Worldwide

Countries should also avoid giving the Astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine to people over 60, the head of the EU drug regulator’s COVID-19 task force was quoted on Sunday as saying, amid fears over rare blood clotting and as more vaccines become available. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) considers the Astrazeneca shot …

The Japanese government will probe the activities of US tech giants, Apple and Google, amid alleged antitrust violations, the newspaper Nikkei has reported. According to the media outlet, citing sources, a government panel will be formed this month to investigate the connection between domestic smartphone manufacturers and US companies. Currently, …

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government wants to restart dialog with Beijing, as a series of trade reprisals from China strain the already-weakened relationship between the two countries. “We, of course, would like to see the dialog that was occurring to continue again and start again, Morrison said …

Egypt has asked for help from the UN Security Council in its long-running dispute with Ethiopia about a massive dam under construction on the Blue Nile River. In a letter, Egyptian authorities complained that Ethiopia has thwarted efforts to reach a binding legal agreement on issues related to the Grand …

Russian leader Vladimir Putin says new US President Joe Biden is radically different from his predecessor Donald Trump. The two leaders will meet in Geneva on Wednesday, fresh off the back of Biden’s participation in the G7 summit in the UK. The meeting will be the pair’s first since Biden …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has threatened the European Union with emergency measures if no solution was found in a trade dispute with the bloc. Speaking to Sky News on Saturday, Johnson said the UK will do “whatever it takes” to protect its territorial integrity in the dispute over Northern …

Violent protests erupted in the streets of Tunisia’s capital again on Saturday night, adding to the pressure on Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi’s government to crack down on police abuses. The clashes occurred in the Sejoumi neighborhood of Tunis and followed protests earlier in the day in the center of the …

A gas pipe explosion in a residential community in a central Chinese city killed 11 people and critically injured 37, state media CCTV reported Sunday. A total of 144 people had been evacuated following the deadly accident in the city of Shiyan in Hubei province by 11 a.m. (0300 GMT) …

A Greek court has sentenced four young Afghan asylum seekers to 10 years in jail each after they were charged with starting fires that destroyed Europe’s largest migrant camp last year. Defence lawyers said the men, who denied the accusations, were found guilty of intentional arson. The defence described the …

Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori insisted Saturday that Peru’s presidential election was marred by fraud, as final vote counting dragged on with her leftist rival slightly ahead. “There was fraud in the voting process. There was manipulation in the voting process,” Fujimori said in a briefing with foreign reporters, as her …

A flight en route from Los Angeles to Atlanta was diverted for an emergency landing when a passenger attacked two flight attendants and threatened to bring down the plane, authorities said. The incident late Friday took place at a time when more Americans are taking to the airways than at …

Hospitals in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa are “overwhelmed” by a rise in COVID-19 infections, President Felix Tshisekedi said on Saturday, as the country was hit by a third wave of the disease. Like many African countries, Congo has officially registered relatively few cases. But the virus has …

At least seven people were killed and several wounded in two separate artillery attacks on the northern Syrian town of Afrin on Saturday, civil defense sources said. The first attack targeted a residential area, while the second targeted a hospital shortly after, killing at least six. Video footage on social …

Assailants on motorbikes raided several villages in the northern states, attacking farmers and pursuing those who attempted to flee, police and residents say. Armed assailants have killed 53 people in northwest Nigeria’s Zamfara state, according to police and local residents, the latest violence to hit the restive region. Many motorcycle-riding …

Six others wounded in bombings that struck the western Kabul neighbourhood largely populated by members of the ethnic Hazara minority. At least seven people have been killed and six wounded as separate bombs hit two commuter minivans in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, according to officials. The explosions on Saturday hit vehicles …

Israeli forces have shot dead a Palestinian woman north of Jerusalem al-Quds over an alleged stabbing attempt, amid heightening tensions in the occupied territories. The deadly incident occurred on Saturday afternoon, when Israeli soldiers shot and wounded a 27-year-old Palestinian woman, identified as Ebtesam Khaled Kaabneh, at Qalandia checkpoint, to …

Azerbaijan said on Saturday it had handed over 15 Armenian prisoners in exchange for a map detailing the location of landmines in Agdam, a region relinquished by ethnic Armenian forces as a part of a deal to end a short war last year. A Russian-brokered ceasefire halted six weeks of …

Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh on Saturday began overseeing the dismantling of “floating home” communities on the banks of the Tonle Sap River over the objections of longtime residents who say they have nowhere else to go. For generations, the floating wooden houseboats of Phnom Penh have been both livelihood …

Saudi Arabia will limit this year’s Hajj pilgrimage to 60,000 residents and nationals living in the Kingdom due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced in a statement Saturday. “In light of what the whole world is witnessing from the continuing developments of the coronavirus …

Men of the Lagos State Police Command on Saturday morning fired tear gas canisters at the protesters gathered at the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Lagos, venue of the June 12 Democracy Day protest, The PUNCH reports. The protesters were demanding an end to bad governance when they were tear-gassed by …