North America

WASHINGTON (AP) — With many Americans who got Pfizer vaccinations already rolling up their sleeves for a booster shot, millions of others who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine wait anxiously to learn when it’s their turn.

Federal regulators begin tackling that question this week.

12 Oct 2021; MEMO: A US official said yesterday that the White House stands by its calls for oil-producing countries to "do more" to support the global economic recovery, as crude prices recorded their highest levels in years, Reuters reported.

The official said the administration was closely monitoring the cost of oil and gasoline and "using every tool at our disposal to address anti-competitive practices in US and global energy markets to ensure reliable and stable energy markets."

12 Oct 2021; MEMO: Rare gifts awarded by Saudi Arabia to former US President Donald Trump during his first official visit to the kingdom in 2017 are fakes according to an investigation into their origins and whereabouts by the State Department.

SANTEE, Calif. (AP) — A twin-engine plane that killed at least two people and left a swath of destruction in a San Diego suburb nose-dived into the ground after repeated warnings that it was flying dangerously low, according to a recording.

The Cessna 340 smashed into a UPS van, killing the driver, and then hit houses just after noon Monday in Santee, a suburb of 50,000 people. The pilot also is believed to have died, and at least two people on the ground were hurt, including a woman who was helped out the window of a burning home by neighbors.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund expressed “full confidence” in its managing director Tuesday in response to allegations that World Bank staff were pressured to change business rankings for China in an effort to placate Beijing.

The IMF’s 24-member executive board said in a statement that its review “did not conclusively demonstrate that the managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, played an improper role” in the situation in her former role as a top official of the World Bank.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It took little more than 48 hours from the moment a major oil spill was discovered off Southern California until the first lawsuit was filed against the Houston company that owns and operates the ruptured pipeline.

Finding the cause, who is to blame and if they will be held accountable will take much longer.

Several federal and state agencies are investigating in parallel as they seek the cause of the pipe rupture, how quickly pipeline operators responded and determine whether criminal charges are warranted.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of the House are scrambling back to Washington Tuesday to approve a short-term lift of the nation’s debt limit and ensure the federal government can continue fully paying its bills into December.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 11 (APP): United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Monday made an urgent appeal to the international community to inject cash into Afghanistan’s economy to avoid collapse, warning that the world will pay a heavy price if timely action is not taken.

Speaking to reporters, he said the Afghan economy was breaking down, with assets frozen and development aid paused compounded by closing of banks and essential services, such as healthcare, suspended in many places.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States and Britain warned their citizens on Monday to avoid hotels in Afghanistan, days after dozens were killed at a mosque in an attack claimed by the Daesh group.

  The Taliban, which seized power in August and declared an Islamic emirate, are seeking international recognition and assistance to avoid a humanitarian disaster and ease Afghanistan’s economic crisis.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The World Bank hopes to raise $100 billion in donations for the International Development Association fund for poorer countries to address "tragic reversals in development" caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, its president David Malpass said on Monday.

The multilateral development bank is forecasting global growth of 5.7% in 2021 and 4.4% in 2022, but Malpass said disparities between advanced economies and developing countries were worsening and had set back efforts to reduce extreme poverty by year, and in some cases decades.