The Delta variant of Covid-19 can be transmitted from humans to hamsters and then be transferred back to humans, according to a new study. ....

It has been two years since the US contractor Mark Frerichs was taken hostage by the Taliban. He was abducted by the UN-designated terror organisation on January 31, 2020, just a month before the US and Taliban agreement was signed. Since then, the US has been raising Frerichs' release in each and every meeting with the Taliban. ....

Canada has decided to withdraw more staff from the its embassy in Ukraine, according to a statement issued by the country's Foreign Affairs Ministry. ....

Yemen's Houthi militia on Sunday midnight claimed responsibility for a fresh cross-border ballistic missile attack on the UAE. ....

The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has announced that universities across the country will reopen on February 2. ....

With their relatives in India deciding not to bring back their bodies, the four members of a Gujarati family who froze to death on January 19 while trying to enter the US illegally from Manitoba are likely to be cremated in Winnipeg. ....

Pakistan has termed India's statement about its disbarment record as "dubious", accusing New Delhi for being responsible for pioneering nuclear proliferation in South Asia and flaring up regional and global tension. ....

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that the international military assistance to his country is "optimistic" amid tensions with Russia. ....

Chinese researchers have detected a new type of coronavirus among bats in South Africa. While research claims it has latent ability to mutate, the World Health Organisation has said its potential needs further clarity. ....

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has positively evaluated the talks of the Normandy format advisors that were held on Wednesday in Paris, the presidential press service has said in a statement. ....