World

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a news briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 24, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

Ukraine’s president vows to stay put as Russian invaders approach

KYIV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed on Friday to stay in Kyiv as his troops battled Russian invaders who are advancing toward the capital in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. Russia…

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President Joe Biden speaks about the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Biden hits Russia with sanctions, shifts troops to Germany

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden hit back Thursday against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, unleashing robust new sanctions, ordering the deployment of thousands of additional troops to NATO ally Germany and…

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Russia launches Ukraine invasion

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, forcing residents to flee for their lives and leaving at least 40 Ukrainian soldiers and 10 civilians dead….

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Putin orders military operations in Ukraine, demands Kyiv forces surrender

Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a military operation in eastern Ukraine on Thursday in what could be the start of war in Europe over Russia’s demands for an end to…

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Ukraine’s Parliament approves state of emergency

The Ukrainian parliament has approved a declaration of a state of emergency in the entire country, except for two eastern regions where it has already been in place since 2014….

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A police officer mans a checkpoint near Parliament Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 in Ottawa, Canada. (Adrian Wyld /The Canadian Press via AP)

Trudeau revokes emergency powers after Canada blockades end

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday he is removing emergency powers police can use after authorities ended the blockades at the borders and the occupation in…

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A Taiwan flag is carried by a Chinook helicopter during a rehearsal for the upcoming National Day celebration in Taipei, Taiwan October 7, 2021. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo

China says Taiwan is ‘not Ukraine’ as island raises alert level

BEIJING/TAIPEI, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Taiwan is “not Ukraine” and has always been an inalienable part of China, China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday, as Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called…

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Photo from Facebook page APEC 2022 Thailand

Thailand promotes ‘safe passage’ in APEC

As the host of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2022, Thailand is spearheading efforts to enhance connectivity and greater business mobility, to ensure that safe and seamless travel will resume. According…

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Ukrainian tanks take part in military exercises of reservists in the Army Training Center near the village of Desna, Chernigiv region, northern Ukrain / AFP

Thai Foreign Ministry prepares plan to evacuate 250 Thais from Ukraine

Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has developed a plan to evacuate about 250 Thai nationals in Ukraine, in case an emergency situation develops. MFA Spokesperson Tanee Sangrat said that…

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An hostage-taker puts his arm around the neck of an hostage during a robbery at the Apple Store on Leidseplein in Amsterdam / AFP

Hostage drama at Amsterdam Apple store ends, gunman overpowered

A man with a firearm who held several people hostage in an Apple store in central Amsterdam late Tuesday  was overpowered after a siege lasting several hours, police said, adding…

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US set to impose sanctions after Russian ‘invasion’ of Ukraine

The United States said Tuesday that Russia’s move into eastern Ukraine amounts to the “beginning of an invasion” and warned that “severe” sanctions would be announced shortly. President Joe Biden…

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People walk by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

Oil prices jump, shares sink as Ukraine crisis escalates

(AP) — Oil prices surged nearly 5% and stock prices dropped after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of rebel-held regions of Ukraine, raising fears that a full-scale invasion was…

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Abortion-rights activists celebrate after the Constitutional Court approved the decriminalization of abortion, lifting all limitations on the procedure until the 24th week of pregnancy, in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Colombia’s highest court legalizes abortion up to 24 weeks

BOGOTA (AP) — Colombia became the latest country in Latin America to expand access to abortion Monday as the nation’s Constitutional Court voted to legalize the procedure until the 24th…

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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony to sign documents, including a decree recognising two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent entities, with leaders of the self-proclaimed republics Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin seen in the background, in Moscow, Russia, in this picture released February 21, 2022. Sputnik/Alexey Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS

Putin orders Russian troops to Ukraine after recognising breakaway regions

MOSCOW, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine after recognising them as independent on Monday, accelerating a…

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2022 Beijing Olympics – Closing Ceremony – National Stadium, Beijing, China – February 20, 2022. Fireworks explode above the stadium as national flags, a snowflake and the Olympic rings are seen during the closing ceremony. REUTERS/Phil Noble

Beijing closes curtain on ‘closed loop’ Games

BEIJING, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Beijing doused its Olympic flame on Sunday night, closing a Games that will be remembered for the extremes of its anti-COVID-19 measures and outrage over…

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Passengers are welcomed as they arrive at Sydney International Airport in Sydney, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image via AP)

Australia welcomes back tourists with toy koalas, Tim Tams

CANBERRA (AP) — International tourists and business travelers began arriving in Australia with few restrictions on Monday for the first time in almost two years after the government lifted some…

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Queen Elizabeth catches ‘mild’ COVID-19

Britain’s 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday but her symptoms are “mild” and she intends to continue with light duties at her Windsor Castle residence, aides said. The…

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Talks between Macron and Putin on Ukraine underway

A telephone conversation between French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian leader Vladimir Putin about the situation in Ukraine got underway on Sunday as planned, Macron’s office said. The call, described by the French side as…

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A demonstrator holds a sign during a protest to oppose a US war with Russia over Ukraine at Grand Central Terminal in the Manhattan borough of New York City on February 19, 2022. KENA BETANCUR / AFP

US reaffirms Russia could attack Ukraine ‘at any time’

Russia could launch an attack on Ukraine “at any time,” the White House reaffirmed Saturday, as Western politicians gathered in Munich to discuss the crisis. US Press Secretary Jen Psaki…

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S.Korea daily COVID-19 cases top 100,000, curfew eased ahead of election

SEOUL, Feb 18 (Reuters) – South Korea’s new daily COVID–19 cases topped 100,000 for the first time amid its Omicron outbreak, with authorities saying social distancing measures would be only slightly eased ahead of the March 9 presidential election. Authorities…

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Canada police set to end siege of capital by protesters fighting COVID measures

OTTAWA, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Canadian police are poised to clear out on Friday hundreds of truck drivers from Ottawa who have staged a three-week-long protest against pandemic restrictions that…

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An interior view shows a kindergarten, which according to Ukraine’s military officials was damaged by shelling, in Stanytsia Luhanska in the Luhansk region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released February 17, 2022. Press Service of the Joint Forces Operation/Handout via REUTERS

Ukraine shelling renews invasion fears as Russia expels U.S. diplomat

MOSCOW/KYIV (Reuters) – Shelling in Ukraine on Thursday renewed Western fears of an imminent Russian invasion as U.S. President Joe Biden said Moscow is preparing a pretext to justify a possible attack and the Kremlin expelled an American diplomat. Early morning…

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Japan eases strict border controls criticised by business, educators

Japan will ease border controls imposed to counter the pandemic, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday, softening measures that have been among the strictest imposed by wealthy nations and…

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Beijing Olympic organisers hit out at Xinjiang ‘lies’

Beijing Olympics organisers hit out at “lies” about Xinjiang on Thursday and reiterated the Chinese government’s stance on Taiwan, while also railing against “politicising” the Games.   The United States…

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Thailand to attend Indo-Pacific Forum in Paris

Thailand will join 57 other countries from the Indo-Pacific region to discuss a range of issues related to defence and security, digital connectivity and transnational issues, such as climate change…

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European companies’ Russian ties could make sanctions tough

 Europe is contemplating sanctions against Russia if it invades Ukraine — and the work is far from simple. Sanctions would seek to maximize the pain for the Kremlin, its key…

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People walk past a Market set up in Red Square with the St. Basil’s Cathedral, left, and the Spasskaya Tower, right, in Moscow, Russia, late Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russians scoff at Western fears of Ukraine invasion

MOSCOW (AP) — While the U.S. warns that Russia could invade Ukraine any day, the drumbeat of war is all but unheard in Moscow, where pundits and ordinary people alike…

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Pedestrians wearing face masks walk on a street, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Hong Kong, China February 14, 2022. REUTERS/Lam Yik

Hong Kong rules out citywide lockdown as cases continue to surge

HONG KONG, Feb 15 (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday ruled out a citywide lockdown to fight COVID-19, but a surge of infections meant she could not…

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Service members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces drive a tank during military exercises in Kharkiv region, Ukraine February 10, 2022. REUTERS/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy

Ukraine president calls for ‘day of unity’ for Feb. 16, day some believe Russia could invade

MOSCOW/KYIV, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday called on the country’s people to fly flags and sing the national anthem in unison on Feb. 16, a…

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A person waves a Canadian flag in front of banners in support of truckers, as truckers and supporters continue to protest the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine mandates, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, February 14, 2022. REUTERS/Lars Hagberg

Canada’s Trudeau invokes emergency powers in bid to end protests

OTTAWA, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday activated rarely used emergency powers in an effort to end protests that have shut some U.S. border crossings…

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A man photographs an illuminated logo ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo

Diversity among athletes including gay competitors welcome – Yang Yang

BEIJING, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Beijing 2022 organisers welcome, protect and encourage diversity among athletes including any gay participants, Yang Yang, China’s first-ever Winter Olympics gold medallist, said on Monday….

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A Russian service member is seen atop of a T-72B3 main battle tank during military drills at the Kadamovsky range in the Rostov region, Russia December 20, 2021. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo

Ukraine crisis: what next after a week of talks and tension?

Jan 14 (Reuters) – A burst of East-West diplomacy this week produced no breakthrough on the Ukraine crisis and tensions are arguably higher than before, with Ukraine suffering a massive…

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Biden and Putin to speak as Ukraine warnings mount

Biden and Putin to speak as Ukraine warnings mount

WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will speak on Saturday as Western nations warned that a war in Ukraine could ignite…

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Holocaust – the crime the world ignored

It was 80 years ago. On a cold day of 20 January 1942, a group of fifteen representatives of Third Reich authorities and high functionaries of the SS convened for…

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) gestures during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Moscow, on February 7, 2022. – International efforts to defuse the standoff over Ukraine intensified with French President holding talks in Moscow and German Chancellor in Washington to coordinate policies as fears of a Russian invasion mount. (Photo by Thibault Camus / POOL / AFP)

Macron refused Russian COVID test in Putin trip over DNA theft fears

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron refused a Kremlin request that he take a Russian COVID-19 test when he arrived to see President Vladimir Putin this week, to prevent…

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Trucker Jay Vanderwier stands in front of his truck as demonstrators continue to protest the vaccine mandates implemented by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on February 8, 2022 in Ottawa, Canada. (Photo by Dave Chan / AFP)

Trucker uprising hits key artery in US-Canada car industry

The Canadian trucker protest has temporarily sidelined a key auto industry transport route, adding stress to a North American car industry already pinched by low inventories and supply chain problems…

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People wearing protective face masks walk amid concerns over the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Pyongyang, North Korea May 15, 2020, in this photo released by Kyodo.

COVAX cuts North Korea’s vaccine allotment after no deliveries accepted

SEOUL (Reuters) – The COVAX global COVID-19 vaccine-sharing programme has scaled back the number of doses allocated for North Korea, international aid organisations said, as the country has so far failed to arrange for…

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Protesters resist police after rufusing to leave parliament grounds during the third day of demonstrations against Covid restrictions in Wellington 3 on February 10, 2022. (Photo by Marty MELVILLE / AFP)

Clashes as New Zealand police clear Covid protest

Wellington (AFP) – Police and anti-vaccine protesters clashed on the grounds of New Zealand’s parliament Thursday, with dozens arrested after demonstrators who have laid siege to the legislature for three days…

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French President Emmanuel Macron, left, winks as he shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after a joint news conference following their talks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022 / AP

Macron: Putin told him Russia won’t escalate Ukraine crisis

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him that Moscow would not further escalate the Ukraine crisis. Macron also said it…

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FILE / Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI gestures at Munich Airport before his departure to Rome, June 22, 2020 / REUTERS

Ex-Pope Benedict acknowledges ‘errors’ but no blame in abuse handling, seeks forgiveness

VATICAN CITY (Reuters)  Former Pope Benedict on Tuesday acknowledged that errors occurred in handling sexual abuse cases when he was Archbishop of Munich and asked for forgiveness, as his lawyers argued he was…

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Caitriona Balfe, from left, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, Jude Hill and Lewis McAskie appear in a scene from “Belfast.” (Rob Youngson/Focus Features via AP)

Oscar nominations announcement begins

NEW YORK (AP) — The reading of this year’s Oscar nominees has begun. Actors Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan are announcing the nominees for the 94th Academy Awards live on multiple…

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a photograph during their meeting in Beijing, on February 4, 2022. (Photo by Alexei Druzhinin / Sputnik / AFP)

Putin-Xi summit: strong support for ASEAN centrality

It must be the first time that the leaders of Russia and China have met exclusively and mentioned ASEAN during their discussion. Annually, each of them held bilateral meetings with…

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U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 7, 2022. REUTERS/Leah Millis

Biden pledges end to Nord Stream 2 if Russia invades Ukraine

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be halted if Russia invades Ukraine and stressed unity with…

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A Singapore Airlines plane arriving from Singapore lands at the international terminal at Sydney Airport, as countries react to the new coronavirus Omicron variant amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Sydney, Australia, November 30, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

After two years of closed borders, Australia welcomes the world back

SYDNEY, Feb 7 (Reuters) – Australia said on Monday it will reopen its borders to vaccinated travellers this month, ending two years of misery for the tourism sector, reviving migration…

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Tennis – Australian Open – First Round – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 21, 2020 China’s Shuai Peng in action during the match against Japan’s Nao Hibino REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

Chinese tennis player Peng denies making accusation of sexual assault

BEIJING, Feb 7 (Reuters) – Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has denied she ever accused anyone of sexual assault, adding that she herself had deleted her social media post in…

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People gather in protest against COVID-19 mandates and in support of a protest against COVID-19 restrictions taking place in Ottawa, in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ottawa declares state of emergency over COVID-19 protests

TORONTO (AP) — The mayor of Canada’s capital declared a state of emergency Sunday and a former U.S. ambassador to Canada said groups in the U.S. must stop interfering in…

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This Aerial picture taken on August 2, 2021 shows a humpback whale diving in Hestfjorour (Westfjords), Iceland. Just off the northern coast of Iceland,

Iceland to end whaling as demand dwindles 

Iceland, one of the only countries that still hunts whales commercially, said Friday it plans to end the practice from 2024 as demand for whale meat dwindles. For the past…

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People look on as an ambulance drives away from the scene where rescue crews worked to pull five-year-old Rayan Oram from a well shaft he fell into on February 1, in the remote village of Ighrane in the rural northern province of Chefchaouen on February 5, 2022. Moroccan rescue crews found the five-year-old boy dead at the bottom of a well late on Februay 5, in a tragic end to a painstaking five-day operation that has gripped the nation.

Morocco boy found dead in tragic end to well ordeal

Moroccan emergency crews found a five-year-old boy dead at the bottom of a well late Saturday in a tragic end to a painstaking five-day rescue operation that gripped the nation…

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Dancers perform during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Emboldened China opens Olympics, with lockdown and boycotts

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the Winter Olympics open Friday night, inviting the world back — sort of — for the pandemic era’s second Games, this time…

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Putin arrives in Beijing for Winter Olympics with gas supply deal for China

BEIJING, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Friday for the 2022 Winter Olympics  and a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, bringing with him…

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ISIS leader Quraishi kills himself during Syria raid, U.S. says

AMMAN/WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – The leader of Islamic State died when he blew himself and family members up during a U.S. military raid in Syria, President Joe Biden said…

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Airport officers stand in the international departure terminal at Ngurah Rai airport in Tuban on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali on October 14, 2021, on the first day of reopening to foreign tourists from 19 countries amid the Covid-19 pandemic. SONNY TUMBELAKA / AFP

Bali to welcome first international tourist flight amid cautious reopening

Indonesia’s holiday island of Bali will welcome its first direct flight carrying foreign tourists for nearly two years on Thursday, but just a handful of visitors will be on board…

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Hans Kluge, Regional Director for Europe at the World Health Organization (WHO) hold a press conference with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, right, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Budapest, April 21, 2021. (Zoltan Mathe/MTI via AP)

WHO: Europe entering ‘plausible endgame’ to COVID pandemic

COPENHAGEN (AP) — The director of the World Health Organization’s Europe office said Thursday the continent is now entering a “plausible endgame” to the pandemic and that the number of coronavirus deaths…

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‘Scaled-down’ Cobra Gold exercises to be held from February 22 to March 4

This year, the Cobra Gold military exercise will be held between February 22nd and March 4th and will be somewhat scaled down again, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a…

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U.S. army instructor from the Joint Multinational Training Group trains Ukrainian service members to operate with M141 Bunker Defeat Munition (SMAW-D) grenade launcher, supplied by the United States, at a shooting range in Lviv Region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released January 30, 2022. The Ukrainian Ground Forces/Handout via REUTERS

Biden orders nearly 3,000 U.S. troops to Eastern Europe to counter Russia

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – The United States will send nearly 3,000 extra troops to Poland and Romania to shield Eastern Europe from a potential spillover from the crisis over the massing of Russian troops near Ukraine, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. Russia…

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A bird takes flight as a SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) Falcon 9 rocket with the NROL-87 spy satellite payload for the National Reconnaissance Office launches from the SLC-4E launch pad at Vandenberg US Space Force Base on February 2, 2022 in Lompoc, California. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP)

SpaceX rocket successfully launches US spy satellite

Washington (AFP) – A US intelligence agency said Wednesday that its newest spy satellite successfully launched into orbit atop a reusable SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The rocket took off at 12:27…

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Passengers stand at the Noerreport Metrostation in Copenhagen Denmark, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. Denmark has become one of the first European Union countries to scrap most pandemic restrictions as the country no longer considers the COVID-19 outbreak “a socially critical disease.” (Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

New turning point? More countries easing COVID restrictions

GENEVA (AP) — Late-night disco partying. Elbow-to-elbow seating in movie theaters. Mask-free bearing of faces in public, especially in Europe and North America: Bit by bit, many countries that have…

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A child wearing a mask holds on to the ears of a Tiger sculpture on the first day of the Lunar Year of the Tiger in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

On Lunar New Year, Chinese offer prayers at temples

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese people rang in the Lunar New Year on Tuesday despite pandemic restrictions, as small crowds gathered at temples to offer traditional prayers for the Year of…

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question during a media availability held at a secure location, Monday, Jan. 31, 2022 in National Capital Region. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada PM tests positive for COVID, rips anti vaccine demo

TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday he has tested positive for COVID-19 but is “feeling fine” and will continue to work remotely from home. Trudeau said two…

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Islamic State strikes from shadows in vulnerable Syria, Iraq

With a spectacular jail break in Syria and a deadly attack on an army barracks in Iraq, the Islamic State group was back in the headlines the past week, a…

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FILE – Italian President Sergio Mattarella speaks during a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Quirinale Palace in Rome, Monday, June 28, 2021. Mattarella has been elected to a second seven-year term as the country’s head of state, ending days of political impasse as party leaders struggled to pick his successor. Earlier on Saturday, lawmakers entreated Mattarella, 80, who had said he didn’t want a second mandate, to change his mind and agree to reelection by lawmakers in Parliament and regional delegates. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File)

Italy’s president, 80, is recruited to stay on for 2nd term

Italian President Sergio Mattarella was pulled away from his impending retirement and reelected Saturday to a second seven-year term as the country’s head of state, ending days of political impasse…

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North Korea fires unidentified ‘projectile’: South’s military

North Korea fired an “unidentified projectile” Sunday, the South’s military said, its seventh weapons test this month in one of the most intense spates of launches on record as the…

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Rapper Kanye West talks on the phone before attending the Versace presentation in New York, U.S. December 2, 2018. REUTERS/Allison Joyce

Australia wants Kanye West fully vaccinated before any concert tour

MELBOURNE, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Hip-hop artist Kanye West will have to be fully vaccinated if he wants to play concerts in Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday,…

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A man uses his mobile phone in front of an Olympic installation at the Olympics Community Museum in Beijing on January 28, 2022, ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. (Photo by NOEL CELIS / AFP)

World leaders attending Beijing Winter Olympics

Beijing (AFP) – The upcoming Winter Olympics are the target of a US-led diplomatic boycott over China’s human rights abuses. But there will still be a gathering of leaders at the…

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An armed serviceman walks along a trench on the territory controlled by pro-Russian militants on the frontline with Ukrainian government forces near Spartak village in Yasynuvata district of Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels has killed over 14,000 people, and efforts to reach a settlement have stalled. Since the conflict began, Russia has been accused of sending troops and weapons to the separatists, something it has denied. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)

Russia says it won’t start a war as Ukraine tensions mount

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s top diplomat said Friday that Moscow will not start a war in Ukraine but warned that it wouldn’t allow the West to trample on its security…

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Supporters for a convoy of truckers driving from British Columbia to Ottawa in protest of a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, gather near a highway overpass outside of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 27, 2022. – A convoy of truckers started off from Vancouver on January 23, 2022 on its way to protest against the mandate in the capital city of Ottawa. (Photo by Cole Burston / AFP)

Anti-vaccine Canada truckers roll toward Ottawa, praised by Tesla’s Musk

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian truck drivers determined to shut down central Ottawa over a federal government vaccine mandate rolled across the country toward the capital on Thursday, boosted by praise…

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Customers watch Lt. Col. Henri Sandaogo Damiba address the nation on national television in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Thursday Jan. 27, 2022. In his first address to the nation since seizing power earlier this week, Burkina Faso’s new military leader said he was going to bring back security and order to the conflict-ridden nation, and unite the country, but warned that betrayal wouldn’t be tolerated by the new regime. (AP Photo/Sophie Garcia)

Burkina Faso will return to constitutional order when conditions are right, military leader says

OUAGADOUGOU, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Burkina Faso’s new military leader Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba said on Thursday that the West African country return to constitutional order when conditions are right….

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As world marks Holocaust, some survivors in Israel struggle

Several dozen octogenarians, bundled against the cold, chattered in Russian and Hebrew as they picked through heaps of carrots, onions and grapefruit in a Jerusalem courtyard.  Nearly all of them…

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Marina Picasso, right, granddaughter of artist Pablo Picasso, and her son Florian Picasso pose with a ceramic art-work of Pablo Picasso in Cologny near in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. Heirs of Pablo Picasso, the famed 20th-century Spanish artist, are vaulting into 21st-century commerce by selling 1,010 digital art pieces of one of his ceramic works that has never before seen publicly — riding a fad for “crypto” assets that have taken the art and financial worlds by storm. (AP Photo/Boris Heger)

Picasso heirs launch digital art piece to ride ‘crypto’ wave

Heirs of Pablo Picasso, the famed 20th-century Spanish artist, are vaulting into 21st-century commerce by selling 1,010 digital art pieces of one of his ceramic works that has never before…

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North Korea fires two missiles in latest testing frenzy, South Korea says

Nuclear-armed North Korea fired what appeared to be two ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, South Korea‘s military said on Thursday, in what would be the sixth…

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Pope Francis leaves after the weekly general audience at the Vatican, January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

Support your children if they are gay, pope tells parents

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis said on Wednesday that parents of gay children should not condemn them but offer them support. He spoke in unscripted comments at his weekly audience in reference to difficulties that parents can face in…

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Thai-Saudi ties herald a new era

After more than three decades of frozen Thai-Saudi ties, this week’s “historic” visit by Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to Saudi Arabia has had the effect of normalising one of…

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FILE – Chinese authorities test fireworks ahead of the Aug 8 start of the Olympic Games on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, Saturday, Aug 2, 2008.

China 2008 vs 2022: Richer, stronger, more confrontational

BEIJING (AP) — China has undergone history-making change since the last time it was an Olympic host in 2008: It is richer, more heavily armed and openly confrontational. As President…

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Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Thailand, Saudi Arabia agree to restore full diplomatic ties

Thailand and Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume normal diplomatic ties and are ready to begin a new era of bilateral relations, thanks to the joint efforts of Thai and…

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Ukrainian service members unload a shipment of military aid delivered as part of the United States of America’s security assistance to Ukraine, at the Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine January 25, 2022./ REUTERS

Biden warns Putin with sanctions as West steps up Ukraine defenses

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he would consider personal sanctions on President Vladimir Putin if Russia invades Ukraine, as Western leaders stepped up military preparations and made plans…

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A convoy of Russian armored vehicles moves along a highway in Crimea, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022.(AP Photo, File)

Ukraine urges calm, saying Russian invasion not imminent

KYIV (AP) — Ukraine’s leaders sought to reassure the nation that a feared invasion from neighboring Russia was not imminent, even as they acknowledged the threat is real and prepared…

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Almost 900 evacuated from Machu Picchu area as rains slam Peru

Almost 900 people were evacuated from the tourist town serving Machu Picchu, the Inca jewel of Peru’s travel industry, amid rains and floods that left one person missing and several…

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In this image made from video, Burkina Faso mutinous soldiers walk outside the Guillaume Ouedraogo military camp in Ouagadougou, Monday Jan. 24, 2022. (AP Photo)

Soldiers declare military junta in control in Burkina Faso

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — More than a dozen mutinous soldiers declared Monday on state television that a military junta had seized control of Burkina Faso after detaining the democratically…

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An instructor trains members of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, volunteer military units of the Armed Forces, in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022.(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

NATO outlines ‘deterrence’ plan as tensions with Russia soar

BRUSSELS (AP) — Tensions soared Monday between Russia and the West, with NATO outlining a series of potential troop and ship deployments and Ireland warning that upcoming Russian war games…

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Members of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, volunteer military units of the Armed Forces, train in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

US draws down Ukraine embassy presence as war fears mount

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department on Sunday ordered the families of all American personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine to leave the country amid heightened fears of a…

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FILE PHOTO: A logo is pictured outside a building of the World Health Organization (WHO) during an executive board meeting on update on the coronavirus outbreak, in Geneva, Switzerland, February 6, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

Europe could be headed towards end of pandemic after Omicron, says WHO

AFP – The Omicron variant has moved the Covid-19 pandemic into a new phase and could bring it to an end in Europe, the WHO Europe director said Sunday. “It’s plausible that…

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This handout photograph released by the Afghan Taliban and taken on January 22, 2022 shows Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi (L), Taliban spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign affairs, Abdul Qahar Balkhi (C) and delegates sitting on a plane before departing to Oslo, at the Kabul airport in Kabul. Afghan Taliban / AFP

Humanitarian aid tops agenda as Taliban meet Western officials

Human rights and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, where hunger threatens millions, will be in focus at talks opening Sunday in Oslo between the Taliban, the West and members of Afghan…

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A satellite image shows Mango islands after Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption, in Tonga, January 20, 2022. Satellite Image @2022 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS

Tonga struggles with ash, psychological trauma after eruption and tsunami

Jan 23 (Reuters) – Families have stopped children playing outside as Tonga struggles to deal with ash and the psychological fallout of last week’s volcanic eruption and tsunami, aid workers…

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Twitter suspends hundreds of accounts promoting Philippines’ Marcos Jr

Twitter has suspended hundreds of accounts reportedly linked to supporters of Philippine presidential frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Jr, which the social media giant said had violated its rules on manipulation and…

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Hong Kong warns people to stop trying to prevent COVID hamster cull

HONG KONG, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Hong Kong police will deal with pet lovers who try to stop people giving up their hamsters to be put down, or who offer…

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Sputnik V shows higher Omicron-antibody levels than Pfizer in preliminary study

MOSCOW, Jan 20 (Reuters) – A small preliminary laboratory study has shown that levels of Omicron-neutralising antibodies of people vaccinated with Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine did not decline as much…

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(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Biden issues new warning to Russia over invading Ukraine

GENEVA (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that any Russian troop movements across Ukraine’s border would constitute an invasion and that Moscow would “pay a heavy price” for…

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Report on sexual abuse in German diocese faults retired pope

A long-awaited report on sexual abuse in Germany’s Munich diocese on Thursday faulted retired Pope Benedict XVI’s handling of four cases when he was archbishop in the 1970s and 1980s….

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File photo of President Joe Biden speaking during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. Biden ends his first year in the White House with a clear majority of Americans for the first time disapproving of his handling of the presidency in the face of an unrelenting pandemic and roaring inflation. That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Biden approval hits new low at one-year mark: AP-NORC poll

WASHINGTON (AP) – US President Joe Biden ends his first year in the White House with a clear majority of Americans for the first time disapproving of his handling of…

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Lisala Folau, a Tongan man who says he swam for around 27 hours after getting swept to sea by Saturday’s tsunami, sits with other people of Atata island in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, January 19, 2022 in this picture obtained from social media. Marian Kupu/ Broadcom Broadcasting FM87.5/via REUTERS

Tongan ‘real life Aquaman’ survives 27-hour swim after tsunami

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – A 57-year-old Tongan man who said he swam around 27 hours after getting swept out to sea during Saturday’s devastating tsunami has been hailed a ‘real life…

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File photo (Ian Vogler, Pool Photo via AP)

UK’s Johnson defies calls to quit as ouster bid gathers pace

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defied calls to resign in a feisty performance Wednesday in Parliament — but it may be too little to prevent his Conservative…

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In this photo provided by the New Zealand Defense Force, an Orion plane flies over Tonga where volcanic ash covers roof tops and vegetation, Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. Thick ash on an airport runway was delaying aid deliveries to the Pacific island nation of Tonga, where significant damage was being reported days after a huge undersea volcanic eruption and tsunami. (CPL Vanessa Parker/NZDF via AP)

Three of Tonga’s smaller islands badly damaged by tsunami

SYDNEY (AP) — Three of Tonga’s smaller islands suffered serious damage from tsunami waves, officials and the Red Cross said Wednesday, as a wider picture begins to emerge of the…

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel makes a speech at the Defence Ministry during the Grand Tattoo (Grosser Zapfenstreich), a ceremonial send-off for her in Berlin on December 2, 2021. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / POOL / AFP)

Germany’s Merkel turns down U.N. job offer

BERLIN, Jan 19 (Reuters) – Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has turned down the offer of a job at the United Nations, her office said on Wednesday, a month after…

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In this photo provided by the New Zealand Defense Force, volcanic ash covers roof tops and vegetation in an area of Tonga, Monday, Jan. 17, 2022./ REUTERS

All homes on one of Tonga’s islands destroyed, three dead

All the homes on one of Tonga’s small outer islands have been destroyed by a massive volcanic eruption and tsunami, with three people so far confirmed dead, the government said on Tuesday in…

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Oil pump jacks are seen at the Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas deposit in the Patagonian province of Neuquen, Argentina, January 21, 2019. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File Photo

Oil prices hit 7-year highs as tight supply bites

LONDON (Reuters) – Benchmark oil prices climbed to their highest level since 2014 on Tuesday as possible supply disruption after attacks in the Mideast Gulf added to an already tight…

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A pet shop is closed after some pet hamsters were, authorities said, tested positive for the coronavirus, in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Hong Kong to cull 2,000 animals after hamsters get COVID-19

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong authorities said Tuesday that they will cull some 2,000 small animals, including hamsters after several of the rodents tested positive for the virus at…

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File photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China’s Xi rejects ‘Cold War mentality,’ pushes cooperation

GENEVA (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping called Monday for greater world cooperation against COVID-19 and pledged to send an additional 1 billion doses of vaccine to other countries, while urging…

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China’s birth rate drops to record low in 2021

BEIJING (Reuters) – Mainland China’s birth rate dropped to a record low in 2021, data showed on Monday, extending a downward trend that led Beijing last year to begin allowing…

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A plume rises over Tonga when the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai erupted in this satellite image taken by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite operated by Japan Meteorological Agency, on January 15, 2022 and released by National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) and obtained by Reuters on January 16, 2022. National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)/Handout via REUTERS

Drinking water, ash big concern as Tonga assesses damage after tsunami

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Australia and New Zealand sent surveillance flights on Monday to assess damage in Tonga, isolated from the rest of the world after the eruption of…

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In this photo taken during Dec. 27 – Dec. 31, 2021 and provided on Jan. 1, 2022 by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea fires 2 suspected missiles in 4th launch this year

SEOUL (AP) — North Korea on Monday fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea in its fourth weapons launch this month, South Korea’s military said, with the apparent goal…

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