World News | Following Are the Top Foreign Stories at 2000 Hours FGN25 NEPAL-OLI-INDIA Nepal-India Border Issue Should Be Resolved Through Serious Diplomatic Efforts and Dialogue: Oli

Washington, Feb 8 (PTI) The UN Human Rights Council is flawed and needs reform but walking away from it, will not fix the Council, US Secretary of State Tony Blinken said on Monday, as he announced that Washington was ready to re-engage and lead the inter-governmental rights body.

FGN26 UK-TERROR UK terror threat level lowered from severe to substantial, attacks remain likely

London: The UK's terror threat level has been lowered from "severe" to "substantial", which indicates that instead of an attack being “highly likely” they are now categorised as "likely", Home Secretary Priti Patel informed the House of Commons on Monday.

FGN5 UN-UKD-FLOOD-REAX

Guterres says UN stands ready to contribute to ongoing rescue and assistance efforts in Uttarakhand

United Nations: The United Nations stands ready to contribute to the ongoing rescue and assistance efforts in Uttarakhand if necessary, Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said as the top leadership of the global organisation expressed sadness over the loss of life and damage from the glacier burst and flooding in the Indian state.

FGN8 US-INDIA-CAUCUS-FARMERS

Ensure democracy's norms maintained, protesters demonstrate peacefully: US Caucus to India

Washington: A powerful India Caucus in the US Congress has urged the Indian government to ensure that the norms of democracy are maintained and protesters allowed to demonstrate peacefully and have access to the Internet as it held a meeting with New Delhi's envoy here.

FGN12 PAK-TEMPLES-LD REPORT

Most of the revered Hindu sites in Pakistan in state of decay: Report

Islamabad: Most of the revered sites of the minority Hindu community in Pakistan are in a poor condition and the authority responsible for their upkeep has failed to maintain them, leaving the ancient worship places in a state of decay, according to a recent report by a Supreme Court-appointed commission.

FGN18 SA-LD VACCINE

S Africa puts on hold AstraZeneca vaccination rollout after concern over efficacy

Johannesburg: The planned vaccination rollout programme of the one million AstraZeneca vaccines provided to South Africa by India's Serum Institute has been put on hold after global concerns about its efficacy, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has said. By Fakir Hassen

FGN17 MYANMAR-2NDLD PROTEST

Water fired at crowd as anti-coup protests swell in Myanmar

Yangon: Police fired a water cannon Monday at hundreds of protesters in Myanmar's capital who are demanding the military hand power back to elected officials, as demonstrations against last week's coup intensified and spread to more parts of the country. (AP)

FGN16 UK-VACCINE

UK considers booster jab to combat South African COVID variant

London: Britain on Monday indicated that scientists are exploring the possibility of an additional booster jab for later in the year in order to tackle any COVID-19 variants that may try to escape the immunity levels provided by the current vaccination programme, such as the South African variant.

FGN15 ISRAEL-2NDLD NETANYAHU

Israeli PM pleads not guilty as corruption trial resumes

Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pleaded not guilty on Monday as his trial on corruption charges resumed in a Jerusalem courtroom just weeks before national elections in which he hopes to extend his 12-year rule.

FGN14 VIRUS-UNGA-ESPINOSA

Rich nations must do 'whatever it takes' to vaccinate entire planet against COVID19: Ex-UNGA prez

New York: The world's rich countries must commit to “doing whatever it takes” to vaccinate the entire planet against COVID-19, including easing intellectual property rules to allow the manufacture of vaccines in developing countries, according to the former president of the UN General Assembly.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)