NEW DELHI: More emergency medical aid from foreign donors to alleviate a dire oxygen shortage arrived in India on Sunday, as Covid-19 deaths in the South Asian nation rose to a new record.
India is setting almost-daily records for new infections and deaths as the virus crisis engulfs overstretched hospitals in cities and spreads into rural regions.
The country of 1.3 billion reported 3,689 deaths on Sunday — the highest single-day rise yet in the pandemic, to take the overall toll to more than 215,000.
Just under 400,000 infections were added, bringing the total number of cases past 19.5 million.
The latest figures came as medical equipment, including oxygen-generation plants, was flown into the capital New Delhi from France and Germany as part of a huge international effort.
“We are here because we are bringing help that... will save lives,” Germany’s ambassador to India, Walter J. Lindner, said as 120 ventilators arrived late Saturday.
“Out there the hospitals are full. People are sometimes dying in front of the hospitals. They have no more oxygen. Sometimes (they are dying) in their cars.”
French ambassador Emmanuel Lenain said his country wanted to show solidarity with India.
“The epidemic is still going on in one country. The world won’t be safe until we are all safe. So it’s a matter of urgency,” he said early Sunday following the delivery of eight oxygen-generation plants and dozens of ventilators from France.
India’s eastern state of Odisha on Sunday became the latest region to order a lockdown to slow the spread of the pathogen.
The nation’s worst-hit city, Delhi, reported just over 25,000 cases on Saturday as it extended its own lockdown by another week.
Hospitals in the capital continued to issue SOS calls for oxygen on social media, with the latest appeal posted by a children’s hospital on Twitter on Sunday.
The plea came a day after up to a dozen patients died at a Delhi hospital amid an oxygen shortage, local media reported.
There are also growing fears about the surge of the virus in small cities, towns and rural regions where health infrastructure is already patchy and limited.
India on Saturday opened up its inoculation drive to all adults, but supplies are running low and only online enrolments are allowed for those aged under 45.
“It is a necessity now. We are seeing so many people testing positive,” data scientist Megha Srivastava, 35, told AFP outside a Delhi vaccination center as she waited for her shot.
The head of the world’s largest vaccine maker, Serum Institute chief Adar Poonawalla, told The Times newspaper on Saturday during a business trip to Britain that he was being hounded by political and business leaders for more supplies.
“’Threats’ is an understatement,” he told the paper. “The level of expectation and aggression is really unprecedented. It’s overwhelming. Everyone feels they should get the vaccine.”
Experts have called on the government to allow more flexibility in India’s vaccine rollout, particularly in poorer rural areas where there is lower Internet penetration.
“We should procure sufficient vaccines, then plan bottom-up through... the primary health center level,” Bangalore-based public health expert Hemant Shewade told AFP.
“Take vaccines to the people the way we have implemented our polio and measles campaigns.”
Alarm bells are also ringing in other countries in densely populated South Asia.
“Infections have surged beyond the capacity of the health system,” Nepal’s health ministry said Friday as it warned that hospital beds were running out amid a spike in infections.
On Saturday, the Himalayan nation recorded 5,706 new cases, just shy of a pandemic high of 5,743 in October.
Nearly 40 percent of people tested returned a positive result, data from the ministry showed.
The government has enforced lockdowns or partial lockdowns in almost half of Nepal’s 77 districts.
In Sri Lanka, daily infections hit a record 1,699 on Saturday, with authorities imposing further curbs on movement and activities in parts of the island nation.
“We could face an India-type crisis very soon unless we arrest the current trend of infections,” chief epidemiologist Sudath Samaraweera said.
Lifesaving oxygen aid arrives in India as death toll hits new record
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Lifesaving oxygen aid arrives in India as death toll hits new record
Philippines struggles to evacuate nationals from Iran amid Israeli bombardment
- Some 700 Filipinos live in Iran, most married to Iranian nationals
- Marcos says the government is looking for a route to ‘get them out’
MANILA: The Philippines is struggling to evacuate its nationals from Iran as exit routes are difficult to secure, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday, as an increasing number of them are seeking to leave amid growing destruction from Israeli bombardment.
The Philippine embassy in Tehran estimating that some 700 Filipinos live in Iran. Most are married to Iranian nationals and initially were not willing to leave when the attacks started last week.
“But now, some are saying they’re scared, so they’re asking for help to get out. The problem we’re facing in evacuating them is that — because of the war — many airports are closed,” Marcos told reporters in Quezon City.
“We’re looking for a route through which we can get them out.”
Following Israeli attacks, Iran has suspended flights at major airports. Neighboring countries such as Iraq and Jordan have also closed their airspace, making air evacuations nearly impossible
Some countries are evacuating citizens by land via Azerbaijan and Turkiye, but these journeys are long due to distance, heavy traffic, fuel shortages and potential Israeli strikes.
The Philippine government is also planning to pull non-essential personnel out of the embassy in Tehran and raise the alert level for nationals in Iran to “voluntary repatriation phase,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose De Vega told the Philippine News Agency.
“We cannot raise it to mandatory because most of the Filipinos there won’t go home anyway, they have Iranian families there,” he said.
Israeli attacks on Iran began on Friday, when Tel Aviv hit more than a dozen Iranian sites — including key nuclear facilities and the residences of military leaders and scientists — claiming it was aiming to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Daily attacks have been ongoing for the past six days after Iran retaliated with ballistic missile strikes against Israel.
The Israeli military has intensified its bombing of civilian targets, hitting Iran’s state broadcaster in Tehran and a hospital in Kermanshah. On Wednesday alone, it said it had hit 40 sites across the country.
According to the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, at least 224 people have been killed and 1,481 wounded in the attacks since Friday; however, various media outlets report casualty numbers could be at least twice that many.
Mediterranean rescuers say saved 175,000 people since 2015
- The majority had died in the central Mediterranean, waters between between Libya, Tunisia, Italy and Malta
- In that area, the equivalent of five adults and one child lost their lives every day over the past decade
BERLIN: Maritime rescue organizations said Wednesday they had pulled more than 175,000 people from the Mediterranean over the past 10 years, as waves of migrants sought to use the dangerous sea route to reach Europe.
The group of 21 NGOS active in the region estimated that at least 28,932 people had died while trying to cross the sea since 2015.
The majority had died in the central Mediterranean – waters between Libya, Tunisia, Italy and Malta – Mirka Schaefer of German NGO SOS Humanity told a Berlin press conference.
In that area, the equivalent of five adults and one child lost their lives every day over the past decade, she said.
The number of unrecorded cases was likely to be “significantly higher,” she added.
Of the 21 organizations currently engaged in maritime rescue in the region, 10 of them are based in Germany. Between them the groups operate 15 boats, four sail ships and four planes.
The organizations have frequently clashed with authorities over their rescue operations, which were launched as Europe’s migration crisis broke out in 2015, when hundreds of thousands headed to the continent, mostly from the Middle East.
In Italy the current government has vowed to end crossings and attacked NGOs for creating a “pull factor” that encourages departures, something migration observers say is unproven.
Giorgia Meloni’s hard-right government has passed laws requiring rescue ships to return to a designated port, a measure NGOs say is contrary to maritime law.
“The pressure on us is growing,” Schaefer said, criticizing a lack of support from the German government.
The rescue organizations were calling on Berlin to support “an effective, coordinated sea rescue program, fully funded by the EU,” Sea Watch spokeswoman Giulia Messmer said at the press conference.
The proposal, which had been sent to the German government and to the European Commission, called for the EU to spend between €108 million-€240 million ($124 million-$276 million) a year on rescue patrols and arrival centers.
India’s commerce minister heads to UK to fast-track free trade deal
- FTA talks started in 2022 and stalled over tariffs, mobility for services professionals
- Deal-in-principle was announced by Indian, British PMs last month
New Delhi
India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has embarked on a two-day visit to the UK to accelerate talks on a long-pending bilateral free trade agreement, his office said on Wednesday.
Launched in January 2022, the FTA negotiations between India and the UK were set to conclude the same year, but despite more than a dozen formal rounds, talks have stalled over issues like tariffs, rules of origin and mobility for services professionals.
A deal-in-principle was announced in May by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart, Keir Starmer.
Goyal’s UK visit comes in the “backdrop of the announcement” and “aims to accelerate bilateral engagements and harness emerging opportunities,” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.
The minister is scheduled to meet UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds to “review the progress made in the ongoing FTA negotiations and chart out a clear, time-bound road map for its finalization and implementation.”
If Goyal’s visit succeeds in producing an implementation road map with timelines, he would be able to start negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty with the UK, Anupam Manur, professor of economics at the Takshashila Institution in Bangalore, told Arab News.
“A working FTA for India is extremely important, especially in a scenario where global trade uncertainty is at an all-time high due to the trade war and tariffs imposed by President Trump,” Manur said.
“In this scenario, an FTA with the UK delivers greater certainty to India, provides market access to an important large economy, and will also act as a leverage point for trade negotiations with the US.”
India has so far signed 14 free trade agreements with 25 countries, along with several regional and preferential trade pacts covering additional nations. These include agreements with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the UAE.
Talks are also ongoing with the Gulf Cooperation Council and the EU — with commitments to conclude talks in 2025.
UK police slammed for not arresting US diplomat’s wife in fatal crash
- Anne Sacoolas, who was driving on the wrong side of the road outside the US military base at RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire, killed teenager Harry Dunn
LONDON: An independent review in Britain criticized police on Wednesday for failing to arrest a US diplomat’s wife after she killed a British teenager in a car accident before fleeing the country in 2019.
The accident in which Harry Dunn, 19, died became a diplomatic issue between the UK and United States, leading to his family meeting US President Donald Trump at the White House.
Anne Sacoolas, who was driving on the wrong side of the road outside the US military base at RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire, claimed in the ensuing days to have diplomatic immunity.
Sacoolas, whose husband was an intelligence official and has herself been reported to have been a CIA operative, left Britain soon after hitting Dunn on his motorbike in the August 2019 accident.
The review, commissioned by Northamptonshire’s chief constable, Ivan Balhatchet, said the decision not to arrest her was partly based on “information received that Anne Sacoolas was in shock.”
“While the welfare of any person is a concern for officers, this should not have prevented the arrest of Anne Sacoolas,” it said.
The review said officers made the decision believing Dunn’s injuries to be survivable and that had this not been the case they would have made an arrest.
But it found that after his death there was no further discussion documented of whether Sacoolas should be detained.
“The review has potentially highlighted a culture of not arresting... which could lead to evidence not being obtained and influencing a charging decision or a sentence on conviction,” it said.
The review also criticized the Northamptonshire force’s former chief Nick Adderley.
After relations with Dunn’s family broke down there were “multiple areas of direct involvement from CC (Chief Constable) Adderley which had a detrimental impact” on the senior investigating officer and their team as they tried to “rebuild trust,” it added.
After her return to the United States, Sacoolas refused to go back to the UK to face court proceedings.
She eventually pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving via video link from the US to a London court.
She was handed an eight-month prison sentence in December 2022, suspended for 12 months, meaning she would not serve jail time unless she committed another offense in that time.
Reacting to the review, Dunn’s mother Charlotte Charles said it “confirms what we have known for years — that we were failed by the very people we should have been able to trust.”
“Harry was left to die on the roadside. Sacoolas was not arrested, even though the police had every power to do so,” she said.
Smartphones banned from schools in Afghan Taliban’s heartland
- A ban on smartphones in schools issued by Taliban authorities in southern Afghanistan came into force, students and teachers confirmed to AFP on Wednesday, over concerns of “focus” and “Islamic law“
AFGHANISTAN: A ban on smartphones in schools issued by Taliban authorities in southern Afghanistan came into force, students and teachers confirmed to AFP on Wednesday, over concerns of “focus” and “Islamic law.”
The directive by the provincial Education Department in Kandahar applies to students, teachers and administrative staff in schools and religious schools.
“This decision has been made to ensure educational discipline, focus,” the statement said, adding that it was taken from a “sharia perspective” and that smartphones contribute to “the destruction of the future generation.”
The policy, which has already taken effect in schools across the province, has divided opinion among teachers and students.
“We did not bring smart phones with us to school today,” Saeed Ahmad, a 22-year-old teacher, told AFP.
“I think this is a good decision so that there is more focus on studies,” he added.
Mohammad Anwar, an 11th grader, said “the teachers are saying if anyone is seen bringing a phone, they will start searching the students.”
Another 12th-grade student, refusing to give his name, said the ban would hinder learning in a country where girls are barred from secondary school and university as part of restrictions the UN has dubbed “gender apartheid.”
“When the teacher writes a lesson on the board, I often take a picture so I could write it down later. Now I can’t. This decision will negatively affect our studies.”
The ban has also taken root in religious schools known as madrassas.
“Now there’s a complete ban. No one brings smartphones anymore,” Mohammad, 19 years old madrassa student said.
A number of countries have in recent years moved to restrict mobile phones from classrooms such as France, Denmark and Brazil.
The Taliban authorities have already introduced a ban on images of living beings in media, with multiple provinces announcing restrictions and some Taliban officials refusing to be photographed or filmed.
The Taliban’s Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada called last week on officials and scholars to reduce their use of smartphones.
“This is the order of the leaders, and we must accept it,” a 28-year-old security forces member told AFP without giving his name as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
“I have now found a brick phone ... I used WhatsApp on my smartphone sometimes, but now I don’t use it anymore,” he added.
Some Taliban officials in Kandahar have started sharing their numbers for brick phones and switching off online messaging apps.
