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by Alexandra Vardi with Adel Zaanoun in Gaza City Agence France Presse TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) — Palestinian militants and the Israeli army exchanged a barrage of deadly fire in the early hours of Wednesday as intense fighting continued overnight, with UN envoy for Middle East Peace Tor Wennesland warning the two sides were heading “towards a full-scale war”. Israeli police reported two people had been killed after Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization said Wednesday that a variant of Covid-19 behind the acceleration of India’s explosive outbreak has been found in dozens of countries all over the world. The UN health agency said the B.1.617 variant of Covid-19, first found in India in October, had been detected in more than 4,500 samples uploaded to an open-access database “from 44 countries in all six WHO regions”. “And WHO has received […]
by Kyoko HASEGAWA TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese, US and French troops kicked off their first-ever joint military drill Tuesday in southwestern Japan, as concerns rise over China’s growing assertiveness in the region. An Australian naval ship is also taking part in the week-long air, land and sea exercises involving 300 ground troops from the three countries. It comes as Tokyo looks to deepen defence ties beyond its key US ally and with eyes on […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A US vessel fired warning shots at more than a dozen Iranian fast attack boats which buzzed close to a US Navy submarine and escort ships in the narrow Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the Pentagon said. In the second such incident in two weeks, 13 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy boats approached the seven US vessels at high speeds, closing within 150 yards (140 meters) before one of the […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — At least seven people were killed and one reported missing after a landslide at an Indonesian gold mine, authorities said Tuesday. Torrential rains triggered a landslide on Monday, inundating the mine with mud mixed with stones and debris in South Solok regency, West Sumatra, said the local emergency department head Fikri, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. In a statement, the department said “at least seven killed and one […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong on Tuesday scrapped a plan to make coronavirus vaccines mandatory for foreign domestic workers after the proposal sparked an outcry and a diplomatic tussle with the Philippines. Health officials planned to roll out mandatory inoculations for the 370,000 domestic workers in the city, mostly poorly paid women from the Philippines and Indonesia. Those wanting to apply for work visas — or renew their current ones — would need […]
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israel’s army said Tuesday that it had hit 130 “military targets” in Gaza, killing 15 “Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives” in retaliatory strikes after Palestinian militant groups launched a flurry of rockets towards Israel. “We have struck 130 military targets belonging mostly to Hamas,” the Islamist group that controls the blockaded Gaza strip, Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus told reporters. “According to our current estimates we have killed 15 Hamas and […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Three Myanmar journalists have been arrested in Thailand after fleeing across the border to escape a crackdown by the military junta, their employer has said. The trio were set to appear in court on Tuesday, their editor added, urging Thai authorities not to repatriate them to the coup-hit country. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, triggering a mass uprising […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The WHO chief took on so-called “vaccine diplomacy” on Monday, slamming countries for using Covid-19 jabs to gain competitive advantage rather than engaging in true cooperation to end the pandemic. “Vaccine diplomacy is not cooperation,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters from the World Health Organization’s headquarters in Geneva. The UN health agency chief’s was responding to a question about allegations that countries such as Russia and China, which have donated large […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Qatar’s ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani landed in Saudi Arabia for talks Monday, in his second visit since the countries re-established relations in January following a bitter three-year feud. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, received Sheikh Tamim in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, according to images and a statement published by Saudi state media. The visit, which came at the invitation of […]
MUMBAI, India (AFP) — A growing number of current and recovered Covid-19 patients in India are contracting a deadly and rare fungal infection, doctors told AFP Monday as the vast nation battles to contain a massive outbreak of virus cases. The world’s second most populous nation on Monday reported nearly 370,000 coronavirus infections to take the overall number of cases to just under 22.7 million, and more than 3,700 new deaths. Experts warn that the […]
by Nina LARSON GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — A Covid-19 variant spreading in India, which is facing an explosive outbreak, appears to be more contagious and has been classified as being “of concern”, the World Health Organization said Monday. The UN health agency said the B.1.617 variant of Covid-19 first found in India last October seemed to be transmitting more easily. “There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility of the B.1.617,” Maria Van Kerkhove, […]
