Bahrain has received its first delivery of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII) last week. The vaccine will be free to citizens and residents of the Gulf Arab state, which on Jan 25 approved the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker's vaccine for emergency use, state media said, without providing the number of doses. Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who is also prime minister, thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi "and our friends in India for working with us to secure the delivery of" the vaccine, his court said in a Twitter post. SII Chief Executive Adar Poonawalla said that the firm would supply Saudi Arabia with 3 million vaccine doses priced at $5.25 each in about a week. Bahrain is already providing the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and one manufactured by Chinese state-backed pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm free of charge.
Pak pilot claims to have spotted 'UFO'
A pilot of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has claimed to have spotted an unidentified flying object (UFO) in the sky during a domestic flight. The "shiny object" was snapped near Rahim Yar Khan during a routine Lahore-bound flight from Karachi, Geo News reported. The daily, citing sources, quoted the pilot as saying: "The UFO was extremely bright despite the presence of sunlight." Though the pilot did not believe it to be a planet, he added that the object he captured could've been a "space station" or an "artificial planet." While it was not confirmed as to what exactly was captured on video by the pilot flying the Airbus A-320, the clip did make its way to social media and soon went viral.
Shehbaz’s daughter, son-in-law proclaimed offenders
An accountability court declared Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif’s daughter Rabia and son-in-law, Ali Imran, proclaimed offenders in Saaf Pani corruption case. The court initiated the process of declaring the accused as proclaimed offenders over their continued non-appearance before the court. The investigation officer has been directed to paste the advertisement in the AC, declaring Rabia and her husband as proclaimed offenders. Ali Imran, his wife and others are accused of denting the national exchequer Rs 24.7 million in the Saaf Pani scam by giving the building of the project on rent. According to the reference, Ali & Fatima Developers, a company of Ali and Rabia illegally received the rent of the building which was even not completed and was under-construction
YouTube suspends Trump indefinitely
YouTube has suspended Donald Trump indefinitely from the platform and said it will also prevent the former president's lawyer Rudy Giuliani from being able to monetize his clips, US media reported. It comes a week after the social media giant confirmed it would extend a ban on Trump's channel - which has just under three million subscribers - joining other social media platforms in banning his accounts following the deadly January 6 Capitol riot. The Google-owned firm has faced some criticism over its slow response following the violence in Washington, as well as the proliferation of conspiracy theories on the platform. "In light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, the Donald J Trump channel will remain suspended," a YouTube spokesperson said.
Woman hid mother's body in freezer for 10 years
Yumi Yoshino, 48, a Japanese woman hid her mother’s corpse in a freezer in her apartment for a decade. When she was held on “on suspicion of abandoning and hiding a female body,” she told police she feared eviction if the death was discovered. Yoshino said that when her mother died about 10 years ago she hid the body because she feared she would be forced to move out of the flat they shared, local media reported. The mother, thought to be aged around 60 at the time of her death, was named on the lease of the apartment in a municipal housing complex. Yoshino had been forced to leave the apartment in mid-January after missing rent payments, the reports said, and a cleaner discovered the body in a freezer hidden in a closet. An autopsy could not determine the time and cause of woman’s death, the reports said.
US airstrike kills IS commander in Iraq
US airstrikes in a joint mission with Iraqi forces have killed the top Islamic State terror group commander in Iraq, an attack aimed at stemming the group’s resurgence and exacting retribution for a deadly double-suicide bombing in Baghdad last week. Jabbar Salman Ali Farhan al-Issawi, 43, known as Abu Yasser, was killed near the city of Kirkuk, US-led military coalition and Iraqi officials said. The IS no longer holds territory in Iraq but has continued to carry out deadly attacks. The question of what kind of force is required to keep the group in check has been at the heart of US and Iraqi negotiations over reducing the number of US troops in Iraq. A coalition spokesperson called al-Issawi’s death “a significant blow” to the IS’ efforts to regroup.
Japan PM says sorry after MPs’ club outings
Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga apologised after lawmakers from his ruling coalition visited night clubs despite his government’ call for people to avoid unnecessary outings to curb the spread of Covid-19.The news is another headache for Suga whose approval rating has tumbled because of dissatisfaction with his handling of the pandemic, which critics have called too slow and inconsistent. “I’m terribly sorry that this happened when we are asking people not to eat out after 8 pm and to avoid non-essential, non-urgent outings,” Suga told parliament. Japan this month issued a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas to tame a sharp increase in Covid cases.
Gates dubs theory that he created pandemic ‘evil’
Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates said that he has been taken aback by the volume of “crazy” and “evil” online conspiracy theories about him. “Nobody would have predicted that I and Dr (Anthony) Fauci would be so prominent in these really evil theories,” Gates said. “I hope it goes away.” Gates has through his philanthropic Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation committed at least $1.75 billion to the global Covid response. Since the pandemic began, millions of conspiracies have spread over the internet, including claims that Fauci and Gates created the pandemic and that they want to use vaccines to insert trackable microchips into people. “Do people really believe that stuff?” Gates asked.
Italy PM quits after weeks of infighting
PM Giuseppe Conte of Italy finally resigned after weeks of political infighting, thrusting the country into renewed instability as the coronavirus pandemic ravages lives and livelihoods. The latest political crisis caught many off guard as the country struggles to cope with the virus, which has already killed more than 85,000 in Italy. Conte is serving his second consecutive stint as PM. A change in government would likely shift attention back to issues that have been put on a back burner during the coronavirus crisis, including a more forceful crackdown on illegal immigration, which has slowed dramatically because of the virus.
Police raid properties of Kremlin critic Navalny
An ally of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posted a video on social media of what he said are ‘heavies in masks’ attempting to break in to an apartment and offices belonging to the jailed Kremlin critic. At one property, Navalny's wife Yulia was heard inside calling for police to wait for her lawyer to arrive. Ivan Zhdanov, director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, said police appeared to be conducting the searches as part of an investigation into calls made to hold a protest that flouted public health restrictions on mass gatherings. Tens of thousands of Navalny's supporters took to the streets to call on the Kremlin to release him from jail where he is serving a 30-day stint for alleged parole violations that he denies.
Kin of virus victim seeks to meet WHO experts
A relative of a coronavirus victim in China is demanding to meet a visiting WHO expert team, saying it should speak with affected families who allege they are being muffled by the Chinese government. China approved the visit by researchers after months of negotiations. It has not indicated whether they will be allowed to gather evidence or talk to families. “I hope the WHO experts don’t become a tool to spread lies,” said Zhang Hai, whose father died of Covid-19 after travelling to Wuhan. “This was a criminal act, and I don’t want the WHO to be coming to China to cover up these crimes.” China’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The WHO team is expected to begin field work later this week. Zhang, a Wuhan native now living in Shenzhen, has been organising kin of victims in China to demand accountability from officials.
Police raid properties of Kremlin critic Navalny
An ally of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posted a video on social media of what he said are ‘heavies in masks’ attempting to break in to an apartment and offices belonging to the jailed Kremlin critic. At one property, Navalny's wife Yulia was heard inside calling for police to wait for her lawyer to arrive. Ivan Zhdanov, director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, said police appeared to be conducting the searches as part of an investigation into calls made to hold a protest that flouted public health restrictions on mass gatherings. Tens of thousands of Navalny's supporters took to the streets to call on the Kremlin to release him from jail where he is serving a 30-day stint for alleged parole violations that he denies.
