News Archives for World - 2021-12-08

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World - 2021-12-08

Europe

UK PM announces home-working, vaccine passports in England

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday announced the tightening of virus restrictions in England...

Updated 09 Dec, 2021 12:20am

Africa

South Africa reports nearly 20,000 COVID-19 cases, an Omicron-wave record

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa reported nearly 20,000 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a record since the Omicron ...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 11:06pm

World

Blinken headed for Southeast Asia with China, Myanmar on agenda

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head to Southeast Asia next week on a tour designed to show ...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 09:38pm

Africa

Seven UN peacekeepers killed in central Mali explosion

BAMAKO: An explosion on Wednesday in central Mali killed seven United Nations peacekeepers and seriously wounded...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 09:33pm

Middle East

Iran denounces new US sanctions over rights abuses

TEHRAN: Iran has voiced criticism over new US sanctions imposed on a dozen Iranian entities and officials accused of...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 07:57pm

World

YouTube stays on Roku devices as companies strike multi-year deal

YouTube and Roku Inc announced on Wednesday a multi-year pact to end a battle that dragged for months over...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 07:26pm

South Asia

Indian farmers receive new government offer, may call off protest

NEW DELHI: India's protesting farmers have received a revised proposal from the government addressing some of their...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 07:01pm

Middle East

Bahrain parliament approves value-added tax increase to 10%

DUBAI: Bahrain's parliament has approved the doubling of value-added tax to 10%, a member of parliament said, a...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 06:47pm

South Asia

Death toll from Indonesia volcano eruption rises to 39

LUMAJANG: The death toll from the eruption of Indonesia's Mount Semeru has risen to 39, authorities said Wednesday,...

Updated 08 Dec, 2021 07:48pm

Europe

UK urges Covid test firms to stop exploiting travellers

LONDON: Britain on Wednesday urged private Covid test firms to stop exploiting travellers, after a former...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 06:36pm

Europe

UK warns Russia Ukraine incursion would be 'strategic' error

LONDON: British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss warned on Wednesday it would be "a strategic mistake" by Moscow to ...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 06:04pm

World

BioNTech, Pfizer vaccine neutralises Omicron with three shots

BioNTech and Pfizer said on Wednesday a three-shot course of their COVID-19 vaccine was able to neutralise the new...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 05:26pm

World

Coronavirus toll at 1100 GMT Wednesday

PARIS: The novel coronavirus has killed at least 5,270,700 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 05:19pm

World

China's Xi calls for 'new level' of ties with Germany under Scholz

BEIJING: China's President Xi Jinping on Wednesday congratulated Olaf Scholz, saying Beijing was willing to work ...

Updated 08 Dec, 2021 05:48pm

Europe

Putin says Russia will follow up fast after Ukraine call with Biden

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would send ideas to Washington within a week...

Updated 08 Dec, 2021 09:34pm

Europe

Scholz takes over as German chancellor, ending Merkel era

BERLIN: German lawmakers elected Social Democrat Olaf Scholz as chancellor on Wednesday, ending 16 years of...

Updated 08 Dec, 2021 05:49pm

World

Saudi prince visits UAE as new Khashoggi controversy swirls

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia's de facto leader pressed on with a Gulf tour Wednesday after French police said they had...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 04:04pm

Europe

EU chief vows to work with Scholz for 'strong Europe'

BRUSSELS: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Germany's new chancellor Olaf Scholz on...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 03:47pm

Europe

Macron tells Germany's Scholz: 'We will write the next chapter together'

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday told new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz the two countries would...

Updated 08 Dec, 2021 03:43pm

World

India's defence chief, 12 others killed in chopper crash

The Indian Air Force says an inquiry is underway into the accident

Updated 08 Dec, 2021 07:35pm

South Asia

Elephant kills two Sri Lanka cricket stadium staff

COLOMBO: Two ground staff at an international cricket stadium in Sri Lanka were killed in an elephant attack,...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 01:06pm

South Asia

Indian billionaire Ambani says 5G rollout should be nation's priority

NEW DELHI: Indian billionaire tycoon Mukesh Ambani, who controls India's biggest wireless carrier Reliance Jio...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 12:51pm

Europe

Germany records highest daily COVID deaths since February

BERLIN: Germany recorded the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 since February on Wednesday as it battles to ...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 12:43pm

Africa

Gunmen torch bus, kill 30 passengers in Nigeria's Sokoto state

BAUCHI: At least 30 passengers on a bus in Nigeria's Sokoto state were burnt to death when gunmen torched it on...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 12:37pm

South Asia

20 Bangladesh students sentenced to death for brutal murder

DHAKA: Bangladesh sentenced 20 university students to death on Wednesday for the brutal 2019 murder of a young man...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 12:18pm

Europe

Northern Ireland Protocol stokes EU-UK tensions

BELFAST: The Northern Ireland Protocol was signed separately from the Brexit trade deal between the UK and the...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 12:11pm

Europe

Swiss group lights 11,288 candles for COVID-19 victims

BERN: More than 11,000 candles - one for each Swiss victim of the coronavirus pandemic - lit up the December ...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 11:20am

World

Top WHO, US scientists say Omicron no worse than other virus variants

GENEVA: The Omicron variant appears to be no worse than other coronavirus strains, top scientists from the WHO and...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 11:15am

USA

Trump White House chief risks criminal charge in Capitol riot probe

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump's former chief of staff said Tuesday he was no longer willing to cooperate with the probe...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 11:00am

Europe

Olaf Scholz: Germany's staid but steady next chancellor

BERLIN: Often described as austere and even robotic, Social Democrat Olaf Scholz nonetheless managed to inspire...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 10:48am

World

Congress reaches agreement to avert calamitous US debt default

WASHINGTON: US senators struck a deal Tuesday to create a one-time law allowing Democrats to lift the nation's...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 10:31am

World

Rising seas blamed as flooding hits Pacific islands

MAJURO: Island nations in the South Pacific were cleaning up Wednesday after storms and tidal surges triggered...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 10:26am

Europe

British PM under fire over video of staff joking about lockdown party

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was under fire Wednesday after a video emerged of his senior aides...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 10:13am

World

UN chief isolating after Covid-19 exposure

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was exposed to the coronavirus Tuesday by a UN official who...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 09:33am

World

Malaysian appeal court upholds ex-PM Najib's 1MDB conviction

PUTRAJAYA: A Malaysian appeal court on Wednesday upheld former leader Najib Razak's corruption conviction and ...

Published 08 Dec, 2021 09:26am

World

Norway urges WB’s Afghanistan donors to channel funds to UN

UNITED NATIONS: Norway is encouraging donors to a World Bank-administered fund for Afghanistan to agree to transfer...