WHO: COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to fall globally

WHO: COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to fall globally
A health worker conducts a swab test for the Covid-19 coronavirus at a residential compound during the second stage of a pandemic lockdown in Shanghai on Wednesday. (AFP)
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Updated 07 April 2022

WHO: COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to fall globally

WHO: COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to fall globally
  • In its latest pandemic report, WHO said 9 million cases were reported, a 16% weekly decline and more than 26,000 new deaths from COVID-19
  • The UN health agency said confirmed coronavirus infections were down in all regions of the world

GENEVA: The number of coronavirus cases reported globally has dropped for a second consecutive week and confirmed COVID-19 deaths also fell last week, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report issued Wednesday.
In its latest pandemic report, WHO said 9 million cases were reported, a 16 percent weekly decline, and more than 26,000 new deaths from COVID-19. The UN health agency said confirmed coronavirus infections were down in all regions of the world.
However, it warned that the reported numbers carry considerable uncertainty because many countries have stopped widespread testing for the coronavirus, meaning that many cases are likely going undetected.
WHO said it was also tracking an omicron variant that is a recombination of two versions: BA.1 and BA.2, which was first detected in Britain in January. WHO said early estimates suggest the recombined omicron could be about 10 percent more transmissible than previous mutations, but further evidence is needed.
The agency has continued to warn countries not to drop their COVID-19 protocols too quickly and predicted that future variants could spread easily if surveillance and testing systems are shelved.
Last week, the UK said COVID-19 had hit record levels across the country, with government statistics estimating that about 1 in 13 people were infected. Those figures came on the same day the British government abandoned its free testing program.
Meanwhile, Chinese authorities conducted more mass testing this week across Shanghai, which remains in lockdown following another jump in infections; the city has recorded more than 90,000 cases but no deaths during the pandemic.
Despite growing public frustration and concerns about economic effects, China says it is sticking to its hard-line “zero-tolerance” approach mandating lockdowns, mass testing and the compulsory isolation of all suspected cases and close contacts. Following a public uproar, Shanghai authorities said Wednesday they would allow at least some parents to stay with children infected with COVID-19, making an exception to a policy of isolating anyone who tests positive.


Strong quake has people fleeing homes in Afghanistan, Pakistan

People come out of a restaurant after a tremor was felt in Lahore, Pakistan March 21, 2023. (Reuters)
People come out of a restaurant after a tremor was felt in Lahore, Pakistan March 21, 2023. (Reuters)
Updated 19 min 57 sec ago

Strong quake has people fleeing homes in Afghanistan, Pakistan

People come out of a restaurant after a tremor was felt in Lahore, Pakistan March 21, 2023. (Reuters)
  • “People ran out of their houses and were reciting the Qur'an,” an AFP correspondent in Pakistani city of Rawalpindi said

KABUL: A strong earthquake lasting for at least 30 seconds was felt across much of Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India Tuesday night, with the United States Geological Survey putting the magnitude at 6.5.
“People ran out of their houses and were reciting the Qur'an,” an AFP correspondent in Pakistani city of Rawalpindi said, with similar reports coming from elsewhere in the country and in Afghanistan.
USGS said the quake was centered near Jurm in northeastern Afghanistan and had a depth of 187 kilometers (116 miles).
Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
More than 1,000 people were killed and tens of thousands made homeless after a 5.9-magnitude quake — the deadliest in Afghanistan in nearly a quarter of a century — struck the impoverished province of Paktika on June 22 last year.
 


UK counter-terror police involved in ‘mosque attack’ probe

UK counter-terror police involved in ‘mosque attack’ probe
Updated 21 March 2023

UK counter-terror police involved in ‘mosque attack’ probe

UK counter-terror police involved in ‘mosque attack’ probe
  • One man was arrested after the attack in Birmingham, central England on Monday evening
  • It came after an 82-year-old man was set on fire outside a mosque in the Ealing area of west London on the evening of Feb. 27

LONDON: Counter-terrorism officers are involved in an investigation into the attempted murder of a man who was set alight after leaving a mosque, UK police said on Tuesday.
One man was arrested after the attack in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, central England, just after 7:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Monday.
It came after an 82-year-old man was set on fire outside a mosque in the Ealing area of west London on the evening of February 27.
The Birmingham force said it was aware of the previous attack.
“We are working with the Metropolitan Police Service to see whether they are linked,” a spokesman said.
West Midlands Police chief superintendent Richard North said counter-terrorism police were supporting the investigation.
They had “access to specialist capabilities to help establish the full circumstances,” he added.
In the latest attack, it is thought the victim, who was walking home from a nearby mosque, was sprayed with an unknown substance then had his jacket set on fire.
He suffered burns to his face and was taken to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.


London lights up with Ramadan decorations

London’s West End has been decorated to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan for the first time in history. (@ramadanlightsUK)
London’s West End has been decorated to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan for the first time in history. (@ramadanlightsUK)
Updated 21 March 2023

London lights up with Ramadan decorations

London’s West End has been decorated to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan for the first time in history. (@ramadanlightsUK)
  • UK capital’s West End illuminated for first time to mark holy month

LONDON: London’s West End has been decorated to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan for the first time in history.
The famous district of the UK capital has been decked out with fanoos lanterns and lights in the shape of crescent moons and stars, with the words “Happy Ramadan” erected on Coventry Street between Piccadilly and Leicester Square, to usher in the start of the holy month.
The area is popular among tourists from the Gulf and large segments of the city’s Muslim population — which makes up around 15 percent of the total — due to its internationally renowned shopping opportunities, restaurants and entertainment venues.
Visitor numbers tend to surge during the holy month, which has led to it being dubbed the “Ramadan Rush.”
News of London’s new Ramadan-inspired decorations came days after the Royal Mint, the official manufacturer of the UK’s coinage, issued a new gold bullion bar depicting the Kaaba in Makkah, the holiest site in Islam, at a price of £1,156.22 ($1,414.43) per bar.


Russian police target Nobel Prize-winning group in mass raids

Russian police target Nobel Prize-winning group in mass raids
Updated 21 March 2023

Russian police target Nobel Prize-winning group in mass raids

Russian police target Nobel Prize-winning group in mass raids
  • Police confiscated items and equipment carrying the Memorial logo, the group said, and took some of the employees in for interrogation
  • Memorial chairman Yan Rachinsky was also subject to a raid on his home

DUBAI: Russian security forces raided the homes of former employees of the Nobel Prize-winning human rights group Memorial on Tuesday and took some of them in for questioning, the group said, in a move denounced by one opposition party as an assault on dissent.
Founded to document political repression in the Soviet Union, Memorial was officially banned in late 2021 after the authorities claimed it supported terrorism and extremism, charges that it called absurd.
Tuesday’s raids were carried out after Russian investigators accused the now dissolved group of allegedly including the names of World War Two-era Nazi collaborators on their historical list of victims of political terror.
Memorial was not immediately available to comment.
Police confiscated items and equipment carrying the Memorial logo, the group said, and took some of the employees in for interrogation.
“At present searches of some of the employees are continuing — lawyers are not allowed to see them,” Memorial wrote on Telegram.
Memorial chairman Yan Rachinsky, who collected the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the group when it won in 2022, was also subject to a raid on his home, the group said.
Opposition party Yabloko said the raids were a “new step” in Russia’s campaign of political repression.
“What happened is an example of the destructive battle against dissent in Russia,” it said in a statement.
Since invading Ukraine in February 2022, President Vladimir Putin has accelerated Russia’s drive to suppress dissenting voices, including independent media, non-governmental rights groups and political opponents.
Putin has his own Human Rights Council, a body that critics say has enabled him to pay lip service to civic freedoms while ramping up state oppression.
Last November, shortly before his annual meeting with the Council, he removed 10 of its members and brought in four new ones including a pro-war blogger-correspondent.


US speeds up Abrams tank delivery to Ukraine war zone

US speeds up Abrams tank delivery to Ukraine war zone
Updated 21 March 2023

US speeds up Abrams tank delivery to Ukraine war zone

US speeds up Abrams tank delivery to Ukraine war zone
  • Pentagon officials are expected to make the announcement soon
  • It's unclear how soon the U.S. would begin training Ukrainian forces on how to use, maintain and repair the tanks

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is speeding up its delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, opting to send a refurbished older model that can be ready faster, with the aim of getting the 70-ton battle powerhouses to the war zone in eight to 10 months, US officials told The Associated Press.
The original plan was to send Ukraine 31 of the newer M1A2 Abrams, which could have taken a year or two to build and ship. But officials said the decision was made to send the older M1A1 version, which can be taken from Army stocks and will be easier for Ukrainian forces to learn to use and maintain.
The officials spoke on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity because the plan has not yet been publicly announced. Pentagon officials are expected to make the announcement soon.
The Biden administration announced in January that it would send the tanks to Ukraine — after insisting for months that they were too complicated and too hard to maintain and repair. The decision was part of a broader political maneuver that opened the door for Germany to announce it would send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow Poland and other allies to do the same.
It’s unclear how soon the US would begin training Ukrainian forces on how to use, maintain and repair the tanks. That training pipeline could affect the amount of time it takes for the tanks to be used in battle. The Pentagon will also have to ensure that Ukrainian forces have an adequate supply chain for all the parts needed to keep the tanks running.