Category: WORLD NEWS

The al-Qaeda extremist group has grown slightly inside Afghanistan since U.S. forces left in late August, and the country’s new Taliban leaders are divided over whether to fulfill their 2020 pledge to break ties with the group, the top U.S. commander in the region said Thursday. Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said in an interview with The Associated Press that the departure of U.S. military and intelligence assets from Afghanistan has made it much harder to track al-Qaeda and other extremist groups inside Afghanistan. We’re probably…

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A federal appeals court ruled Thursday against an effort by former President Donald Trump to shield documents from the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. In a 68-page ruling, the three-judge panel tossed aside Trump’s various arguments for blocking through executive privilege records that the committee regards as vital to its investigation into the run-up to the deadly riot that was aimed at overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election. Judge Patricia Millett, writing for the court, said Congress had a uniquely vital interest in…

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Dozens of tanks and hundreds of soldiers fired explosives and machine guns in drills on Monday on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, a main stronghold for a nation that is perhaps the world’s least-known military powerhouse. Just across the sea from rival Russia, Japan opened up its humbly named Self Defense Force’s firing exercises to the media in a display of public firepower that coincides with a recent escalation of Chinese and Russian military moves around Japanese territory. The drills, which foreign journalists rarely have a chance to witness, will…

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Lawmakers in the Solomon Islands debated on Monday whether they still have confidence in the prime minister, after rioters last month set fire to buildings and looted stores in the capital. China, meanwhile, said it was shipping in aid for its citizens caught up in the violence. Many businesses remained closed in Honiara ahead of the vote over concerns that violence could erupt again, leading to an eerie calm. Troops and police from Australia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and New Zealand are helping keep the peace at the request of…

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 United States health officials said that while the omicron variant of the coronavirus is rapidly spreading throughout the country, early indications suggest it may be less dangerous than delta, which continues to drive a surge of hospitalisations. President Joe Biden’s chief medial adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that scientists need more information before drawing conclusion’s about omicron’s severity. Reports from South Africa, where it emerged and is becoming the dominant strain, suggest that hospitalisation rates have not increased alarmingly. Thus far, it does…

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New York announced three more cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the number of state cases linked to the new variant to eight. “The omicron variant is here, and as anticipated we are seeing the beginning of community spread,” state Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said in a news release. The number of states finding the variant is growing as well, with Massachusetts and Washington state announcing their first cases on Saturday, a day after New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Maryland reported their first confirmed cases.…

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 If President Joe Biden’s USD2 trillion social and environment package was a Broadway show, its seven months on Congress’ stage could qualify it as a hit. But lawmaking isn’t show business, and many Democrats worry that with the curtain falling soon on 2021, time is not their friend. Each passing day threatens to push final action into 2022, an election year when control of Congress will be at stake and lawmakers will become ever more wary of casting tough votes. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants to end his…

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Omicron Strain: On November 26, the government had announced the resumption of scheduled international commercial flights from December 15. The resumption of commercial international flights — scheduled for December 15 — is likely to be postponed, with the authorities appearing ready to hit the brakes in view of the emergence of the new Covid variant Omicron. Airports across the country are already implementing a series of restrictions on incoming passengers, especially from “at risk” nations, that involve a strict regimen of tests and quarantine. Indicating that the current “air bubble” system of…

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Parag Agrawal, who became chief technology officer in 2017, will become a member of the board. Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Twitter Inc., is stepping down, ceding the position to the company’s Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal. The move is effective immediately, though Dorsey will stay on the board of the social media company until his term expires in 2022, Twitter said in a statement Monday. “I’ve decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders,” Dorsey said in…

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A second group of Iraqis returned home to northern Iraq on Friday after a failed quest to reach the European Union, citing maltreatment and abuse suffered at the hands of Belarusian authorities. Over 170 people returned on a flight that landed in Irbil International Airport after 2 a.m. in Iraq’s northern Kurdish-run region. A disproportionate number of repatriated Iraqis from Belarus have been Iraqi Kurds. It is the second repatriation flight to return from Minsk. On Thursday 430 Iraqis returned home. Another flight was expected to arrive at 7 a.m.…

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