作者： bharat.cn

Indian shares traded near four-month highs on Friday, tracking gains in broader Asian markets after robust data from the United States and China bolstered hopes of a global economic rebound, but a record spike in domestic coronavirus cases capped gains.

The benchmark indexes rose for a third day, with the Nifty rising 0.39% to 10,592.7 by 0513 GMT and the Sensex by 0.35% to 35,969.38. Both indexes were set for their third straight weekly gain.

Total Covid-19 infections in India jumped by a record 20,903 cases to 625,544, including 18,213 deaths, health ministry data https://www.mohfw.gov.in showed on Friday, days after the government eased lockdown rules to revive the economy.

“People on the ground have started realising that many people in their first degree of connection are now coming down with Covid-19, and the fear of what another lockdown will do to industries is the biggest overhanging worry for investors,” said Nikhil Kamath, co-founder and chief investment officer, Zerodha.

The Nifty and Sensex have rebounded sharply from a virus-led crash in March, but remain around 13% lower for the year.

“There is clearly a disconnect between India’s economic fundamentals and markets,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services. “Markets are being driven by liquidity.”

Broader Asian markets rose after data showed China’s services sector in June expanded at the fastest pace in over a decade, and US nonfarm payrolls saw a better-than-expected jump. But higher infections in the United States capped gains.

Among individual shares, Reliance Industries Ltd rose as much as 1.4% to its highest since June 22 after saying Intel Corp would buy a 0.39% stake in its digital unit, Jio Platforms, for 18.95 billion rupees ($253.55 million).

Locusts have reportedly descended on East Africa, devouring crops, trees, and pastures as they move in swarms that look like storm clouds.

Locusts have been around for a long time, and are mostly associated with the deserts of Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Horn of Africa region.

Now, as the second wave of locusts threatens to invade East Africa, scientists are looking for some environmentally-friendly ways to get rid of them.

And they suggest eating them, poising them or driving them to cannibalism with a peculiar scent.

Locusts are usually controlled by spraying pesticides but the chemicals can damage other insects and the environment.

So scientists at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) are experimenting with biopesticides and the use of locusts as human and animal food as they look for environmentally-friendly extermination methods.

ICIPE researchers were part of a group that discovered an isolate from a fungus, Metharizium acridum, could kill locusts without harming other creatures. The isolate is now being used across East Africa.

At least 31 people died in lightning strikes in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, while the flood in Assam claimed one more life and inundated crop fields, even as Mumbai braced for extremely heavy rainfall.

However, the national capital sweltered under a stifling heat with no rains. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted dry weather in the city for the next two days and rains on the weekend.

Most places in the city recorded the maximum temperatures between 39 degrees and 42 degrees Celsius.

In Bihar, 26 people were killed on Thursday after being struck by lightning, officials said. More than 100 have died in lightning strikes in the state in the last one week, they added.

According to the state disaster management department, the casualties were reported from eight districts — Patna, Samastipur, East Champaran, West Champaran, Sheohar, Katihar, Madhepura and Purnea.

Samastipur accounted for the highest number of seven deaths, followed by Patna (six), East Champaran (four), Katihar (three), Sheohar and Madhepura (two each) and West Champaran and Purnea (one each), the department said.

On June 30, 11 people were killed by lightning strikes in five districts, while 83 such deaths were reported from 23 districts within a span of 24 hours on June 25.

Expressing grief over the latest fatalities, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ordered a payment of Rs four lakh as ex-gratia to the next of kin of each deceased.

In the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, five people died and 12 others got injured in incidents of lightning strikes in Ballia district.

The dead included a 70-year-old retired Army man, Babulal Singh, and villager Nirmal Verma, 43, who were struck by lightning while working in their fields in Babu Ka Shivpur village of Dokati area, police said.