Tokyo elects assembly amid pandemic fears over Olympics

TOKYO (AP) — Voters in Japan's capital are electing the Tokyo city assembly amid worries about health risks during the Olympics, opening in three weeks, as coronavirus cases continue to rise. In Sunday's balloting, 271 candidates are vying for 127 seats. Eligible voters total 9.8 million people in the megacity with a population of nearly 14 million. Public opinion surveys show about 60% of respondents want the Games canceled or postponed again. Behind the fears is the lagging vaccinatio

July 4, 2021

Chinese astronauts make first spacewalk outside new station

BEIJING (AP) — Two astronauts on Sunday made the first spacewalk outside China's new orbital station to set up cameras and other equipment using a 15-meter-long (50-foot-long) robotic arm. Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo were shown by state TV climbing out of the airlock as Earth rolled past below them. The third crew member, commander Nie Haisheng, stayed inside. Liu and Tang spent nearly seven hours outside the station, the Chinese space agency said. The astronauts arrived June 17 for a th

July 4, 2021

Europe in vaccination race against COVID-19′s delta variant

Countries across Europe are scrambling to accelerate coronavirus vaccinations and outpace the spread of the more infectious delta variant, in a high-stakes race to prevent hospital wards from filling up again with patients fighting for their lives. The urgency coincides with Europe’s summer holiday months, with fair weather bringing more social gatherings and governments reluctant to clamp down on them. Social distancing is commonly neglected, especially among the young, and some countr

July 3, 2021

US plans to make airlines refund fees if bags are delayed

DENVER (AP) -- The Transportation Department will propose that airlines be required to refund fees on checked baggage if the bags aren't delivered to passengers quickly enough. The proposal, if made final after a lengthy regulation-writing process, would also require prompt refunds for fees on extras such as internet access if the airline fails to provide the service during the flight. A department official said the agency will issue the proposal in the next several days, and it could take eff

July 2, 2021

US hands Bagram Airfield to Afghans after nearly 20 years

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- After nearly 20 years, the U.S. military left Bagram Airfield, the epicenter of its war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, two U.S. officials said Friday. The airfield was handed over to the Afghan National Security and Defense Force in its entirety, they said on condition they not be identified because they were not authorized to release the information to the media. One of the officials also said th

July 2, 2021

China rejects US criticism on human trafficking

BEIJING (AP) — China on Friday rejected U.S. accusations it is failing to stop human trafficking and said Washington has no right to criticize due to its history of racial discrimination. Beijing was among 17 governments that were warned Thursday of potential U.S. sanctions over human trafficking, adding to tension with Washington. Others included Malaysia, Russia and Nicaragua. ``We firmly oppose the U.S. unfounded accusations against China based on lies and rumors,'' Foreign Ministry s

July 2, 2021

No lockdown plans in Russia as virus deaths hit new record

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities reported a record-breaking 679 new coronavirus deaths on Friday, a fourth day in a row with the highest daily death toll in the pandemic. No plans for a lockdown are being discussed, however, the Kremlin insisted. The previous record, of 672 deaths, was registered on Thursday. Russia has struggled to cope with a surge in infections and deaths in recent weeks that comes amid slow vaccination rates. Daily new infections have more than doubled over the p

July 2, 2021

Delayed doses of AstraZeneca jab boost immunity: study

LONDON (AFP) -- Delayed second and third doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine boost immunity against Covid-19, a study by Oxford University, which developed the jab with the British-Swedish firm, said on Monday. An interval of up to 45 weeks between the first and second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine led to an enhanced immune response, rather than compromising immunity, the study said. Giving a third dose of the jab more than six months after the second dose also leads to a "substantial incr

June 28, 2021

World in worst ‘cascade of human rights setbacks in our lifetimes’: UN

  GENEVA (AFP) -- The UN rights chief called Monday for "concerted action" to help recover from the worst global deterioration of rights seen in decades, highlighting situations in China, Russia and Ethiopia among others. "To recover from the most wide-reaching and severe cascade of human rights setbacks in our lifetimes, we need a life-changing vision, and concerted action," Michelle Bachelet told the opening of the UN Human Rights Council‘s 47th session.

June 21, 2021

Fever clinic and COVID kits: Tokyo 2020 shows off Olympic Village

Tokyo 2020 organisers threw open the doors of the Olympic Village to the media on Sunday, showcasing virus upgrades including a fever clinic just over a month before the Games begin. Organisers are in the home stretch before the July 23 opening ceremony, and are trying to build confidence that the mega-event will be safe for athletes and the Japanese public. On Sunday, they unveiled the dedicated virus clinic, warned that drinking in groups at the village would be prohibited and said a mixed z

June 20, 2021

'Dawn of new era': Iran's ultraconservatives hail Raisi win

Iran's ultraconservatives Sunday hailed the election victory of their candidate Ebrahim Raisi, after Washington charged the vote was unfair and Tehran's arch-foe Israel labelled him the "most extremist" president yet. Raisi, 60, won Friday's election in which more than half the voters stayed away after many political heavyweights had been barred from running and as an economic crisis driven by US sanctions has battered the country. An austere figure from the Shiite Muslim clerical es

June 20, 2021

'Practical work' summit for Biden, Putin: No punches or hugs

GENEVA (AP) -- US President Joe Biden and Russia's Vladimir Putin exchanged cordial words and plotted modest steps on arms control and diplomacy but emerged from their much-anticipated Swiss summit Wednesday largely where they started -- with deep differences on human rights, cyberattacks, election interference and more. The two leaders reached an important, but hardly relationship-changing agreement to return their chief diplomats to Moscow and Washington after they were called home as the rel

June 17, 2021

France to end mandatory outdoor masks and Covid curfew

PARIS (AFP) - France on Wednesday said it was ending the obligation to wear masks outside and would bring forwards by 10 days the lifting of a nighttime curfew, as Covid infections fall and the country‘s vaccine drive picks up. 　Prime Minister Jean Castex said the requirement for people to wear masks outdoors would be lifted from Thursday, with some exceptions, while an unpopular Covid curfew will be scrapped on June 20. 　The 11:00 pm curfew will be lifted 10 days earlier than initially

June 16, 2021

Covid-hit domestic workers lost far more jobs than others: ILO

GENEVA (AFP) -- The pandemic has taken a harsh toll on domestic workers who have lost far more jobs than others despite a decade-old international pact guaranteeing their rights, the UN said Tuesday. In a fresh report, the International Labour Organization warned that working conditions for many of the world‘s 75.6 million domestic workers had not improved since the adoption in 2011 of a convention entitling them to the same protections as other workers. And the situation has been made

June 15, 2021

Fossil fuels maintain grip on market: report

PARIS (AFP) -- Fossil fuels have held their share of the energy mix over the past decade, a report published Tuesday found, despite a drop in the cost of electricity from renewable wind and solar. Coal, oil and gas -- fossil fuels which are the main cause of global warming, accounted for 80.2 percent of final energy consumption in 2019, according to a report by the REN21 think tank. That compared with 80.3 percent in 2009. That doesn‘t mean renewables didn’t increase: they rose b

June 15, 2021

Biden to urge G-7 leaders to call out, compete with China

The United States plans to push democratic allies on Saturday to publicly call out China for forced labor practices as the Group of Seven leaders gather at a summit where they will also unveil an infrastructure plan meant to compete with Beijing's efforts in the developing world. The provocative proposal is part of President Joe Biden's escalating campaign to get fellow democratic leaders to present a more unified front to compete economically with China in the century ahead, according to two s

June 12, 2021

Coronavirus puts brakes on global plastics production

Global plastics production declined slightly in 2020 as a result of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, only the third time since World War II that output has fallen, an industry body said Thursday. Previously, only as a result of the oil crisis in 1973 and during the financial crisis in 2008 had plastics production fallen since the start of the 20th century. But last year, worldwide output slipped to 367 million tonnes from 368 million in 2019, a decline of 0.3 percent, the h

June 10, 2021

Myanmar military plane crash kills 12, including senior monk

A well-known senior Buddhist monk was among at least 12 people who died when a plane belonging to Myanmar's military crashed Thursday in the country's central Mandalay region, state media reported. Army-run Myawaddy TV said a boy was one of two survivors on the flight from the capital, Naypyitaw, to Pyin Oo Lwin, also known as Maymyo. The other person taken to a hospital was reported to be a member of the military, but several other unconfirmed reports said he later died. The plane was carryin

June 10, 2021

China vents anger at US Senators' visit to Taiwan

BEIJING (AFP) -- China expressed fury over US Senators visiting Taiwan to donate coronavirus vaccines, saying it could embolden "separatist forces" on the island. Beijing sees democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory which is to be seized one day, by force if necessary, and rages at any diplomatic attempts to recognise it as an independent nation. A delegation of three US lawmakers made a stopover on Sunday in Taipei, where they announced Washington would donate 750,000

June 7, 2021

Some Shanghai malls, residential complexes demand to see COVID vaccination proof

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -- A few malls and residentialcomplexes in Shanghai have started asking visitors to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, with one shopping centre's temporarydecision to bar entry sparking a backlash on social media. A video showing a local resident arguing with securityguards about the legitimacy of barring unvaccinated people atthe entrance of the Pacific Life Plaza in Shanghai has beenshared tens of hundreds of times on China's Twitter-like Weibo. Several vendors told Reute

June 7, 2021