World Health Organization (WHO) chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday warned the world that fresh waves of COVID-19 cases show that the pandemic is "nowhere near over." In a media briefing on COVID-19, the WHO chief said, "I am concerned that cases of COVID-19 continue to rise - putting further pressure on stretched health systems and health workers - and deaths are unacceptably high." He urged governments to regularly review and adjust their COVID19 response plans based on the current epidemiology and also the potential for new variants to appear. The Emergency Committee on COVID-1

Russia has confirmed the first case of monkeypox in a young man who recently returned from Europe, the country's consumer rights watchdog told reporters on Tuesday. "The first case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Russia. The disease was detected in a young man who returned from a trip to Europe and came to a medical facility with a rash that is common [for this disease]," Russia's rights watchdog Rospotrebnazor was quoted as saying by Sputnik. Rospotrebnadzor clarified that the patient has mild symptoms and is isolated. In the last week of June, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the

After Boris Johnson stepped down as Prime Minister of Britain, former minister Rishi Sunak has put forward his contendership to become the next Prime Minister of Britain. "I'm standing to be the next leader of the Conservative Party and your Prime Minister," he tweeted, adding that it is about time to rebuild the economy and reunite the country. In a further statement, he said, "Someone has to grip the moment and make the right decisions. That's why I am standing to be the next leader of the conservative party and your Prime Minister." I want to lead this country in the right direction, he add

Japanese Police have identified the suspect arrested for shooting former prime minister Shinzo Abe on Friday as Tetsuya Yamagami, a 41-year-old resident of Nara City, according to local media. Earlier today Abe, 67, was rushed to hospital after he collapsed at 11.30 am (local time) during a campaign speech in the western Japanese city of Nara ahead of Sunday's elections for Japan's upper house of Parliament. Local media reported that police has detained the assailant and retrieved a gun from the scene. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the "barbaric" attack on former PM Shinzo Ab

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has given into demands for his resignation. Fifty members of his government had left their positions citing Johnson's integrity as the reason for their departure. Speaking outside Number 10 Downing Street, Johnson expressed his gratitude and offered assurances that government will keep working as usual. Johnson said a timetable for choosing a new prime minister will be announced next week.

Sri Lanka's Central Bank has raised its key interest rates to 14.50% and 15.50% to try to contain inflation that has added to the country's economic woes. Sri Lankans have suffered months of acute shortages of essentials such as food, fuel, cooking gas and medicines. The central bank said it had raised its Standing Deposit Facility Rate and the Standing Lending Facility Rate that it charges commercial banks by 100 basis points each to 14.50% and 15.50%, respectively.

Following mass resignations by Cabinet members which started on Wednesday and the numbers of resignations were increased to more than 50 on the second day that compelled Boris Johnson to step down as British Prime Minister. However, Johnson could continue to remain in office until October when the Conservative party meets for its annual conference so that his replacement is found. Almost 30 UK government officials, including key figures like UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, have already submitted their resignations over the recent scandal involving f

The man charged with killing seven people at an Independence Day parade confessed to police that he unleashed a hail of bullets from a rooftop in suburban Chicago and then fled to the Madison, Wisconsin, area, where he contemplated shooting up an event there. That's according to authorities who spoke Wednesday. Robert Crimo III turned back to Illinois, where he was later arrested after deciding he was not prepared to pull off a shooting in Wisconsin. An Illinois judge ordered Crimo to be held without bail. A prosecutor said police found the shells of 83 bullets and three ammunition magazines

China on Wednesday enforced a lockdown in Xian, home to 13 million people after the city reported the first cases of a new Omicron subvariant. The lockdown was implemented after Xian reported 18 COVID-19 infections from Saturday to Monday, all of which are of the Omicron BA.5.2 subvariant, according to local disease control officials, reported CNN. BA.5.2 is a sub-lineage of BA.5, which is already dominant in the US and appears to escape antibody responses among both people previously infected with COVID-19 and those who have been fully vaccinated and boosted, according to researchers. It is