President Donald Trump spent three days in the hospital. He arrived and left by helicopter. And he received multiple coronavirus tests, oxygen, steroids and an experimental antibody treatment.

For someone who isn’t president, that would cost more than $100,000 in the American health system. Patients could face significant surprise bills and medical debt even after health insurance paid its share.

The biggest financial risks would come not from the hospital stay but from the services provided elsewhere, including helicopter transit and repeated coronavirus testing.

Trump has praised the high quality of care he received at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and has played down the risk of the virus. “Don’t be afraid of Covid,” Trump tweeted on Monday, before returning to the White House. “Don’t let it dominate your life.”

Across the country, patients have struggled with both the long-term health and financial effects of contracting coronavirus. Nearly half a million have been hospitalized. Routine tests can result in thousands of dollars in uncovered charges; hospitalized patients have received bills upward of $400,000.

Trump did not have to worry about the costs of his care, which are covered by the federal government. Most Americans, including many who carry health coverage, do worry about receiving medical care they cannot afford.

For some Americans, the bills could start mounting with frequent tests. Insurers are generally required to pay for those tests when physicians order them, but not when employers do.

The Trump administration made that clear in June, when it issued guidance stating that insurers do not have to pay for “testing conducted to screen for general workplace health and safety.” Instead, patients need to pay for that type of testing themselves. Some might be able to get free tests at public sites, and some employers may voluntarily cover the costs. Others could face significant medical debt from tests delivered at hospitals or urgent care centers.

COVID tests can be expensive. Although they typically cost $100, one emergency room in Texas has charged as much as $6,408 for a drive-through test. About 2.4% of coronavirus tests billed to insurers leave the patient responsible for some portion of payment, according to the health data firm Castlight. With 108 million tests performed in the United States, that could amount to millions of tests that leave patients responsible for some share of the cost.

Marta Bartan, who works as a hair colorist in New York City, needed a coronavirus test to return to her job this summer. She received a $1,394 bill from the hospital running the drive-through site where she was tested.

“I was so confused,” said Bartan, who is contesting the bill. “You go in to get a COVID test expecting it to be free. What could they have possibly charged me $1,400 for?”

The bills for the typical American would continue at the hospital, with the routine monitoring that any patient would receive and the drugs provided in the course of care.

Remdesivir, a new coronavirus treatment created by Gilead, costs $3,120 when purchased by private insurers and $2,340 with public programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Trump also received an experimental antibody treatment from Regeneron. It’s currently available to clinical trial participants or to those granted a “compassionate use” exemption. In either situation, the drug would typically be provided to the patient at no charge. This will most likely change, however, when the treatment finishes trials and hits the commercial market. These types of drugs are hard to manufacture, and other monoclonal antibodies cost thousands of dollars.

Health economists are only starting to understand the full costs of coronavirus treatment, just as scientists are mapping out how the disease works and spreads. They do have some early estimates: The median charge for a coronavirus hospitalization for a patient over 60 is $61,912, according to a claims database, FAIR Health

That figure includes any medical care during the hospital stay, such as an emergency room visit that led to admission or drugs provided by the hospital.

For insured patients, that price would typically be negotiated lower by their health plan. FAIR Health estimates that the median amount paid is $31,575. That amount, like most things in American health care, varies significantly from one patient to another.

In the FAIR Health data on coronavirus patients over 60, one-quarter face charges less than $26,821 for their hospital stay. Another quarter face charges higher than $193,149, in part because of longer stays.

Many, but not all, health insurers have said they will not apply copayments or deductibles to patients’ coronavirus hospital stays, which could help shield patients from large bills.

Uninsured patients, however, could be stuck with the entire hospital charges and not receive any discounts. While the Trump administration did set up a fund to cover coronavirus testing and treatment costs for the uninsured, The New York Times has reported that some Americans without health insurance have received large bills for their hospital stays.

The biggest billing risk for a patient receiving treatment similar to Trump’s would probably come from helicopter rides to the hospital.

Air ambulances are expensive and often not in major health insurance plans’ networks. The median charge for an air ambulance is $38,770, according to a study in the journal Health Affairs published this year. When the helicopter trip is out of network — as about three-quarters of them are — patients are left with a median charge of $21,698 after the insurance payout.

Taking two helicopter rides, as Trump did, could plausibly result in more than $40,000 in medical debt for patients without access to their own aircraft (though of course most people do not leave the hospital by helicopter).

The financial consequences of a coronavirus hospitalization could be long-lasting, if a new Supreme Court challenge to the Affordable Care Act is successful. That case argues that all of Obamacare is unconstitutional, including the health law’s protections for preexisting conditions. The administration filed a brief in June supporting the challenge.

The Supreme Court hears that case on Nov. 10. If the challenge succeeds, COVID-19 could join a long list of preexisting conditions that would leave patients facing higher premiums or denials of coverage. In that case, coronavirus survivors could face a future in which their hospital stays increase their health costs for years to come.

President Donald Trump spent three days in the hospital. He arrived and left by helicopter. And he received multiple coronavirus tests, oxygen, steroids and an experimental antibody treatment.

President Donald Trump spent three days in the hospital. He arrived and left by helicopter. And he received multiple coronavirus tests, oxygen, steroids and an experimental antibody treatment. For someone who isn’t president, that would cost more than $100,000 in the American health system. Patients could face significant surprise bills and medical debt even after health insurance paid its share. The biggest financial risks would come not from the hospital stay but from the services provided elsewhere, including helicopter transit and repeated coronavirus testing. Trump has praised the high quality of care he received at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and has played down the risk of the virus. “Don’t be afraid of Covid,” Trump tweeted on Monday, before returning to the White House. “Don’t let it dominate your life.” Across the country, patients have struggled with both the long-term health and financial effects of contracting coronavirus. Nearly half a million have been hospitalized. Routine tests can result in thousands of dollars in uncovered charges; hospitalized patients have received bills upward of $400,000. Trump did not have to worry about the costs of his care, which are covered by the federal government. Most Americans, including many who carry health coverage, do worry about receiving medical care they cannot afford. For some Americans, the bills could start mounting with frequent tests. Insurers are generally required to pay for those tests when physicians order them, but not when employers do. The Trump administration made that clear in June, when it issued guidance stating that insurers do not have to pay for “testing conducted to screen for general workplace health and safety.” Instead, patients need to pay for that type of testing themselves. Some might be able to get free tests at public sites, and some employers may voluntarily cover the costs. Others could face significant medical debt from tests delivered at hospitals or urgent care centers. COVID tests can be expensive. Although they typically cost $100, one emergency room in Texas has charged as much as $6,408 for a drive-through test. About 2.4% of coronavirus tests billed to insurers leave the patient responsible for some portion of payment, according to the health data firm Castlight. With 108 million tests performed in the United States, that could amount to millions of tests that leave patients responsible for some share of the cost. Marta Bartan, who works as a hair colorist in New York City, needed a coronavirus test to return to her job this summer. She received a $1,394 bill from the hospital running the drive-through site where she was tested. “I was so confused,” said Bartan, who is contesting the bill. “You go in to get a COVID test expecting it to be free. What could they have possibly charged me $1,400 for?” The bills for the typical American would continue at the hospital, with the routine monitoring that any patient would receive and the drugs provided in the course of care. Remdesivir, a new coronavirus treatment created by Gilead, costs $3,120 when purchased by private insurers and $2,340 with public programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Trump also received an experimental antibody treatment from Regeneron. It’s currently available to clinical trial participants or to those granted a “compassionate use” exemption. In either situation, the drug would typically be provided to the patient at no charge. This will most likely change, however, when the treatment finishes trials and hits the commercial market. These types of drugs are hard to manufacture, and other monoclonal antibodies cost thousands of dollars. Health economists are only starting to understand the full costs of coronavirus treatment, just as scientists are mapping out how the disease works and spreads. They do have some early estimates: The median charge for a coronavirus hospitalization for a patient over 60 is $61,912, according to a claims database, FAIR Health That figure includes any medical care during the hospital stay, such as an emergency room visit that led to admission or drugs provided by the hospital. For insured patients, that price would typically be negotiated lower by their health plan. FAIR Health estimates that the median amount paid is $31,575. That amount, like most things in American health care, varies significantly from one patient to another. In the FAIR Health data on coronavirus patients over 60, one-quarter face charges less than $26,821 for their hospital stay. Another quarter face charges higher than $193,149, in part because of longer stays. Many, but not all, health insurers have said they will not apply copayments or deductibles to patients’ coronavirus hospital stays, which could help shield patients from large bills. Uninsured patients, however, could be stuck with the entire hospital charges and not receive any discounts. While the Trump administration did set up a fund to cover coronavirus testing and treatment costs for the uninsured, The New York Times has reported that some Americans without health insurance have received large bills for their hospital stays. The biggest billing risk for a patient receiving treatment similar to Trump’s would probably come from helicopter rides to the hospital. Air ambulances are expensive and often not in major health insurance plans’ networks. The median charge for an air ambulance is $38,770, according to a study in the journal Health Affairs published this year. When the helicopter trip is out of network — as about three-quarters of them are — patients are left with a median charge of $21,698 after the insurance payout. Taking two helicopter rides, as Trump did, could plausibly result in more than $40,000 in medical debt for patients without access to their own aircraft (though of course most people do not leave the hospital by helicopter). The financial consequences of a coronavirus hospitalization could be long-lasting, if a new Supreme Court challenge to the Affordable Care Act is successful. That case argues that all of Obamacare is unconstitutional, including the health law’s protections for preexisting conditions. The administration filed a brief in June supporting the challenge. The Supreme Court hears that case on Nov. 10. If the challenge succeeds, COVID-19 could join a long list of preexisting conditions that would leave patients facing higher premiums or denials of coverage. In that case, coronavirus survivors could face a future in which their hospital stays increase their health costs for years to come.

How much would Trump’s coronavirus treatment cost most Americans?

The Trump administration on Thursday targetted 18 Iranian banks to shut the country global banking system just weeks ahead of the US elections.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iranian-president-accuses-us-of-savagery-after-new-sanctions-330495">Also Read:&nbsp;Iranian president accuses US of savagery after new sanctions</a>

"Our sanctions programs will continue until Iran stops its support of terrorist activities and ends its nuclear programs," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

However, the US government declared that it was exempting transactions in humanitarian goods amid the coronavirus crisis.

The US government has given the banks 45 days to wind down operations. The move comes as the Trump government continues to squeeze Iran after walking out of the Iran nuclear deal two years ago which was brokered by former President Barack Obama.

The latest sanctions have been aimed to stop Iran from using the financial system to fund the nuclear programme and "malign regional influence", it said, without going into specific details.&nbsp;

President Hassan Rouhani had said earlier that the country was going through the toughest year due to US sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic as the country's oil exports plunged to a new low amid the embargo.

The US government has targeted several sectors of the Iranian economy in a bid to apply "maximum pressure" on the Rouhani government.

The Trump administration on Thursday targetted 18 Iranian banks to shut the country global banking system just weeks ahead of the US elections. Also Read: Iranian president accuses US of savagery after new sanctions "Our sanctions programs will continue until Iran stops its support of terrorist activities and ends its nuclear programs," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

The Trump administration on Thursday targetted 18 Iranian banks to shut the country global banking system just weeks ahead of the US elections. Also Read: Iranian president accuses US of savagery after new sanctions "Our sanctions programs will continue until Iran stops its support of terrorist activities and ends its nuclear programs," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. However, the US government declared that it was exempting transactions in humanitarian goods amid the coronavirus crisis. The US government has given the banks 45 days to wind down operations. The move comes as the Trump government continues to squeeze Iran after walking out of the Iran nuclear deal two years ago which was brokered by former President Barack Obama. The latest sanctions have been aimed to stop Iran from using the financial system to fund the nuclear programme and "malign regional influence", it said, without going into specific details. President Hassan Rouhani had said earlier that the country was going through the toughest year due to US sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic as the country's oil exports plunged to a new low amid the embargo. The US government has targeted several sectors of the Iranian economy in a bid to apply "maximum pressure" on the Rouhani government.

Trump administration targets Iran's financial sector, sanctions major banks

WHO reports record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases, up over 338,000.

The World Health Organization on Thursday reported record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases with 338,779 in 24 hours.

Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/your-story-more-than-5-million-covid-19-cases-in-brazil-records-nearly-150000-deaths-333575/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The biggest increase reported were from the United States, Brazil and India. The UN health body recorded 5,514 fatalities with the death toll due to the virus climbing to 1.05 million.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/european-governments-impose-new-restrictions-amid-surge-in-coronavirus-cases-333584">Also Read:&nbsp;European governments impose new restrictions amid surge in coronavirus cases</a>

The WHO had earlier warned European countries of&nbsp;"pandemic fatigue" which threatened to derail efforts to contain the virus as the continent experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases.

"Although fatigue is measured in different ways, and levels vary per country, it is now estimated to have reached over 60 per cent in some cases," WHO Europe director Dr Hans Kluge said while adding that people had made huge sacrifices to combat the virus in the past eight months.

"In such circumstances it is easy and natural to feel apathetic and demotivated, to experience fatigue," Kluge said.

The European region including Russia has over 6.2 COVID-19 million cases and nearly 241,000 fatalities so far.&nbsp;

Kluge called European nations to uncover "new and innovative ways" to combat the virus amid a surge in cases. Several countries including France and Spain are experiencing a second wave with authorities clamping down on cafes and bars and imposing new restrictions on people's movements.

France on Saturday reported nearly 17,000 new coronavirus cases as Europe continued to grapple with the virus.

WHO reports record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases, up over 338,000. The World Health Organization on Thursday reported record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases with 338,779 in 24 hours.

WHO reports record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases, up over 338,000. The World Health Organization on Thursday reported record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases with 338,779 in 24 hours. Watch: The biggest increase reported were from the United States, Brazil and India. The UN health body recorded 5,514 fatalities with the death toll due to the virus climbing to 1.05 million. Also Read: European governments impose new restrictions amid surge in coronavirus cases The WHO had earlier warned European countries of "pandemic fatigue" which threatened to derail efforts to contain the virus as the continent experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases. "Although fatigue is measured in different ways, and levels vary per country, it is now estimated to have reached over 60 per cent in some cases," WHO Europe director Dr Hans Kluge said while adding that people had made huge sacrifices to combat the virus in the past eight months. "In such circumstances it is easy and natural to feel apathetic and demotivated, to experience fatigue," Kluge said. The European region including Russia has over 6.2 COVID-19 million cases and nearly 241,000 fatalities so far. Kluge called European nations to uncover "new and innovative ways" to combat the virus amid a surge in cases. Several countries including France and Spain are experiencing a second wave with authorities clamping down on cafes and bars and imposing new restrictions on people's movements. France on Saturday reported nearly 17,000 new coronavirus cases as Europe continued to grapple with the virus.

WHO records biggest one-day increase in global coronavirus cases as Europe grapples with virus

Union Minister and LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan,74, passed away on Thursday, his son Chirag Paswan announced today.

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पापा....अब आप इस दुनिया में नहीं हैं लेकिन मुझे पता है आप जहां भी हैं हमेशा मेरे साथ हैं। 
Miss you Papa... <a href="https://t.co/Qc9wF6Jl6Z">pic.twitter.com/Qc9wF6Jl6Z</a>
— युवा बिहारी चिराग पासवान (@iChiragPaswan) <a href="https://twitter.com/iChiragPaswan/status/1314221533653467137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
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PM Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Home minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis called LJP chief Chirag Paswan and paid their condolences over the demise of Ram Vilas Paswan.

President Ram Nath Kovind while expressing condolences said: "In the demise of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, the nation has lost a visionary leader. He was among the most active and longest-serving members of parliament. He was the voice of the oppressed, and championed the cause of the marginalized."

Union Minister and LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan,74, passed away on Thursday, his son Chirag Paswan announced today. पापा....अब आप इस दुनिया में नहीं हैं लेकिन मुझे पता है आप जहां भी हैं हमेशा मेरे साथ हैं।

Union Minister and LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan,74, passed away on Thursday, his son Chirag Paswan announced today. पापा....अब आप इस दुनिया में नहीं हैं लेकिन मुझे पता है आप जहां भी हैं हमेशा मेरे साथ हैं। Miss you Papa... pic.twitter.com/Qc9wF6Jl6Z — युवा बिहारी चिराग पासवान (@iChiragPaswan) October 8, 2020 × PM Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Home minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis called LJP chief Chirag Paswan and paid their condolences over the demise of Ram Vilas Paswan. President Ram Nath Kovind while expressing condolences said: "In the demise of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, the nation has lost a visionary leader. He was among the most active and longest-serving members of parliament. He was the voice of the oppressed, and championed the cause of the marginalized."

Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan passes away

The coronavirus outbreak has surged across Europe as governments prepare to renew some lockdown measures as the continent hit six million coronavirus cases.

Watch:

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In Belgium's capital Brussels the government has decided to shut bars and cafes for a month. In Paris, "maximum" alert is already in place since Monday even as Germany reported "worrying jump" in coronavirus cases as cases touched &nbsp;4,000 per day for the first time since &nbsp;April.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/partial-lockdown-harmful-to-basic-rights-declares-madrid-court-333446">Also Read: Partial lockdown 'harmful to basic rights', declares Madrid court</a>

France reported 18,746 coronavirus cases on Wednesday as the country continued to grapple with the virus even as restrictions were imposed in Marseille and Guadeloupe. Health minister Olivier Veran indicated that new tighter rules will be imposed in other cities.

Italy has made wearing masks outdoor mandatory and extended the state of emergency to January 31.

Meanwhile, Scotland has imposed two-week ban on pubs in &nbsp;Glasgow and Edinburgh. Amid the virus surge, British PM Boris Johnson while responding to a question in British parliament said that that UK's "freedom-loving" nature made it difficult to keep the virus rates low as compared to other European countries.

"Actually there is an important difference between our country and many other countries around the world, and that is our country is a freedom-loving country," Johnson said.

PM Johnson asserted that the "continual attacks on local test and trace" was "undermining and unnecessary".

Switzerland reported 1,000 coronavirus cases in 24 hours for the first time since April 1 with Spain, France and Britain the worst affected due to the virus. 
&nbsp;

The coronavirus outbreak has surged across Europe as governments prepare to renew some lockdown measures as the continent hit six million coronavirus cases. Watch: In Belgium's capital Brussels the government has decided to shut bars and cafes for a month.

The coronavirus outbreak has surged across Europe as governments prepare to renew some lockdown measures as the continent hit six million coronavirus cases. Watch: In Belgium's capital Brussels the government has decided to shut bars and cafes for a month. In Paris, "maximum" alert is already in place since Monday even as Germany reported "worrying jump" in coronavirus cases as cases touched 4,000 per day for the first time since April. Also Read: Partial lockdown 'harmful to basic rights', declares Madrid court France reported 18,746 coronavirus cases on Wednesday as the country continued to grapple with the virus even as restrictions were imposed in Marseille and Guadeloupe. Health minister Olivier Veran indicated that new tighter rules will be imposed in other cities. Italy has made wearing masks outdoor mandatory and extended the state of emergency to January 31. Meanwhile, Scotland has imposed two-week ban on pubs in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Amid the virus surge, British PM Boris Johnson while responding to a question in British parliament said that that UK's "freedom-loving" nature made it difficult to keep the virus rates low as compared to other European countries. "Actually there is an important difference between our country and many other countries around the world, and that is our country is a freedom-loving country," Johnson said. PM Johnson asserted that the "continual attacks on local test and trace" was "undermining and unnecessary". Switzerland reported 1,000 coronavirus cases in 24 hours for the first time since April 1 with Spain, France and Britain the worst affected due to the virus.

European governments impose new restrictions amid surge in coronavirus cases

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — As college leaders deliberated whether to bring students back to campus, none led the charge for reopening more forcefully than the president of the University of Notre Dame.

The Rev. John I. Jenkins, the university’s president and a 66-year-old Catholic priest with degrees in philosophy and divinity, was among the first to invite students back for dorm life, intercollegiate sports and face-to-face classes, arguing in a New York Times op-ed in May that the college had a moral obligation to not be crippled by fear. He also seemed humble about the challenge: When he forgot social distancing rules as he posed for pictures with students returning to campus in August, he issued a public apology.

But all the humility in the world might not have spared Jenkins from the storm of protest he now faces over the latest news from South Bend: that he not only violated his own health rules — appearing without a mask at a White House reception last month for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a Supreme Court nominee and former Notre Dame Law School professor — but also is infected with the coronavirus himself.

Students have petitioned for his resignation, angry over what they consider his hypocrisy as well as the rising tide of infections on campus. Others have reported him to a coronavirus hotline for violating his own mask mandate. The student newspaper called the affair “embarrassing” in an editorial. And the faculty senate stopped one vote short Tuesday night of considering a vote of no confidence in his leadership.

“I haven’t seen people this outraged in my whole career and I’ve been here since 2001,” Eileen Hunt Botting, a political science professor, said.

Neither Jenkins nor the school spokesman, Paul Browne, responded to requests for comment.

“I regret my error of judgment in not wearing a mask during the ceremony and by shaking hands with a number of people in the Rose Garden,” the school president said in a statement posted last week on the Notre Dame website. “I failed to lead by example, at a time when I’ve asked everyone else in the Notre Dame community to do so.”

In a follow-up email to students and faculty Friday announcing that he had tested positive for the virus, Jenkins and the school’s communications staff wrote that he had been tested after learning that “a colleague with whom he has been in regular contact” had the virus.

In a Zoom meeting Tuesday night, the faculty senate voted 21-20 after raucous debate to postpone the proposed no-confidence vote while they gathered more feedback. A second motion to consider commending the president, who was not in attendance, was also postponed, overwhelmingly.

Comments from faculty members distributed at the meeting included expressions of empathy for Jenkins, who is certainly not the first college president to get the virus.

“Father Jenkins is already sick,” one faculty member wrote. “That is enough punishment.”

But many others bristled with resentment that he visited Washington when their own travel has been forbidden.

“I have not seen my aging parents in over a year,” one faculty member said. Others said they had canceled research trips and vacations. One had missed the birth of a first grandchild.

In an interview, Hunt Botting, who is not a member of the faculty senate, said Jenkins had not only failed to practice what he preached, but also opened Notre Dame’s reputation to political exploitation by seeming to endorse both President Donald Trump’s court nomination and his resistance to face masks.

“This calls into question not only his ability to carry out rules he imposed on faculty, staff and students but also his ability to steer clear of overtly politicized events such as the one at the Rose Garden,” she said.

A petition calling for Jenkins’ resignation and signed by more than 200 students was rejected last week by the student government. But Ashton Weber, a 20-year-old economics major who drafted the petition, said she planned to revive and circulate it among faculty, staff and parents.

“I do recognize that having a professor and alumna nominated to the highest court in the United States is a really big honor, but there’s completely a double standard,” Weber said. “Students have been dismissed for this type of thing.”

About 770 Notre Dame students on the 12,700-student campus have tested positive for the virus this semester, according to the campus dashboard. An internal federal government report from last month showed surrounding St. Joseph County as being a major coronavirus hot spot, citing returning Notre Dame students as a possible source of community infection.

Notre Dame required students returning to campus to be tested for the coronavirus before the start of the semester in early August, and then to make themselves available along with faculty and staff for random surveillance testing, regardless of symptoms. Athletes were also tested regularly under NCAA rules. Masks have been mandatory on campus, indoors and outdoors.

But the university’s health protocols still fell short of the rigorous testing, tracing and isolation standards recommended by experts. Many students also found the rules imposed by Notre Dame unsustainable. Cases surged so steeply in mid-August that the school switched for two weeks to all-remote instruction, ordered students to stay in their residences and threatened to send violators home.

Last month, an outbreak on the football team left dozens of players infected or sidelined in quarantine and prompted Notre Dame to postpone a game that had been scheduled for Sept. 26, the day Jenkins went to the White House.

In his message last week, Jenkins — who faced criticism from conservatives in 2009 for inviting President Barack Obama to deliver the commencement address — said he felt compelled to attend “to support a faculty colleague and alumna of Notre Dame who is greatly respected by academic and judicial peers, revered by her students and cherished by her friends.”

When he arrived at the White House, Jenkins said, he was given a rapid-results nasal swab test and directed to wait, masked, until negative test results cleared him. From there, he was escorted to the Rose Garden, where administration officials, supporters of Trump and friends of Barrett had gathered to cheer her nomination.

Photographs show Jenkins seated between Franklin Graham, the evangelical leader, and G. Marcus Cole, dean of the Notre Dame Law School. No one around them is wearing a mask except Cole. Following the Rose Garden event, Jenkins attended a reception in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, where photographs also show that he did not wear a mask.

Since then, a growing list of attendees have confirmed testing positive for the virus, including Trump; the first lady, Melania Trump; Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina; Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey; Kellyanne Conway, a former counselor to the president; and Greg Laurie, a California megachurch pastor.

Cole did not respond to a request for comment. At least 10 Notre Dame faculty members besides Jenkins attended the event and all except him have repeatedly tested negative for the coronavirus since returning to South Bend, according to two members of the delegation who asked that their names not be used, citing campus backlash.

The decision not to wear a mask, the faculty members said, stemmed not from politics but from a desire to politely blend in, as a guest at a cocktail party might remove a tie upon realizing everyone else was dressed in business casual. And they are regretful.

“In the light of the reactions and publicity and fallout for the university as a whole,” said one faculty member, “I do wish the whole thing had played out differently.”

On Tuesday, as the campus counted down to this weekend’s football game with Florida State — whose own president has tested positive for the virus — masks were ubiquitous. Outside the library, under the school’s famed and towering mural of Jesus Christ surrounded by apostles and scholars, jugs of hand sanitizer and socially distanced Adirondack chairs studded the lawn.

Maggie Horan, 21, and Clarissa Younkle, 22, said the school’s pandemic restrictions had scuttled their plans for spring and fall breaks.

“They have highly discouraged leaving St. Joseph County for any reason, except for pretty much a sick or dying relative,” said Horan, an international economics and political science major from Los Gatos, California.

Younkle, a biochemistry major from Green Bay, Wisconsin, noted that under campus rules, a single negative rapid test is not enough to clear an exposed student from isolation. But Jenkins, she said, “used that as justification to go to this event and contradicted the policies that we’re being held to — it’s not fair.”

Colin Whitehead, 25, a graduate student in theology from Walled Lake, Michigan, said that when his brother got married over the summer, he felt he should wear a mask, even during the wedding photos.

“But it was just so hard to keep it on when nobody was wearing one,” he said.

So did he approve of Jenkins’ conduct?

“Probably not,” he said. “But I really empathize with him.”

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — As college leaders deliberated whether to bring students back to campus, none led the charge for reopening more forcefully than the president of the University of Notre Dame.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — As college leaders deliberated whether to bring students back to campus, none led the charge for reopening more forcefully than the president of the University of Notre Dame. The Rev. John I. Jenkins, the university’s president and a 66-year-old Catholic priest with degrees in philosophy and divinity, was among the first to invite students back for dorm life, intercollegiate sports and face-to-face classes, arguing in a New York Times op-ed in May that the college had a moral obligation to not be crippled by fear. He also seemed humble about the challenge: When he forgot social distancing rules as he posed for pictures with students returning to campus in August, he issued a public apology. But all the humility in the world might not have spared Jenkins from the storm of protest he now faces over the latest news from South Bend: that he not only violated his own health rules — appearing without a mask at a White House reception last month for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a Supreme Court nominee and former Notre Dame Law School professor — but also is infected with the coronavirus himself. Students have petitioned for his resignation, angry over what they consider his hypocrisy as well as the rising tide of infections on campus. Others have reported him to a coronavirus hotline for violating his own mask mandate. The student newspaper called the affair “embarrassing” in an editorial. And the faculty senate stopped one vote short Tuesday night of considering a vote of no confidence in his leadership. “I haven’t seen people this outraged in my whole career and I’ve been here since 2001,” Eileen Hunt Botting, a political science professor, said. Neither Jenkins nor the school spokesman, Paul Browne, responded to requests for comment. “I regret my error of judgment in not wearing a mask during the ceremony and by shaking hands with a number of people in the Rose Garden,” the school president said in a statement posted last week on the Notre Dame website. “I failed to lead by example, at a time when I’ve asked everyone else in the Notre Dame community to do so.” In a follow-up email to students and faculty Friday announcing that he had tested positive for the virus, Jenkins and the school’s communications staff wrote that he had been tested after learning that “a colleague with whom he has been in regular contact” had the virus. In a Zoom meeting Tuesday night, the faculty senate voted 21-20 after raucous debate to postpone the proposed no-confidence vote while they gathered more feedback. A second motion to consider commending the president, who was not in attendance, was also postponed, overwhelmingly. Comments from faculty members distributed at the meeting included expressions of empathy for Jenkins, who is certainly not the first college president to get the virus. “Father Jenkins is already sick,” one faculty member wrote. “That is enough punishment.” But many others bristled with resentment that he visited Washington when their own travel has been forbidden. “I have not seen my aging parents in over a year,” one faculty member said. Others said they had canceled research trips and vacations. One had missed the birth of a first grandchild. In an interview, Hunt Botting, who is not a member of the faculty senate, said Jenkins had not only failed to practice what he preached, but also opened Notre Dame’s reputation to political exploitation by seeming to endorse both President Donald Trump’s court nomination and his resistance to face masks. “This calls into question not only his ability to carry out rules he imposed on faculty, staff and students but also his ability to steer clear of overtly politicized events such as the one at the Rose Garden,” she said. A petition calling for Jenkins’ resignation and signed by more than 200 students was rejected last week by the student government. But Ashton Weber, a 20-year-old economics major who drafted the petition, said she planned to revive and circulate it among faculty, staff and parents. “I do recognize that having a professor and alumna nominated to the highest court in the United States is a really big honor, but there’s completely a double standard,” Weber said. “Students have been dismissed for this type of thing.” About 770 Notre Dame students on the 12,700-student campus have tested positive for the virus this semester, according to the campus dashboard. An internal federal government report from last month showed surrounding St. Joseph County as being a major coronavirus hot spot, citing returning Notre Dame students as a possible source of community infection. Notre Dame required students returning to campus to be tested for the coronavirus before the start of the semester in early August, and then to make themselves available along with faculty and staff for random surveillance testing, regardless of symptoms. Athletes were also tested regularly under NCAA rules. Masks have been mandatory on campus, indoors and outdoors. But the university’s health protocols still fell short of the rigorous testing, tracing and isolation standards recommended by experts. Many students also found the rules imposed by Notre Dame unsustainable. Cases surged so steeply in mid-August that the school switched for two weeks to all-remote instruction, ordered students to stay in their residences and threatened to send violators home. Last month, an outbreak on the football team left dozens of players infected or sidelined in quarantine and prompted Notre Dame to postpone a game that had been scheduled for Sept. 26, the day Jenkins went to the White House. In his message last week, Jenkins — who faced criticism from conservatives in 2009 for inviting President Barack Obama to deliver the commencement address — said he felt compelled to attend “to support a faculty colleague and alumna of Notre Dame who is greatly respected by academic and judicial peers, revered by her students and cherished by her friends.” When he arrived at the White House, Jenkins said, he was given a rapid-results nasal swab test and directed to wait, masked, until negative test results cleared him. From there, he was escorted to the Rose Garden, where administration officials, supporters of Trump and friends of Barrett had gathered to cheer her nomination. Photographs show Jenkins seated between Franklin Graham, the evangelical leader, and G. Marcus Cole, dean of the Notre Dame Law School. No one around them is wearing a mask except Cole. Following the Rose Garden event, Jenkins attended a reception in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, where photographs also show that he did not wear a mask. Since then, a growing list of attendees have confirmed testing positive for the virus, including Trump; the first lady, Melania Trump; Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina; Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey; Kellyanne Conway, a former counselor to the president; and Greg Laurie, a California megachurch pastor. Cole did not respond to a request for comment. At least 10 Notre Dame faculty members besides Jenkins attended the event and all except him have repeatedly tested negative for the coronavirus since returning to South Bend, according to two members of the delegation who asked that their names not be used, citing campus backlash. The decision not to wear a mask, the faculty members said, stemmed not from politics but from a desire to politely blend in, as a guest at a cocktail party might remove a tie upon realizing everyone else was dressed in business casual. And they are regretful. “In the light of the reactions and publicity and fallout for the university as a whole,” said one faculty member, “I do wish the whole thing had played out differently.” On Tuesday, as the campus counted down to this weekend’s football game with Florida State — whose own president has tested positive for the virus — masks were ubiquitous. Outside the library, under the school’s famed and towering mural of Jesus Christ surrounded by apostles and scholars, jugs of hand sanitizer and socially distanced Adirondack chairs studded the lawn. Maggie Horan, 21, and Clarissa Younkle, 22, said the school’s pandemic restrictions had scuttled their plans for spring and fall breaks. “They have highly discouraged leaving St. Joseph County for any reason, except for pretty much a sick or dying relative,” said Horan, an international economics and political science major from Los Gatos, California. Younkle, a biochemistry major from Green Bay, Wisconsin, noted that under campus rules, a single negative rapid test is not enough to clear an exposed student from isolation. But Jenkins, she said, “used that as justification to go to this event and contradicted the policies that we’re being held to — it’s not fair.” Colin Whitehead, 25, a graduate student in theology from Walled Lake, Michigan, said that when his brother got married over the summer, he felt he should wear a mask, even during the wedding photos. “But it was just so hard to keep it on when nobody was wearing one,” he said. So did he approve of Jenkins’ conduct? “Probably not,” he said. “But I really empathize with him.”

Notre Dame’s president faces an angry campus after getting the coronavirus

YEREVAN, Armenia — In Russia’s self-proclaimed sphere of influence, Russia is losing its influence.

Concurrent crises in Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus region have blindsided the Kremlin, leaving it scrambling to shore up Russian interests in former Soviet republics and undermining President Vladimir Putin’s image as a master tactician on the world stage.

“There is nothing good about these conflicts for Moscow,” Konstantin Zatulin, a senior Russian lawmaker and Putin ally who specializes in relations with what Russians call their “near abroad.”

Putin has spent years building up Russia as a global power, with a hand in hot spots from Latin America to the Middle East, and even meddling in presidential elections in the United States. But after working for years to destabilize the West, he suddenly finds himself surrounded by instability; once seen as sure-handed in foreign affairs, he seems to have lost his touch.

In Belarus, Putin responded to a street uprising in August by propping up the country’s unpopular autocrat, President Alexander Lukashenko, turning public opinion against Russia in what had previously been Europe’s most Russia-friendly country.

In Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, protesters this week appeared on the verge of toppling President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, less than two weeks after Putin pledged to him in a rare in-person meeting that “we will do everything to support you as the head of state.”

And in the Caucasus, the long-simmering conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh erupted last week into the worst fighting since the 1990s, threatening to undo the balancing act that had allowed Russia to cultivate diverse links to the region.

“Russia was doing all it could to maintain ties both with Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Zatulin said. “Every day of conflict in Karabakh is, effectively, helping zero out Russia’s authority.”

The spate of new challenges to Russian influence strikes at the heart of Putin’s yearslong effort to cast himself as the leader who restored the great-power status that the nation lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Even as the Kremlin denied Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Russian state television gleefully reported on the American allegations of that interference as a sign that Moscow was being reckoned with again on the world stage.

Now, rather than react decisively to emergencies close to home, Putin sounds ambivalent about Russia’s role.

“We hope the conflict will end very soon,” he said of Nagorno-Karabakh, in a television interview broadcast Wednesday. Minutes later, referring to Kyrgyzstan, he said, “We hope that everything will be peaceful.”

The confluence of crises in Russia’s own neighborhood is such that some pro-Kremlin commentators are already accusing the West of an organized campaign to sow discord in the post-Soviet regions.

More balanced analysts, however, have singled out one constant factor in the growing unrest. Both Russia and its neighbors, they say, have been destabilized by the coronavirus pandemic, which has exposed distrust in institutions and in out-of-touch leaders across the region.

It helped undo the fragile truce between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and in Belarus and in Kyrgyzstan, the disease set the stage for public uprisings by exposing the ruling elite as disconnected from people’s suffering.

Lukashenko angered Belarusians by playing down the danger of the virus, joking that vodka would cure it; in Kyrgyzstan, critics blamed officials for using coronavirus aid money to enrich themselves.

Within Russia, the economic hardship caused by the pandemic has helped deepen public anger against Putin. In the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk, for example, thousands of protesters angry over the arrest of a popular governor spilled into the streets last Saturday for the 13th week in a row.

Some analysts say that public discontent within Russia means that Putin needs to turn more of his focus to domestic issues such as economy hardship, pollution and poor health care, rather than delving into global geopolitics. But developments in recent weeks have given Putin more reason to focus on the latter.

“For Putin, practically his entire mission and his vision of Russian greatness and success revolve around his foreign-policy agenda,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Moscow Center, a research organization focused on politics and policy. The new series of crises, she went on, “will very much distract Putin from domestic problems.”

The centrality of the former Soviet lands to Putin’s foreign policy was evident in the Kremlin’s list of world leaders who called Putin to wish him a happy birthday on Wednesday, when he turned 68. Of the 12 who called, only three leaders — those of Israel, India and Cuba — head countries outside the former Soviet Union.

In Armenia, which hosts a Russian military base, some hope for a more forceful stance by Russia in the conflict, which has already killed at least 250 people, according to official reports. But Russia’s ability to influence events in the Caucasus now appears limited, despite its past role as a mediator in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Turkey, Azerbaijan’s most important ally, has taken on a more assertive regional stance.

“Turkey, indeed, in this current situation probably should be considered as a balance to unilateral Russian interference,” said Farid Shafiyev, chairman of the Center of Analysis of International Relations in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku. In the Caucasus, he added, “the Russian role is probably diminishing.”

Across the former Soviet Union, Russian remains the lingua franca, and the proliferation of mostly uncensored internet access across the region means that protests in one country can easily inspire a disenchanted populace in another.

Some protesters in Belarus carried signs supporting the demonstrations in Khabarovsk, over 4,000 miles away. And ahead of Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary elections last Sunday, government critics were keeping an eye on Belarus, where it was a blatantly falsified election in August that sparked the uprising against Lukashenko.

 
“In Kyrgyzstan it was often said that we will copy the Belarusians,” said Aybek Sultangaziyev, director of a news agency in Kyrgyzstan, K-News. “In fact, we surpassed the Belarusians in effectiveness and precision.”

Sultangaziyev said that if his country’s uprising succeeds, the new leadership will seek to maintain close ties with Moscow. In Armenia, too, the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan retained its alliance with Russia after the prime minister came to power in a popular uprising in 2018.

“We have never been pro-Western or pro-Eastern,” said Ruben Rubinyan, head of the foreign affairs committee in the Armenian Parliament. “Russia has been and is an ally of Armenia, a very important ally.”

 
But, for Moscow, recent events in Belarus offer a cautionary tale that illustrates the fragility of Russia’s standing among its neighbors — carrying echoes of Ukraine’s more violent departure from Russia’s orbit in 2014. Some Belarusians who had been well disposed toward Putin turned against him after he propped up Lukashenko in the face of the protests.

Zatulin, the Russian lawmaker, said officials “at the highest levels of the Russian Federation” believed that Lukashenko would need to step down “sooner or later.” But Lukashenko had argued to Russian officials, Zatulin said, that his stepping down in the face of street protests could set a dangerous precedent for what might happen to Putin himself.

“By unconditionally supporting Lukashenko, we are creating an enormous problem for ourselves in the future with the majority or a significant part of the Belarusian population,” Zatulin said. “We are creating a problem for ourselves with the other Belarusian politicians and public figures, who are increasingly forced to seek sympathy in the West. Russia wants that least of all.”

YEREVAN, Armenia — In Russia’s self-proclaimed sphere of influence, Russia is losing its influence. Concurrent crises in Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus region have blindsided the Kremlin, leaving it scrambling to shore up Russian interests in former Soviet republics and undermining President Vladimir Putin’s image as a master tactician on the world stage.

YEREVAN, Armenia — In Russia’s self-proclaimed sphere of influence, Russia is losing its influence. Concurrent crises in Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus region have blindsided the Kremlin, leaving it scrambling to shore up Russian interests in former Soviet republics and undermining President Vladimir Putin’s image as a master tactician on the world stage. “There is nothing good about these conflicts for Moscow,” Konstantin Zatulin, a senior Russian lawmaker and Putin ally who specializes in relations with what Russians call their “near abroad.” Putin has spent years building up Russia as a global power, with a hand in hot spots from Latin America to the Middle East, and even meddling in presidential elections in the United States. But after working for years to destabilize the West, he suddenly finds himself surrounded by instability; once seen as sure-handed in foreign affairs, he seems to have lost his touch. In Belarus, Putin responded to a street uprising in August by propping up the country’s unpopular autocrat, President Alexander Lukashenko, turning public opinion against Russia in what had previously been Europe’s most Russia-friendly country. In Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, protesters this week appeared on the verge of toppling President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, less than two weeks after Putin pledged to him in a rare in-person meeting that “we will do everything to support you as the head of state.” And in the Caucasus, the long-simmering conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh erupted last week into the worst fighting since the 1990s, threatening to undo the balancing act that had allowed Russia to cultivate diverse links to the region. “Russia was doing all it could to maintain ties both with Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Zatulin said. “Every day of conflict in Karabakh is, effectively, helping zero out Russia’s authority.” The spate of new challenges to Russian influence strikes at the heart of Putin’s yearslong effort to cast himself as the leader who restored the great-power status that the nation lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Even as the Kremlin denied Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Russian state television gleefully reported on the American allegations of that interference as a sign that Moscow was being reckoned with again on the world stage. Now, rather than react decisively to emergencies close to home, Putin sounds ambivalent about Russia’s role. “We hope the conflict will end very soon,” he said of Nagorno-Karabakh, in a television interview broadcast Wednesday. Minutes later, referring to Kyrgyzstan, he said, “We hope that everything will be peaceful.” The confluence of crises in Russia’s own neighborhood is such that some pro-Kremlin commentators are already accusing the West of an organized campaign to sow discord in the post-Soviet regions. More balanced analysts, however, have singled out one constant factor in the growing unrest. Both Russia and its neighbors, they say, have been destabilized by the coronavirus pandemic, which has exposed distrust in institutions and in out-of-touch leaders across the region. It helped undo the fragile truce between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and in Belarus and in Kyrgyzstan, the disease set the stage for public uprisings by exposing the ruling elite as disconnected from people’s suffering. Lukashenko angered Belarusians by playing down the danger of the virus, joking that vodka would cure it; in Kyrgyzstan, critics blamed officials for using coronavirus aid money to enrich themselves. Within Russia, the economic hardship caused by the pandemic has helped deepen public anger against Putin. In the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk, for example, thousands of protesters angry over the arrest of a popular governor spilled into the streets last Saturday for the 13th week in a row. Some analysts say that public discontent within Russia means that Putin needs to turn more of his focus to domestic issues such as economy hardship, pollution and poor health care, rather than delving into global geopolitics. But developments in recent weeks have given Putin more reason to focus on the latter. “For Putin, practically his entire mission and his vision of Russian greatness and success revolve around his foreign-policy agenda,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Moscow Center, a research organization focused on politics and policy. The new series of crises, she went on, “will very much distract Putin from domestic problems.” The centrality of the former Soviet lands to Putin’s foreign policy was evident in the Kremlin’s list of world leaders who called Putin to wish him a happy birthday on Wednesday, when he turned 68. Of the 12 who called, only three leaders — those of Israel, India and Cuba — head countries outside the former Soviet Union. In Armenia, which hosts a Russian military base, some hope for a more forceful stance by Russia in the conflict, which has already killed at least 250 people, according to official reports. But Russia’s ability to influence events in the Caucasus now appears limited, despite its past role as a mediator in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Turkey, Azerbaijan’s most important ally, has taken on a more assertive regional stance. “Turkey, indeed, in this current situation probably should be considered as a balance to unilateral Russian interference,” said Farid Shafiyev, chairman of the Center of Analysis of International Relations in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku. In the Caucasus, he added, “the Russian role is probably diminishing.” Across the former Soviet Union, Russian remains the lingua franca, and the proliferation of mostly uncensored internet access across the region means that protests in one country can easily inspire a disenchanted populace in another. Some protesters in Belarus carried signs supporting the demonstrations in Khabarovsk, over 4,000 miles away. And ahead of Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary elections last Sunday, government critics were keeping an eye on Belarus, where it was a blatantly falsified election in August that sparked the uprising against Lukashenko. “In Kyrgyzstan it was often said that we will copy the Belarusians,” said Aybek Sultangaziyev, director of a news agency in Kyrgyzstan, K-News. “In fact, we surpassed the Belarusians in effectiveness and precision.” Sultangaziyev said that if his country’s uprising succeeds, the new leadership will seek to maintain close ties with Moscow. In Armenia, too, the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan retained its alliance with Russia after the prime minister came to power in a popular uprising in 2018. “We have never been pro-Western or pro-Eastern,” said Ruben Rubinyan, head of the foreign affairs committee in the Armenian Parliament. “Russia has been and is an ally of Armenia, a very important ally.” But, for Moscow, recent events in Belarus offer a cautionary tale that illustrates the fragility of Russia’s standing among its neighbors — carrying echoes of Ukraine’s more violent departure from Russia’s orbit in 2014. Some Belarusians who had been well disposed toward Putin turned against him after he propped up Lukashenko in the face of the protests. Zatulin, the Russian lawmaker, said officials “at the highest levels of the Russian Federation” believed that Lukashenko would need to step down “sooner or later.” But Lukashenko had argued to Russian officials, Zatulin said, that his stepping down in the face of street protests could set a dangerous precedent for what might happen to Putin himself. “By unconditionally supporting Lukashenko, we are creating an enormous problem for ourselves in the future with the majority or a significant part of the Belarusian population,” Zatulin said. “We are creating a problem for ourselves with the other Belarusian politicians and public figures, who are increasingly forced to seek sympathy in the West. Russia wants that least of all.”

Putin, long the sower of instability, is now surrounded by it

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the annual "Invest India" conference said that the country has provided medicine to around 150 countries so far while adding that during the March-June period, agricultural exports rose by 23 per cent despite the lockdown.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/indias-gdp-expected-to-contract-by-9-per-cent-this-year-world-bank-333426">Also Read |&nbsp;India's GDP expected to contract by 9 per cent this year: World Bank&nbsp;</a>

"In the post-COVID-19 world, you will often hear of various kinds of problems including manufacturing, supply chains issue, PPE, however, India has not let those problems be. We showed resilience and emerged as a land of solutions," India's prime minister said.

"The India story is strong today and stronger tomorrow. Today, Foreign Direct Investment regime is very well liberalized," PM Modi said, adding,"We have created a friendly tax regime for Sovereign Wealth &amp; Pension Funds. We've undertaken significant reforms for developing a robust bond market."

"India is undergoing a rapid change in mindsets as well as markets. Today, India has embarked on a journey of deregulation and decriminalisation of various offences under the companies act," he said.

The prime minister asserted that reforms have been carried out in the labour and agricultural sector in order to ensure "greater participation of the private sector while strengthening the government’s safety nets."

"These reforms will lead to a win-win situation for entrepreneurs as well as hard-working people," India's prime minister stated. PM Modi said that the reforms in labour laws have reduced the labour codes ensuring it benefits both the employer and employee to facilitate ease of doing business.

The prime minister emphasised on India-Canada bilateral ties while saying that "trade and investment linkages between us are integral to our multi-faceted relationship."

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the annual "Invest India" conference said that the country has provided medicine to around 150 countries so far while adding that during the March-June period, agricultural exports rose by 23 per cent despite the lockdown.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the annual "Invest India" conference said that the country has provided medicine to around 150 countries so far while adding that during the March-June period, agricultural exports rose by 23 per cent despite the lockdown. Also Read | India's GDP expected to contract by 9 per cent this year: World Bank "In the post-COVID-19 world, you will often hear of various kinds of problems including manufacturing, supply chains issue, PPE, however, India has not let those problems be. We showed resilience and emerged as a land of solutions," India's prime minister said. "The India story is strong today and stronger tomorrow. Today, Foreign Direct Investment regime is very well liberalized," PM Modi said, adding,"We have created a friendly tax regime for Sovereign Wealth & Pension Funds. We've undertaken significant reforms for developing a robust bond market." "India is undergoing a rapid change in mindsets as well as markets. Today, India has embarked on a journey of deregulation and decriminalisation of various offences under the companies act," he said. The prime minister asserted that reforms have been carried out in the labour and agricultural sector in order to ensure "greater participation of the private sector while strengthening the government’s safety nets." "These reforms will lead to a win-win situation for entrepreneurs as well as hard-working people," India's prime minister stated. PM Modi said that the reforms in labour laws have reduced the labour codes ensuring it benefits both the employer and employee to facilitate ease of doing business. The prime minister emphasised on India-Canada bilateral ties while saying that "trade and investment linkages between us are integral to our multi-faceted relationship."

India undergoing rapid change in mindsets as well as markets: PM Modi

With 2,726 fresh cases, Delhi's COVID-19 tally crossed the three-lakh mark on Thursday, while the death toll due to the disease mounted to 5,653 with 37 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-declines-proposal-to-test-sputnik-v-covid-19-vaccine-in-large-study-333432">Also Read:&nbsp;India declines proposal to test Sputnik-V COVID-19 vaccine in large study</a>

According to a health bulletin issued by the Delhi government, 53,322 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. The case tally stands at 3,00,833 in the national capital, including 2,72,948 patients who have either been discharged, or have migrated or recovered.

The number of active cases is 22,232, of which 12,890 are in home isolation. The number of COVID-19 containment zones in the city is currently 2,734, the bulletin said.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, with the likelihood of a vaccine against coronavirus being available within months, the government has begun a massive exercise to map out cold chain storage facilities to ensure the vaccine is delivered quickly across the country.

A national expert group is talking to public and private sector entities in the pharmaceutical sector, food processing industry and agro businesses as well as food delivery start-ups such as Swiggy and Zomato to identify cold storages or fridges at the taluka level that can stock and distribute the vaccine, sources with direct knowledge of the discussions said.

A draft scheme for the vaccine distribution is likely to be released around the middle of next week, they said.

At least one domestic and three foreign vaccines are likely to be available to India in the coming months.

Most of the vaccine candidates will require a cold supply chain, with temperatures that can go well below zero degree Celsius, down to -80 degrees Celsius, though most need to be kept at between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius.

The sources said that majority of vaccine candidates are in liquid form except a few freeze-dried products. They are to be administered through intramuscular injection/ route and requirement will be a two-dose regimen.

The majority of vaccine candidates would be available in multi-dose vials (2.5, 10, 20, and 50 doses per vial).

An estimation of cold chain space needed for vaccines has been made considering 18 per cent of the population would need to be covered within six months, they said, adding that both the current temperature ranges (+2 to +8 degrees Celsius and -15 to -20 degrees Celsius) have been considered for the scenario to account for adequate storage in either condition.

The Union health ministry has already initiated a cold chain augmentation plan to address the additional cold chain space required for the vaccine.

The sources said there will be a temporary requirement (2-3 months) of surge capacity for large cold storage at the state/ regional level to store and distribute large incoming quantities of the vaccine.

While most of the vaccine products under development require traditional cold chain temperature range (+2 to +8 degrees Celsius and -15 to -20 degrees Celsius), some products might require -60 to -80 degrees Celsius temperature for which support of the private sector which maintains such storage can be sought.

With multiple immunisation sessions getting planned, additional support by increasing the fleet of refrigerated vans to transport vaccines will support the mega immunisation drive, they said.

With 2,726 fresh cases, Delhi's COVID-19 tally crossed the three-lakh mark on Thursday, while the death toll due to the disease mounted to 5,653 with 37 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours.

With 2,726 fresh cases, Delhi's COVID-19 tally crossed the three-lakh mark on Thursday, while the death toll due to the disease mounted to 5,653 with 37 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours. Also Read: India declines proposal to test Sputnik-V COVID-19 vaccine in large study According to a health bulletin issued by the Delhi government, 53,322 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. The case tally stands at 3,00,833 in the national capital, including 2,72,948 patients who have either been discharged, or have migrated or recovered. The number of active cases is 22,232, of which 12,890 are in home isolation. The number of COVID-19 containment zones in the city is currently 2,734, the bulletin said. Meanwhile, with the likelihood of a vaccine against coronavirus being available within months, the government has begun a massive exercise to map out cold chain storage facilities to ensure the vaccine is delivered quickly across the country. A national expert group is talking to public and private sector entities in the pharmaceutical sector, food processing industry and agro businesses as well as food delivery start-ups such as Swiggy and Zomato to identify cold storages or fridges at the taluka level that can stock and distribute the vaccine, sources with direct knowledge of the discussions said. A draft scheme for the vaccine distribution is likely to be released around the middle of next week, they said. At least one domestic and three foreign vaccines are likely to be available to India in the coming months. Most of the vaccine candidates will require a cold supply chain, with temperatures that can go well below zero degree Celsius, down to -80 degrees Celsius, though most need to be kept at between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius. The sources said that majority of vaccine candidates are in liquid form except a few freeze-dried products. They are to be administered through intramuscular injection/ route and requirement will be a two-dose regimen. The majority of vaccine candidates would be available in multi-dose vials (2.5, 10, 20, and 50 doses per vial). An estimation of cold chain space needed for vaccines has been made considering 18 per cent of the population would need to be covered within six months, they said, adding that both the current temperature ranges (+2 to +8 degrees Celsius and -15 to -20 degrees Celsius) have been considered for the scenario to account for adequate storage in either condition. The Union health ministry has already initiated a cold chain augmentation plan to address the additional cold chain space required for the vaccine. The sources said there will be a temporary requirement (2-3 months) of surge capacity for large cold storage at the state/ regional level to store and distribute large incoming quantities of the vaccine. While most of the vaccine products under development require traditional cold chain temperature range (+2 to +8 degrees Celsius and -15 to -20 degrees Celsius), some products might require -60 to -80 degrees Celsius temperature for which support of the private sector which maintains such storage can be sought. With multiple immunisation sessions getting planned, additional support by increasing the fleet of refrigerated vans to transport vaccines will support the mega immunisation drive, they said.

Coronavirus cases in Delhi crosses 3 lakh; death toll climbs to 5,653

Armenian authorities said a historic cathedral in Nagorno-Karabakh was hit as fighting continues with Azerbaijan over the disputed region.

Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/wion-dispatch-fighting-continues-in-nagorno-karabakh-333225/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The Armenian government said the Ghazanchetsots (Holy Saviour) Cathedral was hit by Azerbaijan forces.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-warns-nagorno-karabakh-risks-becoming-islamist-militant-stronghold-333038">Also Read:&nbsp;Russia warns Nagorno-Karabakh risks becoming Islamist militant stronghold</a>

Heavy shelling continued in Nagorno-Karabakh region even as international mediators were set to meet in Geneva with capital Stepanakert being bombarded.

The fighting has led to the death of at least 300 military personnel with several hundred civilians being killed ever since the conflict started on September 27.

Meanwhile, foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia are set to meet officials from Russia, US and France in a bid to halt the conflict which has put a severe strain on both countries.

Russia, France and the US are co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group. The three nations are seeking to mediate between Armenia and Azerbaijan even as the conflict escalates.

Amid the peace effort, French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told the country's parliament that, "The new aspect is that there is military involvement by Turkey which risks fuelling the internationalisation of the conflict."

The French foreign minister's statement comes after President Macron had said earlier that Turkey had sent Syrian jihadists to fight in the conflict.&nbsp;

Russian President Putin called the conflict a "tragedy" and called for a ceasefire "as quickly as possible".

Armenian authorities said a historic cathedral in Nagorno-Karabakh was hit as fighting continues with Azerbaijan over the disputed region. Watch: The Armenian government said the Ghazanchetsots (Holy Saviour) Cathedral was hit by Azerbaijan forces.

Armenian authorities said a historic cathedral in Nagorno-Karabakh was hit as fighting continues with Azerbaijan over the disputed region. Watch: The Armenian government said the Ghazanchetsots (Holy Saviour) Cathedral was hit by Azerbaijan forces. Also Read: Russia warns Nagorno-Karabakh risks becoming Islamist militant stronghold Heavy shelling continued in Nagorno-Karabakh region even as international mediators were set to meet in Geneva with capital Stepanakert being bombarded. The fighting has led to the death of at least 300 military personnel with several hundred civilians being killed ever since the conflict started on September 27. Meanwhile, foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia are set to meet officials from Russia, US and France in a bid to halt the conflict which has put a severe strain on both countries. Russia, France and the US are co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group. The three nations are seeking to mediate between Armenia and Azerbaijan even as the conflict escalates. Amid the peace effort, French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told the country's parliament that, "The new aspect is that there is military involvement by Turkey which risks fuelling the internationalisation of the conflict." The French foreign minister's statement comes after President Macron had said earlier that Turkey had sent Syrian jihadists to fight in the conflict. Russian President Putin called the conflict a "tragedy" and called for a ceasefire "as quickly as possible".

Armenia says historic cathedral in Nagorno-Karabakh hit as fighting continues with Azerbaijan forces

A Madrid court on Thursday rejected partial lockdown due to coronavirus as being "harmful to basic rights".

Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-restaurants-try-to-cut-down-losses-30-to-40-food-supply-ends-in-loses-333420/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The court asserted that it had "denied the ratification on grounds they impacted on the rights and fundamental freedoms" of the 4.5 million residents affected by the closure which went into force on Saturday.&nbsp;

Madrid area has Europe's highest coronavirus rate with 850 coronavirus infections per 100,000 people. The new virus put down by the government allowed people to cross the city borders only for work, shopping, school and for health reasons.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/asthma-patients-less-likely-to-die-from-covid-19-333396">Also Read: Asthma patients less likely to die from COVID-19</a>

Spain's national health ministry had reported 23,480 new infections over the weekend with the total number of coronavirus cases rising to 813,412. The total death toll due to the virus has climbed to 32,086 in the country.

Earlier, Belgium had declared that bars and cafes in capital Brussels would be closed for a month from Thursday after a spurt in COVID-19 cases. According to reports, authorities are set to decide on Friday whether to keep schools and universities open.

The virus has led to over 10,000 fatalities in Belgium with the country reporting 2,400 cases on Wednesday.

A Madrid court on Thursday rejected partial lockdown due to coronavirus as being "harmful to basic rights". Watch: The court asserted that it had "denied the ratification on grounds they impacted on the rights and fundamental freedoms" of the 4.

A Madrid court on Thursday rejected partial lockdown due to coronavirus as being "harmful to basic rights". Watch: The court asserted that it had "denied the ratification on grounds they impacted on the rights and fundamental freedoms" of the 4.5 million residents affected by the closure which went into force on Saturday. Madrid area has Europe's highest coronavirus rate with 850 coronavirus infections per 100,000 people. The new virus put down by the government allowed people to cross the city borders only for work, shopping, school and for health reasons. Also Read: Asthma patients less likely to die from COVID-19 Spain's national health ministry had reported 23,480 new infections over the weekend with the total number of coronavirus cases rising to 813,412. The total death toll due to the virus has climbed to 32,086 in the country. Earlier, Belgium had declared that bars and cafes in capital Brussels would be closed for a month from Thursday after a spurt in COVID-19 cases. According to reports, authorities are set to decide on Friday whether to keep schools and universities open. The virus has led to over 10,000 fatalities in Belgium with the country reporting 2,400 cases on Wednesday.

Partial lockdown 'harmful to basic rights', declares Madrid court

Two alleged Islamic State(IS) terrorists known as the "Beatles" will face trial in the US over their alleged involvement in beheadings of American hostages in Syria, the Trump administration announced today.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/two-isis-terrorists-held-in-pakistans-punjab-province-330222">Also Read:&nbsp;Two ISIS terrorists held in Pakistan's Punjab province</a>

"These charges are the product of many years of hard work in pursuit of justice for our citizens slain by ISIS. Although we cannot bring them back, we can and will seek justice for them, their families, and for all Americans," Attorney General William P. Barr said.

The two <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/afghan-special-forces-killed-16-taliban-is-terrorists-in-operations-256867">IS</a> terrorists - Alexanda Kotey,36, and El Shafee Elsheikh,32, - were UK citizens but their citizenship was withdrawn by the British government. Kotey and Elsheikh have allegedly killed US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig.

"Our message to other terrorists around the world is this -— if you harm Americans, you will face American arms on the battlefield or American law in our courtrooms," Attorney General Bill Barr said, adding,"either way, you will be pursued to the ends of the earth until justice is done."

FBI Director Christopher Wray said: "Their goal is to motivate people to launch attacks against Western targets wherever they are, using any means available."&nbsp;

Kotey and Elsheikh are expected to be produced in &nbsp;in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday and face charges of life in prison. The duo had got their name the "Beatles" due to their British accent.

They allegdly tortured and killed civilians, including by beheading, and released propoganda videos for Islamic State.

Two alleged Islamic State(IS) terrorists known as the "Beatles" will face trial in the US over their alleged involvement in beheadings of American hostages in Syria, the Trump administration announced today.

Two alleged Islamic State(IS) terrorists known as the "Beatles" will face trial in the US over their alleged involvement in beheadings of American hostages in Syria, the Trump administration announced today. Also Read: Two ISIS terrorists held in Pakistan's Punjab province "These charges are the product of many years of hard work in pursuit of justice for our citizens slain by ISIS. Although we cannot bring them back, we can and will seek justice for them, their families, and for all Americans," Attorney General William P. Barr said. The two IS terrorists - Alexanda Kotey,36, and El Shafee Elsheikh,32, - were UK citizens but their citizenship was withdrawn by the British government. Kotey and Elsheikh have allegedly killed US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. "Our message to other terrorists around the world is this -— if you harm Americans, you will face American arms on the battlefield or American law in our courtrooms," Attorney General Bill Barr said, adding,"either way, you will be pursued to the ends of the earth until justice is done." FBI Director Christopher Wray said: "Their goal is to motivate people to launch attacks against Western targets wherever they are, using any means available." Kotey and Elsheikh are expected to be produced in in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday and face charges of life in prison. The duo had got their name the "Beatles" due to their British accent. They allegdly tortured and killed civilians, including by beheading, and released propoganda videos for Islamic State.

Two Islamic State terrorists known as 'Beatles' to appear in US court

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