Author: Press Room

TAIPEI: As COVID-19 rips through China, other countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) are calling on its government to share more comprehensive data on the outbreak. Some even say many of the numbers it’s reporting are meaningless. Without basic data like the number of deaths, infections and severe cases, governments elsewhere have instituted virus testing requirements for travellers from China. Beijing has said the measures aren’t science-based and threatened countermeasures. Of greatest concern is whether new variants will emerge from the mass infection unfolding in China and spread to other countries. The Delta and Omicron variants developed in places…

Vice President Kamala Harris teased the Biden administration’s top priorities for 2023, following a meeting at the White House Thursday with members of the Cabinet.After the meeting, Harris shared a photo of the administration’s top officials at the White House and said they would be focusing on slashing inflation, job growth, and growing the economy.In the tweet, the vice president said she has “never been more optimistic about our future.””I’ve never been more optimistic about our future. Today, standing with [President Joe Biden] and other members of the Cabinet, we discussed our plan for 2023. Together we will deliver on…

A majority of Canadians remain concerned about COVID-19, however, their anxieties toward the virus have softened and vary depending on age, according to a new poll. The Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News between Dec. 14 and 16, 2022, found 61 per cent of the 1,004 adults surveyed indicated that COVID-19 is a concern and 70 per cent disagreed with the notion the virus “is not a big deal.”However, a clear consensus that once existed among Canadians supporting strong public health measures and showing high levels of concern appears to have softened, says Ipsos senior vice-president Sean Simpson.“What’s really…

Both leaders had also discussed energy cooperation when they met last September on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Uzbekistan. China has been buying more Turkmen gas. For the first 11 months of 2022, China’s imports of Turkmen gas were valued at US$9.3 billion, up from US$6.79 billion in the whole of 2021, according to Chinese customs data. Turkmen gas is pumped to as far as China’s eastern coast via three trunklines spanning 1,833 kilometres and passing through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Both countries are pushing ahead with a planned fourth pipeline – the 1,000-km…

The Yankees, still needing an outfielder, are among teams consistently interested in Pirates star Bryan Reynolds, who seeks a trade. One interested team exec summed up the Pirates requests in two words: “unrealistic asks.” Another team’s exec says there’s nothing happening now but they hold hope for spring. It’s not surprising the ask is high since the Pirates don’t seem especially interested in trading him as they hope to contend within the three years he has left. Plus, it would be difficult publicly. Perhaps, too, the Pirates don’t want to accede to trade demands, which they may fear will trigger…

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo said he may reshuffle his cabinet in the next few days, as some political sources bet on a last major realignment of his government to complete programmes ahead of elections due to be held in 2024. Speculation about a reshuffle has been growing since Nasdem, one of seven political parties in the ruling coalition, announced it would back former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan in the 2024 presidential election – a politician seen as a potential rival to Widodo’s successor. Members of the president’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) party have since called for him…

As the words came tumbling off the tongue of Dr. Timothy Pritts, they seemed borrowed from the very best sports movies ever made. This was Gale Sayers declaring: “I love Brian Piccolo, and I’d like all of you to love him too.” This was Adrian telling Rocky: “Win!” This was Norman Dale telling his quintet of Hickory High Huskers: “I love you guys.” But this was more than mere heart-tugging dialogue. This was a nation’s prayers being answered in real time. “Did we win?” Damar Hamlin wrote, moments after waking up Wednesday evening, delivered to a bedside nurse and relayed…

Analysts and a leading newspaper have slammed ministers after local markets tanked in Lula’s first two days in office.Criticism of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s economic policies grew on Wednesday, with analysts and a leading newspaper slamming ministers after local markets tanked in the leftist’s first two days in office. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, a Lula loyalist who ran a failed presidential bid as the leftist Workers’ Party candidate in 2018, has been among the main targets, with his hometown newspaper O Estado de S Paulo dubbing him a “decorative minister” on Wednesday. Haddad, a former mayor of…

Prince Harry kept ‘eye on’ William for strength as they walked behind Diana’s coffinPrince Harry has revealed how he kept his eye on his brother Prince William as they walked behind their mother’s coffin on the day of her funeral to give him strength.As a 12-year-old boy, Harry and a then 15-year-old William joined their father Charles, grandfather Prince Philip and uncle Charles Spencer in Princess Diana’s funeral procession following her tragic death in a Paris car crash.The heartbreaking image of the two youngsters with their heads bowed as they followed the coffin is one many will never forget.And in…

UK house prices have fallen for the fourth consecutive month as rising borrowing costs hit household finances, according to data published on Friday.Average house prices dropped 1.5 per cent between November and December, said mortgage provider Halifax. The decline marks a slowdown from the 2.4 per cent drop recorded between October and November.The annual rate of house price growth slowed to 2 per cent, down from 4.6 per cent in the previous month.The typical property price in the UK fell to £281,272 in December, down from £285,425 in November.“Uncertainties about the extent to which cost of living increases will impact…