A Russian court on Wednesday approved a request by prosecutors to declare organizations linked to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny “extremist” in a move that outlaws the groups, his lawyers said on social media. The ruling, which takes effect immediately, effectively bars the groups’ members from running in a parliamentary …
Read More »Daily Archives: June 9, 2021
Dozens of children, mostly girls, abducted by Mozambique fighters
Report by Save the Children says 51 minors taken by armed groups in conflict-hit Cabo Delgado in 2020, a figure likely an underestimate. Fighters in conflict-hit northern Mozambique abducted dozens of children during raids in 2020, according to a new analysis by Save the Children. The charity said in a …
Read More »Colombia cut coca crop area in 2020 but cocaine output rose -UNODC
Colombia reduced the area occupied by coca across the country by 7% in 2020, although the potential output of cocaine rose 8% to 1,228 metric tons a year, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said on Wednesday. Last year, Colombia reduced the area occupied by coca crops …
Read More »Egypt and Sudan urge Ethiopia to negotiate seriously over Nile dam
Sudan and Egypt agreed on Wednesday to coordinate efforts to push Ethiopia to negotiate “seriously” on an agreement on filling and operating a giant dam it is building on the Blue Nile, a joint statement said. The two countries, which are downstream from the dam, issued the statement after African …
Read More »Wildfires rage near the occupied Alquds, prompting evacuations (Videos)
Scores of Israeli firefighters have been deployed to tackle two major forest fires that broke out in the hills near Alquds (Jerusalem) on Wednesday. Hundreds of people were evacuated. Almost 800 people, were ordered to leave their homes as the flames approached. The fires also prompted the closure of some …
Read More »Peru’s leftist Castillo claims victory in presidential run-off, condemns rival Fujimori for claims of fraud
Trade union leader Pedro Castillo has declared himself the victor in the Peruvian presidential election. His opponent Keiko Fujimori refused to concede and claimed without evidence that the vote was fraudulent. “The people have spoken,” Castillo told supporters late on Tuesday in front of his Peru Libre party’s headquarters. He …
Read More »Cruise passengers test positive for Covid-19 in Italy
Two passengers on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean have tested positive for Covid-19. The pair were traveling on the MSC Seaside cruise ship and disembarked with their families in Syracuse, Sicily, on Tuesday, MSC said on Wednesday. The two passengers were asymptomatic. The cruise had previously docked in Malta …
Read More »Syria rejects Blinken’s remarks on occupied Golan Heights
Syria has categorically rejected remarks by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, reiterating that the land was and will remain a “Syrian Arab” territory. “The Syrian Arab Republic absolutely rejects the statements of the US Secretary of State regarding the occupied Syrian Golan which come …
Read More »Brussels threatens trade war with UK over Northern Ireland Protocol
After talks in London ended without a breakthrough, European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said patience with the UK was wearing “very, very thin” The EU has threatened to launch a trade war against the UK if it fails to implement checks on goods entering Northern Ireland under the terms of …
Read More »Building collapse in South Korea kills 9, injures 8
A five-story building being demolished in southern South Korea has collapsed, sending debris falling on a bus and killing nine people on board A five-story building being demolished in southern South Korea collapsed on Wednesday, sending debris falling on a bus and killing nine people on board, officials said. Concrete …
Read More »Biden drops Trump attempt to ban TikTok, WeChat; orders new review
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday withdrew a series of Trump-era executive orders that sought to ban new downloads of WeChat and TikTok and ordered a Commerce Department review of security concerns posed by those apps and others. The administration of former President Donald Trump had attempted to block new …
Read More »Iraq’s PMF Operations Commander, Qassem Musleh released | Sources
Sources in the ‘Hashed Sha’abi’ announced the release of the commander of Anbar operations in the Popular Mobilization Forces, Qassem Mosleh, due to insufficient evidence in the accusations. Pictures circulated in the social networks in Iraq showing Musleh among a number of the PMF soldier, after his release.
Read More »EU, US to end trade tariffs, call for new study into COVID-19 origins, summit draft says
The leaders of the European Union and the United States are set to commit at a summit in Brussels next week to ending their transatlantic trade disputes and to call for a new study into the origins of COVID-19, according to a draft communique. The seven-page draft, seeks to show …
Read More »India’s Mumbai Hit by Heavy Rains & Floods as Monsoon Season Starts
After nearly four months of scorching heat and humidity, the season of rains, breezes and cloudy skies has started in several Indian regions – including Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Delhi. As the Monsoon season began in India, heavy rains have hit the country’s financial capital Mumbai. The downpour has …
Read More »Terrorists were arrested in many places across Iraq
A “terrorist” was arrested on Wednesday in southern Iraq, Karbala Operations Command said in a statement. The Command reported that its forces carried out an operation in the Karbala desert in al-Nukhaib district which resulted in the arrest of a wanted terrorist. “The man is handed over to the authority.” …
Read More »India closes all tiger reserves after Covid outbreaks in zoos
The Indian government has ordered the temporary closure of all tiger reserves to tourism, after a spate of Covid-19 outbreaks in zoos around the country. The National Tiger Conservation Authority, an agency under the government’s environmental ministry, issued its order on Monday after the death of a Covid-positive lioness a …
Read More »Nicaragua arrests two more opposition figures
Authorities in Nicaragua have arrested two more potential presidential challengers to veteran leader Daniel Ortega in elections later this year. Felix Maradiaga and Juan Sebastián Chamorro have been accused of terrorism and plotting against Nicaragua’s sovereignty and independence. They were held under a controversial new security law passed in December …
Read More »Tax details of US super-rich allegedly leaked
Details claiming to reveal how little income tax US billionaires pay have been leaked to a news website. ProPublica says it has seen the tax returns of some of the world’s richest people, including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Warren Buffett. The website alleges Amazon’s Mr. Bezos paid no tax …
Read More »China administered a total of 808.96 mln doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of June 8
China administered about 14.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines on June 8, bringing the total number administered to 808.96 million, data from the National Health Authority showed on Wednesday.
Read More »France suspends aid, military support for Central African Republic
France has suspended aid and military cooperation in the Central African Republic because of what it says is the government’s failure to stop “massive disinformation campaigns” against France that have targeted its officials, the armed forces ministry said. France has cut 10 million euros ($12.18 million) in budget support for …
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