New Zealand ends nationwide state of emergency as moving to COVID-19 alert level 2
May 13, 2020, at 04:36 pm
Moscow/Sputnik/UNI: The authorities of New Zealand have canceled the nationwide state of emergency, as the country is due to move from the COVID-19 alert level 3 to level 2 amid the decrease in the number of cases, Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare said in a statement on Wednesday.
US plans to issue alert that Chinese hackers are targeting COVID-19 vaccine research
May 13, 2020, at 02:27 pm
Washington/IBNS: The United States is planning to issue a warning that hackers tied to the Chinese government are attempting to steal information from researchers working to develop a coronavirus vaccine, media reports said.
Canada's free tax clinics go virtual
May 13, 2020, at 02:02 pm
Ottawa, May 13 (IBNS): Diane Lebouthillier, Canada's Minister of National Revenue, announced on Tuesday that free virtual tax clinics would be held in Canada on an interim basis while still following physical distancing guidelines due to COVID-19 pandemic, media reports said.
COVID-19 cases in Nepal cross 200-mark
May 13, 2020, at 01:39 pm
Kathmandu/UNI: COVID-19 cases in Nepal crossed 200 mark after the Ministry of Health and Population on Tuesday reported 83 new cases, in the largest single day spike in cases.
Afghanistan: UN shocked and outraged over deadly attacks on maternity hospital and funeral
May 13, 2020, at 01:07 pm
New York/IBNS: Perpetrators behind two separate deadly attacks in Afghanistan on Tuesday must be brought to justice, top UN officials have said.
Universal basic income the right prescription for Latin America & Caribbean – UN report
May 13, 2020, at 01:01 pm
New York/IBNS: A new report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) unveiled on Tuesday, proposes that governments ensure immediate temporary cash transfers to help millions of people struggling to meet basic needs, as the massive fallout from COVID-19 ripples across the region’s economies.
UN chief appeals to ‘common humanity’ across all faiths, in tackling the coronavirus
May 13, 2020, at 12:59 pm
New York/IBNS: Our shared vulnerability to the coronavirus pandemic reveals “our common humanity”, the UN chief said on Tuesday during an online meeting with religious leaders on the important role they can play, in limiting the damage caused by COVID-19.
Political will ‘fundamental’ to realizing a more just and prosperous Iraq: UN envoy
May 13, 2020, at 12:49 pm
New York/IBNS: Despite compounding crises that include the COVID-19 pandemic and plummeting oil revenues, a more prosperous and inclusive Iraq can be achieved provided the political will is there, the top UN official in the country told the Security Council during a virtual meeting held on Tuesday.
Chad’s storytellers take COVID prevention messages off the grid
May 13, 2020, at 12:41 pm
New York/IBNS: Traditional storytellers in Chad, known as troubadours, are taking life-saving messages to remote communities in the Sahelian country, as the Government steps up its efforts with the support of the UN to counter the COVID-19 pandemic.
Afghanistan: ISIS terrorists target funeral in Nangarhar during Ramadan, 24 killed
May 13, 2020, at 12:31 pm
Kabul/IBNS: In the holy month of Ramadan, terrorists targeted a funeral in Afghanistan's Nangarhar region which left 24 people dead and 70 others injured, media reports said on Wednesday.
South Korea's employment reduces 476,000 in April over COVID-19
May 13, 2020, at 10:31 am
Seoul/Xinhua/UNI: South Korea's employment reduced 476,000 in April from a year earlier as companies encouraged employees to go on an unpaid leave or be laid off amid the COVID-19 outbreak, statistical office data showed Wednesday.
Terror attack in Kabul hospital leaves two newborns, 12 others dead
May 13, 2020, at 10:24 am
Kabul/IBNS: The terror attack in a hospital in Afghanistan's Kabul city on Tuesday left at least 14 people killed, media reports said on Wednesday.
Banning Indian raw material can prove suicidal: Pakistan Pharmaceutical industry warns Imran govt
May 13, 2020, at 03:04 am
Islamabad/IBNS: Despite all their designs against India, Pakistan government is facing a dilemma. It is because of a plea from its own people against the banning of Indian raw material for manufacturing drugs in the country, specially at this time when the nation is grappling with COVID-19 outbreak.
Belgium registers 53,779 COVID-19 cases, death toll at 8,761
May 12, 2020, at 06:52 pm
Brussels/Xinhua: Belgium has recorded 330 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, pushing the total to 53,779 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a statement by the public health institute Sciensano released Tuesday.
Death toll in Afghan bomb blast rises to 24
May 12, 2020, at 06:45 pm
Kabul/UNI: The death toll from a bomb blast at the funeral of a police chief in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province has gone up to 24, and the number of injured has risen to 68.Attaullah Khogyani, the provincial governor's spokesman, told Sputnik on Tuesday.
Balochistan: Two students disappeared, Pakistan Army blamed
May 12, 2020, at 06:01 pm
Quetta: Even at a time when Pakistan is combating COVID-19 outbreak, the country's military continued its domination over Balochistan people as two students have disappeared in the region, media reports said.
Pakistan govt allegedly imposes ban on Balochistan Human Rights Commission's website
May 12, 2020, at 05:56 pm
Quetta/IBNS: In yet another attempt by the Pakistani authority to curb down the Baloch voices, PM Imran Khan-led administration has imposed an indefinite ban on the official website of Human Rights Commission of Balochistan, media reports said.
Human Rights activist calls Pakistan's move to hold elections in Gilgit-Baltistan as 'illegal'
May 12, 2020, at 05:49 pm
Quetta/IBNS: A political and human right activist from Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) has described Pakistan's s move of holding election in the region as 'illegal'.
Blasphemy: Pakistani singer targeted over song posted on social media
May 12, 2020, at 05:42 pm
Islamabad/IBNS: While the world is engaged in combating COVID-19 outbreak, Pakistan's hardline Islamists are active. They are misusing the blasphemy law to target any voice of protest.
Indonesian govt slams abuse of its fishermen on Chinese boats leaving three dead
May 12, 2020, at 05:33 pm
Jakarta: The Indonesian government has condemned the 'inhuman' treatment given to its nationals by a Chinese fishing company that allegedly kept Indonesian fishermen as virtual slaves, media reports said. The incident reportedly left three Indonesian citizens dead.
Five killed in terrorist attack at maternity hospital in Afghan capital
May 12, 2020, at 04:37 pm
Kabul, May 12 (Xinhua) Four civilians and an assailant were killed and five civilians were wounded after two explosions rocked a maternity hospital in Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood in western part of Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Tuesday, the country's Interior Ministry confirmed.
Nine civilians killed, 11 others injured in airstrike in N Afghanistan - eyewitnesses
May 12, 2020, at 04:30 pm
Kabul/Sputnik/UNI: An airstrike in Afghanistan's northern province of Balkh has left at least nine civilians killed and 11 others injured, local residents told Sputnik on Tuesday.
Afghanistan: Suicide bomber targets funeral ceremony in Nangarhar, several killed
May 12, 2020, at 04:27 pm
Kabul/IBNS: A suicide bomber targeted a funeral ceremony in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province which left at least 47 people wounded or killed, media reports said.
Tedros highlights complex challenges posed by COVID-19 resurgence, following easing of lockdowns
May 12, 2020, at 02:52 pm
New York/IBNS: The resurgence of COVID-19 cases in South Korea, China and Germany following the lifting of stay-at-home restrictions demonstrates the complexity of easing these measures, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.
Afghanistan: Security forces arrest key ISIS leader
May 12, 2020, at 01:33 pm
Kabul/IBNS: Afghanistan security forces have arrested three ISIS terrorists in Kabul city of the country, media reports said.
UN officials call for release of detained Palestinian children amid pandemic
May 12, 2020, at 01:32 pm
New York/IBNS: Three senior United Nations officials in the Middle East are calling for the release of Palestinian children from Israeli-run prisons and detentions centres, saying they are at particular risk of COVID-19 infection.
US state of Louisiana to start reopening on May 15
May 12, 2020, at 01:28 pm
Washington, May 12 (Xinhua) The US state of Louisiana will start to reopen on Friday, governor John Bel Edwards announced on Tuesday.
No guarantee of COVID-19 vaccine: British PM
May 12, 2020, at 01:01 pm
London/UNI: A COVID-19 vaccine is by no means guaranteed, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.
Explosion happens at entrance to Kabul hospital, militants enter building - reports
May 12, 2020, at 12:14 pm
Moscow/Sputnik/UNI: An explosion occurred at the entrance to a hospital in the Afghan capital of Kabul, and militants then entered the building, 1TV broadcaster reported on Tuesday, citing a doctor working at the hospital.
UN peacekeepers killed in improvised explosive attack in Mali
May 12, 2020, at 12:10 pm
New York/IBNS: Three UN peacekeepers from Chad were killed in northern Mali on Sunday when their convoy hit a roadside bomb near Aguelhok, in the restive Kidal region. The improvised device also seriously injured four others who are now receiving medical care, the UN Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said in a statement.