Original title: Burst! Ukrainian plane crashes, carrying 12 tons of “dangerous goods”!Three major epidemics broke out across the board, the United Arab Emirates arrested an American lawyer, and Iran also made big moves
Another busy weekend!
According to the Associated Press and other foreign media reports on the 17th, an “Antonov” transport plane operated by Ukrainian Airlines crashed near Kavala in northern Greece on Saturday (16th) evening local time, with 8 people on board. People and 12 tons of “dangerous goods”, most of which are explosives. All eight people are reported to have been killed.
It is worth mentioning that the three major epidemics in the world are also in full swing: the spread of the new coronavirus variant Omikron new subtype BA.5 is accelerating, and the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the United States is close to 90 million; Four people have died from an outbreak of Japanese encephalitis in India’s Assam state in the past 24 hours, bringing the region’s death toll from the disease to 23 since the first death was reported in April, the report said. people; plus, as testing ramps up, monkeypox cases in the U.S. have surged, spreading to 43 states.
The situation in the Middle East can be described as bizarre. Biden just visited here when something happened. July 17 (Reuters) – U.S.-based human rights group DAWN said authorities in the United Arab Emirates have detained U.S. citizenship and civil rights lawyer Asim Ghafoor, who worked for slain journalist Jamal Khasho. Attorney for Jamal Khashoggi. Iran even sanctioned 61 Americans, and the situation became unclear again.
Ukrainian plane accident
According to Xinhua News Agency, on July 17, a Ukrainian An-12 cargo plane crashed near the northern Greek city of Kavala on the 16th.
The cargo plane took off from Serbia to Jordan. According to Greek media reports, there were 8 people on the cargo plane, all of whom were killed; the cargo plane was carrying 12 tons of “dangerous goods”, mainly explosives.
The Associated Press quoted the Greek Civil Aviation Authority as reporting that before the crash of the cargo plane, the pilot reported an engine failure (An-12 has 4 turboprop engines), applied for an emergency landing, and was approved at the airport in Kavala or Thessaloniki. landing. The pilot chose the closer Kavala Airport, and the call with the ground was subsequently interrupted, and the plane crashed into farmland about 40 kilometers west of Kavala Airport.
According to the World Wide Web report, a video showed that the cargo plane fell rapidly while on fire, then hit the ground and exploded. Witnesses reported seeing a fireball and thick plumes of smoke before the cargo plane crashed, the Associated Press said. The report quoted Greek media sources as saying that the Greek army and experts in the explosion have rushed to the scene to investigate.
Data from the “24-hour Flight Radar” website, which provides real-time flight status, showed that the crashed plane flew into the airspace over the northern Aegean Sea near the Chalkidiki peninsula before turning towards Kavala.
Local witnesses said the plane caught fire before it crashed. Local official Philippos Anastasiadis said the sound of explosions continued after the plane crashed. A deputy of Anastasiadis told the Greek Radio and Television Organization that the explosion continued for about two hours after the plane crashed.
The three major epidemics are worrying
There is no good news about the global epidemic.
First, looking at the monkeypox outbreak, there has been another surge in confirmed monkeypox and orthopox virus cases reported across the United States, according to Fox News. There are now 1,814 confirmed cases nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Where monkeypox testing has increased, so has the number of cases. New York now shows a whopping 489 cases, and California has reported 266.
In a recent interview with ABC News, White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci acknowledged that cases may be “undercounted.” “In fact, it’s spreading at a rate that we think has to be addressed with testing and vaccination,” he said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the briefing: “I re-emphasize that we must work to stop further transmission and advise governments to implement contact tracing to help trace and contain the virus and to help isolate populations.”
Next, let’s look at the new crown. The new subtype BA.5 of the new coronavirus variant Omicron is spreading rapidly. According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared with the previous week’s epidemic data, the epidemic in the United States in the week ended July 16 deteriorated rapidly. At present, a total of 1,143 counties in the United States are listed as high-risk areas for the new crown pneumonia epidemic by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This number has increased by 71% from the previous week. More than half of the US population is in high-risk areas. There are currently nearly 90 million confirmed cases in the United States.
Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, warned in recent days that if this situation continues, Los Angeles County will enforce the “indoor mask order” on July 29, until the CDC downgrades Los Angeles County to “medium risk”. “In the region, this measure will be relatively relaxed.
Finally, let’s look at Japanese encephalitis. According to the reference news quoted Efe News Agency New Delhi reported on the 16th, in the past 24 hours, 4 people died of Japanese encephalitis outbreak in Assam, India The death toll from the disease rose to 23.
UAE suddenly doing things
The US president’s trip to the Middle East also didn’t seem to be paying much, but instead sparked some unexpected events. Such as this action in the United Arab Emirates.
July 17 (Reuters) – U.S.-based human rights group DAWN said authorities in the United Arab Emirates have detained U.S. citizenship and civil rights lawyer Asim Ghafoor, who worked for slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Attorney for Jamal Khashoggi.
Ghafoor was arrested on July 14 while transiting through Dubai International Airport on charges of money laundering in absentia based on evidence heard in a UAE court, a UAE government official confirmed.
Earlier on Saturday, a senior U.S. administration official told reporters that the U.S. was aware of, but not sure, whether President Biden would raise the issue during an Arab summit in Saudi Arabia, as well as during bilateral talks with the UAE president.
“There is no indication that this is related to the Khashoggi issue,” the official added. Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, an operation that U.S. intelligence said was approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
DAWN, citing U.S. consular officials, said the lawyer was being held in a detention facility in Abu Dhabi and Gafoor said he was unaware of any legal issues against him. Biden has said he will raise human rights issues during a tour of the region that ends Saturday.
Iran is also taking action. Tehran said Saturday that Iran has imposed sanctions on 61 other Americans, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for their support of Iranian dissident groups, while resuming months of talks on the 2015 nuclear deal Still at an impasse.
In general, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the global epidemic and the oil price issue may still have a long way to go before they are completely resolved.
