A Russia-led post-Soviet security bloc started its largest military drills near the Tajik-Afghan border in years on Monday amid cross-border tensions ahead of talks between Afghanistan’s new Taliban leaders and major regional powers. Unlike Afghanistan’s other northern neighbors who have de facto acknowledged the Taliban leadership and started building working …

Italian police used water cannon and tear gas on Monday to clear a sit-in at the port of Trieste, where opponents of the government’s mandatory COVID-19 health pass have tried to block access. The northeastern port has been the focal point of protest in Italy over the introduction of new …

Gunmen killed at least 30 people in an attack in northern Nigeria’s Sokoto state, the governor’s office said on Monday. The assault began at a weekly market in Goronyo on Sunday and continued into Monday morning, Sokoto Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said in a statement. Iliyasu Abba, a local resident, …

Human rights activists unfurled a banner reading “No Genocide Games”, waved a Tibetan flag and called for a boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics during the torch-lighting ceremony on Monday. Two women and a man sneaked past a tight police cordon and entered the archaeological site of the ancient …

Thousands of Iraq demonstrators have rallied nationwide to denounce the electoral commission results of last week’s legislative poll, according to which the Sairoon Alliance, led by influential Shia Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, has made progress and is staking its claim as the “largest bloc” in the house. On Sunday, people …

The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia recently took over Newcastle, but they lost their first game in charge to Tottenham Hotspur. A wave of optimism greeted the takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. But the Magpies’ new owners have quickly been made to look …

A senior Lebanese journalist has identified a US embassy employee as one of the snipers who opened fire at supporters of Hezbollah and Amal movements who were marching peacefully towards the Palace of Justice in central Beirut. In a post on his Twitter account on Friday, Hosein Mortada released a …

The plan to roll out Merck & Co’s promising antiviral pill to treat COVID-19 risks repeating the inequities of vaccine distribution, potentially leaving the nations with the greatest need once again at the back of the line, international health groups say. For example, only about 5% of Africa’s population is …

Japan’s new prime minister on Sunday said the planned mass disposal of treated but still radioactive water stored at the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant cannot be delayed, despite concerns from local residents. Speaking at his first visit to the facility since taking office, Fumio Kishida said his government would work …

Vulnerable Indian migrant workers in Kashmir will be moved to army and police camps for protection after several were killed by militants, the police chief on the Indian side of the disputed region said on Sunday. Vijay Kumar said he had instructed his officers to move workers after three laborers …

China’s military on Sunday condemned the United States and Canada for sending warships through the Taiwan Strait last week, saying their actions seriously jeopardized peace and stability. Chinese forces monitored the ships and “stood guard” throughout their sailing, the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement. The …

Former US President Bill Clinton was released on Sunday from a Southern California hospital after five nights of treatment for an infection, a spokesman said. Clinton’s “fever and white blood cell count are normalized and he will return home to New York to finish his course of antibiotics,” according to …

Two women attempted to hang a banner from the Acropolis in Athens Sunday morning in protest at the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics and were detained by Greek police. The activists, 18-year-old Tibetan student Tsela Zoksang and 22-year-old exiled Hong Kong activist Joey Siu, both American citizens, are members of the …

At least 23 people have died, and a dozen are feared missing after a day of torrential rains in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Rescue operations were underway on Sunday after heavy rains lashed the state the day before, triggering flash floods and landslides, the Press Trust of India …

Britain is considering a number of options to boost the security of lawmakers after a parliamentarian was stabbed to death during a meeting with constituents, interior minister Priti Patel said on Sunday. The killing of David Amess, from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party, took place five years after the …

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said Turkey was in talks with the United States to buy F-16 fighters after it was kicked off the F-35 program for purchasing a Russian missile defense system. Washington excluded Ankara from NATO’s F-35 stealth fighter jet program in 2019 after Turkey purchased Russian …

Pope Francis said on Saturday he realizes some people, including within the Church, consider him to be “a pest” for defending the poor and most vulnerable, but that it won’t stop him as it is part of Christianity. “Thinking about these situations (of exclusion and inequality), I make a pest …

A group of 17 US missionaries including children were kidnapped in Haiti on Saturday, according to a voice message sent to various religious missions by an organization with direct knowledge of the incident. The missionaries were on their way home from building an orphanage, according to a message from Ohio-based …

China has tested a new space capability with a hypersonic missile, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. The report, citing multiple sources familiar with the test, said Beijing in August launched a nuclear-capable missile that circled the Earth at low orbit before descending toward its target, which three sources said …

Melbourne, which has spent more time under COVID-19 lockdowns than any other city in the world, is set to lift its stay-at-home orders this week, officials said on Sunday. By Friday, when some curbs will be lifted, the Australian city of 5 million people will have been under six lockdowns …