World
2 COVID-19 cases reported on Australian Open flight
The build-up for next month's Australian Open suffered a jolt after two coronavirus infections were reported on a flight from Los Angeles to the year's first grand slam on Saturday, forcing two weeks of hotel quarantine for 24 players and their entourage on board. Health officials in Victoria state, where… Read
Five Hong Kong democracy protesters seek asylum in the U.S.
Five Hong Kong democracy protesters who reportedly fled to Taiwan have arrived in the United States intending to seek asylum, an activist group said on Saturday. Their escape follows the mass arrest of democracy figures in Hong Kong under a new national security law that is part of a mounting… Read
Global death toll from COVID-19 tops 2 mil
The global death toll from COVID-19 topped 2 million Friday as vaccines developed at breakneck speed are being rolled out around the world in an all-out campaign to vanquish the threat. The milestone was reached just over a year after the coronavirus was first detected in the Chinese city of… Read
Trump plans to depart Washington the morning of Inauguration Day
President Donald Trump now plans to leave Washington on the morning of Inauguration Day next Wednesday after considering a departure on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Trump, who had already said he will not attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, is planning a ceremonial farewell at… Read
Pelosi calls for prosecution of any Congress members who might have helped pro-Trump siege
Any members of the U.S. Congress who helped a crowd of President Donald Trump's supporters storm the Capitol should face criminal prosecution, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday. The unprecedented Jan 6 attack on the seat of Congress left five dead and led the House to impeach… Read
EU states warn of risks to vaccination credibility as Pfizer slows supplies
European governments said the credibility of their COVID-19 vaccination programs was at risk on Friday after U.S. pharmaceutical firm Pfizer announced a temporary slowdown of deliveries of its vaccines. Shots developed by Pfizer with its German partner BioNTech began being delivered in the European Union at the end of December,… Read
Biden unveils plan to speed U.S. COVID-19 vaccine rollout
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Friday said he would order increased production of syringes and other supplies to ramp up vaccinations against COVID-19 and improve upon the Trump administration rollout that he has called a "dismal failure." Under Biden's plan, federal disaster-relief workers would set up thousands of vaccination centers,… Read
Pence calls Harris to offer assistance ahead of U.S. power transfer next week
Vice President Mike Pence has reached out to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, sources familiar with the situation said Friday, marking the first contact at that level between the outgoing and incoming administrations. Pence has increasingly taken on the public roles involved in government transition. President Donald Trump, despite pledging to… Read
Abbas announces long-awaited Palestinian elections
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Friday announced dates for the first Palestinian elections in more than 15 years, setting legislative polls for May 22 and a July 31 presidential vote. Abbas's Fatah party, which controls the Palestinian Authority based in the occupied West Bank, and the Hamas Islamists, who hold… Read
NRA declares bankruptcy; plans to incorporate in Texas
The National Rifle Association announced Friday it has filed for bankruptcy and will seek to incorporate the nation’s most politically influential gun-rights group in Texas instead of New York. The announcement made on the NRA's website comes months after New York’s attorney general sued the organization over claims that top… Read
