International news

Samuel Paty, the 47-year old history teacher beheaded last week, will posthumously get France's highest award, the "Legion d'Honneur".

The final debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden will feature a mute button to allow each candidate to speak uninterrupted, organisers said on Monday.

Dismayed by the plastic waste strewn over their home island of Bali, sisters Melati and Isabel Wijsen have channelled Ted Talks and international conferences in raising global awareness about climate change.

President Donald Trump announced on Monday the US would remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism after the country agreed to make a long-sought payment to US terror victims.

Ireland announced some of Europe's toughest COVID-19 constraints on Monday, shutting non-essential retail and telling people not to travel more than 5km from their home.

The Kingdom of Bahrain and Israel have signed a statement on the Establishment of Diplomatic, Peaceful and Friendly Relations in Manama.

Specialised drones are being tested in a programme to boost koala numbers on Australia's east coast, dropping seeds of gum trees to regenerate bushland torched in the country's historic bushfires.

Around 6 million people in the UK face tougher COVID-19 lockdowns in coming days as Wales and Manchester, mull additional restrictions as the novel coronavirus outbreak accelerates.

Tens of thousands of opposition supporters rallied in the city of Karachi as part of a campaign to oust Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan.

New Zealand's next parliament is set to be the most inclusive ever, with several people of colour and a high number of women.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte gave mayors the power to shut public squares from 9:00 pm as he unveiled more measures to try to halt a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases.

South Africa's health minister, Zweli Mkhize, and his wife have tested positive for COVID-19, his office said late on Sunday.

Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other on Sunday of violating a new humanitarian ceasefire in fighting over the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, hours after it was agreed.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has allowed its citizens and residents to perform Umrah at 75 per cent capacity.

Thousands of Thai anti-government protesters took over key intersections in Bangkok on Sunday, defying a ban on protests for the fourth day.

More than a dozen whales have died in New Zealand after becoming stranded on the country's North Island, the Department of Conservation said on Sunday.

The streets and terraces of Paris and eight cities in France emptied on Saturday night as people were asked to stay home to stem a second wave of the coronavirus.

A landslide early on Sunday left at least 22 soldiers missing in Vietnam's central province of Quang Tri, the government said, as the Southeast Asian country battles the worst flooding in years.

Australia's state of Victoria, the epicentre of the country's coronavirus outbreak, will see some of its months-long restrictions eased as of Monday but retailers and restaurants must wait longer.

Belgium's foreign minister Sophie Wilmes said on Saturday she had tested positive for COVID-19.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in a wave of protests across Bangkok and other Thai cities on Saturday in defiance of a government crackdown following three months of demonstrations aimed at the prime minister and monarchy.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd have received renewed approval to conduct late-stage clinical trials in India of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's centre-left Labour Party won a landslide victory in New Zealand's general election on Saturday.

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg has tested positive for the coronavirus.

French police have arrested nine people after a man beheaded a school teacher on the street of a Paris suburb on Friday.

More than 39.07 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and over 1.09 million have died, according to a Reuters tally published on Saturday.

President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden will return to the campaign trail on Friday, a day after the two contenders clashed from afar during duelling televised town halls.

"Human challenge" trials of potential COVID-19 vaccines, where volunteers are deliberately infected with the disease, could become a reality in Britain.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Friday he was not quitting after tens of thousands of anti-government protesters defied a ban on demonstrations and he warned them not to persist.

Scientists from Britain's University of Oxford have developed a rapid COVID-19 test able to identify the coronavirus in less than five minutes, researchers said on Thursday.

London is heading for a tighter COVID-19 lockdown from midnight on Friday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried to tackle a swiftly accelerating second coronavirus wave.

Ongoing illness after infection with COVID-19, sometimes called "long COVID", could affect all parts of the body and mind, doctors said on Thursday.

At least 13 Somali troops have died after the army attacked militant group al Shabaab near the district of Afgoye northwest of the capital, Mogadishu, a military official said.

A division of Chinese state-run Sinopharm Group Co Ltd that is developing two COVID-19 vaccines is offering them for free to Chinese students going abroad for higher studies.

French President Emmanuel Macron ordered a third of France's population be put under nightly curfew on Wednesday to tackle a surging second wave of the coronavirus.

US President Donald Trump's 14-year-old son, Barron, tested positive for COVID-19 but exhibited no symptoms after both of his parents contracted the virus, first lady Melania Trump said on Wednesday.

Northern Ireland is to impose the strictest COVID-19 restrictions seen in the UK since early summer, closing schools for two weeks and shuttering restaurants for four.

Heavy rains have killed at least 12 people in southern India and caused widespread flooding in the city of Hyderabad, government officials said on Wednesday.

Vietnam deployed helicopters and soldiers on Wednesday to search for dozens of people feared dead in two catastrophic landslides near a hydropower dam.

The US Justice Department has accused Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, author of a tell-all book about first lady Melania Trump, of breaking their nondisclosure agreement.

Several coronavirus clusters have emerged in Australia's two most populous states, officials said on Wednesday, prompting New South Wales to delay easing some restrictions.

Eli Lilly and Co said the government-sponsored clinical trial of its COVID-19 antibody treatment similar to one taken by US President Donald Trump has been paused due to safety concerns.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un promised to help typhoon-hit areas recover and to build at least 25,000 houses over the next five years, state media said on Wednesday.

Johnson & Johnson has temporarily paused its COVID-19 vaccine candidate clinical trials due to an unexplained illness in a study participant.

British police said on Tuesday they were dealing with a security incident at London's St Thomas' Hospital, with the nearby Westminster Bridge leading to parliament closed to traffic.

Tanzanian firefighters were battling for a third day on Tuesday to control a blaze on the slopes of Africa's highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro, officials in the area said.

A new round of social restrictions will be announced by the Dutch government on Tuesday evening, as the Netherlands battles to control the coronavirus in one of Europe's major hotspots.

US President Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail on Monday for the first time since he announced his COVID-19 diagnosis.

Turkish police detained dozens of people on Tuesday in a search for 167 suspects, in a move against supporters of Fethullah Gulen.

A major grid failure caused a widespread power outage in India's financial capital Mumbai on Monday, stranding thousands of train passengers and delaying college exams.

The virus that causes COVID-19 can survive on banknotes, glass and stainless steel for up to 28 days, much longer than the flu virus, Australian researchers said on Monday.

US President Donald Trump will try to put his bout with COVID-19 behind him when he returns to the campaign trail on Monday, beginning with a rally in the vital battleground state of Florida.

South Korean drugmaker Celltrion Inc said on Monday it has received regulatory approval for Phase 3 clinical trials of an experimental COVID-19 treatment.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce new measures to tackle a growing coronavirus crisis on Monday, moving to work more closely with local leaders from hotspots.

A Russian-brokered humanitarian ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh was under severe strain on Sunday, a day after it was agreed, with Azerbaijan and Armenia accusing each other of serious violations.

Turkey will start declaring the number of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases from October 15, its health minister said in remarks published on Sunday.

About 40 unidentified people armed with metal bars and using fireworks as projectiles tried to storm a police station in the Paris suburbs on Saturday night, officials said.

US President Donald Trump appeared back to his old self on Saturday as he addressed supporters at the White House in his first public event since being diagnosed with COVID-19.

Teen activist Greta Thunberg showed support for Democrat Joe Biden, urging voters concerned about the environment to make their voices heard in the presidential election.

New cases of COVID-19 in the US hit a two-month high with over 58,000 infections reported and hospitalisations in the Midwest at record levels for the fifth day in a row.

Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other of swiftly violating the terms of a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday, brokered by Russia.

U.S. President Donald Trump will resume in-person campaigning on Saturday after being sidelined by a case of COVID-19, but a debate next week against his presidential election opponent Joe Biden was canceled because Trump refused to participate.

The United Nations food agency, the World Food Programme (WFP), won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its efforts to combat hunger and improve conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas.

Switzerland added regions in neighbouring Germany, Austria and Italy to its list of places from which travellers must enter mandatory quarantine as new cases of COVID-19 hit a daily record on Friday.

Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov declared a state of emergency in the capital Bishkek on Friday and ordered troops to deploy, as supporters of rival political groups took to the streets after days of unrest following an overturned election.

The Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC, has expressed "great concern" over the continued war between Azerbaijan and Armenia on the Nagorno-Karabakh region, resulting in casualties and injuries from both countries.

Republican President Donald Trump on Friday prepared to return to the campaign trail with a pair of weekend rallies after his COVID-19 diagnosis sidelined him for a week in the race against Democratic nominee Joe Biden for the White House.

American poet Louise Gluck has won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature for "her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal", the Swedish Academy said on Thursday.

Kuwait's new Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah took the oath of office in parliament on Thursday, pledging the Gulf country's commitment to democracy and peace.

The Jordanian monarch has appointed veteran diplomat and palace aide Bisher al Khasawneh as the country's new prime minister.

Kuwait's parliament has endorsed Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad as Crown Prince, after the new emir named him on Wednesday

Vice-President Mike Pence and Democratic challenger Kamala Harris clashed over the Trump administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic during their debate on Wednesday, as the White House struggled to contain an outbreak that has infected President Donald Trump and dozens of others.

A Kenyan court on Wednesday found two men guilty of helping al Qaeda-linked militants launch a 2013 assault on a Nairobi shopping mall in which gunmen killed at least 67 people.

Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah on Wednesday named Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad, deputy head of the country's National Guard, as the new crown prince.

Top US infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday the recent rash of infections at the White House could have been prevented.

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny called on the European Union on Wednesday to take tough action against oligarchs close to the Kremlin as he continues his recovery in Germany.

Britain's COVID-19 testing system was facing fresh disruption on Wednesday after Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche said problems at a new warehouse had delayed the dispatch of some products.

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said he believed Russia's intelligence services had poisoned him because authorities saw him as a threat ahead of next year's parliamentary elections.

US President Donald Trump faced a fresh backlash on Tuesday for removing his mask when he returned to the White House and urging Americans not to fear the COVID-19 disease.

Italy is considering making the use of masks outdoors mandatory nationwide to fight the coronavirus, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Tuesday.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said targeted lockdowns would be imposed in areas with high rates of coronavirus infections, as the country grapples with a spike in cases.

Britain's Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel of Germany and US scientist Andrea Ghez won the 2020 Nobel Prize for Physics for the black hole discovery, the award-giving body said on Tuesday.

Britain has rationed its supplies of the antiviral drug remdesivir and is prioritising COVID-19 patients who need it most in the face of rising demand, Britain's health ministry said on Tuesday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has called on his country to embark on an 80-day campaign to attain its goals in every sector before a congress in January to decide a new five-year plan.

Singapore's prime minister arrived at court on Tuesday for a case in which he is suing a blogger for sharing an online article linking him to Malaysia's 1MBD state fund money-laundering scandal.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has tested positive for COVID-19.

President Donald Trump could be discharged from the hospital where he is being treated for COVID-19 as soon as Monday, according to his doctors.

Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other on Monday of attacking civilian areas on a ninth day of fighting, the deadliest in the South Caucasus region for more than 25 years.

Britain reported a jump in daily COVID-19 cases to a record 22,961 on Sunday, after authorities said a technical issue had meant that over 15,000 test results had not been logged in online.

Coronavirus restrictions in New Zealand's Auckland will be lifted this week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday.

Azerbaijan said on Sunday that Armenian forces had shelled its second city of Ganja in an escalation of the war in the South Caucasus that broke out one week ago.

India hopes to receive up to 500 million doses of coronavirus vaccine by July to inoculate about 250 million people, health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday.

The first groups of Umrah pilgrims are returning to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, as COVID-19 precautionary measures are being enforced.

US President Donald Trump told Americans from his hospital room that the next few days will be the "real test" of his treatment for COVID-19.

The Secretary-General of the Higher Committee for Human Fraternity, Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam, is joining other senior religious figures to attend a papal encyclical launch at the Vatican.

World leaders on Saturday wished US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania a quick recovery following his announcement that they had tested positive for COVID-19.

Armenia said it would work with Russia, the US and France on renewing a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh as the death toll rose on the sixth day of fighting over the breakaway enclave.

Attackers set off a truck bomb in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province on Saturday, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens.

At least eight people were missing in France after a storm passed through the southeastern part of the country, causing strong floods around the city of Nice.

US President Donald Trump has been moved into a military hospital for treatment after testing positive for COVID-19.

South Korean police mobilised hundreds of buses to head off any political rallies in Seoul on Saturday with authorities determined to prevent another cluster of COVID-19 cases from emerging.

India's death toll from the novel coronavirus rose past 100,000 on Saturday, only the third country in the world to reach that bleak milestone, after the US and Brazil.

Madrid will become the first European capital to go back to lockdown on Friday night as some 4.8 million residents of Spain's capital and nine satellite towns will be barred from leaving due to the resurgent coronavirus.

The White House tried to reassure Americans that President Donald Trump was still working from isolation, after announcement that he had caught the coronavirus threw the administration and presidential race into uncertainty.

President Alexander Lukashenko's government announced that it had drawn up a list of people banned from entering Belarus in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the European Union on Friday.

There is some evidence that a recent sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases in England is levelling off, Britain's Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Friday, adding it was too early to know for sure.

Unlisted biotech firm IDT Biologika has won approval from Germany's vaccine regulator to become the third German company to launch human trials of an experimental coronavirus vaccine in the country.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19 and would immediately quarantine and begin the "recovery process."

One-fifth of Russians now approve of poisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, according to an opinion poll published on Friday.

Residents of infection hotspot Madrid are to be barred from leaving except on essential trips under new rules to fight the coronavirus resurgence, Spain's government said on Wednesday.

Four people died and 10 were hospitalised as a series of forest fires swept through part of the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk on Thursday.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is likely to hold off calling a snap election this year as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the economy, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Thursday.

Facebook on Wednesday banned ads on its flagship website and Instagram that claim widespread voting fraud, suggest US election results would be invalid, or which attack any method of voting.

The late Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, who passed away on Tuesday, has been laid to rest.

Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah took the oath before the National Assembly on Wednesday to become the 16th Emir of the state of Kuwait.

Global leaders have been sending their sympathies to the late Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah's family and the nation.

A French fighter jet broke the sound barrier as it scrambled to join a commercial jet that had lost contact with air traffic control on Wednesday, causing a sonic boom that reverberated through Paris.

Japanese health workers are snubbing the government's real-time COVID-19 database introduced in the middle of the pandemic to better deal with outbreaks.

North Korea has discovered "faults" in its anti-coronavirus measures, state media said on Wednesday, after an outcry over the killing of a South Korean.

US President Donald Trump clashed with his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, in Cleveland, Ohio, ahead of the November 3 election.

British broadcaster David Attenborough led a call from conservation groups for the world to invest $500 billion a year to halt the destruction of nature.

Singapore is reviewing penalties for violent offences following an outcry over a 12-day prison sentence for a student who strangled his girlfriend until she blacked out.