G7 warns China not to 'escalate' tension with Taiwan

LONDON: The Group of Seven (G7) nations have called for a greater engagement with Taiwan and warned China not to escalate cross-strait tensions following a spike in military manoeuvres around the self-ruled island. In a joint statement released Wednesday, representatives from the G7, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, underscored "the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," and encouraged the "peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues", CNN reported....more

@ G-7 countries back Taiwan's observer status in World Health Assembly

World heading into ‘very, very dark period’, WHO warns as India breaks COVID death record

GENEVA: The majority of the world is heading into a “very, very dark period” of the coronavirus crisis, a World Health Organization (WHO) leader has said. Nearly 18 months into the global pandemic, infections across the world are now “accelerating faster than ever”, Dr David Nabarro warned....more

200 Groups Worldwide Ask UN Security Council to Adopt Global Arms Embargo on Myanmar

By Deepak Arora

NEW YORK: The United Nations Security Council should immediately impose a global arms embargo on Myanmar, Human Rights Watch and over 200 other nongovernmental organizations from around the world said today in a public appeal to council members. The Security Council should act swiftly to pressure the junta to stop violating the human rights of people protesting the February 1, 2021, coup and military rule....more

Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed injured in bomb blast

MALE: Mohamed Nasheed, former President of Maldives and the current Speaker of Parliament, sustained injuries in a bomb blast near his home on Thursday night. Ahmed Mahloof, Minister of Youth and Community Empowerment in Maldives, said they were yet to ascertain details of his injuries. Mahloof said the incident was reported around 8.30pm (Maldives Time)....more

US exempts categories of students, academics, journalists from India travel ban

WASHINGTON: Certain categories of students, academics, journalists and individuals have been exempted from the India travel ban announced by President Joe Biden, the US State Department said. The exemptions were issued by Secretary of State Tony Blinken, hours after Biden issued a proclamation restricting travel from India beginning May 4 because of the 'extraordinarily high COVID-19 caseloads and multiple variants circulating in the country'....more

Covid third wave inevitable… we should be prepared: India’s top scientific advisor

NEW DELHI: Even as India grapples with the ferocious second wave of Covid-19, the government Wednesday warned that a third wave of the pandemic was “inevitable”, although a time-frame for it could not be predicted. “Phase three is inevitable given the higher levels of circulating virus, but it is not clear on what time-scale this phase three will occur. We should be prepared for new waves,” K Vijay Raghavan, the principal scientific advisor to the Centre, said during a press briefing....more

Indian pharma cos welcome patent waivers on COVID vaccines, says tech transfer needed to scale up

NEW DELHI: The Indian pharma industry welcomed the decision by the US government to support the temporary waiver of Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on Covid-19 vaccines. The industry said along with patent waivers, it is important to push for more licensing and tech transfer arrangements to expand production of COVID-19 vaccines....more

Hospital beds being allocated to Covid patients in exchange for bribes, says ruling BJP MP

BENGALURU: At a time when many Covid patients in Bengaluru are reportedly struggling to find hospital beds for treatment, Bangalore South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Tuesday alleged that there was “widespread corruption” in allocating Covid beds in Karnataka’s capital city. “Bribes are being taken to allocate Covid beds. An unholy nexus of BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) officers, Arogya Mitras and certain private agents is behind this scam,” Surya alleged, claiming this had led to an “artificial shortage” of beds in the city....more

GST revenue hits all-time high of Rs 1.41 lakh crore in April

NEW DELHI: The gross GST revenue collected in the month of April is at a record high of Rs. 1,41,384 crore of which CGST is Rs. 27,837 crore, SGST is Rs. 35,621, IGST is ₹68,481 crore (including Rs. 29,599 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs. 9,445 crore (including Rs. 981 crore collected on import of goods). "Despite the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic affecting several parts of the country, Indian businesses have once again shown remarkable resilience by not only complying with the return filing requirements but also paying their GST dues in a timely manner during the month," according to a statement by Ministry of Finance....more

No Clampdown On Info, Supreme Court Warns In Big Covid Hearing

NEW DELHI: No state should clamp down on information if citizens communicate their grievances on social media, the Supreme Court said today amid alarming Covid surge in India, stressing the court will "treat this as contempt if any citizen is harassed". A frightening spike in Covid cases in India - hit by a deadly second Covid wave - has led to a deluge of SOS messages on social media as hospitals scramble for resources. "There should not be any presumption that grievances raised on internet are false," the top court insisted today....more

Queues for oxygen, hospital beds and outside crematorium too, thanks to Modi govt, says Rahul Gandhi on Covid situation

NEW DELHI: In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with PTI, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the entire world is shaken by the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic in India and there are queues everywhere, whether for oxygen cylinders, for life-saving medicines, for hospital beds and even outside crematoriums. He accused the government of misreading and mishandling the situation and alleged that all early warning signs were ignored, including from scientists....more

SC nixes Maratha reservation, no review of 50% ceiling on quota

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed the 2018 law framed by the Maharashtra government to give reservation to the Maratha community, ruling the state could not have breached 50% ceiling on quota. The constitution bench also declined to consider scrapping the 50% ceiling on reservations in educational institutions and jobs by reviewing a legal precedent that has, for three decades now, held the ceiling as inviolable....more

India extends international passenger flights ban till May 31 amid Covid-19 surge

NEW DELHI: India extends international passenger flights ban till May 31 amid Covid surge. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday extended the suspension on international flights from and to India till May 31 in view of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, during which the country has been reporting more than 300,000 Covid-19 cases daily for over a week now....more

Maruti Suzuki remains top seller in April

NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest car maker, recorded sales of 137,151 units during April. The company had clocked sales of 146,203 units in March 2021. Hyundai Motor India, the country’s second biggest carmaker, clocked sales of 49,002 units in the domestic market in April 2021. In March 2021 the company had sold 52,600 units. Tata Motors, India’s third biggest carmaker, recorded sales of 25,095 during April 2021. In March 2021 Tata Motors had clocked 29,654 units in sales....more

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