IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS BREAK, US & EUROPE DISMAYED BY IRANIAN STANCE

IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS BREAK, US & EUROPE DISMAYED BY IRANIAN STANCE

Indirect US-Iranian talks on saving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal broke off until next week as European officials voiced dismay on Friday at sweeping demands by Iran’s new, hardline government. The seventh round of talks in Vienna is the first with delegates sent by Iran’s anti-Western President Ebrahim Raisi on how to resuscitate the agreement under which Iran limited its nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions. Raisi’s election in June caused a five-month hiatus in the talks, heightening suspicions among US and European officials that Iran is…

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U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT APPLE IPHONE HACKED WITH ISRAELI COMPANY SPYWARE – SOURCES

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT APPLE IPHONE HACKED WITH ISRAELI COMPANY SPYWARE – SOURCES

Apple Inc iPhones of at least nine U.S. State Department employees were hacked by an unknown assailant using sophisticated spyware developed by the Israel-based NSO Group, according to four people familiar with the matter. The hacks, which took place in the last several months, hit U.S. officials either based in Uganda or focused on matters concerning the East African country, two of the sources said. The intrusions, first reported here, represent the widest known hacks of U.S. officials through NSO technology. Previously, a list of numbers with potential targets including…

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EU member states agree to ban flights from southern Africa over new coronavirus variant ‘Omicron’ rapidly spreading there

EU member states agree to ban flights from southern Africa over new coronavirus variant ‘Omicron’ rapidly spreading there

The new coronavirus variant — B.1.1.529 — is rapidly spreading in southern Africa.It prompted the European Commission to recommend a flight ban from the region.European Union member states have agreed to ban flights from southern African countries, citing the new coronavirus variant rapidly spreading there, Associated Press journalist Zeke Miller reported on Twitter. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had earlier on Friday recommended that the member states take action over concerns of the new variant. The World Health Organization has named it “Omicron” and classified it as a…

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UK, Germany and Italy detect New Omicron Covid-19 Variant Cases

UK, Germany and Italy detect New Omicron Covid-19 Variant Cases

Britain, Germany and Italy detected cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant on Saturday and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new steps to contain the virus, while more nations imposed restrictions on travel from southern Africa. The discovery of the variant has sparked global concern, a wave of travel bans or curbs and a sell-off on financial markets on Friday as investors worried that Omicron could stall a global recovery from the nearly two-year pandemic. Israel said it would ban the entry of all foreigners into the country and…

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13 Air passengers in Netherlands found infected with new Covid-19 variant Omicron

13 Air passengers in Netherlands found infected with new Covid-19 variant Omicron

Dutch health authorities said on Sunday they had discovered at least 13 cases of the new Omicron strain among passengers on two flights from South Africa. The infections were found after 61 out of 600 travellers on the two KLM planes tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Friday. It was “not unthinkable”that there were further cases of the infectious Omicron variant in the Netherlands, Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said. “The Omicron variant has so far been identified in 13 of the positive tests. The…

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After Belgium, UK reports two Omicron variant cases

After Belgium, UK reports two Omicron variant cases

The British government on Saturday confirmed the existence of two cases of the Omicron variant in the country. UK had banned flights to South Africa after authorities revealed they had discovered the B.1.1.529 variant which reportedly has several mutations. According to UK health secretary Sajid Javid, the two people who were detected with the new virus variant have been self-isolating. The UK government said the two cases were linked to southern Africa as it moved to expand the travel ban to four more African countries namely Angola, Zambia, Mozambique and…

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Europe’s First Case Of New Covid Variant Detected In Belgium

Europe’s First Case Of New Covid Variant Detected In Belgium

Brussels: Belgium said Friday it has detected the first announced case in Europe of the new Covid-19 variant, in an unvaccinated person returning from abroad. “We have a case that is now confirmed of this variant,” B.1.1.529, first detected in southern Africa, Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke told a media conference. The infected person tested positive on November 22 and had not had Covid-19 before, he added, without giving further details. A leading Belgian virologist, Marc Van Ranst, tweeted that the person had returned from Egypt on November 11. Vandebroucke said:…

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Israel to ban entry of foreigners from all countries over Omicron

Israel to ban entry of foreigners from all countries over Omicron

Israel on Saturday said it would ban the entry of all foreigners into the country, making it the first country to shut its borders completely in response to the potentially more contagious Omicron coronavirus variant, and said it would also reintroduce counter-terrorism phone-tracking technology in order to contain the spread of the variant. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement that the ban, pending government approval, would last 14 days. Officials hope that within that period there will be more information on how effective COVID-19 vaccines are against Omicron,…

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Norway lauches World’s First Electric Autonomous Cargo Ship

Norway lauches World’s First Electric Autonomous Cargo Ship

Zero emissions and, soon, zero crew: the world’s first fully electric autonomous cargo vessel was unveiled in Norway, a small but promising step toward reducing the maritime industry’s climate footprint. By shipping up to 120 containers of fertilizer from a plant in the southeastern town of Porsgrunn to the Brevik port a dozen kilometres (about eight miles) away, the much-delayed Yara Birkeland, shown off to the media on Friday, will eliminate the need for around 40,000 truck journeys a year that are now fuelled by polluting diesel. “Of course, there…

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Norway tightens travel rules to limit import of Omicron Covid-19 variant

Norway tightens travel rules to limit import of Omicron Covid-19 variant

The Norwegian government has introduced new border rules, including a quarantine hotel stay for travellers arriving from parts of Africa, to try and limit the import of the recently discovered Omicron Covid variant.New Covid testing and quarantine rules were introduced on Saturday to try and prevent the import of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, recently discovered and sequenced in South Africa, into Norway. Norway is among a slew of countries in Europe that have enforced more rigid travel rules on countries in southern Africa to try and contain the import of…

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