PANAJI, India — A state in western India known for its travel and tourism sector, Goa continues to suffer as the state sees low footfall due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Goa Minister Michael Lobo, on Aug. 12, said that tourists are visiting Goa with RT-PCR negative certificates. “We welcome them, but they’ve to wear masks and followCovid-19 protocols. We’ve to be careful and understand that it’s a pandemic. Resorts have reopened but getting very few customers.” The Covid-19 guidelines for tourist entry in Goa include a number of steps to be kept in mind before entering the state. As per the…
Author: zenger.news
NEW DELHI — Intense scenes played out at Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, on Aug. 9 as opposition party ministers stormed the well of the house shouting anti-government slogans and tearing papers. An internal security report of the Rajya Sabha said that as soon as the General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Amendment Bill, 2021, was introduced for consideration, opposition members stormed into the well of the house. As opposition members started tearing the papers and throwing them towards the chair of the house, an army of 50 marshals or security staff were rushed in. But this led to further…
LONDON — Constantly living in bio-bubbles has harmed players’ mental well-being. Now it is vital to ensure the well-being of everyone involved with the sport, said Tom Harrison, the Chief Executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board. Ben Stokes, the English all-rounder, took a break before the ongoing Test series between India and England to focus on his mental well-being. Questions were also raised on whether the bubble life will be sustainable in the long run or not. “What we are learning from this experience of Covid-19 is the absolute significance of mental well-being along with physical well-being, and these two are…
TAIPEI, Taiwan — As shown in the videos that are being resurfaced on social media, Chinese officials are reportedly locking up their residents inside their homes as China grapples with a nationwide surge of the Delta variant of Covid-19. Local media claimed that it was a repetition of the extreme tactics seen in China’s Wuhan city at the start of the pandemic. Multiple videos began to surface on Weibo, Twitter, and YouTube showing personnel in hazmat suits placing iron bars over the doors of people’s homes and hammering them in place to prevent anyone from leaving. In one Twitter post, a…
ISLAMABAD — The Pakistan Media Development Authority bill, which proposes the creation of a centralized media regulatory authority, has been rejected as “Draconian” by the media organizations of Pakistan. Through a joint statement issued, various media bodies of the country reported that the organizations have criticized the law and described the move as a step towards imposing state control over all segments of media through the creation of a single over-centralized body. In a letter issued on Aug. 11, All Pakistan Newspapers Society called the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority “unconstitutional and Draconian law against the freedom of press and expression.” “The Pakistan…
NEW DELHI — The Ministry of External Affairs of India, on Aug. 12, said that India had issued an advisory for Indian nationals to leave Afghanistan through commercial means, and there is no formal evacuation mechanism. “India is closely monitoring developments and is concerned about deteriorating security situation,” said Arindam Bagchi, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson. He said India’s Consulate at Mazar-i-Sharif continues to be operational with locally recruited staff. “We had issued an advisory for Indian nationals to leave Afghanistan for India through commercial means,” said Bagchi. “There is no formal evaluation mechanism. Separately, our Consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif has withdrawn all India-based personnel earlier this…
ISLAMABAD — The United States regards Pakistan as a “useful” entity only when it comes to clearing the “mess” it has left behind in Afghanistan after two decades of fighting and prefers India when it comes to forming a strategic partnership,” said Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan. “I think the Americans have decided that India is a strategic partner,” he said. “Maybe that is why Pakistan is being treated differently. Pakistan is just considered to be useful only in the context of settling this mess.” He said that Pakistan’s closeness to China was another reason for the change in the…
NEW DELHI — Leading doctors and global public health experts recently came together to emphasize the importance of consumer-friendly warning labels to address the rising burden of non-communicable diseases in India. For the increasing burden of Non-Communicable Diseases, which are responsible for 71 percent of deaths across the globe, unhealthy diets have been recognized as the most significant modifiable risk factor. As India prepares to adopt front of package labels for its rapidly growing packaged food and beverage industry, experts participating in the discussion highlighted how over 5.8 million Indians die every year from Non-Communicable Diseases (such as cancer, diabetes, and…
MANSEHRA, Pakistan — The Chinese firm responsible for constructing the Dasu Hydropower Project is still reluctant to resume work after 13 people were killed in a bus blast at the site, including nine Chinese nationals on July 13. The decision came after the inconclusive talks between Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority and China’s Gezhouba Group Company on the resumption of work on the Dasu hydropower project. Work on the World Bank-funded energy project came to a halt after the bus blast. Beijing also stepped in to probe this bus attack. The Chinese forces were allowed to investigate this matter despite the Imran Khan government repeatedly saying…
KABUL — Crammed into cars, hundreds of Afghans are fleeing their once quiet villages every day as the Taliban battles to take back control of Afghanistan. Some are headed to the homes of family in the government-controlled capital of Kabul, but others are lucky to find a patch of hard earth on the sweltering edges of the city. The rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis has been getting worse by the day since American forces started their withdrawal — in line with the 2020 Doha agreement — after nearly two decades in Afghanistan. For those pouring into Kabul to flee the Taliban,…