Category: NEWS

RAMALLAH (AFP) – The Palestinian Authority received 100,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm jab on Monday, the largest single batch of coronavirus vaccines yet to reach the Palestinian territories. The PA’s vaccination campaign was launched this month after the delivery of thousands of vaccines through the UN’s Covax programme for poorer nations. The Palestinian vaccine rollout has lagged well behind that of Israel, which has faced criticism for excluding most Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip from its world-beating vaccination drive. The latest jabs “represent a…

WASHINGTON, March 29, 2021 (AFP) – Joe Biden will closely monitor developments in the trial of the police officer charged with murdering George Floyd last year, the US president’s spokeswoman said Monday. “He certainly will be watching closely, as Americans across the country will be watching,” Jen Psaki said. “At the time of George Floyd’s death, he talked about this as being an event that really opened up a wound in the American public.”

MUMBAI (AFP) – Indian authorities clamped down on one of the country’s biggest Hindu festivals on Monday as the country passed 12 million coronavirus cases with financial hub Mumbai recording its highest-ever rise in daily infections. Public celebrations to mark Holi — a popular festival where people smear colour on each other — were banned in some states and territories, including the capital Delhi, over fears they could become ‘super-spreader’ events, with police patrolling streets in Mumbai to prevent large gatherings. Despite the restrictions, revellers still gathered in neighbourhoods across…

BEIRUT (AFP) – The overall death toll for Syria s civil war has reached 388,652 since it began a decade ago this month, a war monitor said on Sunday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the figures includes almost 117,388 civilians, among them more than 22,000 children. Attacks by the Syrian regime and allied militia forces accounted for the majority of civilian deaths, said the Britain-based monitor which relies on sources inside Syria for its reports. The Observatory s previous tally was issued in December and stood at more than…

LONDON (AFP) – Britain s prime minister vowed on Sunday to take action to better protect women after a national outpouring of grief and outrage over the death of a woman who went missing after setting out to walk home in London earlier this month. Boris Johnson also promised several reviews into the policing of a vigil for the woman on Saturday night, after male officers were seen scuffling with and restraining female demonstrators — further souring the national mood. Sarah Everard was found dead days after she went missing on…

YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar s junta late Sunday imposed martial law in two densely populated Yangon townships after at least 18 protesters were killed in one of the deadliest days since the February 1 coup. Sunday s violence brings the number of people killed in mass protests since the military wrenched civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power to around 100, though activists and rights groups believe it could be higher. The junta has repeatedly justified its power grab by alleging widespread electoral fraud in November s elections, which Suu Kyi s National…

CAIRO (AFP) – Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry acknowledged Sunday that diplomatic contact had been established with Turkey but warned full ties would depend on “a real change in Turkish policy”, state media reported. Ankara and Cairo had a dramatic falling out when Egyptian President Fattah al-Sisi ousted the Turkish-backed Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The two regional powers have since sparred over a range of issues and found themselves on opposite sides of the war in Libya. “If we find a real change in Turkish (foreign) policy aligning…

After Delhi-NCR, the weather patterns in Mathura-Vrindavan also changed suddenly on Tuesday night. The torrential rains that accompanied the strong storm have caused heavy damage to the camps in the Kumbh Mela area. The entrances to many camps collapsed here. At the same time, many electric poles have also been broken. The Kumbh region is plunged into darkness. The administration is engaged in relief work. The torrential rain came as a storm in the Kumbh Mela area with a sudden thunderstorm at around 9 pm on Tuesday night. Due to this, the 5-storey entrance of the…