India Covid crisis: Vaccination centres close in Mumbai
Reuters/Mumbai
The country posted another record daily rise in coronavirus cases.
All vaccination centres in India s financial capital of Mumbai were shut for three days starting Friday due to a shortage of vaccines, said authorities, as the country posted another record daily rise in coronavirus cases.
India reported 386,452 news cases on Friday, while deaths from Covid-19 jumped by 3,498 over the last 24 hours, according to health ministry data.
However, medical experts believe actual Covid-19 numbers in the world s second-most populous nation may be five to 10 times greater than the official tally.
India has added about 7.7 million cases since the end of February, when its second wave picked up steam, according to a Reuters tally. In contrast, it took India nearly six months to add the previous 7.7 million cases.
India Covid crisis: Doctors threaten to strike over attacks patients kin in Goa
Web Report/Panaji
Photo: ANI
According to official figures, the state has seen a total of 1,146 deaths.
With active Covid-19 cases in Goa surging from 1,716 on April 1 to 20,898 by Thursday, doctors are feeling the pressure as abusive and sometimes violent relatives confront them.
“It saddens us immensely that even after giving our best efforts, while being crippled by lack of adequate facilities, oxygen supply, beds, manpower etc. We have been on the receiving end of multiple threats and violent incidents in the past,” said the Goa Association of Resident Doctors (GARD) on Thursday.
Israel: At least 44 killed in stampede at religious festival
AFP/Meron
Photo: Reuters
Closed last year due to coronavirus restrictions, this year’s pilgrimage was the largest public gathering since the pandemic began.
A massive stampede at a densely packed Jewish pilgrimage site killed at least 44 people in northern Israel on Friday, with rescue workers facing chaotic crowds while trying to evacuate the injured.
The disaster occurred in Meron at the site of the reputed tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a second-century Talmudic sage, where Jews flock to mark the Lag BaOmer holiday.
Closed last year due to coronavirus restrictions, this year’s pilgrimage was the largest public gathering since the pandemic began.
Ramadan 2021: New permits required for Qiyam-Al-Layl prayers in Saudi Arabia
Web Report/Riyadh
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced the new permits required for the voluntary prayers.
Authorities in Saudi Arabia have announced the requirement of new permits for those who wish to pray the Qiyam-Al-Layl prayers.
According to Arab News, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced that the permits can be obtained from the Tawakkalna and Eatmarna app
The permits are required for those who wish to attend the voluntary prayers held between the Isha and Fajr prayers during the last 10 days of Ramadan.
Meanwhile, various ministries in the Kingdom have stressed the importance of vaccinations to protect against Covid, with only vaccinated employees being allowed to enter offices.
Long Read: Returning heritage Filed on April 30, 2021 | Last updated on April 30, 2021 at 10.12 am
Gifted, looted or stolen Britain has a large number of priceless artefacts from India, other former colonies and elsewhere. but now, some are on their way back home as demands grow
Stepping into India House in central London is like stepping back in time. Designed by the legendary architect Herbert Baker and inaugurated by King George V in 1930, the home of India’s high commission is a blend of change and continuity, with paintings, portraits, busts, artefacts and symbols of modernity set in the high-domed, colonial-style structure. There have been 27 Indian high commissioners since independence in 1947, but rarely have they been as busy as recent envoys, who, since 2016, have overseen the return of several priceless objects that were stolen from India and ended up in the antiques art market in London. The returns happened in the context of intense debates about the wid