World

Over 21 million new Covid-19 cases reported globally last week, highest number of weekly cases recorded since beginning of pandemic: WHO

Over 21 million new Covid-19 cases reported globally last week, highest number of weekly cases recorded since beginning of pandemic: WHO

Highest number of weekly cases recorded since beginning of pandemic, says health agency

EMERGING MARKETS-Asian shares gain as investors brace for Fed policy outcome

EMERGING MARKETS-Asian shares gain as investors brace for Fed policy outcome

The Fed is expected to update its monetary policy plan later on Wednesday

New legislation supported by Biden proposes startup visas to attract talent to US

New legislation supported by Biden proposes startup visas to attract talent to US

The America COMPETES Act of 2022 proposes to create a new classification of "W" non-immigrants for entrepreneurs with an ownership interest in a start

Severe consequences for Russia if it were to move into Ukraine: Biden

Warns Russian President Putin of repercussions including significant economic sanctions

Covid-19 vaccine booster drive is faltering in US

Average number of booster shots dispensed per day has plummeted from a peak of one million in early December to about 4.9 lakh as of last week

Pfizer begins testing Omicron-matched Covid shots in adults

Covid-19 vaccine-makers have been updating their shots to better match Omicron

UK to remove Covid testing requirement for vaccinated arrivals from Feb 11

Travellers not recognised as fully vaccinated will need to take a pre-departure test and one on arrival

DC, 3 States sue Google saying it invades users' privacy

The lawsuit is the latest in a raft of legal salvos against the tech giant

Biden answers inflation query by calling Fox reporter ‘son of a b***h’

US President Joe Biden’s comments were captured on video and by the microphone in front of him

Soldiers say military junta now controls Burkina Faso

The democratically elected president has been detained in a military coup

South Korea reports over 8,000 new virus cases ahead of holiday

Experts say new cases may exceed 10,000 this week and possibly 20,000 after the lunar new year's holiday break

Julian Assange wins right to appeal extradition in UK Supreme Court

Assange’s lawyers argued that he should not be taken to the US because of a real and “oppressive” risk of suicide

UAE shoots down 2 ballistic missiles fired by Houthis over Abu Dhabi

The attack did not result in any human losses

Mutinous soldiers take over Burkina Faso military barracks

Amid growing frustration with the government's handling of the Islamic insurgency

‘Bleisure’ trips boom as travellers mix work and play

Such excursions have been on the rise as the spread of the Omicron variant has delayed the return to offices

Beijing tests shoppers buying fever drugs to root out Covid

Beijing residents who purchase antipyretics, antivirals and drugs that target coughs and sore throats will get an alert on the mobile app China uses f

Russia sets another daily virus record amid omicron surge

The Omicron variant has been detected in 64 of the country’s 89 regions

New Zealand adds new Covid restrictions as omicron spreads

The country has managed to contain the spread of the delta variant

Vaccine passport protests in Europe draw thousands of people

Demonstrations took place in Athens, Helsinki, London, Paris and Stockholm

Inflation skyrockets in Sri Lanka; food prices at record high

Sri Lanka currently banks on the Indian economic assistance with credit lines being made available to finance fuel and food imports

Thich Nhat Hanh, influential Zen Buddhist monk, dies at 95

Nhat Hanh distilled Buddhist teachings on compassion and suffering into easily grasped guidance over a lifetime dedicated to working for peace.

UK designates Omicron sub-lineage a variant under investigation

Britain has sequenced 426 cases of the BA.2 sub-lineage

Dozens of firms to make cheap version of Merck Covid pill for poorer nations

Deal negotiated by UN-backed agency to expand output of drug

Sri Lanka settles sovereign bond payment as reserves dwindle

The nation is in its worst crisis in decades, with people facing shortages of basic essentials like milk powder, cooking gas

AI model helps discover genetic risk factors for motor neurone disease

One of the genes highlighted as a new MND gene is called KANK1

Japan widens virus restrictions as Omicron surges in cities

The restraint, which is something of a pre-state of emergency, is the first since September and is scheduled to last through February 13

Red Cross: Hack exposes data on 5,15,000 vulnerable people

Cyber intruders broke into servers of the Geneva-based agency and gained access to personal, confidential information

US faces wave of Omicron deaths in coming weeks, models say

However, new evidence from nearly 70,000 patients in Southern California suggests Omicron is causing milder illness than delta

Covid-19 health emergency could be over this year: WHO

WHO also slammed the imbalance in Covid-19 vaccinations between rich and poor countries as a catastrophic moral failure

Report: Chinese Olympic app has serious security flaws

Citizen Lab said the MY2022 app has seriously flawed encryption that would make users' sensitive data vulnerable to being hacked

Democracies on the decline? Autocracies outperform democracies on public trust, says survey

Public trust in institutions fell in Germany, Australia and the United States at 43, while it increased in China, the UAE and Thailand.

Failure to vaccinate everyone will give rise to new variants: UN chief

Antonio Guterres lamented that “shamefully”, vaccination rates in high-income countries are seven times higher than in African countries

Israel study: 4th vaccine shows limited results with Omicron

The clinical trial found that both groups showed increases in antibodies “slightly higher” than following the third vaccine last year

No vaccine? No cafe, according to new French virus law

More than 91 per cent of French adults are already fully vaccinated

Nearly half of GDP in cities at risk from nature loss: World Economic Forum survey

Says there is an urgent need to protect and add nature back into urban environments

China's economy grows 8.1 per cent in 2021, slows in second half

In the final three months of 2021, the world's second-largest economy expanded at a 4 per cent annual pace

Tax rich to fund vaccines for poor hit by pandemic: Oxfam

Their ranks have swelled during Covid thanks to ample financial stimulus that pumped up stocks, it said

Philippines to acquire missile system from India for $375 million

The Philippines is in the late stages of a five-year project to modernise its military's outdated hardware

North Korea says it test launched missiles from train

Move seen as an apparent retaliation against fresh sanctions imposed by the Biden administration