World

Washington: US President Biden announced his intent to appoint four Indian Americans as commissioners to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, the White House announced on Monday. The Commission will advise the President on ways the public, private, and non-profit sectors can work together to advance equity and opportunity […]

Washington: Omicron has taken the hold to become the dominant Covid-19 variant in the US as more people are travelling and gathering for holidays. The infection cases caused by Omicron amounted to 73.2 per cent of all infection cases in the week ending December 18, from 12.6 per cent of all infection cases in the […]

Beijing: An Asian American who is one of the biggest pop stars in China apologised to his family and fans on Monday and said he will take a break from performing after a public dispute on social media with his ex-wife, who accused him of infidelity and hiring prostitutes. The days long back-and-forth has riveted […]

Berlin: A study has found that a molecular switch influences addiction behaviour and determines how strong the response to addictive drugs is. The research was published in the ‘EMBO Reports Journal’. A research team at Heidelberg University and the Sorbonne University in Paris (France) made the discovery in mice treated with ,. The researchers led […]

  Jerusalem: Israeli ministers on Monday approved adding the United States and Canada to its list of countries to which travel is banned amid the rapid, global spread of the omicron variant. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office announced the decision following a Cabinet vote. The rare move to red-list the US comes amid rising coronavirus […]

Washington: The founder of SpaceX and Tesla, billionaire Elon Musk, said on Monday that for the entirety of year 2021, he will pay over $11 billion in taxes. “For those wondering, I will pay over $11 billion in taxes this year,” Musk said on Twitter. His statement comes after US Senator Elizabeth Warren, a long-time […]

Moscow: A Japanese billionaire, his producer and a Russian cosmonaut safely returned to Earth on Monday after spending 12 days on the International Space Station. Fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa, his producer Yozo Hirano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin made a soft landing in a Russian Soyuz capsule in the steppes of Kazakhstan at 9:13 a.m. […]

Washington: Increasing evidence has revealed that historic heat waves, monster rain events and ultra-intense storms were exacerbated by the warmer air and water of the overheating planet, particularly for the US this year, a media report said. “The only two truisms when it comes to extremes in climate change are that almost everywhere: The hot […]

Dublin: The Irish Department of Health has reported 5,124 new confirmed Covid-19 cases, saying that about 52 per cent of them were due to the Omicron variant. “It has taken less than two weeks for Omicron to become the dominant strain of Covid-19 in Ireland, revealing just how transmissible this virus is,” Xinhua news agency […]

San Francisco: Short video platform TikTok is reportedly planning to launch its own delivery service with food from viral videos in the US. According to 9To5Mac, the company is planning the announcement of TikTok Kitchen, which will take viral food videos to the next level with a food delivery service. The social network is partnering […]

Washington: Health experts have warned of “viral blizzard” in the US as the new Omicron variant is spreading rapidly nationwide and has already been detected in at least 41 states. In recent weeks, Covid-19 cases, deaths and hospitalisations have all surged in the country, with many parts experiencing high levels of community transmission, according to […]

Washington: CNN is sending all of its nonessential employees to work from home amid a spike in coronavirus cases, network President Jeff Zucker said in a memo. “Given the recent, sudden surge in Covid cases around the country, and within our teams at CNN, Turner Sports & WarnerMedia Studios, as of tonight we are CLOSING […]

New Delhi: The hyper mutated Omicron variant of Covid-19 has now spread to about 89 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday. Omicron is a highly divergent variant with a high number of mutations, including 26-32 in the spike protein, some of which are concerning and may be associated with immune escape potential […]

The Hague: The Dutch government has announced a stricter lockdown out of fear for the rise of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in the country. “I stand here with a gloomy mind,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at a press conference on Saturday in the Hague. “The Netherlands is going into lockdown again.” “That is […]

Paris: The Paris town hall announced on Saturday the cancellation of all holiday festivities which were planned to take place on Champs-Elysees on December 31, including the big New Year fireworks, to limit the spread of COVID-19. “The City of Paris regrets to announce of the cancellation of all festivities planned to take place on […]

London: The UK government is reportedly drawing up plans for a short two-week circuit breaker lockdown later this month, after Christmas, to try and keep pace with the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, media reports said on Saturday. According to The Times, draft regulations are being prepared, which would ban different households meeting indoors except for […]

Adelaide: Researchers have found that people suffering from both insomnia and obstructive sleep apnoea are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular problems and are more likely to die than those without either condition.The research has been published in the ‘European Respiratory Journal’. “Insomnia and obstructive sleep apnoea are the two most common sleep disorders, affecting […]

Washington: What you eat influences your taste for what you might want to eat next, assert the researchers of the University of California. The study has been published in the ‘Journal of Neuroscience.’ To maintain ideal health, animals require a balanced diet with optimum amounts of different nutrients. Macronutrients like carbohydrates and proteins are essential; […]

Washington: A recent study shows that masks provide a supplementary layer of protection that could prevent unnecessary COVID-19 deaths. The study appeared in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. A study of the impact of national face mask laws on COVID-19 mortality in 44 countries with a combined population of nearly one billion people found […]

Jakarta: Indonesian authorities have placed Mt. Semeru under level three alert status, the second highest, as it has shown heightening volcanic activities and spewed thick hot clouds and lava in the past 24 hours. The head of the Geological Agency at the country’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Eko Budi Lelono, said that Mt. Semeru […]

London: Amid various studies claiming that Omicron causes only mild disease, a new study shows that there is “no evidence” that Omicron is less severe than the Delta variant of Covid-19. The new study led by the UK’s Imperial College London showed that the risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant is 5.4 times greater […]

New Delhi: With seven countries in the South-East Asia Region confirming cases of new COVID-19 variant Omicron, the World Health Organization on Saturday stressed on urgent scale-up of public health and social measures to curtail its further spread. Countries can and must prevent the spread of Omicron with proven health and social measures, Regional Director, […]

Jakarta: Indonesian authorities raised the alert level for the highest volcano on Java island, saying Mount Semeru could blow up again after a sudden eruption earlier this month left 48 people dead and 36 missing in villages that were buried in layers of mud. Indonesia’s geological agency said Saturday it picked up increasing activity that […]

Geneva: Closing of schools across the world should be the last resort in the fight against the fast-spreading Omicron Covid-19 variant, outgoing Unicef Executive Director Henrietta Fore said. “Nationwide school closures should be avoided whenever possible,” Xinhua news agency quoted Fore as saying in a statement on Friday. “When Covid-19 community transmission increases and stringent […]