SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were largely higher in Wednesday trade as investors continue to assess the impact of the omicron Covid variant. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained about 0.4%, paring earlier gains of more than 1%. Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed, with the Shanghai composite fractionally lower andContinue Reading
LONDON — Last Thursday night, many people in Britain were worrying about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, and whether the pandemic was about to disrupt Christmas plans for the second year in a row. The country had just broken a record for new daily cases of the virus andContinue Reading
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference organized by Geneva Association of United Nations Correspondents (ACANU) amid the COVID-19 outbreak, caused by the novel coronavirus, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva Switzerland July 3, 2020. Fabrice Coffrini | Pool | Reuters The World Health OrganizationContinue Reading
Israeli ministers have agreed to ban travel to the United States, Canada and eight other countries amid the rapid, global spread of the omicron variant ByThe Associated Press December 20, 2021, 9:41 AM • 2 min read Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this article JERUSALEM — Israeli ministers on MondayContinue Reading
State TV reports that Iran has detected its first case of infection by the omicron variant of the coronavirus ByThe Associated Press December 19, 2021, 9:41 AM • 2 min read Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this article TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has detected its first case of infection byContinue Reading
LONDON — In the pre-dawn hours of Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson learned that his Conservative Party had crashed to defeat in a district it had represented for more than a century. Twelve hours later, Britain reported more than 90,000 new cases of Covid-19 as the Omicron variant engulfed theContinue Reading
The Tokyo Stock Exchange in Japan. Noriko Hayashi | Bloomberg via Getty Images SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets jumped in morning trade on Monday as investors turn their focus to a number of monetary policy meetings happening this week. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.86% while the Topix index addedContinue Reading
Despite global pledges on vaccine supply, only 7% of Africa’s population is vaccinated. Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images Despite global pledges on vaccine supply, only 7% of Africa’s population is vaccinated. Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images The world has “lost theContinue Reading
SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday as investors assessed risks surrounding the omicron Covid variant. The Nikkei 225 in Japan declined 0.47% to 28,725.47 while the Topix index fell 0.57% to 1,990.79. In Australia, the ASX 200 slipped 0.28% to 7,384.50, with most sectors closing lower. The energy andContinue Reading
Scientists around the world are racing to understand the Omicron variant, and there are some clearer signs than a week ago. Today’s newsletter will try to answer four big questions about Omicron, with help from experts. The answers do come with a caveat: There is still a lot of uncertaintyContinue Reading