The Indian Weekender, 9 April 2021

More documents

Recommendations

Info

14 INDIA Friday, April 9, 2021 The Indian Weekender NEWS in BRIEF World’s two biggest democracies should join hands on confronting climate change’: John Kerry US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, called on India to join hands with the US to confront the climate crisis through a clean energy transition. “Our two nations, the world’s two biggest democracies have a great deal to gain by joining hands and global leadership to confront climate change now. We must do this,” Kerry said in his address to the South Asia Women in Energy (SAWIE) Leadership Summit. Earlier in the day, Kerry met Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar regarding increasing climate ambition ahead of President Biden’s Leaders’ Summit on Climate to be held on April 22-23. “Our two nations, the world’s two biggest democracies have a great deal to gain by joining hands and global leadership to confront climate change now. We must do this,” Kerry said in his address to the South Asia Women in Energy (SAWIE) Leadership Summit. Earlier in the day, Kerry met Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar regarding increasing climate ambition ahead of President Biden’s Leaders’ Summit on Climate to be held on April 22-23. Covid-19 pandemic in India has worsened, warnings were given: Govt The Union health ministry on Tuesday asked states badly hit by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) to amp up their RT-PCR testing to at least 70% of the total samples tested. The suggestion comes a day after India recorded more than a lakh cases in a day - highest since the start of the pandemic. The health officials also confirmed that the second wave in India is worse than the first as the Covid-19 cases are increasing at a higher rate. "The impact of the pandemic has increased in the country. Warnings were given that the situation should not be taken for granted," Dr VK Paul, NITI Aayog member said at a press conference. Dr Paul confirmed that the situation has worsened and the speed of increasing Covid-19 cases is higher than last time. "We have suggested state governments increase the percentage of RT-PCR tests, which is reducing in Maharashtra in the last few weeks. Only 60% of total tests were done through RT-PCR method in Maharashtra last week. We suggest states take it to 70% or above," Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in a weekly press briefing. Central govt official expresses apprehension about Kumbh becoming Covid-19 'super spreader' A senior official in the Central government, during a Secretary-level meeting over the Covid-19 situation in the country on Monday, expressed apprehension that the ongoing Kumbh might become a "super spreader", according to a top source in the government. The source said the government is worried about the Kumbh and discussed this at a high-level meeting on. "If the government does not decide to end Kumbh before the stipulated time, it may become a Covid-19 'super spreader'," a member in the high-level meeting said. "The government is forming a team that will appeal to all with the help of sadhus and religious leaders to ensure pilgrims, who are visiting the Kumbh, wear masks and follow social distancing," the source told ANI. "At the same time, the government also suggested that a message should be given through TV and radio, and posters should be put up at public places to create awareness amongst masses that the pandemic is not over yet," the source added. All Indians deserve vaccine: Rahul Gandhi Congress leader Rahul Gandhi advocated vaccination for all and said every Indian deserves the chance to a safe life, after the resurgence of Covid cases in the country. "It's ridiculous to debate needs & wants. Every Indian deserves the chance to a safe life. #CovidVaccine." he said. Rahul Gandhi's comment came in the wake of health secretary saying on Tuesday that vaccines are given to those who need it the most. Another Congress leader Manish Tewari too attacked this theory and said, "This is the most obtuse gibberish. Only a Bureaucrat can say it with a masked straight face. Does Virus have an age distinguishing vector coded into it's genome sequence? Do young not deserve protection when you are exporting the vaccine to everybody and their grandmother?" As per reports Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had said that, "The aim of vaccination is not to administer to those who want it but to those who need it." India on Wednesday recorded 1,15,736 new Covid-19 cases, the biggestever single-day surge since the onset of the pandemic early last year, taking the overall tally to 12,801,785. India placed 2nd after US in daily vaccination numbers The Union Health Ministry said that India is placed second after the US in terms of daily Covid-19 vaccination numbers. Accoriding to the Health Ministry data, the US has been vaccinating at an average of over 30 lakh (30,53,566) people per day, while India is inculcating more than 26 India, Russia discuss ways to strengthen strategic ties India and Russia discussed ways to deepen military and strategic cooperation, including manufacturing of Russian military hardware in the country and the start of talks on creating a free trade area between India and the Eurasian Economic Union. These matters figured in the meeting between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, the focus of whose visit to New Delhi was preparations for the annual India-Russia Summit to be held in the country later this year. “We talked about the longstanding partnership in nuclear, space and defence sectors... We spoke of connectivity, including the International North-South Transport Corridor and the Chennai- Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor,” Jaishankar told a joint news conference after the talks. Lavrov said the two sides discussed military cooperation, including the expansion of the manufacturing of state-of-the-art Russian weapons in India under the “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiatives. “In this strategically important area, Russia is a major foreign contractor for India. We are the only partner that indeed transfers to India cutting edge military technology,” he said. “Deepening of military cooperation lakh daily (26,53,533). Brazil is in the third position after India, with an average of 6,23,445 vaccinations per day, while the UK with a daily average of 4,13,521 vaccinations occupies the fourth spot, according to the Health Ministry data. Addressing a press conference here, Union Health Secretary Rajesh serves national interests of both countries. At the same time, we respect the right of our Indian friends to diversify ties in this area,” he said. Jaishankar said India’s “defence sector requirements in the past year were expeditiously addressed” by Russia – an apparent reference to the country’s emergency military needs amid the border standoff with China in Ladakh sector. According to a recent estimate by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), Russia was the most-affected supplier as India’s arms imports fell 33% between 2011-15 and 2016-20. Vaccine contracts Collaboration on Covid-19 vaccines figured in the talks, and Lavrov noted that the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has signed contracts with several Indian firms to manufacture about 750 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine. He didn’t rule out further cooperation to cover manufacturing of Indian vaccines in Russia, while Jaishankar said a decision would be made by regulatory authorities of both sides. “For us, were those vaccines to be made in India, it would be one more affirmation of the importance of ‘Make in India’ and our own vaccine capacities,” Jaishankar said. Bhushan said that India also occupied the second position in ramping up the vaccination drive after the US. According to Bhushan, while the US has vaccinated around 165.05 million people in 112 days, India has covered 79.11 million people in its 79-day vaccination drive. The UK is placed third with 36.9 million vaccinations till April 3. The Russian minister also conveyed a message from President Valdimir Putin to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and invited Jaishankar to visit Russia. Former ambassador Vishnu Prakash said there are various difficulties associated with infrastructure development projects in Russia’s Far East and the proposed free trade area with the Eurasian Besides India’s resource constraints, there’s also the influence of China. It won’t be easy for us to compete with China’s financial resources and economic muscleflexing. Russia itself has been concerned about increasing Chinese influence in these areas Economic Union. “Besides India’s resource constraints, there’s also the influence of China. It won’t be easy for us to compete with China’s financial resources and economic muscle-flexing. Russia itself has been concerned about increasing Chinese influence in these areas,” he said. 'Coming 4 weeks very critical': Govt says second Covid-19 wave spreading faster than before The Union health ministry on Tuesday warned that Covid-19 is spreading at a faster rate in the country compared to last year. It added that warnings have been issued to not take th ongoing pandemic lightly, and that the coming four weeks are very critical in the country’s fight against the pandemic. "The impact of the pandemic has increased in the country. Warnings were given that the situation should not be taken for granted. The situation of the pandemic has worsened and the speed of increasing Covid-19 cases is higher than last time," said Dr VK Paul, NITI Aayog Member (Health), at a press conference. "We can still control the pandemic, people's participation is vital to control the second wave of the pandemic. Next four weeks are very critical for us, " he added. Dr Paul stressed on the importance of people’s participation in combating the pandemic in the coming weeks, urging the entire country to come together and fight against the pandemic. "People's participation is vital to control the second wave. The next four weeks are going to be very critical. The entire country has to come together and make efforts to fight the pandemic." he told reporters. Dr Paul insisted on practising Covid-19 appropriate behaviour like wearing masks, practising social distancing, and avoiding crowds diligently as a measure against the pandemic. He also requested the masses to get over vaccine hesitancy, adding that no other country other than India has opened up vaccination drive for those above the age of 45. "Request people to get over vaccine hesitancy; nowhere in the world has vaccination been opened up for those above 45 years." he said at the press conference.
The Indian Weekender Friday, April 9, 2021 WORLD 15 Bangkok to close 196 nightlife venues amid new coronavirus cluster Thailand’s capital Bangkok will close 196 entertainment venues for two weeks, the city’s governor said, following a new surge in coronavirus cases. The venues will be closed from Tuesday until April 19 as they are located in three districts where some venues are linked to a new cluster of more than 100 people who tested positive for coronavirus in recent days, said Asawin Kwanmuang, governor of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. “We will close entertainment venues in the three districts, while other venues where cases are found will be individually closed,” Asawin told reporters. Thailand reported 194 new COVID-19 cases earlier on Monday, a rare three-digit figure, which included 45 from Bangkok’s nightlife cluster. The country has largely been successful in curbing the spread of the virus. Since last year it has reported 29,321 cases and 95 deaths. Bangkok, “red zones”. Thailand’s COVID-19 taskforce will consider a proposal Under the proposal, nightlife venues in the red zones would be from the public health ministry to label five provinces, including allowed to open only until 9 p.m. and they cannot serve alcohol. COVID19: Brazil has more than 4,000 deaths in 24 hours for first time Brazil has recorded more than 4,000 Covid-related deaths in 24 hours for the first time, as a more contagious variant fuel a huge surge in cases. Hospitals are overcrowded, with people dying as they wait for treatment in some cities, and the health system is on the brink of collapse in many areas. The country's total death toll is now almost 337,000, second only to the US. But President Jair Bolsonaro continues to oppose any lockdown measures to curb the outbreak. He argues that the damage to the economy would be worse than the effects of the virus itself, and has tried to revert some of the restrictions imposed by local authorities in the courts. Speaking to supporters outside the presidential residence on Tuesday, he criticised quarantine measures claiming they were linked to obesity and depression and led to unemployment. He did not comment on the 4,195 deaths recorded in the past 24 hours. To date, Brazil has recorded more than 13 million cases of coronavirus, according to the health ministry. Some 66,570 people died of Covid-19 in March, more than double the previous monthly record. What is the situation in the country? In most states, patients with Covid-19 are using more than 90% of intensive care unit beds though numbers have been stable since the past week, according to the health institute Fiocruz (in Portuguese). Several states have reported short supplies of oxygen and sedative. But despite the critical situation, some cities and states are already easing measures limiting the movement of people. "The fact is the anti-lockdown narrative of President Jair Bolsonaro has won," Miguel Lago, executive director of Brazil's Institute for Health Policy Studies, which advises public health officials, told the Associated Press. "Mayors and governors are politically prohibited from beefing up social distancing policies because they know supporters of the president, including business leaders, will sabotage it," he said. The far-right president, who repeatedly played down the virus, raised doubts about vaccines and defended unproven drugs as treatment, has seen his popularity plummet amid criticism of his handling of the crisis. "Mayors and governors are politically prohibited from beefing up social distancing policies because they know supporters of the president, including business leaders, will sabotage it." He has shifted his tone on immunisations recently, pledging to make 2021 the year of vaccinations. But the government has struggled with the rollout of its programme. Critics say his government was slow in negotiating supplies amid a worldwide run, leaving Brazil facing delays in receiving jabs. Only around 8% of the population has received at least one dose, according to the Our World in Data tracker. Epidemiologist Ethel Maciel said the country was in a "dreadful situation", telling AFP news agency: "At the rate we're vaccinating... the only way to slow the extremely fast spread of the virus is an effective lockdown for at least 20 days." What is the Brazil variant? Fiocruz says it has detected 92 variants of coronavirus in the country, including the P.1, or Brazil, variant, which has become a cause for concern because it is thought to be much more contagious than the original strain. The variant is thought to have emerged in Amazonas state in November 2020, spreading quickly in the state capital Manaus, where it accounted for 73% of cases by January 2021, according to figures analysed by researchers in Brazil. NEWS in BRIEF U.S. says 165 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine been administered so far The United States has administered more than 165 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Sunday morning and distributed nearly 208 million, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. That is up from the 161,688,422 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Saturday out of 207,866,645 doses delivered. The agency said 106,214,924 people had received at least one vaccine dose, while 61,416,536 people have been fully vaccinated as of Sunday. The CDC tally includes two-dose vaccines from Moderna Inc and Pfizer/BioNTech,, as well Johnson & Johnson’s oneshot vaccine as of 6:00 a.m. ET on Sunday. A total of 7,742,126 vaccine doses have been administered in long-term care facilities, the agency said. Covid: US rules out federal vaccine passports The White House has ruled out introducing mandatory federal Covid-19 vaccination passports, saying citizens' privacy and rights should be protected. Schemes to introduce such passports have been touted around the world as a way to enable safe circulation of people while fighting the pandemic. But critics say such documents could be discriminatory. The US said it did not and would not support a "system that requires Americans to carry a credential". The country has reported more than 550,000 deaths linked to the virus and nearly 31 million cases, the highest numbers in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. Addressing reporters, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said there would be no "federal vaccinations database" or a "federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential". Tokyo Olympics: North Korea to skip Games over Covid-19 fears North Korea has announced it will not take part in the Tokyo Olympics this year, saying the decision is to protect its athletes from Covid-19. The decision puts an end to South Korea's hopes of using the Games to engage with the North amid stalled cross-border talks. In 2018, both sides entered a joint team at the Winter Olympics which led to a series of historic summits. Pyongyang says it has no cases of the virus but experts say this is unlikely. The country's health system is thought to be completely inadequate for dealing with the Covid pandemic, the BBC's Tokyo Correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports. The announcement makes North Korea the first major country to skip the delayed 2020 Games because of the pandemic. The event is due to begin on 23 July. This will be the first time North Korea has missed a Summer Olympics since 1988, when it boycotted the Seoul Games during the Cold War. The Myanmar beauty queen standing up to the military Speeches by beauty pageant contestants rarely make headlines. But when Han Lay, Miss Grand Myanmar, spoke out last week against alleged atrocities committed by her country's military, her speech turned heads. "Today in my country Myanmar ... there are so many people dying," she said at the Miss Grand International 2020 event in Thailand. "Please help Myanmar. We need your urgent international help right now." A little over a month ago, Han Lay, who is 22, was on the streets of Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, protesting against the military. The unrest in Myanmar began two months ago when the military seized control of the country, undoing a democratic election in which Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won by a landslide. When tens of thousands of people took to the streets nationwide to protest the coup, the military used water cannon to disperse them. After a week, the response escalated to rubber bullets and then live ammunition.
Page 1 and 2: North Shore? 09 APRIL2021 • VOL 1
Page 3 and 4: The Indian Weekender Friday, April
Page 11 and 12: 2021 Wednesday, June 16, 2021 Frida
Page 13: are a family friendly practice prov
Page 19: The Indian Weekender Friday, April

The Indian Weekender, 9 April 2021

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?