WORLD
Biden meets visiting Afghan leaders at WH
Biden said at the beginning of the meeting on Friday that "our troops may be leaving but support for Afghanistan is not ending in terms of support and maintenance of helping maintain their military as well as economic and political support". "Afghans are going to have to decide their future, senseless violence has to stop," he continued. On his part, Ghani paid tributes "to the 2,448 Americans who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Global Covid-19 caseload tops 180mn
In its latest update on Saturday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 180,346,611 and 3,907,269, respectively. The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 33,603,077 and 603,526, respectively, according to the CSSE.
Former US cop sentenced to 22.5 years for George Floyd's murder
Chauvin "is the first white officer in Minnesota to face prison time for the killing of a Black man," according to Minnesota Public Radio. "We need to recognise the pain of the Floyd family," Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill said in court. The sentence was not based on emotion or sympathy, the judge noted. Members of Floyd's family were present in the courtroom for the hearing, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Delta Covid cases in UK up by 46% in past week
The total number of confirmed Delta cases now stands at 111,157 -- with 102,019 of these recorded in England, 7,738 in Scotland, 788 in Wales and 612 in Northern Ireland, the Sky news reported.The Delta variant, first identified in India, now comprises 95 per cent of all sequenced cases in the UK, PHE added. Last week, it made up 99 per cent of Covid cases across the UK, with about 42 of the latest cases belonging to the Delta plus variant.
'Wise', 'witty' Imran Khan - self-inflicted troubles
He is no ordinary Pakistani. He belongs to a relatively affluent, upper middle-class family. He did his higher studies from Oxford. One of his ancestors, Haibat Khan Niazi, "was a leading general" of the 16th century warrior king, Sher Shah Suri, who gave nightmares to the Great Moghuls. Maternally, Khan is a descendant of the Sufi warrior-poet, Pir Roshan, whose lasting contribution is the Pashto alphabet. Pashto is the language spoken by Pashtuns, who live in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Covid virus can evade vaccines, find alternate way to infect cells
Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, scientists identified how SARS-CoV-2 gets inside cells to cause infection. All current Covid-19 vaccines and antibody-based therapeutics were thus designed to disrupt this route into cells, which requires a receptor called ACE2. But, the new study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis showed that Covid virus has the ability to enter cells via an alternative pathway -- one that does not require ACE2.
Rudy Giuliani suspended from practicing law over false statements
"We conclude that there is uncontroverted evidence that respondent communicated demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the public at large in his capacity as lawyer for former President Donald Trump and the Trump campaign in connection with Trump's failed effort at reelection in 2020," according to a 33-page suspension order issued by the New York Supreme Court.
Africa's Covid caseload at historic high amid 3rd wave: WHO
In a statement on Thursday, Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said the continent is grappling with a resurgence fuelled by the easing of containment measures, cold weather and the presence of new variants, reports Xinhua news agency. "The third wave is picking up speed, spreading faster, hitting harder.
Merkel defends patent protection for Covid vax
"A politically enforced release of patents is, in my opinion, the wrong way to go," Merkel said on Thursday. She said she was convinced that "we need to increase the production of vaccines on the basis of licenses as quickly as possible". The world will "continue to depend on vaccines being developed in the future", Merkel said in the German government's statement on the June 24-25 European Council meeting in Brussels.
751 graves found near former Canadian indigenous residential school
The school named Marieval Indian Residential School operated from 1899 to 1997 in the area where Cowessess is now located, about 140 km east of Regina, the capital city of Saskatchewan province. Cowessess Chief Cadmus Delorme told on Thursday that technical teams started using ground-penetrating radar early this month to locate unmarked graves in an area of 44,000 square metres.
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