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Australian authorities in the southeastern state of Victoria have detected a “highly transmissible” variant of the deadly coronavirus, stoking concerns of a major spike in cases. Authorities in Victoria said on Friday that the Delta COVID-19 virus variant has for the first time been detected through genomic sequencing among infections …

China has hit back at the United States, asking Washington to face up to its own human rights violations after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remarks on the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident. On the eve of the anniversary of the protests, Blinken on Thursday said Washington would “honor the …

Norway’s prime minister Erna Solberg said on Thursday the United States had given assurances it had stopped spying on its allies in 2014 after Oslo launched a protest against the practice. Norway called in the U.S. ambassador, she said, after a report that the U.S. National Security Agency had used …

Indonesia has canceled the haj pilgrimage for people in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation for the second year in a row due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, the religious affairs minister said on Thursday. For many Indonesians, a religious pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime event, with an average wait time …

Germany persistently violated EU limits on air pollution, the European Union’s top court said on Thursday, in a ruling that could see the country face financial penalties if it fails to improve air quality in several big cities. Air pollution in Europe has eased in the last decade but remains …

Gunmen abducted 136 students from an Islamic school in the north-central Nigerian state of Niger on Sunday, a state official said on Wednesday, lower than the estimate of 200 previously offered by the federal government. An armed gang on motorcycles attacked the town of Tegina in the state on Sunday. …

Germany has refused to issue any further permits for flights arriving from Russia in a tit-for-tat move after Moscow failed to extend German airline Lufthansa’s flight permissions, the German transport ministry said on Wednesday. The dispute follows European Union moves to stop Russia-bound flights from crossing Belarusian air space after …

As NATO and Russia continue a dispute over Ukraine’s eastern region of the Donbass, a Russian military official has said modern weapons will be delivered to Ukraine under the guise of NATO’s annual military drill in the strategic Black Sea. Major-General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, …

Being already the largest recipient of assistance from Washington, with an annual $3.8bn in US military aid, does not stop Israel from asking for more. Now a US senator has unveiled that the Tel Aviv regime is preparing a request for an additional $1 billion to the Pentagon to replenish …

Former US President Donald Trump’s blog page, launched last month in the wake of major social media platforms banning him, has been removed from his website. Trump aide Jason Miller on Wednesday said that the page, which had been called “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump,” would not be …

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on 64 companies and three Bulgarians over corruption, including an oligarch accused of planning to create a conduit for Russian political leaders to influence the Bulgarian government. A statement by the Treasury Department said the move was its single biggest action targeting graft …

A serious fire erupted at a refinery in the southern part of Tehran on Wednesday, with eyewitnesses sharing dramatic footage of huge plumes of black smoke billowing into the skies and red flames at the base of the blaze. “The fire has started at the liquefied gas line of Tehran’s …

Stoltenberg says Belarus to be punished over flight diversion as shock grows after an activist stabbed himself in Minsk court. Pressure mounted on Belarus on Wednesday as NATO’s chief called for sanctions to be implemented after Minsk’s controversial flight diversion, and as shock rose over an activist’s apparent suicide attempt …

UK royal officials banned ethnic minorities from clerical roles until at least the 1960s, a report by The Guardian reveals. Buckingham Palace banned “coloured immigrants or foreigners” from undertaking office roles for the United Kingdom’s royal family until at least the late 1960s, according to documents obtained by The Guardian …

The French Pacific island of New Caledonia, which rejected independence in two previous referendums, will have a third and final vote on Dec. 12, France’s overseas territories minister said on Wednesday. The referendum would be followed by a two-year transition period to allow Paris to clarify its relations with New …

Twitter removed on Wednesday a post by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari threatening punishment for regional secessionists blamed for attacks on government buildings. The social media firm said Buhari’s tweet, referring to the 1967-70 civil war in the southeastern Biafra region that killed 1 million people, violated its “abusive behaviour” policy …

The leader of the Western Sahara independence movement, Brahim Ghali, returned to Algeria on Wednesday after spending more than a month in hospital in Spain – a stay which triggered a diplomatic row between Spain and Morocco. “He arrived safe and sound,” said Jalil Mohamed, the Polisario Front’s spokesman in …

Iran’s army confirmed crew safely evacuated after the vessel caught fire under unclear circumstances. One of Iran’s largest navy ships has sunk after catching fire near the Strait of Hormuz under unclear circumstances. The Kharg, named after an island nearby that serves as a key oil terminal, caught fire in …

The renewed spotlight on the issue could create a headache for President Joe Biden, who is set to travel to Europe later this month for the Group of Seven summit of world leaders. European leaders are demanding answers after fresh allegations about the United States spying on its allies. The …

Much of Africa may have been spared the death toll that COVID-19 brought to other regions, but it now faces recession, growing violence, and higher unemployment because of the pandemic, a report said on Wednesday. “The global economic shutdown has driven Africa into recession for the first time in 30 …