International

07-05-2022 NEW YORK: The Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV2 virus is intrinsically as severe as previous variants, unlike assumptions made in previous studies that it was more transmissible but less severe, a large study in the United States has found. “We found that the risks of hospitalization and mortality were …

07-05-2022 LONDON: Amnesty International says it has documented war crimes in Ukraine, including the “wilful killings of civilians” by Russian forces when they occupied an area northeast of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, in February and March. Civilians have also suffered abuse such as “reckless shootings and torture” at the hands of …

07-05-2022 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report KABUL/ WASHINGTON/ ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI: Dozens of Anti-Shia Terrorists Organizations (ASTO) have not only complete hold in Afghanistan but also trying to re-establish themselves (again) countrywide like they are well groomed, trained and have entire controlled in Pakistan (independently as well as with the …

07-05-2022 COLOMBO: Thousands of shops, schools and businesses closed on Friday as public and private sector workers in Sri Lanka went on strike, demanding the president and his government step down for their mishandling of the island’s worst financial crisis in decades. Hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and rising …

06-05-2022 LONDON: Voters in Britain went to the polls in local government elections on Thursday where they are expected to punish Prime Minister Boris Johnson over a cost-of-living crisis and fines for breaking his own COVID-19 lockdown rules. The elections are seen as a test of support for Johnson, who …

06-05-2022 UNITED NATIONS/ TEHRAN: The ambassador of Iran to the United Nations called on the international community to take the necessary measures to combat Islamophobia and violation of basic human rights of Muslims. In a statement at the 43rd session of the UN General Assembly’s Committee on Information, held in …

06-05-2022 WASHINGTON/ NEW YORK: Donations have flooded into abortion clinics and abortion-rights advocacy groups since the leak of a U.S. Supreme Court draft ruling that showed the justices apparently poised to overturn the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision. The draft ruling, which was published by Politico on Monday evening, …

05-05-2022 Bureau Report + Agencies PARIS/ NEW DELHI: India and France on Wednesday called for “an immediate cessation of hostilities” in Ukraine, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi again stopping short of condemning Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. India, which imports much of its military hardware from Russia, has long walked …

05-05-2022 LONDON/ ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) and British Pakistani businessman Dr Ashraf Chohan has won a defamation case at the London High Court filed by Labour Member Parliament (MP) Naz Shah over an alleged defamatory tweet made in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter …

05-05-2022 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: India registered about 475,000 more total deaths in 2020 than the previous year, government data released months ahead of schedule on Tuesday showed, as the World Health Organization (WHO) readies its estimates of excess COVID-19 deaths whose methodology New Delhi has opposed. Some experts estimate …