Britain on Wednesday demanded a new deal to oversee post-Brexit trade involving Northern Ireland and warned the European Union that London would be justified in unilaterally deviating from a deal it struck with the bloc just last year. The Northern Ireland protocol was agreed upon by Britain and the European …

Police and government authorities have secured the release of 100 people, including women, children, and nursing mothers, who were kidnapped from their village in northwestern Nigeria over a month ago, a local police spokesperson said. Nigeria is battling an increase in armed robberies and kidnappings for ransom, mainly in northwestern …

At least 25 people have died in China’s flood-stricken central province of Henan, a dozen of them in a subway line in its capital that was drenched by what weather officials called the heaviest rains for 1,000 years. About 100,000 people have been evacuated in Zhengzhou, the capital, where rail …

More than 4,300 people have died of the deadly “black fungus” in India in a growing epidemic that mainly affects Covid-19 patients. India has reported 45,374 cases of this rare and dangerous infection, called mucormycosis, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said. It affects the nose, eyes, and sometimes the brain, …

Brisbane was picked Wednesday to host the 2032 Olympics, the inevitable winner of a one-city race steered by the IOC to avoid rival bids. The Games will go back to Australia 32 years after the popular 2000 Sydney Olympics. Melbourne was hosted in 1956. “We know what it takes to …

The Moroccan government used Israeli malware to spy on French President Emmanuel Macron’s phone calls, Le Monde has reported. More than a dozen other French politicians were reportedly targeted in a scheme denied by Morocco. Hours after Paris prosecutors launched an investigation into allegations that Morocco’s intelligence agencies used Israeli …

Former Trump Inaugural Chairman Thomas Barrack has been arrested on federal charges in Los Angeles.

Sanofi-GSK hopes to get approvals by the end of this year after early-stage results showed the vaccine produces a robust immune response. Europe’s drug regulator said on Tuesday it had started a real-time review of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by French drugmaker Sanofi and the UK’s GlaxoSmithKline, the fifth shot …

German authorities faced pressure on Tuesday to set aside longstanding privacy concerns and send mobile phone alerts directly to people in potential disaster zones following the devastation wrought by last week’s catastrophic floods. Unlike many other countries, including Japan, Israel and New Zealand, Germany has no way of sending text …

Greek authorities on the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos say they are drawing up a criminal case, including on charges of espionage, against 10 people, all foreign nationals, for allegedly helping migrants enter the country illegally. Police in Lesbos said on Monday the investigation had been ongoing for several months …

Spies for centuries have trained their sights on those who shape destinies of nations: presidents, prime ministers, kings. And in the 21st century, most of them carry smartphones.

The US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price reacted to a US media report Monday evening that sanctions against Iran could escalate if the Vienna talks fail. The US is considering tighter sanctions on Iranian oil sales to China as a way to encourage Tehran to conclude a nuclear deal and raise …

The US military has begun relocating Afghan nationals who worked with American forces to a military base near Washington. Media reported on Monday that translators and others employed by the US occupant forces were housed at an army base about 200km south of Washington, DC. The Afghans who aided the …

A Norwegian man who went to extreme lengths to illegally milk the country’s Covid relief program has been nabbed by authorities, but only after he used hundreds of stolen identities as part of his massive fraud scheme. The 35-year-old suspect has been accused of collecting around 10 million Norwegian krone …

The president of Mexico has vowed to open an investigation into reports that members of the previous government had bought Israeli spying software and had used it to spy on the country’s current socialist leader, among others. In a speech on Tuesday, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador labeled allegations that …

With a maximum range of 600 km, the latest missile weapon system carried out live-fire exercises to hit a high-speed ballistic target at Kapustin Yar training ground, Russian defence ministry says. Russia said it had successfully test-fired its new S-500 air defence missile systems at a southern training range and …

Jovenel Moise had tapped Ariel Henry to replace Claude Joseph as prime minister in the days before the president was shot dead in his home in Port-au-Prince in the early hours of July 7. Haiti’s interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, who has run the country following the assassination of president …

The battle for control of Venezuela’s gold reserves in the Bank of England (BOE) has reached the final stage where the Supreme Court will get to decide if the British government’s recognition of Venezuela’s self-styled opposition leader, Juan Guaidó,  justifies freezing the reserves indefinitely. In a previous round of legal hearings in …

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahaf announced the arrival of Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein to the American capital, Washington, to hold a negotiating round that would pave the way for dialogue between Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and US President Joe Biden. Al-Sahaf said, in a statement  that “Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein …

The large wildfire scorching the western US state of Oregon topped 300,000 acres Monday as it emerged a California power company linked to previous deadly fires may be responsible for a new blaze. Oregon’s giant Bootleg Fire has triggered over 2,100 evacuations and destroyed 67 homes in nearly two weeks …