmacy to the world” last October. As case numbers soared, India suddenly halted its exports, which were a critical part of Covax, the World Health Organization program to provide inoculations to low income countries. Only last month his administration declared that the pandemic was in its end game., After administering more than three million doses a day earlier this month, vaccine centers are now running out of doses and have shut down across many states, including the mega-city of Mumbai. On April 19, Modi announced changes to his government’s immunization strategy — opening the program up to everyone over 18 and allowing state governments to tailor their own strategy and procure directly from manufacturers. His critics fear it is intended to leave the states with the blame., “In the first phase, Modi touted that they were in control and took credit,” said Sanjay Kumar, an election expert and co-director at Lokniti-Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi. “Now people won’t buy their argument, they will blame Modi and his government.”, Still, Modi changed gear on Wednesday, tweeting about monitoring India’s depleted oxygen supplies and sending condolences and get well messages to public figures falling sick or dying. On Friday, he planned to “review the prevailing Covid-19 situation.”, He has a track record of successfully deflecting blame for policy failures. That includes demonetization in 2016 where he banned 86% of the country’s currency overnight and left the economy and India’s citizens reeling, according to Katharine Adeney, director of the University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute., “It will be easy for him to blame other political actors such as state governments and chief ministers if that suits his purpose,” Adeney said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Archana Chaudhary, . Date Created: 25 Apr 2021, 9:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Coronavirus India Updates Fresh case Tightens curb Maharashtra Lakh [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Coronavirus India Updates: Fresh Cases Top 3 Lakh; Maharashtra Further Tightens Curbs. Short_description: Track all the news and developments around the second Covid-19 wave in India here.. Description: India reported more than 3 lakh fresh Covid-19 cases at a time states continued to tighten curbs and the centre seeks to expand the vaccination drive., 3.15 lakh people tested positive for the virus in a 24-hour period, marking the highest number of new infections recorded by any country in a single day, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on April 22., Active casesload topped 22.9 lakh for the first time ever., More than 2,100 patients succumbed to the illness in 24 hours, taking the country’s total death toll 1.84 lakh., India has been reporting a record spike in coronavirus cases for two weeks even as the government accelerated its vaccination drive to fight the world’s fastest-growing outbreak., Authorities have administered more than 13 crore vaccination shots so far, under the first two phases of the immunisation drive. The government will open up Covid-19 vaccinations to everyone above 18 years of age from May 1, under it’s third phase. The goal is to cover about 25 crore people with two doses by July., , The government of Maharashtra has imposed new restrictions on the functioning of offices, public and private transport and inter-city movement, that will remain in force throughout the state from 8 p.m. on April 22 to 7 a.m. on May 1, according to an order issued by the Chief Secretary., All conditions, other than the ones specified in the new order, will be in accordance with the government order dated April 13, 2021.. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 9:03 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Vaccine Doses year Pfizer [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Pfizer-BioNTech Can Supply 3 Billion Vaccine Doses This Year. Short_description: The partners will further increase their capacity for 2022 to more than 3 billion doses, BioNTech said.. Description: BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. have the capacity to make as many as 3 billion doses of their Covid-19 vaccine this year, lifting their production target even as pressure mounts to waive their patents to boost global supply., In 2022, the partners will further increase their capacity to more than 3 billion doses, BioNTech said in an e-mailed statement. Though the production goals aren’t the same as firm orders, the increases more than double what the partners had said they’d be able to make less than six months ago., As demand soars for messenger RNA Covid vaccines -- a new technology that has become a mainstay of the immunization effort -- Pfizer and BioNTech have repeatedly bumped up their production goals. The partners had , in March they could make 2.5 billion doses of their two-shot vaccine this year., The latest boost comes after the U.S. government surprised the drug industry by announcing its support for a waiver of patent protections for Covid vaccines. The European Union and China signaled willingness to take part in the debate, though EU officials have cautioned that World Trade Organization negotiations will take months or years and that a waiver may not include mRNA technology., Shares of BioNTech and other vaccine developers trimmed earlier declines after German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed , against the effort to waive patent protections. The U.S. plan would create “severe complications” for the production of vaccines, according to a German government spokeswoman., “Patents are not the limiting factor for the production or supply of our vaccine,” BioNTech said in the statement, arguing that a waiver wouldn’t increase production and supply in the short and mid-term. Setting up and validating new vaccine manufacturing sites usually takes as long as a year, the company said., One alternative to giving up patent rights would be a special license for manufacturers, Chief Executive Officer Ugur Sahin said at a briefing with journalists last week. Such production also wouldn’t contribute much to supply until the end of next year, he said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Naomi Kresge. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 8:01 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Covid-19 Vaccine Shortage Hits Pune Inoculation Drive [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Covid-19 Vaccine Shortage Hits Pune’s Inoculation Drive . Short_description: The city’s civic body was forced to stop vaccinating those aged above 45 years of age since May 1.. Description: Pune, Maharashtra’s second-largest city after Mumbai, was inoculating around 25,000-27,000 people per day when it faced a shortage of vaccines. As a result, it has stopped vaccinating those aged above 45 years of age since May 1., “We have received 5,000 doses of Covishield (vaccine) to vaccinate people in the age group of 18-44 years,” Dr. Ashish Bharati, health chief of Pune Municipal Corporation, told BloombergQuint over the phone on May 4. “We have activated two vaccine centres for the same, where we’re administering 350 doses each per day. Our target is to vaccinate 700 people per day in this age group.”, This comes at a time when as many as 3.57 lakh people , positive for the virus across India and more than 3,000 deaths were recorded in the 24 hours till 8 a.m. on May 4, according to data from the Health Ministry, taking the total number of confirmed infections above 2 crore., So far, the city has vaccinated around 8.4 lakh people, Dr. Bharati said. Out of these, around 7 lakh doses were Serum Institute of India Ltd.’s Covishield and the remaining Bharat Biotech International Ltd.’s Covaxin., The civic body is following up with the state government over availability of new shots so that it can resume vaccinating people who are aged above 45 years, the official said, adding it will require around 80 lakh doses to administer two shots each to all eligible people., The PMC recorded 3,003 new Covid-19 infections and 25 deaths on May 4.. Publisher: Ashwini Priolker. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 10:12 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to populous States Slow India Doses vaccination [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Vaccinations In India’s Most Populous States Slow As Doses Start To Run Out . Short_description: Forget expanding vaccinations, India’s top states may soon be out of supplies for those 45 years and above. . Description: India’s most populous states may start running out of vaccines to even inoculate those above 45 years of age against Covid-19. That adds to the uncertainty hanging over government efforts to start administering doses to all adults from May 1., Five states that house almost half of India’s population—Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh—have seen a steady decline in their daily vaccination numbers in April, data from the government’s CoWin dashboard showed. That could be for a variety of reasons ranging from inadequate supplies and infrastructure to vaccine hesitancy to fear of contagion as a ferocious second wave of infections sweeps India. Now that rate may slow further as supplies dwindle., Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration is racing against time to vaccinate the world’s second-largest population as the virus ravages through the country’s healthcare system. India is reporting well over 3 lakh cases every day with the deadly second wave , leading to a shortage of oxygen, beds and critical drugs., On May 1, the daily count of new infections , for the first time ever. The highest for any nation in this pandemic., Officials from several states have flagged the shortage in vaccines with some including , and Rajasthan saying they might even fall short of vaccinating those above 45 years of age in the ongoing inoculation drive. Others like Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Kerala have already , to start the wider vaccination drive from today., Starting May, the vaccine supply situation needs to be viewed in two parts., The central government will continue to supply vaccines to states to inoculate those above 45 years as well as healthcare and frontline workers. Of the eligible 28-30 crore people in that category nationwide, over 15.32 crore have received one jab and 2.71 crore have received both., That leaves approximately 15 crore more jabs to supply and administer. Average daily vaccination rate for April was 28 lakh per day. If that pace is maintained that should take some 53 days., Among the eight states that BloombergQuint compiled data for, currently Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state, has the largest stock of vaccines available in the inventory and 3.51 lakh doses in the pipeline., The worst is Maharashtra, which has on average been vaccinating over 3 lakh people every day. The richest state of the country has less than 2 lakh doses in its inventory. And it has no central supplies in the pipeline. Neither do West Bengal, Tamil Nadu or Gujarat., Using this data on existing state vaccine stock and expected supply by the centre as of May 1, and average daily vaccinations in each state for April, BloombergQuint estimated the number of days these stocks will last., Rajasthan, West Bengal and Gujarat may have enough for two days. Maharashtra even less., That the central government's supply pipeline for states has started to dry up is also evident in its daily supply pipeline data. On May 1, it said that over 17 lakh vaccine doses will be provided to states and union territories in the next 3 days. A substantial decline compared to previous days., The stock being supplied by the central government, is only meant for inoculating those above 45 years of age and healthcare and frontline workers of all ages., States have to procure their own stock directly from the vaccine manufacturers to inoculate those between 18-44 years old. That number is estimated to be some 60 crore in aggregate or 45% of the total population., Each person needs two vaccine doses based on the current vaccines in use., Though the , says those above 18 years are eligible for vaccination starting May 1, the policy was announced only on April 19, giving states less than a fortnight to arrange supplies., As yet, there is no confirmed public data on orders placed by state governments and commencement of supply., Currently, India is administering two vaccines to its citizens: Serum Institute of India-manufactured Covishield and Bharat Biotech Ltd.’s Covaxin. Their current estimated production capacity is about 12 crore doses a month. The two intend to expand capacity to 10 crore doses per month each in, ., The government has granted emergency approval to Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine which will be imported and marketed by Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. in India - an agreement for 25 crore doses. The first imported batch of that vaccine started arriving this month., Sputnik V will later be manufactured by five other companies locally - target production is 5 crore doses/month by July., India is also inviting Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and others to seek emergency use approval of their vaccines as early as possible., Cadila, which expects regulatory approval for its vaccine, ZyCoV-D, by June — will potentially ramp up capacity to 24 crore annual doses., Longer-term supplies may be forthcoming from state-run companies—Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corp., Indian Immunologicals Ltd. and Bulandshahr’s Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Ltd.—that are being provided , by the central government to increase vaccine production. These may take upto a year or more., On Friday, the Supreme Court also took , and implored the central government to increase production and consider taking charge of procurement for states., Yet, new vaccine manufacturing capacity will only start getting added by July-August, according to the government’s own estimates.. Publisher: Azman Usmani. Date Created: 01 May 2021, 8:09 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Covid Vaccine Wastage Tamil Nadu Kerala high Zero [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: How Kerala Reports ‘Zero’ Covid Vaccine Wastage, Tamil Nadu The Highest. Short_description: Why are some states reporting upto 18% vaccine wastage and others zero? The answer lies here.. Description: Sini K., an accredited social health activist in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district, has managed to mobilise 198 of the 214 senior citizens (60 years and above) in her ward for the Covid-19 vaccination since March. "It was difficult in the beginning because they were apprehensive, but the fear brought on by increasing cases has made my work easier," she said., Vaccine hesitancy of the kind Sini reported is among the primary reasons for the , of Covid-19 vaccines, we learned from interviewing health workers, officials, community medicine experts and virologists across four states. These were Kerala, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and the interviews referred to both , and , ., Up to 6.5% of Covid-19 vaccines have been wasted in India until March 17, according to health ministry , . Over 4.4 million doses--more than the population of Tripura--were wasted until April 11, as per a recent NDTV , based on Right to Information queries. By April 11, states and Union territories had used 100 million doses, the report said, leading to a wastage rate of 4.4%., Vaccination centres must ideally have 10 recipients to make optimal use of a single 10-dose vial but this becomes difficult when people do not come forward for the jab. The only way to avoid vaccine wastage is to mobilise beneficiaries by instilling confidence in them, said the health experts we interviewed., In the initial phase of the vaccination drive, the news of serious , had worried people. With beneficiaries registering and then not landing up for the vaccine, vials were being discarded to avoid transporting them back to the cold chain, said P.J. Srinivas, joint secretary (south zone) of , , a public health policy organisation, who is based in Andhra Pradesh. There were also cases of inexperienced vaccinators drawing more than required from vials, leading to wastage, he added., On March 17, , showed that Telangana reported the highest vaccine wastage rate (17.6%), followed by Andhra Pradesh (11.6%) and Uttar Pradesh (9.4%). A month later, the NDTV, said Tamil Nadu reported the highest wastage (12%), followed by Haryana (9.7%), Punjab (8.1%), Manipur (7.8%) and Telangana (7.6%)., The states that reported "zero wastage" were Kerala, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Goa, Daman and Diu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, as per the NDTV, report. However, the government's , have factored in an allowable wastage of 10%., Wastage will be a criterion when the Centre starts allocating vaccines as per its new, liberalised Covid-19 immunisation strategy starting May 1. "[The] Government of India, from its share, will allocate vaccines to states/UTs based on the criteria of extent of infection (number of active Covid cases) & performance (speed of administration)," said an April 20 , . "Wastage of vaccine will also be considered in this criteria and will affect the criteria negatively.", India has administered , as of April 20. With all adults eligible for vaccination from May 1, the vaccination system will be stressed, and preventing wastage crucial. The Centre has , to limit vaccine wastage to less than 1% in April and also appealed for more , by reducing wastage., Kerala's experience is instructive here--it has achieved zero wastage through a robust vaccination legacy, trained health staff including ASHAs who are frontline social workers, and efficient inventory management, said Abey Sushan, district programme manager with the National Health Mission in Pathanamthitta district. "The instruction to the field staff is that the vaccine is a scarce product and we need to ensure that everyone receives it," he said., "At the primary health centre level, ASHAs are able to mobilise [vaccine beneficiaries] which provides a predictable number of people and better planning," said Sushan, NHM's district programme manager in Pathanamthitta. In March 2020, the district had 30% of the 27 positive cases in the state, which itself had 16% of all cases in India, the second highest tally in the country, IndiaSpend , on March 19, 2020., The district administration records data based on an annual family health survey under the , conducted by healthcare staff such as junior public health nurses and auxiliary nurse-midwives. This provides a good estimate of the number of households in each ward and ensures that vials are fully used in every session. This is done across districts., Once a vial is punctured, it must be , or must be discarded. In January, , was reduced to contain 10 doses instead of 20., "The rule is (for abundant caution) that if a needle punctures the vial for drawing even one dose, the remaining doses must be used up the same day," said T. Jacob John, virologist and professor emeritus of Christian Medical College, Vellore. "The remaining doses are to be discarded at the end of the clinic day.", The number of people seeking vaccinations has doubled in the last few weeks, although finding 10 people for vaccination was never a big problem, said Geetha Kumari T., a public health inspector at the district general hospital. "There is more public awareness despite initial apprehensions," she said. "The health staff has been spending nearly 10 hours to vaccinate more than 600 people daily these days. We only open a vial if there are at least 10 people, to minimise wastage.", Good planning and training often allow the staff to administer the optimal 10 doses per vial a day, said Kerala officials. "We conduct training and supportive supervision [to staff] if required," said Sushan, adding that on-site registration is also encouraged for disadvantaged beneficiaries who cannot register online., Yet, the state is currently facing a , . In response to the liberalised vaccination strategy, the state government, on April 20, , to the Centre saying that they have received only 550,000 doses against the demand for 5 million, leading to a stoppage of on-the-spot registration of vaccine beneficiaries., The experience has been different for states such as Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh., Rajasthan had reported vaccine wastage of 5.6% by March 17, which was marginally better than the national average of 6.5%. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had , that the wastage was only 7%., "We [now] have a wastage of around 4-6%, which is much better than when we started," said Raghuraj Singh, the state's project director for immunisation. "With an expanded coverage, we expect more people to arrive for vaccination, which will reduce wastage due lack of beneficiaries at vaccination centres." The primary issues, he added, were inadequate uptake of the vaccine and difficulties with online registration., Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are facing vaccine hesitancy, too, we found., A Tamil Nadu health official in Tenkasi district, who did not wish to be named, told IndiaSpend that although facilities under his jurisdiction were administering vaccinations only if 10 people are available per vial, this is not the case in other districts. "Misinformation" about the vaccines had scared people and is leading to wastage of vials in the state, he added., In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, public health staff are encouraging beneficiaries to mobilise their neighbours and arrive together in required numbers at vaccine centres to reduce vial wastage and waiting time. Health staff too are delivering vaccines at locations if neighbourhoods are able to mobilise enough numbers, said the Tenkasi district official., "People who are over 45 years, particularly men, seem to be more reluctant than senior citizens," said Sini, the ASHA worker from Pathanamthitta. "But we insisted that they get vaccinated before cases go up and they get infected," she added., Vaccine hesitancy has declined over the last few months due to the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases and positive feedback about vaccination experiences, but wastage still needs to be minimised, officials concurred. The percentage of citizens willing to take the Covid-19 vaccine increased from 38% to 77% over 73 days to April 1, according to an April 3 , by LocalCircles., As more people approach vaccination centres, new centres with more capacity are being opened to plan, manage and avoid crowding at hospitals, said Pattanamthitta public health inspector Geetha Kumari. In her district, 32 ASHA workers like Sini have been working in rotation--one each day of the week--to help with crowd control at vaccine centres., "We need meticulous planning to ensure that wastage is reduced to 2-3% first and then to less than 1%," said Srinivas of Indian Public Health Association, adding, however, that some amount of wastage is inevitable., Vaccine wastage could relate either to unopened vials or underused open vials, as we said. In the case of unopened vials, there are problems of expiry, heat exposure, theft and breakage that lead to wastage. Underused vials need to be discarded at the end of the session., The Centre's , allow for a programmatic wastage of 10%. (The , used to prevent diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DPT), Tetanus and Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine too is 10%.) This means that if 100 vials are needed, the stock demand must be of 110 vials assuming there will be a wastage of 10. By factoring in wastage, states like Kerala are able to inoculate more beneficiaries., The failure or lack of cold chain points, ice-lined refrigerators and deep freezers is not a problem, according to officials. In Rajasthan, Rs 150 is paid to those who transport vials from the cold chain to the vaccination centre, said an official who did not wish to be named. "Often they are husbands of nurses who transport vials on motorbikes," he said., One in four cold chain points, iced lined refrigerators and deep freezers in India were reported to be in four states--Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Rajasthan, according to December 6, 2020, , from the National Cold Chain Management Information System., Other countries have been reporting vaccine wastage too. For example, in the first month of vaccine rollout--December 8, 2020, to January 8, 2021--England , of 0.67% for 156,262 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Wales reported 0.3% wastage of doses, according to a January 26 , , ., On January 21, 2021 a , , said that many states in the U.S. were not counting vaccine shots properly and this hampered efficient planning of the vaccination drive., Israel, which has vaccinated , of its population against Covid-19, had a strategy to avoid wastage when its elderly population was being vaccinated--its youth could , immunisation centres towards the end of the day and get vaccinated with underused vials., According to the health experts, it is important that:. Publisher: Shreehari Paliath, IndiaSpend. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 11:33 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to J&J Shot Reaffirmed Virus Update employee U.S. Apple [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: J&J Shot Reaffirmed in U.S.; Apple Spurs Employees: Virus Update. Short_description: Track the global Covid-19 outbreak and the containment efforts here.. Description: U.S. vaccine advisers reaffirmed support for Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine after reviewing reports of rare blood clots that prompted a 10-day , for the shot. Regulators could decide to resume use of the vaccine as soon as Friday evening., Apple Inc. is working up a program to get employees vaccinated. New York City opened all of its vaccination sites to walk-ins and Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state will help get shots to the city’s grocery-store workers and delivery drivers., In Washington, the Smithsonian’s museums will begin reopening on May 14. A White House adviser said eight U.S. states have vaccinated more than 60% of adults with at least one shot., Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team , . Click CVID on the terminal for global data on cases and deaths., Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont singled out two southern states that lag in vaccinations while praising residents in his state, where he said 60% of people older than 16 have received a first dose., “I still continue to be confident that the vaccinations are making a difference,” Lamont said at a news briefing. “You compare that to Georgia and Alabama and those states, where it’s 30% of the people we’re seeing that have been vaccinated.”, “We’ve got to keep it going — and I say this in the context that supply is now more than demand in many places,” he said., Andy Slavitt, President Joe Biden’s senior Covid adviser, earlier Friday listed Connecticut among eight states that have vaccinated “more than 60% of adults” with a first shot. The others are New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Maine, New Jersey, Vermont and Hawaii, he said., A panel of medical advisers voted to reaffirm support for Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, opening the door for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration to , on the shot’s use., More than 8 million people in the U.S. have received J&J’s vaccine. The panel reviewed evidence from 15 people who suffered blood clots afterward. Three died, while seven remain hospitalized and five were discharged., The University of Michigan will require Covid-19 vaccinations for students who live on its Ann Arbor campus this fall, Associated Press reported., Mark Schlissel, the university’s president, said shots will not be mandated for faculty, staff and other students “at this time,” but he strongly encouraged everyone to get vaccinated, the AP reported. The requirement will allow residence halls to operate safely at nearly normal capacity, he said, after there were more than 600 infections in dorms last fall despite a mask requirement and other restrictions., Johnson & Johnson strongly supports enhanced labeling for its vaccine that details the risks of clotting and points clinicians toward information about how to respond to it, Joanne Waldstreicher, the company’s chief medical officer, told a meeting of U.S. vaccine advisers on Friday., The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory panel is reviewing evidence of blood clots to determine whether to end a 10-day U.S. pause for the J&J’s vaccine., Apple Inc. is working with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. to help employees get vaccinated at the company’s offices, according to people with knowledge of the matter. That all Californians age 16 and older are now eligible is helping the effort., Apple hasn’t publicly said when employees are expected to return to offices, though Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has told staff he anticipates many will start returning in June., The Smithsonian , it will reopen four Washington museums including the National Portrait Gallery on May 14, followed by additional museums and the National Zoo on May 21., Visitors will need to reserve free timed-entry passes for all locations except the Smithsonian Gardens, and there will be reduced hours along with added health and safety measures., The U.S. is consulting with India about that country’s virus surge, but isn’t offering to , for now., Jeff Zients, President Joe Biden’s Covid response coordinator, said the U.S. is committed to global vaccination, including a pledge of as much as $4 billion for the Covax effort to provide shots to low-income nations. India’s outbreak added to pressure on Biden to provide vaccines to other countries. “As our confidence around our supply increases, we will explore those options,” Zients told reporters on Friday., India reported 332,730 cases on Friday, setting a global record for the second day in a row., New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a state campaign to vaccinate grocery and bodega employees in New York City, including Spanish-language ads., The state will make vaccines available for grocery store workers and delivery drivers in stores and at pop-up sites. Hispanic residents make up 19% of the state’s population, but 14.5% of the known vaccinated population, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker., U.S. vaccine advisers have identified 15 people who suffered rare and serious blood clots linked to Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 shot, more than double the cases that prompted a , ., Among the cases reported in slides prepared for a Friday meeting of advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three patients died, seven were hospitalized, and five were discharged. U.S. health agencies put J&J’s vaccine on hold after reports of six cases., The benefits of AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccine strongly depend on age and how much virus is circulating in the population, the European Medicines Agency said. The analysis is likely to reinforce some European governments in , from younger people., If virus spread is low, the risk of side effects outweighs potential prevention of death or ICU admission in people younger than 50, the review found. The vaccine still protected against hospitalization. Several EU countries have limited use of the Astra shot, with most giving it only to those age 60 and older., New York City is lifting geographic and appointment requirements to get more residents vaccinated, meaning residents can walk in for shots at scores of sites, including the American Museum of Natural History., All city-run sites will be open to all New Yorkers, regardless of where they live, and no appointments are needed, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Friday. The city has administered more than 6 million doses, he said., De Blasio urged federally-run community health centers to allow walk-ins as well, and for doctors to contact their patients and encourage them to get their shots., “You want a recovery? Get vaccinated,” de Blasio said. “This is what will bring us forward, this is what will bring a recovery for all of us, getting as many New Yorkers vaccinated as possible.” , European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign is , and she’s “confident” the EU will have enough doses to vaccinate 70% of adults in July., Speaking after a tour of a Pfizer Inc. plant in Puurs, Belgium, she said the bloc has administered 123 million vaccinations. She also said the EU’s drugs regulator has approved plans to ramp up production capacity at the facility by 20%., Air Liquide SA is , for industrial clients in India to hospitals to help overwhelmed hospitals., The company is sending most of its liquid oxygen output to the health-care sector and is looking to import additional supplies from the Middle East, Executive Vice-President Francois Jackow said Friday. Demand for medical oxygen in India has soared roughly 10-fold, or by more than 50% of the country’s total production capacity, he said. , ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 6:44 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Oxygen Beds Fell Covid-19 Cases Data [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: As Covid-19 Cases Increased, Oxygen Beds Fell, Data Show . Short_description: India’s pace of adding Covid facilities and oxygen-supported beds slowed after the first wave peaked, and dipped by the second. . Description: Social media in India has become an endless ", " as people around the country post about their search for oxygen cylinders and beds with oxygen support., "Need oxygen bed hospital in Delhi for friend," , who volunteers with several relief networks this week. She said the patient she is in touch with is "delirious and disoriented and not eating or talking". A , from a senior journalist's handle said, "My oxygen is 31 when some will help me (sic)". He , shortly after, unable to get a hospital bed. Another Delhi-based journalist had been tweeting for days this week, trying to organise a hospital bed for a patient. On April 21, she said that the patient had found a bed, but , . The patient's wife had also just died from Covid-19 earlier this week., As surging Covid-19 cases overwhelm the medical-grade oxygen supply chain, the Supreme Court of India on April 22 , to the central government over the supply of oxygen, asking for a national plan, after noting that at least six high courts are hearing the matter., India had ramped up its infrastructure for Covid-19 care substantially between March 2020 and September 2020, when the first wave peaked in most of the country. So what went wrong? Post-September, despite , of more severe cases and deaths from mutant strains from public health experts, the pace of adding dedicated Covid-19 facilities and oxygen-supported beds for severe Covid-19 cases slowed, our analysis of government data shows., Then, between December 2020 and April 2021, these facilities fell 6%. Doctors told us this decrease was not surprising since case numbers had reduced, but the government should have retained the capacity to ramp these up quickly in case of a surge. This turned out to not be the case, and the government--both the Centre and state governments--were caught napping., The 1,000-bed , in Sevagram, in rural Wardha district in north-east Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, is getting a functional oxygen plant this week. The equipment was delivered two weeks ago, but the hospital is still awaiting technicians to connect the oxygen plant to the hospital beds. "Perhaps the plant will be ready in a week," S.P. Kalantri, medical superintendent of Kasturba Hospital, told IndiaSpend. Meanwhile, the hospital is facing shortage of oxygen for all kinds of patients, and no one is sure whether there will be enough oxygen in the days ahead., IndiaSpend had spoken to Kalantri a year ago,, , to learn how this large rural Maharashtra hospital, run on low cost, was preparing for the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time, we reported that the local administration had told the hospital to increase its oxygen beds from 200, as a precaution. By April 2021, it had doubled its oxygen beds for Covid-19 patients to 400, yet today is unable to admit all Covid-19 patients who need oxygen because cases have grown a lot faster., While India's active cases in 2020 peaked on , , active cases were still on the rise in , and , , around the state's winter capital Nagpur. Maharashtra currently contributes 30% of India's total active cases of nearly , , as of April 21, 2021., The caseload through to February this year was not unmanageable, said Kalantri. The staff at this hospital "were absolutely having a respite", he said. At one point in late January 2021, they had only 26 Covid-19 patients with nearly 90% of their beds for Covid-19 empty. "But we celebrated prematurely," said Kalantri. "The virus is having the last laugh.", Kasturba Hospital just about managed its oxygen needs until February 2021 with cylinders. But in early March, as the increase in cases became exponential along with the , in the rest of the country, the oxygen cylinders they need daily has doubled to 500, at a further cost of Rs 1 lakh per day. For a charity-run hospital, this is a big expense., The new oxygen plant has cost the hospital about Rs 1 crore, Kalantri said. Although the state government had said it would partly fund it, the hospital has not received the money yet, he said. IndiaSpend contacted the Maharashtra government for confirmation. The article will be updated should they respond., Early on in the pandemic, in April 2020, IndiaSpend , that oxygen was going to be vital for managing patients with severe Covid-19, in which the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, , and , , and can cause them to fail. With a limited kitty of drugs available to treat the disease, doctors depend on treating patients with oxygen therapy to prevent escalation to a stage where they may need to be on a ventilator., Doctors on the frontlines of the second surge in Ahmedabad told IndiaSpend this past week that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, or a variant of it, is , in this ongoing second wave, and more patients' lungs are getting affected compared to the first wave. As , , oxygen supply , despite , , civil society groups and volunteers involved in Covid-19 relief say the price of oxygen cylinders has rocketed compared to last year., On April 15, amid widespread oxygen shortage, the central government said , on April 12, and announced measures to , and , . But experts told us that if oxygen production is adequate, the shortages imply a lack of planning for effective distribution. They say lessons must be learned from the current shortages so that India is better prepared if there is a third Covid-19 wave., The government's response has been to , "rational use" of oxygen. On , , a health ministry release quoted doctors to discuss "unnecessary demand" to put Covid patients on oxygen, and said the country has enough oxygen if used judiciously. Yet, that same evening, the central government told the Delhi High Court that the daily oxygen requirement in the country has exceeded daily production capacity., On April 21, India , over 315,000 new Covid-19 cases, the , in any country since the start of the pandemic., When Covid-19 cases first began rising in India in March 2020, the government began identifying and adding dedicated Covid hospitals, dedicated Covid health centres and Covid care centres, public and private. From time to time, the government also put out data on how many Covid-19 beds were available in these facilities across the country, including ICU beds and oxygen supported beds for severe cases, and isolation beds for , . Only Covid hospitals and health centres offer all three types of beds., By the time of the second wave, the health minister , , "the country has substantially ramped up the hospital infrastructure for management of Covid". There were 2,084 dedicated Covid hospitals, 4,043 Covid health centres and 9,313 Covid care centres in the country, per the accompanying Ministry of Health and Family Welfare press release on April 9. These numbers all represent substantial increases since April 2020 (see chart below)., However, the pace of adding Covid hospitals and health centres decreased after the first wave peaked in September 2020, our analysis of health ministry , submitted to parliament and in press releases shows. Between December 2020 and April 2021, the number of dedicated Covid hospitals fell by 6%. Similarly, there was a 6% reduction in the number of dedicated Covid health centres, falling to 4,043 in April from 4,300 in December 2020. Only the number of dedicated Covid care centres increased by 5%, from 8,857 in December 2020 to 9,313 in April 2020. , , however, are not equipped for severe cases, only Covid hospitals and health centres., There were 255,168 oxygen-supported beds in the country on , , per the ministry. This is more than double the 115,134 million beds in , , but 6% fewer since December 2020., The decrease in itself is not necessarily a problem, say experts. "The key issue here is whether the government had capacity to ramp it up when we hit a surge, and so there needs to be flexibility in the system for this," said , , former dean of the School of Health System Studies at the , in Mumbai, told IndiaSpend., "If beds were shifted to non-Covid purposes in December when Covid cases went down, that is actually a good thing, because otherwise, why should beds be kept empty just for Covid-19," Sundararaman said. The government, however, would still have had to ensure that they have planned for both "peak and non-peak situations" of the pandemic., In December 2020, the , was continuing to flatten in India. By April 2021, it was eclipsing the first wave., "If cases were reducing, the excess capacity could have been dismantled but they should have had a contract that as and when needed, we will have to open it immediately. You can temporarily close things, but you do not dismantle it. You preserve it," , , director of the Indian Institute of Public Health in Gandhinagar, told IndiaSpend., State governments have since scrambled to add or repurpose infrastructure for Covid-19 care (see box at the end). While the central government procured medical equipment including , and nearly 39,000 ventilators and distributed these among states from its Covid-19 emergency response plan by January 24, the responsibility of installing health infrastructure lies with state governments, as health is a state subject., The state governments had installed 35,269 ventilators, 91% of the 38,867 allocated by the central government between March 24, 2020 and March 3, 2021, according to health ministry , , by the time the second wave hit. The performance of states has been mixed. Where most states and UTs have installed close to or 100% of their allocated ventilators, Assam and Goa (80%), Odisha (75%), Punjab (62%), Karnataka (61%), Madhya Pradesh (57%) and Arunachal Pradesh (56%) have installed 80% or less of their allocated ventilators. Sikkim had installed none., "We have run out of cylinders for today. We are waiting for the refill which may happen around 10 a.m. tomorrow," Harteerath Singh, a volunteer at, in Delhi told IndiaSpend. The foundation is one of several civil society groups and volunteers in India who are organising oxygen cylinders for Covid-19 patients. Hemkunt has been working in Delhi throughout the pandemic., By the next day when we checked with him, Singh said they had actually got the refill of 20 cylinders around 1 a.m. that day. At 1.48 a.m., , that they had oxygen cylinders. By noon, they had distributed them all. "We are responding round the clock,", ., The foundation has been depending on donations to fund their Covid-19 relief work, and has purchased 186 cylinders so far through donations. The price of oxygen cylinders, however, has increased by at least 75% compared to last year. "The price of cylinders has gone up. It is now more than Rs 7,000, but last year when we were buying them, it was Rs 4,000," said Singh., Syed Tousif Masood has been working with the Mercy Mission collective in Bengaluru, which has also been supporting Covid-19 relief work throughout. Last year, they also realised that oxygen was going to be vital and began buying oxygen cylinders. "We have 500 cylinders now, which we drop to people's houses on request, and pick up when they have finished using it," said Masood. "We give them oxygen cylinders until they find a hospital bed.", India's daily production capacity for oxygen is around 7,127 metric tonnes while the consumption of medical oxygen on April 12 was 3,842 MT and India's stocks of oxygen were 50,000 MT, thus India's oxygen capacity and stock was "comfortably more than daily consumption", the government , on April 15, 2021., "Along with the ramped up production of the oxygen manufacturing units and the surplus stocks available, the present availability of oxygen is sufficient," the government , , while telling states to ensure "rational use" of oxygen. At the same time, it instructed India's foreign missions to look for foreign vendors to import 50,000 MT of oxygen from and announced plans to purchase another , . The government also , that production capacity will be enhanced by , with 162 new oxygen plants in different states at a cost of , . Of these, , have already been installed., would get oxygen plants via the , . The government , that oxygen made in steel plants will be diverted to hospitals, and 14,000 MT of oxygen has already come through this capacity., The government subsequently announced steps to ease distribution by, oxygen tankers moving between states from needing permits, and asking states to ensure that tankers can move round the clock. Cylinder-filling plants have also been, to work 24 hours a day, and , could now be used for refilling oxygen for medical purposes., If production of oxygen was adequate, the issue was of poor distribution management by the government, experts tell us. "The government said that India's consumption of oxygen is well within its production. So if production was not a problem, then clearly distribution was the problem. The government cannot be absolved of its responsibility, even if it says that production has been sorted… because handling logistics means handling production as well as delivery," said Sundararaman., "Next time, we should be better prepared. Otherwise if there is a third wave, we will again be caught napping," said Mavalankar., By April 21, as a hospital , the Delhi High Court in light of imminent exhaustion of its oxygen supplies and the danger to 400 patients, the central government , informed the court that the country's production capacity for both industrial and medical oxygen was around 7,200 MT a day, but that the requirement was now over 8,000 MT daily.. Publisher: Anoo Bhuyan, India Spend. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 1:31 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Vaccine Coverage Map Wise Disparity India District [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: District-Wise Disparity Seen In India’s Vaccine Coverage Map. Short_description: Credit Suisse says disparity in vaccine coverage could show up in fatality rates in the next 2-3 weeks.. Description: A district-wise mapping of India’s vaccination coverage against Covid-19 has shown significant disparity so far, even as the country tries to accelerate its inoculation drive and curb a deadly second wave of the virus., Several districts in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and the North-Eastern states have only vaccinated less than 5% of their population, according to an analysis by Credit Suisse. That’s in contrast to districts in states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala that have already administered shots to more than 10% of the population., Credit Suisse said that while there has been no visible divergence in the fatalities reported by these districts, that could show up in the next 2-3 weeks., A pace of vaccinating around 35-40 lakh people daily in India has been considered sustainable to reduce the spread, it noted. However, in the last five days the pace has slowed down to 25-30 lakh a day, Credit Suisse said., Even at this pace, about 40% of the population over the age of 45 can have at least one of their two doses by the end of April, it said. “This should reduce deaths, and also slow infections.”. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 24 Apr 2021, 11:32 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Oregon Surge Virus Update July concern NYC [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: NYC to Reopen in July; Concerns on Oregon Surge: Virus Update. Short_description: Track the latest developments in the global Covid-19 pandemic and the containment efforts here. . Description: New York City is moving to , on July 1, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, though Governor Andrew Cuomo said he wants it to happen sooner. Chicago is broadly easing restrictions to allow for higher capacity at restaurants, bars and large indoor venues. Michigan will tie reopening to hitting vaccination benchmarks., A , is sweeping through a partially vaccinated population, with steep rises in case rates among the young -- an indication that the U.S. may struggle with distinct outbreaks for months to come. Meanwhile, the country’s focus on increasing vaccine supply for other nations , at U.S. facilities rather than waiving intellectual-property protections, the White House said., France will ease virus restrictions in four stages starting on May 3 and ending June 30, while Ireland plans to start reopening after a four-month lockdown. , believes it’s steered away from a third wave, as vaccinations hit a record., Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team , . Click CVID on the terminal for global data on cases and deaths., Portugal will continue to gradually ease confinement measures as planned, with restaurants and stores allowed to have customers until later in the evening. From Saturday, shops can stay open until 7 p.m. on weekends and 9 p.m. on weekdays, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said at a press conference in Lisbon on Thursday night. Controls on the land border with Spain will be lifted., The number of daily infections in Portugal eased in February and March after the country faced one of the world’s worst outbreaks in January., Utah Governor Spencer Cox said that “any type of organization,” from employers to churches to community groups, can request a mobile clinic to administer vaccines. Vaccine supply is outstripping demand in Utah, as is in the case in many places around the U.S., “We want to make it as easy as possible,” the Republican governor said at a press briefing on Thursday. “We want to take away any excuses to not get the vaccine.”, About 39% of Utahans have received at least one dose, compared with an average of 43% nationally, according to the , No one signed up for 4,000 appointments offered by the health department last week in Utah county, the state’s second-most populous, the Salt Lake Tribute , quoting a local health official., Emergent BioSolutions Inc. has produced more than , worth of drug substance used in the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, according to a person familiar with the matter, 60 million doses of which are in vials and ready to deploy at U.S. regulators’ discretion., The Gaithersburg, Maryland-based contract manufacturer has been producing the J&J single-shot vaccine since the fourth quarter of 2020, said the person. The size of the stockpile, which isn’t yet cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for release, hasn’t been previously reported., Colleges and universities should , all on-campus students to be vaccinated for the Covid-19 virus this fall, the American College Health Association said., “Comprehensive Covid-19 vaccination is the most effective way for institutions of higher education to return to a safe, robust on-campus experience for students in fall semester 2021,” the group said in a statement Thursday., Dozens of colleges, including Rutgers and Duke University, have already said that they’ll make vaccinations mandatory for students to return to campus, with some exemptions., The State Department said it’s allowing families of staffers at U.S. missions in India to leave the country due to record levels of Covid-19 cases. U.S. embassies and consulates in India will remain open, the department said in a notice on its website., The State Department has advised against travel to India, its most severe advisory level., Italy is targeting to reach herd immunity by the end of September, when about 80% of its population will have received a full vaccine, General Francesco Figliuolo, who’s heading the country’s vaccination campaign, said in remarks quoted by Ansa. Figliuolo said that Italy seeks to vaccinate about 60% of people by mid-July and that the nation can potentially administer 600,000 to 700,000 shots a day., A , is sweeping through a partially vaccinated population, with steep rises in case rates among the young -- an indication that the U.S. may struggle with distinct outbreaks for months to come., The state reported 888 confirmed and presumed cases on Tuesday and a 6.5% test positivity rate, bringing the seven-day average to 832, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Governor Kate Brown has elevated more than a dozen counties to the most extreme risk category., The spike is the latest indication that the pandemic is far from over. A surge in Michigan and an all-out crisis in India is reminding health officials how delicate the path to recovery can be., Ireland will reopen swathes of its economy next month, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said, as the country’s four-month lockdown comes to an end., Hair dressers and so-called click-and-collect retail will reopen on May 10, with non-essential stores to open fully a week later. The government will also ease restrictions on household gatherings and religious services, while some sporting activities can resume., “We now believe it is safe to continue moving forward” with reopening, Martin said., New York City is moving to , by July 1 with arenas, gyms, stores, restaurants and hair salons returning, Mayor Bill de Blasio said., “This is going to be the summer of New York City,” de Blasio said Thursday during a press briefing. “We’re all going to get to enjoy this city again, and people are going to flock here from all over the country.”, Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has ultimate reopening authority, said he hopes the city can fully reopen before de Blasio’s July 1 target, but isn’t going to make projections. “I don’t want to wait that long,” he said., China has detected new Covid-19 variants circulating in India among its imported cases, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in a briefing in Beijing., In Israel, the Health Ministry reported 41 cases of the strain, more than half of whom were people returning from abroad. Uganda also detected the strain, with the health ministry saying it was a , for people to step up precautions., Covid-19 outbreaks are rising in Colorado’s elementary schools, junior high schools and high schools as the state endures a fourth wave of infections, The Denver Post , As of Wednesday, state data showed 210 active outbreaks in schools, the highest since the beginning of December, the newspaper said., Chicago is broadly easing restrictions across industries to allow for higher capacity at restaurants, bars and large indoor venues as Covid-19 vaccinations increase, city officials said Thursday., “It’s time for the Pier and the city to be open,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during a press conference on Thursday at Navy Pier, an entertainment complex with shops, restaurants and parks on Lake Michigan. “We are able to broadly loosen capacity restrictions across industries starting today.”, Moderna Inc. said it would produce as many as , of its Covid-19 vaccine next year as it makes new investments to bolster output at several factories in the U.S. and Europe., The biotech company said it would increase supply by 50% at its Norwood, Massachusetts, plant, which makes much of the vaccine substance used in shots for the U.S. market. The investments would also enable partner Lonza Group AG, which is making supply for foreign markets, to double its output at a factory in Switzerland that makes vaccine substance., Michigan health officials will peel back the state’s remaining pandemic health orders as residents hit vaccination benchmarks, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday., Roughly 49% of Michiganders ages 16 and older are vaccinated. At 70%, she said all social distancing, occupancy and mask orders will be lifted. Further easing on rules for remote work begins at 55%, a goal she said could be reached as early as the end of next week., “Vaccines are our best chance of putting this pandemic behind us and returning to normal,” the Democratic governor said at a press briefing. “If we work together we can get this done.”, The U.K. regulator received 209 reports of major blood clot cases following a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, almost a fifth of whom died., The cases, which occurred in 120 women and 89 men, from 18 to 93 years, were recorded , April 21 under the U.K.’s Yellow Card side effects, . The latest tally marks a 24% increase on the number of cases in the last week, with the proportion of deaths remaining stable at 19%., The U.S. focus on increasing supply of Covid-19 vaccines for other countries , at American facilities rather than waiving intellectual-property protections for doses, the White House said., U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has yet to make a recommendation to the White House on the waiver proposal, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in an interview with CNN Thursday. President Joe Biden and his Covid-19 team will then make the ultimate decision on the U.S. waiver position, she said., France will ease its coronavirus restrictions in four stages starting on May 3 and ending on June 30, said President Emmanuel Macron cited in an interview with French media by Le Parisien., Curbs will be lifted on domestic travel from Monday, with the curfew to be pushed back from the current 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. from May 19. From June 9 the curfew will be 11 p.m., Germany administered about 1.1 million Covid-19 shots Wednesday, a , More than a quarter of Germans have now received one dose, Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn said. About 7.5% of Germans have received two doses, he said., Germany has managed to check a third wave of the virus, but it’s too early to sound the all-clear, according to the president of the country’s public-health institute., “The case numbers are still too high, especially among the under 60s, where they are even increasing,” RKI President Lothar Wieler said. “The pandemic is unfortunately not over and it won’t be under control until it’s under control in every part of the world.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 4:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to London plan Offices Covid life City [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: City of London Plans for Life After Covid as Its Offices Empty. Short_description: The City of London is planning for life after the pandemic.. Description: The City of London is planning for life after the pandemic., The overseers of the sparsely-populated area announced plans on Tuesday to build at least 1,500 homes in the next decade, along with exploring new ways to repurpose empty space. It’s already flagged ambitions to develop 122,500 square meters (1.3 million square feet) of shopping space over 15 years., The proposals come after lockdowns fueled fierce debates about the future of work, spurring some banks in both the Square Mile and Canary Wharf financial districts to accelerate plans to ditch office space. Vacancies across the City have soared 70% since the onset of the pandemic to 12 million square feet, according to Savills Plc., “London remains a world-leading financial center but we also know that to remain so, we must adapt,” Catherine McGuinness, chair of the policy and resources committee at the City of London Corporation said at a virtual event hosted by Bloomberg on Tuesday to launch the plan., We are “reimagining the Square Mile for the new normal and resurging from this difficult period better and stronger than ever,” she said., The permanent residential population of the City is estimated to be around 8,000, compared with about half a million workers that thronged its streets from Monday to Friday before the pandemic., The emphasis on more homes and shopping doesn’t mean the City is no longer building new offices; no fewer than nine new tower blocks are under construction or in the pipeline, a report outlining the proposals said., But the Corporation is sending a firm message: the City is no longer just a bankers’ playground. It’s embarking on a five-year marketing campaign which could promote all-night events similar to Paris’s Nuit Blanche arts festival or traffic-free days on weekends during the summer. Empty and under-used spaces could also be let cheaply to workers in creative industries., Visitors spend two billion pounds ($2.8 billion) a year in the district, supporting 34,000 jobs across the culture, leisure, hospitality and retail sectors, according to the report outlining the proposals., The Corporation will also seek to woo smaller, high-potential firms including technology companies and sectors not traditionally drawn to the City, such as bio-sciences, the report said. There are plans to make 5G technology available across the district., “Every city around the world will be thinking about these things,” Danny Lopez, chief executive officer of cyber-security firm Glasswall Solutions, said at the virtual event. “We are entering a very long-term new chapter that’s going to take us quite a while to figure out,” he said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Olivia Konotey-Ahulu. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 4:28 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to long Hauler month Covid study infection [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: ‘Long Hauler’ Study Shows Covid Can Kill Months After Infection. Short_description: Survivors had a 59% increased risk of dying within six months after contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus, researchers reported.. Description: One of the largest studies of Covid-19 “long haulers” has proved what many doctors suspected: Not only are many patients suffering a raft of health problems six months after infection, they’re also at significantly greater risk of dying., Survivors had a 59% increased risk of dying within six months after contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus, researchers , Thursday in the journal Nature. The excess mortality translates into about 8 extra deaths per 1,000 patients -- worsening the pandemic’s , amid growing recognition that many patients , , and some die, weeks after the viral infection abates., “When we are looking at the acute phase, we’re only pretty much looking at the tip of the iceberg,” said , , chief of the research and development service at the St. Louis VA Medical Center in Missouri, who led the study. “We’re starting to see a little bit beneath that iceberg, and it’s really alarming.”, Al-Aly and his colleagues documented the cascade of debilitating effects that plague survivors months after diagnosis, from blood clots, stroke, diabetes and breathing difficulties to heart, liver and kidney damage, depression, anxiety and memory loss. They also found the risk of complications was far higher than with the flu., Globally, more than 143 million people have tested positive for Covid-19, and more than 3 million have died from the disease. Some , indicate about 10% of patients may become so-called long haulers., Al-Aly and colleagues used the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs national health-care databases -- the largest nationally integrated health-care delivery system in the U.S. -- to examine diagnoses, medication use and laboratory test results from 73,435 non-hospitalized and 13,654 hospitalized patients , six months after they had recovered from an acute case of Covid-19., Covid survivors were more likely to require assistance for additional medical problems than almost 5 million users of the Veterans Health Administration system who didn’t have Covid-19 and weren’t hospitalized. These included:, Individuals experiencing long-term symptoms also showed an increased use of various medications, including antidepressants and drugs to treat anxiety and pain., “We worry about potential spikes in suicide or potential spikes in overdose of opioids,” Al-Aly said in a Zoom interview., Covid-19 patients who survived hospitalization were found to have a 51% increased risk of dying compared with 13,997 influenza patients who also had been hospitalized., Al-Aly, who is also an assistant professor of medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine, said he hoped the research would provide a , to inform health-system planning and care strategies to mitigate chronic ill health among Covid-19 survivors, especially in the U.S., “Let’s not act surprised two years down the road, when people start committing suicide,” he said. “We did not do very well preparing and dealing with Covid. Let’s not make that mistake a second time.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jason Gale. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 8:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to New Infections Drop Coronavirus India Updates total case Day crore [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Coronavirus India Updates: New Infections Drop For Third Day; Total Cases Top 2 Crore. Short_description: Track the latest updates on the second wave of Covid-19 in India here. . Description: Fresh cases of Covid-19 in India dropped for a third day, at a time the government is scrambling to ramp up procurement of vaccines., Over 3.57 lakh people tested positive for the virus in a 24-hour period, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on May 4, taking the total number of confirmed cases above 2 crore., More than 3,000 patients have succumbed to the illness daily for a week now, overwhelming the country’s crematoriums and burial grounds. That took the total death toll above 2.22 lakh., The central government will supply 59.7 lakh vaccine doses to states and union territories for free over the next three days. So far, the centre has provided 16.54 crore shots., To be sure, this stock is only to be used for vaccinating those over 45 years of age. States and private hospitals have to procure vaccines from manufacturers directly for administering it to 18-44 year olds., The Health Ministry also clarified that it has placed additional orders for 11 crore doses of Covishield with Serum Institute of India and 5 crore jabs of Covaxin with Bharat Biotech Ltd., Read more about India’s vaccine stock and pipeline , ., The Indian Council of Medical Research has issued an advisory on Covid-19 testing to reduce the load on laboratories that are seeing overwhelming demand., The new advisory suggests:, Maharashtra government has requested the centre to increase its supply of liquid medical oxygen to the state by another 200 metric tons., According to a letter written by Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte to Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, demand for oxygen is rapidly increasing in the 16 districts of Maharashtra., The letter calls for immediate action to ensure increased allocation of oxygen from nearby and convenient locations., Additionally, Maharashtra has requested that 10 LMO tankers be allocated to the state to enable lifting of its oxygen quota from the steel plant at Angul via RORO.. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 8:31 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Second Straight Day Coronavirus India Updates Fresh case Lakh [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Coronavirus India Updates: Fresh Cases Top 3 Lakh For The Second Straight Day. Short_description: Track all the news and developments around the second Covid-19 wave in India here.. Description: India reported more than 3 lakh fresh Covid-19 cases for a second day in a row, at a time states continue to tighten curbs and the centre seeks to expand the vaccination drive., 3.32 lakh people tested positive for the virus in a 24-hour period, marking the highest number of new infections recorded by any country in a single day, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on April 23., Active caseload topped 24 lakh for the first time ever., More than 2,250 patients succumbed to the illness in 24 hours, taking the country’s total death toll near 1.87 lakh., India has been reporting a record spike in coronavirus cases for two weeks even as the government accelerated its vaccination drive to fight the world’s fastest-growing outbreak., Authorities have administered more than 13 crore jabs so far, under the first two phases of the immunisation drive. The government will open up Covid-19 vaccinations to everyone above 18 years of age from May 1, under it’s third phase. The goal is to cover about 25 crore people with two doses by July., Meanwhile, Canada, UAE and Singapore join the U.K. and others to ban travelers from India to prevent the spread of the massive outbreak., The central government will spend Rs 26,000 crore ($3.5 billion) to provide free food grain for two months to people covered under the state-run food programme, the food ministry said in a statement on Friday., Will provide a total of 5 kilograms of wheat or rice per person per month in May & June, Move to “ameliorate hardships faced by the poor and needy due to economic disruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak”. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 9:31 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Deaths Drop Marginally Coronavirus India Updates Vaccine Price cut New Infections Government [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Coronavirus India Updates: New Infections, Deaths Drop Marginally; Government Seeks Vaccine Price Cuts. Short_description: Track the latest developments in India’s second wave of Covid-19 here. . Description: Fresh cases of Covid-19 in India dropped marginally from the all-time high recorded on Monday, at a time the centre and the states seek to expand an inoculation drive that would help contain the unprecedented spread of infections., More than 3.2 lakh people tested positive for the virus in a 24-hour period, taking active infections to 28.8 lakh, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on April 27., Deaths due to the coronavirus continued to overwhelm the country’s crematoriums and burial grounds but, daily fatalities dropped marginally from Monday’s record. 2,771 people succumbed to the illness in just 24 hours, taking India’s total death toll to 1.97 lakh., The central government directed Serum Institute of India Ltd. and Bharat Biotech International Ltd. to reduce prices of their coronavirus vaccines, PTI reported citing people it didn't identify., Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Sikkim and Goa have said they would bear the cost of vaccinations for everyone between the age of 18 and 45. The centre has announced free vaccines for all above 45 years., The central government today said it has provided over 15 crore vaccine doses to states and union territories for free., Of this, the total consumption including wastages is 14.64 crore, a press statement said. Over 1 crore doses are still available with the states that are yet to be administered, it said., Over the next three days, 80 lakh additional doses will be received by the states and union territories, the government said., Specifically pointing to Maharashtra, the centre said that there is no shortage of vaccines in the state. As on April 27, Maharashtra had received 1.58 crore doses. Of this 1.49 crore has been used, including wastage, while 9.23 lakh doses are still available, the statement said. Another 3 crore doses are in the pipeline for delivery over the next three days, it said.. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 8:46 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Moderna Booster Effective Virus Update shot Canada [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Moderna Booster Effective; Canada May Mix Shots: Virus Update. Short_description: Track the global Covid-19 pandemic and the vaccination efforts here. . Description: Moderna Inc. said mid-stage trials showed its booster shots were effective against strains of the coronavirus that emerged from Brazil and South Africa. Canada became the first nation to clear the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for adolescents., U.S. cases could see a , by July if nationwide vaccination efforts continue to be successful, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. will , to waive intellectual-property protections for vaccines, joining an effort to increase global supply and close the gap between rich and poor nations., The U.K. , a meeting of top Group of Seven diplomats in London should go ahead after India’s foreign minister said he would self-isolate over possible exposure to coronavirus. Meanwhile, new research suggests deaths from Covid-19 in India may double from current levels., Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team , . Click CVID on the terminal for global data on cases and deaths., Novavax said initial primary analysis of Phase 2B results for its vaccine showed efficacy against a South African variant of the coronavirus., Among healthy adults without HIV, the Novavax vaccine showed efficacy of 60% in the initial analysis and 55% in the subsequent complete analysis, the company said., Novavax may have lost the race on vaccinating millions of Americans but a successful trial can still help developing nations like India and Brazil where shots are in high demand., Canada is considering allowing patients to receive two different types of vaccines as the country deals with shortages of shots from AstraZeneca Plc and Moderna Inc., Federal health officials are closely watching a U.K.-based trial in which participants received two kinds of shots. Results are expected in the next month or so, said Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser at Health Canada., If adopted, the new protocol would mark another major deviation from original vaccine guidelines. Canada has opted to extend the length of time between mRNA vaccines from the recommended three to four weeks to as long as four months, in order to stretch supplies., A Colorado woman who suffered a rare blood clot after receiving Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine urged others to get a shot just the same., Morgan Wolfe, 40, of Denver, told the Colorado Sun: “Despite everything that’s happened, I definitely still think that it’s important to keep on pushing for as much of the country and as much of the world to get vaccinated as possible”, “Obviously, I had a bad reaction to this one. And that’s unfortunate for me, but I do still think that there’s a place for it in the overall strategy,” Wolfe said., Moderna Inc.’s booster shots gave positive results against immune system-evading strains that emerged in South Africa and Brazil, according to early results from a mid-stage trial., Two types of booster shots studied spurred higher levels of virus-halting antibodies, Moderna said in a statement. One of the boosters is an additional low-dose shot of its existing vaccine, while the other type is customized against the South Africa strain., “We are encouraged by these new data, which reinforce our confidence that our booster strategy should be protective against these newly detected variants,” Stephane Bancel, Moderna’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “We will continue to make as many updates to our Covid-19 vaccine as necessary to control the pandemic.”, The U.S. will back a proposal to waive intellectual-property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, joining an effort to increase global supply and access to the life-saving shots as the gap between rich and poor nations widens., “We are for the waiver at the WTO, we are for what the proponents of the waiver are trying to accomplish, which is better access, more manufacturing capability, more shots in arms,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in an interview on Wednesday., The Biden administration will now actively take part in negotiations for the text of the waiver at the World Trade Organization and encourage other countries to back it, Tai said., She acknowledged the talks will take time and “will not be easy,” given the complexity of the issue and the fact that the Geneva-based WTO is a member-driven organization that can only make decisions based on consensus., President Joe Biden visited a Washington restaurant owned in part by Mexican immigrants on Wednesday to highlight $28.6 billion in , that struggled during the pandemic., Under the Covid-19 relief measure Biden signed in March, restaurants can apply for grants ranging from $1,000 to $5 million per location, or $10 million for those with 20 or fewer locations., Pandemic disruptions , U.S. regulators’ ability to inspect drug and device makers’ manufacturing plants, delaying at least 68 applications for approval to market new products, according to a Food and Drug Administration review., Seven of the delayed applications were mission-critical, meaning they represented a medical advancement, the agency said Wednesday in its report, and six of those were for new drugs. The delayed applications were among 600 where the FDA required a factory inspection before approval decisions., New York Yankees and Mets stadiums will reopen to all fans on May 19, with separate sections for vaccinated and unvaccinated spectators., Those who are vaccinated can sit together at 100% capacity, as long as they wear masks. The unvaccinated fans will need to wear masks and also observe a 6-foot (1.8-meter) social distancing rule, which works out to about 33% capacity in those sections, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday., Fans will be able to get vaccines at the games, under a deal between the state and the teams. Those who get a shot at a game will get a free ticket to another game, Cuomo said. New York joins several other states offering incentives for vaccines as the pace of inoculations slow., The governor also announced that Broadway tickets will go on sale Thursday, with shows starting Sept. 14 at full capacity, Cuomo said., U.S. Covid-19 cases could see a , by July if nationwide vaccination efforts continue to be successful, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention., Researchers used scenario modeling techniques to show long-term projections of potential trends in Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in data released Wednesday in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report., Canadian public health officials authorized the use of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE Covid vaccine for teenagers, making Canada the first nation to do so. Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser with Health Canada, made the announcement Wednesday at a press conference. The department determined the vaccine was “safe and effective” for the younger age group, Sharma said. The U.S. is considering similar action., The Food and Drug Administration is likely to issue an emergency authorization for use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for adolescents “within several days,” said White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci., “I think it is going to be very soon,” Fauci said during an interview with NBC News. “I mean, I don’t want to get ahead of the FDA, but I believe it is going to be within several days.”, The U.K. insisted a meeting of top Group of Seven diplomats in London should go ahead after India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said he would self-isolate over possible exposure to coronavirus., The news risked derailing a high-profile event that marked the G-7 debut of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Britain is hosting the gathering, which began on Tuesday., Thailand is planning to spend billions of dollars for financial relief to low-income groups to cope with the economic hit from the biggest outbreak sweeping the nation since the pandemic began., The cabinet on Wednesday approved in principle fiscal stimulus measures, including extension of two cash handout programs by a month at a cost of 85.5 billion baht ($2.8 billion). It also proposed 140 billion baht of spending for co-payment and e-voucher programs and more cash handouts to welfare cardholders and special groups to stimulate consumption, officials said., Malaysia tightened restrictions on movements in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur to defuse a fresh wave of coronavirus infections, a day after it imposed similar curbs in the nation’s richest state of Selangor., The movement control order will be in force from May 7 to May 20, Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in a statement on Wednesday. Dining at restaurants is prohibited and curbs on inter-state travel remain, the minister said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 4:27 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Lakh New Infections Coronavirus India Updates death [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Coronavirus India Updates: Over 4 Lakh New Infections, Nearly 4,000 Deaths. Short_description: Track the latest updates on the second wave of Covid-19 in India here. . Description: India recorded more than 4 lakh new Covid-19 infections and nearly 4,000 deaths as the world’s fastest spreading outbreak overwhelms the country’s healthcare system., 4.12 lakh people tested positive for the virus in a 24-hour period, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on May 6, marking the most number of fresh cases reported by any country in any single day., Active cases in India crossed 35 lakh for the first time ever., 3,980 patients succumbed to the illness on India’s deadliest day in the battle with coronavirus, taking the country’s total death toll above 2.3 lakh., India has given an emergency use authorisation to Roche Pharma’s cocktail of drugs that will be used for treat patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 symptoms., Roche has , Ltd. for pan-India production and distribution of the antibody cocktail of casirivimab and imdevimab., Meanwhile the Principal Scientific Adviser to the government has warned that a third wave of the pandemic is a matter of when not if. “A third wave is inevitable, given the variants,” K Vijay Raghavan said in a media briefing. “But we do not know when it will come, we do not know what the scale will be. We have to be prepared.”. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 8:41 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Key Epidemiological Data indian scientist Modi [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Indian Scientists Ask Modi to Release Key Epidemiological Data. Short_description: Indian scientists are asking Modi to release key data that could help study, predict, and curb the spread of the coronavirus.. Description: Indian scientists and medical researchers are asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow them access to data that could help study, predict, and curb the spread of the coronavirus., While the Indian Council of Medical Research has granular data on all residents who’ve been tested so far, it restricts access and this database must be opened to outside experts as well, almost 300 scientists from research and teaching institutions requested in an , ., “The ICMR database is inaccessible to anyone outside of the government and perhaps also to many within the government,” they wrote. “While new pandemics can have unpredictable features, our inability to adequately manage the spread of infections has, to a large extent, resulted from epidemiological data not being systematically collected and released in a timely manner to the scientific community.”, The signatories include Gagandeep Kang, professor of microbiology at Christian Medical College in Vellore, who confirmed the letter to Bloomberg, and Gautam Menon, professor of biology at Ashoka University. An email to the ICMR wasn’t immediately answered., Modi’s administration has often faced criticism from economists, scientists and other researchers for its opaque or delayed data. This includes crime statistics -- due in 2017 but published late 2019; a leaked report showing a surge in unemployment was denied by the government before elections in 2019 but , ; and most recently, lawmakers denied they have data on how many poor migrants were killed as they trudged home when Modi locked down the country with short notice last year., The request for wider dissemination of the coronavirus-related data gains urgency because India is gripped by a ferocious second wave that risks creating new mutant strains if allowed to spread unchecked., The scientists also asked Modi to “adequately fund and widen the network of organizations” to collect large-scale surveillance data. “Without such data-collection and timely release, we will not be able to efficiently manage COVID-19,” they said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bibhudatta Pradhan &. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 10:54 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to U.S. Mass Vaccination end [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: The End of U.S. Mass Vaccination Is Coming Sooner Than Later. Short_description: The End of U.S. Mass Vaccination Is Coming Sooner Than Later. Description: After three months of vaccination across the U.S., a majority of American adults have gotten shots, and the effort will soon shift from mass inoculation to mop-up. , As of Saturday, 138.6 million people in the U.S. have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot. About 1.3 million more are getting a first dose every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the rate of new vaccinators is declining, even if it were immediately cut in half, it would mean that six weeks from now more than half of the population of the U.S. and its territories will have had a dose. , Almost all of those who get a first dose are likely to get their second, according to one CDC , . On top of that, more than 80% of people age 60 or over — the most vulnerable group — have had a dose and will likewise complete vaccination., That may be sufficient, at least to see a significant impact on U.S. caseloads. The U.S. is currently about where Israel’s vaccine campaign was in mid-February, three weeks before cases there began to plunge. (Israel has, in total, vaccinated just under 60% of its population.), But in the next few weeks, what the vaccine campaign is going to look like is going to change dramatically. The Biden administration is pursuing a strategy of abundance, which the White House has referred to as an “overwhelm the problem” approach. That means that there will likely still be widespread shipping of vaccines to pharmacies and health centers, inoculation clinics and mobile vaccine resources. , But what’s likely to disappear are lines and scarcity. , “It’s OK if there’s not a long line of 1,000 people,” Natalie Quillian, the White House’s deputy coordinator of its Covid-19 response, told Bloomberg this week. “That’s good, that was the plan.”, There are many signs that’s already happening. In New York City, which had some of the tightest vaccine availability at the start of the rollout, the health department , that appointments were no longer needed at city sites and people could walk in for shots. , All of this points to a U.S. mass vaccine campaign that’s closer to the end than the beginning., For more than three months now, the , has published a daily figure of how many doses were reported administered in the U.S. After months of mostly going up, that figure is now starting to decline. The goal of a vaccine campaign is to run out of people to vaccinate. That’s where the country is now headed., That doesn’t mean an end to the vaccine efforts; it just means that they look different. Jeff Zients, the White House’s Covid response coordinator, said on Friday that the vaccine campaign is entering its “next phase.”, “Going forward, we expect daily vaccination rates will moderate and fluctuate,” he said at a briefing in Washington. “We’ve gotten vaccinations to the most at-risk and those most eager to get vaccinated as quickly as possible. And we will continue those efforts, but we know reaching other populations will take time and focus.”, It also means that how the vaccine rollout has been measured so far will be different. There will likely be no more 4-million-dose days. On Saturday, the U.S. tallied 3 million doses administered, the lowest Saturday total since March 20. Success will mean chipping away at the increasingly small group of people who haven’t gotten a shot yet. If that effort is working, the daily vaccine rates should continue to fall as health workers run out of people who need to be vaccinated., It also means a looser supply chain. , The U.S. is now reasonably assured of having enough vaccine. It has contracted for 600 million shots from Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc., and the drugmakers are delivering those doses faster than they are being used. About 28 million shots are being shipped a week, and 21 million are being used., Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine, which was on a brief safety hold after concerns about rare blood clots, is likely to end up an also-ran in the U.S. Given how much Pfizer and Moderna is being shipped versus how much is being consumed, J&J’s shot may end up as a comparatively niche product, or be used mostly abroad, or reworked as a booster shot., There are just under 10 million J&J doses that have been delivered but are still unused, according to CDC data. At the current rates of delivery and use of Moderna’s and Pfizer’s shots, about 7 million doses a week of those vaccines are building up, as well. , Measuring the vaccine rollout in May the way it was measured in March gives the wrong picture. In the early days of the rollout, having 7 million doses a week go unused would have been a failure. Now it’s more of a necessity. If you want to get to hard-to-reach, potentially reluctant people, you need to make it easy for them. That means lots of vaccine on standby, sitting around on a shelf., But it doesn’t make for a razor-thin supply chain. Bloomberg has tracked the percentage of shots used over the course of the U.S. effort. At the peak of demand, some states were reporting that well over 90% of every dose delivered to them was being used, often within a few days of delivery. , Those days will disappear, and those use-ratios will fall. Mass-vaccine clinics filled with eager shot-seekers are great at injecting every last dose at the start of a rollout. They’re far less useful in attracting what one of Maine's top health officials, Nirav Shah, referred to this week as the “not able,” the “not right now” and the “not ever.”, Reaching those remaining people will be more of a steady grind. Many may get a dose at a doctor’s office during a visit for another condition. Others will be vaccinated at work, at a mobile clinic, or when they get another scheduled vaccination, like a flu shot. , But those efforts are likely to begin to fade into the background hum of the day-to-day operations of U.S. health care. Public health can go back to being boring again., The start of the vaccine campaign was like a blockbuster movie that millions of people saw in theaters (remember those?). , Now we’re heading for the phase when the people who missed it on the big screen are streaming it at home: Oh, you finally got your shot? Yeah, I got it when it came out., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Drew Armstrong. Date Created: 25 Apr 2021, 5:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Mumbai Businessman Offers Bollywood Vanity Vans Lockdown Duty Police [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Mumbai Businessman Offers Bollywood Vanity Vans To Police On Lockdown Duty. Short_description: Rawal is also ready to offer his vanity vans to hospitals for the treatment of patients.. Description: Mumbai-based businessman Ketan Rawal who supplies vanity vans to Bollywood stars for shoots deployed these mobile dressing rooms across the city to help the overworked policemen catch a break, at a time the country battles a severe second wave of Covid-19 infections. , Rawal has also provided his vans to healthcare workers at Covid-19 care centres. These vans are equipped with a bed, washroom, dressing table, and air-conditioner, and are sanitised once every day in the morning., He is also ready to offer his vanity vans to hospitals for the treatment of patients, according to his conversation with BloombergQuint., So far, he has provided 12 of the 50 vans he owns to the police and health care workers free of cost.. Publisher: Fahmida Naz. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 4:19 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Vaccine Policy Supreme Court Modi uncertainty Chaos [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Supreme Court Says Modi’s Vaccine Policy Will Produce “Chaos And Uncertainty”. Short_description: The government’s vaccine policy is detrimental to the right to public health under the Constitution, the apex court observed.. Description: While the Supreme Court did not conclude on the constitutionality of the central government’s vaccine policy, it found that the manner in which the current policy is framed is detrimental to the right to public health as provided in Article 21 (right to life) of the Constitution., The apex court’s order comes after a three-judge bench, led by Justice DY Chandrachud, took up, suo moto, the issue of distribution of essential supplies and services during the pandemic. In the hearing on Apr. 30 the court had asked , regarding the government’s policies on supply of oxygen, medical services and access to healthcare, as well as vaccination., In its order, published on the court’s website on May 2, the court has given Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government till May 10, the date of the next hearing, to revisit its initiatives and protocols on vaccination, as also on availability of oxygen and availability of of essential drugs at affordable prices., On the issue of vaccines, while clarifying that the court did not seek to replace the government’s policy with its own, the bench raised concerns about the centre’s new vaccine policy - in which vaccines for those above 45 years, healthcare and frontline workers will be provided by the centre, whereas states will provide vaccines for those between 18-45 years., , The central government stated it new vaccine policy was an effort to give states a participatory role in the vaccination drive and thereby expand its scope. It also said, the 50% domestic production allocated to states was on a population-proportion basis to weed out geographical proximity bias., The apex court made the following observations;, The court also asked the central government to clarify if it had introduced any initiatives to immunise those who do not have access to digital resources, as the current mandatory registration process is via the government’s Co-Win portal., It also wanted to know if walk-in facilities would continue for those above 45 years after May 1, whether targeted vaccination drives would be undertaken for crematorium workers and other frontline staff in the second wave, and what steps were being undertaken to create nationwide awareness for the Covid-19 vaccination program., Will the centre “revisit its policy by procuring 100% of the doses which can then be equitably disbursed to the state governments,” the order queried., In its affidavit the centre claimed its new vaccine policy would instill a competitive market for vaccines, incentivise production and drive down prices., Noting that the two domestic vaccine producers have quoted higher prices for states versus the centre, the bench, also comprising Justices Nageswara Rao and Ravindra Bhat, expressed similar concerns on vaccine pricing., Vaccines are a “valuable public good” and discrimination cannot be made between citizens depending on a state’s ability to provide free vaccination, the court said. The centre is currently providing vaccines for those above 45 years free at government hospitals. States have been left to decide their own pricing for those in the 18-45 years group. Most have so far announced free vaccinations., The rational method, according to the judges, would be for the centre to negotiate with manufacturers, procure the vaccines and states would distribute them. But no order was passed to this effect yet., Instead, the court has asked the centre to explain, Whether any other alternatives were considered to ramp up vaccinations -- especially as it claimed its earlier policy was for a centralized free immunization drive which was changed to allow states to expand the scope of vaccinations., What studies the centre relied on to claim that decentralised procurement would spur competition among manufacturers and drive down prices., Among the other probing questions it asked, the bench sought information on funding provided to vaccine producers. And, if the infusion of fund led to a lower price for the centre then why the same benefit had not been extended to states., The order also discussed aspects of using compulsory licensing for vaccines and essential drugs, but only for consideration by the centre., The apex court also ordered -, That the deficit in the supply of oxygen to the GNCTD is rectified within 2 days from the date of the hearing, that is, on or before the midnight of 3 May 2021., The centre alongwith states to prepare a buffer stock of oxygen for emergency purposes in four days (replenish daily) and decentralise the location of the emergency stocks., Any clampdown on information on social media or harassment caused to individuals seeking/delivering help on any platform will attract contempt of court., The centre to formulate a national policy on admissions to hospitals in two weeks, which shall be followed by all states., Till the policy is formulated no patient shall be denied hospitalisation or essential drugs in any state or union territory for lack of local residential proof of that state/UT or even in the absence of identity proof .. Publisher: Menaka Doshi. Date Created: 03 May 2021, 1:17 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Covid Forecasters Warn India Deaths week [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Covid Forecasters Warn India Deaths May Double in Coming Weeks. Short_description: The outbreak has potential to worsen in India, with some research models projecting that the death toll could more than double.. Description: The coronavirus wave that plunged India into the world’s biggest health crisis has the potential to worsen in the coming weeks, with some research models projecting that the death toll could more than double from current levels., A team at the , in Bangalore used a mathematical model to predict about 404,000 deaths will occur by June 11 if current trends continue. A model from the , at the University of Washington forecast 1,018,879 deaths by the end of July., While coronavirus cases can be hard to predict, particularly in a sprawling nation like India, the forecasts reflect the urgent need for India to step up public health measures like testing and social distancing. Even if the worst estimates are avoided, India could suffer the world’s biggest Covid-19 death toll. The U.S currently has the largest number of , at around 578,000., India reported a record 3,780 deaths on Wednesday for an overall toll of 226,188, along with 382,315 new cases, taking its outbreak past 20.6 million infections. In recent weeks, the scenes on the ground, with long lines outside crematoriums and hospitals turning away ambulances, have painted a picture of a nation overwhelmed by the crisis., “The next four to six weeks are going to be very, very difficult for India,” said Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown University School of Public Health. “The challenge is going to be to do things now that will make sure it is four weeks, not six or eight, and that we minimize how bad things will get. But in no way is India anywhere near out of the woods.”, A spokesperson for the health ministry couldn’t immediately be reached. The ministry said on Monday that in about a dozen states, including Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, there are early signs that the number of daily new infections are starting to plateau., The Indian rupee has declined about 1% this quarter in Asia’s worst performance as investors turned cautious ahead of an unscheduled speech by India’s central bank governor Wednesday. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex Index is down about 2% as foreign funds sold about $1.7 billion of the nation’s stocks., A prolonged crisis has the potential to dent the , of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as slow or reverse India’s recovery from last year’s economic recession. Bloomberg Economics lowered its growth projection for the year ending March 2022 to 10.7% from 12.6%, and even these numbers are flattered by a low base as activity ground to a halt due to a strict lockdown last year., India’s central bank, meanwhile, has , new loan-relief measures for small businesses and promised to inject 500 billion rupees ($6.8 billion) of liquidity to support the economy., For public health researchers, a key concern is the relative dearth of coronavirus testing, which many scientists believe is causing a sharp undercounting of cases., “It could honestly get a lot worse, which is hard to imagine given how staggering the impacts have already been when you see 400,000 new cases each day and you know that that’s probably an underestimation,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, Maryland., The main metric that officials are watching is the test positivity rate, which is the percentage of people with positive test results. The overall positivity rate is 20% in India now, and in some parts of the country it tops 40%, a shockingly high number that indicates as many as three-fourths of infections are being missed, said Jha., The World Health Organization considers anything above 5% too high, saying that governments should implement social distancing measures until positivity rates are below that level for at least two weeks., “Despite scaling up testing considerably, it’s still not enough to capture all the infected people,” said Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organization, speaking on Bloomberg TV. “So the numbers, while very high, are likely an underestimate of the true numbers of infections,” she said. “It’s a grim situation.”, The goal is to run enough tests that a large number of infected people aren’t going undiagnosed. If only the sickest patients are tested, many people with milder disease or no symptoms at all may continue to unwittingly spread the disease., “There are reports of tests being considerably delayed and of patients delaying having to go to hospital as much as they can, given the stresses on the health system,” said Gautam Menon, a professor of physics and biology at Ashoka University, who also works on modeling outbreaks. “We don’t know enough about COVID-19 spread away from the major cities, in the rural heartland of India, although reports from there suggest that the situation is dire.”, The U.S. government, as part of a package of supplies for India, pledged last week to send one million rapid tests to India. There are several other things that could be done quickly to try to help staunch the outbreak. High on the list is wearing masks, a crucial element for disease control, said Catherine Blish, an infectious disease specialist and global health expert at Stanford Medicine in California., Major cities in India already require people to wear masks, but such rules can be harder to implement in crowded slums and rural areas. Several states have introduced lockdowns, although Modi has , a national effort after one imposed by him last year fueled a humanitarian crisis with migrant workers fleeing the cities on foot and in some cases bringing the virus with them., The , has estimated that with a 15-day lockdown deaths could be lower at 300,000, falling to 285,000 with a 30-day lockdown. IMHE , a lower death toll of around 940,000 by the end of July with universal mask wearing., Vaccines will be the big way to remove risks, although it will take time to get there, public health experts say., It takes several weeks for immunity to build after someone has been vaccinated. The process is even longer with those that require two shots, stretching the process out to six weeks to two months., “The vaccines are working,” said Kim Mulholland, an Australian pediatrician and leader of the infection and immunity group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne. “They just haven’t got the capacity.”, Ultimately, cases will come down, it’s just a matter of when, said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, and an adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden. Scientists still don’t have a good understanding of why Covid-19 comes in sudden, roller-coaster-like changes, he said., “It will eventually burn itself through the population,” Osterholm said. “Within several weeks to a month and a half, you will see this peak come back down, and it’s likely to come down quickly.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jeanette Rodrigues &. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 2:47 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to India Ratings GDP year age vaccine [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Vaccines For All Over 18 Years Of Age To Cost Just 0.36% Of GDP, Says India Ratings. Short_description: India Ratings estimates the cost to vaccinate everyone above 18 is very small compared to the economic risks of not doing so.. Description: India’s universal vaccination drive against Covid-19 is estimated to cost just 0.36% of the gross domestic product, according to India Ratings and Research., To vaccinate the currently eligible 84.2 crore population, states and central government will have to collectively spend Rs 67,193 crore, the rating agency said in a research note. Of that amount, the union government will incur Rs 20,870 crore and state governments together will incur Rs 46,323 crore., “India Ratings believes given the magnitude of the problem and the economic cost the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic is likely to inflict on the economy, it’s too small an amount,” the note said. “The fiscal impact on the union budget would be 0.12% of GDP and on the state budgets would 0.24% of GDP.”, The government recently announced the third phase of its vaccination drive where everyone above the age of 18 can get vaccinated from May 1. The more liberal policy also allows vaccine manufacturers to supply up to 50% of their supply to the centre and 50% to states and the open market. Vaccinations will continue to be free at government centres and hospitals for frontline workers and those above 45 years of age., The move to decontrol vaccine supply came as , in the country have brought its healthcare system to the brink of a collapse. Hospitals and dedicated Covid care centres, , by patients, are running out of beds, oxygen and critical drugs., According to India Ratings, a sum of Rs 5,090 crore has already been spent for procuring 21.4 crore doses so far. The remaining amount required to be spent for procuring 155.4 crore doses will be Rs 62,103 crore., Pune-based Serum Institute of India, which is the world’s largest vaccine maker, has said it will charge states , of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield. It had earlier entered a contract with the central government to provide the first 100 million shots at Rs 236 per dose, including statutory taxes. A similar price was charged by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech for its Covaxin doses. India Ratings’ estimates are based on the assumption that any further supply for the central government will cost them Rs 400 per shot., This would be a recurring expenditure on union and state budgets since the antibodies generated by these vaccines are likely to last for 12-18 months, India Ratings said., The maximum impact of Phase 3 of vaccination is likely to be on the budgets of Bihar (0.60% of GSDP), followed by Uttar Pradesh (0.47%), Jharkhand (0.37%), Manipur (0.36%), Assam (0.35%), Madhya Pradesh (0.30%) and Odisha (0.30%). Many states such as Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh have already announced that the government will bear the cost of vaccination., India Ratings also said that vaccinations by large corporate groups will reduce pressure on state and central budgets. “However, more than the money spent, the critical factor would be how soon the desired level of vaccination can be achieved,” it said.. Publisher: Darshan A Nakhwa. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 8:13 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Record Death Toll Covid Crisis India Extent [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Even Record Death Toll May Hide Extent of India’s Covid Crisis. Short_description: Accounts collated by Bloomberg indicate that the real number of Covid fatalities could be much higher than reported deaths.. Description: Bodies piling up at crematoriums and burial grounds across India are sparking concerns that the death toll from a ferocious new Covid-19 wave may be much higher than official records, underplaying the scale of a resurgence that is overwhelming the country’s medical system., Several cities across the South Asian nation have reported , of bodies, wrapped in protective gear and identified by hospitals as virus-related deaths, lined up outside crematoriums for hours. Accounts collated by Bloomberg from relatives of the dead and workers and eyewitnesses at crematoriums in at least five cities indicate that the real number of Covid fatalities could be significantly higher than the deaths being reported by local government health departments., On Thursday, India blew past the global record of daily new infections and on Friday it reported an even higher 332,730 new cases. With more than 16 million cases in total, it is the second-worst affected nation in the world, lagging only the U.S. But while the U.S. caseload is twice as high, its death toll is three times what India has reported. The surge in Asia’s third-largest economy puts at risk not only its fragile economic recovery but also the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic., Deaths in India have always been counted poorly, even before the pandemic struck. The vast majority of deaths, especially in rural villages, take place at home and routinely go unregistered. For others the cause of death listed is often anodyne -- old age or heart attack -- leading experts to estimate that only between 20%-30% of all deaths in India are properly medically certified., News reports from across India suggest that a combination of poor testing and a health system that is inundated by the crush of those sickened by the virus has meant that counting Covid deaths accurately remains a struggle even a year into the health crisis., Read more: The Whole World Has a Covid-19 Problem in India: Macro View, Not capturing death data accurately “creates the misconception that media is showcasing anecdotal cases and the overall situation is under control,” said , , the chief strategy officer, health at IPE Global, a development consulting firm. “This damages future preparations and measures needed for a possible third wave.”, In Lucknow, the capital city of India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, the official number of Covid deaths between April 11 to April 16 stood at 145. However, just two of the city’s main crematoriums reported more than 430 or three times as many cremations under Covid-19 protocol in that period, according to eyewitnesses and workers, who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak to reporters. This doesn’t account for burials or funerals at other smaller cremation grounds in the city., When a Lucknow resident, who asked not to be named, reached one of the main crematoriums with the body of a family friend on Monday morning he was told they could set up the funeral pyre anywhere they could find space. Even so, it took over three hours to find a spot that was far away enough to tolerate the heat emanating from the other burning bodies., He was not allowed to use the electric furnace set aside for virus deaths because the dead man didn’t have a report showing he’d tested positive for the virus even though he had a doctor’s prescription for Covid-19 treatment. No relatives could attend the funeral as they had all tested positive and were under home isolation., After the patient died in a city hospital, the staff wrapped the body in the protective kits used for Covid-19 deaths. The majority of the nearly 50 bodies the Lucknow citizen saw arriving in the four hours he spent at the crematorium were wrapped the same way but were not cremated in the virus-only electric furnace, he said. That likely meant their deaths weren’t attributed to Covid., In the industrial city of Surat, located in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, the head of a trust that runs crematoriums said at least 100 bodies have been brought in each day for the last 10 days, wrapped in the Covid-mandated protective covering. Surat’s municipal body on April 19 reported only 28 virus deaths., “Structures within the furnace, like the metal frames and the chimney, are melting and falling apart,” Kamlesh Sailor said. “Repairing it and keeping it going is a challenge, but we have no other way, bodies will have to be disposed of as quickly as possible.”, “The figure of deaths is dynamic, difficult to reconcile from plain reading,” said Navneet Sehgal, additional chief secretary of the Uttar Pradesh government. “No one is trying to hide Covid-19 deaths. Some of the deaths in Lucknow which are included as deaths because of Covid-19 are actually normal deaths which would have been counted wrongly.”, There was no immediate comment from the spokesperson of the Gujarat government., Sanjeev Gupta, a freelance photojournalist in the central city of Bhopal, said he has consistently witnessed 80 to 120 bodies being cremated each day last week at just one of the city’s three cremation centers set aside for Covid cases. The official virus death numbers for the district were below 10 each day. According to news reports, the state government said the deaths were “, ” but couldn’t be confirmed because of a shortage of testing kits and lab facilities., As infections have spiraled hospitals across the country have reported shortages of beds, medical oxygen and crucial drugs. On Friday one of New Delhi’s premier hospitals, Sir Ganga Ram, said it had less than 2 hours worth of medical oxygen putting at least 60 critically ill Covid-19 patients at risk., The speed with which the pandemic swept across the world meant that even in countries with sophisticated health systems, mortality was , to accurately assess, especially in the early days. Patients with heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other chronic conditions are at greater risk of dying from Covid-19. Some governments, including Russia, had last year attributed the cause of deaths in some of these patients to the pre-existing condition, raising doubts about the , of official mortality data., Tens of thousands of probable Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. weren’t captured by official statistics between March and May 2020, a , in July found., India’s federal Health Ministry did not respond to an email seeking comment., Even without accurate figures, the deadly impact of India’s second wave is hard to miss., Four pages of the local language Sandesh newspaper in Rajkot, another Gujarat city, were covered with , on Wednesday. A month ago, they took up only a quarter of a page., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Upmanyu Trivedi &. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 2:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Lakh Doses Year Olds Vaccinate States Pipeline Centre [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Centre Says Nearly 60 Lakh Doses In Pipeline For States To Vaccinate 45+ Year Olds. Short_description: The balance vaccine stock with states has fallen to 75.7 lakh doses.. Description: India’s central government will supply nearly 60 lakh Covid-19 vaccine doses to states over the next three days for inoculating those aged over 45 years., States and union territories will receive 59.7 lakh doses for free within three days, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a media statement. The central government has so far provided 16.54 crore doses to states., The balance stock with states has fallen to 75.7 lakh, which at the current average rate of vaccination would be enough for just about three days. Earlier on May 1, BloombergQuint had , how supply for some India’s most populous states was dwindling. The centre has since , its pipeline for states., To be sure, this stock is only to be used for vaccinating those over 45 years of age. States and private hospitals have to procure vaccines from manufacturers directly for administering it to 18-44 year olds., Among the most populous states of the country, Maharashtra is the closest to running out with just over 23,000 doses in its inventory. The central government has 10.5 lakh doses for Maharashtra in its supply pipeline., Besides Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Telangana and Karnataka are among those that have less than 1 lakh doses left., The central government also clarified that it has placed additional orders with the two vaccine makers—Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech Ltd., The Health Ministry said it has paid Rs 1,732 crore to Pune-based Serum for an additional 11 crore doses of Covishield. This will be in addition to the first order of 10 crore doses that the central government had placed in March. Of the first order, Serum has supplied 8.8 crore doses as on May 3., The company, in a separate statement, said the 11 crore doses will be supplied “over the next few months”., The government has also paid Rs 787.5 crore to Bharat Biotech for an additional 5 crore doses of Covaxin to be supplied in May, June and July. That, too, is over and above the first order of 2 crore doses the central government had placed. Of that, 0.88 crore doses have been supplied as on May 3.. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 03 May 2021, 5:53 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Lakh New Covid Cases Coronavirus update India death [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Coronavirus Updates: India Reports 3.9 Lakh New Covid Cases, 3,689 Deaths. Short_description: Nearly 3.92 lakh people tested positive for the virus in a 24-hour period, according to the Health Ministry’s update on May 2.. Description: India continued to report a surge in Covid-19 infections amid a second wave that’s ravaging Asia’s third-largest economy and bringing its healthcare system under immense strain., Nearly 3.92 lakh people tested positive for the virus in a 24-hour period, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on May 2., Active coronavirus infections in India crossed 33 lakh for the first time ever., More than 3,400 patients succumbed to the illness for the third straight day, overwhelming the country’s crematoriums and burial grounds. That took the total death toll to 2.15 lakh., Opposition party leaders urged the central government to utilise the budgetary outlay of Rs 35,000 crore in this year’s union budget to launch a free mass vaccination programme for all Indians., Leaders, including Sonia Gandhi from the Congress, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister Designate MK Stalin and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said in a statement the central government must ensure “uninterrupted flow of oxygen supplies to all hospitals and health centres across the country”., Other signatories to the statement include former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, Sharad Pawar of the NCP, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, BSP supremo Mayawati, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, D Raja of the Communist Party of India and CPM’s Sitaram Yechury.. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 02 May 2021, 10:45 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Coronavirus India Updates Record Spread Active Infections Lakh [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Coronavirus India Updates: Active Infections Top 30 Lakh As Record Spread Continues. Short_description: Track the latest developments in India’s second wave of Covid-19 here. . Description: Vaccination centres in Mumbai will remain closed for till May 2 due to a shortage of doses., The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has said citizens above 45 years of age, who have registered, will be vaccinated for sure. The planned vaccination drive for those above 18 years of age is also likely to be delayed due to the shortage, it said., The municipal body has also appealed to citizens to not crowd the vaccination centres when coming to receive their shots., Maharashtra today said that the existing restrictions in place to tackle Covid-19 will now stay in effect till May 15, 2021., An order by the state government said that Maharashtra continues to be threatened by the spread of the virus in hence it is necessary to continue to current restrictions., The state's original order over the restrictions was due to be expired on May 1., Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech Ltd. said it will offer states its indigenously developed Covaxin for Rs 400 per dose, lower than the Rs 600 announced earlier., The move comes a day after Pune-based Serum Institute of India, which is manufacturing Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccine, said it will reduced the price it will charge states to Rs 300 per dose from Rs 400 earlier., Active Covid-19 infections in India crossed 30 lakh for the first time ever, as an unprecedented outbreak continued to rip through the world’s second-most populous nation., Nearly 3.8 lakh people tested positive for the virus in a 24-hour period, the highest number of fresh cases in any country in any day, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on April 29., 3,645 patients succumbed to the illness in just 24 hours, marking the deadliest day in India’s struggle with the pandemic. That took the total death toll near 2.05 lakh., Pune-based Serum Institute of India, which is manufacturing the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, has said it will lower the price of doses for states to Rs 300 from Rs 400 earlier., “This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives,” Chief Executive and Owner Adar Poonawalla said on Twitter, adding that it was a “philanthropic gesture”., India will begin the third phase of its immunisation programme on May 1, when everyone above the age of 18 will be eligible for the shot.. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 9:19 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Lakh Covid-19 case Country day India [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: India Now The Only Country To Report Over 3 Lakh Covid-19 Cases In A Day. Short_description: India reported 3.15 lakh fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to more than 15.9 crore on April 22.. Description: India added more coronavirus cases in a day than any country has since the pandemic began even as Asia’s third-largest economy accelerated its vaccination drive to fight the world’s fastest-growing renewed wave of infections., The South Asian nation reported , in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to more than 15.9 crore, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on April 22., That’s 16 straight days of a record spike in new infections, bringing back ragged memories of what it was like in September last year when the virus was spreading at an aggressive pace., Only two-and-a-half months ago, India on an average was reporting 11,000 cases, per day over the week. Now, on average, India add is adding 2.6 lakh cases daily compared with around 63,000 each in the U.S. and Brazil—the other two nations with a massive outbreak. Home to 130 crore people, India is only trailing the U.S. in total number of confirmed coronavirus cases., India isn’t only reporting most new cases, but also recording highest daily deaths in the world after Brazil., More than 1,400 Indians succumbed to the disease daily on an average in the last seven days compared with Brazil’s over 2,700 deaths., In terms of deaths per million populations, however, India ranks among the lowest, largely because of its size. India’s deaths per million is around 128 against the global average of around 380, according to Our World in Data—a project based at the University of Oxford in the U.K., But videos of crowded mortuaries and funeral sites in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh, circulating on social media paint a grim picture., According to Rajesh Bhushan, secretary, Ministry of Health, Family and Welfare, age-wise Covid-19 death comparison between first and second wave showed more deaths happened this time in people aged above 70 years., “If things don’t change, epidemiological models are predicting that India could be facing 5 lakh cases, 25,000 hospitalisations and 3,000 deaths every day in four weeks,” Bhramar Mukherjee, a biostatistician at the University of Michigan,, said in an opinion piece published in, CNN-News18, While Maharashtra remained the epicentre, states such as Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh are also enduring a severe surge., The average of daily cases in a week in Punjab has gone up from 240 in February to more than 3,100, while in Chhattisgarh that has gone up from 250 to more than 11,500, the Health Ministry’s data showed., The positivity rate among the states has also gone up. Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra are reporting a weekly positivity rate of more than 25%, while Delhi’s is over 15%. The national capital had reported 30% positivity on April 18., India has conducted more than 27 crore tests so far, with over 16.5 lakh sampled in a day. Amid rising cases, the central government has urged states to increase the percentage of RT-PCR tests to over 70%., Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala and Chhattisgarh, among other states with large outbreaks, according to the Health Ministry, aren’t doing enough RT-PCR tests. The percentage of such tests in Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat is below 50%., India has opened up Covid-19 vaccinations to , , under the third phase of the world’s biggest immunisation drive., The country has administered more than 13 crore jabs since January when the drive started, but fell short of the government’s target. Only 4.8% of the population has received single dose, while 1.3% got the second shot, according to , ., India plans to cover about 25 crore people with two doses by July. Bhushan in a briefing said nearly 80% of healthcare workers have received the second dose so far, while 79% of frontline workers have received the second dose. Only 40% of people above 60 years age have been vaccinated yet., Still, there are concerns that some people have contracted the virus even after taking one or both jabs amid the severe second wave., According to Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR, so far 0.04% people have tested positive after second dose of Covaxin and 0.03% after second dose of Covishield. In two to four per 10,000 people, breakthrough infections have occurred after vaccine., “This is a very hard situation and we just have to brace ourselves and get through the next few weeks and get vaccinated,” Mukherjee told BloombergQuint, with a hope that like all other countries showing the second surge, the sharp rise will be followed by a sharp fall.. Publisher: Nishant Sharma. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 10:00 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Stem Covid Spread Malaysia Bars Entry Travelers India [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: Malaysia Bars Entry of Travelers From India to Stem Covid Spread. Short_description: Malaysia joins the U.K., Hong Kong and New Zealand in banning travelers from India. . Description: Malaysia’s Transport Ministry will halt entry of Indian nationals and passengers as well as implement strict controls for ships from the South Asian country docking at the nation’s ports., Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said in a Facebook posting that he has informed port operators as well as domestic and foreign airlines to comply with the decision by National Security Council following a meeting on Monday. The move takes effect on Wednesday, the New Straits Times reported, citing Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob., The second, much larger wave of virus infections sweeping India has prompted travel restrictions in several countries. The U.K. added India to its travel ban list April 20, and earlier this month New Zealand temporarily suspended arrivals of its citizens and residents from India. Hong Kong banned flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines for 14 days starting April 20., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Tien Hin Chan. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 5:35 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Seychelles case Surge Virus Update India Deaths Double [/INST] Coronavirus Outbreak news. Title: India Deaths May Double; Seychelles Cases Surge: Virus Update. Short_description: Track the global Covid-19 pandemic and the vaccination efforts here.. Description: Deaths from Covid-19 in India may double from current levels, new research suggests. Meanwhile, the country was criticized for a “, ” as its prime minister , pressure to lock down. Indian cricket regulators suspended the Premier League after players tested positive., President Joe Biden set a new target of 70% of U.S. adults receiving at least one vaccine shot by July 4. Rural hospitals and clinics will get almost $1 billion to ramp up testing and vaccinations, the Health and Human Services secretary said., U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country is on course to , , and Denmark will ease curbs this week. Singapore is , in response to a flareup linked to the variant first identified in India, a setback for one of the most successful virus-containment regimes., Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team , . Click CVID on the terminal for global data on cases and deaths., The coronavirus wave that plunged India into the world’s biggest health crisis has the potential to worsen in the coming weeks, with some research models projecting the death toll could more than double from current levels., A team at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore used a mathematical model to predict about 404,000 deaths will occur by June 11 if current trends continue. A model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington forecast 1,018,879 deaths by the end of July., The forecasts reflect the urgent need for India to step up public health measures like testing and social distancing. Even if the worst estimates are avoided, India could suffer the world’s biggest Covid-19 death toll. The U.S currently has the largest number of fatalities at around 578,000., Seychelles, which has fully vaccinated more of its population than any other country, has closed schools and canceled sporting activities for two weeks as infections surge., The measures, which include bans on the intermingling of households and the early , of bars, come even as the country has fully vaccinated more than 60% of its adult population with two doses of coronavirus vaccines. The curbs are similar to those last imposed at the end of 2020., “Despite of all the exceptional efforts we are making, the Covid-19 situation in our country is critical right now with many daily cases reported last week,” Peggy Vidot, the nation’s health minister, said at a press conference Monday., Los Angeles and San Francisco entered California’s least-restrictive tier for economic reopenings, increasing capacity for a wide range of businesses and private gatherings., Restaurants, gyms and movie theaters can expand to 50% of their regular occupancy. Bars will be able to open at 25% capacity indoors. Stadiums and other outdoor events may expand to as much as 67% of capacity. The new health orders will go into effect Thursday., “This new tier matches the sunny optimism of the season,” Los Angeles County’s board of supervisors said in a statement Tuesday., Rural clinics and hospitals in the U.S. will receive almost $1 billion from the Health and Human Services Department to improve Covid-19 testing and get more people vaccinated, the Biden administration announced Tuesday., “Rural health providers are vital to ensure equity in Covid-19 testing, vaccinations and in making sure rural residents have the information about vaccine safety, especially for populations who are at an increased risk for Covid-19 infection or severe illness due to systemic health and social inequities and geographic isolation,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement., President Joe Biden set a target of 70% of U.S. adults receiving at least one vaccine dose by July 4 and said the government will “wind down” mass vaccination sites, as his administration seeks to stem a dropoff in inoculations., He said if the Food and Drug Administration authorizes Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine for use in children as young as 12, as anticipated, 20,000 pharmacies across the country are prepared to give them shots., As of now, 56% of U.S. adults, or 145 million, have received at least one dose and almost 41%, or about 105 million, are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention., Illinois will offer 100 free target rounds for trap, skeet or sporting clays to those who receive a Covid-19 vaccine at its newest mobile vaccination site, the downstate Worldwide Shooting and Recreation complex., Governor J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday that the WSRC mobile site in Sparta, Illinois, about 280 miles (450 kilometers) south of Chicago, will be operated by the Illinois National Guard, with assistance from the Randolph County Health Department, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Friday and Saturday., “These vaccines are incredibly effective and protective for the person who gets them, but just as important, they make the whole community safer,” Pritzker said in an emailed statement., The move is the latest creative effort by a state to address vaccine hesitancy as the pace of inoculations slows nationwide. New Jersey is offering free beer., President Joe Biden’s administration told governors Tuesday that it would begin , that go unclaimed by states -- essentially clawing back unwanted doses from places where the pace of shots is lagging in order to steer them elsewhere, three people familiar with the call said., The White House told governors about the switch during a weekly call with the state leaders. Biden is due to speak Tuesday afternoon at the White House about the Covid response., The Chicago Auto Show will be held at McCormick Place in July, marking the first large convention to be held in the city and the state of Illinois since the Covid-19 pandemic began more than a year ago, officials said Tuesday., The reopening of the convention center “is a critical step toward our state’s economic recovery,” Governor J.B. Pritzker said during a press conference at the site on Tuesday. The auto show, on the biggest in the U.S., will be held from July 15 to 19 with safety measures in place, such as limiting crowd size., CVS Health Corp. , as Covid-19 vaccines and testing helped boost first-quarter results and offset a weak cold and flu season., The health-care company gave 17 million Covid shots at long-term care facilities and at its pharmacies through April. CVS is now immunizing in about 8,300 locations in 49 states, Chief Executive Officer Karen Lynch said Tuesday on a call with analysts., The world’s 20 major economies , behind efforts to introduce so-called vaccine passports to boost travel and tourism, stressing that a resumption is crucial for a global economic recovery, according to a draft statement seen by Bloomberg., Tourism ministers from the Group of 20 nations, who met on Tuesday, said the outlook for a sector devastated by lockdowns remains “highly uncertain,” according to the draft, which is subject to change., “We’ve got no plans to deviate form the earliest dates set out in the , ” for unlocking the economy, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman told reporters., The United Arab Emirates extended the suspension of flights from India. The UAE, home to Dubai-based Emirates and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, had halted the flights until May 14. A new end date hasn’t yet been announced., Singapore is limiting social gatherings and tightening border curbs as it , aggressively to a flareup linked to the new variant first identified in India., From May 8 to May 30, group gatherings must be cut from a maximum of eight to five, while daily visitors per household will be similarly capped, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. At workplaces, no more than 50% of staff who are able to work from home can return to offices., Pfizer Inc. boosted its full-year forecast for sales of its vaccine produced with BioNTech SE to approximately $26 billion, from about $15 billion previously. The guidance includes 1.6 billion doses expected to be delivered this year under contracts that have been signed through mid-April, and it may be adjusted as additional contracts are executed, Pfizer said in its release., “We also are in ongoing discussions with multiple countries around the world about their needs, and we expect these discussions to lead to additional supply agreements,” CEO Albert Bourla said in , ., Moderna Inc. is testing vaccines with lower doses to try to boost supply, and it may also need to expand work on boosters to cover for more variants, Chairman Noubar Afeyan said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. He said he expects the coronavirus may become endemic like seasonal flu, and that vaccinating children seems like a good approach given Covid’s after-effects., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 4:30 AM IST </s>