Former French president sentenced to three years for bribery

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to three years on charges of bribery and influence peddling, a court in Paris ruled in an historic sentence on Monday.

India widens vaccine drive to curb Covid-19 spike; Modi takes jab

India expanded its large but floundering Covid-19 vaccination campaign on Monday to cover people aged 60 and up as it hopes to address a spike in infections as well as “vaccine hesitancy” among people.

At least 18 dead on bloodiest day of Myanmar protests against coup

Myanmar police fired on protesters around the country on Sunday in the bloodiest day of weeks of demonstrations against a military coup and at least 18 people were killed, the U.N. human rights office said.

Arrival of “sticky bombs” in Indian Kashmir sets off alarm bells

Security forces battling a decades-long insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir are alarmed by the recent arrival in the disputed region of small, magnetic bombs that have wreaked havoc in Afghanistan.

2020 primary cited as 47 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists arrested

Forty-seven supporters of the pro-democracy opposition in Hong Kong have been arrested for alleged violations of a controversial security law, local media reported on Sunday.

World’s first doses of Covax vaccines delivered

The World Health Organization’s global vaccine sharing scheme COVAX delivered its first COVID-19 shots on Wednesday, as the race to get doses to the world’s poorest people and tame the pandemic accelerates.

Defying court order, Malaysia deports more than 1,000 Myanmar nationals

Malaysia sent more than 1,000 Myanmar nationals back to their strife-torn homeland on Tuesday despite a court order to halt the deportation, a move rights groups said could endanger the deportees’ lives.

Indian climate activist linked to Thunberg wins bail

An Indian climate change activist was granted bail on Tuesday, 10 days after being arrested for allegedly creating a “toolkit” to help the country’s farmer protests that was tweeted by Greta Thunberg.

US’ 500,000 deaths a ‘heartbreaking’ milestone: Biden

An emotional President Joe Biden called the milestone of more than 500,000 US deaths from Covid-19 “heartbreaking” on Monday and urged the country to unite against the pandemic.

Virus variants not behind spurt in cases: India

India said on Tuesday mutated versions of coronavirus were not responsible for an upsurge in cases in two states, a potential relief for a country where mask-wearing and social distancing have largely disappeared.

Facebook ‘refriends’ Australia after changes to media laws

Facebook will restore Australian news pages, ending an unprecedented week-long blackout after wringing concessions from the government over a proposed law that will require tech giants to pay traditional media companies for their content.

Myanmar gripped by general strike amid massive anti-coup protests

Campaigners against the military coup in Myanmar called a general strike on Monday as enormous crowds flooded towns and cities across the country despite threats of violence from the new regime.

‘Aggressive measures needed’: India discovers 240 new Covid-19 strains

A whopping 240 mutated coronavirus strains have been discovered across India, health officials have said, warning that some of them may potentially be more infectious, and may even be capable of evading immune response altogether.

EU ministers agree on new Russia sanctions over Navalny jailing

EU foreign ministers have agreed to pursue fresh sanctions against Russia following the jailing of dissident Alexei Navalny, diplomatic sources confirmed to dpa on Monday.

Huge crowds in Myanmar undeterred by worst day of violence

Huge crowds marched in Myanmar on Sunday to denounce a Feb. 1 military coup in a show of defiance after the bloodiest episode of the campaign for democracy the previous day, when security forces fired on protesters, killing two.

Thailand pushes cannabis as next cash crop

Thailand is promoting cannabis as a cash crop for the countrys farmers as another source of income, a senior official said on Sunday.

India, China complete troop pullout from lake area

Indian and Chinese troops have completed a pullout from a lake area on their disputed border in the western Himalayas, setting the scene for disengagement at other friction points, the two countries said on Sunday.

Woman shot during Myanmar anti-coup protests dies

A young woman protester in Myanmar died on Friday after being shot in the head last week as police dispersed a crowd, her brother said, the first death among opponents of the Feb. 1 military coup since demonstrations began two weeks ago.

Four soldiers died in June border clash with India: China

Four Chinese soldiers died in a border incident with India in the eastern Himalayas last year, China confirmed on Friday.

Nearly half of all Texans without water

A “fragile” energy grid has returned to life for frigid Texans after five days of blackouts caused by a historic winter storm, but challenges in finding drinking water and dealing with downed power lines loomed on Friday.

Facebook ‘unfriends’ Australia

Facebook faced a worldwide backlash from publishers and politicians on Thursday after blocking news feeds in Australia in a surprise escalation of a dispute with the government over a law to require it to share revenue from news.

Protesting farmers block trains in several states

Thousands of Indian farmers were blocking trains in several states on Thursday, holding sit-ins on tracks to demonstrate against the government’s planned agricultural laws.

Protesters out again in Myanmar, police use water cannon in capital

Protesters demonstrated across Myanmar again on Thursday to denounce the Feb. 1 military coup and arrest of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and police forcefully dispersed crowds, using water cannon in the capital and catapults in a northern town.

Myanmar coup protesters mass to reject army claim of support

Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Myanmar on Wednesday, rejecting the army’s assertion that the public supported its overthrow of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and vowing they would not be cowed in their bid to end military rule.

Iran vows cooperation with UN nuclear agency despite inspection curbs

Iran wants to continue cooperation with the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), according to President Hassan Rowhani.

Britain’s Prince Philip, 99, in hospital

Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s 99-year-old husband, was admitted to hospital on Tuesday evening as a precautionary measure with an ailment that is not COVID-related.

Aung San Suu Kyi faces new charge amid protests

Authorities in Myanmar have filed further charges against deposed state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, according to local media, while mass protests against the military coup continued on Tuesday.

Aussie PM apologises for rape in Australian parliament

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison apologised on Tuesday to a woman who alleged that she was raped in parliament two years ago for the way her complaint was handled at that time, ordering a probe into the government’s workplace culture.

Japan to start inoculation drive amid shortage of special syringes

Japan will kick off its COVID-19 vaccination programme on Wednesday amid concerns that a shortage of special syringes could lead to the waste of millions of doses of Pfizer vaccine as the country grapples with its third and most serious wave of infections.

Security forces open fire on protesters in Myanmar

Security forces opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators during peaceful protests against the military coup in Myanmar, videos shared online on Sunday suggest.