Even if the variants are limited within a small area, the emergence of new variants in significant at new strains indicate the virus’s reaction to the vaccines. The World Health Organization has named a new variant of coronavirus as ‘Mu’ and classified it as a variant of interest in its latest pandemic bulletin. With the addition of Mu, now there are five variants of interest such as Eta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda and Mu. Here is all you need to know about this new variant 1. This variant is scientifically known as B.1.621. 2. Mu was first detected in Colombia in…
Author: Mike Harrison
The number of disasters, such as floods and heatwaves, driven by climate change have increased fivefold over the past 50 years, killing more than 2 million people and costing $3.64 trillion in total losses, a UN agency said on Wednesday.The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says its “Atlas” is the most comprehensive review of mortality and economic losses from weather, water and climate extremes ever produced.It surveys some 11,000 disasters occurring between 1979-2019, including major catastrophes such as Ethiopia’s 1983 drought, which was the single most fatal event with 300,000 deaths, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 that was the most costly,…
Nomura Holdings, Japan’s biggest brokerage firm, has asked its employees to not smoke during work hours – even if they are working from home. The reason behind this move, according to a company note, is to keep its employees and their families healthy.According to the memo sent by Nomura to its employees, the rule will come into effect from October. It further said that all smoking rooms managed by the Nomura Group will be closed.Will Nomura punish its employees for smoking?No, according to Nomura’s spokesperson Yoshitaka Otsu. The spokesperson told Bloomberg that the move is based on mutual trust.Japanese firms…
It is the first time since 2001 that there are no American troops standing guard on Kabul roads. While some Americans are still in the country and the US authorities are yet to evacuate them along with Afghans who have been working for them, all soldiers have left the country after two decades of war.Here are the latest developments in the Afghanistan crisis since the US completed the withdrawal on Monday.Taliban meeting in KandaharTaliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid on Tuesday informed that leadership have been holding meetings in Kandahar province to discuss Afghanistan’s political, security and social issues, now that it…
With Haqqani Network controlling Kabul and Mullah Yaqoob holding the Kandahar, there is concern that the Taliban government may have a pro-Afghan faction of Kandaharis and pro-Pak faction of Haqqanis. By Shishir Gupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi UPDATED ON SEP 01, 2021 11:19 AM IST Hectic negotiations are reported between Taliban leadership and the Haqqani Network over government formation in Afghanistan with Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Sunni Pashtun outfit, expected to be in Kabul where the ruling Cabinet could be announced as early as this evening or by tomorrow. A slightly indisposed Akhundzada is presently in…
A sitting Indo-Canadian MP, part of Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau’s caucus, is facing charges of inappropriate behaviour towards female staff members over the past six years but remains a candidate as the September 20 Federal elections approach.Raj Saini, who has roots in Himachal Pradesh, has been the MP for the riding (as constituencies are called in Canada) of Kitchener Centre in the province of Ontario since 2015.According to a report from the outlet CBC News, multiple sources “described four different cases where Saini allegedly made unwanted sexual advances or inappropriate comments”. Saini denied the accusations to CBC News.It also…
While incumbent Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is an international political celebrity, the opponent who is threatening to displace him, Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole, remains largely unknown, even within Canada.However, as his party gains ground on the ruling Liberal Party, even leading in some polls to bag a large share of seats in the Federal elections scheduled for September 20, his profile has risen. More importantly for the relationship between Ottawa and New Delhi, which has suffered under Trudeau, O’Toole has a pro-India agenda as part of his platform.Born in Montreal, the 48-year-old is behind a party platform calling…
US President Joe Biden and former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani spoke for the last time on July 23, weeks before the fall of Kabul on August 15, which saw Ghani leaving the country leading to an irrevocable fall of his government. According to Reuters, the last call between the duo lasted for roughly 14 minutes and they discussed military aid, political strategy etc. But none of them spoke anything about the possibility of the entire country falling to the Taliban, the news agency, which went through the transcript of the conversation, said.”Reuters reviewed a transcript of the presidential phone call…
Britain has opened talks with the Taliban over the “safe passage” of its remaining nationals and allies out of Afghanistan after the hardline Islamist group’s quickfire takeover of the country last month.The British government confirmed to AFP it has dispatched senior civil servant Simon Gass to meet with Taliban representatives in Doha.Much of the group’s senior leadership lived in exile in the Qatari capital until the overthrow of Afghanistan’s Western-backed government after 20 years of war.Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under fire after many Afghans who helped NATO — and are eligible to move to Britain — were believed…
Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, Asad Majeed Khan, has slammed US Congressman Michael G Waltz for writing to President Joe Biden seeking sanction on Pakistan for their alleged support to the Taliban and said that the US should stop blaming Pakistan for the fall of Kabul. If Pakistan’s “military strategy” was somehow responsible factor in the defeat of the 300,000-strong Afghan army, whom the US had trained for so many years, then the US assessment that the Afghan army lost morale does not hold water, the ambassador wrote. The fall of Kabul proved the futility of the investment of…