North Korea fires cruise missiles off west coast, Seoul says

SEOUL — North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles towards the sea off its west coast on Wednesday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The...

Bodies of COVID-19 victims among those dumped in India’s Ganges

NEW DELHI — Bodies of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) victims have been found dumped in some Indian rivers, a state government said in a letter seen by Reuters, the first official acknowledgement of an alarming practice it said may stem from poverty and fear of the disease in villages.

US to send controversial depleted-uranium munitions to Ukraine

The Pentagon on Wednesday announced a new security assistance package worth up to $175 million for Ukraine, including depleted uranium ammunition for Abrams tanks, the first time the...

COVID curbs reinstated in Sydney as Australian officials trace mystery case

By Renju Jose
SYDNEY - Australian officials reinstated social distancing measures across greater Sydney on Thursday, as they scrambled to find missing tranmission links in a COVID-19...

Xi tells ex-Philippine president Duterte to promote ties with China

China's President Xi Jinping told former Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte to continue to promote cooperation between the two countries, after bilateral relations cooled...

‘Freedom Day’: Sydney reopens as Australia looks to live with COVID-19 

SYDNEY — Sydney’s cafes, gyms, and restaurants welcomed back fully vaccinated customers on Monday after nearly four months of lockdown, as Australia aims to begin living with the coronavirus and gradually reopen with high rates of inoculation.  

China’s capital Beijing swings from anger over past COVID policies to coping with infections

BEIJING — Beijing’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) gloom deepened on Sunday with many shops and other businesses closed, and an expert warned of many thousands of new coronavirus cases as anger over China’s previous COVID policies gave way to worry about coping with infections.

UNICEF calls for schools to reopen in pandemic-hit nations

MANILA — The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF has urged education authorities to reopen schools as soon as possible in countries where millions of students are still not allowed to return to classrooms 18 months into the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.  

British nurses begin first ever strike as pay dispute deepens

LONDON — National Health Service (NHS)  nurses in Britain will strike on Thursday in their first ever national walkout, as a bitter dispute with...

US to donate an additional 500 million COVID-19 vaccines

WASHINGTON - The United States plans to donate an additional 500 million COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE to nations around...

Blinken with Pacific trip aims to reaffirm US focus on Asia

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will aim with a trip to the Pacific this week to remind the world that Washington’s strategic long-term focus remains with the Asia-Pacific region despite an escalating crisis with Russia over Ukraine. 

Britain to treble tree planting by 2024 to fight climate change

LONDON - Britain said it planned to treble tree planting rates over the next three years to help reach its target of net zero...