International

BERLIN: Germany on Friday recognised it had committed genocide in colonial-era Namibia and promised a billion euros in financial support to descendants of the victims, in a move welcomed as a “first step” by Namibia but slammed as insufficient by activists. “We will now officially refer to these events as what they are from today’s perspective: genocide,” said Foreign Minister …

A year after Mount Everest was closed to climbers as the pandemic swept across the globe, hundreds are making the final push to the summit with only a few more days left in the season, saying they are undeterred by a coronavirus outbreak in base camp. Three expedition teams to Everest cancelled their climb this month following reports of people …

Vietnam Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said on Saturday the country has detected a new variant of the coronavirus, a mix of the Indian and UK Covid-19 variants that spreads quickly by air, online newspaper VnExpress reported. After successfully containing the coronavirus for most of last year, Vietnam is now battling an outbreak that is spreading more quickly. Nearly 3,600 people have …

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Volkan Bozkir’s recent visit to Islamabad has drawn backlash from across the border after the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) voiced objections to the former’s “misleading and prejudiced remarks” on the Kashmir issue. During his three-day visit, the UNGA chief — in a press conference alongside Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi — had said that …

Saudi Arabia is lifting a ban on travellers arriving from 11 countries that it had imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the Saudi state news agency said on Saturday. Pakistan, however, is not among those countries. Despite the ban being lifted, Saudi Arabia will still require quarantine procedures. Travellers from the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United States, …

Police in Italy are searching for the body of an 18-year-old girl suspected to have been killed by her Pakistani family after refusing an arranged marriage. The girl’s parents, an uncle and two cousins are under investigation for murder, lieutenant colonel Stefano Bove of the Carabinieri police said on Saturday. All “are supposed to have taken part in the crime”, …

COLOMBO: Tonnes of plastic pellets from a burning container ship swamped Sri Lanka’s west coast on Friday, sparking a ban on fishing as international efforts to salvage the vessel dragged into a ninth day. The government declared an 80-kilometre coastal area off limits for fishermen fearing contamination with pollutants and plastic waste from the stricken ship. The ban included Colombo’s …

BAGHDAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday arrived in Iraq’s capital where he will hold detailed discussions with the leadership of this country on bilateral cooperation and on the unity of Ummah. The foreign minister was received at the Baghdad International Airport by Iraq’s Deputy Foreign Minister Dr Saleh Al-Tamimi, Iraqi ambassador in Pakistan Hamid Lafta, Pakistan’s ambassador-designate to …

COPENHAGEN: The WHO’s European director warned on Friday that the Covid-19 pandemic won’t be over until at least 70 per cent of people are vaccinated, while deploring that the vaccine rollout in Europe is still “too slow”. “The pandemic will be over once we reach 70pc minimum coverage in vaccination,” the World Health Organisation’s reg­ional director for Europe Hans Kluge …

The WHO’s European director warned Friday that the Covid-19 pandemic won’t be over until at least 70 percent of people are vaccinated, while deploring that the vaccine rollout in Europe is still “too slow”. “The pandemic will be over once we reach 70 percent minimum coverage in vaccination,” the World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe Hans Kluge told AFP …