The Indian mission in Cambodia is actively working with the authorities of both countries to ensure trade does not get much impacted due to the coronavirus crisis.&nbsp;

Speaking exclusively to our Principal Diplomatic Correspondent Sidhant Sibal from Phnom Penh, Indian envoy to Cambodia Manika Jain said 200 Indians wanted to go back to India and for that, the mission is "coordinating with the headquarters to arrange for evacuation as soon as possible."&nbsp;

The Indian mission has also donated masks, sanitisers to a Cheychamnas Referral Hospital in the country with which it has a long-standing relationship.&nbsp;

Wion: How is the Indian mission reaching to stranded Indians in the country? Any plans of repatriation? Any Indian infected with COVID?

Manika Jain: In March before the lockdown in India, Indian tourists in Cambodia were assisted to take a flight out from Thailand and Singapore as countries began to enforce travel restrictions due to the pandemic. The mission reached out to Indians through community organisations, embassy website, social media, emails as well as a 24-hour helpline. Further, I formed a task force consisting of prominent members to discuss the issue and provide help. We maintained regular contact through the community, WhatsApp, and video conference.&nbsp;

And we have also provided food and shelter to needy Indians who are stranded and have no resources. We visited the guest houses in which Indians have been accommodated to make sure that they are being taken care of and they do not have any issues. We also meet them regularly and guide them if they are in need of any further assistance. We are also providing medicines to those who need them. Fortunately, there are no coronavirus cases among Indians in Cambodia. Regarding the evacuation of Indian nationals from Cambodia, earlier the number of stranded Indians who wanted to go back to India were few. But now we have 200 people who are eager to return -- so we have been trying our best and coordinating with the headquarter to arrange for evacuation as soon as possible.&nbsp;

Wion: How are India and Cambodia cooperating over the pandemic?&nbsp;

Manika Jain: India and Cambodia have friendly relations and the two countries have always cooperated in the past. We are cooperating during the current period of difficulties as well and hope to maintain the warm relations in the future too.&nbsp;

One important thing Cambodia is doing is that it is automatically extending the tourist visas of Indians who came to the country after January 1, 2020 and whose visas had expired during the period when travel restrictions were put in place. For other types of visas, the mission also has been taking the matter on case to case basis, with the foreign office and we are getting the necessary assistance.&nbsp;

Since trade has been severely impacted during the pandemic, the mission has been able to get assistance from Indian and Cambodian authorities in cases of import disruption, problems of custom clearances. Regarding assistance to Cambodia, we have donated material such as masks, sanitisers, soaps etc to a hospital in Cambodia with whom we have a long relationship. The hospital was very appreciative of our help, this institution has the only centre in the country treating child and adolescent mental disabilities and it is doing exceptional work. An Indian travel company is also trying to evacuate stranded Cambodians from India and get them back to the country. Overall Cambodia is appreciative of the steps taken by India in containing the pandemic.

 
Wion: How has the ground situation in Cambodia changed? And how have Indian diplomats been faring?

Manika Jain: Cambodia has been fortunate to not have any lethal effects of the pandemic. Till date, no death has been reported. The total number of infected cases were 12 -- we have not seen single addition in last one and half months. All 122 patients were cured and out of these 122, more than 60 were foreigners.&nbsp;

Despite weak health infrastructure and limited testing, I would say Cambodia with the help of international partners has been able to contain the pandemic well. As mentioned earlier, no Indians were infected. A complete lockdown was never enforced; some restrictions were put in place. They are being slowly eased off, particularly because the Cambodian economy has been hard hit. We are following social distancing and wearing masks, and govt has been cautioning the people in continuing the precaution in order to prevent the second wave. The international community including WHO is weary of a second stronger wave of infections. Many foreigners and diplomats continue to work from home and Indian diplomats are also taking physical precautions like others, but haven't stopped working even during the peak of infection. &nbsp;

The Indian mission in Cambodia is actively working with the authorities of both countries to ensure trade does not get much impacted due to the coronavirus crisis.

The Indian mission in Cambodia is actively working with the authorities of both countries to ensure trade does not get much impacted due to the coronavirus crisis. Speaking exclusively to our Principal Diplomatic Correspondent Sidhant Sibal from Phnom Penh, Indian envoy to Cambodia Manika Jain said 200 Indians wanted to go back to India and for that, the mission is "coordinating with the headquarters to arrange for evacuation as soon as possible." The Indian mission has also donated masks, sanitisers to a Cheychamnas Referral Hospital in the country with which it has a long-standing relationship. Wion: How is the Indian mission reaching to stranded Indians in the country? Any plans of repatriation? Any Indian infected with COVID? Manika Jain: In March before the lockdown in India, Indian tourists in Cambodia were assisted to take a flight out from Thailand and Singapore as countries began to enforce travel restrictions due to the pandemic. The mission reached out to Indians through community organisations, embassy website, social media, emails as well as a 24-hour helpline. Further, I formed a task force consisting of prominent members to discuss the issue and provide help. We maintained regular contact through the community, WhatsApp, and video conference. And we have also provided food and shelter to needy Indians who are stranded and have no resources. We visited the guest houses in which Indians have been accommodated to make sure that they are being taken care of and they do not have any issues. We also meet them regularly and guide them if they are in need of any further assistance. We are also providing medicines to those who need them. Fortunately, there are no coronavirus cases among Indians in Cambodia. Regarding the evacuation of Indian nationals from Cambodia, earlier the number of stranded Indians who wanted to go back to India were few. But now we have 200 people who are eager to return -- so we have been trying our best and coordinating with the headquarter to arrange for evacuation as soon as possible. Wion: How are India and Cambodia cooperating over the pandemic? Manika Jain: India and Cambodia have friendly relations and the two countries have always cooperated in the past. We are cooperating during the current period of difficulties as well and hope to maintain the warm relations in the future too. One important thing Cambodia is doing is that it is automatically extending the tourist visas of Indians who came to the country after January 1, 2020 and whose visas had expired during the period when travel restrictions were put in place. For other types of visas, the mission also has been taking the matter on case to case basis, with the foreign office and we are getting the necessary assistance. Since trade has been severely impacted during the pandemic, the mission has been able to get assistance from Indian and Cambodian authorities in cases of import disruption, problems of custom clearances. Regarding assistance to Cambodia, we have donated material such as masks, sanitisers, soaps etc to a hospital in Cambodia with whom we have a long relationship. The hospital was very appreciative of our help, this institution has the only centre in the country treating child and adolescent mental disabilities and it is doing exceptional work. An Indian travel company is also trying to evacuate stranded Cambodians from India and get them back to the country. Overall Cambodia is appreciative of the steps taken by India in containing the pandemic. Wion: How has the ground situation in Cambodia changed? And how have Indian diplomats been faring? Manika Jain: Cambodia has been fortunate to not have any lethal effects of the pandemic. Till date, no death has been reported. The total number of infected cases were 12 -- we have not seen single addition in last one and half months. All 122 patients were cured and out of these 122, more than 60 were foreigners. Despite weak health infrastructure and limited testing, I would say Cambodia with the help of international partners has been able to contain the pandemic well. As mentioned earlier, no Indians were infected. A complete lockdown was never enforced; some restrictions were put in place. They are being slowly eased off, particularly because the Cambodian economy has been hard hit. We are following social distancing and wearing masks, and govt has been cautioning the people in continuing the precaution in order to prevent the second wave. The international community including WHO is weary of a second stronger wave of infections. Many foreigners and diplomats continue to work from home and Indian diplomats are also taking physical precautions like others, but haven't stopped working even during the peak of infection.

India, Cambodia ensure trade doesn't get affected amid coronavirus crisis

A new cluster of coronavirus infections has broken out in Malaysia at a detention centre for undocumented migrants.

The health ministry said on Saturday that 21 cases were identified at the Semenyih detention centre near the capital Kuala Lumpur, which houses around 1,600 detainees. It is the second detention centre at which a cluster of virus infections has broken out. Around 60 cases were reported among the 1,400 detainees at the Bukit Jalil centre earlier this week.

The centres they are detained in are often crowded, with dozens of migrants packed in a single cell. The United Nations and rights groups have called on Malaysia to stop the crackdown and criticised authorities for going after a vulnerable community during the pandemic.

On Saturday, Malaysia reported 48 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 7,185. The health ministry also said no new deaths were recorded, with the number of fatalities remaining at 115.

The migrants were screened before their arrests, but the virus may not have been detected during the incubation period, officials said.

Malaysia has this month arrested more than 2,000 foreigners for not having permits that allow them to be in the country following raids in areas under lockdown. In recent weeks, there has been public anger towards refugees and other foreigners, who have been accused of spreading disease.

A new cluster of coronavirus infections has broken out in Malaysia at a detention centre for undocumented migrants. The health ministry said on Saturday that 21 cases were identified at the Semenyih detention centre near the capital Kuala Lumpur, which houses around 1,600 detainees.

A new cluster of coronavirus infections has broken out in Malaysia at a detention centre for undocumented migrants. The health ministry said on Saturday that 21 cases were identified at the Semenyih detention centre near the capital Kuala Lumpur, which houses around 1,600 detainees. It is the second detention centre at which a cluster of virus infections has broken out. Around 60 cases were reported among the 1,400 detainees at the Bukit Jalil centre earlier this week. The centres they are detained in are often crowded, with dozens of migrants packed in a single cell. The United Nations and rights groups have called on Malaysia to stop the crackdown and criticised authorities for going after a vulnerable community during the pandemic. On Saturday, Malaysia reported 48 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 7,185. The health ministry also said no new deaths were recorded, with the number of fatalities remaining at 115. The migrants were screened before their arrests, but the virus may not have been detected during the incubation period, officials said. Malaysia has this month arrested more than 2,000 foreigners for not having permits that allow them to be in the country following raids in areas under lockdown. In recent weeks, there has been public anger towards refugees and other foreigners, who have been accused of spreading disease.

Second coronavirus cluster in Malaysia breaks out at migrant detention centres

With a vaccine still a long distance away, efforts to repurpose old medications used for other ailments provide hope of an early counter to COVID-19, say scientists, placing the antiviral remdesivir on top of the list of possible contenders.

As COVID-19 continues its spread -- crossing 5.2 million cases and 3,38,000 fatalities on Saturday -- several categories of drugs are under clinical trial. Of them, remdesivir, which initially went into trials for treating the deadly Ebola virus five years ago, has shown promise by modestly speeding recovery from COVID-19, experts said.

More than 130 drugs are under experimentation to treat COVID-19. Some may have the potential to stop the virus while others may help calm overactive immune responses that damage organs, according to a tracker maintained by the Milken Institute, an independent economic think tank in the US.&nbsp;

"Right now, there is only one effective approach which is to repurpose already approved drugs for other diseases if they can be used for COVID-19. One example is remdesivir," Ram Vishwakarma, director of the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, CSIR, Jammu, told PTI.

Remdesivir is helping people recover faster, and is lowering the death rate among critically ill patients, Vishwakarma said, adding that it can be life-saving.

"We do not have time to develop new drugs. New drug development takes five-10 years so we are using existing drugs and conducting clinical trials to find if any of them are effective," Vishwakarma said.&nbsp;

Some molecules available for treating diseases like HIV or other viral infections can be quickly checked against the novel coronavirus, he explained. "If found effective, they can be used against COVID-19 with the appropriate approval from drug control bodies. When drug company Gilead Sciences sought to begin clinical trials for remdesivir to treat the novel coronavirus, it immediately got approval from the US FDA."

According to Vishwakarma, the other drug showing promise is favipiravir, a broad-spectrum antiviral approved in Japan, which is also under clinical trials for its effectiveness against COVID-19.

India is also playing its role.

The Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, has developed the technology to make favipiravir, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Director General Shekar Mande announced this month.

CSIR is conducting clinical trials for favipiravir, remdesivir and an anti-inflammatory drug called colchicine, which is commonly used to treat gout, said Vishwakarma.

"A number of drug trials are happening in India, which we are doing with pharmaceutical companies," Vishwakarma said.

Of the drugs under trial, remdesivir has shown the most promising results, agreed?Subhabrata Sen, professor at the Department of Chemistry in Shiv Nadar University in Uttar Pradesh.&nbsp;

Sen, whose lab is involved in the discovery of biologically active molecules, told PTI that some of the drugs being tested are antivirals, and some are anti-malarials and antibiotics.

Of the antivirals in the tracker list, some are new molecules under trial, whereas others are old drugs being repurposed and tested for their effectiveness against COVID-19.

 
Remdesivir, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in April, mimics the genetic material of the coronavirus. When the virus copies its RNA or genetic material, the drug replaces some of the pathogen's building blocks.

According to the authors of this study, the drug prevents new virus copies from being produced. Preliminary results had shown that patients who received remdesivir had a 31 per cent faster time to recovery than those who received placebo. However, another study published in the journal Lancet in April cautioned that interpretation of these findings is limited since the remdesivir study was stopped early after the scientists were unable to recruit enough patients due to the steep decline in cases in China.&nbsp;

The authors of the Lancet study concluded that more evidence from ongoing clinical trials is needed to better understand whether remdesivir can provide meaningful clinical benefit. There are other drugs being tested too. Some drugs developed to treat HIV, such aslopinavir and ritonavir, are also being tested to cure COVID-19, Vishwakarma said.

A study published in Lancet this month said a treatment involving a combination of the drugs interferon beta-1b, plus the antiviral combination lopinavir-ritonavir and ribavirin,is better at reducing the viral load or quantity of the virus than lopinavir-ritonavir alone.

But these, too, were early findings, observed only in patients with mild to moderate illness, so the scientists behind the study stressed the need for larger trials to examine the effectiveness of this triple combination in critically ill patients.

Another study published last month in the journal Science noted the effectiveness of two small molecule drug candidates named 11a and 11b which could block the SARS-CoV-2 M protease enzyme, which the virus uses to make copies of itself. The molecules could stop the virus from replicating in monkey cells, and have been found safe for administration in rats and beagles, with the study concluding that both the drugs warrant further studies.

Scientists have also tested the effectiveness of therapies involving the use of antibodies that can bind to some parts of the virus, and block their entry into host cells.

In a study, published last month in the journal Cell, scientists reported that antibodies derived from the immune system of the South American mammal called llamas can block the entry of the novel coronavirus into host cells. This study found that llamas, which belong to the same category of mammals as camels, produce special kinds of antibody molecules that bind tightly to a key protein on the novel coronavirus.

However, the scientists believe its efficacy is yet to be proved in human clinical trials.

Last week, scientists from the Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics at Peking University in China, revealed a new method to identify multiple antibodies from recovered COVID-19 patients.

Using a single-cell genomics method, the researchers could rapidly identify antibodies from convalescent plasma, a component of patients' blood.

When the researchers tested these antibodies in mice, they found that some of them could neutralise the virus.&nbsp;

Another team from the University of Washington in the US found recently that a combination of antibodies, including those from a patient who had recovered from the 2002-03 SARS pandemic virus infection, can effectively block the novel coronavirus.

One of these molecules, named S309, showed particularly strong neutralising activity against SARS-CoV-2, they said, adding that it can act in combination with another, less potent antibody that targets a different site on the virus.

However, these results too are yet to be validated in human clinical trials.

Among other therapeutics currently under trial or in use, Sen said US President Donald Trump's "game changer" drug hydroxycholoroquine was promising "until it demonstrated serious side effects in the form of cardiovascular complications", rendering it ineffective.

With a vaccine still a long distance away, efforts to repurpose old medications used for other ailments provide hope of an early counter to COVID-19, say scientists, placing the antiviral remdesivir on top of the list of possible contenders.

With a vaccine still a long distance away, efforts to repurpose old medications used for other ailments provide hope of an early counter to COVID-19, say scientists, placing the antiviral remdesivir on top of the list of possible contenders. As COVID-19 continues its spread -- crossing 5.2 million cases and 3,38,000 fatalities on Saturday -- several categories of drugs are under clinical trial. Of them, remdesivir, which initially went into trials for treating the deadly Ebola virus five years ago, has shown promise by modestly speeding recovery from COVID-19, experts said. More than 130 drugs are under experimentation to treat COVID-19. Some may have the potential to stop the virus while others may help calm overactive immune responses that damage organs, according to a tracker maintained by the Milken Institute, an independent economic think tank in the US. "Right now, there is only one effective approach which is to repurpose already approved drugs for other diseases if they can be used for COVID-19. One example is remdesivir," Ram Vishwakarma, director of the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, CSIR, Jammu, told PTI. Remdesivir is helping people recover faster, and is lowering the death rate among critically ill patients, Vishwakarma said, adding that it can be life-saving. "We do not have time to develop new drugs. New drug development takes five-10 years so we are using existing drugs and conducting clinical trials to find if any of them are effective," Vishwakarma said. Some molecules available for treating diseases like HIV or other viral infections can be quickly checked against the novel coronavirus, he explained. "If found effective, they can be used against COVID-19 with the appropriate approval from drug control bodies. When drug company Gilead Sciences sought to begin clinical trials for remdesivir to treat the novel coronavirus, it immediately got approval from the US FDA." According to Vishwakarma, the other drug showing promise is favipiravir, a broad-spectrum antiviral approved in Japan, which is also under clinical trials for its effectiveness against COVID-19. India is also playing its role. The Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, has developed the technology to make favipiravir, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Director General Shekar Mande announced this month. CSIR is conducting clinical trials for favipiravir, remdesivir and an anti-inflammatory drug called colchicine, which is commonly used to treat gout, said Vishwakarma. "A number of drug trials are happening in India, which we are doing with pharmaceutical companies," Vishwakarma said. Of the drugs under trial, remdesivir has shown the most promising results, agreed?Subhabrata Sen, professor at the Department of Chemistry in Shiv Nadar University in Uttar Pradesh. Sen, whose lab is involved in the discovery of biologically active molecules, told PTI that some of the drugs being tested are antivirals, and some are anti-malarials and antibiotics. Of the antivirals in the tracker list, some are new molecules under trial, whereas others are old drugs being repurposed and tested for their effectiveness against COVID-19. Remdesivir, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in April, mimics the genetic material of the coronavirus. When the virus copies its RNA or genetic material, the drug replaces some of the pathogen's building blocks. According to the authors of this study, the drug prevents new virus copies from being produced. Preliminary results had shown that patients who received remdesivir had a 31 per cent faster time to recovery than those who received placebo. However, another study published in the journal Lancet in April cautioned that interpretation of these findings is limited since the remdesivir study was stopped early after the scientists were unable to recruit enough patients due to the steep decline in cases in China. The authors of the Lancet study concluded that more evidence from ongoing clinical trials is needed to better understand whether remdesivir can provide meaningful clinical benefit. There are other drugs being tested too. Some drugs developed to treat HIV, such aslopinavir and ritonavir, are also being tested to cure COVID-19, Vishwakarma said. A study published in Lancet this month said a treatment involving a combination of the drugs interferon beta-1b, plus the antiviral combination lopinavir-ritonavir and ribavirin,is better at reducing the viral load or quantity of the virus than lopinavir-ritonavir alone. But these, too, were early findings, observed only in patients with mild to moderate illness, so the scientists behind the study stressed the need for larger trials to examine the effectiveness of this triple combination in critically ill patients. Another study published last month in the journal Science noted the effectiveness of two small molecule drug candidates named 11a and 11b which could block the SARS-CoV-2 M protease enzyme, which the virus uses to make copies of itself. The molecules could stop the virus from replicating in monkey cells, and have been found safe for administration in rats and beagles, with the study concluding that both the drugs warrant further studies. Scientists have also tested the effectiveness of therapies involving the use of antibodies that can bind to some parts of the virus, and block their entry into host cells. In a study, published last month in the journal Cell, scientists reported that antibodies derived from the immune system of the South American mammal called llamas can block the entry of the novel coronavirus into host cells. This study found that llamas, which belong to the same category of mammals as camels, produce special kinds of antibody molecules that bind tightly to a key protein on the novel coronavirus. However, the scientists believe its efficacy is yet to be proved in human clinical trials. Last week, scientists from the Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics at Peking University in China, revealed a new method to identify multiple antibodies from recovered COVID-19 patients. Using a single-cell genomics method, the researchers could rapidly identify antibodies from convalescent plasma, a component of patients' blood. When the researchers tested these antibodies in mice, they found that some of them could neutralise the virus. Another team from the University of Washington in the US found recently that a combination of antibodies, including those from a patient who had recovered from the 2002-03 SARS pandemic virus infection, can effectively block the novel coronavirus. One of these molecules, named S309, showed particularly strong neutralising activity against SARS-CoV-2, they said, adding that it can act in combination with another, less potent antibody that targets a different site on the virus. However, these results too are yet to be validated in human clinical trials. Among other therapeutics currently under trial or in use, Sen said US President Donald Trump's "game changer" drug hydroxycholoroquine was promising "until it demonstrated serious side effects in the form of cardiovascular complications", rendering it ineffective.

Several drugs under trial for COVID-19, remdesivir leading contender, say scientists

The coronavirus pandemic has changed how we live and it definitely has also changed how we celebrate our festivals. Days ahead of the Islamic festival of Eid, the administration in Jammu and Kashmir is training bakers for personal safety, production, and distribution to stop any chances of coronavirus transmission.&nbsp;

Bakery forms an essential part of Eid festivities and due to the lockdown, the administration has asked bakers to provide home delivery to local people, ensuring hygiene.&nbsp;

Several bakers in Srinagar have already gone for COVID-19 testing and it is only after that, that they have been allowed to start their factories. Around 500 bakers in Srinagar city have been trained and a certificate has also been issued to build confidence between a buyer and a seller.&nbsp;

"We have to adapt to this (COVID) new reality. We are training 10 thousand service providers in total. We started from the bakery and after training, a certificate is provided to them which they display at their shop, increasing trust in the customer," Deputy Commissioner of Police, Srinagar, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, told WION.&nbsp;

The bakery factories in Srinagar are buzzing again after two month-plus of a lull. The fresh aroma of the bakery has started to come out again and bakers are preparing to dispatch vehicles for home delivery.&nbsp;

<img alt="Bakeries in Jammu and Kashmir" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7b1a21f3-9a29-4715-ba35-f79eef2d16da" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/pjimage%20%281%29_0.jpg" />

At a factory on the outskirts of Srinagar, bakers are making biscuits, cakes, and other sweets, wearing a PPE suit and masks. The owner says they (bakers) have no contact with the outside world as part of the precaution to curb the spread of COVID-19.&nbsp;

"We try to maintain distance. Usually, there would be dozens but now there are few working here. The quantity has also fallen due to the pandemic," says Mukhtar Ahmad, a head baker at Hattrick foods.&nbsp;

This year, the festival of Eid is expected to be a lowkey affair around the globe. Muslims in India will celebrate the festival indoor owing to the lockdown imposed in mid-March to contain the spread of COVID.&nbsp;

"We have to rope in extra labor even when we had 300 people working just ahead of Eid. Right now, I just have 18 people working which tells you about the shift," says Babar Chowdhary, managing director Hattrick foods adding that PPE suits and gloves have become an essential part of bakery now.&nbsp;

The coronavirus pandemic has changed how we live and it definitely has also changed how we celebrate our festivals. Days ahead of the Islamic festival of Eid, the administration in Jammu and Kashmir is training bakers for personal safety, production, and distribution to stop any chances of coronavirus transmission.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed how we live and it definitely has also changed how we celebrate our festivals. Days ahead of the Islamic festival of Eid, the administration in Jammu and Kashmir is training bakers for personal safety, production, and distribution to stop any chances of coronavirus transmission. Bakery forms an essential part of Eid festivities and due to the lockdown, the administration has asked bakers to provide home delivery to local people, ensuring hygiene. Several bakers in Srinagar have already gone for COVID-19 testing and it is only after that, that they have been allowed to start their factories. Around 500 bakers in Srinagar city have been trained and a certificate has also been issued to build confidence between a buyer and a seller. "We have to adapt to this (COVID) new reality. We are training 10 thousand service providers in total. We started from the bakery and after training, a certificate is provided to them which they display at their shop, increasing trust in the customer," Deputy Commissioner of Police, Srinagar, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, told WION. The bakery factories in Srinagar are buzzing again after two month-plus of a lull. The fresh aroma of the bakery has started to come out again and bakers are preparing to dispatch vehicles for home delivery. At a factory on the outskirts of Srinagar, bakers are making biscuits, cakes, and other sweets, wearing a PPE suit and masks. The owner says they (bakers) have no contact with the outside world as part of the precaution to curb the spread of COVID-19. "We try to maintain distance. Usually, there would be dozens but now there are few working here. The quantity has also fallen due to the pandemic," says Mukhtar Ahmad, a head baker at Hattrick foods. This year, the festival of Eid is expected to be a lowkey affair around the globe. Muslims in India will celebrate the festival indoor owing to the lockdown imposed in mid-March to contain the spread of COVID. "We have to rope in extra labor even when we had 300 people working just ahead of Eid. Right now, I just have 18 people working which tells you about the shift," says Babar Chowdhary, managing director Hattrick foods adding that PPE suits and gloves have become an essential part of bakery now.

Jammu and Kashmir: Ahead of Eid, bakers resume business after undergoing coronavirus tests, training

For centuries the Bangla Sahib Gurdwara temple in India's capital city has served free meals to people from all religions, keeping in line with the Sikh tradition of service. Bangla Sahib is the largest of New Delhi's 10 gurdwaras, whose kitchens together form a vital part of the city's strategy to feed the poor during the pandemic.

Sikh gurdwara in Delhi feeds the poor amid virus

As the coronavirus has spread rapidly in the poorest parts of the Amazon's biggest city, a local priest has begun to make masks in his church and hand them out across his parish.

Catholic priest gives out masks in coronavirus-stricken Amazon favela

The Ascension Day public holiday in Germany is better known for also being Father's Day and the tradition of men pals getting together to go walkabout and drink beer. This year coronavirus has put a stop to this as well and many of the usual festivities have been cancelled or significantly downsized.

Germans make a splash on Father's Day in spite of coronavirus

UK to continue traditional methods for handling virus as there is technical snag in NHS tracing app. Watch this video to know more.

Fineprint: UK to continue traditional methods for handling virus

Former White House butler, Wilson Roosevelt Jerman, who had served as many as 11 US Presidents, has died of COVID-19.

His death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Shanta Taylor Gay. She said in an interview, "He was authentic. He was a quiet but stern man. Very giving, never fussed or complained. Always said he lived a blessed life."

Gay said the family is "taking it day by day" in light of her grandfather's death.

The long-serving employee began working in the White House in 1957 under then president Dwight D Eisenhower as a cleaner. He was promoted to butler under former president John F Kennedy.

Jerman initially retired from the White House in 1997, but went back in 2003.

Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former President George W Bush and former first lady Laura Bush said he was one of the reasons the White House felt like home.

"He was a lovely man. He was the first person we saw in the morning. And the last before we went to bed. He was the reason the White House felt like home," she said.

He left the White House in 2012 as maître d' under then-President Barack Obama.

A photo of Jerman standing in an elevator with Barack Obama and Michelle Obama was included in the former first lady's memoir, "Becoming."

Paying tribute after his death, she said her family was "lucky to have known him".

Former first lady Hillary Clinton tweeted that she and former president Bill Clinton were saddened by his death.

"Bill and I were saddened to hear of the passing of Wilson Roosevelt Jerman at the age of 91 from COVID-19. Jerman served as a White House butler across 11 presidencies and made generations of first families feel at home, including ours. Our warmest condolences to his loved ones," she wrote.

Former White House butler, Wilson Roosevelt Jerman, who had served as many as 11 US Presidents, has died of COVID-19. His death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Shanta Taylor Gay.

Former White House butler, Wilson Roosevelt Jerman, who had served as many as 11 US Presidents, has died of COVID-19. His death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Shanta Taylor Gay. She said in an interview, "He was authentic. He was a quiet but stern man. Very giving, never fussed or complained. Always said he lived a blessed life." Gay said the family is "taking it day by day" in light of her grandfather's death. The long-serving employee began working in the White House in 1957 under then president Dwight D Eisenhower as a cleaner. He was promoted to butler under former president John F Kennedy. Jerman initially retired from the White House in 1997, but went back in 2003. Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former President George W Bush and former first lady Laura Bush said he was one of the reasons the White House felt like home. "He was a lovely man. He was the first person we saw in the morning. And the last before we went to bed. He was the reason the White House felt like home," she said. He left the White House in 2012 as maître d' under then-President Barack Obama. A photo of Jerman standing in an elevator with Barack Obama and Michelle Obama was included in the former first lady's memoir, "Becoming." Paying tribute after his death, she said her family was "lucky to have known him". Former first lady Hillary Clinton tweeted that she and former president Bill Clinton were saddened by his death. "Bill and I were saddened to hear of the passing of Wilson Roosevelt Jerman at the age of 91 from COVID-19. Jerman served as a White House butler across 11 presidencies and made generations of first families feel at home, including ours. Our warmest condolences to his loved ones," she wrote.

Former White House butler who served 11 presidents dies of COVID-19

Kabul residents ventured out to a street bazaar on Friday (May 22) to buy sweets and dried fruit ahead of Eid al-Fitr, defying a lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Afghans defy lockdown ahead of Eid al-Fitr celebrations

A 37-year old Thai street artist is splashing walls across Bangkok with murals depicting the nobel fight against coronavirus.

"Keeping the virus at bay!" : Thai street artist sprays city with battles against coronavirus murals

Next to some lavish diamond necklaces at an Amman jewellery store, an unusually shaped pendant is on display. Spiky and emerald green, the necklace was inspired by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Jordanian jewellers design 'viral' pendants

The Riviera resort of Cannes should have been playing host to the world's biggest names in film. Instead, with its annual film festival postponed and the red carpet rolled up, locals made do with a drive-in cinema in a beachfront car park.

Popcorn, palm trees and face masks: Cannes rolls out drive-in cinema

China's parliament begins its annual session on Friday and is expected to unveil stimulus measures to spur an economy battered by the coronavirus. Their biggest challenge, however, continues to be the surging unemployment.

The Communist Party will meet on Friday in Beijing’s stately Great Hall of the People in the clearest sign yet that life is returning to normal after the coronavirus.

But President Xi Jinping faces unprecedented challenges with his long-term economic goals under threat and an urgent need to revive growth and fend off big job losses that could threaten stability.

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China’s economy shrank 6.8% in January-March from a year earlier, the first decline in decades.

More people have been falling below the poverty line than ever before in the country. And China needs to do something as soon as possible -- and not just spreading false propaganda.

When Xi Jinping travelled to Shanxi in China, his agenda was simple. He was there to study the poverty alleviation work in the province.

The message he was then trying to send was -- China has won the war on poverty and that the coronavirus hasn't done any damage to the Chinese economy.

The pictures from Shanxi were beamed across the world by the Chinese state media

But this was all false. 
&nbsp; 
Tian Zhanhua, migrant worker from Hebei province, says, "Honestly, right now I feel good enough if I can keep myself alive. Before the epidemic I could work two jobs at the same time, but now I can't find one. I'm living on the brink of starvation."

"People would fight each other for a job of 150 yuan ($21) per day. You can see how hard it is to find a job, or there aren't many jobs available. We would agree to work for 10 or 11 hours at a construction site in the burning sun for just 150 yuan," he adds.

Tian Zhanhua is just one of over one lakh migrant workers living in Majuqiao, a small town that is south of Beijing -- and explaining the reality of unemployment in China.

The Chinese government has not allowed the labour agencies to reopen just yet.

And running short on cash, the migrant workers in Majuqiao have been forced to find odd jobs.

The Chinese state media has been frequently publishing such false narratives.

Another evidence is the last month's report that said a Chinese brokerage firm had to retract a report.

The Chinese securities brokerage retracted an analyst report that put the country’s real jobless rate above 20%, far in excess of the official gauge.

As many as 70 million people could have lost their jobs due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, translating into an actual unemployment rate of around 20.5%, a group of three analysts from Shandong-based Zhongtai Securities wrote in a report dated April 24.

People knew the reality, but couldn't challenge this, because it would have met with backlash. 
&nbsp; 
Whenever doubts crop up over the unemployment data, the Global Times kicks off a series in the defence of the Chinese state.

But the numbers don't add up.

And hence, many experts call the Chinese unemployment data a gross underestimation.

On Friday, government economists expect fiscal stimulus measures to be announced amounting to 5 trillion to 6 trillion yuan, or 5%-6% of gross domestic product (GDP), along with more policy easing by the central bank.

China has already taken a raft of steps, including cuts in interest rates and bank reserve requirements, more fiscal spending, tax breaks and subsidies, but its stimulus has been dwarfed by that of other countries.

But even with more stimulus, Xi may find it hard to fulfil the party’s long-term goal of doubling GDP and incomes in the decade from to 2020.

China's parliament begins its annual session on Friday and is expected to unveil stimulus measures to spur an economy battered by the coronavirus. Their biggest challenge, however, continues to be the surging unemployment.

China's parliament begins its annual session on Friday and is expected to unveil stimulus measures to spur an economy battered by the coronavirus. Their biggest challenge, however, continues to be the surging unemployment. The Communist Party will meet on Friday in Beijing’s stately Great Hall of the People in the clearest sign yet that life is returning to normal after the coronavirus. But President Xi Jinping faces unprecedented challenges with his long-term economic goals under threat and an urgent need to revive growth and fend off big job losses that could threaten stability. China’s economy shrank 6.8% in January-March from a year earlier, the first decline in decades. More people have been falling below the poverty line than ever before in the country. And China needs to do something as soon as possible -- and not just spreading false propaganda. When Xi Jinping travelled to Shanxi in China, his agenda was simple. He was there to study the poverty alleviation work in the province. The message he was then trying to send was -- China has won the war on poverty and that the coronavirus hasn't done any damage to the Chinese economy. The pictures from Shanxi were beamed across the world by the Chinese state media But this was all false. Tian Zhanhua, migrant worker from Hebei province, says, "Honestly, right now I feel good enough if I can keep myself alive. Before the epidemic I could work two jobs at the same time, but now I can't find one. I'm living on the brink of starvation." "People would fight each other for a job of 150 yuan ($21) per day. You can see how hard it is to find a job, or there aren't many jobs available. We would agree to work for 10 or 11 hours at a construction site in the burning sun for just 150 yuan," he adds. Tian Zhanhua is just one of over one lakh migrant workers living in Majuqiao, a small town that is south of Beijing -- and explaining the reality of unemployment in China. The Chinese government has not allowed the labour agencies to reopen just yet. And running short on cash, the migrant workers in Majuqiao have been forced to find odd jobs. The Chinese state media has been frequently publishing such false narratives. Another evidence is the last month's report that said a Chinese brokerage firm had to retract a report. The Chinese securities brokerage retracted an analyst report that put the country’s real jobless rate above 20%, far in excess of the official gauge. As many as 70 million people could have lost their jobs due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, translating into an actual unemployment rate of around 20.5%, a group of three analysts from Shandong-based Zhongtai Securities wrote in a report dated April 24. People knew the reality, but couldn't challenge this, because it would have met with backlash. Whenever doubts crop up over the unemployment data, the Global Times kicks off a series in the defence of the Chinese state. But the numbers don't add up. And hence, many experts call the Chinese unemployment data a gross underestimation. On Friday, government economists expect fiscal stimulus measures to be announced amounting to 5 trillion to 6 trillion yuan, or 5%-6% of gross domestic product (GDP), along with more policy easing by the central bank. China has already taken a raft of steps, including cuts in interest rates and bank reserve requirements, more fiscal spending, tax breaks and subsidies, but its stimulus has been dwarfed by that of other countries. But even with more stimulus, Xi may find it hard to fulfil the party’s long-term goal of doubling GDP and incomes in the decade from to 2020.

China's delayed parliament to focus on its biggest challenge - unemployment

U.S. President Donald Trump became tongue tied as he tried to convey the negative results of his latest test for COVID-19 on Thursday (May 21).

Donald Trump says he tested 'positively toward negative' on latest coronavirus test

Oxford University and AstraZeneca have planned to recruit around 10,000 adults and children in Britain for trials of an experimental coronavirus vaccine, a day after receiving US backing worth up to $1.2 billion.

The British drugmaker has already signed up Britain and the United States as partners to mass produce the vaccine, to be ready for delivery if and when there is conclusive evidence that it both works and is safe to use.

Institutions have begun enrolling up to 10,260 adults and children to see how well the human immune system responds to the vaccine and how safe it is.

Researchers are mainly looking for healthcare staff and other public-facing workers to join the trial as in order to get a clear signal on the vaccine's efficacy, they need a minimum number to catch the coronavirus in their everyday lives.

An initial trial that started on April 23 has already seen more than 1,000 volunteers aged 18-55 receive the injection and Oxford said phases II and III will add people aged 56 and older as well as children of 5 to 12 years.

But a read-out on how well the vaccine works may take between two and six months, Oxford University said on Friday.

AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said last month that a first indication on efficacy would likely come in June or July.

Healthy volunteers will be randomly assigned to either receive the ChAdOx1 vaccine, also known as AZD1222, or an established meningitis vaccine.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) listed eight vaccines candidates as being tested on humans in a May 15 overview. This includes firms such as Moderna Inc, Inovio, partners Pfizer Inc and BioNTech as well as China's CanSino and Sinovac.

(with inputs from Reuters)

Oxford University and AstraZeneca have planned to recruit around 10,000 adults and children in Britain for trials of an experimental coronavirus vaccine, a day after receiving US backing worth up to $1.

Oxford University and AstraZeneca have planned to recruit around 10,000 adults and children in Britain for trials of an experimental coronavirus vaccine, a day after receiving US backing worth up to $1.2 billion. The British drugmaker has already signed up Britain and the United States as partners to mass produce the vaccine, to be ready for delivery if and when there is conclusive evidence that it both works and is safe to use. Institutions have begun enrolling up to 10,260 adults and children to see how well the human immune system responds to the vaccine and how safe it is. Researchers are mainly looking for healthcare staff and other public-facing workers to join the trial as in order to get a clear signal on the vaccine's efficacy, they need a minimum number to catch the coronavirus in their everyday lives. An initial trial that started on April 23 has already seen more than 1,000 volunteers aged 18-55 receive the injection and Oxford said phases II and III will add people aged 56 and older as well as children of 5 to 12 years. But a read-out on how well the vaccine works may take between two and six months, Oxford University said on Friday. AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said last month that a first indication on efficacy would likely come in June or July. Healthy volunteers will be randomly assigned to either receive the ChAdOx1 vaccine, also known as AZD1222, or an established meningitis vaccine. The World Health Organisation (WHO) listed eight vaccines candidates as being tested on humans in a May 15 overview. This includes firms such as Moderna Inc, Inovio, partners Pfizer Inc and BioNTech as well as China's CanSino and Sinovac. (with inputs from Reuters)

Human trials of British coronavirus vaccine, backed by US, to reach 10,000

Mosques will remain closed for prayers on the Eid Al-Fitr festival in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in view to call on the population to adhere to safety guidelines to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Eid, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, may fall on Saturday or Sunday in the Gulf region.

Saudi Islamic Affairs Minister Abdullatif al-Sheikh gave instructions&nbsp;to not have Eid prayers in mosques.

"Muslims will hold the Eid prayer at home because of the pandemic," the Saudi Press Agency cited Sheikh Abdul Bari al-Thubaiti, the imam, or the prayer leader, of the Prophet`s Mosque in Medina, as saying in the Friday sermon.

During Ramadan, prayers without worshippers were held by the imams in the two holy mosques of Mecca and Medina, in the west of the kingdom.

In the UAE, the Dubai government's media office said on Twitter that mosques would remain closed, and listed a series of Eid customs that should not be observed, including family visits and giving gifts or money to children.&nbsp;

Mosques will remain closed for prayers on the Eid Al-Fitr festival in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in view to call on the population to adhere to safety guidelines to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Mosques will remain closed for prayers on the Eid Al-Fitr festival in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in view to call on the population to adhere to safety guidelines to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus. Eid, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, may fall on Saturday or Sunday in the Gulf region. Saudi Islamic Affairs Minister Abdullatif al-Sheikh gave instructions to not have Eid prayers in mosques. "Muslims will hold the Eid prayer at home because of the pandemic," the Saudi Press Agency cited Sheikh Abdul Bari al-Thubaiti, the imam, or the prayer leader, of the Prophet`s Mosque in Medina, as saying in the Friday sermon. During Ramadan, prayers without worshippers were held by the imams in the two holy mosques of Mecca and Medina, in the west of the kingdom. In the UAE, the Dubai government's media office said on Twitter that mosques would remain closed, and listed a series of Eid customs that should not be observed, including family visits and giving gifts or money to children.

Mosques in Saudi Arabia, UAE to remain closed for Eid prayers

A senior officer working at Rail Bhavan has tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the third such case in the building which is the headquarters of the Indian Railways.

The officer was working on the cadre restructuring of the Railway Protection Force Service. She had last come to work on May 13, following which Rail Bhavan was shut down for sanitisation purposes for two days after an RPF staffer tested positive for the disease.

The railway officer stays at Commonwealth Games Village apartments, where many senior officers of the railways reside.

Officials said that a joint secretary-level officer working closely with her has been sent to 14-day home quarantine, while some junior staffers have been asked to isolate themselves.

Sources said the officer is diabetic and had taken all precautions required to protect herself from coronavirus. However, she only has a mild fever and is under watch at home.

A junior staffer at the RPF office on the fourth floor of Rail Bhavan was the first to be infected with coronavirus in the building. This was followed by another case where a langur handler hired to chase away monkeys around the building had tested positive. 
In the wake of these cases, the railways had shut down the building for deep sanitisation on May 14 and 15.

A senior officer working at Rail Bhavan has tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the third such case in the building which is the headquarters of the Indian Railways.

A senior officer working at Rail Bhavan has tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the third such case in the building which is the headquarters of the Indian Railways. The officer was working on the cadre restructuring of the Railway Protection Force Service. She had last come to work on May 13, following which Rail Bhavan was shut down for sanitisation purposes for two days after an RPF staffer tested positive for the disease. The railway officer stays at Commonwealth Games Village apartments, where many senior officers of the railways reside. Officials said that a joint secretary-level officer working closely with her has been sent to 14-day home quarantine, while some junior staffers have been asked to isolate themselves. Sources said the officer is diabetic and had taken all precautions required to protect herself from coronavirus. However, she only has a mild fever and is under watch at home. A junior staffer at the RPF office on the fourth floor of Rail Bhavan was the first to be infected with coronavirus in the building. This was followed by another case where a langur handler hired to chase away monkeys around the building had tested positive. In the wake of these cases, the railways had shut down the building for deep sanitisation on May 14 and 15.

Senior railway official tests positive for coronavirus; third case at Rail Bhavan

Restrictions on the functioning of the Delhi High Court and district courts will remain in place till May 31 in view of COVID-19 and only urgent matters will be heard.

Earlier the restrictions were in place till May 23.

The Administrative and General Supervision Committee of the High Court, headed by Chief Justice D N Patel, decided that restrictions would be in place till May 31 and that urgent matters would continue to be heard by video conferencing.

"The functioning of the High Court of Delhi shall continue to remain suspended till May 31 on same terms," the administrative order said.

The mentioning of urgent matters is being done through the web link which is available from 9 am to 10.30 am on all working days.

The order said all the cases listed in the high court, including before the registrars and joint registrars, from May 26 to 30 have been adjourned to corresponding dates between July 21 and July 25 respectively.

The matters listed in the district courts during this period will also be adjourned and the information will be uploaded on their website, the order said.

Till now, there were two division benches and 10 single benches to hear urgent matters through video conferencing.

To ensure more urgent matters are taken up, it has been decided that from Friday all the judges of the high court would sit every day to take up important cases via videoconference.

The Delhi High Court and the lower courts together took up 20,726 urgent matters during the COVID-19 lockdown from March 24 to May 19.

There are presently seven division benches and 19 single-judge benches in the high court.

Earlier, the high court had on March 25 restricted its and district courts' functioning till April 14.

It was then extended to May 3, May 17 and subsequently till May 23.

Restrictions on the functioning of the Delhi High Court and district courts will remain in place till May 31 in view of COVID-19 and only urgent matters will be heard.

Restrictions on the functioning of the Delhi High Court and district courts will remain in place till May 31 in view of COVID-19 and only urgent matters will be heard. Earlier the restrictions were in place till May 23. The Administrative and General Supervision Committee of the High Court, headed by Chief Justice D N Patel, decided that restrictions would be in place till May 31 and that urgent matters would continue to be heard by video conferencing. "The functioning of the High Court of Delhi shall continue to remain suspended till May 31 on same terms," the administrative order said. The mentioning of urgent matters is being done through the web link which is available from 9 am to 10.30 am on all working days. The order said all the cases listed in the high court, including before the registrars and joint registrars, from May 26 to 30 have been adjourned to corresponding dates between July 21 and July 25 respectively. The matters listed in the district courts during this period will also be adjourned and the information will be uploaded on their website, the order said. Till now, there were two division benches and 10 single benches to hear urgent matters through video conferencing. To ensure more urgent matters are taken up, it has been decided that from Friday all the judges of the high court would sit every day to take up important cases via videoconference. The Delhi High Court and the lower courts together took up 20,726 urgent matters during the COVID-19 lockdown from March 24 to May 19. There are presently seven division benches and 19 single-judge benches in the high court. Earlier, the high court had on March 25 restricted its and district courts' functioning till April 14. It was then extended to May 3, May 17 and subsequently till May 23.

COVID-19: Delhi HC, district courts functioning restricted till May 31

There is ongoing censorship, even in the scientific literature, to restrict publication of information contrary to the accepted narrative that COVID-19 is naturally-occurring.

What follows is not an analysis of motivations or an indictment meant to assign blame, but a history of scientific investigation that eventually led to COVID-19.

A recent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01449-8">news article </a>published in the scientific journal Nature noted, that while it is important to find the origin of COVID-19 to prevent reinfection, it has been difficult pinpointing the source.

“It is quite possible we won’t find it. In fact, it would be exceptionally lucky if we land on something,” said Lucy van Dorp, a geneticist from University College London.

It may indeed be impossible to identify a natural source, if COVID-19 was the product of bioengineering.

Although there are hundreds of scientific publications on coronavirus, a few relevant to the present discussion will be highlighted.

Coronavirus research did not begin with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS, SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1) epidemic of 2002-2004, but it was certainly accelerated by it.

Additional impetus for studying coronaviruses arose after the 2012 outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS or MERS-CoV).

Much of the scientific inquiry related to those two diseases has centered on a particular component of coronaviruses called the spike glycoprotein, which carries the ability for the virus to attach itself to a human cell and gain entry.

Obviously, understanding and interfering with the processes initiated by the spike glycoprotein could have prophylactic or therapeutic value.

Most of that research effort focused on the cascade of events regulated by the protein part of the spike glycoprotein, or S-protein, which has two sections, S1, primarily responsible for binding to the human cell and S2, driving fusion with the cell membrane and entry.

The S1 section contains a sequence of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, called the receptor binding domain (RBD), which defines the coronavirus’ ability to bind to specific receptors, whether they be human or animal.

Sequence mutations occur frequently in coronaviruses, which can, gradually over time, produce a new RBD structure capable of transmission between different animals or between animals and humans.

That has been the consensus scientific opinion both for SARS and MERS, that it may have originated in bats, traveled through an intermediate animal host, civets and camels, respectively, and, along the way, acquired the ability to infect humans.

If such a contention is scientifically valid, then it is initially logical to presume that COVID-19 “jumped” from animals to humans in a similar fashion.

That notion was not lost on investigators of the initial SARS epidemic, who focused on the RBD within the S1 section of the spike glycoprotein in order to understand better the origin of the outbreak.

In 2003, the human attachment point for the SARS RBD was <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02145">found</a> to be the receptor for angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2), present in the lungs, kidneys, intestines and blood vessels.

As stated earlier, SARS may have originated in a bat population, but it was not the direct source.

In a 2008 <a href="https://jvi.asm.org/content/82/4/1899.full">bioengineering study </a>designed to elucidate the origin of SARS, scientists “spliced” the SARS RBD onto a non-human-infecting bat coronavirus, thereby, producing a new viral entity of bat origin capable of infecting humans.

In a 2014 <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/111/34/12516.full">publication subsequent</a> to the 2012 MERS outbreak “to understand how bat coronaviruses transmit to humans,” scientists discovered that not only was S1 binding important for human infection, but a “cleavage” or slicing of the S protein at the S1/S2 junction was an important event in the S2-mediated membrane fusion and cell entry process.

That is, the cascade of receptor binding, cleavage and membrane fusion determined by the structure of S protein are important factors regulating human transmissibility and pathogenesis.

It is now known that COVID-19, like SARS, uses ACE2 as its receptor and has a cleavage site at the S1/S2 junction.

According to the present conventional wisdom, a COVID-19 precursor, while circulating in a bat population mutated, acquiring the ability to infect humans, perhaps through an intermediate host, which was then transmitted to people either visiting or working in the Wuhan Seafood Market.

That conclusion is not as scientifically solid as some would like you to believe.

It was already known by the end of January 2020, that the initial patients hospitalized between December 1-10, 2019<a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30183-5/fulltext"> had not visited </a>the market and bats were <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7079563/">not sold </a>there.

The Nature article, “The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2,” widely cited to support the theory that COVID-19 is naturally-occurring also raises some not so widely cited doubts:

“Given the similarity of SARS-CoV-2 to bat SARS-CoV-like coronaviruses, it is likely that bats serve as reservoir hosts for its progenitor. Although RaTG13, sampled from a Rhinolophus affinis bat, is about 96% identical overall to SARS-CoV-2, its spike diverges in the RBD, which suggests that it may not bind efficiently to human ACE2.”

In fact, COVID-19’s RBD is nearly identical to that of pangolins (scaly anteater), not bats, but pangolins have been <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1008421">ruled out</a> as the intermediate host for COVID-19.

One could be forgiven for concluding that COVID-19 has a bat structural “backbone,” but a pangolin-like RBD, something so far inexplicable according to the naturally-occurring theory.

Furthermore, COVID-19’s S1/S2 furin polybasic cleavage site, a distinctive feature widely known for its ability to enhance <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6832359/">pathogenicity</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12250-020-00212-7">transmissibility</a> in coronaviruses, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1097276520302641#bib38">does not appear</a> in any of 45 bat, 5 human SARS, 2 civet, 1 pangolin and 1 racoon dog coronaviruses, that have S1/S2 junction structures otherwise identical or nearly identical to COVID-19.

That same<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1097276520302641#bib38"> study </a>noting the absence of the S1/S2 cleavage site in other related coronaviruses compared to COVID-19 also clearly describes the techniques for inserting cleavage sites artificially.

The fact that no natural source of COVID-19 has been identified, that scientific evidence exists suggesting bioengineering and the clear ability to do so, all demand an expanded investigation as to its origin.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;

There is ongoing censorship, even in the scientific literature, to restrict publication of information contrary to the accepted narrative that COVID-19 is naturally-occurring.

There is ongoing censorship, even in the scientific literature, to restrict publication of information contrary to the accepted narrative that COVID-19 is naturally-occurring. What follows is not an analysis of motivations or an indictment meant to assign blame, but a history of scientific investigation that eventually led to COVID-19. A recent news article published in the scientific journal Nature noted, that while it is important to find the origin of COVID-19 to prevent reinfection, it has been difficult pinpointing the source. “It is quite possible we won’t find it. In fact, it would be exceptionally lucky if we land on something,” said Lucy van Dorp, a geneticist from University College London. It may indeed be impossible to identify a natural source, if COVID-19 was the product of bioengineering. Although there are hundreds of scientific publications on coronavirus, a few relevant to the present discussion will be highlighted. Coronavirus research did not begin with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS, SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1) epidemic of 2002-2004, but it was certainly accelerated by it. Additional impetus for studying coronaviruses arose after the 2012 outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS or MERS-CoV). Much of the scientific inquiry related to those two diseases has centered on a particular component of coronaviruses called the spike glycoprotein, which carries the ability for the virus to attach itself to a human cell and gain entry. Obviously, understanding and interfering with the processes initiated by the spike glycoprotein could have prophylactic or therapeutic value. Most of that research effort focused on the cascade of events regulated by the protein part of the spike glycoprotein, or S-protein, which has two sections, S1, primarily responsible for binding to the human cell and S2, driving fusion with the cell membrane and entry. The S1 section contains a sequence of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, called the receptor binding domain (RBD), which defines the coronavirus’ ability to bind to specific receptors, whether they be human or animal. Sequence mutations occur frequently in coronaviruses, which can, gradually over time, produce a new RBD structure capable of transmission between different animals or between animals and humans. That has been the consensus scientific opinion both for SARS and MERS, that it may have originated in bats, traveled through an intermediate animal host, civets and camels, respectively, and, along the way, acquired the ability to infect humans. If such a contention is scientifically valid, then it is initially logical to presume that COVID-19 “jumped” from animals to humans in a similar fashion. That notion was not lost on investigators of the initial SARS epidemic, who focused on the RBD within the S1 section of the spike glycoprotein in order to understand better the origin of the outbreak. In 2003, the human attachment point for the SARS RBD was found to be the receptor for angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2), present in the lungs, kidneys, intestines and blood vessels. As stated earlier, SARS may have originated in a bat population, but it was not the direct source. In a 2008 bioengineering study designed to elucidate the origin of SARS, scientists “spliced” the SARS RBD onto a non-human-infecting bat coronavirus, thereby, producing a new viral entity of bat origin capable of infecting humans. In a 2014 publication subsequent to the 2012 MERS outbreak “to understand how bat coronaviruses transmit to humans,” scientists discovered that not only was S1 binding important for human infection, but a “cleavage” or slicing of the S protein at the S1/S2 junction was an important event in the S2-mediated membrane fusion and cell entry process. That is, the cascade of receptor binding, cleavage and membrane fusion determined by the structure of S protein are important factors regulating human transmissibility and pathogenesis. It is now known that COVID-19, like SARS, uses ACE2 as its receptor and has a cleavage site at the S1/S2 junction. According to the present conventional wisdom, a COVID-19 precursor, while circulating in a bat population mutated, acquiring the ability to infect humans, perhaps through an intermediate host, which was then transmitted to people either visiting or working in the Wuhan Seafood Market. That conclusion is not as scientifically solid as some would like you to believe. It was already known by the end of January 2020, that the initial patients hospitalized between December 1-10, 2019 had not visited the market and bats were not sold there. The Nature article, “The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2,” widely cited to support the theory that COVID-19 is naturally-occurring also raises some not so widely cited doubts: “Given the similarity of SARS-CoV-2 to bat SARS-CoV-like coronaviruses, it is likely that bats serve as reservoir hosts for its progenitor. Although RaTG13, sampled from a Rhinolophus affinis bat, is about 96% identical overall to SARS-CoV-2, its spike diverges in the RBD, which suggests that it may not bind efficiently to human ACE2.” In fact, COVID-19’s RBD is nearly identical to that of pangolins (scaly anteater), not bats, but pangolins have been ruled out as the intermediate host for COVID-19. One could be forgiven for concluding that COVID-19 has a bat structural “backbone,” but a pangolin-like RBD, something so far inexplicable according to the naturally-occurring theory. Furthermore, COVID-19’s S1/S2 furin polybasic cleavage site, a distinctive feature widely known for its ability to enhance pathogenicity and transmissibility in coronaviruses, does not appear in any of 45 bat, 5 human SARS, 2 civet, 1 pangolin and 1 racoon dog coronaviruses, that have S1/S2 junction structures otherwise identical or nearly identical to COVID-19. That same study noting the absence of the S1/S2 cleavage site in other related coronaviruses compared to COVID-19 also clearly describes the techniques for inserting cleavage sites artificially. The fact that no natural source of COVID-19 has been identified, that scientific evidence exists suggesting bioengineering and the clear ability to do so, all demand an expanded investigation as to its origin. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

How COVID-19 was made

India on Wednesday asked Nepal to not resort to any "artificial enlargement" of its territorial claim after the neighbouring country came up with a new political map showing Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani as its territory.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement, said the revised map of Nepal included parts of the Indian territory and asked Kathmandu to refrain from such "unjustified cartographic assertion".

India's reaction came in the aftermath of the Nepal government releasing a revised political and administrative map of the country laying claim over the strategically key areas along the border between the two countries.

"This unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence. It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue. Such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India," MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.

He said Nepal was well aware of India's consistent position on the matter.

"We urge the government of Nepal to refrain from such unjustified cartographic assertion and respect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We hope that the Nepalese leadership will create a positive atmosphere for diplomatic dialogue to resolve the outstanding boundary issues," he said.

The new map was released by Nepal's Land Reforms Minister Padma Aryal during a televised press conference in Kathmandu.

The ties between the two countries came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a 80 km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8.

Nepal reacted sharply to the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through Nepalese territory. India rejected the claim asserting that the road lies completely within its territory.

Nepalese Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali last week summoned Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and handed over a diplomatic note to protest against India inaugurating the key road.

In the midst of the row, Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane said there were reasons to believe that Nepal objected to the road at the behest of "someone else", in an apparent reference to a possible role by China on the matter.

The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory -- India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.

Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Tuesday asserted that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal and vowed to "reclaim" them from India through political and diplomatic efforts.

Addressing Parliament, Oli said the territories belong to Nepal but India has made it a disputed area by keeping its Army there.

The ties between India and Nepal came under strain after New Delhi issued a new political map incorporating Kalapani and Lipulekh as part of its territory in October last year.&nbsp;

(with inputs from agencies)

India on Wednesday asked Nepal to not resort to any "artificial enlargement" of its territorial claim after the neighbouring country came up with a new political map showing Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani as its territory.

India on Wednesday asked Nepal to not resort to any "artificial enlargement" of its territorial claim after the neighbouring country came up with a new political map showing Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani as its territory. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement, said the revised map of Nepal included parts of the Indian territory and asked Kathmandu to refrain from such "unjustified cartographic assertion". India's reaction came in the aftermath of the Nepal government releasing a revised political and administrative map of the country laying claim over the strategically key areas along the border between the two countries. "This unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence. It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue. Such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India," MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said. He said Nepal was well aware of India's consistent position on the matter. "We urge the government of Nepal to refrain from such unjustified cartographic assertion and respect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We hope that the Nepalese leadership will create a positive atmosphere for diplomatic dialogue to resolve the outstanding boundary issues," he said. The new map was released by Nepal's Land Reforms Minister Padma Aryal during a televised press conference in Kathmandu. The ties between the two countries came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a 80 km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8. Nepal reacted sharply to the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through Nepalese territory. India rejected the claim asserting that the road lies completely within its territory. Nepalese Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali last week summoned Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and handed over a diplomatic note to protest against India inaugurating the key road. In the midst of the row, Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane said there were reasons to believe that Nepal objected to the road at the behest of "someone else", in an apparent reference to a possible role by China on the matter. The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory -- India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district. Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Tuesday asserted that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal and vowed to "reclaim" them from India through political and diplomatic efforts. Addressing Parliament, Oli said the territories belong to Nepal but India has made it a disputed area by keeping its Army there. The ties between India and Nepal came under strain after New Delhi issued a new political map incorporating Kalapani and Lipulekh as part of its territory in October last year. (with inputs from agencies)

India calls Nepal's new map unjustified cartographic assertion

South Korea has reopened schools for High School seniors. Meanwhile, Russia has recorded its biggest spike in death toll. WION's Executive Editor Palki Sharma Upadhyay gets you the big global developments for Wednesday.

Gravitas: Coronavirus: The big global developments for May 20

The communist party of China may now serve only vegetarian meals at its state receptions. WION's Executive Editor Palki Sharma Upadhyay tells you what's cooking in China.

Gravitas: Chinese leaders to go vegetarian?

Around the world, more than 49,00,000 people have been infected by the Coronavirus. India is reporting more than 1,05,000 confirmed cases.

Gravitas: Wuhan Coronavirus: More than 49,00,000 cases worldwide

Israel has come up with a remote-controlled mask that lets people to eat while wearing it. But is eating out worth the risk? WION's Executive Editor Palki Sharma Upadhyay gets you a report.

Gravitas: A mask with a remote control

A quarter of Americans have little or no interest in taking a coronavirus vaccine, a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Thursday found, with some voicing concern that the record pace at which vaccine candidates are being developed could compromise safety.

While health experts say a vaccine to prevent infection is needed to return life to normal, the survey points to a potential trust issue for the Trump administration already under fire for its often contradictory safety guidance during the pandemic.

Some 36% of respondents said they would be less willing to take a vaccine if US President Donald Trump said it was safe, compared with only 14% who would be more interested.

Most respondents in the survey of 4,428 US adults taken between May 13 and May 19 said they would be heavily influenced by guidance from the Food and Drug Administration or results of large-scale scientific studies showing that the vaccine was safe.

Less than two-thirds of respondents said they were "very" or "somewhat" interested in a vaccine, a figure some health experts expected would be higher given the heightened awareness of COVID-19 and the more than 92,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the United States alone.

"It's a little lower than I thought it would be with all the attention to COVID-19," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease and vaccine expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. "I would have expected somewhere around 75 percent."

Fourteen percent of respondents said they were not at all interested in taking a vaccine, and 10% said they were not very interested. Another 11% were unsure.

Studies are underway, but experts estimate that at least 70% of Americans would need to be immune through a vaccine or prior infection to achieve what is known as "herd immunity," when enough people are resistant to an infectious disease to prevent its spread.

Trump has vowed to have a vaccine ready by year's end, although they typically take 10 years or longer to develop and test for safety and effectiveness. Many experts believe a fully tested, government-approved vaccine will not be widely available until mid-2021 at the earliest.

There are more than 100 COVID-19 vaccine candidates in development globally, including some already in human clinical trials. Earlier this week, US biotech Moderna Inc announced potentially promising preliminary results from just eight individuals who took part in a safety study.

Among those respondents who expressed little or no interest in a coronavirus vaccine, nearly half said they were worried about the speed with which they are being developed. More than 40% said they believe the vaccine is riskier than the disease itself.

MISINFORMATION HURDLE

Overall, 84% of respondents said vaccines for diseases such as measles are safe for both adults and children, suggesting that people hesitant to take a coronavirus vaccine might reconsider, depending on safety assurances they receive.

For example, among those who said they were "not very" interested in taking the vaccine, 29% said they would be more interested if the FDA approved it.

Some experts have said the White House's emphasis on speed – its vaccine effort is called "Operation Warp Speed" – could leave people worried that safety was being sacrificed for swiftness.

In addition, misinformation about vaccines has grown more prevalent on social media during the pandemic, according to academic researchers.

"It's not surprising a significant percentage of Americans are not going to take the vaccine because of the terrible messaging we've had, the absence of a communication plan around the vaccine and this very aggressive anti-vaccine movement," said Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is developing a vaccine.

The poll underscores how the country's deepening polarization has affected people's view of the pandemic.

Nearly one in five Republicans say they have no interest in a vaccine, more than twice the proportion of Democrats who said the same.

Trump, a Republican, has offered mixed messages during the outbreak. He has at times downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic and encouraged public protests against his government's own stay-at-home guidelines intended to slow the pathogen's spread.

He has also urged Americans to try unproven treatments for COVID-19, such as the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which he said on Monday he has taken for weeks despite warnings about its use from the FDA and other health experts.

The poll responses varied among certain demographic groups. Only half of black Americans, who represent a disproportionate percentage of coronavirus deaths, said they were somewhat or very interested in a vaccine, perhaps reflecting memories of an infamous US government study that left black men deliberately untreated for syphilis.

College-educated white women - a politically important demographic that has moved sharply away from the Republican Party during the Trump era - were particularly concerned about how quickly the vaccine is being developed. More than 40% said Trump's reassurance would make them less willing to take it.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, throughout the United States and had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

A quarter of Americans have little or no interest in taking a coronavirus vaccine, a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Thursday found, with some voicing concern that the record pace at which vaccine candidates are being developed could compromise safety.

A quarter of Americans have little or no interest in taking a coronavirus vaccine, a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Thursday found, with some voicing concern that the record pace at which vaccine candidates are being developed could compromise safety. While health experts say a vaccine to prevent infection is needed to return life to normal, the survey points to a potential trust issue for the Trump administration already under fire for its often contradictory safety guidance during the pandemic. Some 36% of respondents said they would be less willing to take a vaccine if US President Donald Trump said it was safe, compared with only 14% who would be more interested. Most respondents in the survey of 4,428 US adults taken between May 13 and May 19 said they would be heavily influenced by guidance from the Food and Drug Administration or results of large-scale scientific studies showing that the vaccine was safe. Less than two-thirds of respondents said they were "very" or "somewhat" interested in a vaccine, a figure some health experts expected would be higher given the heightened awareness of COVID-19 and the more than 92,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the United States alone. "It's a little lower than I thought it would be with all the attention to COVID-19," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease and vaccine expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. "I would have expected somewhere around 75 percent." Fourteen percent of respondents said they were not at all interested in taking a vaccine, and 10% said they were not very interested. Another 11% were unsure. Studies are underway, but experts estimate that at least 70% of Americans would need to be immune through a vaccine or prior infection to achieve what is known as "herd immunity," when enough people are resistant to an infectious disease to prevent its spread. Trump has vowed to have a vaccine ready by year's end, although they typically take 10 years or longer to develop and test for safety and effectiveness. Many experts believe a fully tested, government-approved vaccine will not be widely available until mid-2021 at the earliest. There are more than 100 COVID-19 vaccine candidates in development globally, including some already in human clinical trials. Earlier this week, US biotech Moderna Inc announced potentially promising preliminary results from just eight individuals who took part in a safety study. Among those respondents who expressed little or no interest in a coronavirus vaccine, nearly half said they were worried about the speed with which they are being developed. More than 40% said they believe the vaccine is riskier than the disease itself. MISINFORMATION HURDLE Overall, 84% of respondents said vaccines for diseases such as measles are safe for both adults and children, suggesting that people hesitant to take a coronavirus vaccine might reconsider, depending on safety assurances they receive. For example, among those who said they were "not very" interested in taking the vaccine, 29% said they would be more interested if the FDA approved it. Some experts have said the White House's emphasis on speed – its vaccine effort is called "Operation Warp Speed" – could leave people worried that safety was being sacrificed for swiftness. In addition, misinformation about vaccines has grown more prevalent on social media during the pandemic, according to academic researchers. "It's not surprising a significant percentage of Americans are not going to take the vaccine because of the terrible messaging we've had, the absence of a communication plan around the vaccine and this very aggressive anti-vaccine movement," said Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is developing a vaccine. The poll underscores how the country's deepening polarization has affected people's view of the pandemic. Nearly one in five Republicans say they have no interest in a vaccine, more than twice the proportion of Democrats who said the same. Trump, a Republican, has offered mixed messages during the outbreak. He has at times downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic and encouraged public protests against his government's own stay-at-home guidelines intended to slow the pathogen's spread. He has also urged Americans to try unproven treatments for COVID-19, such as the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which he said on Monday he has taken for weeks despite warnings about its use from the FDA and other health experts. The poll responses varied among certain demographic groups. Only half of black Americans, who represent a disproportionate percentage of coronavirus deaths, said they were somewhat or very interested in a vaccine, perhaps reflecting memories of an infamous US government study that left black men deliberately untreated for syphilis. College-educated white women - a politically important demographic that has moved sharply away from the Republican Party during the Trump era - were particularly concerned about how quickly the vaccine is being developed. More than 40% said Trump's reassurance would make them less willing to take it. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, throughout the United States and had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

A quarter of Americans are hesitant about a coronavirus vaccine, says Reuters poll

Indian diaspora in Mali, Africa is collecting funds in the country's fight against COVID pandemic. Speaking to our Principal Diplomatic Correspondent Sidhant Sibal from capital Bamako, India's envoy to Mali Anjani Kumar Sahay said, &nbsp;New Delhi is gifting the African country lifesaving medicines--hydro-chloroquine and paracetamol-- the first consignment was handed over on 19 May 2020. The second instalment of medical supply is expected in the coming days.&nbsp;

WION: How are India and Mali cooperating on COVID Pandemic? 
 
Anjani Kumar Sahay: The relationship between India and Mali is rooted in shared values and principles which is reflected in close cooperation in bilateral and multilateral fora. Apart from cooperation in education, training and capacity building, India has been a development partner through various projects (power transmission lines, solar power etc) under the LOCs. The challenges posed by COVID19 pandemic has made the relationship even stronger. External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar had a telephonic talk with Foreign Minister of Mali Mr Tiebile Drame on 25 April 2020 during which they discussed various aspects of our relationship including cooperation in the areas of security, solar energy and the combat against COVID19. EAM had assured FM Drame of India’s medical supplies. &nbsp;A part of India’s medical assistance, a gift from the people and Government of India, in the form lifesaving medicines (hydro-chloroquine and paracetamol) was handed over to the Health Minister of Mali on 19 May 2020. The second instalment of medical supply is expected in the coming days.

 
WION: How is Indian Mission reaching out to any Indians in the country? 
 
Anjani Kumar Sahay: About 400 Indians are living across Mali who are engaged in various sectors of the economy, including some professionals working for the UN Peacekeeping Mission or providing various services needed by the Mission. &nbsp; 
 
Apart from the usual methods of communication through emails, phones and latest information being shared on Embassy’s website and social media, we decided to create a WhatsApp group of Indians which is very useful for the Embassy as well the Indians for quick outreach and communication. The Embassy has been regularly communicating with them about various measures being taken by the Governments of India and Mali in the fight against COVID19. We have maintained close contact with the community and assured them of all possible help within the limitations posed by the pandemic. The Embassy has also helped stranded Indians who ran out of means due to prolonged stay in the absence of commercial flights. I must share that some Indians in Mali have taken a good initiative to collect funds among the Indian Diaspora in Mali to contribute to Mali’s fight against COVID19. &nbsp;They feel that their duties are both towards ‘Janam Bhoomi’ and ‘Karam Bhoomi’.&nbsp;

 
WION: How has the ground situation in Mali changed, how have been Indian diplomats faring? 
 
Anjani Kumar Sahay: Mali’s first case of COVID-19 was reported as late as 25 March 2020. Currently, there are 931 COVID positive cases with 55 deaths. 542 people have recovered so far. The Government of Mali has been carrying out a massive campaign to sensitize people about personal hygiene, social distancing and the need to wear masks. Schools and other educational institutions have been closed. The working hours have been curtailed for offices and business establishments. The night curfew was in place for about a month which has been lifted recently. As in other places, commercial flights have been grounded. &nbsp;As far as the Indian team at the Embassy is concerned, we are a small but committed and motivated team. We are following the guidance given by Prime Minister Modi during his video conference with Indian Ambassadors across the world when he said that we should take care of our health and also attend to the needs of Indians during these challenging times. We remain at the service of the people.

Indian diaspora in Mali, Africa is collecting funds in the country's fight against COVID pandemic. Speaking to our Principal Diplomatic Correspondent Sidhant Sibal from capital Bamako, India's envoy to Mali Anjani Kumar Sahay said, New Delhi is gifting the African country lifesaving medicines--hydro-chloroquine and paracetamol-- the first consignment was handed over on 19 May 2020.

Indian diaspora in Mali, Africa is collecting funds in the country's fight against COVID pandemic. Speaking to our Principal Diplomatic Correspondent Sidhant Sibal from capital Bamako, India's envoy to Mali Anjani Kumar Sahay said, New Delhi is gifting the African country lifesaving medicines--hydro-chloroquine and paracetamol-- the first consignment was handed over on 19 May 2020. The second instalment of medical supply is expected in the coming days. WION: How are India and Mali cooperating on COVID Pandemic? Anjani Kumar Sahay: The relationship between India and Mali is rooted in shared values and principles which is reflected in close cooperation in bilateral and multilateral fora. Apart from cooperation in education, training and capacity building, India has been a development partner through various projects (power transmission lines, solar power etc) under the LOCs. The challenges posed by COVID19 pandemic has made the relationship even stronger. External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar had a telephonic talk with Foreign Minister of Mali Mr Tiebile Drame on 25 April 2020 during which they discussed various aspects of our relationship including cooperation in the areas of security, solar energy and the combat against COVID19. EAM had assured FM Drame of India’s medical supplies. A part of India’s medical assistance, a gift from the people and Government of India, in the form lifesaving medicines (hydro-chloroquine and paracetamol) was handed over to the Health Minister of Mali on 19 May 2020. The second instalment of medical supply is expected in the coming days. WION: How is Indian Mission reaching out to any Indians in the country? Anjani Kumar Sahay: About 400 Indians are living across Mali who are engaged in various sectors of the economy, including some professionals working for the UN Peacekeeping Mission or providing various services needed by the Mission. Apart from the usual methods of communication through emails, phones and latest information being shared on Embassy’s website and social media, we decided to create a WhatsApp group of Indians which is very useful for the Embassy as well the Indians for quick outreach and communication. The Embassy has been regularly communicating with them about various measures being taken by the Governments of India and Mali in the fight against COVID19. We have maintained close contact with the community and assured them of all possible help within the limitations posed by the pandemic. The Embassy has also helped stranded Indians who ran out of means due to prolonged stay in the absence of commercial flights. I must share that some Indians in Mali have taken a good initiative to collect funds among the Indian Diaspora in Mali to contribute to Mali’s fight against COVID19. They feel that their duties are both towards ‘Janam Bhoomi’ and ‘Karam Bhoomi’. WION: How has the ground situation in Mali changed, how have been Indian diplomats faring? Anjani Kumar Sahay: Mali’s first case of COVID-19 was reported as late as 25 March 2020. Currently, there are 931 COVID positive cases with 55 deaths. 542 people have recovered so far. The Government of Mali has been carrying out a massive campaign to sensitize people about personal hygiene, social distancing and the need to wear masks. Schools and other educational institutions have been closed. The working hours have been curtailed for offices and business establishments. The night curfew was in place for about a month which has been lifted recently. As in other places, commercial flights have been grounded. As far as the Indian team at the Embassy is concerned, we are a small but committed and motivated team. We are following the guidance given by Prime Minister Modi during his video conference with Indian Ambassadors across the world when he said that we should take care of our health and also attend to the needs of Indians during these challenging times. We remain at the service of the people.

Indian diaspora contribute towards the fight against Covid-19 in 'Karambhoomi' Mali

Two rescued manatees were released back into the sea off the Florida Keys on Wednesday (May 20) after having been rehabilitated by rescue volunteers.

Rescued manatees released after rehab

Atletico Mineiro return to training under strict hygiene regulations with Brazil suffering high casualties from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brazil soccer club Atletico Mineiro step up hygiene rules in return to training

It's still at an initial stage, but a French team at a veterinary school is hoping to use dogs to sniff out COVID-19 positive people through the particular smell of sufferer's sweat.

French dogs trained to sniff out COVID-19 sufferers

A French charity raffle that raised money for African water projects on Wednesday (May 20) picked the winner of a Pablo Picasso painting worth $1.1 million.

Charity picks winner of 100-euro ticket for 1-million-euro Picasso painting

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