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By Syndicated Content
Apr 19, 2021 4:27 PM
(Reuters) - The United States has administered 211,581,309 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Monday morning, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday.
A total of 209,406,814 vaccine doses had been administered by April 18, the CDC said.
The agency said 132,321,628 people had received at least one dose while 85,365,180 people were fully vaccinated as of Monday.
The CDC tally includes two-dose vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech as well as Johnson & Johnson's one-shot vaccine as of 6:00 a.m. ET on Monday.
A total of 7,780,750 vaccine doses have been administered in long-term care facilities, the agency said.

Αssociated Press
4/19/2021
Athens News Agency     
ATHENS -- The National Defense Ministries of Greece and Turkey agreed to a fourth cycle of talks on Confidence-Building Measures, it was announced on Monday.
Details on the future meeting, including its date, will be announced in the near future, it was added.
Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias briefed the EU Foreign Affairs Council on his recent visits to Libya, Turkey and Egypt, during a video conference held on Monday, the Greek ministry wrote on social media.
Foreign Affairs Council's agenda includes updates on the latest developments in Georgia, India, Myanmar, Mozambique and the nuclear deal with Iran (JCPOA), according to a foreign ministry statement.

Bangladesh court allows police to question Islamist leader
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A court in Bangladesh has allowed police to continue to question an influential leader of an Islamist group that led violent protests against last month’s visit by India’s prime minister. Lawyers say the court issued the decision after state counsels argued that Mamunul Haque is dangerous and investigators need to continue questioning him. Haque is a leader of the Hefazat-e-Islam group, which has a strong network of Islamic schools across Bangladesh. Modi’s visit was undermined by violence in which at least 17 supporters of the group died. 

(Fixes spelling of Gujarat in paragraph 1)
AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters) – Gas and firewood furnaces at a crematorium in the western Indian state of Gujarat have been running so long without a break during the COVID-19 pandemic that metal parts have begun to melt.
“We are working around the clock at 100% capacity to cremate bodies on time,” Kamlesh Sailor, the president of the trust that runs the crematorium in the diamond-polishing city of Surat, told Reuters.
And with hospitals full and oxygen and medicines in short supply in an already creaky health system, several major cities are reporting far larger numbers of cremations and burials under coronavirus protocols than official COVID-19 death tolls, according to crematorium and cemetery workers, media and a review of government data.

Author of the article: Monte Sonnenberg
Publishing date: Apr 19, 2021  •  3 hours ago  •  3 minute read  • 
Norfolk OPP said last week that the driver of this blue SUV was wanted for questioning in connection with the theft of a substantial amount of tools from a home in Long Point. The force reported Monday that an officer with the Oxford OPP spotted the vehicle last week and took a suspect into custody without incident. The missing property has been recovered. – OPP photo
Article content
An alert officer is credited with corralling a suspect wanted in connection with the theft of a substantial number of tools in Long Point last week.

and spoke about his past four appearances on the trivia game show. "First time, I crushed it. I panicked the night before because I sort of, agreed to do it without really thinking about it…and realized, oh my god, I don't know anything about geography — I don't know where the Baltic Sea or the Arabian Sea [is] — all these things run through your mind."
"The second time, I was playing against
Cheech Marin, and I was like, oh my God, this is going to be a cakewalk," he recalled. "I've seen
Cheech & Chong movies, the synapses can’t be firing that quickly. Turns out he’s the smartest guy, the quickest guy. He destroyed me. And do you know what it’s like to walk into the CNN newsroom the day after Cheech Marin has destroyed you on Jeopardy? Like,

10 things you need to know this morning in Australia
James Hennessy
1.
Australians over the age of 50 will have access to the coronavirus vaccine after National Cabinet agreed to bring forward the next stage of the country's COVID-19 roll out. "National Cabinet agreed in-principle to a series of changes to the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy that will be put forward for approval at the next meeting of National Cabinet including options to bring forward the commencement of vaccinations for over 50-year-olds under the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy priority group 2a," Scott Morrison said in a statement.
2.
The most likely result of Australia’s troubled vaccine rollout will be a program that concludes up to a year from now, says Michael Buckland, executive director of policy think tank the McKell Institute. With the end of JobKeeper, government support and the New Zealand travel bubble aren’t enough to enable economic growth, Buckland said. Modelling by the McKell Institute around the cost of Australia’s vaccine program delays found it could cost the economy up to $1.4 billion.

NEW DELHI: Responding to the Supreme Court’s suggestion on bringing forward the meeting of the High Powered Committee (HPC) headed by the prime minister for appointing the CBI director, the Centre on Monday told the court that the meeting could not be convened before May 2 as one of the members of the panel, leader of the largest opposition party in Lok sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, was not available.
"The secretary (DoPT) was informed by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury that he would not be available to participate in the meeting till May 2. In the light of this, the meeting of the committee under Section 4A of the Act shall be convened immediately after May 2. It may be mentioned that Praveen Sinha, who has been directed to look after the duties of the CBI director till the appointment of a new director, is the senior-most IPS officer posted in the rank of additional director, CBI," the government said in its affidavit.

NEW DELHI: No more than 500 people each will be allowed into PM Narendra Modi and other BJP campaigners’ remaining poll rallies in Bengal, party president JP Nadda decided on Monday amid the Covid surge.
Modi will now visit Bengal on Friday, April 23, and address four rallies in Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum and south Kolkata. The original plan was to have these four rallies spread over two days –– on April 21 and April 24. BJP functionaries said that all rallies would follow Covid-prevention guidelines.
“We will try to arrange 100% seating arrangement for people at the PM’s rallies. I had proposed this during the PM’s Siliguri rally but security forces did not allow us to do this. They argued that there might be commotion if people came in large numbers,” BJP state general secretary Sayantan Basu said.

COVID positive Arjun Rampal watches MSD’s Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals in home quarantine Day 3
Arjun Rampal shares a moment of his 3rd day in home quarantine where he is watching MS Dhoni in Chennai Super Kings’ jersey in a match opposite Rajasthan Royals.
Written By
Shubham Dwivedi
4432 reads
Mumbai Published: April 20, 2021 04:35 am
COVID positive Arjun Rampal watches MSD’s Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals in home quarantine Day 3
Arjun Rampal is making the most of his unwilling free time after getting COVID positive and being home quarantined for 2 weeks. Yesterday Arjun had shared a post on his Instagram where he was sitting in the peace of his house looking out at the distance from his balcony and reading a book. He asked his fans to stay smart and stay safe in order to protect themselves from COVID. Recently Arjun has shared another image as the highlight of his Day 3 on Instagram where he is chilling at his bed and watching an IPL match.

Brief Analysis
As India seeks to grow in its self-reliance, developing more balanced relations with the Gulf will strengthen ties while helping to balance against Chinese influence in the region.
In May 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would pursue 
Atmanirbhar Bharat, or the ‘self reliant India’ initiative—a call for India to boost its independence in meeting its national security requirements and defense manufacturing. In exploring this new initiative, India should extend the tenants of the 
Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative to its relations with the Gulf. Initial steps such as the Indian army chief’s unprecedented visit to Saudi Arabia and the UAE are necessary and important in this regard, but Indian-Gulf relations must be further developed and balanced. This development should focus on establishing greater Indian independence while deepening regional ties, all while remaining mindful of concurrent Chinese efforts in the region. 

UK bans travel from India after new variant emerges20/04/2021|1min
India has been added to the United Kingdom’s ‘red list' for travel over concerns of an infectious new strain of COVID-19 which appears to have originated from the nation.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has cancelled his upcoming trip to the country as concerns of a surge in cases grow.
Non-UK and non-Irish citizens will no longer be able to travel to the UK from India starting on Friday after 182 cases of the Indian variant of COVID-19 were detected in Great Britain.
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EAM Jaishankar, US Secretary Of State Blinken Discuss Security Issues In Afghanistan, Myanmar
“Conversation covered recent developments in India’s immediate and extended neighbourhood. Exchanged views on the UNSC agenda. Also discussed issues pertaining to our health cooperation,” Jaishankar said in a separate tweet.
(Image Credit: PTI) 
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his American counterpart Tony Blinken on Monday discussed on phone bilateral and regional issues including Afghanistan, Myanmar, and climate change. “Had a warm and productive conversation with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar to reaffirm the importance of the US-India relationship. We discussed regional security issues of mutual concern in Afghanistan and Burma and global challenges such as climate change,” Blinken said in a tweet.

AP
AP
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., adjusts his face mask as he arrives for votes on Biden administration nominees, at the Capitol in Washington.
AP
President Joe Biden meets with members of congress to discuss his jobs plan in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.
AP
 
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WASHINGTON — The nation’s largest coal miners’ union said Monday it would accept President Joe Biden’s plan to move away from coal and other fossil fuels in exchange for a “true energy transition” that includes thousands of jobs in renewable energy and spending on technology to make coal cleaner.

India’s capital faces weeklong lockdown amid explosive surge in Covid-19 cases
Updated Apr 19, 2021;
Posted Apr 19, 2021
A health worker takes a mouth swab sample of a man to test for Covid-19 as others wait their turn to get tested at a hospital in Hyderabad, India, Monday, April 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)AP
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New Delhi — New Delhi imposed a weeklong lockdown Monday night to prevent the collapse of the Indian capital’s health system, which authorities said had been pushed to its limit amid an explosive surge in coronavirus cases.
In scenes familiar from surges elsewhere, ambulances catapulted from one hospital to another, trying to find an empty bed over the weekend, while patients lined up outside of medical facilities waiting to be let in. Ambulances also idled outside of crematoriums, carrying half a dozen dead bodies each. In an effort to combat crisis, India announced that it would soon expand its vaccination campaign to all adults.

Premier looking to other countries for AstraZeneca vaccine as delay in shipments expected
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Credit AstraZeneca.com
There’s news that Ontario will see more delays in the delivery of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.  That news from the premier’s office on the same day the province announced they would allow the vaccine to be given to adults 40 years and older and expand availability to pharmacies.
In a statement, the premier’s office says any delay in shipments from the federal government will be devastating to the efforts to battle the third wave of the pandemic, “While we seek to confirm this information, the Premier is redoubling his efforts to secure more vaccines by directly reaching out to our international allies for any available supply.”

India's capital to lock down amid explosive virus surge
By AIJAZ HUSSAIN
and
ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL
Associated Press
April 19, 2021 — 4:25pm
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NEW DELHI — New Delhi imposed a weeklong lockdown Monday night to prevent the collapse of the Indian capital's health system, which authorities said had been pushed to its limit amid an explosive surge in coronavirus cases.
In scenes familiar from surges elsewhere, ambulances catapulted from one hospital to another, trying to find an empty bed over the weekend, while patients lined up outside of medical facilities waiting to be let in. Ambulances also idled outside of crematoriums, carrying half a dozen dead bodies each. In an effort to combat crisis, India announced that it would soon expand its vaccination campaign to all adults.

Wall Street on the back foot all day as rising virus cases rattled investors
The main indices were all lower on Monday as investors noted that the pandemic is not quite over yet
4:10pm: Tesla shares slow after Bitcoin's weekend drop
The Dow dipped 121 points, 0.4%, to 34,079 on Monday after hitting a record on Friday. The nasdaq lost 138 points, 1%, to 13,915, and the S&P 500 declined 22 points, 0.5%, to 4,163.
Bitcoin increased to $55,874 after swooning over the weekend. The cryptocurrency hit a record high of $64,863 last week. Tesla, which is invested in Bitcoin, saw its shares dip more than 3% to $714.63.
12:20pm: Coco-Cola a rare bright spot after results top expectations