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by Paul HANDLEY WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A mysterious affliction dubbed “Havana Syndrome” that has brought severe headaches, nausea and possible brain damage to US diplomats has many officials convinced they are under sustained attack using electronic weapons. On Tuesday, US Vice President Kamala Harris delayed for several hours a trip to Vietnam after the US embassy in Hanoi reported a possible case involving “acoustic incidents” there, raising concern she could be a target. […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — YouTube said Wednesday it has removed more than one million videos with “dangerous coronavirus misinformation” since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The statement by the Google-owned video platform comes as social media platforms are under fire from political leaders for failing to stem the spread of false and harmful misinformation and disinformation about the virus and other topics. YouTube said in a blog post it relies on “expert consensus […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — As many as 1,500 American citizens may still need to be evacuated from Afghanistan and the Taliban have pledged to allow some departures after US troops leave the country on August 31, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. Blinken told reporters that at least 4,500 American citizens of the 6,000 Americans who wanted to leave Afghanistan have departed. He said officials have been in “direct contact” with another […]
KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — A Taliban spokesman on Tuesday urged skilled Afghans to stop fleeing the country, and warned that it would not accept any extension of the August 31 deadline for evacuations. The hardline Islamist group said Americans were taking “Afghan experts” such as engineers and doctors out of Afghanistan. “We ask them to stop this process,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said at a press conference in Kabul. “This country needs their expertise. They […]
by Sebastian Smith with David Fox in Kabul Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden said Tuesday the United States intends to complete its pullout from Afghanistan by August 31 and needs to withdraw rapidly because of a growing risk of terrorist attacks. “The sooner we can finish, the better,” Biden said of the plan to evacuate Americans, Afghan nationals and US troops from Taliban-controlled Kabul. “Each day of operations […]
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Some 38 million records stored on a Microsoft service, including private information, were mistakenly left exposed this year, security firm UpGuard said Monday. The data, including names, addresses, financial information and Covid-19 vaccination statuses, was made vulnerable — but not compromised — before the problem was resolved, according to the digital security company’s investigation. Among the 47 affected organizations were American Airlines, Ford, JB Hunt and public agencies such […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Masks will have to be worn outside in Oregon, the state’s governor announced Tuesday, as the United States grapples with a surge in Covid-19 cases. The mandate, which takes effect Friday, makes the northwestern state the first in the country to re-introduce a rule that was common during the darkest days of the pandemic. “The Delta variant is spreading fast and wide, throwing our state into a level of […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in the southern US state of Tennessee and approved federal funding after devastating floods over the weekend left at least 21 dead, the White House said in a statement said Tuesday. Tennessee was hit Saturday by what meteorologists called historic storms and flooding, dumping as much as 17 inches (38 centimeters) of rain. Rural roads, state highways, bridges and hundreds of homes […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States has evacuated “more than 4,000 American passport holders plus their families” since mid-August, a senior State Department official said Tuesday. “We expect that number to continue to grow in the coming days,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We are continuing to contact the Americans who have previously registered with Kabul embassy to determine whether or not they are still in Afghanistan, and to help them […]
by David Fox, with Qasim Nauman in Seoul Agence France Presse Scores of journalists are among the tens of thousands of people trying to flee Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, fearful of violent reprisals from the militants. Despite their assurances, the Islamist group’s return to power is seen as a serious blow to Afghan media, which saw explosive growth after the first Taliban regime was toppled in 2001. – What was the Afghan media […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Food and Drug Administration on Monday fully approved Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, a move expected to trigger a new wave of vaccine mandates as the Delta variant batters the country. “The FDA’s approval of this vaccine is a milestone as we continue to battle the Covid-19 pandemic,” acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement. “While millions of people have already safely received Covid-19 vaccines, we recognize that […]
US Vice President Kamala Harris accused Beijing on Tuesday of coercion and intimidation in the hotly disputed South China Sea, as she sought to rally allies against an increasingly assertive China. “Beijing continues to coerce, to intimidate and to make claims to the vast majority of the South China Sea,” she said in a speech in Singapore, laying out her administration’s foreign policy goals for Asia. “Beijing’s actions continue to undermine the rules-based order and […]
