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Somali President suspends PM over corruption allegations, election spats

Mogadishu [Somalia], December 27 (ANI/Xinhua): Somali President Mohamed Farmajo said Monday he has suspended Prime Minister Mohamed Roble over corruption allegations.

2021-12-27T10:44:53.685922+00:00 IST

Desmond Tutu's funeral set for January 1: Foundation

Cape Town [South Africa], December 27 (ANI/Sputnik): The funeral of Desmond Mpilo Tutu, South African Anglican archbishop, human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner will take place on January 1 in Cape Town, his foundation has announced.

2021-12-27T04:46:55.264838+00:00 IST

18 people dead in Brazil flooding, thousands displaced

Brasilia [Brazil], December 27 (ANI): At least 18 people are dead and more than 280 injured in the northeast region of Brazil due to heavy flooding.

2021-12-27T04:00:58.986400+00:00 IST

Captagon pills (a.k.a.poor man's cocaine) are flooding oil-rich Arab states

Nicosia [Cyprus], December 27 (ANI): A counterfeit version of Captagon, which is highly addictive, has become the drug of choice among young people in the oil-rich countries of the Arab Gulf and mainly Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. As it is much cheaper than cocaine, many people call it: "poor man's cocaine."

2021-12-27T03:32:18.328914+00:00 IST

First death from Omicron variant registered in Australia

Canberra [Australia], December 27 (ANI/Sputnik): The first death from the Omicron strain of the coronavirus has been confirmed in Australia, the health department of the state of New South Wales reports.

2021-12-27T02:37:37.235513+00:00 IST

Peru registers 71 total cases of Omicron variant

Lima [Peru], December 27 (ANI/Xinhua): Peru confirmed 22 new cases of Omicron, bringing the total number of infected people with the COVID-19 variant to 71, Health Minister Hernando Cevallos reported Sunday.

2021-12-27T02:13:36.679623+00:00 IST

Jordan reports 295 new cases of Omicron, 328 in total

Amman [Jordan], December 27 (ANI/Xinhua): The Jordanian Health Ministry registered 295 cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant on Sunday, bringing the total infections of the new variant to 328 across the kingdom, state-run Petra news agency reported.

2021-12-27T00:53:39.367286+00:00 IST

5.1- magnitude quake hits South Sandwich Islands region

South Sandwich Islands [UK], December 27 (ANI/Xinhua): An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 jolted South Sandwich Islands region at 17:59:24 GMT on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

2021-12-26T21:23:58.065161+00:00 IST

Turkey confirms 20,138 daily COVID-19 cases

Ankara [Turkey], December 27 (ANI/Xinhua): Turkey on Sunday reported 20,138 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 9,307,124, according to its Health Ministry.

2021-12-26T18:56:03.440757+00:00 IST

German Foreign Minister vows to tighten arms sales rules

Berlin [Germany], December 26 (ANI/Sputnik): German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday that a new law is in the works to revise the country's military export regulations after Angela Merkel's government was exposed to have approved a record volume of foreign arms sales this year.

2021-12-26T13:40:08.122771+00:00 IST

First case of Omicron recorded in Gaza: Official

Gaza [Palestine], December 26 (ANI/Xinhua): The Hamas-run health ministry announced on Sunday that it has recorded the first Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the besieged Gaza Strip.

2021-12-26T13:34:46.473742+00:00 IST

Burkina Faso declares two days of mourning after 41 people were killed in terrorist attack

Ouagadougou [Burkina Faso], December 26 (ANI/Sputnik): Burkina Faso declared on Sunday a 48-hour mourning for the victims of a massive terrorist attack that killed 41 pro-government militia and civilians in the northern province of Loroum earlier this week.

2021-12-26T11:49:33.224351+00:00 IST

Desmond Tutu, S African anti-apartheid hero, 'a man who cared' dies at 90

Pretoria [South Africa], December 26 (ANI): Desmond Mpilo Tutu, South African Anglican archbishop, human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, has died at the age of 90.

2021-12-26T11:31:13.210685+00:00 IST

West needs to stand together against China: Canadian PM

Ottawa [Canada], December 26 (ANI): West has to stand together against China whose leadership often "plays" western countries against each other, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a recent interview.

2021-12-26T10:38:30.593153+00:00 IST

At least six dead in suicide bomb explosion in NE DR Congo

Kinshasa [DR Congo], December 26 (ANI/Xinhua): At least six people were killed in a suicide bomb explosion late Saturday, in the middle of Christmas celebration, in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to the Kivu Security Tracker (KST), a respected monitor on eastern DRC.

2021-12-25T21:43:14.614137+00:00 IST

Lebanon's total Omicron cases rise to 433

Beirut [Lebanon], December 26 (ANI/Xinhua): Lebanon's Health Ministry announced on Saturday that the number of cases of COVID-19 Omicron variant stands at 433 so far.

2021-12-25T18:35:43.308148+00:00 IST

10 killed in car accident in southwestern Iran

Tehran [Iran], December 25 (ANI/Xinhua): At least 10 people died in a car accident on Saturday morning in Iran's southwestern province of Khuzestan, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

2021-12-25T18:21:25.593870+00:00 IST

UN humanitarian agency poised to raise USD 107mn in typhoon Rai aid for Philippines

New York [US], December 25 (ANI/Sputnik): The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has appealed for over USD 107 million required to help the Philippine government provide life-saving assistance to people affected by Typhoon Rai.

2021-12-25T14:34:43.121379+00:00 IST

15 killed on road accident in Congo: Reports

Kinshasa [DRC] December 25 (ANI/Sputnik): Fifteen people died in a road accident in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) southern province of Haut-Katanga, the 7sur7 news website reported on Saturday, citing a doctor from a local hospital.

2021-12-25T14:07:05.679429+00:00 IST

Scientists advise UK Government to toughen COVID-19 restrictions until late March

London [UK], December 25 (ANI/Sputnik): The United Kingdom can significantly reduce COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations if tougher restrictions are introduced and kept until the end of March, a group of Warwick University pandemic experts said in a consensus statement for the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

2021-12-25T13:56:54.655099+00:00 IST

Vietnam reports 15,586 new COVID-19 cases, 1,636,455 in total

Hanoi [Vietnam], December 25 (ANI/Xinhua): Vietnam reported 15,586 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, including 15,559 locally transmitted and 27 imported, according to its health ministry.

2021-12-25T13:47:47.307715+00:00 IST