India’s virus surge damages Modi’s image of competence
NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s hospitals were packed with coronavirus patients, relatives of the sick scrambled to find supplies of oxygen, and crematoriums were running near full capacity to handle the dead. Yet despite those clear signs of an overwhelming health crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pressed ahead with a densely packed campaign rally. “I have never seen such a huge crowd before!” he roared to his supporters in West Bengal state on April 17, before key local elections. “Wherever I can see, I can only see people. I can see nothing else.” As another deadly wave of COVID-19 infections was swamping India, Modi’s government refused to cancel a giant Hindu festival.
‘Horrible’ weeks ahead as India’s virus catastrophe worsens
NEW DELHI (AP) — COVID-19 infections and deaths are mounting with alarming speed in India with no end in sight to the crisis and a top expert warning that the coming weeks in the country of nearly 1.4 billion people will be “horrible.” India’s official count of coronavirus cases surpassed 20 million Tuesday, nearly doubling in the past three months, while deaths officially have passed 220,000. Staggering as those numbers are, the true figures are believed to be far higher, the undercount an apparent reflection of the troubles in the health care system. The country has witnessed scenes of people dying outside overwhelmed hospitals and funeral pyres lighting up the night sky.
UK announces plan for ‘quantum leap’ in relations with India
LONDON (AP) — Britain said Tuesday it’s agreed to increase cooperation with India in areas including trade, science and health as Indian authorities battle a surge in coronavirus infections that threatens to overwhelm the nation’s health care system. Plans for a “quantum leap” in relations between the two countries were released after a video meeting between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi. Prior to the meeting, Britain announced 1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion) of trade deals with India, including an investment by the Serum Institute of India that will aid in the development of vaccines against COVID-19 and other diseases.
EU regulators start review of China’s Sinovac vaccine
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The European Union’s drug regulator announced Tuesday that it has started a rolling review of China’s Sinovac coronavirus vaccine to assess its effectiveness and safety, a first step toward possible approval for use in the 27-nation bloc. The European Medicines Agency said Tuesday that its decision to start the review is based on preliminary results from laboratory studies and clinical studies. “These studies suggest that the vaccine triggers the production of antibodies” that fight the coronavirus “and may help protect against the disease,” the agency said in a statement. The EMA, which so far has approved four coronavirus vaccines, added that no application seeking marketing authorization for the Sinovac vaccine has been submitted yet.
SKorea dairy company CEO resigns over virus research scandal
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The chairman of one of South Korea’s biggest dairy companies has resigned over a scandal in which his company was accused of deliberately spreading misinformation that its yogurt helps prevent coronavirus infections. While stepping down as the company’s head, Hong Won-sik and other members of his family will retain their commanding share in Namyang Dairy Products. Namyang financed research it aggressively promoted through the media and a symposium it funded last month that claimed its Bulgaris yogurt drinks were effective in lowering the risk of coronavirus infections. Namyang’s stock price rose temporarily before the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety sued the company for false advertising, saying the research was dubious and never involved any animal testing or clinical trials.
US report: Taliban will likely curtail Afghan women’s rights
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence agencies are warning that any gains in women’s rights in Afghanistan made in the last two decades will be at risk after U.S. troops withdraw later this year. An unclassified report released Tuesday by the Director of National Intelligence says the Taliban remain “broadly consistent in its restrictive approach to women’s rights and would roll back much of the past two decades’ progress if the group regained national power.” It’s the latest U.S. warning of the consequences of the Afghan withdrawal now underway, two decades after an American-led coalition toppled the Taliban. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday that there would possibly be “some really dramatic, bad possible outcomes” for Afghan forces left on their own to counter the Taliban, but also noted, “We frankly don’t know yet.” And CIA Director William Burns told Congress in April that the American ability “to collect and act on threats will diminish.” President Joe Biden has set a September deadline for U.S.
2 Asian American women stabbed in San Francisco attack
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Police arrested a man who they say is suspected of stabbing two Asian American women without warning Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco’s Mid-Market area. Officers were sent to 4th and Stockton streets shortly before 5 p.m. and found the wounded women, who were taken to a hospital. There was no immediate word on their conditions. Witnesses told KPIX-TV that one woman appeared to be elderly and the other appeared to be in her 30s. They told the station that a man clutching a knife was walking down Market Street when he approached a bus stop, stabbed the women, and then walked away.
Philippine diplomat apologizes for profanity toward China
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines’ foreign secretary apologized Tuesday after tweeting an obscene phrase demanding China get out of Philippine-claimed territory in the South China Sea in an outburst that annoyed the Philippine president. Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. blasted China with the profanity on Monday, when the Department of Foreign Affairs announced it had protested the Chinese coast guard’s “shadowing, blocking, dangerous maneuver and radio challenges” of Philippine coast guard ships patrolling and carrying out exercises from April 24 to 25 at disputed Scarborough Shoal. Locsin also compared China to “an ugly oaf” which was “forcing your attentions on a handsome guy who wants to be a friend.” Locsin said he was apologizing only to his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to ensure their friendship would continue.
Police say British woman found dead in Pakistani Lahore city
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A British woman of Pakistani origin has been found dead after being shot at a home in the eastern city of Lahore, police said Tuesday. Police detained two Pakistani men for questioning to determine whether they had any involvement in the killing of Mahira Zulfiquar, who is about 25. According to local media reports, police suspect the woman was killed after she refused to marry a man. Zulfiquar arrived in Pakistan two months ago to attend a wedding and was staying at a rented home with her friend. Pakistan’s English-language newspaper Dawn reported that Zulifquar had bullet wounds and signs of torture on her body.
G7 foreign ministers meet face-to-face after pandemic pause
LONDON (AP) — Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy industrialized nations gathered Tuesday in London for their first face-to-face meeting in more than two years, with the issue of whether to challenge or coax a surging China high on the agenda. Host nation Britain is keen to show that the rich countries’ club still has clout in a fast-changing world, and has warned that the increasingly aggressive stances of Russia, China and Iran pose a challenge to democratic societies and the international rule of law. U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the meeting “demonstrates diplomacy is back.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored the United States’ re-embrace of its international allies since President Joe Biden replaced his “America-first” predecessor, Donald Trump.
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