BEIJING: China today said it will continue to “modernise” its nuclear arsenal and called on the United States and Russia to reduce their stockpiles a day after global powers pledged to prevent such weapons spreading. In a rare joint statement setting aside rising West-East tensions, the United States, China, Russia, […]
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PARIS: Dozens of French lawmakers have reported receiving death threats from suspected anti-vaccination protesters, as parliament starts to debate legislation that would require people to show proof of vaccination to go to a restaurant or cinema or take the train. The new law, which would do away with the option […]
LONDON: The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is spreading among over-50s, but data do not suggest further restrictions are needed because of the high uptake of booster jabs by older people, British Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said today. “We’re seeing leakage into the over-50s in terms of infection,” he told BBC […]
WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday with mild symptoms and would attend meetings virtually as he quarantined at home for the next five days. News of Austin’s positive test comes after the Pentagon last week tightened restrictions at its headquarters over concern about […]
SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed today to use his last months in office to press for a diplomatic breakthrough with North Korea, despite public silence from Pyongyang over his attempts for a declaration of peace between the two sides. “The government will pursue normalisation of inter-Korean relations and […]
BEIJING: New Covid-19 cases in the locked-down Chinese city of Xi’an fell to their lowest in a week, health officials said today, as residents face their eleventh day under strict home confinement. China has followed a “zero Covid” approach involving tight border restrictions and swift, targeted lockdowns since the virus […]
JERUSALEM: A surge of Omicron infections could see Israel reaching herd immunity, the country’s top health official said today as daily cases continued to climb. The highly transmissible Omicron variant has brought a surge in coronavirus cases across the globe. Worldwide infections have hit a record high, with an […]
The funeral mass for South African anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu is set to take place on Saturday morning in Cape Town. Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who helped end the racist regime in South Africa, died last Sunday aged 90. His death prompted an outpouring of grief among […]
Residents of Boulder County in Colorado have returned to scenes of devastation after snowfall helped extinguish the last of a raging wildfire. The fire swept through 6,000 acres in just a few hours, destroying hundreds of homes. One local resident said some families in the area that “lost everything” and […]
PARIS: France takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union today, affording President Emmanuel Macron the chance to pose as the EU’s de facto leader in the run-up to national elections in April. The 44-year-old has never made any secret of his ambitions to be the motor for further […]