LONDON: An American flight nurse says she was shocked and touched to receive a surprise gift box and personal note from music star Taylor Swift thanking her for her work in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
SYDNEY: Australia on Friday reported its first fatality from blood clots in a recipient of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot, and its regulator said there was a likely link between the 48-year-old woman's death and the vaccine.
MADRID: A shortage of coronavirus shots may force the Madrid region to close down mass vaccination centres next week, the regional public health chief said on Friday, even as infections in the Spanish capital outpace the national average.
LONDON: Pregnant women in Britain should get a COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer or Moderna because there is more real-world data to show they are safe, the British public body that advises on vaccinations said on Friday.
Moderna Inc said on Friday a shortfall in COVID-19 vaccine doses from its European supply chain will lead to a delay in deliveries to some countries including Canada.
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia: After more than a decade of experimenting, a trio of Malaysian farmers say they have found the right concoction of nutrients and treatments to successfully grow Japanese muskmelons, one of the world's most expensive fruits.
Doha: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani spoke through video conference at this year's Raisina Dialogue, hosted by the Observer Research Foundation, a Doha Forum partner, and in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
HE @MBA_AlThani_ said at the @RaisinaDialogue, hosted by @ORFonline, a Doha Forum partner, “We have been negotiating and talking to the vaccination providers on how we can make sure that everyone attending the World Cup is vaccinated."#Pandemic #FIFA2022 #Vaccine pic.twitter.com/kXrT1voEUz
RIGA: People in their 30s showed up in their hundreds on Friday morning as Latvia offered the AstraZeneca vaccine to anyone who wanted it in order to clear a growing backlog of the shot often refused by the old.
TOKYO: Japan is set to expand quasi-emergency measures to 10 regions on Friday as a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases spreads, casting more doubt on whether the Summer Olympics can be held in Tokyo in less than 100 days.
Doha: Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) today reported 978 new cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) and 613 people recovered from the virus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of people recovered in Qatar to 172,598.
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK - Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez and former New York Yankees baseball star Alex Rodriguez called off their engagement because "we are better as friends," announcing the breakup on Thursday just months after denying their four-year relationship was on the rocks.
BANGKOK: Thailand reported on Friday its fifth record daily tally of coronavirus cases this week, as authorities set up thousands of field hospitals to cope with an influx of patients and lined up hotels to provide extra beds for those without symptoms.
Eli Lilly and Co said on Friday it had requested the U.S. health regulator to revoke the emergency use authorization granted to its COVID-19 antibody, bamlanivimab, as it focuses on supplying the drug in combination with another therapy.
Pakistan temporarily blocked Facebook, Twitter and several other social media apps on security grounds on Friday amid a crackdown against a violent Islamist group, officials said.
SEOUL - South Korea's Huons Global Co Ltd will lead a consortium to produce 100 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine per month, as Moscow seeks to increase production globally to meet rising demand.
SEOUL - South Korea's Huons Global Co Ltd will lead a consortium to produce 100 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine per month, as Moscow seeks to increase production globally to meet rising demand.
NEW DELHI - India's daily COVID-19 vaccinations have slowed from their peak early this month while new infections have set a record, government data showed on Friday, as its main producer of shots urged the United States to end a ban on raw material exports.
BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged lawmakers on Friday to approve new powers that would allow her to force coronavirus lockdowns and curfews on areas with high infection rates, saying a majority of Germans were in favour of stricter measures.
GENEVA - The number of new COVID-19 cases per week has nearly doubled globally over the past two months, approaching the highest rate seen so far during the pandemic, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
KRAKOW, Poland - When the pandemic began last year, Kinga Szlachcic-Wyroba, an anaesthesiologist in the Stefan Zeromski Specialist Hospital in Krakow, Poland, had to manage one COVID-19 patient and 10 others in intensive care with three other doctors.
Mandarin Oriental, Doha is delighted to honour the Holy Month of Ramadan with new accommodation packages as part of the Fantastic Offers. Guests can also enjoy at-home dining by ordering from the hotel’s renowned restaurants from Shop MO.
Qatar Airways Group CEO, H E Akbar Al Baker has disclosed that the airline carried almost four million passengers when other airlines were not operational due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), represented by the Department of the Environmental Affairs Sector, signed through video conference technology, a number of cooperation agreements with Power International Holding (PIH) Company to enhance cooperation in the areas of air quality monitoring and building a reputation management system.
The volume of real estate transactions in sales contracts registered within the Real Estate Registration Department at the Ministry of Justice during the period from April 4 to 8 t h i s y e a r r e a c h e d QR783,154,483.
Minister of Education and Higher Education, H E Dr. Mohammad bin Abdul Wahid Al Hammadi, yesterday received the Social Responsibility Award for 2020, which was presented by Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dar Al Sharq Group.
Al Duhail made a successful start to their 2021 AFC Champions League (ACL) group stage campaign, easing to a 2-0 win over Al Shorta of Iraq at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah yesterday.
The Syrian Engineers Association in Qatar recently elected a new board of directors, in the presence of representatives of the Syrian embassy, the Syrian community and the Syrian school in Qatar.
WASHINGTON: If one Tyrannosaurus rex - the school bus-sized meat-eating dinosaur that stalked the Cretaceous Period landscape - seems impressive, how about 2.5 billion of them?
WINDSOR, England: When Prince Philip's coffin is conveyed to church for his funeral service, it will be taken in a specially-commissioned Land Rover that the British royal himself helped design.
FRANKFURT: German biotech firm CureVac said it has seen the number of requests for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine increase over the past few days, as concerns over rare side effects have hit some other coronavirus shots.
In Nashville, Tennessee, the traditional home of country songs, the Academy of Country Music will hold its annual awards show on Sunday, incorporating small venue live broadcasts from classic genre landmarks.
Riyadh: HE Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Consular Affairs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tamim Al Dossary met with Acting Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Saudi Arabia Hassan bin Mansour Al Khater.
GENEVA/NEW YORK: Top U.N., financial and vaccine officials on Thursday urged rich countries to donate excess COVID-19 vaccine doses to an international effort to supply low and middle income countries in a bid to get the global economy back on track.
NAIROBI: Many Africans who have received their first COVID-19 vaccine do not know when they will get a second shot because deliveries are delayed, the continent's top public health official said on Thursday.
OSLO: Norway will take more time to assess whether to resume the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 or stop it altogether, health minister Bent Hoeie said on Thursday.
The European Medicines Agency said on Thursday it is reviewing available data on the use of GlaxoSmithKline's monoclonal antibody to treat COVID-19 patients.
SAN RAMON, Calif: The Google Earth app is adding a new video feature that draws upon nearly four decades of satellite imagery to vividly illustrate how climate change has affected glaciers, beaches, forests and other places around the world.
Doha: The Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani chaired the regular Cabinet meeting yesterday through video conferencing.
BANGKOK: Thailand reported 1,543 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the sharpest increase since the start of the pandemic and the fourth record rise this week, amid a third wave of infections in the Southeast Asian country.
DOHA: The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs has said that the mosques will open 10 minutes before second azan (call for prayer) for Friday prayer starting from this Friday until further notice.
Doha: Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) today reported 989 new cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) and 597 people recovered from the virus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of people recovered in Qatar to 171,985.
Canberra: Alex White thought he was watching a huge worm writhing in a plastic-wrapped lettuce he’d just brought home from a Sydney supermarket -- until a snake tongue flicked.
A locally grown e-commerce platform in Afghanistan is connecting vendors with customers around the world, providing an important opportunity for the war-torn economy and inspiring a new trend of young women starting up their own small businesses.
Zurich: Denmark is examining options for sharing AstraZeneca's vaccines with poorer nations after it halted use of the shots over concerns over rare blood clots, the World Health Organization Europe head said on Thursday.
NEW DELHI/BENGALURU - Many Indians scrambled on Thursday to secure beds in hospitals for relatives stricken with coronavirus as infections surged to a daily record, overwhelming medical facilities and drying up oxygen supplies.
LONDON - Matchbox is launching a new series of toy cars based on real-life electric and hybrid vehicles, in a bid to make its miniatures more sustainable and to raise awareness among children of the environmental impact of motoring.
GENEVA - A top official from the World Health Organization says Europe has surpassed 1 million deaths from COVID-19 and the situation remains "serious,” with about 1.6 million new cases reported each week in the region.
STOCKHOLM, April 15 (Reuters) - Sweden's centre-left government said it would boost spending by 45 billion crowns ($5.31 billion)in its spring budget to fight the ongoing pandemic and support a shift to a fossil free economy as the crisis eases.