Trump, on tape, presses Ga. official to 'find' him votes

President Donald Trump pressured Georgia's Republican secretary of state to "find" enough votes to overturn Joe Biden's win in the state's presidential election, repeatedly citing disproven claims of fraud and raising the prospect of a "criminal offense" if officials did not change the vote count, according to a recording of the conversation. The phone call with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Saturday was the latest step in an unprecedented effort by a sitting pre

Jan. 4, 2021

Hope fades in Norway landslide that left 7 dead; 3 missing

Norwegian officials insisted Monday that there was "still hope" in finding survivors in air pockets five days after a landslide killed at least seven people as it carried away homes in a village north of the capital. Three people are still missing. Police spokesman Roger Pettersen said search efforts in the landslide-hit village of Ask, 25 kilometers (16 miles) northeast of Oslo, are still considered "a rescue operation." But only bodies have been found in the last few days.

Jan. 4, 2021

Iran acknowledges it seized South Korean-flagged oil tanker

Iranian state television has acknowledged that Tehran seized a South Korean-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. The report on Monday alleged that the MT Hankuk Chemi had been stopped by Iranian authorities over alleged "oil pollution" in the Persian Gulf and the strait. The semiofficial Fars news agency said Iran's Revolutionary Guard's naval forces seized the ship. Satellite data from MarineTraffic.com showed the MT Hankuk Chemi off the port of Bandar Abbas on Monday aftern

Jan. 4, 2021

Greece names first openly gay minister

The center-right government in Greece named the country's first openly gay minister in a cabinet reshuffle Monday. Nicholas Yatromanolakis, 44, was named as the new deputy minister of culture after being promoted from the position of general secretary at the ministry. The government retained its ministers of health and finance and most other key positions in the reshuffle. Greece is reeling from the impact of the pandemic that caused a spike in deaths in the fall and is expected to have ca

Jan. 4, 2021

UK judge refuses extradition of WikiLeaks founder Assange

A British judge on Monday rejected the United States' request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges, saying he was likely to kill himself if held under harsh US prison conditions. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled that extradition would be "oppressive" because of Assange's mental health. She said Assange was "a depressed and sometimes despairing man" who had the "intellect and determination" to circumvent any suicide preventi

Jan. 4, 2021

Trump extends visa ban, health coverage policy advances

  President Donald Trump on Thursday extended pandemic-related bans on green cards and work visas to large groups of applicants through March 31, while a federal appeals court sided with him on a rule that requires new immigrants to have their own health insurance. The twin developments on the final day of 2020 encapsulated how Trump has made US immigration policy more restrictive without support from Congress. President-elect Joe Biden has promised to undo many of Trump's actions but it

Jan. 1, 2021

Wuhan virus cases may be 10 times higher than reported: China health study

BEIJING -- The number of coronavirus cases in the Chinese city where the pathogen was first detected may have been 10 times higher than official figures suggest, according to a study by health authorities in Wuhan. About 4.4 percent of the city's 11 million residents had developed antibodies against the virus causing Covid-19 by April, the report by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control said. That correlates to around 480,000 infections in Wuhan by April, nearly 10 times the official tally to

Dec. 30, 2020

Masked and muted Olympics will still dominate crowded 2021 in sports

PARIS (AFP) -- The rescheduled Tokyo Olympics will be the centrepiece of a crammed sporting year in 2021 as sports administrators who had their calendars wiped away by the coronavirus pandemic try to fill the gaps even as a second wave hits. While the Games will still be called the 2020 Olympics, they have been changed by Covid-19. Tokyo organisers and the Japanese government are struggling with increased costs and, despite the growing possibility of vaccination, whether to allow foreign visi

Dec. 28, 2020

'Believe in science:' EU kicks off COVID-19 vaccine campaign

Doctors, nurses and the elderly rolled up their sleeves across the European Union to receive the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine Sunday in a symbolic show of unity and moment of hope for a continent confronting its worst health care crisis in a century. Even though a few countries started giving doses a day early, the coordinated rollout for a bloc of 27 nations and nearly 450 million people aimed at projecting a unified message that the vaccine was safe and was Europe's best chance to

Dec. 27, 2020

Downtown Nashville explosion knocks communications offline

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A recreational vehicle parked in the deserted streets of downtown Nashville exploded early Christmas morning, causing widespread communications outages that took down police emergency systems and grounded holiday travel at the city's airport. Police were responding to a report of shots fired Friday when they encountered the RV blaring a recorded warning that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said. Police evacuated nearby buil

Dec. 26, 2020

[Graphic News] Record number of journalists imprisoned in 2020

　A record number of journalists were imprisoned worldwide during 2020, as governments cracked down on coverage of the coronavirus pandemic or tried to suppress reporting of civil unrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. 　At least 274 journalists were in jail as of Dec. 1, the most since the New York-based group began collecting data in the early 1990s, the report said, up from at least 250 last year. 　Protests and political tensions were the cause of many arrests, with the most m

Dec. 23, 2020

Biden says 'darkest times' in pandemic are ahead, not behind

US President-elect Joe Biden reiterated the importance of people taking necessary steps to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus on Tuesday, saying the "darkest times" have yet to come. He also highlighted the need for people to get vaccinated as quickly as possible, but insisted they must continue wearing masks and socially distance. "One thing I promise you about my leadership during this crisis, I'm going to tell it to you straight. I'm going to tell you the truth,"

Dec. 23, 2020

Biden gets vaccinated for COVID-19, tells people to follow suit

WASHINGTON -- US President-elect Joe Biden received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine Monday, setting an example for others to follow while many Americans say they are unwilling to get the shot. Biden is one of the first high-ranking US officials to have publicly received a COVID-19 vaccine after the sitting vice president, Mike Pence, got his first dose on Friday. "I am doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared, when it's available, to take the vaccine," the president-e

Dec. 22, 2020

UK flights banned as Britain warns new virus strain 'out of control'

European countries started banning flights coming from the UK on Sunday as government in London warned that a potent new strain of the virus was "out of control". Following the example of the Netherlands, where a ban on all UK passenger flights came into effect on Sunday, a German government source said Berlin, too, was considering a similar move as "a serious option" for flights from both Britain and South Africa. The Dutch ban came into effect from 6:00 am (0500 GMT) an

Dec. 20, 2020

Britain says new virus strain 'out of control'

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Sunday that the government has imposed a strict Christmas lockdown in London and southeast England because a new strain of the coronavirus was "out of control". Hancock warned that the strict measures could stay in place until the virus vaccine is fully rolled out. "We acted very quickly and decisively," Hancock told Sky News, justifying the "stay at home" order and closure of non-essential shops affecting around a third

Dec. 20, 2020

[Breaking] Trump says US 'overwhelmingly approved' Moderna coronavirus vaccine

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States has authorized a second coronavirus vaccine. "Moderna vaccine overwhelmingly approved. Distribution to start immediately," he wrote on Twitter. This follows a recommendation by an expert panel on Thursday to grant emergency use approval for Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to issue formal approval Friday. A vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech was app

Dec. 18, 2020

VP Pence prepares for jab as Moderna vaccine nears US approval

WASHINGTON -- US Vice President Mike Pence prepared to roll up his sleeve for a public coronavirus jab on Friday as the country neared approval of a second vaccine and several European leaders quarantined ahead of the Christmas holidays. Pence's move comes as inoculation efforts unfurl across the globe, with officials mounting campaigns to quash skepticism about the record-fast development of the jabs. The vice president's public injection is an effort to "build confidence among the Ameri

Dec. 18, 2020

Chinese citizen journalist to face trial after Wuhan virus reporting

BEIJING -- A citizen journalist detained in China after reporting from the Covid-19 ground zero of Wuhan will face trial later this month, her lawyer said Friday, as fears grow for her health. The coronavirus first emerged in central China late last year, and Beijing has faced accusations that it covered up the initial outbreak and silenced early whistleblowers. Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer, travelled to Wuhan in February and livestreamed her experiences on social media. She also wrote essays c

Dec. 18, 2020

Volkswagen loses top court case in EU in diesel scandal

The European Union's top court ruled on Thursday that Volkswagen breached the law by installing on its cars a so-called defeat device to cheat on emission tests and cannot argue it was merely protecting car engines. The scandal known as "Dieselgate" erupted five years ago when the US Environmental Protection Agency found that Volkswagen had installed special software to rig US emissions tests for its latest "clean diesel" vehicles. The German car manufacturer admitted to f

Dec. 17, 2020

Moon rocks in hand, China prepares for future moon missions

Following the successful return of moon rocks by its Chang'e 5 robotic probe, China is preparing for future missions that could set the stage for an eventual lunar base to host human explorers, a top space program official said Thursday. China's next three lunar missions are on track, along with programs for returning samples from Mars and exploring asteroids and the planet Jupiter, Deputy Chief Commander of the China Lunar Exploration Program Wu Yanhua said. "Exploring the truth of the

Dec. 17, 2020