India makes RT-PCR test mandatory for flyers from 6 countries starting Jan 1

News Network

December 29, 2022

Dubai, Dec 29: Starting January 1, 2023, negative RT-PCR test reports will be mandatory for passengers who are travelling to India from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand, according to reports quoting Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday.

On Wednesday, health ministry sources said filling out Air Suvidha forms is also likely to be mandatory for these travellers from next week.

The next 40 days will be crucial as India may see a surge in Covid cases in mid-January, the sources said, adding that the assessment was made after analysing the previous trends of the Covid surge in the country.

Amid the explosion in Covid cases in some destinations, the operational readiness of healthcare facilities is under review in all states and Union Territories in anticipation of another wave. Hospitals across the country on Tuesday (December 27) conducted mock drills to assess their pandemic preparedness.

At least 39 international fliers tested positive for Covid between December 24 and 26. Taking due cognisance of the global surge in cases, including China, the government had directed random testing of international passengers.

Dubai passengers tests positive

"Two passengers, who arrived from Dubai, tested positive at the Chennai airport today. Both of hail from the Alangudi district of Tamil Nadu's Pudukkottai. Their test samples have been sent to the State Public Health Laboratory," read a statement issued by the Tamil Nadu Health department on Wednesday.

"Passengers of as many as 498 international flights were screened in the last three days (December 24, 25 and 26). A total of 1,780 swab samples were collected for Covid tests. The cumulative number of samples collected (from international fliers), so far, is 3,994. The cumulative number of samples testing positive for Covid is 39 and of samples sent for whole genome sequencing is 39," a source told ANI on Tuesday.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya personally oversaw a mock dirll at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital.

"To make sure that there is no Covid surge in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked us to be careful. The government is also making necessary preparations in anticipation of a rise in Covid infections. Today, mock drills are being conducted across Covid hospitals in the country to make sure people receive proper treatment in the eent of a rise in cases," Mandaviya told reporters at Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday.

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International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant for war crimes

News Network

November 21,2024

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant over war crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The court’s Pre-Trial Chamber I issued warrants of arrest for Netanyahu and Gallant "for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest”, it confirmed in a statement Thursday.

It is the first instance in the court's 22-year history it has issued arrest warrants for Western-allied senior officials.

In its statement, the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I, a panel of three judges, said it has rejected appeals by Israel challenging its jurisdiction.

The chamber said it has decided to release the arrest warrants because "conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing", referring to Israel's ongoing onslaught on Gaza.

Netanyahu and Gallant, it said, “each bear criminal responsibility” for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts,” as well as “intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”

All 124 states that signed the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court, are now under an obligation to arrest the wanted individuals and hand them over to the ICC in the Hague.

The court relies on the cooperation of member states to arrest and surrender suspects. The Netherlands' foreign minister quickly said his country was prepared to enforce the warrants while 93 nations earlier reiterated their support for the ICC.

Triestino Mariniello, a lawyer representing Palestinian victims at the ICC, called the warrants "a historic decision".

He noted that the court had endured "pressure and threats of sanctions" from the US government, but acted nonetheless.

As expected, the Tel Aviv regime rejected the rulings, with its security minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling the warrants “anti-Semitic through and through.”

The ICC said Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required.

Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court.

Israel unleashed its bloody Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023. So far, it has killed at least 43,985 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 104,092 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel faces an ongoing South Africa-led genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

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