Shanghai reports first deaths due to COVID-19
Beijing(PTI): China on Monday reported first fatalities in Shanghai due to the ongoing COVID-19 surge in the city where the Omicron variant continues to paralyse the country's business hub of 26 million people.
Three new deaths from COVID-19 were reported on Sunday in Shanghai, China's National Health Commission reported on Monday.
Three unvaccinated residents - all elderly, aged from 89 to 91 years, with underlying ailments - died, out of 372,000 infected cases since March 1, according to data released on Monday, the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported.
According to its report, the mainland on Sunday reported 2,723 locally-transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 2,417 were in Shanghai.
Shanghai also reported 19,831 locally-transmitted asymptomatic infections of the novel coronavirus Sunday, out of a total of 20,639 local asymptomatic carriers newly identified on the mainland, the Commission report said.
Apart from Shanghai, 15 other provincial-level regions on the mainland saw new local COVID-19 cases, including 166 in the north-eastern province of Jilin, it said.
A total of 1,637 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery on the Chinese mainland on Sunday, said the daily report.
That brought the mainland's total number of COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals after recovery to 151,407 as of Sunday.
Over the past day, 33,882 close contacts were released from medical observation on the mainland, the report said.
Three new deaths from COVID-19 were reported on Sunday in Shanghai, according to the report.
The first deaths have been reported as local authorities embarked on a plan to gradually restore production and business activity in China's commercial centre after more than two weeks of lockdown.
On Sunday, Shanghai local government issued the first edition of epidemic prevention guidelines for the city's industrial enterprises to resume production.
The purpose of the guidelines is to coordinate epidemic control efforts and social economic development.
Released by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, the guidelines stipulated that all district governments and authorities at different levels should actively support enterprises to resume operations and guide their epidemic prevention work using a case-by-case approach, state-run Global Times reported.
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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
