Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

US sending another 2.5 million vaccine doses to Bangladesh

US sending another 2.5 million vaccine doses to Bangladesh

THE United States is shipping another 2.5 million Covid vaccine doses to hard-hit Bangladesh, a White House official said on Thursday (24), after the Biden administration announced a ramping up of global donations.

The latest shipment - 2,508,480 Pfizer doses - brings the total of US shots to the country above nine million.


Packing was underway and first deliveries, made through the World Health Organisation's Covax programme would arrive Monday (27), the official said on the condition of anonymity.

"We are proud to be able to deliver these safe and effective vaccines to the people of Bangladesh," said the official, adding that there were "no strings attached" to the donation.

"We are sharing these doses not to secure favours or extract concessions," the official said.

According to an AFP database, only 9.3 per cent of Bangladesh's population were fully vaccinated as of this week.

The country of about 170 million people, which neighbours India, has struggled to get the pandemic under control, imposing some of the world's longest lockdowns.

Children only went back to school two weeks ago after being out of classrooms for 18 months - an example of the education gap that the United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, recently warned is worsening inequity for millions of children across South Asia.

Like other rich countries, the United States has been accused of hoarding vaccines and prioritising booster shots instead of helping swaths of the world that remain largely unvaccinated.

On Wednesday (23), the United States authorised third doses of Pfizer vaccine for elderly and at-risk populations.

However, president Joe Biden has declared the United States the world's vaccine "arsenal" in the war on Covid-19 and US donations total more than those from the rest of the world combined.

Biden told a Covid-19 summit of world leaders on Wednesday (23) that the United States is donating a "historic" extra 500 million vaccine doses, bringing the total US commitment worldwide to 1.1 billion.

The new tranche of half a billion vaccines will be from Pfizer and will go to low-income and middle-income countries as defined by Gavi, which co-leads Covax along with the World Health Organisation.

Biden was also challenging world leaders to vaccinate 70 per cent of every country by September 2022, the White House said in a statement.

A senior US administration official told reporters that Washington is "proving that you can take care of your own while helping others as well."

US officials also deny they are competing in "vaccine diplomacy" with authoritarian China and Russia, which have used nationally produced vaccines to fill the supply vacuum in less-developed regions during the pandemic.

While the latest global coronavirus wave peaked in late August, the virus continues to spread rapidly, particularly in the United States, which is officially the worst-hit country.

Some 4.7 million people worldwide have died since the outbreak began in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally from official sources.

More For You

Baiju Bhatt

At 40, Bhatt is the only person of Indian origin in this group, which includes figures such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. (Photo: Getty Images)

Baiju Bhatt named among youngest billionaires in US by Forbes

INDIAN-AMERICAN entrepreneur Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of the commission-free trading platform Robinhood, has been named among the 10 youngest billionaires in the United States in the 2025 Forbes 400 list.

At 40, Bhatt is the only person of Indian origin in this group, which includes figures such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. Forbes estimates his net worth at around USD 6–7 billion (£4.4–5.1 billion), primarily from his roughly 6 per cent ownership in Robinhood.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mandelson-Getty

Starmer dismissed Mandelson on Thursday after reading emails published by Bloomberg in which Mandelson defended Jeffrey Epstein following his 2008 conviction. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Minister says Mandelson should never have been appointed

A CABINET minister has said Peter Mandelson should not have been made UK ambassador to the US, as criticism mounted over prime minister Keir Starmer’s judgment in appointing him.

Douglas Alexander, the Scotland secretary, told the BBC that Mandelson’s appointment was seen as “high-risk, high-reward” but that newly revealed emails changed the situation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Shivani Raja MP leads fight to save Leicester Diwali celebrations

Shivani Raja MP

Shivani Raja MP leads fight to save Leicester Diwali celebrations

TWO Conservative MPs have launched a petition to stop Leicester City Council cutting back this year's Diwali celebrations.

Shivani Raja, MP for Leicester East, and Neil O'Brien, who represents nearby Harborough, Oadby and Wigston, started the Change.org petition on Wednesday (10) after the council announced plans to remove key elements from the October 20 event.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian American hotel employee beheaded in Dallas

Chandra Nagamallaiah (R) was stabbed and beheaded on duty; Yordanis Cobos-Martinez was arrested and charged for the killing.

Indian American hotel employee beheaded in Dallas

A STAFF MEMBER at Downtown Suites Dallas, US, was killed on Wednesday (10) morning. Chandra Nagamallaiah, 50, was stabbed and beheaded on duty in front of his wife and son, according to reports.

Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, 37, was arrested and charged in the killing, which reportedly stemmed from an argument over a broken washing machine, media reports said, citing the Dallas Police Department.

Keep ReadingShow less
Deadly Pakistan floods force over two million to flee their homes

Residents sit in a rescue boat as they evacuate following monsoon rains and rising water levels in the Chenab River, in Basti Khan Bela, on the outskirts of Jalalpur Pirwala, Punjab province, Pakistan, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Quratulain Asim

Deadly Pakistan floods force over two million to flee their homes

OVER two million people have been forced to leave their homes as devastating floods continue to sweep across Pakistan's eastern regions, authorities announced.

The worst-hit area is Punjab province, where more than two million residents have been evacuated. An additional 150,000 people have fled Sindh province, according to national disaster management chief Inam Haider Malik, who warned that the "number may rise over the coming days".

Keep ReadingShow less