PUNE, India — Amid the backdrop of growing criticism in international media about handling the Covid-19 pandemic, muzzling the media, and increasing religious intolerance, the Indian government wants to start an international channel to “project India’s point of view”. Prasar Bharati, the parent body of Doordarshan, India’s national broadcaster, recently mooted an Expression of Interest (EoI) seeking applications for consultancy services to provide a detailed project report for establishing the channel. “India, as the world’s largest democracy and one of the significant emerging economies, has an important role to play globally on various fronts,” Shashi Shekhar Vempati, chief executive officer of Doordarshan, told…
Author: zenger.news
YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon — Nothing divides people in the Central African nation of Cameroon today as their history epitomized in the National Unity Day celebrated on May 20 since 1972. Celebrations have not been held for the past two years due to Covid-19 restrictions. Still, debates about when and why this day should be observed in the first place have gathered momentum, fueled by the raging conflict between the Cameroon military and Anglophone armed separatists. “Before the last five years, many Cameroonians didn’t even know what transpired on May 20, 1972, but events since 2016 have educated many on Cameroon’s political history,” Emile Sunjo, Senior…
NAIROBI, Kenya — Had he been asked 10 years ago to venture into avocado farming, Samson Musembi, 62, would have laughed off the idea. However, the father of five now wishes he had started earlier. Musembi, a retired primary school teacher from Karangita village in Thika sub-county, 40 kilometers (24 miles) northeast of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, has planted Hass avocado trees on two acres of land. “I just didn’t wake up one morning and decided to venture into avocado farming,” he told Zenger News. He learned of the fortune-making venture in 2017 when random buyers knocked at his door to buy…
BENGALURU, India — A bunch of employees from American multinational technology company Cognizant is mapping Anopheles and Aedes aegypti mosquito infestation in India. The mosquitoes are crucial vectors for spreading diseases like malaria, Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. Along with 19 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, India has been long-suffering from malaria, the deadliest of all mosquito-borne diseases, with around 85 percent of the world’s total disease burden. The World Malaria Report 2020 stated that the disease caused 4,09,000 deaths globally in 2019. However, the World Health Organization also noted that global malaria mortality fell by 60 percent over the 2000 to 2019 period. India…
BRISBANE, Australia — Australian farmers are on track to plant the biggest winter crop in the nation’s history, with strong rainfall and high global prices outweighing a mouse plague. The federal government’s agriculture forecaster is predicting the total area of crops planted to soar beyond 23 million with good prospects in many high-production regions. Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences’ latest crop report expects overall crop production to be 46.8 million tonnes, 15 percent below last year’s record winter harvest but 13 percent above the 10-year average. The agency’s acting executive director, Jared Greenville, said mixed yields due to tougher conditions…
FRASER ISLAND, Australia — Wild dingoes on Fraser Island, Australia will be fitted with high-tech camera collars so the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service can observe and monitor their behavior, particularly around people. Following a recent influx of human interactions with dingoes, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service says the initiative is targeted at the management of high-risk animal. Two dingoes have been fitted with camera collars around the Orchid Beach residential area, and the lightweight devices will be worn for up to three months. The collar will then be released from the animal via a timed drop-off mechanism. Queensland Parks and Wildlife…
BRISBANE, Australia — Australians and businesses have had a lot to absorb about the nation’s economic performance in recent weeks. The economy has already fully recovered from last year’s recession, the unemployment rate has fallen rapidly to 5.5 percent and is set to head even lower, and the nation’s top-tier AAA rating is now deemed safe by one global credit rating agency. However, despite these positives, Victoria’s 14-day Covid-19 lockdown risks undermining general upbeat confidence among consumers and firms — a risk to household spending, investment, and hiring of staff. “There are only five reasons to leave your home; shopping for necessary goods…
French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face Tuesday while campaigning in southern France, videos taken at the scene show. He was on the trail in Tain-l’Hermitage, outside Valen, when he was attacked. Approaching a crowd gathered behind metal barricades, Macron leaned in to greet a man, who shouted “Down with Macronism” (“A Bas La Macronie”) and slapped him across the face. He shouted “Montjoie, Saint-Denis,” a French royalist battle-cry dating back to at least the Middle Ages, before being tackled by Macron’s security detail. Macron kept going down the line after the slap. French television station BFM TV…
Shortly after they hatched at the Zoo Aquarium Madrid, two barn owlets were released into the wild on June 5, marking World Environment Day. The baby barn owls, the most widely distributed species of owl in the world, are part of a conservation project in cooperation with the Brinzal Nocturnal Raptor Recovery Centre to boost their numbers. Experts say there are only 37 breeding pairs of owls in the Madrid region. Veterinarians spent 28 days carrying out basic checks on the newborns, monitoring their weight, analyzing their wings and growth rate and testing their hearing and eyesight. The two owlets…
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, will be vaccinated against Covid-19 this month as the New Zealand government confirms a supply of a million doses from Pfizer. Ardern has held off on receiving the vaccine until now, saying she wanted to wait until the rollout to the general population. As the massive new drop of doses keeps New Zealand’s rollout on schedule, Ardern has decided to get the jab as a role model to the population. Like Australia, New Zealand began its vaccination rollout in February, prioritizing border and health workers, as well as vulnerable populations such as the elderly. As the…