USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators on Wednesday signed off on extending COVID-19 boosters to Americans who got the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine and said anyone eligible for an extra dose can get a brand different from the one they received initially.

WASHINGTON, Oct 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) – U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, tested positive for COVID-19, despite having been fully vaccinated, his spokesperson said yesterday.

WASHINGTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's nominee to be U.S. ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, took a tough line on dealings with China at his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, saying "genocide in Xinjiang," abuses in Tibet and bullying of Taiwan must stop.

Burns said China is "blasting past" its pledge to maintain only a minimum nuclear deterrent, adding Washington should work with allies in Europe and elsewhere to push back on trade and support U.S. businesses.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City will require police officers, firefighters and other municipal workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be placed on unpaid leave, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday, giving an ultimatum to public employees who’ve refused and ensuring a fight with some of the unions representing them.

The mandate affecting the nation’s largest police department and more than 100,000 other Big Apple workers — including trash haulers and building inspectors — carries a Nov. 1 deadline for getting the first vaccine dose, de Blasio announced.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Children age 5 to 11 will soon be able to get a COVID-19 shot at their pediatrician’s office, local pharmacy and potentially even their school, the White House said Wednesday as it detailed plans for the expected authorization of the Pfizer shot for younger children in a matter of weeks.

Federal regulators will meet over the next two weeks to weigh the benefits of giving shots to kids, after lengthy studies meant to ensure the safety of the vaccines.

Washington, Oct 20 (PTI) IMF's Chief Economist Gita Gopinath will leave her job in January next year and return to the prestigious Harvard University, according to the global financial institution.

The 49-year-old prominent Indian-American economist had joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the Chief Economist in January 2019.

She was the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University when she joined the Washington-based global lender.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Navy report has concluded there were sweeping failures by commanders, crew members and others that fueled the July 2020 arson fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard, calling the massive five-day blaze in San Diego preventable and unacceptable.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection voted unanimously to hold former White House aide Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress after the longtime ally of former President Donald Trump defied a subpoena for documents and testimony.

Still defending his supporters who broke into the Capitol that day, Trump has aggressively tried to block the committee’s work by directing Bannon and others not to answer questions in the probe. Trump has also filed a lawsuit to try to prevent Congress from obtaining former White House documents.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 19 (APP): Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Munir Akram, apprised UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the worsening human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and the concomitant threat to regional peace and security when he met him on Monday, according to Pakistani officials.

The Pakistani envoy, who called on the UN chief on instructions from Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, also urged the UN chief to take steps to promote peace in South Asia.

WASHINGTON, Oct 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States military on Tuesday condemned North Korea for a suspected ballistic missile launch and called on the country to “refrain from any further destabilizing acts.”

  “We are aware of the North Korean ballistic missile launch this morning into the Sea of Japan and are consulting closely with the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan,” the US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement, adding
that “this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel, territory, or that of our allies.”