China's top Covid official has signalled a possible relaxing of the country's strict zero-tolerance approach to the virus, after nationwide protests calling for an end to lockdowns and greater political freedom.

India logged 291 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of Covid cases to 4,46,72,638, while the active cases declined to 4,767, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that China's "repressive" crackdown on protests over Covid lockdowns showed "weakness" by the communist leadership.

China has room to adjust its strict zero-Covid policy, the IMF said Wednesday, while underlining that the country's tough virus restrictions have been especially hard on its people.

For several days, China has seen unprecedented protests across many cities as a surge in Covid cases, followed by harsh lockdowns, has taken its toll on people.

The Congress on Wednesday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "shrugging away" from its responsibility, a day after the government told the Supreme Court that it cannot be held liable to compensate for the deaths after Covid vaccination.

Protesters clashed with police in the southern Chinese megacity of Guangzhou overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, according to witnesses and footage, part of a wave of demonstrations across the country triggered by Covid restrictions.

India reported a single-day rise of 279 new COVID-19 cases, which pushed its tally of the infection to 4,46,72,347, while the count of active cases has declined to 4,855, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

Twitter has rolled back its COVID-19 misinformation policy, as public health experts and researchers have expressed concern that the change would have major repercussions as the virus continues to spread and vaccination numbers remain low. The company's new CEO, Elon Musk, has signalled an interest in rolling back many of Twitter's previous rules meant to combat misin...

Twitter said it has stopped enforcing a policy intended to prevent the spread of Covid misinformation, as new owner Elon Musk -- who has clashed previously with US officials over pandemic safety rules -- continues to remake its content moderation pol

EU chief Charles Michel set off for Beijing on Tuesday, maintaining plans to meet President Xi Jinping despite the turmoil of large-scale protests in major Chinese cities against Covid lockdowns.

The government cannot be held liable to compensate for the deaths due to an adverse event following immunisation (AEFI) post administration of Covid-19 vaccines, the Centre has told the Supreme Court.

China's top security body called for a "crackdown" against "hostile forces" on Tuesday, after a weekend of protests in major cities opposing Covid lockdowns and demanding greater political freedoms.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi used to warn people against taking the COVID-19 vaccine terming it 'Modi vaccine', but later got vaccinated himself secretly.

China on Tuesday said it will take steps to "minimise" the impact of its draconian coronavirus lockdowns, amidst the unprecedented public protests against President Xi Jinping's stringent zero-COVID policy.

China's ambassador to Britain has been summoned by British government over reports by the BBC which said Chinese police had assaulted one of its journalists covering a protest in Shanghai, the Evening Standard newspaper said.

Opponents of China's anti-COVID measures are resorting to dating apps and social media platforms blocked on the mainland to evade censors, spread the word about their defiance and strategy, in a high-tech game of cat and mouse with police.

Journalists should not engage in activities unrelated to their role, China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday, after broadcaster BBC said one of its reporters had been assaulted and detained while covering weekend protests in Shanghai.

The Chinese government should respect the fundamental rights of people across China to peacefully protest the government's draconian "zero Covid" restrictions and to call for freedom and human rights, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.

US President Joe Biden is monitoring unrest in China by protesters demanding an end to Covid lockdowns and greater political freedoms, the White House said Monday, as rallies popped up in solidarity around the United States.

Australia's largest state will withdraw or refund tens of thousands of fines issued during the COVID pandemic after government lawyers conceded on Tuesday that some fines were invalid in a test case brought by a legal advocacy group.

India logged 215 new coronavirus infections, the lowest since April 2020, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to4,46,72,068, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

India on Monday reported 291 new COVID-19 infections, taking the total tally of Covid cases to 4,46,71,853. The country also reported 2 virus related deaths in the last 24h hours, bringing the total number fatalities to 5,30,614 .

The White House on Monday said it supported the Chinese people's right to peacefully protest against COVID-19 lockdowns and it did not see supply chain impacts from the demonstrations.