A week after declaring America’s “new chapter” of engagement with Afghanistan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will aim to form a united front with allies this week on how to tackle the Taliban and ensure continued support for the U.S. bid to help evacuate Americans and at-risk Afghans who …
Read More »US probes NY Tesla crash that killed man changing flat tire
The US government’s road safety agency has added another fatality involving a Tesla to the list of crashes it is probing due to the use of partially automated driving systems. A special crash investigation team was dispatched to a July 26 crash on the Long Island Expressway in New York …
Read More »Four Louisiana oil refineries restarting after Ida, 5 still shut
Four oil refineries in Louisiana have initiated the restart process since Saturday after Hurricane Ida knocked out most of the state’s oil processing, while five have yet to resume operations. In the last 24 hours, all three oil refineries in the Baton Rouge area and one near New Orleans have …
Read More »Spanish village hosts first bull-running fiesta since pandemic
Ten bulls charged through the streets of Villaseca de la Sagra on Sunday in pursuit of hundreds of runners as the first bull-running fiesta was held in Spain since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Villages and towns across Spain hold the fiestas but they were prohibited last year as …
Read More »Tanzania suspends second newspaper in less than a month
Tanzania suspended on Sunday another newspaper accused of false stories even though President Samia Suluhu Hassan had pledged to uphold media freedoms quashed by her predecessor. Raia Mwema, a leading Swahili-language weekly, was suspended for 30 days from Monday, for “repeatedly publishing false information and deliberate incitement,” Gerson Msigwa, the …
Read More »Maduro says Venezuela to receive first COVAX vaccines this week
Venezuela this week will receive the first coronavirus vaccines obtained via COVAX, President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday, following months of stalled attempts to obtain inoculations through the global vaccine program. The South American nation has been inoculating its population with doses acquired directly from China and Russia, following months …
Read More »Taiwan scrambles jets against flyby by 19 Chinese aircraft
Taipei says nuclear-capable bombers were among planes entering the air identification zone Taiwan’s air force scrambled on Sunday against renewed Chinese military activity, with its defence ministry reporting that 19 aircraft including nuclear-capable bombers had flown into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone. Chinese-claimed Taiwan has complained for a year or …
Read More »Afghan opposition leader Massoud says he is ready for talks with Taliban
The leader of the Afghan opposition group resisting Taliban forces in the Panjshir valley north of Kabul said on Sunday he welcomed proposals from religious scholars for a negotiated settlement to end the fighting. Ahmad Massoud, head of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA), made the announcement on the …
Read More »Germany wants to talk with Taliban about more evacuations from Afghanistan: Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday called for a dialogue with the Taliban as the group finalizes a new government that will set the tone for their rule in Afghanistan. “We simply have to talk to the Taliban about how we can get people who have worked for Germany out …
Read More »South Africa’s Jailed Ex-President Jacob Zuma “Placed On Medical Parole”: Official
The parole is effective Sunday and he will serve out the rest of the 15-month jail sentence outside the jail. South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma, jailed in July for contempt of court after snubbing graft investigators, was on Sunday granted medical parole, prison authorities announced. Zuma has been hospitalised …
Read More »Taliban holding 6 planes carrying Americans hostage: Congressman
The Taliban in Afghanistan is “holding hostage” six airplanes carrying American citizens and Afghan allies at an airport in the country, Republican Congressman Michael McCaul has revealed. McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Sunday the airplanes have been at Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport in northern …
Read More »Yemen: 16 drones, ballistic missiles used to hit targets deep inside Saudi Arabia
The Yemeni Armed Forces have used 16 drones and ballistic missiles to hit targets deep inside Saudi Arabia in their latest operation, the spokesman for the country’s armed forces has announced. “As part of confronting the crimes of [the Saudi-led] aggression against our country, our Armed Forces carried out the …
Read More »3 dead, 3 injured in Washington, D.C., shooting
Police said there might have been more than one shooter. Three people were killed and three others were injured Saturday night when a person got out of a vehicle and opened fire on a group of people on a street in northwest Washington, D.C., police said. The deceased was described …
Read More »Guinea in turmoil after the President ‘taken’ and Govt dissolved by Putschists
Turmoil engulfed the impoverished west African nation of Guinea again on Sunday as army putschists said they had captured the president and staged a coup, and the government insisted it has repelled the attack. “We have decided, after having taken the president, to dissolve the constitution,” said a uniformed officer …
Read More »At least three killed in suicide bombing in Pakistan, near Afghan border: Police
At least three paramilitary guards were killed Sunday when a suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up in Quetta, southwestern Pakistan, police said. The bomber targeted Frontier Constabulary guards in the Mian Ghundi neighbourhood of the city – close to the Afghanistan border – where Hazara Shia merchants were …
Read More »Alaska Airlines in US offering $200 to employees vaccinated against COVID-19
US-based Alaska Airlines said it will give a $200 reward to its employees who are vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a press release. “Throughout the pandemic, the safety of our employees and guests has always come first, and we are committed to protecting our fellow employees, guests, and loved ones …
Read More »Taliban say they now control headquarters of Panjshir governor, govt facilities
The Taliban said on Sunday their forces had fought their way into the provincial capital of Panjshir, the valley where opposition forces have been holding out since the fall of Kabul three weeks ago. The police headquarters and district centre of Rukhah, adjacent to the provincial capital Bazarak, had fallen, …
Read More »Indian boy dies of Nipah virus in Kerala after being hospitalized with symptoms
A 12-year-old boy has died in Kerala, India after being hospitalized for exhibiting symptoms of the Nipah virus, online news media The Indian Express reported on Sunday. He was first admitted to the hospital on Wednesday and his test samples were sent to the Pune National Institute of Virology. It …
Read More »Top US generals lined their pockets off the Afghanistan war
The top generals who commanded American forces in Afghanistan have amassed fortunes from their postings there despite their disastrous conduct in the occupied country. Eight American generals leading foreign forces in Afghanistan, including United States Army General Stanley McChrystal, who sought and supervised the 2009 American troop surge, went on …
Read More »Hurricane Ida toll rises with more nursing home deaths in Louisiana
Hurricane Ida’s death toll rose on Saturday, nearly a week after making landfall in Louisiana, with two more evacuated nursing home residents among the confirmed dead, authorities said. Northeastern states started the Labor Day holiday weekend digging through debris left by the deadly deluge that killed more than 44 people …
Read More »