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Covid-19 hits rural India
While India’s cities are on the mend from the latest Covid-19 wave, the deadly virus is coursing through the vast rural hinterland. Over 60 per cent of the new cases are now surfacing in the villages.
India Correspondent Debarshi Dasgupta was in Uttar Pradesh, one of India s least developed states, where villagers spoke of their fears as the virus rampaged across their neighbourhoods amid poor testing levels and lax Covid-appropriate behaviour.
Down south in Karnataka, India Correspondent Rohini Mohan reports on a healthcare system that is buckling under rising caseloads as the region becomes the new epicentre of the outbreak.
We hope you’ve been keeping well.
In our Asian Insider newsletter this week, we examine the fresh wave of coronavirus infections that is straining healthcare resources and crippling livelihoods in South-east Asia. We also bring you fresh insights from our webinar on the US-China power play and how Asean needs to stay neutral in the tussle.
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Will the fresh wave swamp South-east Asia?
A fresh wave of Covid-19 infections has hit South-east Asia, fuelled by more virulent variants, slow vaccinations and lax controls. Our correspondents in the region speak to the experts, who warn the explosion of cases could overwhelm poorer countries and lead to grim scenarios already playing out in India and Nepal.
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Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore cancelled
The Shangri-La Dialogue scheduled for June 4 to 5 in Singapore has been cancelled due to the deteriorating global Covid-19 situation, organisers announced. The International Institute for Strategic Studies said it would plan for the return of the full in-person security summit next year. United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had earlier said he would attend the dialogue, which was to be held at the Shangri-La Hotel, while Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had been invited as keynote speaker.
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Indian official slammed over ‘Singapore variant’ remark
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been widely criticised for his ill-informed remark about a new form of corona found in Singapore , India correspondent Debarshi Dasgupta reports. The new variant was, in fact, first found in India. Mr Kejriwal’s comment, which sparked a diplomatic incident, is rooted in domestic politics amid a power tussle wi