More than 90 people are missing after a barge off the coast of India’s Mumbai city sank amid a severe cyclone. The Indian navy said it had rescued 177 of the 270 people aboard and that efforts to find survivors were ongoing. Three other commercial barges carrying about 700 people are stranded at sea in the wake of cyclone Tauktae, which has battered India’s western coast. Tauktae weakened after it made landfall on Monday but at least 12 people have already died in the storm. The stricken barge, owned by India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), was carrying personnel deployed for offshore drilling. When the storm struck, the barge’s anchors gave way and it began drifting.A spokesman for the Indian navy told the BBC it had dispatched three warships to save those aboard the three stranded commercial barges. Two of the barges are off the coast of Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra state, while the third is off the coast of Gujarat.(BBC)…[+]

At least 6,000 migrants have reached Spain’s Ceuta enclave from neighbouring Morocco, a record number over a single day, Spanish officials say. They say the migrants – who include about 1,500 minors – either swam around the border fences that jut out into the sea or walked across at low tide. They are said to be mostly from Morocco. Spain says it has already sent some 2,700 back – but not the minors. Spain’s Ceuta and Melilla enclaves have become magnets for African migrants. Spanish troops have been deployed to the beach to help border police at Ceuta’s main entry point – Tarajal, on the enclave’s south side. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said 200 troops, plus 200 extra police were going to assist Ceuta’s normal 1,100-strong border force. The enclave has some 80,000 inhabitants.(BBC)…[+]

Independent observers have rejected claims of voter fraud in Myanmar’s 2020 election, three months after the military took power in a coup. The Asian Network for Free Elections said the outcome of the vote was “by and large, representative of the will of the people of Myanmar”. The military has justified its February coup by alleging massive voter fraud, but provided no evidence. The vote was won by Aung Sang Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. Ms Suu Kyi and other elected officials were arrested on 1 February in a series of early morning military raids. She has only been seen by video link since. The election observers’ report described the military’s decision to ignore the election results as “indefensible” .(BBC)…[+]

India’s western state of Gujarat is braced for the landfall of cyclone Tauktae, which is likely to be the strongest to hit the region since 1998. The storm has roared up India’s western coast over the past two days, with six people killed and thousands evacuated. Efforts are under way to rescue more than 400 people stranded off the coast in two commercial barges. The cyclone comes amid a second Covid-19 wave that has overwhelmed India’s healthcare system. The meteorological department said the storm had now intensified into an “extremely severe cyclonic storm”. It is expected to make landfall in Gujarat on Monday night local time, with wind speeds of up to 160km/h (100mph). Both Gujarat and its neighbouring state, Maharashtra, are on high alert, with heavy rains also forecast. Although Covid cases are declining in both states, the devastating effects of the nation’s second wave are still being felt.(BBC)…[+]

Thailand has seen its highest number of daily Covid cases, with the majority of the new infections stemming from the country’s overcrowded prisons. Some 6,853 prisoners make up for 9,635 of Monday’s new cases – more than double the previous daily record. Thailand admitted there were growing clusters in jails after several prominent activists tested positive. The country has managed to keep coronavirus numbers low for the last year, but saw a huge spike last month. A total of 111,082 cases have been reported since the beginning of the pandemic. The previous highest daily total was 4,887 on 13 May, according to Johns Hopkins University. It also reported 25 new deaths on Monday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 614.(BBC)…[+]

America’s climate envoy John Kerry has been ridiculed for saying technologies that don’t yet exist will play a huge role in stabilising the climate. Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, he said the US was leading the world on climate change – and rapidly phasing out coal-fired power stations. But he rejected a suggestion that Americans need to change their consumption patterns by, say, eating less meat. He said: “You don’t have to give up quality of life to achieve some of the things we want to achieve. “I’m told by scientists that 50% of the reductions we have to make (to get to near zero emissions) by 2050 or 2045 are going to come from technologies we don’t yet have.”(BBC)…[+]

Myanmar’s military has entered a small town in western Chin state which took up arms against them three weeks ago. Activists from the volunteer Chinland Defence Force say they have retreated from Mindat to spare the town further bombardment. Mindat is one of several towns where opponents of the military have armed themselves. Nearly 800 people have died in mainly unarmed protests at February’s coup which ousted the elected government. BBC South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head says the army now appears to control Mindat. For three weeks they have been fighting against local people armed mainly with homemade hunting guns, and dozens of soldiers are reported to have been killed.(BBC)…[+]

The boss of the world’s busiest airport for international passengers has said Covid passports are the only way to restart mass foreign travel. Dubai Airports chief executive Paul Griffiths told the BBC: “I don’t think there is an alternative.” Critics of the digital systems argue they discriminate against those who cannot get vaccinated. But Mr Griffiths says he is a complete supporter of the documents, which he says are “inevitable”.

“I think the problem is not the vaccine passport and its discrimination. It’s the need to roll things out and have a proper globally equitable vaccine programme,” he said.(bbc)…[+]

Greece has launched its tourist season, lifting most remaining restrictions on movement and declaring “we are putting the lockdown behind us”. Although an average of 2,000 daily Covid cases are still being reported, vaccinations are being rolled out with the Greek islands as a priority. German tourists have begun flying in, but Britons will not as Greece is not on the UK government’s “green list”. Holidaymakers from the UK will be able to travel to Portugal from Monday. Greece still has several restrictions. However, the big changes are that residents no longer have to send text messages to a hotline whenever they leave their homes or go shopping, movement is allowed between regions, and a night-time curfew has now been limited to between 00:30 and 05:00.

A fifth of Greece’s economy is seen as dependent on the tourism sector and 20% of workers are employed by it. “We are opening our tourist industry to the world,” Tourism Minister Haris Theoharis announced on Thursday evening in front of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion outside Athens.(BBC)…[+]

Dozens of passengers booked on Australia’s first repatriation flight from India will reportedly not be able to take it after testing positive for Covid or being close contacts of cases. The flight was supposed to bring 150 Australian citizens home following a backlash over a three-week ban on anyone entering from Covid-hit India. But local media reports suggest the plane may now take off half empty. Australia’s strict rules mean the seats cannot be given to others in the queue. There are 9,500 Australians stranded in India at the moment, including 950 people registered as vulnerable and 173 unaccompanied minors.

The tough measures were introduced due to the escalating Covid crisis in India. The country’s healthcare system has been engulfed as infection rates soared in recent weeks. Many people have died without getting treatment as hospital beds and medical oxygen ran out. The plane – leaving Delhi on Friday evening and due to arrive in Darwin on Saturday – was the first of six scheduled flights due to bring back the vulnerable citizens.(BBC)…[+]