News Archives for World - 2021-04-24

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World

Twitter censors tweets from politicians, public that criticized Modi govt's handling of Covid crisis

Twitter has been ordered by the Indian government to censor 52 tweets that criticized India’s handling of the second surge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This includes tweets by Revanth Reddy, a sitting Member of Parliament; Moloy Ghatak, a West Bengal state minister; actor Vineet Kumar Singh; and two filmmakers, Vinod Kapri and Avinash Das.

Updated 24 Apr, 2021 08:32pm

Europe

EU says Moldova MPs' vote to sack judge is an attack on constitution

The issue underlines the tension between Sandu, who came to office in November on a pro-EU ticket, and a parliament dominated by lawmakers aligned with her pro-Russian predecessor.
Sandu wants an election to get more of her supporters into parliament to fight corruption and overcome what she calls obstruction by the existing assembly.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 06:03pm

Europe

Russia reports 8,828 new COVID-19 cases, 399 deaths

The coronavirus crisis centre said 399 more deaths of coronavirus patients had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, taking the national death toll to 107,900.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 06:02pm

South Asia

India's death toll hits new record as Covid 'tsunami' worsens

Another 2,624 deaths were reported in 24 hours, taking the official toll to nearly 190,000 since the pandemic started.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:58pm

South Asia

Avalanche kills eight Indians near China border

The officer said more than 385 workers had been moved to safety.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:57pm

Europe

Merkel urges Germans to stick to coronavirus rules

Merkel drew up the law after some of the 16 federal states refused to implement tougher measures despite a surge in COVID-19 cases and in defiance of a lockdown agreement reached in March.
"This is something new in our fight against the pandemic. And I am convinced that it's urgently needed," Merkel said in her weekly video podcast.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:56pm

World

Daily record of more than 893,000 Covid cases worldwide: AFP count

India has also recorded a record 2,624 deaths over the previous 24 hours. The pandemic has killed nearly 190,000 people in total in the country.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:55pm

World

Indian Covid variant found in Switzerland: health authority

The virus variant was found in "a passenger who was transiting through an airport," it said, without providing more details about the case.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:55pm

South Asia

Malaysia receives first batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines

"The COVAX facility sent the vaccine from South Korea, and we will keep it at the designated storage centre," he told reporters, according to Bernama.
"Our view is that the AstraZeneca vaccine is beneficial for use by certain groups...(we) need to have more brands of vaccine as some people may be compatible with this vaccine," he said.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:53pm

Europe

Turkey detains four in Vebitcoin investigation

"Four administrators and personnel of the company were detained on Saturday on allegations of fraud," Mehmet Nadir Yagci, a prosecutor in the southwestern city of Mugla said in a statement.
Vebitcoin announced on Friday that it had stopped all activities "in order to fulfil all regulations and claims".

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:53pm

Europe

Merkel urges Germans to stick to stricter coronavirus rules

Both chambers of parliament approved the amendments to the Infection Protection Act earlier this week to give the federal government more powers to fight the third wave in the pandemic.
Merkel drew up the law after some of the 16 federal states refused to implement tougher measures despite a surge in COVID-19 cases and in defiance of a lockdown agreement reached in March.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:49pm

South Asia

Indian hospitals turn away patients in COVID-19 'tsunami'

Max Healthcare, which runs a network of hospitals in north India, tweeted that it had less than two hours of oxygen left while Fortis Healthcare, another big chain, said it was suspending new admissions in Delhi.
India is in the grip of a rampaging second wave of the pandemic, hitting a rate of one COVID-19 death in just under every four minutes in Delhi as the capital's underfunded health system buckles.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:43pm

Europe

Belarus to set up emergency procedure for transfering presidential power

The prime minister would head the security council, if the president is absent, Lukashenko added.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:41pm

Europe

EU rejects Russian decision to label media outlet Meduza as 'foreign agent'

The designation issued on Friday requires Meduza to label itself as such, subjecting it to increased government scrutiny.
"We reject the decision by the Russian authorities to include independent media outlet Meduza on the list of 'foreign agents'," a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said in a statement.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:39pm

World

Myanmar violence must end, democracy be restored: Indonesia president

Min Aung Hlaing has become the focus of international outrage over the coup and a subsequent crackdown on dissent that has left more than 700 dead.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:37pm

Europe

UK opposition calls for standards commission after PM criticised by former top adviser

Cummings also said he was not responsible for leaks over the cost of refurbishing Johnson's residence and that the prime minister and his office had fallen below acceptable standards of competence and integrity.
Johnson's office in response on Friday said the government had followed the rules over the refurbishment. The prime minister had never interfered in a government leak inquiry, his office added.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:35pm

South Asia

Rescuers find debris thought to be from missing Indonesian submarine

Navy says depth will present many difficulties.
Retrieving submarine technically possible – expert.
Submarine went missing early Wednesday during drill.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:29pm

South Asia

Singapore PM says Myanmar junta chief not opposed ASEAN role, delegation visit

He said he heard us, he would take the points in which he considered helpful, that he was not opposed to ASEAN playing a constructive role, or an ASEAN delegation visit, or humanitarian assistance, and that they would move forward and engage with ASEAN in a constructive way.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:27pm

Africa

South African public sector union prepares for strike as wage talks hit deadlock

In the 2021 budget presented in February, the National Treasury said ways to curb the wage bill could include freezing salaries for the next three years, headcount reductions and changing or abolishing some benefits for civil servants.
Those proposals further strained relations with unions, after a court battle over the government's failure to raise salaries last year.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:23pm

South Asia

China to hold talks on building asteroid defence system

Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, didn't provide any further details in his opening remarks at a ceremony for China's space day in the eastern city of Nanjing.
China has made space exploration a top priority in recent years, aiming to establish a programme operating thousands of space flights a year and carrying tens of thousands of tonnes of cargo and passengers by 2045.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:20pm

South Asia

Myanmar agreed to end violence against civilians

He also said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting was a success, Bernama reported.
"We have succeeded. It's beyond our expectation in getting the outcome from today's meeting," Muhyiddin said, according to Bernama.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:20pm

South Asia

India Covid deaths hit record as J&J jab gets US green light

One 'oxygen express' carrying 30,000 litres of oxygen arrived in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh state at dawn on Saturday, where armed guards were waiting to escort trucks to hospitals.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:19pm

Middle East

Iran's Zarif to visit Qatar, Iraq Sunday

Saeed Khatibzadeh said Zarif's visits to Qatar and Iraq are "in the framework of developing bilateral ties (and) regional and trans-regional talks."

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:16pm

Middle East

Kuwait follows UAE in suspending India flights over Covid

It said Kuwait residents would only be allowed to return to the emirate via third countries if they stopped over for at least 14 days.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:11pm

World

Covid jabs at the ends of the earth

Japan is best known for its teeming megacities, much of its countryside remains remote and depopulated, making vaccination of its often elderly residents a huge headache.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 05:11pm

Europe

Coronavirus toll at 1000 GMT Saturday

At least 145,544,640 cases of coronavirus have been registered.

Updated 24 Apr, 2021 05:03pm

South Asia

Southeast Asian leaders meet for Myanmar crisis talks

Mass protests by an angry population have been met by a brutal crackdown that has left blood on the streets.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 04:30pm

Europe

Germany restricts travel from 'high-risk' India

Germany is the latest of several countries to restrict travel from India over the new variant, following Canada, Britain and Kuwait.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 04:28pm

Europe

Czech PM under fire over EU conflict of interest report

The Commission arrived at the same conclusion in its final audit published late on Friday, which is an update of an earlier version made public in 2019.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 04:25pm

South Asia

Indonesia military says missing submarine sank with dozens aboard

Warships, planes and hundreds of military personnel have been searching for the stricken vessel.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 04:19pm

Middle East

Gaza rockets follow Jerusalem clashes in second night of violence

Washington said it was "deeply concerned" by the escalating violence, while the European Union appealed for restraint.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 04:14pm

South Asia

Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan urge Taliban to commit to Afghan peace talks

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan called on the Afghan Taliban on Friday to reaffirm its commitment to achieving a negotiated settlement for lasting peace in Afghanistan.
In a joint statement issued after talks in Istanbul, the three ministers underlined “the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire” to end the violence and “provide a conducive atmosphere” for peace talks.

Published 24 Apr, 2021 10:10am

South Asia

Record infections overwhelm India’s hospitals

• 13 patients died in a hospital fire NEW DELHI: Delhi hospitals issued desperate appeals for oxygen on Friday ...