After the discussions, EU ambassadors on Thursday agreed to change a system that usually distributes vaccines …reports Asian Lite News
Five European Union (EU) member states will share nearly three million additional “solidarity vaccine” doses following an agreement with the majority of other members.
After days of negotiations, EU ambassadors on Thursday agreed to change a system that usually distributes vaccines between the bloc’s 27 countries based on population size, reports Xinhua news agency.
The tweak was aimed at helping the member states that need more vaccines in their fight against the coronavirus.
A health worker looks at a vial of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination centre
The discussion came after EU leaders adopted a statement at their summit last week tasking the Committee of Permanent Representatives “to address the issue of the speed of delivery of vaccines when allocating the 10 million BioNTech-Pfizer accelerated doses in the second quarter of 2021 in a spirit of solidarity”.
Following the talks, it was agreed that 2.85 million so-called “solidarity vaccine” doses will be shared between Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia.
Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovenia will receive their full pro-rata share after they refused to be part of the solidarity mechanism, while the other 19 member states will be sharing the remaining 6.66 million doses on a pro-rata basis.
Earlier in March, leaders from five states, Bulgaria, Austria, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Slovenia, called for an EU debate on the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.
In a letter to European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the five leaders underscored the significance of European solidarity, which guarantees that all EU members, big and small, will have equal access to limited resources such as the Covid-19 vaccines.
The two leaders likely to discuss climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, issues related to China and North Korea and cooperation toward a free and open Indo-Pacific region on April 16…reports Asian Lite News
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will hold face-to-face talks with US President Joe Biden in Washington on April 16, the Tokyo government said on Friday.
Suga will become the first foreign leader to meet Biden in person after he took office on January 20, dpa news agency quoted Japanese government spokesman Katsunobu Kato as saying at a briefing here.
It shows “the strong ties of the Japan-US alliance and America’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific region”, Kato said.
The two leaders are expected to discuss climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, issues related to China and North Korea and cooperation toward a free and open Indo-Pacific region, he said.
The two leaders’ summit meeting will take place amid heightened tensions as China’s activities in East China and South China seas.
Chinese coastguard vessels frequently approach a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, a source of diplomatic tension between Beijing and Tokyo.
The Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands are also claimed by China and Taiwan, where they are called Diaoyu and Tiaoyutai respectively.
The meeting was originally planned in the first half of this month and it has been pushed back to April 16, Kato said.
In the US’ policy towards Russia, there is increased pressure in all fields and tougher rhetoric is nothing new,said Lavrov…reports Asian Lite News
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow-Washington ties were at their lowest point due to increased confrontation, and he hopes that “common sense and prudence” will eventually prevail.
In the US’ policy towards Russia, there is increased pressure in all fields and tougher rhetoric is nothing new, Xinhua news agency quoted Lavrov as saying in an interview with a local TV program on Thursday.
He stressed that there is few chance for serious dialogue between Russia and the US, if Washington continues to blame Moscow for the consequences of its own reckless policy.
According to the Ministert, Western countries feel “a threat to their dominance” and are therefore inventing new rules on which they think the world order should be based, ones that contradict those outlined in the UN charter.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Lavrov’s remarks came a day after Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov told a joint meeting of the Federation Council, upper house of Parliament, that bilateral ties were in the midst of a deep crisis, which has grown partly due to the reluctance of the American President Joe Biden’s administration to solve problems with Moscow.
Antonov returned to Moscow on March 22 after he was recalled following Biden’s comments that Russia will “pay a price” for its alleged interference in the 2020 American election.
Washington is destroying the foundations of Russia-US interactions as the incumbent administration has continued to “unwind the sanctions spiral under false pretexts”, he told lawmakers.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
The diplomat believes that Washington will not change its stance substantially and the “systemic containment” of Russia will remain a priority.
A US intelligence report released on March 21 day directly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering a wide-ranging influence operation to interfere in the election, intending to hurt Biden’s campaign.
In the ABC News interview, Biden also agreed with the interviewer’s claim that Putin was “a killer”.
Up to 1.1 million single adults are expected through September, along with around 828,000 families and more than 200,000 unaccompanied children…reports Asian Lite News
The US is expected to encounter about 2 million migrants at the southern border by the end of the 2021 fiscal year, a record high since 2010, local media reports said.
Up to 1.1 million single adults are expected through September, along with around 828,000 families and more than 200,000 unaccompanied children, according to internal government estimates reviewed and published by CNN on Thursday.
Border Patrol encounters are expected to continue to rise month-by-month, according to the projections, which can vary, Xinhua news agency quoted the CNN report as saying.
US Border Patrol encounters are also expected to be largely made up of single adults, who are being turned away at the southern border as soon as they are encountered under a public health order, and as a result, might also account for repeat crossers, the report added.
Customs and Border Protection officials project that some 159,000 to 184,000 unaccompanied migrant children could arrive at the southwest border in fiscal year 2021, according to a Reuters report on Wednesday.
Deputy Chief of the Border Patrol Raul Ortiz told reporters on Tuesday that the agency expects to encounter more than 1 million migrants this fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2020.
The last time Border Patrol apprehensions surpassed 1 million was in fiscal year 2006, according to data from Customs and Border Protection.
Border Patrol arrests also climbed during the 2019 border crisis, but fell short of 900,000.
The trilateral project, conceived in 2002, is a 1360 km transnational highway connecting Moreh in India, Bagan in Myanmar and Mae Sot in Thailand. Though there have been delays in execution, the project, that is expected to boost trade and people to people connectivity besides other things, is likely to be completed in the next couple of years, reports Mahua Venkatesh
Bangladesh is likely to finally join the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway Project. The issue was discussed during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Dhaka last week as both India and Bangladesh have decided to remain engaged with Myanmar notwithstanding its internal political dynamics. The project will provide Bangladesh direct connectivity with the south east Asian nations which is expected to boost its trade.
Sources said that the project also gives India along with other nations an opportunity to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative while enhancing connectivity for the landlocked northeastern states of the country.
Sources said that though the project implementation is underway as per plan, there could be some delays as it stretches across geographical boundaries.
“There are two aspects to this project. First Bangladesh gets to connect with Myanmar on a positive note as it is part of the BIMSTEC (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in South Asia and Myanmar and Thailand in Southeast Asia) connectivity projects. Dhaka is already part of BIMSTEC. Second, this gives an opportunity to counter China’s plans of infrastructure connectivity,” said Joyeeta Bhattacharjee, senior fellow Observer Research Foundation.
Modi meets Hasina(IANS)
Bhattacharjee added that withdrawal from engaging with Myanmar is not the solution. “Our position to leverage and influence will remain intact only when we engage though many voices have come up to suggest that we must withdraw,” she added.
Read also: PM opening new bridge to cement India Bangladesh ties
The project also assumes importance as it gives a further push into the Indo-Pacific geopolitical dynamics.
“Bangladesh joining this project was almost a given. The benefits of this mini-quad cooperation go far beyond logistics and trade efficiencies. It has strategic implications – which shows India’s seriousness in moving from simply Look East to Act East,” Sandip Ghose, political analyst said, adding that the project would also bring in the northeastern states into the mainstream, while pushing development in that region.
An article published in the Diplomat, Dhaka’s interest in the trilateral project with India, Myanmar, and Thailand along with the BBIN connectivity can be useful for both India and Bangladesh. “It will facilitate the development of India’s much-neglected Northeast region, which brings for New Delhi both economic and strategic benefits,” it said.
As India looks to intensify its Act East policy under the Narendra Modi government, it could even look at extending the highway through other countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.
“Vietnam will be quite excited about such a proposal, but it is unclear how Cambodia and Laos will respond, given their deep economic and strategic engagement with China,” the article said, adding that Vietnam, their close strategic partner, has had difficulties in these relationships in recent times because of China.
“The focus will be on improving connectivity in the region including the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) so that there is easy mobility within the region,” an official said.
Bangladesh is likely to finally join the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway Project(IANS)
Importance of the trilateral highway project
The trilateral project, conceived in 2002, is a 1360 km transnational highway connecting Moreh in India, Bagan in Myanmar and Mae Sot in Thailand. Though there have been delays in execution, the project, that is expected to boost trade and people to people connectivity besides other things, is likely to be completed in the next couple of years.
Sources said that the trilateral highway could feed into a much larger undertaking, in the end, connecting landlocked Bhutan with Da Nang in Vietnam.
The key to this massive undertaking is the 19.2 kilometer Dhubri-Phulbari bridge over the Brahmaputra. the gigantic effort will merge two parallel initiatives – the trilateral high New Delhi-led India-Myanmar- Thailand trilateral highway and the East-West, Economic Corridor (EWEC) marshalled by Japan in partnership with Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The joint foray is a fusion of India’s ‘Act East’ policy and Japan’s ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ strategy.
With Mae Sot as the junction, the 1,450-km EWEC route passes through Thailand’s Province of the Mukhandan – the gateway to Laos, which is connected by the 1.6 km-long Second Thai-Lao friendship bridge over the Mekong, built with Japanese assistance. From Savannakhet in Laos, the next stop in the corridor, the passage heads east towards Da Nang, 486 km away. On the way, the Japanese have also been involved in constructing the 6.28-km Hai Van tunnel, the longest in Southeast Asia, which links Hue, a city in Central Vietnam, with Da Nang.
Gandhi, in previous election rallies in Assam, had alleged that the “Nagpur Army” was controlling the nation, drawing criticism from several BJP leaders including Union Minister Nitin Gadkari….reports Asian Lite News
Keeping up his attack on the RSS and the BJP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday reiterated that Assam would not be governed from Nagpur and Delhi as only Assam’s people are entitled to run the state.
Gandhi, in previous election rallies in Assam, had alleged that the “Nagpur Army” was controlling the nation, drawing criticism from several BJP leaders including Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
“The BJP-led Central government has already ruined the Indian economy and distressed the people across the country by introducing GST (Goods and Services Tax) and demonetisation, and now it is trying to further dent the rural economy by trying to introduce the three farm laws,” Gandhi said while addressing election rallies in Kamrup and Nalbari districts.
He claimed that there was maximum unemployment in Assam and the “Notebandi” (demonetisation) and the GST led to further deterioration in the scope for employment while the government is giving huge economic relief to the billionaires.
He alleged that the BJP government has been giving the country’s valuable assets like airports, tea gardens and the oil fields to their friends.
“In each state, the BJP ‘aag lagati hai’ (spreads hatred)…. Their only aim to take away your assets to give them to their own men,” he said, asserting that Assam’s resources and wealth must be utilised for the benefit of the Assamese.
MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari
For the Assam Assembly elections, the Congress, which was in power in the state for 15 years (2001-2016), has given “five guarantees” to be fulfilled if the party came to power.
These include five lakh government jobs to youths in five years, upto 200 units of free electricity per household, Rs 365 daily wage to tea garden workers and Rs 2,000 per month to housewives besides a guarantee not to implement the CAA in the state.
Gandhi said that these guarantees were finalised after taking the opinions from various sections of people including tea garden workers, youths and women.
“I haven’t come here to lie or to give you the false promises. My name is not Narendra Modi. If you wish Modi’s lies about farmers, about unemployment or any other issue, watch the television. Modi lies for the Indians for 24 hours. If you want to listen to the truth, please hear me,” he claimed.
Saying that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act would not be implemented at any cost, the Congress leader said that when the youths in Assam protested against the act, police of the BJP government fired and killed them.
Gandhi was supposed to campaign in Assam on Tuesday but could not reach the state due to bad weather and instead released a video appealing the voters to exercise their franchise in favour of the 10-party ‘Mahajot’ (Grand Alliance), led by the Congress.
He has also served as Military Observer in UNTAC, Cambodia and as Directing Staff at Defence Service Staff College…reports Asian Lite News.
Lt Gen Yogendra Dimri on Thursday took over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Army’s Central Command on Thursday.
After assuming charge, he paid tributes at the Smritika War Memorial to all soldiers who lost their lives in operations. He later reviewed a Guard of Honour.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Dimri was awarded the President’s Gold Medal at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun for having passed out first in the order of merit. He was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers) on December 17, 1983.
He was awarded the ‘Silver Grenade’ in the Young Officers Course and the Gold medal in the Engineers Degree Course.
During his long and illustrious career of over 37 years, he has held several key posts including command of a corps and as Chief of Staff of the Western Command. He went on to attend various prestigious courses at the Defence Service Staff College, Wellington, the Defence Services Command & Staff Course at Dhaka, at the Army War College, Mhow & the National Defence College, New Delhi.
He has also served as Military Observer in UNTAC, Cambodia and as Directing Staff at Defence Service Staff College
WHO regional director Hans Henri Kluge said the vaccine roll-out was “unacceptably slow”…reports Asian Lite News
The slow vaccination campaigns in many European countries are protracting the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Europe office of the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO regional director Hans Henri Kluge said the vaccine roll-out was “unacceptably slow”, reports dpa news agency.
“Let me be clear, we must speed up the process by ramping up manufacturing, reducing barriers to administering vaccines, and using every single vial we have in stock, now,” Kluge said.
“And as long as coverage remains low, we need to apply the same public health and social measures as we have in the past.”
Ultimately, vaccines were the “best way out of this pandemic”, said Kluge.
WHO Europe counts more than 50 countries as belonging to the continent.
In this area, only 10 per cent of the total population have received their first jab, and only 4 per cent are fully vaccinated with two shots.
Accelerating vaccinations was now decisive, while the number of new infections in the European region increases in all population groups except people over 80, said Kluge’s office.
With 1.6 million new cases and 24,000 deaths last week, the majority of countries in Europe are currently seeing a rise in infections which was very worrying, the office said.
While snacking may help in keeping your energy levels up, in a sedentary environment it also aids your body in storing unnecessary fat…writes Puja Gupta.
Snacking while working is a habit for people. Amongst the zillion other things that this pandemic has changed in our lives, it has changed the way we eat. This means different things for different people.
While many of us used the time at home to turn to cooking and baking and completely did away with ordering in and takeaways — thereby eating cleaner and healthier; there were also those who had to juggle WFH and household chores and didn’t find time to streamline their diets.
On the contrary their lifestyle became more sedentary and eating habits more disorganised. Not to mention the physiological reasons for turning to food when the world has turned upside down.
In short, people are struggling with their eating right now and probably in different ways than they’re used to. An expert on Tata Sky Family Health, Mona Johar, Functional Integrative Nutrition and Co-Founder Mechanism Wellness, lists down ways of mindful eating in the time of Work from home.
Structure your day
Not having the usual comfort zones like socialising, travelling to work or spending time outdoors in nature, has pushed us towards eating disorders in the last one year. And of course, the havoc caused by the absence of a routine. It is important for people to carry on with a schedule, to try to wake up at set times and go to sleep at certain times. This will give them a purpose and do away with ‘pandemic boredom’. Once there is a structure, things like diet, exercise and sleep will automatically fall into place.
Desktop diet
Nutritious snacks.(pixabay)
When life revolves around a table and chair for most parts of the day, thanks to homeschooling and WFH, the obvious conclusion is meals on the desk (read more snacking)! While snacking may help in keeping your energy levels up, in a sedentary environment it also aids your body in storing unnecessary fat. One should have a combination of either low calorie and high protein snacks or low calorie and high fiber snacks. Plan your meals in advance and keep them as fresh and organic as possible.
Eat mindfully
Mindful and intuitive eating practices are not diets. They are mindsets that require you to trust your natural instincts and listen to your body’s hunger and fullness cues. Mindful eating is about rethinking food choices and practices; going back to traditional ways of eating and engaging your senses by noticing colors, smells, sounds, textures, and taste. Work your way up to eating mindfully every day and forgive yourself when you don’t. It can take weeks, months so be patient with yourself, and enjoy the process of building a stronger mind-body connection and improving your relationship to food.
Start an intuitive journey
Honour hunger: Keep your body biologically fed with adequate energy and carbohydrates. Once you reach the moment of excessive hunger, all intentions of moderate, conscious eating are fleeting and irrelevant.
Don’t eat for the wrong reasons: Get in touch with your feelings and don’t let food become an excuse for not dealing with emotions such as anger, anxiety, or loneliness.
Make peace with food: Buy food you feel like eating. Listen to your food cravings, it is alright to indulge every once in a while.
Stop when full: Listen for the body signals that tell you that you are no longer hungry. Observe the signs that show that you’re comfortably full.
Don’t over-exercise: Check in with your body, do not exercise hard when exhausted, opt for a gentler routine. Have a variety of workouts at your disposal and pick and choose based on how your body’s feeling.
Exercise and move for enjoyment: Not expressly for weight loss or calorie burning.
Eat nutrient dense food: Notice how you feel when you choose healthy, high-quality food. Take stock of your physical, mental and emotional responses.
The two-week ban will come into effect on Saturday and last until April 18….reports Asian Lite News
Bangladesh has imposed a temporary ban on travellers from Europe and 12 other countries after reporting a surge in coronavirus infections.
The two-week ban will come into effect on Saturday and last until April 18, dpa news agency reported on Friday citing a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) as saying.
CAAB said air passengers from the UK, where infection rates are generally lower than on mainland Europe, would still be allowed to enter the country.
Along with European nations, Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Peru, Qatar, South Africa, Turkey, and Uruguay are also among the banned nations.
Airlines operating scheduled passenger flights from all those countries will be allowed to carry only transit passengers.
Passengers from other countries must still adhere to a 14-day home quarantine.
Bangladesh has so far reported 611,295 coronavirus cases, with 9,046 deaths since the South Asian country registered the first cases in March 2020.
With many flouting the current health guidelines, the government on Tuesday issued a new set of rules, including the mandatory use of face masks and limiting passengers on local transport.
The country reported a single-day record number of infections, 5,358, on Wednesday.
