NEW YORK — The US State Department has said that sixty six Indian-origin terrorists were operating abroad with the global terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS) which is also present in India, IANS reported. The number was as of November and none of the foreign terrorist fighters was repatriated to India last year, said the annual […]
PARIS — There are currently 488 media professionals imprisoned around the world, the highest number since Reporters Without Borders began counting more than 25 years ago, the NGO announced today. By contrast, the number killed this year – 46 – was the lowest since it began issuing annual tallies, due to the relative stabilisation of […]
GENEVA — Certain features of the Omicron variant, including its global spread and large number of mutations, suggest it could have a major impact on the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, said the chief of the World Health Organization (WHO). With the Omicron variant now present in 57 countries, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned […]
LONDON — Following up first doses of the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines with second doses of the Moderna or Novavax jabs generates robust immune response against Covid-19, according to a study published in The Lancet journal. A team led by researchers at the University of Oxford in the UK found that no safety concerns were […]
MANCHESTER — A plane carrying a “Free Kashmir, 2,500 days occupied” banner was spotted during a football match in Manchester, leaving spectators surprised and amused. The incident happened during the Crystal Palace vs Manchester United match, which was taking place at the Old Trafford — a football stadium in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It is still […]
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan said Saturday it will host a conference of foreign ministers from Islamic countries later this month in a bid to avert a looming humanitarian and economic crisis in Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters in the eastern city of Lahore that the “extraordinary session” of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic […]
JOHANNESBURG — South African experts have expressed concern about the rising number of COVID-19 infections among young children, even as the country recorded a further 16,055 infections and 25 deaths overnight on Friday, PTI reported. “We have always seen children not being heavily affected by the Covid epidemic in the past (and) not having many […]
NEW YORK — About one in 100 patients hospitalised with Covid-19 are likely to develop central nervous system complications, including strokes, according to a study. The researchers from the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, US analysed nearly 40,000 cases of hospitalised Covid-19 positive patients from seven US and four western European university hospitals. Symptoms led […]
WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund warned of “economic collapse” in some low-income countries unless creditors in the world’s richest nations suspend debt-service obligations and help renegotiate new terms. About 60% of the world’s poorest countries are at high risk or are already in debt distress, double the share in 2015, IMF Managing Director Kristalina […]
UNITED NATIONS — The Taliban’s move to restrict women from working could immediately cost the Afghan economy up to $1 billion, or 5% of GDP, the United Nations Development Programme said in a new report as the militant group seeks global help to avert a deepening crisis. The UN report painted a grim picture of […]