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German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday urged Germans to get vaccinated against COVID-19, speaking days ahead of leaving office in the final episode of more than 600 weekly video podcasts. “I once again emphatically ask you to take this tricky virus seriously,” Merkel said, calling the fourth coronavirus wave to …

Russia has dismissed new US media reports about a possible Russian attack on Ukraine, accusing Washington of trying to aggravate the situation while blaming Moscow, the Kommersant newspaper said on Saturday, citing the Foreign Ministry. The Washington Post cited officials and an intelligence document on Saturday as saying US intelligence …

Higher hospital admissions among children during the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections in South Africa that is driven by the Omicron variant should prompt vigilance but not panic as infections have been mild, a health official said on Saturday. A large number of infants admitted with COVID-19 last month in …

Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupted on Saturday, spewing out a tower of smoke and ash that plunged local communities into darkness and forced thousands of nearby residents to flee. There were no immediate reports of casualties, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said. But rescuers moved to evacuate local residents as lava …

Alexander Schallenberg has announced he is resigning as Chancellor of Austria, just two months after taking office. He said he would remain in the post until his party agrees on a new leader in the wake of Sebastian Kurz’s departure. Just hours earlier, Schallenberg’s predecessor and People’s Party leader Kurz …

The European Union’s public health agency said on Thursday that the Omicron variant could be responsible for more than half of all COVID-19 infections in Europe within a few months, but no cases of the severe disease had yet been identified in the region. The estimate could lend weight to …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Moscow of the “severe costs” Russia would pay if it invaded Ukraine, urging his Russian counterpart on Thursday to seek a diplomatic exit from the crisis. Blinken delivered the warning to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at what he called a “candid” meeting …

The European Union said on Thursday it was injecting around $368 million (325 million euros) for refugees in Turkey, part of a huge funding plan for the country, which hosts the world’s largest refugee population. The EU approved a plan in June to provide Turkey with three billion euros from …

Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a “call to get jabs in arms” on Wednesday as Britain stepped up its COVID-19 booster programme to fend off the Omicron variant after another 10 cases of the new strain were identified. Britain has now recorded 32 cases of the Omicron variant, which appears …

The European Union proposed on Wednesday curtailing some rights of migrants at its frontier with Belarus, a gesture towards member states Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, even as Brussels acknowledged border tensions were easing. The EU says Belarus has flown in migrants from the Middle East to push them to cross …

A boat carrying Nigerian students capsized in Kano state in northern Nigeria, killing at least 29, local officials told Reuters on Wednesday. The boat on the Watari dam was carrying roughly 40 students from an Islamic school, most of whom were under 18, and capsized around 5:30 local time Tuesday …

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok will quit if a political agreement he signed with the military last week is not implemented or fails to receive backing from political factions, a source close to him said on Wednesday. Hamdok was released from house arrest and restored to his job under thedeal …

China told Indonesia to stop drilling for oil and natural gas in maritime territory that both countries regard as their own during a months-long standoff in the South China Sea earlier this year, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The unprecedented demand, which has not previously been reported, …

Russia said on Wednesday it was ordering U.S. embassy staff who have been in Moscow for more than three years to fly home by Jan. 31, a retaliatory move for what Moscow said was a U.S. decision to limit the terms of Russian diplomats. The step, the latest in an …

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday urged Tigrayan rebels to surrender, claiming government forces were nearing victory just one week after he vowed to lead military operations at the front. “The youth of Tigray is perishing like leaves. Knowing it is defeated, it is being led by one who …

At least 14 people have been killed when an Azerbaijani military helicopter crashed in the Caucasus country’s eastern region of Khyzy, according to the ex-Soviet republic’s border service. “Fourteen people died and two more were wounded as a result of a state border service helicopter crash,” the border guard said …

A 29-year-old former ISIS terrorist Taha Al-Jumailly has been handed a life sentence by a German court for genocide and crimes against humanity over the persecution of the Yazidi minority, marking the first conviction of its kind. The Frankfurt court’s judgment marks the first time that a verdict has used …

The US has formally removed the Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) from its list of foreign terrorist organizations, just after the fifth anniversary of the peace deal between the rebel group and the Colombian government. In a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that “The Department of State …

Russia would pay a high price for any new military aggression against Ukraine, NATO and the United States warned on Tuesday as the Western military alliance met to discuss Moscow’s possible motives for massing troops near the Ukrainian border. President Vladimir Putin countered that Russia would be forced to act …

Belgium and Britain said on Tuesday they will cooperate more closely to fight illegal migration, days after France snubbed Britain and said it needed to get serious before talks on the matter could resume. France and Britain were already at loggerheads over immigration, post-Brexit trading rules and fishing rights and …