RUSSIA on Tuesday said that the efficacy of its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is over 95 per cent and the cost of one dose of the shot for international markets will be less than USD 10 (around Rs 740). Preliminary data from volunteers obtained 42 days after the first dose (corresponds with 21 days after the second dose) indicates the efficacy of the vaccine above 95 per cent, the Gamelya National Centre and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a joint statement...

THE COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest challenge the world is facing since World War-II and is an important turning point in the history of humanity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the G-20 summit on Saturday, as he offered India’s IT prowess for efficient functioning of the grouping. Modi also said that “Work from Anywhere” is a new normal in the post-COVID world and suggested creation of a virtual G-20 Secretariat. The Prime Minister also ..

AFTER studying the mysterious Blue Ring Nebula with multiple Earth- and space-based telescopes for 16 years, scientists may have finally discovered what led to its formation...

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi spoke with US President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday, as the two leaders discussed the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, while reiterating firm commitment to strategic bilateral partnership. This was the first interaction between the two leaders after Democrat Biden defeated incumbent President Donald Trump in the US presidential election. “Spoke to US President-elect Joe Biden on phone to congratulate him...

ACTOR Michael B Jordan has been crowned as 2020’s Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine. Jordan, known for his critically-acclaimed performances in “Fruitvale Station,” “Creed” and “Black Panther,” was revealed as this year’s winner Tuesday night on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The actor tells the magazine in an issue out Friday that the honour is a “cool feeling.”..

ASSERTING that terrorism is the “biggest problem” facing the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said there was a need to ensure that countries supporting and assisting terrorists are held guilty, in an oblique reference to Pakistan. Addressing the summit of five-nation grouping BRICS via video conferencing, the Prime Minister also said there was a need to tackle the problem of terrorism in an organised manner. The 12th BR..

WITH votes still being counted, turnout in the 2020 presidential election has hit a 50-year high, exceeding the record set by the 2008 presidential election of Barack Obama — an extraordinary engagement in what amounted to a referendum on President Donald Trump’s leadership. As of Sunday, the tallied votes accounted for 62 per cent of the eligible voting-age population in the US. That’s a 0.4 percentage point increase so far over the rate hit in ..

DEMOCRAT Joe Biden on Saturday defeated incumbent Republican US President Donald Trump in the closely-fought presidential election, according to American media projections. The 77-year-old former US Vice President will become the 46th President of the United States, CNN reported, after a victory in Pennsylvania, the State where he was born put him over the 270 electoral votes needed to win. With Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes, Biden now has a total of 273 electoral votes. Before becoming the Democratic ..

PHASE I of the 24th edition of the four-nation naval exercise Malabar 2020 in the Bay of Bengal concluded on Friday. Indian Navy, United States Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, and Royal Australian Navy are participating in the naval exercise that started on November 3. The 24th edition of the Malabar naval exercise is scheduled in two phases this month. ..

PROBLEMS between Nepal and India would be resolved through dialogue, Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli said on Friday during a meeting with Indian Army chief General M M Naravane who paid a courtesy call on him. General Naravane’s three-day visit to Nepal was largely aimed at resetting bilateral ties that came under severe strain following a bitter border row between the two countries. ..

WEARY Americans will have to wait for some more time to know the clear winner of the closely-fought election between Republican President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden, as the final outcome hinged on a few States on Thursday where a flood of mail-in ballots triggered by the coronavirus pandemic were still being counted. Two days after the presidential election, Biden is nearing the magical figure of 270 electoral votes to win the race to the White House, with the former US Vice President ..

THE Union Cabinet has approved the signing of an MoU between India and Israel for cooperation in the field of health and medicine, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday. The MoU covers areas of cooperation such as exchange and training of medical doctors and other health professionals, assistance in development of human resources and setting up of health care facilities and exchange of information regarding regulation of pharmaceutical, medical devices and cosmetics, the statement ..

THE closely-fought US presidential election appeared to be headed into an uncertain phase with Republican incumbent Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden fighting it out in the key battleground States. When reports last came in, Biden had earned 220 electoral college votes, with Trump following closely with 213 votes. As per Fox News, Biden has 238 of the 538 electoral college seats, while Trump has 213. On the other hand, CNN has projected 220 electoral college votes to Biden and 213 ..

AS MILLIONS of US citizens queue up to vote for their next President and his Deputy, the people of Thulasenthirapuram in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday prayed for the success of Kamala Harris, Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee, who has a connect to this small village...

Just before the US election on Tuesday, the nation is bracing itself for possible unrest that could arise from the country’s sharp political polarization. With just a day left for the much-anticipated US presidential election, security measures have been heightened all across the country in the wake of poll-related violence...

SCIENTISTS have discovered in the Milky Way an Earth-sized free-floating rogue planet which does not orbit any star. Rogue planets are a bit uncommon as although many of the known exoplanets discovered so far do not resemble those in our solar system, they have one thing in common -- they all orbit a star. However, theories of planet formation and evolution predict the existence of free-floating (rogue) planets, gravitationally unattached to any star...

NASA on Friday said that its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has completed the most challenging phases of its mission after it successfully stowed samples of asteroid Bennu. The mission team sent commands to the spacecraft on Wednesday, instructing it to close the Sample Return Capsule (SRC)...

JEWELS that once belonged to Maharani Jindan Kaur, the last wife of Sikh Empire ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and which were later inherited by her granddaughter, Princess Bamba Sutherland, were among the highlights of an auction in London. ..

SAUDI Arabia has removed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan from Pakistan’s map, said PoK activist Amjad Ayub Mirza on Wednesday. “Saudi Arab removes Pakistani occupied Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan from Pakistan’s map!!!!,” he tweeted. He also tweeted a picture that was captioned, “Saudi Arabia’s Diwali gift to India-- removes Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir from Pakistan’s map,” the picture’s text read. According to the media reports, Saudi Arabia released a 20 Riyal banknote to commemorate ..

SCIENTISTS have confirmed, for the first time, the presence of water on the sunlit surface of the Moon, a discovery which indicates that water molecules may be distributed across the lunar surface, and not limited to the cold, shadowed places as previously thought. Using NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), the researchers, including those from the University of Hawaii in the US, detected water molecules (H2O) in Clavius Crater -- one of the largest craters visible from ..

IN A MAJOR show of open defiance against Pakistan Army, police officers in Karachi have threatened to go on mass leave after the Sindh Police chief was allegedly kidnapped and coerced to act against PML(N) Vice President Marayam Nawaz Sharif. Sources in Islamabad said that Pakistan is rapidly slipping into a civil war-like situation with the ongoing tussle between the Opposition parties and the Army. In Karachi in Sindh province, headed by Chief Minister Syed M..

A BRONZE statue of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol will be unveiled in London’s Leicester Square in 2021 to celebrate the silver jubilee of one of Hindi cinema’s most iconic love stories, “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” (“DDLJ”). “DDLJ”, starring Khan and Kajoj as lovers Raj and Simran, released on October 20, 1995. The film, which marked Aditya Chopra’s foray into direction, was produced by Yash Raj Films. In an announcement shared on Monday, Heart of London Business All..

IN THE wake of heat waves, global warming, forest fires, storms, droughts and a rising number of hurricanes, the UN weather agency is warning that the number of people who need international humanitarian help could rise 50 per cent by 2030 compared to the 108 million who needed it worldwide in 2018. In a new report released with partners on Tuesday, the World Meteorological Agency says more disasters attributed to weather are taking place each year...

AMERICANS Paul R Milgrom and Robert B Wilson have won the Nobel Prize in Economics for “improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats.” The winners were announced on Monday in Stockholm by Goran Hansson, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The award caps a week of Nobel Prizes at a time when much of the world is experiencing the worst recession since World War II because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic...

NORTH Korea displayed a new Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) and other weapons during a massive military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party, state-media reported on Sunday. Besides the night-time parade on Saturday, there was also fireworks display, a car parade and other celebratory events to mark the occassion, Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency said. The new ICBM was carried on a transporter erector launcher (TEL) with 22 wheels, indicating that ..

AMERICAN poet Louise Glück won the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday for her “candid and uncompromising” work, becoming the first US winner since Bob Dylan in 2016. The Nobel Committee praised the writer “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.”..

TWO scientists won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for developing a method of genome editing likened to “molecular scissors” that offer promise of one day curing inherited diseases and even cancer. Working on opposite sides of the Atlantic, Frenchwoman Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer A Doudna developed a method known as CRISPR/Cas9 that can be used to change the DNA of animals, plants and micr..

THREE scientists won this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for advancing our understanding of black holes. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said that Briton Roger Penrose will receive half of this year’s prize “for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity.” Goran K Hansson, the academy’s Secretary-General, said German Reinhard Genzel and American Andrea Ghez will receive the second half of the prize “for the discovery of a supermassive ..

A COMMERCIAL cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station (ISS) launched on Friday night carrying the name of deceased NASA astronaut Kalpana “K C” Chawla, the first Indian-born woman to enter space, for her key contributions to human spaceflight. The S S Kalpana Chawla launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 09:38 pm. The spacecraft, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus, will arrive at and be attached to the space station two days ..

OFFICIALS in Armenia said Friday the country is ready to discuss a ceasefire in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces has continued for six straight days, killing dozens and leaving scores wounded. ..

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump said on Friday that he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, a development that is likely to affect his hectic election campaign just weeks before the presidential polls. ..

THE SAARC must overcome three key challenges of cross-border terrorism, blocking of connectivity and obstruction in trade, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday in a clear criticism of Pakistan at a virtual meeting of the regional grouping. In his address at the SAARC Foreign Ministers informal meeting, Jaishankar also called for a collectively resolve to defeat the scourge of terrorism, including the forces that nurture, support and encourage it. Jaishankar reaffirmed India’s commitment ..

IN AN under-4 minute video message, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed United Nations the mirror and urged it to take a long, hard look at its “crisis of confidence” while ratcheting up the call for a new template of multilateralism that “reflects today’s realities” on Day One of the United Nations high level week being live streamed to the world from the UN headquarters in New York City. Modi’s remarks came at a “high-level meeti..

INDIA is committed to ensuring access to water and sanitation in all spheres of life beyond the household, particularly in public spaces, which is an essential element of the human rights to water and sanitation, said Vimarsh Aryan, First Secretary, India’s permanent mission to United Nation’s Office at Geneva (UNOG), at the 45th Session of the Human Rights Council. Speaking in an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur (SR) on ‘Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, Vimarsh ..

SCIENTIFIC experts have warned of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and another complete nation-wide lockdown in the UK unless stricter measures are adhered to amid a rising number of infections in the country over the past week. Peter Openshaw, a professor of experimental medicine and an expert respiratory medicine at Imperial College London, said the new “rule of six” restrictions on large gatherings which comes in force from Monday is extremely c..

IN A massive effort, Indian Navy and Coast Guard in association with Sri Lankan Navy averted a major environmental disaster when they put out a fire onboard a fully laden Indian Oil Corp (IOC) chartered super tanker, saving the entire cargo and preventing an oil spill. ..

THE UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a resolution on tackling the coronavirus pandemic over objections from the United States and Israel, which protested a successful last-minute Cuban amendment that strongly urges countries to oppose unilateral economic, financial or trade sanctions. ..

AS India dominates south of Pangong Lake in Eastern Ladakh, China has started fresh build up at Finger area north of the Lake, sources said on Wednesday. It started soon after the skirmish on the southern bank took place on September 7 where warning shots were fired by both sides. The deployment of People’s Liberation Army troops have increased since Tue..

IN SOME good news for millions living in hope for a COVID-19 vaccine shot, the Russian Health Ministry said on Tuesday that the first batch of Sputnik V vaccine has been produced for civilian circulation. The supplies of the medication to the Russian regions are expected soon, Health Ministry said, reports ‘Tass’ news agency. “The first bat..

AMERICAN actor Chadwick Boseman, best known for his titular superhero role in “Black Panther” and as baseball icon Jackie Robinson in “42”, has died after a four-year-long secret battle with colon cancer. He was 43. In a statement posted on his official Twitter handle, the actor’s family said, Boseman was diagnosed with the disease in 201..

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has officially accepted the Republican Party’s renomination for the November 3 election, while preaching his gospel of America First and casting his Democratic rival Joe Biden as a dangerous radical. ..

Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, said on Friday that he intends to step down because a chronic health problem has resurfaced. He told reporters that it was “gut wrenching” to leave so many of his goals unfinished. Concerns about Abe’s health began this summer and grew this month when he visited a Tokyo hospital two weeks in a row for unspecified health checkups. Abe has acknowledged having ulcerative colitis since he was a teenager and has said the condition was controlled with ..

HEAVY flooding has killed at least 70 people and injured dozens of others as heavy seasonal rains drenched northern and eastern Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday. Spokesperson for northern Parwan province Wahida Shahkar said that the number of casualties may rise as rescue teams work to locate people buried under destroyed houses...

AIMING to woo the influential Indian-American voters numbering over 2 million, the Trump campaign has released its first video commercial that has short clips from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speeches and US President Donald Trump’s historic address in Ahmedabad. Modi and Trump addressed a huge crowd in Ahmedabad during the US president’s visit to India in February this year. Trump was also accompanied by his wife Melania, daught..

Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who is in a coma after a suspected poisoning, arrived in Berlin on a special flight Saturday for treatment by specialists at the German capital’s main hospital. A representative of the NGO that arranged the flight confirmed that the plane had landed and that Navalny was in stable condition. “Navalny is in Berlin,” Jaka Bizilj, of the German organisation Cinema For Peace, told The Associated Press. “He survived the flight and he’s stable.”..

MALI’S President announced his resignation late Tuesday hours after mutinous soldiers detained the President and Prime Minister on Tuesday after surrounding a residence and firing into the air in an apparent coup attempt after several months of demonstrations calling for President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s ouster. The news of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s departure was met with jubilation by anti-Government demonstrators and alarm by former colonial ruler France, and other allies and foreign nations...

THE Indian Independence Day celebrations reached its pinnacle on Saturday morning at the iconic Times Square in New York City. For the first time, the tricolour was unfurled with pride and patriotism alongside the US flag at Times Square. Over two hundred Indian Americans participated in the event to witness the tricolour soaring high and wide in the skies of New York...

INDIA on Friday said it expects China to sincerely work with it towards the objective of achieving “complete disengagement” of troops and de-escalation of tension in the border areas in eastern Ladakh. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said full restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas as agreed to by the two sides is essential in the context of overall development of the bilateral relationship..

NEW research adds to the growing body of evidence that pasteurising human milk inactivates the virus that causes COVID-19. “While there is no evidence that the virus can be transmitted through breast milk, there is always a theoretical risk,” said study lead author Greg Walker from the University of New South Wales in Australia. According to the study published in the ‘Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health’, there are five human milk banks in Australia...

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday announced that his country has developed first vaccine that “works quite effectively” and “forms a stable immunity” against COVID-19 as he disclosed that one of his daughters has already been vaccinated. Putin made the claim during a Government meeting where he described it as “a very important step for the world”, the Sputniknews reported. He said that one of his daughters took part in the experiment and she was vaccinated against the coronavirus...