A less than one-year-old baby boy was found miraculously alive on Monday, hungry and lying down with his dead mother, in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Maharashtra. The mother had reportedly been dead for two days as no one reached out.
29-year-old Sarawasti Rajesh Kumar was suspected to have died on Saturday, which means the baby had been not fed since then.
“The baby was lying next to her silently… he was not crying,” said an official investigating the case. Due to the alarming situation of COVID-19 in India, the neighbours were hesitant to come near the body or even hold the baby.
Police constables, Sushila Gabhale and Rekha Waze, who arrived at the scene then fed him.
“The child had a little fever when we showed him to the doctor. He told us to feed him well, the rest is fine” said their colleague Rekha. They also took him to hospital where he tested negative for COVID-19.
As per details, the woman was living with her husband, who had gone to their native place in Uttar Pradesh, and their child. The family lived on rent while the owners of the house lived at a distance. Since the landlords were COVID positive, they did not check on Kumar until a stench started emanating from the room. Authorities immediately alerted the husband of his wife’s demise.
While it is not clear how the woman died, Police Inspector Prakash Jadhav of Dighi told the Indian Express that they “found some pills next to her body.”
“We suspect the woman committed suicide by consuming the pills. Her body has been sent for post-mortem to YCM Hospital. The viscera has been preserved…the cause of death is not known so far,” said the official.
The novel coronavirus is morphing into a tougher variant over time, experts have warned. According to them, the mutations identified in the virus are worrisome, and as per the finds of the scientists, the virus will get more contagious and threatening.
Experts are hesitant about making any predictions about when the pandemic will end and most scientists have accepted the truth that the virus will likely stay forever.
There are some majors reasons why the virus will stay and not go anywhere. First, there are already four human coronaviruses endemic in our population. It means that they will circulate perpetually.
“It’s safe to say we’re not going to eradicate it,” said Dr Becky Smith, an infectious disease specialist at Duke Health. “Too many people in the world have it. It’s too efficient at transmitting.”
Secondly, the virus is zoonotic; it can jump from animal to humans or vice versa. Moreover, the SARS-CoV-2 has also emerged. So, even if we manage to eradicate SARS-CoV-2; the human and animals would likely produce a deadlier variant.
Scientists have also predicted that the SARS-CoV-2 would turn into endemic; the intensity will reduce to the only flue and common cold. It’s a sign of hope, but it would likely happen over a period of five to ten years.
Vaccination will not be available to everyone said Mike Osterholm, a leading infectious disease expert, adding it would be nearly impossible to make a yearly coronavirus vaccine available to every person on Earth.
“It is going to be with us forever,” said Osterholm, who directs of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said of the virus. “It is something we can’t eradicate from humans.”
As far as the new variants are concerned, the new South African (carrying B.1.351) virus shows resistance to Moderna’s vaccine. The new variant carries ten mutations in the virus’ spike protein, and it has forced vaccine makers to change their strategies. The P.1 variant of Brazil also have the same potency.
Earlier, companies that produced Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Novavax have also raised concerns that vaccines won’t work well against B.1.351 or other variants with similar mutations.
It is also possible that more powerful variants could drown out old versions of the virus, making the pandemic harder to combat. Virus experts in the US are already predicting that the fast-spreading B.1.1.7 variant, first discovered in the UK, will become the dominant variant in America by this May.
But it’s impossible to predict what changes the virus might undergo next, or what they’ll mean for us because not all mutations make viruses more dangerous.
With the government announcing that all exams are cancelled until June 15, students are now demanding School Assessed Grades. In this regard, Jibran Nasir who has been a vocal advocate for the student throughout shared a screenshot of an email written to students by the CEO of Cedar College Karachi to inform them that schools in the city are uniting for a joint effort to get School Assessed Grades option for students.
“In a situation that is evolving rapidly, I am happy to report that in the meeting that we had with school leaders of O’ and A’ Level schools from across Karachi, we reached a unanimous decision to write Cambridge International as one unified block requesting that they give our students the option to op for school/teacher assesses grades for the June 2021 exam series,” read the email.
The email further stated, “We hope that the fact that we are all speaking with one voice, and have one message will have a greater impact on Cambridge International with respect to allowing Pakistani students the option of taking school assessed grades.”
“May this become a nationwide effort. Schools are filling shoes of [the] government as Education Minister remains absent,” wrote Jibran in the caption.
Jibran Nasir also shared names of other private schools who are in favour of School Assesses Grades and requested other schools to do the same.
Fed Edu Minister opposes #SchoolAssessedGrades but Aitchison, Beacon House, City School, LGS, Roots Ivy, Roots Millenium, Learning Alliance, Mama Parsi, Nixor, LACAS, SICAS, Bloomfield Hall, IIUI, Cedar College, Bay View, Headstart etc all support #SAGs. #GetUsSAGsOrResignShafqat
Students have been demanding Teacher and School Assessed Grades with the hashtags #ShafqatDestroysOurCareer and #ResignShafqatMahmood trending on social media. They argue that their study schedules have been disrupted because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
After Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood announced on Tuesday that no examinations will take place in the country until June 15 and that O’ and A’ Level exams will now take place in the October-November cycle, students are now demanding Teacher and School Assessed Grades with the hashtags #ShafqatDestroysOurCareer and #ResignShafqatMahmood trending on social media.
Students are arguing that their study schedules have been disrupted because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and are demanding Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs) and School Assessed Grades (SAGs). On the other hand, some are even proposing other ways of promoting the students without exams.
Postponing exams can't be only contingency plan in face of an unpredictable pandemic giving us uncertain timelines. Govt must use this time to immediately develop local mechanism to evaluate #Matric#Inter students through School Assessed Grades if situation remains same in June.
How can a Fed Min of Education be helpless before a Pvt Examination Board like @CambridgeInt which does business in Pakistan & earns millions of pounds every year in fee. Fight our case @Shafqat_Mahmood. Get the deadline changed, get Cambridge to offer #SAGs to Pakistan or Resign
@Shafqat_Mahmood clearly messed up with what he did. This is a complete failure of the Pakistani Education system. Why weren't SAGs awarded to Cambridge. This year there is enough evidence for board students too as they also expected SAGs.#ShafqatDestroysOurCareer
— Barrister Owais Rashid (@cyber_cavalry) April 28, 2021
Pakistan is currently experiencing a deadly third wave of COVID-19 with fears of an India-like situation. According to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), 5292 cases and 201 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has sought input of provincial governments for a two-week lockdown in 20 cities.
Pakistan’s top monitoring body wrote letters to the provincial authorities where the coronavirus situation is extremely bad and the restrictions imposed by the authorities have failed to stem the spread.
Within the past 24 hours, Pakistan has recorded its highest tally of both single day deaths and infections, 201 and 5,292, respectively.
The letter titled ‘Input / Feedback — City Wise Lockdown’ came after a meeting of the body on Apr 27.
In the letter, the authorities directed that a two-week city-wise lockdown in affected districts was cautiously planned and provinces need to carry out necessary planning at the earliest.
The most-affected cities where the lockdown could be imposed include Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad, Peshawar, Dir Lower, Mardan, Nowshera, Malakand, Charsadda, Swat, Swabi, Muzaffarabad, Sudhnuti, Poonch and Bagh.
The letter also comes amid warnings from the government in case people continue to flout COVID-19 SOPs and the third wave situation continues to worsen.
Saudi Arabia is planning to add two Hindu scriptures Ramayana and Mahabharata to the national school curriculum.
As per details, the objective is to revamp the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) image according to Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman’s (MBS) Vision 2030.
Crown prince MBS wants to make Saudi Arabia culturally and religiously more dynamic and tolerant to fit in the global economy and to reduce its dependency on oil. It is an imperative initiative that is much needed to bring foreign investment to Saudi Arabia.
The report further stated that other cultural elements like yoga and Ayurveda will also be included in the school curriculum.
Besides literature from Hinduism, the curriculum will now involve the history and culture of other countries as well. The government has taken majors steps to overhaul the orthodoxy and bring cultural innovation after MBS took control in KSA.
A Saudi yogi, Nouf Almarwaai even tweeted screenshots of her son’s social studies exam with questions about Hinduism, Buddhism, and Hindu epics the Ramayana and Mahabharata. She is also dubbed Saudi’s first Yogiacharya and has even been awarded a Padma Shri by India.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has announced that Pakistan will commence COVID-19 vaccination registrations for ages 40-49 from April 27.
The minister also said that the National Command and Operations Centre has decided to start walk-in vaccinations for all registered citizens aged 50 and above.
“In today’s NCOC meeting decided to open up registration of 40 plus age citizens starting tomorrow. Also, decision taken to allow walk-in vaccination of all registered citizens of 50 plus age group,” said Umar, urging all eligible persons to register for the vaccine.
In today's NCOC meeting decided to open up registration of 40 plus age citizens starting tomorrow. Also decision taken to allow walk in vaccination of all registered citizens of 50 plus age group. If you are 40 years or older please register and encourage others to register
Pakistan is currently vaccinating citizens who are 50 plus and healthcare workers with Chinese vaccines including Sinopharm. According to the NCOC, over 1.8 million people have been vaccinated in the country so far.
Meanwhile, more than one billion doses have been administered worldwide, according to a tally by AFP. More than half, or 58 percent, have been given in three countries: the United States with 225.6 million doses, China with 216.1 million doses and India with 138.4 million.
In terms of the proportion of the population who have been vaccinated, Israel is in the lead, with nearly six out of every 10 Israelis fully inoculated. That is followed by the United Arab Emirates with more than 51 percent of the population has received at least one jab, Britain with 49 percent, the US with 42 percent, Chile with 41 percent, Bahrain with 38 percent and Uruguay with 32 percent.
Pakistan is currently battling against the third wave of COVID-19 with a total of 800,452 cases. The country has reported 4,825 cases and 70 deaths in the last 24 hours.
A woman in Karachi availed a Ramzan offer and bought 208 burgers using 26 bank cards from a well-known international food chain.
As per details, the international food chain had introduced a special Ramzan offer for Karachi customers having a certain bank’s card. The deal offered four burgers for Rs550, and the deal can be availed twice within 24 hours for each debit/credit card.
When the woman got to know about the offer, she rushed to the franchise’s outlet located on Khayaban-e-Shahbaz with 26 bank cards.
Talking to the media, the food chain manager said: “We had no choice but to entertain the lady’s request because the company had introduced the deal.”
“What’s more interesting, is that she either remembered the PIN codes of all the cards or must have had them saved on her phone because not one code was wrong,” he added.
The manager said that the lady was handed a bill of Rs28,600 and walked away with a whopping 208 burgers.
Managing Trustee of Edhi Foundation Faisal Edhi, in a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has offered help to manage the deadly second wave of coronavirus in India.
“We, at the Edhi Foundation, have been closely following the current impact that the COVID-19 crisis has had on the people of India,” read the letter. “We are very sorry to hear about the exceptionally heavy impact that the pandemic has had on your country, where a tremendous number of people are suffering immensely.”
Faisal further wrote: “As a neighbouring friend, we sympathise with you greatly and during this strenuous time, we would like to extends our help in the form of a fleet of 50 ambulances along with our services to assist you in addressing, and further circumventing the health conditions.”
“We will arrange all the necessary supplies that our team needs to assist the people of India,” added the letter further.
“I, Faisal Edhi, Managing Trustee of the Edhi Foundation, am personally offering to lead and manage the humanitarian team from my organisation,” said Faisal.
He continued: “Importantly, we are not requesting any other assistance from you, as we are providing the fuel, food, and other necessary amenities that our team will require.”
“Our team consists of emergency medical technicians, office staff, drivers, and supporting staff,” stated Faisal further. “In order to implement our proposed service, we only request your permission to enter India as well as any necessary guidance from the local administration and police department.”
“We look forward to assisting you in managing the current humanitarian crises, and hope only to provide our help in whatever way that we can, for the benefit of the people of India,” he concluded.
On Thursday, India recorded theworld’s highest daily tally of 314,835 COVID-19 infections in a single day and hospitals in India are running out of medical oxygen. As per the Indian media news outlet, In the first wave of Covid-19, the demand for medical oxygen had increased from 700 metric tonnes per day to 2,800 metric tonnes per day. However, in the past few days, the demand has reached nearly 5,000 metric tonnes per day.
Dates are an essential part of the aftar spread in every Muslim household across the globe during the month of Ramzan. Opening your fast with a date is considered Sunnah and the Quran mentions the word 23 times which is why dry fruit holds an important place in the Muslim world. Apart from religious reasons, have you ever thought about why millions of people break their fast with a khajoor and how many health benefits it has?
To understand more about this little goodness, The Current spoke to Lahore-based dietician and clinical nutritionist, Maria Nadeem Khan.
Nutritional facts
“Two dates are enough for fulfilling your nutritional needs,” said Maria, adding: “One date is almost 7 grams, and contains 20 calories, the same number of calories as one tablespoon of sugar. Hence you should be careful while consuming these and not over indulge.”
“A date contains a number of different vitamins, including vitamin B1, vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, folate (folic acid) which are essential for the body,” said Khan.
Good for hair
Dates also contain pantothenic acid which is very good for the hair.
Helps to reduce blood pressure levels
People with high blood pressure should incorporate dates in their daily diet, said Maria, explaining that fruit contains potassium which helps in lowering the blood pressure level.
“Dates also contain a good amount of fibre, which helps people facing constipation issues,” she added.
Can be used as a replacement for white sugar
Talking about the best way to have dates, Maria said: “Though you can consume a date any way you want, you can also add it to a smoothie, in your oatmeal or even use it a natural sweetener, instead of using white sugar. Dates are a natural sweetener and can be used in many foods.”
She also said that dates are very good for people whose sugar levels drops frequently.
Who would have thought but dates also help in weight loss.
“Dates help speed up metabolism and when our metabolism speeds up it helps in losing weight,” said Maria, adding that dates also help flush out toxins from the body. This detoxication of the body helps aid weight loss.
Reduces the risk of cancer
“Polyphenols in dates helps to reduce the risk of cancer,” said Maria.
Help you cope up with stress
Dates contain Vitamin B6 that can improve the performance of the brainby helping the body make serotonin and norepinephrine. Serotonin (a compound present in blood platelets) regulates mood and norepinephrine (an organic chemical that functions in the brain) helps your body deal with stress.
Research has shown that low levels of Vitamin B6 are linked to depression. When your brain is clear from stress, and in a good mood, then it is sharp and ready to learn.
Which type of date should you take?
Given that there are so many varieties of dates available in the market, we asked Maria which dates offer the most benefit to our bodies.
“You can have any kind of dates,” said Maria. “But Ajwa is the best kind of date as it contains calcium and phosphorus which helps make our teeth and bones stronger.”
Though dates are readily available in the market, we highly recommend dates from Dates Arabia, especially their Ajwa ones. Dates Arabia sources their products directly from Saudi Arabia and delivers fresh all over the country. They are also offering Ramzan deals to celebrate the holy month.
