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VATICAN CITY (AFP) — Pope Francis on Wednesday expressed his personal shame and that of the Church at the sexual abuse of children by French Catholic clergy, after the scale of the problem was laid bare in a devastating report. “I wish to express to the victims my sadness and pain for the trauma they have suffered,” he said during his weekly audience at the Vatican. “And also my shame, our shame, my shame […]
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — The United Arab Emirates declared Wednesday that it has overcome the Covid crisis, recording its lowest number of infections this month since summer last year. “I wanted to assure you all that our lives must go back to normal,” said Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed in footage published by the official WAM new agency. “There are some changes in how we work, in our families’ studies […]
by Amber WANG TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Military tensions between China and Taiwan are at their highest in four decades, the island’s defence minister warned Wednesday, adding Beijing would be in a position to launch a full-scale invasion in 2025. Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by China, which views the self-ruled democratic island as its territory to be seized one day, by force if necessary. Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng offered his assessment […]
by Alfons LUNA TAZACORTE, Spain (AFP) — Fleeing their home after the La Palma volcano erupted on September 19, one couple married nearly 60 years decided to seek safe haven aboard their tiny boat until the storm passed. When the evacuation order came, neither Margaretha Straates, 80, nor her 90-year-old husband Luis Rodriguez Diaz fancied the idea of staying in temporary accommodation. “It suddenly came to me, why don’t we try the boat? It’s only […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Wednesday reported more than 900 daily coronavirus deaths for the first time, as the country struggles with stubbornly high infection rates driven by the Delta variant and low vaccination take-up. A government tally recorded 929 Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, Russia’s highest daily virus death toll since the outbreak of the pandemic. The new figures bring Russia’s total deaths from coronavirus to 212,625 — the highest toll […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — France’s oldest man Jules Theobald has died at the age of 112, his family told AFP Tuesday. Theobald, who hailed from the Caribbean island of Martinique, a French overseas department, died at his home in the island’s main city Fort-de-France. Born on April 17, 1909 — though family legend had it he was born two years earlier — the father of three worked as a docker and a fisherman. In a […]
BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) — Australian medical tech manufacturer Ellume said it had recalled almost 200,000 at-home Covid-19 tests in the United States over an increased chance of false positives. Ellume’s rapid at-home coronavirus test last year became the first to receive emergency use authorisation in the US. The US Food and Drug Administration issued an alert Tuesday over the “potential for false positive results with certain lots of the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test, due […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hit back Tuesday at claims the social media giant fuels division, harms children and needs to be regulated, saying the claim the company puts profits over safety is “just not true.” “The argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical,” Zuckerberg wrote in a note to Facebook employees that he then posted on his account, hours after a whistleblower […]
by Huw GRIFFITH LOS ANGELES, United State (AFP) — The US Coast Guard is investigating a possible anchor strike as the cause of a broken pipeline that has spewed tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the sea off California, media reported Tuesday. Emergency responders say up to 131,000 gallons of thick, sticky fuel have fouled waters that are home to seals, dolphins and whales since a pipeline ruptured at the weekend. A […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Drug maker Johnson & Johnson asked the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday to authorize booster shots of its Covid-19 vaccine for people over the age of 18. “Our clinical program has found that a booster of our Covid-19 vaccine increases levels of protection for those who have received our single-shot vaccine to 94 percent,” said Mathai Mammen, global head of research and development at J&J. J&J said […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s health ministry said Thursday it would give third doses of coronavirus vaccines to the over-70s, hoping to improve their protection against Covid-19. The National Public Health Commission has decided to offer the booster jab vaccinations from late October to elderly people who received a second vaccine dose more than six months ago, the ministry said in a statement. Spain had until now only offered third doses to care home residents […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen warned of “catastrophic consequences” if the island were to fall to China and vowed to “do whatever it takes” to guard against threats in an article published on Tuesday. Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by China, which views the self-ruled democratic island as its territory to be re-taken one day, by force if necessary. President Xi Jinping has described the seizure of Taiwan as […]
