
Russia to reopen air travel with India, Finland, Vietnam and Qatar: Govt
A statement shared following a meeting of the government's coronavirus HQ said that the four countries were seeing fewer than 40 new cases per fortnight per 100,000 people.
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON JAN 16, 2021 08:33 PM IST
Russian authorities said on Saturday that flights between Moscow and the capitals of Finland, Vietnam, India and Qatar, suspended since the early weeks of the pandemic, would restart from Jan 27, after certain epidemiological criteria were met.
A statement shared following a meeting of the government's coronavirus HQ said that the four countries were seeing fewer than 40 new cases per fortnight per 100,000 people.

US journalist arrested while covering protest goes on trial
Posted by Harshit Sabarwal | AP
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 11:05 PM IST
Des Moines Register news reporter Andrea Sahouri, who was pepper-sprayed and jailed while reporting on a clash between protesters and police in May, is charged with failure to disperse and interference with official acts.

UK Covid-19 deaths continue to fall as over one-third population inoculated
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 11:00 PM IST
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the milestone at a news conference on Monday, the same day the government took its first major step in easing lockdown restrictions by re-opening schools.

Italy's Covid-19 death toll tops 100,000
Posted by Harshit Sabarwal | AFP
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 11:00 PM IST
Just over a year since it became the first European country to be overwhelmed by Covid-19, Italy's health ministry recorded another 318 virus-related deaths, taking the total to 100,103.

On Women's Day, Joe Biden creates gender policy council within White House
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 10:59 PM IST
US President Joe Biden created the policy council as part of two executive orders he signed on Monday to mark International Women’s Day.

Vaccinated people can visit each other mask free, says CDC
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 10:44 PM IST
The agency issued its long-awaited guidance for what fully vaccinated people can safely do, as inoculations rise but as health experts warn that the risk of the virus remains, especially with new variants.

Adviser urges China govt to use ‘fist and palm’ salute in times of pandemic
By Sutirtho Patranobis
UPDATED ON MAR 08, 2021 11:55 PM IST
Han Fangming, vice chairperson of the foreign affairs committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, argued that the traditional greeting fits the changing lifestyles

Trudeau names task force on women in the economy ahead of Budget
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 09:58 PM IST
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Minister of Middle Class Prosperity Mona Fortier said Monday the group will harness expert voices across the country to help the government with a plan to address gender equality issues laid bare by the Covid-19 pandemic.

UK mulls postponing Brexit border checks on food
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:48 PM IST
David Frost, the minister who negotiated the Brexit trade deal with the EU and is now leading the UK’s relations with the bloc, has asked officials to review the timetable of the new border paperwork requirements, which are due to start from April 1, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Thailand to cut quarantine for vaccinated foreigners to 7 days from April
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:48 PM IST
- Vaccinations must be administered within three months of the travel period and travellers will be required to show negative Covid-19 test results.

Defying pandemic, feminists in Spain decry far-right attacks
AP
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:47 PM IST
- Spain’s Constitutional Court on Monday rejected last-minute appeals by unions and women’s rights groups to hold any kind of street protest in the Spanish capital, following similar recent rulings by lower-level courts.

Man linked to 3 Ohio homicides dies after Detroit shooting
AP
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:46 PM IST
- Chandra Moore, 55, died Friday, Detroit police Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood said.

South Africans invested most in 55 years as Covid-19 crisis raged
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:45 PM IST
- The country’s collective investment scheme industry saw net annual inflows of 213 billion rand ($13.8 billion) in 2020, according to statistics released by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa on Monday. That was the highest figure since 1965.

EU says it’s tired of being a scapegoat for slow vaccines
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:40 PM IST
In a blistering counter-attack against criticism over the European Union’s sluggish Covid-19 vaccination program, von der Leyen refocused blame on manufacturers, notably AstraZeneca Plc, which she said hadn’t stockpiled doses as it started producing in Europe.

Italy arrests Algerian national over links to 2015 Paris attack
Posted by Harshit Sabarwal | AFP
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:38 PM IST
The man, identified by La Repubblica newspaper as Athmane Touami, is alleged to have "guaranteed the availability of forged documents" to the Paris attackers, police said.

Austria stops using doses of one batch of AstraZeneca vaccine after nurse death
AFP, Vienna
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:27 PM IST
- The decision had been taken as a precaution, the National Office for Health System Safety (BASG) said late on Sunday, adding that there was "no evidence of a causal link" between the jab and the woman's death.