World / Europe

Dutch government: temporary stop on flights from Southern Africa 26 Nov 2021 - 01:55 pm

AMSTERDAM- The Dutch government said on Friday it will halt air traffic from Southern Africa starting at noon, following the detection of a...

WHO meeting on Friday to designate new variant B.1.1.529 26 Nov 2021 - 01:51 pm

GENEVA- The World Health Organization is convening an experts' meeting from Geneva at midday (1100 GMT) on Friday to assess the new COVID-19...

German air force to transfer Covid patients as some hospitals overwhelmed 26 Nov 2021 - 01:44 pm

BERLIN- Germany readied its air force to transfer COVID-19 patients from overwhelmed hospitals in the south as national case numbers rocketed and a...

Europe and Asia, alarmed by COVID variant, start to tighten borders 26 Nov 2021 - 01:14 pm

LONDON- European and Asian countries tightened travel curbs on Friday after a new and possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant was detected in South Africa,...

UK says six African countries to be added to COVID red-list 26 Nov 2021 - 12:20 am

LONDON- Six African countries will be added to England's travel "red list" after the UK Health Security Agency flagged concern over a new...

UK flags concern over newly identified coronavirus variant 25 Nov 2021 - 11:41 pm

LONDON- LONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - A newly identified coronavirus variant that has spread in South Africa is the most concerning that British...

Czech President Zeman returns to hospital after positive COVID test 25 Nov 2021 - 11:25 pm

PRAGUE- Czech President Milos Zeman was taken back to hospital on Thursday after testing positive for the coronavirus, his office said, just hours...

Portugal reimposes COVID-19 restrictions as cases rise 25 Nov 2021 - 09:57 pm

LISBON- Portugal, which has one of the world's highest rates of vaccination against COVID-19, announced it would reimpose some restrictions to stop a...

Switzerland says it is open to compromise in COVID vaccine talks at WTO 25 Nov 2021 - 09:14 pm

GENEVA- Switzerland is open to compromise in talks on the intellectual property (IP) rights of COVID-19 vaccines and drugs at the World Trade...

Czechs shut restaurants early, hoping to avoid COVID lockdown 25 Nov 2021 - 08:49 pm

PRAGUE- The Czech government on Thursday orderedcafes to close at 10 p.m. and banned Christmas markets in an attempt to stem one of...

EU warns differing virus measures put free travel at risk 25 Nov 2021 - 05:28 pm

BRUSSELS: The European Union warned member countries today that they risk undermining the 27-nation bloc’s COVID-19 travel and access certificate system with new...

Russian mining accident kills 11 25 Nov 2021 - 04:30 pm

MOSCOW: At least 11 miners died in a coal mining accident in Russia's Siberia today and an operation to rescue dozens more people...

EU drug regulator approves first COVID shot for 5-11 year olds 25 Nov 2021 - 03:14 pm

The European Union drug regulator on Thursday approved the use of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of five and 11,...

German COVID-19 deaths pass 100,000 mark as fourth wave takes hold 25 Nov 2021 - 02:52 pm

BERLIN: Germany crossed the sombre threshold of 100,000 COVID-19-related deaths on Thursday with a surge in new infections posing a challenge for the...

Kyiv warns Russia that any attack on Ukraine would be costly 25 Nov 2021 - 02:06 pm

Kyiv: Ukraine's foreign minister warned Russia on Thursday that an attack on his country would incur "political, economic and human losses" and would...

France to announce COVID-19 booster shots for all adults - sources 25 Nov 2021 - 02:05 pm

PARIS: France is set to announce that COVID-19 booster shots will be made available to all adults, along with stricter rules on wearing...

EU to propose 9-month limit on Covid vaccine validity for travel 25 Nov 2021 - 12:13 pm

The European Union will recommend a 9-month time limit for the validity of Covid-19 vaccinations for travel into the bloc and also propose...

Dutch hospitals postpone chemotherapy, organ transplants due to Covid-19 surge 25 Nov 2021 - 12:01 pm

Amsterdam: Some Dutch hospitals have halted chemotherapy treatments and organ transplants to free up intensive care beds for a surging number of COVID-19...