World News

Africa’s vaccine campaigns hurt by India’s ban on exports

Published:Sunday | May 23, 2021 | 12:07 AM

JOHANNESBURG (AP): Africa’s vaccination campaigns to battle COVID-19 are facing significant delays because of the export ban imposed by India as it grapples with a devastating resurgence of the disease, Africa’s top health official said last week....

How Hamas grew its arsenal to strike Israel

Published:Sunday | May 23, 2021 | 12:06 AM

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP): In this fourth war between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers, the Islamic militant group has fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel, some hitting deeper in Israeli territory and with greater accuracy than ever before...

Prince William receives first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Published:Sunday | May 23, 2021 | 12:06 AM

LONDON (AP): Prince William said last Thursday he has received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine as Britain’s National Health Service expands it inoculation program to younger people. William, 38, received his shot at London’s Science Museum, one...

Bahamas health system under severe strain, says Gov’t

Published:Sunday | May 23, 2021 | 12:05 AM

NASSAU (CMC): Bahamian Health Minister Renward Wells says the healthcare system in The Bahamas is a state of emergency due to the increase in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. “It is without a doubt that we are currently facing the third wave of COVID-...

Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal dismisses opposition election petitions

Published:Saturday | May 22, 2021 | 12:10 AM

ROSEAU: The Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal Friday dismissed an appeal filed by the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP) challenging the ruling of the High Court to dismiss petitions the party had filed regarding the outcome of the...

Schools to remain closed until new term

Published:Saturday | May 22, 2021 | 12:10 AM

GEORGETOWN: The Guyana government Friday said that all schools, except for those that have already been re-opened, will remain closed until the month of September. “We have taken a decision based on the advice of the Ministry of Health to remain...

Spain returns 6,600 to Morocco, families look for loved ones

Published:Saturday | May 22, 2021 | 12:10 AM

CEUTA (AP): Officials in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, faced complications Friday in reuniting worried Moroccan parents with hundreds of children and teenagers swept up in a diplomatic standoff between Madrid and Rabat over migration...

Ethiopia convicts three troops of rape, charges 28 for killings

Published:Saturday | May 22, 2021 | 12:10 AM

JOHANNESBURG (AP): Ethiopia’s military prosecutors have convicted three soldiers of rape and pressed charges against 28 others suspected of killing civilians in the ongoing conflict in the northern Tigray region, the attorney general’s office...

COVID-19 variant identified in Louisianaa

Published:Saturday | May 22, 2021 | 12:10 AM

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (AP): A medical centre in Louisiana said Friday that it has identified the state’s first two cases of a COVID-19 variant which has spread widely since being identified in India. Britain and the World Health Organization...

Election chief considers dissolving Suu Kyi’s party

Published:Saturday | May 22, 2021 | 12:09 AM

NAYPYITAW (AP): The head of Myanmar’s military-appointed state election commission said Friday that his agency will consider dissolving Aung San Suu Kyi’s former ruling party for alleged involvement in electoral fraud, and having its leaders...

Palestinians see victory in Gaza truce

Published:Saturday | May 22, 2021 | 12:09 AM

GAZA CITY (AP): Palestinians rallied by the thousands Friday after a ceasefire took effect in the latest Gaza war, with many viewing it as a costly but clear victory for the Islamic militant group Hamas. Israel vowed to respond with a “new level of...

FBI employee accused of storing classified documents at home

Published:Friday | May 21, 2021 | 4:50 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — An FBI employee has been indicted on charges that she stored classified documents and other national security information at home over the course of more than a decade, the Justice Department said Friday. Kendra Kingsbury,...

EU lawmakers and nations reach compromise on COVID-19 passes

Published:Friday | May 21, 2021 | 3:24 PM

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union citizens can start packing for summer vacations in the bloc's 27 nations without having to worry about quarantines: they soon should be able to travel freely across the EU. European Union legislators and...

Zimbabwe locks down central city due to Indian virus variant dominance

Published:Friday | May 21, 2021 | 2:42 PM

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's vice president has announced that the Government is imposing a two-week lockdown on the central city of Kwekwe because the COVID-19 variant dominant in India has been detected there. Constantino Chiwenga...

Ontario resuming use of AstraZeneca, but only as second dose

Published:Friday | May 21, 2021 | 12:13 PM

TORONTO (AP) — Canada's most populous province is resuming use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, but only as a second dose for those who'd received it initially, officials said Friday. Ontario and several other provinces...

Pfizer-BioNTech pledge two billion doses to poor nations

Published:Friday | May 21, 2021 | 10:51 AM

ROME — American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German company BioNTech have pledged to deliver two billion doses of their COVID-19 vaccine to middle and low-income countries over the next 18 months. The companies, which together developed...

UN chief welcomes Israel-Palestine cease-fire, urges negotiations

Published:Friday | May 21, 2021 | 9:38 AM

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations chief is urging Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers to observe their cease-fire, and he says the international community must develop a reconstruction package “that supports the Palestinian people and...