UK on Monday reported 22,868 coronavirus cases, the highest since January 30 this year, according to official figures…reports Asian Lite News.
The Hong Kong government has announced that from July 1, all passenger flights from Britain will be suspended in view of the latest Covid-19 situation in the latter country.
In a statement on Monday, the government said that decision was taken as the pandemic situation rebounded recently in Britain with the spread of the Delta variant, reports Xinhua news agency.
It added that a number of cases imported from Britain involving variants have also been detected in Hong Kong over the past few days.
Hong Kong will also at the same time classify Britain, which is currently a “very high-risk” place, as “extremely high-risk” to restrict persons who have stayed in that country for more than two hours from boarding passenger flights for the city, the statement said.
Considering that the pandemic situation is still unstable in existing extremely high-risk places, which are Brazil, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and South Africa, the existing restrictions on the aforementioned places will continue.
UK on Monday reported 22,868 coronavirus cases, the highest since January 30 this year, according to official figures.
The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 4,755,078.
The country also recorded another three coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain to 128,103. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.
More than 44.4 million people in Britain have received the first jab of Covid-19 vaccine and more than 32.5 million people have received two doses, the latest figures also showed.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Pic Andrew Parsons No 10, Downing Street)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested Monday that there will be no early easing of the remaining Covid restrictions before the planned date of July 19.
Johnson has announced a four-week delay to the final step of England’s roadmap out of Covid-19 restrictions until July 19, amid a surge in cases of the Delta variant first identified in India.
England ends its 55-year wait for a knockout victory over Germany. Raheem Sterling and Hary Kane scored a goal each as England reached the quarter-finals of the ongoing Euro Cup after defeating Germany 2-0, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
Riding on goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane, England defeated Germany 2-0 in a Round of 16 match at the European Football Championship — Euro 2020 — to advance to the quarter-finals here on Tuesday.
Sterling scored in the 75th minute, converting a a low cross from Luke Shaw. Kane and Jack Grealish played the ball out wide to Shaw, whose low cross went straight to Sterling who slotted the ball in.
England were not yet as eleven minutes later — in the 86th — Kane converted a cross from Grealish.
Shaw moved up from the midfield and charged forward. He played the ball wide to Grealish, whose low cross was headed home by Kane from the edge of the six-yard box
“We knew we needed to put in a big performance against a very good German side and I thought we done that today,” Sterling later told BBC.
“Scoring for your country is always special and it is definitely a special moment for me… I celebrated and for half a second I thought ‘Don’t let it be offside’. I am really happy it went in and I am really happy we got the win,” he added.
According to BBC report, the win was secured with another moment of significance four minutes from time when captain Harry Kane, who had once again struggled to influence the game, headed in from substitute Jack Grealish’s perfect delivery for his first goal of Euro 2020.
England were again thankful for the brilliance of Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who has yet to concede a goal in the tournament and saved crucially from Timo Werner and Kai Havertz in each half, while Thomas Muller missed a glorious chance to equalise before Kane struck.
England now face Ukraine in the quarter-finals in Rome on Saturday after they scored a last-minute winner in extra time to beat Sweden.
This was England’s first knockout win over Germany at Wembley since 1966.
England had only ever won one knockout tie in European Championship history, the quarterfinal shootout victory over Spain at Euro ’96.
There will still be questions about England coach Gareth Southgate’s team selection and persistence with Kane when he managed only a touch in the opposition penalty area in the first half. And it was a bad one, taking a ball too far past Manuel Neuer while trying to go around the goalkeeper.
#Euro2020: Prime Minister Boris Johnson celebrates Harry Kane's goal during England's knockout match against Germany.
Also, England captain and striker Kane has come in for some criticism during Euro 2020, failing to get onto the score sheet, or even playing a good game, in all three of England’s group games, and he touched the ball just twice in the opening 30 minutes, according to a report from the CNN.
Meanwhile, England and Germany players all took a knee as one amidst huge cheers and applause at the Wembley stadium, the Indian Express reported.
England have been consistently taking a knee before each match to help tackle racism. In contrast, Germany have not kneeled before their games but goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer had said that this was discussed in the dressing room before ahead of Tuesday’s knockout tie.
The campaigns come with lively promotional videos running in Spanish and English that highlight some of the unique attractions of each city…reports Asian Lite News.
Madrid and Barcelona, the two largest cities in Spain, have launched promotion campaigns to lure back international tourists as the Covid-19 restrictions in the country were now being relaxed.
“If life were a city, it’d be Madrid” and “Barcelona like never before” are the slogans of the two campaigns aimed at reactivating tourism after over a year of mobility restrictions due to the pandemic.
The campaigns come with lively promotional videos running in Spanish and English that highlight some of the unique attractions of each city.
The Barcelona video is a montage showing visitors enjoying different aspects of the city, while the Madrid video proposes 10 activities to do in the capital city.
“We are making an effort to communicate all of the advantages offered by Madrid, which is one of the best cities to enjoy in the world and which has an incredible quality of life,” Ana Alemany, head of the Madrid Promotion and Brand Service, told Xinhua on Sunday.
With restrictions on international visitors coming to Spain removed on June 7 and the face mask mandate in outdoor spaces scrapped on June 26, the campaigns focus on some of the cities’ strongest selling points for international visitors.
“Barcelona is one of the most important and relevant destinations in the world,” Marian Muro, director of the Barcelona Tourism Consortium, told Xinhua.
“Barcelona is a ‘cool’ city and so people want to visit it. It is also a clear exponent of a Mediterranean city with a rich culture and gastronomy.”
Before the pandemic, tourism accounted for 7 per cent of Madrid’s annual gross domestic product (GDP), according to the regional authority, while the Barcelona City Council estimated that tourism made up 12 per cent of the city’s GDP.
Exceltur, the Alliance for Excellency in Tourism which represents many of Spain’s largest tourism companies, had recently forecast that this summer the country will recover over 70 per cent of the activity registered in 2019, which was a record year for the sector.
Starting from June 7, international travellers who have undergone the vaccination process using one of the jabs approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), or those with a negative certificate of a Diagnostic Test of Active Infection or a certificate of Recovery after having passed this disease, are allowed entry to Spain. (Xinhua/IANS)
These engagements are aimed to further strengthen maritime security in the region and to consolidate combined operations against maritime threats…reports Asian Lite News.
Towards enhancing military cooperation with friendly nations, Indian Navy has deployed INS Tabar to make port calls and participate in joint exercises with the navies of Africa, Europe and Russia.
On June 13, Indian Naval Ship Tabar commenced her prolonged deployment and is to visit a number of ports in Africa and Europe till end September, informed a defence ministry statement on Saturday.
INS Tabar will transit across the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea and Baltic Sea while making port calls at Djibouti, Egypt, Italy, France, UK, Russia, Netherlands, Morocco, and Arctic Council countries like Sweden and Norway.
In addition to PASSEX with host navies of countries being visited, the ship is also scheduled to participate in bilateral exercises like Exercise Konkan with Royal Navy, Exercise Varuna with French Navy and Exercise Indra with Russian Federation Navy.
During port visits, Tabar will conduct professional, social and sporting interactions and also participate in a number of joint exercises with friendly navies, it stated.
The ship will operate in conjunction with the friendly navies, so as to build military relations, develop interoperability and project long range sustenance, the statement added.
The deployment will also see participation by the ship in the Russian Navy Day celebrations from July 22 to 27.
Indian Navy undertakes regular overseas deployments particularly in the maritime areas of primary interest.
These engagements are aimed to further strengthen maritime security in the region and to consolidate combined operations against maritime threats.
These interactions will also offer an opportunity to navies to observe and imbibe the ‘Best Practices’ followed in each other’s Navy.
INS Tabar, is a Talwar-class stealth Frigate built for Indian Navy in Russia. The ship is commanded by Captain M Mahesh and has a complement of 300 personnel.
The ship is equipped with a versatile range of weapons and sensors and is among the earliest stealth frigates of the Indian Navy.
The ship is part of the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet which is based at Mumbai under Western Naval Command. (INN)
Earlier, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said that the Covid-19 Delta variant is expected to account for nearly all new cases in the continent by August…reports Asian Lite News.
The variant of concern, B.1.617.2, or the Delta variant, will spread across Europe, according to Sir Peter Horby, the chairman of the UK’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag).
The warning from the UK expert comes as the governments around the world are struggling to contain the Delta variant by imposing new restrictions.
Horby, also a professor of emerging infectious diseases in the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that the modelling of the Alpha variant, first detected in Kent, allowed scientists to predict its transmissibility and spread.
“That same modelling for the Delta variant would suggest that that’s a more transmissible strain, it will be very difficult to control and so I think we will see it spreading in Europe, unfortunately,” Horby was quoted as saying.
Earlier, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said that the Covid-19 Delta variant is expected to account for nearly all new cases in the continent by August.
In its latest threat assessment report, the ECDC said on Wednesday that since the Delta variant is 40-60 per cent more transmissible, it is projected to cause 70 per cent of the new infections in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) by early August.
By late August, this figure could reach 90 per cent, it said.
The ECDC also warned that the daily number of new cases, hospitalisations and deaths, could increase to the late 2020 levels if non-pharmaceutical measures, such as physical distancing, hand and respiratory hygiene, use of face masks, are relaxed.
The ECDC said the Covid-19 vaccination campaigns must be accelerated and the second doses should also be administered as early as possible.
“Unfortunately, preliminary data shows that (the Delta strain) can also infect individuals who have received only one dose of the currently available vaccines,” ECDC Director Andrea Ammon said.
“It is very likely that the Delta variant will circulate extensively during the summer, particularly among younger individuals who are not targeted for vaccination. This could cause a risk for the more vulnerable individuals to be infected.
Paris, Sept. 4, 2020 (Xinhua) — People wearing masks walk on the Trocadero Place near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, Sept. 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Gao Jing/IANS)
“They could experience severe illness and death if they are not fully vaccinated,” she said.
Nevertheless, Ammon stressed that there is still hope.
“The good news is that having received two doses of any of the currently available vaccines provides high protection against this variant and its consequences.
“However, about 30 per cent of individuals older than 80 years and about 40 per cent of individuals older than 60 years have not yet received a full vaccination course in the European Union,” she added.
At their summit, the EU’s heads of state and government will discuss, among other things, the progress of the Covid vaccination campaign and the global distribution of vaccines…reports Asian Lite News.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended patent protection for Covid-19 vaccines in a government statement in the Bundestag or the lower house of Parliament.
“A politically enforced release of patents is, in my opinion, the wrong way to go,” Merkel said on Thursday.
She said she was convinced that “we need to increase the production of vaccines on the basis of licenses as quickly as possible”.
The world will “continue to depend on vaccines being developed in the future”, Merkel said in the German government’s statement on the June 24-25 European Council meeting in Brussels.
“This will only succeed if the protection of intellectual property is not overridden but is preserved.”
At their summit, the EU’s heads of state and government will discuss, among other things, the progress of the Covid vaccination campaign and the global distribution of vaccines.
Merkel emphasised that the decision to jointly procure vaccines in Europe was right.
“Anything else might have given some member states short-term advantages but would have severely disrupted life in the internal market.”
Till date, more than 27.8 million people in Germany had been fully vaccinated, bringing the country’s vaccination rate to 33.5 per cent, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
More than 43.4 million people received at least one vaccine dose.
“The pandemic can only be defeated globally and the key to this is vaccination,” Merkel stressed.
It is therefore important that the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US) aim to distribute 2.3 billion vaccine doses to the developing countries by 2022.
Caution against Delta variant
Although the current infection situation in Germany was “encouraging,” Merkel called for further caution over the Covid-19 crisis during her last government question session in the Bundestag.
“Even if the third wave has been impressively broken, the pandemic is not over yet,” said Merkel. “We are still on thin ice.” Keeping distance, hygiene and the use of protective masks in certain situations were still “important protective measures and will remain important,” she added, Xinhua reported.
Germany’s incidence rate of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past seven days continued to fall to 7.2 on Wednesday, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). A week ago, the country’s seven-day incidence rate stood at 13.
Merkel highlighted the threat posed by the spreading of coronavirus mutations. “We must not now lightly risk what we have achieved together,” said Merkel.
New Delhi is looking forward to the visit of Russian Defence Minister General Sergei Shoigu to India later this year, reports Ateet Sharma
India has welcomed Russia willingness to actively engage in India’s — Make in India program for co-development and production of high technology defence items, terming the defence relations as an integral pillar of the ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’ between the two countries.
Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar, in his address at the 9th Moscow Conference on International Security (MCIS � 2021) which opened Wednesday, said that New Delhi is looking forward to the visit of Russian Defence Minister General Sergei Shoigu to India later this year for the next meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation.
Held annually since 2012 under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence of Russia, the three-day forum consistently strengthens its role as an authoritative platform for discussing the most actual problems of international security and is a traditional subject of interest as in Russia, as abroad.
The forum traditionally brings together Defence Ministers, Heads of International organizations, nongovernment experts and world’s think-tank representatives. With the last year’s edition having been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2021 conference is seeing participation of more than 600 participants, including ministers of defence and delegations of military institutions, chiefs of general staffs from various countries who are currently discussing problems of global and regional stability, as well as various security aspects in Europe, Asia, Africa, in the Middle East and in Latin America.
The participants at this edition of the conference will also consider the issues of the information security, the situation after the INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) Treaty, the military-technical cooperation in Africa and Middle East as the main factor of enhancing regional security and the situation in Europe besides the role of the armed forces in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
At a time when the defence ties between India and Russia continue to grow, Pakistan is also seen cosying up to Russia. On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Deputy Minister of Defen?e Mian Muhammad Hilal Hussain met Russian Deputy Defen?e Minister Colonel-General Alexander Fomin at the sidelines of the conference to discuss the possibility of building up their potential for military-technical cooperation.
Mian Muhammad Hilal Hussain also noted that the Pakistani government, within the framework of the concept of geo-economic stability, seeks to develop long-term and multifactorial cooperation with Russia in the field of trade, peaceful use of the atom, culture, military and military-technical spheres.
“In our opinion, the Russian Federation plays a key role in this matter. The role of Russia, its active participation has a positive effect on regional stability,” said the Deputy Minister of Defen?e of Pakistan.
A ‘Special and Privileged Partnership’
Military technical cooperation and military-to-military cooperation constitutes an important pillar in the Special and Privileged Partnership between India and the Russian Federation.
India has taken a number of steps to expedite the collaboration between the Indian and Russian companies after the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) on the joint manufacturing of spares in India signed in Vladivostok on September 4, 2019. The IGA provides a framework for partnership of Russian Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMs) with Indian industry for manufacturing of spare parts of Russian origin equipment in use by the Indian defence forces under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
A large number of delegates from Indian and Russian defence sector companies had participated in the 5th round of India-Russia Military Industrial Conference (IRMIC) which was conducted in February 2020 on the sidelines of Defexpo-2020 at Lucknow. As many as 14 MoUs were exchanged between the Russian OEMs and the Indian companies during the conference.
Later, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, during his visit to Moscow to participate in an event to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Victory Day Parade at Red Square, discussed a broad range of areas of cooperation between the two countries in a meeting with Russian Defence Minister, General Sergei Shoigu.
India said that there was substantial commonality in positions with respect to challenges at the regional and international levels in the areas of peace and security, reflective of the deep trust and confidence that both sides enjoy as strategic partners.
India Russia Friendship
Singh had also conveyed appreciation for the steadfast support provided by Russia consistent with the defence and security needs of India, and in this context, particularly noted “the timely manner in which the Russian had responded” to requests for procurement of particular weapon systems.
India has signed agreements with Russia for production of AK-203 rifles – considered one of the most modern weapons available for infantry forces – as a joint venture, manufacturing of spares, components, etc required for Russian/Soviet origin platforms and defence equipment, manufacture of frigates and supply of S-400 long range surface to air missile system.
Russia India Navy Exercise Indra
Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) ships Yaroslav Mudry, Viktor Konetsky and Yelnya had participated in the Naval component of the Indo-Russian tri-services Exercise Indra in 2019
At the same time, exercises like ‘Indra Navy’ – a biennial bilateral maritime exercise between Indian Navy and Russian Navy – have further boosted mutual confidence and cooperation between the defence forces and reinforced the long-standing bond of friendship between the two countries. The primary aim of the 11th edition of Indra Navy-20 organised in the Bay of Bengal last September was to epitomise the long-term strategic relationship between the two Navies.
India defence forces heal the world during Covid-19 pandemic
Meanwhile, Defence Ministers of Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Zimbabwe, Sudan and UN Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping among others participated in the session titled ‘Role of Military Agencies in fighting against Covid-19’ which was addressed by Kumar on Wednesday.
The Defence Secretary stressed on bolstering infrastructure and capabilities for global response to prevent eruption of such pandemics in future.
“Emerging technologies must be leveraged. For example, Artificial Intelligence can be put to use for infection prediction, data analysis and Covid diagnostics with greater accuracy,” he suggested while highlighting India’s assistance to other countries in fighting Covid-19.
“India not only fought its own battle, India also helped and continues to help friendly foreign nations to withstand Covid-19. Even at a time of great medical and economic stress, India supported others unhesitatingly, inspired by its ancient belief of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam � the world is one family,” he added.
He also highlighted that DRDO established Covid care facilities in a matter of days and embarked to set up 500 medical oxygen plants using the Medical Oxygen Plant technology developed for on-board oxygen generation on Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
“Indian Navy sent a huge number of medical supplies and teams to Indian Ocean Region, while 11 Naval ships ferried in over 1,500 metric tonnes of emergency Liquid Medical Oxygen. Indian Air Force carried out approximately 1,800 sorties and lifted 15,000 metric tonnes of essential medical supplies from within the country and abroad,” Kumar told the conference attendees.
(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
He said “UK and our partners have today sanctioned those responsible for the continued suppression of democracy and human rights in Belarus.”…reports Asian Lite News.
Joining the US, Canada and EU, the UK has imposed sanctions against 7 individuals and 1 entity from the Belarusian regime as part of a new sanctions package after the Ryanair incident in May and for alleged human rights violations.
The government said sanctions are in response to the detention of journalist Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega following the unlawful diversion of Ryanair flight FR4978 in May 2021.
Four individuals and 1 entity have also been designated in response to the continued suppression of democracy and human rights in Belarus by Lukashenko and his regime, it announced.
Sanctions include travel bans and asset freezes against senior-ranking officials in the Belarusian regime and BNK (UK) Ltd, an exporter of Belarusian oil products.
“The Lukashenko regime endangered the lives of airline passengers and crew in a shameful ruse to snatch Roman Protasevich,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.
He said “UK and our partners have today sanctioned those responsible for the continued suppression of democracy and human rights in Belarus.”
Raab added, “We will hold the regime to account in co-ordination with our allies including through further banning travel, freezing assets and cutting off oil export revenue streams.”
Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department has designated 16 persons and five entities from Belarus, including the State Security Committee (KGB) and the press secretary of the Belarusian president.
The list of sanctioned individuals also includes the Belarusian Prosecutor General, the chairman of the KGB and the chairperson of the upper house of the country’s parliament.
Another eight officials have been sanctioned for certifying the results of the presidential elections in August that the US government considers to be fraudulent.
Earlier on Monday, the European Union adopted the fourth sanctions package against Belarus, noting that the bloc has added 78 individuals and eight organizations to its sanctions list for allegedly endangering aviation safety and for detaining Pratasevich and Sapega.
In May, a Ryanair plane from Athens to Vilnius made an emergency landing in Minsk over a bomb threat that turned out to be fake. Pratasevich – founder of a Telegram channel that Minsk designated as extremist – and his partner Sapega were detained by the Belarusian authorities during the stopover. (including reports from ANI/Sputnik)
The Ministry recalled Russia’s efforts to preserve the arms-control pact and reiterated that the US is responsible for its collapse….reports Asian Lite News
Russia will officially withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies, an arms control pact with the US that permitted unarmed surveillance flights over military facilities in both countries, on December 18, the Foreign Ministry said.
In a statement on Friday, the Ministry announced that it notified all the related parties of Russia’s pullout and the decision will enter into force in six months.
The Ministry recalled Russia’s efforts to preserve the arms-control pact and reiterated that the US is responsible for its collapse.
On June 7, President Vladimir Putin signed the law to quit the Treaty on Open Skies.
The administration of former US President Donald Trump announced a year ago that Washington would withdraw from Open Skies, alleging Russia had violated its terms.
The incumbent Joe Biden administration decided in May to stick to that decision.
Russia blamed the US for the end of the agreement, which was signed in Helsinki on March 24, 1992.
It has been in force since 2002.
Only one key arms control agreement remains between the US and Russia — the New START nuclear disarmament treaty.
Shortly before it was set to expire in February, Biden and Putin had agreed on an extension.
The New START treaty limits the nuclear arsenals of both countries to 800 delivery systems and 1,550 ready-to-use nuclear warheads.
The data will be published regularly as part of the PHE weekly surveillance report…reports Asian Lite News.
For the first time, Public Health England (PHE) has published population surveillance data on possible Covid-19) reinfections, to help monitor and understand the risk of people catching COVID-19 again.
The data will be published regularly as part of the PHE weekly surveillance report.
The current data shows that there is a low risk of reinfection with SARS-CoV-2. There were 15,893 possible reinfections with SARS-CoV-2 identified up to 30 May 2021 in England throughout the pandemic, out of nearly 4 million people with confirmed infections. This is equivalent to around 0.4% cases becoming reinfected.
Reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 is expected and has been previously reported, however, this data highlights that the overall risk, as detected through national surveillance, remains low.
PHE is calling on everyone who is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine to take up the offer of 2 doses as this will minimise the risk of re-infection.
The population surveillance suggests that there were 15,893 possible reinfections, 478 probable reinfections, and 53 confirmed reinfections.
A possible reinfection is identified where consecutive positive test results in the same person are at least 90 days apart. These are reinfections which have not been sequenced and so we cannot be completely certain they are not the same original infection.
A probable reinfection is when sequencing of the second test sample identifies a variant known to be circulating now and/or that was not circulating at the time of the first test.
A confirmed reinfection is where sequences are available from each episode and the sequences are genetically distinct.
“People are understandably concerned about whether you can catch COVID-19 more than once. While we know that people can catch viruses more than once, this data currently suggests that the rate of COVID-19 reinfection is low,” said Dr Susan Hopkins, Strategic Director for COVID-19 at PHE.
CORONA VIRUS
“However, it is important that we do not become complacent about this – it is vital to have both doses of the vaccine and to follow the guidance at all times to reduce your chance of any infection,” she said.
Meanwhile, there is currently no evidence that the Delta variant, or any other Variants of Concern, are more likely to cause reinfection than others, according to PHE.
