India

The vaccine was approved in India in January while the third phase of clinical trials was still under way, sparking some concern and criticism.

Bharat Biotech, which makes the vaccine, has since published data suggesting 78 percent efficacy.

The WHO said in a tweet it believed the benefits far outweighed the risks.

Some experts had pointed to a fast-track approval and incomplete data, but the firm's chairman, Dr Krishna Ella, said the vaccine was "200% safe".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the pledge at the Glasgow conference.

This is the first time the country has made such a commitment.

Net zero, or becoming carbon neutral, means not adding to the amount of greenhouse gases currently in the atmosphere.

In contrast, China has announced plans for carbon neutrality by 2060, while the US and EU aim to hit net zero by 2050.

Dr Samiran Panda said drones are being used to deliver doses in mountainous states in the country's north-east.

India aims to vaccinate all eligible citizens by the end of 2021 but experts say the drive needs to pick up a consistent pace to meet the target.

India has so far given more than 925 million doses of three approved jabs.

About 70% of the country's eligible population have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, according to official data.

PNG's National Pandemic Response Controller and Police Commissioner, David Manning, alleges India's High Commission in Port Moresby deliberately participated in a deception that resulted in the unauthorised arrivals.

Manning said India broke an agreement on how many passengers were approved for the repatriation flight.

According to him, the proposed repatriation flight from India had been rejected four times due to the risk of Covid-infected arrivals from India

The girl's parents have accused a Hindu priest and three others of attacking her when she had gone to fetch drinking water from the crematorium's cooler.

Her mother said the gates were shut and she was threatened when she objected to her daughter's cremation.

Police have registered a case of gang rape and murder and arrested the men.

Warning: some readers may find this story distressing.

Excess deaths are a measure of how many more people are dying than would be expected compared to the previous few years.

Although it is difficult to say how many of these deaths have been caused by Covid-19, they are a measure of the overall impact of the pandemic.

India has officially recorded more than 414,000 Covid-19 deaths so far.

The country is one of the few major economies without an estimate of excess deaths during the pandemic.

Rescuers were seen using their hands to dig up the ground and retrieve bodies, local television showed, and authorities said more victims could be trapped inside the debris. Rescuers were also shown carrying the injured through narrow lanes on makeshift stretchers.

Within the last 24 hours authorities have so far reported 11 incidents of houses or walls collapsing in the Mumbai area, officials said.

In one neighbourhood about half a dozen shacks located at the base of a hill collapsed on top of each other, officials said.

Their mothers had contracted Covid-19 more than a month ago. The children had developed no symptoms of the disease. At the 1,000-bed Kasturba Hospital in Sevagram, the young patients, however, were found to have antibodies to Covid-19, indicating past infection.

Now they were battling a rare, inflammatory and potentially life threatening condition called multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). This condition usually develops four to six weeks after children and teenagers have recovered from Covid-19.

Gullu Chaudhary said he was alerted by the cries of the 21-day-old and found her wrapped in a red scarf in the box decorated with images of Hindu deities.

The baby has been taken to hospital and her health is being monitored. She will be sent to a shelter home later.

Officials are investigating how the baby ended up in the river.

Ziona Chana, the head of a religious sect that practiced polygamy, died on Sunday, leaving behind 38 wives, 89 children and 36 grandchildren.

The news was confirmed by Mizoram's chief minister, Zoramthanga, who offered his condolences on Twitter "with a heavy heart".

Chana reportedly suffered from diabetes and hypertension.

Doctors told PTI news agency that Chana's condition deteriorated at home in his village, Baktawng Tlangnuam. He was rushed to hospital on Sunday evening, where he was declared dead on arrival.