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WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US officials confirmed that evacuation operations from Afghanistan stalled for several hours Friday because the receiving base in Qatar was overflowing and could not receive evacuees. US airlift flights out of the Kabul airport stopped for around seven hours as thousands of Afghans already flown to a US base in Qatar overwhelmed its capacity, said Major General Hank Taylor. That left thousands more Afghans already cleared to leave their […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A Texas mother of four refused a Covid-19 vaccine, but after losing her husband to the virus and contracting it herself, her dying wish was clear: get her children immunized. Lydia Rodriguez, 42, a piano teacher in the small town of La Marque died on Monday, two weeks after her husband, Lawrence, 49, succumbed to the virus. Rodriguez’ cousin Dottie Jones told the local television station ABC13 that the couple […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Thursday saluted Albania, Canada, Chile, Mexico and Uganda for agreeing to take in Afghans being evacuated in a major airlift after the Taliban victory. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by telephone with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who announced Sunday just as the Taliban were taking over Kabul that he had agreed to a request to accept hundreds of Afghans temporarily on their way to […]
by Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A man who threatened to set off a bomb on Washington’s Capitol Hill surrendered to police Thursday, ending an hours-long standoff that rattled lawmakers still shaken by January’s pro-Trump insurrection. The incident triggered evacuations and a massive police response, and sent jolts of anxiety through a city that has spent months on alert, as political tensions soared following the deadly US Capitol riot. The suspect, an apparent […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Three US senators from different political affiliations and different parts of the country said Thursday they have tested positive for the coronavirus. The lawmakers, who were vaccinated, are among the 71 members of Congress to be diagnosed with Covid-19 since the beginning of last year, according to the nonpartisan group GovTrack. “I’ve tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19. I feel good but will isolate per docs instructions,” Senator […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Alex Gorsky will step down as chief executive of Johnson & Johnson in January, ceding the role to longtime company executive Joaquin Duato, the health care giant announced Thursday. Gorsky, the CEO since 2012, is stepping aside “due to family health reasons,” according to a company press release, which said he will stay on as executive chairman. Gorsky oversaw development of the company’s one-shot Covid-19 vaccine. His tenure also […]
by Patrick FALLON Agence France Presse SUSANVILLE, United States (AFP) — A wildfire that erupted outside California’s state capital just a few days ago had exploded to cover 54,000 acres by Wednesday, an eight-fold increase in 24 hours. At least two people had to be airlifted to hospital as the Caldor Fire tore through a small town around 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Sacramento. Thousands of people have been told to seek safety, with […]
by Michael Mathes Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will make Covid-19 booster shots available to all American adults beginning next month, as his administration warned that vaccines are showing a declining effectiveness against infection. The move comes as scientists and health experts grapple with how to beat back the surging Delta variant of the coronavirus, and follows extensive debate over whether a third injection […]
by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden is being called everything from reckless to incompetent over the panicky retreat from Afghanistan, but the White House has a different portrayal: a leader who simply dared to make the tough calls. The Democrat is taking a pounding, including from some in his own party, for the extraordinary meltdown in Kabul. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, facing journalists for the […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US military has evacuated more than 3,200 people from Afghanistan so far, including 1,100 on Tuesday alone, a White House official said. “Today, US military flights evacuated approximately 1,100 US citizens, US permanent residents, and their families on 13 flights,” the official said, adding: “Now that we have established the flow, we expect those numbers to escalate.” The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said that the […]
by Paul HANDLEY Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The White House said Tuesday that the Taliban had promised that civilians could travel safely to the Kabul airport as the US military stepped up its airlift for Americans and Afghans fleeing the Islamist group. Some 11,000 people with US nationality remain inside the country, including diplomats, contractors and others, according to the White House, most waiting to be evacuated after the Taliban […]
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — The death toll from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti has risen to 1,941 with more than 9,900 wounded, the Caribbean nation’s civil protection agency said on Tuesday. More than 60,000 homes were destroyed and 76,000 damaged, while many public buildings were also damaged or collapsed in Saturday’s quake, the agency said. The powerful tremor struck about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the west of the capital Port-au-Prince. Thousands of […]
