Foreign
End economic sanctions on Afghanistan, China at G20
September 23, 2021, 8:18 pm
ANKARA – China has called for an end to economic sanctions on Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. “Economic sanctions must be stopped. All kinds of unilateral sanctions or restrictions on Afghanistan should be lifted,” China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a G20 meeting hosted by… Read More
US FDA OKs Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine boosters for some Americans
September 23, 2021, 7:11 pm
WASHINGTON – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine booster shots Wednesday for adults at high risk of severe illness due to the virus, and senior citizens. The FDA's authorization applies to people aged 62 and older,… Read More
Volcanic eruptions intensify on Spain's Canary Islands
September 23, 2021, 1:41 pm
MADRID – Eruptions from a volcanic grew in intensity Wednesday on the island of La Palma that has forced more than 6,000 people to be evacuated on the Canary Islands off southwest Spain. The Cumbre Vieja on one of the smallest islands in the region has active volcanic geography. Local government… Read More
Taliban ask to participate in UN General Assembly session
September 22, 2021, 8:47 pm
UNITED NATIONS – The Taliban has sent a letter to the United Nations requesting to attend General Assembly meetings and fielded spokesman Suhail Shaheen as a candidate for UN ambassador. Amid disputes over who will represent Afghanistan at the international body, the Taliban said in the letter… Read More
Magnitude 6.0 earthquake jolts Australia's Victoria state
September 22, 2021, 4:30 pm
MELBOURNE – A magnitude 6.0 earthquake jolted Australia's Victoria state Wednesday, damaging some buildings in the capital Melbourne. A tsunami warning has not been issued so far, government agency Geoscience Australia said in a statement. The quake reportedly occurred at a depth of 10… Read More
Covid-19 jabs prevent hospitalizations, severe illness: WHO
September 22, 2021, 3:26 pm
GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday called on people to get coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines, saying 99 percent of Covid-19 deaths are among unvaccinated people. WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris was asked at a UN press conference by Anadolu Agency about… Read More
UN chief raises alarm: 'The world must wake up!'
September 22, 2021, 10:17 am
WASHINGTON – United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres raised the alarm on Tuesday as world leaders convened in New York for the 76th General Assembly, telling them to "wake up" in the face of cataclysmic challenges. Speaking as the General Debate opened, Guterres said the international… Read More
Japanese sisters declared world's oldest living identical twins
September 22, 2021, 9:04 am
ANKARA – Witness to two World Wars, 107-year-old sisters of Japan are the world’s oldest identical and oldest ever living twins, the Guinness World Records has said in its latest survey. In a statement released on Monday evening, Guinness World Records said Umeno Sumiyama and Koume Kodama… Read More
Japan to pick new premier early October
September 21, 2021, 6:38 pm
ANKARA – Japan on Tuesday decided to pick Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's successor at an extraordinary parliament session on Oct. 4, meaning a general election is likely to be held in November, Kyodo News reported. "We need to nominate a next prime minister after the elections, so we will… Read More
U.S. to ease travel restrictions for fully vaxxed visitors
September 21, 2021, 12:25 pm
WASHINGTON – The United States will no longer prohibit foreign visitors from entering the country starting November if they are fully vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the White House said Monday when announcing a set of policy changes that will ease the international… Read More
Biden seeks phone call with Macron amid submarine deal rift
September 21, 2021, 10:36 am
WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden is seeking to hold a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, US officials said on Monday, an effort to reduce tensions caused by a controversial submarine deal. A diplomatic rift emerged between Washington and Paris over the announcement that… Read More
Pfizer, BioNTech post positive vax results in children age 5-11
September 20, 2021, 9:21 pm
ANKARA – US pharmaceutical Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech on Monday announced positive results from trials of their Covid-19 vaccine in children age 5-11. The Phase 2/3 trial showed "a favorable safety profile and robust neutralizing antibody responses," said a joint statement by the… Read More
Commitment to Asean 'steadfast as ever' after UK, US pact: envoy
September 20, 2021, 9:20 pm
JAKARTA, Indonesia – The Indo-Pacific security pact between the United States, United Kingdom and Australia (AUKUS) does not change Canberra’s commitment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Australia’s envoy to the regional bloc said on Monday. AUKUS is “not a defense… Read More
Over 5K people evacuated as volcano erupts on Spain's La Palma
September 20, 2021, 11:41 am
MADRID – Between 5,000 and 10,000 people are being evacuated after a volcano began erupting on the La Palma island of Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday afternoon. Regional authorities confirmed that the evacuations have begun in the wake of the eruption, which began at 3:12 p.m. local time on the… Read More
4 space tourists come back to Earth after 3 days in orbit
September 20, 2021, 7:00 am
WASHINGTON – The first space tourists on board the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission have landed safely on Earth after a three-day voyage. After completing the first-ever mission in Earth’s orbit with no professional astronauts on board, the four tourists splashed down off Florida’s coast. The… Read More
Japan raises alert level after volcano erupts
September 17, 2021, 7:25 pm
TOKYO – A volcano erupted early Friday on an island in southwestern Japan, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to raise its alert level to 3 on a scale of 5. The JMA announced that the eruption, which occurred at the crater of Mt. Otake on Suwanose Island in Kagoshima prefecture,… Read More
Court finds Indonesian President guilty in air pollution lawsuit
September 17, 2021, 4:53 pm
JAKARTA, Indonesia – An Indonesian court on Thursday ordered President Joko Widodo and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to improve the hazardous air quality of the capital. The court found seven top officials, including Joko and Anies, guilty of environmental negligence in a civil lawsuit… Read More
EU steps up engagement with Indo-Pacific countries, including PH
September 17, 2021, 1:36 pm
MANILA – The European Union is stepping up its strategic engagement with countries in the Indo-Pacific, including the Philippines as it recognized the region’s "growing economic, demographic, and political weight" in shaping the rules-based international order and in addressing global… Read More
3 dead, 60 injured in magnitude 6 Sichuan earthquake
September 16, 2021, 1:10 pm
CHENGDU – Three people were confirmed dead and 60 others were sent to hospital after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Luxian County of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province. Among those hospitalized, three were seriously injured, according to the city's emergency management bureau.… Read More
SoKor fines Google $177-M over alleged abuse of market dominance
September 14, 2021, 9:48 pm
ANKARA – South Korea’s antitrust regulator has imposed a USD177 million fine on global tech giant Google for its alleged abuse of the market dominance in the mobile operating system and app markets, local media reported. “Since 2016, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has been looking… Read More
