A man suspected of planning a mass shooting was arrested in Texas after authorities intercepted a message that indicated he was “preparing to proceed”, the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) said in a statement on Sunday. Coleman Thomas Blevins, 28, made a specific threat to target a local Walmart store, …
Read More »Hundreds evacuated in New Zealand’s Canterbury region floods
Hundreds of people were evacuated overnight and many more face the risk of abandoning their homes in New Zealand’s Canterbury region as heavy rains raised water levels and caused widespread flooding. At least 300 homes in Canterbury were evacuated overnight as water levels rose in rivers across the region in …
Read More »US spied on Merkel, EU officials through Danish cables: Report
Danish broadcaster says the US used a partnership with Danish intelligence to spy on top European officials. The United States used a partnership with Denmark’s foreign intelligence unit to spy on European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to Danish public broadcaster Danmarks Radio (DR). The findings are the …
Read More »China, in major policy shift, announces families can have three children
China announced on Monday that married couples may have up to three children, a major policy shift from the existing limit of two after recent data showed a dramatic decline in births in the world’s most populous country. The change was approved during a politburo meeting chaired by President Xi …
Read More »Pakistan PM: Relations with India would be ‘betrayal’ to Kashmir
PM Khan said normalisation of ties with India would mean ignoring the struggle of Kashmiris. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has ruled out the possibility of normalisation of relations with India, saying such a move would be a betrayal to the Kashmiris. In a live Q and A session with …
Read More »ECOWAS suspends Mali over second coup in nine months
West African leaders condemn the coup and call for a return to democracy, but stop short of imposing new sanctions. West African leaders have suspended Mali from their regional bloc in response to last week’s coup but stopped short of imposing new sanctions. Leaders of the 15-member Economic Community of …
Read More »China reports surge of new COVID-19 cases in Guangzhou city, triggering flight cancellations
China on Monday reported a sudden surge in COVID-19 infections in the country’s south, with 18 new local cases on May 30 in the city of Guangzhou, causing a flurry of flight cancellation. Of the 27 new coronavirus cases reported by the national health authority in its daily updates, only …
Read More »Japan considers asking Olympic fans for negative COVID tests, vaccinations
Japan is considering requiring fans attending the Tokyo Olympics to show negative COVID-19 test results or vaccination records, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Monday, as a new poll showed public opposition to the Games remained strong. With the opening of the Games less than two months away, public confidence has …
Read More »ISIS still trafficking Yazidis out of al-Hol camp, Syria, local official says
The administrator of the Snuny sub-district in the north of the Sinjar district, Khadida Jougi, said on Sunday that the trafficking of the Yazidi abductees from al-Hol camp in Syria to other destinations is still ongoing. Jougi said, “trafficking networks are still in the process of smuggling the Yazidis from …
Read More »California already in throes of drought as summer looms
Summer has not even begun and Lake Oroville, the second-largest reservoir in California that provides drinking water to more than 25 million people, is at less than half of its average capacity at this time of year. It is a worrying indication of the worsening drought conditions in the northern …
Read More »COVID-19 origin: Wuhan lab leak theory is ‘feasible’, says British intelligence
British intelligence agencies now believe it is “feasible” that the COVID-19 pandemic began with a coronavirus leak from a Chinese laboratory, a media report said on Sunday, prompting UK”s Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi to demand that the WHO must fully investigate the origins of the deadly virus. The origins of …
Read More »British Army hit by multiple suicides in 15 days as despair grows in military circles
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the British Army are reeling from a spate of suicides in the armed forces, with veterans of grueling Afghanistan tours being hit the hardest. Five mostly Army veterans and at least two serving soldiers have killed themselves in the past 15 days, with campaigners …
Read More »Six dead as Taliban-fired shell hits Afghan wedding
A mortar bomb fired by the Taliban struck a wedding ceremony in a province north of the Afghan capital, killing at least six people including women and children, officials said on Sunday. The incident happened late Saturday in Kapisa province when a shell aimed at an army checkpoint hit a …
Read More »Kidnappers abduct students from school in central Nigeria
Kidnappers abducted students in an attack on a school in the north-central Nigerian state of Niger, a state government official said on Sunday. Armed groups carrying out kidnapping for ransom have carried out a series of raids on schools and universities in northern Nigeria in recent months, abducting more than …
Read More »Egypt lifts coronavirus restrictions from June 1, cabinet says
Egypt will lift restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, including easing the early closure of shops and restaurants, from Tuesday, the cabinet said. Since May 6, stores, malls, and restaurants had to close by 9 p.m. after a rise in infections. Egypt imposed strict measures at the …
Read More »Boko Haram terrorists kill 8 in southeastern Niger, says defence ministry
Insurgents from the terrorist group Boko Haram killed four soldiers and four civilians in an attack on Niger’s southeastern desert town of Diffa, the defence ministry said. At least six terrorists were killed in the raid on Friday, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. The insurgents attacked Diffa …
Read More »France’s Macron threatens to pull troops out of Mali
French president says Paris will withdraw soldiers if Mali lurches towards what he called “radical Islamism” after the second coup in a year. President Emmanuel Macron warned in comments published on Sunday that France will pull its troops out of Mali if it lurches towards what he called “radical Islamism” …
Read More »US: 2 Dead, at Least 20 Injured in Shooting at South Florida Banquet Hall
Miami-Dade police director Alfredo Ramirez III said at least two killed, 20 wounded after gunmen fired into a crowd gathered for a concert. A mass shooting outside a banquet hall in Miami has left at least two people dead and between 20 and 25 others wounded. Police say an SUV …
Read More »Israel: End of the Benjamin Netanyahu era may be near
Media reports say opposition leader Yair Lapid close to establishing a coalition that would end Netanyahu’s 12-year reign as prime minister. Israel was gripped by the political drama on Sunday over the possible imminent end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s record run as the country’s leader. After four inconclusive parliamentary …
Read More »Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City to enact social distancing
Vietnam’s business hub Ho Chi Minh City will begin social distancing measures for 15 days starting from May 31 in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, the country’s government said on Sunday. The city has seen a spike in cases related to a religious mission that has recorded …
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