Fauci says he won’t step down until COVID is in ‘rearview mirror’
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert who’s provided reassurance to many Americans during the pandemic, says he won’t quit until the country gets past COVID-19. “I’m the head of an institute that actually played the major role in the development of the vaccines that have saved now millions of lives from COVID-19. … That’s what I do. So, I’m going to keep doing that until this COVID-19 outbreak is in the rearview mirror, regardless of what anybody says about me, or wants to lie and create crazy fabrications because of political motivations,” said Fauci, the chief White House medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The comments came as Fauci is approaching his 81st birthday.
Brazil surpasses US in getting people fully vaccinated
Once a pandemic hot spot, Brazil has edged past the United States in fully vaccinating its people against the coronavirus, with more than 60% of the Brazilian population fully immunized. The achievement contrasts with Brazil’s much derided handling of the pandemic under President Jair Bolsonaro. It also reflects the extent of the public’s trust in a robust health care system with a track record of responding quickly to such crises. Under a government that consistently dismissed the threat of the virus, Brazil faced a lack of supplies needed to combat the coronavirus. These shortages at times pushed its known daily death toll to be the highest in the world.
Gadhafi son to run for president in Libya
After years underground and months of hints, the son and former heir apparent of deposed Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi emerged from the shadows Sunday to announce that he would run for president in Libya’s coming election. The candidacy of Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, who once put a reformist face on the Gadhafi regime before helping his father crack down on opposition rebels during the Arab Spring uprising in 2011, came as little surprise. Still, his reappearance sent a jolt through the already fragile efforts to hold the election, which international actors and Libyans hope will be the next major step in Libya’s transition from years of civil war and chaos toward peace and stability.
Taxi explodes outside Liverpool hospital, killing one
Three men were arrested under Britain’s Terrorism Act after a taxi exploded outside a hospital in Liverpool, England, on Sunday morning, killing one person and injuring another, authorities said. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. About eight hours after it was reported, authorities announced that three men, aged 21, 26 and 29, had been arrested in the Kensington area of Liverpool. Their names were not immediately released. Counter Terrorism Policing North West, part of a national alliance of police forces, said it was leading the investigation with support from the Merseyside Police in Liverpool.
By wire sources
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