Indian government to ease Kashmir restrictions

The United Nations has expressed concern about possible violations of international law and an increasingly dire refugee situation. The Ethiopian government has said the conflict is reaching its decisive stage.

This week we begin by looking at South Korea's strategy against Covid-19. It has been widely praised as effective against the virus but is it corrosive to personal freedoms? Next we see how monks are racing to save a Buddhist temple from rising waters in Thailand. The result of failed economic planning at the cost of the local environment. Finally, we head to India where the pandemic has exacerbated the problem of aggressive monkeys in New Delhi. We will look at how innovative solutions such as facial recognition are being used to deal with the problem.

"When the vaccine comes, I’m ready. I’m ready to take a shot," says one man in India's capital, New Delhi after two Covid-19 vaccines were approved for use, kicking off one of the world's biggest inoculation drives. India, which has the second highest number of registered cases worldwide, authorised the use of shots developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University as well as by local pharmaceutical firm Bharat Biotech.

The UN Security Council voices "deep concern" over the military coup in Myanmar, and calls in a draft statement for the "release of all detainees" including Aung San Suu Kyi. "The members of the Security Council emphasized the need for the continued support of the democratic transition in Myanmar," Britain's ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, tells reporters.

In an exclusive interview with The Guardian, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, discussed the country’s convoluted political structure, Nigeria's restructuring, regional autonomy, and President Muhammadu Buhari's quietness and what looks like the absence of governance at the centre.

The capital is the worst-hit city in India, with new infections threatening to overload the health care system. The country as a whole has reported another record daily rise in cases.

The Senate has appealed to state Governors and state houses of assembly to grant autonomy to the State Judiciary in the overriding interest of the public.

The National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies has advocated financial autonomy for the Judiciary, legislature and Local Governments, in all states of the Federation.

Cars line up outside a shopping mall in India's capital New Delhi where a drive-thru clinic has been set-up to administer Covid-19 vaccines. Demand is far outstripping supplies for jabs in India, with only 3.5 percent of the population fully vaccinated. "We’re vaccinating a little more than we were about 10 days ago, two weeks ago. We’ve crossed three million per day," says Gautam Menon, professor of physics and biology at India’s Ashoka University.

Foreign ministries from Germany and the UK have released a statement suggesting closer collaboration as well as the UK's backing for Germany to have "a new permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council."

New Delhi's Central Vista used to be a favourite spot with residents of the Indian capital. But the large public space, close to the president's house and heritage buildings, is being remodelled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. The €2 billion construction caused uproar when it was deemed an "essential service" at a time when Indians were dying by the thousands from Covid-19. The move reopened debate around heritage conservation and public spaces in India’s ancient capital. Our correspondents report.

Around 300 Afghan refugees in New Delhi shout slogans demanding human rights and resettlement by UN Agencies. The refugees say most of them have not received any help from the UN agencies in India. "We have nothing, no future, no education," says a 14-year-old Afghan refugee in India.