EU to reopen borders to fully vaccinated travellers

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- EU member states agreed Wednesday to reopen the bloc‘s borders to travellers who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, European sources said. Meeting in Brussels, diplomats also agreed to increase the level of new cases a country can hit before being declared unsafe -- a measure that would open up travel into the EU from more places. The recommendations will be adopted by EU ministers on Friday, they said. Currently, non-essential travel into the 27-memb

May 19, 2021

Israeli police: 2 killed in strike launched from Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- A strike launched from Gaza on Tuesday killed two Thai workers inside a packaging plant in southern Israel, police said, as Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers continued to trade attacks throughout the day. The projectile attack Tuesday afternoon wounded another seven people in southern Israel, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service. The service had earlier said 10 people overall were wounded. It came as Palestinians across Israel and the occupied territories

May 18, 2021

Spain, Morocco square off after 6,000 migrants arrive by sea

MADRID (AP) -- Spain deployed its military to the Moroccan border Tuesday as thousands of Moroccans walked or swam onto European soil for the second day in a row after Rabat loosened border controls in a diplomatic spat. Live footage on Spain's public broadcaster TVE showed dramatic scenes of soldiers carrying children in their arms and Red Cross personnel helping migrants who were emerging from the water shivering and exhausted. One unconscious woman laid on the sand before she was carrie

May 18, 2021

Singapore shuts schools, Taiwan bars foreigners to battle outbreaks

SINGAPORE (AFP) -- Singapore will close schools from Wednesday as authorities warned new coronavirus strains such as the one first detected in India were affecting more children. Taiwan also shut schools in the capital Taipei to control an outbreak, and the island banned all foreigners from entry or transit for a month unless they had a residency card. Both governments have been tightening restrictions to fight a recent rise in cases, after remaining relatively unscathed during the pandemic co

May 17, 2021

Israeli strikes kill 33, topple buildings in Gaza City

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City flattened three buildings and killed at least 33 people Sunday, medics said, making it the deadliest single attack since heavy fighting broke out between Israel and the territory's militant Hamas rulers nearly a week ago. A rescuer could be seen shouting into a hole in the rubble. “Can you hear me?” he called out. “Are you OK?” Minutes later, first responders managed to pull a survivor out and carried him off on an orange stretcher. Th

May 16, 2021

Singapore plans to vaccinate children under 16, minister says

Singapore plans to vaccinate children under 16 years old after a recent rise of Covid-19 infections among students in the island state, according to Education Minister Chan Chun Sing. The ministries of education and health are working out plans for the “vaccination of our students,” Chan wrote on his Facebook page. “Once the approval for use is granted, we will roll out vaccinations to those below 16.” The ministry ordered home learning for seven primary schools for th

May 16, 2021

Islamic nations hold emergency summit on Israel-Gaza attacks

The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation opened an emergency meeting Sunday over the heavy fighting between Israel and the Gaza Strip's militant Hamas rulers, the first major move among Mideast nations still grappling with how to address the conflict.  While the Arab League and organizations like the Saudi-based OIC have maintained their view that the Palestinians should have their own independent state, Israel recently has reached recognition deals with several of its members.

May 16, 2021

Elon Musk says he is first SNL host with Asperger's syndrome

Elon Musk kicked off his "Saturday Night Live" debut by declaring himself to be the first person with Asperger's syndrome to host the US comedy sketch show. "Or at least, the first person to admit it," he said. In his opening monologue, the eccentric tech entrepreneur behind Tesla and SpaceX offered an explanation for some of his past eyebrow-raising behavior. "Look, I know I say or post strange things but that's just how my brain works. To anyone I've offended I just

May 9, 2021

Tokyo gives taste of what COVID era Olympic Games will be like

The Tokyo Olympics went off without a hitch. That is, at least, at a test event at the city’s National Stadium in preparation for the main spectacle. About 1,600 athletes, organizers and media got an early look Sunday at what the games will be like when they kick off on July 23. There was a full day of 100-meter heats, hammer throws and pole vaulting to make sure the Omega clocks, jumbo displays and robots on the field were working as they should. A key focus, however, was how such a lar

May 9, 2021

British royal offers to sell access to Putin: report

Queen Elizabeth's cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, has been caught offering investors access to the Kremlin in exchange for personal gain, according to a Sunday Times and Channel 4 investigation. The embarassing claims come at a time of disastrous relations between London and Moscow, notably after the 2018 poisoning of a former Russian spy in England. Prince Michael told undercover reporters posing as investors from South Korea in a virtual meeting that for 10,000 (11,500 euros) a day he could

May 9, 2021

[Newsmaker] China says rocket debris landed in Indian Ocean west of Maldives

BEIJING (Reuters) -- Remnants of China's biggestrocket landed in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, with the bulk ofits components destroyed upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, according to Chinese state media, ending days ofspeculation over where the debris would hit. The coordinates given by state media, citing the ChinaManned Space Engineering Office, put the point of impact in the ocean, west of the Maldives archipelago. Debris from the Long March 5B has had some people lookingwarily skywa

May 9, 2021

[Newsmaker] Bill and Melinda Gates announce they are getting divorced

SEATTLE (AP) -- Bill and Melinda Gates said Monday that they are divorcing but would keep working together at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest charitable foundations in the world. In identical tweets, the Microsoft co-founder and his wife said they had made the decision to end their marriage of 27 years. "We have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives,"

May 4, 2021

UK defends aid cuts after UN warnings of deadly impact

LONDON (AFP) -- Britain on Sunday defended cuts to its aid spending, stressing the budget impact of the coronavirus pandemic, after several UN agencies warned they would translate into thousands of deaths among the world's poor. "I've found the process of making those savings very difficult," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Sky News. "We've had to make this extremely difficult decision to reduce and find savings in the aid budget, that's because of the impact Covid has had,

May 2, 2021

Indian court urges government action as hospitals cry help

NEW DELHI (AP) -- With Indian hospitals struggling to secure a steady supply of oxygen, and more COVID-19 patients dying amid the shortages, a court in New Delhi said it would start punishing government officials for failing to deliver the life-saving items. On Sunday, India recorded a slight drop in new infections with 392,488 from a high of 401,993 in the previous 24 hours. It also reported 3,689 additional deaths, bringing the total to 215,542. Experts believe both figures are an under

May 2, 2021

[Newsmaker] At least 44 killed in Israel pilgrimage stampede: rescue services, hospital

MERON, Israel  (AFP) -- A massive stampede at a densely packed Jewish pilgrimage site killed at least 44 people in northern Israel on Friday, with rescue workers facing chaotic crowds while trying to evacuate the injured. The disaster occurred in Meron at the site of the reputed tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a second-century Talmudic sage, where mainly ultra-Orthodox Jews flock to mark the Lag BaOmer holiday. Closed last year due to coronavirus restrictions, this year's pilgrimage wa

April 30, 2021

Tokyo 2020 organisers delay decision on local spectators until June

  TOKYO (AFP) -- Tokyo Olympics organisers Wednesday said they won‘t decide how many spectators -- if any -- can attend the Games until June, as coronavirus surges raise fresh uncertainty. They also announced athletes will have daily coronavirus tests, increased from an initial plan for tests every four days, as they firm up virus rules in a bid to build support for the postponed 2020 Games. With less than three months until the opening ceremony, parts of the country including Toky

April 28, 2021

Poland plans to ease virus restrictions by end of May

WARSAW (AFP) --  Poland will lift most of its coronavirus restrictions by the end of May, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday. “The worst in terms of infections is probably behind us,” Morawiecki told reporters, pointing to a decrease in the number of infections and deaths as grounds for “cautious optimism”. Shopping malls and museums can reopen on May 4, he said. The three first school years will also resume on May 4, while other schoolchildren wi

April 28, 2021

Biden meets Japan's leader to boost China-facing alliances

President Joe Biden is welcoming Japan's prime minister to the White House on Friday in his first face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader, a choice that reflects Biden's emphasis on strengthening alliances to deal with a more assertive China and other global challenges. Biden and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also look to counter messaging from Chinese President Xi Jinping that America and democracies in general are on the decline, after the political turmoil and international withdrawal tha

April 16, 2021

Police: 8 dead in shooting at FedEx facility in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- A gunman killed eight people and wounded several others before killing himself in a late-night shooting at a FedEx facility near the Indianapolis airport, police said, in the latest in a spate of mass shootings after a relative lull during the pandemic. Five people were hospitalized after the Thursday night shooting, according to police. One of them had critical injuries, police spokesperson Genae Cook said. Another two people were treated and released at the scene. Fe

April 16, 2021

US recommends 'pause' for J&J vaccine over clot reports

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The US is recommending a "pause'' in administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots. In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating clots in six women that occurred in the days after vaccination. The clots were observed along with reduced platelet counts making the usual treatment for bl

April 13, 2021