Category: International

Messenger RNA COVID-19 Vaccines Had No Effect on Overall Mortality: Trial Data Reanalysis

The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines did not impact overall mortality, a reanalysis of clinical trial data found. The two vaccines, both based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, protected against deaths from COVID-19 but that effect was offset by vaccinated trial participants being more likely to die from cardiovascular problems, Christine Stabell Benn, a health professor…


Merrick Garland Approves Transfer of Russian Assets to Ukraine

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Wednesday that he had given the go-ahead for the first transfer of confiscated Russian assets to Ukraine. The U.S. Department of Justice charged Konstantin Malofeyev, a Russian oligarch, with breaching sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine last year. The United States claimed that he had provided…


Pfizer Throws Support Behind Changing Australia’s Constitution

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is backing the contentious Indigenous Voice to Parliament to change Australia’s Constitution to better reflect Aboriginal interests. Pfizer is the latest corporate entity to throw its support behind the proposal that will set up an almost-parallel layer of government exclusively for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Anne Harris, managing director of Pfizer…


Study Finds Your Neighborhood Is a Factor in Your Dementia Risk

An Australian study of nearly 5,000 people found that those who lived in wealthier suburbs scored significantly higher on memory tests and lower on dementia risk tests than those who were less affluent. As the nation’s second leading cause of death, there has been a concerted effort to understand and identify risk factors for dementia….


China, Taliban Deepen Ties as Afghanistan Joins Beijing’s Infrastructure Plan

China, Pakistan, and the Taliban have decided to extend the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to Afghanistan during their fifth tri-party foreign ministers dialogue in Islamabad on May 6. “The three sides reaffirmed their resolve to fully harness Afghanistan’s potential as a hub for regional connectivity. Reaffirming their commitment to further the trilateral cooperation…


Grisly Video Footage Portrays Horrors and Ambiguities of a Brutal Conflict

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine early last year, countless videos have emerged from the frontlines. Often taken by combatants themselves, they portray scenes of trench warfare, fiery drones strikes, and gruesome atrocities allegedly committed by both sides. Posted on social-media sites, and often published in turn by media outlets, sensational footage has become a regular…


Dutch Suspect in Student Natalee Holloway’s Disappearance to Be Extradited to US From Peru

The prime suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway during a school trip to the Dutch Caribbean Island of Aruba is set to be extradited to the United States. Holloway’s mother, Beth Holloway, announced on May 10 that Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot will be extradited. Van der Sloot will face federal wire…


Biden Administration Draws Bipartisan Fire for Not Anticipating Sudan Crisis

The only people surprised that rival generals were marshaling forces to battle for supremacy in Sudan were the U.S. State Department and its Africa desk, Republican and Democratic senators alleged during a May 10 hearing on “options for an effective policy response” to the unfolding catastrophe. As a result, senators said, when fighting exploded April…


IN-DEPTH: Biden Administration Draws Bipartisan Fire for Not Anticipating Sudan Crisis

The only people surprised that rival generals were marshaling forces to battle for supremacy in Sudan were the U.S. State Department and its Africa desk, Republican and Democratic senators alleged during a May 10 hearing on “options for an effective policy response” to the unfolding catastrophe. As a result, senators said, when fighting exploded April…


Myths and Legends Forged on the Shores of Gallipoli

Commentary Another ANZAC Day (April 25) already fades into memory as I contemplate its powerful influence not only on our Australian history but on a much broader stage. When I was a boy in the late 1950s and early 1960s, I used to watch the Sydney parade every year, from start to finish. I must…