Londoners protest after policeman charged with murder

People gather at a memorial site in Clapham Common Bandstand, following the kidnapping and murder of Sarah Everard, in London, Britain on Saturday. Police in London clashed with mourners and protesters on Saturday after more than 1,000 people gathered to mark the killing of the 33-year-old woman, hours after the police officer charged with her murder appeared in court.Xinhua

CDU party suffers heavy setbacks in elections

Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party suffered heavy setbacks in two state elections on Sunday, an inauspicious start in the key election year, which is expected to produce a successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The votes in the southwestern states of Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate are the first of seven elections in Germany this year, including a federal election set in September.

The CDU garnered 23.6 percent of the vote, down from 27 percent in the last election, in its stronghold Baden-Wuerttemberg, while the Greens won 32.4 percent, according to the preliminary result reported by local broadcaster ARD.

FEMA to help with surge of kids at US-Mexico border

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Saturday ordered an emergency agency that usually responds to floods, storms and other major disasters to help care for a growing number of migrant children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in news release that he would deploy the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “to help receive, shelter and transport the children” over the next 90 days.

The move signals the scope of a growing humanitarian and political crisis for the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, who took office on January 20.

Bolivia ex-president behind bars

Bolivia’s former interim President Jeanine Anez landed behind bars on Saturday in the capital of the country she led just six months ago after the new government arrested her on claims that she participated in a 2019 coup to seize power.

Anez and a raft of ministers and security officials face charges of terrorism, sedition and conspiracy over an alleged coup against Bolivia’s 13-year socialist government, according to an arrest warrant she posted on social media.

Anez led Bolivia for less than a year after long-time President Evo Morales left office following contested elections and violent protests.

European nations suspend use of AstraZeneca vaccine

More European countries, fully or partially, have suspended the use of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by British company AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford following reports of several suspected deaths from clotting after vaccinations.

The Danish Health Authority on Thursday announced in a statement that the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has been suspended in Denmark for 14 days due to fears of serious adverse reactions, adding that the move was based on “concerns raised by the drug authorities” and “a precautionary principle.”

More in Japan develop allergies after Pfizer jab

Japan’s health ministry has reported that there have been nine new incidents of women experiencing severe allergic reactions after receiving a coronavirus vaccine, local media reported last week.

According to the health ministry and local accounts, medical facilities reported that female medical workers aged in their 20s to 50s experienced anaphylaxis after receiving the coronavirus vaccine developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech SE.(SD-Agencies)