March 16, 2021 – Page 2 – THE OVAL CIRCLE

Campaign of Covid-19 test targeting foreigners in S. Korea’s most populous province sparks allegations of xenophobia

Posted on March 16, 2021March 16, 2021By Editor

A coronavirus-testing campaign launched by a South Korean province to probe foreign workers has sparked discontent over its poor execution and has also led to accusations of thinly-veiled racism. … Read More >Campaign of Covid-19 test targeting foreigners in S. Korea’s most populous province sparks allegations of xenophobia

World

Has the pandemic turned your government into totalitarians? RT launches own Covid-19 Freedom Index

Posted on March 16, 2021March 16, 2021By Editor

Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths are falling in many countries – but some governments have been in no rush to return liberties and rights to their citizens. They must be held to account. … Read More >Has the pandemic turned your government into totalitarians? RT launches own Covid-19 Freedom Index

EU

Put Germany under ‘immediate’ lockdown or face third Covid spike, ICU doctors warn

Posted on March 16, 2021March 16, 2021By Editor

Germany must make an immediate return to Covid lockdown conditions otherwise it faces a third wave of dangerous coronavirus, its intensive care doctors have said, in a stark warning to government officials. … Read More >Put Germany under ‘immediate’ lockdown or face third Covid spike, ICU doctors warn

EU

President of Ile-de-France says Paris is living ‘on borrowed time’ as British variant sweeps across the capital

Posted on March 16, 2021March 16, 2021By Editor

The president of the Ile-de-France region has warned that the capital is facing a “very violent third wave” of Covid-19, as the infection rate nears 400 cases per 100,000 people and ICU occupancy reaches 95.90 percent of capacity. … Read More >President of Ile-de-France says Paris is living ‘on borrowed time’ as British variant sweeps across the capital

EU

Italian prosecutor seizes batch of AstraZeneca Covid-19 jabs ‘as a precaution,’ launches manslaughter investigation after death

Posted on March 16, 2021March 16, 2021By Editor

The prosecutor of Biella, Italy has ordered the seizure of nearly 400,000 AstraZeneca vaccines and opened a manslaughter investigation following the death of a 57-year-old man hours after being inoculated. … Read More >Italian prosecutor seizes batch of AstraZeneca Covid-19 jabs ‘as a precaution,’ launches manslaughter investigation after death

EU

Spain’s deputy PM resigns in high-stakes Madrid presidency bid after local govt calls snap election to avoid no-confidence vote

Posted on March 16, 2021March 16, 2021By Editor

The left-wing deputy prime minister of Spain, Pablo Iglesias, has resigned and thrown his hat in the ring for the presidency of Madrid after the region’s government was forced out last week in a dramatic day for Spanish politics. … Read More >Spain’s deputy PM resigns in high-stakes Madrid presidency bid after local govt calls snap election to avoid no-confidence vote

World

‘God cannot bless sin’: Vatican firmly refuses to bless gay unions

Posted on March 16, 2021March 16, 2021By Editor

The Vatican’s orthodoxy office has ruled out any possibility of same-sex couples receiving an ecclesial blessing, maintaining that the Church does not approve such unions as God “cannot bless sin.” … Read More >‘God cannot bless sin’: Vatican firmly refuses to bless gay unions

EU

Portugal’s top court rejects bill to legalize euthanasia as unconstitutional

Posted on March 16, 2021March 16, 2021By Editor

The constitutional court of Portugal has turned down a bill approved by parliament earlier this year to decriminalize the euthanasia of terminally-ill patients, saying that it threatened the principle of “inviolability of life. … Read More >Portugal’s top court rejects bill to legalize euthanasia as unconstitutional

US health officials lobbied Brazil to REJECT Russian-made Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine despite 250k pandemic deaths, report confirms

Posted on March 16, 2021March 16, 2021By Editor

American diplomats actively persuaded the Brazilian government not to approve a Russian-made coronavirus vaccine, as part of a campaign to counter the country’s “malign influence,” Washington has revealed in a bombshell admission. … Read More >US health officials lobbied Brazil to REJECT Russian-made Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine despite 250k pandemic deaths, report confirms

EU

Macron warns of more Covid-19 measures ‘in coming days’ amid France’s stubbornly high infection rate and new pressure on hospitals

Posted on March 16, 2021March 16, 2021By Editor

France will likely be hit with further restrictive measures in the next few days in a bid to curb the country’s rising Covid-19 infection rate, French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Monday. … Read More >Macron warns of more Covid-19 measures ‘in coming days’ amid France’s stubbornly high infection rate and new pressure on hospitals