
Researchers detect Covid-19 variant unique to Kenya, nation says
The variant was picked up in the southern Taita Taveta county and is spreading around the nation.
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON JAN 14, 2021 11:33 AM IST
Scientists have discovered a coronavirus variant in the East African nation that is yet to be detected elsewhere in the world, the Daily Nation newspaper reported, citing Charles Agoti, a researcher at the Kenya Medical Research Institute.
The variant was picked up in the southern Taita Taveta county and is spreading around the nation. Researchers at the institute are still studying whether it’s more easily spread and if it causes more severe illness, according to the newspaper.
Since the onset of the pandemic, scientists at the institute have sequenced about 500 genomes, most of them collected during the second wave, according to the Nation.
Topics

US agents guarding Ivanka, Jared had to rent $3k/month flat
PUBLISHED ON JAN 16, 2021 01:14 AM IST
Asked not to use the bathrooms inside the couple’s sprawling 5,000-square-foot house in the elite Kalorama neighbourhood, several US agents resorted to using a porta-potty as well as bathrooms at the nearby homes of former President Barack Obama, and Vice-President Mike Pence.

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Reuters
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 11:12 PM IST
The change comes into force at 0400 GMT on Monday and means all passengers must have a recent negative coronavirus test and transfer immediately into isolation upon arrival.

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Reuters
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CAR's government has been battling rebel groups seeking to overturn a Dec. 27 vote in which President Faustin-Archange Touadera was declared victor despite fraud claims.

WHO stops short of advising proof of COVID shots for travel
Reuters, Geneva
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 10:34 PM IST
The 19-member panel of independent experts held their sixth meeting in a year under the chairmanship of French expert Didier Houssin, as the death toll from the pandemic neared two million.

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AFP, Vilnius, Lithuania
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 10:06 PM IST
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Biden appoints David Cohen once more as deputy CIA director
Reuters, Washington
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 10:01 PM IST
Cohen previously served as the deputy director for the Central Intelligence Agency from 2015 to 2017 under Democratic then-President Barack Obama, when Biden served as vice president.

US imposes fresh sanctions on Iran in final days of Trump presidency
Reuters, Washington
UPDATED ON JAN 15, 2021 09:55 PM IST
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in statements said Washington blacklisted 7 entities and 2 individuals in sanctions related to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and Iranian shipping entities, as well as slapping sanctions on Iranian entities for activities related to conventional arms proliferation.

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Reuters, Washington
UPDATED ON JAN 15, 2021 09:50 PM IST
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Covid: China honours 'Bat Woman' of controversial Wuhan lab
PTI, Beijing
UPDATED ON JAN 15, 2021 09:40 PM IST
Shi Zhengli from the Wuhan Institute of Virology who has earned the moniker of 'Bat Woman' for her passionate research into bats and viruses was honoured as an "advanced worker of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)", the state-run Global Times reported, citing a WIV announcement on Friday.

US plans fresh Iran sanctions related to metals, conventional arms
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 09:26 PM IST
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Pentagon says US has dropped to 2,500 troops in Afghanistan
AP, Washington
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 08:56 PM IST
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Bloomberg
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AP
UPDATED ON JAN 15, 2021 08:28 PM IST
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Reuters
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 08:24 PM IST
The moves come just days before Trump steps down and President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

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Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 08:17 PM IST
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