Rescuers digging for 37 trapped in glacier flood

Rescuers talk to a local worker in Chamoli district, Uttrakhund, India, on Monday. Rescuers were working on Monday to rescue more than three dozen power plant workers trapped in a tunnel after part of a Himalayan glacier broke off and sent a wall of water and debris rushing down the mountain in a disaster that has left 18 people dead and 165 missing.Xinhua

Biden: US not to lift sanctions on Iran first

U.S. President Joe Biden said in his first sitdown interview since ascending to the presidency that Iran would have to stop enriching uranium before his administration would lift sanctions.

Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday urged the United States to lift all sanctions if it wants Iran to live up to commitments under its nuclear deal with world powers, but Biden said the United States won’t be making the first move.

“If the United States wants Iran to return to its commitments, it must lift all sanctions in practice, then we will do verification … then we will return to our commitments,” Iran’s state TV quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying, in his first comments on the matter since Biden took office.

S. Africa halts AstraZeneca vaccine

South Africa has put its rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on hold after a study showed “disappointing” results against its new COVID variant.

Scientists say the strain accounts for 90 percent of new COVID cases in South Africa. The study, involving around 2,000 people, found the vaccine offered “minimal protection” against mild and moderate cases of COVID-19.

South Africa has received 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca shot and was due to start vaccinating people next week.

Severe flooding hits southwest France

Thousands of homes were threatened and thousands of residents have been evacuated, as severe flooding hit southwest France after Storm Justine, with water levels expected to rise.

Most of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region has been affected, and Prime Minister Jean Castex visited the department of Lot-et-Garonne, which has been particularly badly hit.

The prime minister said that in some areas, he would declare an official “natural catastrophe,” to enable owners to claim on insurance for the damage as soon as possible.

He added that he was also discussing ways to improve infrastructure and flood protection in the area to help avoid more flooding in future.

UK pandemic fundraising hero dies with coronavirus

The 100-year-old British army veteran Captain Tom Moore, who raised millions of pounds to help Britain’s health service in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic last year, passed away last week with coronavirus in hospital.

In a statement confirming his death, his daughters said that he had been suffering from pneumonia during the past weeks and tested positive for COVID-19.

He had been taken to hospital in Bedfordshire, east England, when he needed help with his breathing at the weekend.

Chad ruling party backs Deby bid for sixth term

Chad’s ruling party on Saturday endorsed President Idriss Deby Itno’s bid for a sixth term in an election later this year.

Deby, a 68-year-old former army chief who has been in power for 30 years, is expected to face a joint opposition candidate in the April vote.

Despite ruling with an iron fist, Deby largely enjoys the support of the international community, which views him as an essential ally in the fight against jihadists in the troubled Sahel region.

Deby hailed his nomination at a meeting of his Patriotic Salvation Movement.(SD-Agencies)