COVID: UK variant up to 100 percent more deadly, study finds
Research reveals the B.1.1.7 strain of the novel coronavirus is significantly more lethal than earlier variants.
Category Archives: News
‘More severe than war’: Health workers reflect on a year of COVID
A year into the pandemic, front-line health workers around the world share their experiences battling the coronavirus.
Friends forever: Syrians who survived its most notorious prison
Three Syrians endured the hardship of al-Assad regime's brutal jail and developed a lifelong bond in the process.
Protest row: Russia slows Twitter’s speed, threatens total block
Authorities say Twitter failed to delete posts it said illegally urged children to take part in anti-gov't rallies.
India civil society initiative seeks end to gov’t-Maoist conflict
Modelled after a Colombian project, Victims Register rallies public opinion by recording stories of loss and suffering.
Libyan lawmakers approve gov’t of PM-designate Dbeibah
Libya's parliament approves cabinet of PM Abdelhamid Dbeibah after two days of intense deliberations.
South Korea agrees to boost funding for US troops by 13.9 percent
South Korea agrees to pay 1.18 trillion won ($1.03bn) for the upkeep of US troops there, ending year-long deadlock.
France hid impact of French Polynesia nuclear tests, report says
Almost 'entire population' of the territory infected by tests carried out from 1966 to 1996, investigation claims.
UK MPs say $32bn test-and-trace system failed to curb pandemic
'World-beating' scheme promised by British PM Boris Johnson has failed to prevent repeated COVID lockdowns, report says.
US: Tennessee panel votes to move Confederate bust from Capitol
Statue of the Confederate General and former Ku Klux Klan leader has been a subject of controversy for decades.
US to join Australia, India, Japan in first-ever Quad summit
The 'Quad' meeting comes as US has stressed working with allies in the Indo-Pacific to counter Beijing's growing might.
Saudi court upholds activist al-Hathloul’s sentence at hearing
Rights activist al-Hathloul, who was released in February after three years in prison, appears at an appeal hearing.
Minneapolis selects first jurors for George Floyd murder trial
Two white men and a woman with a police officer uncle are selected for the 12-member jury panel.
A year of COVID crisis: Bollywood actress turns front-line nurse
Two days after India went into lockdown in March 2020, Shikha Malhotra, who has a nursing degree, started volunteering.
How the 2011 tsunami destroyed Japan’s trust in nuclear power
Japan's struggle to clean up and decommission the plant provide stark reminders of the risks of nuclear power.
‘Shoot till they are dead’: Police who fled Myanmar reveal orders
Police officers who fled to India give first-hand accounts of how military ordered them to shoot peaceful protesters.
Lula’s political comeback adds to investors’ worries in Brazil
The Brazilian real is down 11 percent so far this year, the worst among major currencies.
Biden administration will not defend Trump’s ‘public charge’ rule
Trump-era policy made immigrants who receive wide range of public benefits ineligible for legal status in the US.
Nasdaq jumps most since April, Bitcoin soars above $54,000
The rising prospects for turbo-charged US economic growth have been reordering the stock market’s winners and losers.
US COVID-19 relief bill set for final approval on Wednesday
Democrats in the US House have scheduled the final vote on the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.