WORLD
Global Covid-19 caseload tops 178.6mn
In its latest update on Tuesday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 178,686,182 and 3,870,373, respectively. The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 33,553,967 and 602,086, respectively, according to the CSSE.
AstraZeneca vaccine linked to rare neurological disorder in India, England
The studies, published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Annals of Neurology, describe an unusual variant of Guillain-Barre syndrome characterised by prominent facial weakness. All the eleven cases were among people who had received that vaccine 10-22 days earlier. Seven cases were reported from a regional medical centre in Kerala, India, where approximately 1.2 million people were vaccinated with the vaccine.
US must lift all unjust sanctions: Raisi
"What I am saying to the US is that according to the nuclear deal, you were obliged to lift all sanctions and you did not. Go back and fulfil your commitments," Raisi said on Monday while addressing his first press conference as President-elect. Iran, he noted, will negotiate neither its regional policies nor its national defense with foreign parties.
Spain to pardon jailed Catalan separatist leaders
The nine Catalan politicians all received long prison sentences of between nine and 13 years for sedition, reports Xinhua news agency. Sanchez announced the decision at an event on Monday called "Coming together again: a forward-looking project for all of Spain" held at Barcelona's emblematic Liceu Theatre.
Swedish PM Stefan Lofven ousted in no-confidence vote
On Monday, the 349-seat Parliament approved the no-confidence motion with 181 affirmative votes, more than the required 175 votes, reports Xinhua news agency. Meanwhile, 109 voted against, and 51 abstained. Lofven thus became the first sitting Prime Minister to be ousted in a no-confidence vote in Sweden's history.
Centre-right party tops France's regional elections: Exit poll
President Emmanuel Macron's ruling "The Republic on the Move" party, meanwhile, failed to anchor roots locally, Xinhua news agency quoted the poll as saying on Monday. For the President, who had dispatched 15 ministers to the battle and saw his troops painfully reaching 10 per cent at the national level, "it's a setback", commented French daily Le Figaro on Monday.
US ambassador to return to Moscow this week: State Department
"We remain committed to open channels of communication with the Russian government," Price told reporters in a phone brief. "Both as a means to advance US interests but also to reduce the risk of miscalculation between our two countries." He also said Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov had returned to Washington DC, Xinhua reported.
US announces sharing plan for 55mn Covid vaccine doses
Among the 55 million doses, around 41 million will be shared through COVAX, including approximately 14 million doses for Latin America and the Caribbean, approximately 16 million for Asia, and approximately 10 million for Africa, according to a White House statemen. The rest, about 14 million doses, will be shared directly with "regional priorities and other recipients," including Afghanistan, Iraq, West Bank and Gaza.
'Pakistan encouraged Kashmir-centric terrorists to join Islamic State-Khorasan
"The Islamic State in Khorasan" written by Antonio Giustozzi and published in 2018, has revealed that in Pakistan literally hundreds of jihadist groups big and small operated in 2011-17, among which the largest were the LeT, Sepah-e Sahaba (SS), Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) with its various splinter groups, primarily Jamaat ul Ahrar), Jaish-e Mohammad (JeM), Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ), Harakat-e Mujahidin and Jundullah.
US to China: Cooperate on Covid origin probes or face isolation
US President Biden had, last month, ordered intelligence agencies to reinvestigate the origins of the Covid pandemic in China as a way to prevent future pandemics. Led by Biden, world leaders at the recently concluded G7 also pushed for a 'transparent' investigation into the origins of Covid. However, the Biden administration will not take a hard line with China about cooperating in the investigations, Sullivan told CNN's "State of the Union," on Sunday.
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