UNITED NATIONS, May 05 (APP): The UN General Assembly President, Volkan Bozkir, will be visiting Pakistan and Bangladesh during a trip to South Asia “later this month” at the invitation of the two governments.

Addressing a press conference at UN Headquarters the other day confirming his visit, Volkan Bozkir said that he was also scheduled to visit India during the upcoming trip but had to postpone the trip because of the serious situation created by the coronavirus pandemic.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Myanmar’s security forces moved in and the street lamps went black. In house after house, people shut off their lights. Darkness swallowed the block.

Huddled inside her home  in this neighborhood of Yangon, 19-year-old Shwe dared to peek out her window into the inky night. A flashlight shone back, and a man’s voice ordered her not to look.

ROME (AP) — A jury in Rome on Wednesday began deliberating the fates of two young American men who are charged with killing an Italian police officer near the hotel where they were staying while on summer vacation in 2019.

Finnegan Lee Elder, 21, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 20, were indicted on charges of homicide, attempted extortion, assault, resisting a public official and carrying an attack-style knife without just cause.

Judge Marina Finiti indicated the verdicts could come later Wednesday or on Thursday.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — José Luis Hernández Martínez crossed Mexico City every day on subway Line 12 between his home on the city’s south side and the body shop where he worked repairing mangled cars.

The 61-year-old’s train had emerged from beneath the city and was jostling along the elevated portion far from downtown late Monday night when two of its bright orange cars suddenly fell into a void.

(Reuters) --- Saudi Arabia is considering barring overseas pilgrims from the annual haj for the second year running as COVID-19 cases rise globally and worries grow about the emergence of new variants, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Such a move would restrict the pilgrimage to Mecca, a once in a lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it, to Saudi nationals and residents of the kingdom who were vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 at least months prior to attending.

05 May 2021; MEMO: The Secretary of the Egyptian Parliament's Manpower Committee, MP Abdel Fattah Mohamed, said he has submitted a bill requiring the dismissal of public sector employees with links to the Muslim Brotherhood, local media reported.

WASHINGTON, May 5. /TSS/: The United States believes that Russian military’s operations in northeastern Syria constitute a breach of the de-confliction mechanism but pose no threat to the US-led international coalition in the country, according to a US military report.

New Delhi, May 4 (PTI) The Delhi High Court Tuesday directed the Centre to show cause as to why contempt not be initiated against it for failing to comply with order on supply of oxygen to Delhi for treating COVID-19 patients.

You can put your head in sand like an ostrich, we will not the high court said. "Are you living in ivory towers?"

05 May 2021; MEMO: Turkey has confirmed that its soldiers are deployed in Libya to protect the rights and interests of the Libyan people, Anadolu has reported. Defence Minister Hulusi Akar also stressed the importance of Libya's sovereignty and independence during a meeting with Turkish officers operating in Libya attended by Libyan Chief of Staff Mohamed Al-Haddad.

Los Angeles, May 5 (PTI) Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston has appealed to her fans on Instagram to lend a helping hand to India in its fight against the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

The actor, popular among the Indian audience as Rachel Green from the 1990s hit sitcom "Friends", on Tuesday shared three posts on her Instagram Stories bringing the country's worrying scenario amid the health crisis to the attention of her 36.5 million plus followers.

05 May 2021; MEMO: Extreme right-wing Jewish settlers set fire to Palestinian farmlands and attacked houses in the occupied West Bank village of Burin, near Nablus, yesterday evening, Wafa has reported.

According to Ghassan Douglas, the Palestinian official in charge of the settlements' portfolio in the northern West Bank, settlers set fire to a large tract of farmland in the eastern section of the town and attacked at least three houses.

SYDNEY, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) was on alert, as a new locally acquired COVID-19 case was confirmed in Sydney today.

Urgent investigations into the source of the infection and contact tracing are underway, said the state health department.

It was reported that the patient hadn’t travelled overseas recently, and he didn’t work in a hotel quarantine, border or health role.