KOLKATA, India — The vaccination drive in India has led to a spike in demand for glass vials — a silver lining for the depressed glass manufacturing sector in India. India launched the world’s largest Covid-19 vaccination drives on Jan.16, with 30 million frontline and healthcare workers registered for the jab on day one. The government plans to vaccinate 300 million people by August. India needs to immunize its 1.3 billion people in phases, entailing the use of at least 2.6 billion vials for two shots. The present capacity of the glass vial industry in India is around 80,000 tons per year, included molded and…
Author: zenger.news
NEW DELHI — Sarthak K., a 27-year-old student from New Delhi, had always been confident about pursuing higher studies in America until President Donald J. Trump was elected in 2016. Trump’s “America First” program made Sarthak doubtful of having a long-term career in the U.S. as a marketer. The pandemic raised further doubts about his prospects. “With a change in leadership in the U.S and exam centers reopening by the end of 2020, things are looking up,” said Sarthak. “I plan to pursue my master’s degree this year in the U.S.” With the election of President Joseph R. Biden, some Indian students are…
NEW DELHI — As the world’s fastest growing streaming market, India is key to Amazon’s growth in the sector, but the tech giant is facing severe backlash over its new original series “Tandav,” which launched Jan. 15 on Prime Video. Critics claim the series contains content that is insensitive to the Hindu religion, among other claims. The series, set in the capital of Delhi, gives a fictional peek into the closed and chaotic corridors of power and politics. Controversy around it includes claims that it shows police in a bad light, an undignified portrayal of a prime minister, caste discrimination,…
Besides their homemade food and their well-known traditional dishes (ceviche, prawns, and guinea pig), Ecuadorians have delicious street food that is inexpensive and satisfying. Ecuadorian street food involves fresh local ingredients, such as corn and plantain, and a specific knowledge abut cooking and serving that has survived through generations. Empanadas, humitas, and salchipapas are among the main dishes. Empanadas may use meat, vegetables, cheese, or fruit in Ecuador. Ecuadorians have morocho empanadas, prepared with a variety of corn and stuffed with rice, or green empanadas, made with plantain and cheese. The so-called empanadas de viento are fried and filled with a mix…
A Greek inscription dedicated to “Christ born of Mary” was discovered during Israel Antiquities Authority excavations in the village of et-Taiyiba in the Jezreel Valley. Engraved in stone, the inscription comes from the frame of an entrance door of what appears to be a church dating from the Byzantine period (late 5th century CE). According to Leah Di-Segni, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, this dedicatory inscription would have been engraved while casting the foundations of the church. The full text she deciphered reads: “Christ born of Mary. This work of the most God-fearing…
A lighting company is taking its technology in an unexpected new direction amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Car manufacturer Groupe Renault recently hosted a global hackathon to scout out disinfection solutions for automobiles, and the Israel regional winner was the lighting company Juganu. Juganu (Hindi for “firefly”) is now in discussions with Groupe Renault about how its J.Protect LED lighting fixtures could inactivate pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, in car cabins. Founded in 2011, the company gained attention when it introduced a novel streetlight system that doubles as a public Wi-Fi network. A Juganu lighting installation in Colonial Presidential Estates, Florida. (Photo courtesy…
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Phantom Auto was all set to shake up the world of self-driving cars. The company, co-founded by Shai Magzimof, Ohad Dvir and Elliot Katz with headquarters in Silicon Valley and R&D in Tel Aviv, had identified a serious problem for the future of autonomous vehicles — if something went wrong, who would take the wheel? What if there wasn’t even a wheel to take? Phantom Auto’s solution: tele-operation, a call center for self-driving cars, where a remote operator can take control of the vehicle and drive it through any tricky situation. Phantom Auto, established in 2017, seemed…
Israeli chef Assaf Granit’s Shabour restaurant in Paris received a coveted Michelin star on January 18. The Michelin Guide calls the counter dining establishment “a simple restaurant; one of our most delightful places.” The guide praised the Jerusalemite chef for “his trademark features (unbridled atmosphere, rough and ready decoration) and, of course, creative cuisine with Mediterranean influences, whose freshness gives it wings. Taste his signature dish, haminados egg infused with black tea, covered in a sesame foam with a caper jus and garnished with a spoonful of caviar. Already a classic!” Israeli chef Assaf Granit is recognized for his creative…
The Abraham Accords recently signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates are good news not only for the people of the region, but also for its birds. More specifically, the agreement could benefit the endangered houbara bustard, which conservationists on both sides of the Middle East are now joining hands to preserve. Houbaras of different kinds reside in the area stretching from Mongolia to the Canary Islands. In Israel, their population numbers only 400, but that does not diminish their importance. They’re an iconic desert bird and flagship species whose existence is telling of the state of their ecosystem.…
Jamal Furani wasn’t able to see his new grandchild until January 3. That’s when the Haifa, Israel, resident became the first patient to receive the KPro artificial cornea from CorNeat Vision in Ra’anana. The 78-year-old Arab Israeli gradually lost most of his vision over the past decades due to corneal disease. He had four donor transplants to try to restore his vision, but all failed. Dr. Irit Bahar, chief of ophthalmology at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, explained that each successive surgery has less chance of success. The synthetic cornea changed all that. The day after the KPro was introduced…