Whistleblower exposes issues with Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine trial

Leading medical journal The BMJ has published an incendiary report exposing faked data, blind trial failures, poorly trained vaccinators, and a slow follow-up on adverse reactions in the phase-three trial of Pfizer’s Covid jab.

Race to find survivors after Nigeria building collapse

Rescuers on Tuesday dug through rubble searching for survivors a day after a luxurious high-rise building collapsed while under construction in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos, as officials put the death toll at six and scores were reported missing.

Pakistani authorities scramble to curb rising air pollution

Air quality in the Pakistani city of Lahore has risen to dangerous levels as winter starts, leaving authorities to scramble to cope with desperate situations.

At least 15 killed as blasts, gunfire hit Kabul hospital

At least 15 people were killed and 34 wounded when two explosions followed by gunfire hit Afghanistan’s biggest military hospital in Kabul, a Taliban security official said on Tuesday.

World makes new bid to avert climate disaster

The United Nations COP26 summit that starts in Glasgow this week has been billed as a make-or-break chance to save the planet from the most calamitous effects of climate change.

Pakistani Islamist group reaches deal with government

A hardline Pakistani Islamist group called off a protest march to the capital Islamabad on Sunday after reaching a deal with the government, ending two weeks of clashes that left at least seven policemen dead and scores injured on both sides.

Man dressed as Joker terrorises Tokyo train

24-year-old man dressed in Batman’s Joker costume attacked passengers on a Tokyo train line on Sunday evening, injuring about 10 people as many party-goers headed into the city centre for Halloween gatherings, media reported.

UK, French leaders to meet amid flare-up in post-Brexit fishing row

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet French President Emmanuel Macron this weekend amid a row over post-Brexit fishing rights in which France has seized a British boat and London has threatened to board French trawlers.

US steps up aid to Afghanistan, bypassing the Taliban

In view of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the United States is providing nearly 144 million dollars in additional aid, the National Security Council said in Washington.

Coronavirus variant evades antibodies induced by Pfizer & AstraZeneca vaccines: Study

The A.30 variant of the coronavirus, detected in Angola and Sweden, is highly resistant to antibodies induced by the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, a new lab study has shown.

Caravan of mostly Central American migrants advance slowly across Mexico

Thousands of mostly Central American migrants trekking across southern Mexico on Wednesday advanced only a short distance, with children and painfully blistered feet, the latest human caravan seeking to reach either Mexico City or the U.S. border.

Moldova in showdown with Russia’s Gazprom over gas pricing

Amid a showdown with Moscow, Moldova has signed a contract with Poland for natural gas deliveries, the first time the ex-Soviet country is turning to a supplier other than Russia.

Army ousted government to avoid civil war: Sudan’s Burhan

Sudan’s top general defended the army’s seizure of power, saying he had ousted the government to avoid civil war, while protesters returned to the streets on Tuesday to demonstrate against the takeover after a day of deadly clashes.

UN emissions gap report a ‘thundering wake-up call’

Current commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions put the planet on track for an average 2.7 degrees Celsius temperature rise this century, a United Nations report said on Tuesday, in another stark warning ahead of crunch climate talks.

SUDANESE MILITARY DISSOLVES GOVERNMENT, DECLARES EMERGENCY AMID COUP

The head of Sudan’s ruling council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has announced the dissolution of the transitional sovereign council and the government, enacting a state of emergency amid a military coup after the PM’s arrest.

Over half of Afghans face acute hunger this winter: UN

More than half of Afghanistan’s population could face acute hunger from next month, the United Nations has warned.

Ethiopia fighting intensifies amid air strikes on Tigray

An Ethiopian government air strike hit a university in the Tigray regional capital on Friday, rebellious Tigrayan forces and humanitarian sources said, as thousands of people fled fighting further south.

US will defend Taiwan if China attacks: Biden

The United States would defend Taiwan if the island were attacked by China, President Joe Biden said Thursday, a declaration welcomed by the democratic island that risks fury from Beijing. Authoritarian China regards self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to one day seize the island, by force if needed.

Melbourne reopens as world’s most locked-down city eases pandemic restrictions

Melbourne residents flocked to the city’s pubs, restaurants and hair salons in the early hours of Friday after the world’s most locked-down city emerged from its latest spate of restrictions designed to combat the spread of COVID-19.

India administers more than one billion Covid jabs

According to the government, around three-quarters of adults in the country of 1.3 billion people have had one shot and around 30 percent are fully vaccinated.

S.Korea launches first domestically developed space rocket

2021-South Korea on Thursday carried out its first ever test of a domestically produced space rocket, but admitted that it had not succeeded in its key task of putting a dummy satellite into orbit.

Bangladesh’s ruling party rallies for Hindus after deadly clashes

Thousands of members of Bangladesh’s ruling party rallied on Tuesday in support of the nation’s besieged minority Hindus after one of the worst bouts of communal violence in the Muslim-majority nation for over a decade.

Renewed focus on N. Korean military after sub-launched missile test

North Korea’s latest military provocation is said to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile, South Korea’s general staff said on Tuesday.

Poland under fire over challenge to supremacy of EU law

Poland’s prime minister repeatedly came under criticism during a tense debate in the European Parliament on Tuesday, with the EU’s chief executive warning Warsaw that its challenge to the supremacy of the 27-nation bloc’s law would not go unpunished.

FLOOD-HIT KERALA BRACES FOR MORE RAIN, DEATH TOLL RISES TO 35

The rain-battered Kerala is bracing for another spell of rain. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has sounded a yellow alert across 11 districts from Wednesday even as the death toll from flash flood and landslides in the state rose to 35.

Myanmar to release 5,000 prisoners held over coup

Myanmar will release more than 5,000 people jailed for protesting against a February coup which ousted the civilian government, the country’s junta chief said Monday

Migrant workers in Kashmir moved to secure locations, hundreds flee

Indian authorities have moved thousands of migrant workers in Kashmir to safer locations overnight, while hundreds have fled the Himalayan valley after a wave of targeted killings, two security officials said on Monday.

18 dead, dozens missing in Kerala after floods

As many as 18 people were killed and dozens of others went missing on Saturday as heavy rain lashed south and central Kerala causing flash floods and landslides in many parts of the southern state, officials said.

China condemns US, Canada for sending warships through Taiwan Strait

The Chinese military on Sunday condemned the United States and Canada for each sending a warship through the Taiwan Strait last week, saying they were threatening peace and stability in the region.

No end in sight to volcanic eruption on La Palma

There’s no immediate end in sight to the volcanic eruption that has caused chaos on the Spanish isle of La Palma since it began about a month ago, the president of the Canary Islands said on Sunday.