Author: സ്വന്തം ലേഖകന്‍

MUMBAI (AFP) – Indian authorities clamped down on one of the country’s biggest Hindu festivals on Monday as the country passed 12 million coronavirus cases with financial hub Mumbai recording its highest-ever rise in daily infections. Public celebrations to mark Holi — a popular festival where people smear colour on each other — were banned in some states and territories, including the capital Delhi, over fears they could become ‘super-spreader’ events, with police patrolling streets in Mumbai to prevent large gatherings. Despite the restrictions, revellers still gathered in neighbourhoods across…

BEIRUT (AFP) – The overall death toll for Syria s civil war has reached 388,652 since it began a decade ago this month, a war monitor said on Sunday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the figures includes almost 117,388 civilians, among them more than 22,000 children. Attacks by the Syrian regime and allied militia forces accounted for the majority of civilian deaths, said the Britain-based monitor which relies on sources inside Syria for its reports. The Observatory s previous tally was issued in December and stood at more than…

LONDON (AFP) – Britain s prime minister vowed on Sunday to take action to better protect women after a national outpouring of grief and outrage over the death of a woman who went missing after setting out to walk home in London earlier this month. Boris Johnson also promised several reviews into the policing of a vigil for the woman on Saturday night, after male officers were seen scuffling with and restraining female demonstrators — further souring the national mood. Sarah Everard was found dead days after she went missing on…

YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar s junta late Sunday imposed martial law in two densely populated Yangon townships after at least 18 protesters were killed in one of the deadliest days since the February 1 coup. Sunday s violence brings the number of people killed in mass protests since the military wrenched civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power to around 100, though activists and rights groups believe it could be higher. The junta has repeatedly justified its power grab by alleging widespread electoral fraud in November s elections, which Suu Kyi s National…

CAIRO (AFP) – Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry acknowledged Sunday that diplomatic contact had been established with Turkey but warned full ties would depend on “a real change in Turkish policy”, state media reported. Ankara and Cairo had a dramatic falling out when Egyptian President Fattah al-Sisi ousted the Turkish-backed Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The two regional powers have since sparred over a range of issues and found themselves on opposite sides of the war in Libya. “If we find a real change in Turkish (foreign) policy aligning…

After Delhi-NCR, the weather patterns in Mathura-Vrindavan also changed suddenly on Tuesday night. The torrential rains that accompanied the strong storm have caused heavy damage to the camps in the Kumbh Mela area. The entrances to many camps collapsed here. At the same time, many electric poles have also been broken. The Kumbh region is plunged into darkness. The administration is engaged in relief work. The torrential rain came as a storm in the Kumbh Mela area with a sudden thunderstorm at around 9 pm on Tuesday night. Due to this, the 5-storey entrance of the…

NEW DELHI – Indian farmers began gathering on Saturday to block a six-lane expressway outside New Delhi to mark the 100th day of protests against deregulation of agriculture markets, to add pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Farmers young and old headed in cars, trucks and tractors to the highway for a five-hour roadblock to oppose three farm laws enacted in September 2020 they say hurt them by opening up the agriculture sector to private players. Modi has called the laws much-needed reforms for the country’s vast and antiquated…