International news with relevance to Thai and regional readers
At the start of the year, India thought it had beaten the pandemic and had kicked off a mass vaccination drive. The nation of 1.3 billion people has been hit by a new wave that has caused one million positive tests in a week, and authorities are rattled. Face masks and social distancing were cast aside
WINDSOR, England (AP) — Military bands played and Queen Elizabeth II joined a procession Saturday at Windsor Castle ahead of a funeral where her husband Prince Philip was being remembered as a man of “courage, fortitude and faith.” The service was saluting both his service in the Royal Navy and his support for Britain’s monarch
China’s Coronavac vaccine was 67 percent effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 and 80 percent at preventing death, according to real-life results unveiled Friday from Chile’s inoculation campaign. “These figures should convey peace of mind to the country,” Health Minister Enrique Paris told journalists as he announced the outcome of two months of vaccination in Chile,
North Korea marked the anniversary of the birth of its founder Kim Il Sung Thursday, with mask-wearing citizens placing flowers before his statue in Pyongyang. The grandfather of the current leader Kim Jong Un was born 109 years ago and April 15 is the most important date in the nuclear-armed state’s annual political calendar, where it is
Multiple people were shot in an incident Thursday in the US city of Indianapolis, according to police, although the severity of the victims’ injuries was not immediately clear. Police spokeswoman Genae Cook told reporters officers found an “active shooter incident” at a Fedex facility near the city’s international airport, and believe the gunman died by
The head of Pfizer said in an interview aired Thursday that people will “likely” need a third dose of his company’s Covid-19 shot within six to 12 months of vaccination, while elsewhere defending the relatively higher cost of the jab. CEO Albert Bourla also said annual vaccinations against the coronavirus may well be required. “We
Seven of Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy advocates, including 82-year-old veteran activist Martin Lee and pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, are expected to be sentenced Friday for organizing a march during the 2019 anti-government protests that triggered an overwhelming crackdown from Beijing. They were found guilty earlier this month of organizing and participating in a massive
US health authorities recommended a “pause” Tuesday in the use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine “out of an abundance of caution” over potential links to a rare type of blood clot, in a blow to the country’s immunization campaign. The disorder appears similar to that observed in rare cases of people who received
President Joe Biden will withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan before this year’s 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, finally ending America’s longest war despite mounting fears of a Taliban victory, officials said Tuesday. The drawdown delays only by around five months an agreement with the Taliban by former president Donald Trump to pull
TOKYO (AP) — Radioactive water accumulating in tanks at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant will be released into the sea in two years after it is treated, Japan’s government said Tuesday in a decision long delayed by safety concerns and protests. Cabinet ministers endorsed the release as the best option for handling the massive amount
The Covid-19 pandemic has entered a critical phase as infections exponentially increase despite widespread measures aimed at stopping them, the WHO warned, with record case numbers in South Asia triggering tough new restrictions. The coronavirus has already killed more than 2.9 million people and infected nearly 136 million across the world. But the World Health
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s top disease control official has said the country is formally considering mixing COVID-19 vaccines, as a way of further boosting vaccine efficacy. Available data shows Chinese vaccines lag behind others including Pfizer and Moderna in terms of efficacy, but require less stringent temperature controls during storage. The currently available vaccines “don’t
