Nations must address barriers against access to affordable medicines, new technologies: India at UN

UNITED NATIONS: India has underlined the need for the global community to chart out long-term strategies and roadmaps to deal with future pandemics and their impacts, emphasising that barriers to equitable access to affordable medicines and new technologies must be addressed. Speaking at the UN General Assembly session on ‘Global Health and Foreign Policy’, Counsellor […]

UN health agency’s life-saving advice for the holidays: Don’t hug

GENEVA: The World Health Organization has an unwelcome but potentially life-saving message for the holiday season: Don’t hug. To stop the spread of the coronavirus, WHO’s emergencies chief said Monday that the “shocking” rate of COVID-19 cases and deaths, particularly in the U.S., means that people shouldn’t get too close to their loved ones this […]

Iran says scientist killed by satellite-controlled machine gun

Iran says scientist killed by satellite-controlled machine gun

TEHRAN: A satellite-controlled machine gun with “artificial intelligence” was used in last week’s assassination of a top nuclear scientist in Iran, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards told local media Sunday. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was driving on a highway outside Iran’s capital Tehran with a security detail of 11 Guards on November 27, when the […]

US, China dominated arms market in 2019: Report

US, China dominated arms market in 2019: Report

STOCKHOLM: US and Chinese companies dominated the global arms market in 2019, while the Middle East made its first appearance among the 25 biggest weapons manufacturers, a report by the SIPRI research institute said Monday. The US arms industry accounted for 61 percent of sales by the world’s “Top 25” manufacturers last year, ahead of […]

COVID-19 could push number of people living in extreme poverty to over 1 billion by 2030: UN

COVID-19 could push number of people living in extreme poverty to over 1 billion by 2030: UN

United Nations: An additional 207 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030 due to the severe long-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic, bringing the total number of the world’s extremely poor to more than a billion, a new study from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has found. The study assesses the impact […]

Defiant Donald Trump says US election was ‘rigged’ in favour of Biden

Defiant Donald Trump says US election was ‘rigged’ in favour of Biden

WASHINGTON: A defiant Donald Trump is showing no signs of surrender and has reiterated yet again his unsubstantiated allegations of widespread voter fraud, claiming at his first post-poll rally in Georgia that he won a “rigged” US presidential election that he lost. Trump alleged on Saturday that the last month’s US Presidential election was rigged […]

China prepares large-scale rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for its 1.4 billion population

China prepares large-scale rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for its 1.4 billion population

TAIPEI: Provincial governments across China are placing orders for experimental, domestically made coronavirus vaccines, though health officials have yet to say how well they work or how they may reach the country’s 1.4 billion people. Developers are speeding up final testing, the Chinese foreign minister said Thursday during a UN meeting, as Britain issued approval […]

US urges countries to make law over access to Tibet

US urges countries to make law over access to Tibet

WASHINGTON: Slamming China for its alleged repressive regime in Tibet, a top American diplomat has urged other countries to pass their own versions of a US law that calls for denying access to the US for Chinese officials known to be involved in restricting visits to the remote Himalayan region. Robert A Destro, Special Coordinator […]

Biden says his administration will be most diverse ever

Biden says his administration will be most diverse ever

WASHINGTON: US President-elect Joe Biden has said that his administration would be the most diverse than it has ever been both in the Cabinet and inside the White House. Biden, 78, is due to take over as the 46th US President on January 20. African-American groups have been asking Biden, a Democrat, to nominate one […]

US Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe says China is top threat to America

US Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe says China is top threat to America

WASHINGTON: China poses the greatest threat to America and the rest of the free world since World War II, outgoing National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe said Thursday as the Trump administration ramps up anti-Chinese rhetoric to pressure President-elect Joe Biden to be tough on Beijing. “The intelligence is clear: Beijing intends to dominate the U.S. […]