Chinese rocket debris lands in Indian Ocean
Remnants of China’s biggest rocket landed in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, with most of its components destroyed upon re-entry into the atmosphere, ending days of speculation over where the debris would hit but drawing U.S. criticism over lack of transparency.
The coordinates given by Chinese state media, citing the China Manned Space Engineering Office, put the point of impact in the ocean, west of the Maldives archipelago.
Debris from the Long March 5B has had some people looking warily skyward since it blasted off from China’s Hainan island on April 29, but the China Manned Space Engineering Office said most of the debris was burnt up in the atmosphere.
State media reported parts of the rocket re-entered the atmosphere at 10:24 a.m. Beijing time (0224 GMT) and landed at a location with the coordinates of longitude 72.47 degrees east and latitude 2.65 degrees north. The U.S. Space command confirmed the re-entry of the rocket over the Arabian Peninsula, but said it was unknown if the debris impacted land or water.
India’s daily COVID-19 deaths near record, calls for nationwide lockdown mount
India’s COVID-19 deaths rose by more than 4,000 for a second consecutive day on Sunday as calls for a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the virus mounted. India’s health ministry reported 4,092 fatalities over the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 242,362. New cases rose by 403,738, just shy of the record and increasing the total since the start of the pandemic to 22.3 million.
India has been hit hard by a second COVID-19 wave with cases and deaths hitting record highs every other day. With an acute shortage of oxygen and beds in many hospitals and morgues and crematoriums overflowing, experts have said the actual numbers for COVID-19 cases and fatalities could be far higher.
Many Indian states have imposed strict lockdowns over the past month to stem the surge in infections while others have announced restrictions on public movement and shut down cinemas, restaurants, pubs and shopping malls. But pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce a nationwide lockdown similar to the one imposed during the first wave last year. India on Saturday reported its highest ever single-day COVID-19 death toll of 4,187 fatalities. (Reuters)
High percentage of active COVID-19 cases in Bahrain not vaccinated
The National Medical Taskforce for Combatting the Coronavirus (COVID-19) highlighted the importance of following all precautionary guidelines, including being vaccinated against COVID-19, to increase shared immunity and community protection, and reduce the severity of symptoms for those infected.
The Taskforce noted that 78% of the 1706 active COVID-19 cases recorded on Friday, 7 May, have not received a vaccine, while the percentage of those unvaccinated in intensive care was 94% of 119 cases. The Taskforce further added that all 4 of the deaths recorded on 7 May were of persons not vaccinated.
The Taskforce reiterated the dangers of not following all precautionary measures, adding that vaccines contribute to reducing the number of COVID-19 infections, and the symptoms of those infected.
The Taskforce concluded by urging everyone to register for a vaccine, free of charge, by visiting the Ministry of Health’s website on www.healthalert.gov.bh or via the “BeAware Bahrain” application.
China administered over 317 million doses of COVID vaccines
Over 317 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administrated in China as of Saturday, the National Health Commission said on Sunday. That figure is up 9 million doses from the 308 million reported on Friday.
More than 308 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across China as of Friday, the National Health Commission said Saturday. The new tally came as worldwide COVID-19 cases passed 150 million and Asia emerges as the hardest-hit region.
China has been promoting vaccination among the public to build an immune barrier. During the five-day May Day holiday, which ended on Wednesday, the government took measures to ensure people got their due shots on schedule.
On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) approved for emergency use a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine, making it the sixth vaccine to receive WHO validation for safety, efficacy and quality.
Hamilton wins Spanish GP after intense pitstop strategy
Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes secured victory at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday after an intense pitstop strategy battle with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. This was Hamilton’s third win this season and 98th of his career, and he also matched Michael Schumacher’s record of most Spanish Grand Prix wins with six triumphs each, dpa reported.
“I feel great after this, I feel like I could go again!,” the seven-time world champion said. Verstappen settled for second place with Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas in third. The Briton leads the drivers’ championship with a 14-point advantage over Verstappen. Sitting on pole position for the 100th time in his F1 career, Hamilton was overtaken by Verstappen at turn 1 on the opening lap.
Hamilton had the chance to recover his position after the safety car came in, following Yuki Tsunoda’s sudden stop due to an engine problem in his Alpha Tauri, but wasn’t successful. Red Bull’s Verstappen retained position after the first round of pitstops but Hamilton was flying on his new set of tyres, cutting the gap to Verstappen down rapidly.
Mercedes opted for a two-stop tyre strategy and Hamilton dropped to third, behind Bottas. But he managed to overtake the Finn and then reach Verstappen, using DRS to slot past the Dutchman. “I was hunting, I was so close so I wasn’t sure I could make the tyres last so it was a gamble but a great strategy by the team,” Hamilton analysed.
Conceding defeat, Verstappen made a final pitstop for fresh tyres and secured the point for the fastest lap. “When they went for another stop, I knew it was over – I was already struggling with the tyres,” Verstappen said.
Ferrari led the midfield pack with a fourth place for Charles Leclerc, who at times saw himself in a podium position. Team-mate Carlos Sainz finished seventh, behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo of McLaren.
Other McLaren driver Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon of Alpine and Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly completed the top 10. Gasly put up a great performance to overcome a five-second time penalty and finish in the points. Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin was 13th, while rookie Mick Schumacher finished 18th, just behind Fernando Alonso. The young German driver had a stellar start, getting up to 16th ahead of Tsunoda and Williams’ George Russell, but couldn’t hold the position.
Dogecoin tumbles after Elon Musk calls it a ‘hustle’
The value of dogecoin dropped sharply in early U.S. hours on Sunday, after Tesla chief and cryptocurrency supporter Elon Musk called it a ‘hustle’ during his guest-host spot on the “Saturday Night Live” comedy sketch TV show.
Dogecoin was quoted as low as $0.47 on crypto exchange Binance, down 28% from levels around $0.65 before the show. The billionaire Tesla Inc chief executive hosted the show at 11:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday (0330 GMT on Sunday).
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts had for days been eager to see what he would say, after his tweets this year turned the once-obscure digital currency into a speculator’s dream.
Asked ‘what is dogecoin’, Musk replied, “It’s the future of currency. It’s an unstoppable financial vehicle that’s going to take over the world.” When a show cast member Michael Che countered, “So, it’s a hustle?”, Musk replied, “Yeah, it’s a hustle.” And laughed.
Musk is the rare business mogul to have been asked to host the venerable comedy TV show. The timing puts Musk back in the spotlight just as Tesla’s stock is losing steam following last year’s monster rally.
The unconventional CEO has posted numerous comments about cryptocurrencies on Twitter and criticized regular old cash for having negative real interest rates. His cryptic tweets “Doge” and “Dogecoin is the people’s crypto” that month kicked off a rally in dogecoin – created as a parody on the more mainstream bitcoin and ethereum .
On Thursday, Musk tweeted: “Cryptocurrency is promising, but please invest with caution!” with a video clip attached in which he said, “it should be considered speculation at this point. And so, you know, don’t don’t go too far in the crypto speculation …”
But he also said, in the video, that cryptocurrency has a “good chance” of becoming what he called “the future currency of the Earth.” (Reuters)
Emirates to fly medical aid to India for free
Emirates airline said on Sunday it will fly medical supplies from Dubai to nine cities in India free of charge from this week to help battle a devastating upsurge in the coronavirus. International aid has poured in for India, where record infection rates have overwhelmed hospitals, depleting medicines, oxygen tanks and other supplies.
Emirates will provide free spare capacity to transport supplies from charities based in Dubai, divisional senior vice president Nabil Sultan told reporters, saying the mechanism could later be extended to bring aid from other parts.
“The supplies will be organised through Dubai’s International Humanitarian City, a hub used by many non-governmental organisations to transport aid globally. Supplies would be flown for free until further notice,” Sultan said.
The first flight under the new “airbridge” is scheduled to depart for New Delhi on May 13 carrying 12.6 tonnes of multi-purpose tents from the World Health Organization (WHO). India reported 4,092 new deaths from the virus on Sunday, bringing the total to 242,362. Infections in the last 24 hours rose to 403,738, a near record, increasing the total since the pandemic started to 22.3 million.
Emirates operates 95 weekly flights to nine Indian cities: New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad and Trivandrum. Those flights offer about 5,000 tonnes of weekly cargo capacity. (Reuters)
Gulf Air to support airlift of urgent medical supplies to India
Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes secured victory at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday after an intense pitstop strategy battle with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. This was Hamilton’s third win this season and 98th of his career, and he also matched Michael Schumacher’s record of most Spanish Grand Prix wins with six triumphs each, dpa reported.
“I feel great after this, I feel like I could go again!,” the seven-time world champion said. Verstappen settled for second place with Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas in third. The Briton leads the drivers’ championship with a 14-point advantage over Verstappen. Sitting on pole position for the 100th time in his F1 career, Hamilton was overtaken by Verstappen at turn 1 on the opening lap.
Hamilton had the chance to recover his position after the safety car came in, following Yuki Tsunoda’s sudden stop due to an engine problem in his Alpha Tauri, but wasn’t successful. Red Bull’s Verstappen retained position after the first round of pitstops but Hamilton was flying on his new set of tyres, cutting the gap to Verstappen down rapidly.
Mercedes opted for a two-stop tyre strategy and Hamilton dropped to third, behind Bottas. But he managed to overtake the Finn and then reach Verstappen, using DRS to slot past the Dutchman. “I was hunting, I was so close so I wasn’t sure I could make the tyres last so it was a gamble but a great strategy by the team,” Hamilton analysed.
Conceding defeat, Verstappen made a final pitstop for fresh tyres and secured the point for the fastest lap. “When they went for another stop, I knew it was over – I was already struggling with the tyres,” Verstappen said.
Ferrari led the midfield pack with a fourth place for Charles Leclerc, who at times saw himself in a podium position. Team-mate Carlos Sainz finished seventh, behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo of McLaren.
Other McLaren driver Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon of Alpine and Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly completed the top 10. Gasly put up a great performance to overcome a five-second time penalty and finish in the points. Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin was 13th, while rookie Mick Schumacher finished 18th, just behind Fernando Alonso. The young German driver had a stellar start, getting up to 16th ahead of Tsunoda and Williams’ George Russell, but couldn’t hold the position.
China to create ‘line of separation’ at Everest summit
China will set up “a line of separation” at the summit of Mount Everest to prevent the mingling of climbers from COVID-hit Nepal and those ascending from the Tibetan side as a precautionary measure, Chinese state media reported on Sunday.
Everest base camp on the Nepalese side has been hit by coronavirus cases since late April. The Nepalese government, starved of tourism revenue, has yet to cancel the spring climbing season, usually from April to early June before the monsoon rains. It was not immediately clear how the line would be enforced on the summit, a tiny, perilous and inhospitable area the size of a dining table.
A small team of Tibetan climbing guides will ascend Everest and set up the “line of separation” at the summit to stop any contact between mountaineers from both sides of the peak, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the head of Tibet’s sports bureau.
A group of 21 Chinese nationals are en route to the summit on the Tibetan side, Xinhua reported. The Tibetan guides will set up the separation line ahead of their arrival, the state-run news agency said, without describing what the line would look like.
It was also unclear whether the Tibetan guides would be the ones enforcing the “separation”, or whether they would remain in the so-called death zone, where many lives have been lost due to a dearth of oxygen, to hold the line. The top of the 8,848-metre peak is a small mound of snow with barely enough space for half a dozen climbers and guides at any one time.
China has not allowed any foreign climbers to ascend from the Tibetan side since the outbreak of the new coronavirus last year due to infection concerns. Tourists in the Everest scenic area in Tibet are also banned from visiting the base camp on the Tibetan side.
Mainland China on Sunday reported 12 new COVID-19 cases on May 8 – all of which involved travellers arriving from overseas – up from seven a day earlier. Nepal reported 9,023 new cases on Friday, the country’s biggest one-day increase. (Reuters)
