Day: July 10, 2021

Ashleigh Barty won her first Wimbledon title by defeating Czech player Karolina Pliskova on Saturday.

The Australian player beat Pliskova with 6-3, 6-7, and 6-3.

World No.1 won her maiden Wimbledon title and second Grand Slam trophy of her career as she won US Open in 2018.

Two-time Grand Slam finalist Pliskova could not secure any trophies yet.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmed on Friday charges against Sudanese militia leader Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, known as Ali Kushayb, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“Today, 9 July 2021, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “Court”) unanimously, issued a decision confirming all the charges brought by the Prosecutor against Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (“Ali Kushayb”) and committed him to trial before a Trial Chamber,” it said in a statement.

The Court told Anadolu Agency that Kushayb was allegedly responsible for 31 counts of crimes committed between August 2003 and at least April 2004 in Kodoom, Bindisi, Mukjar, Deleig and surrounding areas in Darfur.

Sudan said last June that it will hand over other indicted officials, including ousted President Omer Al-Bashir, who is accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Ethiopia’s ruling Prosperity Party (PP) led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won 410 seats of the 547-seat federal parliament and retained power in seven regional states and two city administrations, the country’s electoral board NEBE announced late Saturday.

On June 21, Ethiopians went to the polls to elect representatives to the 547-seat federal parliament, councils of 10 regional states and two city administrations, the capital Addis Ababa, and the eastern city Dire Dawa.

The Ethiopian electoral law allows a party that wins over 50 seats — first past the post — of the federal parliament to form a government and the party’s leader to become the prime minister.

According to NEBE, among 47 parties and 125 independent contenders who participated in the polls, the Prosperity Party won 410 seats of the federal parliament which will be more than enough to form a government in September.

“Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice won eight seats, the National Movement of Amhara took five seats, a southern party got four seats, while four independent candidates had managed to become members of the federal parliament,’’ NEBE announced.

But due to security and logistic problems, elections in the Harari and Somali regional states were postponed to Sept. 6, and the polls did not take place in the Tigray regional state and in some parts of Oromia and Benishangul Gumuz regions.

Addressing the highly choreographed event of the announcement of the results that were broadcast live, Birtukan Mideksa, the chairperson of NEBE, said that despite the challenges, the board had managed to run a credible election.

“The polls were a justification of the fact that Ethiopia exists as a state,” she said, adding: “We were able to transform the will of the voters’ to political power.”

Birtukan also said Ethiopia for the first time managed an election laying the foundation for true democracy in a peaceful manner.

Speaking on the occasion, President Sahle-Work Zewde commended Ethiopian voters for having braved the blazing sun and rains to cast their ballots in a civil and orderly manner.

Earlier, the African Union Election Observation Mission led by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo hailed the election in the Horn of African nation of 110 million people as “peaceful and orderly.”

More than 40,000 representatives of civil society organizations also observed the June 21 election while the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission monitored it.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The recent surge in coronavirus infections that exceeded the capacity of hospitals has forced doctors in Indonesia to make difficult decisions regarding life.

Emergency medicine specialist Corona Rintawan told Anadolu Agency he could not help but choose patients who had better chances for treatment.

Rintawan works at the Muhammadiyah Lamongan Hospital in East Java, where beds in emergency and isolation rooms are fully occupied despite continuous additions.

He said the majority of patients come with severe symptoms and oxygen desaturation, while some had to wait for up to three days to get a room.

Rintawan said personnel are no longer able to treat all patients who came to the hospital.

“We were forced to exclude those, who in theory, given any kind of therapy, will not improve. It wasn’t easy to decide,” he said.

Rintawan said it has created psychological pressure for medical personnel as the number of patients requiring intensive care is always higher than available rooms and ventilators.

“For example, if we choose someone to be treated with a ventilator, but after four to five days they don’t get better, some of us would think ‘what if it was given to another patient yesterday, would they survive?’ It became a moral burden for us,” he added.

– Never been situation this bad

Rintawan said in his 18-year career in emergency medicine, he has never seen a facility face a crisis as bad as this, even when a massive disaster hit the country like the Aceh tsunami in 2004.

Indonesia continues to report record high daily cases, peaking Thursday at 38,391 infections.

The spike became the highest in the Southeast Asian region, while daily fatalities are one of the highest in Asia.

“The Aceh tsunami, SARS outbreak — it wasn’t this bad. The senior doctors never told stories as bad as this,” he said.

In the context of natural disasters, Rintawan said crises usually occur only in a limited area and aid can be mobilized from other areas.

“As this pandemic is greatly widespread, it is difficult to help other areas because we ourselves are struggling to survive,” he said.

The high mobility of people during the Muslim eid holiday later this month and the rapid spread of the Delta variant is believed to be the reason for the recent surge in infections, pushing the health system to the brink as hospitals run out of oxygen, beds, medicines and staff.

Rintawan said a lot of personnel had no time to self-isolate as they had to continue working because of a staff shortage.

At least 1,183 health workers have died since the start of the pandemic and the number has increased significantly from June to July, according to Data Report Covid19, a civilian initiative.

“Functionally, we could say that health facilities have collapsed,” he added.

– Collapse of health facilities leads to high fatalities

Windhu Purnomo, an epidemiologist from Airlangga University, said the collapse of health facilities leads to high fatalities from the virus.

According to data by the Ministry of Health, 5,269 deaths were reported in the past week, with the highest daily surge of 1,040 recorded Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 63,760.

Purnomo told Anadolu Agency that patients in self-isolation had difficulty getting treatment when their condition worsened.

“In the end, many died at home due to fully occupied hospitals, unavailability of isolation beds, or it was too late to get oxygen treatment,” he said.

In the past week, dozens of hospitals in Surabaya and Bandung temporarily closed their emergency rooms as they were no longer able to treat patients and oxygen supplies were running low.

Field hospitals have been built in various cities on the island of Java and some in Jakarta have turned their emergency rooms into isolation rooms, while emergency treatment was administered in emergency tents.

Despite the government’s effort to increase the capacity of beds for COVID-19 patients, Purnomo said the burden on health workers has been very heavy and they could no longer keep pace with the number of patients to be treated.

The epidemiologist urged the government to curb the spread of the virus to reduce the burden on health facilities whose conditions are far from ideal.

“No matter how much we expand the treatment capacity, if the number of new patients keeps flowing like floods, it will never be enough,” he added.

– Call for moment of silence

Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas urged the nation to observe a moment of silence and pray for patients who have died from the virus.

“On Saturday, July 10, at 10.07 a.m, let’s have a moment of silence for 60 seconds. Wishing the best for the health workers, volunteers, the people, and those who have gone before us,” Qoumas said in a statement.

He expressed hope that it could foster the strength of mutual solidarity to work together in the battle against pandemics.

*Writing by Rhany Chairunissa Rufinaldo, contribution by Adelline Tri Putri Marcelline with Anadolu Agency’s Indonesian language services in Jakarta

Source: Anadolu Agency

The US said Friday that it is dispatching senior FBI and Department of Homeland Security officials “as soon as possible” to help quell unrest in Haiti after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise earlier this week.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Haiti’s government asked for security and assistance to investigate the killing.

“The United States remains engaged and in close consultations with our Haitian and international partners to support the Haitian people in the aftermath of the assassination of the President,” she said.

Haiti has been thrown into turmoil since the assassination. A shootout Wednesday with police left four suspects dead and 17 under arrest. They were seen in pictures on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs.

Outside Moise’s private residence, where he was killed, there are images of burned vehicles.

The government is blaming “professional killers,” including two Americans who are under arrest, but the motive is unclear.

Psaki said that even before the assassination, the US in January announced more than $75 million in aid to Haiti to assist with maintaining democratic elections, education, agriculture and health care.

Washington is also sending $5 million to Haiti to specifically fight gangs.

Haiti is also behind on coronavirus vaccinations and it is believed that no doses have been distributed.

Psaki said the US will deliver vaccines to Haiti as early as next week, depending on security at the airport.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Bulgaria will hold early parliamentary elections on Sunday, the second vote in three months as political groups failed to form a government after the April 4 polls.

As many as 22 political parties and coalitions will compete for 240 seats in the unicameral National Assembly.

The main contenders in the election are a coalition between GERB and right-wing Union of Democratic Forces – led by three-time Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, and populist formation There Is Such a People headed by singer-turned-politician Slavi Trifonov.

In May, to quell the political crisis, retired general Stefan Yanev was appointed as interim prime minister.

Joining the EU in 2007, Bulgaria has been regarded as the poorest country of the union, and is often warned by the bloc over widespread corruption, lack of transparency and professionalism of state institutions and the inefficiency of the judiciary.

The members of parliament are elected for a four-year term. Polling stations will open at 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT).

– Expectations

Approximately one million Turks and Muslims, roughly 10% of Bulgaria’s population, expect political stability, and to be regarded as equal citizens.

“Our children are here, they will study here and work for the benefit of this country,” Ahmed Bozov, a Bulgarian citizen of Turkish origin, told Anadolu Agency.

Zekiye Hasan, a teacher by profession, said: “As a citizen of Turkish origin, I want to be secure by having more contemporary and equal rights … we are Bulgarian citizens who love Bulgaria.”

Lutfiye Ali, who has been living in the southern Momchilgrad province of Bulgaria for 45 years, said she’s weary of the disputes in parliament.

“We are going through a tough time, let’s not become enemies. We have been living like siblings, let’s continue to do so,” she said. “Elections will pass, but the words we utter for each other will remain. Let’s not live with shame. Let there be no enmity between us.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

Ankara on Friday welcomed the UN Security Council’s decision to extend the delivery of humanitarian aid from Turkey to northwestern Syria for the next 12 months.

Earlier, the UN Security Council voted to extend the authorization of the cross-border mechanism to aid Syrian people.

The council mandate for the operation was due to expire on Saturday.

“The first 6-month implementation period will be followed by an additional 6-month extension on the basis of the report of the UN Secretary General,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The UN humanitarian aid through this border-crossing is essential for the continuation of effective response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria as well as to regional stability and security,” the statement said.

“Therefore, we welcome the renewal of the UN cross-border mechanism that operates through Turkey in order to address the needs of Syrian people,” it added.

The statement said that Turkey expects the UN Security Council and key international actors will demonstrate the same constructive approach and reconciliatory approach to the international efforts aimed at finding a lasting solution to the Syrian crisis, in particular the political process.

“Turkey will continue its strong support to address the humanitarian crisis inside Syria as well as its active contributions to the preservation of the ceasefire and advancement of the political process,” it said.

Bab al-Hawa border gate in Syria is the only remaining cross-border supply route from Turkey to Syria’s last opposition-held territory, Idlib.​​​​​​​

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Dutch government announced Friday that coronavirus measures were again tightened to curb a surge.

At a news conference along with Health Minister Hugo de Jonge, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said new restrictions will be implemented at 6 a.m. Saturday.

The measures will remain in effect until Aug. 13.

Cafes and restaurants will be closed from midnight to 6 a.m. and businesses will be able to receive customers according to social distancing measures.

Discos and bars will not be allowed to open and live performances, including concerts, will not be allowed.

Events lasting more than one day will be reduced to 24 hours.

The period of negative test results will be reduced from 40 hours to 24 hours.

Businesses operating in the service sector will accept customers, according to the distance rule.

Rutte said the number of daily cases has risen much faster than anticipated. “Even if we don’t want it, it is necessary,” he said.

The prime minister said officials are worried other countries will add the Netherlands to a red list of countries with travel restrictions.

De Jonge said if the increase continues, the health sector may face difficulties, especially in big cities.

While measures were largely lifted June 26, the use of masks was compulsory on public transport and high schools.

The country’s opposition contends that the government relaxed restrictions too quickly in June.

-Coronavirus cases surge

A total of 6,986 people were diagnosed with the virus in the last 24 hours, according to figures by the Netherland’s National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).

The figure is the highest seen since May 8, while the number has tripled compared to the previous week.

Daily cases have been below 1,000 since mid-June but that number reached 3,000 last week and approached 7,000 on Friday.

The mutated and more contagious Delta variant of the virus is thought to account for at least one-third of new cases in the Netherlands.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The UN on Saturday sent 41 truckloads of humanitarian aid to Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.

The trucks crossed into Syrian territory through the Cilvegozu border gate in southern Turkey’s Hatay province.

The aid – including COVID-19 test kits, baby food, breakfast products, flour, sugar and stationery products – will be distributed among needy Syrians in the province and rural areas.

Ankara on Friday welcomed the UN Security Council’s decision to extend the delivery of humanitarian aid from Turkey to northwestern Syria for the next 12 months.

The UNSC had voted to extend the authorization of cross-border mechanism to aid the Syrian people. The council’s mandate for the operation was due to expire on Saturday.

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced.

Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia. The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire understandings, which have frequently been violated by the Syrian regime and its allies.

Source: Anadolu Agency