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China ordered the United States on Friday to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu, ratcheting up a diplomatic conflict at a time when relations have sunk to their lowest level in decades. The move was a response to the Trump administration’s order this week for Beijing to …

Sixteen international and Bahraini human rights groups have urged Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to commute the death sentences handed down to two nationals, stressing that the pair who suffered alleged torture were not afforded a fair trial.  Back in February 2014, Bahraini security forces detained Hussain Moosa, 34, …

Corruption charges against the hardline prime minister, and the handling of coronavirus, have fuelled more protests in Israel. Israeli protests have continued to increase in size and intensity against the country’s longest-serving Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. This time around, more young protesters appear to have joined demonstrations as distaste for …

  Coronavirus has now infected some 15.4 million people and has killed more than 632,000. Here are the latest updates for July 23: Thursday, July 23, 2020 US cases took 16 days to go from 3 to 4 million The total number of coronavirus cases reported in the United States …

When asked to comment on spying allegations, the Chinese consul general of Houston told the media that the US has to present facts proving China’s alleged guilt. “I never expected [to be] treated like this,” Consul General Cai Wei said in an interview, commenting on the US’ order to shut …

Rescue workers used boats to reach people trapped in remote villages on Wednesday (July 22), where many houses have been left under water. Floods in Assam have killed at least 84 people and displaced more than 2.75 million since May. Floods have also inundated the Kaziranga National Park, home to …

Newly leaked documents reveal that 1-year-old migrants were kept in US hotels before deportation. Obtained by The Associated Press, the documents show that Hampton Inn & Suites hotels in Texas and Arizona were used 186 times by a private contractor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold minors. ICE …

Israel has said it is sending military reinforcements to its northern frontier after the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group threatened retaliation over the killing of one of its members in an attack in Syria earlier this week. The Israeli army said on its Twitter account on Thursday that the move was “in …

Turkey warned Egypt against any deployment of forces in the Libyan civil war and sharply criticized French President Emmanuel Macron’s role, highlighting the threat of escalating violence and geopolitical rivalries in the oil-rich country. The remarks by Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, come days after Egypt’s …

“Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.” President Trump again sought to showcase his mental fitness on television by reciting, over and over again in an interview broadcast on Wednesday evening, what he said was a sample cognitive testing sequence. For the better part of a month, Mr. Trump, 74, has made …

Five more Victorians have died from coronavirus, as the premier appealed to young people to take the threat seriously if they want to “be able to go and have a beer”. Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed 403 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the state’s third-worst tally. The five deaths are also …

France’s president on Thursday said it would be a serious error by the European Union to not respond to provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean and said he wanted more sanctions on those who violated Greek and Cypriot maritime space. Emmanuel Macron’s comments come after Turkey’s navy on Tuesday issued an …

Joe Biden called Donald Trump the “first” racist elected as United States president, despite several owning slaves. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s comments on Wednesday came during an online campaign event organised by the Service Employees International Union when one participant complained about Mr Trump’s alleged racism over Covid-19. Mr …

Five aid workers abducted last month in north-east Nigeria’s Borno State have been killed, reportedly by terrorists. The men were working for Action Against Hunger, the International Rescue Committee, Rich International and the country’s State Emergency Management Agency, Nigeria’s president confirmed. Muhammadu Buhari blamed Boko Haram and vowed to bring …

A man armed with a grenade escaped arrest on Thursday and took a senior Ukrainian policeman hostage in the central city of Poltava, a government minister said. It was the second hostage-taking in Ukraine in three days. On Tuesday, an armed man held 13 people captive on a bus for …

Hackers froze turnstiles at a football game and tried to steal a £1m club transfer fee in recent cyber attacks on UK sport, a new report has revealed. Cybercriminals hacked the emails of a Premier League club’s managing director during a transfer negotiation and would have been able to pocket …

China launched a Mars probe on Thursday, aiming to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one mission, and taking the first step in its planetary exploration of the solar system. A Long March-5 rocket, China’s largest launch vehicle, carrying the spacecraft with a mass of about 5 tonnes, soared into …

Portland’s mayor faced a hostile crowd of protesters Wednesday night. They screamed at and sharply questioned him as he tried to rally the demonstrators who’ve clashed repeatedly with federal agents sent in by President Trump to quell ongoing unrest in the city. It was the 55th straight night of protests …

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov replaced key ministers on Thursday in a government reshuffle designed to quell a wave of anti-corruption protests that have called for his resignation. Borissov dismissed the ministers of finance, economy and interior, whom he had asked to resign last week to stop speculation that they …

The U.S. government’s order to China to shut its consulate in Houston is an attempt to blame Beijing for U.S. failures ahead of the November presidential election, Chinese state media said in editorials on Thursday. The United States said on Wednesday it had given China 72 hours to close the …