US, Britain rush supplies to virus-stricken India

NEW DELHI, April 26: The US and Britain rushed ventilators and vaccine materials to India Monday as the country battles a catastrophic, record-breaking coronavirus wave that has overwhelmed hospitals and set crematoriums working at full capacity. A surge in recent days has seen patients' families taking to social media to beg for oxygen supplies and locations of available hospital beds, and has forced the capital New Delhi to extend a week-long lockdown. The country of 1.3 billion has become the latest hotspot of a pandemic that has killed more than three million people, even as richer countries take steps towards normality with quickening innoculation programmes. "He was gasping for air, we removed his face mask and he was crying and saying 'save me, please save me'," Mohan Sharma, 17, said of his father, who died outside a Delhi hospital. "But I could do nothing. I just watched him die," Sharma told AFP. France, Germany and Canada have also pledged support to India, which has driven increases in global case numbers in recent days, recording 352,991 new infections and 2,812 deaths on Monday -- its highest tolls since the start of the pandemic. Creaking health facilities in poorer countries were exposed Sunday when more than 80 people died as fire ripped through a Baghdad hospital for Covid-19 patients, sparking outrage and the suspension of top Iraqi officials. - Vaccine surplus - The first of nine airline container-loads of supplies from the UK, including ventilators and oxygen concentrators, was set to arrive in India early Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, pledging the UK would do "all it can" to help. The White House said it was making vaccine-production material, therapeutics, tests, ventilators and protective equipment immediately available to India. But it did not mention whether it would send any of the 30 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses it currently holds in surplus, sparking accusations of hoarding. India's Hindu-nationalist government is facing growing criticism for allowing mass gatherings across the country in recent weeks, with millions attending religious festivals and thronging political rallies. The glitzy Indian Premier League is also under pressure, with a leading newspaper suspending coverage over the IPL's decision to keep playing cricket during the latest wave, and star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin withdrawing to support his family during the pandemic. On Sunday, Twitter confirmed it withheld dozens of tweets -- including from opposition lawmakers -- critical of the government's handling crisis after a legal demand from New Delhi. - Fiji funeral - Japan's annual "Golden Week" holiday got underway with new restrictions in Tokyo and Osaka, where shopping malls and department stores were asked to close and residents urged avoid non-essential travel. Bars and restaurants selling alcohol have also been asked to shut early during the week -- usually Japan's busiest travel period -- which comes just under three months before the pandemic-postponed Olympics are due to get under way. Fiji's capital Suva entered a 14-day lockdown Monday after detecting the first community transmission cases in 12 months following a funeral. The tourism-dependent islands have recorded fewer than 100 cases and just two deaths in a population of 930,000, and the moves comes as a huge blow for hopes of opening quarantine-free travel bubbles with Australia and New Zealand. But Americans dreaming of Paris or Florence were given some hope when EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said US tourists vaccinated against Covid-19 would be able to visit the European Union in the coming months. She gave no timetable, but told the New York Times that the new rules could be in place by this summer. - 'In the flesh!' - Motor racing fans also got a boost with the news a limited number of spectators could be allowed to attend the Monaco Grand Prix in May, Formula One chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali said Sunday. And another limited glimpse of pre-pandemic life was on display in the US, at an Oscars ceremony reuniting some of Hollywood's A-listers -- unmasked and vaccinated -- for the first time in more than a year. "We're here, isn't it crazy?" said best actor nominee and "Sound of Metal" star Riz Ahmed. "Human beings in the flesh!"

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Britain to continue trade talks with India despite Canada's allegations

Despite Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations on India for its involvement in the death of a Khalistani separatist leader

Nepalnews भाद्र २०८०

Britain to continue trade talks with India despite Canada's allegations

Despite Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations on India for its involvement in the death of a Khalistani separatist leader

Nepalnews भाद्र २०८०

Australia: Free trade deals with India and Britain

Australia’s Parliament passed bilateral free trade agreements with India and Britain on Tuesday.

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India seeks to win public trust in crisis-hit Sri Lanka

MAY 19: While popular perception indicated China had outpaced India, the recent economic and political turmoil in Sri Lanka seems to have given India's foreign policy a fresh lease of life in the island nation. Sri Lanka is in the middle of its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948. The country has been rocked by protests as people seethe with anger over soaring prices and shortages of food and fuel. Last week, Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as prime minister after his supporters clashed with peaceful protesters, sparking a deadly night of violence on 9 May. Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over as PM, said the country's economic problems would get worse before getting better. He appealed for outside financial help, including from India. India has never been a major lender to Sri Lanka, unlike China which by the end of 2019 owned a little over 10% of Sri Lanka's outstanding foreign debt stock. In early 2021, with the economic crisis looming, the Sri Lankan government had also obtained a 10bn yuan ($148m; £119m) currency swap facility from China to tackle its foreign exchange shortage. But now, India is slowly emerging as one of the biggest providers of aid to Sri Lanka. Colombo has racked up $51bn (£39bn) in foreign debt. This year, it will be required to pay $7bn (£5.4bn) to service these debts, with similar amounts for years to come. The country is also seeking emergency loans of $3bn to pay for essential imports such as fuel. While the World Bank has agreed to lend it $600m, India has committed $1.9bn and may lend an additional $1.5bn for imports. Delhi has also sent 65,000 tonnes of fertiliser and 400,000 tonnes of fuel, with more fuel shipments expected later in May. It has committed to sending more medical supplies too. In return, India has clinched an agreement which allows the Indian Oil Corporation access to the British-built Trincomalee oil tank farm. India also aims to develop a 100MW power plant near Trincomalee. Mixed feelings over Indian help Many in Sri Lanka feel that India's growing presence in Colombo could mean a "dilution of sovereignty". "For the past year and a half, there has been a crisis in Sri Lanka and we believe India has used this to serve its own interests. Yes, they gave some credit, some medicines and food but [they are] not being a friend. There is a hidden political agenda," said Pabuda Jayagoda of the Frontline Socialist Party. But others are more accepting of Indian help. "Let's not blame India for our woes," says V Ratnasingham, an onion importer in Colombo. "We are still getting onions from India at a decent price and they are giving us credit in times of crisis. It's the Sri Lankan government's failure that onion prices have trebled." The suspicion over India's intentions right now comes against the backdrop of Sri Lanka's ties to China. After Mahinda Rajapaksa took charge as president in 2005, Sri Lanka's drift towards China was believed to be a preference for a "more reliable partner enabling domestic economic development". More and more infrastructure projects - including the multi-billion dollar Hambantota port and the Colombo-Galle expressway - were awarded to China. Chinese President Xi Jinping's maiden visit to Colombo in 2014 was also a clear diplomatic signal to Delhi. Hambantota is nowadays commonly referred to as a "white elephant" which bled Sri Lanka's economy. So are several other expensive projects which led Sri Lanka into a huge Chinese debt-cycle. Many anti-government protesters at Colombo's Galle Face Green are convinced that this push to modernise fast led Sri Lanka to its current situation. The country owes China $6.5bn and talks are being held on restructuring the debt. While China had earlier agreed to bolster Sri Lanka's foreign currency reserves by swapping the rupee for the yuan, it has since signalled displeasure over Colombo approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help. Noora Noor, 44, has been camping at Galle Face along with her family, demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the younger brother of Mahinda, resign. "All Chinese money that came in was never accounted for, right? Why else would my country have defaulted on payments? Now all supplies are coming from India, so my question is who should we trust - China or India?" she asks. Still, there are some optimists who feel diplomacy will help. "Is Sri Lanka being placed on a collision course with China? If so, we need to avoid such an eventuality due to other negative situations that may arise. Balancing relationships is a must," Austin Fernando, Sri Lanka's former high commissioner to India, wrote in The Island newspaper. India's efforts India has tried hard to match up to the growing Chinese clout in what it sees as its neighbourhood. After President Xi's visit in 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only visited Colombo the next year but also claimed to be "the best of friends" while addressing the Sri Lankan parliament. Arjuna Ranatunga, a former Sri Lankan cricketer who went on to become a cabinet minister, recalls India being generous when he was in office. "I was handling both the petroleum and port ministries in 2015 and we were struggling to construct the Jaffna airport for a lack of funds. I went to Delhi seeking help. PM Modi's government offered a subsidised loan and later converted it into a grant. What else do you want from a neighbour?" The return of the Rajapaksas to power in 2019, this time with Gotabaya president and Mahinda prime minister, also made India realign its foreign policy options and new agreements over oil and food commodities were signed hastily. State visits followed between Colombo and Delhi without eliciting much response from China. The question of Sri Lanka's Tamil minorities and their demand for rights has been at the forefront of the diplomatic negotiations with India. After the civil war ended in 2009, India extended support to the Sri Lankan government. Sri Lanka is, however, yet to implement the 1987 India-Sri Lanka Peace Accord which promised to devolve powers to all provinces, including where the Tamils were in a majority. The current economic crisis, however, has certainly leapfrogged over any other political concerns between the two nations. There has been a shift in public perception in Sri Lanka - which was seen as anti-India and pro-China - thanks to consistent supplies from India of essential commodities. "India did lose out to China about 15 years ago but is trying hard to make a decent comeback," says Bhavani Fonseka, a senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo. "Ethnic minorities in Sri Lanka have always looked up to India to champion their demands for equal rights, whereas the Sinhalese majority still has a mixed perception," she says. "Some also worry over India's interference in internal matters. But I feel the last few weeks have changed this completely." With inputs from BBC

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Britain, India call for immediate cease-fire in Ukraine

The Himalayan Times चैत्र २०७८

Britain and India seal defence deals, free trade expected by Oct

Britain and India agreed on Friday to step up defence and business cooperation during a visit to New Delhi by Boris Johnson, who said a bilateral free-trade deal could be wrapped up by October

Annapurna Express चैत्र २०७८

Looking back at the 1923 Nepal-Britain Treaty

British envoy to Nepal William O’Connor and Prime Minister Chandra Shamsher after signing the treaty on 21 December 1923. early 100 years ago, the Rana ruler of Nepal signed a treaty with British India that redressed some of the humiliation that the Gorkha Empire suffered after its defeat in war and the Sugauli Treaty of […]

Nepali Times मंसिर २०७८

India slaps tit-for-tat curbs on travel by UK nationals

New Dilli, Oct 2. All UK nationals arriving in India from Monday will have to undergo 10-day mandatory quarantine, irrespective of their vaccination status, sources told India News Network. India has decided to undertake this reciprocal measure following the UK’s controversial rules on mandatory 10-day quarantine for the Indian nationals arriving in Britain. “From October […] The post India slaps tit-for-tat curbs on travel by UK nationals appeared first on Aarthiknews:: A leading business & economic news portal from Nepal.

Aarthik News English भाद्र २०७८

UK reports highest daily coronavirus death toll since March

LONDON, August 11: Britain recorded another 146 coronavirus-related deaths, the highest daily figure since March 12, according to official data released Tuesday. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 130,503. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test. The country also reported another 23,510 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 6,117,540. Meanwhile, three quarters of adults in Britain have now received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a statement from the Department of Health and Social Care. The latest Data from Public Health England (PHE) showed that COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against hospitalization from the Delta variant first detected in India. The analysis showed the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 96 percent effective and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 92 percent effective against hospitalization after two doses. The Delta variant is currently the dominant strain in Britain. The data from PHE and Cambridge University showed that around 60,000 deaths, 22 million infections and 66,900 hospitalizations have been prevented by the vaccines. "It's so important that those who haven't been vaccinated come forward as soon as possible to book their jab - to protect themselves, protect their loved ones and allow us all to enjoy our freedoms safely," said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a statement. England has lifted almost all its remaining COVID-19 restrictions since July 19. Nearly 90 percent of the adults in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine, the latest figures showed. To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.

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India records more than 2,000 COVID deaths in 24 hours

NEW DELHI, April 21: India recorded more than 2,000 Covid deaths on Wednesday and almost 300,000 new cases, among the world's biggest daily totals since the pandemic began, official data showed. Health ministry figures showed 295,000 new cases in 24 hours, on a par with numbers seen in the United States in January, and 2,023 fatalities, bringing the country's total death toll to 182,553. In an address to the nation on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the country of 1.3 billion people was "once again fighting a big fight". "The situation was under control till a few weeks back, and then this second corona wave came like a storm," Modi said. There had been hopes that despite its packed cities and poor health care, India had managed to dodge largely unscathed a pandemic that has killed more than three million people around the world. Recent weeks have seen mass gatherings including millions attending the Kumbh Mela religious festival, political rallies as well as lavish weddings and cricket matches against England. Production of key coronavirus drugs slowed or even halted at some factories and there were delays inviting bids for oxygen generation plants, according to press reports. Now distraught relatives are being forced to pay exorbitant rates on the black market for medicine and oxygen and WhatsApp groups are awash with desperate pleas for help. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who on Tuesday went into self-isolation after his wife tested positive, tweeted late Tuesday that some hospitals in the megacity "are left with just a few hours of oxygen". The United States now advises against travelling to India, even for those fully vaccinated, while Britain had added India to its "red list". Hong Kong and New Zealand have banned flights from the country.

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