BEIJING, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) — As the heavily mutated COVID-19 Omicron variant sounds a global alarm, China said it will stick to its strict anti-virus policy, taking all necessary measures to eliminate infections before the new virus variant could wreak havoc. Cases of Omicron, a “variant of concern” according to the World Health Organization (WHO), … Read more
HANOI, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) — Vietnam reported 13,998 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, including 13,993 locally transmitted and five imported, according to its Ministry of Health. Most of the community cases were reported in southern localities, including 1,636 in Ho Chi Minh City, 998 in Can Tho province, and 787 in Tay Ninh province. The … Read more
BEIJING, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) — China’s electronic information manufacturing industry registered strong growth in revenue and profit in the first 10 months of the year, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) showed. Major enterprises in the sector raked in total profits of 604.9 billion yuan (about 94.9 billion U.S. dollars), surging … Read more
CHONGQING, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) — Three self-driving buses developed by Chinese tech giant Baidu have started trial commercial operation in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality. The buses, named Robobus, are 5.9 meters long and have a cruising speed of about 40 km per hour. They are equipped with Level 4 automation technology. The buses can stop … Read more
NEW DELHI, Dec 4, 2021 (AFP) – India’s cricket board on Saturday delayed the national side’s South Africa tour over the heavily mutated Omicron strain of Covid-19, it said in a statement. Omicron was first discovered in South Africa and has led to global panic, uncertainty and fresh travel curbs in the last few days, raising … Read more
JAKARTA, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) — Indonesia on Saturday confirmed 246 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 4,257,489, according to the country’s Health Ministry. The ministry said that the death toll from the virus in the country rose by five to 143,863, while 314 more people have recovered during the past 24 hours, … Read more
NEW YORK, Dec 4, 2021 (AFP) – The personal computer that Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales used when programming the online reference resource 20 years ago is going under the hammer, along with an NFT memorializing his first edit on the platform, auctioneers said Friday. The Strawberry iMac was the machine Wales “used for development and research … Read more
The Galaxy A73 will supplant the Galaxy A72 as the A series’ flagship, and it will include a quad-rear camera, a punch hole camera, and a large 6.7-inch display with Full HD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. Serial leaker @OnLeaks, in collaboration with Zoutons, released renders of a lovely gadget that shares design elements … Read more
BERN, Switzerland, Dec 3, 2021 (AFP) – Switzerland announced Friday it was dropping 10-day quarantine rules for people flying in from countries where the Omicron Covid-19 variant has been detected. The wealthy Alpine nation — one of Europe’s top skiing holiday destinations — said the rule no longer made sense now that the variant is also … Read more
WASHINGTON, Dec 3, 2021 (AFP) – The United States and Australia announced their first locally transmitted cases of the Omicron variant as authorities worldwide rushed on Friday to stem the spread of the heavily mutated Covid-19 strain. The World Health Organization has warned it could take weeks to determine whether Omicron is more transmissible and whether it causes … Read more
KINSHASA, Dec 3, 2021 (AFP) – A year ago, the world kicked off one of the greatest initiatives in medical history: the rush to vaccinate Earth’s human population against Covid-19. Since the launch of mass vaccination in Britain on November 8 2020, billions of jabs have since poured off production lines and rich countries are lining … Read more
KARACHI: Urea off-take grew 5 per cent to 561k tonnes in November 2021, compared with 533k tonnes in the same month of the last year, provisional fertiliser off-take data for the month suggests. Sales of Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC) and Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim (FFBL) depicted a jump of 6 per cent, while Engro Fertilizer’s … Read more
KARACHI: Ghani Chemical Industries Limited (GCIL) has bought additional 22.8 million shares in G3 Technologies (formerly Service Fabrics) increasing its stake in the associated company to 15.93 per cent. Ghani Chemical Industries Limited (GCIL) has invested Rs228 million in G3 Technologies Limited (GTECH), a bourse filing from Ghani Global Holding Limited said on Friday. “GCIL, … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The construction work of Greater Karachi Water Supply Project (K-IV) will be completed by October 2023. Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umer held a meeting to review the progress of Greater Karachi Water Supply Project (K-IV) in Islamabad on Friday. Project Director Amir Mughal briefed the minister about the revised … Read more
LAHORE: Ambassador of Argentine Leopoldo Francisco Sahores along with deputy head of the mission Camilo Ernesto Silberkasten called on University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) vice chancellor Prof Dr Nasim Ahmad on Friday and discussed potential areas of cooperation for the development of livestock and dairy sector in Pakistan. Sahores said that his country … Read more
LONDON: Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell has announced its exit from the proposed development of Cambo oilfield off the Shetland Islands, a project which has been blighted by climate protests. Shell, which has a 30 per cent interest in the development off the western coast of Scotland, said on late Thursday that the investment case … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been the biggest trade partner of Pakistan in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with a trade volume of more than $8 billion, the Pakistani foreign minister said on Thursday, congratulating the Gulf state on its 50th National Day, Arab News reported. The statement came during a grand … Read more
GENEVA, Dec 3, 2021 (AFP) – The World Health Organization said Friday it had not seen any reports of deaths relating to the new Omicron variant of Covid-19. The WHO said it was collecting evidence about the variant of concern, as countries around the world scramble to stop it spreading. But despite a growing number of countries reporting … Read more
ROME, Dec 3, 2021 (AFP) – A Italian man who wanted a coronavirus vaccine certificate without actually having the jab tried to play the system by presenting health workers with a fake arm, an official said Friday. Despite the realistic skin colour, nobody was fooled by the silicone limb, and the man — in his 50s — was … Read more
HONG KONG, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) — Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported three new imported cases of COVID-19 on Friday, taking the total tally of confirmed cases in the financial hub to 12,448. The newly reported cases all involved mutant strains. A total of 50 cases have been reported in the past 14 … Read more
WASHINGTON, Dec 1, 2021 (AFP) – Inspired by how birds land and perch on branches, a team of engineers at Stanford University has built robotic graspers that can fit on drones, enabling them to catch objects and grip various surfaces. The advance could allow flying robots to conserve power in situations where they might otherwise be … Read more
WASHINGTON, Dec 3, 2021 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden announced Thursday a winter campaign against Covid-19, with new testing requirements for travelers and a surge in vaccination efforts as the new Omicron variant threatens to revive the pandemic. Biden has brought steady leadership after the chaotic Donald Trump years, but the mutating coronavirus continues to … Read more
OSLO, Dec 3, 2021 (AFP) – At least 17 people who came down with Covid-19 after a Christmas party gathering over 100 guests in Oslo last week are suspected of having the Omicron variant, city officials said on Friday. “So far 60 people have tested positive (for Covid) with PCR tests, and four with antigen tests. … Read more
World AIDS Day, Apple is launching new Watch faces and an Apple Pay offer in which the company will donate $1 from every purchase to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS. Apple teamed up with (RED) to offer a line of red-colored items, with proceeds going to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and … Read more
A leopard wandered inside a classroom at a college in Uttar Pradesh, injuring a student in a terrifying event. The leopard’s surveillance camera film is making the rounds on the internet. The incident occurred in the Kasba Charra region of Aligarh. The leopard was seen entering the campus and then gently making its way into … Read more
Supriya Sahu, Indian Administrative Officer and Principal Secretary of Environment of Tamil Nadu released a video of a mother tiger walking her three pups at Geddai Dam in the Nilgiris on Twitter, and netizens love it. Sahu tweeted, “Tiger Country – looks like a mother teaching her three teenage kids to look at the discipline and … Read more
The seal rushed onto the boat and stuck between the engines to dodge the killer whales’ jaws in a viral incident from British Columbia. When a seal noticed a whale-watching boat and jumped on board to seek safety while a pod of orcas circled around to hunt it down, something similar happened. Many people have … Read more
NEW DELHI, Dec 2, 2021 (AFP) – India announced its first two cases of the highly infectious Omicron Covid variant on Thursday, months after a devastating wave of the virus killed more than 200,000 people around the country. Top health ministry official Luv Agarwal said two men in southern Karnataka state, aged 66 and 46, had tested positive … Read more
