A top law-enforcement official in Kazakhstan said Saturday that 225 people died during the violent demonstrations that shook the country this month, a significantly higher number than previously announced. Serik Shalabayev, head of the criminal prosecution service in the general prosecutor’s office, said 19 police officers or servicemen were among the dead, news reports said. […]
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Defence Minister Pervez Khattak had a heated exchange of words when the latter said he would not vote for him and complained about the neglect of the north western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province by the government, according to a media report on Friday. The incident occurred on Thursday during a […]
The Omicron Covid-19 variant may be 105 per cent more transmissible than Delta, according to research by French scientists.The study, published on the medRxiv site and yet to be peer-reviewed, analysed 131,478 tests in France from October 25 to December 18, 2021. The team applied statistical models to variant-specific screening tests and full genome sequencing. […]
Israel is cancelling its designation of the United States and seven other countries as high COVID-19 risks, the Health Ministry said on Thursday, as the fast-spreading but relatively low-morbidity Omicron variant prompts reviews of restrictions.Moving fast after Omicron was first detected abroad, Israel in late November barred foreigners and expanded a list of “red” countries […]
Strict lockdowns in the Chinese cities of Xian and Yuzhou are taking their toll on the population and healthcare systems, according to residents, with complaints of food shortages and dangerous delays in accessing medical care, The Guardian reported. Xi’an, a city of 13 million people, has been under strict lockdown for nearly two weeks now, […]
A ‘moderate’ 5.3 magnitude earthquake rattled parts of Pakistan including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit and Islamabad on Saturday, Dunya News reported. The Pakistan National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC) confirmed the earthquake, with an intensity of 5.3 on the Richter Scale, hit Swat, Peshawar, Lower Dir, Swabi, Nowshera, Islamabad and other cities, forcing people to flee their […]
Millions of people are facing travel disruption and increased Covid restrictions over Christmas, as the surging Omicron variant sees flights cancelled and safety curbs tightened. Italy, Spain and Greece have made face masks compulsory outdoors again.Catalonia, in northern Spain, has imposed an overnight curfew, and the Netherlands is in a strict lockdown.Despite early findings that […]
A Moscow court on Friday said it was fining Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O) 7.2 billion roubles ($98 million) for what it said was a repeated failure to delete content Russia deems illegal, the first revenue-based fine of its kind in Russia. Moscow has increased pressure on big tech this year in a campaign that critics characterise […]
A British court on Tuesday ordered the ruler of Dubai to pay his ex-wife and their children close to 550 million pounds ($730 million), in one of the most expensive divorce settlements in British history. The High Court said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum must pay 251.5 million pounds to his sixth wife, Princess […]
The United Arab Emirates announced on Sunday that it will no longer censor films released in cinemas, the country’s latest effort to boost its brand as a liberal hub attractive to foreigners. Instead of cutting sensitive scenes that could offend traditional Islamic sensibilities, the Emirati Media Regulatory Authority will introduce a new 21+ age category […]