Foreign
Nearly 143K chickens to be culled in Japan over bird flu
November 10, 2021, 1:42 pm
TOKYO – Bird flu has been detected at a poultry farm in Akita prefecture in northeastern Japan, Kyodo News reported Wednesday. Nearly 143,000 chickens will be culled after avian flu was detected in 12 of 13 chickens tested at the farm in the Yokote region, according to the prefectural… Read More
Impoverished Afghans plead for bread in front of bakeries
November 9, 2021, 8:09 pm
KABUL, Afghanistan – Shekiba Sukur has been waiting for hours outside a bakery in Kabul as the impoverished Afghanistan is now grappling with cash crunch, which appears to have flown out with the exit of US forces in August after 20 years of operations. She is in queue with more than a dozen… Read More
Japan sends 9 satellites into space
November 9, 2021, 7:33 pm
ISTANBUL – Japan on Tuesday sent into space at least nine satellites aboard the Epsilon rocket, the country’s space agency said. The satellites will help Japan promote involvement by educational institutions and companies in space development, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported. Satellites… Read More
UN warns Tigray conflict threatening to consume Ethiopia's future
November 9, 2021, 4:37 pm
WASHINGTON – The ongoing conflict between Tigray rebels and Ethiopian government forces threatens to "consume" the future of the East African country, the UN warned on Monday. Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN's top official for political and peacebuilding affairs, told the Security Council that the… Read More
UN warns over 3 million people need 'life-saving' aid in Myanmar
November 9, 2021, 1:05 pm
WASHINGTON – Over 3 million people are in need of "life-saving" aid in Myanmar after the military there seized power and ousted the civilian government, the UN's humanitarian chief said on Monday. Martin Griffiths, the UN's emergency relief coordinator, said in the wake of the junta's Feb. 1… Read More
Historic pledges, youth climate activism mark 1st week of COP26
November 7, 2021, 4:36 pm
GLASGOW, Scotland – The first week of the COP26 climate summit saw a wide range of commitments with more than 40 countries pledging to phase out coal by 2050. And more than 100 leaders vowing to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. This was also the first time that a COP… Read More
108 killed, 92 injured in fuel tanker explosion in Sierra Leone
November 7, 2021, 1:38 pm
FREETOWN -- At least 108 people were killed and 92 others injured in a fuel tanker explosion here late Friday, Sierra Leone's National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) confirmed on Saturday. According to a statement by NDMA, a loaded fuel tanker and a truck carrying granite stones collided on a… Read More
Nations pledge to shift to low carbon farming at COP26
November 7, 2021, 11:43 am
GLASGOW, Scotland – Twenty-six nations on Saturday made new pledges to alter their agricultural policies to become more sustainable and less polluting, and to invest in research needed for sustainable agriculture and protecting food supplies against climate change. All continents were… Read More
Pope to pay 5-day visit to southern Cyprus, Greece next month
November 6, 2021, 1:58 pm
ANKARA – Pope Francis is scheduled to embark on a five-day visit to the Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus and Greece, the Vatican press office said on Friday. Next month's visit (Dec. 2-6) comes upon the invitation of the countries' "civil authorities and Bishops’ Conferences," said a… Read More
Pfizer raises Covid vaccine sales forecast to $36B for 2021
November 4, 2021, 10:05 am
ANKARA – Pfizer raised its revenue forecast from coronavirus vaccine sales to USD36 billion (PHP1.8 trillion) for 2021, according to a financial statement released Tuesday. The US pharmaceutical’s previous 2021 estimates were USD33.5 billion in July; and USD26 billion and USD15 billion, made… Read More
1B children at 'extremely high risk' of climate change’s impacts
November 3, 2021, 6:45 pm
GENEVA – The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday said around 1 billion children worldwide are at "extremely high risk" from the consequences of climate change. "Two-thirds of countries' climate plans don't address the needs and priorities of children,"… Read More
Yahoo exits China citing 'challenging' business environment
November 3, 2021, 3:17 pm
ISTANBUL – US internet services company Yahoo has pulled out of China amid an "increasingly challenging business and legal environment," it said on Tuesday. "In recognition of the increasingly challenging business and legal environment in China, Yahoo’s suite of services will no longer be… Read More
Oxford dictionary names ‘vax’ as word of year
November 1, 2021, 8:52 pm
ANKARA – Oxford English Dictionary on Monday announced “vax” was word of the year. "Vax is our 2021 Word of the Year. When our lexicographers began digging into our English language corpus data, it quickly became apparent that vax was a particularly striking term," it said, referring to the… Read More
More than 7B Covid-19 vax doses administered worldwide
November 1, 2021, 7:57 pm
MOSCOW – The number of coronavirus inoculations carried out globally has surpassed seven billion. More than half are accounted for by three countries – China (2.3 billion), India (1.1 billion) and the United States (0.4 billion), according to TASS’ estimates based on government data and… Read More
Global Covid-19 deaths surpass 5M in less than 2 years
November 1, 2021, 6:41 pm
ANKARA – The number of people who have died from the coronavirus has exceeded 5 million worldwide in less than two years, according to Johns Hopkins University on Monday. Data from the US-based school showed more than 246.7 million have been infected by the virus that emerged in China in… Read More
Global Covid-19 situation likely to be under control in months
November 1, 2021, 3:15 pm
MOSCOW – The epidemiological situation all over the world can be brought under control in the next few months, however, one needs to be ready to deter such threats in the future, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said in his article published by the Rossiyskaya… Read More
G20 leaders agree on 1.5°C global warming target
November 1, 2021, 1:19 pm
ANKARA – Leaders of the world's 20 richest nations on Sunday reiterated their commitment to the 2015 Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the global average temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. According to a communique after the summit of G20 leaders in Rome hosted by term… Read More
WHO chief urges vaccine swap for fair share at G20
October 31, 2021, 11:43 am
GENEVA – With 82 countries at risk of missing a global vaccination target by end of this year, the World Health Organization chief on Saturday urged nations that have reached 40 percent vaccination target to swap delivery schedules with vaccine sharing facilities. WHO Director-General Tedros… Read More
FDA OKs Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vax for children 5-11
October 30, 2021, 2:19 pm
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) vaccine in children 5 through 11 years of age. The authorization was based on the FDA's thorough and transparent evaluation of the data… Read More
First shots of US Covid-19 vaccination drop to record low
October 28, 2021, 8:43 pm
WASHINGTON – The daily count of people receiving first shots of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines in the United States dropped to a record low since vaccines were available in the country last December, as experts stressed the urgency for the vast unvaccinated to take the first… Read More
