Tuesday, June 29, 2021

*) Tigray rebels vow to drive out ‘enemies’ despite ‘ceasefire’ The Ethiopian government has declared a unilateral ceasefire in the northern Tigray region. But Tigrayan rebels have not acknowledged a ceasefire and have vowed to drive out "enemies" from their region. This comes after rebel fighters from the Tigray People's Liberation Front retook the regional capital Mekelle from the interim government of the region in a surprise counteroffensive. *) Death toll from Miami condo collapse rises as crews continue search In the US, another body has been recovered from the rubble of a collapsed Florida condominium tower, bringing the death toll to 11 on the fifth day. Some 150 people remained missing as of early Tuesday morning. Miami-Dade authorities said their efforts were still a search-and-rescue operation but no one has been found alive since hours after the collapse on Thursday. *) Pro-Iran militias attack US base in Syria after air strikes Pro-Iranian militias exchanged fire with US troops in eastern Syria on Monday. The escalation followed deadly US air strikes in Iraq and Syria the previous night. US air strikes were the second such deadly raid on pro-Iran targets since President Joe Biden took office. *) Ten million Australians in virus lockdown About 10 million Australians have been ordered into lockdown as Covid-19 spreads across the country. The three-day snap lockdown for Brisbane, starting on Tuesday evening, comes on top of similar orders imposed recently in Sydney, Perth and Darwin. Australia has been broadly successful in containing virus clusters but is now battling flare-ups of the highly contagious Delta variant. And finally ... *) T20 World Cup to be moved from India to UAE The Twenty20 World Cup will be moved to the United Arab Emirates from India due to the coronavirus. The Board of Control for Cricket in India says it had told the International Cricket Council of its decision to host the event in the UAE in October and November. Sourav Ganguly, president of BCCI, said the d