Category: WORLD NEWS

President Joe Biden has put on a modest White House ceremony to announce a half-dozen executive actions to combat what he called an “epidemic and an international embarrassment” of gun violence in America. But he said much more is needed. And while Biden had proposed the most ambitious gun-control agenda of any modern presidential candidate, his moves underscored his limited power to act alone on guns with difficult politics impeding legislative action on Capitol Hill. Biden’s new steps include a move to crackdown on “ghost guns,” homemade firearms that lack…

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North Korea said it will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics because of the coronavirus pandemic. A website run by the North’s sports ministry said the decision was made during a national Olympic Committee meeting on March 25 where members prioritized protecting athletes from the “world public health crisis caused by COVID-19.” South Korea’s Unification Ministry on Tuesday expressed regret over the North’s decision, saying it had hoped that the Tokyo Olympics would provide an opportunity to improve inter-Korean relations, which have declined amid a stalemate in larger nuclear negotiations…

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The US Capitol Police are struggling. One officer was killed and another injured when a driver slammed into a barricade Friday afternoon. The attack comes after officers were overrun and injured when a violent mob of Trump supporters overran the Capitol on January 6, breaking through insufficient barriers and pushing their way to within steps of lawmakers. One officer died and another killed himself. Scores of officers are considering early retirement, top leaders have resigned and those in office face increasing criticism. Security concerns over the events of the past…

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The man who rammed a car into two officers at a barricade outside the US Capitol, killing one of them before he was shot to death by police, had been suffering from delusions, paranoia and suicidal thoughts, a US official said. Investigators believe it was an isolated incident from a disturbed young man. Video of the Friday afternoon attack shows the driver emerging from the crashed car with a knife in his hand and starting to run at the pair of officers, Capitol Police acting Chief Yogananda Pittman told reporters.…

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Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will visit Washington for talks with President Joe Biden on April 16, the government said Friday. The trip had previously been announced, but not the exact date. Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters that Suga will be the first foreign leader to meet Biden in person since he took office in January. That by itself is proof that the United States places importance on Japan,” he said. It is also significant as we demonstrate the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance and the U.S. commitment…

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MEC and another military-linked conglomerate called Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (MEHL) dominate many sectors of the resource-rich Southeast Asian country’s economy, including trading, alcohol, cigarettes and consumer goods. Britain on Thursday announced sanctions against the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) for its role “in serious human rights violations”, a week after Washington cracked down on the military-linked conglomerate. MEC and another military-linked conglomerate called Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (MEHL) dominate many sectors of the resource-rich Southeast Asian country’s economy, including trading, alcohol, cigarettes and consumer goods. After seizing power in February…

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Indonesian navy divers have recovered the cockpit voice recorder of a Sriwijaya Air jet that crashed into the Java Sea in January, killing all 62 people on board, officials said Wednesday. Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said divers retrieved the cockpit recorder at about 08.00 pm. Tuesday local time, near where the flight data recorder was recovered three days after the accident. The contents of the recorder were not immediately available. However, the device could help investigators determine what caused the Boeing 737-500 to nosedive into the ocean in heavy…

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President Joe Biden and a top health official warned that too many Americans are declaring virus victory too quickly, appealing for mask requirements and other restrictions to be maintained or restored to stave off a fourth surge of COVID-19. The head of the CDC said she had a feeling of impending doom if people keep easing off. The double dose of warnings on Monday came even as Biden laid out hopeful new steps to expand coronavirus vaccinations, with all adults to become eligible over the next five weeks. Biden announced…

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A giant container ship remained stuck sideways in Egypt’s Suez Canal for a fifth day Saturday, as authorities prepared to make new attempts to free the vessel and reopen a crucial east-west waterway for global shipping. The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow canal that runs between Africa and the Sinai Peninsula. The massive vessel got stuck in a single-lane stretch of the canal, about six kilometers (3.7 miles) north of the southern entrance, near the city of…

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Israelis began voting on Tuesday in the country’s fourth parliamentary election in two years a highly charged referendum on the divisive rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Public opinion polls forecast a tight race between those who support Israel’s longest-serving premier and those who want “anyone but Bibi, as he is widely known. Facing an electorate worn down by a series of campaigns and the coronavirus pandemic, candidates made their final push in recent days with a series of TV interviews and public appearances at shopping malls and outdoor marketplaces.…

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