Thousands in India gather for Magh Mela festival amid COVID surge – DW News

In northern India, tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims have gathered for a festival, despite a huge jump in COVID-19 infections. The Magh Mela festival, which includes bathing in the Ganges river, is one of the holiest pilgrimages in the Hindu faither. Last year’s festival was described as a COVID-19 ‘superspreader’ event. How are pilgrims

Gravitas: Amid Omicron surge, Deltacron discovered in Cyprus – WION

Cyprus has discovered a new variant called ‘Deltacron’ which is a combination of Delta & Omicron. The global case tally meanwhile has breached the 307 million mark. India alone added 179,000+ cases on Sunday. Palki Sharma gets you a detailed report.

Gravitas: Omicron Surge: Troops deployed to London hospitals – WION

The British Armed Forces have sent 200 personnel into NHS hospitals across London to plug staff shortages. Last week, 9.5 million people worldwide tested positive for the Wuhan virus. Palki Sharma brings you a report.

Putin heads to India with eye on military, energy ties – France24

Russian President Vladimir #Putin will arrive in #India on Monday for just his second overseas trip since the pandemic, seeking to bolster military and energy ties with a traditional ally being courted by #Washington. FRANCE 24’s Chief Foreign Editor Rob Parsons tells us more.

India to repeal controversial farming laws following persistent protests – DW News

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Friday in an address to the nation that he will be repealing three controversial farm laws. Farmers in the northern part of the country have been protesting against the laws for over a year. The announcement came on the day of Guru Nanak Jayanti, a celebration of the birthday

Delhi remains engulfed in toxic smog; schools shut, entry of trucks banned – WION

India’s capital Delhi and the surrounding areas meanwhile continue to battle the toxic smog blanket that has engulfed the region. In the latest effort to reduce air pollution, the commission for air quality management has issued a slew of orders to combat the situation.

Pandemic, climate change put education under threat worldwide – DW News

The coronavirus crisis is one of the factors threatening the education of millions of children worldwide. That’s the conclusion of a new report by the nonprofit Save the Children. About 1.5 billion children missed school globally because of the coronavirus pandemic – and more than 19 countries still had nationwide school closures due to COVID-19

Tax raids target Indian paper that criticised government over Covid

Dainik Bhaskar accuses government of pursuing it on trumped-up charges in response to its reporting Tax raids have been carried out on the offices of one of India’s most popular newspapers, after months of critical coverage of the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. On Thursday morning, more than 100 tax inspectors descended on the

Millions in India’s northern states sizzle in severe heatwave

Heatwave pushes temperature to a nine-year high in New Delhi as monsoon rains run behind schedule. Tens of millions of people in India are suffering under a severe heatwave that has pushed the temperature to a nine-year high in capital New Delhi as monsoon rains run behind schedule. Heatwaves have killed at least 6,500 people

India reports more than 6,000 daily Covid deaths — highest ever in the world

India’s health ministry data showed 6,148 deaths were recorded over a 24-hour period, as daily reported cases remained below 100,000 for the third consecutive day. The fatalities rose after one of India’s poorest states, Bihar, revised its total Covid-19 related death toll on Wednesday from about 5,400 to more than 9,400, accounting for people who