Iraq Interior Ministry: 82 killed in Baghdad hospital fire
Baghdad: Iraq's Interior Ministry said Sunday that 82 people died and 110 were injured in a catastrophic fire that broke out in a Baghdad hospital.
Among the dead were at least 28 patients on ventilators battling severe symptoms of the coronavirus, tweeted Ali al-Bayati, a spokesman of the country's independent Human Rights Commission.
The commission is a semi-official body.
Negligence on the part of hospital authorities has been blamed for the fire, which initial reports suggest was caused when an oxygen cylinder exploded in an intensive care ward at he Ibn al-Khatib hospital.
The hospital cares for patients with severe symptoms of the coronavirus. The semi-official Independent High Commission for Human Rights reported that at least 28 of the dead were on ventilators.
Iraq's prime minister fired key hospital officials Sunday hours after the fire broke out. (AP)
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Karnataka village switches off TVs, mobiles for two hours daily to help students study
Belagavi: Every evening at 7 pm, a siren rings out in Halaga, a village near Belagavi, signalling residents to switch off all screens including televisions, mobile phones, laptops and tablets for the next two hours.
The community has voluntarily adopted this “digital-free time” to help students focus on studies and to encourage families to spend more time talking to each other. The 'digital detox' initiative, 'No TV, no mobile, just study and conversation', is said to be the first such to be adopted by a Karnataka village, Deccan Herald reported on Monday.
According to the report, Halaga, which has a population of about 12,000 and is located close to the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, launched the initiative on December 17. A siren installed at the gram panchayat office marks the start of the no-screen period at 7 pm, and another siren at 9 pm signals its end.
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Gram panchayat authorities are reaching out to those residents who are yet to comply and are urging them to stay away from screen during the two hours.
Authorities are also visiting households that have not fully adopted the practice and are encouraging parents to follow the routine strictly. Teachers and panchayat members plan to continue meeting families to ensure more participation.
The Halaga village exercise is said to be inspired by a similar experiment in Agran Dhulgaon near Sangli in Maharashtra which had a positive response on students' learning habits.
