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angel0news · 3 months

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"Real Luxury": Woman's Post On Quality Of Life In India Vs US Sparks Online Debate

A woman recently took to social media to share her experience living in India and the United States. Niharikaa Kaur Sodhi took to X (formerly Twitter) and sparked a debate on the quality of life in both countries. Initially, she assumed that amenities such as home delivery of groceries and affordable domestic help contributed to a lavish lifestyle in India. However, after visiting the United States, she realised that factors including clean air and well-maintained roads determine the quality of life.

She wrote on the social media platform, "Day 11 today in the US and here's a thought I had yesterday evening. It might trigger some of you. But if online text with somebody's opinion triggers you that's a space you should totally work on and protect for your own energy."

"So the thought is - I've always felt how luxurious life in India can be with: quick food deliveries, 10min grocery delivery, affordable household help. I literally survive on grocery deliveries lol. But REAL quality of life is actually stuff that's super basic. It's clean air, ongoing electricity, availability of water, plenty of greenery, good roads," Ms Sodhi continued.

The user said that a person does not need quick delivery services if they have clean air to go to the store without any fear. She said, "And the real luxury is central air conditioning instead of dying in 45C without any electricity on some days, freedom to wear what you want to be comfortable instead of men ogling at you. Because things that have made me happy in the past few days apart from family time, are morning walks, good air, green pastures, seeing sunrise and sunset, sound of birds instead of honking."

Ms Sodhi stated that "perhaps it's my definition of quality of life and luxury that has changed." "I don't know if I'll ever attain any of the above. But it's definitely a thought in my head," the X user concluded.

Since being shared, her post has amassed five lakh views and three thousand likes on the microblogging platform.

"100 percent agree. It takes courage to voice this opinion. Civic sense is a highly under rated attribute," said a user.

A second person commented, "Living in Melbourne for 15 years and temporarily moved to Mumbai and ai could see the difference clearly. You are 100% correct. We hardly had food deliveries in Melbourne but everyday in Mumbai because of pollution, traffic etc."

Another added, "Villages of India also offer you such a peaceful and healthy environment… Farmers of India are no less than living in US or Melbourne the only drawback- u can't get food delivered online & obviously not a high package microsoft job."

"You can get such life if you move 50 kms away from any city in India," wrote a user.

Another said, "Both places have their plus and minus. You usually cannot have everything in one place"

A person remarked, "Really depends from person to person and how you define the quality of life. Having lived in Bangalore and also getting a taste of life abroad, and talking to people who live abroad, things are not as rosy as it seems on the paper."

#India #United States #Quality of Life

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sharmaspaneer · 3 months

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newstfionline · 4 years

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Headlines

World trade decline (Financial Times) World trade experienced an “unprecedented” decline in April as most big economies suffered from strict coronavirus lockdowns, according to widely watched data which found that the eurozone was the hardest-hit area. The volume of global trade in goods dropped by 12.1 per cent in April compared with the previous month, according to the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis—the largest monthly contraction since records began in 2000. The drop exacerbated the 2.4 per cent decline in world trade in March, the bureau’s CPB world trade monitor said, leaving global goods trade volumes 16.2 per cent smaller than the same time last year.

A step toward 51 (NYT) Today, for the first time, the House of Representatives is expected to approve statehood for Washington, D.C. The bill is likely to pass on party lines, with Democrats voting in favor and Republicans against it. Afterward, it is almost certain to die in the Republican-controlled Senate. But the vote is still significant, because it signals the Democratic Party’s growing focus on the issue. It now seems possible that the District of Columbia will become a state whenever Democrats next control the House, the Senate and the White House, which could be as soon as next year. Alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states to join, in 1959, which means the U.S. is in its longest stretch without adding a new state.

Texas Pauses Reopening as Virus Cases Soar Across the South and West (NYT) Just 55 days after reopening Texas restaurants and other businesses, Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday hit the pause button, stopping additional phases of the state’s reopening as new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations soared and as the governor struggled to pull off the seemingly impossible task of keeping both the state open and the virus under control. The announcement by Mr. Abbott—which allows the many shopping malls, restaurants, bars, gyms and other businesses already open to continue operating—was an abrupt turnaround and came as a growing number of states paused reopenings amid rising case counts.

Venezuelans take extraordinary steps to beat water shortage (AP) Venezuela’s economic collapse has left most homes without reliable running water, so Caracas resident Iraima Moscoso saw water pooling inside an abandoned construction site as the end of suffering for thousands of her poor neighbors. Workers had long ago stopped building a nearby highway tunnel through the mountain above them. Yet, spring water continued to collect inside the viaduct and then stream past their homes, wasted. The construction firm had also left behind coils of tube. Moscoso, 59, rallied her neighbors to salvage the materials and build their own system, tapping into the tunnel’s vast lagoon and running the waterline to their homes. Today, they’re free of the city’s crumbling service and enjoy what many in Venezuela consider a luxury. Venezuela’s water crisis is nothing new, but it’s started driving residents to extraordinary measures—banding together to rig their own water systems and even hand dig shallow wells at home. Water today is even more important as a way to protect against the pandemic. An estimated 86% of Venezuelans reported unreliable water service, including 11% who have none at all, according to an April survey of 4,500 residents by the non-profit Venezuelan Observatory of Public Services.

A matter of state delays a matter of the heart (Foreign Policy) Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has had to postpone her wedding for a third time, after an extraordinary European Council summit was called on the weekend of her planned ceremony. The EU meeting, scheduled for July 17-18, will be the first in-person summit since the coronavirus pandemic began. In a Facebook post, Frederiksen pointed out that Denmark’s priorities come before her family’s, meaning her fiancé Bo Tengberg will have to wait. “I’m looking forward to saying yes to Bo (who fortunately is very patient),” she wrote.

After waves of COVID deaths, care homes face legal reckoning (AP) As families flock back to nursing homes that first reopened to limited visits in April and more widely this month, thousands no longer have mothers, fathers, grandparents and siblings to hug and to hold. With graves so fresh that some still don’t have headstones, grieving families across the country are increasingly demanding a reckoning, turning to lawyers to try to determine why almost half of France’s nearly 30,000 COVID-19 deaths hit residents of nursing homes, scything through the generations that came of age after World War I, endured the next world conflict and helped rebuild the country. Many homes had few, even no deaths. But others are emerging with their reputations in tatters, having lost scores in their care. Increasingly, homes are facing wrongful death lawsuits accusing them of negligent care, skimping on protective equipment and personnel, and lying to families about how their loved ones died and the measures they took to prevent infections. In the United States, nursing home residents account for nearly 1 in 10 of all coronavirus cases and more than a quarter of the deaths. In Europe, care home residents account from one-third to nearly two-thirds of the dead in many countries.

Scores dead in Indian lightning strikes (Foreign Policy) At least 107 people have died after being struck by lightning in India, according to local officials. The strikes are common during the country’s monsoon season, and the most recent figures show more than 2,300 Indians died from lightning strikes in 2018. Lakshmeshwar Rai, the disaster management minister for the state of Bihar, said it was the highest daily death toll he has seen in his state in recent years.

China’s Military Provokes Its Neighbors, but the Message Is for the United States (NYT) In the same week that Chinese and Indian soldiers engaged in a deadly brawl, one of China’s submarines cruised through the waters near Japan, prompting a scramble of aircraft and ships to track its furtive movements. Chinese fighter jets and at least one bomber buzzed Taiwan’s territorial airspace almost daily. With the world distracted by the coronavirus pandemic, China’s military has encroached upon its neighbors’ territories on several fronts throughout the spring and now into summer, flexing its military might in ways that have raised alarms across Asia and in Washington. China’s military assertiveness reflects a growing sense of confidence and capability, but also one of confrontation, particularly with the United States over the pandemic, the fate of Hong Kong and other issues that China considers central to its sovereignty and national pride. “I think the possibility of an accidental shot being fired is rising,” Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said at a conference in Beijing this week, unveiling a report on American military activity in the region.

Toilet paper limits reintroduced as panic buying returns to Australia (Washington Post) Supermarkets in Australia have been forced to reintroduce limits on toilet paper and other goods to stop a fresh wave of customers from bulk buying unnecessarily. The recent panic is believed to have been triggered by a surge in coronavirus cases in the southeastern state of Victoria. Compared with other countries, Australia has had better success in containing the virus, with 7,595 confirmed cases and 104 deaths. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that Australia’s handling of the virus has been “remarkable,” but he added that there were “some challenges” in Victoria, citing the recent outbreak. Victoria recorded 30 new cases overnight, the 10th consecutive day of double-digit rises. Morrison described the behavior of those engaging in panic buying as “ridiculous.” Photos shared on Twitter this week showed empty shelves in grocery aisles in Sydney and Melbourne, as fears of a second wave seemingly spread across the country.

The coronavirus is jeopardizing a ‘very, very finite’ workforce: Africa’s doctors and nurses (Washington Post) Doctors in Nigeria have gone on strike, demanding face masks and pay that reflects the rising risk. Hospital staffers in Guinea-Bissau had to shutter a treatment ward after nearly everyone on the floor got sick. Nurses in Cameroon are working through fevers—even dodging tests—because they can’t afford to lose a shift’s wages. The coronavirus pandemic has tightened its grip on much of Africa, where reported cases have more than tripled over the last month, jeopardizing overstretched medical teams as the need for care soars. African health officials and medical professionals are raising concerns about cracks in a crucial armor: Infections among health-care workers have shot up 203 percent since late May, according to the World Health Organization’s Africa arm, following a spike in community transmission and a drop in access to protective gear. The trends have alarmed epidemiologists at the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who warned in a June report that most countries face a “catastrophic shortage” of medical professionals.

#headlines #news

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aladdincart · 4 years

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#indian grocery store melbourne #indian grocery online melbourne #indian grocery melbourne #indian grocery online

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bigyack-com · 5 years

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Shah Rukh Khan spends day at the races as his little ‘gold medal’ AbRam emerges winner. See pic - bollywood

Actor Shah Rukh Khan is spending a lot of time away from work and a lot of it is for his family -- on Friday, the actor posted a picture, a collage with his son AbRam. The star’s son won medals at the sports meet, it appears.Sharing it, Shah Rukh wrote: “Day at the Races...My little ‘Gold Medal’ with his Silver and Bronze wins at the races today!!” In one of the pictures in the collage, Shah Rukh poses with son, while in the two pictures where AbRam can be seen with his medals and certificate. Day at the Races...My little ‘Gold Medal’ with his Silver and Bronze wins at the races today!! pic.twitter.com/1k9NqjB65J— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) January 17, 2020 Also read | Kangana Ranaut reacts to Deepika Padukone’s JNU visit: ‘I don’t want to empower people who celebrate when a jawan dies’On Thursday, Shah Rukh attended a special event to welcome Amazon chief Jeff Bezos in India. Speaking at the event, Shah Rukh joked how he can’t buy underwear online. He said: “I am going to plug my own brandsa I do all my book shopping at Amazon. My groceries come from Big Basket. I have a confession to make... I am still not comfortable in shopping underwear online.. It is a boy thing.”Shah Rukh was last seen in his home production, Zero. The film, despite a lot of hype and great publicity, bombed at the box office. Speaking about his long sabbatical, Shah Rukh had said while attending the 10th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne ,“I just finished the last film I made and to put it lightly, it was a disaster. I said to myself that let me enjoy a little bit of un-success as I had success for so long. So I have taken some time off for next four or five months,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I’m on these breaks... Coming here (Melbourne) and meeting people, realising and discovering new stories, doing intellectual speaking.”The actor hasn’t signed any film since then but the buzz is he may work in a Hindi remake of hit Tamil film with Tamil director Atlee. Follow @htshowbiz for more Read the full article

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indiaathomemelbourne · 9 days

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Launch Your Own Grocery Store Franchise Unlock your entrepreneurial potential with India At Home’s grocery store franchise opportunities. Our franchise offers comprehensive support, proven retail systems, and a chance to join a leading Indian grocery store across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. With an initial investment, you get access to established merchandising solutions and ongoing training. Dive into the rewarding world of grocery store franchising. Contact us today to explore this exciting opportunity!

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armeniaitn · 4 years

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The Latest: Sweden's expert criticizes inclusion on WHO list

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/politics/the-latest-swedens-expert-criticizes-inclusion-on-who-list-25085-26-06-2020/

The Latest: Sweden's expert criticizes inclusion on WHO list

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A member of the Bundeswehr takes a coronavirus test on a woman from Warendorf at a corona smear site in Oelde, Germany, Thursday, June 25, 2020 Because of the corona outbreak at the meat producer T’nnies in Rheda-Wiedenbr’ck, many people from the area cannot easily escape on holiday: In several popular regions at home and abroad, negative tests are demanded of them.

File—File picture taken June 23, 2020 shows medical staff taking COVID-19 tests of Toennies employees and their families who are quarantined behind fences in Verl, Germany, Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Following the corona outbreak at meat processor Toennies in Rheda-Wiedenbrueck, the federal state authorities are massively restricting public life in the Guetersloh district with a lockdown.

People wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus are reflected on a mirror at a shopping street in Tokyo Friday, June 26, 2020. Japan lifted a seven-week pandemic state emergency in late May, and social and business activity have since largely resumed.

Men wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus stand at a back ally bar street in Tokyo Friday, June 26, 2020. Japan lifted a seven-week pandemic state emergency in late May, and social and business activity have since largely resumed.

Civil protection and army officers stand at a road block in front of an apartment complex where dozens of COVID-19 cases have been registered among a community of Bulgarian farm workers, in Mondragone, in the southern Italian region of Campania, Friday, June 26, 2020. The governor of the region is insisting that the farm workers should stay inside for 15 days, not even emerging for food, and that the national civil protection agency should deliver them groceries.

File—File picture taken June 23, 2020 shows Toennies employees and their families being quarantined in their apartments behind fences in Verl, Germany, Following the corona outbreak at meat processor Toennies in Rheda-Wiedenbrueck, the federal state authorities are massively restricting public life in the Guetersloh district with a lockdown.

A vendor pushes an improvised cart with a woman and merchandise along a rarely used rail track in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, June 25, 2020. Daily life in the capital slowly returns to normal as the Thai government eases many restrictions imposed weeks ago to combat the spread of COVID-19. Though emergency regulations require the use of face masks in public, some residents have become apathetic as Thailand has record zero local transmission for over three weeks.

Shiraz Merchant wears a mask as he walks in a park Friday, June 26, 2020, in Houston. The number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise across the state. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said that the state is facing a “massive outbreak” in the coronavirus pandemic and that some new local restrictions may be needed to protect hospital space for new patients.

Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey pauses as he speaks about the latest coronavirus data at a news conference Thursday, June 25, 2020, in Phoenix.

A health worker takes a swab test of a woman during a free medical checkup in Dharavi, one of Asia’s biggest slums, in Mumbai, India, Friday, June 26, 2020. India is the fourth hardest-hit country by the pandemic in the world after the U.S., Russia and Brazil.

People wearing face masks to protect against the new coronavirus take photos near billboards honoring medical workers who responded to the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan at a public park in Beijing, Friday, June 26, 2020. China reported a further decline in new cases Friday with about a dozen mostly in Beijing, where mass testing has been done following an outbreak that appears to have been largely brought under control.

A worker wearing a face mask to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus cleans near a bank’s currency advertisement board in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 26, 2020.

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has reported 51 more confirmed coronavirus cases as new clusters emerge in the densely populated Seoul area where people have been increasingly venturing out despite government warnings against complacency.

Thirty-five of the new cases are in the capital region, which is at the center of a COVID-19 resurgence threatening to erase earlier gains against the virus.

Authorities are struggling to trace contacts and predict infection routes as new clusters pop up. Hundreds of infections have been linked to nightspots, church gatherings, restaurants and low-income workers who couldn’t afford to stay home.

Officials are resisting calls to reimpose stronger social distancing guidelines, concerned about hurting the economy.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— Virus taking stronger hold in US, other populated countries

— Governors who quickly reopened backpedal as virus surges

— After waves of COVID deaths, care homes face legal reckoning

— Hospitals in the capital of Venezuela’s main oil-producing state are filled with coronavirus patients and dozens of health workers have been infected, witnesses said this week in the first reports of the pandemic overwhelming the country’s debilitated health care system.

— While India’s leaders have promised coronavirus testing and care for all who need it, regardless of income, treatment options are as stratified and unequal as the country itself.

— U.S. officials estimate that 20 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus since it first arrived in the United States, with millions never knowing they had it. Thursday’s estimate is roughly 10 times the 2.3 million cases that have been confirmed in the U.S.

— A government whistleblower ousted from a top scientific job alleges that the Trump administration is intensifying its campaign to punish him for revealing shortcomings in the U.S. coronavirus response.

Follow all of AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

BEIJING — China has reported an uptick in new coronavirus cases a day after national health authorities said they expected an outbreak in Beijing to be brought under control soon.

The National Health Commission said Saturday that 21 more cases had been confirmed nationwide in the latest 24-hour period, including 17 in the nation’s capital.

City officials have temporarily shut a huge wholesale food market where the virus spread widely, re-closed schools and locked down some neighborhoods. Anyone leaving Beijing is required to have a negative virus test result within the previous seven days. Many Chinese are traveling during a four-day holiday weekend that ends Sunday.

China has reported 83,483 cases and 4,634 deaths in the pandemic. It does not include in the numbers people who test positive but don’t show symptoms.

CANBERRA, Australia — Australian health officials are expecting more cases of COVID-19 as hundreds of nationals return from overseas to begin mandatory quarantine.

About 300 people are due to arrive in Adelaide this weekend from Mumbai, India, while hundreds are expected to follow from South America and Indonesia.

People in hotel quarantine will be tested for the coronavirus at the start and end of their 14-day isolation.

South Australia state Health Minister Stephen Wade says he is preparing for about 5% to 10% of returnees being infected, as was the case when people arrived from Indonesia in other states.

Melbourne reported 30 new cases Friday, continuing a run of double-digit increases that has more than tripled Victoria state’s active cases to 183 in just over a week.

In all, Australia has had 104 COVID-19 deaths and nearly 7,600 confirmed cases.

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas has surpassed 5,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients for the first time as Gov. Greg Abbott continues a dramatic retreat in his aggressive reopening of America’s second-biggest state.

In Houston, county officials Friday elevated a public threat warning system to the highest level. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said “We never brought the curve all the way down. We only flattened it.”

Hospitalizations in Texas, reported by state health officials, have now skyrocketed more than threefold over the past month. New records are set daily, and Abbott has brought back a ban on elective surgeries to free up beds.

His latest orders shuttered bars indefinitely and ordered restaurants dining rooms to scale back on seating customers.

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that he wants an agricultural Southern California county to reimpose stay-home orders amid a surge in positive coronavirus tests there and through much of the state.

Imperial County, with a population of 175,000 people on the state’s border with Mexico, has been the slowest in the state to reopen amid continued high positivity rates, which have averaged 23% in the last week, compared with 5.7% statewide.

The Imperial Valley, which provides many of the vegetables in U.S. supermarkets in the winter, lies across the border from Mexicali, a sprawling industrial city of 1 million people that has enormous influence on its economy and culture.

Newsom said San Francisco is also pausing plans to reopen businesses that were expected to open Monday, such as hair salons, museums and outdoor bars.

NEW YORK — A federal judge has blocked New York state from enforcing coronavirus restrictions limiting indoor religious gatherings to 25% capacity when other types of gatherings are limited to 50%.

Judge Gary Sharpe acted Friday to enjoin Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Attorney General Letitia James from enforcing some of the capacity restrictions put in place by executive order to contain the spread of the virus.

A spokesperson for Cuomo said the governor’s office will review the decision. A spokesperson for the New York City law department said city lawyers would review the ruling as well.

NEW ORLEANS — The number of reported COVID-19 cases in Louisiana took another large one-day jump, increasing Friday by more than 1,300 as the number of people hospitalized with the disease caused by the new coronavirus continued upward.

The state reported a total of 54,769 confirmed cases as of midday. The death toll was 3,077, up by 26 from Thursday.

Some of the growth in known case numbers can be attributed to increased testing. However, the number of people sick enough to be hospitalized — considered a key indicator that the virus is spreading — went up to 700. The figure is down from nearly 2,000 in April but up from a low of 542 on June 13.

The increasing numbers led Gov. John Bel Edwards this week to delay plans to further lift restrictions on public gatherings and some business activity. Edwards has promised stepped up enforcement on businesses that aren’t complying with virus-related restrictions on capacity and requirements that employees dealing with the public wear masks.

Friday marked Louisiana’s second one-day spike of more than 1,300 this week.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida banned alcohol consumption at its bars after its daily confirmed coronavirus cases neared 9,000, almost double the previous record set just two days ago.

The Florida agency that governs bars announced the ban on Twitter, minutes after the Department of Health reported 8,942 new confirmed cases, topping the previous record of 5,500 set Wednesday.

More than 24,000 cases have been reported since Saturday, more than a fifth of the 111,724 cases confirmed since March 1. The department had not updated its death total, which still stood at 3,327.

The seven-day average for positive tests dropped slightly to 13.4%, down 1 percentage point from Thursday but still triple the rate of 3.8% of June 1. State officials have attributed much of the new outbreak to young adults flocking to bars after they reopened about a month ago.

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations is marking its 75th anniversary with a scaled-down event because of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of many challenges a deeply divided world must tackle along with poverty, inequality, discrimination and unending wars.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Friday’s virtual commemoration of the signing of the U.N. Charter that “global pressures are spiraling up” and “today’s realities are as forbidding as ever.”

He said people continue to lose trust in political establishments and has spoken of rising populism threatening multilateralism and denounced xenophobia, racism and intolerance.

“Today’s marches against racism were preceded by widespread protests against inequality, discrimination, corruption and lack of opportunities all over the world – grievances that still need to be addressed, including with a renewed social contract,” he said in a video address.

“Meanwhile,” Guterres said, “other fundamental fragilities have only grown: the climate crisis, environmental degradation, cyberattacks, nuclear proliferation, a push-back on human rights and the risk of another pandemic.”

He stressed the urgent need for global cooperation.

“One virus … has put us on our knees, and we have not been able to fight it effectively,” Guterres told reporters Thursday. “It’s spreading now everywhere. There was no control, no effective coordination among member states. We are divided in fighting COVID‑19.”

ROME — Italy registered 30 more deaths of people with coronavirus infections on Friday, with 16 of them in Lombardy, the northern region that continues to still have by far the highest daily tally of new confirmed cases.

According to Health Ministry data, the nation confirmed 259 new cases since Thursday, raising to 239,961 the number of known coronavirus infections since Italy’s outbreak began in late February.

Deaths now total 34,708. Authorities say the number of overall cases and deaths is certainly higher, since many without serious symptoms didn’t get tested, and many died in nursing homes without being tested.

Meanwhile, Premier Guiseppe Conte said Italy’s classrooms will be receiving students starting on Sept. 14, more than six months after the government’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 shuttered schools, forcing millions of students to have lessons remotely.

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vsplusonline · 4 years

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Hong Kong reports no new COVID-19 cases as India, Singapore see spike in infections

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/hong-kong-reports-no-new-covid-19-cases-as-india-singapore-see-spike-in-infections/

Hong Kong reports no new COVID-19 cases as India, Singapore see spike in infections

India and Singapore announced their biggest single-day spikes in new coronavirus cases on Monday, as the crisis intensifies in parts of Asia.

India’s spike came after the government eased one of the world’s strictest lockdowns to allow some manufacturing and agricultural activity to resume.

An additional 1,553 cases were reported over 24 hours in India, raising the national total past 17,000. At least 543 people have died in the country from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and epidemiologists forecast the peak may not be reached before June.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Tensions mount as people seek to resume work, play amid lockdowns

The shelter-in-place orders imposed in India on March 24 halted all but essential services, sparking an exodus of migrant workers and people who survive on daily wages out of India’s cities to villages in rural areas. Authorities picked up travellers in a fleet of buses and quarantined many of them in empty schools and other public buildings for 14 days.

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Starting Monday, limited industry and farming were allowed to resume where employers could meet social distancing and hygiene norms, and migrant workers were allowed to travel within states to factories, farms and other work sites.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s confirmed cases shot up to nearly 8,000 after 1,426 infections were reported Monday, a single-day high for the tiny Southeast Asian city-state.

2:02 Trump condemned for freezing funding to WHO

Trump condemned for freezing funding to WHO

Singapore now has the highest number of cases in Southeast Asia at 7,984, a massive surge from just 200 on March 15. Authorities say most of the new cases were again linked to foreign workers.

More than 200,000 low-wage workers from Asia live in tightly packed dormitories that became virus hotspots after they were overlooked earlier by the government. Officials have said that cases are expected to rise as testing continues at the dorms, but are hoping that a partial lockdown until May 4, mandatory wearing of masks and strict social distancing measures will help curb the spread of the virus.

[ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ]

In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:

No new cases in Hong Kong

Hong Kong reported no new cases on Monday for the first time in nearly seven weeks. Prior to Monday, the city had seen eight consecutive days of single-digit infections, dwindling from a surge in cases in March as residents overseas flocked to return amid the U.S. and Europe outbreaks. Hong Kong’s current tally stands at 1,026 cases, including four deaths.

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Sri Lanka partially lifts curfew

Sri Lanka’s government has partially lifted a monthlong curfew, with the country’s top health official declaring that COVID-19 is “under control” in the Indian Ocean island nation. Sri Lanka had been under a 24-hour curfew since March 20. It was lifted during daytime hours in more than two thirds of the country Monday and will continue in the remaining districts including the capital, Colombo, until Wednesday. The curfew will remain in effect from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. until further notice. Sri Lanka had confirmed 271 cases and seven deaths as of Sunday.

READ MORE: Live updates: Coronavirus in Canada

New Zealand’s lockdown extended

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that New Zealand’s lockdown will last another week. For nearly four weeks, nonessential workers have been able to leave their homes only to buy groceries or to exercise. Starting next week, construction and manufacturing can resume, and some schools will reopen, although home-learning will be encouraged.

South Korea’s infections wane

South Korea reported 13 new virus cases Monday as infections continue to wane in the hardest-hit city of Daegu. The new figures brought the national totals to 10,674 cases and 236 deaths. With its caseload slowing, South Korea has relaxed some of its social distancing guidelines, including lifting administrative orders that advised churches, gyms and bars to close.

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1:47 Coronavirus outbreak: WHO says evidence suggests herd immunity hasn’t been achieved

Coronavirus outbreak: WHO says evidence suggests herd immunity hasn’t been achieved

Japanese exports sink

Japanese exports sank 11.7 per cent in March as the pandemic slammed auto shipments to the U.S. The Finance Ministry said exports to the U.S. fell 16.5 per cent, while those to China declined 8.7 per cent. Trade has slowed precipitously, and the International Monetary Fund forecasts that the world economy is heading into its worst slowdown since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Japan tulips razed

Tens of thousands of tulips in full bloom were razed at a Japanese park to prevent crowds from gathering. The flowers were the centerpiece of a popular annual festival in Sakura city, east of Tokyo, that was cancelled this year. People still gathered to admire the flowers, however, making social distancing difficult. “We, of course, wish for many people to see our flowers, but this situation is now about human life. It was a heart-wrenching decision, but we had to do it,” said Takahiro Kogo, a city official overseeing the park.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Iran begins to reopen despite COVID-19 fears

Bangkok extends alcohol ban

Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, has extended a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages to the end of April as efforts continue to contain the coronavirus. A ban was originally imposed for April 10-20, when Thais would normally celebrate the Songkran New Year festival with drink-fueled merrymaking at large public gatherings. Celebrations of the holiday were also postponed. Alcohol sales bans were separately ordered in all 76 of Thailand’s provinces, which are likely to be extended. A Bangkok official said people with alcohol dependency problems could be treated for free at the city’s medical facilities.

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Australian soap opera resumes

1:32 Coronavirus outbreak: UN agency says at least 300,000 Africans expected to die due to virus

Coronavirus outbreak: UN agency says at least 300,000 Africans expected to die due to virus

The long-running Australian soap opera “Neighbours” returned from a three-week production break on Monday and plans to resume full production next week with new coronavirus safeguards. “Neighbours” production company Fremantle Australia said it is one of the few TV dramas in the English-speaking world to resume production during the pandemic. “Neighbours” first screened in 1985. It has been sold to more than 60 countries and has a larger following in Britain than Australia. Its Melbourne studio will be separated into three scene areas with no crews allowed to cross between the areas, Fremantle said.

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wisdenindia-blog · 7 years

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Despair in Ghazni to delight in Melbourne, Morteza has been through it all

Cricket was not just Morteza Ali’s hobby; it was his escape. It was a way to get over his troubled past. © Morteza Ali

If there was a modern-day adaption of Robert Schuller’s Tough times never last, but tough people do!, there would perhaps be a chapter dedicated to Morteza Ali.

Morteza’s story is straight out of Michael Winterbottom’s In This World – a gut-wrenching but heartwarming documentary about Jamal and Enayatulla, the two Afghanistan refugees who traverse deserts, oceans, mountains and forests, battle thugs and deal with hostile immigration officers to set up a new life in England.

Morteza could well be Jamal or Enayatulla, but there is cricketing angle to his story. He undertook the same journey as Winterbottom’s protagonists in the film, and is now living a better life in Melbourne, pursuing his cricketing dream as well.

***

Cricket came to Afghanistan through refugee camps in Pakistan, where countless Afghans fled the 1979 Soviet invasion of their homeland. After learning the sport in exile, young Afghans brought cricket back with them when the Taliban fell in 2001, and the game has gone from strength to strength ever since.

For Morteza, a 31-year-old allrounder, Muhammad Hussain — his older brother and a Kabul University student who played both cricket and hockey — was the earliest influence. When Muhammad would come home during vacations, he would teach the neighbourhood kids the basics of the sport. When he headed back to the university, Morteza would follow cricket on his “rich neighbour’s television.”

“In the ‘90s, we had heard a lot about Sachin Tendulkar, but personally, I liked Adam Gilchrist a lot because of his attacking brand of cricket,” he tells Wisden India. “Back then, I didn’t even know his name. Shahid Afridi was my favourite too, I used to imitate his shots a lot.

“But no sport was allowed by the Taliban; we used wooden broomsticks as bats and plastic balls.”

He was in his mid-teens when Morteza lost his entire family – father, mother, Muhammad and a younger sister – when their house in Ghazni in the south-east province of Afghanistan was hit during a Taliban mortar attack in 2001. Morteza survived as he was helping his uncle at his grocery store a few miles away. “My uncle didn’t even tell me that I’d lost my whole family, he just asked me to leave the country as the war had intensified,” he recalls.

His uncle arranged his exit with the help of a human transporter. Morteza left Kabul in June 2001, and reached England a year and five days later, in July 2002. Morteza says he walked to Oxford, but anyone who’s watched Winterbottom’s documentary would know of the torture the refugees have to endure.

Morteza and other refugees lived in sub-human conditions in Pakistan camps, battled the Kurdish mafia, braved sub-zero temperatures in Russia and Ukraine, were held hostage by the Czech underworld, and were in and out of military and police custody in Ukraine, Austria, France and Germany.

“Throughout my life, there were people who surprised me. They helped me without seeing my religion, race or background. Although life took a lot from me, it gave me some unbelievable people. It’s my time to give back in whatever little way I can.”

To escape the army and border police, they would walk and hitchhike after dark, avoiding villages, and resting in the forests and mountains during the day. Even 15 years on, as he looks at back the journey, Morteza remembers every minute, painful detail, pausing between words to retain his composure. He recalls a particularly harrowing time in Ukrainian military custody, where he spent almost five months.

“It was peak winter in Ukraine, it was snowing a lot. We were dumped in a hall without any blankets and just had a layer of clothing on us. Our survival was down to one bottle of water and a meal, if you could call it that, a day. The ‘meal’ we got was half a slice of mouldy bread. We were allowed only one loo break in a day.

“By night, we would end up eating our nails and swallowing our saliva; psychologically it helped get over the hunger. I had become so frail, just skin and bones, I couldn’t even stand.

“The hall had huge windows; when the sun came out, I would just crawl to that end of the hall, and roll back again to the other side at night.”

Having overcome near-death experiences, Morteza made it to Oxford, where the City Council social services took him under their wing. But his joy was short-lived. He got in touch with his uncle back home, who finally broke the tragic news of his family’s fate.

The pain in the aftermath of custodial torture lingered long, but not as long as the pain of realising that he had lost his parents and siblings.

***

During the camps in his clubs, Morteza Ali interacted with many former players who had brief coaching stints. © Morteza Ali

Cricket was not just Morteza’s hobby; it was his escape. It was a way to get over his troubled past; it was an answer to cope with the life in a new country, and an uncertain future. Even before he started his formal education in Oxford, Morteza started playing cricket with an Afghan youngster whom he met at an English class.

“It was the first time I’d seen a hard ball,” he recalls. “I didn’t have any gear. The English kids were really friendly, one of them let me borrow his old cricket gear and shoes. I didn’t even know how to put the pads on, the bat was a bit too heavy for me.

“I would try to hit every ball. Those kids used to laugh at me, because in 2002 there were no T20s in England. They would just ask everyone to play straight, but it took me a while to get used to those proper cricketing shots.”

Back home in Ghazni, Morteza had never been to school. He helped his father, a shepherd who also sold milk. Social services provided him accommodation and even enrolled him in the community school. The first few years were tough, Morteza found it extremely difficult to understand the curriculum, the inability to speak or understand English just compounded his woes.

“In the ‘90s, we had heard a lot about Sachin Tendulkar, but personally, I liked Adam Gilchrist a lot because of his attacking brand of cricket. Back then, I didn’t even know his name.”

It was around this time that Morteza met Roger Mitty, who ran the Cumnor Cricket Club in Oxfordshire. Roger raised Morteza as his foster son, providing extra language classes and tuitions for grammar, and early lessons in cricket. “He never made me feel like I had lost my family,” Morteza reminisces.

Easing into his new life, Morteza juggled ‘A’ levels and cricket with a lot of support from Mitty. He started his career with Mitty’s Cumnor CC and went on to represent Oxford University CC, Oxford CC and London County CC, and West Indian Cavieliers in the Nottinghamshire Premier League.

As a part of Oxford CC, Morteza, who used to bat at No. 6 (he’s an opener now) and bowled medium pace, even featured in a three-day first-class match in 2009, but never got a chance to bat or bowl in the game.

At Cavieliers, Morteza met Saqlain Mushtaq, who has been one of the biggest influences in his evolution as an allrounder. “Earlier, I would just go in to bat or bowl without any plan,” he says. “But after watching him bowl, I realised how to set up batsmen; he treated it like a game of chess. He thinks a lot, he would set up the batmen in the first three balls, he also placed me at short-leg while fielding, which was very scary.”

Steve Waugh was so moved by Morteza Ali’s story that he sent him a signed copy of his autobiography via mail. © Morteza Ali

It also helped that Usman Afzaal, the former England batsman, was never short of batting advice. During the camps in his clubs, Morteza interacted with many former players who had brief coaching stints, including Andy Flower, Gary Kirsten, Rashid Latif, Kabir Khan and Neil Burns, the former Essex and Leicestershire wicketkeeper. But it is an interaction with Steve Waugh that remains special for him.

“He was very tired after a long flight from Australia, but still made it to our camp in Nottinghamshire and gave us batting tips. It was around the same time when his autobiography had released, so he got a few signed copies along and distributed them among the players in the camp.

“By the time it was my turn, all the copies were over. Burns introduced us and told him about my past, Waugh was so moved that he took down my address and promised to send me a signed copy. I had never expected him to remember me, but a few weeks later, I was surprised to find a signed copy of Out of my comfort zone in my mail.”

Although he missed his family and home, Morteza had finally made peace with reality. Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business and Finance from the Oxford Brookes University and cricket kept him busy. Things were finally looking bright after many years.

And then disaster struck.

Morteza was set to be deported following a change in visa rules. Mitty published Morteza’s situation in the Cumnor CC monthly magazine, but without enough funds, there was little hope. Help came from an unlikely quarter. A retired barrister, who used to watch Morteza play at the club daily, came to their rescue. His daughter, Gaenor Bruce, a renowned immigration solicitor from Manchester, took up his case pro bono, and won.

Recession hit the United Kingdom in 2008 and Morteza couldn’t find a job after graduation. He took up odd jobs and started working as a driver. In two years, he had saved enough to visit his uncle back home. However, Afghanistan was still grappling with terrorism threats, and he was advised against the visit.

****

Morteza Ali joined the Hazara Cricket Club as a captain and coach, and since has been promoting cricket in Melbourne’s Afghan community. © Morteza Ali

A few of Morteza’s friends from Afghanistan who had migrated to Australia invited him over for a break. A huge Afghan and Indian migrant population in Melbourne fuelled the weekend community cricket clubs across the city, and Morteza immediately felt at home.

With the employment situation in England still grim, Morteza moved to Melbourne in 2012 and started working as a delivery man with Australia Post. He joined the Hazara Cricket Club as a captain and coach, and since has been promoting cricket in Melbourne’s Afghan community.

Most recently, he led the side to the final of the Melbourne Renegades Champions League – a tournament between six teams of players divided into countries of their origin. Afghanistan ended up losing to India, but Morteza is happy with their efforts.

“I had never expected him (Steve Waugh) to remember me, but a few weeks later, I was surprised to find a signed copy of Out of my comfort zone in my mail.”

“Most of my Aghani friends here are traders or painters, they are really passionate about cricket but never had any formal coaching. They would always end up losing in different competitions.

“We have come a long way from being called the Lagaanteam to being one of most respected amateur cricket clubs in Melbourne,” he gushes. “We practice on Wednesdays and Fridays in the afternoon after work, and matches are held during the weekends. We’ve won tournaments not just in Victoria, but also Shepparton, Sydney and other cities.”

Fifteen years ago, Morteza would never have imagined cricket becoming such a huge part of his life. He has a Level 2 coaching certificate from the UK and is currently in touch with Usman Khan, Hong Kong’s assistant coach, for further certifications in the role.

Despite what he has been through, Morteza says he’s grateful to have had such a great support system. He vows to do his part to help future dreams in cricket and beyond come true within his community.

“Throughout my life, there were people who surprised me. They helped me without seeing my religion, race or background. Although life took a lot from me, it gave me some unbelievable people like Roger Mitty, Neil Burns, Rob Wilson (a former club cricketer in Victoria), Mrs Bruce; without them, I would have been just another refugee, lost in a new country.

“It’s my time to give back in whatever little way I can. I’m trying to do my bit through Hazara CC.”

Morteza has never been to Ghazni since fleeing in 2001. He’s in touch with his extended family back home who, like his friends in Oxford and Melbourne, have coaxed him into penning his inspiring journey. “The autobiography is shaping up well,” he informs.

He could probably take a leaf out of Schuller’s bestseller and call the first chapter Tough times never last.

#Afghanistan Cumnor Cricket Club Morteza Ali Muhammad Hussain Roger Mitty Steve Waugh

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jakobgamertsfelder-blog · 8 years

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The Road To Small Town South Australia ~Definition of Success

Growth tends to be the indicator of success. Population growth, profit growth, sales volume growth. Growth of growths is good. With the presumption that it’s positive growth. That the numbers get bigger.

That’s not always possible though. The numbers can get too big too quickly. A business can grow itself to death if it lacks scalability.

The same thing can happen to any group. A civilisation can grow too big to be supported when circumstances change. We can look to the Aztecs, Mayans, and Romans for that.

With South Australia we have a stagnation of population; a reversal if we had no immigration. Not always a bad thing, stagnation tends to happen with what we consider to be the norm for societies that provide stability and support.

We also have a collapse of industry in South Australia. The steelworks in Whyalla, the car makers, the soft drink bottlers. Industries which compete on the global scale, cannot compete equitably from a base in South Australia. So one of the focuses on how we define our success should ignore global industries that we do not have a competitive advantage in.

The Adelaide Festival shows an arena that South Australia is competitive in. Selling experiences. The Caudo True Grit shows how highly experiences are valued, and that people will travel to rural South Australia for them.

What are the criteria for measuring a goal for rural South Australia?

Personally I think if we start setting out some markers we can start defining the conversation and the goals and methods of achieving them will become more apparent.

For example, rural South Australia should have a 2% population growth rate.

Rural South Australia should create a method of achieving that. In the past South Australia did this by creating very short waiting lists for public housing in rural towns. For example, Whyalla. However there was too heavy a focus on this and the population lacked diversity. Whole streets of single mother families developed in Whyalla.

Whereas in Morgan, the population consists of a fair amount of holiday homes. Which sounds good, but it means that the houses are vacant much of the year, so that there is no person in them, a person who would normally be buying groceries, fuel, hardware supplies and otherwise contributing to the town.

Shipping people out to the country might technically meet the population growth target, but it’s not the best.

Which is where jobs, jobs, jobs comes in. Jobs is a mantra. Not a mantra that I have much belief in, because the focus can become, jobs, at any cost! And then later on the corporation you sacrifice for, moves on to another town that will sacrifice more to them.

Can we create jobs that are particular to the region we are in?

For example in the Riverland; viticulture, fruit and vegetable growing, sheep and chickens; industries that pertain to the area and can add to any new industry that supports these.

Renewables is the banner I wave on this issue. Food, education and energy. Things we need to renew. Rather than things that are one time only deals, such as digging resources out of the ground. Mind you South Australia is huge and we probably have many things still to be dug up.

Renewables provide sustainability, jobs, and a variety of complexities. You don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

So, how are we going to get extra people, and the extra investment in renewables?

For this we need outside help.

The question becomes who in the world would like to send people to rural South Australia to learn about food and energy, and create food and energy?

A country such as India could have the answers. Sharing such cultural similarities as being a former British colony, India also has a burgeoning population and is investing in the challenges of providing for its population, which is also taking India in unexpected directions, such as challenging Monsanto.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-monsanto-idUSKCN10E05C

There are other options, in rural South Australia have cheap land. Many young Australians will never be able to own a place in Sydney or Melbourne, at current prices. The problem though is how to attract them here, apart from the wonderful experience of owning your own place.

But this a tandem discussion to the goal of setting what we consider a successful change for the growth of rural South Australia, but it’s difficult to disentangle one particular part of this discussion because there are so many factors involved in how we got to where we are, and how we get out.

For now, let’s go with;

1. Aim for 2% population growth in rural towns. So for a town of 500 that’s 10 extra people a year. Quite achievable. If we don’t have a goal in this regard, then we won’t achieve it.

Tied in with that growth is a focus on a broad based focus on renewable products. So that the focus isn’t on one town in a council area, but in multiple towns, and across the products that are emphasised in the area of those towns.

#small town south australia

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