International

UK expands virus vaccination campaign to over-70s

by Callum PATON LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Monday extended its coronavirus vaccination campaign to people over the age of 70, as new, tougher restrictions for all arrivals to the country came into force. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said some four million people across the country had been vaccinated — half of them aged over 80, and another 50 percent care home workers and residents. The speed of the rollout — Britain’s biggest […]

Italian 108-year-old woman gets Covid-19 vaccine

ROME, Italy (AFP) — An Italian centenarian has become one of the oldest people in the world to get a Covid-19 vaccine, months after she survived a coronavirus infection, her retirement home said. Fatima Negrini, who is due to turn 109 on June 3, received the jab on Monday along with other residents of the Anni Azzurri San Faustino care home in Milan, a spokesman told AFP. “The arrival of the vaccine for her and […]

WHO, China could have acted faster on pandemic: experts

by Nina LARSON GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — China and the World Health Organization could have acted faster to avert catastrophe during the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, a panel of independent experts has concluded. The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response said its evaluation of the start of the crisis in China “suggests that there was potential for early signs to have been acted on more rapidly”. Containment measures should have been implemented […]

UK expands virus vaccination campaign to over-70s

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Monday extended its coronavirus vaccination campaign to people over the age of 70, and new tougher restrictions for all arrivals to the country came into force. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News jabs were being offered in areas where most over-80s had received their first of two doses of the jab. The medical director for the state-run National Health Service (NHS) in England, Stephen Powis, explained […]

Guatemala police fire tear gas, disperse US-bound migrant caravan

VANO HONDO, Guatemala (AFP) — Guatemalan police fired tear gas Sunday to disperse thousands of Honduran migrants trying to reach the United States on foot, with soldiers beating back a group trying to push through barricades, AFP journalists witnessed. Security forces surrounded the migrant caravan on a road in the southeastern Guatemalan town of Vado Hondo, near the border with Honduras. Amid the deafening explosions of gas and smoke cannisters, many migrants retreated, with some […]

Japan PM vows to tackle virus as public support plunges

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pledged Monday to tackle surging coronavirus cases and restore normal life “as soon as possible” as polls showed plunging support for his government. Suga, who was speaking at the opening of a new parliament session, has only been in office since September, but has seen approval ratings nosedive over his government’s handling of a third wave of infections. The latest wave in Japan and abroad has […]

Samsung chief jailed for 2.5 years over corruption scandal

by Sunghee Hwang SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The de facto chief of South Korea’s Samsung business empire was convicted Monday over a huge corruption scandal and jailed for two and a half years, in a ruling that deprives the tech giant of its top decision-maker. Lee Jae-yong, vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest smartphone and memory chip maker, was found guilty of bribery and embezzlement in connection with the scandal that brought down […]

Escaping coronavirus lockdowns, tourists flock to Dubai

by Shatha Yaish Agence France Presse DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — As much of the world tightens lockdowns to stem coronavirus, Dubai has flung its doors open, branding itself as a sunny, quarantine-free escape — despite a sharp rise in cases. While mask-wearing and social distancing are strictly enforced, life in the tourism-reliant emirate looks much like normal, with its restaurants, hotels and mega-malls open for business. Images of sports stars and television personalities […]

Fauci says Biden goal of 100 million doses in 100 days ‘can be done’

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Joe Biden’s goal of seeing 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine injected within his first 100 days in office is “absolutely” achievable, top US scientist Anthony Fauci said Sunday, days before he is to become the new president’s chief advisor on Covid-19. “The feasibility of his goal is absolutely clear, there’s no doubt about it,” Fauci, the best-known face of the government’s fight against the deadly virus, told NBC’s […]

Global vaccine campaign gains pace as Brazil approves AstraZeneca, Sinovac jabs

  by Agence France Presse Bureaus SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — The global Covid-19 vaccination drive gained pace Sunday as Brazil gave its first injections and India pushed on with its massive campaign, while European authorities sought to allay concerns about delays in supplies. Brazil’s health regulator gave the green light for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and China’s CoronaVac to be used as the Latin American giant suffers a devastating second wave of the coronavirus. Monica […]

Biden team lays out plans as inauguration, impeachment loom

  by Brian KNOWLTON Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, Unted States (AFP) — President-elect Joe Biden’s top advisors on Sunday outlined his plans to tackle the nation’s multiple crises while balancing the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, as an historic inauguration week opens in the United States. Washington was under the watch of thousands of National Guard troops and ringed with security barriers ahead of Biden’s swearing in Wednesday, in a nation still rattled by the […]

Felix Y. Manalo Foundation, Inc. recognized as Daly City’s Philanthropic Organization of the Year 2020

Certificate Awarded to Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) Representatives for Continuous ‘Aid To Humanity’   The Philanthropic Organization of the Year, a first-ever recognition of its kind in Daly City, Californina was awarded to the Felix Y. Manalo Foundation, Inc., the socio-civic platform of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ). The award of recognition was presented by Daly City Mayor Glenn Sylvester and the City Council during a ceremony held through video conferencing […]