EU to discuss alleged Russian link to 2014 blast in Czech Republic By: Agencies on April 19, 2021The Czech Republic said on Sunday it had informed NATO and European Union allies about suspected Russian involvement in a 2014 ammunition depot explosion and the matter would be addressed at an EU foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday. The central European country expelled 18 Russian embassy staff on Saturday over the issue and said investigations […]
Germany remembers nearly 80,000 dead in COVID pandemic By: Agencies on April 19, 2021Germany is paying tribute Sunday to the nearly 80,000 people it has lost to the coronavirus, even as the country struggles to get a grip on another rise in infections. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will lead a memorial event with other top officials at Berlin’s Konzerthaus concert hall. His office says it is also dedicated to […]
Cuba’s Raul Castro leaves the political stage, his legacy yet to be written By: Agencies on April 19, 2021Raul Castro, who is retiring from high public office, for most of his life toiled in the shadow of his older brother, Fidel Castro. Yet he also played a key role in Cuba’s 1959 leftist revolution and the preservation of Cuban socialism. While Fidel was the charismatic leader who rallied Cubans to defend the revolution […]
Refugees win rare victory in Serbia landmark pushback ruling By: Agencies on April 19, 2021Hamid Ahmadi still can feel the cold of the February night when Serbian police left him and two dozen other refugees in a forest. Crammed into a police van, the refugees from Afghanistan thought they were headed to an asylum-seekers’ camp in eastern Serbia. Instead, they were ordered out near the country’s border with Bulgaria […]
‘A very good weird’: Israel drops outdoor COVID mask order By: Agencies on April 19, 2021Israelis went about barefaced on Sunday after the order to wear masks outdoors was rescinded in another step towards relative normality thanks to the country’s mass-vaccination against COVID-19. With about 81% of citizens or residents over 16 – the age group eligible for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in Israel – having received both doses, contagions and […]
Gaza record record daily virus deaths By: Agencies on April 19, 2021The Gaza Strip recorded its highest-ever daily toll of coronavirus deaths, authorities said Sunday, as the Israeli-blockaded territory struggles with a dearth of vaccines. The Palestinian enclave, hemmed in by a large concrete barrier, the Egyptian border and the Mediterranean Sea, had been largely spared by the Covid-19 illness for much of last year. But […]
Germany promises help for local staff amid Afghan withdrawal By: Agencies on April 19, 2021The German defense minister says she wants to help bring some Afghan employees of her country’s military to Germany as it prepares to leave Afghanistan after nearly 20 years. NATO allies including Germany are set to join the United States in pulling their remaining troops out of Afghanistan, starting on May 1. Germany currently has […]
Canada reports second case of rare blood clot after AstraZeneca jab By: AFP on April 18, 2021Canada has recorded the second case of rare but serious blood clotting linked to AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, authorities confirmed on Snday. Canadian authorities still recommend people get the vaccine jab. The patient, who lives in the western province of Alberta and received a version of the AstraZeneca vaccine supplied by the Serum Institute of India, […]
Prince Philip is laid to rest as somber queen sits alone By: Agencies on April 18, 2021As military bands played and a procession of royals escorted his coffin to the church, Prince Philip was laid to rest Saturday in a funeral ceremony that honored his lifetime of service to the UK, the crown and his wife of 73 years, Queen Elizabeth II. The widowed British monarch, setting an example amid the […]
Covid death toll passes three million as India cases surge By: Agencies on April 18, 2021The global Covid-19 death toll passed three million on Saturday as the pandemic continues to speed up despite vaccination campaigns, leading countries like India to impose new lockdowns to fight spiralling infection numbers. It is the latest grim milestone after the novel coronavirus surfaced in central China in December 2019 and went on to infect […]