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How the elderly, among the most vulnerable victims of COVID-19, are braving the pandemic

After 57 years of marriage, she is newly single. Her husband died of COVID-19 in the last week of April. Her son, who was in the ICU at the time, is better now. The Pune-based senior citizen (who does not wish to be named) is aware that several members of her yoga club have also passed away. Nobody knows who will be next, so I have started calling up everybody, whose number I have, to talk. I dont know if I will get the chance to meet them again, she says.

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I dont know why the migrant crisis surprised us

In an interview, youve said that the film Meel Patthar (Milestone, released on Netflix on May 7, premiered at last years Venice International Film Festival) tells you where you are and how much further you have to go. Could you explain?

That was about why Id named the film Meel Patthar (Milestones). Milestones tell you where you are and how far you have to go. But in the film, its a weird sort of milestone, because even after 500,000 km, Ghalib has absolutely no idea hes achieved that. Theres just uncertainty.

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Three books to remember childrens author Subhadra Sen Gupta by

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Why it is timely to read Bhaswati Mukherjees fresh look into how Bengal negotiated Partition in Bengal and its Partition: An Untold Story

An impassioned and deeply-researched work, Bhaswati Mukherjees Bengal and Partition: An Untold Story is an invaluable contribution to the particular issues that animated politics in Bengal, a marginally Muslim-majority province, that distinguished it from the freedom movement in much of the rest of the country. It was not only, or indeed most significantly, the Hindu-Muslim demography of the province that gave it a unique perspective, but, overlaying these religious differences was the proud linguistic unity and syncretic cultural heritage that made Bengal different. (I would rate Chapter 6, The Struggle for identity: Language and Religion, as the most outstanding in the book).

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How seduction works in the world of flora

In the animal kingdom, its usually the male of the species that struts its stuff and tries to seduce the ladies, who will pick the most handsome, rugged and tough as her mate, checking out his looks and fitness and fighting capabilities. In the botanical world, a plant, rooted to the ground cannot wander around showing off, singing and dancing to seduce a mate. So, it employs the services of, what one could roughly say is, a marriage bureau to get itself a mate. This bureau has a host of mammals, insects and birds (and even the wind) on its rolls. And as there are no free lunches, these services have to be paid for in sweet nectar (sugar water, really), produced in glands called nectarines, and nourishing pollen.

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How Hindustani classical singer Aditya Modak trained to play the lead in The Disciple

Chaitanya Tamhanes film The Disciple opens with Pt Vinayak Pradhan (essayed deftly by Jaipur-Atrauli gharana classical singer Pt Arun Dravid) on the stage. The ageing vocalist, from Alwar gharana, is immersed in the glorious Jaunpuri (Jhanana bichhua baje), a raga that evokes wonder and bhakti bhaav. His accompanying disciple looks on in reverence, with eager nods and eyes that capture his desire to perform like his guru one day. Moments later, the setting shifts to the gurus room, who, with a teacup in hand, breaks down the raga to his promising shishya as Sharad Nerulkar (played by Hindustani classical artiste Aditya Modak), tanpura in hand, rote-learns and sings.

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How Raza Mirs Murder at the Mushaira looks back at the rebellious days of 1857

On a dark night in May 1857, a solitary man on horseback makes his way towards Shahjahanabad. Unrest had been fomenting in the countryside, bitter resentment spilling over from years of humiliation and abuse by the British, who had, since an obscure battle in Plassey, come to control greater parts of the country. Sarfaraz Laskar, the rider, knew that the time was ripe to flame that seething animosity into a full-blown rebellion if he could make his way to the seat of the etiolated Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, that is.

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Why Sanjaya Baru looks at the dismantling of an old order of power elites for a new ideological hegemony in Indias Power Elite: Caste, Class and Cultural Revolution

Debate on the constantly evolving power elite in India is not a new concept. The strength of Sanjaya Barus latest book, however, is its topicality. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the term power elite has acquired a new, thought-provoking, somewhat sinister inference. Modi, as Baru sees it, has dismantled the old order of power elites in Delhi and seeks to impose an unquestioning hegemonic domination on an ideological basis. Globalised upper-class intellectuals and liberals are suspect and to be replaced by middle-class Hindu nationalists who serve, ostensibly, the larger cause of Bharat as opposed to that of India. Any negation of the new faith is viewed with unconcealed hostility.

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Sunday Long Reads: Elderly in the pandemic, migrant crisis, seduction in the plant kingdom, and more - The Indian Express

US Vice President Kamala Harrisheld a virtualmeeting with Mexican President Andres Manuel LopezObradoron Friday to discuss immigration policies.It was their second meeting in a month.

During the meeting, Harris and Lopez Obrador pledged to cooperate on resolving the roots ofillegal migration into the US.

Harrissaid the US and Mexicomust combat violence and corruption together, to help cut back migration from Central America.

"Most people don't want to leave home and when they do it is often because they are fleeing some harm or they are forced to leave because there are no opportunities," she said.

The two countries saidthey should work together on helping"Northern Triangle" countries El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras improve conditions and persuade migrants to stay home.

"It is in our countries' mutual interest to provide immediate relief to the Northern Triangle and to address the root causes of migration,"Harrissaid.

Lopez Obrador referred to the long-running issues of US-Mexican tensions over migration and said "we need to understand one another and avoid fighting."

"We are in agreement when it comes to the policies that you are undertaking when it comes to migration and we will help. That is what I can say as of now. You can count on us," he added.

The meeting comes at a time the Biden administration grapples with a surge in people crossing into the US at the southern border.

In March, President JoeBidentasked Harris with leading diplomatic efforts to decrease immigration from Mexico and Central America.

Biden raised the US's annual refugee cap on Monday to 62,500. It followedpressure from the Democratic party and refugee agencies after initially sticking by the historically-low Trump-era figure of 15,000.

Shortly before the scheduled call with Harris, Lopez Obrador sent a diplomatic note asking Washington to explain funding for Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity, a group critical of the Mexican government.

"It's promoting a form of coup," LopezObrador said,adding that the funding, which includes money from USAID, undermines Mexico's government and sovereignty.

"It is an interventionist act that violated our sovereignty That's why we're asking that (the U.S. government) clarifies this for us. A foreign government can't provide money to political groups," he said.

Later asked if he believed Washington was seeking to remove him from office, he said he did not think that was the case.

A large wall stretches into the Pacific Ocean at the beaches of San Diego and Tijuana, two populous cities separated by the US-Mexico border. It is one of the most secure areas of the frontier and is part of the 1100 kilometers (700 miles) of fencing that have been completed thus far.

The fight over how to secure the border has divided Republicans, who support more fencing, and Democrats, who argue that using technology is more effective. Experts estimate it would cost $15-25 billion (13-22 billion) to fully wall off the entire southern frontier.

Large swaths of the border are covered in desert, desolate and uninhabited. Many migrants try to cross these areas, where they fall victim to disorientation, dehydration and where the risk of death is high. Activists often leave water (pictured) and other supplies to help migrants survive the dangerous trek.

Roughly half of the 3,000-kilometer border falls along the snaking Rio Grande. Migrants regularly attempt to cross the river, either by swimming or on rafts. The calm appearance of the Rio Grande is deceitful, as it is a fast-moving river with dangerous currents.

The US-Mexico border is considered the most transited frontier in the world. Most of the movement takes place at the various points of entry, where lawful back-and-forth traffic and asylum-seekers meet. The Matamoros-Brownsville International Bridge (pictured) is one of 44 official points of entry and the last one before the border ends at the Gulf of Mexico.

Author: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez

Washington has expressed concern over record number of undocumented immigrants arriving at the southern border. An influx is expected to increase as the weather warms.

Border authorities stopped around 170,000 people trying to enter the US illegally in March, a 20-year high.

The number of unaccompanied children in particular have surged, with photos of migrant shelters showing children crammed together in poor conditions circulating on media platforms.

In February, the White House said it would start phasing out Trump's Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). The program had forced thousands of asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their asylum cases to be heard.

The US border remains closed to most asylum seekers under the Trump administration's COVID-19-related order. Biden has not revoked the order.

About two-thirds of US adults said the Biden administration was doing a very bad or somewhat bad job of dealing with the increased number of people seeking asylum, according to a May survey from the Pew Research Center.

Harrishas said she will visit Mexico and Guatemala on June 7-8 for her first trip abroad as vice president.

Read the rest here:
US and Mexico vow to cooperate on border crisis - DW (English)

A Maine man and U.S. Border Patrol agent who was assigned to work along the southern border in Texas earlier this year has been hospitalized for weeks after contracting the novel coronavirus, his loved ones have said.

Kostas Papadopoulos was deployed to Texas on March 1 "to assist with the current migrant crisis" and, that same monthwas hospitalized with COVID-19, according to a GoFundMe page created to benefit him and his family. The page does not specify how long he was in Texas before he got sick.

DHS CHIEF MAYORKAS TOURS BORDER FACILITY, SAYS HUNDREDS OF MIGRANT KIDS STILL COMING OVER EVERY DAY

Papadopoulos was admitted to the hospital in March and was later moved to the intensive care unit for more than a month, the page states.

"Being hospitalized for so long and far from family/friends has placed a tremendous burden on this family. Their family, friends, co-workers of the U.S. Border Patrol, and church family agree that Kostas & Jackie would offer the utmost support to another family in need," organizer Dayna Lincoln wrote on the GoFundMe page. "Thus, we feel it is time to ask that our community offer support to them during this difficult time."

Lincoln created the fundraising page earlier this week, to "help offset costs for an out-of-pocket medical evacuation flight from Texas to Boston, where Kostas will be further evaluated," she wrote. She did not respond to Fox News requests seeking comment.

BIG BEND SECTOR IS UTILIZING NEW TECHNOLOGY TO FIGHT ILLEGAL BORDER ACTIVITY

As of Friday, the page had raised nearly $39,000 for the Papadopoulos family, far surpassing their $25,000 goal that had been originally set.

In an update provided Thursday on the page, Lincoln wrote that arrangements had been made to transfer Papadopoulos, a father of three, to the Boston hospital for further treatment closer to home.

Lincoln thanked Papadopoulos "brothers and sisters" of the Border Patrol for "looking after him" when his wife, Jaclyn, could not be there.

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"Since Kostas was first admitted to the hospital in March, his family and coworkers have been working toward a single goal: bring him home," the update states. "There remains a long road ahead for his full recovery and the continued support and encouragement from everyone will be a BIG part of it. We hope and pray his time in Boston will be a short stop on his way back to Maine."

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Border Patrol agent hospitalized with COVID-19 after responding to border crisis in March - Fox News

At a desolate refugee camp on the Greek island of Chios earlier this week, a young man died alone in a tent. By the time the guards arrived on the scene, about 12 hours after the Somali refugees death, the body was surrounded by rodents.

Asylum seekers who had initially alerted staff spoke in horror at seeing rats and mice swarming about.

It was Orthodox Easter Monday, a national holiday in Greece. The 28-year-old, who has not been named by Greek authorities, is thought to have died of natural causes.

In a short statement, the Greek migration ministry ruled out foul play and said the unfortunate man was found by a military doctor to have bites on his ear and hand. The precise cause of death will become known from the autopsy that is to be conducted.

Although a registered refugee, the Somali man had been required to remain in Chioss Vial hilltop holding centre because of Covid-19 restrictions. Island detention centres have been subjected to draconian lockdown measures since just after the start of the pandemic last year.

We host them and feed them because they are humans, we cant kick them out, the camps governor, Panagiotis Kimourtzis, told the Guardian. Its only logical that rodents would appear when someone has been dead for so many hours. The camp was built very quickly in 2016. The [camp] is in nature, surrounded by fields. We do everything possible, we use pesticides, but there is only so much we can do.

The young Somali, like the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who preceded him, left a country notorious for violence and poverty. Nearly six years after the onset of Europes refugee crisis, the tragic end of what would have been a long and risky journey has again highlighted the deplorable conditions of island reception centres in Greece.

For aid workers in Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos the five Aegean islands on the frontline of migrant flows the incident offers further proof of failings of the containment policies EU leaders have pursued on the borders of a continent seemingly desperate to keep asylum seekers out.

There is only one truth and that is that Greek island camps are synonymous with overcrowding and inhuman conditions, said Dr Apostolos Veizis, executive director in Greece of the international humanitarian organisation Intersos. People are exposed on a daily basis to rats, rubbish and violence. In clinics across the islands children are often admitted with signs of rat bites. Its shameful and appalling that they have to live in such disgraceful conditions when it really neednt be the case.

Arrivals of asylum seekers into Europe have dropped dramatically in the past year. An estimated 11,472 men, woman and children are now registered on the Aegean outposts, according to Greeces ministry of citizen protection. Vial, which hosted 5,000 people in December 2019, now accommodates about a fifth of that number, the result of tough migration polices which include decongesting the islands.

Since the EUs controversial agreement with Turkey to stem the flow of people, the islands have become an buffer in the EUs battle to keep migrants out.

Yes, there are fewer people and camp conditions have improved but they are not good, said Leda Lakka, who heads the UN refugee agencys office on Chios. There are rats, around Vial and in Vial. Thats a fact. There are also makeshift shelters. Thats a fact too.

Athens received about 3bn (2.6bn) in EU funds to manage the migration crisis between 2015 and 2020, but critics claim evidence of spending cannot be seen on the ground, where conditions have been deplored by one of Europes top human rights watchdogs.

If it had been used properly we would not be talking so many years later about a scene out of the middle ages where a dead man is attacked by rats, said Veizis, who has worked on the islands for more than a decade. All the camps are horrible. Every day people fall sick, mentally and physically. You have to wonder if treating them like this, not as humans but as numbers, is a deliberate policy choice of the European Union so that more dont come.

With the support of the EU, Athens centre-right administration has pledged to replace island facilities with state-of the-art closed installations.

Last week the governments transparency portal confirmed that close to 270m in EU funds had been allocated to complete new camps by 31 March next year. Of that amount, 155m had been earmarked for new reception centres in Lesbos and Chios.

Greece, like other EU states, stands accused of pushbacks of migrants and refugees. But in triumphant mode the countrys migration minister, Notis Mitarachi, recently said that with tightened border controls after Turkeys threat to flood Europe with asylum seekers, more people had left Greece than had arrived since March last year.

The number of migrants and refugees in accommodation facilities had also dropped from 92,000 a year ago to 56,000, he said.

In the last 12 months, more people have left the country legally, with deportations, voluntary departures, or relocations, he was quoted as telling EU counterparts. There are about 60,000 recognised refugees in our country, fewer than what the country believes.

With thousands of asylum seekers in Turkey hoping to make the dangerous Aegean crossing, just as the 28-year-old Somali did, migration experts believe that could change. And while Greeces refugee population has decreased significantly, the prospect of any return to normality for those trapped on the islands remains elusive despite an accelerated vaccination drive and the possibility of tourism resuming in the coming weeks.

For a long time the UNHCR has been expressing concerns about the precarious conditions in island camps, said Stella Nanou, an agency spokesperson in Athens. Beyond the material difficulties and challenges, there has been the uncertainty of the pandemic, which has added to the frustration of people who so often can see no light at the end of the tunnel.

A postmortem examination was due to be carried out on the dead man in Lesbos later today.

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A scene out of the middle ages: Dead refugee found surrounded by rats at Greek camp - The Guardian

Dear Mr Kher,

You played a villain and a buffoon rolled into one in many a Bollywood film. Unlike those roles, your role as a writer of the piece, No time for partisanship (IE May 1) has nothing funny about it it is that of a pure villain. Actually, that of a henchman of the villains who have been instrumental in facilitating the biggest disaster that India has ever faced.

In your opening paragraph, you mention the success of Indias efforts in fighting Covid-19 from February 2020 to February 2021. Let me take you back to February 2020. The first case of Covid-19 in India was reported on 30 January. Rahul Gandhis impassioned appeal on February 12 to pay attention to the pandemic fell, as usual, on deaf ears. On February 24-25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an event for the then US President Donald Trump, attended by over a lakh of people. Later, riots took place in Delhi, and the hate speeches by BJP union ministers and spokespersons were not exactly a help in avoiding the carnage.

As late as mid-March 2020, the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said there was no health emergency. However, the Tablighi Jamat members, including foreign delegates with valid visas, were detained and held responsible for spreading the disease. A section of the media went to town with unsubstantiated allegations being presented as facts. The great peaceful Shaheen Bagh protest was killed on the pretext of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the government in MP was toppled by BJP and Covid-19 protocol was thrown to the winds. Then there were taalis and thaalis before a brutal lockdown was announced absolutely thoughtless, sudden, and without any expert advice or consultations. It all but killed the migrant labourer.

You go on to say that unity is different from accountability. In your opinion, opaqueness of the PM Cares Fund, unclear vaccination policy including vaccine exports, no communication or sharing of facts with the people unlike every other country in the world, no consultations with the stakeholders, all these actually inspire unity! And when you advise the Opposition to offer constructive feedback, it would be nice if you would let us know whether anyone out there is even listening to any voice other than their own?

Apart from those who love and engineer riots and organise lynchings, let me assure you, Mr Kher, that the naked death of dance is not a source of joy for anyone. What has caused it? Lack of infrastructure and complete apathy mainly of the central government which has centralised all resources and decisions and whose methods are, to say the least, whimsical and undemocratic. I wonder if you find that the methods adopted by the BJP to suppress facts and data and substitute them with brazen lies is more acceptable than their dissemination to people at large. And what about the Kumbh, the incessant election unmasked rallies?

Nobody is marketing Indias misery. The contrast between the situation on the ground and official statements and a clueless administration is so great that it speaks volumes loud and clear. The real situation, despite official obfuscation, has come to be known nationally and internationally and it has been helpful. The international community has extended help and thereby shaken the complacent and insensitive government. Also, the common people of India are coming forward to help the miserable fellow citizens.

And then you come to turning points. All the assertions you have made in this section have one thing in common: Ends justify the means. BJP won the elections after forcing these reforms and therefore, they were right. Now, the BJP the richest political party in the world doubtless has abundant resources and has a very brutal and efficient election machine, with a master communicator at the helm. He has the power to sway the unsuspecting voter even though he has not been known to be truthful and correct. The Opposition, on the other hand is divided, shorn of funds and leadership.

Demonetisation struck a huge blow at the informal sector which accounts for over 80 per cent of the economy, led to deaths at the ATM machines and to a permanent hole in the lives of many. The BJP continued to shift the goals and till today has not been able to exactly substantiate the exact advantage. Yes, it was able to corner a lot of money which helped them win an important election and unleash Yogi on the people. GST as a reform was planned by UPA and was opposed by BJP when it was in the Opposition. The BJPs execution of GST led to many complications and irregularities, which continue to affect the industry till date.

As for the CAA and NRC, their very constitutionality is suspect. Besides, it does not leave any doubt about the intention of BJP: the party does not consider the Muslims as equal citizens of the country, which of course is itself against the Preamble of the Constitution. To discriminate against the hapless refugee on the basis of religion is nothing to be proud of for a country which professes Vasudev Kutumbakam. Whether or not the Opposition succeeds in making it into a winnable election issue is not the point.

It is impossible to really even start talking about what you consider great handling of the migrant crisis by the Narendra Modi government. There is only one thing that is undebatable in this context: The migrant crisis was created by it. As far as you are concerned, you seemed quite convinced by the BJPs assertions and advertisements of its schemes. One does not have enough space here to give all the related data and the continuing hardships of the migrant labour force and its unwillingness to come back to big towns to help them become bigger. Do take the trouble of going beyond the official proclamations.

Yes, Mr Kher, a strong and healthy India is vital, not only for global good but for the country itself. The country should not cooperate in the killing of its hard-earned and yet nascent democracy and the institutions that make democracy possible. The BJPs hate politics and the governments systematic demolition of the institutions of democracy are bound to have a long-term impact. Politics should not wait until its too late.

Lal is a playwright and poet; his play,Ek Mamooli Aadmi, won the Nemichand Jain award recently

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Not funny, Mr Kher! - The Indian Express