Foreign
90% of global poor could miss Covid-19 jab next year
December 10, 2020, 1:49 pm
LONDON – Nine out of 10 people in poor countries are on track to miss out on getting a coronavirus vaccine next year, warned a leading aid group on Wednesday. Oxfam – part of the People’s Vaccine Alliance, a global coalition including Amnesty International and Global Justice Now among others… Read More
Biden vows 100M vaccines given in 1st 100 days
December 9, 2020, 1:21 pm
WASHINGTON – US President-elect Joe Biden vowed Tuesday to have 100 million coronavirus vaccines administered within the first 100 days of his administration. Addressing reporters in his home state of Delaware, Biden cautioned against expecting a quick recovery from the pandemic, saying that in… Read More
Everest's latest height: 8,848.86 meters
December 9, 2020, 1:17 pm
ANKARA – China and Nepal on Tuesday ended a years-long dispute over the height of the world's top mountain peak, both announcing its current height at 8,848.86 meters (29,031.69 feet). The latest measurement was announced after the presidents of the two countries exchanged letters declaring the… Read More
UK begins mass Covid-19 vaccination
December 8, 2020, 9:18 pm
LONDON – Britain on Tuesday started a mass vaccination program, a move that could help pave the way to normalization after almost a year of disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old woman, was the first person to receive the jab at the University Hospital in… Read More
Russia starts mass vaccination against coronavirus
December 7, 2020, 9:41 pm
MOSCOW – Russia on Monday started mass vaccination against the novel coronavirus throughout the country. The Russians are being immunized with the Sputnik V vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. People of social professions, including teachers… Read More
Indonesia receives Covid-19 vaccine from China
December 7, 2020, 8:42 am
JAKARTA – Indonesia on Sunday received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccine from China, President Joko Widodo announced. "I want to convey the good news that today the government has received 1.2 million doses from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd.," Widodo told an online news briefing. The… Read More
China's Q3 bike exports touch 25-year high amid Covid-19
December 6, 2020, 11:38 am
BEIJING – China's bike exports hit USD1.1 billion during the third quarter, the highest quarterly tally in 25 years, buoyed by booming overseas demand. From January to September, China's output of bikes and electric bikes both posted double-digit growth, data from the General Administration of… Read More
World food prices hit nearly 6-year high in November
December 4, 2020, 12:46 pm
ROME – Global food commodity prices rose sharply in November, reaching their highest level in nearly six years. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations reported on Thursday, the average value of the FAO food price index, which reflects monthly changes in international… Read More
US coronavirus cases hit 14-M: Johns Hopkins
December 4, 2020, 9:58 am
WASHINGTON – The US surpassed 14 million coronavirus cases Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The Maryland-based school registered 14,012,378 cases and 274,648 deaths, days after the nation left the Thanksgiving holiday behind. Some 5.3 million patients have recovered from the… Read More
UNGA president calls for joint efforts to fight ‘infodemic’
December 3, 2020, 4:01 pm
UNITED NATIONS – United Nations General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir on Wednesday called for joint efforts to fight misinformation and disinformation about coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). "Aside from the virus and its impacts, another adversary has been plaguing our response:… Read More
Ex-French president dies, 94, after contracting Covid-19
December 3, 2020, 2:52 pm
PARIS – Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing died Wednesday at the age of 94 after contracting the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). His family said in a statement that he passed away at his home in the Loir-et-Cher region. He was hospitalized in the city of Tours on Nov. 17 due to… Read More
Pfizer, BioNTech apply for EU vaccine authorization
December 2, 2020, 3:13 pm
BERLIN – US drug maker Pfizer and German biotech company BioNTech have applied to the EU drugs regulator for emergency authorization of their coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine, the pharmaceutical companies announced on Tuesday. The formal application, submitted to the European… Read More
France suffers setback in fight vs. Covid-19
December 2, 2020, 12:21 pm
PARIS – France recorded a sharply higher number of infections Tuesday as it continued to make its way through the second wave of Covid-19, although the figures are still well below those of a week ago. Infections more than doubled to 8,803 after a substantial drop to 4,005 on Monday, which had… Read More
Virus 'creates coping crisis' for nearly 40M refugees
December 1, 2020, 3:58 pm
GENEVA – A report by the United Nations refugee agency and a prominent non-government organization (NGO) released Monday found that tens of millions of internally displaced people or those hit by conflict could lose out on humanitarian protection support due to insufficient funding. Almost 40… Read More
Markets buoyed by promising vaccines, but high hurdles remain
November 30, 2020, 5:27 pm
ANKARA – Promising news on the development of effective vaccines recently sent stock markets soaring, as if the war on coronavirus were all but won, but more sober observers could clearly see a number of hardships ahead. Despite three vaccines boasting effectiveness of as high as 95 percent,… Read More
Biden to require walking boot after spraining foot
November 30, 2020, 4:26 pm
WASHINGTON – US President-elect Joe Biden sprained his foot while playing with one of his dogs and will likely be in a walking boot "for several weeks," his doctor said Sunday. Dr. Kevin O'Connor, director of executive medicine at GW Medical Faculty Associates, said in a statement that initial… Read More
7 out of 10 richest people in world tech genius
November 29, 2020, 1:55 pm
ISTANBUL – Seven of the top 10 businessmen in the list of the world's 500 richest people are engaged in technology, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index data. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is at the top of the list. His wealth, which was USD110 billion in December 2019, has… Read More
Asean Secretary General cites role of media during pandemic
November 24, 2020, 8:38 pm
JAKARTA – Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Lim Jock Hoi put the spotlight on the vital role of media and journalists in building public opinion and dispelling misinformation during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. "This pandemic has… Read More
Vietnamese-drafted Asean-EU cooperation resolution adopted
November 24, 2020, 6:23 pm
NEW YORK – The United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Monday adopted the Asean-UN cooperation resolution with the backing of 110 countries, the highest number of co-sponsors for the resolution since it was first introduced in 2002. As the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) chair… Read More
UNICEF working with 350 partners to deliver Covid-19 vaccines
November 24, 2020, 4:18 pm
UNITED NATIONS – The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is working with more than 350 partners, including major airlines, shipping lines, and logistics associations from around the world, to deliver the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines to over 92 countries, as soon as doses become… Read More
