COVID diaries: Indian expats share experiences of conditions back home
By: Times News Service
Muscat: Indian expats who have returned to Oman said that one of the main reasons for the spread of COVID-19 back home is because people have not taken it seriously.
Expats from different parts of India all point to the same patterns of behaviour followed by people: an ignorance of the dangers of the virus, lack of commitment to social distancing and mask wearing, and a casual attitude to lockdowns put in place to stop the spread of the disease.
India has a total of 3.4 million active cases, while about 16.2 million people with the virus have recovered. According to India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, more than 210,000 people have lost their lives from the virus.
‘Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Cinema’ introduced
Year-long centenary celebrations for Ray to be held across India and abroad Satyajit Ray. Photo: Collected
Pallab Bhattacharya
Pallab Bhattacharya
India has instituted the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Cinema to be given at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) every year, starting from this year, to mark Ray s birth centenary celebrations. The award will consist of a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, a certificate, shawl, along with a silver peacock medal and a scroll. India s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will organise year-long centenary celebrations for Ray, starting from May 2, in India and abroad.
Covid 19 coronavirus: Democracy in India under microscope as hundreds of anti-government accounts censored
26 Apr, 2021 07:09 PM
4 minutes to read
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking at a rally. The PM has been under scrutiny from critics after a number of anti-government social media posts were deleted. Photo / Getty
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking at a rally. The PM has been under scrutiny from critics after a number of anti-government social media posts were deleted. Photo / Getty
news.com.au
By: Alex Blair
The brutal second wave of Covid has left politicians in a state of disarray as Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempts to steady his country s reaction to the crisis.
A screengrab for a condom ad featuring Sunny Leone, a Bollywood actress and former porn star. ( War4u Tv via YouTube/Screenshot by NPR)
On Monday, India s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued an advisory to the country s 857 television channels requiring them to immediately cease airing condom commercials between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The statement prohibits advertisements of condoms which are for a particular age group and could be indecent/inappropriate for viewing by children.
Online outrage was immediate, with netizens lampooning the ban, the timing and the moral policing. One site satirized the news, thanking the government for saving Indian culture. A tweeter noted that showing racy condom ads after 10 p.m. would be counterproductive, because people would be having unprotected sex, not watching TV, by then.
News by Alex Blair 27th Apr 2021 4:55 AM India has been brought to its knees after five straight days of setting global infection records, surpassing 350,000 new cases of coronavirus in a single day on Monday. The brutal second wave has left politicians in a state of disarray as Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempts to steady his country s reaction to the crisis. India is literally gasping for oxygen, Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said Monday afternoon, detailing the federal government discussions over shipping excess ventilators to aid the nation s overrun healthcare system, which is dealing with more than 2,800 deaths per day. Fronting the media on Sunday, Modi admitted the explosive resurgence of COVID-19 was a result of India becoming too complacent after stamping out the first wave in 2020. He urged the public to get vaccinated, advising they only get updates from authentic sources and not bite a