Chinese warships and aircraft conducted military drills in waters near Taiwan Friday, the island's Defense Ministry said, as tensions escalated in the region following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island this week. The ministry said Chinese People's

While the US and its allies have sanctioned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, half of the countries in the Group of Twenty have not signed up. When Group of Seven leaders gathered in the Bavarian Alps in June, they pledged to stand with Ukraine for the long haul. Their Group of 20

A fire tore through a Thai nightclub early Friday killing at least 13 people and injuring 40, a rescue services official said. The blaze broke out around 1:00 am (1800 GMT Thursday) at the Mountain B nightspot in Chonburi province's Sattahip district, about 150 kilometres (90

Four US police officers have been arrested and charged over the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor. Ms Taylor was killed in her home in Louisville, Kentucky, on 13 March 2020 by plainclothes police who were executing a "no-knock" search warrant. The hospital worker, 26, was

The US Senate has ratified Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO, the most significant expansion of the 30-member alliance since the 1990s amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Senate voted 95 to 1 in favour of the two Nordic countries’ accession on Wednesday,

An Indian teenager who died this week was a social media star whose video appeal had helped raise millions of rupees for her baby brother's treatment. Afra Rafeeq, 16, had spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic condition that causes muscle weakness and affects movement and

The Taliban are investigating a US “claim” that Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul, a Taliban official said on Thursday, indicating the group’s leadership were not aware of his presence there. The United States killed Zawahiri

Ukraine is seeking an opportunity to speak "directly" with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help end its war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday (August 4). In an interview with SCMP, the Ukrainian leader urged China

China has begun large-scale military sea and air exercises around the self-ruled island of Taiwan, hours after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s departure from Taipei following a whirlwind visit that infuriated Beijing. State media reported the live-fire drills in six areas around

US Speaker Nancy Pelosi has left Taiwan after a brief but controversial visit. Ms Pelosi - the most senior US politician to visit in 25 years - departed on Wednesday after meeting leaders in the capital Taipei. But her visit, as part of a wider Asian tour, sparked fury in Beijing

Rice could emerge as the next challenge for global food supply as a shortage of rain in parts of India, by far the world’s biggest exporter, has caused planting area to shrink to the smallest in about three years. The threat to India’s rice production comes at a time when

The first grain ship to depart Ukraine since Russia invaded has arrived at Turkey's Bosphorus strait. The Razoni, which is carrying 26,000 tonnes of corn, will be inspected on Wednesday morning before continuing its journey to Lebanon. Russia has been blockading Ukraine's

One man was killed and five others were wounded in a shooting Monday night in Northeast Washington, the Metropolitan Police Department said. The circumstances of the shooting, including whether the victims even knew each other, were being investigated, Police Chief Robert J. Contee III

As US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi headed to Taipei on Tuesday amid intensifying warnings from China, four US warships, including an aircraft carrier, were positioned in waters east of the island on “routine” deployments. The carrier USS Ronald Reagan had

Nuclear threats emanating from the war in Ukraine as well as in Asia and the Middle East have put the world “one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation”, the United Nations secretary-general said.  At the UN on Monday, Antonio Guterres issued the dire warning at

The US has killed the leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a drone strike in Afghanistan, President Joe Biden has confirmed. He was killed in a counter-terrorism operation carried out by the CIA in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday. Mr Biden said Zawahiri had "carved a

New Zealand's borders are fully open for the first time since March 2020, when they shut in an effort to keep out Covid-19. Immigration authorities will now begin accepting visitors with visas and those on student visas again. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called it an

Myanmar's military regime has extended its emergency rule until 2023 as the country remains riven by internal fighting following last year's coup. The junta seized power last year after overthrowing Aung Sung Suu Kyi's democratically-elected government. The military has

The first ship carrying grain has left a Ukrainian port under a landmark deal with Russia. Turkish and Ukrainian officials say the ship left the southern port of Odesa early on Monday morning local time. Russia has been blockading Ukrainian ports since February, but the two sides

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered all civilians still living in parts of eastern Donetsk region under Ukrainian control to evacuate. Speaking during a late-night address from Kyiv, Mr Zelensky warned of an intensification of fighting. "The more people leave