The world reported the highest global tally of COVID-19 cases last week, and while the omicron variant spreading like a tsunami may appear milder, it hospitalizes and kills people, the World Health Organization chief said Thursday.
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said at the organization's first webinar of 2022 that "while omicron does appear to be less severe compared to delta, especially in those vaccinated, it does not mean it should be categorized as 'mild.'
"Just like previous variants, omicron is hospitalizing people, and it is killing people," Tedros noted.
He said the "tsunami of cases is so huge and quick" and it is overwhelming the world's health systems.
During the week from Dec. 27, 2021 to Jan. 2, 2022, following a gradual increase since October, the global number of new cases jumped up by 71% compared to the previous week, while the number of new deaths decreased by 10%, according to WHO. This corresponds to just under 9.5 million new cases and over 41,000 new deaths reported during the last week.
To end the acute stage of the pandemic, countries need to share highly effective scientific tools fairly and quickly with the world, he urged.
"Vaccine inequity and health inequity overall were the biggest failures of last year," said Tedros and noted that on current trajectories that 109 countries will miss the WHO's target of fully vaccinating 70% of the world's population by mid-2022 said Tedros.
'Vaccine inequity kills'
"Vaccine inequity is a killer of people and jobs, and it undermines a global economic recovery."
The essence of the disparity is that some countries are moving toward vaccinating citizens a fourth time, while others have not even had enough regular supply to vaccinate their health workers and those at most risk, said the WHO head.
He had asked everyone to make a New Year's resolution to get behind the campaign to vaccinate 70% of people worldwide by the middle of 2022.
The WHO chief said cases reported worldwide last week were an underestimate because the numbers do not reflect testing backlogs from burdened surveillance systems, holidays in many parts of the world, and positive self-tests that were not registered.
The WHO's coronavirus technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, said: "The vaccines that are available for COVID-19 work against all variants that are circulating.
She cautioned against people who speculate that the omicron would be the last coronavirus strain.
"Unfortunately, omicron will not be the last variant, the virus continues to evolve," she said.
WHO has so far confirmed over 296.4 million coronavirus infections globally and registered more than 5.46 million deaths since the disease came to the fore two years ago after being discovered in China./aa
Raids by armed extremists have forced the closure of more than 3,000 schools in Burkina Faso, affecting thousands of students and teachers, the government said Wednesday.
The Ministry of National Education, Literacy, and the Promotion of National Languages said that as of Dec. 31, 2021, 3,280 schools had been closed.
The figure accounts for 13.09% of the country's schools or 511,221 students and 14,901 teachers.
"This is very impressive and there are reasons for concern," government spokesman Alkassoum Maiga said at a press briefing.
However, 205 schools involving 39,812 students and 1,099 teachers have been reopened and 25 schools have also been relocated, according to Maiga.
"This allows us to meet the education imperative, especially for those in exam classes," he said, pointing to the re-enrollment of 135,981 students whose parents are internally displaced persons (IDPs).
In May 2021, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted that closures affected 304,450 students, including 156,456 boys and 147,994 girls, and 11,068 teachers, including 7,259 men and 3,809 women, noting "a fairly turbulent security situation."
The West African country has been the target of recurring terrorist attacks since 2015.
After “the first Burkinabe school attacks were recorded in 2017, the number and severity of these attacks have been on the rise,” according to Human Right Watch.
"School attacks and disruptions to schooling have reduced the quality of education provided and caused many students to fall behind academically," the organization noted.
Terrorism has also caused the internal displacement of more than 1.4 million people and food insecurity for more than 2.8 million people, OCHA reported./agencies
New York City schools will reopen Jan. 3 as part of a new policy, "Stay Safe, and Stay Open," outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.
"Our schools have been extraordinarily safe, bluntly, the safest places to be in New York City, very low levels of COVID," de Blasio said at a news conference with Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor-elect Eric Adams, who takes office Jan. 1.
He said schools need to be open for children's physical health, mental health, nutrition needs, and social development.
"And so we are moving every day to make sure our schools remain safe. We have been working very closely with the mayor-elect and his team to make sure everything is in place for January 3," he said. "We're going to double the amount of testing we do every day in our schools."
"So right now, we do PCR testing in every school every week. We're gonna double the amount of testing we do in schools," he said.
Adams added: "Your children are safer in school. The numbers speak for themselves. And we are united to make sure that they will continue to be safe."
Hochul said she sent 600,000 rapid tests to the city last week./agencies
In its attempts to withstand the “diplomatic boycott” of the Winter Olympics, China on Thursday called for the “depoliticization of sports.”
“Sports have nothing to do with politics,” said Wang Wenbin, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman.
“The Winter Olympic Games is not a stage for political posturing,” Wang said as Beijing is set to host the world’s biggest winter games next February.
The US, UK, Canada, and Australia have, however, said they will not send any officials to represent their nations at the opening ceremony of the games. The ban does not apply to their sportspersons.
Wang called on these countries to “demonstrate a more united Olympic spirit instead of undermining the Olympic cause,” Chinese public broadcaster CGTN reported.
“They will have to pay the price for this mistake,” he said, referring to the countries that will not send their officials to the Winter Olympics.
The spokesman tried to fend off any “ripple effect” due to the diplomatic offensive by the US and its allies.
“It’s not worth worrying whether there are ripple effects from individual countries,” Wang said. “We will see the success of the Games no matter whether their officials will come.”
He said many heads of state, government officials, and members of royal families have registered to attend the Beijing 2022./aa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday that Canada will employ a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics.
Canada joins the UK, US and Australia who have all said that they are not sending diplomats to the Winter Games, which begin Feb. 4
Trudeau, who was joined by Canada’s foreign and sports ministers at a news conference, said China should have expected the boycott because of its dismal human rights record.
"This should not be a surprise," Trudeau told reporters, based on our "concerns for human rights violations."
He specifically mentioned the Two Michaels -- Spavor and Kovrig, who were imprisoned for more than two years in China in a move widely seen as retribution for Canada's arrest of senior Huawei executive Ming Wanzhou.
Their release came hours after Ming was set free.
"We will not be sending diplomatic representatives" to the Games, said Trudeau, but Canadian athletes will participate.
He said the decision was made after consultation with Canada's allies.
“For the past many, many months we’ve been talking about our approach with allies around the world. We know that on issues like this it’s important to make sure that we are working with our allies,” he said earlier Wednesday before the news conference.
The US announced a boycott Monday, with White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki telling reporters that Washington has a "fundamental commitment to promoting human rights."
China has repeatedly denied human rights violations and Foreign Minister Zhao Lijian said the boycott is a "violation of the political neutrality of sports established by the Olympic Charter and runs counter to the Olympic motto 'more united.'"/aa
Saudi football club Al Hilal were crowned the 2021 AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Champions League winners after a 2-0 victory over South Korea's Pohang Steelers in Tuesday's final.
Al Hilal's Nasser Al Dawsari scored a very early opener outside the penalty area in 16 seconds against the Pohang Steelers at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.
It was later confirmed that this was the fastest goal in AFC Champions League final history.
In minute 63, Al Hilal forward Moussa Marega took a right-footed shot in the box to send the ball to the bottom left corner. Marega was assisted by Bafetimbi Gomis, who sent him a through-ball.
This goal cemented Al Hilal's victory for their fourth Champions League win after their 1991, 2000, and 2019 titles./agencies
US President Joe Biden said Thursday that a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in China set for February is "something we’re considering."
The US president was responding to a reporter who asked about a boycott of the Games at the start of a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
When asked at a news conference on Thursday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki did not comment on the nature of the boycott but said the Biden administration has "serious concerns" about human rights abuses in China.
"There are a range of factors where we look at what our presence will be," she said.
Biden's remarks came three days after a virtual meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which the US president raised human rights abuses and a host of strains on the US-Sino relationship.
Several US lawmakers and human rights advocates have repeatedly called for a boycott of the 2022 Games.
the two leaders did not discuss the Olympics during the conversation on Monday, according to a White House statement./aa
Switzerland defeated Bulgaria 4-0 Monday and finished at the top of the UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group C table while Italy surprised everyone with a goalless draw against Northern Ireland and will go to playoffs.
Before the matches, both sides had the chance to take the lead in Group C with 15 points each and Italy was at the top of the group and ahead of Switzerland by two goals.
The Nati have now directly qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, finishing at the top of Group C with 18 points, while Azurri finished the group second with 16 points and will wait for their chance to qualify in the playoff round.
The Swiss regularly qualified for the last four World Cups and have grabbed a ticket for the fifth one with this success.
They reached the last 16 three times, in the 2006, 2014 and 2018 World Cups, but were eliminated in the group stage in 2010.
Four-time World Cup champions in 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006, Italy shocked the whole nation as they failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The European football powerhouse were under fire for their previous fiasco, but Italy won the UEFA EURO 2020 in the summer of 2021 to the delight of their fans.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup may be another shock for the nation if they fail in the coming playoffs.
- Kane scores 4 times as England secure World Cup qualification
England defeated San Marino 10-0 in a UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group I match Monday.
Undefeated England finished the group in the top spot with 26 points and directly qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup while Poland will wait for the playoffs as second in the group with 20 points.
Tottenham forward Harry Kane scored four goals in the match and became third in the all-time top English National Team scorers with 48 goals.
Wayne Rooney tops the all-time list with 53 goals while English legend Bobby Charlton is in second spot with 49 goals.
- Monday Results:
Scotland-Denmark: 2-0
Switzerland-Bulgaria: 4-0
San Marino-England: 0-10
Northern Ireland-Italy: 0-0
Israel-Faroe Islands: 3-2
Austria-Moldova: 4-1
Albania-Andorra: 1-0
Poland-Hungary: 1-2
//agencies//
Brazil became the first South American nation to book their ticket to the 2022 World Cup with a 1-0 win against Colombia late Thursday.
Lucas Paqueta was the lone scorer at the Corinthians Arena for Brazil, which are comfortably on top of CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying group with 34 points.
They recorded impressive form by winning 11 out of 12 games.
Meanwhile, Chile beat Paraguay 1-0 and Ecuador sealed a 1-0 victory over Venezuela.
Leaders Brazil are followed by Argentina with 25 points, Ecuador have 20, and Chile collected 16.
The top four nations directly seal their places for the World Cup and the fifth-place nation will qualify for an intercontinental playoff to earn a spot in Qatar./aa
Despite being promoted to the next grades, millions of children in Zimbabwe are unable to read or write, due to repeated lockdowns and inability to hook to online education.
Josphat Magosvongwe, 8, had just started schooling when restrictions were imposed to stem the spread of the virus. He is now in second grade, but cannot read or write letters.
“He hasn’t been attending school for the better part of 2020, meaning part of his grade one school learning never took place as the country was under lockdowns for most of the time,” Linda Jonasi, mother of Magosvongwe, told Anadolu Agency.
His 33-year-old father Jonasi Magosvongwe is worried about the child’s illiteracy, despite now studying in class two.
But many fortunate children studying in private schools did afford to switch to digital learning.
“I didn’t miss much during the lockdowns because my school kept us busy through virtual learning. My teacher kept teaching us online using the internet,” said 12-year-old Livson Chigota.
The COVID-19 restrictions have sharpened the divide between wealthy and poor children.
According to the US-based Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resources Center, Zimbabwe reported 133,205 COVID-19 cases with 4,690 deaths. The country has so far administered 6 million doses, but still, just 18.2% population stands fully vaccinated.
Obert Masaraure, who heads the Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, said it is an uphill task to make up for the loss of education and make children who did not have digital access compete with children who had access.
“We have had learners who were supposed to be in grade one, grade two, and three at the beginning of 2020. They are automatically in next grades but have missed on concepts,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Education treats a person as literate when someone gets into grade three in primary school. It was visualized that till then, a child will be able to understand letters and read and write.
But experts say the COVID-19 has sent this rule upside down. Students in grade three are unable to comprehend letters, leaving parents and teachers worried./agencies
More...
The World Health Organization (WHO) Europe on Friday called for schools to stay open – with appropriate measures in place – as the region reported four straight weeks of growing COVID-19 transmission.
The WHO said the Europe region, extending from Greenland in the northwest to the Russian Far East, accounted for 57% of new cases worldwide in the third week of October.
"Last year's widespread school closures, disrupting the education of millions of children and adolescents, did more harm than good, especially to children's mental and social well-being. We can't repeat the same mistakes," said Dr. Hans Kluge, regional director for WHO Europe.
Last week, with winter approaching, more than half of the European region's 53 countries reported a marked increase in COVID-19 infection rates across all age groups.
While new cases rose 18% in the region, WHO's five other regions reported a decline.
A total of 45 countries and territories recommend that schools remain open for in-person learning with infection prevention and control.
Seven countries opted for full or partial school closures, either at a national or sub-national level, while two recommend distance learning.
Last closed, first open
WHO Europe said if and when restrictions are imposed to decrease or control transmission, schools should be the last places to shut their doors and the first to reopen.
"To reduce the impact of COVID-19 in the coming months, it is vital that decisions by governments and the public alike are based on data and evidence, with the understanding that the epidemiological situation can change and that our behavior must change with it," said Kluge.
"Science must trump politics; the long-term interests of children must remain a priority, especially now that several countries are seeing a spike in transmission. We have more efficient tools to address this spike than closing schools."
WHO Europe quoted Julie Green, a head teacher who works with children age 4 to 11 in Lancashire, England, who supported Kluge's stance.
"Returning to school with face-to-face learning from their teachers has been the one certainty for many children during an uncertain time," said Green.
"As an educator and a mother, I believe that children learn best in the classroom."
She said the pandemic is not over, and measures to keep children and teachers as safe from the virus as possible must stay in place, but schools should remain open for the sake of children's learning and overall development.
The WHO recommends the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children age 12-17. For children under 12, WHO will issue further guidance on the use of vaccines as and when new evidence from vaccine trials emerges.
To date, 76 million cases of COVID-19, and 1.4 million deaths, have been reported in the WHO European Region.
Worldwide, WHO said it has recorded nearly 245 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and is approaching 5 million deaths, while 6.69 billion vaccine doses have been administered./aa
London police are investigating an "offensive banner" unfurled by Crystal Palace fans at the football match against New Castle on Saturday, protesting the recent Saudi-led takeover of the Tyneside club.
"Police received a report of an offensive banner displayed by Crystal Palace fans," Croydon Metropolitan Police said in a tweet.
"Officers are assessing the information and carrying out enquiries. Any allegations of racist abuse will be taken very seriously."
The banner was displayed at Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace’s home stadium. It showed a man in traditional Gulf Arab clothing with a bloody sword about to behead a magpie, which is the symbol of Newcastle club.
Next to the image, the banner listed multiple human rights abuses Saudi Arabia is accused of: terrorism, beheading, civil rights abuses, murder, censorship, and persecution.
Each line was ticked off, and the list was placed on a clipboard titled “Premier League Owners Test.”
Premier League chief executive Richard Masers was also on the banner, shown to be giving a thumbs-up to a bag of money while standing in a pool of blood.
Holmesdale Fanatics, Crystal Palace supporters' group, in a statement said the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle has "received widespread condemnation and anger."
"To give the thumbs up to this deal at a time when the Premier League is promoting the women's game and inclusive initiatives such as rainbow armbands, shows the total hypocrisy at play and demonstrates the league's soulless agenda where profits trump all," it said.
The press release added that "we are lucky to live in a country where we can display a banner such as this without repercussion."
The news is the latest in the long-running controversy over the takeover of Newcastle led by Saudi Arabia’s state sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which was completed earlier this month in a £300 million deal.
PIF is chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been linked to the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but has denied involvement./aa
Former Chelsea and Galatasaray star Didier Drogba on Monday was announced as the World Health Organization (WHO) goodwill ambassador for sport and health.
"His efforts off the pitch are equally impressive, including his role in promoting peace in Ivory Coast, and using his name, his profile and his own resources to promote health and fight poverty. I am delighted to welcome Didier Drogba as a WHO goodwill ambassador for sport and health," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a special event.
Drogba said that it was a "great honor" to be appointed as a WHO goodwill ambassador.
The former Ivory Coast international added that he is "determined to work in partnership with WHO, FIFA, civil society, the youth, the private sectors, and other stakeholders to reach out as many football fans as possible" to increase physical activity and provide healthy lifestyles particularly for youth.
In 2007, when he was an active football player, Drogba became UNDP goodwill ambassador to raise awareness for economic, infrastructural and development challenges in Africa and in the globe.
Drogba began his career in France where he played for Le Mans, Guingamp and Olympique Marseille. However, it was following his move to Chelsea that he started to establish himself as one of the greatest forwards of the 21st century.
He scored 164 goals in 381 appearances for Chelsea.
His most important strike was an equalizer in the 2012 UEFA Champions League final against Bayern Munich, which led to Chelsea winning this title for the first time.
The 43-year-old also played for Turkey's Galatasaray in 53 matches to score 20 goals between 2013 and 2014. He helped the Istanbul club reach the Champions League quarterfinals in 2013.
He won four English Premier League titles with Chelsea (2005, 2006, 2010, and 2015).
The two-time African Football of the Year was the Turkish champions with Galatasaray in 2013.
Drogba played for his native Ivory Coast in the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup tournaments.
He scored 65 goals in 105 international caps for the Ivory Coast.
Drogba retired from playing the game in 2018./agencies
Turkey’s Maarif Foundation is providing education to over 17,500 students through its 175 institutions in 25 countries in Africa.
With Turkey's Ministry of National Education, the foundation is the state's sole entity authorized to provide educational services abroad.
It has significantly increased the number of educational institutions in Africa in the last five years – from 18 in 2016 to 175 now.
Besides, it also operates 18 dormitories in the continent to meet the accommodation needs of the students.
According to the foundation, it has 45,000 students in 378 schools, one university, and 14 education centers in 47 countries around the world.
The foundation was established on June 17, 2016, but is moving beyond its original mission of running schools obtained from FETO, the group behind the defeated coup of July 2016 in Turkey, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.
Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary./aa
