US

Prince Andrew to face civil sex assault case after US ruling

Virginia Giuffre is suing the prince, claiming he abused her in 2001.

His lawyers said the case should be thrown out, citing a 2009 deal she signed with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But a New York judge ruled that the claim could be heard.

He has consistently denied the claims. Buckingham Palace said it would not comment on an ongoing legal matter.

The motion to dismiss the lawsuit was outlined in a 46-page decision by Judge Lewis A Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

US reports record 1m Covid cases with peak still to come

A record 1,080,211 cases were reported on Monday - the highest one-day tally of new cases anywhere in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The Omicron variant accounts for the majority of cases in the US.

The top US pandemic adviser Anthony Fauci has said the country is facing "almost a vertical increase" in cases.

He said the peak may be weeks away.

While rates of death and hospital admissions in the US have been far lower in recent weeks than in previous infection spikes, the number of hospital admissions has been steadily rising.

US surpasses 800,000 pandemic deaths

It comes as the US reached 50 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Monday.

Most deaths have been recorded among the unvaccinated and the elderly, and more Americans died in 2021 than in 2020.

The US is again seeing deaths rising at an alarming rate.

The last 100,000 deaths came in just the past 11 weeks, a quicker pace than any at other point aside from last winter's surge.

Germany, US plan new Covid-19 restrictions as Omicron spreads

With countries including the United States, India and France reporting their first Omicron cases, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she hoped the pandemic would not completely stifle economic activity.

"There's a lot of uncertainty, but it could cause significant problems. We're still evaluating that," she told the Reuters Next conference.

The new measures in Germany focus on the unvaccinated, who will only be allowed in essential businesses such as grocery stores and pharmacies, while legislation to make vaccination mandatory will be drafted for early next year.

Colombia's most wanted drug lord Otoniel captured, faces extradition to US

Dairo Antonio Úsuga, better known as Otoniel, was seized after a joint army, air force and police operation.

He led the country's largest criminal gang and has been on the US Drug Enforcement Agency's most wanted list for years.

US officials had placed a $5m (£3.6m) bounty on his head.

They accused him of importing at least 73 metric tonnes of cocaine into the country between 2003 and 2014.

Colombia's Defence Minister Diego Molano told El Tiempo newspaper that the next step for officials was to comply with the US extradition order.

US to lift travel ban for fully jabbed on 8 November

Under new rules announced by the White House, vaccinated people who have had a negative test in the 72 hours before travelling will be allowed to enter.

The move marks the end of the tough restrictions that have been imposed on travellers since early last year.

"This policy is guided by public health, stringent and consistent," a White House spokesman said.

The new rules will apply to Schengen countries - a group of 26 European nations - as well as the UK, Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, and South Africa.

US-Taliban deal hastened Afghan collapse, defence officials say

The so-called Doha agreement was signed in February 2020 and set a date for the US to withdraw its troops.

Gen Frank McKenzie said the deal had a "really pernicious effect" on the Afghan government and military.

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin agreed, saying the agreement had helped the Taliban get "stronger".

In addition to setting a withdrawal date, the Doha agreement included broad obligations on the Taliban to take steps to prevent groups such as al-Qaeda from threatening the security of the US and its allies.

US opens up to fully vaccinated travellers

From November, foreign travellers will be allowed to fly into the US if they are fully vaccinated, and undergo testing and contact tracing.

The US has had tough restrictions on travel in place since early last year.

The move answers a major demand from European allies, and means that families and friends separated by the restrictions can be reunited.

White House Covid-19 coordinator Jeff Zients announced the new rules on Monday, saying: "This is based on individuals rather than a country-based approach, so it's a stronger system."

US man files $1m lawsuit after Michigan teacher cuts child's hair

Jimmy Hoffmeyer's lawsuit says the constitutional rights of his mixed-race daughter have been violated.

He has pulled his daughter out of the school.

An investigation by the school district concluded in July that while the teacher had broken school policy she had not acted with racial bias.

She was reprimanded but allowed to keep her job at Ganiard Elementary School in Mount Pleasant.

Fears Hurricane Ida could cause a spike in COVID-19

Fortune has not been kind to Joey Cirilo of late.

In March 2020, his girlfriend - who has a pre-existing heart condition - was left immobilised for weeks with a "really bad" case of COVID-19.

Then this year Mr Cirilo, 36, lost his job at a local charity, leaving him without a steady source of income.

And now, his life has been "completely changed" again, he said, this time because of Hurricane Ida.

The most powerful Atlantic storm of the 2021 hurricane season has forced the evacuation of thousands from Louisiana, Mr Cirilo among them.