World News

UPDATED: Firemen fight wildfires in Sicilian town of Catania

Firemen in Italy said on Saturday they were battling for a second straight day wildfires in Sicily that reached the town of Catania, forcing people to leave their homes and…

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Saif al-Islam Gaddafi planning political comeback in Libya

A son of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi who vanished six years ago and was thought to have died has reappeared and announced his intention to re-enter politics. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi,…

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UPDATED: U.S military says it is assisting tanker that was attacked off Oman

The U.S. Navy is assisting an Israeli-managed petroleum products tanker that was fatally attacked on Thursday off the coast of Oman, the U.S. military said on Saturday, adding the ship…

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Lebanon restricts cafes, beaches to the vaccinated or COVID tested

Lebanon is to limit entry to restaurants, cafes, pubs and beaches to people holding COVID-19 vaccine certificates or those who have taken antibodies tests, the tourism ministry announced. Non-vaccinated employees…

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COVID-19 Delta variant gains prevalence in Italy

The highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus has gained dominance in Italy, the National Health Institute (ISS) said, releasing data showing it accounted for 94.8% of cases as of…

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Hard-won gains at risk as Delta variant spreads- WHO

The world is at risk of losing hard-won gains in fighting COVID-19 as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads, but WHO-approved vaccines remain effective, the World Health Organization said. The…

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Delta variant in China spreads from Nanjing

China reported on Saturday 55 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for July 30, compared with 64 cases a day earlier, the health authority said. The National Health Commission said…

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Quake strikes Peru-Ecuador border region, minor damages reported

An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 jolted the Peru-Ecuador border region, the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said, but only minor reports of damage were registered immediately following the…

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Asian nations impose stricter COVID-19 restrictions due to Delta outbreaks

Asian countries from Australia to Japan and the Philippines announced tighter COVID-19 restrictions on Friday, as they battle worsening coronavirus outbreaks, driven by the more contagious Delta variant. Detected in…

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Lebanon president ready to answer questions on Beirut blast

Lebanon's President Michel Aoun told the country's public prosecutor on Friday he was ready to give a statement about last year's port blast in the capital Beirut if needed. "No…

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Greece issues wildfires warning over ‘dangerous’ heatwave

Greek authorities warned the public against unnecessary work and travel on Friday as temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 °F) in Athens and the ancient Acropolis, its most visited monument,…

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Death toll in Turkish wildfires rises to four, blazes rage on

The death toll from wildfires on Turkey's southern coast has risen to four and firefighters were battling blazes for a third day on Friday after the evacuation of dozens of…

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UPDATED: Two crewmen, a British and a Romanian, killed in attack on tanker off Oman

An attack on the Mercer Street petroleum products tanker in the Arabian Sea, off the Omani coast, has caused the deaths of two crew members, a British and a Romanian,…

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Crypto exchange Binance to wind down derivatives in Europe

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance said on Friday it would wind down its futures and derivatives products offerings across Europe, the latest move by the platform as pressure grows from regulators…

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Mixing Russia’s Sputnik V, AstraZeneca shots proves safe in small trial -RDIF

Trials mixing a first dose of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine with AstraZeneca’s shot revealed no serious side effects and no subsequent cases of coronavirus among volunteers, the Russian Direct…

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China reports 64 new COVID-19 cases as Delta resurgence continues in Nanjing

China reported on Friday 64 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for July 29, compared with 49 cases a day earlier, the health authority said. The National Health Commission said…

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U.S. CDC internal report calls Delta variant as contagious as chickenpox

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has described the Delta variant of the coronavirus to be as contagious as chickenpox and could cause severe illness, the New…

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Biden pushes cash reward to get vaccinated, new rules for federal workers

President Joe Biden on Thursday urged local governments to pay people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and set new rules requiring federal workers to provide proof of vaccination or face…

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International Space Station thrown out of control by misfire of Russian module -NASA

The International Space Station (ISS) was thrown briefly out of control when jet thrusters of a newly arrived Russian research module inadvertently fired a few hours after it was docked…

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Italy’s fourth wave of COVID-19 has started – Gimbe Health Foundation

Italy has "effectively entered the fourth wave" of COVID-19 contagion, the Gimbe health foundation said in its weekly coronavirus monitoring report on Thursday. The report said that Italy 's COVID…

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Australian military to help enforce Sydney COVID-19 lockdown as cases rise

Australia's military will help enforce a lockdown in Sydney after the city of 6 million posted a record daily rise in COVID-19 cases on Thursday and state authorities said the…

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EU health body warns against visiting popular Greek islands over COVID-19

Greece's south Aegean islands were marked 'dark red' on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control's COVID-19 map on Thursday after a rise in infections, meaning all but essential…

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Lebanon parliament ready to lift immunity for Beirut blast probe

Lebanon's influential parliament speaker Nabih Berri said on Thursday the legislature was ready to lift the immunity of its members in order allow for questioning over last year's port blast…

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Russia’s daily COVID-19 deaths reach record high for third time

Russia reported 799 coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, an all-time high it has reached three times in the last month amid a surge in cases blamed on the infectious Delta variant.…

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UPDATED: Pacific tsunami warnings lifted after big quake in Alaska

Tsunami warnings were lifted for Alaska and the rest of Pacific after a huge earthquake of 8.2 magnitude struck the seismically active U.S. state in the late hours on Wednesday.…

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Biden to ask federal workers to get vaccinated or face testing

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to announce on Thursday that all civilian federal workers will need to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or face regular testing, social distancing, mask…

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Peru’s Castillo, in first speech as president, pledges to heal colonial wounds

Pedro Castillo said Peru's colonial wounds still ran deep and he would seek to heal them, while promising economic stability in his inaugural speech as president. Speaking on the day…

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Sydney posts record daily COVID-19 cases, police powers extended to enforce lockdown

Delta outbreak in Australia's biggest city Sydney grew by 239 cases on Thursday, the highest daily rise since the pandemic started, forcing authorities to increase police powers to shut down…

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U.S. top diplomat meets with WHO chief, backs study into COVID-19 origins

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the head of the World Health Organization on Wednesday and affirmed U.S. support for the global health body’s plans to conduct additional…

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Tunisian president bashes ‘wrong choices’ on economy

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian President Kais Saied said on Wednesday that "wrong economic choices" had caused major financial problems in his first comments on the economy since using emergency powers…

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UPDATED: England scraps quarantine for fully vaccinated U.S., EU arrivals

England will allow fully vaccinated visitors from the European Union and United States to arrive without quarantine from next week, the transport minister said on Wednesday, in a huge and…

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Peru’s Castillo assumes presidency amid political storms in divided nation

Peru's Pedro Castillo will assume the presidency on Wednesday with little time to catch his breath as he battles the world's deadliest COVID-19 outbreak, tensions in his socialist party and…

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UK’s Johnson urges caution on drawing conclusions from falling COVID cases

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged caution on Wednesday on drawing conclusions from a seven-day decline in COVID-19 cases in Britain, saying it was too early to assess whether it…

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Turkey detains 200 Afghan migrants en route to Italy

Turkish authorities detained a boat carrying more than 200 Afghan migrants in the Aegean sea heading for Europe, Turkey’s coastguard and the International Organisation for Migration said on Wednesday. The…

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Sydney adds four weeks to lockdown as Australia COVID-19 cases spike

The Australian city of Sydney extended a lockdown by four weeks on Wednesday after an already protracted stay-at-home order failed to douse a COVID-19 outbreak, with the authorities warning of…

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North, South Korea in talks over summit

North and South Korea are in talks to reopen a joint liaison office that Pyongyang demolished last year and hold a summit as part of efforts to restore relations, three…

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UPDATED: Rare blood clot cases not higher after AstraZeneca second dose

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine carries a small extra risk of rare blood clots with low platelets after the first dose and no extra risk after the second, a study led and…

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EU freezes legal steps against Britain after UK request for standstill

The European Commission said it would not move to the next step of its legal action against Britain for unilaterally changing trading arrangements for Northern Ireland, in response to Britain’s…

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UPDATED: UK poised to end amber list quarantine for people vaccinated in US and EU

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is talking to the United States about a travel corridor, LBC radio said on Wednesday, quoting him as saying he wants U.S. citizens to come to…

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UPDATED: Ceasefire called after three Armenian soldiers killed in clashes with Azerbaijan

Armenia said on Wednesday that three of its soldiers had been killed in an exchange of gunfire with Azerbaijan and Interfax reported that both sides had later accepted a Russian…

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Italy says 99% of COVID deaths since February were not fully vaccinated

Almost 99% people who have died of COVID-19 in Italy since February this year were not fully vaccinated, the National Health Institute (ISS) said. The study, contained in a regular…

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Southern Europe battles wildfires as north cleans up after floods

Wildfires burned in regions across southern Europe, fuelled by hot weather and strong winds, as some northern countries cleaned up after a weekend of torrential rain and flooding. In Greece,…

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Britain reports highest deaths from COVID-19 since March as Johnson urges caution

LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Britain reported its highest number of deaths and people in hospital with coronavirus since March on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging caution despite…

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White House: prepared to wear masks again if required

WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and his White House team will be prepared to wear masks again if guidance from officials indicates it is necessary, White…

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Binance founder willing to go, as pressure mounts

FRANKFURT, July 27 (Reuters) - Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said he was willing to step down whenever he finds a successor who can do a "better job", as one of…

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FELTOM Endorses Reopening of Language Schools To All Fully – Vaccinated Adult Students

FELTOM welcomes the recent amendments to the legal notice LN 314 of 2021 related to language schools, aimed to allow for exceptions and special permissions in line and in full…

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At least 57 migrants die in shipwreck off Libyan coast – U.N.

At least 57 people drowned on Monday after a boat capsized off the Libyan coast near Khums, the latest tragedy in the central Mediterranean, the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration…

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France says Iran endangers compromising chance for nuclear deal

France's foreign ministry said on Monday that Iran was endangering the chance of concluding an accord with world powers over reviving its 2015 nuclear deal if it did not return to the…

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U.S. will not lift travel restrictions, citing Delta variant -official

The United States will not lift any existing travel restrictions "at this point" due to concerns over the highly transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant and the rising number of U.S. coronavirus…

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Tunisian president orders night curfew from Monday to Aug. 27 -statement

CAIRO, July 26 (Reuters) - Tunisian President Kais Saied prohibited the movement of people and vehicles from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m., starting Monday and lasting until Aug. 27, with…

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Landmark Vatican fraud trial of 10 including a cardinal set to start

A landmark fraud trial of 10 people including a cardinal begins in the Vatican on Tuesday in what officials hope will be a turning point in its financial credibility and…

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Dutch ease EU COVID-19 travel restrictions, extend festival ban

The Netherlands on Monday said it would ease COVID-19 restrictions to allow travel to all European Union countries, including several that had been off limits to Dutch vacationers due to…

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EU calls on all Tunisian actors to respect constitution, rule of law

The European Union urged all political actors in Tunisia on Monday to respect the country's constitution and avoid violence after Tunisia's president ousted the government and froze parliament with help…

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Sardinia in state of emergency over forest fires

Sardinia has declared a state of emergency over the forest fires that have been raging on the island for two and a half days. A blaze in the province of…

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Torrential rains kill over 160 in India, dozens trapped in landslides

Rescue teams in India were digging through thick sludge and debris on Monday to find over 60 people trapped in landslides caused by torrential monsoon rains that have so far…

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UPDATED: Tunisian army deploys to govt building, stops workers entering, Tunisian democracy in crisis after president ousts government

Tunisian military deployed to the government palace in the Kasbah in Tunis on Monday and stopped government workers from entering the building after President Saied ousted the government on Sunday,…

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China blames U.S. for ‘stalemate’ in ties

A top Chinese diplomat took a confrontational tone on Monday in rare high-level talks with the United States, accusing it of creating an "imaginary enemy" to divert attention from domestic…

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