World
WHO says global rise in COVID cases is ‘tip of the iceberg’
NEWNow you can hearken to Fox Information articles!
Figures exhibiting a worldwide rise in COVID-19 instances might herald a a lot larger drawback as some international locations additionally report a drop in testing charges, the WHO mentioned on Tuesday, warning nations to stay vigilant in opposition to the virus.
After greater than a month of decline, COVID-19 instances began to extend world wide final week, the WHO mentioned, with lockdowns in Asia and China’s Jilin province battling to comprise an outbreak.
A mixture of things was inflicting the will increase, together with the extremely transmissible Omicron variant and its BA.2 sublineage, and the lifting of public well being and social measures, the WHO mentioned.
“These enhance are occurring regardless of reductions in testing in some international locations, which suggests the instances we’re seeing are simply the tip of the iceberg,” WHO’s head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus informed reporters.
Low vaccination charges in some international locations, pushed partly by a “large quantity of misinformation” additionally defined the rise, WHO officers mentioned.
New infections jumped by 8% globally in comparison with the earlier week, with 11 million new instances and simply over 43,000 new deaths reported from March 7-13. It’s the first rise for the reason that finish of January.
SOUTH KOREA OMICRON DEATHS SURGE
The largest leap was within the WHO’s Western Pacific area, which incorporates South Korea and China, the place instances rose by 25% and deaths by 27%.
Africa additionally noticed a 12% rise in new instances and 14% rise in deaths, and Europe a 2% rise in instances however no leap in deaths. Different areas reported declining instances, together with the japanese Mediterranean area, though this space noticed a 38% rise in deaths linked to a earlier spike in infections.
A variety of consultants have raised issues that Europe faces one other coronavirus wave, with case rising for the reason that starting of March in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the UK.
The WHO’s Maria Van Kerkhove mentioned on the briefing that BA.2 seems to be probably the most transmissible variant up to now.
HONG KONG DELAYS MASS COVID-19 TESTING PLAN AS DEATHS RISE
Nonetheless, there aren’t any indicators that it causes extra extreme illness, and no proof that another new variants are driving the rise in instances.
The image in Europe can be not common. Denmark, for instance, noticed a short peak in instances within the first half of February, pushed by BA.2, which shortly subsided.
However consultants have begun to warn that america might quickly see the same wave to that seen in Europe, probably pushed by BA.2, the lifting of restrictions and potential waning immunity from vaccines given a number of months in the past.
“I agree with the easing of restrictions, as a result of you’ll be able to’t consider it as an emergency after two years,” mentioned Antonella Viola, professor of immunology at Italy’s College of Padua.
“We simply must keep away from pondering that COVID-19 is not there. And subsequently keep the strictly mandatory measures, that are basically the continual monitoring and monitoring of instances, and the upkeep of the duty to put on a masks in closed or very crowded locations.”
World
Barack Obama to Campaign for Kamala Harris Leading up to Election, Washington Post Reports
World
Israeli military kills 250 Hezbollah terrorists since start of limited ground operation in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces announced Friday that 250 Hezbollah terrorists, including nearly two dozen commanders, have been killed since the beginning of its limited ground operation in southern Lebanon.
“Approximately 250 terrorists have been eliminated by land and air, and more than 2,000 military targets have been attacked, including terrorist elements and facilities, military buildings, weapons depots, missile platforms, and the like,” IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on X.
“As part of this operation, the forces were able to eliminate terrorists who were entrenched in buildings and positions adjacent to the separation fence and prevent Hezbollah terrorists from approaching the fence, with the aim of removing the threat to the residents of the north of [Israel],” Adraee continued.
“During the operation, the forces also found warehouses of combat equipment, missile launchers that were ready to be launched, and Hezbollah explosive devices that the terrorists had left behind,” he added.
8 ISRAELI SOLDIERS KILLED IN LEBANON AS NETANYAHU SAYS IDF ENGAGED IN ‘TOUGH WAR’ WITH HEZBOLLAH
Among the Hezbollah terrorists that have been killed are five battalion commanders, 10 company commanders and six platoon commanders, according to the IDF.
The announcement comes as the IDF said Friday that two of its soldiers have died “during combat in northern Israel.”
ISRAELI MILITARY SAYS REGULAR INFANTRY, ARMORED UNITS JOINING LIMITED GROUND OPERATION IN SOUTHERN LEBANON
On Wednesday, the IDF said eight troops were killed during fighting in southern Lebanon.
“I would like to send my deepest condolences to the families of our heroes who fell today in Lebanon,” Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message. “May God avenge their death. May their memory be of blessing.”
“We are in the middle of a tough war against Iran’s axis of evil, which seeks to destroy us. This will not happen — because we will stand together, and with God’s help — we will win together,” Netanyahu added. “We will return our hostages in the south, we will return our residents in the north, we will guarantee the eternity of Israel.”
Fox News’ Yael Rotem-Kuriel contributed to this report.
World
EU-Morocco trade deals in Western Sahara ruled invalid, Rabat claims ‘bias’
Morocco slams ECJ ruling that said the people of Western Sahara were not consulted before the 2019 deals were signed.
The European Union’s top court has confirmed an earlier ruling cancelling trade deals that allow Morocco to export fish and farm products to the EU from the disputed Western Sahara region, a move Morocco slammed as “blatant political bias”.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Friday ruled that the European Commission breached the right of people in Western Sahara to self-determination by concluding trade deals with Morocco.
The Commission said it would examine the ECJ judgement in detail, while Morocco condemned it.
The ruling contained legal errors and “suspicious factual mistakes”, Morocco’s foreign ministry said in a statement, urging the European Council, the Commission and member states to uphold their commitments and preserve the assets of the partnership with Morocco.
Western Sahara, a tract of desert the size of Britain, has been the scene of Africa’s longest-running territorial dispute since colonial power Spain left in 1975 and Morocco annexed the territory.
The Algerian-backed Polisario Front, which seeks an independent state in Western Sahara, hailed the verdict as an “historic victory” for the area’s Sahrawi people.
Friday’s decision is the final ruling after several appeals by the Commission, the EU’s executive arm. The bloc signed fishing and agriculture agreements with Morocco in 2019 that also covered products from the Western Sahara.
“The consent of the people of Western Sahara to the implementation … is a condition for the validity of the decisions by which the [EU] Council approved those agreements on behalf of the European Union,” the court said.
It said a consultation process that took place had not involved “the people of Western Sahara but the inhabitants who are currently present in that territory, irrespective of whether or not they belong to the people of Western Sahara”.
The court also ruled that melons and tomatoes produced in Western Sahara must now have their origin labelled as such.
“Labelling must indicate Western Sahara alone as the country of origin of those goods, to the exclusion of any reference to Morocco, so as to avoid misleading consumers,” it said.
‘Historic victory’
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the European Commission was analysing the ruling and reiterated that the bloc highly valued its “long-standing, wide-ranging and deep” strategic partnership with Morocco.
“The EU firmly intends to preserve and continue strengthening close relations with Morocco,” she said in a joint statement with EU foreign affairs boss Josep Borrell.
Welcoming the ECJ ruling, Oubi Bouchraya, the Polisario’s representative to the United Nations in Switzerland, said, “It is a historic victory for the Sahrawi people that confirms the wrongdoings of the EU and Morocco and confirms the permanent sovereignty of the Sahrawi people over their natural resources,” the Reuters news agency reported.
“It is the most eloquent response to the last unilateral position of France and others,” Bouchraya added.
Western powers, including the United States in 2020, and most recently France, have backed Morocco’s sovereignty over the territory, angering Algeria.
Thousands of Sahrawi refugees have been stuck in limbo, living in desert camps in Tindouf, Algeria.
The UN brokered a ceasefire in 1991 ending a war between Morocco and the Polisario, but failed to organise a referendum due to disagreements about who should vote.
In its recent resolutions, the UN Security Council has urged the parties to seek a mutually acceptable political solution to the conflict.
-
Technology2 days ago
Charter will offer Peacock for free with some cable subscriptions next year
-
World1 day ago
Ukrainian stronghold Vuhledar falls to Russian offensive after two years of bombardment
-
News1 week ago
Video: Where Trump and Harris Stand on Democracy
-
World2 days ago
WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange says he pleaded ‘guilty to journalism’ in order to be freed
-
Technology21 hours ago
Beware of fraudsters posing as government officials trying to steal your cash
-
Business1 week ago
Visa, Google, JetBlue: A Guide to a New Era of Antitrust Action
-
Education1 week ago
Video: Los Angeles Bus Hijacked at Gunpoint
-
Politics1 week ago
FLASHBACK: VP Harris pushed for illegal immigrant to practice law in California over Obama admin's objections