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by By Becca Milfeld with Kang Jin-kyu in Seoul Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden warned North Korea Thursday that the United States will “respond accordingly” if it escalates its weapons testing, after Pyongyang fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea in its first substantive provocation of the new US administration. The nuclear-armed North has a long history of using weapons tests to ramp up tensions, […]
by Jeremie RICHARD ICELAND (AFP) — A volcanic eruption in Iceland has transformed a tranquil green valley into an ominous-looking scene, its first dark secrets beginning to emerge as volcanologists suggest the eruption could last longer than previously thought. Experts had initially predicted that the eruption of the fissure near Mount Fagradalsfjall, just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the capital Reykjavik, would be brief, likely dying out after a few days. But due to the […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — New filings for regular unemployment benefits in the United States dropped to 684,000 last week, the government said Thursday, their first reading below 700,000 since the pandemic sparked mass layoffs. The result was much better than analysts forecast and comes as Covid-19 vaccinations offer hope the economy can recover this year — but in a sign of the virus’s ongoing toll, 241,745 new claims were received in the week ended […]
CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — The owners of a giant container vessel blocking the Suez Canal said Thursday they were facing “extreme difficulty” refloating it, prompting Egypt to suspend navigation through one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. Shipping analysts warned the suspension could last days or even weeks, forcing businesses to consider diverting their cargos to the much longer route round the tip of Africa in a blow to global supply networks. The Suez Canal […]
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — Bangladesh police Thursday fired rubber bullets and tear gas at hundreds of mainly student demonstrators who were protesting against an upcoming visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Police said the protest got out of hand as demonstrators marched in the capital Dhaka, with many throwing rocks and stones at officers, injuring at least four. “We fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse them. There were 200 protesters. We have […]
by Chris Lefkow Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Virginia on Wednesday became the first southern US state to abolish the death penalty and the 23rd state in the country to end capital punishment. Democratic Governor Ralph Northam signed legislation repealing the death penalty in Virginia, saying it was “the moral thing to do.” Virginia is the first of the southern states that made up the Confederacy during the 1861-65 US Civil […]
RICHMOND, Australia (AFP) — Flood-stricken residents along Australia’s east coast began a massive clean up effort on Thursday as waters receded, revealing damaged homes, piles of debris and mud-caked roads. The region has been devastated by widespread flooding brought on by a torrential downpour that inundated towns, destroyed farmland and left two people dead. With the rain clouds finally clearing to reveal blue skies, thousands of people in Australia’s most populous state New South Wales […]
by Kang Jin-kyu SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea Thursday, in its first substantive provocation to the new US administration of Joe Biden. The nuclear-armed North has a long history of using weapons tests to ramp up tensions, in a carefully calibrated process to try to forward its objectives. Donald Trump’s first year in office was marked by a series of escalating launches, accompanied by a […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca on Wednesday revised down by three percentage points the effectiveness of its Covid vaccine after American authorities raised concerns that results reported from its US trial were outdated. The company now says its vaccine is 76 rather than 79 percent effective at preventing any kind of symptomatic Covid. It remains 100 percent effective against severe Covid, it added. The move came after an independent panel of experts […]
by Andrew McKirdy with Sara Hussein in Tokyo FUKUSHIMA, Japan (AFP) — The Tokyo Olympics torch relay got off to a low-key start after a year’s coronavirus delay on Thursday, with fans kept away as it embarked on a four-month journey across Japan that will end at the opening ceremony on July 23. Spectators were barred from the departure ceremony and first leg over ongoing fears about the coronavirus, which forced the 2020 Games’ historic […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Africa experienced a 30-percent rise in infections in its second wave of coronavirus last year but implemented fewer public health measures than in the first, research showed Thursday. Writing in The Lancet medical journal, researchers said a loosening of public health measures such as distancing and intermittent lockdowns probably contributed to higher death tolls during the second wave. The study looked at Covid-19 case, death, recovery and test data carried out […]
by Agence France Presse Bureaus BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — The European Union on Wednesday tightened vaccine export controls in a bid to ramp up its stuttering inoculation campaign while the United States said its inoculation drive was already showing results for over-65s. Under the EU’s new rules, the bloc’s European Commission executive will weigh how needy countries are as well as how readily they export doses to the EU before approving shipments. “Open roads […]
