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by Julia Rios with Sean Chang in Taipei MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AFP) — Nicaragua switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China on Thursday, meaning just 14 nations now recognize the democratic island that Beijing has vowed to one day seize. The announcement is a diplomatic coup for China as it tries to keep Taiwan isolated on the world stage and as Taipei strengthens ties with multiple unofficial Western friends such as the United States. China has […]
DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader has discussed regional security with Qatar during his first visit since the kingdom ended a four-year blockade, official media said. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived late on Wednesday as part of a Gulf tour, nearly a year after relations were restored in January. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha over allegations it supported extremists and was too close […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia will dispatch virus specialists to South Africa to establish a Covid-19 lab there after the discovery of the new variant Omicron. Russia’s leader made the pledge during a telephone call with his counterpart from South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, who thanked Russia for its cooperation, the Kremlin said in a statement. “An agreement was reached to send a group of Russian virologists, epidemiologists, researchers and […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday expanded authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid booster to include 16- and 17-year-olds, amid growing concern over the Omicron variant’s ability to overcome immunity conferred by two shots. The FDA’s decision comes a day after the companies released the results of lab tests that showed three doses appeared effective against Omicron, while two doses were probably not enough to stop infection — […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand announced plans Thursday to effectively ban smoking by progressively lifting the age at which tobacco products can be bought, in a “world-first” bid that means today’s young teens will never be able to buy cigarettes legally. New Zealand currently outlaws tobacco sales to under-18s and Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said that from 2027, the age ban would increase by one year annually to keep the cohort smoke […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s drug authority has granted emergency approval for the country’s first specialized treatment against Covid-19, found in clinical trials to significantly reduce hospitalizations and deaths among high-risk patients. The move comes as regulators around the world give the green light to treatments — particularly for high-risk groups — amid worries over the new Omicron variant. China is also grappling with a growing number of studies that show its vaccines have lower […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A father and son have been arrested on charges of starting a huge forest fire that burned more than 200,000 acres in northern California this summer, local officials said. David Smith, 66, and Travis Smith, 32, were charged with starting a fire which led to the conflagration known as the Caldor Fire on August 14 near Lake Tahoe, a densely forested area popular with tourists. It took firefighters 67 […]
by Sebastian Smith WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden, who took office amid the biggest US political crisis in decades, hosts representatives of more than 100 countries for a democracy summit Thursday that is drawing fire from China and Russia. The event, held by video link because of the coronavirus pandemic, is billed by the White House as US leadership in an existential struggle between democracies and powerful autocracies or dictatorships. “Make no […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The CEO who last week laid off 900 employees in a single Zoom call has apologized after he attracted sharp criticism when the video was posted on social media. Vishal Garg, head of online mortgage originator Better.com, convened employees over the video streaming platform and told them “if you are on this call, you are part of the unlucky group being laid off,” according to a video posted online. […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A woman in her sixties was found dead in a car that was stuck on rocks in a river just yards from Niagara Falls on the US-Canadian border on Wednesday, police said. The discovery of the car with a body inside it triggered a dramatic Coast Guard helicopter recovery of the woman’s remains, although the car remained in the rapids after the body was recovered. Police in the city […]
by Anastasia CLARK BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AFP) — A Japanese billionaire arrived at the International Space Station on Wednesday, marking Russia’s return to space tourism after a decade-long pause that saw the rise of competition from the United States. Online fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan earlier on Wednesday. They docked with the Poisk module of the Russian segment of the ISS at 1340 GMT, […]
DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Qatar on Wednesday as part of a Gulf tour, marking his first visit to the country after the two sides severed ties four years ago. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut all links with Qatar in June 2017, alleging it backed radical Islamist groups and was too close to Riyadh’s rival Tehran — allegations Doha denied. But relations […]
