AUTUMN - Central News Hub

Depicting the autumn in Kashmir

According to Soni, who hails from Udhampur district, various forms of painting, including oil, water colour and 3D, were exhibited in the exhibition.…writes Zubair Qureshi

The three-day Autumn Art Exhibition concluded in Srinagar on Sunday in an effort to depict the attractive autumn scene in the Kashmir Valley through colours and to attract the youth towards painting.

The exhibition was organised by noted artist Deepa Soni in collaboration with the Department of Handicrafts and Handlooms at the Art Emporium in Srinagar. While the art pieces of Deepa Soni were put on display in the exhibition, live painting sessions were also conducted in which many young artists from the Valley participated.

According to Soni, who hails from Udhampur district, various forms of painting, including oil, water colour and 3D, were exhibited in the exhibition.

“The main objective of the exhibition was promotion and dissemination of art. Through this exhibition, we want to integrate art and the latest techniques to inspire the younger generation and keep them connected with folk art. We are trying to offer a unique approach,” she said.

Director of Handicrafts and Handlooms, Kashmir, Mahmood Ahmad Shah, said that the department is providing all possible support to those who are making such efforts in the Valley.

He said that Kashmir has had a great past and such art works are a clear proof of that.

“The new generation should come forward to preserve this wonderful heritage received from their ancestors. It is the need of the hour to make the whole world aware of this centuries-old heritage of the Kashmir Valley,” he said.

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France expects Covid-19 herd immunity by autumn

“The Delta variant is highly contagious and it requires an energetic vaccination campaign to achieve herd immunity,” he said…reports Asian Lite News.

Alain Fischer, coordinator of France’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign, said that the country could reach herd immunity against the virus by this autumn, calling on the still reluctant segments of the population to get vaccinated to help cope with highly transmissible Delta variant.

In an interview with RTL radio on Monday, Fisher noted that “vaccination is progressing very quickly these days”, making it possible to reach herd immunity by autumn, reports Xinhua news agency.

“The Delta variant is highly contagious and it requires an energetic vaccination campaign to achieve herd immunity,” he said.

Herd immunity is achieved when 90 per cent of the population over 12 years of age is vaccinated or protected because they have been infected.

To date, France has fully inoculated more than 35 million citizens out of around 67 million, according to the Health Ministry.

CORONA VIRUS

Fischer warned that “no one is safe from the serious form of infection”, noting that unvaccinated people “make up most of those” who suffer from the serious forms of the respiratory illness.

Asked whether vaccination should be mandatory, the immunologist said such move would be necessary if the virus continues to circulate and that herd immunity is still out of reach.

“It is a duty of collective protection. We are protecting people’s lives, protecting our hospital system, which can be threatened at any time by the resurgence of the pandemic,” he said.

To counter a sharp spike in Covid-19 infections, the French government has decided to make vaccination mandatory for health workers and impose the use of the “health pass” at a wider range of public places, including restaurants and cafes, shopping centres, gyms and even hospitals except for emergencies.

As of Tuesday morning, France has reported a total of 6,218,526 confirmed coronavirus cases and 112,107 deaths.

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