د . إAEDSRر . س

The World This Week: Amazon Profits Soar, An Israeli Festival Turns Deadly And India’s Oxygen Crisis

Article Featured Image

It’s been a deadly week for some and immensely profitable for others in the international arena this week. A yearly Jewish pilgrimage has left dozens dead, India’s battling an oxygen crisis as COVID-19 infections soar and Amazon’s profits continue to rise due to our pandemic habits.

Here are five notable stories from across the globe in Lovin Malta’s international news roundup in case you missed them. 

1. At least 44 died today after a stampede in a religious festival in Israel.

Dozens of people, including children, have been killed and about 150 were injured at a crowded religious in northern Israel today.

Tens of thousands of Orthodox Jews attended an all-night festival yesterday called. It is the largest event in Israel since the pandemic started.

While the cause of the crush has not yet been determined, sources have said it began after some participants slipped on the stairs, causing dozens to fall and be trampled.

2. Myanmar is on the brink of economic collapse. 

Nearly half of Myanmar’s population could descend into poverty by the end of 2021 as the country edges on the verge of economic collapse, according to a report by the United Nations.

The country has been faced with a deadly coup and the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the worrying report, if the situation does not stabilise by the end of the year, 25 million people could be forced to survive on $1.10 a day, with women hit the worst.

3. India has been devastated by an oxygen crisis triggered by a major COVID-19 outbreak.

A devastating surge in active cases of COVID-19 has exposed India’s weak health infrastructure, which left countless ill patients without vital oxygen.

Cases are spiking in the capital Delhi with more than 20,000 new cases each day. Hospitals and ITU beds have filled beyond their capacity, and patients have been left to find oxygen for themselves, catapulting the price of a cylinder from £58 to £700.

The situation has become so dire, the international community has stepped in. The World Health Organisation sending more than 4,000 oxygen concentrators that draw oxygen from the air, with countries like Germany, Singapore, the US, the UK and even the tiny neighbouring kingdom of Bhutan pledged oxygen supplies and generators.

4. Amazon’s profits have tripled in the pandemic.

The pandemic may have been fatal for millions, but not the profit of retail giant Amazon. In fact, it has reported a tripling in profits and a huge rise in sales in the first three months of this year.

Almost every facet of the COVID-19 pandemic has helped boost the revenues of Amazon, which offers services from grocery deliveries, online shopping and video streaming.

According to CNN, revenues rose from $75 billion this time last year to $108.5 billion for the three months to the end of March.

The firm, which has been lambasted for questionable employment conditions in the past, has also announced plans to raise pay for half a million US workers at the cost of $1 billion.

5. Over 10,000 have been evacuated after Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan silence erupts.

At least 13 people have been killed, dozens injured and 10,000 evacuated after a water dispute led to some of the worst clashes in years on a disputed Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border.

Border officers of Kyrgyzstan accused Tajikistan of attacking three of its posts. As a result, two of the military patrols are building up their forces on both sides of the border.

It began on 29th April, Tajikistan accrued the Kyrgyz military of opening fire on its border guards in an attempt to illegally seize a water distribution point. In return, Kyrgyzstan claimed that Tajik forces opened fire at the vehicles of Kyrgyz citizens in the morning and set fire to their houses.

Are there any stories we missed? Comment below 

READ NEXT: A Smoke-Free Generation: New Zealand Proposes Measures To Ban Cigarettes For Youngsters

Sam is a journalist, artist and writer based in Malta. Send her pictures of hands or need-to-know stories on politics or art on [email protected].

You may also love

View All