The Pakistan government will compensate the 36 Chinese nationals working on a major hydropower project who either died or were injured in a terrorist attack in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province last year, a move aimed at placating its all-weather ally, a media report said.
On July13 last year, 10 Chinese nationals, mostly engineers, were killed and 26 others were seriously injured after a suicide attack on a bus that was ferrying them to the work site of the Dasu Hydropower Project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
French senators vote to ban hijab in sports
The French Senate has voted in favour of banning the wearing of hijabs in sports competitions, arguing that neutrality is a requirement on the field of play. The vote in favour of amending a proposed law stipulating that the wearing “of conspicuous religious symbols is prohibited” to take part in events and competitions organised by sports federations. In their text, senators clearly said the amendment aims at banning “the wearing of the veil in sports competitions”. They added that headscarves can put at risk the safety of athletes wearing them when they practise their discipline.
It is unclear whether the ban would be implemented for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Olympic organising committee did not immediately comment on the ban.
Fuel prices skyrocketing in Uganda
Fuel shortage has sent prices skyrocketing in Uganda with many pumps run dry in the northern and western regions of the country. Hundreds of trucks remain stuck at the border Uganda shares with Kenya. The serious situation has caused a surge in prices. Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa warned dealers against taking advantage of the shortage. Local authorities blame the delays on a faulty scanner used by custom officials to check vehicles and "issues regarding Covid-19". One truck driver said that there were queues of goods vehicles stranded at the Malaba border crossing between Uganda and Kenya and some have been there for days.
Australia offers visa rebates to students
Australian government will give visa rebates to students and backpackers who want to come to the country, in a bid to get them to fill a record number of job vacancies caused by the pandemic. PM Scott Morrison said visitors to Australia who enter on a student or a working holiday visa will get a rebate on their application fee. Morrison said he hoped the new arrivals would be able to help fill some of “critical workforce shortages. My message to them is ‘Come on down. Come on down now,’” he said. Australia’s economy has come under increasing pressure in recent months following a widespread outbreak of the Omicron. Workers made to isolate as a result of catching the virus have sparked supply shortages across the country. Morrison did not lay out what the rebate would look like, though he said for students it would apply for the next eight weeks, while it would be twelve weeks for working holiday visa holders.
Czech anti-vaccine singer dies
An anti-vax Czech folk singer has died after she deliberately contracted Covid to obtain a health pass that would have allowed her to visit the sauna and theatre, her family said. Proof of vaccination or a recent infection is required to access public facilities in the EU member state. Hana Horka, 57, died on last week, according to her son Jan Rek. She voluntarily exposed herself to the virus when her husband and son, both vaccinated, caught it before Christmas. Two days before her death, Horka took to social media to say: “I survived... It was intense. So now there will be the theatre, sauna, a concert.” Rek blamed the death on a local anti-vax movement, saying its leaders had “blood on their hands.”
57-year-old survives tsunami after 27-hour swim
A 57-year-old Tongan man who said he swam around 27 hours after getting swept out to sea during last week's devastating tsunami has been hailed a ‘real life Aquaman’. The volcano eruption killed at least three people, sent tsunami waves rolling across the archipelago. Lisala Folau, who lived on the small, isolated island of Atata which has a population of about 60 people, was swept out to sea when the waves hit land. Folau said he is disabled and cannot walk properly. Folau said he kept floating, and slowly managed to swim 7. 5 km to the main island of Tongatapu, reaching the shore 27 hours later. The story of Folau's heroics went viral. The “Real life Aquaman,” said one post on Facebook, referring to the comic character.
19-year-old creates globe new record
A British-Belgian teenager became the youngest woman to fly solo around the globe and the first person to do so in a microlight plane after a five-month, five-continent odyssey in her Shark ultralight. Nineteen-year-old Zara Rutherford landed back at Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport in Belgium after flying 51,000 km over 52 nations since her August 18 departure. Cheers and applause went up as her plane came to a halt on the tarmac. “It’s just really crazy, I haven’t quite processed it,” she said. After the penultimate leg to a German village, she said it was an exploit she would never repeat. “There’s been amazing moments, but then there’s been moments where I had fear for my life,” she added. She took the record from Afghan-born American Shaesta Wais, who in 2017 became the youngest woman to fly solo at 30. The male record holder, American Mason Andrews, was 18 when he did it in 2018.
Miami-London flight turns back over mask row
An American Airlines plane travelling from Miami to London has had to turn back because a passenger refused to wear a face mask, the airline has said. The flight with 129 passengers on board returned to Miami where police were waiting. They escorted a woman in her 40s off the plane, reports say. She has been placed on a list of people barred from flying with American Airlines, pending further investigation, the airline said. The flight turned around about an hour into its journey, according to reports. The woman was sitting in first class, another passenger said. Passengers on the flight to London's Heathrow Airport were re-booked on to another flight.
Covid reaches research base in Antarctica
For the first time since the start of the pandemic the coronavirus has reached an Argentine research base in Antarctica, causing the evacuation of nine unvaccinated staff who tested positive for Covid-19, an official said. Twenty-four of the 43 scientists and military personnel resident at Argentina's La Esperanza base have been infected. Nine of the 24, who have no symptoms, were evacuated to Buenos Aires by helicopter as a precaution. They had been in Antarctica before the start of Argentina's vaccination campaign in 2021, and were due to travel to the capital to be jabbed. They had decided to wait to get their shots in Argentina, fearing to deal with possible side-effects in the extreme environment that is Antarctica. Previously, the icy continent's first cases were reported at a Chilean base in December 2020.
Austria makes Covid vaccine compulsory
Austria's parliament last week made Covid vaccine compulsory for all adults aged 18 and over, becoming the first country in Europe to do so. Those who fail to comply will now face potential fines of up to €3,600. Officials said the mandate was necessary due to the low vaccination rates in the country. Exempted from the mandate are pregnant women, individuals who for medical reasons cannot be vaccinated, and people who have recovered from a coronavirus infection in the past six months. Officials say the mandate is necessary because vaccination rates remain too low.
US singer Meat Loaf dies at 74
The US singer Meat Loaf died last week at the age of 74, a statement on his official Facebook page said. He was best known for his album "Bat Out of Hell," which was one of the top-selling albums of all time. "Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight with his wife Deborah by his side," a message on Meat Loaf's Facebook page read. "Daughters Pearl and Amanda and close friends have been with him throughout the last 24 hours," it added. The statement did not reveal the cause of the singer's death. Born Marvin Lee Aday in Dallas, Texas on September 27, 1947, he used his inheritance following his mother's death to move to Los Angeles, where he formed the band Meat Loaf Soul.
