NEW DELHI (AFP) – India extended COVID vaccinations to teens aged 15-18 yesterday, after officials tightened restrictions in big cities to avoid a repeat of last year’s devastating outbreak.

More than 200,000 people around India died in a huge spring virus wave that overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums.

Health workers have since administered more than 1.4 billion vaccine doses but less than half of India’s population is fully inoculated, according to government data.

Hundreds of teenagers patiently queued with their parents yesterday morning outside a school turned into a makeshift medical centre in the capital New Delhi.

“It’s really great to have your first vaccine,” said 16-year-old Soumadeep, after receiving his first dose of the Indian-made Covaxin.

“It’s like a new year gift for the children.”

Officials have fretted over the arrival of the Omicron coronavirus variant and a sudden rise in daily infections, with some of India’s biggest urban centres imposing fresh restrictions last week.

New Delhi and tech hub Bangalore are under overnight curfews from 10 pm each evening, with bars and restaurants in both cities ordered to operate at half capacity.

Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, has barred public gatherings of more than four people from 9pm to 6am and restricted wedding ceremonies to 50 guests.

Last year’s Delta variant wave in India struck after one of the world’s biggest religious gatherings, the Kumbh Mela, which attracted around 25 million pilgrims.

That festival, along with large state election rallies, was blamed by experts for fuelling the
surge.

Despite a record rise in global infections, the Omicron outbreak has seen a less dramatic increase in hospital admissions, fuelling hopes the variant is less severe than Delta and other strains.

But the experience of last year’s outbreak has left many worried for the weeks ahead.

“It’s a concern – the cases are on the rise,” said Pushp Jain, whose son was queuing to receive his first dose in Delhi yesterday.

“The variant is mild. But obviously to safeguard the kids, we need to have the vaccination.”

India has the world’s second-highest number of cases, with nearly 35 million confirmed infections.

Its 481,000 known COVID deaths are the third-highest, behind the tolls in the United States and Brazil.

But under-reporting is widespread and some studies have estimated India’s true toll could be up to 10 times higher.

India will begin rolling out booster vaccines for people aged over 60 from next Monday.

CAIRO (AP) – Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced his resignation on Sunday amid political deadlock and widespread pro-democracy protests following a military coup that derailed the country’s fragile transition to democratic rule.

Hamdok, a former United Nations (UN) official seen as the civilian face of Sudan’s transitional government, was reinstated as prime minister in November as part of an agreement with the military following the October coup. In that time he had failed to name a Cabinet and his resignation throws Sudan into political uncertainty amid uphill security and economic challenges.

In a televised national address on Sunday, Hamdok called for a dialogue to agree on a “national charter” and to “draw a roadmap” to complete the transition to democracy in accordance with the 2019 constitutional document governing the transitional period.

“I decided to return the responsibility and declare my resignation as prime minister,” he said, adding that his stepping down would allow a chance for another person to lead the nation and complete its transition to a “civilian, democratic country”. He did not name a successor.

The prime minister said his efforts to bridge the widening gap and settle disputes among the political forces have failed.

He warned that the ongoing political stalemate since the military takeover could become a full-blown crisis and damage the country’s already battered economy.

“I tried as much as I possibly could to prevent our country from sliding into a disaster. Now, our nation is going through a dangerous turning point that could threaten its survival unless it is urgently rectified,” he said. The October coup had upended Sudan’s plans to move to democracy after a popular uprising forced the military’s overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his government in April 2019.

Four months after al-Bashir’s ouster, the generals and the protesters reached a power-sharing deal to rule the country through elections in 2023. However, military-civilian ties have been frayed by the military takeover that has threatened to return Sudan to international isolation.

Hamdok’s resignation comes amid a heavy security crackdown on protesters denouncing not only the takeover but the subsequent deal that reinstated him and sidelined the pro-democracy movement. He was returned to office in November amid international pressure in a deal that calls for an independent technocratic Cabinet under military oversight led by him.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – United States (US) President Joe Biden on Sunday reassured his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that Washington “will respond decisively” if Russia moves to invade its pro-Western neighbor, the White House said in a statement.

With a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s borders, Biden “made clear” to Zelensky during a phone call that the “US and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

The show of US support for Ukraine comes days after Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin of severe consequences if Moscow launches a military invasion.

In his call with Zelensky, Biden also stressed Washington’s commitment “to the principle of ‘nothing about you without you’,” in an apparent reference to the need to include Ukraine in negotiations about its own future.

Zelensky tweeted afterwards that he appreciated the US’ “unwavering support” and that the call “proves the special nature” of the two countries’ relationship.

High-ranking US and Russian officials are due to sit down on January 9 and 10 in Geneva to discuss the crisis.

Earlier this week, Biden spoke to Putin, the two leaders’ second conversation by phone in three weeks as tensions mount over Ukraine.

Discussing the call with Putin on Friday, Biden said: “I’m not going to negotiate here in public, but we made it clear he cannot – I’ll emphasise, cannot – invade Ukraine.”

The US leader added, in remarks to reporters during a holiday stay in Delaware, that he had “made it clear to President Putin that we will have severe sanctions, we will increase our presence in Europe, with NATO allies” if Russia invades Ukraine.

Psaki also said in Sunday’s post-call statement that Biden reaffirmed “the US’ commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The US leader additionally “expressed support for confidence-building measures to de-escalate tensions in Donbas and active diplomacy to advance the implementation of the Minsk Agreements.”

Under the Minsk agreement – brokered by France and Germany – Ukraine agreed to carry out political reforms while Russia agreed to end its support for pro-Russian separatist rebels.