Israeli minister says Pakistan not among states it may have ties with
JERUSALEM: Israel is working towards formalising relations with a fifth Muslim country, possibly in Asia, during US President Donald Trump’s term, an Israeli cabinet minister said on Wednesday. The White House has brokered rapprochements between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco this year. Rabat hosted an Israeli-US delegation on Tuesday to flesh out the […]
S. Korea scrambles jets as Chinese, Russian aircraft enter air defence zone
SEOUL: South Korea said it scrambled fighter jets in response to an intrusion into its air defence identification zone by 19 Russian and Chinese military aircraft on Tuesday. Four Chinese warplanes entered the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) followed by 15 Russian aircraft, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The South […]
12 killed in Bangladesh train-bus collision
At least 12 people were killed when a train collided into a bus on Saturday morning at a rail crossing in Bangladesh’s Joypurhat district. Senior police official AKM Alamgir Jahan told reporters that six people were also injured in the accident that took place at about 7 am, reports Xinhua news agency. He said the […]
Taliban kill 13 policemen in attacks on two checkpoints
KUNDUZ: At least 13 Afghan policemen were killed when Taliban militants attacked two checkpoints overnight in the north of the country, officials said on Wednesday. The militants stormed and briefly held the checkpoints on the outskirts of Pule Khumri, capital of northern Baghlan province, officials said. The dead, and five wounded, had been taken to […]
Afghan president calls for peace talks to be moved home
KABUL: The next round of negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government should be held at home, President Ashraf Ghani said on Monday, backing calls to move the talks from Qatar. The warring sides have been engaged in direct talks since September at a luxury hotel in Doha, where the Taliban have their political […]
US set for mass vaccinations as world virus deaths top 1.6 million
WASHINGTON: The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine began leaving the company’s Michigan factory on Sunday, ready to be injected into the arms of millions of the most vulnerable Americans as the global death toll topped 1.6 million. Doses will be shipped out in boxes containing dry ice that are capable of staying at -70 degrees Celsius (-94 […]
US Paper-Based Test Can Detect Covid-19 In Less Than Five Minutes
A team led by an Indian-origin scientist has developed a rapid, ultrasensitive Covid-19 test using a paper-based electrochemical sensor that can detect the presence of the novel coronavirus in less than five minutes. The researchers from the University of Illinois in the US created a graphene-based electrochemical biosensor with an electrical read-out setup to selectively […]
14 army men fired, suspended over violence at US base
WASHINGTON: US military leaders fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, on Tuesday and ordered policy changes to address chronic leadership failures at the base that contributed to a widespread pattern of violence including murder, sexual assaults and harassment. Two generals were among those being removed from their jobs, as […]
Citing low virus rates in schools, NYC again reopens schools
It’s back to school again for some New York City schoolchildren, weeks after the schools were closed to in-person learning because of rising COVID-19 infections. The city’s public school system, which shut down in-person learning earlier this month, will bring back on Monday preschool students and children in kindergarten through fifth grade, whose parents chose […]
Chinese spacecraft lands on moon
BEIJING: China successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon’s surface on Tuesday in a historic mission to retrieve lunar surface samples. China launched its Chang’e-5 probe on Nov 24. The uncrewed mission, named after the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, aims to collect lunar material to help scientists learn more about the moon’s origins. […]
