Foreign

Japan extends state of emergency to battle Covid-19

Japan extends state of emergency to battle Covid-19

May 8, 2021, 1:31 pm

ANKARA – Japan on Friday extended the state of emergency in four prefectures while declaring it in two more prefectures in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). The state of emergency was set to end on Tuesday. However, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared that the… Read More

Russia hits 4.8-million mark after 8K new infections

Russia hits 4.8-million mark after 8K new infections

May 7, 2021, 8:33 pm

MOSCOW – Russia has documented 8,386 cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall case count to 4,863,514, the federal anti-coronavirus crisis center informed reporters on Friday. The relative daily increase rate has reached 0.17 percent. In the past 24 hours, 2,846 Covid-19… Read More

Severe Covid-19 cases rise in Japan

Severe Covid-19 cases rise in Japan

May 7, 2021, 7:06 pm

TOKYO – The number of people with severe forms of Covid-19 in Japan has reached 1,131, the highest tally since the onset of the pandemic, Kyodo News Agency reported on Friday. On Wednesday, Japan saw 1,114 people with severe Covid-19. These include patients on ventilators or those in intensive… Read More

Sputnik Light jab may be stored in frozen form for 6 months

Sputnik Light jab may be stored in frozen form for 6 months

May 7, 2021, 7:03 pm

MOSCOW – The Sputnik Light vaccine against the coronavirus infection may be stored for six months in frozen form and for one month in liquid form, the state register of pharmaceuticals of the Russian Health Care Ministry reported on Thursday. "Shelf life: 6 months (for a) frozen preparation; 1… Read More

Global coronavirus cases exceed 155 million

Global coronavirus cases exceed 155 million

May 7, 2021, 6:28 pm

MOSCOW – The total number of coronavirus infections worldwide has surpassed 155.9 million, according to TASS’ calculations based on data by authorities, experts and media. Thus, the share of the infections makes up more than 2 percent of world population, which the UN Population Fund estimated… Read More

Indonesia adds 5.6K new infections to overall 1.6M Covid-19 cases

Indonesia adds 5.6K new infections to overall 1.6M Covid-19 cases

May 7, 2021, 3:12 pm

JAKARTA – Indonesia’s daily coronavirus cases climbed by 5,647 on Thursday, taking the total tally since the start of the pandemic in March, 2020 to 1,697,305, according to data from the Health Ministry. The highest number of daily cases was recorded in West Java (1,038), followed by Jakarta… Read More

Pfizer, BioNTech donate Covid vaccines to Olympic athletes

Pfizer, BioNTech donate Covid vaccines to Olympic athletes

May 7, 2021, 1:19 pm

ISTANBUL – Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech have agreed to donate coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines to athletes and staff of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, which will be held this year after being postponed due to the pandemic, the International Olympic Committee… Read More

EU ready to discuss waiver on Covid-19 vaccine patents

EU ready to discuss waiver on Covid-19 vaccine patents

May 7, 2021, 11:24 am

BRUSSELS – The European Union (EU) is willing to discuss the proposal to waive the patent rights for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines, its top official said on Thursday. The EU is “ready to discuss how the US proposal for a waiver on intellectual property protections for Covid-19… Read More

India's Covid-19 tally crosses 21M with 412K new cases

India's Covid-19 tally crosses 21M with 412K new cases

May 7, 2021, 8:20 am

NEW DELHI – India's Covid-19 tally surpassed 21 million on Thursday as 412,262 new cases were registered across the country in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said. This is the second time this month that more than 400,000 cases have been registered in a single day. Besides, as many as… Read More

Mali woman gives rare birth to 9 babies

Mali woman gives rare birth to 9 babies

May 6, 2021, 8:46 pm

ANKARA – A young Malian woman became a phenomenon in a single day by safely giving birth to nine babies at once in a hospital in Morocco on Tuesday. Halima Cisse, 25, from the West African country wrote her name in history as a mother of nonuplets – five girls and four boys – and she and… Read More

Kuala Lumpur to be placed under 2-week virus lockdown

Kuala Lumpur to be placed under 2-week virus lockdown

May 6, 2021, 7:56 pm

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Malaysia will put its capital Kuala Lumpur and the city of Johor Bahru under a two-week Covid-19 lockdown amid soaring Covid-19 cases, an official said late Wednesday. “After evaluating the Health Ministry's presentation and suggestions, the government has agreed to… Read More

Advisor says third wave of Covid-19 inevitable in India

Advisor says third wave of Covid-19 inevitable in India

May 6, 2021, 2:45 pm

NEW DELHI – A third wave of Covid-19 outbreak is inevitable in India given the higher levels of the circulating virus, said Principal Scientific Advisor to India's Federal Government K. Vijay Raghavan on Wednesday. "But it is not clear on what time scale this phase three will occur. We should… Read More

Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech jab highly effective: study

Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech jab highly effective: study

May 6, 2021, 1:46 pm

ANKARA – Two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are highly effective against Covid-19 infection, hospitalization and death, according to the first nationwide assessment in Israel. The study, published in The Lancet medical journal, found that two doses of the vaccine provide more than 95… Read More

India tallies yet another world record 412K single-day cases

India tallies yet another world record 412K single-day cases

May 6, 2021, 1:41 pm

NEW DELHI – India set a new global record Thursday after the country registered its biggest single-day rise in coronavirus cases of over 412,000 in the last 24 hours. The Health Ministry reported 412,262 new cases, taking the country’s total number of infections to over 21 million. With a… Read More

More than 1.16B vaccine jabs done across world

More than 1.16B vaccine jabs done across world

May 5, 2021, 11:06 am

ANKARA – More than 1.16 billion coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine jabs have been given worldwide so far, according to data gathered by the Our World in Data website. China is the world's most vaccinated country with 275.3 million vaccine jabs, the site said, followed by the US with… Read More

US to approve Pfizer vaccine for children next week

US to approve Pfizer vaccine for children next week

May 5, 2021, 7:43 am

ANKARA – The US Food and Drug Administration will approve Pfizer/BioNTech's coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine for children ages 12 to 15 next week, according to a report on Tuesday. The FDA is currently reviewing scientific data provided by the US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer about the… Read More

G7 diplomats discuss Myanmar coup, other global issues

G7 diplomats discuss Myanmar coup, other global issues

May 4, 2021, 9:51 pm

LONDON – The foreign ministers of G7 countries are discussing a range of "critical global issues" including the coup in Myanmar, an official statement said on Tuesday. The G7 Foreign and Development Ministers Meeting in London is the first major in-person diplomatic gathering since the beginning… Read More

India's Covid-19 tally crosses 20 million; deaths at 222K

India's Covid-19 tally crosses 20 million; deaths at 222K

May 4, 2021, 4:36 pm

NEW DELHI – India's Covid-19 tally crossed the 20-million mark, reaching 20,282,833 on Tuesday, as 357,229 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, confirmed the federal health ministry. Another 3,449 deaths were reported since Monday morning, taking the death toll to 222,408. There… Read More

Turkey Covid-19 cases now at 4.9M after 24.7K new infections

Turkey Covid-19 cases now at 4.9M after 24.7K new infections

May 4, 2021, 3:24 pm

ANKARA – Turkey reported over 24,700 new coronavirus cases on Monday, the Health Ministry said. A total of 24,733 infections, including 2,501 symptomatic patients, were confirmed in the last 24 hours. Turkey’s overall Covid-19 tally is now over 4.9 million, while the nationwide death toll rose… Read More

Economy slumped as Covid-19 second wave batters India

Economy slumped as Covid-19 second wave batters India

May 4, 2021, 1:46 pm

NEW DELHI – India is going through the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic as the single-day spike crossed 400,000 cases last week, and the total tally almost reached 20 million. Amid the prevailing conditions, the overall Indian economy, mired in a recession since last year due to Covid-19,… Read More