May 10, 2021: A new feature

May 10 — News of Today
Good morning everyone! There is tension simmering in West Asia and could result in a terrible crisis. We are introducing a section on Mondays to explain issues like this. In other news, the Centre has asked the SC to trust its vaccine programme, and yet another shooting in the US, this time at a birthday party. Oh, and cricket fans, will you choose a bamboo bat?

Coronavirus News

💉Vaccination drive: K’taka, Punjab to start drive for 18+ from today

✊Trust: Centre tells SC that its vaccination policy is “just, equitable” and that they will change, if required. Adds: “trust us”.

🚷Lockdown: Delhi, UP, Haryana, J-K extends to May 17

🇳🇵Nepal: Cases rockets to 1200% in just weeks

⚰️Out of sight: Bengaluru crematorium overloaded. Cremations now at granite quarry outside city.

🙏Dead: Rajya Sabha member and sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra (78)

😠Vaccine row: Uttarakhand to begin vaccination of 18+ from Monday, but BJP MLA Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion’s 25-yr-old son got it on May 5.

🤔GST on vaccine: FM says removing GST from vaccines (5%) would make them costlier as then makers will not be able to offset input taxes.

🇲🇻‘Get out’: Maldives orders football team Bengaluru FC to leave after players violated Covid protocol.

📦Direct imports: Centre allows states to directly import Covid aid

🇪🇺Next!: EU doesn’t renew contract with AstraZeneca (developed Covishield) after it failed to honour contract, and instead goes for costlier Pfizer-BioNtech. Several EU countries had stopped AstraZeneca vaccine over risks.

🏃🏃‍♀️Back to roots: With cities running out of vaccines, people are now travelling to villages to get their shots from local health centres.

🎤IE interview with BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal
On govts’ response: Nobody found the GoI not willing to help us. Even they have their own issues…. CM gave me free hand.
On third wave: Absolutely (prepared). I have no doubt in my mind that a 3rd wave is going to hit us… will try to get everyone vaccinated (before next wave)

World

👨‍🔬Genius: SpaceX, Tesla boss Elon Musk says he has Asperger’s, a lifelong disability that affects people differently.

🌋Westwinds: Satellite data shows emissions from Carribean volcano, which erupted on April 9, made its way to India — 14,250km.

⛪Correcting mistakes : Church of England will review monuments in churches and cathedrals and remove historical references to slavery and colonialism.

🇹🇼Climate change: Taiwan suffering worst drought in 56 yrs. Reservoirs @ 5%.

💂‍♀️Re-elected: Labour Party’s Sadiq Khan as London Mayor

😱B’day horror: In US’ Colorado, man kills girlfriend, five others before killing himself at a birthday party attended by families, including children.

🇮🇱🇵🇸Short Explainer: Israel-Palestine tension
Shiekh Jarrah is in East Jerusalem built with the help of the UN and Jordan. It is near al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest in Islam and the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest.

Jews claim the land was with them before 1948 and Israel seized it in 1967 from Jordan. But in 1968 the Israeli parliament passed a decree that said the country was bound to the UN-Jordan plan.

Under int’l law, Israel has no jurisdiction. But its courts have ruled against Palestinian families who now face eviction.

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News of Yesterday: Nelson Mandela becomes president of S Africa on May 10, 1994 🇿🇦

Source: Al Jazeera, BBC, HT, ToI, Guardian IE, ET, NYT