China reports first Covid death in six months

Beijing: China on Sunday announced its first new death from Covid-19 in nearly half a year as strict new measures are imposed in Beijing and across the country to ward against new outbreaks. The death of the 87-year-old Beijing man was the first reported by the National Health Commission since May 26, bringing the total death toll to 5,227. pti

Man dies at UK’s Manston migrant centre

London: A man being held at a much-criticised centre for migrants in Britain has died after falling sick, bringing renewed criticism to the Conservative government over its treatment of asylum-seekers. The Home Office said a man who was staying at the Manston migrant centre in southeast England died in a hospital on Saturday after “becoming unwell”. ap

SL mulls replacing controversial anti-terror law

Colombo: The Sri Lankan government is drafting a new counter-terrorism law to replace the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said on Sunday. The PTA was introduced as a temporary arrangement to counter the campaign of separatist violence by the Tamil minority militant groups in 1979. pti

Price rise: 4K medicos left Zimbabwe in 2021

Harare: Zimbabwean health workers have left the country in droves over the past year, a senior official at the Health Services Board (HSB) said. More than 4,000 health workers have left since 2021, HSB chairperson Dr Paulinus Sikosana said. Health workers went on strike in June demanding to be paid in dollars as inflation weakened local currency. reuters

Massive snowfall in western New York

New York: Snowfall as high as 77 inches (196 cm) was reported in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, home to the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. Partway across the state, the town of Natural Bridge, near the Fort Drum Army base, reported just under 6 feet (1.8 metres). The snowfall in some spots ranked among the highest ever recorded in the area, rivalling the amounts that fell in 2014 and 1945.