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TikTok was running again in Pakistan Saturday after a provincial court lifted the suspension of the popular social media service but ordered it to address complaints that it hosted objectionable content. The Pakistan Telecoms Authority (PTA) blocked access Thursday for the third time after a ruling by a Sindh court …

The world is in a very “dangerous period” of the COVID-19 pandemic compounded by more transmissible variants like Delta, which is continuing to evolve and mutate, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned. He said in countries with low vaccination coverage, terrible scenes of hospitals overflowing are again …

Newly arrived overseas tourists on Thailand’s island of Phuket were able to roam free without quarantine on Friday for the first time in more than a year, as Thailand launched a special programme for vaccinated visitors to the island. Tourists swam in hotel pools and walked along Phuket’s postcard-perfect beaches …

Authorities are trying to increase the speed and effectiveness of vaccinations as the highly infectious Delta variant spreads. Germany is recommending that all people who get a first shot of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine switch to a different type of vaccine for their second shot. The aim is to increase …

The email accounts of about a dozen members of parliament were hacked recently, Polish counter-intelligence said on Friday, disclosing further details of one of the biggest cyberattacks on the country in recent years. The revelations come two weeks after the authorities said top Polish government officials had been hit by …

A truck filled with 2,000kg of illegal fireworks has exploded while police officers were in the process of seizing the goods. EXPLOSION! LAPD was disposing of illegal fireworks in South LA when the explosion occurred. At least 5 are injured. @KTLA @heli_CvP pic.twitter.com/99e9TzVtOr — Ryder Christ (@RyderChristNews) July 1, 2021 …

An 82-year-old woman who has spent six decades trying to reach space will join Jeff Bezos on the first human flight by his space company later this month. Wally Funk was one of the “Mercury 13” who underwent training in the 1960s. Mr. Bezos has invited Ms. Funk as an …

More than six million videos were removed from TikTok in Pakistan in three months, the app said on Wednesday, as it battles an on-off ban in the deeply conservative country. Wildly popular among Pakistani youth, the Chinese-owned app has been shut down by authorities twice over “indecent” content, most recently …

UN health agency sounds the alarm and calls for ‘discipline’ as highly infectious Delta variant races through the region. The third wave of infections is now inevitable unless citizens and legislators are “disciplined”, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns, saying a 10-week decline in new coronavirus infections across Europe has …

Lionel Messi’s Barcelona contract expired on June 30; the 34-year-old is now a free agent but Barca president Joan Laporta is confident Argentina forward will sign a new deal; “We want him to stay and Leo wants to stay, everything is going well,” said Laporta Barcelona president Joan Laporta remains …

Iraq collectively grossed nearly six billion dollars from oil sales last June, according to a survey by the state oil marketer, SOMO. Crude oil exports amounted to 86,765,589 barrels, yielding 6,141,077,000 dollars, SOMO survey said. Exports from Oilfields in Mid and south Iraq were 83,690,352 barrels, while Kirkuk oilfields exports, …

The European Union agreed on Wednesday to a ceasefire with the United Kingdom in a post-Brexit dispute dubbed the “sausage war” by extending a grace period for shipments of certain meat products from Britain to Northern Ireland. The bloc will also make it easier for medicines and guide dogs to …

Medical experts fear a fresh spike in cases by September or October as pressure grows on the government for tougher restrictions. A resurgence of COVID cases could lead to France having the fourth wave, a top scientist has warned. The French government’s leading scientific adviser Professor Jean-Francois Delfraissy said the …

Russia on Wednesday reported 669 coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours, a record number of fatalities for the second day in a row, according to a government tally. The country is grappling with a spike of infections spurred by the highly infectious Delta variant, and President Vladimir Putin was …

A spike in deaths has been reported in Canada’s British Columbia as it bears the brunt of a record-breaking heatwave stifling the country. Dozens of people are believed to have fallen victim to the extreme temperatures. A wave of searing heat has plagued Canada’s western provinces since Friday, resulting in …

Eurozone economic sentiment surged in June to a 21-year-high as an accelerated pace of COVID-19 vaccinations led to further reopening and an improved mood across all sectors of the economy, notably in retail and services. The European Commission’s monthly sentiment survey for the 19 countries sharing the euro on Tuesday …

Greek police have unearthed a painting by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso that was stolen more than nine years ago in a daring heist at the National Gallery in Athens. The Picasso painting, Woman’s head, was found with a damaged work by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian in a warehouse about 50 …

A team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University has designed a prototype of a mask that can detect coronavirus particles in the wearer’s breath. The technology is modeled on paper-based diagnostics for the Ebola and Zika viruses developed by MIT engineering professor James Collins …

Lebanon’s government raised fuel prices on Tuesday, after agreeing last week to effectively cut fuel subsidies, a move aimed at alleviating crippling shortages but which will increase the pressure on impoverished consumers. The average price of 95-octane gasoline was set at 61,100 Lebanese pounds ($40.58) per 20 liters, an increase …

Oil prices dropped for a second day on Tuesday on worries about slower fuel demand growth as outbreaks of the highly contagious COVID-19 variant Delta sparked new mobility restrictions around the world. Brent crude futures fell 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $74.33 a barrel by 0706 GMT, after slumping 2% …