The United States on Tuesday accused companies in the United Arab Emirates, the Central African Republic and Russia of engaging in illicit gold deals to help fund the mercenary fighters of Russia's Wagner Group. The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement it has sanctioned four companies linked to Wagner and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, that it alleged were used to help pay the paramilitary's forces fighting in Ukraine and undertaking operations to support Russian interests in Africa. "The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries...
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday the delta variant of the coronavirus accounts for more than 93 percent of all new COVID-19 cases in the country. The CDC's updated figures for the week ending July 31, show the delta variant, including its sub-lineages, all of which are classified as variants of concern, made up more than 93 percent of all U.S. cases during the last two weeks of July. The variant accounts for even higher percentages in specific regions of the country. In the Midwest including Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, delta accounts for...
Calling it a major milestone, U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that the country has shipped more than 110 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to 65 nations that are among the hardest hit in the world. "This is more than the donations of all 24 countries that donate any vaccine to other countries, including China and Russia," Biden said during remarks in the White House East Room. The president emphasized that Washington is making no demands for its donations of doses. "And there's no favoritism and no strings attached. We're doing this to save lives to end this...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is aiming to give full approval to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine by early September, according to The New York Times. The two-dose vaccine, which Pfizer developed in collaboration with German-based BioNTech, was granted emergency use authorization by the FDA last November. It is one of just three COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. stockpile, along with the two-shot vaccine from Moderna and the single-dose version developed by Johnson & Johnson. The newspaper says the FDA is accelerating its normal timetable to grant full approval to the two-dose vaccine as...
A report by U.S. Republican lawmakers says a "preponderance of evidence" proves the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic leaked from a Chinese research facility -- a conclusion that U.S. intelligence agencies have not reached. The report, released Monday, also cited "ample evidence" that Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) scientists -- aided by U.S. experts and Chinese and U.S. government funds -- were working to modify coronaviruses to infect humans, and such manipulation could be hidden. Representative Mike McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the...
The White House announced Tuesday the U.S. has shipped more than 110 million doses of U.S.-made COVID-19 vaccines to more than 60 nations. In a statement, the White House said most of the vaccine was shipped through the World Health Organization-managed COVAX cooperative, but also through regional partnerships, such as the African Union and Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The White House said the donations reflect a fulfillment of President Joe Biden's pledge to give at least 80 million vaccine doses to other nations around the globe, and the doses are a down payment on the "hundreds of...
North and South Korea have restored a communication hotline that was cut off by Pyongyang last June.
According to the South's presidential office, the leaders of both countries have agreed to...
Critical infrastructure facilities were hit by drone strikes early on Thursday, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Volodymyr Zelenskiy's presidential office said on Thursday.
"Another attack...
Andrew McCabe, pejabat FBI No. 2 yang secara umum dikritik Presiden Donald Trump atas dugaan bias politik, mundur dari biro tersebut hari Senin waktu AS, beberapa minggu sebelum masa pensiunnya,...