By , SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - In the days leading up to the most violent border clash between India and China in decades, China brought in pieces of machinery, cut a trail into a Himalayan mountainside and may have even dammed a river, satellite pictures suggest.The images, shot on Tuesday, a day after soldiers engaged in hand-to-hand combat in the freezing Galwan Valley, show an increase in activity from a week earlier.India said 20 soldiers were killed in a premeditated attack by Chinese troops on Monday night at a time when top commanders had agreed to defuse tensions on the Line...…By , SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - In the days leading up to the most violent border clash between India and China in decades, China brought in pieces of machinery, cut a trail into a Himalayan mountainside and may have even dammed a river, satellite pictures suggest.The images, shot on Tuesday, a day after soldiers engaged in hand-to-hand combat in the freezing Galwan Valley, show an increase in activity from a week earlier.India said 20 soldiers were killed in a premeditated attack by Chinese troops on Monday night at a time when top commanders had agreed to defuse tensions on the Line...WW…

By , GENEVA/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The United States could become the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as India announced a full 24-hour, nationwide lockdown in the world’s second-most populous country.India joined the ranks of Britain and other countries clamping down to hold back the virus as business activity collapsed from Japan to the United States at a record pace in March.The highly contagious coronavirus has caused entire regions to be placed on lockdown. In some places soldiers are patrolling the streets to keep consumers...…By , GENEVA/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The United States could become the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as India announced a full 24-hour, nationwide lockdown in the world’s second-most populous country.India joined the ranks of Britain and other countries clamping down to hold back the virus as business activity collapsed from Japan to the United States at a record pace in March.The highly contagious coronavirus has caused entire regions to be placed on lockdown. In some places soldiers are patrolling the streets to keep consumers...WW…

By , NEW DELHI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Indian and Chinese troops were involved in a “minor face-off” last week in a disputed stretch of their shared border in the eastern Himalayas, the Indian army said on Monday, underlining the fraught situation at the border.China said the two sides must refrain from escalatory actions.Nuclear-armed India and China have been in a tense standoff since April in the western Himalayas and since then have bolstered forces all along the 3,800-km (2,350-mile) border.“It is clarified that there was a minor face-off at Nakula area of North Sikkim on 20 January 2021...…By , NEW DELHI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Indian and Chinese troops were involved in a “minor face-off” last week in a disputed stretch of their shared border in the eastern Himalayas, the Indian army said on Monday, underlining the fraught situation at the border.China said the two sides must refrain from escalatory actions.Nuclear-armed India and China have been in a tense standoff since April in the western Himalayas and since then have bolstered forces all along the 3,800-km (2,350-mile) border.“It is clarified that there was a minor face-off at Nakula area of North Sikkim on 20 January 2021...WW…

By , GENEVA/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The United States could become the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as India announced a full 24-hour, nationwide lockdown in the world’s second-most populous country.India joined the ranks of Britain and other countries clamping down to hold back the virus as business activity collapsed from Japan to the United States at a record pace in March.The highly contagious coronavirus has caused entire regions to be placed on lockdown. In some places soldiers are patrolling the streets to keep consumers...…By , GENEVA/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The United States could become the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as India announced a full 24-hour, nationwide lockdown in the world’s second-most populous country.India joined the ranks of Britain and other countries clamping down to hold back the virus as business activity collapsed from Japan to the United States at a record pace in March.The highly contagious coronavirus has caused entire regions to be placed on lockdown. In some places soldiers are patrolling the streets to keep consumers...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNEW DELHI, April 27 (Reuters) - Authorities in Delhi ordered a luxury hotel to be converted into a COVID-19 health facility for the exclusive use of high court judges and their families, drawing outrage in a city that has no hospital beds or life-saving oxygen for hundreds of people.The local government said in a public notice on Monday night that it had received a request from the Delhi High Court because of the rapid rise in coronavirus infections and had reserved 100 rooms at the Ashoka Hotel for the higher judiciary.The Delhi High...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNEW DELHI, April 27 (Reuters) - Authorities in Delhi ordered a luxury hotel to be converted into a COVID-19 health facility for the exclusive use of high court judges and their families, drawing outrage in a city that has no hospital beds or life-saving oxygen for hundreds of people.The local government said in a public notice on Monday night that it had received a request from the Delhi High Court because of the rapid rise in coronavirus infections and had reserved 100 rooms at the Ashoka Hotel for the higher judiciary.The Delhi High...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBENGALURU, April 27 (Reuters) - Vital medical supplies began to reach India on Tuesday as hospitals starved of life-saving oxygen and beds turned away coronavirus patients, and a surge in infections pushed the death toll close to 200,000.A shipment from Britain, including 100 ventilators and 95 oxygen concentrators, arrived in the capital New Delhi, though a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain had doses to spare.France is sending eight large oxygen-generating plants this week while Ireland, Germany and Australia are...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBENGALURU, April 27 (Reuters) - Vital medical supplies began to reach India on Tuesday as hospitals starved of life-saving oxygen and beds turned away coronavirus patients, and a surge in infections pushed the death toll close to 200,000.A shipment from Britain, including 100 ventilators and 95 oxygen concentrators, arrived in the capital New Delhi, though a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain had doses to spare.France is sending eight large oxygen-generating plants this week while Ireland, Germany and Australia are...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNEW DELHI, April 25 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all citizens to be vaccinated and exercise caution, saying on Sunday the “storm” of infections had shaken India, as the country set a new global record of the most number of COVID-19 infections in a day.The United States said it provide raw materials for one of the COVID-19 vaccines, medical equipment and protective gear to help India respond. France, Britain and Germany also promised rapid support.The number of cases in India surged by 349,691 in the past 24 hours, the...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNEW DELHI, April 25 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all citizens to be vaccinated and exercise caution, saying on Sunday the “storm” of infections had shaken India, as the country set a new global record of the most number of COVID-19 infections in a day.The United States said it provide raw materials for one of the COVID-19 vaccines, medical equipment and protective gear to help India respond. France, Britain and Germany also promised rapid support.The number of cases in India surged by 349,691 in the past 24 hours, the...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNEW DELHI, April 22 (Reuters) - India recorded the world’s highest daily tally of 314,835 COVID-19 infections on Thursday as a second wave of the pandemic raised new fears about the ability of crumbling health services to cope.Health officials across northern and western India, including the capital, New Delhi, said they were in crisis, .Some doctors advised patients to stay at home, while a crematorium in the eastern city of Muzaffarpur said it was being overwhelmed with bodies, and grieving families had to wait their turn. A crematorium...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNEW DELHI, April 22 (Reuters) - India recorded the world’s highest daily tally of 314,835 COVID-19 infections on Thursday as a second wave of the pandemic raised new fears about the ability of crumbling health services to cope.Health officials across northern and western India, including the capital, New Delhi, said they were in crisis, .Some doctors advised patients to stay at home, while a crematorium in the eastern city of Muzaffarpur said it was being overwhelmed with bodies, and grieving families had to wait their turn. A crematorium...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNEW DELHI, April 21 (Reuters) - At least 24 COVID-19 patients in western India died on Wednesday when the oxygen supply to their ventilators ran out, amid a nationwide shortage of the gas and a surge in infections.Maharashtra State Health Minister Rajesh Tope confirmed the deaths at a hospital in Nashik city and said the hospital's oxygen supply ran out because a tanker refilling it suffered a leak. Oxygen was running scarce throughout the country."The leakage was spotted at the tank supplying oxygen for these patients. The interrupted...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNEW DELHI, April 21 (Reuters) - At least 24 COVID-19 patients in western India died on Wednesday when the oxygen supply to their ventilators ran out, amid a nationwide shortage of the gas and a surge in infections.Maharashtra State Health Minister Rajesh Tope confirmed the deaths at a hospital in Nashik city and said the hospital's oxygen supply ran out because a tanker refilling it suffered a leak. Oxygen was running scarce throughout the country."The leakage was spotted at the tank supplying oxygen for these patients. The interrupted...WW…

By , HONG KONG/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has deleted his account on Sina Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, an Indian government source and the company said, as tensions between the two countries continue to simmer over a border skirmish.Since posting on Sina Weibo the first time in 2015 during a visit to China, Modi has been an infrequent user of the Chinese social media platform. He had more than 200,000 followers and 100 posts before the account was shut.Sina Weibo announced the closure of the account late on Wednesday and the removal comes a few days after...…By , HONG KONG/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has deleted his account on Sina Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, an Indian government source and the company said, as tensions between the two countries continue to simmer over a border skirmish.Since posting on Sina Weibo the first time in 2015 during a visit to China, Modi has been an infrequent user of the Chinese social media platform. He had more than 200,000 followers and 100 posts before the account was shut.Sina Weibo announced the closure of the account late on Wednesday and the removal comes a few days after...WW…