THE BIDEN administration is weighing an appeal from progressive Democrats to accelerate global access to COVID-19 vaccines by supporting a waiver of intellectual-property protections, a move opposed by big drug makers.

NEW DELHI — India marked a new milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, reporting 314,835 new daily cases, the highest one-day tally anywhere, as its second wave and similar surges elsewhere raised new fears about the ability of health services to cope.

SYDNEY — Australia said a decision to cancel two deals between Victoria state and China on the Belt and Road Initiative was about ensuring consistency in foreign relations and was not aimed at any country.

WASHINGTON — US President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., is expected to formally recognize the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War One as an act of genocide, sources said on Wednesday, a move likely to infuriate Ankara and further strain already frayed ties between the two North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies.

BARCELONA — Pressure on wealthy governments to stop financing polluting coal projects in developing nations is getting results, with more countries expected to announce this week and in coming months that they will no longer provide money for coal.

SEOUL — It was 7:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve when Cha Jung-hoon, South Korea’s deputy minister for small businesses, got a call from his...

NEW DELHI — Indian authorities scrambled to shore up supplies of medical oxygen to hospitals in the capital, Delhi, on Wednesday as a fast-spreading second wave of coronavirus stretched medical infrastructure to breaking point, officials and doctors said.

MALAYSIA kicked off an offering of its first-ever sustainability Sukuk, adding to a growing number of countries turning to debt financing for environmental projects.

ZURICH — A German scientist studying extremely rare blood clots linked to AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine said on Tuesday Johnson & Johnson has agreed to work with him on the research after similar serious side effects emerged in recipients of its shot.

SYDNEY — Equipped with just a pan and sieve, a group of amateur scientists comb the beach looking for tiny bits of plastic that are near invisible to the naked eye but belie their threat.

ROME — Violations of religious freedom are increasing and persecution takes place in more than 25 countries, with China and Myanmar among those that have the worst records, according to a report by a Vatican-backed charity.

TOKYO — Japan’s glacial coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) inoculation push is prompting some foreign residents to consider flying to other countries to get vaccinated, as the pandemic surges again with no shots in sight for everyday people.