Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
by Daniel Woolls with AFP bureaus The United States, Brazil, Canada, and Saudi Arabia became the latest countries Friday to restrict travel from southern Africa, where a new Covid strain labelled a “variant of concern” has been discovered in a potentially heavy blow to the world’s efforts to end the coronavirus pandemic. The World Health Organization said the new variant is more infectious than the dominant, highly transmissible Delta strain, and renamed this B.1.1.529 strain […]
Legendary Broadway songwriter Stephen Sondheim, widely credited with revolutionizing American musical theater, died Friday at the age of 91. Rick Miramontez, the publicist for the ongoing Broadway production of Sondheim’s musical “Company,” confirmed to AFP that the musical theater titan had passed away. Sondheim’s attorney F. Richard Pappas said Sondheim — known for works including “West Side Story” and “Sweeney Todd” — died suddenly in his Roxbury, Connecticut home the day after celebrating Thanksgiving […]
by Chris Lefkow WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Three white men were found guilty of murder Wednesday for shooting dead an African American man after chasing him in their pickup trucks, following a racially-charged trial in the southern US state of Georgia that gripped the nation. Travis McMichael, who shot Ahmaud Arbery, his father Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, who took part in the chase, were all convicted of multiple counts of […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Oil majors have raised gasoline prices for the sake of their own profits, US President Joe Biden said Tuesday as his administration looked for ways to lower prices at pumps nationwide at the beginning of the holiday travel season. The White House has upped the pressure on oil markets amid a spike in energy prices that has driven overall US inflation to record levels. Biden had earlier in the day […]
by Francesco FONTEMAGGI WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Joe Biden has invited Taiwan to a virtual summit on democracy alongside more than 100 countries — a move bound to anger China, which is not on the list. The conference was a campaign pledge by the US president, who has placed the struggle between democracies and “autocratic governments” at the heart of his foreign policy. The “Summit for Democracy” will take place online on December 9 […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A child injured when a car plowed into a parade in the US state of Wisconsin has died, taking the toll from the tragedy to six, a local prosecutor said Tuesday as the suspect appeared in court. Darrell Brooks, 39, was charged with five counts of intentional homicide, and now faces a sixth murder charge, prosecutor Susan Opper said. Brooks allegedly steered his red SUV into marching musicians, dancers and […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — China’s test of a globe-circling hypersonic weapon in July included the unprecedented launch of a separate missile from the ultra-high-speed vehicle, according to the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal. The test showed China’s development of its strategic, nuclear-capable weapons as more advanced than any had thought, surprising Pentagon officials, the two newspapers said. Neither the United States nor Russia has demonstrated the same ability, which requires launching a […]
A vehicle plowed into a Christmas parade in the US state of Wisconsin on Sunday evening causing “some fatalities” and injuring more than 20 people, police said. Officials were still gathering information on the incident which occurred just after 4:30 pm (2230 GMT), as spectators in the town of Waukesha, a Milwaukee suburb, watched the annual tradition. “The Waukesha Christmas parade was taking place when a red SUV broke through the barricades, westbound, headed down […]
by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States authorized the Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccine boosters for all people aged 18 and older on Friday, as the world’s hardest-hit country enters a new winter wave of the pandemic. Boosters were previously available to the immune compromised, people over 65, those at high risk of severe disease, and people in high risk occupations. The new decision “helps to […]
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Apple on Wednesday said it will begin allowing people to fix gadgets they buy from the Silicon Valley giant in a concession seen as a victory for “right-to-repair” advocates. The iPhone and Mac computer maker has long restricted repairs to technicians at “Genius bars” in its shops or at authorized service centers, where device owners often meet with lengthy waits and costly tabs. “We never thought we’d see the […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States wants to produce one billion more doses of mRNA vaccines each year, starting in 2022, both for the current pandemic and future threats, officials said Wednesday. “The goal of this program is to expand existing capacity by an additional billion doses per year, with production starting by the second half of 2022,” said Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator during a press conference. To reach […]
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Ride-hailing giant Uber has resumed its ride-sharing service in the United States, a top executive announced Tuesday, offering customers in Miami a feature that was stopped last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The UberX Share option — formerly called Uber Pool — allows people to share rides with strangers at a reduced cost, and builds in precautions against the spread of the coronavirus. “609 days later, shared […]
