China’s Coronavac vaccine was 67 percent effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 and 80 percent at preventing death, according to real-life results unveiled Friday from Chile’s inoculation campaign. “These figures should…
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China’s Coronavac vaccine was 67 percent effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 and 80 percent at preventing death, according to real-life results unveiled Friday from Chile’s inoculation campaign. “These figures should…
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North Korea marked the anniversary of the birth of its founder Kim Il Sung Thursday, with mask-wearing citizens placing flowers before his statue in Pyongyang. The grandfather of the current leader Kim…
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The head of Pfizer said in an interview aired Thursday that people will “likely” need a third dose of his company’s Covid-19 shot within six to 12 months of vaccination,…
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Seven of Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy advocates, including 82-year-old veteran activist Martin Lee and pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, are expected to be sentenced Friday for organizing a march during…
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Multiple people were shot in an incident Thursday in the US city of Indianapolis, according to police, although the severity of the victims’ injuries was not immediately clear. Police spokeswoman…
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As a young girl, Paphangkorn Tavatanakit watched golf legend Tiger Woods on TV and told her dad “That’s who I want to be.” Her dream of golf superstardom came true…
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ASEAN leaders have agreed to meet and discuss the situation in Myanmar on April 24 at the grouping’s secretariat headquarters in Jakarta, according to a high-level source. Myanmar military junta…
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President Joe Biden will withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan before this year’s 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, finally ending America’s longest war despite mounting fears of a…
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US health authorities recommended a “pause” Tuesday in the use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine “out of an abundance of caution” over potential links to a rare type…
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TOKYO (AP) — Radioactive water accumulating in tanks at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant will be released into the sea in two years after it is treated, Japan’s government said…
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The Covid-19 pandemic has entered a critical phase as infections exponentially increase despite widespread measures aimed at stopping them, the WHO warned, with record case numbers in South Asia triggering…
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Russia and China are frustrating the international response to the Myanmar crisis, a top European Union diplomat said Sunday, as the death toll from a military crackdown climbed past 700….
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BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s top disease control official has said the country is formally considering mixing COVID-19 vaccines, as a way of further boosting vaccine efficacy. Available data shows Chinese…
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Twitter has launched an emoji to spotlight the “#MilkTeaAlliance” online protest movement that has forged links between pro-democracy activists across Asia, the social media giant said Thursday. The alliance —…
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Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak has been served with a bankruptcy notice for failing to pay more than $400 million in unpaid taxes, a move that the ex-premier described…
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a law allowing him to potentially hold onto power until 2036, a move that formalizes constitutional changes endorsed in a vote last year….
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HUALIEN, Taiwan (Reuters) – Taiwanese prosecutors have sought an arrest warrant for a construction site manager whose truck is believed to have caused a train accident in which at least…
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A Russian court on Friday fined Twitter nearly $117,000 for failing to remove calls to opposition protests, as Moscow ramps up pressure against the US tech giant. Authorities in January…
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Taiwan and Palau launched a rare holiday travel bubble on Thursday as the two diplomatic allies try to kickstart their battered tourist industries after successfully keeping infections at bay. Around…
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President Joe Biden on Wednesday unveiled a $2 trillion infrastructure plan aimed at modernizing America’s crumbling transport network, creating millions of jobs and delivering a “once-in-a-generation” investment that will enable…
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BioNTech-Pfizer said Wednesday their vaccine showed 100 percent efficacy against the coronavirus in 12 to 15 year olds, as they eye approval for adolescents to get the jabs before the…
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The US State Department has ordered the departure of non-essential diplomats from Myanmar, it said in a statement Tuesday, amid a crackdown on protesters that has killed hundreds since the…
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SEOUL — North Korea called South Korea’s president “a parrot raised by America” Tuesday, resuming its trademark derisive rhetoric against its rivals amid renewed animosities on the Korean Peninsula. Kim…
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CAIRO (Reuters) – The stranded container ship blocking the Suez Canal for almost a week was re-floated on Monday and is currently being secured, Inchcape Shipping Services said, raising hopes…
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An exhibition of World Press Photo winners opened at a different venue in Hong Kong Sunday after a local university called off the event that features images of the city’s 2019 pro-democracy protests…
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Defence chiefs from a dozen countries on Sunday jointly condemned the bloodbath in Myanmar a day earlier, when at least 107 people — including seven children — were killed as…
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BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s third wave of the coronavirus could be the worst so far and 100,000 new daily infections is not out of the question, the head of the…
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The Kremlin rejected Friday that Russia and China were using their vaccines as tools to win geopolitical clout, after accusations the two countries were using their jabs to gain influence…
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North Korea has tested a new “tactical guided projectile” with a solid-fuel engine, state media said Friday after the nuclear-armed country carried out its first substantive provocation since US President Joe Biden’s…
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Britain and the United States on Thursday announced sanctions against military-owned conglomerate Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (MEHL) as part of “further measures” targeting the regime after a coup. “Today’s sanctions target…
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The European Commission will tighten its export guidelines on Wednesday to prevent what it sees as an unfair one-way flow of vaccines, according to a draft seen by AFP. Brussels…
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Denmark, which has been under a partial lockdown for the last three months, says it will reopen most of society once everyone over 50 years old are vaccinated. In an…
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Swiss pharma giant Roche announced Tuesday promising results from clinical trials of an anti-Covid cocktail developed with US biotech firm Regeneron. The results of the Phase 3 trial showed that…
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DHAKA (Reuters) – A huge fire swept through a Rohingya refugee camp in southern Bangladesh on Monday, destroying thousands of homes and killing several people, officials and witnesses said, in…
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BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and the United States imposed sanctions Monday on a number of Myanmar officials accused of involvement in the country’s military coup and the ensuing…
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(Reuters) – Motorists honked car horns in Myanmar biggest city on Monday and planted posters in an empty field in fresh protests against last month’s military coup that ended a…
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AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine provided strong protection against sickness and eliminated hospitalizations and deaths from the disease across all age groups in a late-stage study in the United States, the company…
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Thailand has been ranked 48th in the World Happiness Report 2021, the same as last year. Finland remains in top position, followed by Iceland and Denmark. Of the 95 countries…
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WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will announce within two weeks a date for quarantine-free travel with Australia, she said on Monday, despite mounting pressure from business…
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SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian authorities are planning to evacuate thousands more people on Monday from flood-affected suburbs in Sydney’s west, which is set for its worst flooding in 60 years…
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Leo pulls on a shiny, silver suit and places the helmet gingerly over his head before marching with the other budding astronauts towards their spaceship. “Going to Mars is really…
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Thousands of protesters angry at Covid-19 restrictions rallied in cities across Europe on Saturday as several nations reimposed partial lockdowns to fight new surges in infections. The coronavirus, which has…
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MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia’s east coast was smashed by heavy rains on Saturday, sparking dangerous flash flooding that forced the evacuation of multiple regions as the fast-moving waters unmoored houses,…
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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India reported 40,953 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the biggest daily jump in nearly four months, with its richest state and economic backbone Maharashtra accounting for…
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – U.S. and Chinese officials concluded on Friday what Washington called “tough and direct” talks in Alaska, which laid bare the depth of tensions between the world’s…
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Several European countries resumed AstraZeneca vaccinations Friday after an all-clear from EU regulators, as US President Joe Biden was set to meet his goal of having 100 million Americans inoculated…
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Twitter on Friday began a survey of global users about platform rules for world leaders while consulting human rights and academic specialists on its next policy steps. The announcement comes…
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Top U.S. and Chinese officials offered sharply different views of each other and the world on Thursday as the two sides met face-to-face for the first…
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Covid-19 appears likely to develop into a seasonal disease, the United Nations said Thursday, cautioning though against relaxing pandemic-related measures simply based on meteorological factors. More than a year after the novel…
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WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States will take an uncompromising stance in talks with China on Thursday in Alaska, officials have said, in the first face-to-face meetings between senior officials…
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The World Health Organization said Wednesday its experts were still reviewing safety data on the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine following concerns around blood clots but recommended that injection programmes continue. While…
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(Reuters) – Myanmar’s most powerful Buddhist monks’ association called on the junta to end violence against protesters and accused an “armed minority” of torture and killing innocent civilians since last…
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ATLANTA (AP) — Shootings at two massage parlors in Atlanta and one in the suburbs left eight people dead, many of them women of Asian descent, authorities said Tuesday. A…
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US President Joe Biden urged migrants not to come to the United States on Tuesday, as criticism mounted over a surge in people arriving at the southern border with Mexico…
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A growing list of countries have suspended AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 shots amid fears over blood clots and other possible side effects, despite the company and the World Health Organization insisting there…
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Ireland and the Netherlands on Sunday became the latest countries to suspend their rollouts of AstraZeneca jabs over concerns about post-jab blood clots despite the firm insisting there was no…
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Streaming television colossus Netflix on Friday was dabbling with more strictly enforcing its rule against sharing passwords with people living elsewhere, according to US media reports. Some Netflix users who…
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The World Health Organization said Friday there was no reason to stop using AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine after several European countries suspended the roll-out over blood clot fears. The WHO said…
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A baby raccoon to stroke while you sip your skinny latte? Or a snake to coil around you after your cappuccino? Forget dog or cat cafes, Shanghai’s animal cafe scene has expanded…
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Myanmar’s military is likely committing “crimes against humanity” in its attempt to stay in power, a UN expert said Thursday, as the junta claimed that ousted civilian leader Aung San…
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France will continue to use AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine, the health minister said Thursday after several European nations halted its use due to concerns over blood clots. Denmark, Iceland and Norway…
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The UK government on Thursday defended the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine after Denmark suspended the jab’s use, and insisted it would continue with its own rollout. “We’ve been clear that it’s…
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Pfizer/BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine offers more protection than earlier thought with effectiveness in preventing symptomatic disease reaching 97 percent, according to real-world evidence published Thursday by the pharmaceutical companies. Using data…
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Daily life in China follows a rhythm of digital check-ins, with the QR code – at offices, malls and transport hubs – an integral defence against Covid-19 that helps to…
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The OECD sharply raised its 2021 global growth forecast on Tuesday as the deployment of vaccines and a huge US stimulus programme have greatly improved economic prospects. The Paris-based Organisation…
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LONDON (Reuters) – Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, said there were concerns about how dark her son Archie’s skin would be before his birth and that such worries explained…
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LONDON (Reuters) – World Athletics has marked International Women’s Day with a series of pledges to “further advance the role of girls and women” in the sport under the campaign…
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Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, one of Shiite Islam’s top clerics, told Pope Francis in a historic meeting in Iraq on Saturday that the country’s Christians should live in “peace”. The meeting, on…
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China’s export growth jumped to the highest in over two decades, official data showed Sunday, with imports also surging in a sharp bounceback from the coronavirus outbreak that had brought…
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NASA’s newest Mars rover hit the dusty red road this week, putting 21 feet on the odometer in its first test drive. The Perseverance rover ventured from its landing position…
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California on Friday paved the way for Disneyland, other theme parks and outdoor stadiums to welcome guests sooner than expected as it relaxed reopening criteria following a sharp decline in Covid-19…
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Pope Francis called for an end to extremism and violence in his opening address Friday on the first-ever papal visit to Iraq, long scarred by war and now gripped by…
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HONG KONG (Reuters) – Elections for Hong Kong’s legislature will likely be deferred for a second year to September 2022 as Beijing plans a major overhaul of the city’s electoral…
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TOKYO (Reuters) – 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…
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday unveiled new measures to punish Myanmar’s army for its Feb. 1 coup, blocking the ministries of defense and home affairs and top…
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Indonesian resort island Bali has launched a drive-thru vaccination campaign targeting thousands of hospitality workers, as the popular tourist destination eyes reopening to foreign visitors. Billed as the first such…
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Pope Francis is to arrive Friday for the first-ever papal visit to conflict-torn Iraq, aiming to encourage the dwindling Christian community to remain in their ancient homeland, and broaden his…
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Globally renowned Thai techno DJ Nakadia took a hiatus from the rave scene to tell her story in Positive Energy – Becoming Nakadia We’ve danced to her percussion groves and…
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WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Saturday that the country’s biggest city, Auckland, will be put into a seven-day lockdown from Sunday after a coronavirus…
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler approved an operation to capture or kill murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, according to U.S. intelligence released on Friday as the…
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India imposed tough new rules on social media platforms Thursday as it accused US tech giants of “double standards” in taking down disputed content. New Delhi is the latest in…
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Golfing champion Tiger Woods was hospitalized in Los Angeles on Tuesday with severe leg injuries suffered when his car swerved off a road and rolled down…
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MANDALAY, Myanmar (AP) — Two anti-coup protesters were shot dead by riot police who fired live rounds Saturday in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, local media reported. One of the victims…
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(Reuters) – New Zealand started its official rollout of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday, while Australia finalised plans to begin inoculations on Monday, a new phase in tackling the virus…
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Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is still waiting for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to start the countdown to its launch across the 27-nation bloc. With Moscow and Brussels trading barbs…
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The first dose of the Pfizer vaccination is 85 percent effective against coronavirus infection between two and four weeks after inoculation, according to a study published in the Lancet medical…
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(Reuters) – A laboratory study suggests that the South African variant of the coronavirus may reduce antibody protection from the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE vaccine by two-thirds, and it is not…
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SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australians woke to empty news feeds in their Facebook Inc accounts on Thursday after the social media giant blocked all local media content in a surprise and…
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In Dubai, known for its luxury haunts and parties, Lindsey knows she has reasons to be happy. But like many young expatriates, she’s sure her quest for a partner will…
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MILWAUKEE (Reuters) – President Joe Biden vowed during a prime-time televised town hall on Tuesday to accelerate the country’s vaccination program and said teachers should be moved closer to the…
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More than a century after the first powered flight on Earth, NASA intends to prove it’s possible to replicate the feat on another world. Transported aboard the Mars 2020 spacecraft…
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The UN’s top rights body demanded Friday that Myanmar’s military restore civilian rule and immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi. In a resolution adopted without a vote, the 47-member Human…
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President Joe Biden will hold his first event with other leaders from the Group of Seven nations in a virtual meeting on Friday to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, the world…
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At least 19 people were killed and dozens hurt in a blast at a firecracker factory in India, authorities said Saturday. The blast on Friday afternoon in Virudhunagar district was…
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has accused top officials of “self-protection and defeatism” and largely blamed them for the country’s economic plight, state media reported Friday. At a meeting…
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BEIJING (Reuters) – China barred Britain’s BBC World News from airing on Friday and Hong Kong’s public broadcaster said it was dropping the channel, a week after Britain’s media regulator…
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FIFA president Gianni Infantino said for the first time Thursday coronavirus containment measures could still be in place during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but he insisted stadiums would…
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The World Health Organization expert mission to China ended this week without finding the source of the coronavirus that has killed over 2.3 million worldwide. But the team of foreign…
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Facebook said it began rolling out news feeds with less political subject matter in line with a plan outlined by chief Mark Zuckerberg to reduce inflammatory content. The leading social…
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered new sanctions against the military regime in Myanmar, taking action after the military this month staged a coup in the Southeast…
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