Category: Life & Style

On Monday, Germany committed 10 billion euros to help India achieve its climate action target set for 2030. The target will include a 50% energy requirement from renewables and the installation of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel electricity capacity.

After the sixth India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGS), the joint statement was released after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, “Germany intends to strengthen its financial and technical cooperation and other assistance to India with a long-term goal of at least 10 billion euros of new and additional commitments till 2030 under this partnership (for green and sustainable development)”.

As part of this partnership, the two leaders agreed to create a bilateral ministerial mechanism within the IGC. They both stated that the Indo-German Cooperation on Sustainable Development and Climate Action was guided by their commitments under the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, including working to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

An Indo-German Green Hydrogen Roadmap was also developed based on the inputs of a Task Force supported by the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF) as part of the Indo-German Partnership for Green and Sustainable Development.

On Monday, New Zealand dropped most of its remaining pandemic border restrictions and welcomed back tourists from the US, Canada, Britain, Japan and more than 50 other countries for the first time in more than two years.

Before the pandemic hit the globe, more than 3 million tourists visited each year in New Zealand. The tourist industry alone accounted for more than 20% of the national foreign income and more than 5% of the overall economy. Due to the pandemic, the nation imposed some of the world’s toughest border restrictions and that remained in place as the government focused on eliminating and tightly controlling the infection.

Over 80% of New Zealand’s 5 million population was vaccinated against the spread of the omicron variant, leading to a gradual easing of restrictions. The country reopened to tourists from Australia three weeks ago, and to 60 countries with visa waivers on Monday, including most of Europe. However, non-waiver countries like India and China are still not allowed to enter New Zealand.

Only vaccinated visitors who performed the test for the virus before and after arriving in the country will be allowed. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said, “Today is a day to celebrate, and is a big moment in our reconnection with the world”.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) picks Nand Mulchandani as its first-ever Chief Technology Officer. Mulchandani is an Indian-American Silicon Valley IT expert who studied at Delhi school and has more than 25 years of expertise working in Silicon Valley.

Director William J Burns announced the appointment through social media. CIA said in a tweet, “CIA Director William J. Burns appoints Nand Mulchandani as CIA’s first Chief Technology Officer (CTO). with more than 25 years of experience, Mr Mulchandani will ensure the Agency is leveraging cutting-edge innovations to further CIA’s mission”.

Mulchandani said, “I am honoured to join the CIA in this role and look forward to working with the Agency’s incredible team of technologists and domain experts who already deliver world-class intelligence and capabilities to help build a comprehensive technology strategy that delivers exciting capabilities working closely with industry and partners”.

He has worked as the CTA and Acting Director of DoD’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center before joining the CIA. He was CEO and also co-founded several successful start-ups Oblix, Determina OpenDNS, and ScaleXtreme.

Mulchandani holds a degree in Computer Science and Math from Cornell, a Master’s degree in Management from Stanford, and a Master in Public Administration Degree from Harvard.

On Tuesday, a $32 million humanitarian project was launched by Saudi Arabia and France to help alleviate Lebanon’s crushing financial crisis. The agreement was made between the French foreign ministry, the French Development Agency, and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre.

The aid will provide nearly 30 million Euros to the first humanitarian initiatives with many more to come. It will provide monthly food assistance to 7,500 people, support hospitals in Tripoli and north Lebanon, and distribute baby formula to needy families as part of the first programme. The other part of the programme will focus on education, water, energy, and Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces.

Lebanon is going through its worst crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. In the wake of a 2019 financial meltdown, the currency crashed, plunging more than half of the population into poverty and making it nearly impossible for them to afford basic needs such as food and medicine.

The announcement came after the return of Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Lebanon earlier this month after a five-month absence due to a diplomatic spat between the kingdom and Lebanon over the growing influence of Iranian-backed Hezbollah

On Sunday, an experimental treatment from Japanese drugmaker Shionogi & Co. Ltd showed a rapid clearance of the virus causing COVID-19.

The data on pill S-217622 was revealed by the Japanese drugmaker. Shionogi said in the statement that the pill “demonstrated rapid clearance of the infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus”, citing Phase-2b results from the Phase II/III clinical trial of the drug.

According to Shionogi, the data also showed “there was no significant difference in the total score of 12 COVID_19 symptoms between treatment arms”, however, the pill showed improvement in a complete score of five “respiratory and feverish” symptoms.

Meanwhile, on April 13, the stocks saw a drop in Shinonogi’s share by 16% on reports that the drug could pose risks to pregnancies as per the preclinical data. The share price of Shionogi has been on a rollercoaster ride due to speculation about the treatment’s success. The stock rose on Friday after a report that the U.S. government is in talks to buy supplies of the drug.

Pharmaceutical company Isao Teshirogi said production could reach 10 million doses a year after launching a Phase III trial with US government backing in March.

The Food and Drug Administration issued the first breath test device to detect COVID-19 infection. The InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer can be used in doctor’s offices, hospitals and mobile testing sites due to its small size.

InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer utilizes a technique called gas chromatography gas mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to separate and identify chemical combinations and quickly detect five volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in exhaled breath.

The agency said, “InspectIR expects to be able to produce approximately 100 instruments per week, which can each be used to evaluate approximately 160 samples per day”. It further added that with this level of production, testing capacity using the InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer is expected to increase by 64,000 samples per month.

According to FDA, the test can provide the result in less than three minutes. However, the test should be provided under the supervision of a licenced care provider.

The director of the FDA’s Centre for Devices and Radiological Health Dr Jeff Shuren said the device is yet another example of the rapid innovation occurring with diagnostic tests for COVID-19.  On April 14, the FDA announced, “the device is identified 91.2% of positive test samples correctly and 99.3% of negative test samples correctly”.

Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms turns 96-year-old today. Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on 21 April 1926 in Mayfair, England and took the queen’s title on June 2, 1953.

Gun salutes will ring and rounds will be fired from the Tower of London and Hyde Park where a military band will play “Happy Birthday”. During this year’s official birthday celebration, four days of public events will be held from June 2 to 5 to commemorate the queen’s 70 years on the throne.

The royal family of the United Kingdom has had a difficult year, with fears about the queen’s health and uncertainties about the monarchy’s future. Meanwhile, the monarch herself was expected to mark the occasion with little fanfare.

After her overnight stay in hospital last October, the queen has cut down massively on public life on doctor’s orders as she was compliant with backache and difficulties standing and walking.

According to the British media, the queen went to her Sandringham country estate in eastern England where she is said to spend time at the cottage where her late husband Prince Philip lived after he retired from public life in 2017.

On Monday, The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its COVID-19 international travel advisory system by removing all countries from its ‘Do Not Travel’ list.

The updated advisory comes a day after a federal judge in Florida recently struck down a national mask requirement for public transportation across the country. The Transportation Security Administration announced on Monday it wouldn’t enforce a security directive that applies to aeroplanes, airports, taxis and other mass transit systems that were set to take effect in January 2021. Major airlines and many of the busiest airports quickly dropped their requirements after the announcement.

The CDC dropped all countries under the “Level 4: Special” which warns the travellers to avoid travelling to these nations due to very high levels of coronavirus cases.

The agency issues a statement last week stating, “special circumstances, such as rapidly escalating case trajectory or extremely high case counts, emergence of a new variant of concern, or healthcare infrastructure collapse”.

Meanwhile, the other three-level will continue to be on basis of 28-day coronavirus incidence or case counts. The CDC included 120 countries on a Level 3 advisory for a “high” COVID-19 warning.

CDC warns, “Make sure you are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines before travelling to these destinations. If you are not up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines, avoid travel to these destinations”.

On Monday, The White House announced a global summit to put an end to the COVID-19 crisis and prepare for the future upheaval that will occur on May 12.

Despite President Joe Biden’s struggles to get vital pandemic funding from Congress, the virtual gathering will be co-chaired by the US with the current G7 German president, G20 president Indonesia, African Union chair Senegal, the current chair of the CARICOM Caribbean grouping and Belize.

A joint statement was released by the countries stating, “The summit will redouble our collective efforts to end the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic and prepare for future health threats”. Conference hosts emphasized the urgency of the situation.

A similar summit was hosted by Biden last September, in which he urged partners to boost vaccine production in order to ensure that 70 per cent of the world’s population is protected by September.

Congress has yet to pass a bill ensuring $10 billion in continued funding for the domestic Covid response, while no agreement has been reached regarding additional funding for vaccine donations abroad.

The virus continues to spread globally, preventing many countries from lifting all restrictions, while Shanghai in China is under a draconian lockdown.

A week-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of India’s independence was started by the Indian Consulate USA, in collaboration with a city-based cultural organization and a children’s museum, which featured traditional Indian paintings, music and storytelling.

On Monday, The Culture Tree said in a statement that The Consulate General of India in New York, The Culture Tree and the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) launched the special activities along with interactive programs that focus on celebrating the diversity of India and its people through music, dance, literature, drama, puppetry, and food and art.

Consul General Randhir Jaiswal said while launching the India@75 in New York, “We are extremely excited to bring a celebration on India to all the children and their families in New York. We are committed to celebrating freedom, culture and achievements of India in all these years”.

The partnership with the Children’s Museum and The Culture Tree was hailed as a way to “celebrate India during this milestone year.”

Using language, art, puppet shows, dance, food and the holidays, The Culture Tree provides South Asian themed educational and cultural programs for children and their families that nurture a deep connection with their roots and the world around them.