NEW Delhi — India plans to set up a nationwide public Wi-Fi network in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic to expand citizens’ access to Wi-Fi hotspots and 4G mobile coverage. The national government on Dec. 9 approved setting up the networks across the country under the PM-WANI (Prime Minister WiFi Access Network Interface) scheme. “The Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated delivery of stable and high-speed broadband internet (data) services to an increasingly large number of subscribers in the country, including areas, which do not have 4G mobile coverage,” said Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. Data from Statista shows that in…
Author: zenger.news
KOLKATA — Walmart will triple its exports of goods from India to $10 billion each year by 2027, the company announced on Dec. 10. “We see huge potential for Indian suppliers to grow their businesses by leveraging the unique scale and global distribution opportunity Walmart provides,” President and CEO Doug McMillon said in the announcement. “By significantly accelerating our annual India exports in the coming years, we are supporting the Make in India initiative and helping more local businesses reach international customers, while creating jobs and prosperity at home in India. It is also a way for Walmart to bring more…
COLOMBO — Sri Lanka next week will open its international borders for limited air travel for the first time since the island nation went into lockdown in March. Further openings are under consideration for January 2021. “We are expecting limited passenger flights from Russia and China to land in Sri Lanka on the 26th of December as a short term plan,” said P. A Jayakantha, additional director general of the country’s Civil Aviation Authority. He said a final decisions on whether the airport should begin receiving passengers in a full-fledged scheduled may be finalized in January. “The decisions for that…
The December 10 announcement of the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel marked the fourth Muslim-majority nation in the past four months to officially “friend” Israel. But it was different from September’s historic Abraham Accords linking the Jewish homeland with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, and different from October’s normalization agreement with Sudan. “Morocco and Israel have been on the same side geopolitically for decades,” said Tel Aviv University Prof. Bruce Maddy-Weitzman, associate professor of Middle Eastern and African history and senior researcher at the university’s Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African…
MEDELLIN, Colombia — A 104-year-old University of Manchester student who was too busy to finish his PhD, has finally completed his dissertation. Lucio “Chiquito” Caicedo credits the Covid-19 lockdown for giving him the time to finish his thesis, which is currently being evaluated. If approved, he will earn his doctorate title. Caicedo was born in Cali, Colombia, in May 1916, where he lived for 84 years before moving to Medellin, the capital of Colombia’s mountainous Antioquia province. He received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at the National University of Colombia at Medellin, then earned a master’s degree in Science…
Just because there’s a pandemic on, doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun this Hanukkah. You may not be able to enjoy a busy celebration with crowds of people, but you can enjoy making perfect sufganiyot at home with your family or a few friends. The recipe and ingredients are below, and you can check out our film to see how it’s all done. Enjoy and happy holidays from Zenger News! Perfect Israeli Sufganiyot Makes approximately 33 small Hanukkah donuts Ingredients: 4.5 cups flour 1 tablespoon yeast 2 teaspoons salt 1/4 cup + 2 teaspoons sugar 1/4 cup butter 2…
NEW DELHI — A first-of-its kind report at the district level in India on extreme climate events such as cyclones, floods and drought finds that “more than 75 percent of India’s 728 districts, home to over 638 million people, are hotspots for extreme climate events.” The report, “Preparing India for Extreme Climate Events,” by the Council of Energy, Environment and Water, an Asian nonprofit research institution, states that India experienced more than 478 extreme weather events between 1970 and 2019 — most occurring since 2005. “Post-2005, at least 55 or more districts witnessed extreme flood events year-on-year, exposing 97.51 million…
TAMIL NADU — The southern state of Karnataka has now joined 19 other Indian states with restrictions or bans on the slaughter of cows and buffaloes. While the new law has been hailed by many right-wing Hindu organizations, as Hindus consider the cow to be holy, leaders of opposition parties and social activists have criticized it. Opponents are concerned about a potential increase in attacks on meat suppliiers. The Karnataka government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has extended a law that was passed in 1964 prohibiting the slaughter of bulls, bullocks, and buffalos younger than…
KOLKATA — For the first time, the world has seen a dip in carbon emissions from fossil fuels, owing in large part to the global lockdown amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a new study states. “Daily global carbon dioxide emissions decreased by 17 percent by early April 2020 compared with the mean 2019 levels, just under half from changes in surface transport. At their peak, emissions in individual countries decreased by 26 percent on average,” the Global Carbon Project’s Carbon Budget 2020 report states. According to the researchers, this is the greatest decline in planet-warming pollution since World War II, and considerably larger…
Respect is earned, not given. Not many people have earned the respect of others more than Houston’s, J. Prince. The CEO of Rap-A-Lot Records served as a breakthrough launching pad for several top Southern rappers. Prince’s numerous honors and awards reflect his work both in the community and as an executive. Prince is a music mogul but is also one of boxing’s most prominent managers. His book, ‘The Art & Science of Respect,’ made him a best-selling author, and his new liquor line, ‘The Loyalty Collection,’ adds another layer to his multi-dimensional talents. Moving in silence while letting his actions…