Singapore has confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus variant found in the United Kingdom, the city-state said, while 11 others who were already in quarantine had returned preliminary positive results for the new strain. All the cases, which were imported from Europe, had been placed in 14-day quarantine at dedicated facilities or isolated upon arrival, […]
WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Christopher Miller met on Tuesday Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul during an unannounced visit to Afghanistan. Miller, who is acting head of the Pentagon until President-elect Joe Biden takes office next month, and Ghani discussed the ongoing talks with the Taliban, which the Defense Department said in a statement were […]
GHAZNI: At least 15 children were killed when a motorbike laden with explosives blew up near a religious gathering in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, officials said. The children had gathered at a home in Ghazni province to recite verses of the Holy Quran, a regular activity on Friday, when the blast took place. Violence has […]
VIENNA: The remaining parties to the faltering 2015 Iran nuclear accord met on Wednesday after Tehran announced plans for a new breach of the deal, and as uncertainty reigns ahead of US President-elect Joe Biden’s January inauguration. The meeting of the so-called “joint commission” included China, France, Russia, Iran, Germany and Britain and was chaired […]
KABUL: A bombing and a shooting attack in Kabul killed at least three people, including a deputy provincial governor, while a deputy provincial council chief was killed in western Afghanistan on Tuesday, officials said. The attacks are the latest in relentless violence in Afghanistan even as the Taliban and Afghan government negotiators hold talks in […]
A deputy governor of Kabul province and his aide were killed on Tuesday by a bomb in the Afghan capital, officials said, the latest in a wave of targeted killings in the country. Mahbobullah Mohebi was killed when a bomb attached to his vehicle detonated while he was on his way to his office, the […]
KANDAHAR: Dozens of Taliban fighters were killed in fierce overnight fighting between Afghan forces and militants who attacked multiple checkpoints in the insurgent bastion of Kandahar, officials said on Sunday. Taliban militants attacked checkpoints in five districts surrounding the city of Kandahar, which Afghan forces countered with heavy air and ground assaults, the ministry of […]
Researchers from the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca on Tuesday presented a pooled analysis of phase 3 trials of their vaccine against Covid-19 across two different dose regimens, which showed that the vaccine is safe and has an average efficacy of 70.4 per cent. The university said the new study published in the […]
WASHINGTON: President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Lloyd Austin, who led US troops into Baghdad in 2003 and rose to head the US Central Command, as the first African-American secretary of defence, US media reported on Monday. A veteran of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the retired four-star army general, 67, beat out the favourite for […]
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday vowed accountability for the families of last year’s Christchurch mosque attack victims, ahead of the public release of a major report into the country’s worst massacre. Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant was sentenced to life in prison without parole in August for killing 51 Muslim worshippers and injuring dozens of others at two […]