Remove your tattoos, Beijing tells Chinese football players By: AFP on December 30, 2021Footballers playing in China’s national team should remove any existing tattoos and are “strictly prohibited” from getting any new ones, the country’s sports administration body has said. The sport has found itself in the crosshairs of the Communist Party’s purity drive in recent years, and players on the national football team routinely cover their arms […]
US names envoy to step up fight for Afghan women’s rights By: AFP on December 30, 2021The United States has appointed an envoy to defend the rights of Afghan women, stepping up efforts on a key priority as the Taliban ratchet up restrictions. Rina Amiri, an Afghan-born US mediation expert who served at the State Department under former president Barack Obama, will take the role of special envoy for Afghan women, […]
France orders closure of mosque over sermon contents By: AFP on December 29, 2021PARIS: France has ordered the closure of a mosque in the north of the country because of the radical nature of its imam’s preaching, regional authorities told AFP on Tuesday. The mosque in Beauvais, a town of 50,000 people some 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Paris, will remain shut for six months, according to […]
WHO rings alarm bell over ‘very high risk’ Omicron By: AFP on December 29, 2021GENEVA: The risk posed by the Omicron variant is still “very high”, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, after Covid-19 case numbers shot up by 11 percent globally last week. Omicron is behind rapid virus spikes in several countries, including those where it has already overtaken the previously-dominant Delta variant, the WHO said in its […]
Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly hospitalized with Covid-19 By: AFP on December 28, 2021Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly has been admitted to hospital after testing positive for Covid-19, a senior doctor said on Tuesday. Ganguly, who underwent minor heart surgery in January, was admitted on Monday suffering from a mild fever, a senior doctor of the Woodlands Hospital in Kolkata said. “His condition is stable. There is […]
Heavy snow causes travel chaos in Japan By: AFP on December 28, 2021TOKYO: Heavy snow caused traffic jams, flight cancellations and disruption to train services in central Japan on Monday, with record drifts recorded in some areas. More than 3,200 households have been left without power in the region, according to Kansai Electric Power, as officials warned more snow was forecast overnight. No injuries or deaths due […]
Sri Lanka shuts three foreign missions as dollar crisis worsens By: AFP on December 28, 2021COLOMBO: Sri Lanka announced on Monday the closure of three overseas diplomatic missions in a bid to save foreign currency reserves, as the country’s central bank slapped tighter controls on dollars needed to finance essential imports. The Sri Lankan High Commission (embassy) in Nigeria and consulates in Germany and Cyprus will be closed from January […]
Scrapped flights, resurgent Covid deliver Christmas gut punch By: AFP on December 27, 2021Holiday travel headaches and safety worries swelled Sunday with thousands of flights cancelled, events scrapped and new Omicron cases soaring, as people wrap up Christmas celebrations bruised by a resurgent Covid-19 pandemic. Some 8,300 flights have been grounded and tens of thousands more delayed from Friday through Sunday — one of the busiest travel periods […]
WHO sees unprecedented Omicron spread, ‘probably’ in most countries By: AFP on December 15, 2021The World Health Organization warned Tuesday Omicron was spreading at an unprecedented rate and urged countries to act, as drug maker Pfizer said its coronavirus pill was effective against the variant. Dutch primary schools will close early as Europe battles a fresh wave of infections and hospital admissions, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced a major parliamentary test […]
‘God will take revenge,’ says Afghan father of US drone strike victim By: AFP on December 14, 2021An Afghan whose daughter was among 10 relatives killed by a wrongly directed US drone strike expressed anger Tuesday at Washington’s announcement that nobody would be punished for the deadly mishit. “God will take revenge,” said Aimal Ahmadi, 32, who lost his three-year-old daughter Malika and nine other relatives in the August 29 strike, which […]