China has blasted a “mendacious” report by the US intelligence community that concluded a months-long investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, warning Washington against politicization of the issue. The strong condemnation by China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on Saturday came a day after the US intelligence report on …
Read More »Protesters rally in France, Germany against mandatory COVID rules amid growing anger
Protesters have taken to the streets in cities across France and in Berlin, Germany, to express their opposition to the government-imposed COVID-19 regulations. The French Interior Ministry announced that approximately 158,580 protesters took part in the rallies for the 7th consecutive weekend in cities around France on Saturday. Media reported …
Read More »US troops may have shot civilians to death during chaos after Kabul airport attack: Eyewitnesses
Some of the dozens of civilians who were killed in this week’s bombing at the Kabul airport may have actually been shot dead by US troops amid the chaos caused by the blast, according to eyewitnesses. Russia Today, citing eyewitnesses reported on Saturday that not everyone who died on Thursday …
Read More »Two House Republicans introduce articles of impeachment against US Secretary of State Blinken
Two House Republicans have introduced articles of impeachment against Secretary of State Antony Blinken over the chaotic withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. South Carolina Representative Ralph Norman and Maryland Rep. Andy Harris are seeking to impeach Blinken because they say he did not give President Joe Biden proper advice …
Read More »Only 300 American citizens left to be evacuated from Afghanistan: Blinken
Only 300 American citizens still in Afghanistan are seeking to leave the country, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday, just days ahead of the US deadline for evacuations. “We are down to a population of 300 or fewer Americans who are still on the ground there, and we …
Read More »German election campaign heats up as Merkel’s conservatives slide
The campaign over who will replace German Chancellor Angela Merkel heated up on Sunday after an opinion poll showed the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) opening up a bigger lead over Merkel’s conservatives. Support for the SPD rose two points from last week to 24%, their highest result in four years …
Read More »Biden to receive bodies of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan
US President Joe Biden headed to Dover Air Force Base on Sunday to honor members of the U.S. military killed in a suicide bomb attack during the evacuation of civilians from Kabul airport last week. An Islamic State suicide bombing just outside Kabul airport on Thursday killed scores of Afghans …
Read More »Hospitals in US South are running low on oxygen amid high COVID-19 hospitalizations
Hospitals in the Southeast are running low on oxygen, with the worst-hit left only 12 to 24 hours’ worth, said Premier Inc., a hospital-supply purchasing group. This comes amid the region’s struggle over the summer with high numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Now Hurricane Ida is set to hit …
Read More »Bolsonaro says he will be arrested, killed or declared winner
Brazilian far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday said he sees three alternatives for his future: winning the 2022 presidential elections, death, or prison. “I have three alternatives for my future: being arrested, killed, or victory,” he said, in remarks to a meeting of evangelical leaders. Bolsonaro later added that the …
Read More »Police, protesters clash as thousands march against COVID curbs in Berlin (Videos)
Police tussled with protesters as thousands of people marched through Berlin on Saturday chanting slogans and waving banners against COVID-19 restrictions. Some demonstrators tried to get past barricades to the government district around the Reichstag parliament building and clashed with officers, police said. Four officers were injured, the Berliner Zeitung …
Read More »Taliban claim to enter resistance stronghold Panjshir, Massoud supporters deny
The Taliban said their fighters entered Panjshir province on Saturday without facing any resistance, Afghan news outlet ToloNews reported. “No fighting occurred, but the.. [Taliban fighters] advanced from various directions without facing any resistance. The [Taliban] forces have entered Panjshir from different directions,” said Anaamullah Samangani, a member of the …
Read More »Egypt’s Sisi and Qatar’s Tamim meet for the first time since reconciliation at Baghdad Conference.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Baghdad on Saturday, the Egyptian presidency said, the first meeting since the two countries agreed in January to end a long-running dispute. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain had agreed to end the …
Read More »Civilians were allegedly shot & killed by US forces during Kabul airport bombing mayhem, eyewitnesses tell BBC
Some of the dozens of civilians reportedly killed in a suicide blast outside Kabul’s airport, may have been shot by US soldiers amid the chaos caused by the deadly explosion, according to the BBC. Eyewitnesses who survived Thursday’s attack, which claimed at least 95 lives and left 150 people wounded, …
Read More »Hurricane Ida: ‘Life-altering’ storm to hit New Orleans, Louisiana, on Hurricane Katrina’s 16th anniversary
Hurricane Ida has been graded as a category four storm capable of “catastrophic” damage even more devastating than Katrina. Thousands on the south coast of the US are bracing themselves before Hurricane Ida is expected to slam ashore this weekend. It’s set to bring winds reaching 140mph (225kph) with torrential …
Read More »Death toll in Kazakhstan arms depot explosions climbs to 13
The death toll from explosions at an arms depot in southern Kazakhstan climbed to 13, authorities in the ex-Soviet country said Saturday, adding that three people were still missing. The blasts occurred at a defense ministry ammunition depot in the southern Jambyl region, leaving dozens injured and forcing the evacuation …
Read More »Italy says it has taken in the largest number of Afghan evacuees in EU
Italy said it has taken in the largest number of Afghans fleeing the war-ravaged country following the Taliban takeover, vowing “not to abandon” vulnerable groups after airlift evacuations end. Western nations are scrambling to get their citizens out of Kabul airport ahead of an August 31 deadline, along with Afghan …
Read More »Around 350 migrants stopped from crossing into Spain’s Melilla
Around 350 migrants tried to scale the fence from Morocco into Spain’s Melilla enclave before dawn on Saturday but none managed to get across, a Spanish government spokesman said. Spanish border forces had been alerted at around 5:30 am by their Moroccan counterparts that “a group of 350 sub-Saharan Africans” …
Read More »Health experts warn against use of anti-parasitic horse medication to treat COVID-19
Health experts in the US are warning people against the use of Ivermectin, a drug that is often used to treat or prevent parasites in horses and other animals, as a home remedy for COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said recently of a growing trend interest in using …
Read More »Islamic State ‘planner’ killed in drone strike, US says
The United States attacked an Islamic State “planner” in Afghanistan in retaliation for a deadly bombing outside Kabul airport and said there was a high risk of further blasts as it winds up its mission to evacuate civilians and withdraw troops. U.S. and allied forces have been racing to complete …
Read More »US warship transits Taiwan Strait after Chinese assault drills
A US warship and a US Coast Guard cutter sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Friday, the latest in what Washington calls routine operations through the sensitive waterway that separates Taiwan from China, which claims the self-ruled island. The passage comes amid a spike in military tensions in the past …
Read More »