Indian court urges government action as hospitals cry help

NEW DELHI (AP) -- With Indian hospitals struggling to secure a steady supply of oxygen, and more COVID-19 patients dying amid the shortages, a court in New Delhi said it would start punishing government officials for failing to deliver the life-saving items. On Sunday, India recorded a slight drop in new infections with 392,488 from a high of 401,993 in the previous 24 hours. It also reported 3,689 additional deaths, bringing the total to 215,542. Experts believe both figures are an under

May 2, 2021

[Newsmaker] At least 44 killed in Israel pilgrimage stampede: rescue services, hospital

MERON, Israel  (AFP) -- A massive stampede at a densely packed Jewish pilgrimage site killed at least 44 people in northern Israel on Friday, with rescue workers facing chaotic crowds while trying to evacuate the injured. The disaster occurred in Meron at the site of the reputed tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a second-century Talmudic sage, where mainly ultra-Orthodox Jews flock to mark the Lag BaOmer holiday. Closed last year due to coronavirus restrictions, this year's pilgrimage wa

April 30, 2021

Tokyo 2020 organisers delay decision on local spectators until June

  TOKYO (AFP) -- Tokyo Olympics organisers Wednesday said they won‘t decide how many spectators -- if any -- can attend the Games until June, as coronavirus surges raise fresh uncertainty. They also announced athletes will have daily coronavirus tests, increased from an initial plan for tests every four days, as they firm up virus rules in a bid to build support for the postponed 2020 Games. With less than three months until the opening ceremony, parts of the country including Toky

April 28, 2021

Poland plans to ease virus restrictions by end of May

WARSAW (AFP) --  Poland will lift most of its coronavirus restrictions by the end of May, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday. “The worst in terms of infections is probably behind us,” Morawiecki told reporters, pointing to a decrease in the number of infections and deaths as grounds for “cautious optimism”. Shopping malls and museums can reopen on May 4, he said. The three first school years will also resume on May 4, while other schoolchildren wi

April 28, 2021

Biden meets Japan's leader to boost China-facing alliances

President Joe Biden is welcoming Japan's prime minister to the White House on Friday in his first face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader, a choice that reflects Biden's emphasis on strengthening alliances to deal with a more assertive China and other global challenges. Biden and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also look to counter messaging from Chinese President Xi Jinping that America and democracies in general are on the decline, after the political turmoil and international withdrawal tha

April 16, 2021

Police: 8 dead in shooting at FedEx facility in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- A gunman killed eight people and wounded several others before killing himself in a late-night shooting at a FedEx facility near the Indianapolis airport, police said, in the latest in a spate of mass shootings after a relative lull during the pandemic. Five people were hospitalized after the Thursday night shooting, according to police. One of them had critical injuries, police spokesperson Genae Cook said. Another two people were treated and released at the scene. Fe

April 16, 2021

US recommends 'pause' for J&J vaccine over clot reports

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The US is recommending a "pause'' in administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots. In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating clots in six women that occurred in the days after vaccination. The clots were observed along with reduced platelet counts making the usual treatment for bl

April 13, 2021

UN fears Myanmar heading towards Syria-style 'full-blown conflict'

GENEVA (AFP) -- The UN rights chief warned Tuesday of possible crimes against humanity in Myanmar and said it seemed to be heading towards a massive conflict like the one ravaging Syria. In a statement, the UN rights office urged countries to take immediate and decisive action to push the military leaders behind a February 1 coup in Myanmar to stop their "campaign of repression and slaughter of its people." "I fear the situation in Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflic

April 13, 2021

Chinese vaccines' effectiveness low: official

BEIJING (AP) -- In a rare admission of the weakness of Chinese coronavirus vaccines, the country's top disease control official says their effectiveness is low and the government is considering mixing them to get a boost. Chinese vaccines "don't have very high protection rates," said the director of the China Centers for Disease Control, Gao Fu, at a conference Saturday in the southwestern city of Chengdu. Beijing has distributed hundreds of millions of doses abroad while trying to p

April 11, 2021

Thailand hits new daily record with nearly 1,000 virus cases

BANGKOK (AP) -- Thailand's Health Ministry warned Sunday that restrictions may need to be tightened to slow the spread of a fresh coronavirus wave, as the country hit a daily record for new cases. The ministry confirmed 967 new infections, the highest ever in a 24-hour period, bringing Thailand's total to 32,625 cases since January last year  including 97 deaths. The expanding outbreak comes after the country kept the virus largely in check for most of last year. If the number of cases is

April 11, 2021

Britain mourns Prince Philip; leaders honor service to Queen

Britain mourned the death of Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, on Friday as the BBC interrupted scheduled programming to broadcast the national anthem, "God Save the Queen." The flag at Buckingham Palace, the queen's residence in London, was lowered to half-staff after the announcement of Philip's death. The Royal Family's website featured a black-and-white portrait of the prince, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Philip "earn

April 9, 2021

Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, dies aged 99

Buckingham Palace officials say Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, has died. He was 99. Philip spent a month in hospital earlier this year before being released on March 16 to return to Windsor Castle. Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, married Elizabeth in 1947 and was the longest-serving consort in British history. He retired from public engagements in 2017 after carrying out more than 20,000 of them. Philip was a member of the Greek royal family and was born on the

April 9, 2021

GameStop finally announces a share sale

Two months after a market phenomenon took shares of GameStop to the moon, the video game retailer said Monday that it will sell up to 3.5 million of its shares with the price still vastly elevated. The company said the shares will be sold through an "at-the-market" offering, which lets a publicly traded company raise capital over time. A bizarre stand-off between hedge funds that had heavily shorted GameStop, betting that the price of shares would fall, and smaller investors who cha

April 5, 2021

Myanmar crackdown death toll passes 500

YANGON (AFP) -- The death toll in the Myanmar military‘s crackdown on protesters has passed 500, as armed rebel groups on Tuesday threatened the junta with retaliation if the bloodshed does not stop. 　World powers have ramped up their condemnation of the military’s campaign against the anti-coup movement that is demanding the restoration of the elected government and the release of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 　Washington suspended a trade pact with Myanmar and UN chief Anto

March 30, 2021

Berlin city halts AstraZeneca jabs for under-60s

BERLIN (AFP) -- The city of Berlin on Tuesday suspended vaccinations with the AstraZeneca jab for under-60s, amid reports of further cases of blood clots among people who had received it. 　“We are provisionally stopping vaccinations with AstraZeneca for under-60s,” said the German capital‘s health minister Dilek Kalayci, adding that it was a “precautionary measure” while the city awaited an official recommendation from federal health authorities.

March 30, 2021

China's smartphone maker Xiaomi to invest $10b in electric vehicles

BEIJING (AFP) - Smartphone maker Xiaomi on Tuesday became the latest Chinese company to enter the burgeoning electric vehicle industry in the world‘s largest car market, as it announced a $10 billion investment over the next decade. 　The company, which is already among the biggest smartphone makers in the world, said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it will set up a subsidiary for its smart electric vehicle business, with a 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion) initial phase o

March 30, 2021

Thirty Years of the Southern Common Market

The Southern Common Market (Mercosur) was founded upon the signing of the Treaty of Asuncion in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The bloc is a historic achievement in the region and one of the major milestones in Latin American economic integration, which was intended to overcome the previous logic of rivalry between the countries and establish cooperation dynamics. With a population of almost 300 million and an area of about 15 million square kilometers (50 percent larger than

March 29, 2021

[Explainer] Suez Canal block could hit product supply chains

(AP) -- The cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal is holding up traffic that carries nearly $10 billion worth of goods every day, so a quick clearing of the logjam is key to limiting the economic fallout. Efforts continued Thursday to dislodge the Ever Given container ship and restore traffic on the critical man-made waterway that connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and provides a shipping shortcut between Europe and Asia. ___ HOW VITAL IS THE CANAL TO SHIPPING? About 10% of all global tr

March 26, 2021

Pope decries shame of racism, like 'virus' lurking in wait

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Francis on Sunday denounced racism, likening it to a virus that lurks in waiting and only to emerge and show that “our supposed social progress is not as real or definitive” as people think. Francis tweeted on racism on the date that the United Nations marks as International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The pope likened racism to a "a virus that quickly mutates and, instead of disappearing, goes into hiding, and lurks in waiting.

March 21, 2021

China urges unhurried public to get vaccinated against COVID

BEIJING (AP) -- In China, the problem doesn't seem to be a shortage of vaccine. Rather, with the COVID-19 outbreak largely under control at home, not enough people want to get the shot. Chinese health officials appealed to the public Sunday to get inoculated. They also said that with vaccination not a guarantee against infection they would still require anyone arriving in China to quarantine for 14 days, even if they have received a vaccine. "China will continue the current prevention co

March 21, 2021