DM MEDIA

Boris Johnson Officially Invites PM Narendra Modi to UK for G7 Summit in JuneJohnson had extended an invitation to Modi during a phone call last year when India was chosen alongside South Korea and Australia as guest countries of the multilateral summit. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has invited his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for the G7 summit as he confirmed details on Sunday for the high-level meeting to be presided over by Britain in the coastal region of Cornwall between June 11 and 13.   Johnson had extended an invitation to Modi during a phone call last year when India was chosen alongside South Korea and Australia as guest countries of the multilateral summit. The invitation was made formal on Sunday.Johnson also reiterated his plan to visit India ahead of the G7 summit, after a scheduled visit for Republic Day this month was called off due to the coronavirus crisis.The Group of Seven or G7 which is made up of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US ...

Other countries like Bangladesh and Nepal are likely to receive their supplies on Thursday. India will start supplying hundreds of thousands of doses of ‘Covishield’ vaccine on a grant basis to key neighbours from Wednesday, beginning with 2,50,000 vaccine doses for Bhutan and Maldives. A press release from the Ministry of External Affairs stated that India would start supplying vaccines for COVID-19 in response to requests from neighbours and other partner countries.“In response to these requests, and in keeping with India’s stated commitment to use India’s vaccine production and delivery capacity to help all of humanity fight the Covid pandemic, supplies under grant assistance to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles will begin from 20 January 2021,” said the press communique.   The first batch of 150,000 doses of the Oxford University and AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine, manufactured by Serum Institute of India, will reach Thimpu on Wednesday morning. The se...

“It would take an unskilled worker 10,000 years to make what Mukesh Ambani made in an hour during the pandemic and 3 years to make what he made in a second.”Oxfam’s annual report on inequalities across the world this year is focused on the coronavirus pandemic – and how it exacerbated existing inequalities of wealth, gender and education.   In India, the report says, the wealth of billionaires increased by 35% during the lockdown and by 90% since 2009. To put this in context, according to Oxfam, “It would take an unskilled worker 10,000 years to make what Mukesh Ambani made in an hour during the pandemic and 3 years to make what he made in a second… Data shows what Ambani earned during the pandemic would keep the 40 crore informal workers that are at risk of falling into poverty due to COVID-19 above the poverty line for at least 5 months,” the report said.   Titled ‘The Inequality Virus’, the Indian supplement of this year’s annual report finds that “India’s wealt...

Who needs reality TV when you can watch Pakistan’s parliamentarians fight with each other? The level of debates in Pakistan’s Parliament has hit a new low, even by Pakistan’s standards. Unruly, often rough behaviour is common in Pakistan’s Parliament. But, in a first, a Pakistani parliamentarian called another parliamentarian a ‘dog’.   Even the nastiest fights in Bigg Boss house don’t get as ugly as this.   Ironically, the Pakistani Parliament had convened to discuss the abrogation of Article 370 from Kashmir in India. Members were in the middle of a heated debate when Mushahid Ullah Khan, a PML (Pakistani Muslim League) senator, got up to contribute his two cents. Controversy’s favourite child Fawad Chaudhry, currently Pakistan’s Science minister, no less, couldn’t keep his calm and lashed out at Khan.   (W)oof? (Photo: Twitter/ Major Gaurav Arya)   He passed some unruly comments which are inaudible in the video clips that have since gone viral. That was when...

What is winter if not enjoyed with the piping hot and healthy gajar ka halwa?Winter in North India is synonymous with fresh juicy vegetables and desserts. Now bring the two together and you have a winter-must — Gajar ka Halwa or carrot halwa.   There is no way winter can be allowed to pass without at least one sitting with this piping hot, creamy, fudgy yet healthy halwa. You read that right. This yummy dessert is healthier than eating the boring raw carrot salad. Carrots contain beta carotene (carotenoids) that are better absorbed by the body when cooked. So if you keep the ingredients right, you have a very healthy dessert on your plate.   What you’ll need:   Two cups of grated carrots (about half a kilogram). Use the red variety for a better flavour   Two tablespoons of ghee   A quarter cup of sugar (use stevia for a healthier version)   Half a cup unsweetened khoya   A cup of skimmed low-fat milk   A pinch of cardamom powder   Loads of ro...

The effects of the pandemic on both unpaid care work and domestic violence have negatively impacted women, thereby debunking the idea of homes as a safe space.The home and the family as a contested space with unequal power dynamics was reinforced during the lockdown in two distinct ways—unpaid care work and the exponential rise of domestic violence.   The immediate cause was the restrictions on movement which had bound everyone to the four walls of the home. Consequently, the incidences of domestic violence rose drastically. Moreover, the closure of educational institutions, daycare centres and other care services shifted the responsibility of providing those services to the household, leading to a rise in unpaid care work.   Women were also the first among the vulnerable to lose their source of income. The financial conundrum triggered due to loss of livelihood and reduced income heightened the stress of the uncertain times. Loss of income, high burden of unpaid care work, an...