Month: December 2020
25 days that changed world: How Covid slipped China’s grasp
China’s reluctance to be transparent about those initial weeks has also left gaping holes in what the world knows about the coronavirus. Scientists have
Trump push on $2K checks flops as Senate won’t vote
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell all but shut the door Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s push for $2,000 Covid-19 relief checks, declaring Congress has
Yemen airport blasts kill 26 as govt plane arrives
At least 26 people were killed when explosions rocked Yemen’s Aden airport moments after a new unity government flew in, in what some officials
China gives conditional approval to Sinopharm vaccine
China has given conditional approval to a coronavirus vaccine developed by state-owned Sinopharm. The vaccine is the first one approved for general use in
Pak to purchase 1.2 mn vaccine doses from China
Pakistan will purchase 1.2 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from China’s Sinopharm, a minister said on Thursday, the first official confirmation of a vaccine purchase
Iran honours ‘martyr’ Soleimani, killed a year ago by US
Since his death in a January 3 Baghdad drone strike that sparked mourning across Iran at mass funeral processions, the “martyr” Soleimani has entered
Moderna vaccine shows 94.1% efficacy in trial: Study
Results from the primary analysis of the ongoing phase 3 clinical trial of US biotechnology company Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine have revealed 94.1 per cent
3 civilians wounded in car blast in Kabul
Three civilians were wounded after a blast in a car in PD7 of Kabul city on Thursday morning. The explosion occurred in Chehel Sutoon
Pak arrests 26 people over demolishing of Hindu temple
At least two dozen people, including several Muslim clerics, were detained Thursday after a mob attacked and set fire to a Hindu temple in
What we know about China-made vaccines?
Xi hails China’s economic growth despite pandemic setback
China has made major progress in developing its economy and eradicating rural poverty over the past year despite the coronavirus pandemic, Chinese President Xi
Boris Johnson’s father seeks French citizenship
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s father Stanley confirmed plans on Thursday to seek French citizenship as the free movement of Britons in the EU
World begins ushering in locked-down New Year
Putin urges unity in 2021 as second wave batters Russia
Unlike many European countries, Russia avoided reimposing the kind of strict nationwide lockdown it introduced this spring in the hopes of supporting a struggling
The world bids goodbye, at long last, to 2020
Harry, Meghan’s son reveals ‘American accent’ on podcast
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s toddler son Archie was heard speaking for the first time on Tuesday, as the couple released their first podcast,
First US Congressmember dies of Covid-19
A representative-elect from Louisiana died of Covid-19 on Tuesday, the first member of the US Congress to succumb to the disease. Republican Luke Letlow,
Singapore starts vaccination for healthcare workers
Singapore became the first Asian country to start vaccinating healthcare workers against Covid-19 with Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday. The health ministry’s expert committee had
Bangladesh ships 1,804 Rohingya to isolated island
China sentences 10 seeking to flee HK to prison
A Chinese court on has sentenced 10 pro-democracy activists who sought to flee Hong Kong earlier this year to between seven months and three
US ‘stands ready’ to try mastermind behind Daniel Pearl murder
The US Attorney General on Tuesday said that the US “stands ready” to try a militant convicted of murdering American journalist Daniel Pearl whose
North Korea’s Kim reviews agenda for congress in early Jan
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reviewed the agenda for an important ruling party congress set for early next month, state media reported
Nashville bomber: The world is ‘never going to forget me’
Anthony Quinn Warner, the man accused of exploding a bomb in Nashville on Christmas, told a neighbor days earlier that the city and and
New Covid variant hits US as Biden vows all-out effort
Colorado governor Jared Polis said a man in his 20s in Elbert County near Denver was infected with the variant known as B.1.1.7 and
Indonesia bans militant group Islamic Defenders Front
Indonesia has banned the controversial but politically influential hardline group the Islamic Defender’s Front. “The government has banned FPI activities and will stop any
China’s Sinopharm says vaccine ‘79% effective’
Phase 3 trials of a Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine in China have been found to be 79 percent effective. It is however lower than rival
UK first to approve Oxford-Astrazeneca Covid vaccine
UK on Wednesday became the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca as it battles