#BREAKING EU to propose banning flights from southern Africa over Covid variant: von der Leyen
#BREAKING Germany to ban most travel from S.Africa over new Covid variant: minister
#UPDATE EU will propose ban on travel from southern Africa after discovery of new Covid-19 variant scientists fear could torpedo efforts to beat pandemic, EU chief says, as German acting Health Minister says Germany will ban most travel from South Africa
#BREAKING Italy bans visitors from southern Africa over new Covid variant
#UPDATE Italy says it is banning entry to those who have been in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia or Swaziland in the past fortnight due to fears over a new coronavirus variant
#UPDATE Israel has identified a case of a #COVID19 variant with a large number of mutations first detected in South Africa, the health ministry said Friday u.afp.com/ww2d
#BREAKING WHO says will take several weeks to understand new variant
#BREAKING BioNTech/Pfizer expect data on vaccine variant impact 'within 2 weeks'
#UPDATE The World Health Organization says it will take "a few weeks" for researchers to understand the impact of the new Covid-19 variant B.1.1.529 detected in South Africa
#BREAKING WHO cautions against travel restrictions over new variant
#UPDATE The World Health Organization has cautioned against imposing new travel restrictions over the new Covid-19 variant B.1.1.529
#UPDATE Germany's BioNTech says it is studying how well the coronavirus vaccine it developed with Pfizer protects against the new B.1.1.529 variant detected in South Africa
#BREAKING Belgium minister announces first case of new Covid-19 variant in Europe
#UPDATE Belgium says it has detected the first announced case in Europe of the new Covid-19 variant, in an unvaccinated person returning from abroad
#BREAKING 'All air travel' between EU and countries with new Covid variant should be suspended: von der Leyen
#UPDATE The EU proposed member states stop all flights to and from southern Africa following the discovery of a new Covid-19 variant that scientists fear could beat vaccinations, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday
#BREAKING 'Premature' to know if new Covid variant needs updated vaccines: EMA
#UPDATE The EU's drug regulator says it is closely monitoring the new B.1.1.529 Covid-19 variant but it was "premature" to tell if updated vaccines would be needed to fight it
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#BREAKING Romania's constitutional court orders recount of first round of presidential vote: statement
#UPDATE Romania's constitutional court on Thursday ordered a recount of votes cast in the first round of the presidential election, after a rival far-right contender filed a legal challenge ➡️ u.afp.com/597X
#BREAKING TikTok gave 'preferential treatment' to far-right candidate who won Romania election first round: presidency
#UPDATE A referendum on Moldova joining the EU passed with a razor-thin majority on Monday as pro-Brussels President Maia Sandu blamed the outcome on foreign meddling in a veiled reference to Russia, which denied the accusations ➡️ u.afp.com/5zL7
BREAKING France's high-speed train system disrupted by vandalism: operator
#UPDATE Hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris #Olympics , France's high-speed rail network has been hit by "malicious acts" including arson attacks that have disrupted the transport system, train operator SNCF says.
"This is a massive attack on a large scale to paralyse the TGV network," SNCF told @AFP, adding that many routes will have to be cancelled and the situation would last "at least all weekend while repairs are conducted"
BREAKING The arson attacks on France's high-speed rail network were coordinated acts of "sabotage", a source close to the investigation tells @AFP
#BREAKING 104 police, 30 journalists among injured in Bangladesh clashes: TV
#UPDATE Protesters in Bangladesh set fire to several government buildings during a day of deadly nationwide clashes between students and riot officers, a police statement said.
"The miscreants have already torched, vandalised and carried out destructive activities," on the offices of state broadcaster BTV and the national disaster management agency along with "various" police and government buildings, said the statement, issued after a nationwide internet shutdown
Bangladesh wakes to torched government buildings, internet blackout.
This week's unrest has killed at least 39 people including 32 on Thursday, with the toll expected to rise further after reports of clashes in nearly half of the country's 64 districts
#BREAKING Biden says still considers Xi a 'dictator'
#UPDATE US President Joe Biden said after a summit with Xi Jinping that he still considers the Chinese president a "dictator", after he sparked fury from Beijing by making the comparison earlier this year.
"Well look he is, I mean he's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who's running a country, a Communist country, that's based on a form of government totally different than ours," Biden said at the end of a news conference when a reporter asked if he would still use the term to describe Xi
#BREAKING China will not begin armed conflict with any nation, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday, after a high-stakes summit with US President Joe Biden.
"China does not seek spheres of influence, and will not fight a cold or hot war with any country," he told a gathering of business leaders in San Francisco