England lifts Omicron restrictions on January 27, 2022London: England on Thursday lifted coronavirus restrictions imposed to tackle the Omicron variant, with masks no longer required in enclosed places and vaccine passports shelved. The number of positive Covid-19 cases has fallen sharply over the past two weeks, and although still at high levels, have plateaued in recent days. The UK government introduced the […]
Moderna begins trial of Omicron-specific vaccine booster: statement on January 27, 2022Washington: US biotech company Moderna announced on Wednesday that it has begun clinical trials of a booster dose of vaccine designed specifically to combat the Omicron variant of Covid-19. The trials will involve a total of 600 adults — half of whom have already received two doses of Moderna’s vaccine at least six months ago, […]
Three, two, one: astronomers predict SpaceX space junk will hit the Moon on January 27, 2022Washington: A chunk of a SpaceX rocket that blasted off seven years ago and was abandoned in space after completing its mission will crash into the Moon in March, experts say. The rocket was deployed in 2015 to put into orbit a NASA satellite called the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR). Since then, the second […]
EU court annuls 1-bn-euro antitrust fine against Intel on January 26, 2022Brussels: An EU court on Wednesday annulled a 1.06 billion euro ($1.2 billion) fine against US chipmaker giant Intel, finding that Brussels had failed to adequately prove anti-competitive practices in a key aspect of the case, a statement said. The decision by the Luxembourg-based General Court came 12 years after the original fine — the […]
Three migrant children killed in fire in Morocco: NGO on January 26, 2022Rabat, Jan: Three children of a Nigerian migrant died in Morocco in a fire at their makeshift shelter near the North African country’s border with a Spanish enclave, a non-governmental organization said. “The mother lit a fire within the confines of their shelter to warm her children, who then died Monday morning asphyxiated and charred […]
Italy’s presidential vote inconclusive after round two on January 26, 2022Rome: A second round of voting for Italy’s new president failed to produce a winner on Tuesday, prolonging the uncertainty over the future of Prime Minister Mario Draghi and his government. More than half of the almost 1,000 MPs, senators, and regional representatives who voted left their papers blank for a second day, reflecting the […]
Microsoft sees strong earnings on cloud computing on January 26, 2022San Francisco: Microsoft beat market expectations Tuesday with strong quarterly performance in cloud computing and software, still benefitting from the pandemic’s online shifting of work, play, shopping and learning. The US tech colossus, which announced last week a blockbuster deal to buy gaming giant Activision Blizzard, said profit jumped to $18.8 billion in the final […]
Omicron risk remains very high: WHO on January 26, 2022Geneva: The risk level related to the Omicron variant remains very high, the WHO said late Tuesday, with the numbers of new Covid-19 cases hitting another record high last week. “Over 21 million new cases were reported, representing the highest number of weekly cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic,” the World Health Organization […]
Hydrogen planes not enough to green aviation: study on January 26, 2022Paris: The aviation industry looks at hydrogen-fuelled planes as a solution to decarbonise the sector, but a report by an environmental group released Wednesday found that they will only help limit CO2 emissions. Using hydrogen as fuel produces no climate-warming CO2 when it burns, just water. Automakers and planemakers alike have been looking at it […]
Biden threatens Putin with personal sanctions over Ukraine on January 26, 2022Washington: The United States warned Moscow on Tuesday of damaging sanctions, including measures personally targeting Vladimir Putin, as Russian combat troops massing around Ukraine launched new exercises. Tension appeared to be increasing, with the White House saying the risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine “remains imminent.” Warning that would prompt “enormous consequences” and even […]