Foreign
US firefighter recalls 9/11 attacks: It was beyond comprehension
September 12, 2021, 10:46 am
CHICAGO, United States – How is a firefighter to know that a 110-story building has collapsed in front of him? For Rudy Sanfilippo, a retired union representative for Manhattan's 2,000 firefighters, it is just one of those things that only someone who was there can understand. As with just about… Read More
Vaccinated 10 times less likely to be hospitalized with Covid-19
September 9, 2021, 2:57 pm
BERLIN – Vaccinated people are 10 times less likely to be hospitalized with Covid-19 than those who are unvaccinated, Germany’s top health expert said on Wednesday. Professor Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), said vaccines continue to offer strong protection against… Read More
7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Mexico’s southwest coast
September 8, 2021, 4:46 pm
MEXICO – A powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Mexico’s southwest state of Guerrero late Tuesday, according to the National Seismological Service of Mexico. Power outages have been reported, while no significant damage has been reported so far in the nation’s capital. Mexico City has… Read More
Taliban announces formation of caretaker gov't in Afghanistan
September 8, 2021, 2:57 pm
KABUL – The Taliban announced on Tuesday night the formation of Afghanistan's caretaker government, with Mullah Hassan Akhund appointed as the acting prime minister. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a press conference here that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salam Hanafi were… Read More
Mexico decriminalizes abortion in historic move
September 8, 2021, 1:50 pm
BOGOTA, Colombia – Mexico's Supreme Court voted on Tuesday to decriminalize abortion, a historic vote in a Catholic-majority country. The high court unanimously voted to overturn several articles of a law of the northern state of Coahuila that establishes jail terms of up to three years for… Read More
Biden says US recognition of Taliban ‘long way off’
September 7, 2021, 2:05 pm
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden said late Monday that the US is a long way from recognizing the Taliban after the group took over the Afghan capital Kabul in mid-August following the US pullout. "That's a long way off," Biden told reporters at the White House. At a briefing last Thursday, White… Read More
US Covid-19 cases surpass 40M: Johns Hopkins University
September 7, 2021, 12:32 pm
NEW YORK – The total number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the United States (US) topped 40 million on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. US Covid-19 case count rose to 40,003,101, with a total of 648,935 deaths as of 3:21 p.m. local time (1921 GMT),… Read More
1.6M Moderna coronavirus vaccine doses to be recalled in Japan
September 5, 2021, 5:15 pm
TOKYO – More than 1.6 million doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccines will be recalled in Japan because of “foreign substances,” company officials said Sunday. Moderna and its Japanese sales and distribution partner, Takeda, made the decision about the recall. The doses with foreign… Read More
17 killed, 41 injured by celebratory gunfire in Afghan capital
September 5, 2021, 1:01 pm
KABUL, Afghanistan – At least 17 people were killed and 41 others injured by celebratory gunfire in different parts of Afghanistan's capital after untrue reports emerged that the Taliban captured the northeastern Panjshir valley, a hospital source told Anadolu Agency on Saturday. For two hours… Read More
EU, AstraZeneca reach agreement on vaccine supply dispute
September 4, 2021, 11:40 am
BRUSSELS – The European Union (EU) and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca have reached an agreement after a dispute on Covid-19 vaccine delivery schedules, announced a spokesperson here on Friday. The settlement will ensure the delivery of the remaining vaccine doses still due to EU member… Read More
Japan's PM to step down amid Covid-19 censure
September 3, 2021, 4:25 pm
ANKARA – In a radical U-turn, Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday announced that he would not stand for his party's leadership, effectively giving up the premiership, after facing severe criticism over his handling of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, local media… Read More
US economic recovery slows amid spread of Delta variant
September 1, 2021, 2:53 pm
WASHINGTON – The United States economic recovery from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic is slowing due to the spread of the Delta variant and a sizable segment of unvaccinated people, Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at accounting and consulting firm RSM US LLP, said on… Read More
Scientists sound alarm over new Covid-19 variant in South Africa
August 31, 2021, 8:13 pm
JOHANNESBURG – Scientists in South Africa have sounded the alarm after detecting a new Covid-19 variant, known as C.1.2, in all nine provinces across the country, though at a relatively low rate. "While the C.1.2 lineage shares a few common mutations with the Beta and Delta variants, the new… Read More
WHO calls for action to raise Covid-19 vax rates in Europe
August 31, 2021, 8:01 pm
COPENHAGEN – The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe has called on health authorities to take urgent action to counter both an accelerated transmission of the coronavirus and a clear stagnation in vaccination rates across the region. "The high transmission is deeply… Read More
US declares completion of Afghanistan pullout, ending 20-year war
August 31, 2021, 4:08 pm
WASHINGTON – The US announced Monday the completion of its efforts to withdraw all of its forces from Afghanistan, bringing to an end the longest war in American history. Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command, confirmed the conclusion of the withdrawal and military efforts to… Read More
Powerful Hurricane Ida hits US Louisiana, other regions
August 30, 2021, 1:39 pm
HOUSTON – Dangerous high-end category 4 Hurricane Ida on Sunday made a landfall with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles (about 240 km) per hour west of Grand Isle, southern US state Louisiana, bringing life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds and dangerous rainfall flooding. The US… Read More
US drone strike kills 2 ISIS-K targets: Pentagon
August 29, 2021, 11:30 am
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon said on Saturday that two high-profile targets of ISIS-K, a local affiliate of the Islamic State in Afghanistan, were killed in a US drone strike on Friday. "Two high-profile ISIS targets were killed, one was wounded, and we know of zero civilian casualties," US Army… Read More
Coronavirus not developed as 'biological weapon': US intelligence
August 28, 2021, 6:11 pm
ANKARA –The coronavirus was not developed as a "biological weapon," according to a report by the US intelligence community (IC) on Friday. "The IC assesses that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, probably emerged and infected humans through an initial small-scale exposure that occurred… Read More
U.S. Florida judge rules school districts may issue mask mandates
August 28, 2021, 3:04 pm
WASHINGTON – A judge in the U.S. state of Florida ruled Friday that school districts in the state may issue mask mandates for students, dealing a blow to the effort by Governor Ron DeSantis and other officials to block such orders. Judge John Cooper of the Sunshine State's Second Judicial… Read More
US conducts airstrike on 'ISIS-K planner' in Afghanistan
August 28, 2021, 2:02 pm
WASHINGTON – The United States carried out a drone strike early Saturday on an "ISIS-K planner" in eastern Afghanistan, according to a US Central Command (Centcom) official. The senior terrorist for the Afghan affiliate of the Daesh/ISIS terror group is believed to be involved in organizing a… Read More
