Chinese city of 13 million locked down amid COVID-19 scare
The Hindu
Beijing implements ‘zero COVID’ plan after Xian reports 140 cases in 10 days
Facing the biggest outbreak of COVID-19 cases in weeks, China’s authorities on Wednesday issued a lockdown order for the 13 million residents of Xian, the provincial capital of northwestern Shaanxi.
Officials said the city had reported more than 140 cases in the last 10 days, which are high numbers for China’s “zero COVID” strategy that calls for lockdowns and mass testing to ensure cases remain zero.

About 923 families of Nagarathar community arrived from across the globe at Nattarasankottai in Sivaganga district to celebrate the traditional ‘Sevvai Pongal’ festival. This annual event serves as a massive international reunion for the Nagarathar community people. Local residents said while many might miss major holidays like Pongal or Deepavali, they made every effort to attend Sevvai Pongal, which was held on the first Tuesday following Pongal. This tradition had been upheld by the community for over two centuries.












