The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday that a variant of COVID-19 behind the acceleration of India's explosive outbreak has been found in dozens of countries all over the world.The United Nations (UN) health agency said the B.1.617 variant of COVID-19, first found in India in October, had been detected in more than 4,500 samples uploaded to an open-access database "from 44 countries in all six WHO regions"."And WHO has received reports of detections from five a

An elderly French-Vietnamese woman failed Monday in her bid to sue Monsanto and other makers of the toxic chemical Agent Orange over its use by the United States (US) as a weapon during the Vietnam War, after a French court ruled that the companies had legal immunity because they were working for a sovereign government.Tran To Nga, born in 1942 in what was then French Indochina, accused 14 agrochemicals firms of causing grievous harm to her and others by selling Agent Orange to the American m

German firm BioNTech said Monday that the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with Pfizer does not require any modifications to work against variants of the virus, as it announced new plans to ramp up production of the jabs."To date, there is no evidence that an adaptation of BioNTech's current COVID-19 vaccine against key identified emerging variants is necessary," the company said in a statement.Nevertheless, in preparations for a need at some point to make tweaks to its current va

A judge on Monday ordered Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to appear in person in court for the first time on 24 May, her lawyer said, after weeks of delays in her case.The Nobel laureate has not been seen in public since she was detained in a 1 February coup, when the military ousted her from power and re-installed its rule.She was subsequently hit with a series of charges, and her legal team has faced an uphill battle to get a private audience with their client.Multiple court

As India battles a major coronavirus wave, there's concern about rising infection levels in neighbouring countries.Travel and other restrictions have been introduced amid fears that poorly resourced local health services will be unable to cope.What's Happened To Case Numbers?In India, daily case numbers and deaths began rising in March and then surged dramatically.

100 days after the military seized power in Myanmar, the nun who pleaded for protesters on her knees in the street says the coup has cast a pall of fear and depression over the country.The image of Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng kneeling in the dust, arms spread, begging police not to shoot "the children" went viral in March as an uprising swelled in Myanmar.Today, the 45-year-old nun works in a clinic in Myanmar's northernmost Kachin state, tending to patients injured by security fo

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:India's Rocketing COVID RecordsIndia reports a record new COVID-19 daily death toll of over 4,000 and more than 400,000 new cases as the country grapples with the world's worst coronavirus surge.Members of the opposition call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order a national lockdown as the country's official death toll to date hit 238,270.'No Doubt' US Undercounting DeathsThe United States (US), which has r

Getting COVID vaccines into the arms of the world's population is an international priority – but will today's jabs stay effective against virus variants that are spreading across the globe?It is one of the big questions about the pandemic, with Pfizer chief Albert Bourla recently acknowledging that it is likely a booster will be needed to help extend the protection conferred by its vaccine and ward off new variants.A recent study presented a mixed picture. It found that th

Myanmar's junta declared Saturday night that a group of ousted lawmakers running a shadow government would now be classified as "terrorists", as the military moves to tighten its grip over a country in turmoil. Since the military seized power in a 1 February coup, detaining and ousting civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a nationwide uprising has refused to back down in its demands for a return to democracy.Protesters continue to take to the streets daily, while a nation

For the past few weeks, the world`s attention has been drawn to India as COVID-19 cases soar in an extreme fashion. Daily deaths in the sub-continent have reached all-time high. With hospitals running out of beds, the health system in the country is overwhelmed. Even oxygen has become a scarce luxury that most Indians simply cannot get hold off or afford. Images of bodies of deceased COVID victims waiting to be cremated and distraught loved ones are very sad to behold.