Trump dismisses climate concerns as he visits fire-ravaged western US

President Donald Trump suggested global warming will reverse itself and dismissed climate change as a cause of the ferocious fires engulfing the west of the United States.

Navalny says ‘amazing’ to breathe unaided, eyes Russia return

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Tuesday he was able to breathe unaided in his first public comments after his suspected poisoning in Siberia, while his aide said he planned to return to Russia once recovered.

Navalny allies claim symbolic win in Russian regional vote

Russia’s political opposition Monday claimed a symbolic victory in regional elections while the ruling party said exit polls showed they were headed for a win in a vote observers said was marred by fraud.

As US wildfires burn search on for survivors

Crews were to resume searching for the dead on Sunday among blackened ruins left by massive wildfires raging in three western U.S. states, where millions of acres have burned in weeks and “mass fatality” incidents are feared in Oregon.

S.Korea eases social distancing for two weeks

South Korea on Sunday eased its tough social distancing policy for the next two weeks in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, with new daily novel coronavirus cases hovering stubbornly within triple digits.

Israel to enter full-blown lockdown

Israel is poised to declare the whole country a “red zone” due to a spike in Covid-19 cases, limiting people’s movements to a 500-meter radius from home and closing all non-essential businesses that serve customers in person.

Israel faces possible lockdown

Israel’s coronavirus cabinet met on Thursday, with a nationwide lockdown on the cards as the number of daily infections continued to climb towards 4,000.

Huge fire at Beirut port weeks after deadly blast

A huge fire raged in Beirut port on Thursday, sparking alarm among Lebanese still reeling from the devastating dockside explosion that disfigured the capital last month.

Huge fire guts Greece’s infamous Moria refugee camp

A huge fire has almost completely destroyed the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, home to thousands of migrants living in already dire conditions, dialing up the pressure on European countries to respond to the crisis.

India coronavirus infections surge to 4.3 million

India reported 89,706 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, taking its total caseload to 4.3 million, data from the federal health ministry showed.

‘India fired first’: China repeats

China on Tuesday said it has made “stern representations” to the Indian government after Indian troops allegedly crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and fired warning shots at Chinese border personnel on Monday.

Belarus opposition figure detained at Ukraine border

Belarus said Tuesday that a leading opposition figure, Maria Kolesnikova, had been detained while trying to cross the Ukrainian border, but Kiev said she was being held after resisting a forced deportation.

India overtakes Brazil with second-highest virus cases

India overtook Brazil on Monday to become the second-worst affected country in terms of coronavirus cases behind the United States, according to an AFP tally.

Navalny taken out of coma, responding to speech

Russian dissident Alexei Navalny has been removed from his medically induced coma and is being weaned off mechanical ventilation, the Berlin hospital where he is being treated said on Monday.

No-deal Brexit would be ‘good outcome’ for Britain: Johnson

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday said leaving the European Union without a deal on future trade would be a “good outcome” for Britain, warning that London will walk away from talks with Brussels unless agreement can by found by mid-October.

Trump calls on Fox News to fire reporter over veterans flap

US President Donald Trump has demanded that Fox News fire its national security correspondent after she confirmed claims that the Republican leader had disparaged the military -- a bombshell that has dogged him for two days.

India and China agree to ease tension on border

India and China said on Saturday they had agreed to work towards reducing tensions along their contested border, following a meeting of the defence ministers of the nuclear-armed Asian giants.

Australia extends Melbourne lockdown despite drop in cases

Australian officials on Sunday extended a strict virus lockdown of the country’s second-biggest city by two weeks, saying new cases had not dropped enough to prevent another spike.

New Zealand records first Covid-19 death in over three months

New Zealand recorded its first coronavirus death in more than three months on Friday when a man in his 50s succumbed to the virus.

China’s security law a ‘serious risk’ to HK’s freedoms: UN experts

China’s national security law for Hong Kong poses a serious risk to the city’s freedoms and breaches international legal obligations, UN special rapporteurs on human rights have warned.

NATO to meet on poisoning of Putin critic Navalny

The poisoning of Alexei Navalny will be discussed at an urgent NATO meeting on Friday after European leaders threatened fresh sanctions against Moscow, which has furiously denied targeting the Russian opposition leader.

Trump suggests voting twice in North Carolina, which is illegal

U.S. President Donald Trump has urged residents of North Carolina to vote twice in the Nov. 3 election, once by mail and once in person, openly urging an act of voter fraud even as he has decried mail-in ballots.

Record CO2 emissions for Arctic wildfires: EU

This year’s Arctic Circle wildfires, still ablaze, have already surpassed the record set in 2019 for CO2 emissions, adding to the carbon pollution humanity needs to curtail, the European Union’s Earth observation programme said Thursday.

India suffers world-record spike in coronavirus cases

India announced a world-record 83,883 new coronavirus cases today with the outbreak poised to overtake Brazil as the second-largest in the world.

Trump in Kenosha calls anti-racism protests ‘domestic terror’

President Donald Trump Tuesday took his re-election campaign to Kenosha, the latest US city roiled by the police shooting of a black man, as he branded recent anti-racism protests acts of “domestic terror” by violent mobs.

Coronavirus death toll reaches 851,321 worldwide

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 851,321 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Tuesday.

HK starts mass virus tests undermined by distrust of China

Hong Kong launched a mass coronavirus testing scheme on Tuesday, but calls for millions to take up the offer have been undermined by deep distrust of the government following China’s crushing of the city’s democracy movement.

Trump heads to politically crucial Wisconsin

Despite entreaties to stay away, President Donald Trump heads to Kenosha, Wisconsin on Tuesday to highlight his “law and order” campaign theme in a city upended by protests after the shooting of a Black man by a white police officer.

UAE ‘betrayed’ Muslim world with Israel deal: Khamenei

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday accused the United Arab Emirates of betraying the Muslim world with its agreement to normalise relations with Tehran’s arch-foe Israel.

In East Med row, Turkey says Greece ‘arming island’

Turkey on Monday accused Greece of “piracy” and attempting to “arm the island” at the centre of their row over gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.