South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s Democratic Party has suffered devastating defeats in elections for the mayors of the country’s two biggest cities, results showed on Thursday, amid political scandals and policy blunders. The election on Wednesday was widely seen a key barometer for potential political shifts for Moon’s progressive party with less than one year left … Read more
Vaccinated Israeli tourists are now allowed to sun themselves on Greek beaches thanks to a COVID-19 green card agreed on by leaders in Athens and Tel Aviv. As the holidaymakers make their way across the Mediterranean another group will be as well: Israeli defence contractors. They are working on a $1.68bn project awarded to Israel’s … Read more
Juba, South Sudan – When the pandemic struck, many feared South Sudan could be one of the hardest hit countries in Africa – years of conflict had hollowed out its healthcare system and the threat of famine was on the horizon. Heeding the warnings, the European Union, the United States and the World Bank chipped in more than $100m for … Read more
Minneapolis, US – They are not old enough to legally vote or get a driver’s licence in the United States. One had not even reached her 10th birthday and all but one were too young to have their identities revealed to the public in court. But all were old enough to witness a man die in … Read more
India has reported a record rise in coronavirus infections, becoming only the second country after the United States to register more than 100,000 new cases in a day, as hospitals in its worst affected state are overrun by patients. The country’s daily COVID-19 cases soared by 103,558 on Monday, the biggest such daily increase, data … Read more
Jordan’s former crown prince, Prince Hamzah, had been liaising with foreign parties over a “malicious plot” to destabilise the country, the Jordanian deputy prime minister has said. On Saturday the military said it had issued a warning to the prince over actions targeting “security and stability” in the kingdom. Prince Hamzah, King Abdullah’s half-brother, later said … Read more
Seoul, South Korea – North Korea appears to be well on its way to becoming a mature nuclear state despite longstanding United Nations sanctions, after Pyongyang’s tests in late March of cruise and ballistic missiles capable of carrying tactical nuclear warheads. North Korea’s nuclear development increased dramatically under leader Kim Jong Un, who took power in … Read more
New questions are being raised about security measures around the United States Congress after a vehicular assault on a security checkpoint killed one Capitol Police officer, injured another and ended with the driver of the car shot dead. A couple of minutes after 1pm local time (17:00 GMT) on Friday a man drove a car into a … Read more
The United Nations’ envoy on Myanmar implored the Security Council on Wednesday to take action amid an escalating crisis in the Southeast Asian nation, warning of the risk of civil war and an imminent “bloodbath” amid a violent crackdown on anti-coup protests that has left hundreds dead. Christine Schraner Burgener told a closed session of … Read more
The head of the World Health Organization’s Americas body has warned that the region could see a worse spike in coronavirus infections than the one it experienced last year, as several countries are struggling to contain mounting infections and deaths. In a news briefing on Wednesday, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa Etienne said “it is … Read more