Coronavirus crisis in India overwhelming hospitals

Britain and the US both pledged to send aid to India where a wave of COVID-19 cases has set a global record high for the number of infections. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In the news today Coronavirus crisis in India overwhelms hospitals [Health workers and relatives carry the body of a COVID-19 victim for cremation in Jammu, India, April 26, 2021.] Credit: Channi Anand/AP Britain and the United States have pledged to send aid to India where a wave of COVID-19 cases has set a global record high, a fifth day in a row. [Health authorities on Monday]( reported more than 352,000 new infections in a single day. The surge in cases, which has been steadily climbing since March, is overwhelming the health system, where vital supplies like oxygen and ICU beds are critically low, and hospitals are turning away patients. The Biden administration on Sunday [lifted an export ban]( on raw materials for vaccines for India and pledged to supply the country with test kits, ventilators and personal protective gear. Officials in the UK said they [have begun shipping]( ventilators and oxygen concentrator devices to the South Asian country. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi [was accused of downplaying]( an escalating crisis after his government ordered Twitter to remove posts critical of its handling of the pandemic. What The World is following Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an Iranian British woman, [has been sentenced to another year]( in prison on a charge of [spreading propaganda against Iran]( in 2009. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has already served five-year years in an Iranian prison, also has an additional one-year ban from leaving the country. The latest sentence, issued during a closed-door hearing, has been widely condemned and comes as high-profile negotiations are taking place with the US and Iran over the nuclear deal. And, the number of people who died from a [massive fire at a hospital]( in Baghdad now totals 82, with another 110 injured. The blaze, which officials say was caused by an exploding oxygen canister, devastated the intensive care unit at Ibn al-Khatib Hospital. The ICU was caring for COVID-19 patients at the hospital. Iraq’s prime minister has called for an investigation. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Amid narcotics reform, Thai cooks replace MSG with cannabis]( [Cannabis leaves fried tempura style at Baan Lao Ruang restaurant in Thailand.]( Credit: Patrick Winn/The World The Thai government is rethinking its hard-line laws against cannabis. This shift isn’t just affecting prisons and courtrooms. It’s also influencing cuisine — and the effects have reached a restaurant called Baan Lao Ruang (The Storytelling House). From stir-fries and rich curries to tempura-fried leaves, [the restaurant's chefs are experimenting with cannabis]( flavors. [Canada’s highest court rules in favor of Sinixt tribal rights at heart of hunting case]( [Rick Desautel (center), and his wife, Linda Desautel (in green), are both Sinixt descendants. They gathered with other Sinixt members at their tribe's historic fishing spot to wait for the Supreme Court of Canada's final decision in the case.]( Credit: Courtesy of Shelly Boyd The Supreme Court of Canada [has ruled 7-2 in favor of Rick Desautel](, a man from Washington state who was charged with illegally hunting an elk in British Columbia in 2010. Desautel intentionally hunted without a license to draw attention to his ancestral tribe, the Sinixt, from Canada. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright Spot Chloé Zhao became the first Chinese woman and the first woman of color [to take home the Oscar for Best Director]( for her work on "Nomadland." The film also took the Academy Award for Best Picture. 🎥🥇"[Nomadland](," starring Frances McDormand, is based on a 2017 nonfiction book titled "Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century," by Jessica Bruder. [Director Chloé Zhao holds her Academy Award for Best Director.] Credit: Chris Pizzello/AP --------------------------------------------------------------- In case you missed it from The World --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.