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  New York Governor Andrew  Cuomo  gave family members, including his  brother ,  CNN  anchor Chris Cuomo, special access to state-administered Covid-19 tests in the early days of the pandemic, the  Washington Post  reported on Wednesday. Cuomo, a Democrat, faces calls to resign over accusations of sexual harassment or misconduct from at least eight women and disclosures that his administration under-reported nursing home deaths from the pandemic. The 63-year-old third-term governor has denied the allegations and repeatedly said he would not resign from office. The Post, which cited three unnamed people with knowledge of the situation, reported that a top state doctor made house calls to some of the governor's family members or close associates, including his brother, to administer the tests. Chris Cuomo tested positive for Covid-19 early in the pandemic. Reuters could not immediately confirm the reports. "We should avoid insincere efforts to rewrite the past. In the early day

  For the last decade, Bangladesh economy has grown more than 7% annually and per capita GDP has more than quadr... GAZIPUR: Bangladesh turns 50 this week as an economic success story but also an increasingly repressive de facto one-party state where a cartoon or Facebook post can land you in jail, or worse. ABM Shamsuddin has been a major beneficiary of the boom. He launched his sweater factory in 1998 with 110 machines and 250 workers. Now Hannan Group's five factories supply two dozen European brands and employ more than 10,000 people. "My annual turnover is $100 million," Shamsuddin, 66, told AFP as his workers stitched clothes for German high-street outlet Esprit. "I became a hero from zero." Praising the government for building decent infrastructure such as roads, ports and energy facilities, he predicts "a new era of prosperity" for the country of 168 million people. One of his employees is Ruma, part of a three-million-strong army of garment wo

AstraZeneca reiterated on Thursday that the shot, developed with Oxford University, was 100% effective against... Read More WASHINGTON: AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine, which faced a fresh onslaught of questions this week, was 76% effective in a US study -- a slightly downgraded estimate based on the latest data collected from a contentious clinical trial. The company issued the new analysis in a statement on Thursday after an independent monitoring board expressed concern that the initial efficacy of 79% relied on outdated information. The earlier reading was based on data gathered through February 17. The latest twist created another layer of uncertainty for a product already facing dwindling public support in Europe following months of confusion and missteps. The data glitch may delay the shot’s ability to win US regulatory clearance, although it will likely still play a crucial role in curbing the global pandemic. “The primary analysis is consistent with our previously released

  Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro SAO PAULO: Mere miles from Brazil's presidential palace, the bodies of Covid-19 victims were laid on floors of hospitals whose morgues were overflowing. Lawmakers fielded calls from panicked constituents across the country, where thousands awaited intensive care beds, and they had no effective health minister to turn to Sunday. Meanwhile, a smiling President  Jair Bolsonaro  met hundreds of supporters to pass out pieces of green-and-yellow cake in celebration of his 66th birthday. The mood was jubilant even as the country approached a bleak coronavirus milestone. Brazil was in political disarray as it surpassed 300,000 deaths from the virus Wednesday evening. Foes and allies alike are pleading with the president to change course to stem a recent surge of daily deaths accounting for almost one-third of the total worldwide. Bolsonaro this month began shifting rhetoric on the value of vaccines but continues to refuse restrictions on activity he pai