Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered a Ryanair flight headed for Lithuania and carrying a young opposition blogger to land in Belarus on Sunday and detained him on arrival, prompting Lithuania to call for a NATO response. Law enforcers detained activist Roman Protasevich, 26, who had been put on a wanted …

India’s capital New Delhi will start relaxing its strict coronavirus lockdown next week if its new cases continue to drop. The South Asian country on Sunday reported 240,842 new infections nationwide over 24 hours – the lowest daily number in more than a month – and 3,741 deaths. For weeks, …

At least two people were killed and 12 others were wounded in a shooting at a large South Jersey house party, state police said. New Jersey State Police said a 30-year-old man and 25-year-old-woman were fatally shot. There were 12 other people who were injured and transported to local hospitals. …

The Ministry of Health announced the registration of (3791) new cases of Coronavirus, (5039) recoveries, and (32) deaths, across all regions of Iraq, during the past twenty-four hours. It indicated that (527,159) people had received the vaccine so far.

A cable car linking Italy’s Lake Maggiore with a nearby mountain in the Alps plunged to the ground. A mountaintop cable car plunged to the ground in northern Italy, killing at least 12 people and sending two children to the hospital, authorities said. The Stresa-Mottarone cable car takes tourists and …

At least 21 killed after ‘abrupt, extreme weather’ hits runners taking part in a 100-kilometer cross-country mountain race in China’s Gansu. At least 21 people have been killed after hail, freezing rain and high winds struck during an ultramarathon in China’s northwestern Gansu province, local officials said. “Abrupt, extreme weather” …

The Democratic Republic of Congo has initiated evacuation measures in the eastern city of Goma, which sits dangerously close to the erupting Mount Nyiragongo. The flowing lava has been destroying roads and houses on its path. “The evacuation plan for the city of Goma has been activated,” Communications Minister Patrick …

A new study says both the vaccines are highly effective against the B1617.2 strain – first identified in India – after the second dose. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines have been found to be highly effective against the coronavirus variant that was first identified in India, according to a study …

The incident comes as a fragile ceasefire holds in the besieged Gaza, days after the end of an 11-day Israeli bombing campaign. Dozens of Jewish settlers, flanked by heavily armed Israeli special forces, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem in the early morning, hours after Palestinian worshippers …

The owner of a container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March says the canal authority was at fault over its grounding as it disputes the vessel’s detention and a compensation claim, a lawyer representing the owner said on Saturday. The Ever Given, one of the world’s largest container …

Atletico Madrid has been crowned La Liga champions after the title race went down to the wire. Atletico Madrid has won La Liga after a nail-biting finish to the season after a tense battle with Real Madrid on the final day of the campaign. Diego Simeone’s side went into their …

Poland will buy 24 armed drones from Turkey, the Polish defense minister said on Saturday, becoming the first NATO member to buy Turkish-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The Bayraktar TB2 drones, the first of which are due to be delivered next year, will be armed with anti-tank projectiles. Poland will …

Morocco on Saturday urged Spain to open an investigation into the circumstances of a Western Sahara independence leader’s arrival in the country for medical treatment and explain its findings to Rabat. Madrid should explain “the conditions, circumstances, and connivances that led to the fraudulent entry of this person using false …

The incident occurred as the plane was landing at Kaduna airport ‘due to inclement weather, the army says. Nigeria’s top-ranking army commander Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru and other military officers have been killed when their plane crashed in the country’s north, according to officials. The incident on Friday occurred “due …

Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri says he will not form a government that simply complies with the wishes of President Michel Aoun, as the cash-strapped country has yet to overcome a persisting political standoff. “I will not form a government as the team of his Excellency the President wants it, …

Secretary-General of Al-Fateh Alliance, Hadi Al-Amiri, praised the position of the Religious Authority, people and political forces in support of the Palestinian cause. During the first International Conference on Supporting Palestinian people that took place in Baghdad, Al-Amiri said: “The Palestinian people’s uprising came in response to the Israeli violations, …

The head of France’s armed forces has slammed a UN report into an airstrike in central Mali which killed 19 civilians, saying it was biased and delegitimized the operations of the French-led Barkhane force there. “Very clearly this (report) comprises an attack on the French army, the Barkhane operation (and) …

A Palestinian official says an initial assessment shows at least 2,000 housing units were destroyed in airstrikes launched by Israel on Gaza. Naji Sarhan, deputy of Gaza’s works and housing ministry, tells The Associated Press on Saturday that more than 15,000 other units were partly destroyed in the 11-day war. …

Hundreds of Greek firefighters battled a forest fire near Athens for a third day on Saturday but brought the main front of the blaze under control as weather conditions improved. The fire, on the Geraneia mountain range, some 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of the capital, is “one of the …

Current COVID-19 shots provide a high level of protection against hospitalization and death, according to a summary of the efficacy of eight vaccines that showed the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE jab may better at stopping at least two worrisome coronavirus variants. Efficacy against COVID-linked disease averaged about 85 percent after a …