Three people were killed Saturday when an earthquake struck the Indonesian tourist island Bali, the disaster agency said. The 4.8 magnitude quake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (six miles) northeast of the town of Banjar Wanasari. Shallow quakes tend to do more damage than deep tremors. …
Read More »Biden says he’s open to shortening length of new programs
President Joe Biden says he would prefer to cut the duration of programs in his big social services and climate change package rather than eliminate some entirely, as Democrats struggle to win support from moderates by trimming what had been a $3.5 trillion proposal. Biden’s comments on Friday, reassuring progressives …
Read More »Iran says Aliyev’s trafficking accusations serve Israel, harm ties with Azerbaijan
Iran has vehemently rejected as “surprising” and “fake” accusations by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev that Tehran cooperated with Armenia on organized drug trafficking, saying such claims only serve the Israeli regime’s interests and harm the fraternal relations between Tehran and Baku. “Unfortunately, it seems that despite the positive and private …
Read More »UK PM Johnson visits church where lawmaker was stabbed to death by terrorist
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday visited the church where lawmaker David Amess was stabbed to death a day earlier in what police say they are treating as a terrorist attack. Amess, 69, from Johnson’s Conservative Party, was knifed repeatedly in the attack at about midday on Friday in …
Read More »Lebanon’s Hezbollah says will not be dragged into civil war
Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement says it will not be dragged into a civil war, despite martyring of seven Shia Muslims during recent violence, which is blamed on the Christian Lebanese Forces (LF) Party. At least seven people were martyred and 60 others injured in an attack on Thursday, during which …
Read More »Cambridge University halts $550mn deal with UAE over Pegasus spyware
The proposed $550 million deal between the University of Cambridge and the United Arab Emirates is on hold due to the Persian Gulf state’s use of Pegasus spying software, the university’s vice-chancellor has said. Cambridge’s outgoing vice-chancellor, Stephen Toope, said in an interview that “the revelations about Pegasus caused us to …
Read More »Israeli settlers violently attack Palestinian olive farmers
A group of Palestinian farmers harvesting their olive trees in the occupied West Bank have been attacked by around 30 Israeli settlers, according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency. The Friday attack, which left four people injured, began when Israeli settlers descended from a nearby settlement, hurling stones and spraying …
Read More »Amid outcry, calls mount for urgent action to protect Afghan Shias
Global condemnations continue to pour in after terrorist bombers attacked a Shia mosque in southern Afghanistan and martyred dozens of worshipers attending Friday prayers. At least 47 people were martyred and more than 80 others wounded after an explosion went off inside the Bibi Fatima mosque in the Afghan city …
Read More »Russia chases away US warship during joint drills with China
Russia says its naval forces have chased away a US Navy destroyer that attempted to cross the Russian sea border in the Sea of Japan. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the US destroyer USS Chafee sailed close to the Russian waters in the Peter the Great Gulf on …
Read More »Putin says Daesh terrorists amassing in Afghanistan
Russian President Vladimir Putin says hundreds of Daesh terrorists are amassing in northern Afghanistan and plan to infiltrate into ex-Soviet Central Asian countries. “According to our intelligence, the number of (Daesh) members alone in northern Afghanistan is about 2,000 people,” Putin said during a video conference meeting with leaders of …
Read More »Biden prepares to resume Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ asylum policy in November
US President Joe Biden’s administration is taking steps to restart by mid-November a program begun under his predecessor Donald Trump that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for US court hearings after a federal court deemed the termination of the program unjustified, US officials said Thursday. The administration, however, …
Read More »COVID testing site suspended in UK over delivering false negatives
A COVID-19 testing site in central England has been suspended after it was revealed that it had been wrongly giving negative PCR test results to people who were infected. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Friday that between September 8 and October 12, an estimated 43,000 people, mainly in …
Read More »Sudan’s PM Hamdok unveils roadmap with political players to end crisis
Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok said on state TV on Friday that he agreed with main political players on a roadmap to end the crisis. The PM added in a live TV broadcast the country will arrange an international donors conference to tackle East Sudan issues saying the transitional period …
Read More »US House speaker scolds media for not ‘selling’ $3.5 trillion spending bill
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has reprimanded the media and urged journalists to do a better job of selling Democratic President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill to the American public. “You all could do a better job of selling this, to be frank. Every time I come here, I …
Read More »Biden prepares to resume Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ asylum policy
US President Joe Biden’s administration is taking steps to restart by mid-November a program begun under his predecessor Donald Trump that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for US court hearings after a federal court deemed the termination of the program unjustified, US officials said Thursday. The administration, however, …
Read More »Russia says it pushed US destroyer from area near its waters
Russia’s Defense Ministry said a Russian warship on Friday prevented a US Navy destroyer from what it described as an attempt to intrude into Russia’s territorial waters in the Sea of Japan. The incident came as Russia and China conducted joint naval drills in the area, and follows other dangerously …
Read More »France ends free Covid testing for all
France on Friday stopped offering COVID-19 tests free of charge for everyone, in the government’s latest effort to incite holdouts to get vaccinated against the virus. A recent negative test, proof of recovery, or full vaccination is needed to get a health pass which is required for access to cafes, …
Read More »Russia’s Putin says ISIS fighters are massing in Northern Afghanistan
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said hundreds of fighters loyal to ISIS were massing in northern Afghanistan with plans to move between ex-Soviet Central Asian countries disguised as refugees. “According to our intelligence, the number of (ISIS) members alone in northern Afghanistan is about 2,000 people,” the Russian leader …
Read More »Third day of clashes in Bangladesh of Quran ‘desecration’
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at thousands of protesters in Bangladesh’s two main cities on Friday, on the third day of religious disturbances in the Muslim-majority nation, authorities said. The protests began on Wednesday after footage emerged of a Quran being placed on the knee of a god …
Read More »UK: Thousands of people may have gotten false-negative COVID test results
British health officials said Friday that an estimated 43,000 people may have been wrongly told they don’t have the coronavirus because of problems at a private laboratory. The UK Health Security Agency said a lab in Wolverhampton, central England, has been suspended from processing test swabs after reports of false …
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