Like Bajrang Dal, many Muslims have sacrificed lives for cow protection: RSS chief

New Delhi, Jul 22: Sir Philip Barton visited Bengaluru on Tuesday in the first of the series of virtual regional visits as the UK's new High Commissioner and called Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, business leaders, and startup community to pitch for new momentum in the already strong UK-Karnataka relationship.

During his virtual call, High Commissioner Barton got a 'real' taste of Bengaluru through a traditional Masala Dosa delivered to his residence in Delhi along with authentic south Indian filter coffee, which he relished over a chat with historian and commentator Ramachandra Guha. They discussed the unique UK-India "living bridge" across culture and cuisine, history and heritage, and sports and science.

Both Yeddyurappa and the British envoy restated their commitment to working together on the immediate challenges of Covid-19 and beyond.

Barton subsequently 'traveled' to Electronics City, where he met with a range of key business leaders to discuss deepening the UK-India tech partnership and opportunities for global investors in the UK.

Barton also met with a group of entrepreneurs, business founders and innovators, who were part of the first GoGlobal UK cohort to explore the dynamic UK market considered one of the best ecosystems for startups in the world. 

They had earlier attended a week-long boot-camp in London and Manchester in December 2019 that helped them bolster their business skills, build links with UK's thriving digital sector, and paved the way for future partnerships.

"I am delighted to make my first regional virtual visit to Bengaluru, the technology hub of India. My visit comes at a difficult time for everyone. So it is also a time when the excellent collaboration between the UK and Karnataka across technology and healthcare could not be important," Barton said.

"Making the most of those close links, and drawing on the great energy, innovation and entrepreneurship that Karnataka is famous for, will be central to ensuring we all recover from Covid-19 stronger than ever," he added.

Mangaluru, Apr 12: A 10-month-old baby who tested COVID-19 positive on March 27 completed treatment and discharged from hospital on Saturday.

He was the youngest positive case in Karnataka, from Sajipanadu village in Bantwal taluk.

The child had been with his mother to a relative's house at Monetepadau village, situated on the Karnataka-Kerala border in the first week of March.

A few days later the child developed an acute respiratory illness and tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

Treating the breastfeeding child was challenging for doctors as he had to be isolated. A team of doctors from Wenlock Hospital took up this challenge and successfully cured the baby.

Test reports on his mother and grandmother too have returned negative. They too had been under quarantine and were discharged with the baby.

Another positive development was that no COVID-19 case has been reported from the child's village.  

The entire Sajipanadu village was completely sealed after the child tested positive and the district had provided all the necessary supplies to the villagers.

Jan 28: China said on Tuesday that 106 people had died from a new coronavirus that is spreading across the country, up from the previous toll of 81.

The number of total confirmed cases in China rose to 4,515 as of Jan. 27, the National Health Commission said in a statement, up from 2,835 reported a day earlier.

The United States warned against travel to China on Monday and Canada issued a more narrow travel warning as the death toll from the spreading coronavirus passed 100, with tens of millions stranded during the biggest holiday of the year and global markets rattled.

Global stocks fell, oil prices hit three-month lows, and China's yuan dipped to its weakest level in 2020 as investors fretted about damage to the world's second-biggest economy from travel bans and the Lunar New Year holiday, which China extended in a bid to keep people at home.

The health commission of China's Hubei province said on Tuesday that 100 people had died from the virus as of Jan. 27, according to an online statement, up from the previous toll of 76, with the number of confirmed cases in the province rose to 2,714.

Other fatalities have been reported elsewhere in China, including the first in Beijing, bringing the deal toll to 106 so far, according to the People's Daily. The state newspaper put the total number of confirmed cases in China at 4,193, though some experts suspect a much higher number.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump offered China whatever help it needed, while the State Department said Americans should "reconsider" visiting all of China due to the virus.

Canada, which has two confirmed cases of the virus and is investigating 19 more potential cases, warned its citizens to avoid travel to China's Hubei province, at the heart of the outbreak.

Authorities in Hubei province are taking increasing flak from the public over their initial response to the virus. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the city of Wuhan, epicentre of the outbreak, to encourage medical workers and promise reinforcements.

Visiting Wuhan in blue protective suit and mask, Li praised medics, said 2,500 more workers would join them in the next two days, and visited the site of a new hospital to be built in days.

The most senior leader to visit Wuhan since the outbreak, Li was shown on state TV leading medical workers in chants of "Wuhan jiayou!" - an exhortation to keep their strength up.

China's ambassador to the United Nations, following a meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday, said "the Chinese government attaches paramount importance to prevention and control of the epidemic, and President Xi Jinping has given important instructions. ...

"China has been working with the international community in the spirit of openness, transparency and scientific coordination," he said.

Guterres said in a statement, "The UN appreciates China's effort, has full confidence in China's ability of controlling the outbreak, and stands ready to provide any support and assistance."

MOUNTING ANGER

On China's heavily censored social media, officials have faced mounting anger over the virus, which is thought to have originated from a market where wildlife was sold illegally.

Some criticised the governor of Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, after he corrected himself twice during a news conference over the number of face masks being produced.

"If he can mess up the data multiple times, no wonder the disease has spread so severely," said one user of the Weibo social media platform.

In rare public self-criticism, Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwang said the city's management of the crisis was "not good enough" and indicated he was willing to resign.

The central Chinese city of 11 million people is in virtual lockdown and much of Hubei, home to nearly 60 million people, is under travel curbs.

Elsewhere in China, people from the region faced questioning about their movements. "Hubei people are getting discriminated against," a Wuhan resident complained on Weibo.

Cases linked to people who travelled from Wuhan have been confirmed in a dozen countries, from Japan to the United States, where authorities said they had 110 people under investigation in 26 states. Sri Lanka was the latest to confirm a case.

INVESTORS WORRIED

Investors are worried about the impact. The consensus is that in the short term, economic output will be hit as authorities limit travel and extend the week-long New Year holiday — when millions traditionally travel by rail, road and plane - by three days to limit spread of the virus.

Asian and European shares tumbled, with Japan's Nikkei average sliding 2%, its biggest one-day fall in five months. Demand spiked for safe-haven assets such as the Japanese yen and Treasury notes. European stocks fell more than 2%.

The US S&P 500 closed down nearly 1.6%.

"China is the biggest driver of global growth so this couldn't have started in a worse place," said Alec Young, FTSE Russell's managing director of global markets research.

During the 2002-2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which originated in China and killed nearly 800 people globally, air passenger demand in Asia plunged 45%. The travel industry is more reliant on Chinese travellers now.

Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, which has had eight cases, banned entry to people who had visited Hubei recently.

Some European tour operators cancelled trips to China, while governments around the world worked on repatriating nationals.

Officially known as 2019-nCoV, the newly identified coronavirus can cause pneumonia, but it is still too early to know just how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads.

"What we know about this virus it that transmission occurs through human contact but we are speaking of close contact, i.e. less than a meter," said Jerome Salomon, a senior official with France's health ministry.

"Crossing someone (infected) in the street poses no threat," he said. "The risk is low when you spend a little time near that person and becomes higher when you spend a lot of time near that person."