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One person is missing and several have been injured after a crane collapsed on houses in east London. London Fire Brigade (LFB) tweeted that it was “working to free people trapped inside” after the 20-meter crane came down on Wednesday afternoon. It collapsed on two terraced houses in Compton Street …

Russia and Turkey will continue joint efforts on finding a solution to the Libyan crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday. The two countries are seeking an approach that would allow for an immediate cease-fire in Libya, the minister said, speaking at a news conference in Moscow. “Within the …

Africa now has more than a half-million confirmed coronavirus cases, while South Africa’s health minister declared Wednesday that “we have now reached the surge.” The continent-wide total is over 509,000, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after South Africa recorded another day of more than 10,000 …

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the Security Council on Wednesday that the conflict in Libya has entered a new phase “with foreign interference reaching unprecedented levels.” The oil-producing country descended into chaos after the NATO-backed overthrow of leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Since 2014, Libya has been split, with …

Organizers of a Facebook ad boycott vowed to press on with their campaign, saying the social network’s top executives had failed to offer meaningful action on curbing hateful content. At a virtual meeting that included Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, the #StopHateForProfit coalition leaders “didn’t hear anything… to convince us …

Iran will boost Syria’s air defenses, as part of a wider military security agreement between the two countries. Iran will consolidate military relations with Syria, including enforcing and developing the Syrian air defenses in the face of Israeli strikes, as part of a “comprehensive” military agreement signed Wednesday between Iran …

Saudi fighters violated the ceasefire in Yemen and launched a series of attacks on Al-Hudaydah province in the past 24 hours. Saudi fighter jets have once again violated their alleged ceasefire in Yemen, Al-Masirah reported. In the past 24 hours, the Saudi-led coalition has reportedly violated the ceasefire in Hudaydah, …

China says the United States holds the key to breaking the stalemate in negotiations with North Korea, amid renewed tensions on the Korean Peninsula due to stalled demilitarization talks. “North Korea and the US are major conflicting parties in regards to the Korean Peninsula issue. The US holds the key …

US President Donald Trump says he disagrees with his top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci on his assessment of the dire situation the United States faces. His remarks on Tuesday came as the US, the country hardest hit by the coronavirus, posted 60,209 new cases on the same day, …

Kanye West is taking off his MAGA hat. That’s just one of the revelations from a four-hour Forbes interview conducted Tuesday with the rapper/mogul/aspiring politician that was released on Wednesday. West, who has been widely criticized because of his support of President Donald Trump, reportedly told the publication he has …

A landslide buried nine people on Wednesday in China’s Hubei province, the People’s Daily newspaper reported, after some of the heaviest rain in decades brought floods that have killed more than 100 people. The landslide occurred in Huangmei County in the early hours and efforts were being made to rescue …

US President Donald Trump launched an all-out effort pressing state and local officials to reopen schools this fall, arguing that some are keeping schools closed not because of the risks from the coronavirus pandemic but for political reasons. “They think it’s going to be good for them politically, so they …

Authorities in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia have closed several tourist spots after a case of bubonic plague was confirmed this week. The case was discovered in Bayannur, located northwest of the capital Beijing. Five nearby grassland scenic points have now been closed, with visitors “strictly prohibited from entering …

A Taliban suicide bomber detonated an explosive-packed military vehicle on the approach to the provincial governor’s residence and police headquarters in the Afghan province of Kandahar on Wednesday, killing at least three people, authorities said. Bloodshed is escalating anew in Afghanistan even as the United States tries to broker a …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday he took full responsibility for the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, denying that he was trying to blame care workers for the spread of COVID-19. Johnson has been criticized for saying some care homes did not follow procedures to stem the …

The European Commission has struck deals with drugmakers Roche and Merck KGaA to secure supplies of experimental treatments for COVID-19, a Commission source told Reuters on Wednesday. The deals cover Roche’s arthritis medicine RoActemra and Merck’s multiple sclerosis drug Rebif – both seen as potential treatments for COVID-19 – and …

Two policemen were killed and two civilians were injured in a roadside blast in Mogadishu on Wednesday, witnesses said. Police cordoned off the area but a vehicle damaged by an explosion could be seen, witnesses said. Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the blast in the …

Police in the Netherlands arrested six men suspected of preparing to commit kidnappings and hold people, hostage, after discovering an “underworld” prison equipped with a torture chamber made from converted shipping containers in a warehouse. In a statement on Tuesday, the National Prosecutor’s Office said the seven shipping containers were …

Protesters and police clashed violently in Belgrade on Tuesday evening amid anger over the return of strict lockdown measures to tackle coronavirus. Earlier on Tuesday, a weekend curfew was announced after a rise in Covid-19 cases in Serbia and across the western Balkans. A group of protesters stormed the parliament …

The White House played down explosive claims against Donald Trump in a new book by his niece, Mary L Trump, scheduled for release next week, arguing that the press should not be meddling in the Trump family’s private history. “He’s not her patient, he’s her uncle,” counsellor to the president …