The move, if approved, would make El Salvador the first country in the world to formally accept cryptocurrency as legal money. El Salvador may become the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender after President Nayib Bukele announced he would soon propose a bill that could transform the remittance-dependent economy. …
Read More »Fears for rights of EU citizens still waiting for UK settled status
Backlog of 305,000 applications in post-Brexit settlement scheme prompts calls for extension of 30 June deadline Hundreds of thousands of European citizens face legal limbo if the Home Office fails to clear a backlog of more than 300,000 applications before the EU settlement scheme closes at the end of this …
Read More »Police in China apprehend suspect in knife attack that killed 6 and injured 14
Police caught a suspect in a knife attack that killed six people and injured 14 on Saturday in the eastern Chinese city of Anqing, local authorities said on Sunday. The suspect in the attack, which took place on a pedestrian shopping street, is an unemployed 25-year-old man who was “venting …
Read More »Peruvians head to polls to elect president, divided by class and geography
Peruvians will pick a president on Sunday in an election that has bitterly divided them by class and geography, with urban and higher-income citizens preferring right-wing Keiko Fujimori while the rural poor support leftist political novice Pedro Castillo. Polls in the runoff election are to open at 7 a.m. (1200 …
Read More »‘Sea snot’ on Turkey’s shores alarms residents (Pictures)
A huge mass of marine mucilage has bloomed in Turkey’s Marmara, as well as in the adjoining Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. Turkey’s president has promised to rescue the Marmara Sea from an outbreak of “sea snot” that is alarming marine biologists and environmentalists. A huge mass of marine …
Read More »Yemen launches retaliatory drone strike on airbase in southern Saudi Arabia
Yemen’s army troops and their allies have carried out a fresh drone strike on a major airbase in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern province of Asir in retaliation for the ongoing military aggression and blockade against the country. They hit sensitive targets inside the King Khalid Airbase near the Saudi city of …
Read More »Iran | Charged up and preemptive, candidates face off in first presidential debate
The candidates in Iran’s 2021 presidential election have held the first debate on live television, clashing over policy — and credentials — and offering roughly two divergent visions on how the country should be run. The debate, the first of three and intended to focus on the economy, was held …
Read More »Nicaragua police detain another opposition presidential hopeful
Arturo Cruz’s detention comes three days after opposition presidential candidate Cristiana Chamorro was placed under house arrest. Police in Nicaragua have taken opposition politician Arturo Cruz into custody, detaining a second presidential hopeful in less than a week and escalating the battle ahead of November elections in which President Daniel …
Read More »UN ‘outraged’ as death toll in Burkina Faso attack rises to 132
Burkina Faso mourns as UN chief calls on countries to redouble efforts to fight ‘violent extremism and its unacceptable human toll’. Gunmen have killed at least 132 people in Burkina Faso’s volatile north, the government said, as the United Nations chief condemned “the heinous attack” and called on countries to …
Read More »In rare public outing, Trump denounces Fauci, China; dangles 2024 prospects
Former President Donald Trump on Saturday sharply attacked U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, demanded reparations from China, and denounced an investigation into his finances in a speech in North Carolina. Speaking in Greenville, North Carolina, at the state’s Republican Party convention, Trump …
Read More »US to donate 750,000 COVID jabs to Taiwan amid China row
US donation comes after Taiwan accused China of trying to block the island from accessing vaccines internationally. The United States will give Taiwan 750,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, as part of the country’s plan to share millions of jabs globally, a delegation of US senators have announced after Taipei complained …
Read More »Roadside bomb kills 11 people in northern Afghanistan
Landmine explosion occurs hours before Taliban leaders and UN officials met in Qatar to discuss the Afghan peace process. At least 11 civilians have been killed in northern Afghanistan when their vehicle set off a land mine, local government officials said on Sunday, accusing the Taliban of planting the roadside …
Read More »First post-COVID cruise ship leaves Venice amid protest
The first cruise ship to leave Venice since coronavirus restrictions were eased set sail on Saturday, but some local residents protested over the return to normal, unhappy about the passage of giant liners through the historic lagoon city. Hundreds of people rallied on land and small boats fluttering flags saying …
Read More »Explosion in Yemeni city of Marib kills at least 14 – medical source
An explosion near a petrol station in the Yemeni city of Marib killed at least 14 people on Saturday, a medical source said. The source said that dozens of people, many of them badly burned, had been taken to Marib General Hospital and 14 of them had died of their …
Read More »Indian cities unlocking after declining COVID-19 infections
With COVID-19 infections coming down to the lowest level country-wide in nearly two months to 120,529 new cases in the last 24 hours, India’s major cities today announced significant relaxations in lockdowns in New Delhi and Mumbai. Government and private offices will be allowed to reopen with 50 percent attendance …
Read More »Putin says US threats smack of Soviet Union’s fatal mistakes
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the United States was wrong to think that it is “powerful enough” to get away with threatening other countries, a mistake, he said, that led to the downfall of the former Soviet Union. Putin made the comments during a press briefing late on Friday as …
Read More »Three US senators to visit Taiwan, trip likely to irritate China
Three U.S. senators will visit Taiwan on Sunday and will meet President Tsai Ing-wen to discuss security and other issues, Taiwan’s government and the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei said on Saturday, a trip that will likely irritate China. The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic …
Read More »Polish deputy speaker under fire over comments on Belarus opposition leader
A deputy Polish parliamentary speaker faced calls for his dismissal on Saturday after criticising Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya for meeting Warsaw’s liberal mayor. Tsikhanouskaya met Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, a member of Poland’s biggest opposition party, during a visit to Warsaw this week which she used to call for increased …
Read More »At least 132 civilians killed in Burkina Faso’s worst attack in years
The death toll from the worst militant attack in Burkina Faso in recent years has risen to 132, the government said on Saturday, after armed assailants laid siege overnight to a village in the jihadist-plagued northeast. The attackers struck during the night on Friday, killing residents of the village of …
Read More »Turkish airstrike kills at least three in a refugee camp inside Iraq
A Turkish airstrike killed at least three people and injured others on Saturday at a camp for displaced people in northern Iraq, said Rashad Kelani, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party official. The strike on the camp housing thousands of Kurdish refugees took place three days after Turkish President Tayyip …
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