News Archives for World - 2021-05-21

<<>>

South Asia

Magnitude 7 quake strikes Qinghai, China: GFZ

The quake was at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), GFZ said

Published 21 May, 2021 11:33pm

USA

White House says U.S. has commitment from 'relevant parties' to ceasefire after Israel-Gaza violence

Israel and Hamas both claimed victory on Friday after their forces ended 11 days of fighting, but humanitarian officials warned the damage to Gaza would take years to rebuild.

Updated 21 May, 2021 11:33pm

USA

IMF says ending COVID-19 pandemic possible at cost of some $50bn

Highly unequal vaccination rates.
Rich countries would benefit from boosting donations.
Even with vaccinations, countries return to 'precarious normal'.

Published 21 May, 2021 09:08pm

Europe

Italy reports 218 coronavirus deaths on Friday, 5,218 new cases

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 9,925 on Friday, down from 10,383 a day earlier.
There were 51 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 69 on Thursday. The total number of intensive care patients fell to 1,469 from a previous 1,544.

Published 21 May, 2021 09:00pm

Europe

Euro zone business growth hits three-year high but ECB cautious

As the economy rebounds and confidence improves, some policymakers are making the case for the ECB to start giving up its emergency measures and revert to more traditional forms of stimulus.
"We are committed to preserving favourable financing conditions. It's far too early and it's actually unnecessary to debate longer-term issues," Lagarde said on Friday.

Published 21 May, 2021 08:31pm

Europe

EU advises against second AstraZeneca shot for people with blood clots

Says second dose must not be given to anyone with thrombosis.
Suggests three-week window for monitoring signs of clots.
Reiterates that clots after vaccine are 'very rare'.

Updated 21 May, 2021 08:03pm

USA

Canada retail sales seen plunging in April as restrictions tightened

Statscan also said March retail trade rose by 3.6% from February, thanks in part to higher sales at building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers. Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a 2.3% increase.
The Canadian dollar, which has been flirting with six-year highs against the US dollar, held onto earlier gains and was trading up 0.1% on the day at C$1.2040 to the greenback, or 83.06 US cents.

Published 21 May, 2021 07:25pm

World

Canada likely to extend travel ban on India, Pakistan

A statement from Health Canada said that the government was monitoring the situation and may extend the travel ban to continue to protect Canadians.
Air Canada spokesperson, Peter Fitzpatrick, said that they have postponed the existing flight suspension to India until June 22, without mentioning Pakistan.

Updated 21 May, 2021 07:42pm

South Asia

China's Xi pledges $3bn pandemic aid for poor nations

The funds will go toward supporting the COVID-19 response and economic and social recovery, Xi said in a speech at the Group of 20 Global Health Summit.
China has already supplied 300 million vaccine doses to the rest of the world and will provide more to the best of its ability, he added.

Published 21 May, 2021 07:05pm

USA

US manufacturing activity powers ahead in early May; work backlogs rising: survey

According to IHS Markit "manufacturers highlighted that strain on capacity and raw material shortages are expected to last through 2021." It noted that the supply crunch was raising production costs for manufacturers, who "made efforts to pass higher cost burdens on to clients."
The survey said its measure of new orders increased and that though factories tried to recruit more workers, the pace of hiring was the slowest in five months.

Published 21 May, 2021 07:03pm

Europe

Pfizer-BioNTech to provide 1bn vaccines to poorer nations this year

"Pfizer and BioNTech are pledging to provide 2 billion doses of our COVID-19 vaccines to middle- and low-income countries over the next 18 months," Albert Bourla told a global health summit.

Published 21 May, 2021 05:39pm

Europe

UK PMI business survey hits record high as lockdowns ease, prices jump too

Retail sales and consumer confidence data earlier on Friday also pointed to a swift recovery taking shape in Britain's economy as hard-hit restaurants, pubs and shops reopened following months of lockdown closures.
Hotels, restaurants and other previously closed consumer services saw the strongest jump in demand, the PMIs showed.

Published 21 May, 2021 05:04pm

Middle East

Hours after ceasefire, Israeli police attack Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israeli forces have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, launching tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades at worshippers, risking the longevity of the newly-agreed ceasefire.
Several injuries are being reported, as worshippers come under siege from Israeli forces.

Updated 21 May, 2021 07:55pm

World

5 bodies found, about 10 survivors rescued in Gaza tunnel: officials

Raed al-Dahshan, deputy head of Gaza's civil defence, said they were still sifting through the rubble to find more bodies.

Published 21 May, 2021 02:54pm

World

Blinken confirms the US does not want to buy Greenland after Trump proposal

Sitting beside Greenland's premier, Mute Egede, Foreign Minister Pele Broberg and Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod during a visit to Greenland.

Published 21 May, 2021 02:49pm

Middle East

Public opinion is changing worldwide, Palestinians will have their own country one day, says PM Khan

PM Khan said he has observed a significant shift in public opinion worldwide, as more people are raising their voices against Israeli atrocities in Palestine.
"A day would come when Palestinians would have their own country," Khan said in his Solidarity Day speech.

Updated 21 May, 2021 10:15pm

World

COVID-19 death tolls are likely a "significant undercount", WHO says

"The challenge is that the reported COVID-19 [death toll figures] is an undercount of that full impact," Msemburi said.

Published 21 May, 2021 02:09pm

World

Mideast ceasefire 'good' but conflict causes must be addressed: Germany

"Good that there is now a ceasefire," Maas tweeted, a day after he visited Israel and Ramallah for talks.

Published 21 May, 2021 01:34pm

World

Indian Air Force's MiG-21 aircraft crashes in Punjab, pilot killed

The incident took place around 1am on Friday when the aircraft crashed at Langiana Khurd village of Baghapurana in Moga.
A court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the crash, IAF said.

Published 21 May, 2021 12:18pm

World

US sends 1.2mn COVID-19 vaccine doses to Mexico

The new batch of vaccines arrived after US President Joe Biden said this week he planned to send 60 million AstraZeneca shots to other countries.

Published 21 May, 2021 11:54am

World

South Korea approves Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine

Seoul has ordered up to 192 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, including those made by AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Novavax and Johnson & Johnson.

Published 21 May, 2021 11:51am

World

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 8,769

The reported death toll rose by 226 to 87,128, the tally showed.

Published 21 May, 2021 11:50am

World

India reports 259,551 new coronavirus infections

The South Asian nation's infection tally stands at 26.03 million.

Published 21 May, 2021 11:44am

World

Japan's jobless rate seen up, Tokyo CPI far below BOJ's inflation goal

Market players are closely watching the Tokyo-area CPI, which is available a month before nationwide figures, as a leading price indicator.

Published 21 May, 2021 11:40am

World

Biden sees 'genuine opportunity' after Gaza ceasefire

"I believe we have a genuine opportunity to make progress and I'm committed to working toward it ".

Published 21 May, 2021 11:11am

World

William and Harry hit out at BBC over 'deceitful' Diana interview

William said the deceitful way the interview was obtained had "substantially influenced" what his mother said on the air, and made "a major contribution" to the demise of his parents' relationship.

Published 21 May, 2021 11:05am

World

All sides must make 'welcome' Gaza ceasefire durable: UK's Raab

Israel and Hamas, announced the ceasefire earlier Thursday aimed to close 11 days of deadly fighting that pounded the Palestinian enclave and forced countless Israelis to seek shelter from rockets.

Published 21 May, 2021 10:59am

World

Hamas claims victory in conflict with Israel after ceasefire

"This is the euphoria of victory," said Khalil al-Hayya.

Published 21 May, 2021 10:53am

World

Argentina to go into total lockdown as Covid cases soar

"We must come together to overcome this catastrophe," the president added.

Published 21 May, 2021 10:47am

World

Blinken to travel to Middle East 'in the coming days'

US President Joe Biden welcomed the ceasefire as a "genuine opportunity" for peace in a speech from the White House.

Published 21 May, 2021 10:31am

World

Biden meets South Korean president, shoring up US-Asia alliance

Symbolizing the deep, complex history behind those bonds, Moon will join Biden in awarding the Medal of Honor -- the highest US military honor for bravery -- to a 94-year-old US veteran of the Korean War.

Published 21 May, 2021 10:30am

World

Japan could freeze all Myanmar aid, foreign minister warns

A Japanese journalist arrested covering the aftermath of the coup was released last week and returned to Tokyo.

Published 21 May, 2021 10:15am

World

Samoa court okays first power handover in a generation

She said this week that the HRPP had begun to abuse its power after so long in office and it was time to make Samoa a functioning democracy again.

Published 21 May, 2021 09:54am

World

Sisi and Biden talk de-escalation in Palestinian Territories

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke to Joe Biden Thursday, the first call since the US president...