Category: World

Queen Elizabeth pays tribute to ‘kindness of strangers’

File Photo In this undated photo issued on Friday Dec. 25, 2020, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II records her annual Christmas broadcast in Windsor Castle, Windsor, England. (Victoria Jones/Pool via AP)

LONDON (AP): One of the traditional fixtures of any Christmas Day is to see Queen Elizabeth II and her family go to church. Not this year. The coronavirus pandemic has made sure of that. However, the queen, 94, did fulfill what is considered her most cherished Christmas Day duty. Addressing the nation — as well… Continue reading Queen Elizabeth pays tribute to ‘kindness of strangers’

A pandemic Christmas: Churches shut, borders complicated

File Photo A Sri Lankan Christian girl wears a Santa hair band and a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus as she arrives at a church to attend the Christmas mass in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, Dec. 25, 2020. Photo Courtesy: AP

ROME (AP): Curfews, quarantines and even border closings complicated Christmas celebrations Friday for countless people around the globe, but ingenuity, determination and imagination helped keep the day special for many. In South Africa, which is battling a spike in cases and deaths driven by a variant of COVID-19, scientist Tulio de Oliveira was spending the… Continue reading A pandemic Christmas: Churches shut, borders complicated

US deaths in 2020 top 3 million, by far most ever counted

FILE - In this Saturday, April 18, 2020 file photo, mortician Cordarial O. Holloway, foreground left, funeral director Robert L. Albritten, foreground right, and funeral attendants Eddie Keith, background left, and Ronald Costello place a casket into a hearse in Dawson, Ga. This is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths topping 3 million for the first time. It's due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 320,000 Americans. Photo Courtesy: AP

NEW YORK (AP): This is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths expected to top 3 million for the first time — due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic. Final mortality data for this year will not be available for months. But preliminary numbers suggest that the United States is on track to see more… Continue reading US deaths in 2020 top 3 million, by far most ever counted

French President Macron tests positive for COVID-19

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday following a week in which he met with numerous European leaders. The French and Spanish prime ministers and EU Council president were among many top officials self-isolating because they had recent contact with him. Macron took a test “as soon as the first… Continue reading French President Macron tests positive for COVID-19

Coronavirus: European nations tighten restrictions ahead of Christmas

Photo courtesy: BBC

(BBC): A number of European countries have tightened coronavirus restrictions ahead of Christmas following a surge of infections in recent weeks. The Netherlands has entered a five-week lockdown, with non-essential shops, theatres and gyms all closing. Germany will enter a hard lockdown from Wednesday after the number of infections there hit record levels. Meanwhile, Europe’s… Continue reading Coronavirus: European nations tighten restrictions ahead of Christmas

COVID-19 vaccine shipments begin in historic US effort

A truck loaded with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine leaves the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo manufacturing plant in Portage, Mich., Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020. Photo Courtesy: Retuers

KALAMAZOO, Michigan (AP): The first shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine for widespread use in the United States headed Sunday from Michigan to distribution centers across the country, with the first shots expected to be given in the coming week to health care workers and at nursing homes. Shipments of the Pfizer vaccine will set in… Continue reading COVID-19 vaccine shipments begin in historic US effort

Uber, hard-hit by pandemic, sells its robot-vehicle division

File-This March 20, 2020, file photo shows a parking lot full of Uber self-driving Volvos in Pittsburgh. Uber is selling off its autonomous vehicles development arm to Aurora as the ride-hailing company slims down after its revenues were pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic. Aurora will acquire the employees and technology behind Uber's Advanced Technologies Group in an equity transaction, the companies said Monday. Photo Courtesy: AP

SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP): Uber is selling off its autonomous vehicles development arm as the ride-hailing company slims down after its revenues were pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic. Self-driving vehicle technology company Aurora will acquire the employees and technology behind Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group in an stock transaction, the companies said Monday. Uber will also… Continue reading Uber, hard-hit by pandemic, sells its robot-vehicle division

Doug Scott: Everest summit mountaineer dies aged 79

Doug Scott and his wife Trish opening a school in Nepal. Photo Courtesy: BBC

(BBC): A mountaineer who was part of the first UK team to summit Everest via the south-west face has died aged 79. Doug Scott was part of the famous team to complete the challenge in 1975. He also founded the charity Community Action Nepal (CAN) in 1994 to help people in the Himalayas, and had… Continue reading Doug Scott: Everest summit mountaineer dies aged 79

Biden picks Xavier Becerra to lead HHS, coronavirus response

FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2018, file photo, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra discusses various issues during an interview with The Associated Press, in Sacramento, Calif. President-elect Joe Biden has picked Becerra to be his health secretary, putting a defender of the Affordable Care Act in a leading role to oversee his administration’s coronavirus response. Photo Courtesy: AP

WASHINGTON (AP): President-elect Joe Biden has picked California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be his health secretary, putting a defender of the Affordable Care Act in a leading role to oversee his administration’s coronavirus response. Separately, Biden picked a Harvard infectious disease expert, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.… Continue reading Biden picks Xavier Becerra to lead HHS, coronavirus response