INDIAIndia recorded over 95 thousand fresh Covid infections in 24 hours yesterday – the highest yet – as the case tally topped 44 lakh including 75 thousand deaths and over 9 lakh active cases. After a UK volunteer developed an 'unexplained illness', Serum Institute of India paused its clinical trial of the covid vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. Serum Institute will resume the trials once AstraZeneca resumes it. External affairs minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow to address escalating tensions at the border between the two countries. The Supreme Court extended its interim order of loan moratorium till September 28 while directing the Centre, RBI and banks to file their reply within 2 weeks on interest waiver during the lockdown period. A survey by LocalCircles found that over 80% of Indians do not intend to travel anywhere this festive season, as Covid infections continue to mount across the country. India expects its hotel occupancy to remain at a mere 30% till next year, as the pandemic induces massive revenue losses of nearly $20 billion. The government is yet to decide whether to lend the ailing industry a helping hand. Plenty of businesses in the industry have already shut shop having given up hope. Gurgaon based food aggregator Zomato raised over $100 million led by Tiger Global at a $3.4 billion valuation. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. is offering to sell a roughly $20 billion stake in its retail business to Amazon, reported Bloomberg. The move will make the two rivals allies handing over the retail ecosystem on a platter to Ambani. Reliance Industries shares rose to record highs becoming the first Indian company to cross a market value of $200 billion. Separately, Bank of America Securities noted that after building a 'digital layer' (Jio Platforms) on top of the existing 'physical layer' of retail shops, Reliance Industries would over the next four years focus on adding a third 'layer of commerce' and monetize the existing investments. For example – selling advertisements to hundreds of millions of Jio users. In Indore, an 11-year-old boy allegedly smashed a 10-year-old girl’s head killing her after she repeatedly beat him in an online game. In Mumbai, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and comedian Kunal Kamra visited Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami’s office in Mumbai to hand over an ‘excellence in journalism award’ – framed slippers. However, they were denied admission into the unbiased journalist’s office. 2 Republic TV employees were arrested for allegedly trespassing Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s farmhouse in Raigad and manhandling a security guard. UNITED STATES The United States has revoked more than 1,000 visas of Chinese nationals as of September 8, a State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday, as part of the Trump administration's push to block entry of students and researchers from China believed to have links to the Chinese military. Reported Reuters. Bloomberg reported that more Americans are quitting their jobs and why that’s a good sign: The number of US workers who voluntarily left their jobs in July increased to a five-month high, indicating more Americans are becoming sanguine about their prospects of finding a new position as the economy recovers. President Donald Trump says US companies should leave China and return home. But, a new survey of US businesses in the country shows most aren’t interested in taking him up on the offer. Only about 4% of the more than 200 manufacturers surveyed by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said they will shift any production to the US. Reported Bloomberg. Home Depot said it will cancel Black Friday this year. Instead, it'll 'reinvent' the holiday discounts by offering them over a two month period from November through December. In more Halloween updates, the Los Angeles county-issued strict trick-or-treating guidelines including a b