China is considering moves that would entrench its vast fur industry further into the country’s economy, raising worries over the spread of coronavirus among animals crowded together in small spaces. The country’s agriculture ministry is proposing to reclassify mink, raccoon dogs, silver foxes and blue foxes as domestic livestock, rather …
Read More »China refutes 24 ‘lies’ by US politicians over coronavirus
China has issued a lengthy rebuttal of what it said were 24 “preposterous allegations” by some leading U.S. politicians over its handling of the new coronavirus outbreak. The Chinese foreign ministry has dedicated most of its press briefings over the past week to rejecting accusations by U.S. politicians, especially Secretary …
Read More »Unilateral sanctions hamper Syria’s fight against coronavirus pandemic
Syria’s Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari says unilateral sanctions imposed by the Western countries are hampering the Damascus government’s efforts to import medicine and other medical supplies to fight the deadly novel coronavirus outbreak in the country. “Unilateral coercive economic measures hinder Syria’s ability to meet the basic …
Read More »Germany Coronavirus infection rate rises as lockdown ease
Coronavirus infections are rising in Germany, official data shows, just days after the country eased its lockdown restrictions. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany’s reproduction rate – the number of people each confirmed patient infects – is now above 1. This means the number of infections is now …
Read More »Riot police chase Hong Kong Mother’s Day protesters
Authorities banned an application for a Mother’s Day march so small groups of masked protesters instead played cat and mouse with police in different shopping centers. Riot police chased protesters through Hong Kong shopping malls on Sunday as anti-China activists launched Mother’s Day flash mob rallies calling for independence and …
Read More »Coronavirus: Donald Trump hits back at Barack Obama for criticising ‘chaotic’ pandemic response
Donald Trump has hit back at Barack Obama after his presidential predecessor branded his handling of the coronavirus pandemic a “chaotic disaster”. The US president claimed his administration was “getting great marks” and derided Mr Obama’s response to the 2009 H1N1 swine flu outbreak as “a disaster” and argued he …
Read More »Iran ready to swap prisoners with US “without preconditions
“We are ready to exchange Iranian and American prisoners and we are prepared to discuss this issue but Americans have not responded yet,” Rabiei said, according to Khabaronline. Iran is ready for a full prisoner exchange with the United States, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei was quoted as saying by …
Read More »Egypt’s Sisi ratifies emergency law amendments sparking rights concerns
Egypt’s emergency law, which has been in place since April 2017, will have new amendments, reportedly giving Sisi and security agencies “additional sweeping powers”. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el Sisi has ratified a host of amendments to Egypt’s emergency law, which an international rights groups says expands “repressive powers” as …
Read More »Buried Ammo Explodes in Russia’s Udmurt Republic Due to Grassfires – Video
Ammunition that has remained in the ground in an abandoned military base in Russia’s Udmurt Republic since a fire in 2011 is exploding due to grassfires, a representative of the Russian emergency services said on Saturday. “In the Pugachevo village, there are explosions of the ammunition left in the ground …
Read More »Barack Obama calls Trump’s coronavirus response a ‘chaotic disaster’ in leaked recording
Former US President Barack Obama has issued a stern critique of the Trump administration’s coronavirus response, calling it a “chaotic disaster”. The comments were made on a 30-minute private phone call between the former president and members of the Obama Alumni Association, according to Yahoo News, which obtained audio from …
Read More »IRGC Fighter Jets Equipped with New Air-to-Surface Missiles
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force has apparently armed its Sukhoi Su-22 fighter-bombers with a new air-to-surface missile. The newly released footage from a visit that Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei had paid to an exhibition of the IRGC Aerospace Force achievements back in …
Read More »Saudi Arabia holding senior prince incommunicado: HRW
Saudi authorities have detained Prince Faisal, the son of late King Abdullah, and are holding him incommunicado, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Saturday. HRW, citing a source close to the royal family, said security forces arrested Prince Faisal bin Abdullah from a family compound northeast of Riyadh on March …
Read More »Tripoli airport shelling hits fuel tanks, passenger plane – ministry
Shelling of Tripoli’s Mitiga airport early on Saturday, part of an intensified barrage of artillery fire on the capital in recent days, hit fuel tanks and damaged passenger planes, the Transport Ministry said in a statement. Mitiga is the last functioning airport in the Libyan capital, though civilian flights stopped …
Read More »At least six killed in protests over food distribution in Afghanistan
At least six were killed when protesters angry over what they see as unfair food aid distribution during the coronavirus pandemic clashed with police in Afghanistan’s western Ghor province on Saturday, according to officials. Four civilians and two police officers died in the incident, according to Tariq Arian, spokesman for …
Read More »US sets up new military base in Syria’s oil-rich Dayr al-Zawr
The United States has reportedly established a new military base in Syria’s oil-rich eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr after bringing in reinforcements to the war-torn country. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) quoted reliable sources as saying on Friday that the new US base is located in Day …
Read More »150,000 in US at risk of dying from suicide or overdose due to coronavirus pandemic
As many as 150,000 Americans could die from alcohol, drug overdose and suicide as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, worsening the growing epidemic of “deaths of despair” in the country, according to a new analysis. The study, released Friday by the Well Being Trust and the American Academy of …
Read More »US blocks vote on UN bid for global ceasefire over reference to WHO
The United States has blocked a vote on a United Nation’s bid for a global ceasefire during the coronavirus pandemic over reference to the World Health Organization (WHO). The Security Council has spent more than six weeks seeking the resolution in support of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ call for …
Read More »Ivanka Trump’s personal assistant tests positive for coronavirus
CNN reported that Ivanka ‘personal assistant was infected with the Coruna virus, without showing any symptoms. She explained that the assistant – without mentioning his name – has been working for two months, far from Ivanka. Friday, the results of the tests conducted by Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, …
Read More »Trump denies role in Venezuela incursion
US President Donald Trump has rebuffed suggestions the US was behind what appears to have been a bungled incursion into Venezuela to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro. “If I wanted to go into Venezuela I wouldn’t make a secret about it,” he told Fox News. Venezuela foiled what it said was …
Read More »Bin Salman’s visionary city takes a bloody path before start
A Saudi tribe has been hit by bloody forced eviction measures employed to make way for the construction of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS)’s visionary utopian city. The so-called smart city known as NEOM is planned to be constructed in the Tabuk region of northwestern Saudi Arabia on …
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