World
Australian PM says Macron not taking his calls
Australia's leader said he is being given the cold shoulder by French President Emmanuel Macron after the controversial scrapping of a submarine deal, but vowed to be "patient" in repairing frayed relations. Speaking in Washington late Wednesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he had tried to reach the French leader… Read
Taiwan applies to join Pacific trade deal days after China
Taiwan has applied to join a major trans-Pacific trade deal, officials confirmed Thursday, days after China said it also wanted to become a member of the agreement. Signed by 11 Asia-Pacific countries in 2018, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is the region's biggest free-trade pact and… Read
U.S. to donate extra 500 million COVID vaccines
U.S. President Joe Biden addressed a COVID-19 summit of world leaders Wednesday with a promise to donate a "historic" extra 500 million vaccines to countries struggling to overcome the pandemic. "This is an all-hands-on-deck crisis," Biden said. "America will become the arsenal for vaccines as we were the arsenal for… Read
WHO says air pollution kills 7 mil a year
The World Health Organization strengthened its air quality guidelines on Wednesday, saying air pollution was now one of the biggest environmental threats to human health, causing seven million premature deaths a year. Urgent action is needed to reduce exposure to air pollution, said the U.N. body, ranking its burden of… Read
Trump sues niece, New York Times over Pulitzer-winning tax story
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a $100 million lawsuit against his estranged niece Mary Trump and The New York Times, alleging they engaged in "an insidious plot" to obtain his tax returns for the paper's Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation of his finances. The lawsuit, filed in Dutchess County, New… Read
Anger, confusion spread over UK's new COVID travel rules
Travelers and authorities from India and some African countries are furious — and confused — about Britain's new COVID-19 travel rules, calling them discriminatory. The British government announced what it billed as a simplification of the rules last week, including allowing fully vaccinated travelers arriving in England from much of… Read
Taliban face uphill battle in efforts to speak at U.N. meeting
The new rulers of Afghanistan have an uphill battle in their efforts to be recognized in time to address other world leaders at the United Nations this year. The Taliban are challenging the credentials of the ambassador from Afghanistan’s former government and asking to speak at the General Assembly’s high-level… Read
U.S.-French spat seems to simmer down after Biden-Macron call
The most significant rift in decades between the United States and France seemed on the mend Wednesday after French President Emmanuel Macron and President Joe Biden got on the phone Wednesday to smooth things over. In a half-hour call that the White House described as "friendly," the two leaders agreed… Read
German official slams online 'incitement' after mask killing
Germany's health minister on Wednesday partly blamed “incitement” against the government's pandemic rules on social media for the killing of a gas station clerk by a man who refused to wear a face mask. A 49-year-old German man was arrested Sunday over the the fatal shooting a day earlier in… Read
N Ireland police arrest 2 more men over murder of journalist
Police in Northern Ireland arrested two more men Wednesday over the murder of Lyra McKee, a journalist shot dead while covering a riot in Londonderry in 2019. The Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the men, aged 24 and 29, were arrested in the city earlier and have been detained… Read
