NEW YORK — The United Nations under-secretary-general for peace operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix has accused Russian military personnel of allegedly committing widespread human rights violations in the troubled Central African Republic. “We are very concerned by the number of these allegations and the fact that they’re still widespread perpetrated, or they are alleged by a great diversity of actors, armed groups,” Lacroix said at a press conference on June 29. “I believe they’re still responsible for for for the biggest number of these alleged violations of human rights, but also the national armed forces and their bilateral partners.” Lacroix’s comment came in…
Author: zenger.news
A record number of Israeli startups are becoming billion-dollar unicorns or going public on the stock market. That’s one of many positive findings in the 2021 Innovation Report released by the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) on June 16. Israeli high-tech entered the 2020 pandemic year in a strong position: “It withstood the shock waves of the crisis — and in many ways, flourished more than ever.” High-tech employees have made a significant contribution to rehabilitating an economy recovering from the economic, social, and health crises of 2020, generating new sources of income to reduce the budget deficit, the report notes.…
Stunning images of the Acropolis of Athens and other Greek landmarks, as well as artistic images of nude women, by a veteran professional photographer, have attracted some 16,000 followers on Instagram. Nikos Nikoletakis, who lives in Athens, has over 22 years of experience as a journalist in TV, radio and print media. Seal’s cave — where the sun hardly ever reaches — along the Corinthian Gulf, near Loutraki. (@nikos_nikoletakis/Zenger News)He said he uses a Nikon D750 as his main camera, a Nikon D3200 as secondary, and a Sony Alpha for videos. The Acropolis of Athens, a UNESCO World Heritage Site…
A 1,000-year-old church built by Otto the Great, who as Holy Roman Emperor greatly extended the influence of the Catholic Church in Europe, has been found under a cornfield in Germany. Archaeologists uncovered the foundation walls of the large church at the rediscovered Royal Palace of Helfta near Eisleben in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The town is famous as the hometown of Martin Luther. The church was discovered early last month, and its foundation walls have now been fully uncovered. Enameled non-ferrous metal rectangular brooch — clasp with retracted sides from the Carolingian era. (Landesamt fur Denkmalpflege und Archaologie…
SILIGURI, India — Jannat-e Firdaus, a 30-year-old homemaker from the Noakhali district of Bangladesh, traveled to Vellore, a city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, in April for a malignant tumor operation. She was accompanied by her husband Zubayat Kaiser on her trip to the Christian Medical College & Hospital, founded in 1900 by American missionary Ida S. Scudder. While the surgery date was fixed within 15 days of the appointment, getting the appointment was a task considering the Covid scenario. After the operation, the couple was waiting for post-surgery therapy when the deadly second wave of the Covid-19 hit India…
GULU, Uganda — An acute shortage of medical oxygen has hit Uganda, putting the lives of hundreds of Covid-19 patients in danger, as deaths from the disease spiked to new levels. David Nuwamanya, the Principal Hospital Administrator at Mulago National Referral Hospital—the country’s main referral hospital—said they are facing an uphill task treating critical patients hit by a new wave of the virus. “We have four oxygen plants that can generate 2,083 liters of oxygen per minute,” he told Zenger News. “Ideally, this would support the oxygen needs of 90 patients, each consuming one-five liters per minute. We have 180 Covid-19…
NEW DELHI — U.S. microblogging site Twitter has once again gotten into trouble for displaying a distorted map of India on its platform. The map shows Jammu and Kashmir belonging to a separate country, while union territory Ladakh as a part of China. The map appears under the Twitter website’s Career section under the ‘Tweep Life’ section. This is the second time Twitter is facing ire for showing the wrong map of India. In October 2020, Twitter had labeled the Indian territory of Leh in Ladakh as part of the People’s Republic of China. The government had then issued a warning…
NEW DELHI — U.S. microblogging platform Twitter’s interim Resident Grievance Officer for India stepped down from his role on June 27 amid escalating tensions between the government and the company on compliance with the new I.T. Rules. Earlier this month, Twitter lost its status as a social media intermediary due to non-compliance with the rules, potentially opening it up to lawsuits for content from its users. India’s Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, came into effect on May 26 and social media firms had three months to comply. India is one of the most important markets for Twitter, with…
PUNE, India — Indians who have taken Covishield doses and are facing issues while traveling to European Union countries had been escalated to the ‘highest level,’ said Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer and owner of the Serum Institute of India, which manufactures the vaccine in India In a tweet, Poonawala also said he hoped to resolve the matter soon, both with regulators and at a diplomatic level with countries. “I realize that a lot of Indians who have taken Covishield are facing issues with travel to the E.U.,” he tweeted. “I assure everyone, I have taken this up at the highest levels and…
PRETORIA, South Africa — South Africa is imposing new restrictions to curb the third wave of the coronavirus disease and the spread of the Delta variant, President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa said on June 27. As per the country’s leader, the new variant has been detected in five provinces and is displacing the Beta variant as the dominant one. “Based on scientific advice we received from the Ministerial Advisory Committee and further consultation with our provinces and metros and traditional leaders, and on the recommendation of the National Coronavirus Command Council, Cabinet has decided that the country should move to Adjusted…