Sudan internet cuts complicate civil disobedience campaign against coup

Sudanese pro-democracy groups launched two days of civil disobedience and strikes on Sunday in protest at last month’s military coup, though participation appeared to be limited by continuing interruptions to internet and phone connections.

Diwali leaves Delhi wheezing in dangerously unhealthy air

New Delhi residents woke up on Friday under a blanket of smog darkening the city, the most dangerous air pollution of the year after Diwali revellers defied - as usual - a fireworks ban during India’s annual Hindu festival of lights.

With fourth wave raging, Germany agrees booster shots for all

Germany’s COVID-19 situation is entering a very difficult period with rising numbers of intensive care patients, Health Minister Jens Spahn said, as German state leaders warned the country may need a new lockdown unless it takes urgent action.

Supporters of Taiwan independence will be liable for life: China

China will make people who support “Taiwan independence” criminally liable for life, a spokeswoman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Friday, drawing anger from the island amid heightened tension across the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

Calls for ceasefire in Ethiopia grow amid deepening conflict

African and Western nations called for an immediate ceasefire in Ethiopia on Thursday after Tigrayan forces from the country’s north made advances towards the capital this week.

Raisi vows no retreat in nuclear talks with major powers

Iran will not back down “in any way” in defending its interests, President Ebrahim Raisi said on Thursday, a day after all sides announced the resumption of nuclear talks between Tehran and major powers on Nov 29.

WHO sounds alarm over looming Covid-19 catastrophe in Europe

Europe is back at the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic and could see another half a million Covid-19 deaths by February, the World Health Organization’s top official in the region, has said.

Scientists eye beginning of an end to the COVID-19 pandemic

As the devastating Delta variant surge eases in many regions of the world, scientists are charting when, and where, COVID-19 will transition to an endemic disease in 2022 and beyond, according to Reuters interviews with over a dozen leading disease experts.

Russia rejects Biden’s criticism for skipping UN climate conference

The Kremlin has rejected criticism from US President Joe Biden after Russian President Vladimir Putin decided not to attend a key UN summit on curbing climate change.

Whistleblower exposes issues with Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine trial

Leading medical journal The BMJ has published an incendiary report exposing faked data, blind trial failures, poorly trained vaccinators, and a slow follow-up on adverse reactions in the phase-three trial of Pfizer’s Covid jab.

Race to find survivors after Nigeria building collapse

Rescuers on Tuesday dug through rubble searching for survivors a day after a luxurious high-rise building collapsed while under construction in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos, as officials put the death toll at six and scores were reported missing.

Pakistani authorities scramble to curb rising air pollution

Air quality in the Pakistani city of Lahore has risen to dangerous levels as winter starts, leaving authorities to scramble to cope with desperate situations.

At least 15 killed as blasts, gunfire hit Kabul hospital

At least 15 people were killed and 34 wounded when two explosions followed by gunfire hit Afghanistan’s biggest military hospital in Kabul, a Taliban security official said on Tuesday.

World makes new bid to avert climate disaster

The United Nations COP26 summit that starts in Glasgow this week has been billed as a make-or-break chance to save the planet from the most calamitous effects of climate change.

Pakistani Islamist group reaches deal with government

A hardline Pakistani Islamist group called off a protest march to the capital Islamabad on Sunday after reaching a deal with the government, ending two weeks of clashes that left at least seven policemen dead and scores injured on both sides.

Man dressed as Joker terrorises Tokyo train

24-year-old man dressed in Batman’s Joker costume attacked passengers on a Tokyo train line on Sunday evening, injuring about 10 people as many party-goers headed into the city centre for Halloween gatherings, media reported.

UK, French leaders to meet amid flare-up in post-Brexit fishing row

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet French President Emmanuel Macron this weekend amid a row over post-Brexit fishing rights in which France has seized a British boat and London has threatened to board French trawlers.

US steps up aid to Afghanistan, bypassing the Taliban

In view of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the United States is providing nearly 144 million dollars in additional aid, the National Security Council said in Washington.

Coronavirus variant evades antibodies induced by Pfizer & AstraZeneca vaccines: Study

The A.30 variant of the coronavirus, detected in Angola and Sweden, is highly resistant to antibodies induced by the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, a new lab study has shown.

Caravan of mostly Central American migrants advance slowly across Mexico

Thousands of mostly Central American migrants trekking across southern Mexico on Wednesday advanced only a short distance, with children and painfully blistered feet, the latest human caravan seeking to reach either Mexico City or the U.S. border.

Moldova in showdown with Russia’s Gazprom over gas pricing

Amid a showdown with Moscow, Moldova has signed a contract with Poland for natural gas deliveries, the first time the ex-Soviet country is turning to a supplier other than Russia.

Army ousted government to avoid civil war: Sudan’s Burhan

Sudan’s top general defended the army’s seizure of power, saying he had ousted the government to avoid civil war, while protesters returned to the streets on Tuesday to demonstrate against the takeover after a day of deadly clashes.

UN emissions gap report a ‘thundering wake-up call’

Current commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions put the planet on track for an average 2.7 degrees Celsius temperature rise this century, a United Nations report said on Tuesday, in another stark warning ahead of crunch climate talks.

SUDANESE MILITARY DISSOLVES GOVERNMENT, DECLARES EMERGENCY AMID COUP

The head of Sudan’s ruling council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has announced the dissolution of the transitional sovereign council and the government, enacting a state of emergency amid a military coup after the PM’s arrest.

Over half of Afghans face acute hunger this winter: UN

More than half of Afghanistan’s population could face acute hunger from next month, the United Nations has warned.

Ethiopia fighting intensifies amid air strikes on Tigray

An Ethiopian government air strike hit a university in the Tigray regional capital on Friday, rebellious Tigrayan forces and humanitarian sources said, as thousands of people fled fighting further south.

US will defend Taiwan if China attacks: Biden

The United States would defend Taiwan if the island were attacked by China, President Joe Biden said Thursday, a declaration welcomed by the democratic island that risks fury from Beijing. Authoritarian China regards self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to one day seize the island, by force if needed.

Melbourne reopens as world’s most locked-down city eases pandemic restrictions

Melbourne residents flocked to the city’s pubs, restaurants and hair salons in the early hours of Friday after the world’s most locked-down city emerged from its latest spate of restrictions designed to combat the spread of COVID-19.

India administers more than one billion Covid jabs

According to the government, around three-quarters of adults in the country of 1.3 billion people have had one shot and around 30 percent are fully vaccinated.

S.Korea launches first domestically developed space rocket

2021-South Korea on Thursday carried out its first ever test of a domestically produced space rocket, but admitted that it had not succeeded in its key task of putting a dummy satellite into orbit.