CHICAGO (REUTERS) – The Delta variant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus now accounts for nearly all of the coronavirus infections globally, fuelled by unchecked spread of the novel coronavirus in many parts of the world. So far, vaccines are still able to defend against serious disease and death from Delta, but scientists remain on alert. Here […]
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – US President Joe Biden has named former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to oversee the implementation of the US$1 trillion (S$1.35 trillion) infrastructure plan, the White House said on Sunday (Nov 14). Mr Landrieu, also a Democratic former Louisiana lieutenant-governor, led New Orleans from 2010 to 2018. He played an important role in […]
WASHINGTON (AFP) Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian about “concerning” Russian military activity taking place “in and near Ukraine,” a US official said late Sunday (Nov 14). The two top diplomats addressed “reports of concerning Russian military activity in and near Ukraine and their continued ironclad commitment to […]
MIAMI (REUTERS) – Florida lawmakers will meet in a special legislative session Monday (Nov 15), called by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis with the goal of thwarting coronavirus vaccine mandates. In a week-long session, the lawmakers, largely dominated by the Republican party, are slated to consider four Bills that would impose new penalties on businesses and […]
WASHINGTON (AFP) – With US President Joe Biden’s poll numbers slumping under a surge in inflation, top adminstration officials defended his economic policies Sunday (Nov 14) and blamed the sharp price rises squarely on the Covid-19 pandemic. Accelerating inflation hit a 30-year peak in October, with hikes in the cost of everything from groceries to […]
One of America’s most-wanted fugitives – who walked out of a bank with a paper bag stuffed with $215,000 – has been identified after 52 years. Theodore John Conrad was a 20-year-old bank teller at Society National Bank in Cleveland when he plundered the vault, walked out with the cash and vanished. It wasn’t until […]
The man convicted of murder alongside boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, who inspired a Bob Dylan song and Denzel Washington film, has died aged 75. John Artis died of a gastric aneurysm at home in Hampton, Virginia, his friend Fred Hogan, who helped overturn his conviction, said. Mr Artis and Carter were convicted of killing three […]
WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concerns over China’s continued military, diplomatic, and economic pressure on Taiwan in a phone conversation with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Nov 12. Mr Blinken urged Beijing “to engage in meaningful dialogue” to resolve Taiwan Strait issues “peacefully and in a manner consistent with the […]
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – China has been pushing US executives, companies and business groups in recent weeks to fight against China-related Bills in the US Congress, four sources familiar with the initiative told Reuters, in letters to and meetings with a wide range of actors in the business community. Letters from China’s embassy in Washington have […]
DENVER (REUTERS) – Five Senegalese immigrants killed in a 2020 arson house fire were targeted by one of the teenagers charged in the case because he mistakenly thought someone at the Denver home had stolen his mobile phone, court testimony showed on Friday (Nov 12). The disclosures came during a preliminary hearing for Kevin Bui […]