Новости за 27.12.2020

South African opening batsman Dean Elgar said the momentum had swung back to the host team after a free-scoring second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday. The left-handed Elgar scored 95 and shared an opening stand of 141 with Aiden Markram (68) to set South Africa on the way to 317 for four at the close in reply to Sri Lanka's first innings total of 396. The runs were scored off only 72 overs against a depleted Sri Lankan bowling attack. "It was a rewarding day for all of us today... Читать дальше...

The Gulf of Guinea has become a hotspot for pirates – the number of sailors kidnapped increased by 40 percent between January and October 2020, according to the International Marine Bureau. Kidnappings in this region account for 95 percent of cases reported globally. The FRANCE 24 Observers obtained images of two recent pirate attacks.

Former world number one Andy Murray has been handed a wild card for February's delayed Australian Open, pushed back three weeks as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Murray, 33, is a five-time runner-up in Melbourne but feared his last match at the tournament in 2019 would mark the end of his career due to chronic hip pain. The injury pushed him to the brink of retirement but the three-time Grand Slam champion is battling to extend his career having undergone two hip surgeries. The Scot's ranking... Читать дальше...

Patrick Bamford's early penalty earned Leeds a controversial 1-0 win over Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday, while West Ham twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Brighton. Marcelo Bielsa's men now enjoy a nine-point cushion over the drop zone as they moved up to 11th, but needed luck on their side as Burnley were denied an equaliser through Ashley Barnes by a refereeing error. The only goal at Elland Road came after just five minutes when Bamford latched onto a long ball over the top and was wiped out by the onrushing Nick Pope. Читать дальше...

Top US government scientist Anthony Fauci warned Sunday the worst of the pandemic may be yet to come, driving the country to a "critical point" as holiday travel spreads the coronavirus. "I share the concern of President-elect (Joe) Biden that as we get into the next few weeks, it might actually get worse," the infectious disease specialist told CNN. Biden cautioned on Wednesday that the nation's "darkest days are ahead of us -- not behind us." Fauci, who has been encouraging everyone eligible to be vaccinated... Читать дальше...

Lebanon's army said Sunday it had arrested eight people after a dispute led a group of Lebanese nationals to set fire to an informal refugee settlement in the country's north. The army said it "arrested two Lebanese nationals and six Syrians over a personal dispute... between a number of Lebanese men and Syrian workers," according to a statement. "The Lebanese men fired bullets in the air and torched the tents of Syrian refugees," it added, without elaborating on the cause of the altercation. ... Читать дальше...

Thousands of homes in north-western France were deprived of electricity on Sunday as Storm Bella swept through the area.

Oman started coronavirus vaccinations on Sunday, two days ahead of plans to resume all flights and open borders that temporarily closed amid concerns over a new strain of the disease. The sultanate -- which has recorded the second highest number of Covid-19 deaths in the Gulf after Saudi Arabia -- is the last of the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) to begin inoculating people. Like most of its neighbours it has opted for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Health Minister Ahmed Al-Saidi, one of the first citizens to get a jab at a Muscat clinic... Читать дальше...

South African opening batsmen Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram scored freely against a depleted Sri Lankan bowling attack as the host nation fought back on the second day of the first Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday. South Africa were 180 for one at tea in reply to Sri Lanka's imposing first innings total of 396. Elgar and Markram put on 141 for the first wicket, scoring at almost five runs an over, before Markram was caught at gully off Vishwa Fernando for 68. Elgar was unbeaten on 86 at the interval. Читать дальше...

The next round of negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government will be held in Qatar from next month, a top official said Sunday, despite President Ashraf Ghani's recent calls for them to be moved home. Peace talks began on September 12 at a luxury hotel in Doha, but negotiations are currently on a break until January 5. "The second round of talks will begin on January 5 in Doha," said Faraidoon Khwazoon, spokesman for Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation, which... Читать дальше...

The Covid-19 vaccine developed by the British drugs group AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has achieved a "winning formula" for efficacy, the company's chief executive said on Sunday. The vaccine, currently being evaluated by Britain's independent medicines regulator, provides "100 percent protection" against severe Covid disease requiring hospitalisation, Pascal Soriot said in an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper. He added he believes trials will show his firm has achieved a vaccine... Читать дальше...

A 78-year-old woman became the first person vaccinated against Covid-19 in France when she received the country's first dose at René-Muret Hospital in Sevran, Seine-Saint-Denis, outside Paris, according to an AFP journalist on site.

Voters in the Sahel state of Niger go to the polls on Sunday for an election that could seal the country's first-ever peaceful handover between elected presidents, despite a bloody jihadist insurgency.

Voters went to the polls on Sunday in the Central African Republic in presidential and legislative elections marred by the latest flare-up in a long-running civil war, with many voters unable to cast their ballots.

Europe launches a cross-border vaccination programme of unprecedented scale on Sunday as part of efforts to end a Covid-19 pandemic that has crippled economies and claimed more than 1.7 million lives around the world.

Voting was poised to start in presidential and legislative elections in the Central African Republic on Sunday, in a key test for one of the world's most troubled nations. The poll takes place after a week of turbulence, marked by accusations of an attempted coup, the brief seizure of the CAR's fourth-largest town and the dispatch of military personnel by Russia and Rwanda to help its beleaguered government. The frontrunner for the presidency is Faustin Archange Touadera, who was elected in 2016. Читать дальше...

The Covid-19 pandemic cast a long pall over 2020 but it also saw President Donald Trump beaten by Joe Biden in a tumultuous US election and the Black Lives Matter movement shake the world. Here are some of the key events of the year: - Rampaging virus - On January 11, less than two weeks after it alerts a cluster of pneumonia cases "of unknown cause", Beijing announces its first death from an illness which will become known as Covid-19. By March a pandemic has been declared and a month later... Читать дальше...

BJ Watling picked up where Kane Williamson left off as New Zealand reached 388 for seven at tea on day two of the first Test against Pakistan in Mount Maunganui. Watling was on 59, his 19th Test half-century, with Tim Southee yet to score. After a long, composed innings Williamson was out before lunch for 129 following a 133-run stand for the fourth wicket with Henry Nicholls. As rain clouds hovered close to the ground where Watling scored a double century against England a year ago, the wicketkeeper... Читать дальше...

Pace spearhead Pat Cummins removed Shubman Gill and dangerman Cheteshwar Pujara to pile pressure on India who trail Australia by 105 after the opening session of day two in the second Test Sunday. On a steamy and overcast day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, India resumed on 36 for one in reply to Australia's first innings 195, having weathered a torrid 11 overs Saturday when they lost Mayank Agarwal for a duck. At lunch, they had clawed to 90 for three, with captain Ajinkya Rahane not out 10 and Hanuma Vihari on 13. Читать дальше...

Although small in the face of South America's giants, Haiti is slowly developing its cocoa industry, earning better incomes for thousands of farmers and refuting the stereotype that culinary art is the preserve of wealthy countries. Haiti's annual production of 5,000 tonnes of cocoa pales in comparison to the 70,000 tonnes produced per year by neighboring Dominican Republic, but the sector's development is recent in the island nation. Feccano, a federation of cocoa cooperatives in northern Haiti... Читать дальше...

At the entrance to Argentina's Congress is a plaque reminding legislators that Our Lady of Lujan is the patron saint of the country's political parties -- a not-so-subtle nod to religion in a nation considering whether to allow abortions. As Argentina's Senate prepares to vote on a bill that would legalize the practice, the Catholic Church has joined forces with evangelical Christians to fight the measure tooth and nail. The bill, which aims to legalize voluntary abortions at up to 14 weeks, was... Читать дальше...

Promoters of Britain's divorce from the European Union had said they would revitalize bonds with the United States, where President Donald Trump, with his shared disdain for multinational bodies, seemed the perfect partner. Come January, Britain both definitively leaves the 27-nation bloc and will deal with a new US president, Joe Biden, who prioritizes the EU and shares none of the Brexiteers' romanticism about going it alone. Biden, an Irish-American who will be the second Catholic president... Читать дальше...

The Cleveland Browns, trying to end an 18-year NFL playoff drought, take on the Jets in New York on Sunday with six players unavailable after a positive Covid-19 test. Four wide receivers -- Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, KhaDarel Hodge and Donovan Peoples -- and linebackers B.J. Goodson and Jacob Phillips are all unavailable for the game, the Browns said on Saturday. The Covid-19 reserve list was finalized after one player on the team tested positive and the Browns carried out contact-tracing to determine who was in close contact with him. Читать дальше...

European countries are following the United States, Britain and a handful of other countries to begin rolling out coronavirus vaccines. The rapid development and approval of drugs has been hailed the world over, questions remain about the availability, effectiveness and side effects of the jabs. - How many vaccines? - It usually takes roughly 10 years to develop and market a new vaccine, but the process was vastly accelerated for Covid-19. A vaccine developed by the American company Pfizer and... Читать дальше...

Australian golf great Greg Norman said Saturday he was quarantining at home after spending Christmas Day in the hospital with Covid-19 symptoms. The 65-year-old Aussie, a former world number one who won the 1986 and 1983 British Opens, said in an Instagram post on Saturday that he still had fever, joint and muscle aches and headaches "but on a lesser level." Although he had yet to get results of his latest Covid-19 test, Norman said he had a chest X-Ray and blood test in the hospital "where 2 markers showed up leading the Doc to say... Читать дальше...