20 mostly African countries have still not vaccinated even 10 percent of their population against COVID-19, the World Health Organization's (WHO) vaccine advisers lamented Monday.The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) said the speed of the COVID jab rollout had been "unprecedented".However, 20 countries – down from 34 in January – had still not managed a 10-percent immunisation rate, Kate O'Brien, the WHO's vaccines chief, told reporters."

It's the first time Shanghai has imposed such strict restrictions – until last month, it had taken a more relaxed approach than other Chinese cities.What's Happening In Shanghai?People in the city are confined to their homes, and most have to order in food and water and wait for government drop-offs of vegetables, meat and eggs.Videos shared on social media show complaints by angry residents about food shortages and inadequate medical supplies.It's Shanghai's first experie

Indonesian police deployed tear gas and water cannon against thousands of students protesting Monday against extending the presidential term limit, after rumours swirled for weeks about a potential change to the country's constitution.The Southeast Asian country's next election is in 2024 and President Joko Widodo would not be eligible to run as Indonesia places a two-term limit on its leader.But senior ministers and several political parties last month suggested the election should

After two years of racing to vaccinate the world against COVID-19, the number of available doses now surpasses demand in many areas.Yet a yawning gap remains in vaccination rates between the richest and poorest countries.On Friday, Gavi, which co-leads the COVAX global distribution scheme, is holding a summit calling for more funds to address the issue of inequality in vaccine access.Huge Production More than 13 billion doses have been produced since the pandemic, 11 billion of which

The annual military exercises between Indonesian and United States (US) armies will include more than a dozen countries this year, officials said Sunday, as tensions with China continue to spike in the region.The "Garuda Shield" joint training will see militaries from 14 countries – including Britain, Australia and Japan – participate in ground drills and beach-landing exercises from 1-14 August in Indonesia's South Sumatra archipelago and the East of Borneo Island, the Indones

More than 11,000 recovered COVID-19 patients were discharged in Shanghai on Sunday, and health authorities emphasised that they must be allowed to return home despite the lockdown that has severely restricted movement in China’s largest city.“We hope their family and community will not worry about them or discriminate against them,” said Wu Jinglei, the director of the Shanghai municipal health commission.The city of 26 million people reported 1,006 confirmed infections and almost 24,000 asym

People who have the Omicron COVID variant tend to have symptoms for a shorter period, a lower risk of being admitted to hospital and a different set of symptoms from those who have Delta, research has suggested.As the highly transmissible Omicron variant shot to dominance towards the end of last year, it emerged that, while it is better at dodging the body’s immune responses than Delta, it also produces less severe disease.Now a large study has not only backed up the findings, but confirmed r

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has been ousted from power after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership.The vote was held past midnight after opposition parties brought a motion against him, which was upheld by the Supreme Court.Mr Khan had said he would not recognise an opposition government, claiming – without evidence –that there was a United States (US)-led conspiracy to remove him.The assembly will now appoint a new prime minister.That person will be able to hold power u

More than two-thirds of people living in Africa may have contracted COVID-19 over the past two years, about 97 times more than the number of reported infections, a World Health Organization (WHO) report has suggested.Laboratory tests have detected 11.5 million COVID-19 cases and 252,000 fatalities across the African continent.

The former head of Goldman Sachs in Malaysia has been convicted for helping to orchestrate one of the world's biggest financial corruption scandals.A United States (US) jury found Roger Ng guilty on all charges in the trial, which concerned the looting of billions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.He is the only Goldman Sachs banker to face a jury over the scandal, which rocked Malaysian politics and forced the bank to pay billions in fines.He had pleaded not gui