China’s top legislative body approved a national security law for Hong Kong on Tuesday in a move expected to raise tensions between Beijing and foreign governments. Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong’s sole representative to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, confirmed the law’s passage in an interview broadcast by Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK. Tam said the law, which targets secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in Hong Kong, is not “too spicy” and that he believes...
Indian Prime Minister,Narendra Modi, on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting to review the planning and preparations for COVID-19 vaccine, said an official statement issued by the PM office. According to the PM office, strenuous efforts are underway to develop a vaccine named `COVAXIN’, in close coordination and supervision by the Delhi-based Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV) located in southwestern city of Pune. Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech is learnt...
The prominent Iranian dissident and blogger Ruhollah Zam was sentenced to death on Tuesday by a revolutionary court in Tehran. Court spokesperson Gholam-Hussein Ismaili said Zam can still appeal to the country’s highest court . Revolutionary courts in Iran preside over espionage cases and threats to national security. Zam stands accused of using his website, Amad News, to spread propaganda against Iran’s leadership and to provoke protests against the regime, some of which turned violent....
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — An Ethiopian Orthodox monk whose family says he is 114 years old has survived the coronavirus. Tilahun Woldemichael was discharged from a hospital on Thursday after almost three weeks. He received oxygen and dexamethasone, a cheap and widely available steroid that researchers in England have said reduced deaths by up to one third in severely ill hospitalized patients. Ethiopia’s health minister has said the ministry recommends the emergency use of the...
Mexico City’s Police Chief, Omar Garcia Harfuch, was injured on Friday in an attack attributed to one of the country’s most powerful drug cartels, while four other people were killed. The 38-year-old, who was appointed in October to handle security in the city of nine million people, was attacked at 6.30 a.m. (1130 GMT) in Lomas de Chapultepec, a high-income residential area, authorities said. People inside a van fired with high-calibre weapons at a vehicle...
India reported over 17,000 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, pushing the country’s total above 500,000, Federal Health Ministry data showed on Saturday, with infections surging in major cities including the capital New Delhi. India has the world’s fourth-biggest outbreak of the virus that causes COVID-19, below only the United States, Brazil and Russia in confirmed infections, according to a Reuters tally. Infections are expected to continue rising steadily in India. Experts advising...
Bain Capital, a U.S. private investment firm, has been announced as the winning bidder for insolvent Virgin Australia after the rival bidder withdrew its offer. The bankrupt Brisbane-based company’s administrators agreed on Friday to sell the ailing airline to the Boston-based private equity firm. Private equity firm, Cyrus Capital Partners, withdrew its offer in the morning, citing a lack of engagement from Deloitte, an accounting firm responsible for the administration, which was set to name a preferred bidder on...
World football governing body FIFA announced on Thursday it had agreed a 1.5 billion dollars relief plan to help deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global game. FIFA’s plan means world football’s governing body will dip into its reserves to provide national federations with a number of grants and interest-free loans to cope with budget hits. FIFA had already provided the immediate release of all funds from its “Forward’’ projects and...
The Federal Government has condemned the attack on the Nigerian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia by Nigerian citizens, describing the act as disgraceful and criminal. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, condemned the act in a tweet via his handle @Geoffrey Onyeama on Friday. Onyeama vowed that perpetrators would be identified and punished accordingly. “Absolutely deplorable and disgraceful criminal behaviour by Nigerian hooligans, who without justification, attacked the Nigerian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia today. “Totally unacceptable behaviour. “Every...
Russians on Thursday opened polling stations for early voting on a constitutional referendum on whether to let President Vladimir Putin run for re-election twice more and potentially remain in power for the next 16 years. Putin, 67, has already been in power as President or Prime Minister for the past two decades. He is the longest-serving Russian or Soviet leader since Joseph Stalin. The early voting at polling stations throughout the country began a day...
