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by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The latest coronavirus wave in the United States driven by the Delta variant could soon peak, but experts warn against complacency and expect the virus will be part of everyday life for years to come. The seven-day-average of daily cases as of Monday was 172,000, its highest level of this surge even as the growth rate is slowing and cases are headed down in most states, according […]
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AFP) — There are now more than half a million people using El Salvador’s bitcoin wallet, President Nayib Bukele announced. The country of 6.6 million people this month became the first to adopt bitcoin as legal tender alongside the US dollar, which has been the official currency for two decades. “We currently have more than half a million users (of the Chivo wallet),” Bukele tweeted late Monday. The “Chivo Wallet” is […]
HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — Tropical storm Nicholas weakened as it moved inshore over Texas early Tuesday morning, with meteorologists downgrading it from a hurricane. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kilometers) per hour, with higher gusts, and was expected to dump five to 10 inches of rain over the Texas coast and upper Louisiana, weather officials said. However, they warned there could be isolated instances of storm rainfall of 20 […]
by Anastasia CLARK MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin will self-isolate after coronavirus cases were detected in his inner circle, the Kremlin said Tuesday, as Russia struggles with stubbornly high Covid infection rates. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin was “absolutely healthy” and had taken a coronavirus test, without specifying the result. Putin had been due to travel to Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe for a regional summit later this week but in a […]
HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — Storm Nicholas strengthened to a hurricane Monday as it tracked up the Texas coast just before its expected landfall, with meteorologists warning of dangerous levels of rainfall. Nicholas was packing maximum sustained winds of 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour, and was expected to dump up to 18 inches (around 460 millimeters) of rain in the Houston area, weather officials said. Nicholas is bringing “heavy rains, strong winds, and storm […]
by Anne-Sophie THILL LYTTON, Canada (AFP) — On the front lines of global warming, evacuees from Lytton, a western Canadian village destroyed by wildfires in June, are detached and bitter about the upcoming September 20 snap elections. Lytton, located 250 kilometers (155 miles) northeast of Vancouver, gained international attention for setting a new Canadian heat record of 49.6 degrees Celsius (121.3 Fahrenheit) before being ravaged days later by a fire that killed at least two […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Virus lockdown rules were relaxed for fully vaccinated people in Sydney on Monday, with small groups allowed to meet for picnics for the first time in months. Families and friends gathered in parks and at beaches, reuniting 11 weeks after an outbreak of the Delta variant brought Australia’s biggest city to a virtual standstill. The rules remain strict, with just five fully vaccinated people allowed to gather outdoors for up to […]
BRAZZAVILLE, Congo (AFP) — DR Congo’s health authorities have failed to explain where millions of dollars meant for building hospitals and other treatment centres have gone, a public accountability group said on Monday. The Congolese arm of the Publish What You Pay global network — primarily concerned with transparency in the resources sector — said it looked into 35 of 77 projects funded in the 2019 budget to the tune of 9.6 billion CFA francs […]
by Glenn CHAPMAN SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Apple released a fix Monday for a weakness that can let the spyware at the heart of the Pegasus scandal infect devices without users even clicking on a malicious message or link. The Pegasus software from Israeli firm NSO Group has been under intense scrutiny since an international media investigation claimed it was used to spy on the phones of human rights activists, journalists and even […]
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) — Floods following heavy rain in Sudan have killed more than 80 people and damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of homes, an official said Monday. “A total of 84 people were killed and 67 others injured in 11 states across Sudan since the beginning of the rainy season,” said Abdel Jalil Abdelreheem, spokesman for Sudan’s National Council for Civil Defense. The deaths were drowning, electrocution and house collapses, he added. Some […]
by James PHEBY LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — All children aged 12-15 will be offered Covid-19 vaccinations, Britain announced Monday, following the advice of four top medical officers. Britain has been one of the countries hardest hit by Covid-19, recording more than 134,000 deaths. Despite a succesful vaccination program, case rates remain stubbornly high due to the emergence of the Delta variant, and officials are anxious about them rising further now that schools have returned […]
HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — Tropical Storm Nicholas gained strength as it tracked up the Texas coast hours before its expected landfall late Monday, threatening to unleash a dangerous deluge of rainfall on the southern US state, meteorologists warned. At 2100 GMT Nicholas was located some 70 miles (115 kilometers) south of Port O’Connor on the Gulf of Mexico, with Texas’s largest city of Houston squarely in the storm’s sights, according to the National Hurricane […]
