April 2021 – Page 46 – THE OVAL CIRCLE

World

Facebook and Instagram go down for reasons unknown: ‘Something went wrong’

Posted on April 10, 2021April 10, 2021By Editor

Facebook and Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, have suffered a major outage, prompting users to flock to Twitter to vent their frustration. While both sites swiftly recovered, no explanation was given for the issue. … Read More >Facebook and Instagram go down for reasons unknown: ‘Something went wrong’

EU

Netherlands, Portugal latest to ditch AstraZeneca Covid vaccine for under-60s after EMA blood-clot review

Posted on April 10, 2021April 10, 2021By Editor

Portugal and the Netherlands have become the latest countries to restrict their rollouts of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca after a review by the EU’s drug regulator found blood clots can be a very rare side effect. … Read More >Netherlands, Portugal latest to ditch AstraZeneca Covid vaccine for under-60s after EMA blood-clot review

EU

Italy should stop vaccinating under-60s against Covid and prioritize elderly, PM says

Posted on April 10, 2021April 10, 2021By Editor

Prime Minister Mario Draghi has said that Italy should stop administering Covid-19 vaccines to people under 60 years old, in a major shake-up of the country’s immunization program that aims to protect elderly citizens. … Read More >Italy should stop vaccinating under-60s against Covid and prioritize elderly, PM says

Israel tells International Criminal Court it doesn’t have authority to investigate crimes in Palestinian territories

Posted on April 10, 2021April 10, 2021By Editor

Tel Aviv has formally responded to the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s plans to investigate possible war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories, claiming the tribunal does not have jurisdiction over Israel. … Read More >Israel tells International Criminal Court it doesn’t have authority to investigate crimes in Palestinian territories

EU

French clergymen ARRESTED over Covid lockdown-breaking mass that saw hundreds of churchgoers flout ‘rule of 6’

Posted on April 10, 2021April 10, 2021By Editor

A parish priest and another clergyman have been arrested in Paris after breaking not just bread, but also France’s Covid-19 rules, by holding Easter mass for up to 280 worshipers, many of whom were not wearing face masks. … Read More >French clergymen ARRESTED over Covid lockdown-breaking mass that saw hundreds of churchgoers flout ‘rule of 6’

World

COVAX vaccine distribution scheme delivers jabs to more than 100 nations, despite supply difficulties – Gavi/WHO

Posted on April 10, 2021April 10, 2021By Editor

More than 100 countries have received Covid-19 vaccines since the COVAX distribution scheme launched in February, its organizers have said. However, 38 million delivered doses is a far cry from the two billion goal set for 2021. … Read More >COVAX vaccine distribution scheme delivers jabs to more than 100 nations, despite supply difficulties – Gavi/WHO

EU

France inoculates 10 million against Covid-19 ahead of schedule, but healthcare situation still alarming

Posted on April 10, 2021April 10, 2021By Editor

The French prime minister has announced the passing of a symbolic milestone, with more than 10 million people having received at least one shot of Covid-19 vaccine, but infection rates remain high across the country. … Read More >France inoculates 10 million against Covid-19 ahead of schedule, but healthcare situation still alarming

USA

Apple to allow users to block apps from tracking activity in move angering Facebook

Posted on April 10, 2021April 10, 2021By Editor

Apple has announced that it will soon roll out a feature allowing users to block tech companies from tracking activity online and on other apps in a move that’s angered Facebook over its impact on data collection. … Read More >Apple to allow users to block apps from tracking activity in move angering Facebook

Establishment-approved activism: Twitter launches emoji to support ‘pro-democracy’ demonstrators in Myanmar, Hong Kong

Posted on April 10, 2021April 10, 2021By Editor

Twitter has launched a new #MilkTeaAlliance emoji, so users can back the “pro-democracy” movements in Hong Kong, Myanmar, Taiwan and Thailand. Twitter encourages dissent, it seems, but only the right kind of dissent. … Read More >Establishment-approved activism: Twitter launches emoji to support ‘pro-democracy’ demonstrators in Myanmar, Hong Kong

World

‘Airmen’ are grounded by the Aussie air force – instead ‘aviators’ will fly planes in a bow to removing sexist military terms

Posted on April 10, 2021April 10, 2021By Editor

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is grounding its ‘airmen’; instead it will refer to the people who fly its planes as ‘aviators’. But just don’t say they ‘man’ aircraft. … Read More >‘Airmen’ are grounded by the Aussie air force – instead ‘aviators’ will fly planes in a bow to removing sexist military terms