Military aircraft with 85 passengers crashes in the Philippines

A Philippines military plane has crashed in Sulu province. So far, 40 people have been rescued, and 17 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage.

Two feared dead, twenty missing after deadly Japanese landslide

Rain hampered Japanese rescuers seeking 20 missing people on Sunday after landslides triggered by torrential rains hit the central city of Atami, killing at least two, Kyodo news agency said.

UAE bans citizens from travelling to India, Pakistan

The United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday a travel ban on citizens to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Namibia, Zambia, Congo, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Africa and Nigeria, state news agency (WAM) reported.

US forces quit Bagram base in Afghanistan: Official

American troops pulled out of their main military base in Afghanistan on Friday, a US defence official said, under an agreement with the Taliban allowing for the withdrawal of all US forces from the country after a two-decade war.

Canadian village wiped out by fire amid extreme heat

An entire village in British Columbia, Canada was devoured by fire, which ignited shortly after the country’s all-time high temperature record was smashed amid a heatwave in the western part of the country.

Australia tightens lockdown amid Delta virus outbreak, vaccine chaos

Australia reported a slight rise in COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, while officials in several states tightened movement curbs and pushed for vaccinations to limit flare-ups of the highly infectious Delta variant.

Tigray forces seize regional capital, Ethiopian-led troops on the run

Tigrayan forces said they had Ethiopian government troops on the run around the regional capital Mekelle on Tuesday after taking full control of the city in a sharp reversal of eight months of conflict.

Indian map without Kashmir lands Twitter official in hot water

The head of Twitter in India is facing criminal charges after the internet service displayed a map of India that showed disputed regions as being separate from the country.

Bangladesh opens probe into deadly Dhaka building explosion

Authorities have launched an investigation into a deadly explosion that killed seven people in Dhaka, officials said on Monday.

Australia on edge over new Covid-19 clusters

Australian leaders were holding emergency talks on Monday as states and territories sought to stamp out new clusters of coronavirus infections.

Seven militiamen killed in US strikes on Iraqi-Syrian border

At least seven pro-Iranian Iraqi militiamen were killed in US airstrikes on the Iraqi-Syrian border, a Britain-based monitoring group said on Monday.

Death toll climbs to five at collapsed Florida building

The death toll rose to five on Saturday at the site of the Florida building collapsewhere rescue workers methodically searched for more than 150 missing residents whilefirefighters made progress in battling a smoldering fire in the mountain of debris.

Sydney and Darwin in lockdown as COVID-19 cases pop up across Australia

Australia reported on Sunday one of the highest numbers for locally acquired coronavirus cases this year, triggering lockdowns in the cities of Sydney and Darwin and forcing tighter restrictions in four states. Sydney began a two-week lockdown on Sunday as the Bondi neighbourhood cluster of the highly infectious coronavirus Delta variant rose to 110 in Australia’s largest city, while an outbreak in the northern city of Darwin prompted a hard two-

UK Health Secretary resigns after Covid rule-breaking kiss

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has resigned. Hancock was caught on CCTV footage released this week kissing an aide, in breach of his own social distancing guidelines and his marital vows.

Four dead, 159 missing in Miami building collapse

Rescue workers scouring the debris of a collapsed condo building in a Miami suburb said they heard sounds in the rubble overnight, as officials on Friday raised the number of people unaccounted for to 159 and the confirmed death toll to four.

Antibodies triggered by Chinese COVID-19 shots less effective on Delta variant: Researcher

Antibodies triggered by two Chinese COVID-19 vaccines are less effective against the Delta variant compared with other strains but the shots still offer protection, a Chinese disease control researcher told state media.

End of pandemic out of reach thanks to Delta variant: Merkel

Despite progress in many Western countries’ vaccination campaigns and falling infection rates, it is too soon for the European Union to drop its guard against the spread of the coronavirus, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday.

Hong Kong pro-democracy paper Apple Daily to print last edition

Hong Kong’s most vocal pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily said it will print its last edition on Thursday after a stormy year in which it was raided by police and its tycoon owner and other staff were arrested under a new national security law.

Air strike kills at least 43 in Ethiopia’s Tigray

An air strike killed at least 43 people in the town of Togoga in Ethiopia’s Tigray region on Tuesday, a medical official told Reuters, after residents said new fighting had flared in recent days north of the regional capital Mekelle.

Australia slams UN recommendation to list Great Barrier Reef as ‘in danger’

A UN committee recommendation on Tuesday to add the Great Barrier Reef to a list of “in danger” World Heritage Sites provoked a furious response from the Australian government, which said it had been blindsided by the move which it believed was politically motivated.

Taliban launch major offensives in northern Afghanistan

Taliban insurgents have conducted a wave of offensives in Afghanistan’s north in recent days, moving beyond their southern strongholds as international forces withdraw.

Spain pardons jailed Catalan separatist leaders

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday pardoned all nine Catalan separatist leaders jailed for their role in a failed independence bid in the region in 2017, one of whom reacted with defiance to news of his impending release.

Kashmir leaders to urge India’s Modi to restore region’s autonomy

Kashmiri politicians will urge Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy when they meet him on Thursday for the first talks since he took away the region’s special status two years ago, party officials said.

India hits record number of daily vaccines

Indian states opened mass vaccination sites on Monday at school grounds, auditoriums and other facilities, as the government’s free Covid-19 inoculation drive expanded to anyone over the age of 18.

President-elect Raisi backs nuclear talks, rules out meeting Biden

President-elect Ebrahim Raisi on Monday backed talks between Iran and six world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal but flatly rejected meeting U.S. President Joe Biden, even if Washington removed all sanctions.

Driver crashes into crowd at Pride Parade in Florida

One person died and another was injured after a pickup truck ran into a crowd of spectators at a Pride parade in south Florida on Saturday, local authorities said.

Brazilians protest Bolsonaro’s rule as country hits 500,000 coronavirus deaths

Tens of thousands took to the streets across Brazil, protesting the rule of President Jair Bolsonaro as the country hit the half-a-million Covid-19 deaths mark, blamed on the sloppy government handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Uganda sees first virus case among arriving Olympic teams in Tokyo

A first coronavirus case among arriving athletes has been registered in Tokyo, a month before the start of the Olympic Games.

Israel to send Palestinians 1m Covid-19 vaccine doses

Israel will send at least 1 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to the Palestinian Authority (PA) under a deal to share shots, officials said on Friday, in a boost for the Palestinians’ vaccination campaign in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

Iran votes for new president ultraconservative tipped to win

Iranians voted Friday in a presidential election in which ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi, is seen as all but certain to coast to victory after all serious rivals were barred from contesting.