Americans counting on emergency coronavirus aid from Washington may have to wait until fall. Negotiations over a new virus relief package have all but ended, with the White House and congressional leaders far apart on the size, scope, and approach for shoring up households, re-opening schools, and launching a national …
Read More »Trump, Erdoğan discuss establishing demilitarised zone in Libya
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed steps to establish a demilitarised zone in Libya in a phone call, Al Jazeera said on Thursday. Trump and Erdoğan also discussed possible ways to achieve the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya and emphasised …
Read More »Trump and allies struggle to find a focused attack on Harris…..Report
In her first 24 hours as the presumptive Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Kamala D. Harris was labeled “nasty” by President Trump, “phony” by his reelection campaign and “a far-left radical” by his surrogates. The messages emanating from Trump and his allies about the senator from California varied wildly — casting her …
Read More »Police order crowd to leave amid Portland protests
Police have declared a riot outside a justice center, next to a federal courthouse. Police said Wednesday night that some in the crowd were engaging in criminal activity, setting fires, and exploding fireworks outside the federal building. They told people to leave and used tear gas in an attempt to …
Read More »Lebanon Parliament meets after blast, government resignation
Lebanon’s Parliament met Thursday in the first session since the tragic explosion last week that changed the face of the capital and forced the government to resign. Parliament is convening outside its regular location to observe social distancing amid a coronavirus surge and because of continuous protests outside the Parliament …
Read More »Flight warning as Indonesia’s Mt Sinabung erupts again
Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung erupted again Thursday with a string of blasts that sent plumes of ash two kilometers (1.2 miles) into the sky, triggering a flight warning and fears of lava flows. The activity marked at least the eighth time that the rumbling volcano on Sumatra island has erupted in …
Read More »New Zealand was acclaimed a world leader in handling Covid-19. Now it’s dealing with a fresh outbreak
New Zealand reported 13 new community coronavirus cases on Thursday as the country tackles a fresh outbreak that ended an enviable run of more than 100 days without any locally transmitted infections. The new cluster, which now totals 17 cases, has prompted the country to put its most populous city …
Read More »Amid tensions with Turkey, Greece in joint manoeuvres with France
The French military conducted training exercises with Greek forces off the southern island of Crete on Thursday, defence sources said, as tension persisted with Turkey over disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean. Thursday’s exercise was the first manifestation of French President Emmanuel Macron’s commitment to temporarily reinforce his country’s presence …
Read More »Three Spanish tourists die in Swiss canyoning accident, fourth missing
Three Spanish tourists have died and a fourth is missing after canyoning in a river gorge in northern Switzerland. The four men, who have not been identified, went missing in the Parlitobel Gorge in the canton of St. Gallen just before 1700 GMT on Wednesday. The accident was reminiscent of …
Read More »Belarus says police detained about 700 protesters overnight
Belarusian police detained about 700 people on the fourth night of protests following President Alexander Lukashenko’s contested election victory, the former Soviet republic’s interior ministry said on Thursday. Security forces have clashed daily with protesters since Lukashenko claimed a landslide re-election victory in a vote on Sunday that his opponents …
Read More »US statisticians give Trump ‘exact same odds’ against Biden as the ones he beat in 2016
The major statistical analysis website FiveThirtyEight has US President Donald Trump’s odds of winning the November election at 29 percent – exactly the same chances he was said to have had in 2016 before he went on to win. Nate Silver’s website, named for the total number of electors in …
Read More »France to bolster Mediterranean military presence over Turkish prospecting: Macron
France will increase its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday, calling on Turkey to halt oil and gas exploration in disputed waters that has heightened tensions with Greece. The French leader voiced concern over “unilateral” exploration by Turkey in a call with Greek Prime …
Read More »Brazilian state agrees to produce Russian COVID-19 vaccine
A Brazilian technology institute said on Wednesday it expects to produce a controversial coronavirus Russian vaccine by the second half of 2021, shortly after the state of Parana signed a memorandum of understanding with Moscow. Russia has touted it as the world’s first registered coronavirus vaccine, although experts have also …
Read More »Biden and new running mate Harris make first campaign appearance
Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden and new running mate Kamala Harris made their first joint appearance on the campaign trail on Wednesday, with Biden saying Harris was “the right choice” to help him kick Donald Trump out of the White House. In a high school gymnasium in his hometown …
Read More »China warns US against ‘playing with fire’ over Taiwan visit
China warned Washington not to “play with fire” on Wednesday as a US delegation wrapped up a historic trip to the self-ruled island of Taiwan. Beijing has been infuriated by the highest-profile visit in decades to Taiwan, which it sees as part of its territory, as US-China relations plunge to …
Read More »Colombia arrests US men accused of selling fake COVID cure
Colombian officials say they have arrested two Florida men wanted in the United States on charges they illegally sold a bleachlike chemical as a miracle cure for the new coronavirus and other diseases. The Colombian prosecutor’s office said Tuesday that Mark and Joseph Grennon were arrested in the beach town …
Read More »US needs terrorists in region: Bashar al-Assad
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that the United States is in desperate need of terrorists in the region including ISIL terrorist group and seeks to support terrorists using Caesar sanctions law against Syria. Speaking to the members of the People’s Assembly’s third legislative term on Wednesday, he said, “Electing your …
Read More »Trump privately discussing replacing Defense Secretary Esper after election
President Donald Trump has privately discussed with advisers the possibility of replacing Defense Secretary Mark Esper after the November election in the wake of a number of differences between them, a source familiar with the internal debate said on Wednesday. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the two …
Read More »First batches of Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine to be delivered within a fortnight – Minister of Health
Russia’s Ministry of Health has announced that the initial batches of the world’s first registered Covid-19 vaccine will be released within just two weeks, with doctors and teachers being prioritized. Health Minister Mikhail Murashko explained that the first, due to be produced in Russian factories, would be distributed to the …
Read More »WHO seeking $76 million for Lebanon after Beirut blast, concerned about coronavirus
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday it had appealed for $76 million in aid for Lebanon after last week’s massive explosion in Beirut destroyed or damaged hospitals, clinics, and medical supplies. Lebanon was already struggling with a financial crisis and a rise in the number of new coronavirus …
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