COVID-19: 67-year-old Mumbai man identified as the first Omicron XE case

COVID-19

Officials stated on Saturday that the first case of COVID-19 variant Omicron XE was discovered in Mumbai and confirmed by the NCDC in Delhi. The infected is a 67-year-old man who travelled from Mumbai to Vadodara, Gujarat, on March 12 and developed a minor fever. His samples were sent to be sequenced, and the results, … Read more

Indian Consulate in Dubai issues passport advisory to travel brokers in the UAE

Indian Consulate

The Indian Consulate in Dubai has issued an advice to warn travel brokers, touts, and enterprises against keeping their employees’ passports and cautioned them against putting stickers and defacing this crucial document, in accordance with Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) regulations. “We have frequently seen that companies who prefer to withhold their employees’ passports … Read more

Boris Johnson meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the Ukraine Conflict

Boris

Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, has been to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a “display of solidarity.” “Right now, Boris Johnson’s visit to Kyiv is beginning with a one-on-one discussion with President Zelenskiy,” said Andriy Sybiha, deputy head of Ukraine’s president office, on Facebook. The trip is … Read more

More than 100 attacks on health facilities have been reported in Ukraine: WHO

Ukraine

Over the previous six weeks, Russia has launched more than 100 strikes in Ukraine on health-care facilities and transport vehicles, including ambulances, in violation of international humanitarian law, according to the World Health Organization. According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, 73 people were murdered and 51 injured in the attacks, including health staff and … Read more

Amid tensions in Indo-Pacific, joint US-Indonesia military exercise may expand to 14 nations

The Indonesian and US military are expanding their yearly bilateral exercises to include 14 countries, according to a news release issued by the Indonesian Army on Thursday. From August 1 to 14, troops from the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Canada will participate in the Garuda Shield 2022 exercises, according to the army. … Read more

Finland and Sweden may soon join NATO

NATO

Finland and Sweden may soon join NATO, a move that would certainly enrage Moscow and emphasize Russia’s geopolitical blunder in invading Ukraine, according to officials. NATO officials told an International media outlet that since Russia’s invasion, discussions about Sweden and Finland joining the bloc have intensified, and US senior State Department officials said the issue … Read more

In radio transmissions intercepted by Germany, Russian troops contemplates killing Ukrainian people

Radio Transmissions

Germany’s foreign intelligence service told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that it had intercepted radio transmissions in which Russian military discussed shooting soldiers and civilians in Ukraine, says a person familiar with the meeting. According to the source, the briefing was the main topic of discussion at the Wednesday meeting. Despite Moscow’s protestations, the intelligence … Read more

‘Crazy’ scene at Chernobyl has startled Ukrainians after Russian pullout revealed nuclear pollution

Chernobyl

As a Ukrainian soldier enters, the startling ear-piercing beep of a radiation meter fills the room. At the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, here is where Russian soldiers lived, and radiation levels are now higher than normal. The source of the radioactive substance in the room isn’t apparent, but Ukrainian officials claim that it’s caused by … Read more

Xi Jinping defends China’s zero-COVID policy in the face of an increase of cases in Shanghai

xi jinping

China’s targeted and successful COVID-19 prevention and control efforts enabled the safe and seamless holding of the Winter Olympics, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday, defending his country’s strict zero-COVID policy amid a large rise of coronavirus infections in Shanghai and other places. “In light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, we have prioritized the … Read more

The main opposition party in Sri Lanka plans to file a no-confidence motion against the government

Sri Lanka

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Sri Lanka’s biggest opposition party, declared on Friday that if President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government fails to address the public’s worries over the country’s worst economic crisis, it will initiate a no-confidence motion against him. Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the opposition, has also advocated for the Executive Presidency to be abolished, … Read more

South China Sea problems handled ‘efficiently’: Xi Jinping tells outgoing President Duterte

Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping told outgoing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday that the two countries had “correctly” handled the sensitive issue of the disputed South China Sea, attempting to put a positive spin on a relationship that never quite delivered the hoped-for benefits. Xi made the statements during a phone discussion with Duterte, who … Read more

A Brooklyn-based charity distributes ‘blankets of hope’ to those in need

blankets of hope

Hundreds of school children across the country are donating blankets to those who are homeless, especially Ukrainians who were forced to escape their country after Russia’s invasion. It’s a means of reassuring these people that they’re not alone. Mike and Nick Fiorito, two brothers from Brooklyn, started the initiative six years ago when they resigned … Read more

How a political upheaval in Yemen risks prolonging the country’s conflict

Yemen

On Thursday, Yemen’s exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi handed over control to a presidential council, in a surprise step backed by Hadi’s primary sponsor Saudi Arabia. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels that the Saudi-led coalition is fighting in Yemen were passionately opposed to both the president, who had been in power for a decade, and his … Read more

Israeli Prime Minister grants security forces “full freedom to act after an assault

Israeli Prime Minister

After the latest tragic attack, in which a Palestinian gunman killed two men in a popular nightlife area, Israel’s prime minister authorized security services “full freedom” of operation to combat the rising violence. “This battle has no and will not have any limitations,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett declared hours after the Tel Aviv attack. In … Read more