North America

Prop gun fired by Alec Baldwin kills woman on set: police

US actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that killed a cinematographer and wounded the director on a film set in New Mexico, US law enforcement officers said Thursday. The incident happened on the set of “Rust” in the southwestern US state, where Baldwin is playing the lead in a 19th-century western. Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza “were shot when a prop firearm was discharged by Alec Baldwin,” the sheriff in Santa Fe said in […]

US authorizes ‘mix and match’ Covid vaccine boosters: regulator

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday authorized using a so-called “mix and match” strategy for people who require a booster shot of a Covid vaccine after their primary series. “The FDA has determined that the known and potential benefits of the use of a single heterologous booster dose outweigh the known and potential risks of their use in eligible populations,” the agency said in a statement. The […]

All 21 on board scramble to safety after Texas plane crash

HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — A private plane crashed when attempting to take off Tuesday in Texas, with all 21 passengers and crew on board scrambling to safety before the aircraft burst into flames. Television images showed fire fighters spraying water onto the burning remains of the plane, which had plowed through a fence and come to a halt across a track in a field, surrounded by trees and bushes. The fuselage was reduced to […]

US set to vaccinate kids aged 5-11 against Covid from next month: White House

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States is ready to start vaccinating children aged 5-11 against Covid-19 starting next month, the White House said Wednesday, a move that will make 28 million more Americans eligible for shots. “Our planning efforts mean that we will be ready to begin getting shots in arms in the days following a final CDC recommendation,” the White House said, referring to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drugmaker […]

Gates Foundation invests $120 million for Covid pill access

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Wednesday announced an investment of up to $120 million in an effort to speed up low-income countries’ access to a new anti-Covid drug. The treatment, a pill called molnupiravir developed by US lab Merck, reduces the risk of hospitalization by half in Covid-19 patients who take it in their first few days of infection, the company has said, and could be even more […]

UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on N. Korea Wednesday: diplomats

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The UN Security Council will hold an emergency closed-door meeting on North Korea on Wednesday, diplomats told AFP after state media said Pyongyang had successfully tested a “new type” of submarine-launched ballistic missile. The session, which will be held in the afternoon, was requested by Britain and the United States, the same sources said. © Agence France-Presse

Colin Powell’s death sparks misleading claims about Covid-19 vaccines

by Claire SAVAGE WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Social media posts claim that Colin Powell’s death from complications caused by Covid-19 means vaccines against the disease are ineffective. But Powell had a type of cancer that experts say undermines the efficacy of the shots, and data shows his age left him especially vulnerable. “PROOF this Vaccine does NOT EVEN WORK, or-and is NOT EVEN a REAL VACCINE,” said a Facebook post sharing an article about […]

Canadian PM visits graves of indigenous school previously ran by Catholic church

Indigenous leaders still await apology from Pope; visit to Vatican in December set   Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a visit Monday, October 18, to the indigenous community of Kamloops where the remains of 215 children were found in May at a former residential school ran by the Catholic Church, apologizing for not coming sooner. The visit followed strong criticisms directed at Trudeau for ignoring an earlier invitation to the community on the first […]

Biden leads outpouring of tributes for former US secretary of state Colin Powell

  by Frankie TAGGART Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Colin Powell, a US war hero and the first Black secretary of state who saw his trailblazing legacy tarnished when he made the case for war in Iraq in 2003, died Monday from complications from Covid-19. The 84-year-old retired four-star general was fully vaccinated, his family said in a statement, making him one of the most high-profile US public figures to die of […]

Colin Powell dies of Covid-19 complications: family

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Colin Powell, a US war hero and the first Black secretary of state who saw his legacy tarnished when he made the case for war in Iraq in 2003, has died from complications from Covid-19. He was 84. “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American,” the family said in a statement posted to social media on Monday. The retired four-star general and former […]

One dead as US college endures two shootings in a week

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — One person was killed and another seven injured at a US university shooting early Sunday, police said, just days after another firearm incident at the same school left one dead. A student was among those wounded in the attack at around 1:30am (local) at Grambling State University, Louisiana State Police said, with one person in critical condition at hospital. The school tweeted the student was “treated for non-life-threatening injuries”, and […]

Bill Clinton leaves hospital after five nights

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Former US president Bill Clinton, 75, was released from a California hospital Sunday after spending five nights in treatment for an infection. Clinton, arm in arm with his wife and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, gave a thumbs up after he walked slowly out of the hospital and shook hands with staff in front of television cameras. “President Clinton was discharged from UC Irvine Medical Center today,” said a […]