A 6.5 magnitude earthquake has hit Nevada, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. The quake struck 35-miles west-northwest of Tonopah, Nevada, just after 4 am (PDT) on Friday. There have been at least four aftershocks reported. Early morning earthquake felt in DTLA. #earthquake #DTLA pic.twitter.com/2NNPnzd6nu — Sean Ward (@seanpward) May …
Read More »Nakba Day: What is the annual ‘Day of Catastrophe’ observed by Palestinians?
Nakba Day is observed on 15 May every year and commemorates the displacement of Palestinians when the Israeli state was founded in the aftermath of the Second World War. “Nakba” is the Arabic word for “catastrophe” or “disaster” and the occasion remembers the 700,000 Palestinians forced to flee as a …
Read More »Videos: Fearsome storm ravages Siberian city, ripping roofs from buildings, tossing cars down street
A powerful storm has battered the Siberian city of Chita, raining roof tiles and lumbers down upon the city streets while tossing cars and mobile garages alike down the road with terrifying ease. At least three people were injured. The Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that winds of between 25 …
Read More »U.S. senator steps aside as committee chair amid stock trade probe
U.S. Senator Richard Burr is stepping aside as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee during an investigation of stock trades he made before the sharp market downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. The Senate’s Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Burr contacted him on Thursday morning to inform of his …
Read More »Putin says fourth minister had coronavirus after cases pass 250,000
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia’s education minister had caught the new coronavirus, making him at least the sixth senior official to be swept up in the pandemic that has officially infected more than 250,000 people nationwide. But Anna Popova, a senior health official, said Russia had managed to …
Read More »Rick Bright: “We need to unleash the voices of the scientists”
Ousted vaccine director Rick Bright urged House members to make sure science — not politics — takes precedence in the US coronavirus response. “We need to unleash the voices of the scientists in our public health system in the United States so they can be heard and their guidances need …
Read More »Qatar requires face masks, violators face jail and up to $55,000 fine
Qatar has made wearing a face mask compulsory for everyone who steps outside their home, with violators facing jail time and fines of up to $55,000. The move comes as the number of reported novel coronavirus cases in the Gulf country jumped by another 1,733 on Thursday. Cabinet mandated the …
Read More »Iranian coastguards detain 4 trawlers, 8 foreign nationals in Hormozgan
Coastguards of southern Hormuzgan province have seized four trawlers and arrested eight foreign nationals on board at Bandar Abbas territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, provincial Judiciary official Ali Salehi said on Thursday. Ali Salehi said that the vessels were involved in illegal fishing. Salehi said the arrested people have …
Read More »Wall St drops on Trump’s China trade comments, economic worries
Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Thursday, extending declines for the third straight session, as comments from President Donald Trump renewed worries over Sino-U.S. trade relations and added to concerns of a prolonged economic downturn. Trump said he was very disappointed with China over its failure to contain the novel …
Read More »Trump demands Obama testify to Senate over ‘Obamagate’ conspiracy theory
Donald Trump is pressing Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham to call former President Barack Obama to testify about what the incumbent says was a plot to damage his 2016 candidacy then hobble his presidency. “If I were a Senator or Congressman, the first person I would call to testify about …
Read More »Taliban claim deadly attack on Afghan army base
Blast in the eastern city of Gardez kills five civilians and wounds 19 – including five army personnel The Taliban said it carried out a deadly attack Thursday on an Afghan army base after the government ordered forces to resume strikes against the militants. Afghan officials said a vehicle carrying …
Read More »Top EU Court Says Hungary Illegally Detained Asylum Seekers At Serbian Border
The European Union’s top court has ruled that Hungary circumvented EU law by holding Afghan and Iranian asylum seekers in prison-like conditions at a border transit zone. Hungary has come under EU criticism for its hard-line approach to migration and has been repeatedly challenged before the European Court of Justice …
Read More »Bangladesh says coronavirus detected in Rohingya refugee camp: official
The novel coronavirus has been detected in one of the camps in southern Bangladesh that are home to more than one million Rohingya refugees, officials said on Thursday. An ethnic Rohingya refugee and another person had tested positive for COVID-19, a senior Bangladeshi official and a U.N. spokeswoman said. It …
Read More »UN warns of global mental health crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic
Many people are distressed by the immediate health impacts and the consequences of physical isolation, while many others are afraid of infection, dying, and losing family members. A mental illness crisis is looming as millions of people worldwide are surrounded by death and disease and forced into isolation, poverty and …
Read More »We will not give up our independence to EU, UK cabinet agrees
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s top team of ministers agreed on Thursday that Britain will not give up its rights as an independent state by bending to the demands of the European Union in its talks on a future relationship. At a cabinet meeting, Johnson’s team was updated on the …
Read More »EU Insists Coronavirus Vaccine Be Available To All
The EU insisted Thursday that any vaccine against coronavirus must be available fairly to all countries after French drug giant Sanofi said it was reserving first shipments for the US. “The vaccine against COVID-19 should be a global public good and its access needs to be equitable and universal,” European …
Read More »State of emergency lifted in most of Japan
Japan has lifted a state of emergency imposed due to the coronavirus in 39 out of 47 prefectures, after a sharp fall in new infections. The order still applies in Tokyo, Osaka, and on the northern island of Hokkaido, where new cases are emerging daily. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said …
Read More »US jobless claims pass 36 million after nearly 3 million more file for aid last week
Nearly three million workers in the United States filed for unemployment benefits last week as the coronavirus pandemic continued to cause one of the worst stretches of job loss in American history. More than 36 million people have sought unemployment aid since the outbreak began in the US. The unemployment …
Read More »Afghan President orders troops to resume offensive against Taliban
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has ordered the military to move to an “offensive mode” against the Taliban and other armed groups after dozens of people, including newborn babies, were killed in two separate attacks in the war-ravaged nation. “I am ordering Afghan security forces to switch from an active defense …
Read More »US police shooting of medical worker revives protest anger
The police killing of a 26-year-old emergency health worker in her apartment in Kentucky has triggered a fresh wave of anger in the United States over officers shooting black civilians. Protests under the slogan “Black Lives Matter” have erupted regularly since 2012 over the shootings of unarmed African-Americans, with much-accusing …
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