WORLD
Joe Biden signs legislation raising US debt limit, averts potential default
The move came on Thursday after US Congress on Wednesday morning gave a final approval to the measure that would raise the debt limit to roughly $31 trillion, which would cover the federal government's borrowing through 2023, Xinhua news agency reported. "We're relieved policymakers agreed to raise the debt ceiling rather than putting the country's full faith and credit at risk. But this was way too last minute and brought our economy too close to the brink," Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said Thursday in a statement.
CDC advisers recommend Pfizer, Moderna vaccines over Johnson & Johnson
A total of 54 cases of thrombosis-thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), a rare and severe type of blood clot, had been reported from March through August in the US out of 14.1 million Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses administered, according to data presented by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Thursday. The highest rates, nearly 20 per cent, happened in the recipients aged between 30 to 49 years. A total of 26 cases are women aged under 50. Nearly 80 per cent of the cases were in white non-Hispanic persons, according to CDC data.
US State Dept nails Pakistan as terror sponsor
Fulminating against Pakistan, the State Department said unequivocally that it has not taken steps to prosecute terrorist leaders such as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) founder Masood Azhar and Lashkar-e-Toiba's (LeT) Sajid Mir, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The report added that groups targeting Afghanistan -- including the Afghan Taliban and affiliated Haqqani Network, as well as groups targeting India, including LeT and its affiliated front organisations, and JeM -- continued to operate from Pakistani territory.
In a first, NASA's Parker Solar Probe 'touches' the Sun in daring mission
The new milestone marks one major step for Parker Solar Probe and one giant leap for solar science. Just as landing on the Moon allowed scientists to understand how it was formed, touching the very stuff the Sun is made of will help scientists uncover critical information about our closest star and its influence on the solar system, the statement said.
Israeli missiles target Syria again
According to a military statement, the renewed Israeli strike was carried out after midnight with several missiles fired over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights toward military sites in the southern region, Xinhua news agency reported, citing SANA. One soldier was killed during the attack and damage was reported at the targeted sites, it added.
Covid deaths in US under Biden equal as during Trump
The Trump administration's response to Covid-19 was markedly haphazard and the disease was widespread by the time Biden was sworn in. However, Biden could also not deliver as promised. Despite life-saving vaccines - which first became available in the US in December 2020 - and a pledge to achieve "independence from the virus" by July 4, the country has struggled with vaccine hesitancy.
Bangladesh turns 50: Half a century of unanswered questions
Bangladesh's birth was a major set back to Pakistan as its eastern wing broke away. However, the denial that existed in 1971 among the residents in the west wing still permeates the national mindfulness of many Pakistanis. Walking through the memories of the Dhaka fall, one remembers the statement of then President and military chief General Yahya Khan where he said that the war would continue till victory.
Pakistan has gone bankrupt, says former FBR chairman Shabbar Zaidi
Pakistan has gone bankrupt, according to former Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Shabbar Zaidi. He further said that the Imran Khan government's claims of the country doing very well and achieving great were all wrong. In a recent speech at Hamdard University, Zaidi said that it is better to accept that Pakistan's economy has gone bankrupt and find solutions rather than deceive people by claiming that it is doing well. After his bold statement stirred a row on social media, Zaidi claimed that his words were taken out of context and had been misreported.
Hundreds of online porn victims awarded $18 mn, video rights in US
US District Judge Janis L. Sammartino ruled that all rights to videos and images produced in the GirlsDoPorn and GirlsDoToys sex trafficking case be awarded to the hundreds of victims who are featured in the footage posted on the adult websites, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said in a statement late on Wednesday. The judge issued the ruling as part of a restitution order in the prosecution of Ruben Andre Garcia, an adult film performer and producer who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring with the owners of the GirlsDoPorn (GDP) and GirlsDoToys (GDT) adult websites to recruit young women to appear in the sex videos using force, fraud, and coercion.
Pak connects with US to justify non-participation in Democracy Summit
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi spoke to US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and shared Islamabad's position regarding its decision. Pakistan's refusal was linked with China, which was not invited to the summit, making it difficult for Islamabad to give a positive nod to the invitation.
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