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  Indian officials are investigating a private laboratory accused of faulty Covid-19 tests on passengers on two flights from Italy last week. At least 173 passengers from Rome, and 125 travellers from Milan tested positive on arrival in Amritsar. Thirty of them were tested again at the airport - but only three people tested positive for Covid the second time. Airport officials told BBC Punjabi they have stopped using the services of the lab, SpiceHealth, for now. "If it's a manufacturing fault, we have to follow certain guidelines. If it's a human or procedural fault, then we will certainly take action," airport director VK Seth said. Dr Charanjit Singh, civil surgeon of Amritsar, told the BBC that preliminary investigations suggested that the controls of the machines were not working properly, and that the issue was being investigated at the "highest levels".  Mr Singh added that SpiceHealth was hired by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on 15...

  A US man has become the first person in the world to get a heart transplant from a genetically-modified pig. David Bennett, 57, is doing well three days after the experimental seven-hour procedure in Baltimore, doctors say. The transplant was considered the last hope of saving Mr Bennett's life, though it is not yet clear what his long-term chances of survival are. "It was either die or do this transplant," Mr Bennett explained a day before the surgery. "I know it's a shot in the dark, but it's my last choice," he said. Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center were granted a special dispensation by the US medical regulator to carry out the procedure, on the basis that Mr Bennett - who has terminal heart disease - would otherwise have died. He had been deemed ineligible for a human transplant, a decision that is often taken by doctors when the patient is in very poor health. The pig used in the transplant had been genetically m...

  A doctor in China's Zhoukou city has been charged with a crime for allegedly treating a fever patient while working at a hospital without a fever clinic. Patients with possible Covid symptoms in China can only get treatment at specially designated hospitals. The doctor, only known by their surname Guo, was charged on suspicion of "obstructing the prevention and control of infectious diseases". China is pursuing a zero-Covid policy, with a tough elimination strategy. According to a notice by authorities in Henan province, Guo had treated the patient at a hospital in Zhoukou from 29 October to 2 November last year. The hospital, of which Guo was the vice-director, had not set up fever clinics as part of its operations. In China, doctors are not allowed to treat patients exhibiting Covid-like symptoms at hospitals that are not equipped with fever clinics. Instead, patients are meant to be sent to "fever clinics" - medical facilities initially set up...

       The possibility of deportation still hangs over Novak Djokovic Australian border officials are investigating whether Novak Djokovic's travel entry form included a false declaration, Australian media report. Djokovic's visa was revoked on arrival in Melbourne last week before being reinstated by a judge on Monday. But Australia's immigration minister still has powers to re-cancel the visa and deport the unvaccinated player. Djokovic - who is hoping to defend his Australian Open title next week - has not commented on the latest reports. The 34-year-old Serb player's entry form stated he had not travelled in the 14 days before his arrival on 6 January. Social media posts appear to show him in both Serbia and Spain during that fortnight. Djokovic told border officials that Tennis Australia completed the Australian Travel Declaration on his behalf,  the Sydney Morning Herald reported . It is not clear whether this would help him in the event...

  North Korea has fired a suspected ballistic missile, less than a week after it launched what it claimed was a hypersonic missile. South Korea said it detected the launch at 07:27 local time on Tuesday (22:27 GMT on Monday). Japan's coast guard also reported the launch, saying North Korea had fired a "ballistic missile-like object". It comes shortly after six countries issued a statement urging the North to cease its "destabilising actions". "Our military detected a suspected ballistic missile fired by North Korea from land towards the East Sea," South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) said, adding that intelligence authorities from South Korea and the US were in the process of conducting a detailed analysis. The latest launch underscores North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's pledge to bolster the country's defences as part of its policy priorities for 2022, which were outlined during a key meeting in December.   On Monday, the ...