International
Greece will start vaccinating 12-15 yr-olds in August
AFP
Greece will open Covid-19 vaccinations to youngsters aged 12-15 in August, Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias told local television on Monday.
Vaccination for this group has been approved and will be optional, he said.
The programme is expected to start from Friday.
Maria Theodoridou, president of the country’s vaccination committee, stressed that there had been a significant rise in infections among children and adolescents recently.
“The constant contamination of children is going to lead to the appearance of new variants” of the coronavirus she warned.
Some 30,000 appointments have already been made by teenagers aged 15 to 17, Kikilias said, as he called again for all Greeks to receive the jab.
“They should all go and get vaccinated, even now in the summer,” he said.
The decision to extend vaccination to 12 to 15-year-olds comes as Greece grapples with a surge in coronavirus case numbers, in particular the highly infectious Delta variant.
Earlier this month, Greece’s parliament passed a bill introducing mandatory vaccinations of all health workers, including those working in retirement homes.
It requires all people working in retirement homes to be vaccinated by August 16 or be put on unpaid leave. The same applies for health workers in both public and private sector from September 1.
In the spring, Greece made a push to get people living on its islands vaccinated ahead of the summer tourist season, which is vital for the local economy.
Although many island residents have been fully vaccinated, a large portion of tourism sector employees there remain hesitant, according to Greek authorities.
The popular tourist island of Mykonos, which was considered a vaccination model, was placed on red alert earlier in July, as cases jumped there.
Restrictions including a 24-hour ban on music and a 1:00-6:00 am curfew were reimposed, until being lifted on Monday.
More than 10 million vaccine doses have been administered in Greece and around 5.5 million people, out of a total population of about 10.7 million, have been fully jabbed.
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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