Egypt: Govt forces kill 6 Muslim Brotherhood members

Agencies
September 26, 2019

Cairo, Sept 26: Egyptian security forces killed six suspected members of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood in a shootout in Cairo, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday, amid tight security across the capital following rare anti-government protests over the weekend.

The six were killed in a firefight when police raided their hideout in the Cairo suburb of Sixth of October, the ministry said in a brief statement. The ministry oversees police forces.

The statement said the suspects were planning militant attacks. It did not say when the raids took place, whether police forces were wounded in the clashes with the militants, or otherwise elaborate.

Egypt branded the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization in 2013 and arrested thousands of its members after the military's ouster of elected but divisive president, Mohammed Morsi, who hailed from the Muslim Brotherhood, amid mass protests against his brief rule.

Tuesday's development came days after rare anti-government demonstrations in several Egyptian cities over the weekend. The protesters called for President Abdel-Fattah Al Sissi to step down. Hundreds, including political activists, were arrested, according to rights lawyers.

Although it was calm Tuesday, security personnel were visible in Cairo's main streets and squares, especially in the city's downtown and Tahrir Square, the symbol of the 2011 pro-democracy uprising. There were calls for more protests in the coming days on social media.

The protests emerge from an online campaign led by an Egyptian businessman living in self-imposed exile who has presented himself as a whistleblower against corruption.

El-Sissi, who is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, has dismissed the corruption allegations as "sheer lies." However, he said he would continue building new presidential residences for the good of Egypt. "I am building a new country," he said.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump voiced support to the Egyptian president, saying that Al-Sissi "has done some things that are absolutely amazing in a short period of time."

He said he was not concerned with the demonstrations against Al Sissi.

"When he took over not so long ago, it was in turmoil. And it's not in turmoil now," Trump said in a press conference along with Al-Sissi after their meeting. "Egypt has a great leader. He's highly respected. He's brought order. Before he was here, there was very little order. There was chaos. And so I'm not worried about that at all."

Al-Sissi, who has been waging a harsh crackdown on extremists, blamed "political Islam" for the protests and the turmoil in the Mideast. He stopped short of naming the Muslim Brotherhood directly.

"I want you to rest assured that, especially in Egypt, the public opinion and the people themselves are refusing this kind of political Islam in Egypt," he said. "They have demonstrated their refusal before, and they refuse those to have control on the country for only one year." Egypt is fighting an insurgency led by a local affiliate of the Islamic State group in the Sinai Peninsula as well as smaller militant groups allegedly belonging to the Brotherhood.

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News Network
March 21,2020

New Delhi, Mar 21: A couple was deboarded from a Delhi-bound Rajdhani train on Saturday after co-passengers observed a home quarantine seal on the husband's hand, the Railways said Saturday.

Officials said the Delhi-based couple boarded the Bangalore City-New Delhi Rajdhani at Secunderabad on Saturday morning.

When the train reached Kazipet in Telangana at 9:45 am, a co-passenger noticed the quarantine mark authorities are putting on suspected coronavirus cases —on the husband's hand when he was washing his hands. Other co-passengers then informed the TTE onboard.

The train was briefly detained and the couple was taken to a hospital. The coach was completely sanitised in Kazipet and was locked, officials said.

The air conditioning was also switched off.

The train left for its destination at 11.30 am.

People fleeing quarantine has been a common problem reported from different parts of the country.

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News Network
March 4,2020

Tokyo, Mar 4: Takeda Pharmaceutical Co said on Wednesday it was developing a drug to treat COVID-19, the flu-like illness that has struck more than 90,000 people worldwide and killed over 3,000.

The Japanese drugmaker is working on a plasma-derived therapy to treat high-risk individuals infected with the new coronavirus and will share its plans with members of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, it said in a statement.

Takeda is also studying whether its currently marketed and pipeline products may be effective treatments for infected patients.

"We will do all that we can to address the novel coronavirus threat...(and) are hopeful that we can expand the treatment options," Rajeev Venkayya, president of Takeda's vaccine business, said in the statement.

Takeda said it was in talks with various health and regulatory agencies and healthcare partners in the United States, Asia and Europe to move forward its research into the drug.

Its research requires access to the blood of people who have recovered from the respiratory disease or who have been vaccinated, once a vaccine is developed, Takeda said.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Dubai, Mar 5: A 16-year-old Indian girl here has tested positive for the deadly coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed infection cases in the UAE to 28, according to media reports.

Health officials here confirmed on Wednesday that a new coronavirus case was detected in the girl who attended an Indian school in Dubai, Al-Arabiya website reported.

The girl tested positive for the COVID-19 after she contracted the infection from her father who travelled overseas, Dubai Health Authority (DHA) was quoted as saying by the report.

The Indian High School in Dubai will be closed from Thursday as a precautionary measure, the Gulf News reported.

"As a precautionary measure, Indian High School Group of schools is closed from Thursday, March 5. Detailed circular about exams will be mailed. Your well-being is important. Take care," the report said.

The father developed symptoms of the virus five days after returning to Dubai. Both the student and family members have been quarantined in hospital and are stable and recovering well. All other family members have also been quarantined, the Khaleej Times reported.

"Within the framework of comprehensive preventive measures against the spread of coronavirus, the DHA is conducting tests and monitoring the students, staff and workers of the school that may have interacted with the coronavirus patient," the DHA was quoted as saying by the Gulf News.

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