As an unintended benefit of the coronavirus pandemic, Punjab and Haryana’s age-old problem of virtually exporting water in the form of rice cultivation may finally end, as many farmers in these states are now preferring to grow less-water-intensive crops such as cotton, instead of water-guzzling rice. The crisis has turned the farmers away from dependence on migrant workers engaged in the rice plantation, as lakhs of them have left the state for their hometowns

Ubisoft confirmed via live stream on Wednesday that the next Assassin’s Creed game will indeed be set in the Viking age. The game will be called Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Ubisoft isn’t sharing any further details just yet, though a full CGI trailer is coming later on Thursday. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla should ideally be the first Assassin’s Creed game to be playable on the next-generation of consoles, aka the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, when they arrive later this year.

The Assassin’s Creed reveal was rather unexpected, with Ubisoft sending out a

(Bloomberg) — U.S. equity-index futures advanced, helped by a late rally in Alphabet Inc. and Asian stocks heading for bull-market territory, ahead of a policy decision by the Federal Reserve.

Contracts on the S&P 500 Index climbed 1{c34e2c9cd63a11c97fab811dbaaefe0cfbb1edd2527888e1a44d36f3491ee811} as of 2:45 p.m. in Tokyo, while futures advanced 1.3{c34e2c9cd63a11c97fab811dbaaefe0cfbb1edd2527888e1a44d36f3491ee811} on the Nasdaq 100 Index and 0.9{c34e2c9cd63a11c97fab811dbaaefe0cfbb1edd2527888e1a44d36f3491ee811} on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Alphabet shares surged in after-hours trading after the company reported first-quarter revenue that beat analyst expectations. Investors also were cheered by a rebound in oil.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.7{c34e2c9cd63a11c97fab811dbaaefe0cfbb1edd2527888e1a44d36f3491ee811}, pushing its rebound from a March 23

The Andhra Pradesh government is setting up 11,158 Rythu Bharosa centres with digital kiosks for integrating agriculture inputs and advisories, to assist farmers. These centres, which will be set up in a phased manner by June, are virtual shops for large retailers and other bulk buyers to take orders from farmers and will have model products on display.

Besides, the state government will create new bank accounts for some 56 lakh farmers and issue 1.12 crore credit/debit cards to them by

Supplies of many daily essential items such as coffee and diapers are going to take a severe hit if the lockdown situation continues in Delhi even after May 3 when the government is expected to lift the country-wide 40-day lockdown. Especially for the import dependent items such as dry fruits, oil and cereals, the supplies will start running short soon, according to a report prepared by a six-member Delhi government panel on

(Bloomberg) — Crude extended its slide to trade near $11 a barrel after the biggest oil exchange-traded fund unexpectedly began selling all its holdings of the most active contract amid rapidly dwindling storage capacity.

Futures fell about 11{c34e2c9cd63a11c97fab811dbaaefe0cfbb1edd2527888e1a44d36f3491ee811} in New York after losing a quarter of their value on Monday. The United States Oil Fund LP sold all of its West Texas Intermediate June contracts, significantly widening the spread between July WTI and raising concerns of a repeat of the collapse that sent oil below zero for the first time ever last week. U.S. producers have started making crude deliveries

With several states taking steps to reopen businesses, which were abruptly shut down due to coronavirus, US President Donald Trump exuded confidence that the fourth quarter of this year and the next year would be “phenomenal” in terms of economic growth.

He also slammed “one country” for the economic slowdown due to the virus, which originated in China in mid-November and swirled through the world, killing at least 2 lakh people, mostly in the US.

“Nobody except one country can be held accountable

OnePlus has finally revealed the India price of its Warp Charge 30 Wireless charger for the OnePlus 8 Pro. The Warp Charge 30 Wireless charger will be sold separately for Rs 3,990, unlike its fast wired charger that OnePlus bundles for free with all its devices. The wireless charger is now listed on OnePlus’ official India website though, much like the OnePlus 8 Pro and OnePlus 8, there’s no “exact” word on availability. This is because India’s nation-wide coronavirus lockdown means it’s impossible to sell non-essentials like

(Bloomberg) — Global stocks started the week with gains amid signs of positive developments in the fight against the coronavirus and a boost to stimulus measures from the Bank of Japan. The dollar retreated.

Asian shares climbed, U.S. futures reversed earlier losses to trade higher and European contracts pushed up. Trading volumes remained subdued amid the risk-on move. In currencies, the Australian dollar outperformed, while the yen strengthened. Treasury yields advanced. Coronavirus deaths slowed the most in more than a month in Spain, Italy and France while fatalities reported in the U.K. and New York were the lowest since the