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by Sakher Abou El Oun with Ben Simon in Jerusalem JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist movement which controls the Gaza Strip, came into force early Friday after 11 days of deadly fighting that pounded the Palestinian enclave and forced countless Israelis to seek shelter from rockets. Celebrations were heard on Gaza streets in the minutes after the truce began as cars honked their horns and some guns were […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — The Eiffel Tower will reopen on July 16 after several months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Paris landmark’s operator said on Thursday. Visitor numbers will be limited to 10,000 a day to meet social distancing requirements, fewer than half of their pre-Covid levels, operator Sete told AFP. All floors of the monument will be accessible to visitors, except some areas where renovation work is ongoing. Only 50 percent […]
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AFP) — Bangladesh authorities on Thursday imposed a lockdown in five Rohingya refugee camps in the country’s southeast after a spike in coronavirus cases in recent days, officials said. The restrictions barred gatherings and movement between camps, which are home to more than 100,000 Rohingya refugees, Bangladesh’s deputy refugee commissioner Shamsud Douza told AFP. “We imposed the restrictions from today after sudden spikes in coronavirus cases in the five camps,” he said, […]
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil has detected its first six cases of the so-called Indian variant of the Covid-19 virus, in crew members who arrived aboard a Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship, officials said Thursday. Tests “identified the B.1.617.2 variant of the Covid-19 virus in samples taken from crew of the MV Shandong Da Zhi,” which arrived from South Africa, the health ministry for the northeastern state of Maranhao said in a statement. “In […]
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — Progress against the coronavirus pandemic remains “fragile” and international travel should be avoided, the World Health Organization’s Europe director warned on Thursday but stressed that authorized vaccines do work against variants of concern. “Right now, in the face of a continued threat and new uncertainty, we need to continue to exercise caution, and rethink or avoid international travel,” Hans Kluge said, adding that “pockets of increasing transmission” on the continent could […]
by Hazel Ward with Daniel Silva in Madrid CEUTA, Spain (AFP) — The seas were calm along the Moroccan-Spanish frontier late Wednesday with no sign of swimmers trying to reach Spain’s north African Ceuta enclave after a record 8,000 arrivals in just one day. Spanish authorities were caught by surprise when large numbers of people began flooding across the frontier on Monday as the Moroccan border forces looked the other way, quickly leaving the tiny […]
(Eagle News) – The Israel government press office (GPO) said the Palestine militant group Hamas which is currently occupying and ruling Gaza was “responsible for the death and injury of tens of thousands of Israeli and Palestinian civilians.” In a statement issued Wednesday, May 19 by the State of Israel’s Prime Minister’s office and the GPO, it said that Hamas — a Palestine Islamist group tagged as a terrorist organization by the United […]
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — A young Pakistani was killed as he pretended to shoot himself while being filmed by friends for a TikTok video, police said Thursday. Hamidullah, 19, who police said was well-known locally on social media, held a friend’s pistol to his temple and pulled the trigger, unaware the gun was loaded. “The young man died on spot,” said Badshah Hazrat, a senior police official in the northwestern Swat Valley. While the clip […]
AHMEDABAD, India (AFP) — A major new storm was brewing in the Bay of Bengal off India’s east coast, forecasters warned Thursday, just days after the biggest cyclone to hit the west of the country in decades left at least 110 people confirmed dead. Scientists say cyclones in the region are becoming both more frequent and stronger as climate change leads to warmer sea temperatures. Cyclone Tauktae pummelled India’s western coast late Monday and left […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Thursday branded the United States an “out-and-out security risk creator” in the South China Sea, after an American warship sailed through waters near the disputed Paracel Islands. Tensions in maritime waters claimed by both China and many of its neighbors have ratcheted up recently, with Beijing staging live-fire drills and sending hundreds of fishing vessels to a reef claimed by the Philippines. China’s military said the USS Curtis Wilbur, […]
by Neil SANDS WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiled a big-spending budget Thursday aimed at stimulating the coronavirus-hit economy while carrying out long-awaited progressive reforms. The center-left leader — who faced criticism before last year’s election for her cautious approach to implementing change — announced major funding boosts to welfare payments, social housing and health. “We’re making sure our recovery leaves no one behind,” Ardern said. “It’s what some […]
PM Netanyahu’s office details how latest Israel-Gaza conflict started and clarifies alleged misinformation being circulated by the militant Palestine group Hamas (Editor’s note: Below is the Question and Answer format statement from the Israel government’s press office under the Office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarifying questions on the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas-ruled Gaza. We are publishing it in full) ——— “Everything you needed to know about the latest escalation in Israel” […]
