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South Asia

A woman wearing a face mask walks past a mural in Beijing, Friday, April 22, 2022.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Beijing Covid spike prompts mass testing, panic buying

Queues snaked around malls and outside office complexes on Monday as people waited to be swabbed for samples by health workers

Sri Lanka's new president Ranil Wickremesinghe addresses the media representatives during his visit at the Gangaramaya Buddhist temple in Colombo. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)

Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lanka's new president

Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the 8th Executive President of Sri Lanka at the Parliament complex before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya

People sit by the swimming pool as they throng President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's official residence on the second day after it was stormed in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, July 11, 2022.

Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa hits airport standoff in escape attempt

Gotabaya Rajapaksa has promised to resign on Wednesday and clear the way for a 'peaceful transition of power'

Sri Lankans wait at a fuel station after spending hours to unsuccessfully buy kerosene oil in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, April 7, 2022.  (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Lankan fuel pumps may go dry by April end; India's credit line exhausting fast

People have been protesting for weeks over lengthy power cuts and shortage of gas, food and other basic goods

Protestors burn an effigy of acting President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as they demand his resignation in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Voting begins to elect Sri Lanka's new president in three-cornered contest

A candidate has to cross the magical figure of 113 in the 225-member House to win the election

Asia

This photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter posing with soldiers who were involved in the the recent launch of what it says a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile, at an unidentified location in North Korea. (Korea News Service via AP)

Kim vows North Korea to have world's most powerful nuclear force

Kim exhorted the scientists and workers to 'expand and bolster up the nuclear war deterrent of the country at an exceptionally rapid speed'

Counting of votes for the Nepal Parliamentary and Provincial Assembly elections underway, in Kathmandu,  (PTI)

Nepal polls: PM Deuba wins from Dadeldhura; Nepali Congress ahead in election tally

Elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and seven provincial assemblies were held on Sunday

The new law will come into effect from January 1, 2022. (Representational image: PTI)

Sri Lanka makes defence ministry's NOC mandatory for foreigners marrying locals

Registrar General WMMB Weerasekera, in a circular dated October 18, said that the decision has been taken due to national security reasons

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, center, walks with Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, left, as she arrives in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. Pelosi arrived in Taiwan despite threats from Beijing of serious consequences (AP)

Nancy Pelosi lands in Taiwan, defying China threats

Pelosi, second in line to the presidency, is the highest-profile elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years

Middle East

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi on the sideline of the summit of Caspian Sea littoral states in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on June 29, 2022.  (AP file image)

Putin heads to Tehran for talks with leaders of Iran, Turkey

Putin is seeking to bolster ties with Tehran, a fellow target of severe U.S. sanctions and a potential military and trade partner

Al Jazeera journalist Shereen Abu Aqleh (Image credit: Al Jazeera)

Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh killed during Israeli raid in West Bank

Ali Samoudi, another Palestinian journalist, was hospitalized in stable condition after being shot in the back

Women wearing face masks to protect from coronavirus, play with a dog in the medieval core in central Nicosia, Cyprus. (Photo: PTI)

New coronavirus variant 'Deltacron' emerges in Cyprus

In total, 10 of the mutations from Omicron were found in the 25 samples taken in Cyprus

 The spokesperson emphasised the fact that the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had kept flying in and out of Kabul under "difficult circumstances" when others had ceased their operations. (AP Image)

Pakistan opens air route to Afghanistan for commercial cargo

Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan International Airlines said that it had immediately suspended its operation in Kabul citing 'security reasons'

Afghans wait to receive food rations organized by the World Food Program (WFP) in Pul-e-Alam, the capital of Logar province. eastern of Afghanistan. (Photo: AP)

UN expresses concern over human rights violations in Afghanistan

The UNAMA Human Rights said that there is a need for investigations, transparency and accountability of such cases

Africa

Japanese MV Wakashio, a bulk carrier ship that recently ran aground off the southeast coast of Mauritius, can be seen from the coast of Mauritius. The oil spill disaster turned deadly this week when a tugboat leaving the shipwreck collided with a barge and sank, killing at least three sailors, police said Tuesday Sept. 1, 2020. (AP)

Mauritius oil spill ship operator to pay $9.4 million

More than 1,000 tonnes of oil is believed to have leaked from the ship, with the rest siphoned out before it spilled

Without practicing social distancing, people queue for social grant payments at a post office in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Friday, Nov. 13, 2020. The African continent has surpassed 2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 as health officials warn of infections starting to creep up again into a second surge. (AP)

African continent hits 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases

African health officials also worry that the continent will suffer as richer countries buy up supplies

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaking during a televised announcement from Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas. (AFP)

Maduro announces arrest of 'American spy' near Venezuelan refineries

The arrest occurred after a 'plan to cause an explosion' was 'discovered and dismantled' at El Palito refinery, authorities say

The Biden administration has proposed a massive hike in immigration fees, including the much sought-after H-1B visas for high-skilled foreign workers.

Biden administration proposes massive hike in immigration fees including H-1B visas

The application for the H-1B visa increases from USD 460 to USD 780, and L-1 from USD 460 to USD 1,385

Europe

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (L) talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as they arrive for a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on January 24, 2022. (Photo: AFP)

NATO sending planes, ships to eastern Europe

Tensions are mounting as the West accuses Moscow of threatening to invade Ukraine by massing over 100,000 troops on its border

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (AP)

Blinken to visit Kyiv on Sunday: Zelensky

It will be the first official visit by US government officials since the February 24 invasion

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. (AP)

Russia 'would deploy nuclear arms' near Finland, Sweden if join NATO

Finland said this week it will decide whether to apply for NATO membership within weeks and Sweden is also discussing membership

In this photo provided by UK Parliament, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, center, attends Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. (AP)

Boris Johnson to resign, will stay UK PM until new leader elected

The move came after days of high drama and a steady stream of resignations from his Cabinet since Tuesday

A Ukrainian man rides his bicycle near to a factory and a store burning after been bombarded in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Russia announces opening of humanitarian corridors in Kyiv, other cities

Russian forces, for humanitarian purposes, are declaring a 'regime of silence' from 10:00 am on 7 March, the Russian defence ministry said

Americas

An oil tanker is moored at the Sheskharis complex, part of Chernomortransneft JSC, a subsidiary of Transneft PJSC, in Novorossiysk, Russia, one of the largest facilities for oil and petroleum products in southern Russia.  (AP file photo)

G-7 joins EU on $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the pact will help restrict Putin's primary source of revenue for his illegal war in Ukraine

Demonstrators gather outside the United States embassy in Vauxhall to protest against the decision to scrap constitutional right to abortion, in London.  (Ashlee Ruggels/PA via AP)

US abortion ruling sparks global debate, polarizes activists

The U.N. agency dealing with sexual and reproductive health said that whether or not abortion is legal 'it happens all too often'

US President Joe Biden (AP)

Biden to decide on second term 'shortly' after new year: Top aide

At 80 he is already the oldest president in US history and if he served a second term he would be 86 by the time he stepped down

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price  (AP)

Not familiar with it, familiar with shared values with India: US on BBC documentary

Price said that there are numerous elements that bolster the US' global strategic partnership with India

Oceania

News

Indian student stabbed multiple times in Australia allegedly for cash

The incident took place on Oct 6 at about 10.30 pm, as Shubham Garg walked along the Pacific Highway, NSW Police Force said in a statement

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern walks to the COVID-19 update press conference in Wellington, New Zealand, Friday, Aug. 20, 2021.  (Mark Mitchell Pool photo via AP)

New Zealand extends Delta outbreak lockdown

PM Jacinda Ardern said the initial three-day lockdown, which would have expired overnight Friday, would be extended by another four days

The surge has already overwhelmed testing stations, prompted new vaccine mandates and caused at least one state to cut back on surgeries

Coronavirus cases surge across Australia as omicron explodes

The surge has already overwhelmed testing stations, prompted new vaccine mandates and caused at least one state to cut back on surgeries

This file photo taken on October 23, 2019 shows a giant digital sign at Facebook's corporate headquarters campus in Menlo Park, California. - Facebook said on February 23, 2021 it will lift a contentious ban on Australian news pages "in the coming days", after the government agreed to amend a world-first media law fiercely opposed by the tech giant. (Josh Edelson / AFP)

Facebook to restore Australia news pages as deal reached on media law

Prime Minister Scott Morrison had angrily accused Facebook of making a decision to 'unfriend' Australia

While arrivals from India had triggered the risk assessment, Prime Minister Ardern said the Government would be looking at risks posed by other COVID-19 hotspot countries. (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)

New Zealand temporarily suspends entry of travellers from India amid COVID-19 surge

The travel restriction comes after New Zealand recorded 23 new COVID-19 cases in managed isolation on Thursday, of which 17 came from India