"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst," says EU leader
Europe is in a race against the clock to step up its vaccination and booster programs amid concerns over the Omicron variant hitting its shores, European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a news briefing Wednesday.
Von der Leyen said the bloc is facing a "severe double challenge."
"On one hand, we are amidst the fourth wave," von der Leyen said. And on the other hand, "we are now facing a new threat, that is the new variant Omicron," she added.
"At this point we do not know all about this variant. But we know enough to be concerned," she said, adding that "we know from our experience with the Delta variant, that it is a race against time."
Airbnb allegedly hosts Xinjiang rentals on land owned by sanctioned group
Listing properties on land owned by XPCC, which has been linked to human rights abuses, risks breaching US regulations
Airbnb has reportedly listed more than a dozen properties on land owned by the Xinjiang paramilitary corporation, which has been sanctioned by the US over its alleged involvement in mass human rights abuses against Uyghurs by the Chinese government.
The American media outlet Axios reported on Wednesday that the short-term rental company was at risk of exposure to US regulations preventing business dealings with sanctioned entities. Airbnb, which is a major sponsor of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, said it was not required to vet the “underlying landowner” of properties it lists.
Airbnb includes hundreds of listings for accommodation in Xinjiang, including some close to sites known to house mass detention facilities. Axios said it had identified 14 properties owned by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), one of several parties sanctioned by the US government in 2020 over its alleged connection to serious rights abuses against ethnic minorities.
‘I saw people dying in front of me’: Channel migrant boat survivor haunted by disaster
‘Those of us who could not swim, drowned and died within minutes,’ says one of only two known survivors of tragedy
One of only two known survivors of the deadliest Channel crossing has told how he is haunted by the scenes he witnessed.
Mohamed Isa Omar was among at least 29 people who attempted to make the dangerous journey from the coast of France to the UK last week before their overcrowded inflatable dinghy began to deflate.
As others attempted to cling on to the sinking boat, the 28-year-old swam towards a ship he spotted in the distance.
Kashmir: Why is anger rising over secretive militant burials?
Families of militants killed by Indian forces are decrying a ban on returning the bodies. Authorities have cited COVID-19 and fears of new recruitment as reasons for burying those killed in remote border areas.
Mushtaq Ahmad Wani cried out for public support after Indian security forces refused to return the body of his teenage son, who was killed in a controversial operation on the outskirts of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
"Today it's about my son. Tomorrow it will be your son as well," Wani shouted while he was being taken away by Indian police during a protest at the Lal Chowk square in Srinagar, the region's summer capital.
On December 30 of last year, Wani's son, 16-year-old Ather Mushtaq, was killed along with two other local youths.
Iran nuclear talks: to revive deal 'the only solution is to lift all sanctions'
EU, Iranian and Russian diplomats sounded upbeat as Iran and world powers held their first talks in five months to try to save their 2015 nuclear deal, despite Tehran taking a tough stance in public that Western powers said would not work. Iran is determined to get all sanctions dropped from the US and EU, in force since 2018, as a condition of returning to the 2015 JCPOA agreement. Even with all of the immense challenges that lie ahead, the dropping of all sanctions is actually one point of contention that could very well be resolved, says Marc Finaud, Head of Arms Proliferation at the Geneva Center for Security Policy.
Ethiopian gov’t says it retook string of towns from Tigray forces
Spokesman says Shewa Robit, a town claimed by Tigrayan forces last week, is among those now under government control.
The Ethiopian government says its forces recaptured Shewa Robit, a town some 220km (135 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa, which was claimed last week by fighters from the northern Tigray region.
Government spokesman Legesse Tulu said on Wednesday Shewa Robit was among several small towns retaken by Ethiopia’s army and regional forces loyal to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who last week announced he would head to the battlefield to lead a counteroffensive after the Tigrayan fighters threatened to march on Addis Ababa.
“In Shewa front, the Mezezo, Molale, Shewa Robit, Rasa and its surroundings have been freed from the terrorist TPLF,” Legesse said in comments broadcast on state media, referring to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front which has been locked in a war with Abiy’s government for more than a year.
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