NewsReutersItalian prosecutor seeks life sentences for U.S. students accused of killing
An Italian prosecutor on Saturday demanded life sentences for two young Americans being tried on murder charges after a policeman was killed following a botched drugs sale in Rome. Finnegan Lee Elder, who was 19 at the time, has admitted to stabbing Mario Cerciello Rega in the early hours of July 26, 2019, while his friend Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth, then 18, was tussling with another police officer. Under Italian law, anyone who participates even indirectly in a murder can face murder charges.
NewsReutersAir France flight made emergency landing in Bulgaria over disruptive passenger
The passenger, an Indian citizen, began to act up soon after take-off, quarrelling with other passengers, assaulting a flight attendant and pummelling the cockpit's door, said Ivailo Angelov, an official at the National Investigation Agency. His aggressive behaviour prompted the flight's commander to seek an emergency landing in Sofia.
PoliticsReutersSenator Cruz puts hold on Biden's CIA pick Burns over Nord Stream 2 pipeline
Republican Senator Ted Cruz put a hold late on Friday on President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency to pressure the administration to put tough sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project. The Senate Intelligence Committee this week backed William Burns, a former ambassador to Russia, by a unanimous vote.
NewsReutersRussian, Chinese hackers targeted Europe drug regulator - newspaper
A Russian intelligence agency and Chinese spies were behind cyberattacks on the European Medicines Agency (EMA) last year, Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant reported, citing sources close to the investigation into the breach. The Amsterdam-based European drug regulator in December reported a cyberattack in which documents relating to COVID-19 vaccines and medicines were stolen and leaked on the internet. The Russian foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Saturday, but Moscow has repeatedly denied western allegations of hacking.
SportAFP NewsAshwin says winning and bonding in bio-bubble 'special'
India's Ravichandran Ashwin says life in a coronavirus bio-bubble made players bond better as they bounced back from an opening-match loss against England to clinch the Test series 3-1 on Saturday.
SportAFP NewsPioli would 'like to be 30 years younger to play' for injury-hit Milan
Stefano Pioli said Saturday he would like to be 30 years younger to take to the pitch for AC Milan as his injury-hit side push to keep touch with Inter in the Serie A title chase.
SportAFP NewsDutch rider van den Broek-Blaak wins women's Strade Bianche
Dutch rider Chantal van den Broek-Blaak won the Strade Bianche one-day classic women's race on the Piazza del Campo in Siena on Saturday.
NewsAFP RelaxRapid Covid tests sell out in Germany on first day
Germans flocked to supermarket chain Aldi on Saturday to snap up the first rapid coronavirus tests to go on sale nationwide, with stocks selling out within hours.
NewsReutersIvory Coast votes for parliament as Ouattara opponents join forces
Ivory Coast voted on Saturday in a legislative election, with President Alassane Ouattara's allies facing a combined challenge from opposition parties led by two of his predecessors. The poll comes only months after Ouattara won a third term in an election marred by unrest that killed at least 85 people, the country's worst violence since a 2010-2011 civil war. After boycotting the presidential election in October to protest Ouattara's decision to seek a third term, the parties of former presidents Henri Konan Bedie and Laurent Gbagbo are fielding parliamentary candidates on joint lists.
EntertainmentMalay MailKlang Valley cinemas roar back to life, with SOP-compliant sold-out screenings of Japan anime monster hit ‘Demon Slayer’
KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — Following the National Security Council’s (NSC) nod to cinemas reopening, Japanese box-office breaking anime movie Demon Slayer: Mugen Train has taken the...
NewsReutersPresident Buhari calls for Nigerians to follow his vaccine lead
President Muhammadu Buhari had his first COVID-19 vaccine shot on Saturday, part of a bid to boost public confidence as Nigeria attempts to inoculate 80 million people this year. Vaccinating Nigeria's 200 million people, and those in other developing countries, is seen as key to stemming the spread of the coronavirus, but getting doses across the vast nation, with its pot-holed roads and lawless areas, is a huge challenge. Not all Nigeria's states have functioning airports, rail networks are limited, and authorities also have to overcome public distrust around the vaccines.
SportAFP NewsIbrahimovic poised for Sweden comeback: reports
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return to international football at the age of 39, Swedish media reported on Saturday.
SportAFP NewsWorld champion Kriechmayr wins downhill in Saalbach
Austria's world champion Vincent Kriechmayr won the World Cup downhill in Saalbach on Saturday, seeing off Beat Feuz who edged closer to a fourth successive small crystal globe.
NewsAFP NewsIn Spain, hugs and sea air for Covid ICU survivor
After spending 48 days with Covid-19 in an intensive care unit in Barcelona, Ibrar Ahmed Iftikhar looked pleased to finally be out in the open.
NewsReutersEgypt's Sisi visits Sudan with dam diplomacy, security on the agenda
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited Sudan on Saturday for the first time since the overthrow of former President Omar al-Bashir, as the neighbours push to break a diplomatic deadlock over a giant dam being built by Ethiopia. Sisi was also due to discuss Red Sea security and developments on Sudan's borders during his visit to Khartoum, Egypt's presidency said in a statement. Both Egypt and Sudan lie downstream from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which Addis Ababa says is crucial to its economic development.
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Hong Kong reforms prevent 'dictatorship of the majority', pro-Beijing lawmaker says
China's proposal for Hong Kong electoral reforms could prevent a "dictatorship of the majority", pro-Beijing Hong Kong lawmaker Martin Liao told Reuters on Saturday. The Chinese parliament is discussing plans to overhaul Hong Kong's electoral system to ensure Beijing loyalists are in charge. Hong Kong representatives, in Beijing for an annual session, say the change is necessary and desirable.
NewsMalay MailHajiji: Bersatu and Umno in Sabah to continue working together
KOTA KINABALU, March 6 — The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) state government will remain intact regardless of the political instability at the federal level, said Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia...
HealthMalay MailHealth Ministry: Seven more deaths, but new Covid-19 cases in Malaysia drop to 1,680
KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — Malaysia recorded more lives claimed by Covid-19 today, with seven patients succumbing to the coronavirus in the last 24 hours. This brings the total number of deaths since...
NewsAFP NewsSydney's Mardi Gras marches on despite virus venue change
The gleaming pageantry of Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade couldn't be dulled by a Covid-forced venue change Saturday as marchers moved from the streets to a stadium.
SportAFP NewsShiffrin edges Vlhova to win slalom in Jasna
American skier Mikaela Shiffrin picked up the 69th World Cup win of her career when she came from behind on the first run to win the slalom event in Jasna on Saturday.
NewsReutersAfghan president says ready to discuss elections to advance talks with Taliban
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Saturday, in a bid to push forward peace talks with the Taliban, that his government was ready to discuss holding fresh elections, insisting that any new government should emerge through the democratic process. "Transfer of power through elections is a non-negotiable principle for us," Ghani told lawmakers at the opening of parliament session in Kabul. President Ghani met U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad in Kabul during the past week to discuss ways to inject momentum in the stalled peace negotiations with Taliban representatives being held in Qatar.
NewsReutersEU seeks access to U.S. produced AstraZeneca vaccines - FT report
The 27-nation EU also wants Washington to ensure the free flow of shipments of crucial vaccine ingredients needed in European production, the FT report on Saturday said. "We trust that we can work together with the U.S. to ensure that vaccines produced or bottled in the U.S. for the fulfilment of vaccine producers' contractual obligations with the EU will be fully honoured,” the FT quoted the European Commission as saying. EU countries started inoculations at the end of December, but are moving at a far slower pace than other rich nations, including former member Britain and the United States.
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Hundreds gather in Sydney in solidarity with Myanmar protesters
Several hundred people gathered in Sydney on Saturday to protest against last month's military coup in Myanmar and urged the Australian government to take a strong stance against the junta. The Southeast Asian country has been plunged into turmoil since the military overthrew and detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, with daily protests and strikes in which least 50 people have been killed. On Saturday, Myanmar security forces used tear gas and stun grenades to break up a protest in Yangon, just hours after a United Nations special envoy called on the Security Council to take action.
NewsReutersHundreds of Thai protesters rally to demand leaders' release
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the Thai capital on Saturday evening to demand that authorities release some protest leaders from jail, defying an order on late Friday banning public gatherings in the city. A youth-led protest movement sprang up last year calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader, and reform of the powerful monarchy. Thai courts have denied recent requests for bail for some of the jailed protest leaders.
PoliticsReutersDemocrats battle for U.S. Senate passage of Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid bill
The U.S. Senate on Saturday inched toward passage of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan in an around-the-clock session that began on Friday involving nearly two dozen votes and hours of closed-door negotiations. Democrats, who narrowly control the chamber, agreed to scale back aid to the millions who have lost their jobs in the crisis. As Friday night turned to Saturday morning, they stuck together to turn back Republican attempts to modify the bill, which according to the Congressional Budget Office would be the largest stimulus package ever.
