International news with relevance to Thai and regional readers
CANBERRA/SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia is on course to begin administering the first COVID-19 vaccines in February, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday, as the country moves to accelerate its inoculation programme as two states try to contain outbreaks. Morrison said Australia’s pharmaceutical regulator is expected to approve the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine by the
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Vice President Mike Pence condemned the violent supporters of President Donald Trump who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in an attempt to block certification of the presidential election results, as the U.S. Senate resumed its vote count after an hours-long delay. “You did not win. Violence never wins,” Pence said of
(Reuters) -Twitter and Facebook Inc on Wednesday temporarily locked the accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, as tech giants scrambled to crack down on his baseless claims about the U.S. presidential elections amid riots at the U.S. Capitol. Twitter hid and required the removal of three of Trump’s tweets “as a result of the unprecedented
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese government on Thursday proposed declaring a one-month state of emergency, beginning Friday, for Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures in a bid to contain a surge in new coronavirus cases, now running at record levels. Ahead of a meeting with advisers, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura laid out the government’s proposal to
WASHINGTON (AP) — A violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and forced lawmakers into hiding, in a stunning attempt to overturn America’s presidential election, undercut the nation’s democracy and keep Democrat Joe Biden from replacing Trump in the White House. The nation’s elected representatives scrambled to crouch under
(AFP) – North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un admitted the country’s economic development plan had fallen short in “almost all areas” as he opened a rare congress of the ruling Workers’ Party, state media reported Wednesday. The gathering is the first of its kind in five years, only the eighth in the nuclear-armed country’s history,
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group’s Alipay, the White House said, escalating tensions with Beijing before President-elect Joe Biden takes office this month. The order, first reported by Reuters, tasks the Commerce Department with defining which transactions will be
GENEVA/ZURICH (Reuters) – People should get two doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine within 21-28 days, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as many countries struggled to administer the jabs that can ward off the COVID-19 virus. Many are experiencing intensifying pressure on their health services due to surging coronavirus cases and the
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday offered political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a move that could anger the United States, which is seeking his extradition. Celebrating a decision by a British judge on Monday to deny a request to extradite Assange to the United States, Lopez Obrador
LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday a new national lockdown for England until at least mid-February to combat a fast-spreading new variant of the coronavirus, even as Britain ramped up its vaccination program by becoming the first nation to start using the shot developed by Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca. Johnson
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Monday the government would consider declaring a state of emergency for the Greater Tokyo metropolitan area as coronavirus cases climb and strain the country’s medical system. The possible emergency declaration would mark a reversal, as has Suga resisted any such drastic steps to restrict economic
ATLANTA (AP) — President Donald Trump pressured Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to “find” enough votes to overturn Joe Biden’s win in the state’s presidential election, repeatedly citing disproven claims of fraud and raising the prospect of “criminal offense” if officials did not change the vote count, according to a recording of the conversation. The
