Sunday, October 17th, 2021
Shenzhou 13 launches on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, Inner Mongolia, for the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong space station, where the crew will stay for six months. It will be China’s longest crewed mission to date. (AFP via NDTV)
Lucy, a NASA spacecraft that will visit Jupiter’s trojan asteroids, launches today at 09:34 UTC from Cape Canaveral, Florida. (CNN)
Russian actor, director return after 12 days at space station A Russian actor and a film director returned to Earth in a Soyuz MS-18 capsule on Sunday after spending 12 days at the International Space Station, where they worked on the first movie to be filmed in space. The capsule descended by parachute and landed in remote western Kazakhstan three hours after leaving the space station with actress Yulia Peresild, director Klim Shipenko, and Russian ISS crew member Oleg Novitskiy on board. The return came days after 90-year-old actor William Shatner, who played Capt. James Kirk in the Star Trek TV series, became the oldest person to reach space in a brief flight aboard a spacecraft operated by Blue Origin, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space-flight company. REUTERS
Taliban promises security for Shiite mosques after bombings The Taliban on Saturday vowed to increase security at Shiite mosques in Afghanistan following two deadly suicide bombings in a week. The pledge came as mourners gathered to bury victims of the second attack, which killed at least 41 people and wounded 70 at the Fatima mosque in Kandahar. A health official said some of the wounded were in critical condition and the death toll could rise. The Afghanistan affiliate of the Sunni extremist group Islamic State, ISIS-K, has claimed responsibility for the attack. ISIS-K terrorists have been stepping up their attacks to challenge the Taliban’s control. The head of Kandahar’s police said officers would be sent to protect Shiite mosques previously guarded only by local volunteers with special authorization to carry weapons. REUTERS
The Saudi Arabia-lead coalition says that they have killed 160 Houthi militants in Marib, Yemen, during 32 airstrikes in the past 24 hours. The coalition also reported that they killed a total of more than 700 Houthis this week. (Al Jazeera)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says that the mass release of wastewater at the Fukushima nuclear plant cannot be delayed. The water, which has been inside the plant since the 2011 meltdown, is planned to be dumped into the Pacific Ocean over several decades with strong opposition from local fishermen, and the governments of China and South Korea. (CNA)
Cape Verdeans head to the polls to elect their new president to replace outgoing term-limited Jorge Carlos Fonseca. The candidates of Fonseca’s right-wing MpD and the leftist PAICV are the main contenders. The election is seen as important to reopen the important tourism industry which was hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. (Reuters)
The Instituto Nacional Electoral in Mexico says that 2.85 million signatures are needed for a recall election against president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. López Obrador had promised this move which is opposed by the opposition. (Yahoo! News)
Gang kidnaps U.S. missionaries in Haiti Gang members kidnapped as many as 17 Christian missionaries and their family members, most of them Americans, as they were leaving an orphanage in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on Saturday, according to Haitian security officials and an audio prayer alert from their group, Christian Aid Ministries. Local officials said the missionary group, which included children, was abducted from a bus headed to the airport and another destination. Haiti has been plagued by political tension and security problems for years, but the crisis has deepened since the July assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Kidnappings have spiked sixfold this year. The Caribbean nation now has the highest per-capita kidnapping rate in the world, according to The Washington Post. THE NEW YORK TIMES
Rebels open fire on a group of Indian workers from Bihar in Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir, killing two people and wounding another. (Greater Kashmir)
U.K. police identify terror suspect held in lawmaker’s murder The suspect arrested in the fatal stabbing of British lawmaker David Amess has been identified as Ali Harbi Ali, a British citizen of Somali descent, U.K. media reported late Saturday. The suspect reportedly was not believed to have been on the radar of security officials, but had been referred to the U.K.’s Prevent counter-terrorist program, which aims to prevent at-risk people from being radicalized. Police said the suspect, originally arrested on suspicion of murder, was being held by London police after being rearrested under the Terrorism Act. Police said early results of the investigation into the killing suggested the motive could be linked to Islamic extremism. Amess, a member of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party, was stabbed multiple times Friday during a meeting with constituents. BBC NEWS
Venezuela halts talks with opposition after Maduro ally’s extradition The Venezuelan government said Saturday it was halting talks with the opposition in response to the extradition of an ally of President Nicolas Maduro on money-laundering charges. Lead government negotiator Jorge Rodríguez said his delegation would not go to Mexico City for the next scheduled meeting with members of the U.S.-backed opposition, although he did not say the talks were being scrapped permanently. The Maduro ally, businessman Alex Saab, lost a 16-month battle against extradition and was put on a plane to fly to the U.S. from Cape Verde. Rodriguez called the arrest an illegal act of “aggression” by Washington, which has called Maduro’s controversial reelection illegitimate. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hollywood union reaches deal with studios just before strike deadline The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees reached a tentative deal with studios and streaming services on Saturday, just in time to avert a strike before a 12:01 a.m. Monday deadline. A strike threatened to shut down film and television industry production. The deal, which still must be ratified by union members, covers about 40,000 film and television workers who belong to 13 local IATSE unions on the West Coast. Under the new contract, union workers would get better pay on streaming-service productions, more frequent breaks, and other benefits. “This is a Hollywood ending,” said IATSE International President Matthew Loeb. “We went toe to toe with some of the richest and most powerful entertainment and tech companies in the world.” THE WALL STREET JOUNAL
Sudan protesters call for military rule Thousands of protestors rallied in front of Sudan’s presidential palace in Khartoum on Saturday to demand that the military take power to end the east African country’s political crisis. The demonstrators chanted “down with the hunger government” and urged Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads the armed forces and Sudan’s joint military-civilian Sovereign Council, to take control. The military and civilians have been sharing power in a tense two-year transition following the 2019 toppling of longtime President Omar al-Bashir. Tensions have intensified since a foiled coup attempt by Bashir loyalists in September. Military leaders are calling for replacing the cabinet and reforming the Forces of Freedom and Change coalition, the civilian alliance that led anti-Bashir protests and plays a key role in the transitional government. CNN
Saturday, October 16th, 2021
The Taliban says that they will step up security at Shi’ite mosques after IS-KP bombed mosques in Kunduz and Kandahar this month, killing over 120 people in total. (Reuters)
Two workers are killed by gunmen in Srinagar and Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, in a spike of civilians being killed by rebels in the area. (Greater Kashmir)
Seven activists are sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to twelve months’ imprisonment for protesting against the national security law in July 2020. Among those sentenced are Leung Kwok-hung and Figo Chan. Leung is currently serving two sentences of 18 months’ imprisonment for other charges and Chan is currently serving a sentence of 18 months’ imprisonment for unauthorized assembly. (RTHK)
A Lashkar-e-Taiba commander and another militant are killed during a gunfight with security forces in Pulwama. The killed commander, who was involved in the murder of two policemen, was among the top 10 targets of Jammu and Kashmir police. It is also announced that two more rebels, involved in the recent killings of civilians, were killed yesterday during a gunfight in Srinagar. (India Today)
Russia reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 1,002 deaths from COVID-19, which is the first time that the country has reported more than 1,000 COVID-related deaths in a single day since the pandemic began. Only 32% of the population has been fully vaccinated, amid wide distrust in vaccines. (France 24)
An unidentified armed gang kidnaps 15 American missionaries and their families in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (AFP via Barron’s)
Colombian businessman Alex Saab is extradited to the United States from Cape Verde ahead of an initial court appearance in Florida on October 18 over his alleged money laundering for the Venezuelan government. (AFP via Deccan Herald)
French president Emmanuel Macron condemns the Paris massacre of 1961 on the eve of its 60th anniversary, but does not issue a formal apology. Macron is the first French president to attend a memorial ceremony for the victims. (AFP via WION)
Friday, October 15th, 2021
Three suicide bombers attack a Shiite mosque in Kandahar, Afghanistan, killing 47 people and injuring 70 others. The explosions occur at the main door and inside the mosque. Taliban authorities later arrived and secured the mosque. Taliban interior ministry spokesman Qari Saeed Khosti says that authorities are currently collecting evidence in order to determine responsibility for the bombing. (Al Jazeera)
ISIL-K claims responsibility for the attack, reporting that two attackers shot and killed security guards outside the mosque before blowing themselves up inside, where people were worshipping. (Reuters)
United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel Stuart Scheller is reprimanded by a military judge following his criticism of the U.S. military’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. (ABC News)
President Xi Jinping of China will not attend in person the Cop26 climate change conference in Glasgow, as it’s told to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The announcement comes amid international pessimism that, now compounded by the absence of China, a global leader in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, the event would not result in any substantiative change. (Reuters)
A Cameroonian policeman is lynched by a mob after he killed a five-year-old girl at a checkpoint in Buea Southwest Region. Protests involving hundreds of people occurred after the killing of the child. (The Guardian)
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra declares a unilateral ceasefire with the Coalition of Patriots for Change and the anti-balaka militia groups. (AFP via Barron’s)
David Amess, United Kingdom MP for Southend West, is stabbed to death in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, while meeting constituents at Belfairs Methodist Church. The suspect was arrested at the scene, and police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. (BBC News)
President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook receive booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. (Yonhap News Agency)
The Brussels-Capital Region expands the use of the COVID Safe Ticket to the hospitality industry, sports centres, and indoor events with more than 50 people. (The Brussels Times)
Italy‘s Green Pass becomes mandatory for all workplaces, but there are fears of disruption among transport workers and at ports where COVID-19 vaccination rates are relatively low. (BBC News)
Russia reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 999 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 221,313. The country also reports a record for the second consecutive day of 32,196 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 7.92 million. (Interfax)
During an online emergency meeting, the foreign ministers of the ASEAN agree to exclude Myanmar’s military junta chief Min Aung Hlaing from the upcoming ASEAN Summit to be held later this month. The country will instead be represented by non-political representative at the summit. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
Masten Wanjala, the Kenyan suspected serial killer of 14 boys, who escaped from prison two days ago, is murdered by lynching by a mob of villagers in Bungoma. Wanjala was hiding at his parents’ home when he was identified by neighbours. (BBC News)
Beirut street violence erupts during protest of port blast inquiry Intense gunfire erupted in Beirut Thursday during a Hezbollah protest over the investigation into a huge explosion last year at the city’s port. The fighting with pistols, automatic rifles, and rocket-propelled grenades left at least six people dead and dozens more wounded in the worst street violence the Lebanese capital has seen in years. The gunfire lasted for hours, forcing the evacuation of schools. Many residents fled to hide in shelters. It was not immediately clear who started the shooting, which broke out shortly after a crowd brought out by Iran-backed Hezbollah and Shiite Muslim allies from the Amal Movement started their protest against Judge Tarek Bitar, who is leading the port-blast investigation. Hezbollah accuses the judge of singling out its political allies for questioning. NPR
Three suicide bombers blow themself up at a Shiite mosque in Kandahar, Afghanistan, killing 37 people and wounding 70 others. The explosions occur at the main door and inside the mosque. Taliban authorities have arrived and secured the place. Taliban interior ministry spokesman Qari Saeed Khosti says that authorities were collecting evidence to determine responsibility. (BBC)
Italy‘s Green Pass becomes mandatory for all workplaces on Friday, but there are fears of disruption among transport workers and at ports where COVID-19 vaccination rates are relatively low. (BBC News)
Masten Wanjala, the man who killed 14 boys around Kenya and escaped from prison two days ago, is lynched by a mob of villagers in Bungoma. He went at his parents home before being identified by their neighbours. (BBC)
Southend West UK MP David Amess is stabbed in Leigh-on-Sea while meeting constituents at Belfairs Methodist Church. The suspect was arrested at the scene and police are not looking for anyone else in connection. (BBC News)(CNBC)
FDA advisers recommend limited emergency use of Moderna booster A panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers recommended emergency-use authorization of Moderna’s coronavirus booster shot for people 65 and older, and those 18 to 64 at high risk of severe COVID-19 or elevated risk due to their jobs. The panel’s 19 members unanimously backed starting to give these groups the 50-microgram third dose, which is half the size of the initial two doses. Patients in the targeted groups would be eligible six months after receiving the initial two-dose regimen. Committee members said they would have liked to see more data justifying the Moderna booster, but that it made sense to approve it given that they have already cleared the Pfizer-BioNTech booster for emergency use. Regulators aren’t obligated to follow the advisers’ recommendations, but typically do. CNN
Weekly jobless claims fall below 300,000 for 1st time since pandemic hit The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell below 300,000 last week for the first time since the pandemic began, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time jobless claims dropped by 36,000 to 293,000 for the week that ended Oct. 9 in what was widely interpreted as a sign that hiring was bouncing back as the summer coronavirus surge driven by the highly infectious Delta variant wanes. Continuing claims, which run behind the “headline number” by one week, also dropped to their own pandemic-era low, having fallen by 134,000 to 2.59 million. The decline came after a record 4.3 million Americans left their jobs in August, suggesting one reason for declining layoffs was that many workers are leaving voluntarily. CNBC
Suspect in deadly Norway bow-and-arrow attack issued ‘warning’ in video Police said Thursday that the Danish man accused of fatally shooting five people with a bow and arrow in Norway is a radicalized Muslim convert who posted a 2017 video calling himself a “messenger” delivering “a warning.” “Hello. I’m a messenger. I come with a warning. Is this really what you want? And for all who want to make up for themselves, so it’s time. Bear witness that I am a Muslim,” the 37-year-old man, Espen Andersen Bråthen, reportedly said in English in a Facebook video flagged to law enforcement in 2017. The attack on Wednesday in the town of Kongsberg, about 40 miles southwest of Oslo, left four women and a man dead, Police Chief Ole B. Saeverud said. The victims were between the ages of 50 and 70. Several other people were wounded. The Norwegian intelligence service said it was treating the attack as an “act of terror.” NEW YORK POST
Biden to meet with Pope Francis at Vatican President Biden will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Oct. 29 to discuss “working together on efforts grounded in respect for fundamental human dignity, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling the climate crisis, and caring for the poor,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Thursday. Biden, the United States’ second Catholic president, and Francis share concerns on key issues, including climate change and economic disparities. Conservatives in the church have questioned whether Biden should be allowed to receive Communion because of his support for abortion rights. Francis recently appeared to criticize conservative bishops, repeating the church view that abortion is “murder” but saying he had never refused anyone the eucharist because the decision on granting Communion should be pastoral, not political. THE WASHINGTON POST
Disgraced S.C. lawyer arrested in insurance fraud case South Carolina authorities on Thursday arrested disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh, whose wife and son were murdered in June, and charged him with swindling millions of dollars from the sons of his longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, who died in 2018 after falling down stairs at Murdaugh’s South Carolina home. Murdaugh referred Satterfield’s sons to a lawyer to file a wrongful death suit, but didn’t tell them that the lawyer, Cory Fleming, was his college roommate. Murdaugh and his insurers reached a $4.3 million settlement, but the housekeeper’s sons, Tony Satterfield and Brian Harriott, said Murdaugh got most of the money. Murdaugh, also suspected of stealing from clients and asking a cousin to kill him so his son would get a life-insurance payout, was arrested at a Florida drug detox center. THE NEW YORK TIMES
Bill Clinton hospitalized with non-COVID-related infection Former President Bill Clinton was hospitalized in Southern California on Tuesday for a non-COVID-related infection, his spokesman Angel Urena said on Thursday. In a statement, Urena said Clinton, 75, was admitted to the University of California Irvine Medical Center and is now “on the mend, in good spirits, and is incredibly thankful to the doctors, nurses, and staff providing him with excellent care.” Clinton received intravenous antibiotics and fluids, and is being treated in the hospital’s intensive care unit for his privacy and safety, and remained hospitalized for monitoring, according to a statement Thursday night from his doctors. Clinton underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2004, and had another heart procedure in 2010 to open a blocked artery. CNN
Thursday, October 14th, 2021
A former Boeing chief test pilot is indicted by a United States grand jury for deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration during the certification process for the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, which resulted in two fatal crashes and a subsequent grounding of the aircraft. (AFP via The Australian)
Six people are killed and 32 more are injured during a shooting at a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, against the judge investigating the 2020 port explosion. Hezbollah and Amal accused the attackers of being members of the Christian Lebanese Forces. Clashes occurred for hours afterwards between the militias involving snipers, pistols, Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenades even after the army was deployed. (BBC News)
A Taliban police commander is killed and 11 more people are wounded as a bomb targeting the commander’s vehicle explode in Shigal District, Afghanistan. (The Defense Post)
Pakistan International Airlines suspends flights to the Afghan capital Kabul, citing “heavy-handed” interference from the Taliban. It was the only foreign carrier operating regular flights out of Kabul. (BBC News)
An Italian court in Rome drops charges against four Egyptian police officers for the 2016 murder of Italian PhD student Giulio Regeni in Cairo, citing its inability for the four officers to be tried in absentia since their prosecutors failed to inform them of their charges. (AFP via France 24)
The man accused of killing five people and injuring three more yesterday at a supermarket in Kongsberg, Viken, Norway, using a bow and arrow, is identified as a 37-year-old Norwegian man and convert to Islam with Danish citizenship, who police had been concerned about regarding radicalization. (Reuters)
The Nigerian Army confirms that Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the leader of ISWAP, died two months ago. However, the circumstances of al-Barnawi’s death are not clear. (BBC News)
Brazil‘s Central Bank sells $1 billion to offset declines in the currency that have fallen ⅓ relative to the US dollar in 2021 alone, with another $1 billion in sales scheduled for later today. (Mercopress)
LinkedIn announces that it will shut down its social media services in China later this year, citing heavy-handed compliance requirements from the government, and will replace it with a traditional job-listing site. LinkedIn was the only major Western-based social media site to legally operate within the country prior to the announcement. (BBC News)
‘Star Trek’ actor William Shatner returns from space, muses on ‘death’ On Wednesday, 90-year-old actor William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk on the original hit sci-fi TV show Star Trek, headed to the edge of space courtesy of Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin. The 11-minute journey clearly left him moved and musing on mortality: “It was unbelievable … To see the blue cover go whoop by. And now you’re staring into blackness,” Shatner recounted once he was back on Earth. As he went on: “You look down, there’s the blue down there, and the black up there. There is Mother and Earth and comfort and there is … Is there death? I don’t know. Was that death? Is that the way death is? Whoop and it’s gone. Jesus. It was so moving to me.” As The New York Times notes, “The word ‘death,’ repeatedly mentioned by Mr. Shatner in his post-flight monologue, is rarely thought of as a selling word for space tourism.” THE NEW YORK TIMES
Blue Origin launches four crew into sub-orbit on a New Shepard rocket from its Corn Ranch spaceport in Van Horn, Texas. The crew includes Blue Origin Vice President Audrey Powers, NASA engineer Chris Boshuizen, space tourist Glen de Vries, and actor William Shatner. Shatner, best known for his portrayal of Captain Kirk in the Star Trek media franchise, becomes the oldest ever person in space at the age of 90. (BBC)
Six people are killed and 32 more wounded during a shooting at a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, against the judge investigating the 2020 port explosion. The attacker is believed to be a Christian sniper. Clashes erupt between the snipers and Hezbollah militias after the shootings. (BBC)
The man who killed five people and wounded two more yesterday at a supermarket in Kongsberg, Viken, Norway, using a bow and arrow, is identified as a 37-year-old Islamic extremist Norwegian man with Danish citizenship . (Reuters)
At least 46 people are killed and 79 others injured by a fire at a 13-storey tower block in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. (BBC)
Armenia expands its case before the International Court of Justice against Azerbaijan, accusing it of violating the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to which both states are signatories, for allegedly promoting ethnic hatred against Armenians. Azerbaijan denies the accusation and themselves accuse Armenia of violating the treaty. (Reuters)
A man imprisoned for murdering 14 boys in Kenya escapes from his prison cell in Nairobi and is on the run. He is described as “extremely dangerous”. (BBC)
Sri Lanka drops charges against Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, who was accused of being part of a group of 14 navy personnel who kidnapped 11 children and then murdered them after attempting to extort money from their families. The actual number of children murdered by the group is suspected to be at least three times higher. The crimes were carried out in 2008 and 2009, amid the chaos of the Sri Lankan Civil War. (Al Jazeera)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dissolves the lower house of Japanese Parliament ahead of the election on 31 October. (UPI)
Biden announces broad effort to clear clogged ports before Christmas President Biden on Wednesday announced agreements with the largest U.S. ports, retailers, and freight haulers to expand operations in what administration officials called a “90-day sprint” to clear supply-chain bottlenecks before the crucial holiday shopping season. The Port of Los Angeles agreed to join its sister port, Long Beach, and start operating 24/7, the White House said, while Walmart, FedEx, UPS, Target, and Home Depot committed to sending more drivers to the ports in the expanded hours to remove shipping containers clogging the ports and get the products to shelves. Labor unions agreed to supply the workers. Analysts called it a good first step in resolving supply problems that have fueled rising inflation and caused random shortages of goods, but said there’s only so much a U.S. president can do unsnarl a global logistical mess. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
At least 5 dead in Norway bow-and-arrow attack A man walked around the Norwegian town of Kongsberg shooting at people with a bow and arrow, killing at least five people and injuring two others, local police said Wednesday. Officers arrested the suspect, a 37-year-old Danish citizen and recent Muslim convert who had been flagged as having been radicalized. “It is natural to consider whether it is an act of terrorism,” Regional police chief Oeyvind Aas said. “But the man has not been questioned and it is too early to come to any conclusion.” Investigators believed the attacker acted alone. No details on the identities of the victims were immediately released. CNN
Inflation accelerated due to supply disruptions, high demand Inflation in the United States sped up in September, reaching its highest rate in more than a decade as the coronavirus pandemic continued to cause labor and material shortages. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that the consumer-price index jumped by 5.4 percent from a year earlier, slightly higher than in August, and the same rate seen in June and July as the economy reopened. The core price index, which factors out volatile food and energy prices, rose by 4 percent in September compared to a year earlier, the same as August’s rate. On a monthly basis, the CPI increased by 0.4 percent in September, faster than August’s rate of 0.3 percent. In Federal Reserve meeting minutes released Wednesday, Fed officials expressed concerns last month that supply disruptions could increase the risk of persistent high inflation. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Data suggest other boosters might be best after J&J vaccine People who got Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine could benefit from a second dose of the initial, one-shot vaccine, but might get even better protection from a booster made with different vaccine technology, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing data from an FDA review of Johnson & Johnson test results and a preprint study that tested mixing booster doses from different drug makers. About 15 million people received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the United States. Far more got messenger RNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. An FDA advisory panel of outside experts is scheduled to meet Friday to consider the Johnson & Johnson booster and a National Institutes of Health study in which vaccinated people got boosters made by companies that didn’t make their original vaccine. THE WASHINGTON POST
Administration says coronavirus vaccination rates rose after mandates U.S. coronavirus vaccination rates have jumped by more than 20 percentage points since numerous businesses, hospital systems, social institutions, and government entities adopted vaccine requirements, the Biden administration said Wednesday. Seventy-seven percent of eligible Americans now have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters. President Biden and his team have pushed recently to chip away at resistance among some Americans to take widely available vaccines that proved safe and effective in trials. Biden last month ordered most health-care workers and federal employees to get vaccinated, and urged large employers to make their employees provide proof of vaccination or face weekly COVID testing. REUTERS
Judge says D.C. jail violated Jan. 6 suspect’s rights A federal judge asked the Justice Department to determine whether the Washington, D.C., jail was violating the civil rights of defendants charged with committing crimes during the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters. District Judge Royce Lamberth said jail officials had violated the rights of one accused Capitol rioter, Christopher Worrell, by failing to get him “proper treatment” for medical issues, including surgery for a broken hand and care for a Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis. Royce held Warden Wanda Patten and Department of Corrections Director Quincy Booth in civil contempt for failing to turn over Worrell’s medical records. An attorney for the jail said Worrell was getting medical care for his cancer and pain management for his broken hand. CNN
William Shatner becomes oldest person to visit space William Shatner, the actor best known for playing Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek, became the oldest person to fly to the edge of space. Shatner, 90, soared to a maximum altitude of 66 miles with three others on the second human spaceflight of a New Shepard rocket made by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin aerospace company. The rocket left the company’s West Texas launch site for the 10-minute trip, which ended with the spacecraft parachuting back to Earth. All four passengers returned safely. “In a way it’s indescribable,” Shatner told Bezos. “Not only is it different than what you thought, it happened so quickly. The impression I had that I never expected to have is the shooting up: There’s blue sky –” he said, pausing when Bezos sprayed a bottle of champagne in celebration. USA TODAY
Biden administration unveils plan for more offshore wind farms Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Wednesday announced a Biden administration plan for putting large-scale wind farms along nearly all of the U.S. coastline. Haaland said the government would identify and eventually lease federal waters for electricity-producing offshore turbines in the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of Maine, and waters off the Mid-Atlantic, North and South Carolina, California, and Oregon, as well as in the New York Bight between Long Island and New Jersey. Just months ago, the administration approved the nation’s first major commercial offshore wind farm off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. A dozen other potential offshore wind projects are under review for other spots along the East Coast. The administration also has approved two areas off Central and North Carolina for commercial wind power. THE NEW YORK TIMES
Stock futures rise as stocks linked to recovery gain U.S. stock index futures rose early Thursday as stocks linked to the economic recovery gained ground. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were up by about 0.6 percent several hours before the opening bell. Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained about 0.8 percent. Carnival led stocks that stand to gain from the recovery from coronavirus pandemic damage. Its shares jumped by 2 percent as falling COVID-19 cases fueled hopes of stronger growth. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September policy meeting released Wednesday indicated the central bank might start tapering its efforts to boost the recovery in mid-November or mid-December. “We still think November but one month isn’t going to matter to markets at this point,” said Lawrence Gillum, fixed income strategist for LPL Financial. CNBC
Adele confirms the release date for ’30’ Adele has spoken. After teasing the release of her highly-anticipated next album, 30, on billboards around the world, the singer released a statement on Wednesday confirming that we only have to wait five more weeks to hear the final product. “I was certainly nowhere near where I’d hoped to be when I first started [30] nearly three years ago. Quite the opposite actually,” Adele wrote to her fans, adding that “I’ve painstakingly rebuilt my house and my heart since then and this album narrates it.” Previously, Adele told Vogue that the new music was inspired by her divorce from her husband, Simon Konecki, although she’s reluctant to call it a “divorce album” since the split was “was amicable — Konecki lives in a house she bought across the street from her own, and they have regular movie nights together with [their son] Angelo, now 9,” Vulture reports. VULTUREVOGUE
Neil deGrasse Tyson is utterly baffled by Demi Lovato insisting ‘aliens’ is offensive to aliens Neil deGrasse Tyson can’t wrap his head around Demi Lovato’s claim that calling extraterrestrials “aliens” is offensive. “To be worried about offending them by calling them an alien, what [is Lovato] thinking is going on in the head of species of life from another planet?” Tyson ranted to TMZ. “I mean, I know it’s very considerate of [Lovato], but really? Really?” Tyson went on to clarify that he uses the term “space aliens” and that when referring to migrants, “undocumented immigrants, that’s what the new term is for them, and I’m all in on that.” As a result, he insisted, “So what that means is … the only invocation of the word ‘alien’ is for creatures from outer space that want to kill us all. First, I don’t care what they feel. Plus, why should I even believe they know English? So, yeah, I’m not all in on that. I don’t get it.” TMZ
Cardi B got a mansion for her birthday Offset bought Cardi B a Caribbean mansion for her birthday, which is apparently something rich people do when they’re not buying themselves tickets to outer space. “For a hot minute now I’ve been telling Set that I really want to invest in short term home rental properties … but I felt like he didn’t agree with me and would rather put money into other investments,” Cardi wrote on Instagram, adding cheerfully: “Well, I was wrong.” The property has six bedrooms, seven-and-a-half bathrooms, an infinity pool overlooking the ocean, and a lot of really hideous staging art, according to the birthday reveal video that Cardi B shared to Instagram. Still, for all her excitement, Cardi gave Offset an I.O.U. for properly thanking him: “I can’t wait for this hangover to go away,” she added, “so I can show you my full appreciation.” PEOPLE
Wednesday, October 13th, 2021
It is reported that at least 415 children committed suicide in Japan in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic while schools were closed. (Reuters)
Pro-democracy protests intensify in Eswatini, as police use tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds during this week’s protests. Government spokespeople have denied to comment as King Mswati III denies accusations of autocratic rule in the last absolutist monarchy in Africa. (Reuters)
The Nigerian government announces that they will require workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or to submit a negative PCR test from the previous 72 hours beginning on December 1. (Vanguard)
Russia reports a record for the second consecutive day of 984 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 219,329. (Newsweek)
Iqaluit, capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, issues a state of emergency after evidence is found of gasoline in the city’s tap water. All residents are advised to not drink, boil or cook with the city’s water. The city had issued a Do Not Drink Water advisory the previous day. (Global News)
Opposition lawmakers present a formal impeachment proceeding against Chilean president Sebastián Piñera over connections to a 2010 sale of a mining company, for which a prosecutor opened a case against Piñera for alleged bribery, corruption, and tax violations. (Al Jazeera)
Kenyan world record holder in the women’s 10 kilometres event Agnes Tirop is stabbed to death at her home in Iten, Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya. Tirop’s husband is the prime suspect in her murder, according to police. (BBC)
Four people are killed and 24 others are left injured during a protest over Quran desecration at a Hindu temple in Haziganj Upazila, Bangladesh. (AFP via ABS-CBN News)
The End
artificial stupid 