International News

A third shot of Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine leads to a rebound in antibody levels that drop months after a second dose, a small-scale Chinese study showed.

Australian officials will trial a home quarantine system for fully vaccinated international travellers arriving in Sydney, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, as the country moves to reopen its borders despite persistent COVID-19 cases.

The Netherlands will require proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test for entry to restaurants, museums, theatres and other cultural events from September 25, as almost all social distancing measures are dropped.

The Italian government has approved some of the strictest anti-COVID measures in the world, making it obligatory for all workers either to show proof of vaccination, a negative test or recent recovery from infection.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he would have to spend "a few days" in self-isolation after dozens of people in his entourage fell ill with COVID-19, the TASS news agency reported.

Hospitals, care homes and health centres have suspended around 3,000 workers across France for failing to comply with mandatory COVID vaccination, the government said on Thursday, as countries around Europe weigh how far to go to combat the pandemic.

Delhi authorities ordered a ban on the storage, use and sale of firecrackers in the Indian capital late on Wednesday ahead of the Diwali festival to curb air pollution levels which cause thousands of deaths each year.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the military forces had killed IS militant Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the leader of the terror group in the Greater Sahara.

ഇന്ത്യയിൽ ഇന്നലെ 30,570 പേർക്കാണ് വൈറസ് ബാധ സ്ഥിരീകരിച്ചത്

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ബഹിരാകാശ ചരിത്രം തിരുത്തിയെഴുതിയത് അന്തർമുഖനെന്ന് ഒരിക്കൽ വീട്ടുകാരും നാട്ടുകാരും പറഞ്ഞ പയ്യൻ

A SpaceX rocket ship blasted off from Florida on Wednesday carrying a billionaire e-commerce executive and three private citizens he chose to join him in the first all-civilian crew ever launched into Earth orbit.

China launched an emergency response on Thursday after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake jolted the southwestern province of Sichuan killing at least three people, state media reported.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed his party's first female foreign secretary on Wednesday in a reshuffle, replacing ministers who had drawn criticism with the declared aim of tackling economic inequality after COVID-19.

Judges at the International Criminal Court have approved a formal investigation into possible crimes against humanity allegedly committed under the leadership of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in the context of his "war on drugs".

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ആ കാത്തുനിൽപ്പിനിടയിൽ ഒരു സുഹൃത്തിന് തോന്നിയ സിംഗിൾ ഐഡിയയാണ്

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ബുക്ക് റിവ്യൂ

American army officers who refuse to be vaccinated against the coronavirus could be suspended from their duties and possibly discharged, the US Army said on Tuesday.

South Korea successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on Wednesday, becoming the first country without nuclear weapons to develop such a system as it aims to better counter North Korea's growing capabilities.

North Korea fired a pair of ballistic missiles off its east coast, South Korea's military said on Wednesday, ratcheting up tensions just days after testing a cruise missile with possible nuclear capabilities.

China's COVID-19 outbreak in Fujian province, which has reported 152 local cases in five days, has prompted cities in other parts of the country to issue travel warnings ahead of major holidays, though state media warn against imposing blanket travel curbs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is self-isolating as a precaution after several members of his entourage fell ill with COVID-19, but is "absolutely" healthy and does not have the disease himself, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

24 മണിക്കൂറിനിടെ 37,127 പേരാണ് രോഗമുക്തി നേടിയത്.

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ഒന്നും ചിന്തിക്കാതെ റിയാക്റ്റ് ചെയ്യുമ്പോഴുണ്ടാകുന്ന തിരിച്ചടികൾ

New local COVID-19 infections more than doubled in China's southeastern province of Fujian, health authorities said on Tuesday, prompting officials to quickly roll out measures including travel restrictions to halt the spread of the virus.

The Philippines' capital region will exit wide-scale coronavirus restrictions from Thursday, as the government launches a pilot test of localised lockdowns, amid efforts to balance reopening the economy and containing the spread of the coronavirus.

All 12- to 15-year-olds in the UK will be offered COVID-19 jabs after top medical advisers said on Monday that it will help reduce disruption to their education.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Monday ran its first commercial flight to Kabul, Afghanistan, since the Taliban took over the country last month, a spokesman for the airline said.

An outbreak of dengue fever is suspected of killing dozens of people in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh since the start of September, and authorities have launched a campaign to destroy mosquito breeding grounds.

New Zealand extended a strict lockdown in its largest city on Monday, requiring 1.7 million people living in Auckland to remain indoors for at least another week to snuff out small outbreaks of the highly infectious Delta variant of coronavirus.

North Korea carried out successful tests of a new long-range cruise missile over the weekend, state media said on Monday, seen by analysts as possibly the country's first such weapon with a nuclear capability.

ഇതുവരെ 3,32,64,175 പേർക്കാണ് രാജ്യത്ത് കാേവിഡ് ബാധിച്ചത്

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ആഴ്ചയിൽ ഒരു മണിക്കൂർ പോലും തൊഴിലെടുക്കാത്ത അഭ്യസ്തവിദ്യരുടെ സാമ്പിൾ പ്രകാരമാണ് ഈ കണക്ക്.

Pilot error and a failure to follow safety guidelines probably caused the Air India Express crash that killed 21 people last year, the country's worst aviation accident in a decade, investigators said in a report.

338 കൊവിഡ് മരണങ്ങളാണ് ഇന്ത്യയിൽ പുതുതായി റിപ്പോർട്ട് ചെയ്തത്. ഇതോടെ ആകെ മരണസംഖ്യ 4,42,655 ആയി.

Several communities remain flooded and without power after a strong typhoon battered the Philippines' northernmost islands, the authorities said on Sunday, displacing thousands of people.

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സംതൃപ്താവസ്ഥയുടെ ഒരഭ്യാസം.

Yet another billionaire entrepreneur is set to ride into space this week, strapped inside the capsule of a SpaceX rocketship, as part of an astro-tourist team poised to make history as the first all-civilian crew launched into Earth orbit.

Japan's minister in charge of vaccines, Taro Kono, led a public opinion poll on who should succeed Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

New Zealand has purchased 500,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from Denmark, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Sunday, as the country struggles with a cluster of infections in its largest city.

President Joe Biden will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States on Saturday by visiting each of the sites where hijacked planes crashed in 2001, seeking to honor the victims of the devastating assault.

Twenty years after hijacked airliners smashed into New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon outside Washington, Americans will honor the nearly 3,000 lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001, and reflect on how the attacks have shaped the country's view of the world and itself.

Top US health officials believe that Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine could be authorised for children aged 5-11 years old by the end of October, two sources familiar with the situation said on Friday.

The Saudi General Directorate of Passports has started to automatically extend the validity of residence permits for expatriates outside the Kingdom.

Australia's third most populous state said on Saturday it may order a snap lockdown after a cluster of COVID-19 cases, as the country posted a record one-day rise in daily infections.

BioNTech is set to request approval across the globe to use its COVID-19 vaccine in children as young as five over the next few weeks and preparations for a launch are on track, the biotech firm's two top executives told Der Spiegel.

Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati succeeded in forming a cabinet on Friday in negotiations with President Michel Aoun, over a year after the last one resigned.

US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke for 90 minutes, in their first talks in seven months, discussing the need to ensure that competition between the world's two largest economies does not veer into conflict.

The first international commercial flight under Afghanistan's new Taliban interim government departed Kabul carrying more than 100 foreigners, including some US citizens left behind after last month's chaotic Western airlift.

ദോഹയിൽ വിമാനം ലാൻഡ് ചെയ്യുമെന്നാണ് ബിബിസിയുടെ റിപ്പോർട്ട്. ഒഴിപ്പിക്കലിന് സഹായം നൽകണമെന്ന് യുഎസ് സ്റ്റേറ്റ് സെക്രട്ടറി ആന്റണി ബ്ലിങ്കൻ ഖത്തറിനോട്  അവ്വശ്യപ്പെട്ടിരുന്നു.

Singapore is trying to live with COVID-19 and sees no need to tighten restrictions to address a spike in cases, but will hold off on more reopening moves while monitoring for increases in severe cases, officials said on Friday.

Starting Friday, the penalty for people who don't wear facemasks on planes, trains and other forms of transportation in the US has been increased as authorities step up efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Two hundred Americans and other foreigners who remain in Afghanistan are set to depart the war-ravaged country on charter flights from Kabul on Thursday after the new Taliban government agreed to their evacuation, a US official said.

North Korea celebrated the 73rd anniversary of its foundation with a nighttime military parade in the capital, state media reported on Thursday, publishing photographs of marching rows of personnel in orange hazmat suits but no ballistic missiles.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday accepted his party's nomination to run for vice president in next year's election, pushing ahead with a plan criticised by rivals as an attempt to maintain his grip on power.

The death toll from a blaze that tore through an Indonesian jail has risen to 44, as authorities pledged to look at whether more inmates could receive rehabilitation for drug-related offences to ease chronic overcrowding in the prison system.

The daughter of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday she would not run for higher office in next year's general election, a remark that did little to dampen speculation that she has her eye on the presidency.

A fire tore through an overcrowded block in a jail in Indonesia's Banten province in the early hours of Wednesday, killing at least 41 people and injuring dozens.

China on Wednesday banned private tutors from giving classes online or in unregistered venues such as residential buildings, hotels and coffee shops, ramping up its effort to stamp out all for-profit tutoring.

A powerful earthquake struck southwestern Mexico near the beach resort of Acapulco on Tuesday, killing at least one man, and causing rock falls and damaging buildings.

Philippine Senator Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday declared his candidacy for next year's presidential election, the first to confirm a run for the top post to replace the controversial but popular incumbent Rodrigo Duterte.

The Taliban have announced an interim government in Afghanistan.

Thousands of Indian farmers gathered in a large grain market outside New Delhi on Tuesday, protesting new agricultural laws they say threaten their livelihoods and actions by police during similar demonstrations last week.

Vietnam jailed a man on Monday for five years for breaking strict COVID-19 quarantine rules and spreading the virus to others, state media reported.

South Korea has test-fired a ballistic missile (SLBM) from a submarine, Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday, becoming the first country without nuclear weapons to develop such a capability.

The Taliban claimed victory on Monday over opposition forces in the Panjshir valley northeast of Kabul, completing their takeover of the country following the stunning capture of Kabul last month and the chaotic withdrawal of foreign troops.

The Philippines will relax some COVID-19 restrictions in the Manila region from Wednesday and also intends to outline plans to shift to smaller, localised lockdowns to support the economy, the presidential spokesperson said.

Dozens of relatives of the 298 victims of Malaysian Airlines flight 17, shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine in 2014, will begin giving testimony on Monday at the murder trial of four fugitive suspects accused of carrying out the attack.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday said nationwide coronavirus curbs would be lifted outside of Auckland, as the country gets on top of an outbreak of the Delta variant.

Japanese voters strongly support Taro Kono, minister in charge of fighting COVID-19, becoming the next prime minister, a second opinion poll said on Monday, as potential candidates prepare announcements that they will contest the leadership of the ruling party.

Taliban and opposition forces battled to control the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul, the last Afghan province holding out against the regime, as the top US general warned of a "civil war" if the Taliban failed to consolidate power.

Australia reported 1,684 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday as authorities race ahead with vaccinations in a bid to end lockdowns on the populous southeast coast in the hope of making Christmas as close to normal as possible.

Hundreds of thousands of farmers gathered in India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, the biggest rally yet in a months-long series of demonstrations to press Narendra Modi's government to repeal three new agricultural laws.

Hurricane Ida's toll rose to 12 storm deaths in Louisiana, still far outpaced by the dozens killed in flooded Northeast US states where President Joe Biden is heading next week to assess damage.

Bahraini authorities have authorised the use of a booster dose of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, the first time the Russian shot has been approved for a third dose, the state-run Bahrain News Agency said on Saturday.

The United Nations will convene an international aid conference in Geneva on Sept. 13 to help avert what U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called a "looming humanitarian catastrophe".

Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar will lead a new Afghan government set to be announced shortly, sources in the regime said on Friday, as it battled rebel fighters in the Panjshir Valley and strived to ward off economic collapse.

US President Joe Biden travels to Louisiana on Friday to get a first-hand look at the destruction wrought by Hurricane Ida, the monster storm that devastated the southern portion of the state and left 1 million people statewide without power.

New Zealand police on Friday shot and killed a "violent extremist" who was known to authorities, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, after he stabbed and wounded at least six people in a supermarket.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Friday he would step down, setting the stage for a new premier after a one-year tenure marred by an unpopular COVID-19 response and rapidly dwindling public support.

Flooding killed at least 14 people, swept away cars, submerged subway lines and temporarily grounded flights in New York and New Jersey as the remnants of Hurricane Ida brought torrential rains to the area.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers were preparing on Thursday to unveil their new government as the economy teetered on the edge of collapse more than two weeks after they captured Kabul and brought a chaotic end to 20 years of war.

Afghanistan's Zakia Khudadadi competed in the Paralympic Games on Thursday, becoming the first woman from her country to do so since Athens 2004, after a secret international effort to help the taekwondo athlete get out of Taliban-controlled Kabul.

Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte's daughter has named several politicians, including her father's closest aide and preferred successor, whom she said have offered to run with her in next year's presidential election.

Thailand's health ministry said on Thursday that its COVID-19 vaccine regimen of China's Sinovac followed by British-developed AstraZeneca was safe and successfully boosted immunity among its first 1.5 million recipients.

The governors of New York and New Jersey declared a state of emergency late Wednesday as record-breaking rains from tropical storm Ida led to flooding and hazardous conditions on the roads, with media reporting at least nine deaths.

അഫ്ഗാനിസ്ഥാനിൽ നിന്ന് പലായനം ചെയ്യാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്ന ആയിരക്കണക്കിന് ജനക്കൂട്ടം  അഫ്ഗാന്‍ - പാക് അതിര്‍ത്തിയിലൂടെ  പോകുന്നതായി റോയിട്ടേഴ്സിന്റെ റിപ്പോർട്ട്.

Facing sharp criticism over the tumultuous US withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden said it was the best available option to end both the US' longest war and decades of fruitless efforts to remake other countries through military force.

Britain is in direct talks with the Taliban over securing safe passage out of Afghanistan for UK nationals and Afghans who have worked for Britain.

Firefighters waged an all-out battle in heavy winds to protect homes on the fringe of tinder-dry forests near Lake Tahoe from a wildfire that has chased thousands of people from the popular resort destination in California's Sierra Nevada range.

Australian authorities on Wednesday extended the COVID-19 lockdown in Melbourne for another three weeks, as they shift their focus to rapid vaccination drives and move away from a suppression strategy to bring cases down to zero.

Canada said on Tuesday it would take in and resettle some 5,000 Afghan refugees who had been evacuated by the United States after the withdrawal of the last American troops from Kabul.

Two people were killed and 10 injured when a deep crevasse opened up on a Mississippi highway in the wake of heavy rains unleashed by Hurricane Ida.

Celebratory gunfire echoed across Kabul as Taliban fighters took control of the airport before dawn on Tuesday following the withdrawal of the last US troops, ending 20 years of war.

 മണിക്കൂറിൽ 240 കിലോമീറ്റർ വേഗതയിലായിരുന്നു ചുഴലിക്കാറ്റ്

Australia will receive 500,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from Singapore this week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday, after Canberra agreed a swap deal in a bid to curtail surging coronavirus infections.

Hong Kong's government is facing growing pressure from business lobby groups to open borders or risk losing executives and investment as it shows no sign of easing one of the world's strictest quarantine programmes.

New Zealand's government on Tuesday reported that new COVID-19 cases fell for a second day, down to 49, amid the tight lockdown the country undertook during the latest outbreak this month.

French authorities hope the streets of Paris will be safer, quieter and less dirty from Monday as a new speed limit for drivers of 30 kph (19 mph) came into force.

ഇന്ത്യ സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യത്തിന്റെ 75-ആം വാർഷികം ആഘോഷിക്കുന്നു

US anti-missile defences intercepted as many as five rockets that were fired at Kabul's airport early on Monday morning, a US official said, as the United States rushed to complete its withdrawal from Afghanistan to end its longest war.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday extended a lockdown in Auckland by two weeks, while officials reported the country's first death linked to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's long-time aide has rejected the endorsement of the ruling party to run as its candidate in the 2022 elections, a development that some analysts said may open the way for Duterte's daughter to stand.

Intensive care cases in Australia's New South Wales will hit a peak in October as COVID-19 infections accumulate, said the premier of the country's most populous state, which reported record daily new infections on Monday.

Hurricane Ida ploughed into Louisiana from the Gulf of Mexico as a fierce Category 4 storm, lashing the coast with strong winds, torrential downpours and pounding surf that submerged much of the shoreline under several feet of water.

US President Joe Biden arrived at Dover Air Force Base on Sunday to honour members of the military killed in a bomb attack during the evacuation of civilians from Afghanistan last week.

American forces launched a drone strike in Kabul on Sunday targeting a suicide bomber in a vehicle that was aiming to attack the airport.

US forces are in the final phase of their evacuation from Kabul and just over 1,000 civilians inside the airport remain to be flown out before troops are withdrawn, a Western security official in the Afghan capital said on Sunday.

Japan is looking into the possibility of mixing shots of AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine with those developed by other drug makers in a bid to speed up its vaccine rollout, the minister in charge of vaccinations said on Sunday.

New Zealand reported 83 locally acquired cases on Sunday of the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying that some changes on how the outbreak is managed could be announced on Monday.

India reported 45,083 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, according to data from the health ministry, driven by surging cases in the southern state of Kerala.

Western forces running the Afghan airlift braced on Saturday for more attacks after the United States launched a drone strike, apparently killing an I.S. "planner", two days after the group claimed a deadly bombing outside Kabul airport.

Two people died after receiving Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shots that were among lots later suspended following the discovery of contaminants, Japan's health ministry said on Saturday.

Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, will be boarding Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity and blasting off to space on Sunday.

Singapore is reviewing penalties for violent offences following an outcry over a 12-day prison sentence for a student who strangled his girlfriend until she blacked out.