World

Inflation PHOTO: Shutterstock Sudan’s inflation rate has soared above 300 percent, officials said Monday, posing a major challenge for a newly-appointed government tasked with tackling an economic crisis that has triggered recent protests. “The annual inflation rate reached 304.3 percent in January, compared to 269.3 percent in December,” the Central Bureau of Statistics said in a statement, attributing the rise to price hikes including on food. Protests have flared in recent weeks in several parts of Sudan over skyrocketing costs of living. Sudanese authorities have blamed the sometimes violent demonstrations on supporters of ousted president Omar al-Bashir, who was toppled…

A health worker displays a vial containing the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, in Suresnes, on February 6, 2021, on the start of a vaccination campaign for health workers with the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine. – The top French medical authority Haute autorité de Santé has approved the vaccine for use in France, but only for people under 65, echoing decisions made in Sweden, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland over concerns about a lack of data on the effectiveness of the vaccine for over 65s. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP) The World Health Organization gave emergency use approval to AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccines on Monday,…

Rescue team members work during a relief operation at a destroyed bridge site after a flash flood swept down a mountain valley destroying dams and bridges, in Raini village in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, February 11, 2021. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis Fallout from a devastating flash flood in a remote north Indian valley hit the capital New Delhi more than 500 kilometres downstream on Monday when water supplies were cut to tens of thousands of residents. Authorities blamed the high quantities of mud and debris from the February 7 deluge, which left more than 50 dead and 150 missing, for…

Oil fieldUS oil prices rallied past $60 a barrel on Monday for the first time in more than a year, fuelled by concerns about supplies as Texas is hit by a severe cold snap that traders warn could slash output. West Texas Intermediate surged 2.19 percent to $60.77 in Asian trade, its highest since January last year before the oil market collapsed as the coronavirus pandemic battered demand. Crude has been rallying for months on the back of optimism over an expected recovery in the global economy, Joe Biden’s stimulus package, and hopes that slowing virus infection rates and vaccine…

An officer of the Federal Police controls car drivers at the border crossing between Austria and Germany, near the southern German village of Kiefersfelden, amid the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, on February 14, 2021. Germany implemented more measures to keep coronavirus variants at bay, banning travel from Czech border regions and Austria’s Tyrol after a troubling surge in contagious mutations. Christof STACHE / AFP Germany partially closed its borders with the Czech Republic and Austria’s Tyrol on Sunday over a troubling surge in coronavirus mutations, earning a swift rebuke from the European Union. A thousand police officers were mobilised to…

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 13: Bruce Castor (L), former President Donald Trump’s defense lawyer, checks his mobile phone following the conclusion of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol on February 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Senate voted 57-43 to acquit Trump. Joshua Roberts/Getty Images/AFPDonald Trump was acquitted Saturday on charges of inciting an insurrection at the US Capitol after a majority of Senate Republicans closed ranks and refused to punish the former president in his historic second impeachment trial. The five-day trial saw Democratic prosecutors argue — bolstered by dramatic video of…

Former US president Donald Trump was acquitted by the Senate on Saturday of inciting the deadly January 6 attack on the US Capitol. A two-thirds majority of the 100 senators was needed at Trump’s impeachment trial for conviction, but it fell short in a 57-43 vote. Seven Republicans joined Democrats in voting to convict.