There have been calls around the world for both sides to agree to a cease-fire.
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COVID-19 patients may suffer from Diabetes: ICMR
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the largest government body working on medical research in the country, has warned that coronavirus disease may also cause diabetes in some patients.
ICMR head Dr Balaram Bhargava said that the coronavirus infection increases the sugar levels. In such cases, coronavirus patients can also suffer from diabetes.
He added that DRDO’s COVID-19 drug 2-DG is suitable for patients with mild and moderate levels of coronavirus but not suitable for critical patients.
In one month, a COVID-19 patient can spread the infection to 406 people, Dr Bhargava said.
By next month, the country will be able to test 45 lakh people every day, he informed.
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52K Palestinians take refuge in UN-run schools in Gaza: UN report
A UN report said on Tuesday that 52,000 Palestinians took refuge at schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, as a round of probably heaviest fighting between Israel and Gaza since 2014 has lasted nine days, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a press statement that Israeli fighter jets destroyed, either totally or partially, 448 constructions in the Palestinian coastal enclave since May 10, Xinhua reported.
Jens Laerke, a spokesman for OCHA, said in the statement that 132 buildings were completely destroyed and 316 partially destroyed, including six hospitals and nine healthcare centres.
Meanwhile, the government press office in Gaza said Israeli fighter jets carried out at least 1,615 airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in the last nine days, targeting homes, buildings, government establishments and infrastructure.
An Israeli military statement said 60 fighter jets were sent to bomb underground tunnels belonging to Hamas in Gaza while more than 100 missiles were fired in 35 minutes early on Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, militant groups led by Hamas fired over 100 rockets from Gaza at Israeli towns and cities, but 70 of them were intercepted, the statement added.
According to a statement by the health ministry in Gaza, a total of 213 Palestinians, including 61 children and 36 women, were killed and 1,442 others injured in the recent Israeli air attacks on the besieged Palestinian enclave.
IANS
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Amid COVID crisis, ‘SOS’ groups help many patients to breathe in J&K
Amid prevalent situation due to COVID-19 pandemic, the chaos and confusion amidst reports about shortage of oxygen and medicines across Jammu and Kashmir has taken a heavy toll on the patients and their families in the last over one month.
However, the youth in large numbers from almost all the districts of Jammu and Kashmir are out to help the patients in need, especially to those who are tested positive for COVID-19.
The youth have been collecting details about the patients in need through WhatsApp groups and other social media platforms.
‘SOS’, is the most common name preferred by these youth on social media platforms where families, relatives and friends of patients have been posting details to seek help for emergency supplies like Oxygen cylinders, Oxygen concentrators and medicines.
Adnan Fayaz Dar, who hails from Sopore area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, is one among the hundreds of youth who is serving the general public amid the current crisis.
Dar, a journalism student is nowadays busy helping the patients from across Jammu and Kashmir, mostly from the Valley.
He had created a WhatsApp group almost 20 days back with an aim to help the people in need. “Me along with my four to five friends who were in touch with NGOs decided to create a group titled SOS, where patients can contact for assistance,” he said.
“We began with just five members and now, the group comprises 200 members in just 20 days period. I never imagined that it would prove successful. In just 20 days, we have provided assistance to over 50 patients from across the Valley,” he said, adding that there are some doctors in the group too, who despite having busy work schedules, are assisting the people in terms of medical advice.
“We are just collecting the details of needy and genuine people from across the Valley. The details are being forwarded to NGOs who are providing them help within a shortest possible time,” he said.
Besides, the group mates also provide food kits and other related help to the people belonging to the downtrodden section of the society, he added.
Lateef Gabroo, who operates from Srinagar as a volunteer said that he along with his team have helped approximately 500 people in the last one month. “Our team comprises over 50 members and arranges plasma donors, blood donors, ambulances and ration kits to the people in need,” he said.
He said he has started serving people from last year. “I was in Delhi last year wherefrom I provided assistance to many people affected due to the lockdown and COVID-19. I got various contacts in last year’s lockdown. As the lockdown was imposed yet again in Jammu and Kashmir, I started working for people from Srinagar this time and have been assisting the people in need,” he added.
Gabroo said that he and his team have provided help to over 500 people in the last one month. “Our efforts are on to ensure that the people will not suffer. We are trying our level best to provide assistance to the people amid the current crisis,” he said.
Moreover, Twitter and other social media platforms also remain abuzz with the messages related to the patients who are in need of medicines, Oxygen concentrators or other related things.
KNO
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IAS Officer Shahid Iqbal Hospitalized After Minor Heart Attack In Jammu
Srinagar, May 19: Shahid Iqbal Choudhary (IAS) Secretary to Government Tribal Department has suffered a minor heart attack and has been admitted to a hospital in Jammu, officials said on Wednesday.
Shahid, who presenly oversees Covid containment in Jammu, suffered “Myocardial Infarcation” last night and was admitted to Ankur Maitrika Hospital.
Confirming it to GNS, a close relative of Choudhary said that he was ‘unwell and is now stable’.
Hospital authorities told GNS that Shahid, former deputy Commissioner of Srinagar, is presently in ICU and under observation
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Biden, in phone call with Netanyahu, supports Israel’s right to self defence
Washington, May 18: US President Joe Biden, in a telephonic call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, supported Israel’s “right to defend itself” against indiscriminate rocket attacks and encouraged him to make every effort to ensure the protection of innocent civilians, the White House has said.
Biden welcomed efforts to address inter-communal violence and to bring calm to Jerusalem, the White House said in a readout of the call.
During the phone call on Monday, Biden reiterated his firm support for Israel’s “right to defend itself” against indiscriminate rocket attacks, it said.
He encouraged Israel to make every effort to ensure the protection of innocent civilians, it said.
The two leaders discussed progress in Israel’s military operations against Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza, the White House said.
“The President expressed his support for a ceasefire and discussed the US engagement with Egypt and other partners towards that end,” said the readout.
Palestinian militant group Hamas has fired more than 3,000 rockets over Israel during the past seven days, pushing more than half of Israel’s population into shelter houses and Israel has carried out hundreds of devastating retaliatory attacks in Gaza.
More than 200 people have been killed in the recent escalation in the region, including a caregiver from India.
US Secretary of State Tony Blinken, who is travelling right now, also spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and discussed America’s efforts to bring an end to the violence, which has claimed the lives of Israeli and Palestinian civilians, including children, said State Department Spokesperson Ned Price.
“Blinken also expressed deep concern at the inter-communal violence. The two discussed the path forward, and the Secretary noted that the United States would remain engaged with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and other regional stakeholders as part of our diplomacy to ease tensions and put an end to the hostilities,” Price said.
During her daily news conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that over the weekend, Biden spoke with the leaders of both Israel and Palestine.
“And in those calls, he stressed the need for Hamas to cease firing rockets into Israel and affirmed, again, Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorist attacks. As I would note from the reports, there have been more than 3,000 rockets that have been shot from Hamas into Israel over the last several days,” she said.
Biden also expressed his concern that this current period of conflict has tragically claimed the lives of Israeli and Palestinian civilians, including children.
He raised his concern about the safety of journalists, including those who had to leave the building where The Associated Press was based – and reinforced the need to ensure their protection, she said.
The goal of the Biden administration, she said, is to reduce the violence and bring an end to the conflict on the ground.
“There are times, in diplomacy, we’ll need to keep those conversations quieter, where we won’t read out every component of it. But that is our objective, and that is the prism through which every action and every comment is being made,” Psaki added.
Last week, an Israeli airstrike targeted and destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other international media outlets. AP’s president and CEO Gary Pruitt said the agency was “shocked and horrified” at the strike. (PTI)
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‘I drink cow urine every day. That is why I do not have Covid right now’ says Indian ruling party politician
An Indian MP has encouraged citizens to drink cow urine, like she does herself, to protect themselves against Covid-19 and lung infections, despite medical experts urging people not to use alternative treatments.
In a widely circulated video, believed to have been recorded on Monday, Pragya Singh Thakur, an MP from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, extolled the virtues of drinking cow urine.“If we drink the urine of Indian cows, it reduces infection in our lungs,” Thakur said, adding “I drink cow urine every day. That is why I do not have Covid right now.”
The MP, who is a member of the Indian ruling BJP party, reportedly made the statement during a hospital visit in which she oversaw the delivery of 25 oxygen concentrators. She made the statement without a mask despite the prevalence of Covid-19.
Thakur had made headlines in recent weeks for reportedly going missing while her constituents fought a deadly wave of Covid-19.
In an equally bizarre episode earlier in May, BJP lawmaker Surendra Singh also urged people to drink cow urine. He stated that people should mix 50ml of cow urine with cold water and drink it daily to achieve “natural immunity” to the virus.
The lawmaker recorded himself preparing his recipe and drinking it. “People should remember god and do what older generations did to treat such things,” he said, questioning scientific progress against the virus.
Indian doctors have attempted to quash claims that the excrement of Hinduism’s holy animal is an effective alternative treatment for Covid-19. “There is no concrete scientific evidence that cow dung or urine work to boost immunity against Covid-19, it is based entirely on belief,” Dr JA Jayalal, national president at the Indian Medical Association, told Reuters last week.
“There are also health risks involved in smearing or consuming these products – other diseases can spread from the animal to humans,” he added.
Over the last month, India has faced a huge surge in Covid-19 cases. On Monday, authorities said that there were 281,386 cases over the past 24 hours, marking the first time daily infections had dropped 300,000 since April 21.
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PM Modi’s timely approval and shipment of 7 oxygen concentrators to Kashmir a big relief for Covid patients: Altaf Thakur
Says step shows how concerned PM is for lives of Kashmiris, JK hospitals fully geared to fight pandemic now
Srinagar: BJP JK spokesman Altaf Thakur expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendera Modi for immediate approval and shipment of seven hi tech oxygen concentrators to Kashmir.
In a brief statement issued here, Thakur said that sanctioning and shipping seven oxygen concentrators to Kashmir shows how much PM Modi is concerned for the people of Kashmir and how committed he is to fight against the deadly pandemic. Thakur said that the seven branded oxygen concentrators were received by LG’s Advisor Baseer Khan today and will be soon installed in various hospitals for the benefit of people affected with the covid. He said even though there is no shortage of oxygen in Kashmir hospitals, PM Modi’s timely step will help Kashmir to fight the pandemic in more effective way in case situation deteriorates God forbid. Thakur hailed PM Modi’s concern towards Kashmir and termed him a true leader whose vision is helping country fight the pandemic effectively. Thakur said it was with the tremendous support of PM Modi that JKs health care is one of the best in the country today.
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Kashmir an open air prison where people’s thoughts are being monitored: Mehbooba Mufti
Srinagar, May 16: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti while reacting over the arrest of a Kashmir Artist for his pro-Palestine graffiti Sunday said that ‘expressing solidarity with Palestine is no crime.’
In a series of tweets, Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti said that: “People all over the world are protesting against the atrocities committed by Israel on Palestine. But in Kashmir its a punishable offence where an artist is booked under PSA & a preacher is arrested simply for expressing solidarity with Palestinians.”
Pertinently, Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested an artist Mudasir Gul and 20 others during raids for drawing pro-Palestine paintings in Padshahi Bagh area of Srinagar city.
Mehbooba Mufti further wrote that: “Kashmir is an open air prison where people’s thoughts are being monitored & they are punished for it. There is no outlet left to express one’s opinion & this is a deliberate attempt to push Kashmiris to the wall.”
She said: “PSA is GOI’s go to method for every problem. Latest example being Ashraf Sehrai’s sons who lost their father in custody due to inadequate medical care & have been arrested under PSA. In rest of India dead are being ill-treated but in Kashmir its the living who are made to suffer,” she tweeted. (KNT)
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HoD Electronics at KU, Prof G M Bhat dies of COVID-19
Srinagar, May 16: Head of Department (HoD) of Department of Electronics at University of Kashmir, Professor Ghulam Mohiudin Bhat on Sunday has died due to COVID-19, official sources said.
KU registar, Dr Nisar Ahmad Mir confirmed to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that Prof G M Bhat who was tested positive for COVID-19 and was being treated at JLNM hospital in Rainawari area of Srinagar.
The registrar said that the deceased HoD hails from Safapora and lost his battle against COVID-19 —(KNO)