Russian missiles and drones strike eastern Ukraine's Dnipro in a daylight attack that kills 5

In this photo released by the Dnipro Regional Administration, people stand near shop windows damaged following Russia’s missile attack in Dnipro, on Jul. 3, 2024. (AP)

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Updated 03 July 2024

AP

July 03, 2024 16:32

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Russian missiles and drones strike eastern Ukraine's Dnipro in a daylight attack that kills 5

Blasts blew out some windows of a shopping mall, raining shards onto the street, photos published by local officials showed
A video posted on social media by President Volodymyr Zelensky showed a missile with a fiery trail streaking over buildings

Updated 03 July 2024

AP

July 03, 2024 16:32

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KYIV: A Russian missile and drone attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Wednesday killed five civilians and injured 47 others, including a 14-year-old girl, authorities said.
Blasts blew out some windows of a shopping mall, raining shards onto the street, photos published by local officials showed. Mayor Borys Filatov said the daytime attack also shattered windows in two schools and three kindergartens. Debris struck the intensive care unit of a children’s hospital, and a fire broke out in another hospital.
A video posted on social media by President Volodymyr Zelensky showed a missile with a fiery trail streaking over buildings in Ukraine's fourth-largest city, and debris flying into the air from its impact.
The war, now in its third year since Russia invaded its neighbor, has killed more than 10,000 civilians and wounded around 20,000 others, the United Nations says.
In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, Russian shelling struck a village council building, killing one person and injuring two others, regional head Oleh Suniehubov said.
Elsewhere in the region, a Russian glide bomb struck a residential building in the village of Ruska Lozova, injuring at least two people. Others could be trapped under rubble, Syniehubov said.
Also Wednesday, Ukraine received $2.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund under an ongoing credit facility, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced.
The credit program foresees the disbursement of $16 billion, but Ukraine must pass IMF reviews of its progress on key economic and fiscal benchmarks before each part is released.
The latest funds will be used for welfare payments and the salaries of doctors and teachers, among other things, Shmyhal said.

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Moderna pulls application for COVID-flu combination shot

Updated 56 min 43 sec ago

Reuters

May 21, 2025 17:36

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Moderna pulls application for COVID-flu combination shot

The combination shot comprises a new COVID vaccine and an influenza vaccine
The company has previously said it does not expect a delay in the FDA’s decision

Updated 56 min 43 sec ago

Reuters

May 21, 2025 17:36

NEW YORK: Moderna said on Wednesday it has withdrawn an application seeking approval for its flu and COVID combination vaccine candidate to wait for efficacy data from a late-stage trial of its influenza shot, which is due later this year.

The company said it pulled the application in consultation with the US Food and Drug Administration. It is the latest sign of increased regulatory scrutiny of the vaccine approval process since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took the top US health job earlier this year.

Moderna’s decision comes a day after the US FDA said it would require new clinical trials for approval of annual COVID-19 boosters for healthy people under 65.

The combination shot comprises a new COVID vaccine and an influenza vaccine, both under development by Moderna.

The company has previously said it does not expect a delay in the FDA’s decision for the next-generation COVID vaccine, which is due by the end of the month.

Shares of the company have been battered by declining COVID revenue as well as investor concerns spurred by the appointment of Kennedy, who is a vaccine skeptic, as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Moderna has been banking on revenue from newer mRNA shots to make up for falling sales of its COVID vaccine and less-than-expected uptake of its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine, which sent its shares down nearly 60 percent last year.

The company in early May pushed back the time frame for the likely approval of its combination vaccine — meant to protect adults aged 50 and above against both COVID-19 and influenza — to 2026.

The FDA last week approved rival Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine more than a month after missing the deadline for the shot’s approval, and limited its use to people with conditions that put them at risk due to the illness.

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Topics: moderna COVID-19 flu Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Germany defends EU-Israel deal as ‘important forum’ for talks

Updated 21 May 2025

AFP

May 21, 2025 16:35

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Germany defends EU-Israel deal as ‘important forum’ for talks

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said “a strong majority” of the 27 member states had backed the review
Kornelius reiterated Germany’s “great concern at the humanitarian situation in Gaza“

Updated 21 May 2025

AFP

May 21, 2025 16:35

BERLIN: Germany on Wednesday defended an EU-Israel cooperation deal, a day after the bloc had ordered a review of it in a bid to pressure Israel over the Gaza war.

Without explicitly confirming media reports that Berlin had opposed the review, foreign ministry spokesman Christian Wagner said that “the EU-Israel Association Agreement is an important forum that we must use in order to discuss critical questions” over the situation in Gaza.

The review announced on Tuesday comes as some European nations take a tougher line with Israel over the devastating impact of its offensive in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the territory.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said “a strong majority” of the 27 member states had backed the review.

Diplomats said 17 EU states pressed for the review under an article of the agreement that calls for a respect for human rights, with the Netherlands spearheading the latest push.

On Monday the leaders of Britain, France and Canada condemned Israel’s “egregious actions” in Gaza and warned of joint action if it did not halt its heightened military offensive there.

On Wednesday Stefan Kornelius, spokesman for Chancellor Friedrich Merz, reiterated Germany’s “great concern at the humanitarian situation in Gaza” but stopped short of mentioning any possible further action.

Wagner also confirmed that on Tuesday nine German nationals had been evacuated from Gaza “in close co-ordination with the Israeli government,” together with three of their immediate family members.

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Topics: War on Gaza Germany EU-Israel Association Agreement

Indian Navy inducts first vessel built in ancient shipbuilding style

Updated 21 May 2025

Sanjay Kumar

May 21, 2025 16:12

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Indian Navy inducts first vessel built in ancient shipbuilding style

Ship design is based on 5th-century artwork found in Ajanta Caves
The ship’s first transoceanic voyage is planned from Gujarat to Oman

Updated 21 May 2025

Sanjay Kumar

May 21, 2025 16:12

New Delhi: The Indian Navy inducted on Wednesday its first vessel constructed using traditional shipbuilding techniques dating back to the 5th century.

The 21-meter wooden ship is a stitched ship, a type of boat that is carvel-built, with its planks stitched together using cords or ropes. The technique was popular in ancient India in constructing ocean-going vessels.

Named Kaundinya, the ship is a recreation of a vessel inspired by a painting from the Ajanta Caves — a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Maharashtra state, where ancient Buddhist rock-cut monuments feature exquisite murals dating from the 2nd century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E.

“The whole concept was to kind of connect to our ancient methodology of how the construction takes place and also, subsequently, connect to the historical maritime routes which Indian seafarers took during that particular time,” Cdr. Vivek Madhwal, spokesperson of the Indian Navy, told Arab News.

Funded by the Ministry of Culture, the project was launched in July 2023 and constructed by artisans from Kerala, who were led by master Indian shipwright Babu Sankaran. The vessel was completed in February this year.

The INSV Kaundinya’s induction into the Indian Navy took place in the presence of Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at the Naval Base Karwar in Karnataka, on the country’s western coast along the Arabian Sea.

The ship will sail its first transoceanic voyage from Gujarat to Oman.

“That is one of the routes which was used by the ancient seafarers,” Madhwal said, adding that new routes will be considered in the future, after the first journey.

The Indian Navy collaborated with the Department of Ocean Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras to conduct model testing of the vessel’s hydrodynamic behavior at sea. The navy has also tested the wooden mast system, which was constructed without the use of contemporary materials.

“Every aspect of the ship had to balance historical authenticity with seaworthiness, leading to design choices that were both innovative and true to the maritime traditions of ancient India,” the Indian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

“The combination of a stitched hull, square sails, wooden spars, and traditional steering mechanisms makes the vessel unlike any ship currently in naval service anywhere in the world.”

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Topics: India Navy

Saudi hospitality reaches Dhaka as immigration officers assist Hajj pilgrims

Updated 21 May 2025

SHEHAB SUMON

May 21, 2025 16:05

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Saudi hospitality reaches Dhaka as immigration officers assist Hajj pilgrims

Saudi Arabia launched Makkah Route initiative for Bangladeshi pilgrims in 2019
About 87,000 Bangladeshis are expected to travel to Kingdom for Hajj this year

Updated 21 May 2025

SHEHAB SUMON

May 21, 2025 16:05

DHAKA: Bangladeshi pilgrims are enjoying the care and attention of dozens of Saudi officers who under the Makkah Route initiative are working around the clock at Dhaka’s main airport to ensure smooth immigration for Hajj.

About 87,000 Bangladeshi pilgrims are expected to perform the spiritual journey that is one of the five pillars of Islam. This year, the Hajj is expected to start on June 4 and end on June 9.

Most of the pilgrims are departing under the flagship pre-travel program, which the Kingdom launched in 2019 to help pilgrims meet all the visa, customs and health requirements at their airport of origin and save them long hours of waiting before and on arrival in the Kingdom.

“It’s a very pleasant experience for the pilgrims as they receive the heartiest welcome by the Saudi immigration officials,” Lokman Hossain, director of the Hajj Office at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, told Arab News on Wednesday.

“The immigration officials here serve the pilgrims very gently and always with a welcoming smile. It’s something that they can anticipate as the Kingdom’s hospitality for Hajj pilgrims … This is something extraordinary, and offers the pilgrims a comfort in their journey to the holy places.”

Bangladesh is among seven Muslim-majority countries — including Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco, Turkiye and Cote d’Ivoire — where Saudi Arabia is operating its Makkah Route initiative.

“The moment pilgrims enter into the airport, their Saudi immigration formalities are taken care of by the immigration staffers stationed here temporarily by the Kingdom’s authorities,” Hossain said.

“There is no need to wait in any queues. Saudi immigration officials are offering instant services to our pilgrims with more than a dozen service counters. Women immigration staffers are also deployed here, which brings ease for our women pilgrims also.”

The moment they enter the Makkah Route facilities at the airport, the pilgrims are “treated like distinguished guests,” he added.

“Sometimes, the pilgrims receive greetings in their local language too. It creates a sense of comfort in the pilgrims’ minds.”

Special pilgrimage flights from Dhaka started in late April, as many pilgrims arrive early to make the most of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fulfill their religious duty. More than 51,400 Bangladeshi pilgrims have already traveled to the Kingdom as of Tuesday.

“Makkah Route initiative is a very significant and helpful offer for our pilgrims,” Hossain said. “Our pilgrims are enjoying this facility.”

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Topics: Hajj 2025 Bangladesh Makkah Route initiative

Indian Navy inducts first vessel built in ancient shipbuilding style

Updated 21 May 2025

Sanjay Kumar

May 21, 2025 15:22

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Indian Navy inducts first vessel built in ancient shipbuilding style

Ship design is based on 5th-century artwork found in Ajanta Caves
The ship’s first transoceanic voyage is planned from Gujarat to Oman

Updated 21 May 2025

Sanjay Kumar

May 21, 2025 15:22

NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy inducted on Wednesday its first vessel constructed using traditional shipbuilding techniques dating back to the 5th century.