In the past 24 hours, 1,936 samples were registered with the Public Health Institute of the Federation of B&amp;H, of which 193 were positive for SARS-CoV-2.

New cases have been registered in all the cantons in the Federation of B&amp;H, except in the Podrinje Canton.
In the past 24 hours, 288 patients recovered. Currently, there are 10,248 active cases of SARS-CoV-2.
Five new deaths have been reported to the Public Health Institute of the Federation of B&amp;H in the past 24 hours.
As of today, the number of deaths in the Federation of B&amp;H is 2,514, stated the Public Health Institute of the Federation of B&amp;H.
Today, 10 new cases of coronavirus infection were registered in the Brčko District of B&amp;H, after testing 56 samples. Two people died. Currently, there are 440 active cases of infection in the District.
In the last 24 hours, 514 samples were tested at the Institute of Public Health of the RS, and a coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was confirmed in 89 people.
Six deaths were reported to the RS Institute of Public Health in the last 24 hours.
There are 4,106 people currently under health supervision, stated the RS Institute of Public Health.

New cases have been registered in all the cantons in the Federation of B&H, except in the Podrinje Canton

Five new deaths have been reported to the Public Health Institute of the Federation of B&H in the past 24 hours

COVID-19 confirmed in 292 people in B&H, with 13 deaths in the last 24 hours

AstraZeneca said Friday it has filed for approval of its coronavirus vaccine in Japan, becoming the second major pharmaceutical firm to ask Tokyo to authorise its jabs.

Japan is yet to approve any inoculations with less than six months before the Tokyo Olympics, though it has reached deals with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna to buy enough Covid-19 vaccine doses for its population of 126 million.
But health authorities want to confirm the vaccines' safety through domestic clinical trials before giving any of them a green light.
The Pfizer jab will likely be the first to get the go-ahead later this month after the US firm filed for approval in December. 
Moderna is yet to formally file for approval.
Olympic chiefs insist the Tokyo Games will begin in July, despite new waves of Covid-19 infections in Japan and worldwide.
Participants will be encouraged to be vaccinated against Covid-19, organizers have said, but there will be no obligation.
The Pfizer jab is likely to be approved in Japan on February 15, Kyodo News reported Thursday.
Japan is yet to announce an official schedule for vaccinations, but after targeted jabs for healthcare workers, it is expected to begin inoculating the elderly from April.
AstraZeneca said it will file data of a clinical trial involving 256 patients in Japan in March.
The UK drugmaker plans to produce 90 million shots in Japan, of the 120 million it has agreed to provide to the country.
But a Japanese minister said this week that EU export rules were preventing Tokyo from finalising its coronavirus vaccination plan, after the bloc introduced a controversial new mechanism for the shipment of jabs made inside its borders.

Japan is yet to approve any inoculations with less than six months before the Tokyo Olympics

UK drugmaker AstraZeneca has agreed to provide 120 million shots of its coronavirus vaccine to Japan

AstraZeneca files vaccine for approval in Japan

Fahrudin Radončić, president of the Alliance for a Better Future of B&amp;H, last night was a guest on Dnevnik D on Federal Television.
In an extremely interesting conversation, Radončić spoke about why HDZ and Dragan Čović should return the favor to Bosniaks after Bakir Izetbegović and Šefik Džaferović ordered SDA councilors in the Mostar City Council in 2004. to vote for the Croatian mayor.
When asked what he expects from tomorrow's constituent session of the Mostar City Council, the president of SBB reminded everyone of the situation from 2004.
- While coming here tonight, I had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Safet Oručević, who was the mayor and who did not know that I am doing an interview with you, but he reminded me of one thing we all know, that is, in 2004. Mr. Bakir Izetbegović, and that is easy to find in "Dnevni list "or in daily press, together with Mr. Džaferović, then gave an order to the people from the SDA to vote for the Croat mayor and thus Mr. Ljubo Bešlić was elected. Because HDZ had 7-8 mandates and they got the mayor position. I think it is fair that the Croats now return us that favour. For a long time on that position was Croat, for 12 years as the head or first man of Mostar, and I really think that it is time for mayor to be Bosniak - said Radončić.

<h2>All areas in B&H should deal with the migrant crisis</h2>

Also, Radončić warned that the migrant crisis cannot be just a matter of Bosniaks, and that Milorad Dodik should not offer us containers and think that this is enough to solve the migrant crisis.
- The problem happened in 2015. or 2016. when migrants have started coming here. You had a government headed by a Bosniak. You had Mr. Mektić, the Minister of Security. They legalized, consciously or not, the practice that all migrants come to the Federation of B&amp;H, to be even more specific, to the area where Bosniaks live. And when that has been standardized, it has become an ugly practice, and they want to change that now. I asked for the urgent employment of 1,200 border police officers. To set up camps outside the cities, I asked for water, heating,in other words a humane process, to discourage those people and start the legal deportation of illegal migrants. None of that was done and of course that now we are in this situation - said Radončić.
The president of SBB warned that both Dragan Čović and Milorad Dodik must absolutely participate in resolving the migrant crisis. When asked what the government is doing now, Radončić answered:
- Nothing. We are now ready to be a plateau for migrants, and that plateau will not include the Republic of Srpska and the area where Croats live, but Dodik will tell us "here are a few containers for you". All areas in B&amp;H should deal with the migrant crisis together. The role of the international community should also change, because you cannot put up with this kind of pressure on B&amp;H that the EU allows, migrants want to go there, and it ends up at the expense that we will raise the iron curtain, and then small B&amp;H has to deal with the planetary problem called the migrant crisis.
He also explained the reasons for leaving the position of Minister of Security of B&amp;H.
- You know, the public knows why I left the position of Minister of Security. You will find only a few Bosniaks to leave such attractive position, precisely because of different concepts. You remember that I attended the session of the Presidency of B&amp;H, where Mr. Šefik Džaferović, as a member of the Presidency of B&amp;H, gave the right to the Pakistani ambassador, that his people practically come to us in uncontrolled numbers, and not to me as Minister of Security. We have not agreed on the migrant concept. We did not agree on the concept of systemic corruption, the Prosecutor's Office of B&amp;H, respiratory theft, coronation robbery, and we did not agree on the fact that the three ruling parties SNSD, HDZ and SNSD, do not cooperate at all in the Council of Ministers. These were the main reasons - Radončić reminded.
Radončić also explained why SBB is in a hostage position when it comes to the survival of the existing and the formation of the new FB&amp;H Government.

<h2>The most important thing is that in a year and a half to two years time, new policy appears</h2>

The answer of the president of SBB to the question whether he will run for the Bosniak member of the Presidency in 2022. was also interesting, and what he expects from the new High Representative in B&amp;H.
- I think the most important thing is that in a year and a half to two years time, new policy appears. To make citizens understand that changeability of the government is possible. B&amp;H is the only European country where for 30 years, we are talking here about the SDA, the government is one party or to say one family. I think that in that sense, the strategic question is how the opposition SBB, SDP, Our party,People and justice will position themselves to change the government, so that the citizens see that it is possible to change that government. As for SBB and SDP, we are talking about it and I think Konaković is in the mood. And that is the essence of the future elections, not who will be the candidate for a member of the Presidency. I talked about it, all my political ambitions in the personal sense have been fulfilled, but there must be a change of government in B&amp;H. You see, yesterday, Vučić talked with the presidents of France, Russia and China to get as many vaccines as possible. In B&amp;H, you have a Presidency that does nothing. They deal with the worship of icons or putting their heads in the sand when it comes to the existential problems of citizens, that they do not have any international communication. They say "we are good with Erdogan, we are against the Russians". Well, what now when Erdogan and Putin are building a joint vaccine factory. The future policy in 2022. must be completely dedicated to the economy, development, employment, stopping the emigration of citizens, and the fight against systemic corruption - said Radončić.

It is time for the new mayor of Mostar to be Bosniak, said Radončić

Radončić: It does not matter who will go to the Presidency of B&H, it is important that those who rule for 30 years are finally dismissed

A Belgian court on Thursday sentenced Iranian diplomat Assadolah Assadi to 20 years in prison for attempting a bomb attack.

The Vienna-based diplomat was involved in a foiled 2018 plot in France to kill leaders of an opposition group known as the National Council of the Resistance of Iran, according to the first instance ruling of the Antwerp court.
Assadi, with three Belgian-Iranian accomplices, planned to detonate a bomb during a rally near Paris by the opposition group.
The plot was averted in a coordinated operation of Belgian, German and French police.
Assadi received 20 years in jail for transporting explosive materials from Iran to Vienna.
Despite raising the principle of diplomatic immunity, he was arrested in Germany in 2018 while on holiday and extradited to Belgium.
His accomplices, a Belgian-Iranian couple, were arrested near Antwerp with 500 grams of TATP explosives and a detonator. They were sentenced to 15 and 17 years and stripped of their Belgian nationality.
Another Belgian-Iranian national, whose role was to bring the couple to the scene of the rally, was convicted to 17 years and will also lose his Belgian citizenship.
According to the Belgian daily De Standaard, they said during their trial that they had been blackmailed by Iran to take part in the terror attack.
Iran denied the allegations, accusing the exiled opposition group of a false-flag plot to harm Tehran's reputation.

Assadolah Assadi sentenced for 20 years for role in attempted bomb attack against exiled Iranian opposition group

Heavily armed policemen patroled outside the courthouse during the trial

Belgium: Iranian diplomat convicted for bombing attempt

Polish freedom icon Lech Walesa on Thursday nominated Alexei Navalny for a Nobel Peace Prize, lauding the jailed Russian opposition figure for his courage in working to reveal corruption and defend political pluralism.

Walesa himself won the award in 1983 for his leadership of the Solidarity labour movement that brought a peaceful end to communism in Poland, where he later became the first post-war democratically elected president.
Walesa's secretary Marek Kaczmar told AFP the 77-year-old had nominated Navalny in a letter sent to the Nobel Committee on Thursday.
The move came just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic was sentenced to nearly three years in prison, leading his supporters to take to the streets of Moscow in protest. 
Navalny received the jail term for violating the terms of a 2014 suspended sentence on embezzlement charges he claims were a pretext to silence him.
In an interview with AFP, Walesa called Navalny a "hero" and said if he could speak to him, he would tell the 44-year-old to follow his communist-era example and fight the system.
-I felt that it wasn't the people who were to blame, but the system which allows for bad behaviour on the part of leaders. And that's something you can see in Russia- Walesa said.
Walesa said Navalny was fighting against totalitarianism on behalf of democratic ideals, basic human rights and freedom and the rule of law, according to excerpts from the letter quoted by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.

The move came just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic was sentenced to nearly three years in prison

Walesa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 for his leadership of the Solidarity labour movement that brought a peaceful end to communism in Poland

Poland's Walesa nominates Kremlin critic Navalny for Nobel

B&amp;H Presidency Chairman Milorad Dodik met yesterday in East Sarajevo with newly elected Mayor Ljubiša Ćosić.
After the meeting, in statements to the media, he commented on the letter of the High Representative Valentin Inzko to the RS National Assembly to withdraw the charters of merit awarded four years ago by the Organizing Committee for marking the 25th anniversary of the parliament, to Radovan Karadžić, Biljana Plavšić and Momčilo Krajišnik, who were convicted of war crimes in The Hague. 
- He showed the lowest passions and hatred towards the Serbian people. He made serious money as High Representative. They know perfectly well that we will not accept any of their decisions - said Dodik.

He also pointed out that there are numerous facilities, schools in Sarajevo, named after convicted criminals from the Second World War.
Asked what sanctions could follow if they do not comply with the order to revoke the charters of merit awarded to convicted war criminals, Dodik said that "he is not the fortune teller to know how he thinks."
- He inflicted too much harm on us and flattered Muslims in Sarajevo - said Dodik.
The Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina said today that he was called to the State Prosecutor's Office as a witness and that he had not been presented with any criminal offense, indictment or similar.

He added that it was a "false report by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Bisera Turković" and that he was asked by the Prosecutor's Office "banal things like who arranged Sergey Lavrov's visit".
When asked where the icon is and whether it is still in the vault in East Sarajevo, he did not gave specific answer.
He reiterated previous views on the case and said he had "finished making statements about the icon".

They know perfectly well that we will not accept any of their decisions, said Dodik

Dodik on the interrogation in the Prosecutor's Office of B&H: It was about the false report made by Bisera Turković

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, tourists made 39,585 visits in December 2020, which is 35.7 percent more than in November 2020 and 58.9 percent less than in December 2019.

Tourists realized 80,938 overnight stays in B&amp;H in December, which is 26.4 percent more than in November 2020 and 58.1 percent less than in December 2019.
The share of domestic tourists in the total number of overnight stays in December was 62.7 percent, while the share of foreign tourists was 37.3 percent.
The number of overnight stays of domestic tourists in December was higher by 20.1 percent compared to November 2020 and lower by 30.9 percent compared to December 2019. The number of overnight stays of foreign tourists was higher by 38.6 percent compared to November 2020 and by 74.7 percent lower compared to December 2019.
In the period January-December last year, 498,090 tourists stayed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is 69.7 percent less than in 2019, when 1,640,717 tourists stayed in B&amp;H.
Last year, tourists realized 1,235,971 overnight stays in B&amp;H, which is 63.4 percent less than in the same period in 2019, when 3,371,322 overnight stays were realized.
In the total number of overnight stays last year, the share of domestic tourists was 60.5 percent, while the share of foreign tourists was 39.5 percent.
In the structure of overnight stays of foreign tourists, most overnight stays were realized by tourists from Serbia (27.9 percent), Croatia (24.3 percent), the United Arab Emirates (5.7 percent), Slovenia (4.7 percent), Turkey (3, 6 percent), Germany (3.1 percent) and Montenegro (3.0 percent).
Tourists from other countries realized 27.7 percent of overnight stays, according to the B&amp;H Agency for Statistics.

Tourists realized 80,938 overnight stays in B&H in December

Tourists realized 80,938 overnight stays in B&H in December, which is 26.4 percent more than in November 2020 and 58.1 percent less than in December 2019.

Number of tourists in B&H decreased by 1.1 million compared to 2019

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bisera Turković received today the newly appointed Ambassador of the Russian Federation Igor Kalabukhov.

The two officials discussed relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Russian Federation, the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of improving relations between the two countries in the coming period.
Minister Turković emphasized that there is a lot of room for improvement of relations and that in addition to the field of economy, much more can be done to improve cultural cooperation.
She also pointed out that our country has strategic foreign policy goals related to membership in the European Union but at the same time, it wants to build and improve relations with the Russian Federation and other countries.
Ambassador Kalabukhov said that cultural cooperation is an important foundation that helps improve relations between states and peoples. In that context, a draft agreement was announced for the establishment of a Russian cultural center in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will contribute to the improvement of cultural cooperation. He pointed out that the Russian Federation supports all decisions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will be made by compromise and dialogue within our country.
The interlocutors agreed that it is important for Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country with a thousand-year-long tradition, to be economically more stable and prosperous, and for all citizens to have equal rights and opportunities in our country.
Ambassador Kalabukhov reiterated the invitation to Minister Turkovic to visit Moscow in 2021, when the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Russian Federation will be marked, stated the MFA B&amp;H.

The two officials discussed relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Russian Federation

Turković receives Russian Ambassador Kalabukhov in an inaugural visit

After the judge of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo, Pavle Crnogorac, issued a temporary ban on "Dnevni avaz" from writing about the private life of the President of the Court of B&amp;H, Ranko Debevec, the Steering Board of the BH Journalists Association made statement. 
You can read their full letter below:
The Steering Committee of the BH Journalists Association sends a public protest to the Municipal Court in Sarajevo against the decision to temporarily ban “Dnevni Avaz” from writing about the private life of the President of the Court of B&amp;H, Ranko Debevec. “Dnevni Avaz” and its editors are ordered to “refrain from harassing the plaintiff (Debevec) in terms of presenting information from his private life, both in print and electronic, daily and other media.”

<h2>The decision of the Municipal Court is disputable because nothing is argued in the explanation</h2>

The decision of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo is disputable because the explanation does not argue that writing about the private life of the President of the Court of B&amp;H is not in the public interest, nor that Dnevni avaz violated his right to privacy, as the authors of the disputed articles repeatedly emphasized that they are publishing certain information from Debevec’s private life in order to prove his abuse of office.

Ordering the ban on writing also means that the Court concludes in advance that all future texts of Dnevni avaz that may be published about Ranko Debevec will be defamatory and untrue, and this type of presumption is essentially media censorship and cannot be considered as protection of the integrity of the President of the Court . In addition, judge Pavle Crnogorac noted in the decision on the measure of ban that “for violating judicial ethics there are institutions that do their job diligently”, which can be interpreted as a message to the media not to investigate abuses of judicial office because this is the “task” exclusively for the competent institutions ?!

Respecting the dignity of judicial institutions and without any intention to determine whether the allegations from the articles published in Dnevni Avaz are true or not, the Steering Committee of BH Journalists believes that the decision of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo represents pressure on freedom of speech and media reporting. The imposing of an interim measure can also be interpreted as censorship and preventing the media from critically reporting on judicial office holders.

Finally, the Steering Committee of BH Journalists draws attention to the fact that the Municipal Court of Sarajevo expressly, within only a few days after filing a lawsuit against the media, imposed a temporary measure, thus demonstrating priority action on lawsuits and reports filed by judicial officials, while numerous other defamation cases are put in drawers and sometimes takes years to be resolved.

<h2>The case law of the European Court of Human Rights is completely circumvented</h2>

The Steering Committee of BH Journalists especially warns that, if the temporary measure remain in force, such solutions could become a model according to which in the future the courts will give themselves the right to prevent the media from writing about judicial, political and other public office holders with the argument of protecting their privacy, without taking into account whether the published information represents the public interest and evidence of possible abuse of position.&nbsp;This completely circumvents the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, which emphasizes the need to strike a balance between the privacy of public officials and the right of the public to be informed of the ways in which they perform their functions. Such conduct by the courts would also open space for censorship and repression, which is unacceptable in democratic societies.&nbsp;It should be reminded that, yesterday, the Steering Committee of the Press and Online Media Council of B&amp;H strongly condemned the pressure on freedom of media reporting through the decision of the judge of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo Pavle Crnogorac in which "Dnevni avaz", a full member of the Council, was imposed a temporary ban on writing about the private life of the President of the Court of B&amp;H Ranko Debevec.

It is inadmissible that court decisions prohibits "Dnevni avaz" from writing about the private life of the President of the Court of B&H Ranko Debevec, according to the BH Journalists Association

The Steering Committee of the BH Journalists Association sent a public protest to the Municipal Court in Sarajevo

BH Journalists: It is unacceptable for court decisions to violate media freedom and bring in censorship

In the past 24 hours, 1,793 samples were registered with the Public Health Institute of the Federation of B&amp;H, of which 169 were positive for SARS-CoV-2.

New cases have been registered in all cantons in the Federation of B&amp;H, except in Bosnia-Podrinje Canton.
A total of 407,157 samples have been tested so far, and SARS-CoV-2 has been confirmed in 79,348 individuals.
Currently, 10,348 cases positive for SARS-CoV-2 are active.
In the past 24 hours, seven deaths were reported to the Public Health Institute of the Federation of B&amp;H.
As of today, the number of deaths in the Federation of B&amp;H is 2,509.
In the last 24 hours in the Institute of Public Health of the Republic of Srpska, the University Clinical Center of the Republic of Srpska and in the hospitals in ​​Bijeljina and Doboj, 626 laboratory samples were tested, and coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was confirmed in 134 people.
Eight deaths have been reported to the Republic of Srpska Institute of Public Health, in which the presence of coronavirus has been confirmed.
So far, 40,624 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Republic of Srpska, and a total of 2,089 people have died in whom the coronavirus test has been confirmed.
In Republic of Srpska, 27,668 people have recovered from coronavirus so far, and a total of 185,935 people have been tested.
Today, 11 new cases of coronavirus infection were registered in the Brčko District of B&amp;H, after testing 53 samples.

New cases have been registered in all cantons in the Federation of B&H, except in Bosnia-Podrinje Canton

As of today, the number of deaths in the Federation of B&H is 2,509

COVID-19 confirmed in 314 people in B&H, with 15 deaths

Palestine’s Health Ministry said on Thursday it has received 10,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine.

Palestine kicked off its COVID-19 vaccination campaign this week, with health workers the first to be inoculated.
The campaign started after the arrival of a first shipment of 2,000 doses of American firm Moderna’s vaccine.
After health workers, people over the age of 60 and those with chronic diseases will be vaccinated, Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said in a statement.
She said the Palestinian government has also placed orders for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and will receive it “during the coming period.”
Some 37,000 vaccine doses are also due to arrive in Palestine under the COVAX initiative, according to the minister.
-This campaign will continue until we complete the vaccination of 3.2 million people, and this matter will take months- she said.
Palestine’s COVID-19 caseload currently stands at 180,688, including 2,042 fatalities and 169,930 recoveries.

Immunization drive started in Palestine this week, virus cases now over 180,600, deaths at 2,042

The campaign started after the arrival of a first shipment of 2,000 doses of American firm Moderna’s vaccine

Palestine gets 10,000 doses of Russian COVID-19 vaccine

Governments and developers around the world are exploring the potential use of “vaccine passports” as a way of reopening the economy by identifying those protected against the coronavirus.Those developing the technologies however, say such tools come with consequences such as potentially excluding whole groups from social participation, and are urging lawmakers to think seriously about how they are used.
The travel and entertainment industries, which have struggled to operate at a profit while imposing social distancing regulations, are particularly interested in a way of swiftly checking who has protection.
Among those developing passports are biometrics company iProov and cyber security firm Mvine which have built a vaccine pass now being tested within Britain’s National Health Service after receiving UK government funding.
iProov founder and chief executive Andrew Bud believes such vaccine passports only really need to hold two pieces of information.
-One is, has this person been vaccinated? And the other is, what does this person look like?-You need only match a face to a vaccination status, you don’t need to know a person’s identity, he added.

Confirmation of patrons’ vaccination status could help the night-time economy, which employs some 420,000 people in the northern English city of Manchester, off its knees, experts say.

-We have to look at how to get back to normal- said Sacha Lord, an industry adviser and co-founder of the city’s Parklife music festival.
While there have been experiments in socially distanced concerts and events over the last year, they weren’t financially viable, he said.
-A gig isn’t a gig or a festival isn’t a festival unless you are stood shoulder to shoulder with your friends.--I don’t think we should be forcing people into the vaccine passports. It should be a choice. But on entry, if you don’t have that passport, then we will give you another option- he added, suggesting the use of rapid result coronavirus tests.
Bud said vaccine certificates were being rolled out in some countries, and in the United Sates, some private sector health passes were being used to admit customers to sports events.
-I think vaccine certificates raise huge social and political issues. Our job is to provide the technology basis for making vaccine passports and certificates possible ... It is not our place to make judgments about whether they are a good idea or not- he said.
Potential issues could arise around discrimination, privilege and exclusion of the younger generation who would be last in line to be vaccinated, he said, adding he believed government was giving it careful consideration.

Among those developing passports are biometrics company iProov and cyber security firm Mvine

Vials with AstraZeneca's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine are seen at the vaccination centre in the Newcastle Eagles Community Arena, in Newcastle upon Tyne, Britain, January 30, 2021.

Vaccine passports: path back to normality or problem in the making?

According to our reporter which is currently in front of the Prosecutor's Office of B&amp;H, Milorad Dodik, the chairman of the Presidency of B&amp;H left the building, where he was questioned by the prosecutor.
He received an invitation to testify about the circumstances of the "Icon" affair. Dodik entered the building through side entrance of the Prosecutor's Office of B&amp;H, and in the same way he left the building.

It is an icon that Dodik gave to Sergey Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, during his recent visit to B&amp;H.
Ukraine soon reacted, claiming that it was an icon that was part of their cultural heritage and that they believe it had been stolen. Shortly afterwards, Lavrov returned the icon, and Interpol was ordered to investigate its origin.

He received an invitation to testify about the circumstances of the "Icon" affair to the prosecutors

Dodik left the B&H Prosecutor's Office building

After the hearing, Dodik left the building of the Prosecutor's Office of B&H

More than 500 tennis players and officials were ordered into isolation in the Australian city of Melbourne on Thursday as authorities reintroduced coronavirus restrictions after a worker at a quarantine hotel tested positive for the virus.The city reimposed an order for masks indoors and a limit on gatherings of 15 people after the state’s run of 28 days with no new local cases came to an end.
Melbourne, Australia’s second-biggest city, is preparing to host the Australian Open tennis tournament from Monday but play at six warm-up events was heavily disrupted by the new infection with organisers Tennis Australia calling off all matches for Thursday.
The case of the infected Grand Hyatt worker was announced late on Wednesday and Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters an initial round of tests had found no new cases.
The Australian Open was likely to go ahead though “there were no guarantees”, he said.
-At this stage, the tennis shouldn’t be impacted by this. These things can change. Every Victorian knows these are uncertain times- Andrews told a news conference.
The Grand Hyatt was one of three main quarantine hotels used by players and officials arriving in Melbourne for the Grand Slam event.
About 1,200 players, coaching staff and officials arrived in Australia in the middle of last month and went into a mandatory 14-day isolation. Most players were released from quarantine last month.
Australia has ranked among the world’s most successful countries in handling the novel coronavirus, largely because of decisive lockdowns and borders sealed to all but a trickle of travellers.
Western Australia state, which is on a five-day lockdown after one positive case was detected on Sunday, has since found no new local cases. The states of New South Wales and Queensland also reported no new cases on Thursday.
In all, Australia has had 22,000 local cases and 909 deaths.
But its quarantine hotels, where all international arrivals have to spend two weeks, have proved a weak link with the new infection in Melbourne the latest case to emerge from one.
The cabinet is set to meet on Friday to consider whether the quarantine hotel programme should use facilities in more remote, regional centres given the tendency for the virus to escape from hotels into the community.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that hotel quarantine remained the “most effective” arrangement.
Morrison reiterated a free vaccination programme was on tack to begin later this month.
Australia has secured an additional 10 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine taking its total to 150 million, which will also be distributed to neighbouring Pacific Island countries, Morrison said.

The case of the infected Grand Hyatt worker was announced late on Wednesday

A staff member wearing PPE works to clean surfaces at Melbourne Park in between training sessions for tennis players undergoing mandatory quarantine in advance of the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, January 21, 2021.

Australia puts 500 tennis players, staff into coronavirus isolation

German Health Minister Jens Spahn on Thursday suggested coronavirus restrictions could be lifted before spring, as case numbers in the country continued to edge downwards.

-We can't stay in this hard lockdown all winter. We would not tolerate that well as a society- Spahn said in an interview with the Funke media group. 
Germany went into a partial lockdown in November, closing bars, restaurants and cultural and sporting facilities.
Schools and non-essential shops were added to the list in mid-December, with rules on mask-wearing and working from home tightened in January amid concerns over new virus variants. 
The number of new infections and patients in intensive care has been falling steadily since the start of the year, a trend Spahn called "encouraging". 
But the Robert Koch Institute health body reported 14,211 new cases and 786 deaths on Thursday and an incidence rate of 81 -- still well above the target of 50 that German politicians have set as a yardstick for reopening.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Germany's 16 states will meet on Wednesday to decide whether to extend restrictions after they expire on February 14.
Some experts believe it is too soon to relax the measures, especially in the light of new, more contagious variants.
Ute Teichert, the head of the Federal Association of German Public Health Officers, called last week for a so-called zero-Covid strategy to stamp out infections.
-We cannot start relaxing (restrictions) again at an incidence rate of 100, 70 or 50- she said. 
But Spahn said the goal for Germany remained "to prevent the health system from being overburdened -- and not to avoid every infection".
-To get it down to zero infections and keep it that way comes at a disproportionate cost in other areas of life- he said.

They went into a partial lockdown in November, closing bars, restaurants and cultural and sporting facilities

Health Minister Jens Spahn suggested coronavirus restrictions could be lifted before spring

German health minister hints at easing of virus curbs

The Assembly of the Sarajevo Canton adopted a Resolution on prevention and suppression of gender-based and sexual harassment and violence in the Canton, proposed by the caucus of the Representatives of Our Party, Vildana Beslija, Neira Dizdarević and Vibor Handžić.

The Resolution emphasizes that sexual harassment and violence are one of the most common forms of violence, which are also the most easily tolerated and for which the legislation does not have an adequate sanctioning mechanism.
It is stated that this includes unwanted sexual behaviors that do not necessarily involve physical contact, and put the person in an awkward and humiliating position and cause a sense of shame.
-The key aspect of this type of harassment and violence is power, because it is often carried out by a person who is in a more powerful position than the person over whom it is carried out, which leads to the situation that sexual harassment is used as a tool of power and influence. Sexual harassment is often treated as a trivial problem that can be easily avoided and stopped, which is usually not true- it was pointed out in the Resolution.
The Representatives' caucus of that party believes that the Government of the Sarajevo Canton, in cooperation with experts from relevant fields, should urgently draft an urgent procedure in the Assembly for adoption and submit a draft law on prevention and prohibition of gender-based and sexual harassment and violence in the Sarajevo Canton, a proposal for a rulebook on the rules of conduct for employers and workers in relation to the prevention and protection against harassment at workplace in the Sarajevo Canton and a proposal for a protocol on dealing with cases of reported harassment and violence.
The Representatives have obliged the Government of the Sarajevo Canton to urgently establish expert working groups to develop an action plan for the prevention and suppression of gender-based harassment and sexual harassment and violence, and to establish a 'Help Line' for reporting gender-based and sexual harassment and violence.

It is stated that this includes unwanted sexual behaviors that do not necessarily involve physical contact, and put the person in an awkward and humiliating position and cause a sense of shame

The Resolution emphasizes that sexual harassment and violence are one of the most common forms of violence

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COVID-19 confirmed in 292 people in B&H, with 13 deaths in the last 24 hours

AstraZeneca files vaccine for approval in Japan

Radončić: It does not matter who will go to the Presidency of B&H, it is important that those who rule for 30 years are finally dismissed

Belgium: Iranian diplomat convicted for bombing attempt

Poland's Walesa nominates Kremlin critic Navalny for Nobel

Dodik on the interrogation in the Prosecutor's Office of B&H: It was about the false report made by Bisera Turković

Number of tourists in B&H decreased by 1.1 million compared to 2019

Turković receives Russian Ambassador Kalabukhov in an inaugural visit

BH Journalists: It is unacceptable for court decisions to violate media freedom and bring in censorship

COVID-19 confirmed in 314 people in B&H, with 15 deaths

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After the hearing, Dodik left the building of the Prosecutor's Office of B&H

Australia puts 500 tennis players, staff into coronavirus isolation

German health minister hints at easing of virus curbs

Sarajevo Canton Assembly adopts a Resolution against Sexual Harassment