Foreign
US FDA authorizes Pfizer Covid-19 jabs for adolescents
May 11, 2021, 12:58 pm
WASHINGTON – The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for adolescents aged between 12 and 15 years, the US regulator announced. "Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA)… Read More
Stop clashes in Jerusalem, seek solutions: Pope Francis
May 10, 2021, 2:47 pm
VATICAN – Pope Francis on Sunday called for an end to clashes in Jerusalem. Stating that he is monitoring the developments in Jerusalem anxiously, he urged the stakeholders to seek solutions while respecting the Holy City. "Holy City's multi-religious and multi-cultural identity should be… Read More
Kabul school blast death toll rises to 58
May 10, 2021, 1:42 pm
KABUL, Afghanistan – The death toll from explosions outside a school in Afghanistan's capital Kabul rose to 58 on Sunday, officials said, as friends and families mourned the loss of their loved ones. The bombings on Saturday evening shook the neighborhood of Dasht-e-Barchi, which is inhabited by… Read More
Birthday party shooting leaves 7 dead in Colorado
May 10, 2021, 12:39 pm
WASHINGTON – A shooting at a birthday party in the US state of Colorado on Sunday left seven people dead, including the suspect, according to police. The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) responded to a call about a shooting at the Canterbury Mobile Home Park at approximately 12:18 a.m.… Read More
30 killed, 52 others hurt in Kabul school blasts
May 9, 2021, 2:30 pm
KABUL, Afghanistan – At least 30 people, mostly schoolgirls, have been killed in three back-to-back blasts targeting a school in Afghanistan’s capital on Saturday. At least 52 more people were injured in the string of blasts at a school in the western part of Kabul, according to the Health… Read More
Vietnam city adds beds in preparation for another case surge
May 9, 2021, 2:09 pm
HO CHI MINH CITY – Ho Chi Minh City has set up four more facilities to increase its mandatory Covid-19 quarantine capacity to more than 10,000 beds amid the recent alarming rise in transmission. Speaking at a meeting on Friday, deputy chairman of its People’s Committee, Dương Anh Đức,… Read More
India records 4,187 Covid-19 deaths in single day
May 8, 2021, 9:51 pm
NEW DELHI – India registered 4,187 deaths due to COVID-19 in a single day, raising the country’s death toll to 238,270, according to Health Ministry data on Saturday. India is the third country after the US and Brazil to report more than 4,000 deaths in a single day. The country reported… Read More
India Covid-19 cases now more than 21.8M
May 8, 2021, 7:38 pm
NEW DELHI – As many as 401,078 coronavirus cases were recorded in India in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 21,892,676, according to the country’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India’s coronavirus death toll rose by 4,187 to 238,270 in the past day. The number of daily… Read More
WHO approves China's Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use
May 8, 2021, 1:36 pm
GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday gave the green light to China's Sinopharm coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine for emergency use, approving the vaccine to be rolled out globally. "This afternoon, the WHO gave emergency use listing to Sinopharm, Beijing's Covid-19… Read More
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
