Israel approves measures for Palestinians after leaders meet

Israel approves measures for Palestinians after leaders meet

JERUSALEM: Israel’s defence minister approved a raft of measures aimed at improving relations with the Palestinians on Wednesday following a rare meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Israel. Defence Minister Benny Gantz met with Abbas at his private residence in a Tel Aviv suburb late Tuesday night. It was the first time Abbas met […]

China reports sudden spike in COVID-19 cases ahead of Winter Olympics

China reports sudden spike in COVID-19 cases ahead of Winter Olympics

BEIJING: China has reported 206 new COVID-19 cases, including 158 domestically transmitted ones, in a sudden spike ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics which will be held in February next year, the country’s health commission said on Sunday. Of the new local cases of coronavirus, 157 were reported in Shaanxi and one in Guangxi provinces, […]

Taliban banning transport for solo woman travellers is ‘retrogressive’: Pakistan

Taliban banning transport for solo woman travellers is ‘retrogressive’: Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Monday lashed out at the Taliban regime in Afghanistan for its latest “retrogressive” move of banning women from travelling alone in public spaces. The Taliban on Sunday said women seeking to make long distance journeys should not be offered transport service, if they are not accompanied by a […]

Burnt remains of 30 found in Myanmar

Burnt remains of 30 found in Myanmar

BANGKOK: The charred remains of more than 30 people, including women and children, were found in burnt-out vehicles in Myanmar on Saturday, a rebel group and a monitor said, accusing the junta of the attack. Myanmar has been in chaos since a coup in February, with more than 1,300 people killed in a crackdown by […]

Truck crashes into bus in Iran, killing 10

TEHRAN: A road accident in southwestern Iran killed at least 10 people on Saturday, Iranian media reported. The official IRNA news agency said the accident happened as a truck hit a minibus that was carrying labourers on the road linking the city of Khorramshahr with the city of Ahvaz in Khuzestan province. The fatalities include […]

US authorises Merck anti-COVID pill

US authorises Merck anti-COVID pill

US health regulators on Thursday authorized the second pill against COVID-19, providing another easy-to-use medication to battle the rising tide of omicron infections. The Food and Drug Administration authorization comes one day after the agency cleared a competing drug from Pfizer. That pill is likely to become the first-choice treatment against the virus, thanks to […]

40 people dead after fire breaks out aboard packed ferry in Bangladesh

40 people dead after fire breaks out aboard packed ferry in Bangladesh

DHAKA: At least 40 people died and over 150 others were injured early Friday after a packed three-storey ferry carrying around 800 passengers caught fire on the Sugandha River in southern Bangladesh, officials said, in the latest maritime tragedy to hit the delta nation criss-crossed by rivers. The fire broke out around 3:00 am (local […]

Pfizer pill Paxlovid becomes 1st US-authorised home COVID treatment

Pfizer pill Paxlovid becomes 1st US-authorised home COVID treatment

US health regulators on Wednesday authorised the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus. The long-awaited milestone comes as US cases, hospitalisations and deaths are all rising and health officials warn of a tsunami of new infections […]

Sputnik V, Sputnik Light booster effective against Omicron: study

Sputnik V, Sputnik Light booster effective against Omicron: study

Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine and its one-shot version Sputnik Light booster demonstrates high virus-neutralising activity (VNA) against the highly-contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19, providing a strong defence against severe disease and hospitalisation, according to a study. The Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), an investor in Sputnik […]

Pakistan, Turkey & Malaysia to launch TV channel

Pakistan, Turkey & Malaysia to launch TV channel

Islamabad: Pakistan, Turkey, and Malaysia will set up a joint television channel to promote media links among them, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has said. Chaudhry said that focal persons for media sharing have been designated and a joint media network will be developed, Radio Pakistan reported on Monday. “Issues of extremism need […]