International News

January 28 ------ Kerala and West Bengal are endemic to the Nipah virus, a highly infectious disease with a 40-75% mortality rate, Dr Narendra Kumar Arora, President of AIIMS Bilaspur, has warned. The current outbreak in West Bengal originated from a person with an unknown disease, infecting five health workers, with 100-200 people under investigation. The outbreak has prompted Asia's airports to reintroduce COVID-style health checks. Kerala and West Bengal are endemic to th

NEW YORK, January 28 ------ Perilously cold temperatures threatened millions of Americans in the wake of a sprawling winter storm that left at least 23 people dead as it knocked out power and paralyzed transportation. A frigid, life-threatening Arctic air mass could delay recovery as municipalities from New Mexico to Maine tried to dig out following the storm, which dropped a vicious cocktail of heavy snow and wind, along with freezing rain and sleet. Forecasters warned that

January 28 ------ President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the most sensitive issues in peace negotiations, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. In an interview with European Pravda, Sybiha said that control over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and questions of territory remain unresolved in talks to end the war. “It is precisely to resolve them that the President is ready to meet with Putin,” he rem

January 28 ------ Germany’s foreign minister accused Russia of blocking progress toward peace by clinging to territorial demands during US-backed talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Speaking in Latvia, Johann Wadephul said what emerged from negotiations in Abu Dhabi was “only Russia’s stubborn insistence on the crucial territorial issue.” “And if there is no flexibility here, I fear that the negotiations may still take a long time or may not be successful at this stage,

NEW YORK, January 27 ------ Global stocks advanced for a fourth straight session as investors awaited earnings from a bevy of U.S. megacaps, while the yen strengthened against the dollar as investors looked for any signs of intervention in the Japanese currency. In addition, gold advanced to the top of $5,100 an ounce for the first time, as a swath of geopolitical tensions continues to weigh on the U.S. dollar. On Wall Street, U.S. stocks closed higher, buoyed in part by gain

PARIS, January 27 ------ French President Emmanuel Macron says he wants his government to fast-track the legal process to ensure that a ban on social media for children under the age of 15 can enter into force in September at the start of the next school year. In a video released late Saturday by French broadcaster BFM-TV, Macron said he had asked his government to initiate an accelerated procedure so that the proposed legislation can move as quickly as possible and be passed

January 27 ------ UKRAINE President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a US security guarantees document for Ukraine is “100% ready” after two days of talks involving representatives from Ukraine, the US and Russia. Speaking to journalists in Vilnius during a visit to Lithuania, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is waiting for its partners to set a signing date, after which the document would go to the US Congress and Ukrainian parliament for ratification. Zelensky also emphasized Ukraine’s p

January 27 ------ Germany’s foreign minister accused Russia of blocking progress toward peace by clinging to territorial demands during US-backed talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Speaking in Latvia, Johann Wadephul said what emerged from negotiations in Abu Dhabi was “only Russia’s stubborn insistence on the crucial territorial issue.” “And if there is no flexibility here, I fear that the negotiations may still take a long time or may not be successful at this stage,