World News Roundup: Dutch find 61 COVID cases among South Africa passengers, looking for new variant; S.Africa says it is being punished for early COVID variant detection and more

Meanwhile, authorities in Amsterdam said that 61 out of around 600 people who arrived in the Dutch city on two flights from South Africa on Friday had tested positive for coronavirus.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

France says it is willing to discuss autonomy for Guadeloupe

France is willing to discuss autonomy for the French Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe if it is in the interests of the people who live there, government minister Sebastien Lecornu said. Guadeloupe and the nearby French island of Martinique have seen several days of protests against COVID-19 measures that have spilled over into violence.

S.Africa says it is being punished for early COVID variant detection

South Africa said on Saturday it was being punished for its advanced ability to detect new COVID-19 variants early, as travel bans and restrictions imposed because of the new Omicron variant threaten to harm tourism and other sectors of the economy. South Africa has some of the world's top epidemiologists and scientists, who have managed to detect emerging coronavirus variants and their mutations early on in their life cycle. The Omicron variant was first discovered in South Africa and has since been detected in Belgium, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong.

Storm Arwen leaves two dead in UK, triggers power cuts

At least two people died and tens of thousands were left without power as Storm Arwen brought strong winds across many parts of the United Kingdom, with gusts of up to 100 miles per hour (160 kph). One man died in Northern Ireland's County Antrim when his car was struck by a falling tree on Friday evening, police said in a statement. Local media reported the man was the principal of a primary school.

India's Modi orders review of reopening on Omicron COVID concerns

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told officials on Saturday to review plans to ease travel restrictions as concerns rise over the new Omicron  variant of COVID-19. The world's second-worst affected country by the pandemic had only Friday decided to resume international passenger flights from countries deemed "at risk" of the coronavirus, while ordering tightened border screening.

Blinken calls for speedy negotiations over Ethiopia military escalation

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is greatly concerned about Ethiopia's military escalation and called for urgent negotiations over the crisis, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said. The comments came hours after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appeared on the frontline with the national army.

Frenchman known for mocking government denied entry in Thailand

A French national who is known for mocking the Thai government was denied reentry to Thailand on Saturday for being "a danger to society," his lawyer said on Saturday. Yan Marchal, who has lived in Thailand for nearly 20 years, arrived in Thailand on Saturday morning, but immigration handed him a notice barring him entry citing behaviour that was a danger to society, Nadthasiri Bergman told Reuters.

Burkina Faso police fire tear gas at protest against militant violence

Police fired tear gas in Burkina Faso's capital on Saturday during a demonstration against the government's failure to stop a wave of violence by Islamist militants. Opponents of President Roch Kabore called for renewed protests in response to a recent surge of attacks in the West African country, including one by al Qaeda-linked militants that killed 49 military police officers and four civilians.

Dutch find 61 COVID cases among South Africa passengers, looking for new variant

Dutch health authorities said on Saturday they had detected 61 COVID-19 cases among people who flew from South Africa on Friday and were now conducting further testing to see whether any are infected with the recently discovered Omicron variant. The cases were discovered among around 600 passengers who arrived at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on two flights on Friday before the Dutch government halted air traffic from southern Africa due to concerns over the variant.

Explainer-How worried should we be about the Omicron variant?

The new Omicron coronavirus variant - identified first in South Africa, but also detected in Europe and Asia - is raising concern worldwide given the number of mutations, which might help it spread or even evade antibodies from prior infection or vaccination. News of the variant prompted countries to announce new travel restrictions on Friday and sent drugmakers scrambling to see if their COVID-19 vaccines remain protective.

Concerns over COVID variant trigger more travel curbs on southern Africa

Australia and several other countries joined nations imposing restrictions on travel from southern Africa on Saturday after the discovery of the new Omicron coronavirus variant sparked global concern and triggered a market sell-off. Meanwhile, authorities in Amsterdam said that 61 out of around 600 people who arrived in the Dutch city on two flights from South Africa on Friday had tested positive for coronavirus. Health authorities were carrying out further tests to see if those cases involved the new variant.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)