SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Tuesday said it is stepping up its fight against child abuse with new tools for spotting such content and tighter rules about what crosses the line. “Using our apps to harm children is abhorrent and unacceptable,” global head of safety Antigone Davis said in a blog post. “We are developing targeted solutions, including new tools and policies to reduce the sharing of this type of content.” The […]
International
Guinea launches Ebola vaccination campaign
by Carol Valade CONAKRY, Guinea (AFP) — Guinea launched an Ebola vaccination campaign on Tuesday after a fresh outbreak of the deadly disease struck the country this month, with officials hoping to eradicate the virus in six weeks. The country reported new Ebola cases on February 13 — the first in West Africa since a 2013-2016 epidemic that left more than 11,300 dead in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The latest outbreak emerged near the […]
Italian envoy killed in DR Congo; attack blamed on Rwandan Hutu rebels
by Marthe BOSUANDOLE and Bienvenu-Marie BAKUMANYA GOMA, DR Congo (AFP) — Italy’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo was among three people killed on Monday when a UN convoy was ambushed in the country’s troubled east, violence the DRC’s president called a “terrorist attack” and that was blamed on a Rwandan Hutu rebel group. Luca Attanasio died of his wounds after a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy came under gunfire near Goma while he […]
Wife of Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo’ arrested at US airport
by Paul HANDLEY WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US authorities arrested the wife of jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman on Monday at an airport outside of Washington on narcotics smuggling charges, the Justice Department said. Emma Coronel Aispuro, 31, faces one charge of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana for importation into the United States, the department said. She was arrested at Dulles International Airport. Guzman was the leader of […]
US imposes sanctions on two more Myanmar junta leaders
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Monday announced sanctions against two more leaders of Myanmar’s junta and warned of further action as hundreds of thousands defiantly rallied for the restoration of the nation’s democracy. The United States said it was blocking any US property and suspending the entry into the country of two members of the newly ruling State Administrative Council — General Maung Maung Kyaw, who commands the air force, […]
First vaccine dose cuts transmission and hospitalization: UK studies
EDINBURGH, United Kingdom (AFP) — Data from two separate studies published in the UK on Monday, one in England and another in Scotland, have shown vaccines against Covid-19 are effective in cutting disease transmission and hospitalizations from the first dose. Analysis from Public Health England has shown the vaccine manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech reduces the risk of catching infection by more than 70 percent after a first dose. That risk is reduced by 85 percent after […]
Hong Kong Chief Executive, top officials get Chinese Sinovac jabs
(Eagle News) — Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam, along with members of her cabinet, received the first dose of Sinovac vaccines which were shipped on Friday from mainland China. Friday’s delivery of the Sinovac doses were part of the first shipmemt of one million Sinovac jabs. Lam, on Monday, Feb. 22, said that she and her senior officials decided to make the public their vaccination to set as examples to the Home Kong […]
UK’s PM eyes end to lockdown as vaccines reach one-third of adults
by Jitendra JOSHI Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set Monday to start unwinding England’s third and potentially final coronavirus lockdown, as a quickening UK-wide inoculation drive relieves pressure on overstretched hospitals. In a statement to parliament, Johnson will confirm the reopening of all English schools on March 8 in the first big step towards restoring normal life, nearly a year after he imposed the first stay-at-home […]
Boeing urges grounding of over a hundred 777s after engine fire
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Federal Aviation Administration ordered extra inspections Sunday of some Boeing 777 passenger jets, after a United Airlines flight suffered engine failure a day earlier, scattering debris across a Colorado community. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said the order meant some 777s would “likely” be removed from service. He said he had consulted with his team of aviation safety experts following Saturday’s engine failure aboard a Boeing 777 airplane shortly […]
Huge anti-coup rallies in Myanmar after junta threat
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Tens of thousands of anti-coup protesters rallied across Myanmar again on Monday despite a clear threat from the junta that it was prepared to use lethal force to crush what it branded “anarchy”. The warning came after three demonstrators were shot dead over the weekend, and the funeral on Sunday for a young woman who died from bullet wounds at an earlier rally. Massive street demonstrations have taken place since Myanmar’s […]
Dozens of whales strand at notorious New Zealand bay
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Rescuers were racing Monday to save dozens of pilot whales that beached on a stretch of New Zealand coast notorious for mass strandings, wildlife officials said. The Department of Conservation (DOC) said the pod of 49 long-finned pilot whales was found early Monday at Farewell Spit, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of the South Island tourist town of Nelson. By mid-afternoon, nine of the whales had died and […]
Russia starts giving Covid vaccine to homeless
SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (AFP) — Forty homeless people in Saint Petersburg received coronavirus vaccine jabs on Sunday, under a charity initiative that has received the backing of local officials. “Here there are many people at risk. It is important for them to be vaccinated,” said Taysia Suvorova, of the Nochlezhka non-governmental that organisation provides aid to the homeless in Russia’s second city. The 40 people receiving the vaccine are currently housed by the charity. According […]





