International

Pope Francis arrived in Mosul on Sunday to pray in the decimated northern Iraqi city that was once a stronghold of the IS terror group.

Mauritius is enforcing travel restrictions for seven days following a decision by the island's National COVID-19 Committee.

Tens of thousands of people came out on the streets in Myanmar on Sunday to demonstrate against last month's coup despite overnight raids by security forces in Yangon to crack down on protest leaders.

The reopening of England's schools to all pupils on Monday will mark the first step back towards normality, and is only possible because of the efforts of the public to bring COVID-19 infection rates down.

Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city, emerged on Sunday from a strict weeklong lockdown imposed after a community cluster of the more contagious British coronavirus variant.

Several hundred people gathered in Sydney on Saturday to protest against last month's military coup in Myanmar and urged the Australian government to take a strong stance against the junta.

Six people died and more than 30 were injured in an accident involving a Ukrainian bus in southeastern Poland, local medical rescue services said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan won a vote of confidence from parliament on Saturday in a session marked by opposition boycott and protest.

Saudi Arabia said on Saturday it will ease coronavirus-related restrictions on entertainment and events and reopen cinemas, gyms and sports centers starting March 7, the state news agency reported, citing a source in the ministry of interior.

Pope Francis landed in Baghdad on Friday for his official visit, saying he felt duty-bound to make the "emblematic" visit because Iraq had suffered so much for so long.

Australia has asked the European Commission to review a decision by Italy to block a shipment of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, while stressing the missing doses would not affect its vaccination drive.

The Japanese government plans to extend a state of emergency to combat COVID-19 for Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures until March 21, two weeks longer than originally scheduled.

Alphabet Inc's YouTube has removed five channels of Myanmar's military-run television networks hosted on its platform in the wake of the coup in the Southeast Asian country.

Kuwait will impose a partial curfew for a month and extend the ban on entry of non-Kuwaitis into the country until further notice in an attempt to curb the spread of coronavirus.

A powerful series of undersea quakes struck north-east of New Zealand on Friday, but tsunami waves that forced many people on the country's North Island to flee to high ground passed without causing damage.

A tsunami warning was issued after an earthquake with an initial magnitude of 7.3 struck east of New Zealand's north island.

President Emmanuel Macron will spare the Paris region a weekend lockdown for now, determined to keep France's economy as open as possible, even though the death rate from COVID-19 is still creeping up.

Security has been tightened around the US Capitol in Washington - scene of a deadly assault in January - after police warned that a militia group might try to attack it on Thursday.

Italy will administer a single vaccine dose to those who have already been infected with COVID-19, the health ministry said late Wednesday.

Myanmar pro-democracy activists pledged on Thursday to hold more demonstrations after the United Nations said 38 people had been killed in the most violent day of unrest since last month's military coup.

US President Joe Biden said decisions to end the required wearing of masks - such as those by governors of Texas and Mississippi - amounted to "Neanderthal thinking" given the rising death toll from COVID-19.

The US Capitol Police department has obtained intelligence pointing to a possible plot to "breach the Capitol by an identified militia group" on Thursday.

Bharat Biotech's homegrown COVID-19 vaccine has shown an interim vaccine efficacy of 81% in late-stage clinical trials, the Indian company said on Wednesday.

Dutch police on Wednesday said a coronavirus testing centre north of Amsterdam appeared to have been intentionally targeted after an explosion went off at the facility before it opened.

Myanmar security forces opened fire killing four people during protests against the military coup on Wednesday, a day after a regional diplomatic push to end the crisis made little headway.

Indian ministers and officials were following Prime Minister Narendra Modi lead by opting for a "homegrown" COVID-19 vaccine approved without late-stage efficacy data, instead of AstraZeneca.

South Korean authorities said they are investigating the deaths of two people after a media report said the pair - both with pre-existing conditions - died within days of receiving AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine.

The US will have enough COVID-19 vaccine for every American adult by the end of May, President Joe Biden announced after Merck & Co agreed to make rival Johnson & Johnson's inoculation.

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions to punish Russia for what it described as Moscow's attempt to poison opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a nerve agent last year.

Myanmar police opened fire to disperse protesters on Tuesday, witnesses said, as foreign ministers of neighbouring countries were due to hold talks with the military in a bid to find a way out of the crisis.

At least five civilians have been wounded after Houthi militia's missile attack targetted a border village in Saudi Arabia's Jazan region.

Gunmen have released girls kidnapped from a boarding school in northwest Nigeria, the governor of Zamfara state said in a message posted on Twitter on Tuesday in which he shared pictures of the girls.

The Philippines has documented six cases of the South African coronavirus variant, its health ministry said on Tuesday, raising concern among its experts that the current vaccines might be less effective.

Indonesia's Mount Sinabung volcano sent a cloud of hot ash as high as 3 km on Tuesday, in its first big eruption since August last year.

An American father and son accused of helping former Nissan Motor Co Ltd Chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan will be handed over to authorities in the country.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been found guilty of trying to bribe a judge and of influence-peddling.

Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi appeared at a court hearing via video conferencing on Monday, the first time her lawyers had seen her since she was detained in the February 1 military coup.

Russia has identified a policeman as a suspect in a criminal investigation into a flight data leak that could have been used to out jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's alleged poisoners.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga apologised following the resignation of a key spokeswoman, who along with other senior bureaucrats were reprimanded for attending expensive dinners hosted by his son.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was inoculated with the first dose of a home-grown coronavirus vaccine on Monday, kicking off an expansion of the country's immunisation campaign.

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz held talks over the telephone.

Myanmar police fired on protesters on Sunday in the bloodiest day of weeks of demonstrations against a military coup, killing at least seven people and wounding several more.

The US government has authorised Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, enabling millions more Americans to be vaccinated in the coming weeks.

All households in England with school or college aged children will be offered two rapid COVID-19 tests per person per week to support the government’s priority to get young people back in the classroom.

Gunmen in Nigeria released 27 teenage boys who were kidnapped from their school last week in the state of Niger, while search for more than 300 schoolgirls abducted in a nearby state continues.

Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city, woke up on Sunday morning to a second lockdown in a month as health authorities try to rein in a coronavirus cluster of the more contagious UK variant.

The Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rejected the report submitted to the United States’ Congress regarding the heinous murder of Saudi citizen Jamal Khashoggi.

India has extended the suspension of international commercial passenger flight services till March 31.

US regulators on Friday said they would work quickly to authorize Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use after a panel of outside advisers backed the one-shot immunization.

India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has extended the prevailing restrictions for surveillance, containment and caution against the spread of COVID-19 till the end of March. The restrictions were to have expired at midnight on 28th February.

Kerala has become the first Indian state to offer free PCR-testing for all travellers arriving at its airports.

A British-born woman who went to Syria to join the IS terror group should not be allowed to return to the country to challenge the government taking away her citizenship, the UK's Supreme Court ruled on Friday.

A group of Russian diplomats and family members used a hand-pushed rail trolley to leave North Korea this week, amid Pyongyang's strict anti-coronavirus measures.

Britain's 94-year-old Queen Elizabeth, who last month had her first COVID-19 vaccination dose, has encouraged the public to follow suit, saying those who were wary should think of others.

The first big real-world study of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be independently reviewed shows the shot is highly effective at preventing COVID-19, in a potentially landmark moment for countries desperate to end lockdowns and reopen economies.

Chafing from a dispute with Twitter, India plans to oblige social media companies to erase contentious content fast and assist investigations, according to a draft regulation.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday revoked a proclamation from his predecessor that blocked many green card applicants from entering the United States.

Johnson & Johnson's single-shot COVID-19 vaccine appeared safe and effective in trials, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff said in documents published on Wednesday.

A Chinese court has ordered a man to pay his former wife 50,000 yuan ($7,700) as compensation for housework she did during their five-year marriage, state media reported on Wednesday.

South Korea shipped its first doses of a coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday in preparation for this week's inoculation drive.

Singapore is discussing the mutual recognition of vaccine certificates with other countries, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, calling it a necessary step towards resuming global travel.

US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday stressed the countries' deep ties and pledging to work together to counteract Chinese influence and address climate change.

French researchers are using tiny antibody particles extracted from camels and llamas to produce a test they say can detect if patients have COVID-19 faster and more accurately than existing methods.

UNICEF said on Tuesday it had sent an initial 100,000 syringes for COVID-19 vaccines to the Maldives in preparation for first deliveries of Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots under the COVAX vaccine-sharing plan.

The Philippines will let thousands of its healthcare workers, mostly nurses, take up jobs in the UK and Germany if the two countries agree to donate much-needed coronavirus vaccines.

Oman will suspend flights from 10 countries for 15 days in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

US President Joe Biden led Americans in observing a moment of silence on Monday to commemorate the grim milestone of more than 500,000 deaths from COVID-19.

Facebook will restore Australian news pages after Canberra offered amendments to a proposed law designed to force tech giants to pay for media content displayed on their platforms.

Alarmed by signs that a second wave of the coronavirus epidemic is building, the Indian state of Maharashtra ordered fresh restrictions on people's movement and imposed night curfews in some cities.

Boeing Co said it recommended suspending the use of 777 jets with the same type of engine that shed debris over Denver at the weekend after US regulators announced extra inspections.

The Philippines has approved Sinovac Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, but will not give it to healthcare workers at risk of exposure due to its varying levels of efficacy.

Doctors in South Korea have threatened a protest strike against legislation to strip them of licences following criminal convictions, sparking fears about possible disruption of this week's vaccination roll out.

Two mayors in Texas said the state should help pay some of the eye-watering electricity bills sent to residents after the devastating and deadly winter storm that caused widespread blackouts.

Serum Institute of India (SII) on Sunday asked for patience from foreign governments awaiting their supply of COVID-19 shots, saying it had been directed to prioritise India's requirements.

Israel reopened swathes of its economy on Sunday in what it called the start of a return to routine enabled by a COVID-19 vaccination drive that has reached almost half the population.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday, calling the start of the nation's vaccination programme a "massive step" that will enable it to return to normal.

Facebook on Sunday deleted the main page of the Myanmar military under it standards prohibiting the incitement of violence, the company said, a day after two protesters were killed during demonstrations.

Kuwait's Civil Aviation Authority has announced an extension of the entry ban for non-Kuwaiti citizens until further notice as part of the nation's ongoing measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A United Airlines flight landed safely at Denver International Airport on Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration said, with dramatic images showing debris from the plane scattered on the ground.

Russia has registered the first case of a strain of bird flu virus named AH5N8 being passed to humans from birds and has reported the case to the World Health Organization (WHO), Anna Popova, head of consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, said on Saturday.

Two people were killed in Myanmar's second city Mandalay on Saturday when police fired to disperse protesting opponents of a Feb. 1 military coup, emergency workers said.

Severe flooding across several areas in the Indonesian capital forced more than a thousand people to flee their homes on Saturday, with the country’s meteorology agency warning the conditions were set to continue for the next week.

Poland's Health Minister Adam Niedzielski has not ruled out imposing restrictions at the country's borders with Slovakia and the Czech Republic due to their rising number of COVID-19 cases.

Kuwait will allow non-Kuwaiti citizens to enter the country starting February 21 with some new procedures, the civil aviation authority said in a statement late on Friday.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is seeking nearly $ 2 billion to fund its 2021 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) for COVID-19 response which, was launched on Thursday in Geneva.

India reported on Friday its biggest jump in new coronavirus infections in three weeks, with 13,193 cases, while thousands of marshals fanned out to enforce mask wearing across the city of Mumbai.

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE have started an international study with 4,000 volunteers to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of their COVID-19 vaccine in healthy pregnant women.

A young woman protester in Myanmar who was shot in the head last week as police dispersed a crowd died on Friday.

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance streaked through the Martian atmosphere on Thursday and landed safely inside a vast crater, the first stop on a search for traces of ancient microbial life on the Red Planet.

A Lebanese court on Thursday removed the judge leading the investigation into the Beirut port explosion, a move likely to further delay a probe that has faced fierce political pushback.

India will make COVID-19 molecular tests mandatory for people arriving from the UK, South Africa and Brazil in a bid to contain the spread of more infectious virus variants found in those countries.

Hundreds of thousands of homes in Texas are facing a fourth day without heat on Thursday after utilities made some progress restoring power and the winter storm that crippled the electrical grid moved out of the state.

Australians woke to empty news feeds on their Facebook pages on Thursday after the social media giant blocked all media content in a dramatic escalation of a payment dispute with the government.

Nepal approved on Thursday the emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by an affiliate of China's Sinopharm, a government official said, the second vaccine cleared after AstraZeneca's product.

Myanmar's military junta has issued arrest warrants against six celebrities for encouraging strikes that have paralysed government offices in protests against this month's coup, with total arrests now nearing 500.

Saudi Arabia intends to stop contracting companies and commercial firms with regional headquarters based outside the Kingdom, the official news agency SPA reported, quoting an official source.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's wife, Ri Sol Ju, appeared in state media for the first time in more than a year on Wednesday, joining her husband at a concert on one of the country's biggest holidays.

Opponents of Myanmar's military coup gathered on Wednesday for what they hope will be a major show of opposition to the army's assertion of public support for overthrowing elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

New Zealand reported two locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, just hours before authorities are due to announce whether a lockdown in Auckland will be extended.

Japan launched its COVID-19 inoculation drive on Wednesday, administering the Pfizer-BionTech vaccine to Tokyo hospital workers.

Myanmar's military junta promised on Tuesday that it would hold an election and hand over power as police filed an additional charge against toppled former leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

At least one person was dead and more than 4 million were without power in Texas after a rare deep freeze forced the state's electric operator to impose rotating blackouts because of high power demand.

A court in Bangladesh sentenced to death five members of a militant group on Tuesday for killing a US blogger six years ago.

Protesters opposed to Myanmar's military coup blocked train services on Tuesday, hours after a UN envoy warned the army of "severe consequences" for any harsh response to pro-democracy demonstrations.

Japan is scrambling to secure special syringes to maximise the number of COVID-19 vaccine shots used from each vial, but manufacturers are struggling to ramp up production quickly.

South Africa has asked the Serum Institute of India to take back the one million COVID-19 vaccine doses the company had sent in early February, The Economic Times reported on Tuesday.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday listed AstraZeneca and Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, widening access to the relatively inexpensive shot in the developing world.

Indian opposition politicians and activists on Monday condemned the arrest of a 22-year-old climate activist after she was accused of helping disseminate a document by Greta Thunberg promoting farmer protests.

A Pakistani lab will soon receive Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for commercial sale, making Pakistan one of the first countries to market shots privately as it scrambles to secure supplies.

Security forces in Myanmar deployed armoured vehicles in major cities on Monday two weeks after the military overthrew the elected government and detained its leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Starting Monday, passengers arriving in the UK from any of 33 "red list" countries will have to spend 14 days quarantined in a hotel under new border restrictions designed to stop new variants of the coronavirus.

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.