Narendra modi

The party of India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has failed to win the state of West Bengal in a state election that was held amidst an explosion of Covid-19 cases and deaths, Reuters and the BBC reported . Results on Sunday, May 2, showed that 66-year-old Mamata Banerjee, the incumbent, was set to hold on to West Bengal, with her party, the Trinamool Congress, sweeping over 200 out of 294 seats in the state assembly. The same day also saw India set a new record of 3,689 daily deaths, taking the death toll to 215,542, while authorities reported 392,488 new cases, bringing the total number of cases to 19.56 million, Reuters reported . The real toll is thought to be far higher, however, with experts pointing to low testing rates and the number of people who have died at home, particularly in rural areas, as contributing to the under-reporting of numbers. What has been the reaction to the results? In a tweet, Modi congratulated Banerjee for her win, and ... » Learn More about Modi’s party loses West Bengal election as Covid-19 deaths set new record in India

Non-stop cremations around India have cast doubt on the number of people who have died from Covid-19 in the country, Reuters reported . Crematoriums receiving bodies far above the official death toll Several crematoriums in Indian cities such as Lucknow, Surat and Bhopal have reported a spike in the number of cremations carried out for April, far above official Covid-19 mortality figures given. Within Surat, Gujarat, two crematoriums said that they had more than 100 bodies on a daily basis for the previous week, in accordance with Covid-19 regulations. The death toll from Covid-19 in the city officially stands at 25. A trustee of Narayan Trust, which manages a third crematorium in the city, Prashant Kabrawala, said that cremations had recently tripled, although he did not give a specific number. He added, "I have been regularly going to the crematorium since 1987, and been involved in its day-to-day functioning since 2005, but I haven't seen so many dead bodies ... » Learn More about ‘Round-the-clock’ cremations cast doubt on India’s official Covid-19 mortality rate

NEW DELHI (AFP) - Milkha Singh, one of India's most successful track athletes who overcame childhood tragedy to seek Olympic glory, has died aged 91 after a long battle with Covid-19, Indian media said on Friday (June 18). Tributes to the athlete known as the "Flying Sikh" poured in on social media after the news broke late in the day, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he was "anguished" by the news. "(W)e have lost a colossal sportsperson, who captured the nation's imagination and had a special place in the hearts of countless Indians. His inspiring personality endeared himself to millions," Mr Modi wrote. India tennis star Sania Mirza tweeted: "Had the honour of meeting you and you blessed me so many times .. the kindest and warmest RIP Milkha Singh sir .. the world will miss a legend like you .. #MilkhaSingh." "Dad just passed away," Singh's son Jeev Milkha Singh, himself a leading pro golfer, told the Indian Express newspaper. Singh had first tested positive ... » Learn More about Athletics: India mourns as ‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh dies of Covid aged 91

The global spread of fascism is real, as real as the spread of COVID-19, and you better believe it. For purposes of academic analysis, it might be legitimate to distinguish between a fascist-leaning and a fascist movement, or a far right regime and a fascist regime, or an authoritarian populist and a fascist. I am a former member of Parliament and street activist, and while I have great respect for academics, those of us who operate in the realm of practical politics cannot afford to act as academics. For me a movement or person must be regarded as fascist when they fuse the following five features: 1) they show a disdain or hatred for democratic principles and procedures; 2) they tolerate or promote violence; 3) they have a heated mass base or one that supports their anti-democratic thinking and behavior; 4) they scapegoat and support persecution of certain social groups; and 5) they are led by a charismatic individual who exhibits and normalizes all of the above. ... » Learn More about [OPINION] Fascism’s spread is real – as real as the spread of COVID-19

Milkha Singh, seen at the premiere of "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag," the Bollywood film detailing his life story in 2013, has passed away aged 91 NEW DELHI - India on Saturday mourned the loss of track legend Milkha Singh, who overcame childhood tragedy to seek Olympic glory, after he died aged 91 following a long battle with Covid-19. Singh, a four-time Asian Games gold medallist who was dubbed the 'Flying Sikh', passed away at a hospital in the north Indian city of Chandigarh late Friday. His wife had also died from the virus earlier in the week. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the tributes for Singh, writing that India had "lost a colossal sportsperson, who captured the nation's imagination and had a special place in the hearts of countless Indians." Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar said Singh's legacy would live on. "Rest in Peace our very own 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh ji," he tweeted. "Your demise has left a deep void in every Indian's heart today, but you shall keep ... » Learn More about India mourns as ‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh dies of Covid aged 91

Millions of people in the Indian state of West Bengal headed to the polls on Apr. 29 to vote in the state's elections, amidst a new record of 379,257 cases of Covid-19, The Guardian and BBC reported . As such, there have been concerns about West Bengal becoming the next epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak, given that long queues were reported outside polling stations. In some instances, little social distancing was observed. Voters queue up outside a polling booth in Shantiniketan, Bolpur;, West Bengal #WestBengalPolls2021 pic.twitter.com/pvxWGzEsrB — CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) April 29, 2021 Voting for the eighth & final phase of #WestBengalPolls is underway. #Visuals from a polling booth in Murshidabad, West Bengal #BengalElection2021 pic.twitter.com/Sjs8ZNo3a7 — CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) April 29, 2021 #ElectionsWithHT | Nuns of Missionaries of Charity in queue to cast their votes in Kolkata, West Bengal #WestBengalPolls ... » Learn More about India’s West Bengal goes ahead with state election amid record surge of Covid-19 cases

Armed with nothing more than a piece of cardboard to ward off the ferocious heat of a New Delhi summer, Rohingya refugee Hilal Ud-din furiously flaps air at his two young children in an attempt to cool them down. Their tarpaulin tent has no electricity, water, or even a place to cook, but Hilal fears the worst is still yet to come for his family. “When it starts to rain, all these tents will be washed away, and we’ll have no place to go,” the 31-year-old said with a look of dismay. “If they don’t allow us to rebuild our shelter, where will we go?” His concerns are not unfounded. Last weekend, some 57 Rohingya refugee families, including Hilal’s, were left homeless after a fire ripped through their shanty town of bamboo and tin shelters – some of which had been standing since 2012 – in Madanpur Khadar, on the outskirts of the Indian capital. No one was injured in the blaze, but the makeshift settlement, which included a mosque and school, was devastated. To make matters worse, ... » Learn More about New Delhi shanty town blaze exposes plight of India’s Rohingya refugees

India gave out a record 8.3 million vaccine doses on Monday, June 21, under a federal campaign to inoculate all adults for free after weeks of criticism that a chaotic rollout had worsened a second wave that killed hundreds of thousands. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government would buy 75% of all vaccines from drug makers and distribute them for free to states, which along with private hospitals had earlier been buying shots for people aged 18-45. India's previous record of 4.5 million doses was on April 5, followed by a sharp decline with average daily inoculation falling below 3 million. "Today's record-breaking vaccination numbers are gladdening. The vaccine remains our strongest weapon to fight COVID-19," Modi wrote in a tweet, and thanked the frontline workers who enabled citizens to get vaccinated. Experts have said India needs to administer 10 million doses a day to achieve its aim of inoculating 950 million adults by ... » Learn More about India’s vaccinations hit record with free COVID-19 shots

A DOSE OF THEIROWN Pasay City residents on Saturday trooped to the city government’s Giga Vaccination center at SM Mall of Asia to receive the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine. —RICHARD A. REYES A double dose of COVID-19 vaccines is almost as effective against the fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus first identified in India as it is against Britain’s dominant strain, English health officials said on Saturday. Britain’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the data was groundbreaking and he was increasingly hopeful that the government would be able to lift more COVID restrictions next month. A study by Public Health England (PHE) found the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 88 percent effective against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 variant, a sublineage of the India variant, two weeks after the second dose. That compared with 93 percent effectiveness against the B.1.1.7 “Kent” strain, which is Britain’s dominant COVID variant. Two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were ... » Learn More about 2 doses of either Pfizer, Astra jabs effective vs COVID-19 India variant – UK study

Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg The President of the United States Joe Biden opened the virtual climate summit on Earth Day, Apr. 22. The two-day long Leaders Summit on Climate happened on Apr. 22 and Apr. 23 aims to rally countries to address climate climate in a coordinated manner. 40 world leaders, including significant contributors to global carbon emission, attended the summit. Top officials, executives and global figures like Pope Francis, Greta Thunberg and Bill Gates also made speeches during the summit. US to halve emissions by 2030 At the summit, Biden said that the U.S. will aim to achieve a 50 to 52 per cent reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 . This new target is much more ambitious than the one that the U.S. pledged in 2014 — that is a 26 to 28 per cent reduction in emissions by 2025. He also committed to double the amount of yearly monetary assistance to developing countries by 2024. ... » Learn More about US climate summit: What top carbon emitters US, China & India committing to tackle climate change