Doctor says Abbas to stay in hospital
RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' doctor said Sunday that the 83-year-old will be staying another day in the hospital, abruptly reversing a previous announcement that he would be discharged and adding to the uncertainty surrounding the Palestinian leader's health.
Abbas was hospitalized last week with a fever, just days after undergoing ear surgery. Palestinian officials said he had pneumonia and was on a respirator, receiving antibiotics intravenously. Abbas allies insisted he was in good health, but day after day he remained hospitalized.
On Sunday, his doctor, Yasser Abu Safiyeh said that Abbas would be discharged later in the day after being kept a few extra days in hospital as a precaution "to avoid any setback that could be caused by any infection." A stage was set up, and the media was summoned to record his release. Then, shortly after, Abu Safiyeh said Abbas' release had been postponed for another day. No explanation was given.
Abbas, who is a heavy smoker and overweight, has a long history of health issues, ranging from heart trouble to a bout with prostate cancer a decade ago.
Merkel foes rally in streets of Berlin
BERLIN -- Supporters of the nationalist Alternative for Germany party marched through central Berlin to protest against Chancellor Angela Merkel's government Sunday, and were kept away from a raft of counter-demonstrations by a heavy police presence.
Police said over 5,000 people turned out for the demonstration organized by the anti-migration Alternative for Germany. A variety of counter-protests against the far right attracted well over 25,000 people in total, they said.
The Alternative for Germany event opened with German flags, placards such as "No Islam in Germany" and chants of "Merkel must go" outside Berlin's central train station. The party's supporters then marched to the landmark Brandenburg Gate. Opponents chanted "Nazis out" from the other side of the monument.
Some of the counter-protesters took to rafts on the Spree river, within sight of the train station. Groups organizing protests against Alternative for Germany included artists and a coalition of Berlin music clubs.
About 2,000 police officers were in place to prevent trouble, including reinforcements from other parts of Germany. The march concluded without significant trouble.
12th Ebola fatality in Congo recorded
KINSHASA, Congo -- Another person has died in Congo of a confirmed case of Ebola, bringing the number of fatalities from the latest outbreak to 12, the country's health ministry said Sunday.
The death happened in Iboko, a rural area in northwestern Equateur province, the health ministry said in a statement. There are also four new suspected cases in the province, the statement reported.
Congo now has 35 confirmed Ebola cases.
Health workers have identified people who have been in contact with the patients in the confirmed Ebola cases in three areas in Equateur province, Iboko, rural Bikoro and Mbandaka, the provincial capital of 1.2 million that is a transport hub on the Congo River.
Congolese Health Minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga flew by helicopter to Bikoro and Iboko on Saturday to see the deployment of health workers who will be tracing people who have been in contact with Ebola cases and inoculating them with a new experimental vaccine. The vaccination campaign in the two rural areas is set to begin today.
A Section on 05/28/2018