Asia International

India, 11 other countries decide not to recognise any Afghanistan govt imposed by force

WASHINGTON — Twelve nations, including the US, India and China, along with representatives of the UN and EU have decided that they would not recognise any government in Afghanistan that seeks to take control through the barrel of a gun, the State Department has said, amid the continued Taliban offensive across the war-torn country. Representatives […]

International

Delta variant is dangerous and is continuing to evolve and mutate: WHO chief

UNITED NATIONS/GENEVA — The world is in a very “dangerous period” of the COVID-19 pandemic compounded by more transmissible variants like Delta, which is continuing to evolve and mutate, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned. He said in countries with low vaccination coverage, terrible scenes of hospitals overflowing are again becoming the […]

International

Delta variant predicted to become predominant mutation across US: CDC

WASHINGTON — The Delta variant is the second most prevalent coronavirus mutation in the US and is predicted to become the predominant one in the coming weeks, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said on Thursday. “An estimated 25 percent of all reported SARS-COV-2 sequences nationwide are the Delta variants, and in some regions of the […]

International

Muslim World League hosts ‘Declaration of Peace in Afghanistan’ conference in Makkah

MAKKAH — Saudi Arabia hosted an event, which would bring together senior scholars from Afghanistan and Pakistan for a “historic, landmark event on the path toward reconciliation between competing groups, to end the fighting and create stability to the country.” The conference featured five sessions in which more than 20 senior scholars spoke on peace, […]

International

UN chief ‘outraged’ about deadly attack that kills more than 100 in Burkina Faso

UNITED NATIONS — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed ‘outrage’ on Saturday for the killing of more than 100 people, including children, in Burkina Faso. Guterres “strongly condemns the heinous attack and underscores the urgent need for the international community to redouble support to Member States in the fight against violent extremism and its unacceptable human […]