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COVID-19 Remains International Health Threat, WHO Warns

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World Health Organisation (WHO) has again, warned that COVID-19 is still a global health threat and that it is not time to declare the pandemic over.

WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus said this in a statement on Monday while commenting on the outcome of the COVID Emergency Committee meeting held on Friday.

“There is little doubt that this virus will remain a permanently established pathogen in humans and animals for the foreseeable future,” the committee said.

“It is three years since COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency of international concern. The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was first reported in Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019,’’ he quoted the committee as saying.

The WHO Director-General said that although the world is in a better position than a year ago, when Omicron infections surged, more than 170,000 COVID-19-related deaths had been reported globally, in just the last eight weeks.

Ghebreyesus noted once again that surveillance and genetic sequencing of the coronavirus had declined globally, making it more difficult to track known variants and detect new mutations.

He warned that health systems continued to struggle to treat a high number of COVID-19 patients and others with influenza and respiratory infections, amid staff shortages and health worker burnout.

The UN health agency chief also insisted that vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics remained critical in preventing severe disease, saving lives and taking the pressure off health systems and health workers globally.

Despite their proven worth, he said that the COVID-19 response remained “hobbled” in too many countries that are unable to provide these tools to the populations most in need, older people and health workers.

Globally, there have been more than 752.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6.8 million deaths, reported to WHO’s Coronavirus dashboard.

At the WHO meeting of the Emergency COVID Committee, participants heard that globally, 13.1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have now been administered, with 89 per cent of health workers and 81 per cent of older adults (over 60) completing the primary series.

Committee members expressed concerns about insufficient vaccine uptake in low and middle-income countries, as well as in the highest-risk groups globally, and the uncertainty associated with emerging variants.

They also recognised that “pandemic fatigue” and the impression of reduced risk “have led to drastically reduced use of public health and social measures, such as masks and social distancing”.

Among its recommendations, the UN health agency urged countries to remain vigilant and to continue to report surveillance and genomic sequencing data to WHO.

“Appropriately targeted” public health and social measures should also be implemented where necessary, and the most vulnerable communities should be vaccinated to minimize severe disease and deaths,” the WHO meeting noted.

Answering people’s concerns about COVID-19 remains key to improving why it is so important to implement preventative that will keep the coronavirus at bay, the UN health agency said.

The Emergency Committee explained that although the Omicron variants that are circulating globally remained highly transmissible, infection no longer necessarily means that severe disease will follow, when compared to earlier coronavirus variants of concern. (NAN) 

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Israel Vows to Build Jewish Settlements, Rejects Macron’s Call for Palestinian State

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“Do not threaten Israel with sanctions” as it will continue to build a “Jewish state” on the ground,” Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, warned on Friday.He also rebuffed a call by French President Emmanuel Macron for establishing a Palestinian State.In open defiance of international law, Katz claimed that world powers may recognize a Palestinian state “on paper.

”Katz made the remarks during a visit to Sa-Nur, an illegal outpost in the northern West Bank that the Tel Aviv government recently decided to officially designate as a settlement for illegal Israeli settlers.
In a direct message, Defense Minister Israel Katz targets French President Macron and European allies.He also dismissed the potential international consequences.
He said: “They will recognise a Palestinian state on paper, while we will build the Jewish Israeli state on the ground.“Don’t threaten us with sanctions. You will not make us bow.“The State of Israel will not kneel before threats.”His comments came hours after President Macron stated that recognising the State of Palestine was a “moral duty”.Macron also reiterated that France may move toward official recognition during an upcoming international conference focused on the two-state solution.Earlier this week, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli Security Cabinet had secretly approved the establishment of 22 new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.In response, the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now issued a statement Thursday, revealing that 12 of the newly approved settlements were previously unauthorised outposts and farming sites established in recent years.According to Peace Now, there are currently 156 illegal settlements and 224 outposts across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with over 736,000 illegal Israeli settlers living on occupied Palestinian land.The international community, including the UN, considers the Israeli settlements illegal under international law.The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.(AA/NAN)

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Comedian Russell Brand Pleads not Guilty to Rape, Sexual Assault

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British comedian and actor Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault.

The 49-year-old appeared in the dock at London’s Southwark Crown Court on Friday flanked by two officers, where he stood stock-still and looked straight ahead as he delivered his pleas.

He is accused of raping a woman in a hotel room while she attended a Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, and grabbing a TV worker’s breasts and orally raping her after dragging her into a male toilet.

Brand is also alleged to have grabbed a radio station worker’s face, pushing her against a wall and kissing her before groping her breasts and buttocks.

The final charge alleges the actor indecently assaulted another woman after grabbing her forearm and attempting to drag her into a male toilet.

The allegations against Brand are said to have taken place against four women between 1999 and 2005.

The defendant, of Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, who faces one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape, as well as two counts of sexual assault, is due to stand trial on June 3 next year at the same court.

As Friday’s hearing finished, the comedian replaced his sunglasses before exiting the dock and calmly walked past reporters.

He was charged following an investigation by Channel 4 and the Sunday Times newspaper in which several women made allegations against him.

Brand previously told his 11.2 million followers on X that he welcomed the opportunity to prove his innocence.(dpa/NAN)

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Man Sentenced for Blackmailing German Priest With Nude Photos

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 A 50-year-old man was on Friday given a 20-month suspended sentence for blackmailing a German priest with nude photos.

During the trial at Augsburg District Court in the southern state of Bavaria, the defendant, who had no previous convictions, admitted to all charges.

According to the indictment, he sent nude photos downloaded from an internet platform hosting homosexual content, as well as a photo showing the priest, to the theologian at the end of 2022.

He threatened to give the photos to television stations and publish them in the priest’s parish, and demanded the priest send him 50,000 euros (56,600 U.S. dollars).

Later, the defendant also sent an email with the nude photos to the priest’s parish office.

The priest did not respond to either attempt or contact but reported the matter to the police.

The defendant was charged with attempted extortion and sentenced to one year and eight months in prison.

The sentence was suspended on probation.

The man must also pay 800 euros.

The verdict is not yet final. (dpa/NAN)

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