World News Roundup: Lebanon asks S.Arabia to reconsider ban on its produce; Digital passes fail to banish airline fears over airport chaos and more


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 26-04-2021 18:44 IST | Created: 26-04-2021 18:29 IST
World News Roundup: Lebanon asks S.Arabia to reconsider ban on its produce; Digital passes fail to banish airline fears over airport chaos and more
Representatove image Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia suspends activities of Kremlin critic Navalny's regional groups

Moscow prosecutors on Monday ordered regional campaign groups supporting jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to stop their activities pending a request to outlaw them and his Anti-Corruption Foundation, representatives of the groups said.

A court ruling that the groups are "extremist" would give authorities the legal power to hand down jail terms to activists and freeze the groups' bank accounts, essentially forcing them to stop campaigning for Russia's highest-profile opposition figure.

Lebanon asks S.Arabia to reconsider ban on its produce

Lebanon said on Monday it hoped Saudi Arabia would reconsider a ban on its produce imposed over what Riyadh called a rise in drug smuggling, and tasked its interior minister to coordinate with the kingdom to uncover the culprits and prevent a repeat. The government also asked Lebanon's public prosecutor to pursue investigations on the issue and keep Saudi officials informed of results, a presidency statement said.

India sends army to help hospitals hit by COVID-19 as countries promise aid

India ordered its armed forces on Monday to help tackle surging new coronavirus infections that are overwhelming hospitals, as countries including Britain, Germany, and the United States pledged to send urgent medical aid. In a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said oxygen would be released to hospitals from armed forces reserves and retired medical military personnel would join COVID-19 health facilities. And where possible, military medical infrastructure will be made available to civilians, a government statement said, as new coronavirus infections hit a record peak for the fifth day.

Iran sentences British-Iranian aid worker to one year in jail, lawyer says

An Iranian Revolutionary court has sentenced British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to a one-year jail term and she is banned from leaving the country for a year, her lawyer told a news website on Monday. "Nazanin Zaghari was sentenced to one year in prison and a one-year ban from leaving the country on charges of propaganda against the Islamic Republic," Hojjat Kermani told the Emtedad site.

Chad's new military rulers name prime minister, opposition cries foul

Chad's new military rulers named Albert Pahimi Padacke as prime minister of a transitional government on Monday a week after President Idriss Deby's battlefield death - an appointment quickly dismissed by an opposition leader. A military council seized power after Deby was killed as he visited troops fighting rebels on April 19. Opposition politicians have called the military takeover a coup, and one said on Monday the army had no right to pick a premier.

EU sues AstraZeneca over delayed deliveries of COVID-19 vaccine

The European Commission said on Monday it had launched legal action against AstraZeneca for not respecting its contract for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and for not having a "reliable" plan to ensure timely deliveries. AstraZeneca said in response that the legal action by the EU was without merit and pledged to defend itself strongly in court.

Activists fear HK immigration bill will allow arbitrary travel bans

An immigration bill on Hong Kong's legislative agenda for Wednesday would give authorities virtually unlimited powers to prevent residents and others from entering or leaving the former British colony, lawyers, diplomats, and rights groups say. The government says the bill merely aims to screen illegal immigrants at source amid a backlog of asylum applications and does not affect movement rights.

Myanmar activists call for new non-cooperation campaign

Activists opposed to Myanmar's military junta called on people to stop paying electricity bills and agricultural loans from Monday, and to keep their children away from school, scorning the top general's pledge at a regional summit to end the post-coup crisis. Scattered protests took place in Myanmar's big cities on Sunday, a day after Senior General Min Aung Hlaing reached an agreement at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Indonesia.

Analysis-Viable plan or security theatre? Europe embraces digital health pass

As Europe races to set up a digital health pass scheme to save the holiday season from the pandemic, technical and political obstacles are showing just how big a challenge the world faces in building such systems, people involved in the effort say. Developers are grappling with issues ranging from the practical - such as what to accept as proof of being COVID-19 free - to the philosophical, including debates over discrimination and personal privacy.

Analysis: Digital passes fail to banish airline fears over airport chaos

While politicians hail digital health passes as the solution to aviation's COVID-19 crisis, airline bosses are still having sleepless nights about clogged-up airports as they worry about how to deal with the millions who have already been vaccinated. More than 220 million people have been fully vaccinated against the disease, according to Our World in Data. Almost a billion have had at least one dose. 

(With inputs from agencies.)

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