World

President Joe Biden announced Monday, after coming under fierce criticism, that he was raising the maximum number of refugees allowed into the United States this year to 62,500 -- up from the 15,000 cap imposed by his predecessor Donald Trump.

The change follows backlash from allies over Biden's earlier decision to keep the Trump-era limits -- a politically costly moment of confusion that stood out in a White House notable for its iron discipline in its first three months.

Former Florida senator Bill Nelson was sworn in Monday as head of NASA, hailing a "new day" for space exploration as the United States seeks to return to the Moon.

With his hand on a Bible, Nelson took the oath of office from Vice President Kamala Harris as he officially took up the role of NASA administrator.

Two nuns and seven other female employees of an Argentine institute for deaf children went on trial Monday in a sexual abuse case that has shocked the home country of Pope Francis.

Two priests in charge of children at the center were jailed for more than 40 years each in November 2019 for sexual abuse, including rape, of some 20 minors.

Conservative pundit Candace Owens is being mocked for an April 2020 tweet that hasn't aged well.

Owens implied at the time that COVID-19 wasn't all that serious because Indians were packed closely together but had under 200 deaths. A year later, it is becoming clear that COVID-19 has made it to the country as hospitals are overrun with dying patients.

A rabbi is being called out for being a fraud, NewJersey.com reported Monday. According to the report, self-proclaimed "good Jewish boy from New Jersey," Rabbi Michael Elkohen, is actually Micael Elk.

In a story that has captivated Israelis in recent days, Elk was actually a Christian missionary sent to Israel as part of an effort to convert Jews, claimed two anti-missionary groups. He lived "undercover" for 15 years.

A 2,000-year-old mummy discovered in 1826 was given a Computed tomography scan and another X-ray that shows the remains are not only female but a pregnant female.

The report was revealed in the Journal of Archaeological Science, reported Gizmodo, that it was previously believed that hieroglyphics on the coffin indicated the woman was a man. X-rays were done in the 1990s that scientists said confirmed it was a male, but the "current research proves that the sex of the mummy is undoubtedly female," archaeologists explain in the study.

Denmark said Monday it would not include the Covid-19 vaccine from US drugmaker Johnson & Johnson in its national vaccination campaign, citing worries over serious side effects involving blood clots.

"The Danish Health Authority has concluded that the benefits of using the Covid-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson do not outweigh the risk of causing the possible adverse effect... in those who receive the vaccine," the authority said in a statement.

The ancient Roman Colosseum is once again going to have a floor thanks to a new, hi-tech project announced by the culture ministry on Sunday.

"It is an extraordinary project," said Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, detailing the plans to create a flexible floor to give tourists a clearer idea of how the arena would have looked when gladiators fought to the death there.

German police said Monday they had shut down "one of the biggest darknet child pornography platforms in the world" and arrested four of its members in a series of raids in mid-April.

The platform, named as "Boystown", had existed since 2019, counted over 400,000 members and was "set up for the worldwide exchange of child pornography", federal police said in a statement.

President Joe Biden used the 10th anniversary of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden -- "a moment I will never forget" -- to reaffirm his decision to remove all US troops from Afghanistan.

"We followed bin Laden to the gates of hell -- and we got him," Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

A senior White House official on Sunday denied reports from Tehran that an agreement had been reached with Iran for the release of four Americans detained there.

"I can tell you, unfortunately, that report is untrue," White House chief of staff Ron Klain said on CBS's "Face the Nation."