Hospitals in India yesterday launched desperate appeals for oxygen as the nation’s Covid crisis spiralled, while Japan issued a state of emergency in some areas just three months before the Olympics are due to open.

Johnson & Johnson's single-shot Covid-19 vaccine is expected to be imported to India for "fill and finish" by June or July, financial daily Mint reported on Friday, citing ANI.

At least 13 Covid-19 patients died in a fire which broke out at the intensive care unit of a hospital in Palghar district of western Indian state of Maharashtra today, police said.

India yesterday posted a global record for the number of coronavirus cases in a day, as US President Joe Biden hailed his government’s “stunning” vaccination drive.

Mekala Kurmayya, a shepherd, appeared at a government office in India’s Telangana state wearing a bird’s nest on his face as he could not afford a mask.

India’s Civil Aviation Ministry and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) tonight gave conditional exemption to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct a feasibility study on Covid-19 vaccine delivery using drones.

Indian authorities scrambled to shore up supplies of medical oxygen to hospitals in the capital, Delhi, yesterday as a fast-spreading second wave of coronavirus stretched medical infrastructure to breaking point, officials and doctors said.

Maulana Bhashani, president of the National Awami Party (NAP-Bhashani), said in a press statement that the examples of Chiang-ki-shek in China and Czar in Russia and British oppression in undivided India or zulum of Jalem Yazid at Karbala pale into insignificance before the latest example of atrocity perpetrated by Yahya’s army.

India, the country currently being hit hardest by the pandemic, yesterday reported its worst daily death toll, with large parts of the country now under lockdown amid a fast-rising second wave of infections.

Even as India battles an alarming increase in daily Covid-19 cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tonight cautioned states against imposing of lockdowns, contending that both health and economy should be taken care of.

India’s capital New Delhi recorded 25,500 coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period, with about one in three people tested returning a positive result, its chief minister said, urging the federal government to provide more hospital beds to tackle the crisis.

Faced with a shortage of oxygen supply to treat an unprecedented rise in critical Covid-19 patients across India, its government last night decided to ban the supply of oxygen for industrial purposes from April 22 till further order.

With major historical monuments run by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) across the country shut down due to a spike in Covid-19 cases, the time will be used to carry out conservation work at the iconic Taj Mahal and other Mughal-era sites Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri at a cost of Rs one crore.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today appealed to devotees to keep a key Hindu festival symbolic as the country reported more than 200,000 new Covid-19 infections for the third straight day.

India’s daily Covid-19 vaccinations have slowed from their peak early this month while new infections have set a record, government data showed yesterday, as its main producer of shots urged the United States to end a ban on raw material exports.

The Indian Coast Guard apprehended a suspected Pakistani boat containing 30 kilogrammes of heroin and arrested eight Pakistani nationals from the vessel off the coast of Gujarat.

India reported more than two lakh fresh Covid-19 cases in a single day, the highest so far, and 1,038 new deaths in the same time span amidst an increasingly grim picture of the disease.

Maharashtra’s ruling party Shiv Sena alleged that the Election Commission of India was “biased” against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after the polls body had barred her from campaigning for 24 hours over her controversial remarks during polls campaign.

India yesterday said it will fast-track emergency approvals for Covid-19 vaccines that have been authorised by Western countries and Japan, paving the way for possible imports of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna shots.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today began a sit-in on Kolkata’s Indira Gandhi Sarani, also known as Red Road, in protest against the Election Commission of India's 24-hour ban on her campaign in the ongoing state assembly polls.