North America

Colombia town orders vaccine refusers to stay home or face fines, jail

BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — Authorities in a Colombian town have run out of patience with people refusing coronavirus vaccines, ordering them on Monday to stay at home or face a fine, or even prison. “We have to take a strong stance as leaders… Everyone has to be vaccinated, if not, they cannot circulate in the municipality of Sucre,” the town’s mayor Elvira Julia Mercado said on Blu Radio. She decreed a stay-at-home order, lasting eight […]

Schools in US state offer $1,000 bonus to vaccinated staff

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Schools in a county in the southeastern US state of Georgia will pay $1,000 bonuses to staff who are vaccinated against Covid-19 in a bid to protect themselves from the resurgent pandemic, authorities said. With that incentive county officials said they hope to avoid the “numerous disruptions that were encountered in public education over the past two school years due to a global pandemic.” “Last year was a challenge like […]

Biden urges new eviction pause as Delta spreads

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden on Monday urged the imposition of a new ban on evictions to prevent a wave of homelessness as the more infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus takes hold. But just a day after a nationwide eviction moratorium expired, Biden acknowledged the administration does not have the legal authority to help renters stay in their homes. That leaves the White House with few tools to deal with […]

US hits Biden’s Covid vaccination goal, almost a month late

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Monday hit President Joe Biden’s goal of administering 70 percent of adults with at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, almost a month after the July 4 target date. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website showed that 60.6 percent of adults, and 49.7 percent of the total population, have now been fully vaccinated. The Biden administration initially targeted the country’s Independence Day […]

El Salvador bans pork imports over African swine fever fears

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AFP) — El Salvador said it would ban all imports of pork products Sunday, as cases of the highly contagious African swine fever in the Dominican Republic sparked fears of a wider regional outbreak. A highly contagious viral disease that affects domestic and wild pigs, African Swine Fever (ASF) is present in parts of Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa. A major outbreak in China in 2018 led to the culling of […]

Millions of Americans risk eviction as virus cases spike

Millions of Americans could find themselves homeless starting Sunday as a nationwide ban on evictions expires, against a backdrop of surging coronavirus cases and political fingerpointing. With billions in government funds meant to help renters still untapped, President Joe Biden this week urged Congress to extend the 11-month-old moratorium after a recent Supreme Court ruling meant the White House could not do so. But Republicans balked at Democratic efforts to extend the eviction ban through […]

Heatwave causes massive melt of Greenland ice sheet

Greenland’s ice sheet has experienced a “massive melting event” during a heatwave that has seen temperatures more than 10 degrees above seasonal norms, according to Danish researchers. Since Wednesday the ice sheet covering the vast Arctic territory, has melted by around eight billion tonnes a day, twice its normal average rate during summer, reported the Polar Portal website, which is run by Danish researchers. The Danish Meteorological Institute reported temperatures of more than 20 degrees […]

Even fully vaccinated persons can get high viral load of Delta variant, infect others – US CDC

CDC cites study of COVID-19 outbreak in Massachusetts that found Delta variant infections among fully vaccinated individuals (Eagle News) – Even fully vaccinated people can transmit the Delta variant as significant high viral loads of this COVID-19 virus strain were found in fully vaccinated individuals who got infected with this variant, as well as those unvaccinated against COVID-19. This was according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday, July 30, which […]

Wife of slain Haiti leader says killers left her for dead

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The wife of Haiti’s murdered president, seriously wounded in the very attack that killed her husband, listened in terror as the gunmen ransacked their home, she said in her first interview since the assassination. The killers eventually found what they were looking for in president Jovenel Moise’s residence, and made cursory efforts on their way out to see if first lady Martine Moise was still alive. “When they left, […]

Iglesia Ni Cristo Day declared in Elizabeth, New Jersey

  NEW JERSEY, United States – As the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) or Church Of Christ celebrates its 107th anniversary, the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey, declared July 27, 2021 as IGLESIA NI CRISTO DAY. Elizabeth City Mayor J. Christian Bollwage himself read the proclamation on the steps of City Hall, with some ministers and members of the INC present to witness and commemorate this momentous occasion. Mayor Bollwage highlighted the importance of the INC’s […]

8.2 magnitude earthquake off Alaskan peninsula, tsunami warning up

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — An 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the Alaskan peninsula late Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said, prompting a tsunami warning. The earthquake hit 56 miles (91 kilometers) southeast of the town of Perryville, the USGS said. The US government issued a tsunami warning for south Alaska and the Alaskan peninsula. “Hazardous tsunami waves for this earthquake are possible within the next three hours along some coasts,” the US […]