NEW DELHI: India is considering plans to seal off coronavirus hotspots in Delhi, Mumbai and parts of the south while easing curbs elsewhere as a way out of a three-week lockdown that has caused deep economic distress, officials said on Wednesday.
The sweeping lockdown of India’s 1.3 billion people to prevent an epidemic of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, ends on April 14 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to take a decision this week on whether to extend it.
Scenes of poor migrant workers and their families walking long distances on empty highways to their homes in the countryside have increased the pressure on Modi to re-open parts of Asia’s third largest economy.
More than 80 percent of the positive cases of the coronavirus have been traced to 62 districts — less than 10 percent of India’s landmass — according to government data.
These are concentrated in the western state of Maharashtra, home to financial capital Mumbai, Delhi and the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Kerala.
Many parts of the country have not reported a single case.
Such a skewed geographical spread strengthens the case for a more targeted approach under which the affected area and its neighboring district will be cordoned off, health officials said.
“To manage coronavirus, we are working on a cluster containment strategy,” said Health Ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal, leading the effort to tackle the outbreak.
He said such measures were already in place in east Delhi, Agra and in the textile town of Bhilwara in western Rajasthan state which has now become a test case for a more targeted fight against the disease.
Under the “Bhilwara model,” which was adopted last month soon after about 30 people tested positive in the first big wave of infections, the town and its surrounding villages were tightly sealed with a virtual curfew in place.
People were not allowed even to step out of their homes to get essential stocks or medicines, instead they were asked to call helpline numbers for delivery of staples at their homes.
“It is a lockdown, within a lockdown,” said district information officer Gouri Kant.
So far, India has had 5,194 people infected with coronavirus of whom 149 have died, government data showed on Wednesday.
The small numbers, in comparison to large countries such as the United States, Italy and China have prompted questions from Modi’s critics about whether India has gone too far in shutting down its economy, throwing millions of those who depend on pay by the day out of work and onto the brink of poverty.
A senior government official, aware of internal discussions on the lockdown, said parts of the country that had not reported a single case of the coronavirus and where people were not in quarantine could lift the curbs.
“There are proposals that are on the table, if there is a partial lifting it will be done on the basis of safety assessment,” the official said.
But it was unlikely that schools, colleges, rail travel and religious gatherings would be allowed anywhere in the country, the official said.
“If the lockdown has to be eased, it should be done in a graded manner in areas that are not hotspots. The hotspots should remain cordoned off,” Dr. S K Sarin, who leads the Delhi government’s panel on COVID-19, said.
India considers narrowing lockdown to coronavirus hotspots
https://arab.news/62pnt
India considers narrowing lockdown to coronavirus hotspots
- Sweeping lockdown of India’s 1.3 billion people to prevent an epidemic of COVID-19 ends on April 14
- ‘To manage coronavirus, we are working on a cluster containment strategy’
Melania Trump brings steely fashion game back to Washington
- American first ladies don’t get much of a voice — but their sartorial choices are broadcast to the world and scrutinized for subtext and statements
WASHINGTON: Where in the world is Melania Trump? Back in Washington in a sharply tailored outfit that exudes international woman of mystery as her husband once again becomes president of the United States.
Wearing a long navy coat and matching wide-brimmed hat — which shielded her eyes in most photos and hindered her commander-in-chief husband’s attempts to give her a peck before his swearing-in — Melania’s fit drew snark on social media and a flurry of comparisons to a 1980s video game character.
“Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?” quipped the Internet, referring to the franchise that spun off into a popular 1990s geography game show for kids, and featured a criminal mastermind dressed in a long, carmine trench coat and eye-obscuring fedora.
Melania Trump’s coat and skirt were silk wool Adam Lippes, an independent American designer based in New York, an ensemble paired with an ivory blouse tightly wrapped at the Slovenian-born former model’s neck.
“The tradition of the presidential inauguration embodies the beauty of American democracy and today we had the honor to dress our first lady, Mrs. Melania Trump,” said Lippes in a statement that emphasized American manufacturing over political ideology.
“Mrs. Trump’s outfit was created by some of America’s finest craftsmen and I take great pride in showing such work to the world.”
The hat was by New York milliner Eric Javits.
“She cut the figure of a mafia widow or high-ranking member of an obscure religious order, and a bit of ‘My Fair Lady,’ wrote Rachel Tashjian, style critic for The Washington Post.
American first ladies don’t get much of a voice — but their sartorial choices are broadcast to the world and scrutinized for subtext and statements.
The late Rosalynn Carter, for example, drew strong reactions by wearing a dress she had already worn — gasp! — when her husband Jimmy was inaugurated in 1977.
The point was to show empathy for the economic struggles of Americans — but sometimes what the people really want is aspirational glamor.
In recent years first ladies have routinely turned to independent designers for inaugural events: in 2021, Jill Biden wore a sparkling blue coat-and-dress combo by Markarian, a small brand in New York.
Michelle Obama made waves in 2009 in a lemon-colored outfit by Isabel Toledo, wearing Thom Browne at her husband’s second swearing-in. She wore gowns by Jason Wu to both series of inaugural balls.
Melania Trump, for her part, channeled Jackie Kennedy to kick off her first turn in the White House, wearing Ralph Lauren — a heritage-brand favorite on both sides of the political aisle — to the daytime events in 2017.
She swapped her powder-blue cashmere dress and matching asymmetrical bolero jacket with opera gloves for a silk crepe gown by Herve Pierre that year, both looks that signaled a sense of buoyancy as she began her new role as a political wife.
Her shadowy-chic 2025 look marks a sharp departure as she enters tenure two.
“For her second round as first lady, the fashion game — the tool she brandishes most often and most forcefully, even if the public sometimes struggles to divine her sartorial messages — is likely to be one of steely, precise armor, of clothes with brash and exacting tailoring,” wrote the Post’s Tashjian.
“For the past year, she has worn a wardrobe of mostly black, but this does not seem intended to make her disappear into the background.”
UK to hold inquiry after teenager admits murdering three girls in Southport
- Despite finding Al-Qaeda manual, police had said the incident was not being treated as terrorism-related, and his motive remains unknown
- In the wake of the murders, large disturbances broke out in Southport after false reports spread on social media that the suspect was a radical migrant
LONDON/LIVERPOOL: A British teenager unexpectedly pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event last July, while the government said it would hold an inquiry into the atrocity which was followed by nationwide rioting.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, surprised the judge, prosecutors and police by admitting he had carried out the killings in the northern English town of Southport, making the trial that was about to start at Liverpool Crown Court unnecessary.
He also pleaded guilty to 10 charges of attempted murder relating to the attack, as well as to producing the deadly poison ricin and possessing an Al-Qaeda training manual.
Hours later, the government announced there would be a public inquiry, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying it was “a moment of trauma for the nation when there are grave questions to answer as to how the state failed in its ultimate duty to protect these young girls.”
Rudakubana had previously been referred to Prevent, a counter-radicalization scheme, three times, but no action had been taken and he had also been in contact with the police, the courts, and mental health services, the government said.
“It is clear that this was a young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence,” said Ursula Doyle from the Crown Prosecution Service. “He has shown no signs of remorse.”
Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the incident, initially refused to speak when asked to confirm his name, as he had at all previous hearings, which meant that “not guilty” pleas had been entered on his behalf in December.
But after consulting with his lawyer, he admitted murdering Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, who were at the summer vacation event.
Doyle said he had carried out a “meticulously planned rampage” as innocent children enjoyed a carefree dance workshop and made friendship bracelets.
Judge Julian Goose said he would sentence Rudakubana on Thursday and that a life sentence was inevitable.
Anti-immigrant riots sparked across Britain
Rudakubana, who was born in Britain, was arrested shortly after the attack in the quiet seaside town north of Liverpool. Despite finding the Al-Qaeda manual, police had said the incident was not being treated as terrorism-related, and his motive remains unknown.
In the wake of the murders, large disturbances broke out in Southport after false reports spread on social media that the suspect was a radical migrant.
The unrest spread across Britain with attacks on mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers. Starmer blamed far-right thuggery and more than 1,500 people were arrested.
The Guardian newspaper reported that Rudakubana, the son of devout Christians who had moved to Britain from Rwanda, had been referred to Prevent over concerns that he was looking at online material about US school massacres and past terrorist attacks. But he was not judged to be a terrorism risk, the paper said.
The interior minister Yvette Cooper said an inquiry was needed so families of the victims “can get answers about how this terrible attack could take place and about why this happened to their children.”
Trump says to declare national emergency, use military at Mexico border
- Donald Trump: ‘First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border’
- Trump: ‘I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country’
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump said Monday that he will issue a raft of executive orders aimed at reshaping how the United States deals with citizenship and immigration.
The 47th president will set to work almost immediately with a series of presidential decrees intended to drastically reduce the number of migrants entering the country.
“First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border,” Trump said minutes after his inauguration.
“All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.
“I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country,” he said.
Trump, who campaigned on a platform of clamping down on migration and whose policies are popular with people who fret over changing demographics, also intends to put an end to the centuries-old practice of granting citizenship automatically to anyone born in the United States.
“We’re going to end asylum,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told reporters, and create “an immediate removal process without possibility of asylum. We are then going to end birthright citizenship.”
The notion of birthright citizenship is enshrined in the US Constitution, which grants anyone born on US soil the right to an American passport.
Kelly said the actions Trump takes would “clarify” the 14th Amendment — the clause that addresses birthright citizenship.
“Federal government will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States,” she said.
The first effects of Trump’s hard-line stance on immigration became apparent minutes after Trump’s inauguration when an app unveiled under president Joe Biden to help process migrants went offline.
“Effective January 20, 2025, the functionalities of CBP One that previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available, and existing appointments have been canceled,” said a notice on the landing page.
US media reported 30,000 people had appointments scheduled.
Kelly said the administration would also reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy that prevailed under the last Trump administration.
Under that rule, people who apply to enter the United States at the Mexican border were not allowed to enter the country until their application had been decided.
Kelly said Trump would seek to use the death penalty against non-citizens who commit capital crimes, such as murder.
“This is about national security. This is about public safety, and this is about the victims of some of the most violent, abusive criminals we’ve seen enter our country in our lifetime, and it ends today,” she said.
Many of Trump’s executive actions taken during his first term were rescinded under Biden, including one using so-called Title 42, which was implemented during the Covid pandemic preventing almost all entry to the country on public health grounds.
The changes under Biden led to an influx of people crossing into the United States and images of thousands of people packing the border area.
Trump frequently invoked dark imagery about how illegal migration was “poisoning the blood” of the nation, words that were seized upon by opponents as reminiscent of Nazi Germany.
While US presidents enjoy a range of powers, they are not unlimited. Analysts say any effort to alter birthright citizenship will be fraught.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said the 14th Amendment was “crystal clear” in granting citizenship to anyone born in the United States with the exception of children of foreign diplomats.
“We have had birthright citizenship for centuries, and a president cannot take it away with an executive order,” he told AFP. “We expect rapid court challenges.”
Reichlin-Malik said all sides of the immigration debate recognized that the laws needed reform, but presidential orders were unlikely to achieve lasting change.
Cris Ramon, immigration senior policy adviser at civil rights group UnidosUS, said the administration was “using a ‘throw spaghetti at the wall’ approach.”
“We don’t care whether this is legal or not,” he said of the apparent attitude. “We’re just simply going to do it and see if it survives the courts.”
Trump returns to power after unprecedented comeback
- Four years ago, Trump was voted out of White House during an economic collapse caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
- But he never lost his grip on the Republican Party and was undeterred by criminal cases and two assassination attempts
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, was sworn in as the 47th president Monday, taking charge as Republicans assume unified control of Washington and set out to reshape the country’s institutions.
Trump will act swiftly after the ceremony, with executive orders already prepared for his signature to clamp down on border crossings, increase fossil fuel development and end diversity and inclusion programs across the federal government.
He plans to declare the beginning of “a thrilling new era of national success” as “a tide of change is sweeping the country,” according to excerpts of his inaugural address.
The executive orders are the first step in what Trump will call “the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense.”
Frigid weather is rewriting the pageantry of the day. Trump’s swearing-in was moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda — the first time that has happened in 40 years — and the inaugural parade was replaced by an event at a downtown arena. Throngs of Trump supporters who descended on the city to watch the inaugural ceremony on the West Front of the Capitol from the National Mall will be left to find somewhere else to view the festivities.
“We needed a change. The country was going in the wrong direction in so many ways, economically, geopolitically, so many social issues at home,” said Joe Morse, 56, of New Jersey, who got in line with his sons at 11 p.m. Sunday and secured a spot on the main floor at Capitol One Arena to watch a livestream of the inauguration.
A cadre of billionaires and tech titans — including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai — were given prominent positions in the Capitol Rotunda, mingling with Trump’s incoming team before the ceremony began. Also there was Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who is expected to lead an effort to slash spending and federal employees.
Trump began the day with a prayer service at St. John’s Episcopal Church. He and his wife, Melania, were later greeted at the North Portico of the executive mansion by outgoing President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden for the customary tea and coffee reception. It was a stark departure from four years ago, when Trump refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory or attend his inauguration.
“Welcome home,” Biden said to Trump after the president-elect stepped out of the car. The two presidents, who have spent years bitterly criticizing each other, shared a limo on the way to the Capitol.
When Trump took the oath of office at noon, he realized a political comeback without precedent in American history. Four years ago, he was voted out of the White House during an economic collapse caused by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Trump denied his defeat and tried to cling to power. He directed his supporters to march on the Capitol while lawmakers were certifying the election results, sparking a riot that interrupted the country’s tradition of the peaceful transfer of power.
But Trump never lost his grip on the Republican Party and was undeterred by criminal cases and two assassination attempts as he steamrolled rivals and harnessed voters’ exasperation with inflation and illegal immigration.
“I am ready for a new United States,” said Cynde Bost, 63, from Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
Now Trump will be the first person convicted of a felony — for falsifying business records related to hush money payments — to serve as president. He will pledge to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution from the same spot that was overrun by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. He’s said that one of his first acts in office will be to pardon many of those who participated in the riot.
Eight years after he first entered the White House as a political newcomer, Trump is far more familiar with the operations of federal government and emboldened to bend it to his vision. Trump wants to bring quick change by curtailing immigration, enacting tariffs on imports and rolling back Democrats’ climate and social initiatives.
He has also promised retribution against his political opponents and critics, and placed personal loyalty as a prime qualification for appointments to his administration.
With minutes to go before leaving office, Biden issued preemptive pardons to his siblings and their spouses to shield them from the possibility of prosecution. He said in a statement that his family “has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats” and that he has “no reason to believe these attacks will end.”
Earlier in the day, Biden took a similar step with current and former government officials who have been the target of Trump’s anger. Biden said “these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing.”
Trump has pledged to go further and move faster in enacting his agenda than during his first term, and already the country’s political, business and technology leaders have realigned themselves to accommodate Trump. Democrats who once formed a “resistance” are now divided over whether to work with Trump or defy him. Billionaires have lined up to meet with Trump as they acknowledge his unrivaled power in Washington and his ability to wield the levers of government to help or hurt their interests.
Long skeptical of American alliances, Trump’s “America First” foreign policy is being watched warily at home and abroad as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will soon enter its third year, and a fragile ceasefire appears to be holding in Gaza after more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.
At the Capitol, Vice President-elect JD Vance was sworn-in first, taking the oath read by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on a bible given to him by his great-grandmother.
Trump will follow, using both a family bible and the one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration as Chief Justice John Roberts administers his oath.
Also present will be the head of TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned social media app deemed a national security risk by the US Trump has promised to lift an effective ban on TikTok through one of many executive orders expected to be issued on Monday as the new president attempts to show quick progress.
Trump is planning to swiftly reinstitute his 2020 playbook to crackdown on the southern border — again declaring a national emergency, limiting the number of refugees entering the US and deploying the military. He’s expected to take additional actions — including constitutionally questionable ones — such as attempting to end birthright citizenship automatically bestowed on people born in the US
Trump will also sign an executive order aimed at ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government. The order will direct federal agencies to coordinate with the White House on identifying and terminating DEI programs. Conservatives have long criticized programs that give preference based on race, gender and sexual orientation, arguing they violate the Constitution.
Others orders are expected to allow more oil and gas drilling by rolling back Biden-era policies on domestic energy production and rescind Biden’s recent directive on artificial intelligence.
More changes are planned for the federal workforce. Trump wants to unwind diversity, equity and inclusion programs known as DEI, require employees to come back to the office and lay the groundwork to reduce staff.
With control of Congress, Republicans are also working alongside the incoming administration on legislation that will further roll back Biden’s policies and institute their own priorities.
Trump vows US ‘taking back’ Panama Canal, despite ‘peacemaker’ pledge
- Donald Trump: ‘Above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back’
- Trump has also not ruled out force to seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, where Russia has been increasingly active
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Monday cast himself as a peacemaker in his second inaugural address, but immediately vowed that the United States would be “taking back” the Panama Canal.
Trump issued the threat, without explaining details, after weeks of refusing to rule out military action against Panama over the waterway, which the United States handed over at the end of 1999.
“Above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back,” Trump said after being sworn in inside the US Capitol.
Panama maintains control of the canal but Chinese companies have been steadily increasing their presence around the vital shipping link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Panama denies that China has any role in running the canal, and has repeatedly asserted its sovereignty over the waterway since Trump first threatened to take it over after he was elected in November.
At his inauguration, Trump said that the United States has been “treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made.”
“The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy,” he said.
Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice for secretary of state, stopped short of threatening military action during his confirmation hearing last week but warned that China through its influence could effectively shut down the Panama Canal to the United States in a crisis.
“This is a legitimate issue that needs to be confronted,” Rubio said.
Trump has also not ruled out force to seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark where Russia has been increasingly active as ice melts due to climate change.
The Panama Canal was built by the United States mostly with Afro-Caribbean labor and opened in 1914.
US President Jimmy Carter, who died last month, negotiated its return in 1977, saying he saw a moral responsibility to respect a less powerful but fully sovereign nation.
Trump pledged an “America First” policy of prioritizing US interests above all else. He has put a top priority on cracking down on undocumented immigration and said he will deploy the military to the border with Mexico.
But Trump also cast himself as a peacemaker and pointed to a Gaza ceasefire deal whose implementation began Sunday.
“My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be — a peacemaker and a unifier,” he said.
The Gaza ceasefire, which includes an exchange of hostages and prisoners, follows the outlines of a proposal outlined in May by then-president Joe Biden, but it was pushed through after intensive last-minute diplomacy by envoys of both Biden and Trump.
Trump has also promised to end the war in Ukraine by pushing for compromises — a contrast to Biden’s approach of supporting Kyiv to a potential military victory.
Despite Trump’s vow to be a unifier, he immediately fired a symbolic but provocative shot above the bow to Mexico.
Trump in his address said that the United States would start referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” — making the water body the latest in the world whose name is disputed between neighbors.
“America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world,” Trump said.
