COVID-19

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 07: U.S. President Joe Biden returns to the White House with first lady Jill Biden on July 7, 2024 in Washington, DC. Members of Congress return to Washington this week as pressure for Biden to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for the presidency continues to mount. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

July 18, 2024 9:18 AM

US President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19, says White House

US President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and is showing mild symptoms, the White House said. "He (Biden) will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time," the White House said in its official release on Wednesday (local time). Biden, 81, tested Covid positive on Wednesday, a day after he attended the NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas, where he strongly criticised Donald Trump's policies and also...

Digital generated image of different variants of virus cells against a black background.

July 10, 2024 10:53 AM

FLiRT COVID variants: What are they and are they more contagious?

The so-called FLiRT variants of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that cause COVID-19 have been the dominant forms of the virus circulating this year globally, according to the World Health Organization FLiRT is an acronym for the locations of the mutations the variants share on the virus' spike protein. One of them, called KP.3, has become the most commonly circulating variant in the United States over the past month, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here is what you nee...

June 18, 2024 3:28 PM

China accuses U.S. of “malign intention” to discredit its COVID vaccines

China's embassy in the Philippines accused the U.S. military of "hypocrisy, malign intention and double standards" in response to a report of secret U.S. campaign to undermine confidence in a Chinese vaccines and other aid during the COVID-19 pandemic. The remarks made by the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Tuesday were in response to a investigative report that said the U.S. military launched a clandestine programme during the COVID pandemic to discredit China's Sinovac inocul...

New Delhi, May 15 (ANI): (File Photo) India's Wholesale inflation on the Wholesale Price Index turned negative in April at minus 0.92 per cent, on Monday. This has happened for the first time since July 2020. (ANI Photo)

April 15, 2024 4:23 PM

India sees marginal rise in wholesale inflation in March

Wholesale inflation in India, measured by the Wholesale Price Index, ticked upward in March, marking its fifth consecutive month in positive territory. This comes after seven months of residing in the negative zone until October. Official data released on Monday revealed that the annual rate of inflation based on all India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) numbers rose to 0.53% (Provisional) for March 2024 (over March 2023). The uptick in inflation for March 2024 is mainly attributed to the rise in ...

April 4, 2024 2:30 PM

Global life expectancy rises despite setbacks from COVID-19

Global life expectancy surged by 6.2 years between 1990 and 2021, as revealed by a recent study published in The Lancet. The rise has been attributed to significant decline in mortality rates linked to diseases such as diarrhea, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and ischemic heart disease. However, the COVID-19 pandemic posed major challenges, leading to a net reduction in global life expectancy by 1.6 years between 2019 and 2021. From 1990 to 2019, incremental improvements in life expect...