China on Wednesday enforced a lockdown in Xian, home to 13 million people after the city reported the first cases of a new Omicron subvariant. The lockdown was implemented after Xian reported 18 COVID-19 infections from Saturday to Monday, all of which are of the Omicron BA.5.2 subvariant, according to local disease control officials, reported CNN. BA.5.2 is a sub-lineage of BA.5, which is already dominant in the US and appears to escape antibody responses among both people previously infected with COVID-19 and those who have been fully vaccinated and boosted, according to researchers. It is

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he plans to stay in power despite the resignations of two top Cabinet ministers and a slew of more junior officials. Johnson told lawmakers Wednesday that “the job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances when you’ve been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going.” Johnson’s hold on power has been shaken by the resignations of Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid. They quit Tuesday saying they could no longer support Johnson because of his handling of ethics scandals including the case of a senior official accused

The man charged with killing seven people when he unleashed a hail of bullets on an Independence Day parade from a rooftop in suburban Chicago legally bought the high-powered rifle used in the shooting and four other weapons, despite threatening violence, police said. Robert E. Crimo III was charged with seven counts of murder Tuesday in the shooting that sent hundreds of marchers, parents and children fleeing in fear and set off an hourslong manhunt in and around Highland Park, an affluent community on the shores of Lake Michigan. Investigators have yet to identify a motive. Prosecutors have

US President Joe Biden can lift the tariff on some Chinese imports in an effort to slow down the soaring rates of inflation. The Biden administration is wrapping up a mandatory review of tariffs on Chinese imports, which were earlier imposed by former President Donald Trump, The New York Post reported. American businesses and labour unions that have favoured keeping the tariffs in place will have to give their comment by Tuesday before the administration announces a final decision on this. Biden has repeatedly postponed plans to cut tariffs due to policy disagreements among his own senior aid

Two of Britain’s most senior Cabinet ministers have quit, a move that could spell the end of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s leadership after months of scandals. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned within minutes of each other. Javid said “I can no longer continue in good conscience.” Johnson has been hit by allegations he failed to come clean about a lawmaker who was appointed to a senior position despite claims of sexual misconduct. A former top British civil servant said Tuesday that Boris Johnson’s office wasn’t telling the truth about sexual mi

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) 30 allies signed accession protocols for Sweden and Finland on Tuesday, kickstarting the process to admit the two Nordic countries into the alliance. Foreign Minister of Finland Pekka Haavisto and Foreign Minister of Sweden Ann Linde attended the signing ceremony, Xinhua reported. "With 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger and our people will be even safer, as we face the biggest security crisis in decades," declared NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in a press conference after the signing ceremony. This summit comes as Turkey

Highland Park's police chief said the 22 year old man identified as a person of interest in the shooting that killed at least six people, wounded at least 30 and send hundreds of people fleeing from an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago has been taken into custody. Police earlier Monday said Robert E. Crimo III should be considered armed and dangerous. The city's police chief says he was pulled over by an officer on Monday evening after a brief pursuit. Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference that the gunman used a high-powered rifle

Police say at least six people are dead and 24 were wounded in a shooting at a July Fourth parade in a Chicago suburb, and officers are searching for a suspect who likely fired on the festivities from a rooftop. Highland Park Police Commander Chris O'Neill urged people to shelter in place as authorities search for the suspect, described as a white male wearing a white or blue T-shirt. Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference that the gunman apparently opened fire on parade-goers from a rooftop Monday morning using a rifle that was recovered at

As many as six people were killed and 24 were hospitalized in a shooting at the July 4th parade route in north suburban Highland Park in Illinois. All individuals are advised to shelter in place. Law enforcement agencies are searching for the suspect; evidence of a firearm has been recovered. Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, erupted in panic when shots were fired about 10 minutes after the parade kicked off, according to media reports. At least 25 shots were fired at an Illinois Fourth of July parade; a reporter saw five people bloodied. Source