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Global authorities reacted with alarm on Friday to a new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, with the EU and Britain among those tightening border controls as researchers sought to find out if the mutation was vaccine-resistant. Hours after Britain banned flights from South Africa and neighbouring countries and asked …

The Green Zone in the center of the capital, Baghdad, witnessed a mass escalation in protest against the manipulation of the results of the parliamentary elections, On Friday. Protesters toppled a number of “slabs” that had been placed on Thursday night within the approaches of the Green Zone and the …

Scientists are sounding the alarm, as what could be the most highly-evolved strain of the coronavirus has been discovered in patients in different parts of the world. Its resistance to vaccines adds to the concerns. The latest known variant of Covid-19 has significant changes in its spikes, which could make …

A force of al-Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces-PMF) thwarted a terrorist plot in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, earlier today, Thursday. According to a statement issued by the paramilitary group’s media department, a special force from the 27th brigade in Jazirat al-Karma located a huge hideout used by ISIS operatives near …

Diyala Operations Command launched on Thursday a large-scale security operation Quri Chay to pursue ISIS operatives sheltering there and clear the area from war remnants and explosives. The command said in a statement issued earlier today that a force from the First Infantry Division, annexed by a force from the …

Kiev’s forces are increasingly launching offensives in war-torn Donbass, attempting to use Western firepower to bring the two breakaway self-declared separatist republics to heel with military force, Moscow has blasted. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the situation in the east of the …

Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson, who resigned only hours after winning lawmakers’ backing as prime minister earlier this week, will get a second chance to form a government, the speaker of parliament said on Thursday. Andersson’s resignation as prime minister on Wednesday was prompted by a decision by coalition partner …

There is no room for compromise over Taiwan and the United States should not have any illusions about this, China’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday, adding that Washington had of late made a series of “provocations” on several issues. China says the issue of Taiwan, which it claims as Chinese …

South African scientists have detected a new COVID-19 variant in small numbers and are working to understand its potential implications, they said on Thursday. The variant – called B.1.1.529 – has a “very unusual constellation” of mutations, which are concerning because they could help it evade the body’s immune response …

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday fired the head of Russia’s prison service, weeks after the emergence of leaked videos that appeared to show prisoners being tortured and sexually assaulted. Alexander Kalashnikov was dismissed with immediate effect, according to a terse decree published on the Kremlin’s website. Arkady Gostev, a deputy …

The leader of the Al-Fateh Alliance, Mr. Hadi Al-Amiri, confirmed today, Wednesday, that the United Nations envoy to Iraq, Jeanine Plasschaert, is interfering in the elections and their results as if she is the head of the High Electoral Commission. The media office of Al-Amiri said in a statement received …

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says Tehran and the UN nuclear agency have reached an agreement in principle to resolve their outstanding issues. The official made the remarks during an online discussion with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday, adding that Iran and the agency were seeking to “issue …

Belarusian border guards may be guilty of torture against migrants on the country’s border with Poland, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday, adding that both nations have committed “serious human rights violations.” The group said in a report that the two governments “have an obligation to prevent further deaths by …

Iraq’s Security Media Cell announced, on Wednesday, that a joint force destroyed a cave and a tunnel for ISIS in Tuz Khurmatu, east of Saladin Governorate. In a statement, the Cell said, “Under the supervision of the Joint Operations Command, the Iraqi air force struck the area controlled by the …

At least 27 migrants died after their dinghy capsized on Wednesday while trying to cross the Channel from France to Britain, a local mayor said. According to fishermen, more migrants left France’s northern shores than usual to take advantage of calm sea conditions, although the water was bitterly cold. One …

The Independent High Electoral Commission announced today that the total number of polling stations that have been manually recounted has reached 5304 so far. Imad Jamil, a member of IHEC’s media team, told Al-Ghadeer News, “The electoral commission manually recounted 4,326 ballots in the contested electronic voting machines”, noting that …

Lebanon’s president told central bank governor Riad Salameh on Wednesday to provide data for a forensic audit of the bank, saying the restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal(A&M) had said it did not have the information it needed a month after starting. President Michel Aoun made the comments in a meeting …

The Taliban have signed a deal with Australian company Cpharm that wants to set up a cannabis processing center in Afghanistan, a Taliban spokesperson said on Twitter. A contract has been signed and the project will be up and running within days, Taliban Press Director Qari Saeed Khosty said. Afghanistan’s …

German Social Democrat Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday he had reached a coalition deal to form a new government that will try to modernise Europe’s largest economy and bring the curtain down on the Angela Merkel era. Scholz’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), the ecologist Greens, and the libertarian Free Democrats …

Coronavirus infections broke records in parts of Europe on Wednesday, with the continent once again the epicentre of a pandemic that has prompted new curbs on movement and made health experts think again about booster vaccination shots. Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary all reported new highs in daily infections …