International

In this file photo taken on November 10, 2020 US Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, arrives for the weekly Senate Republican lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. — AFP pic WASHINGTON, Jan 3 — A group of Republican senators led by veteran lawmaker Ted Cruz said yesterday they will challenge Joe Biden’s election … Read more

Tanna Ingraham places a sheet over the body of a patient who died inside the coronavirus disease (Covid-19 unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas, US, December 30, 2020. — Reuters pic WASHINGTON, Jan 3 — The United States yesterday saw its highest number yet of coronavirus cases recorded in one day, with … Read more

A woman walks past a social distancing health message outside of a school in London, Britain December 29, 2020. — Reuters pic LONDON, Jan 2 — Britain’s government is under growing pressure to abandon plans to reopen most primary schools in England, with one teachers’ union demanding evidence it is safe to open and another … Read more

Vials with a sticker reading, ‘Covid-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / Injection only’ and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken October 31, 2020. ― Reuters pic LONDON, Jan 2 — Britain will allow people to be given shots of different Covid-19 vaccines on rare occasions, despite … Read more

People visit shopping centre to celebrate New Year Eve during the coronavirus disease outbreak in Bangkok December 31, 2020. — Reuters pic BANGKOK, Jan 2 — Thai health authorities today recommended tougher restrictions on businesses and people’s movement in 28 provinces, including the capital Bangkok, as the number of new coronavirus cases rises. The measures, … Read more

Fordow was built inside a mountain, apparently to protect it from aerial bombardment, and the 2015 deal does not allow enrichment there. Iran is already enriching at Fordow with first-generation IR-1 centrifuges. — Reuters pic VIENNA, Jan 2 — Iran has told the United Nations nuclear watchdog it plans to enrich uranium to up to … Read more

LIEURON (France, Jan 1 — Some 2,500 partygoers attended an illegal New Year rave in northwestern France, violently clashing with police who failed to stop it and sparking concern the underground event could spread the coronavirus, authorities said today. The revellers had set up the illegal rave in Lieuron south of Rennes in Brittany after … Read more

People wearing protective masks pray on the first day of the new year at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, January 1, 2021. — Reuters pic TOKYO, Jan 1 — New Year’s Day is the biggest holiday in Japan’s calendar, but this year’s festivities have been subdued following record highs in new coronavirus cases nationwide … Read more

US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump descend from Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland December 31, 2020. — Reuters pic WASHINGTON, Jan 1 — After weeks of vowing to win his fight to remain in office, US President Donald Trump issued a video yesterday looking back on what he … Read more

Shots are reaching nursing home residents at an even slower pace than others first in line even though they are most at risk of dying of the virus.. — Reuters pic WASHINGTON, Dec 31 — Only about 2.8 million Americans had received a Covid-19 vaccine going into the last day of December, putting the United … Read more

To stop the spread of the coronavirus variant first detected in Britain, travellers from any point of origin will need to enter Norway at designated entry points. — AFP pic OSLO, Dec 31 — All travellers entering Norway will have to take a Covid-19 test within 24 hours of arrival from Jan. 2, the country’s … Read more

Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci speaks November 19, 2020. — AFP pic LOS ANGELES, Dec 31 — The leading US infectious disease specialist, Dr Anthony Fauci, said yesterday he foresees America achieving enough collective Covid-19 immunity through vaccinations to regain “some semblance of normality” by autumn 2021, despite … Read more

US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, walks from the Senate floor on Capitol Hill Washington December 21, 2020. — Reuters pic WASHINGTON, Dec 31 — US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell yesterday said a Democratic bill to raise coronavirus relief checks to US$2,000 (RM8,095) from US$600 was unlikely to clear the Senate anytime soon, likely … Read more

A taxi driver wearing a face mask speaks on his mobile phone at the Baragwanath taxi rank, amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, in Soweto, South Africa, December 29, 2020. — Reuters pic JOHANNESBURG, Dec 30 — “Go home—I could arrest you for that.” The blunt message came from the policeman armed with a gun … Read more

People walk on the tarmac as dust and smoke rise after explosions hit Aden airport, upon the arrival of the newly-formed Yemeni government in Aden, Yemen December 30, 2020. — Reuters pic ADEN, Dec 30 — Explosions rocked Yemen’s Aden airport today shortly after the arrival of a plane carrying the new unity government, with … Read more

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi after a signing ceremony in Jakarta March 9, 2020. — Antara Foto via Reuters JAKARTA, Dec 30 — Indonesia has signed an agreement with two drugmakers AstraZeneca and Novavax , for 100 million doses of vaccines, the country’s foreign minister said today. “We’ve secured supplies of vaccines, from AstraZeneca and … Read more

A woman walks past a social distancing health message outside of a secondary school in London, Britain December 29, 2020. — Reuters pic LONDON, Dec 30 — Britain registered a new daily record for coronavirus cases yesterday as it battled a new strain that has spread as far as Chile and India, even as more … Read more

In this file photo taken September 20, 2018, Myanmar migrant workers prepare a fishing boat in the Thai coastal province of Samut Sakhon. — AFP pic BANGKOK, Dec 29 — Thailand today said it would allow undocumented migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to work in the country legally for about two years to … Read more

People wearing face shields and masks amid the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic visit a popular shopping market hours before Christmas eve in Manila December 24, 2020. — AFP pic MANILA, Dec 29 — The Philippines will shut its borders to foreigners arriving from 20 countries and territories in a bid to prevent a new strain of … Read more

Workers wearing protective gear disinfect an arrival gate amid the Covid-19 pandemic at the Incheon International Airport, South Korea December 28, 2020. — Reuters pic SEOUL, Dec 29 — South Korea today reported 40 new coronavirus deaths, a record daily toll, bringing the total death tally to 859, as the country grapples with a third … Read more

US President Donald Trump plays golf at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida December 28, 2020. — Reuters pic WASHINGTON, Dec 29 — Donald Trump, after caving to pressure and signing a US$900 billion (RM3.65 trillion) coronavirus relief package, faces another potential humiliation this week with Congress poised to deliver the … Read more

GENEVA, Dec 28 — Swiss authorities said today that they were returning to the United States the remaining US$150 million (RM608 million linked to a vast financial swindle by Texas financier Allan Stanford, to help compensate his victims. In total, Switzerland in 2009 froze some US$200 million in assets in accounts linked to the flamboyant … Read more

US President Donald Trump plays golf at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 27, 2020. — Reuters pic PALM BEACH (Florida), Dec 28 — US President Donald Trump yesterday signed into law a US$2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package, restoring unemployment benefits to millions of Americans and averting … Read more

This home in Nashville has been connected to Anthony Quinn Warner, person of interest in the bombing on Christmas Day. — Reuters pic via Alan Poizner/The Tennessean via USA Today Network WASHINGTON, Dec 28 — The man suspected of setting off a bomb in Nashville that ripped through the southern US city’s downtown on Christmas … Read more