This Sept 26, 2013 file photo shows historic front pages from US newspapers on the assassination of President John F Kennedy at the Newseum in Washington, DC. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP) WASHINGTON – The US National Archives on Thursday released thousands of documents related to the 1963 assassination of then-President John F Kennedy, acting shortly after President Joe Biden issued an executive order authorizing the …
US Senate passes record $858b defense act, sending bill to Biden
People pass by US National flags in Washington, DC on Jan 9, 2021. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) WASHINGTON – The US Senate passed legislation on Thursday authorizing a record $858 billion in annual defense spending, $45 billion more than proposed by President Joe Biden, and rescinding the military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Senators supported the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, an annual must-pass bill setting policy …
Biden says COVID-19 cases rising across US
People wait outside a community center as long lines continue for individuals trying to be tested for COVID-19 during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, US, Jan 10, 2022. (MIKE BLAKE / REUTERS) WASHINGTON/MOSCOW – US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that COVID-19 cases "are rising" across the country. The remarks, which Biden posted on Twitter, came as American …
NASA to conduct first global water survey from space
Members of the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) radar satellite mission test one of the antennas for the Ka-band Radar Interferometer instrument in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California in 2022. (NASA / REUTERS) LOS ANGELES — A NASA-led international satellite mission was set for blastoff from Southern California early on Thursday on a major Earth science project …
Putin: Russia will fight sanctions with shift in trade, energy flows
Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government, via a video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, on Dec 14, 2022. (MIKHAIL METZEL / POOL / AFP) President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would expand trade cooperation with new partners, to combat Western sanctions. Putin promised Russians in a major televised speech on the economy that pensions …
UN hopeful for Russian fertilizer exports breakthrough
A tractor sprays organic liquid fertilizer in a field at the Vargem Dourada farm in Padre Bernardo, Goias State, Brazil, on May 19, 2022. Fearing that the conflict in Ukraine will disrupt its crucial supply of fertilizer imports, Brazil´s agricultural sector is increasingly turning to natural alternatives, including remineralizers, or "agrominerals" — pulverized, nutrient-rich rocks that are spread on fields before planting. (EVARISTO SA / …
EU leaders head for tussle over rescue plans for industry
European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Sept 28, 2022. (Yves Herman / REUTERS) BRUSSELS – European Union leaders will argue on Thursday over how to prop up their countries' industries, which have been whacked by soaring energy prices since the outbreak of conflict in Ukraine and now face the threat of subsidy-fuelled US competition. Poorer EU countries want a …
COVID: WHO chief hopes to remove emergency tag next year
World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a working session on energy and food security during the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Nov 15, 2022. (BAY ISMOYO/POOL PHOTO VIA AP) GENEVA – The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday he hopes that COVID-19 will no longer be a global health emergency sometime next year.Addressing a press briefing in …
Germany’s half-a-trillion dollar energy bazooka may not be enough
An employee of Uniper Energy Storage inspects the above-ground facilities of a natural gas storage facility at the Uniper Energy Storage facility in Bierwang, southern Germany on June 10, 2022. (LENNART PREISS / AFP) FRANKFURT – Germany is bleeding cash to keep the lights on. Almost half a trillion dollars, and counting, since the Ukraine conflict jolted it into an energy crisis nine months ago. …
Colombia gets $55m for peace from UN multi-donor fund
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press briefing at United Nations Headquarters on Feb 4, 2020 in New York. (ANGELA WEISS / AFP) BOGOTA — A United Nations multi-donor fund will donate a record $55 million to help establish peace in Colombia in 2023, with programs focused on rural reform, protecting social leaders, and supporting conflict victims, officials and ambassadors said on …
Leak from Soyuz spacecraft cancels Russian ISS spacewalk
A routine spacewalk by two Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station was called off as it was about to begin after flight controllers noticed a stream of liquid spewing from a docked Soyuz spacecraft, a NASA webcast showed. The spray of fluid, which was visible in NASA's live video feed as a torrent of snowflake-like particles emanating from the rear section of the Soyuz …
4th British boy dies after falling into ice-covered lake in UK
A person with a dog walks through frost and mist alongside a frozen lake in Bushy Park in London, Britain, Dec 11, 2022. (MAJA SMIEJKOWSKA / REUTERS) LONDON – A 6-year-old boy became the fourth to die after the children fell into an ice-covered lake in central England earlier this week, police said on Wednesday. Police had continued to search the lake after conflicting reports …
Rising climate costs to challenge countries, companies in 2023
In this picture taken on Sept 27, 2022, internally displaced flood-affected people wade through a flooded area in Dadu district of Sindh province. (RIZWAN TABASSUM / AFP) In a year marked by yet more climate-linked floods, hurricanes and droughts, governments and companies were forced to look more closely at the financial risks and their exposure to liability. Nowhere was this more apparent than at the …
Ukrainian parliament adopts laws for membership talks with EU
This handout picture released by the Ukraine Presidency press service on Feb 28, 2022 shows Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (center), Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal (right) and Ukraine's Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk attend a signing of the application for membership in the European Union. (UKRAINE PRESIDENCY / AFP) KYIV – The Ukrainian parliament has adopted all laws needed for launching membership talks with …
Peru declares state of emergency, seeks jail for Castillo
Then Peruvian president Pedro Castillo delivers a speech during a meeting with members of the self-defense committees, the so called "peasant patrols" who act as law-and-order enforcers in parts of rural Peru, at the Government Palace in Lima on Aug 10, 2022. (ERNESTO BENAVIDES / AFP) LIMA – Peru's defense minister announced a nationwide state of emergency on Wednesday, which will take effect in the …
US reports 50 pct increase of weekly child COVID-19 cases
People wait outside a community center as long lines continue for individuals trying to be tested for COVID-19 during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, US, Jan 10, 2022. (MIKE BLAKE / REUTERS) LOS ANGELES / MOSCOW – About 41,000 child COVID-19 cases were reported in the United States in the week ending Dec 8, an increase of about 50 …
WHO may declare end to COVID emergency next year, says chief
World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a working session on energy and food security during the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Nov 15, 2022. (BAY ISMOYO/POOL PHOTO VIA AP) GENEVA – The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday he hopes that COVID-19 will no longer be a global health emergency sometime next year.Addressing a press briefing in …
Migrants tell of mass kidnappings in Mexico
Migrants wait in line for clothes and supplies in a makeshift migrant camp in the border town of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico on July 10, 2021. (PAUL RATJE / AFP) CIUDAD JUAREZ — Many of the hundreds of migrants who crossed the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juarez into El Paso this week were part of a group kidnapped in Mexico as they made their way to …
UK PM announces crackdown on illegal immigration
Members of Britain's Border Force tow into the Port of Dover an inflatable boat used by migrants who were rescued while crossing the English Channel, in Dover, Britain, April 14, 2022. (PETER NICHOLLS / REUTERS) LONDON — Britain on Tuesday said it planned to bring in new legislation to prevent migrants who cross the English Channel from remaining in the country, as the government tries …
Migrant boat sinks off English coast, at least 3 deaths reported
In this Oct 12, 2022 file photo, migrants sail after boarding a smuggler's boat on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France, in an attempt to cross the English Channel. (SAMEER Al-DOUMY / AFP) LONDON – A small boat carrying around 40 migrants has sunk off the southeastern coast of England in freezing temperatures, killing some of those on board, the BBC reported on …