The UAE’s long-time de facto ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was elected as president on Saturday, official media said, a day after the death of former leader Sheikh Khalifa.
Sheikh Mohamed was elected by the Federal Supreme Council, WAM news agency said, after years of calling the shots from behind the scenes while his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa was sidelined by poor health.
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Sri Lanka temporarily lifts curfew, new PM seeks to form cabinet | 5 points
On the brink of bankruptcy, Sri Lanka – an island nation of 22 million – is set to ease the curfew for 12 hours as the country goes through a political churning amid the worst economic crisis. Ranil Wickremesinghe – a five-time prime minister – was appointed for the sixth time late on Thursday by president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
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Pakistan police resort to tear gas, baton-charge PTI workers: Report
In a crackdown against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which has hit the street against the ouster of the Imran Khan-led government, Pakistani authorities resorted to tear gas and baton-charge the party workers who were preparing for a rally in Sialkot on Saturday morning, according to local media.
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In a haze of disinfectant, China struggles with invisible enemy
Leaving a fine mist of disinfectant in their wake, China’s hazmat-clad health workers are cleaning homes, roads, parcels and even people — but more than two years into the pandemic, experts say it is a futile measure against Covid-19. Personal possessions and home furnishings lie amid clouds of cleanser, the images show — while in other cases the targets are city streets, walls and parks. The odds have not deterred China’s disinfectant sprayers.
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I have ‘blocked’ numbers of those in establishment: Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan
Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has claimed that the establishment is calling him but he has blocked their numbers and will not speak to anyone until a date for the general election is announced, contending that dropping an atom bomb on the country would be better than having “criminals” at the helm of the government. Khan said that he has “blocked their numbers”.
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Colombia to drop mandatory face mask requirement in schools
Colombian schools can drop the mandatory use of face masks in enclosed spaces if they meet the criteria starting on May 16, in light of the favorable COVID-19 epidemiological situation over the past two weeks, the Ministry of Health announced Friday. Read: Why India must come clean on Covid-19 deaths HGerson Bermont, director of Promotion and Prevention of the Health Ministryalso pointed out that only 42.2 percent of children in Colombia are fully vaccinated.