Category: World

BEIJING (AP): China has ordered inhabitants of the southern city of Baise to stay home and suspended transportation links amid a surge in COVID-19 cases at least partly linked to the omicron variant. Classes have been suspended, non-essential businesses closed and mass testing of residents ordered. Restaurants are only permitted to serve take-out. Traffic lights… Continue reading China locks down southern city as omicron variant surges

CANBERRA, Australia (AP): Australia will open its borders to all vaccinated tourists and business travelers from Feb. 21 in a further relaxation of pandemic restrictions announced Monday. Australia imposed some of the world’s toughest travel restrictions on its citizens and permanent residents in March 2020 to prevent them from bringing COVID-19 home. When the border… Continue reading Australia to open borders to vaccinated travelers on Feb. 21

TOKYO (AP): More than a year ago Sebastian Bressa finished his paperwork to become a language teacher in Tokyo and made plans to quit his job in Sydney. His life has been in limbo ever since. Japan has kept its door closed to most foreigners during the pandemic, and the 26-year-old Australian is one of… Continue reading Japan border policy keeps thousands of foreigners in limbo

BEIRUT (AP): The leader of the Islamic State group killed in a U.S. raid overnight in northwest Syria was largely a mystery, with almost no known photos, never appearing in public or in the group’s videos. He met his end in the same rebel-held Idlib province where his predecessor, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was hunted down… Continue reading IS leader killed in US raid in Syria remains murky figure

BRUSSELS (AP): The United States could be willing to enter into an agreement with Russia to ease tensions over missile deployments in Europe if Moscow steps back from the brink in Ukraine, according to a leaked document published in a Spanish newspaper on Wednesday. The daily El Pais published two documents purported to be written… Continue reading Leaked text suggests possible US-Russia missile arrangement

TORONTO (AP): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he has tested positive for COVID-19, but is “feeling fine″ and will continue working remotely. The announcement came in a tweet in which he urged everyone to “please get vaccinated and get boosted.″ Trudeau said on Thursday that he was going into isolation for five days… Continue reading Canadian prime minister tests positive for COVID-19

WASHINGTON (AP): In a break from the past, the U.S. and its allies are increasingly revealing their intelligence findings as they confront Russian preparations for a possible invasion of Ukraine, looking to undercut Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans by exposing them and deflecting his efforts to shape world opinion. The White House in recent weeks… Continue reading US tries to name and shame Russian disinformation on Ukraine

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP): New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is postponing her wedding after announcing new COVID-19 restrictions Sunday following the discovery of nine cases of the omicron variant in a single family that flew to Auckland to attend a wedding. The so-called “red setting” of the country’s pandemic response includes heightened measures such… Continue reading Omicron spreads in New Zealand, spoiling PM’s wedding plans

PHOENIX (AP): Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey sued the Biden administration on Friday over its demand that the state stop sending millions in federal COVID-19 relief money to schools that don’t have mask requirements or that close due to COVID-19 outbreaks. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Phoenix comes a week after the U.S. Treasury… Continue reading Arizona sues Biden to keep school anti-mask rules

KORTRIJK, Belgium (AP): The 19-year-old Belgian-British pilot Zara Rutherford set a world record as the youngest woman to fly solo around the world, touching her small airplane down in western Belgium on Thursday — 155 days after she departed. Rutherford will find herself in the Guinness World Records book after setting the mark that had… Continue reading 19-year-old woman sets record for solo global flight