Six In The Morning Monday 20 December 2021

 

EU approves Novovax coronavirus vaccine: COVID live news

The two-dose vaccine is the fifth coronavirus jab approved by the 27-nation bloc.

By Linah Alsaafin and Usaid Siddiqui

Published On 20 Dec 202120 Dec 2021

The European Union has approved the Novovax vaccine for use, the fifth jab so far,  as nations in the region battle with surge in new cases.

The 27 nation bloc has so far already approved the Pfizer, Moderna, Astrazeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Israel has added the United States to its “no-fly” list, citing concerns over the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

West raises concerns after pro-Beijing candidates sweep Hong Kong elections

Britain, US and allies fear ‘erosion of democratic elements’ as legislative elections marred by record low turnout

Vincent Ni Rhoda Kwan and agencies

Mon 20 Dec 2021 14.44 GMT

Britain, the US and other western allies have expressed “grave concern” over the “erosion of democratic elements” in Hong Kong, hours after pro-Beijing candidates were confirmed to occupy nearly every seat in the former British colony’s new legislature.

“We, the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and the United States secretary of state, noting the outcome of the legislative council elections in Hong Kong, express our grave concern over the erosion of democratic elements of the special administrative region’s electoral system,” the joint statement said.

Sunday’s elections in Hong Kong were marred by record low voter turnout that observers say signals a general political apathy in the city, 18 months since authorities began a crackdown on political dissent in the name of national security.

Poles protest across the country to defend media freedom

Poles are marching in cities across the country to defend a U.S.-owned television network that is being targeted by the right-wing government

Via AP news wire

Poles marched in cities across the country Sunday to defend a U.S.-owned television network that is being targeted by the country's right-wing government and to protect media freedoms in a European Union nation where democratic norms are eroding.

Many of the protesters were older Poles who decades ago resisted the country's communist regime. They fear that the democracy that they helped usher in is now being lost to them. They believe Poland's populist right-wing government is turning the country away from the West and adopting an authoritarian model closer to that of Turkey or Russia with attempts to exert political control over the courts and silence critical media.

The protests, led by opposition groups, were called after the parliament on Friday unexpectedly passed a bill that would force Discovery Inc. to sell its controlling share of TVN, Poland’s largest television network.

Tigrayan fighters announce they are withdrawing from rest of Ethiopia

The Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) said its forces will be returning to Tigray. The group's head said the move " will be a decisive opening for peace."

The leaders of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) announced on Monday that its forces would be withdrawing from a number of areas in Ethiopia and returning to Tigray.

"We trust that our bold act of withdrawal will be a decisive opening for peace," wrote Debretsion Gebremichael, the head of the TPLF, in a letter to the United Nations.

Party spokesman Getachew Reda said on Twitter that the withdrawal had been completed in two regions and accused the international community of being slow to take action against Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and what he called his "regional partners in crime."

FIFA promises new funds for member federations under biennial World Cup plan

FIFA on Monday vowed to hand over an extra $19 million every four years to each of its 211 member federations if world football's governing body succeeds in its attempts to hold the World Cup as a biennial event.

The body on Monday held a virtual global summit to discuss its highly controversial plans to stage the World Cup every two years instead of the current four-year cycle, as part of a new international match calendar for the period beyond 2024.

Its economic arguments had not previously been explicitly stated, but FIFA will hope the numbers can at least persuade smaller nations to get behind the plans.

Tortured to death: Myanmar mass killings revealed

By Rebecca Henschke, Kelvin Brown and Ko Ko Aung
BBC World Service

The Myanmar military carried out a series of mass killings of civilians in July that resulted in the deaths of at least 40 men, a BBC investigation has found.

Eyewitnesses and survivors said that soldiers, some as young as 17, rounded up villagers before separating the men and killing them. Video footage and images from the incidents appear to show most of those killed were tortured first and buried in shallow graves.

The killings took place in July, in four separate incidents in Kani Township - an opposition stronghold in Sagaing District in Central Myanmar.