(Reuters) --- The European Union has scrapped plans to send observers to a parliamentary election in Ethiopia next month, saying conditions had not been met on communication systems and the mission's independence.

Announcing the decision late on Monday, the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said in a statement that the 27-nation bloc would also not monitor preparations for the June 5 election including voter registration.

(Reuters) --- Australia will create a new disaster relief department to hasten the delivery of government aid, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will say on Wednesday.

Australia has been ravaged by a spate of natural disasters in recent years, including huge bushfires across its east coast and cyclones across the west which bought widespread flooding.

While Australia has offered financial aid, some communities have complained they have been left waiting for assistance with rebuilding.

MINSK, May 4./TASS/: A district court in Gomel, Belarus, has sentenced three members from the action group of former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and one of her confidants to various prison terms, pronouncing them guilty for plotting mass unrest and seizure of administrative buildings, the prosecutor’s office of the Gomel Region said in a report uploaded to the website of the Belarusian General Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday.

TEHRAN, May 4 (NNN-IRNA) – The coastal guards of Iran’s southern port city of Jask, seized a vessel with 19 Indian crew members on board, state TV reported yesterday.

After the vessel was stopped and tests were carried out, Mohammad Radmehr, governor of Jask, said that two Indian nationals were diagnosed positive with COVID-19.

All crew members of the vessel have been quarantined, Radmehr was quoted as saying, adding that, test samples of the two people have been sent to Bandar Abbas and Tehran to determine the variant of the virus.

New Delhi, May 4 (PTI) India on Tuesday received essential medical supplies from several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, US, Ireland, and Kuwait, as hospitals in several states and union territories continued to reel under an exponential growth in COVID-19 cases.

Seven tankers each carrying 20 metric tonnes of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) arrive at Mundra Port in Gujarat in the first such shipment of LMO to India.

NEW DELHI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- India's COVID-19 tally crossed the 20-million mark, reaching 20,282,833 on Tuesday, as 357,229 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, confirmed the federal health ministry.

Another 3,449 deaths were reported since Monday morning, taking the death toll to 222,408.

There are a total of 3,447,133 active cases in the country, with an increase of 33,491 through Monday, while 16,613,292 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far.

LOS ANGELES, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States, reported zero death related to COVID-19 on Sunday and Monday, the first time there was no new death reported in two consecutive days since March 18, 2020.

However, public health officials warned that the low numbers likely reflected reporting delays over the weekend even though they regarded it as welcome news.

New Delhi, May 4 (PTI) India's total tally of COVID-19 cases crossed the 2 crore (2 million) mark with 357,229 infections being reported in a day, while the death toll increased to 222,408 with 3,449 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

The total tally of COVID-19 cases in the country has climbed to 20,282,833.

(Reuters) --- Afghan security forces fought back a huge Taliban offensive in southern Helmand province in the last 24 hours, officials and residents said on Tuesday, as militants launched assaults around the country following a missed U.S. deadline to withdraw troops.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — China’s U.N. ambassador on Monday urged stronger diplomatic efforts to resolve the confrontation in Myanmar since the Feb. 1 military coup, warning that further violence could lead to a chaotic situation “and even a civil war.”

Zhang Jun also warned that “any wrong handling” might lead to further tension in Myanmar.

(Reuters) --- Germany saw a big jump last year in politically motiviated crimes, and offences commited by far-right supporters hit a record high, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Tuesday.

Far-right offences were up nearly 6% from the previous year at 23,064, and accounted for more than half of all politically motivated crimes, the highest level since police started collecting such data in 2001.

04 May 2021; MEMO: Spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said yesterday that the Islamic Republic is ready to hold talks with Saudi Arabia "at any level and in any form".

Speaking to reporters during his weekly press briefing, Khatibzadeh added that changing the Saudi rhetoric and discourse towards Iran will help reduce tensions, but will only lead to practical results when coupled with a change in behaviour.