'Brutal' Third Wave Hits Africa As Vaccination Slows
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CONVICTED MURDERER LACK OF GOOD DUMINDA SILVA OUT ON GOVERNANCE WILL COST PRESIDENTIAL PARDON JUNE SRI LANKA DEARLY 25 - 27, 2021 ANOTHER ‘HORRIFIC’ VOL: 4- ISSUE 253 DISCOVERY OF INDIGENOUS . CHILDREN’S REMAINS THE STYLISH JET SETTER 30 GLOCAL PAGE 03 HOT TOPICS PAGE 04 COMMENTARY PAGE 07 LITERARY LIVES PAGE 09 Registered in the Department of Posts of Sri Lanka under No: QD/130/News/2021 EU leaders reject push for Putin summit BRUSSELS - European Union leaders have rejected a push from Germany and France to restart meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday (25). "It was not possible to agree today that we should meet imme- diately at the top level," Merkel said after talks between the bloc's leaders at an EU summit in Brussels. Merkel said that leaders had agreed to maintain and develop a "dialogue format" with Russia. "I would have liked to see a bolder step here, but it is also good this way and we will continue to work on it," she said. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said "there will be no meetings at the European Union leaders' level with Russia". "We see that the situation of our relations with Russia is deterio- rating and we see new aggressive forms in behaviour of Russia," he said. Berlin and Paris had blindsided their EU counterparts by put- ting forward a last-minute proposal for the bloc to resume meetings with Putin in the wake of US President Joe Biden's sit-down with him in Geneva last week. There was opposition from numerous member states - especially in eastern Europe - who remain deeply wary of rewarding the Kremlin with talks before it changes course. Moscow said Thursday (24) that Putin was a "supporter" of the proposal, which would have potentially revived a regular fixture fro- zen in 2014 after the takeover of Crimea by Russia. The last summit between EU chiefs and Putin took place in early 2014, but the Kremlin strongman has always preferred to deal bi- laterally with individual nations. The EU is looking to revamp its strategy on keeping its vast eastern neighbour in check as Brussels admits that relations with the Kremlin look set to deteriorate fur- ther despite having already reached their "lowest level". Moscow has been at loggerheads with a number of Western capi- tals recently after a Russian troop build-up on Ukraine's borders and a series of espionage scandals that have resulted in diplomatic expulsions. - J. Sujeewakumar/ENCL -DPA/Agencies Wildlife officials carry the carcass of a turtle X-Press Pearl burned for 12 days and sank last surrounding waters and a long stretch of the that was washed ashore at the beach of week off Sri Lanka's main port in the capital island’s famed beaches. Post-mortem analysis Angulana, south Colombo on Thursday (24). Colombo. The fire started on the ship on May on the carcasses are being performed at five 1 dead, 99 missing in harrowing Over a hundred carcasses of turtles with 20 and dead marine species started washing government-run laboratories and separately throat and shell damage, as well as 15 dead ashore days later. A ship manifest said 81 of by the Government Analysts Department. condo collapse near Miami dolphins and five whales, have washed ashore its nearly 1,500 containers held ‘dangerous’ “Provisionally, we can say that these deaths in Sri Lanka since a container ship burned and goods. The Sri Lankan navy believes the blaze were caused by two methods — one is due SURFSIDE, Fla. — The rumble that awoke people inside the sank, raising fears of a severe marine disaster. was caused by its chemical cargo, most of to burns from the heat and secondly due Champlain Towers condo complex just north of Miami Beach after Ecologists believe the deaths were directly which was destroyed in the fire. But debris to chemicals. These are obvious,” said Anil midnight Thursday (24) sounded like thunder. It was, horrifyingly, caused by the fire and release of hazardous including burned fiberglass and tonnes of Jasinghe, secretary of the environment the collapse of half the building, which proceeded to pancake into chemicals while the Singapore-flagged plastic pellets have severely polluted the ministry the ground as if struck by an earthquake. The sudden collapse of the condominium left at least one person dead and 99 unaccounted for, an enormous number that led to an intense search operation above and below ground with trained dogs COVID-19 and sonar, looking for signs of life. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said search-and-rescue teams had “made contact” with some people in the wreckage of the 12-story, 136-unit residential complex. Emergency workers heard “sounds ‘Brutal’ third wave hits Africa as and bangs” late Thursday afternoon, said Ray Jadallah, a Miami- Dade Fire Rescue assistant chief — but no voices. Early on, rescuers saved one boy whose fingers wiggled from atop the jumble of concrete and steel as he cried for help. vaccination slows Teams of 60 to 75 fire-fighters plus an urban search-and-rescue JOHANNESBURG - Africa is facing Africa's worst yet". Africa Centres for Dis- precedented influx of patients. Unlike past squad were rotating in and would continue working into the night, a vicious coronavirus resurgence, with ease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) waves, this time "the hospital system is Jadallah said. The stunning partial collapse of the residential build- unprecedented hospital admissions and director John Nkengasong on Thursday not coping," said doctors' association chief ing at 8777 Collins Ave. left few answers and considerable questions fatalities pushing health facilities to the described the third wave as "extremely Angelique Coetzee. about how a 40-year-old condo could have suddenly crumbled as its brink as the continent falls far behind in brutal" and "very devastating". South Africa's average new daily infec- residents rested in their beds. the global vaccination drive. And Liberia's President George Weah tions have increased 15-fold since early Fifty-five units were affected by the collapse, Miami-Dade County With just under 5.3 million reported has warned the wave is "far more alarm- April, with hospital admissions rising Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. The building was home to a mix of cases and around 139,000 deaths among ing than a year ago" as hospitals overflow around 60%. retirees and well-off professionals with young families. its nearly 1.3 billion people, Africa is still in his country. Namibia, Uganda and Zambia are also -NYT the world's least-affected continent after Compounding Africa's third wave are seeing steep infection curves. Oceania, according to an AFP tally. immunization hitches, the spread of more According to the WHO, about 1% of the So far African nations have been spared transmissible virus variants and winter continent's population is fully vaccinated - Rights groups outraged over disasters comparable to Brazil or India. temperatures in the Southern Hemi- the lowest ratio globally - and 90% of Afri- But the pandemic is resurging at an sphere. can nations will miss a target to inoculate alarming rate in at least 12 countries, with The Delta variant, first detected in In- a tenth of their populations by September. Pakistan PM’s rape comments continental cases expected to hit a record dia, has so far been reported in 14 Afri- "We are running a race behind time, the KARACHI - Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was facing a peak in around three weeks. can countries, making up the bulk of new pandemic is ahead of us. We are not win- growing backlash Thursday (24) after he blamed victims of rape for "The third wave is picking up speed, cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo ning in Africa this battle against the virus," wearing "very few clothes". spreading faster, hitting harder," World and Uganda, according to the WHO. said Africa CDC's Nkengasong. Former playboy cricketer Khan told television show Axios that Health Organization (WHO) Africa direc- Doctors in South Africa, which accounts "It's frightening what is going on in the how women dress affects men's behaviour, outraging activists in the tor Matshidiso Moeti warned Thursday for more than 35% of all cases recorded on continent," he added. deeply conservative Islamic country. (24). "The latest surge threatens to be the continent, are struggling with an un- -AFP "If a woman is wearing very few@Copyrights clothes it will have an impact on the man unless they are robots. It's common sense," he said in Eng- lish when asked about the epidemic of sexual violence and rape in Pakistan. He did not elaborate on what he meant by "few clothes", Trending News Quote for Today in a country where the vast majority of women wear conservative national dress. USA: President Joe Biden meets Afghan closed public places following a surge in Respect for the rule of law is not More than a dozen women's rights groups including the Human President Ashraf Ghani and his former po- new cases since it was dropped 10 days ago. optional; it's fundamental. Rights Commission of Pakistan released a statement on Thursday litical foe, Abdullah Abdullah, to discuss Australia: Central Sydney and its popular -Frans Timmermans demanding an apology. Washington’s support for Afghanistan as eastern beaches around Bondi are ordered "This is dangerously simplistic and only reinforces the common the last US troops pack up after 20 years Word for Today public perception that women are 'knowing' victims and men 'help- into lockdown as authorities try to contain of war and government forces struggle to an expanding outbreak of the highly con- less' aggressors," they said.