Category: World

The French government on Wednesday cancelled a decree allowing hospital doctors to administer hydroxychloroquine as a treatment to patients suffering severe forms of Covid-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. The announcement comes two days after the World Health Organisation said it was pausing a large trial of the malaria drug due to safety concerns. […]

The Taliban and Afghanistan’s president announced late on Saturday a three-day cease-fire ahead of Eidul Fitr that begins on Sunday to mark the end of the holy month of Ramazan. The Taliban order, which was soon followed by an announcement via Twitter from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announcing the government “extends the offer of peace,” comes […]

The United States is pushing relations with China to “the brink of a new Cold War”, China’s foreign minster said on Sunday, rejecting US “lies” over the coronavirus while saying Beijing was open to an international effort to find its source. Keeping up the worsening war of words with Washington over the pandemic and a […]

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hosted a meeting to discuss the country’s nuclear capabilities, state media said on Sunday, marking his first appearance in three weeks after a previous absence sparked global speculation about his health. Ruling Workers’ Party officials wore face masks to greet Kim as he entered the meeting of the party’s powerful […]

Taiwan will provide the people of Hong Kong with “necessary assistance”, President Tsai Ing-wen said, after thousands in the Chinese ruled territory protested against Beijing’s plans to impose new national security laws. Taiwan has become a refuge for a small but growing number of pro-democracy protesters fleeing Hong Kong, which has been convulsed since last […]

India on Monday posted its biggest single-day jump in cases of Covid-19, overtaking Iran to become one of the 10 worst-hit nations, even as the government allowed domestic air travel to restart. India reported another 6,977 cases, taking its total to 138,845, according to government data, despite the world’s longest lockdown imposed in March by Prime […]

BEIJING: China’s parliament said on Thursday it will introduce a proposal for a national security law in Hong Kong at its annual session, in a move likely to stoke unrest in the financial hub. Beijing has made clear it wants new security legislation passed after the semi-autonomous city was rocked by seven months of massive […]

India and Bangladesh began a massive clean-up on Thursday after the fiercest cyclone since 1999 killed at least 95 people, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Cyclone Amphan flattened houses, uprooted trees, blew off roofs and toppled electricity pylons, while a storm surge inundated coastal villages and wrecked shrimp farms vital to the […]

WASHINGTON: The coronavirus ‘does not spread easily’ by touching surfaces or objects, said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), changing its previous guidelines which placed a greater emphasis on this possibility. The CDC had previously warned that people can get infected “by touching a surface or object that has the virus on […]

The sons of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi said on Friday they “forgive” the killers of their father, an announcement analysts said effectively grants clemency to five convicted people on death row. Khashoggi — a royal family insider turned critic — was killed and dismembered at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, in a […]