MOSCOW: Russia said on Monday it had carried out another successful test of its Zircon hypersonic cruise missile, as world powers race to develop the advanced weaponry. Russia, the United States, France and China have all been experimenting with so-called hypersonic glide vehicles — defined as reaching speeds of at least Mach 5. As part […]
Nearly two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, the world is racing to contain a new coronavirus variant potentially more dangerous than the one that has fuelled relentless waves of infection on nearly every continent. A World Health Organisation (WHO) panel named the variant “Omicron” and classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern, the same category […]
An Emirati general accused of torture was elected president of Interpol on Thursday, despite the concerns of human rights organisations who fear the agency will be at risk of exploitation by repressive regimes. The decision follows generous funding by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the Lyon, France-based body and accusations that Abu Dhabi has […]
BERLIN: Germans faced the stark warning on Monday that they would be either “vaccinated, cured or dead” from Covid by the end of winter, while Austria returned to a partial lockdown as Europe battles a fourth wave of the pandemic. Belgium and the Netherlands meanwhile condemned clashes that rocked weekend protests against new anti-Covid measures, […]
The Taliban government issued a number of instructions for the Afghan media on Sunday, including directing female television anchors to wear the hijab. The instructions, comprising eight points, were read out by the Minister for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Maulvi Muhammad Khalid Hanafi during a meeting with journalists on Sunday. According […]
TEHRAN: Thousands of protesters converged on Isfahan in central Iran on Friday to voice their anger after the city’s lifeblood river dried up due to drought and diversion. The massive protest, which drew in farmers and other people from across Isfahan province, was the biggest since demonstrations over the water crisis started on November 9. […]
WASHINGTON: Pfizer Inc said on Thursday the US government would pay $5.29 billion for 10 million courses of its experimental Covid anti-viral drug. The deal is for around twice as many treatment courses as Merck & Co Inc has agreed to supply the United States under its contract. The price for the Pfizer pill is […]
LONDON: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended a botched bid to overhaul parliament’s standards system that has prompted a weeks-long sleaze crisis for his ruling Conservatives, as he faced multiple grillings from lawmakers on Wednesday. With opposition parties on the attack and rank-and-file Tory MPs unhappy, the embattled British leader admitted he had made a […]
Pfizer Inc said on Tuesday it is seeking US authorisation of its experimental antiviral Covid-19 pill that cut the chance of hospitalisation or death for adults at risk of severe disease by 89 per cent in a clinical trial. Pfizer said it completed submission of its application for emergency use authorisation (EUA) of the drug, […]
US President Joe Biden pressed his Chinese counterpart on Beijing’s human rights practices, in an over three-hour call on Monday, while Xi Jinping warned that China would respond to provocations on Taiwan, officials said. The closely watched conversation between the leaders of the world’s biggest economies was described by both sides as frank and direct […]