International

Australian firm recalls US Covid tests over false positives

  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 […]

Zuckerberg says claim Facebook put profits over safety ‘just not true’

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 […]

US Coast Guard probes anchor strike over California oil spill: report

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 […]

J&J asks US FDA to authorize booster shots of Covid vaccine

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 […]

Spain to give over-70s third dose of Covid vaccine

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 […]

Tsai warns of ‘catastrophic consequences’ if Taiwan falls

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 […]

Awful truth: Child sex abuse in the Catholic Church

  PARIS, France (AFP) — The Catholic Church has been repeatedly rocked by child sex abuse scandals over the last three decades. An independent inquiry on Tuesday found there were 216,000 victims of French clergy between 1950 and 2020. It is the latest in a series of landmark reports and investigations that have helped lift the “veil of silence” around the crimes. – Australia – After a series of scandals, Australia’s government set up a […]

Russia reports record daily coronavirus deaths

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Tuesday recorded its highest daily coronavirus death toll as cases linked to the Delta variant spike amid a lacklustre vaccination drive and few anti-virus restrictions. A government tally reported 895 fatalities over the past 24 hours, a record in Russia since the start of the pandemic. The new figure brings total deaths from Covid-19 to 211,696 — the highest in Europe. Authorities have been accused of playing down the […]

French Catholic Church inquiry finds 216,000 sex abuse victims from 1950

  by Karine PERRET and Joseph SCHMID Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — An independent inquiry into alleged sex abuse of minors by French Catholic priests, deacons and other clergy has found some 216,000 victims from 1950 to 2020, a “massive phenomenon” that was covered up for decades by a “veil of silence.” The landmark report, released Tuesday after two and a half years of investigations, follows widespread outrage over a string of sex […]

Cardinal on trial as Vatican financial scandal case resumes

  VATICAN CITY (AFP) — The trial of a once powerful Catholic cardinal and nine others resumes Tuesday at the Vatican over alleged financial fraud and a disastrous London property deal paid for with charity funds. Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who served as the equivalent of chief of staff for Pope Francis at the time of the deal and was later fired from another post, is being tried alongside high-rolling London-based financiers and other Church employees. […]

India warns of possible power shortages

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India is facing possible energy supply problems in the coming months due to coal shortages and a post-pandemic surge in demand, the power minister said in a report published Tuesday. His comments come as China and European countries face energy crises that are disrupting global supply chains and sending prices soaring. “Normally the demand starts coming down in the second half of October… when (the weather) starts cooling,” R. K. […]

Severe droughts dry up dreams of Turkish farmers

by Raziye Akkoc AKKUZULU, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish farmer Hava Keles stares inconsolably at withered vines of rotting tomatoes in a field that has been devastated by a series of droughts blamed on climate change. “My tomatoes, my beans, my peppers are ruined. My watermelons didn’t even grow. The cucumbers I planted have shrivelled up on the branches,” lamented Keles, 58, standing in an arid Anatolian plot in Akkuzulu, north of Ankara. Keles is among […]