Austria will become the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full COVID-19 lockdown, it said on Friday as neighbouring Germany warned it may follow suit, sending shivers through financial markets worried about the economic fallout. The fourth wave of infections has plunged Germany, Europe’s largest economy, into a …
Read More »In new intelligence fiasco, Israeli minister’s home cleaner accused of spying for Iran
Already disgraced by a spate of hackers’ attacks, which led to an extensive leak of information related to Israel’s critical facilities and top political figures, the regime’s claims to intelligence invulnerability has been further debunked by a new report that a man working as a cleaner in the home of …
Read More »Seven terrorists arrested in separate security operations across Iraq
Iraqi security forces apprehended Seven terrorists in separate security operations in Kirkuk, Nineveh, and al-Anbar. The Spokesperson to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Major General Yehya Rasool, said that the Counter-Terrorism-Services (CTS) apprehended five terrorists in different districts of the western governorate of al-Anbar. “Two terrorists were also arrested …
Read More »Putin says West taking Russia’s ‘red lines’ too lightly
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the West was taking Russia’s warnings not to cross its “red lines” too lightly and that Moscow needed serious security guarantees from the West. In a wide-ranging foreign policy speech, the Kremlin leader also described relations with the United States as “unsatisfactory” but …
Read More »Mysterious new planet possibly spotted in solar system
An object lurking in the outer region of our solar system may well be the elusive Planet 9, a leading British astronomer has suggested after digging through the telescope archives of 250,000 point sources. Possible evidence of a mysterious planet up to 10 times bigger than Earth, with a distant …
Read More »Iraqi Airforce kills five terrorists in Diyala
The Iraqi Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday that the national Airforce killed “terrorists” in Diyala Governorate. In a statement, the Ministry said that the Iraqi Army Airforce had killed five ISIS members, one of them is a sniper, in operation within the Diyala Operations Command. Yesterday, ISIS militants attacked …
Read More »Pfizer signs $5.3 billion US deal to supply COVID-19 antiviral pills
Pfizer Inc said on Thursday it had signed a $5.29 billion deal with the US government to deliver 10 million courses of its experimental COVID-19 antiviral drug, as the country rushes to secure promising oral treatments for the disease. The deal is rough twice the size of the contract the …
Read More »Belarus clears migrant camps at border with EU – Belta news agency
Belarus authorities have cleared the two main migrant camps at the border with Poland, bringing the remaining migrants that had been camped in the woods to nearby warehouses, the Belarusian state news agency Belta reported on Thursday. The move, if confirmed, could be a major development in the crisis at …
Read More »Al-Sadr: A Majority Government or go to Opposition
The head of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, confirmed, on Thursday, that he seeks to form a majority government or go to the opposition. “We are seeking to form a national majority government, and our word is either a national majority government or we will go to the national opposition,” …
Read More »Iraq records 789 new COVID-19 cases, 27 deaths in 24 hours
Iraq recorded 789 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said today, Thursday. The daily epidemiological report on the COVID-19 situation stated that 27 COVID-19 deaths were registered today. On the other hand, 1347 patients have achieved full recovery. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in …
Read More »Italy, France to sign Rome treaty aimed at changing EU power balance – sources
Italian and French leaders Mario Draghi and Emmanuel Macron will sign a deal next week to try to tilt the balance of power in Europe after the departure of German Chancellor Angela Merkel a government source said. The details of the accord remain undisclosed, but another Italian official said it …
Read More »Iraq receives 170 repatriation requests from migrants stranded on Belarus
The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs registered 170 migrants wishing to return from the Belarusian-Polish borders. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahaf said in a statement, “We have 170 people wishing to return voluntarily to Iraq and have given us 55 passports so far.” He indicated, “our diplomatic staff is now …
Read More »Biden, Xi stick to their positions but turn down the heat in three-hour talk
U.S. President Joe Biden pressed his Chinese counterpart on human rights in a video call lasting more than three hours, while Xi Jinping warned that China would respond to provocations on Taiwan, according to official accounts of the exchange. The closely scrutinized conversation between the leaders of the world’s biggest …
Read More »Canada | Floods trap people on highways in British Columbia, prompt evacuations
An “atmospheric river” caused major flooding, trapping people on highways and prompting evacuations in Canada’s British Columbia. The rainstorms that started on Sunday triggered landslides, shutting roads, prompting the evacuation of an entire town, forcing an oil pipeline to close, and delayed flights. Canadian helicopters carried out several rescue operations …
Read More »Armenia asks Russia to help defend it against Azerbaijan amid border tension: TASS
Armenia has asked Russia to help defend its territorial sovereignty against Azerbaijan after a reported heavy border clash, Russia’s TASS news agency said on Tuesday. Tensions between Yerevan and Baku remain high after a 44-day war last year between ethnic Armenian forces and the Azeri army, backed by Turkey, that …
Read More »Triple suicide bombing kills three, wounds dozens in Ugandan capital
A triple suicide bombing killed at least three people in the heart of Uganda’s capital on Tuesday, sending members of parliament and others rushing for cover as cars burst into flames in the latest in a wave of bomb attacks. The blasts in Kampala shocked a nation that is known …
Read More »Poland turns water cannon on migrants at Belarus border
Polish security forces turned water cannon on migrants across the Belarusian border, where thousands have gathered in a chaotic attempt to reach the European Union, video footage shared by authorities showed on Tuesday. The crisis has led the EU to prepare further sanctions against Belarus, which it accuses of attempting …
Read More »Alzheimer’s vaccine step closer after new treatment reverses memory loss
A new approach that could potentially treat Alzheimer’s disease and vaccinate against it has been developed by scientists at the University of Leicester. The study developed by the team, which suggests both an antibody-based treatment and a protein-based vaccine, has reduced the symptoms of Alzheimer’s in mouse models of the …
Read More »EU agrees new sanctions on Belarus, airlines over border crisis
The European Union agreed on Monday to step up sanctions against Belarus, which denounced as “absurd” Western accusations that it was driving a migrant crisis that has left thousands of people stranded in freezing forests on its borders with the EU. The Western bloc is seeking to stop what it …
Read More »Trump adviser Bannon turns himself in to face charges in January 6 Capitol riot probe
A defiant Steve Bannon, former president Donald Trump’s long-time adviser, turned himself in to the FBI Monday to face charges of contempt of Congress after refusing to testify on the January 6 Capitol assault. “This is all noise,” he said of his indictment, as he arrived at the FBI’s Washington …
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