World

South Africa, the worst virus-hit country in the continent, on Monday crossed the threshold of 60,000 virus deaths, health officials announced, a day after a stricter lockdown was enforced.

All of Italy became a mask-free, “low-risk” zone for coronavirus Monday, marking a dramatic milestone for the first European country to be hit by the global pandemic in February 2020, AFP reports.

The Delta variant will spread across Europe and “stronger border measures” may have delayed its spread in the UK, Professor Peter Horby said.

The head of the UN health agency expressed concern on Friday over the COVID-19’s delta variant, which he called “the most transmissible” mutation to date.

Israeli police have committed a catalogue of violations against Palestinians in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem, carrying out a discriminatory repressive campaign including sweeping mass arrests, using unlawful force against peaceful protesters, and subjecting detainees to torture and other ill-treatment, during and after the armed hostilities in Israel and Gaza, Amnesty International said today.

UN refugee agency UNHCR, on Thursday welcomed the growing number of countries that have offered COVID-19 vaccines to refugees before urging others to do the same.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned of easing COVID-19 regulations as many Euro 2020 host countries are allowing large crowds of spectators to gather in stadiums and watch matches.

Face masks will no longer be compulsory in Italy, one of the countries in Europe worst hit by the virus, from June 28, the health ministry said.

The number of people fleeing wars, violence, persecution, and human rights violations, rose last year to nearly 82.4 million people, a further four percent increase on top of the already record-high of 79.5 million, recorded at the end of 2019.

Everyone has a duty to help refugees rebuild their lives after a particularly difficult year for so many – that’s the message from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, to mark World Refugee Day on 20 June.

António Guterres was on Friday re-appointed to a second term as UN Secretary-General, pledging as his priority, to continue helping the world chart a course out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Covid-19 cases rose by over 20 percent week-on-week in nearly two dozen African countries and progress on vaccinating Africans is proceeding slowly, with just 0.79 percent of people on the continent fully vaccinated, senior health officials said.