Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on Monday called on US President Joe Biden’s administration to double down shipping AstraZeneca vaccine doses, oxygen concentrators to India.

“The Biden Administration’s commitment to export raw materials needed for life-saving vaccines to India is an essential first step, but we must double down by also shipping AstraZeneca vaccine doses, oxygen concentrators, and other supplies in our stockpiles not being used,” tweeted Krishnamoorthi. Krishnamoorthi, a member of the House Select Sub-committee on the coronavirus crisis, responded to the Biden Administration’s commitment to immediately export raw materials to India for the purpose of manufacturing the Covishield vaccines, while renewing his call for the US to release millions of AstraZeneca vaccine doses in its stockpile and to immediately ship other vital materials to countries experiencing a massive spread of COVID-19.

Earlier on Saturday, Krishnamoorthi had called on the Biden administration to release doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to countries currently experiencing massive and deadly surges in the spread of COVID-19, including India.

Welcoming the administration’s commitment to export raw materials for Indian manufacturers, Krishnamoorthi cautioned, “This is no time for symbolism, half-measures, or lip service – we must act now”.

“In World War II, we shipped supplies to allies in need through the Lend-Lease Act to protect our collective security. This is no different – we and the rest of the world are fighting a war together, and our ability to defeat COVID-19 hinges on active American leadership,” added Krishnamoorthi in his tweet.

His statement was followed by an announcement from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at 12:40 pm EST on Sunday, in which he stated that, “The United States has identified sources of specific raw material urgently required for Indian manufacture of the Covishield vaccine that will immediately be made available for India.”

The White House, in a readout, said: “Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, the United States is determined to help India in its time of need. To this end, the United States is working around the clock to deploy available resources and supplies. The United States has identified sources of specific raw material urgently required for Indian manufacture of the Covishield vaccine that will immediately be made available for India.”

The White House further said that to help treat COVID-19 patients and protect front-line health workers in India, the United States has identified supplies of therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that will immediately be made available for India.

India is currently experiencing a devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, recording over three lakh cases for the past few days.

New Delhi: Amid an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases in India, Google will be providing funding of Rs 135 crore for medical supplies and to help communities in general, informed CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday.CEO of Google and Alphabet, Pichai tweeted, “Devastated to see the worsening Covid crisis in India. Google & Googlers are providing Rs 135 Crore in funding to @GiveIndia, @UNICEF for medical supplies, orgs supporting high-risk communities, and grants to help spread critical information.” India reported 3.52 lakh fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. This is the highest single-day spike registered since the onset of the pandemic.Pichai’s tweet also had a link to a blog where Google detailed ways to help in with their efforts to fight the worsening situation.On the blog, Sanjay Gupta, country head and VP, Google India wrote, “Today we’re announcing Rs 135 crore (USD 18 million) in new funding for India. This includes two grants from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, totalling Rs 20 crore (USD 2.6 million). The first is to GiveIndia to provide cash assistance to families hit hardest by the crisis to help with their everyday expenses. The second will go to UNICEF to help get urgent medical supplies, including oxygen and testing equipment, to where it’s needed most in India. It also includes donations from our ongoing employee giving campaign — so far more than 900 Googlers have contributed Rs 3.7 Crore (USD 500,000) for organizations supporting high-risk and marginalized communities.”Moreover, Gupta also informed about Ad Grant support for public health information campaigns.”This funding also includes increased Ad Grant support for public health information campaigns. Since last year, we’ve helped MyGov and the World Health Organization reach audiences with messages focused on how to stay safe and facts about vaccines. We’re increasing our support today with an additional Rs 112 Crore (USD 15 million) in Ad Grants to local health authorities and non-profits for more language coverage options,” said Gupta.”Google is already helping India with its core information products like Search and Maps, YouTube and Ads. COVID features on Search are available in India, in English and eight Indian languages, that continue to improve localization and highlight authoritative information.”This includes information on where to get testing and vaccines. Maps and Search surface thousands of vaccine sites. Google is also collaborating closely with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and with organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to support vaccine awareness initiatives,” he added.

Indian-American CEO of Microsoft Satya Nadella and his Google counterpart Sundar Pichai on Monday extended their support to India amid a record surge in coronavirus cases.

Taking to Twitter, Nadella said, “I am heartbroken by the current situation in India. I’m grateful the US government is mobilising to help. Microsoft will continue to use its voice, resources, and technology to aid relief efforts, and support the purchase of critical oxygen concentration devices.” Meanwhile, keeping the current situation in mind, Pichai tweeted, “Devastated to see the worsening Covid crisis in India. Google & Googlers are providing Rs 135 crore in funding to @GiveIndia, @UNICEF for medical supplies, orgs supporting high-risk communities, and grants to help spread critical information.”

Amidst the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, India reported 3.52 lakh fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. This is the highest single-day spike registered since the onset of the pandemic.

Pichai’s tweet also had a link to a blog where Google detailed ways to help with their efforts to fight the worsening situation.

On the blog, Sanjay Gupta, country head and VP, Google India wrote, “Today we’re announcing Rs 135 crore (USD 18 million) in new funding for India. This includes two grants from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, totalling Rs 20 crore (USD 2.6 million). The first is to GiveIndia to provide cash assistance to families hit hardest by the crisis to help with their everyday expenses. The second will go to UNICEF to help get urgent medical supplies, including oxygen and testing equipment, to where it’s needed most in India. It also includes donations from our ongoing employee giving campaign — so far more than 900 Googlers have contributed Rs 3.7 Crore (USD 500,000) for organizations supporting high-risk and marginalized communities.”

Moreover, Gupta also informed about Ad Grant support for public health information campaigns.

“This funding also includes increased Ad Grant support for public health information campaigns. Since last year, we’ve helped MyGov and the World Health Organization reach audiences with messages focused on how to stay safe and facts about vaccines. We’re increasing our support today with an additional Rs 112 Crore (USD 15 million) in Ad Grants to local health authorities and non-profits for more language coverage options.”

“Google is already helping India with its core information products like Search and Maps, YouTube and Ads. COVID features on Search are available in India, in English and eight Indian languages, that continue to improve localization and highlight authoritative information.

“This includes information on where to get testing and vaccines. Maps and Search surface thousands of vaccine sites. Google is also collaborating closely with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and with organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to support vaccine awareness initiatives,” said Gupta in the blog.

On YouTube, Google is supporting the Indian government in their vaccine communication strategy. It ran a workshop for 200+ health officials to learn how they can use YouTube to reach audiences across Indian languages with vaccine information.

In the next 48 hours, the United States will be delivering raw material for vaccines, oxygen concentrators, ventilators, PPE kits to India, this was assured by US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan in his 45-minute-long phone call with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on Sunday.

India sees it as one of the most tangible support coming in the need of the hour when the country is facing an alarming rise in the COVID-19 numbers. Sources informed that NSA Doval pushed for India’s requirements during the talks. Supply of Remdesivir and raw material required by Serum Institute also figured in the discussion. “Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, the United States is determined to help India in its time of need. To this end, the United States is working around the clock to deploy available resources and supplies. The United States has identified sources of specific raw material urgently required for Indian manufacture of the Covishield vaccine that will immediately be made available for India. The United States also is pursuing options to provide oxygen generation and related supplies on an urgent basis,” said a White House statement released after Doval-Sullivan talks.

NSA Jake Sullivan and Doval also discussed the Quad vaccine initiative in which more than a billion doses are to be produced in India.

The US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is funding a substantial expansion of manufacturing capability for BioE, the vaccine manufacturer in India, enabling BioE to ramp up to produce at least one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2022.

The United States is deploying an expert team of public health advisors from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and USAID to work in close collaboration with the US Embassy, India’s health ministries, and India’s Epidemic Intelligence Service staff.

USAID will also quickly work with CDC to support and fast-track the mobilisation of emergency resources available to India through the Global Fund.

US President Joe Biden also tweeted earlier today, “Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need.”

Last year India exported 50 million hydroxychloroquine tablets to the US for the fight against Covid-19.

ANI has learnt that NSA Ajit Doval also held talks with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Tankers for oxygen supply have been sought along with other equipment. It is learnt both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have assured help to India.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is also holding series of talks with various countries to import medicines, oxygen and tankers for fighting the deadly wave of the pandemic, efforts are being made at multiple levels of government to augment the supply chain.

Iran Health Minister Saeed Namaki has written to Indian counterpart Dr Harsh Vardhan, expressing readiness to support India as it battles a second wave of Covid-19. Namaki in his letter wrote that Tehran is ready to offer “technical assistance, expertise and equipment in these difficult days and at the height of the plight of the dear citizens of India”.

“Managing this pandemic is possible only with solidarity, cooperation and assistance of all countries in the shadow of equity, elimination of discrimination and sanctions, as well as the fair access to all effective facilities in prevention, diagnosis and treatment for each needy people of the world and political, expertise and economic support of international organisations and non-governmental organisations,” the letter from the Iranian minister read.

Highlighting that Iran has “gone through difficult times due to the unlawful unilateral sanctions and its implications on medicine, vaccines and medical equipment supplies, he further said that the exchange of experiences with scientific, research and production centres can create a brighter future for the two countries with a long history of scientific, cultural and production exchanges.

“The government and people of Iran are ready to spare no technical assistance, expertise and equipment in these difficult days and at the height of the plight of the dear citizens of India with the Covid-19 epidemic,” he wrote.

Earlier in the day, expressing solidarity with the people of India, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that they are preparing a “mission to support” to aid India’s fight against the pandemic. Merkel’s show of support comes days after her criticism of the slowdown of vaccine exports from India against the backdrop of a record spike in coronavirus infections in the country.

The European Union (EU) has also said it will support India amid the sharp rise in Covid cases. “The EU together with its Member States will do its utmost to support India in this difficult moment,” said Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to India and Bhutan. Janez Lenarcic, the European Emergency Response Coordinator today informed that the EU has activated its Civil Protection Mechanism to help India with the COVID-19 crisis.

Several US lawmakers have also voiced their concerns and heaped pressure on the Biden administration to extend assistance, release vaccines and other raw materials critical for India. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday had said that the US is working closely with its partners in the Indian government to deploy more supplies and additional support.

Several other countries including Russia, Australia and Bhutan have extended support to India as it battles the deadly infection.

Chinese authorities in the northwest region of Xinjiang have sentenced an Uyghur author, whose work was targeted in a book burning campaign, to 20 years in prison, according to officials. Ahtam Omer, who wrote a short story collection titled Child of the Eagle, had been missing since early 2017, reported Washington-based Radio Free Asia (RSA).

Omer had been detained in 2017 in Kashgar prefecture, a month after his brother and nephew, RSA reported citing a source. Giving a reason for his detention, the authorities had said that Omer had sent his elder brother’s son to study in Egypt and sent money to him. “Ahtam Omer was detained and taken from his home on March 12, 2017,” the source said on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

According to RSA, Omer was charged with “separatism” and sentenced to prison in a secret trial in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi in late 2018. Several of Omer’s works, including Child of the Eagle, were burned by authorities in early 2020. This decision was made in view of the book’s growing impact on Uyghur society because of its focus on the themes of freedom and the spirit of struggle.

“The story was initially published in China Ethnicities Literature, a national-level journal, and long stayed far away from any official criticism as a result. However, by 2017, as a wave of ‘looking to the past’ had begun in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), including in the field of literature, a number of books were rounded up under accusations that they contained separatist content,” the RSA report said.

China has been rebuked globally for cracking down on Uyghur Muslims by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities. Beijing, however, continues to deny all charges.