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Hope and excitement gripped the Munsieville care home in the South African mining city of Krugersdorp on Monday, when people over the age of 60 were called to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for the first time. “It’s going to change our country for the better,” Caroline Nicholls, 64, a judge, …

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said he did not get an immediate sense from his meeting with British counterpart Boris Johnson that London wants to rewrite Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements. Irish national broadcaster RTE reported on Monday that the Irish government is increasingly concerned that London wants to completely …

Tunisian security forces killed five suspected militants in the mountains near the border with Algeria on Monday, a Tunisian security official says. The operation, carried out by joint police and army forces in the Chaanabi mountains, is still continuing, he added. Six years ago an Islamic State terrorist group shot …

Bolivian authorities said they struck a significant blow against cocaine producers in the country after the discovery and destruction of three “mega-factories” that they stated could produce up to 910 kg of crack a day. Police found the tarpaulin-covered, makeshift factories hidden in forestry reserves and national parks in eastern …

Uganda said on Monday it had agreed with neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to share intelligence and coordinate a new push by Kinshasa to combat Islamist rebels blamed for worsening violence in Congo’s east. The move came a week after Congolese officials said the two countries would set up …

Washington, a close ally of Israel, has reportedly blocked UNSC statements that condemned Israel’s military response and called for a ceasefire. A third United Nations Security Council emergency meeting in a week – amid the deadly Israeli offensive in Gaza – has again ended with no concrete outcome after the …

Some legislators say most recent US arms sales could be used as leverage on Israel to end violence. Some United States legislators are questioning whether a $735m approved weapons sale to Israel by President Joe Biden’s administration could be used as leverage amid the continuing bombardment of the Gaza Strip, …

In a sign the crisis on Ukraine’s border with Russia has not fully abated, the Russian navy has reported it is closely monitoring a British Royal Navy vessel in the Black Sea. The Royal Navy’s HMS Trent patrol vessel reportedly entered Black Sea waters only today (May 16). According to …

Joe Biden is not the only US president to back Israel amid criticism of military operations and abuses against Palestinians. As the Palestinian death toll from Israel’s continuing bombardment of Gaza mounts, anger with US President Joe Biden’s handling of the situation is growing. On the same day that Israeli …

At least 60 worshippers were injured, some of them critically, on Sunday when a grandstand seating area collapsed in a crowded synagogue in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service said. The incident occurred in the settlement of Givat Zeev, north of Jerusalem. …

Clashes between Taliban fighters and government forces resume in the Helmand province. Afghanistan’s government’s three-day ceasefire with the Taliban marked by violent attacks – some claimed by the ISIL (ISIS) armed group – ended on Sunday amid calls for renewed peace talks. Fighting resumed on Sunday on the outskirts of …

“It’s been 50 years since he gifted all the artworks that had remained in the house where his sister and mother lived on Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona: more than 1,400 pieces. It was a gesture of huge generosity towards the city he loved. This museum is one of Picasso’s …

Chileans began to vote on Saturday in a mega-election in which they will pick mayors, governors, councilors, and critically, the 155 men and women who will draft the country’s next constitution. Changing the constitution was a central demand to emerge from fierce social protests that erupted over inequality and elitism …

In a statement on Sunday, China FM called for the UN Security Council’s action to seek the de-escalation of violence between Hamas and the Israeli regime, slamming the US for blocking UN efforts. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on the UN Security Council to seek an early de-escalation of …

Muslim advocacy groups say they ‘cannot in good conscience’ join event as the US defends Israel amid Gaza attacks. Prominent Muslim advocacy groups in the United States are boycotting a White House event on Sunday to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, saying the Biden administration “aids, abets and …

India is evacuating thousands of people from low-lying areas along its western coast as a powerful cyclone that has killed at least six people is expected to make landfall on Tuesday morning in the state of Gujarat. Cyclone Tauktae, which formed in the Arabian sea, has already brought lashing rain …

Chinland Defence Force, an anti-junta armed group made up of civilians, says six of its fighters were killed in Mindat town of western Chin state during an attack on the military. Six opposition rebels have been killed after days of clashes in Myanmar, an anti-junta defence force made up of …

A large batch of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine has been put on hold in Indonesia after a 22-year-old died a day after getting the shot. The batch will be run through additional “sterility and toxicity” tests. The move was announced by the Indonesian Health Ministry on Sunday. The suspension follows the …

US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib says Israel is bombing international media so the world can’t see its war crimes against the people of Palestine. “Israel targeting media sources is so the world can’t see Israel’s war crimes led by the apartheid-in-chief Netanyahu. It’s so the world can’t see the killing of …

Travelers in England were packing their bags, bartenders were polishing their glasses and performers were warming up as Britain prepared Sunday for a major step out of lockdown — but with clouds of worry on the horizon. Excitement at the reopening of travel and hospitality vied with anxiety that a …