Iran asks EU to help negotiate US return to nuclear deal

DW — Iran’s foreign minister has asked the European Union to help mediate in its dispute over the nuclear deal with the United States. Both sides have previously insisted that the other... Read more »

WHO Chief: Global Coronavirus Cases Drop for Third Straight Week

VOA — The World Health Organization (WHO) noted Monday that globally, the number of new coronavirus cases fell for the third consecutive week.  At the agency’s regular news briefing conducted virtually from... Read more »

Nuclear Deal Hangs in Balance as Iran Intensifies Uranium Enrichment

VOA — LONDON – The 2015 Iran nuclear deal was hailed by its signatories at the time as a triumph of global diplomacy. The elation was short-lived. Former U.S. President Donald Trump... Read more »

From The Lab: 100 years of BCG vaccine and its Covid-19 connection

2021 marks the hundredth year of the administration of the first dose of the BCG vaccine. The vaccine, which was invented by Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin at the Institut Pasteur de... Read more »

UK study suggests supermarket overuse of plastic packaging blighting planet

RFI — Major supermarket chains remain big users of plastic packaging that blights the environment, despite efforts to cut down, according to research published on Tuesday. The study focuses on the UK,... Read more »

China rejects plan to give millions of UK passports to Hong Kong citizens

RFI — China has announced that it will not recognise the British National Overseas passport as a valid travel document, fuelling a row with London over plans to grant UK citizenship to... Read more »

Iran Rejects New Participants, Any Talks on Nuclear Deal

VOA — DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Iran’s foreign ministry Saturday rejected any new negotiations or changes to the participants in Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers, after French President Emmanuel Macron... Read more »

Johnson & Johnson One-dose Vaccine 66% Successful

VOA — U.S. pharmaceutical and medical device maker Johnson & Johnson says after a global trial, the COVID-19 vaccine it has developed is 66% effective in preventing infection.  The one-dose vaccine, which... Read more »

Biden’s National Security Approach Sees Merger of Foreign, Domestic Policy

VOA — The administration of new U.S. President Joe Biden is essentially doing away with the traditional distinction between domestic policy and foreign policy when it comes to tackling threats to the... Read more »

US Economy Slowed But Didn’t Collapse at End of 2020

VOA — WASHINGTON – The U.S. economy slowed markedly but didn’t collapse in the last three months of 2020, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, even as thousands of businesses have been forced... Read more »