WORLD

“It’s really not going well – not with the infection rate and not at the hospitals,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Tuesday, adding that more measures may be imposed in the coming weeks if the spread of the virus doesn’t slow. It comes as the Dutch government voted …

“We’ve had at least one very serious explosion and a working fire at the plant,” Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper said on Tuesday night, after the blast was reported around 10pm local time. While it remains unclear whether any volatile chemicals were involved in the explosion, Carper relayed reports that the …

On Tuesday, the head of Russia’s health protection agency, Anna Popova, said that “at least two weeks before immunization, it is absolutely necessary to stop drinking [alcohol].” After the first injection, people should abstain for six whole weeks, she added. This is apparently to ensure the proper functioning of the …

“Nuclear power will remain the cornerstone of our strategic autonomy,” Macron said on Tuesday, as he visited the Framatome nuclear reactor construction plant in the eastern town of Le Creusot.  France’s new carrier – its 11th in total – will boast speeds of up to 27 knots (50 km/h), weigh …

FireEye, a California-based cybersec outfit that’s made a name for itself investigating attacks on high-profile clients, including JP Morgan Chase and Sony, said it was recently hit by a major attack in a statement on Tuesday, noting that it’s own “Red Team” hacking tools were stolen in the breach. “A …

Developed in partnership with Oxford University, AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine was found to be 70.4 percent effective in a peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet medical journal on Tuesday. It may seem like a low number, compared to the roughly 95 percent effectiveness touted by rival firms Pfizer and Moderna, yet …

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK government’s resource for all of the figures and data on Covid. But it seems to have been caught red-handed retroactively changing figures that Boris Johnson cited when announcing the second lockdown at the end of October. Of that announcement, Peston said …

Vilsack’s pending appointment was first reported on Tuesday by NPR, citing “a source familiar with the transition discussions.” The same source said Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) was tapped to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Bloomberg later reported the same thing. Biden’s appointment of Vilsack fits his …

The State Assembly bill, which was introduced by Manhattan Democrat Linda Rosenthal, says in its summary that Covid-19 vaccinations would be compulsory “in certain situations.” But it later says any mandate would apply to “all individuals or groups of individuals who, as shown by clinical data, are proven to be …

Between 2011 when she came to the US as a student and her abrupt and unexplained departure in mid-2015, Christine Fang worked her way into the confidences of a number of prominent Democrats in the San Francisco Bay Area, Axios reported on Monday. Fang appeared in photos alongside Judy Chu, …