Six In The Morning Thursday 16 December 2021

 

Records fall and borders close as world races to get control of Omicron

By Rob Picheta, CNN

Updated 1420 GMT (2220 HKT) December 16, 2021

The rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant has broken pandemic records and shuttered borders in several parts of the world, as governments and scientists scramble to understand the implications of the strain before it supersedes Delta and becomes dominant worldwide.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said the United States was "looking over (its) shoulder" at the encroaching variant while battling an ongoing Delta outbreak on Wednesday, as he urged people to get vaccinated and receive booster shots to shore up the American population's protection.

"We are already in a Delta surge. I mean, the cases are going up," Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN. "And then you have, looking over your shoulder, the Omicron variant, which we know from what's going on in South Africa and in the UK, is a highly transmissible virus."

Haiti gang releases remaining kidnapped missionaries

Canadian and American missionaries were abducted by a gang known as 400 Mawozo after visiting an orphanage

Reuters in Port-au-Prince

Thu 16 Dec 2021 16.20 GMT

A group of Canadian and American missionaries who were kidnapped in October by a gang in Haiti have been released, police announced on Thursday.

The group of hostages, which originally numbered 17 people, traveled to the Caribbean nation on a trip organized by Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries and was abducted by a gang known as 400 Mawozo after visiting an orphanage.

US congressman should be kidnapped, Russian politician says on live TV

Ruben Gallego’s recent comments over Ukraine have triggered outrage in Russia

Maroosha Muzaffar

A Russian lawmaker has called for the kidnapping of a US congressman on live TV over the American’s comments about Ukraine.

The alarming comments were made by the chairman of Russia’s nationalist party Rodina, Aleksei Zhuravlyov, who appeared on the state TV show “60 Minutes” and advocated for the kidnapping of Ruben Gallego, a Democrat congressman from Arizona, the Daily Beast reported.

Mr Zhuravlyov told host Olga Skabeeva: “This is how we should be dealing with these b******s. We can grab him out of Ukraine and there’s nothing they could do, with our capabilities.”

Fewer journalists murdered, but far more behind bars in 2021

Reporters Without Borders is sounding the alarm — China, Belarus and Myanmar are among the worst culprits when it comes to jailing journalists, according to its latest press freedoms report.

Times are tough for journalists.

Authoritarian regimes like Belarus, China and Myanmar are cracking down with increasing zeal against pro-democracy movements in their countries — with freedom of speech as a collateral casualty. And in Western democracies such as the United States and in Europe, populists and conspiracy theorists are increasingly threatening press freedoms, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is sounding the alarm in its current annual roundup of violence and abuse suffered by journalists. Its press freedoms report concludes that ever more media professionals are being arbitrarily arrested while doing their job.

Qatar says activist 'safe' as rights group raises concerns

A Qatari activist is safe and well despite disappearing from public view for more than two months, a Qatari official said on Thursday following speculation over her well-being.

Noof al-Maadeed, who claimed threats to her safety before her social media accounts went silent in October, was healthy but had requested privacy, the official told AFP.

Maadeed was "safe and in good health, but... unable to speak publicly due to a request for privacy", said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Her case comes at a time of heightened focus on human rights in the gas-rich Gulf country, a year before it hosts football's World Cup.

India to raise legal marriage age for women, activists sceptical

Government clears proposal to raise minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21, but rights activists say the move could be a ‘disaster’.

By Bilal Kuchay

Published On 16 Dec 202116 Dec 2021

The Indian government has cleared a proposal to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21, according to media reports, as women’s rights activists fear the move could lead to a “real disaster”.

The decision to raise the age was made during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the reports said. Currently, the minimum age of marriage for men is 21 and 18 for women.

Following cabinet approval, the government is likely to introduce an amendment to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, and consequently bring amendments to the Special Marriage Act and personal laws such as the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.