Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

US announces details of global distribution of Covid-19 vaccine doses

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN on Thursday (3) laid out how the United States would share some 25 million of a planned 80 million Covid-19 vaccine doses with the rest of the world.

However, the 25 million doses Biden announced today will not include supply from AstraZeneca, the White House said. He will make his goal of getting all 80 million doses distributed in June.


The United States will donate nearly 19 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine supply through the COVAX international vaccine sharing programme, he said in a statement.

Through COVAX, some 6 million doses would go to Latin America and the Caribbean, about 7 million doses to South and Southeast Asia and roughly 5 million for Africa.

The remaining doses, amounting to just over 6 million, would go directly from the United States to countries including Canada, Mexico, India and South Korea, he said.

"We are sharing these doses not to secure favours or extract concessions," Biden said in a statement. "We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic, with the power of our example and with our values."

Biden has come under pressure from the world community to share the surplus of Covid-19 vaccines.

For months, the White House has remained focused on getting Americans vaccinated after the coronavirus killed more than half a million people in the United States within the last year.

But the president has promised that the United States would become a supplier to other countries and pledged to send abroad at least 20 million doses of the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE, Moderna Inc and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, on top of 60 million AstraZeneca Plc doses he had already planned to give to other countries.

More For You

Thunderstorms to Hit East & South-East England; Met Office

The warning indicates a high risk of disruption

Getty Images

Thunderstorms to hit East and South-East England as Met Office issues amber warning

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for thunderstorms across parts of eastern and south-eastern England, in effect from 20:00 BST on Friday to 05:00 on Saturday. The affected area spans from Eastbourne in East Sussex to Cromer in north Norfolk.

The warning indicates a high risk of disruption, with flash flooding, power cuts, and hazardous travel conditions expected. The Met Office warns that flooding of homes and businesses is likely, and delays or cancellations to bus and rail services are possible due to surface water and lightning strikes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Crime boss who posed as male escort jailed for £20m cocaine plot

Shergill and his accomplices were arrested on different dates in 2020

Photo for representation (iStock)

Crime boss who posed as male escort jailed for £20m cocaine plot

THE head of an organised crime group who claimed he was a male escort while masterminding an international operation to import cocaine into the UK has been sentenced to 21 years and three months in jail.

Kulvir Shergill, 43, from the West Midlands, told National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators he made a living through male escort bookings, teaching martial arts and working as a personal trainer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Major Delays on M62 After Lorry Crash and Fuel Spill

Motorists are being advised to expect significant disruption

National Highways

Major delays on M62 after lorry crash causes fuel spill

Drivers are facing long delays on the M62 following a lorry crash near Warrington that led to a significant fuel spill on the carriageway.

The incident occurred when the lorry struck railings on a bridge on the A49 Newton Road, causing fuel to leak onto the motorway below. As a result, the M62 has been closed in both directions within junction 9, and the junction 8 eastbound entry slip road is also shut.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air-India-Phuket-Reuters

A view shows Air India flight AI 379 that had to make an emergency landing back at Phuket Airport, due to a note of a bomb threat discovered mid-air, in Phuket, Thailand, June 13, 2025. (Photo: Reuters)

Bomb threat forces Air India flight back to Thai island

AN AIR INDIA flight from Phuket, Thailand to New Delhi returned to the Thai island on Friday after a bomb threat was discovered on board, according to Thailand’s airports authority.

The flight had taken off from Phuket and was en route to India when the pilot reported a possible threat and made an emergency landing.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash

Debris of Air India flight 171 is pictured after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 13, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Air India crash: Black box found as India investigates London-bound flight disaster

INVESTIGATORS have recovered the black box from the site of Thursday’s Air India crash in Ahmedabad, where a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London’s Gatwick airport went down shortly after takeoff, killing at least 265 people, including those on the ground.

The aircraft issued a mayday call shortly before crashing into a residential area around lunchtime. The plane had barely lifted 100 metres from the ground before it came down, with its tailpiece left protruding from the second floor of a hostel for medical staff from a nearby hospital.

Keep ReadingShow less