President Biden says Atlanta shootings 'very troubling'

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday offered condolences to the families of victims in deadly shootings in Atlanta, calling the incident "very troubling." "The investigation is ongoing. And the question of motivation is still to be determined," Biden said after speaking to the US. attorney general and director fo the Federal Bureau of Investigation about their ongoing investigation of the shootings on the previous day that killed eight people, including four people of Korean

March 17, 2021

Eight killed in Atlanta-area spa shootings

ATLANTA (AFP) -- Eight people, most of them Asian women, were killed in shootings at three different spas in the US state of Georgia Tuesday, with a 21-year-old white man in custody on suspicion of staging all three attacks, police said. The shootings came with many Asian-Americans already on edge following a recent spike in hate crimes against the community, and triggered immediate fears that Asian-run businesses may have been deliberately targeted. Four of the victims were killed at Young's

March 17, 2021

Vatican says church cannot bless same-sex unions

ROME (AFP) -- The Vatican on Monday said the Catholic Church does not have the power to bless same-sex unions despite their "positive elements", calling it impossible for God to "bless sin". The Vatican's powerful office responsible for church doctrine, The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), issued a response to the question, "Does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex?" "Negative," read the r

March 15, 2021

AstraZeneca Shot’s European Suspensions Could Delay Vaccination Goal

The suspended rollout of AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine in some European Union countries over concerns about possible side effects could delay a goal of immunizing three-quarters of their populations by as much as a month. Limiting the use of the AstraZeneca shot as a precautionary measure could push back efforts to hit that threshold by at least a couple of weeks and potentially longer -- to September instead of August -- according to London-based research firm Airfinity Ltd. While

March 15, 2021

Myanmar declares martial law in Yangon townships after deadly day

YANGON (AFP) -- Myanmar's junta late Sunday imposed martial law in two densely populated Yangon townships after at least 18 protesters were killed in one of the deadliest days since the February 1 coup. Sunday's violence brings the number of people killed in mass protests since the military wrenched civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power to around 100, though activists and rights groups believe it could be higher. The junta has repeatedly justified its power grab by alleging widespread el

March 15, 2021

WHO insists AstraZeneca vaccine safe as jab faces new setbacks

The World Health Organization said there was no reason to stop using AstraZeneca's COVID-19 jab after several countries suspended rollout over blood clot fears, while the hard-hit United States exceeded 100 million doses of vaccine administered to its people. The WHO, which said its vaccines advisory committee was examining the safety data coming in, Friday stressed that no causal link has been established between the AstraZeneca vaccine and clotting. "Yes, we should continue using the A

March 13, 2021

Myanmar court extends detention of AP journalist

A court in Myanmar on Friday extended the pre-trial detention period for an Associated Press journalist arrested while covering demonstrations against the military's seizure of power last month. He is facing a charge that could send him to prison for three years. Thein Zaw, 32, was one of nine media workers taken into custody during a street protest on Feb. 27 in Yangon, the country's largest city, and has been held without bail. His next hearing at the Kamayut Township court will be on March 2

March 12, 2021

EU regulator approves Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine: statement

The EU's medicines regulator approved the single-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, making it the fourth jab to get the green light for the 27-nation bloc. "This is the first vaccine which can be used as a single dose," Emer Cooke, chief of the Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency (EMA), said in a statement. (AFP)

March 11, 2021

IOC to buy vaccines from China for Tokyo, Beijing Olympic competitors

Competitors at this year's Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Games will be offered coronavirus vaccines bought from China, Olympic chief Thomas Bach announced Thursday. The Chinese Olympic Committee have made "an offer to make additional vaccine doses available to participants for Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022", Bach said. "The IOC will pay for these additional doses of vaccines for the Olympic and Paralympic teams. "The IOC will also pay for two doses more that ca

March 11, 2021

Myanmar junta spurns UN appeal, kills more protesters

Spurning an appeal by the United Nations to top using lethal force against peaceful demonstrators, security forces in Myanmar on Thursday fatally shot at least 10 people protesting against last month's military coup. The military also lodged a new allegation against Aung San Suu Kyi, the elected leader it ousted on Feb. 1. It charged at a news conference in the capital, Naypyitaw, that in 2017-18 she was illegally given $600,000 and gold bars worth slightly less by a political ally, former Yan

March 11, 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech covid vaccine blocks most spread in Israeli study

Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s coronavirus vaccine blocked 94 perceent of asymptomatic infections in an Israeli study that further builds the case for the shot’s overwhelming effectiveness against the virus a year after the pandemic began. The vaccine stopped 97 percent of symptomatic cases, hospitalizations and deaths, the companies and the Israeli Ministry of Health said on Thursday. Crucially, the results were measured two weeks after the second dose, suggesting that high ef

March 11, 2021

Prince William denies British royal family is 'racist'

Prince William on Thursday defended the British royal family after his younger brother Harry and wife Meghan accused them of racism in a bombshell interview watched around the world. "We're very much not a racist family," William told reporters during a visit to a multi-racial school in a deprived area of east London. The Duke of Cambridge, son of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, added that he had yet to speak to Harry in California since the interview first aired in the United S

March 11, 2021

From suicidal thoughts to racism: Harry and Meghan unload on royal family

LONDON (AFP) -- Suicidal thoughts, a racist relative and an heir-to-the-throne trapped by tradition -- Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have lifted the lid on life inside Britain's royal family with an explosive interview that reverberated around the world. The two-hour sit-down with Oprah Winfrey by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was the most startling since Harry's late mother Princess Diana made her own bombshell revelations in 1995, and triggered similar questions about the ability of Queen

March 9, 2021

‘Not a good idea:’ Experts concerned about pope trip to Iraq

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Infectious disease experts are expressing concern about Pope Francis’ upcoming trip to Iraq, given a sharp rise in coronavirus infections there, a fragile health care system and the unavoidable likelihood that Iraqis will crowd to see him. No one wants to tell Francis to call it off, and the Iraqi government has every interest in showing off its relative stability by welcoming the first pope to the birthplace of Abraham. The March 5-8 trip is expected to provide

Feb. 28, 2021

[Newsmaker] US authorizes J&J Covid vaccine for emergency use

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States on Saturday authorized Johnson & Johnson's Covid vaccine for emergency use, giving the nation a third shot to battle the outbreak that has killed more than 500,000 Americans. The single-shot vaccine is highly effective in preventing severe Covid-19, including against newer variants, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said before giving it a green light. "This is exciting news for all Americans, and an encouraging development in our efforts to

Feb. 28, 2021

Chinese official signals changes to Hong Kong election rules

China faces a “critical and urgent” task to overhaul Hong Kong’s electoral system, Beijing’s top official for the city said, in the latest sign that authorities were mulling major changes in the coming weeks. Beijing needed to reform the city’s electoral system “to ensure that Hong Kong’s governance is firmly controlled by patriots,” Xia Baolong, director of China’s cabinet-level Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, said in a speech Monday.

Feb. 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] US coronavirus death toll approaches milestone of 500,000

The US stood Sunday at the brink of a once-unthinkable tally: 500,000 people lost to the coronavirus. A year into the pandemic, the running total of lives lost was about 498,000 -- roughly the population of Kansas City, Missouri, and just shy of the size of Atlanta. The figure compiled by Johns Hopkins University surpasses the number of people who died in 2019 of chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s, flu and pneumonia combined. “It’s nothing like we ha

Feb. 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] 2 Myanmar protesters killed by police fire, reports say

MANDALAY (AP) -- Two anti-coup protesters were shot dead by riot police who fired live rounds Saturday in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, local media reported. One of the victims was shot in the head and died at the scene, according to Frontier Myanmar, a news and business magazine based in Yangon, the country’s largest city. Another was shot in the chest and died en route to the hospital. Several other serious injuries were also reported. The shootings occurred near

Feb. 21, 2021

UK's Prince Harry to lose all honorary titles: palace

LONDON (AFP) -- Britain’s Prince Harry will relinquish his honorary military appointments and patronages after confirming to Queen Elizabeth II that he and wife Meghan Markle will not return as working royals, Buckingham Palace announced Friday. “The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service,” it said. “The honorary mili

Feb. 19, 2021

Pfizer first dose 85% effective after 2-4 weeks: study

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- The first dose of the Pfizer vaccination is 85 percent effective against coronavirus infection between two and four weeks after inoculation, according to a study published in the Lancet medical journal. 　The survey was carried out on healthcare workers at the largest hospital in Israel, which on December 19 launched a mass vaccination campaign regarded as the world‘s fastest. 　Israeli studies have found the Pfizer vaccine to be 95 percent effective one week after a se

Feb. 19, 2021