NEW DELHI: The Indo-Pacific group, also known informally as the ‘Quad Plus’ resumed their engagement in 2021, the first time in the Biden administration.
On Friday evening, foreign secretary Harsh Shringla met with US’ Wendy Sherman, the new deputy secretary, Frances Adamson of Australia and senior officials from Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Vietnam.
The group, set up during the height of the pandemic in 2020, has been working together on Covid-19 issues including keeping supply chains open and functioning, directing Covid assistance etc.
The meeting, held virtually, comes in the midst of the worst Covid surge in India, which has seen over 400000 new cases and over 4000 deaths a day for the past few weeks. These meetings are a weekly affair, allowing senior officials to flag emerging issues and resolve problems at their level.
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Tonight was the final game of the 2021 season for the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers. Outside of odds for the 2021 NHL Draft Lottery, this game had no real meaning beyond it being the 56th and final game of the season for both. To a player, this was a game where they could make one last good impression for their next contract. But the game was otherwise an obligation. Yet, the Devils managed to do what they have done throughout most of the season and disappoint the fans who paid attention to it anyway. The Devils lost their last game of the season 2-4. As usual, it is not so much that they lost that is the issue, but how it happened.
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If March was a tough month for the New Jersey Devils, then April was an absolute nightmarish month. They began the month to turn their shootout loss at Boston on March 13 into a four-game winless streak. After winning a game, they lost ten in a row. The Devils went into the final week of their month of 16 games with just one win in April. One. And it was on the road in Western New York. At least the Devils picked up a second and third win in April before April ended. It does not take away much of the pain that comes with a 3-11-2 month. They earned eight points; only two teams in the league finished with fewer points in April. And one of those two teams was Vancouver, who only played seven games due to the Coronavirus. It was a horrible month for the Devils.
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I hated what happened during The Week of Hate. I was concerned that the New Jersey Devils would flop again in a four-game week against the Second Rate Rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers. Given the state of the Devils’ season and the state of the Flyers’ season plus the Flyers since 1976, I dubbed this past week The Week of Pity. Four games against two teams with nothing much to play for beyond contracts, pride, and bragging rights. Tonight was the end of The Week of Pity and it ended with a pleasing 4-1 win for the New Jersey Devils. How the Devils got the win demonstrated something I always enjoy seeing against a rival: a team showing no pity for their opposition.
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