UN nuclear chief in Iran as it threatens watchdog’s cameras

UN nuclear chief in Iran as it threatens watchdog’s cameras

TEHRAN: The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog met Sunday with Iranian officials in a bid to preserve his inspectors’ ability to monitor Tehran’s atomic program, even as authorities said they planned to cut off their surveillance cameras at those sites. Rafael Grossi’s arrival in Tehran comes as Iran tries to pressure Europe and […]

UN chief voices appreciation for India’s leadership in fight against COVID-19, vaccine assistance

UN chief voices appreciation for India’s leadership in fight against COVID-19, vaccine assistance

UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Antonio Guterres has voiced appreciation for India’s leadership in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic and its efforts to bring a “much-needed supply” of the COVID-19 vaccines to the world market. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti tweeted on Saturday that Guterres, in a letter dated […]

Facebook blocks sensitive medical data shared by third-party apps

Facebook blocks sensitive medical data shared by third-party apps

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook has started blocking sensitive health information that third-party apps had been sharing with the social network in violation of its own rules, said New York officials who investigated the situation. Data fed into a Facebook analytics tool by app makers included medical diagnoses and whether users were pregnant, according to a report […]

No hasty or disorderly withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan: US Defence Secretary

No hasty or disorderly withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan: US Defence Secretary

Washington: Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said that the US will not undertake a hasty or disorderly withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, stressing that violence must decrease now in the war-torn country and more progress is needed in the Afghan-led negotiations. The US and the Taliban reached an agreement in February 2020 that called […]

Russia reports world’s first case of human infection with H5N8 bird flu

Russia reports world’s first case of human infection with H5N8 bird flu

MOSCOW: Russia has registered the first case of a strain of bird flu virus named A(H5N8) being passed to humans from birds and has reported the matter to the World Health Organization (WHO), Anna Popova, head of consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, said on Saturday. Outbreaks of the H5N8 strain have been reported in Russia, Europe, […]

One-third of US military refusing Covid vaccine: Pentagon

One-third of US military refusing Covid vaccine: Pentagon

WASHINGTON: Pentagon officials said Wednesday that about one-third of the US military are declining to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, despitesignificant coronavirus infection levels in the forces. Major General Jeff Taliaferro revealed the high refusal rate in Congressional hearing, as the US Defense Department continues to classify covid vaccines as optional because they have yet to […]

New Zealand ends Covid-19 lockdown after deciding outbreak contained

WELLINGTON: A lockdown in the New Zealand city of Auckland will end at midnight, the government announced Wednesday after concluding a coronavirus outbreak had been contained. “This is good news,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. The nation’s largest city was put into lockdown on Sunday after three unexplained cases were found in the community. It […]

After delay, Israel allows COVID-19 vaccines into Hamas-run Gaza

After delay, Israel allows COVID-19 vaccines into Hamas-run Gaza

GAZA CITY: Israel has allowed the Palestinian Authority to deliver the first shipment of vaccines to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. An Associated Press photographer saw the shipment arrive at the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday. The PA said it sent 2,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine to Gaza. The move comes two days […]

Impeachment isn’t the final word on US Capitol riot for Donald Trump

Impeachment isn’t the final word on US Capitol riot for Donald Trump

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s acquittal at his second impeachment trial may not be the final word on whether he’s to blame for the deadly Capitol riot. The next step for the former president could be the courts. Now a private citizen, Trump is stripped of his protection from legal liability that the presidency gave him. That […]

WHO team says ‘extremely unlikely’ virus leaked from Wuhan lab

WHO team says ‘extremely unlikely’ virus leaked from Wuhan lab

Geneva: A team of international experts investigating the origins of Covid-19 have all but dismissed a theory that the virus came from a laboratory. Peter Ben Embarek, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) mission, said it was “extremely unlikely” that the virus leaked from a lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan. He […]