International

AstraZeneca said on Monday its vaccine for the novel coronavirus, developed along with the University of Oxford, could be around 90 per cent effective under one dosing regimen.

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was remanded in custody on Monday after pleading guilty to charges of organising an unauthorised assembly during last year's anti-government protests.

The first of Shanghai's latest coronavirus infections emerged in airport cargo handlers who cleaned a container that arrived on a flight from North America, city officials said on Monday.

Nearly 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be shipped and flown to developing countries next year in a "mammoth operation", the UN children's agency UNICEF said on Monday.

President-elect Joe Biden will announce the first of his Cabinet picks on Tuesday, aides said, as he lays the foundation for his administration despite President Donald Trump's refusal to concede.

South Korea reported another daily rise of over 200 new coronavirus cases on Monday, a day before tighter social distancing rules aimed at blunting a third wave of infections take effect.

The US recorded its 12th million COVID-19 case, even as millions of Americans were expected to travel for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday despite warnings from health officials.

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit critical to President Donald Trump's long-shot bid to overturn his election loss to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, calling his legal claim a "Frankenstein's Monster".

China plans to launch an unmanned spacecraft to the moon this week to bring back lunar rocks in the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from Earth's natural satellite since the 1970s.

Moderna will charge governments between $25 and $37 per dose of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, depending on the amount ordered.

England will end a national COVID-19 lockdown on December 2 and move into tougher tiered regional restrictions than before, with more areas facing severe constraints to prevent the virus from reigniting.

A travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore, due to launch on Sunday, will be postponed for two weeks after the Chinese controlled city reported a jump in daily coronavirus cases, Hong Kong officials said on Saturday.

Ukraine registered a record 14,580 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, health minister Maksym Stepanov said on Saturday, surpassing the previous day's record of 14,575.

Several rockets hit residential areas in the early rush hour in the Afghan capital Kabul on Saturday, killing at least three civilians and wounding a dozen more, police officials said.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has approved ending a ban on deploying the nation's healthcare workers, his labour minister said on Saturday, clearing the way for thousands of nurses to take up jobs overseas.

South Australia's drastic six-day coronavirus lockdown was triggered by a "lie" to contact tracers from a pizza worker who tested positive, authorities said on Friday.

At least 37 people have died and hundreds have been detained in unrest in Uganda triggered by the arrest of presidential candidate and pop star Bobi Wine, police said on Friday.

The head of an Indian company contracted to make AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine said it could deliver it to healthcare workers and elderly Indians by January as the country's infections crossed nine million.

Gilead's remdesivir is not recommended for patients hospitalised with COVID-19, as there is no evidence the drug improves survival or reduces the need for ventilation, a World Health Organisation panel said.

Russia has sentenced a man to 13 years in prison for trying to pass military secrets about Russia's Northern Fleet to the US Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday.

After a painstaking recount, Georgia officials confirmed that President-elect Joe Biden won the battleground state, further narrowing Donald Trump's dubious effort to overturn the election results.

Nearly one million people have taken an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) through the country's emergency use programme.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has previously criticised Western manufacturers for asking fees to reserve vaccines, has agreed to pay drugmakers in advance to secure millions of COVID-19 shots.

The US death toll from COVID-19 surpassed a grim new milestone of 250,000 lives lost on Wednesday, as New York City's public school system called a halt to in-classroom instruction.

Storm Iota unleashed devastating floods across Central America on Wednesday in areas already waterlogged, forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.

After nearly two years of scrutiny and a standoff with global regulators, Boeing won approval from US Federal Aviation Administration to fly its 737 MAX jet again after two fatal disasters.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to US President-elect Joe Biden by telephone to congratulate him on his election victory, and vowed to deepen strategic ties.

Zimbabwean authorities have closed a boarding school in the west of the country after at least 100 students tested positive for coronavirus, a state-owned newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The US Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it had approved the first COVID-19 self-testing kit for home use that provides results within 30 minutes.

President Donald Trump fired top cybersecurity official on Twitter, accusing him without evidence of making a "highly inaccurate" statement affirming the election was secure and rejecting claims of fraud.

South Australia announced a six-day lockdown of the state on Wednesday to stamp out a fresh coronavirus outbreak that has now expanded to 22 cases.

Two people died on Tuesday in Somalia's capital Mogadishu after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a restaurant near a police base, a police spokesman and a witness said.

Thai police blasted protesters with water cannon on Tuesday, in a bid to push back a demonstration at parliament demanding constitutional changes that would touch on the powerful monarchy.

A British diplomat leapt into a river in southwest China to rescue a drowning student over the weekend, Britain's embassy in Beijing and Chinese state media said.

Four astronauts riding a newly-designed spacecraft from Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX greeted their new crewmates aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday.

Moderna Inc's vaccine is 94.5 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 based on interim data, the company said, becoming the second US drugmaker to report results that far exceed expectations.

President-elect Joe Biden said on Monday "more people may die" if outgoing President Donald Trump continues blocking a US transition of power as the coronavirus pandemic worsens.

Pfizer has launched a pilot delivery programme for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in four US states, as the drugmaker seeks to address distribution challenges facing its ultra-cold storage requirements.

Russia reported a record 22,778 new daily coronavirus cases on Monday as the authorities in Moscow turned to a temporary hospital built inside an ice rink to handle the influx of COVID-19 patients.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered a tightening of state emergency anti-coronavirus systems in the face of the pandemic, as he presided over a meeting of the politburo of the ruling Workers Party.

South Korea reported more than 200 new coronavirus cases for the third consecutive day on Monday, as the government mulls tightening social distancing to curb persistent outbreaks.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is self-isolating after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, a fresh setback after infighting among his top advisers plunged Downing Street into chaos last week.

New Zealand has made masks mandatory from Thursday for users of public transport in Auckland as well as on all domestic flights.

At least 10 people have died in a fire at a Romanian hospital treating coronavirus patients.

Air pollution levels in northern India dropped to an all-time low after people defied bans on using firecrackers to celebrate the festival of Diwali.

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Saturday he "most likely" has a moderate case of COVID-19, as he continued to question the accuracy of the tests.

The death toll from the deadliest cyclone to hit the Philippines this year has climbed to 67, with 12 people still missing, the national disaster management agency said on Sunday.

Tens of thousands of President Donald Trump's supporters marched through downtown Washington on Saturday, echoing his unsubstantiated claims of election fraud and cheering as his motorcade drove past.

Greek authorities announced on Saturday the closure of nurseries and primary schools until the end of November, tightening a nationwide lockdown after a spike in COVID-19 cases.

NASA and high-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX announced on Friday a 24-hour weather delay of their planned launch of four astronauts into orbit for NASA's first full-fledged human mission using a privately owned spacecraft.

President-elect Joe Biden's top coronavirus adviser said there were no plans for a nationwide lockdown to curb COVID-19, while three US West Coast states jointly called for a halt in non-essential travel.

Vietnam was bracing for Typhoon Vamco to make landfall in the country's central coast early on Sunday, as the death toll in the Philippines rose to 53 from the country's deadliest storm this year.

Two airports in Ethiopia's Amhara state near the northern state of Tigray where federal troops are fighting local forces were targeted by rocket fire late on Friday, the government said.

Indonesia has sought emergency authorisation to start a mass vaccination campaign by the end of the year to combat the coronavirus in the archipelago, the Southeast Asian nation’s president said on Friday.

Britain's transport minister said he would be making an announcement on changes to the country's 14-day quarantine rule for travellers into the country "very soon."

President-elect Joe Biden cemented his electoral victory by capturing the battleground state of Arizona late on Thursday, but the transition to his administration remains in political stasis as President Donald Trump refuses to accept defeat.

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:

The UAE is among several countries that have been taken off the UK's quarantine list.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered local agencies to hasten relief efforts after a powerful typhoon killed at least seven people and unleashed some of the worst floodings in years in Manila.

South Korea is in final talks with global drugmakers over potential coronavirus vaccines as it seeks to secure supplies to cover 60 per cent of its population this year, health authorities said on Thursday.

Hong Kong's opposition staged a final show of defiance in the legislature on Thursday before resigning to protest against the dismissal of four of their colleagues.

Despite a drop in COVID-19 cases in India, the capital city of Delhi is reporting a surge in infections, with many people struggling to find access to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) spaces.

President-elect Joe Biden has named longtime adviser Ron Klain as his White House chief of staff, as he builds his administration regardless of whether President Donald Trump accepts the election results.

Bahrain's Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa has died, the royal palace announced on Wednesday on Twitter.

US President-elect Joe Biden has insisted that nothing would stop the transfer of power and said it was an "embarrassment" that President Donald Trump has not conceded the election.

A travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore will begin on November 22, as the two cities moved to re-establish overseas travel links and lift the hurdle of quarantine for visiting foreigners.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's coalition retained power in Bihar state, results showed on Wednesday, in what was a referendum on Modi's handling of COVID-19.

Philippine authorities have ordered thousands of residents in eastern coastal communities to evacuate ahead of the landfall of Typhoon Vamco on Wednesday.

Work to distribute the experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE is gearing up after the companies announced successful interim data earlier on Monday.

Saeb Erekat, a prominent Palestinian spokesman for decades, died on Tuesday after contracting COVID-19, his family said.

The trial of three men suspected of belonging to an Islamist militant cell behind a van rampage on Barcelona's central Las Ramblas boulevard in 2017 started on Tuesday in Spain's High Court.

Pfizer Inc's experimental COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90% effective based on initial trial results, the drugmaker said on Monday, a major victory in the war against the coronavirus.

Nepal will provide free COVID-19 tests and treatment, an aide to the prime minister said on Tuesday, as the total number of infections was set to cross the 200,000 mark.

A Hong Kong journalist appeared in court on Tuesday on a charge of making a false statement to obtain data for a documentary on the police's handling of a mob attack, in a case that has stoked concern over press freedom in the Chinese-ruled city.

Russian peacekeeping troops have been deployed to the Nagorno-Karabakh border on Tuesday as part of a ceasefire deal President Vladimir Putin said should pave the way for a lasting political settlement.

US Attorney General William Barr told federal prosecutors to look into "substantial" allegations of election irregularities, prompting the top lawyer overseeing voter fraud investigations to resign in protest.

Russia's Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90 per cent effective, a representative of the health ministry said on Monday.

Democrat Joe Biden began preparing on Sunday to deal with the health crisis that will confront him as president, while Donald Trump planned campaign-style rallies to contest the election.

Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE have said their trial COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90 per cent effective, while some experts are urging caution.

India's Tata Group launched a COVID-19 test kit on Monday that it says will process results more easily and faster than the RT-PCR method considered the gold standard for detection.

Myanmar's ruling party National League for Democracy (NLD) said on Monday it had won enough seats in parliament to form the next government.

The US became the first nation since the pandemic began to surpass 10 million coronavirus infections, according to a Reuters tally on Sunday, as the third wave of the COVID-19 virus surges across the nation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) has announced several changes to visa requirements between the UAE and Peru.

President-elect Joe Biden declared it was "time to heal" a deeply divided America in his first speech after prevailing on Saturday in a bitter election, even as President Donald Trump refused to concede.

Myanmar voted in a general election on Sunday seen as a referendum on a fledgling democratic government that remains popular at home but which has seen its reputation collapse overseas amid allegations of genocide.

After the declaration that Democrat Joe Biden had won the race for the White House, Republican President Donald Trump and his allies made one thing clear: he does not plan to concede anytime soon.

Japan formally proclaimed Crown Prince Akishino the first in line as heir to the throne on Sunday.

Democrat Joe Biden has won the race to become the next US President after registering victory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Days of pent-up post-election anxiety gave way to spontaneous street celebrations as Joe Biden supporters cheered news of his presidential win.

Guinea's top court on Saturday confirmed President Alpha Conde's victory in last month's election, rejecting accusations of fraud and handing him a third term his opponents say is unconstitutional.

Cuba's meteorology office warned on Saturday of torrential rain and flooding as Tropical Depression Eta churned northwards towards the Caribbean island, and on track to Florida.

Democrat Joe Biden appeared poised for victory in the US presidential election on Saturday as vote counts in key states leaned his way.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has taken a narrow lead over Donald Trump in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Friday.

Globally, millions of children are at a heightened risk of polio and measles – dangerous but preventable diseases – amid disruptions to vital immunization programmes due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Australia's Victoria reported its seventh consecutive day of zero locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Friday, suggesting Melbourne's three-month lockdown had helped contained a second wave outbreak.

The remnants of Hurricane Eta unleashed torrential rains and catastrophic flooding on Central America, with fatalities sharply up on Thursday mostly because of mudslides.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden gained more ground on Donald Trump in the battleground states of Georgia and Pennsylvania on Friday, edging closer to the White House.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg hit back at Donald Trump on Twitter late Thursday saying the US president should "chill" about the election.

Backers of President Donald Trump ramped up demonstrations on Thursday night against an election they believe was rigged or being stolen, as vote counting continued in battleground states.

As former Vice President Joe Biden moved closer to winning the White House, President Donald Trump adopted a fighting posture, making false claims to undermine a vote that was not going his way.

Democrat Joe Biden edged closer to victory over Donald Trump for the US presidency on Thursday as election officials tallied votes in the handful of states that will determine the outcome.

Democrat Joe Biden on Wednesday predicted a US election win over Donald Trump, while the Republican incumbent sought to offset a path to re-election with lawsuits and demands for a recount.

Weary from one of the most bruising US presidential races in modern times, Republican and Democratic voters alike were in a state of high anxiety on Wednesday with the election outcome still unsettled.

The outcome of the US presidential election hung in the balance on Wednesday as several states continued to count their ballots.

The U.S. presidential election hung in the balance on Wednesday, with a handful of closely contested states set to decide the outcome in the coming hours or days.

With millions of votes still to count, the US Presidential race looks too close to call and faces a mounting risk of days or even weeks of legal uncertainty.

Despite incomplete results from several battleground states that could determine the outcome of the US presidential race, Donald Trump has proclaimed victory over Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

Search and rescue efforts were concentrated on two buildings in Turkey's city of Izmir as the death toll from Friday's earthquake in the Aegean Sea crept up to 115.

Democrat Joe Biden said he was confident of victory and incumbent Donald Trump accused Democrats of trying to steal the election on Wednesday as a tight White House race came down to a handful of states where vote-counting could take hours or days.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said the results of the election may not be known until Wednesday morning or later but he is optimistic of the outcome.

Social media platform Twitter has flagged a post by President Donald Trump accusing Democrats of attempting to "steal" the election as potentially misleading.

South Korea's military said on Wednesday it had taken into custody a North Korean man who crossed the heavily fortified border with North Korea into the South, prompting an urgent search operation.

The US presidential election will be decided by about a dozen states that could swing to either President Donald Trump, a Republican, or Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

Americans by the millions flocked to the polls amid a deadly pandemic in a mostly calm show of political determination that belied tensions shaping one of the most polarizing presidential races in US history.

Democrats and Republicans battled for control of the US Senate in more than half a dozen closely fought races on Wednesday.

Americans headed to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether incumbent Donald Trump or challenger Joe Biden will be elected president.

Two people were arrested near Vienna on Tuesday, according to the APA news agency, as police hunted accomplices of a gunman or gunmen who killed four people in the Austrian capital.

Social media companies Twitter and Facebook have outlined plans for placing warning labels on posts from US election candidates and campaigns that claim victory in advance of official results.

The French government will reimpose an evening curfew on Paris, and possibly the Ile-de-France region around the capital, to tackle worsening COVID-19 figures.

Sri Lanka's navy said on Tuesday more than 100 whales had been rescued after becoming stranded on a beach on the island's southwest coast a day earlier.

Gunmen attacked six locations in central Vienna on Monday, killing five people and injuring at least 14 in what Austria called a "repulsive terror attack" while hunting one or more assailants on the loose.

Condolences poured in from around the world, with top officials from the European Union, France, Norway, Greece and the United States expressing their shock at the terror attacks in Vienna.

The death toll from Friday's earthquake in the Aegean Sea has reached 100, with the deaths of 98 people in Turkey's western city of Izmir, disaster authorities said.

US President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden made a last-ditch push for votes in battleground states on Monday.

Singapore is reviewing penalties for violent offences following an outcry over a 12-day prison sentence for a student who strangled his girlfriend until she blacked out.