As India reels from a second wave of COVID-19 infections that is devastating major cities, stockpiles are falling short of surging demand in the country, health experts warn. The country’s mass immunization bid to expand its vaccination drive to all adults is posing to be a herculean task, they say. India opened vaccinations to those who are 18 years of age and older this month. Although it is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the approximately 70 million shots for COVID-19 being produced per month cannot address the massive needs of the world’s second most populous country, health experts say. K. Srinath Reddy is the president of the Public Health Foundation of India, a health research and policy development organization based in New Delhi. He said the challenge to meet demands includes groups considered “new entrants,” people between the ages of 18 to 44 years old. “We are talking about 595 million people. So, we are talking of 1.2 billion doses,” he told VOA. “It’s a huge task and our vaccine stocks currently do not measure up anywhere near that.” Several states have said they cannot expand the drive because they are already struggling to inoculate older people with higher levels of risk. FILE – Relatives carry the body of a person who died of COVID-19 as multiple pyres of other COVID-19 victims burn at a crematorium in New Delhi, India.Quest for appointments
In cities like New Delhi and Mumbai, where the shots are being given to younger people, tens of thousands have been scrambling online to book limited slots on a government app for immunization since they became eligible on May 1. Only some have been successful. “We got a slot but then the booking was cancelled,” Piyush Kumar, a New Delhi resident who got vaccinated on the weekend said. “But we persevered and kept on trying to refresh the page and suddenly some slots [opened] at a hospital about 45 kilometers away. We rushed there.” India faces major challenges — Mumbai has an estimated five million people in the 18-44 age group but is only giving 2,500 shots per day due to limited stocks. Vaccinations for older people were suspended for days last week. Critics are blaming authorities for a sluggish rollout of what was ambitiously billed as the world’s largest vaccination program when it began in January with a target of reaching 300 million people by August. Since then, about 2% of the population has been fully inoculated while about 10% has received one dose. As a result, much of the country was unprotected when it was hit by a ferocious second wave that hit seven million people in April alone — the country’s count is about 20 million cases. A woman argues with a doctor as she is turned back following shortage of COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Mumbai, India, Monday, May 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)Stockpile failure
Experts say India failed to stockpile enough vaccines or invest early enough in boosting production facilities as it prematurely declared victory against the pandemic during a lull in infections earlier in the year. The government also sent 65 million doses to other countries as part of a “vaccine diplomacy” push. “I think it was factored in their minds that we will not have to deal with a second wave and therefore we could have a measured, steady graduated vaccination program which can flow in steps,” Reddy told VOA. “That is why we even felt we had the luxury of sending vaccines abroad to about 80 countries.” The vaccine powerhouse was relying on domestically produced vaccines being made by two Indian companies — the Serum Institute of India that is making the Oxford/AstraZeneca shots and a domestically developed vaccine by Bharat Biotech. The government suspended exports and extended loans last month to build up infrastructure in the two companies as demand began exceeding supply. It has also stepped-up efforts to get vaccines from overseas. The first consignment of Sputnik V vaccines arrived from Russia this week and the vaccine will also be produced with local partners, but those doses could take months to reach the market. The government has said it will also grant emergency approval for vaccines approved in the United States, Britain, Europe or Japan. Experts say the government needed a detailed plan on how it will secure the vaccines. “There was a shortage even when the drive did not open up to all adults,” points out public policy and health expert Chandrakant Lahariya. “Now the target beneficiaries have increased three-fold while the vaccine supply, which was already short, has remained the same. So, you can imagine how big the gap is. Even in months this may not be solved unless some additional approaches and strategies are followed.” Miscalculation
Adar Poonawalla, head of the Serum Institute of India, said this week that the shortages will continue through July when production is expected to increase. In an interview with the London-based Financial Times newspaper, he said he had not boosted capacity earlier because “there were no orders, we did not think we needed to make more than 1 billion doses a year.” Now fear overhangs cities like New Delhi where the ongoing battle for hospital beds, drugs, and medical oxygen by tens of thousands shows no signs of abating. Even hospitals have been scrambling for oxygen stocks and patients have died in hospitals that briefly ran out of oxygen. Social media is filled with desperate pleas for help. “I deleted social media apps for about a week in the middle because I just could not take it,” Kumar said. “But I had to get back because a lot of people are seeking help on that platform, and I need to be available. The times are very anxious.”
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Month: May 2021
India’s Vaccination Drive Sputters As it Expands to All Adults
India has opened its immunization drive to all adults as it reels under a catastrophic second wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic. But a shortage of vaccines in the country often called a vaccine powerhouse means inoculating a significant part of the 1.4 billion population is still a distant goal. Anjana Pasricha has a report.
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Following Deadly Attack, Iraqi Kurds Call for Better Coordination in Countering IS
Iraqi Kurdish officials blamed the lack of proper coordination between the country’s federal and regional security forces for a major Islamic State (IS) attack over the weekend that left three Kurdish military officers dead and two wounded. The attack Saturday targeted a unit for the Kurdish peshmerga forces in Altun Kupri, a district in the oil-rich Kirkuk province, which is part of the so-called disputed territories between Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the north. “We have repeatedly warned Iraq’s federal government and the International Coalition Against ISIS of a resurgent ISIS and of the continued threats by the terror group taking advantage of a security vacuum in the disputed territories,” KRG’s President Nechirvan Barzani said in a statement following the attack, using an acronym for IS. He urged his federal counterparts and the international partners “to accelerate the formation of the joint forces” in the disputed territories to prevent “real threats” posed by the terror group. FILE – Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, in London, Oct. 22, 2020.In what appeared to be a response to Barzani’s calls, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Sunday met with top regional and federal security officials to discuss joint efforts to counter IS. Following the meeting, the Iraqi leader issued “several directives to the security forces that included the activation of intelligence and security efforts and preemptive operations,” according to a statement from Kadhimi’s office. Jabar Yawar, a Kurdish official who represented the peshmerga in the meeting, told local media that increased intelligence-sharing was one of the measures taken to help “fill the security vacuum.” Additionally, Iraq’s Speaker of Parliament Mohamed al-Halbousi arrived in the Kurdish capital, Erbil, to discuss a range of political and security issues with the region’s leaders. Iraqi officials have begun efforts to form coalitions for the country’s parliamentary elections set for October. In recent weeks, IS extremists have stepped up their attacks in Kirkuk and other disputed territories. ‘U.S. remains committed’ In response to the weekend attack, the U.S. Consulate in Erbil said, “The U.S. remains committed to standing with (the) Peshmerga and other Iraqi security forces to ensure that ISIS is completely defeated.” The @USConGenErbil offers its condolences to the Kurdistan Regional Government n families of Peshmergas killed during an ISIS attack in Pirde (AltunKupry). The US remains committed to standing w/ Peshmerga n other #Iraqi security forces to ensure that ISIS is completely defeated. pic.twitter.com/b6TFPFZkPW— U.S. Consulate General Erbil (@USConGenErbil) May 2, 2021The IS attack happened as Muslims are observing Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month, during which Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset. Islamist extremist groups often increase their attacks during this month, believing there is a greater divine reward for martyrdom. On Monday, Colonel Wayne Marotto, spokesman for the U.S.-led global coalition against IS, said on Twitter that “the coalition is working closely with our (Kurdistan Region of Iraq) KRI and (the government of Iraq) GOI partners to address the security challenges and violent terrorist attacks.” Marotto added that the global coalition “has supported establishing coordination centers along the (Kurdish Coordination Line) KCL and commends the improving relationship and renewed willingness to coordinate on the part of both governments and their security forces.” The slain Kurdish soldiers included a captain named Pishtiwan Zirari and two other lower-ranking commanders — Idris Bahram, 34, and Hemin Yahia, 35. Local media reported that the three men were married and left behind a total of a dozen children. “I had been counting (the) days for my dad to return for Eid,” one of the children said on national TV, referring to the three-day festivities that mark the end of Ramadan.
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US Appeals Court to Consider Idaho Transgender Athletes Ban
An appeals court on Monday will consider the constitutionality of the first law in the nation banning transgender women and girls from playing on women’s sports teams. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the case that will likely have far-ranging consequences as more states follow conservative Idaho’s lead. Idaho passed its law last year, and more than 20 states have considered such proposals this year. Bans have been enacted in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and West Virginia. Florida lawmakers passed a bill, and South Dakota’s governor issued an executive order. On Monday, conservative Republican lawmakers in Kansas failed to override Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of a proposed ban on transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s school sports. Supporters say such laws are needed because transgender female athletes have physical advantages. Opponents say the law is discriminatory and in Idaho, an invasion of privacy because of the tests required should an athlete’s gender be challenged. Lawmakers in Idaho have argued that allowing transgender athletes on girls’ and women’s teams would negate nearly 50 years of progress women have made since the 1972 federal legislation credited with opening up sports to female athletes. The state’s law prohibits transgender students who identify as female from playing on female teams sponsored by public schools, colleges and universities. It does not apply to men’s teams. The American Civil Liberties Union and Legal Voice women’s rights group sued last year over the Idaho law, contending it violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause because it is discriminatory. A federal judge temporarily blocked the law from taking effect, and Idaho appealed in September.
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Bill Gates and Melinda Gates Announce ‘Decision to End’ Marriage
Billionaire Bill Gates and Melinda Gates said in a joint statement on Monday that they have made the decision to end their marriage. “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” the two said in a statement posted by Bill Gates’ Twitter account. “We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life,” their statement said.
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French Lawmakers to Vote on Controversial Climate Bill
France’s centrist government has released a video ahead of Wednesday’s vote on the so-called Climate and Resilience bill, with Ecological Transition Minister Barbara Pompili explaining how it will lead to cleaner air, more insulated buildings and a greener France overall.Polls find many French citizens support the spirit of the massive legislation, which aims to meet the country’s goal of cutting greenhouse gases by 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. A recent report by the EU’s climate service found 2020 was Europe’s hottest year on record, and the region was warming faster than the rest of the world.The French bill’s dozens of measures include limiting the most polluting vehicles in urban areas, slapping ecotaxes on truck transport, banning heated restaurant terraces and capping rent on insulated housing.The National Assembly is expected to pass the legislation before it heads to the Senate.But the bill is deeply controversial, with industry saying it’s too constraining, and green groups saying it doesn’t go far enough.Graffiti near the Place de la Bastille in Paris calling for climate action. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)Chloe Gerbier, legal officer for environmental NGO Notre Affaire a Tous (Our Shared Responsibility), said the legislation in no way meets the urgency of the climate crisis. She and others said it drastically waters down proposals made by a citizens’ climate convention set up by President Emmanuel Macron.Earlier wording in the bill, for example, that made serious environmental abuses a crime now tags them as lesser misdemeanors. Green groups also want a bigger category of short-haul domestic flights banned in favor of train transport.France’s airline industry, hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, doesn’t want any flight bans. Nicolas Paulissen, managing director of the Union of French Airports, says it doesn’t make sense to penalize French airlines, when much of the industry’s growth is happening in Africa and Asia.Paris climate protesters before France’s rolling coronavirus lockdowns. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)“We do rather believe in the greening of aviation through technological innovation, for instance, and that’s why we encourage the French government to finance the research for new technologies allowing the aviation to be greener than in the future,” Paulissen said.Pompili acknowledges a slew of criticism, but says the legislation is balancing sharply opposing interests to bring everyone on board.Earlier this year, a Paris court convicted the French state of failing to address the climate crisis and for not keeping its promises to tackle greenhouses emissions. The government is appealing the ruling.
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US Calls on North Korea to ‘Engage Diplomatically’
The United States said it is ready to engage diplomatically with Pyongyang to achieve the ultimate goal of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, following the completion of a months-long U.S. policy review on North Korea. “What we have now is a policy that calls for a calibrated practical approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy with North Korea, to try to make practical progress that increases the security of the United States, our allies and our deployed forces,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday during a virtual joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in London.Raab said the U.K. and the U.S. “share the strategic paradigm,” and both countries will support each other’s efforts.G-7 Foreign Ministers Meet in Person to Discuss Pandemic, Russia, ChinaUK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken answer reporters’ questions during joint press conference in London On Friday, the Biden administration announced it completed the review of North Korean policy, expressing openness to talks with the reclusive communist nation. The U.S. is also expected to appoint a special envoy for North Korean human rights issues.North Korea lashed out at the U.S. and its allies on Sunday in a series of statements, saying recent comments from Washington are proof of a hostile policy.A statement by Kwon Jong Gun, head of the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s North America Department, warns that Pyongyang would seek “corresponding measures” and that if Washington tries to approach relations with Pyongyang through “outdated and old-school policies” from the perspective of the Cold War, it will face an increasingly unaffordable crisis in the near future.“I hope that North Korea will take the opportunity to engage diplomatically and to see if there are ways to move forward toward the objective of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. And so, we’ll look to see not only what North Korea says but what it actually does in the coming days and months,” the top U.S. diplomat added.Blinken’s remarks follow his separate meetings with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, where the foreign ministers pledged U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.Blinken arrived Sunday in London for meetings with his counterparts from G-7 nations, with the coronavirus pandemic, China and Russia high on the agenda, during three days of formal meetings and side discussions. “We also discussed China. I think it’s fair to say we see eye-to-eye on the need to stand up for our values, holding Beijing to the commitments that they’ve made, whether it’s in relation to Hong Kong under the (Sino-British) Joint Declaration or wider commitments,” Raab said during Monday’s press conference.He added that the U.S. and U.K. are also looking for constructive ways to work with China “in a sensible and positive manner” on issues including climate change when possible.Senior U.S. officials had said it is not Washington’s purpose to try to contain China or to hold China down but to uphold an international rules-based order.Biden has identified competition with China as his administration’s greatest foreign policy challenge. In his first speech to Congress last Wednesday, he pledged to maintain a strong U.S. military presence in the Indo-Pacific and boost U.S. technological development.Last month, Blinken said the U.S. was concerned about China’s aggressive actions against Taiwan and warned it would be a “serious mistake” for anyone to try to change the status quo in the western Pacific by force.Iran and North Korea, two nations whose nuclear programs have been the focus of negotiations in recent years, were set to be discussed at a working dinner Monday night.Blinken’s other sideline meetings Monday included talks with Bruneian Foreign Minister II Dato Erywan Yusof and Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.The G-7 ministerial talks are laying the foundation for a summit of leaders from those countries in June, also in Britain.In addition to Britain and the United States, the G-7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Australia, India, South Africa, South Korea and Brunei are also taking part in this week’s talks.After the G-7 meetings, Blinken is scheduled to travel to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other senior government officials.State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement that Blinken will “reaffirm unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression.”(VOA’s Chris Hannas contributed to this story.)
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Facebook Oversight Board to Announce Ruling on Trump May 5
Facebook’s oversight board will soon be announcing its decision about whether to uphold the company’s ban on former President Donald Trump’s account.The quasi-independent body said the announcement will be made May 5 in a Twitter post.The Oversight Board will announce its decision on the case concerning former US President Trump on its website at https://t.co/NNQ9YCrcrh on May 5, 2021 at approximately 9:00 a.m. EDT.
— Oversight Board (@OversightBoard) May 3, 2021Facebook banned Trump’s account in the wake of the Jan. 6 violent pro-Trump protests at the U.S. Capitol.The board says it has received over 9,000 public comments on the Trump case.The board was created last October after the company faced criticism it was not quickly and effectively dealing with what some feel is problematic content.Decisions by the board are binding and cannot be overturned.
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Internet Trailblazers Yahoo and AOL Sold, Again, for $5B
AOL and Yahoo are being sold again, this time to a private equity firm.
Verizon will sell Verizon Media, which consists of the pioneering tech platforms, to Apollo Global Management in a $5 billion deal.
Verizon said Monday that it will keep a 10% stake in the new company, which will be called Yahoo.
Yahoo at the end of the last century was the face of the internet, preceding the behemoth tech platforms to follow, such as Google and Facebook.
And AOL was the portal, bringing almost everyone who logged on during the internet’s earliest days.
Verizon had hoped to ride the acquisition of AOL to a quick entry into the mobile market, spending more than $4 billion on the company in 2015. The plan was to use the advertising platform pioneered by AOL to sell digital advertising. Two years later, it spent even more to acquire Yahoo and combined the two.
However the speed at which Google and Facebook have grown dashed those hopes and it became clear very quickly that it was unlikely to reach Verizon’s highest aspirations for the two.
The year after buying Yahoo, Verizon wrote down the value of the combined operation, called “Oath,” by more than the $4.5 billion it had spent on Yahoo.
As part of the deal announced Monday, Verizon will receive $4.25 billion in cash, preferred interests of $750 million and the minority stake. The transaction includes the assets of Verizon Media, including its brands and businesses such as Yahoo and AOL.
The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.
Shares of Verizon Communications Inc., based in New York, rose slightly before the opening bell Monday.
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US Noncommittal on Vaccine Patents Waiver
Amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in India and other parts of the world, the Biden administration remains noncommittal on a proposal to loosen patent restrictions so that countries can manufacture generic versions of the coronavirus vaccines. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
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ICRC: Healthcare Systems, Workers, Patients Are Under Attack
Murder, rape and physical abuse are among the attacks that healthcare workers, the wounded and the sick have been subjected to in the five years since the United Nations Security Council adopted its first resolution on the protection of health care in conflict zones and demanded an end to impunity for such attacks. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement Monday that “health-care providers and patients have suffered through thousands of attacks on health care systems” since the resolution was adopted. Medical facilities and medical transport vehicles have been looted and destroyed and health care services, such as vaccine campaigns, have also come under attack, the ICRC added. The ICRC counted 3,780 attacks per year in an average of 33 countries between 2016 and 2020, the aid organization said in a statement. Two-thirds of the attacks, ICRC said, occurred in Africa and the Middle East, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel and the occupied territories, and Syria. The count is likely higher than the ICRC tabulations, the organization said, because of the challenges of accumulating data in conflict zones. The COVID pandemic has not slowed the attacks. The statement said between February and July 2020, ICRC “recorded 611 violent incidents against health-care workers, patients and medical infrastructure associated with the COVID-19 response, about 50 percent higher than average.” “There is a lack of political will and a crisis of imagination when it comes to protecting health-care providers and patients,” said Maciej Polkowski, the head of ICRC’s Health Care in Danger Initiative, which works to ensure safe access to health care in armed conflict and other emergencies. “States wishing to see this agenda advance should lead by example.” Filippo Gatto, ICRC’s head nurse, who once had a militant shove an AK-47 in his face, said people need to understand that healthcare workers are “there to treat everyone and anyone, white, red, blue, government or not government.” He added,” At a certain point it will also be your turn in need of medical care.”
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Biden Admin Responds to India Coronavirus Crisis with Supplies
This week, travel from India to the United States will be restricted as the South Asian nation struggles in the grip of a devastating surge of the coronavirus. The Biden administration is sending supplies, but some ask if the U.S. should be doing more. Michelle Quinn reports.Produced by: Mary Cieslak
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What’s the impact of the U.S. troop withdrawal on the Afghan peace process?
How as the start of troop withdrawal by the United States and NATO forces affected the security situation in Afghanistan and what are the prospects for the Taliban rejoining intra-Afghan peace talks?
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Apple Faces Trial Over Its App Store as Gatekeeper
On Monday, Apple faces one of its most serious legal threats in recent years: A trial that threatens to upend its iron control over its app store, which brings in billions of dollars each year while feeding more than 1.6 billion iPhones, iPads, and other devices.The federal court case is being brought by Epic Games, maker of the popular video game Fortnite. Epic wants to topple the so-called “walled garden” of the app store, which Apple started building 13 years ago as part of a strategy masterminded by co-founder Steve Jobs.Epic charges that Apple has transformed a once-tiny digital storefront into an illegal monopoly that squeezes mobile apps for a significant slice of their earnings. Apple takes a commission of 15% to 30% on purchases made within apps, including everything from digital items in games to subscriptions. Apple denies Epic’s charge.Apple’s highly successful formula has helped turn the iPhone maker into one of the world’s most profitable companies, one with a market value that now tops $2.2 trillion.Privately held Epic is puny by comparison, with an estimated market value of $30 billion. Its aspirations to get bigger hinge in part on its plan to offer an alternative app store on the iPhone. The North Carolina company also wants to break free of Apple’s commissions. Epic says it forked over hundreds of millions of dollars to Apple before Fortnite was expelled from its app store last August, after Epic added a payment system that bypassed Apple.Epic then sued Apple, prompting a courtroom drama that could shed new light on Apple’s management of its app store. Both Apple CEO Tim Cook and Epic CEO Tim Sweeney will testify in a Oakland, California federal courtroom that will be set up to allow for social distancing and will require masks at all times.Neither side wanted a jury trial, leaving the decision to U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who already seems to know her ruling will probably be appealed, given the stakes in the case.Much of the evidence will revolve around arcane but crucial arguments about market definitions.Epic contends the iPhone has become so ingrained in society that the device and its ecosystem have turned into a monopoly Apple can exploit to unfairly enrich itself and thwart competition.Apple claims it faces significant competition from various alternatives to video games on iPhones. For instance, it points out that about 2 billion other smartphones don’t run iPhone software or work with its app store — primarily those relying on Google’s Android system. Epic has filed a separate case against Google, accusing it of illegally gouging apps through its own app store for Android devices.Apple will also depict Epic as a desperate company hungry for sources of revenue beyond the aging Fortnite. It claims Epic merely wants to freeload off an iPhone ecosystem in which Apple has invested more than $100 billion over the past 15 years.Estimates of Apple’s app store revenue range from $15 billion to $18 billion annually. Apple disputes those estimates, although it hasn’t publicly disclosed its own figures. Instead, it has emphasized that it doesn’t collect a cent from 85% of the apps in its store.The commissions it pockets, Apple says, are a reasonable way for the company to recoup its investment while financing an app review process it calls essential to preserving the security of apps and their users. About 40% of the roughly 100,000 apps submitted for review each week are rejected for some sort of problem, according to Kyle Andeer, Apple’s chief compliance officer.Epic will try to prove that Apple uses the security issue to disguise its true motivation — maintaining a monopoly that wrings more profits from app makers who can’t afford not to be available on the iPhone.But the smaller company may face an uphill battle. Last fall, the judge expressed some skepticism in court before denying Epic’s request to reinstate Fortnite on Apple’s app store pending the outcome of the trial. At that time, Gonzalez Rogers asserted that Epic’s claims were “at the frontier edges of antitrust law.”The trial is expected to last most of May, with a decision to come in the ensuing weeks.
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Chad’s Military Names New Government; Opposition Rejects It
Chad’s military rulers named a new government on Sunday after the battlefield death of President Idriss Deby, but leading opposition figures rejected the appointments as a continuation of an old order they hoped to erase.Deby’s death last month on the front lines in a fight against northern rebels ended his 30-year rule and sparked a crisis in the Central African country that has long been an ally in the West’s fight against jihadis in the region.A military council run by Deby’s son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, seized power after he died and promised to hold elections within 18 months. Former colonial power France backed the council, but the opposition and rebels dismissed the takeover as a coup and said the military must relinquish power to a civilian-led government.Thousands took to the streets last week to protest the military rule. At least six people died in clashes with police. The opposition has called for a transitional government led by a civilian president with a military vice president.The majority of ministers in the new government held positions under Deby. His son is president. His ally, Albert Pahimi Padacke, was named prime minister last week.”It gives the impression of a house built starting with the roof,” opposition leader Succes Masra told Reuters. “This will not go far as long as we do not return to the foundations desired by the people: a civilian president, a (military) vice president.”Deby built international partnerships by sending his well-trained troops to trouble spots across the region to fight Boko Haram and other groups with links to al-Qaida and Islamic State.His main ally, France, has about 5,100 troops based across the region as part of international efforts to fight Islamist militants, including its main base in the Chadian capital N’Djamena.
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Puerto Rico Groans Under COVID Pandemic as Health, Economy Suffer
Puerto Rico seemed to be sprinting toward herd immunity this spring before people began letting their guard down against COVID-19 and new variants started spreading across the U.S. territory.Now, a spike in cases and hospitalizations has put medical experts at odds with the government, which is struggling to protect people’s health while also trying to prevent an economic implosion on an island battered by hurricanes, earthquakes and a prolonged financial crisis.”The difficulty here is how do you find a Solomonic decision … to give people the opportunity to work and be responsible and also maintain health as a priority,” said Ramón Leal, former president of Puerto Rico’s Restaurant Association. “These are hard conversations.”It’s a delicate balance for an island that imposed a lockdown and mask mandates ahead of any U.S. state and has some of the strictest entry requirements of any American jurisdiction — measures that helped contain infections before the latest surge.Overall, the land of 3.3 million people has reported more than 115,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, over 115,000 suspected ones and more than 2,000 deaths, with transmission rates inching up the last week of April to 28 cases per 100,000 people a day, compared with 17 per 100,000 on the U.S. mainland.The pandemic has unleashed the second-biggest economic drop Puerto Rico has seen since recordkeeping began in 1980, according to José Caraballo, a Puerto Rico economist. The biggest was caused by Hurricane Maria, which inflicted more than $100 billion in damage in 2017, with nearly 3,000 people dying in its sweltering aftermath.More than 30,000 jobs have been lost because of the COVID-19 outbreak, and at least 1,400 businesses have closed, Caraballo said — this on an island that saw nearly 12% of its population flee in the past decade and whose government is struggling with crushing debt that led it to file for the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history in 2017.”I’m taken aback by what the people of Puerto Rico have had to endure,” Caraballo said.Many of those who remain are mourning over lost homes, jobs, businesses or loved ones.Luis Ángel Sánchez has two close friends in the intensive care unit and lost his father and son to COVID-19 in April 2020 less than two weeks apart. Sánchez got vaccinated in mid-March.”The vaccine will not erase the scars or heal my broken heart,” he wrote on Facebook that day. “It will not bring back my son. It will not bring back my father. They, along with the others who have succumbed to this monster will not have died in vain if we continue to do the right thing.”Sánchez said people should keep their guard up and exhorted the government to impose stricter sanctions on those not following COVID-19 measures.”It’s not over yet,” he said.Gov. Pedro Pierluisi has resisted tighter restrictions, saying that another lockdown would be too extreme and that things will keep improving and the island could achieve herd immunity by August: “The solution is vaccination.”More than 2 million doses have been administered on the island, with a robust 55% having received at least one shot and 27% two.While health authorities say they are relieved many are eager to get vaccinated, they note that some people who are not yet fully protected are disregarding restrictions that include a more than yearlong curfew.That and the presence of at least seven COVID-19 variants on the island are believed to be contributing to the rise in cases. Another factor, experts say, is a drop in testing from an average of around 7,000 tests a day to 2,000, a trend blamed on people becoming fixated on getting vaccinated.The fight against COVID-19 has also been complicated by a drain of medical talent to the U.S. mainland. The number of doctors in Puerto Rico is down to 9,000 from 14,000 in 2006, said Dr. Víctor Ramos, a pediatrician and president of the island’s Association of Surgeons. Similar drops have been seen among nurses and technicians.”Health professionals are exhausted, and they’re scarce,” said Daniel Colón-Ramos, who presides over a scientific coalition that advises Puerto Rico’s governor.Ramos and other health experts say the governor should temporarily ban indoor dining, a measure imposed last year. Currently, restaurants and other places are restricted to 30% capacity, but officials say the limit is hard to gauge and question whether it is even being followed.It’s an issue the government and business owners have clashed over repeatedly, with the industry insisting that it’s safer to eat at a restaurant indoors, given all the safety protocols, than in someone’s house.Mateo Cidre, the owner of four restaurants and bakeries, said the industry has not recovered from the nine weeks last year in which restaurants could only do delivery, carryout or curbside pickup. He suffered heavy losses and applied for a suspension of car and home payments.He criticized the government for not further loosening restrictions even when there has been a drop in cases.”They’ve never been flexible with us,” he said. “It’s been a very tiresome road.”Other industries also have been hit hard, with a $2 billion drop in retail sales last year, said Jorge Argüelles, former president of Puerto Rico’s Retail Association. Those being squeezed by the restrictions say the governor should impose tighter restrictions at the airports, where only about 30% of those arriving carry the required negative COVID-19 test. Several tourists have been arrested for lashing out at authorities after refusing to follow health instructions.A voluntary, 14-day confinement option was lifted on Wednesday, and those who don’t have a negative test face a $300 fine if they don’t present one within 48 hours. However, there is no system to fine them on arrival; it is up to people to voluntarily fill out a document online later so that they can be fined.”The thing I’m most anxious about,” said Colón-Ramos, who oversees the scientific council, “is thinking that there are people alive today who can be saved or can die depending on how Puerto Ricans behave.”
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Pakistan Tightens Border to Stem Influx of New Coronavirus Variants
Pakistan decided Sunday to temporarily suspend incoming pedestrian movement at overland border crossings with Afghanistan and Iran to “restrain import of any new mutation” of the coronavirus.
The restriction will take effect Tuesday night and remain in place until May 20, said the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), which oversees Pakistan’s response to the outbreak.
Pakistani nationals in Afghanistan and Iran, as well as Afghans seeking extreme emergency medical treatment in Pakistan will, however, be allowed to enter the country. All outbound pedestrian movement will be permissible, the statement said.
The tightened border controls come a day after officials in the southern Pakistani province of Sindh said they had detected the South African and Brazilian coronavirus variants in “some samples.” The highly contagious variants have raised fears of escalations in new infections.
A British variant, however, officially remains the primary source of the current surge in infections across Pakistan.
The country of about 220 million people detected the virus a year ago and has since reported more than 18,000 deaths among an estimated 830,000 infections. They included 113 deaths and 4,414 new cases authorities reported Sunday.
The NCOC said the border restriction will not be applicable to bilateral and transit cargo/trade movement with Afghanistan and Iran, but that drivers will undergo “thermal scanning” at border terminals.
Pakistan shares a nearly 2,600-kilometer border with Afghanistan and about a 930-kilometer border with Iran. Pakistan’s special representative to Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, defended the border restriction, calling it “the most important step” in curbing the wave of infections. “The spread of COVID-19 is alarming. It is important that we take difficult decisions to protect our people from this scourge,” Sadiq tweeted. The spread of COVID-19 is alarming. It is important that we take difficult decisions to protect our people from this scourge. The most important step in this regard is reducing the movement of people for a few days so that this wave of virus subsides. pic.twitter.com/g8jo9Ftps8— Mohammad Sadiq (@AmbassadorSadiq) May 2, 2021Thousands of Afghan pedestrians travel daily in both directions. They are mostly members of the Afghan refugee community, students and patients seeking treatment in relatively better Pakistani health facilities.
Pakistan has already banned land and air travel from India because of the devastating wave of coronavirus cases across the neighboring country, which on Sunday recorded its highest daily death toll since the start of the pandemic, with nearly 3,700 people dying in 24 hours.
The health crisis in India has sparked fears Pakistan may be next. The traditionally neglected and underfunded Pakistani health care system, critics say, may not be able to sustain the kind of pressure and surge of cases India is experiencing.
The Pakistani government last week called in troops to assist civilian law enforcement agencies in strictly implementing coronavirus public safety measures to stem the record number of deaths from the infection in recent days.
Authorities have placed virus hotspot areas either under complete or partial lockdowns and are racing to increase the number of beds as well ventilators to hospitals across Pakistan to stave off shortages.
Pakistan authorities launched a nationwide vaccination campaign in February but just over 2 million people have so far been inoculated, the lowest rate in South Asia.
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India Pummeled Anew by COVID Deaths and Infections
India continues to be pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic, documenting a new national record Sunday of nearly 3,700 deaths in the last 24 hours and more than 390,000 new infections. Even so, India began counting votes for state elections, although the Madras High Court assailed the country’s Election Commission for not stopping political rallies that flouted COVID-19 restrictions. Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee called the commission “singularly responsible” for the surge in new cases. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus. While India is home to the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India, only 2% of the country’s 1.3 billion people have so far been vaccinated, according to reports. The country expanded its vaccine eligibility Saturday to anyone 18 and older, but many locations reported that they did not have any vaccines. Many in India have blamed Adar Poonawalla, Serum Institute’s chief executive officer, for the gap. But he pushed back against the attacks. FILE – Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Serum Institute of India poses for a picture at the Serum Institute of India, Pune, India, Nov. 30, 2020.“The level of expectation and aggression is really unprecedented,” he told Britain’s The Times in an interview Sunday. “I’m staying here an extended time because I don’t want to go back to that situation,”“Everything falls on my shoulders, but I can’t do it alone,” he said. “I don’t think even God could have forecast it was going to get this bad.” But after scathing criticism on social media Saturday, the 40-year-old billionaire posted on Twitter that he would return to India: “Had an excellent meeting with all our partners & stakeholders in the U.K. Meanwhile, pleased to state that COVISHIELD’s [an Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine made in India] production is in full swing in Pune. I look forward to reviewing operations upon my return in a few days.” Had an excellent meeting with all our partners & stakeholders in the U.K. Meanwhile, pleased to state that COVISHIELD’s production is in full swing in Pune. I look forward to reviewing operations upon my return in a few days.— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) May 1, 2021The New York Times reported that India’s government had completed a threat assessment and announced that the Serum Institute chief would receive police protection. Poonawalla also announced on Twitter that, “As a philanthropic gesture,” the Serum Institute would cut prices of its vaccine, which he said would “enable more vaccinations and save countless lives.” US assistance
In the United States, President Joe Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, told CBS’s “Face the Nation” show, “We are rushing aid to India.” But the White House also said Friday that starting Tuesday, the U.S. will stop incoming flights from India to prevent the spread of the infections. The U.S. has dispatched two Air Force transport planes carrying oxygen cylinders, N95 masks and rapid diagnostic tests, the first of several planned shipments. Taiwan says it has sent much-needed oxygen supplies. BrazilElsewhere, in Brazil, thousands of people ignored their own coronavirus surge Saturday to march in the streets of Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in support of President Jair Bolsonaro. The South American country has recorded more than 406,000 deaths, including more than 2,600 on Saturday. It is second only to the United States in COVID-19 deaths. The U.S. has more than 576,700 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Bolsonaro, who opposes pandemic restrictions put in place by governors and mayors, recently said the army “could take to the street one day, to ensure… freedom to come and go.” Some of Saturday’s banners called for a “military intervention” and bolstering Bolsonaro’s powers. Music festival in WuhanMeanwhile in Wuhan, the epicenter of China’s coronavirus outbreak, thousands attended a two-day Strawberry Music Festival that opened Saturday. The festival was forced to go online due to the pandemic a year ago. Although barriers were set separating the crowd and security personnel enforcing restrictions, about 11,000 people danced and sang along with their favorite bands on three stages, as some attendees wore masks while many did not, according to the Reuters news agency. More than 152 million global COVID infections have been reported, according to Johns Hopkins. The U.S. has 32.3 million, while India has 19.5 million and Brazil has 14.7 million.
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Pakistan Tightens Border Controls to Curb Import of New Coronavirus Variants
Pakistan decided Sunday to temporarily suspend incoming pedestrian movement at overland border crossings with Afghanistan and Iran to “restrain import of any new mutation” of the coronavirus.
The restriction will take effect Tuesday night and remain in place until May 20, said the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), which oversees Pakistan’s response to the outbreak.
Pakistani nationals in Afghanistan and Iran, as well as Afghans seeking extreme emergency medical treatment in Pakistan will, however, be allowed to enter the country. All outbound pedestrian movement will be permissible, the statement said.
The tightened border controls come a day after officials in the southern Pakistani province of Sindh said they had detected the South African and Brazilian coronavirus variants in “some samples.” The highly contagious variants have raised fears of escalations in new infections.
A British variant, however, officially remains the primary source of the current surge in infections across Pakistan.
The country of about 220 million people detected the virus a year ago and has since reported more than 18,000 deaths among an estimated 830,000 infections. They included 113 deaths and 4,414 new cases authorities reported Sunday.
The NCOC said the border restriction will not be applicable to bilateral and transit cargo/trade movement with Afghanistan and Iran, but that drivers will undergo “thermal scanning” at border terminals.
Pakistan shares a nearly 2,600-kilometer border with Afghanistan and about a 930-kilometer border with Iran.
Thousands of Afghan pedestrians travel daily in both directions. They are mostly members of the Afghan refugee community, students and patients seeking treatment in relatively better Pakistani health facilities.
Pakistan has already banned land and air travel from India because of the devastating wave of coronavirus cases across the neighboring country, which on Sunday recorded its highest daily death toll since the start of the pandemic, with nearly 3,700 people dying in 24 hours.
The health crisis in India has sparked fears Pakistan may be next. The traditionally neglected and underfunded Pakistani health care system, critics say, may not be able to sustain the kind of pressure and surge of cases India is experiencing.
The Pakistani government last week called in troops to assist civilian law enforcement agencies in strictly implementing coronavirus public safety measures to stem the record number of deaths from the infection in recent days.
Authorities have placed virus hotspot areas either under complete or partial lockdowns and are racing to increase the number of beds as well ventilators to hospitals across Pakistan to stave off shortages.
Pakistan authorities launched a nationwide vaccination campaign in February but just over 2 million people have so far been inoculated, the lowest rate in South Asia.
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India’s Serum Institute’s Chief Says He Will Return to India
India has been pummeled by the coronavirus outbreak, with staggering numbers of daily infections. While India is home to the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India, only 2% of the country’s 1.3 billion people have so far been vaccinated. The country expanded its vaccine eligibility Saturday to anyone 18 and older, but many locations reported that they did not have any vaccines. Adar Poonawalla, Serum Institute’s chief executive officer has become a target because of the vaccination gap, and many blamed the India’s situation on Poonawalla. FILE – Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Serum Institute of India poses for a picture at the Serum Institute of India, Pune, India, Nov. 30, 2020.“The level of expectation and aggression is really unprecedented,” he told Britain’s The Times in an interview Sunday. “I’m staying here an extended time because I don’t want to go back to that situation,” Poonawalla told the newspaper explaining the reasons why he plans to stay in Britain. “Everything falls on my shoulders, but I can’t do it alone,” he said. “I don’t think even God could have forecast it was going to get this bad.” After scathing criticism on social media Saturday, the 40-year-old billionaire posted on Twitter that he was returning to India: “Had an excellent meeting with all our partners & stakeholders in the U.K. Meanwhile, pleased to state that COVISHIELD’s [an Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine made in India] production is in full swing in Pune. I look forward to reviewing operations upon my return in a few days.” Had an excellent meeting with all our partners & stakeholders in the U.K. Meanwhile, pleased to state that COVISHIELD’s production is in full swing in Pune. I look forward to reviewing operations upon my return in a few days.— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) May 1, 2021The New York Times reported that India’s government had completed a threat assessment and announced that the Serum Institute chief would receive police protection. On that same day Poonawalla announced on Twitter that, “As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of @SerumInstIndia, I hereby reduce the price to the states … effective immediately.” This step, he said would save state funds and “enable more vaccinations and save countless lives.” On Sunday, India’s Health Ministry reported a slight dip in the number of daily cases. The ministry said there were 392,488 new infections in the previous 24 hours, down a bit from the more than 400,000 reported Saturday. Taiwan says it has sent a container of aid to India, including much-needed oxygen supplies. BrazilIn Brazil, thousands of people ignored their own coronavirus surge Saturday to march in the streets of Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in support of President Jair Bolsonaro. The South American country has recorded more than 400,000 deaths, including more than 2,600 on Saturday. It is second only to the U.S. in COVID-19 deaths. The U.S. has more than 576,600 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Bolsonaro, who opposes pandemic restrictions put in place by governors and mayors, recently said the army “could take to the street one day, to ensure… freedom to come and go.” Some of Saturday’s banners called for a “military intervention” and bolstering Bolsonaro’s powers. Music festival in WuhanMeanwhile in Wuhan, the epicenter of China’s coronavirus outbreak, thousands attended a two-day Strawberry Music Festival that opened Saturday. The festival was forced to go online due to the pandemic a year ago. Although barriers were set separating the crowd and security personnel enforcing restrictions, about 11,000 people danced and sang along with their favorite bands on three stages, as some attendees wore masks while many did not, according to Reuters. More than 152 million global COVID infections have been reported so far according to Johns Hopkins. The U.S. has 32.3 million, while India has 19.5 million and Brazil has 14.7 million.
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