Latest Humanitarian crises News
UK lifts COVID restrictions, says omicron wave 'has peaked'
LONDON (AP) — Face masks will no longer be mandatory in public places and COVID-19 passports will be dropped for large events as infections level off in most parts of the country, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday. Johnson told lawmakers that the restrictions were...
Medical workers fear Polish hospitals can't handle new surge
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Doctors and medical workers in Poland fear the country's health care system may not be able to cope with the latest surge of COVID-19 infections. More than 30,000 new cases in 24 hours were reported Wednesday in this nation of 38 million people and health...
Taliban economy conference in Kabul stresses need for funds
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Five months into their rule of Afghanistan, the Taliban have increased revenue, cracked down on corruption and collected a surprising $1 billion in exports, the U.N. representative for the country said Wednesday. At the same time, Deborah Lyons, head of...
Iowa COVID hospitalizations top 1,000 amid high virus spread
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hospitalizations of people being treated for coronavirus infections in Iowa surpassed 1,000 this week as COVID-19 cases grow at the fastest rate since the beginning of the pandemic nearly two years ago. State data updated Wednesday shows Iowa surpassed...
South African president launches vaccine manufacturing plant
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has opened a new vaccine manufacturing facility that he says will boost the country's capacity to make its own inoculations for diseases including COVID-19. The plant in Cape Town — a partnership between a U.S.-based...
Dutch cultural sector protests pandemic lockdown measures
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Amsterdam's Concertgebouw orchestra played second fiddle Wednesday to a pair of hairdressers. Vincent van Gogh's self-portraits were briefly upstaged by a nail salon and barber as civil disobedience to protest the Dutch coronavirus lockdown spread Wednesday to the cultural...
Hungary opposition leader tests positive for COVID-19
BUDPAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The leader of Hungary's political opposition said Wednesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 amid a surge in cases fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant. Peter Marki-Zay, an independent conservative who will represent a six-party...
Japan widens virus curbs, including in Tokyo, as cases surge
TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo and a dozen other areas in Japan will face new COVID-19 restrictions effective Friday, with local leaders shortening hours for restaurants, as omicron cases hit a record high in the capital. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that the areas will be placed...
WHO counts 18 million virus cases last week as omicron slows
GENEVA (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases globally rose by 20% last week to more than 18 million, marking a slowdown in the surge caused by the omicron variant's spread, according to the World Health Organization. In its weekly report on the pandemic, the U.N. health agency...
UN: Worse now for women peace builders than before COVID
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Women seeking to participate in shaping and building peace and defending human rights face a “vastly worse” situation now than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations human rights chief said Tuesday. Michelle Bachelet told the U.N....
