Six In The Morning Friday 30 April 2021

 

Why are states paying a different price for Covid vaccines, SC asks Centre

A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud also asked how the Centre and states are going to ensure vaccine registration of illiterate people. "What happens to the marginalised and SC/ST population? Should they be left to the mercy of private hospitals?" it asked.

The Supreme Court Friday asked the Centre to consider the National Immunisation Programme for inoculating all citizens against the novel coronavirus free of cost, as the poor may not be able to pay for the vaccine.

A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud asked how the Centre and states are going to ensure vaccine registration of illiterate people. “What happens to the marginalised and SC/ST population? Should they be left to the mercy of private hospitals?” it asked.

The court also asked the Centre why there were different prices for vaccines proposed by manufacturers — Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech — for the Centre and states. While the Centre is required to spend Rs 150 per dose of vaccine, the states will have to spend Rs 300 and Rs 400 for SII’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, respectively.

Antarctic ‘doomsday glacier’ may be melting faster than was thought

Study finds more relatively warm water is reaching Thwaites glacier than was previously understood

Matthew Taylor

Fri 30 Apr 2021 11.40 BST

An Antarctic glacier larger than the UK is at risk of breaking up after scientists discovered more warm water flowing underneath it than previously thought.

The fate of Thwaites – nicknamed the doomsday glacier – and the massive west Antarctic ice sheet it supports are the biggest unknown factors in future global sea level rise.

Over the past few years, teams of scientists have been crisscrossing the remote and inaccessible region on Antarctica’s western edge to try to understand how fast the ice is melting and what the consequences for the rest of the world might be.

Oktoberfest in the desert? Dubai eyes German festival

With the pandemic putting plans for this year's Oktoberfest in Munich in peril, an idea leaked for a huge alternative festival in Dubai. The event boasts the world's largest bar and a party that will run through March.

Festivalgoers looking to get their fix of pretzels, beer, dirndls and lederhosen may be turning at the United Arab Emirates instead of Germany this year.

A version of Oktoberfest is being planned for Dubai this fall, German media reported on Thursday.

The as-yet-to-be-confirmed event vows months of festivities that will take place at the same time the metropolis is set to host the World Expo, which was postponed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Brazil passes 400,000 Covid-19 deaths as vaccine rollout stalls

Brazil on Thursday became the second country to pass 400,000 COVID-19 deaths after the United States, and experts warned the daily toll could remain high for several months due to slow vaccinations and loosening social restrictions.

Brazil on Thursday registered 3,001 new COVID-19 deaths, taking its total since the pandemic began to 401,186 fatalities, the Health Ministry said.

A brutal surge of coronavirus infections this year has pushed hospitals around the country to the brink of their capacities and led to 100,000 deaths in just over a month.

Al Qaeda promises 'war on all fronts' against America as Biden pulls out of Afghanistan

Exclusive by Nic Robertson and Saleem Mehsud, CNN

Updated 1444 GMT (2244 HKT) April 30, 2021

This weekend marks the 10th anniversary since Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, was killed by US special-operations forces, Seal Team 6, inside his high-walled compound in the Pakistani military college city of Abbottabad.

His name and that of his terrorist network, al Qaeda, came to define an era of US reaction and retribution dwarfing any previous counter-terrorism policy.

America's "war on terror" is about to enter a new phase as President Joe Biden prepares to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of 9/11, but now al Qaeda claims its war with America is far from over.

Israel crush: Netanyahu vows to investigate 'terrible disaster'

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to investigate a crush at a crowded religious festival that left at least 45 people dead.

Visiting the scene near Mount Meron, he said it was one of the worst disasters the country had known and an inquiry would ensure it did not happen again.

Some 150 people were also injured at the all-night Lag B'Omer festival.

It seems a crush began when some people leaving the Orthodox Jewish event slipped in an overcrowded passageway.