TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vowed on Thursday to do his utmost to push for meaningful progress at a January meeting to review the Non-Proliferation Treaty and encourage action to rid the world of nuclear weapons. The comment by Kishida, who hails from the nuclear memorial city of Hiroshima, comes after the …
Japan PM to push for progress at NPT meet to scrap nuclear weapons Read More »
By Stephanie Nebehay and Josephine Mason GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended on Thursday that people who are immunocompromised or received an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine should receive a booster dose to protect against waning immunity. Many countries have been rolling out booster shots, targeting the elderly and people with underlying health issues, …
People with health issues or inactivated vaccine should get COVID-19 booster – WHO Read More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s Olympic Committee chief said on Thursday the country did not support the diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics by some Western countries, denouncing the move as pointless. The United States, Canada, Australia and Britain announced they would not send any state officials to the Games in February because of …
Olympics-Russia says diplomatic boycott of Beijing ‘pointless’ Read More »
By John O’Donnell and Andrius Sytas FRANKFURT/VILNIUS (Reuters) -China has told multinationals to sever ties with Lithuania or face being shut out of the Chinese market, a senior government official and an industry body told Reuters, dragging companies into a dispute between the Baltic state and Beijing. China downgraded its diplomatic ties with Lithuania last …
Exclusive-Lithuania braces for China-led corporate boycott Read More »
By David Ljunggren and Yew Lun Tian OTTAWA/BEIJING (Reuters) – Canada joined Australia, Britain and the United States in a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing on Wednesday, with China calling the boycotts “political posturing” and a smear campaign. The United States was the first to announce the boycott this week, saying on …
UK, Canada join diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Games Read More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s medical products regulator said on Wednesday it had approved the use of Brii Biosciences’ neutralising antibody cocktail for COVID-19, the first treatment of its type against the virus given the go-ahead in the country. The combination of BRII-196/BRII-198 showed a 80% reduction of hospitalisation and deaths in non-hospitalised COVID-19 patients at …
China approves Brii Biosciences antibody COVID treatment Read More »
By Enrico Dela Cruz and Neil Jerome Morales MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ Supreme Court declared two parts of a controversial anti-terrorism law unconstitutional on Thursday, dismaying activists and rights groups who sought the scrapping of the legislation over fears it threatened civil liberties. While the Philippines does have legitimate security threats, including Islamist extremism, …
Philippines’ Supreme Court rules parts of terrorism law unconstitutional Read More »
KARACHI (Reuters) -Authorities in Pakistan are investigating the first possible case of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in the South Asian nation, a provincial health ministry official told Reuters on Thursday. The health ministry spokesperson in the southern province of Sindh said the infection was found in an unvaccinated patient being treated at a private …
Pakistan may have first Omicron case – health ministry official Read More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China opposes the legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives to ban imports from Xinjiang over concerns about forced labour and will adopt necessary countermeasures to safeguard its interests, the commerce ministry said on Thursday. China urged the United States to correct its mistakes, Gao Feng, ministry spokesman, told reporters in …
China to counter U.S. legislation to ban Xinjiang imports – commerce ministry Read More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China administered about 7.379 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines on Dec 8, taking its total figure to 2.575 billion, data from the National Health Commission showed on Thursday. (Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
