Category: World - Page 21 - FAMOUS REPORTERS

Jan

2021

Vaccination efforts boosted, WHO to probe Covid origins in China

Vaccination efforts were boosted Monday as BioNTech planned millions more doses than expected this year and mass inoculation sites opened across England while the world neared two million pandemic deaths a year since the first fatality was recorded. As countries across the globe looked forward to vaccines finally allowing a return to normality in the months ahead, WHO experts were also focusing on Covid-19’s origins and planned a mission to China this week to probe the initial outbreak. The 10 World Health Organization scientists will visit from Thursday, more than a year after the pandemic began and amid accusations Beijing…

Jan

2021

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Thai royal defamation cases ramp up as protests pause

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Thai pro-democracy activist Patsaravalee “Mind” Tanakitvibulpon, wearing a face mask, speaks to journalists outside a police station in Bangkok on January 7, 2021, ahead of facing charges involving section 112, the kingdom’s tough royal defamation law. – The 13 protesters demanding reforms to the monarchy, were charged with the lese majeste laws on January 7, for taking part in a demonstration in front of the German Embassy in November 2020. (Photo by Mladen ANTONOV / AFP) Thai authorities on Monday charged four democracy activists with royal defamation, with the protest movement rocking the kingdom put on hold because of a…

Jan

2021

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China says WHO coronavirus experts to visit from Thursday

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World Health Organization PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK Ten World Health Organization scientists will visit China from Thursday to probe the origins of Covid-19, authorities said, more than a year after the pandemic began and amid accusations, Beijing delayed the investigation. The WHO team “will conduct joint research cooperation on the origins of covid 19 with Chinese scientists,” the National Health Commission said in a statement. The long-awaited mission — which has been under discussion since last year — is of great political significance at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has devastated major countries worldwide, caused almost two million deaths and brought…

Jan

2021

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Zambia president fires health minister

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Zambia’s presidency on Sunday announced the sacking of the country’s health minister, arrested for alleged graft last year but cleared of charges. Chitalu Chilufya, 48, was held in June following accusations he used ill-gotten gains to acquire property. A court cleared him of the charges in August due to lack of evidence and he resumed his duties. But President Edgar Lungu unexpectedly fired the minister on Sunday without given any reason. “President Lungu has terminated the appointment of Chitalu Chilufya as health minister with immediate effect,” presidential spokesman Isaac Chipampe said in statement. Chilufya’s sacking comes days after parliament quizzed…

Jan

2021

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Philippines secures 30 million Novavax vaccine doses

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The Philippines has secured 30 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by US drug maker Novavax, officials said Sunday, as the country braces for a surge in infections after a huge religious event. This is only the second vaccine deal signed by the national government, which has faced growing criticism for its slowness in procuring jabs for the archipelago where nearly half a million infections have been recorded. It hopes to secure 148 million doses this year from seven companies — enough for around 70 percent of its population. But the government has warned it will depend on global…

Jan

2021

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle quit social media

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have quit social media after growing disillusioned by the “hate” they have found on sites like Facebook and Twitter, a UK newspaper reported on Sunday. The couple were rejecting social media in both a personal and professional capacity as part of their new “progressive role” in the United States, the Sunday Times said. A source close to the couple told the newspaper they had “no plans” to use social media for their new Archewell Foundation and were “very unlikely” to restart utilising platforms personally. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who moved to California last…

Jan

2021

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Bomb kills three in Afghan capital

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An Afghan journalist-turned spokesman for the country’s public protection force was killed along with two colleagues Sunday by a bomb targeting their vehicle, officials said. The murder of Zia Wadan, who previously worked for several media networks, appeared to be the latest in a series of targeted killings that have rocked Afghanistan, especially Kabul. Wadan and his colleagues were killed in morning rush-hour traffic in an eastern part of the capital, interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian told reporters. “A vehicle carrying Zia Wadan was targeted with an IED… as a result, Wadan and two of his colleagues were killed,” Arian…

Jan

2021

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China reports 96 new coronavirus cases nationwide

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Chinese health authorities reported 96 coronavirus cases nationwide on Sunday as the country continues efforts to rein in a new outbreak. Fifty-nine out of the 96 new cases were confirmed in Hebei, the Northern Province surrounding Beijing, where a flare-up in the provincial capital Shijiazhuang has prompted lockdown measures and the mass testing of its over 10 million residents. In Shijiazhuang, the three-day testing blitz that concluded on Saturday evening produced a total of 354 positive nucleic acid test results, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Local authorities in Shijiazhuang say they will soon roll out a second round of citywide…

Jan

2021

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Biden urged to renounce sole control of US nuclear weapons

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A former US defense secretary has called on President-elect Joe Biden to reform the system that gives sole control of the nation's nuclear arsenal to the president, calling it "outdated, unnecessary and extremely dangerous." The call from William Perry came the same day US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke with the nation's top military leader about ensuring that an "unhinged" President Donald Trump is not able to launch a nuclear attack in his final days in office. "Once in office, Biden should announce he would share authority to use nuclear weapons with a select group in Congress," said Perry, who…

Jan

2021

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Increasingly isolated Trump threatened with second impeachment

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US Democrats on Saturday were readying for an unprecedented second impeachment of Donald Trump as the defiant president showed no signs of stepping down after the deadly violence at the Capitol. Democrats said impeachment proceedings could begin as early as Monday -- an extraordinary acceleration of a process that historically has taken weeks, but one that might not be completed before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office on January 20. [asd] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned that Democrats will launch the process unless Trump resigns or Vice President Mike Pence invokes the 25th Amendment, where the cabinet removes the…