KOLKATA, India — India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow at 9.5 percent in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry, a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group. The group said this would take the GDP to a slightly higher level than in the fiscal year 2020-2021. “The strong growth in the second half will be supported by robust external demand and large-scale coverage of vaccination allowing resumption of economic activity,” said T V Narendran, president of Confederation of Indian Industry. “In the medium term, the growth rate can pick up to 8 to 9 percent…
Author: zenger.news
NEW DELHI — The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have boosted India’s online gaming industry, which is projected to reach INR 29,000 crore ($3.9 billion) by the fiscal year 2025, according to a study titled ‘Beyond the Tipping Point’ by advisory services firm KPMG. Of the total size, the online casual gaming sub-segment is the most significant one and stands at INR 6,000 crore ($811 million), accounting for 44 percent of the total online gaming revenues. India is home to the second-largest base of online casual gamers in the world at 420 million and accounted for 97 percent of total gamers…
NEW DELHI — E-commerce used car marketplace CARS24 said it would invest over $100 million to expand in international markets this year. The company recently launched its business in Australia and the United Arab Emirates and said it’s ready to launch in Southeast Asian and the Middle East countries. CARS24 said the investment would be used to build the brand in these new territories, a strong supply of cars for the platform, and a workshop to recondition cars to ensure top quality. “In the past six years, we have worked very hard to revolutionize the way our consumers buy or sell…
The Zurich Zoo in Switzerland has announced it will release three more northern bald ibises into the wild in July to support their comeback in Europe. The project aims to revive the species after it was eradicated from the continent in the 17th century. The northern bald ibis, also known as the waldrapp, has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2018, after several reintroduction programs helped to downlist the species from Critically Endangered. “Once widespread in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Europe, the bald ibis is now one of the rarest birds. In Central…
A 1,600-year-old mosaic dating to the Byzantine period (4th–5th century C.E.), unearthed during an archaeological excavation near Yavne, will be on public display in the plaza outside the city’s cultural center. The colorful mosaic, which is believed to have been part of a wealthy family’s home, was discovered on a dig southeast of Tel Yavne, an ancient city where archeologists have discovered evidence of settlements dating as far back as the Bronze Age (3300–1200 B.C.). Detail of the mosaic discovered in Yavne. (Assaf Peretz, Israel Antiquities Authority)The initiative was launched by the City of Yavne, the Israel Antiquities Authority and…
DELHI, India — Popular video games have the potential to provide low-cost, easy access, practical and stigma-free support for some mental health issues, researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, have found. The team at Lero, a world leader in connected-health research, said video games could be used where conventional therapies are not available because of cost or location or as an addition to traditional treatments for depression or anxiety. Lero researcher Mark Campbell said there is mounting scientific evidence to show that commercial video games improve mental health outcomes, particularly depression and anxiety, after reviewing academic research…
NEW DELHI — Cybercriminals are targeting Indians with WhatsApp messages claiming to offer Covid-19 subsidies of INR 50,000 ($674.4), according to a study from the research wing of think tank CyberPeace Foundation and cybersecurity services firm Autobot Infosec. The research wing of CyberPeace Foundation received WhatsApp messages containing a link that claimed people could earn INR 50,000 ($674.4) as a Covid-19 subsidy. On the landing page of the web link shared, a congratulations message appears with the offer details, which promises to give a subsidiary of INR 50,000 ($674.4) to INR 100,000 ($1,348.8) in the name of the ‘Coronavirus Foundation’. After…
NEW DELHI — A survey by the World Health Organization with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has found that Covid-19 seroprevalence was 55.7 percent and 63.5 percent in the age group of below and above 18, respectively. Seroprevalence studies or serosurveys estimate the share of the population that tests positive for antibodies using serology tests. The survey, conducted in five states with a sample size of 10,000, indicates that the third wave of Covid-19 is unlikely to hit more children than adults in India. AIIMS Delhi Director Randeep Guleria said that the outcome of the joint survey was “positive” but…
LAGOS, Nigeria — Attackers shot dead Ahmed Ali Gulak, a close ally of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, in Owerri, the capital of Imo State, in the country’s restive southeast region, on the morning of May 29. His killing precipitated a series of reactions that led to Buhari being suspended from the micro-blogging site Twitter, whose operations in Nigeria have also been halted by the government in what is widely seen as a retaliatory measure. These events brought to the fore the simmering conflict in the southeast, home to the Igbo people, and where a secessionist movement in 1967 led to the…
BERTOUA, Cameroon — When Franki Angemin, 21, heard the news of eight young men buried alive by landfalls in Kambélé, east Cameroon, while prospecting for gold, he knew the same fate could have befallen him. Yet, though scared and discouraged, Angemin is not ready to quit artisanal mining. “When I learned of the deaths, I imagined I could have been in the same situation,” he told Zenger News. “I am disturbed to see that young people like myself die while mining. If I had a better alternative, I would have quit. But artisanal mining gives quick cash, unlike farming. That is…