Category: General

WASHINGTON, The IMF board on Monday approved a three-year, $455 million loan for the Republic of Congo to help undergird the small African nation’s economic recovery.

The global crisis-lender will provide $90 million immediately under the Extended Credit Facility to help the oil-dependent country deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The economy “is expected to strengthen in the second half of the year, supported by vaccine rollout, social spending, and domestic arrears, payments,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura said in a statement

“However, the nascent recovery is facing significant risks, including a possible worsening of the pandemic (and) continued volatility in oil prices.”

But reducing the nation’s “debt vulnerabilities” will be key, Okamura said, noting the government is working on restructuring its debt.

Congo, a land of five million people that abuts the vast Democratic Republic of Congo, relies on oil for most of its wealth and has build up debt to China for loans used to help build some of its petroleum infrastructure.

The IMF estimates the economy will grow 2.4 percent this year after a slight contraction in 2021.

Source: Nam News Network

Manama, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary for Political Affairs, Ambassador Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa virtually met today with the Director General of Bilateral Relations and Regional Issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Expatriates Fouad Yazourh.

Bahrain’s Ambassador to Morocco Khalid bin Salman Al-Musallam and Moroccan Ambassador to Bahrain Mustapha Benkhayi, as well as the Chief of Arab Affairs, Ahmed Mohammed Al Tarifi were present during the meeting.

Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa stressed the deep-rooted brotherly relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Kingdom of Morocco, in light of the mutual keenness to enhance their strategic partnership.

He also expressed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s support for all the measures taken by the Kingdom of Morocco to preserve its security, unity, and territorial integrity.

The two sides also exchanged their views on issues of common concern, as well as the progress and the timetable in accordance with the outputs of the joint work plan.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — At least six people died in a crush outside a stadium hosting a game at Africa’s top soccer tournament in Cameroon on Monday, a local government official said, realizing fears about the capacity of the Central African country to stage the continent’s biggest sports event.

Naseri Paul Biya, the governor of the central region of Cameroon, said there could be more deaths.

“We are not in position to give you the total number of casualties,” he said.

The crush happened as crowds struggled to get access to Olembe Stadium in the capital city of Yaounde to watch the host country play Comoros in a last 16 knockout game in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Officials at the nearby Messassi hospital said they received at least 40 injured people, whom police and civilians had rushed to the hospital. The officials said the hospital couldn’t treat all of them.

“Some of the injured are in desperate condition,” said Olinga Prudence, a nurse. “We will have to evacuate them to a specialized hospital.”

Witnesses at the stadium said children were among those caught up in the crush, which, they said, occurred when stadium stewards closed the gates and stopped allowing people in.

Soccer officials said around 50,000 people had tried to attend the match. The stadium has a capacity of 60,000, but it was not meant to be more than 80% full for the game because of restrictions on crowd size due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Confederation of African Football, which runs the Africa Cup, said in a statement it was aware of the incident.

“CAF is currently investigating the situation and trying to get more details on what transpired,” it said. “We are in constant communication with Cameroon government and the Local Organizing Committee.”

One of the federation’s top officials, General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba, went to visit injured fans in the hospital, the statement said.

Cameroon is hosting the Africa Cup for the first time in 50 years. It was meant to host the tournament in 2019, but the event was taken away that year and awarded to Egypt because of concerns about Cameroon’s preparations, particularly the readiness of its stadiums.

Olembe Stadium was one of the venues under scrutiny.

Monday’s incident was the second serious blow to the country in the space of a day, after at least 17 people died in a fire set by a series of explosions at a nightclub in Yaounde on Sunday.

Following that incident, Cameroon President Paul Biya urged the country to be on guard while it hosts its biggest national sports event in a half century.

Cameroon won Monday’s game 2-1 to move on to the quarterfinals.

Source: Voice of America

The rapidly spreading omicron variant is testing the ability of U.S. authorities to keep tens of thousands of migrants healthy at crowded detention centers, where COVID-19 prevention measures were virtually nonexistent at the beginning of the pandemic but have since improved.

More than 2,540 people tested positive for COVID-19 Friday in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 198 immigration detention centers nationwide, according to ICE data, an increase of more than 792% from 285 cases reported on January 3.

The surge comes amid a nationwide increase in infections because of the more transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Even so, ICE officials say they have come a long way since 2020 with COVID-19 protection for migrants in their custody.

“In terms of improvement, the agency is more communicative than they were before. But honestly, we are still seeing apprehensions and detentions in the same way that we saw at the beginning of the pandemic. … There’s more procedures put in place [such as] request releases, which wasn’t the case before,” said Elena Noureddine, who heads the detention program at PAIR, a Boston-based nonprofit that provides free legal representation for asylum-seekers and detained immigrants.

2020 to 2022

In March 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, ICE would not say whether detainees were being tested for COVID-19. There were few if any opportunities for social distancing, no masks were given to detainees, and vaccines were yet to be available.

At that time, an ICE spokesperson said there were no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among those held in its network of detention centers, for-profit prisons and county jails. Confirmation of COVID-19 infections was challenging, with testing in its infancy.

In January 2022, an ICE official told VOA that the agency is now testing all migrants for COVID-19 during the intake screening process. After testing, they are housed separately from the general population for 14 days and monitored for symptoms. Those with symptoms are isolated and given the “appropriate medical care to manage the disease,” ICE said, in accordance with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.

“New arrivals who have negative test results and remain symptom-free can join the general detained population after the 14-day intake period,” ICE told VOA via email.

Staff and detainees are required to wear masks even after vaccinations, per ICE pandemic response rules.

As for vaccines, 48,246 detainees had each received at least one dose of vaccine as of January 5, according to the agency’s spokesperson, and 671 had received boosters. ICE has offered vaccines to migrants since July, when 27,670 migrants were in detention, and boosters since November, when 21,462 were in detention.

At-risk releases

Since the pandemic began, the American Civil Liberties Union has been working to make sure detained immigrants are protected from COVID-19, according to Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s National Prison Project.

“We filed lawsuits arguing for the release of people — especially those who are medically vulnerable to COVID-19 — to be released from detention so that they could actually be in their homes and have safe social distancing,” she added.

The University of California-Davis estimated in March 2021 that 42.5% of ICE-detained immigrants had at least one chronic medical condition and that 95.6% had access to a stable home.

Cho told VOA that thousands of people who were medically vulnerable to COVID-19 were released from detention to family members in the U.S. as a result of ACLU litigation. VOA requested more specific numbers on medically vulnerable migrant releases but hasn’t heard back.

As of late December, an estimated 5,200 medically vulnerable immigrants remained in detention, according to reporting by CBS News. ICE told VOA it “continues to evaluate its detained population … to determine whether continued detention is appropriate.”

Problems remain

Cho of the National Prison Project said that the government has acted during the pandemic to protect detainees from COVID-19 infections, but that work remains.

“People report having difficulty getting masks, getting tested for COVID-19. They report difficulty with getting vaccines. … They are describing conditions where people, especially those medically vulnerable, don’t feel safe. They’re describing conditions where in some detention facilities they get one disposable mask a week to wear the entire week,” Cho said.

In most cases, an ICE official told VOA, each migrant receives a vaccine in custody. But the average stay in ICE custody was 37 days during fiscal 2021, meaning most migrants were no longer in custody to receive their second shots.

The ICE spokesperson told VOA that the agency encourages migrants to be vaccinated and boosted. But in July, Axios reported that three in 10 detainees declined the COVID-19 vaccine when asked to sign consent forms.

Noureddine of Boston-based PAIR said part of the explanation of the skepticism among detainees is a fear that the government is asking them to sign documents as a way to get them deported.

“I’ve had clients call me saying, ‘I was presented with a document. I think it was about the vaccine. I’m not sure.’ [Then] I check with ICE and they told me it was to get the vaccine, but there was a lot of confusion,” she added.

Source: Voice of America

AMSTERDAM, Police in the Dutch city of Amsterdam discovered a stowaway hidden in the nose wheel of a cargo plane arriving from South Africa, a spokeswoman said Sunday.

The unidentified man is believed to have slipped on board the plane before it left Johannesburg, Royal Dutch Military Police spokeswoman Joanne Helmonds said.

“The man was found alive in the nosewheel section of the plane and was taken to hospital in a stable condition,” she said.

The man was not identified, but officials said he is believed to be between 16 and 35 years old, news outlet reported.

Helmonds said police had opened a probe into the incident.

“It is quite remarkable that the man is still alive,” he said.

Flight times between Johannesburg and Amsterdam average about 11 hours.

Stowaways on flights to the Netherlands are rare, he added, noting that previous attempts had involved would-be migrants from Nigeria and Kenya.

Last year, border police discovered the body of a Nigerian man in the landing gear of a plane arriving at Schiphol airport.

A spokesperson for freight carrier Cargolux confirmed that the stowaway had been on a flight operated by Cargolux Italia.

“We are not in a position to make any further comment until the authorities and the airline have completed their investigation,” the spokesperson said.

According to flight data, the only Cargolux freight flight from Johannesburg to Schiphol on Sunday also stopped in Nairobi, Kenya. It is unclear whether the man boarded the plane in South Africa or Kenya.

When the plane landed, members of the airport ground spotted the man and immediately notified authorities. Dutch police and emergency services confirmed that the man was alive but had a low body temperature, Helmonds told news outlet.

The man was revived and stabilized at the airport and then taken to a hospital in Amsterdam, Helmonds said.

“When the man has recovered and cleared by the hospital, he will then be processed at the Asylum Seekers Centre where his status will be determined if he indeed is looking for asylum,” Helmonds told the news outlet.

 

Source: Nam News Network

Milan, AC Milan lost more ground on league leader Inter Milan and also lost another important player ahead of the derby as it drew 0-0 against Juventus at San Siro.

 

Key forward Zlatan Ibrahimović limped off in the 28th minute with an apparent Achilles tendon problem. The 40-year-old Ibrahimović will likely join several other regulars on the injury list, AP reports.

 

Milan slipped to third in Serie A, below Napoli on goal difference. Head-to-head is the first tiebreaker at the end of the season. Milan is four points behind Inter, having played a match more, and meets the Nerazzurri in its next match after the international break.

 

Juventus moved to within one point of the top four and the Champions League spots.

 

The match at San Siro is a classic fixture in Italian soccer between two age-old rivals. There were only 5,000 spectators allowed into the stadium this time because of coronavirus restrictions but there were hundreds of fans outside to welcome the Milan team, chanting songs and setting off flares.

 

The Rossoneri had the best chances and more of the play, but both teams struggled to carve out clear scoring opportunities.

 

Juventus drew 1-1 with Milan in Turin in September. It was the first time in 30 years that both league matches between the two have ended in a draw.

 

Lorenzo Insigne sent a clear message to Napoli fans after scoring in a 4-1 win over bottom club Salernitana.

 

The Napoli captain celebrated by pointing to the badge on his jersey and clearly saying to the camera, in Italian, “I love you, I will always love you.”

 

It was the 30-year-old Insigne’s first goal since signing a pre-contract agreement to join Toronto FC at the end of the season.

 

Napoli took the lead in the 17th minute when Elif Elmas chested a ball to Juan Jesus, who fired into the bottom right corner. It was initially disallowed for handball by Elmas but awarded after a video review.

 

Federico Bonazzoli netted a surprise equalizer for Salernitana but Napoli restored its lead on the stroke of halftime when Dries Mertens converted a penalty after Elmas had been brought down by Frédéric Veseli.

 

Amir Kadri Rrahmani extended Napoli’s advantage shortly after the break and added a fourth six minutes later as Veseli gave away another penalty, this time for handball after Insigne’s shot ricocheted off his side and onto his arm.

 

The Salernitana defender was sent off after being shown a second yellow card and Inisgne converted the penalty to move level with Diego Maradona on 115 goals for the club.

 

Salernitana remained stuck at the bottom of the table, eight points from safety.

 

New signing Sérgio Oliveira scored his second goal in as many league games for Roma to help it win 4-2 at Empoli.

 

Tammy Abraham scored twice and Nicolò Zaniolo also netted for Roma, which recorded its last three goals in the space of four first-half minutes.

 

José Mourinho’s Roma moved above Lazio and Fiorentina into sixth.

 

Former Cagliari forward Riccardo Sottil scored against his old club to salvage a 1-1 draw for 10-man Fiorentina.

 

Sottil netted in the 75th, 10 minutes after Alvaro Odriozola had been sent off for handball. João Pedro had headed in the opener for Cagliari at the start of the second half.

 

Both teams also had penalties saved.

 

Cagliari remained 18th, but moved to within a point of safety. Spezia moved to eight points above the drop zone after beating 10-man Sampdoria 1-0 in a relegation battle. Torino drew 1-1 with Sassuolo.

 

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Of the billion doses delivered so far, around 285 million were AstraZeneca, 260 million Pfizer, 150 million Moderna, 125 million Janssen, 95 million Sinopharm and 85 million Sinovac.

Only WHO-approved vaccines can be used, of which there are eight so far. The latest is a major CEPI-funded vaccine, Novavax, which could do much of the heavy lifting in 2022.

CEPI chief executive Richard Hatchett said the target was now building capacity in poorer countries to roll out mass vaccination at speed.

“The last mile is going to be the major challenge for 2022,” he told a World Economic Forum session.

Up to 25 countries need particular help getting their vaccination programme in shape.

Overall, some 9.8 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered around the world. Covax jabs account for 82 percent of injections in the 91 poorest economies.

The top Covax donor-funded dose recipients so far are Bangladesh with 130 million, Indonesia 87 million, Pakistan 77 million and the Philippines 66 million.

Hatchett said that with the manufacturing capacity now available, helping poorer countries turn those doses into vaccinations could transform the course of the pandemic.

Whether primary vaccination or a booster, getting a jab to everyone who wants one “is an achievable goal in 2022”, he insisted.

 

Source: Nam News Network

GENEVA, Covax aims to break the Covid-19 pandemic in 2022 by ensuring a steady supply of vaccines at last for the world’s poorest countries — and swiftly getting them into arms.

The global scheme, aimed at procuring donor-funded jabs for the 91 weakest economies, delivered its one billionth dose last weekend — a major milestone that came far later than anticipated after a year of setbacks.

The battle for Covax in 2021 was getting hold of doses — besides rich countries cornering most of the vaccine supply, it faced export bans from producer countries, regulatory red tape and manufacturing delays.

Rather than bulk-bought jabs, the scheme ended up relying on doses donated by wealthy nations, which too often were about to expire and couldn’t be used in time.

Covax sees the new front in 2022 as smoothing the supply chain — from a reliable stream off the production lines to efficient distribution set-ups in recipient countries.

The facility is co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO); the Gavi vaccine alliance, which handles procurement; and CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, which invests in prospective vaccines.

Covax this week called for $5.2 billion over the next three months to steady the ship this year.

“We can break the cycle of transmission and the pain and suffering,” Gavi chief Seth Berkley told the funding drive launch.

However, “what we do not have today are the resources to help countries adapt to the new challenges that we know Covid-19 will create in 2022”.

Covax therefore wants to build a pool of 600 million doses to ensure a reliable supply, and to cover eventual variables such as boosters or new variant-specific vaccines.

It also needs to support readiness and delivery in poorer nations, and cover the costs of syringes and transportation.

“I think we’ll still have rocky supply for the next six months or so and I’m a little worried, frankly, if there are new variant vaccines, that we might have an inequity 2.0,” said Berkley.

Covax reckons it has enough confirmed vaccine supplies to jab 45 percent of the population in the poorest 91 economies.

But the WHO wants 70 percent fully jabbed in every country by July to end the acute phase of the pandemic — a much bigger stretch, given how far behind many countries are, especially in Africa, where more than 85 percent of people are yet to receive a single dose.

At the current pace of vaccine roll-out, 109 countries will miss the mid-2022 target, the WHO has said.

Covax was launched in June 2020, when few would have imagined that several highly effective vaccines would emerge within nine months. Historically, the vast majority of potential vaccines fail.

The first Covax doses were administered in March 2021, “but then we hit barrier after barrier”, said Berkley.

“We were able to get this back on track — and now you’re seeing an accelerated drive towards getting vaccines out.”

The next billion doses is expected to take four to five months to deliver.

Of the billion doses delivered so far, around 285 million were AstraZeneca, 260 million Pfizer, 150 million Moderna, 125 million Janssen, 95 million Sinopharm and 85 million Sinovac.

Only WHO-approved vaccines can be used, of which there are eight so far. The latest is a major CEPI-funded vaccine, Novavax, which could do much of the heavy lifting in 2022.

CEPI chief executive Richard Hatchett said the target was now building capacity in poorer countries to roll out mass vaccination at speed.

“The last mile is going to be the major challenge for 2022,” he told a World Economic Forum session.

Up to 25 countries need particular help getting their vaccination programme in shape.

Overall, some 9.8 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered around the world. Covax jabs account for 82 percent of injections in the 91 poorest economies.

The top Covax donor-funded dose recipients so far are Bangladesh with 130 million, Indonesia 87 million, Pakistan 77 million and the Philippines 66 million.

Hatchett said that with the manufacturing capacity now available, helping poorer countries turn those doses into vaccinations could transform the course of the pandemic.

Whether primary vaccination or a booster, getting a jab to everyone who wants one “is an achievable goal in 2022”, he insisted.

 

Source: Nam News Network

Beirut, Five Roman artefacts from the ancient city of Palmyra, a site damaged during Syria’s decade-long conflict, were returned to Damascus on Thursday by a private Lebanese museum where they had been on display since 2018.

 

The limestone statues and carved funerary stones dating from the Roman second and third centuries AD were returned at the initiative of a private Lebanese collector, Syrian antiquities chief Mohamed Nazir Awad said at a handover ceremony hosted by Lebanon’s National Museum in Beirut, according to Reuters.

 

The collector, Jawad Adra, acquired them from European auction houses before Syria’s war began in 2011, Awad said, describing his actions as “a generous initiative”.

 

The pieces, which had been on display at the Nabu Museum in northern Lebanon, were returning to “their original homeland”, the Syrian official added.

 

During the Syrian conflict, the site of Palmyra, one of the most important cultural centres in the ancient world, fell under the control of the Islamic State group, which blew up some of its major monuments, including the Arch of Triumph.

 

Syria’s ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdul Karim, said talks were underway to arrange the return of other artefacts from the National Museum in Beirut to Syria.

 

Source: Bahrain News Agency

MORONI, COMOROS — Comoros, the surprise package of the Africa Cup of Nations, is struggling to put a team together for their last-16 game against host nation Cameroon after 12 players and management tested positive for COVID-19, their federation announced Saturday.

The 12 positive tests include both of the Coelacanths’ fit goalkeepers, with the third goalkeeper, Salim Ben Boina already injured. Comoros is due to face Cameroon on Monday.

“The Coelacanths affected by COVID … include coach Amir Abdou, our only two goalkeepers, Moyadh Ousseini and Ali Ahamada,” the federation tweeted two days before a historic match for the Comoros who qualified for the last 16 in their first appearance at the tournament.

In a video posted on the account, general manager El Hadad Hamidi also named five outfield players who have tested positive: midfielders Nakibou Aboubakari, Yacine Bourhane, striker Mohamed M’Changama and defenders Kassim Abdallah and Alexis Souahy.

With no goalkeepers currently available for the game, the Comoros are in serious trouble.

Confederation of African Football rules for the tournament dictate that teams must play games as long as at least 11 players test negative for the coronavirus.

If no goalkeeper is available, an outfield player must stand in.

“We are trying to do everything in our power to find alternative solutions” but “without the coach, without major players and especially without our only two goalkeepers who remained, the situation is quite complicated,” admitted Hamidi.

The Comoros, representing a tiny island nation off the southeast coast of Africa, snatched their qualification to everyone’s surprise by beating Ghana 3-2 and advancing as one of the best third-placed sides.

 

Source: Voice of America

BEIJING, Fengtai, one of 16 districts of Beijing Municipality, today started district-wide nucleic acid testing, as local COVID-19 cases have been reported recently, local authorities said.

The district has found a cluster infection, and is facing the risk of community transmission, according to a statement released by the district’s COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control headquarters.

Beijing reported nine confirmed local COVID-19 cases and three asymptomatic cases, from 4;00 p.m. Friday to 4;00 p.m. yesterday.

Four of the confirmed cases and all three asymptomatic cases are from Fengtai District.

A residential compound in the district was also adjusted, from medium-risk to high-risk for COVID-19 yesterday, after the compound registered eight confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, in the 14 days to noon yesterday.

 

Source: Nam News Network

Berlin, Borussia Dortmund won 3-2 at Hoffenheim to cut the gap at the top of the Bundesliga back to three points, pending Bayern Munich’s trip to Hertha Berlin on Sunday.

 

Erling Haaland scored the first goal of the Saturday programme after six minutes and Marco Reus also netted as Dortmund quickly forgot their midweek Cup exit to St Pauli Hamburg and knocked Hoffenheim down to sixth from fourth, dpa reported.

 

Bayer Leverkusen bolstered their position in third with Moussa Diaby’s hat-trick sealing a 5-1 home win over Augsburg while Union Berlin climbed to fourth following a 2-1 win at struggling Borussia Mönchengladbach, which could spell trouble for coach Adi Hütter.

 

Freiburg are fifth after a 2-0 success over second-bottom Stuttgart and basement side Greuther Fürth grabbed only their second win with a 2-1 home victory over Mainz.

 

Cologne drew 2-2 at Bochum in Saturday’s late game to move up to seventh spot.

 

On Friday, mid-table Eintracht Frankfurt’s Champions League hopes suffered another blow in a 2-0 home defeat by Arminia Bielefeld, who are three points above the automatic drop zone.

 

As well as leaders Bayern’s travelling to the capital on Sunday, improving RB Leipzig host beleaguered Wolfsburg.

 

Dortmund made sure Bayern go into that game looking over their shoulder after Haaland’s early tap-in following a superb team move.

 

But Hoffenheim then struck the woodwork twice before Andrej Kramaric expertly guided Ihlas Bebou’s cross into the net just before the interval.

 

Dortmund had battered Freiburg 5-1 last weekend but followed up with Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to second tier St Pauli, which dumped the holders out of the German Cup at the last 16 stage.

 

Their inconsistency looked like it was again playing into the hands of Bayern, who are chasing a 10th straight title, but another fine team move set up to Reus to score on 58 minutes.

 

David Raum’s own goal then made the win safe for the visitors with Georginio Rutter’s strike for Hoffenheim coming too late. Haaland though limped off injured.

 

“We started well in the early minutes, then…we became too passive,” Reus told Sky TV. “We went to five at the back in the second half which helped.”

 

Leverkusen have a two-point cushion in the top four after Karim Bellarabi and Diaby netted early. Diaby’s second goal on 65 minutes quickly extinguished third-bottom Augsburg’s hopes of a comeback after Arne Maier cut the deficit.

 

France winger Diaby then completed his treble on the counter-attack for an eighth goal of the campaign with Lucas Alario’s backheel settling matters.

 

Leverkusen coach Gerardo Seoane said: “After a weak phase at the start to the second half, the team quickly took things into their hands. A deserved win in my opinion.”

 

Source: Bahrain News Agency

GENEVA, The COVID-19 total caseload all over the world has surpassed 330 mln, while the death toll has reached 5.55 mln, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated.

According to the latest data, as many as 332,617,707 people were infected with COVID-19 and some 5,551,314 others died. The COVID-19 incidence rose by 3,156,986 in the last 24 hours and the number of fatalities climbed by 6,889.

On Jan 12, there was registered a new high of 3,519,158 COVID-19 daily cases. The WHO counts only officially confirmed data provided by the countries.

The US ranks first in terms of COVID-19 cases, recording 66,254,888 cases of the infection. India occupies the second position (37,901,241 cases), followed by Brazil (23,074,791), the UK (15,399,304) and France (14,346,424).

The US also has the highest death toll, confirming 846,647 COVID-19 fatalities, followed by Brazil with some 621,166 deaths and India with 487,202 mortalities. Then goes Russia with 323,376 deaths due to COVID-19 and Mexico with 301,469 fatalities.

 

Source: Nam News Netwoek

Teenage pilot Zara Rutherford landed in Kortrijk, Belgium, Thursday to officially become the youngest woman to fly around the world solo.

The Belgian British 19-year-old landed her single-seat Shark ultralight aircraft to cheers and honking horns from a crowd that had gathered to welcome her home. Rutherford originally embarked from Kortrijk on August 18, 2021 — 155 days ago.

As she stepped from the cockpit, she shared a hug with her parents and brother and was presented with framed copies of a certificate from the Guiness Book of World Records certifying her accomplishment.

The 51,000-kilometer, east-to-west journey took her across 52 countries and five continents. To meet the criteria for a round-the-world flight, Rutherford touched two points opposite each other on the globe: Jambi, Indonesia, and Tumaco, Colombia.

The trip was all the more challenging as she flew without the aid of flight instruments or a pressurized cabin.

Rutherford told reporters the last leg of her journey — from a small airstrip near Frankfurt, Germany, where she landed Wednesday, to the Kortrijk airstrip – had been a bit tricky because of rain and snow. Rutherford said she had to wiggle in some valleys and wait for a while for the snow to clear.

But Rutherford said she was glad to be home and was looking forward to her favorite sandwich from a local shop.

Rutherford had said her big goal is to use this experience to encourage other young women to go into flying or study science, technology and mathematics “and other fields they might not have thought about.”

In September, she plans to go to college to study engineering in either Britain or the United States.

Rutherford broke the record set by American aviator Shaesta Waiz, who was 30 when she set the previous record for the youngest woman to circumnavigate the world solo in 2017.

 

Source: Voice of America

Singapore, Oil steadied on Thursday, clawing back losses earlier in the session, as strong demand and short-term supply disruptions continue to support prices close to their highest levels since late 2014.

 

Brent crude futures fell 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $88.27 a barrel, as of 04:18 GMT, having dropped more than $1 earlier in the session. The global benchmark touched $89.17 a barrel on Wednesday, its highest since October 2014.

 

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 7 cents, or 0.1%, to stand at $87.03 a barrel, having also shed nearly $1 earlier. WTI climbed to as much as $87.91 on Wednesday, the highest since October 2014.

 

“The International Energy Agency said global oil demand is on track to hit pre-pandemic levels,” analysts at ANZ bank said in a note, according to Reuters.

 

“Shorter-term supply disruptions are also helping tighten markets. Brent crude rallied sharply after reports a key oil pipeline running from Iraq to Turkey was knocked out by an explosion.”

 

However, the flow of crude oil through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has resumed, after it was halted on Tuesday due to a blast near the pipeline in the southeastern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, officials said on Wednesday.

 

Supply concerns have mounted this week after Yemen’s Houthi group attacked the United Arab Emirates, the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Meanwhile Russia, the world’s second-largest oil producer, has built up a large troop presence near Ukraine’s border, stoking fears of invasion and subsequent supply uncertainties.

 

Underpinning oil prices is the broad post-coronavirus pandemic recovery in demand for fuel.

 

OPEC officials and analysts say that an oil rally may continue in the next few months, and prices could top $100 a barrel as demand shrugs of the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

 

OPEC+, which groups the cartel with Russia and other producers, is struggling to hit a monthly output increase target of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd).

 

U.S. crude and gasoline stocks rose while distillate inventories fell last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday.

 

Crude stocks rose by 1.4 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 14. Gasoline inventories rose by 3.5 million barrels while distillate stocks fell by 1.2 million barrels, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

 

Source: Bahrain News Agency