Shares in Chinese healthcare and technology firms tumbled yesterday after a report that the United States would add more Chinese firms, including the largest commercial drone maker and biotech firms, to investment and export blacklists this week.

1996 - A South Korean appeals court commuted the death sentence on ex-President Chun Doo Hwan to life imprisonment.

Democratic and Republican members of the US Congress on Tuesday urged President Joe Biden to meet with the Dalai Lama in a bid to ensure that Tibetans’ rights remain high on the agenda, even as it carries more risks on the troubled ties between Washington and Beijing.

The number of Americans who identify themselves as non-religious is soaring in the profoundly Christian United States, said a Pew Research Center study published Tuesday.

The United States is exploring additional actions against the ruling military junta in Myanmar, as the situation continues to deteriorate, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday defended his record on tackling the coronavirus pandemic, after nearly 100 of his own MPs broke ranks and rebelled against new restrictions.

Russia and China should stand firm in rejecting Western interference and defending each other’s security interests, presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping agreed in a video call yesterday.

Germany yesterday vowed to “defend itself” against radicalised anti-vaccination groups after police launched raids in response to death threats against a top politician backing decisive measures to fight the pandemic.

Cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria remains vital, the United Nations Secretary-General said in an internal report Tuesday, as a UN authorization allowing aid into rebel-held areas in the country’s northwest without approval from Damascus is set to expire.

Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin appeared in federal court in person Wednesday morning for a change of plea hearing during which he was expected to admit to violating George Floyd’s civil rights.

Nathalie Charles, even in her mid-teens, felt unwelcome in her Baptist congregation, with its conservative views on immigration, gender and sexuality. So she left.

A NASA spacecraft has officially “touched” the sun, plunging through the unexplored solar atmosphere known as the corona.

NATO is not planning to deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe, the Western military alliance said on Tuesday, rejecting Russian accusations and a call by Moscow for a moratorium on this kind of weapons in Europe.

France said yesterday it could tighten border controls to protect against the Omicron Covid variant, which is infecting a huge number of people in Britain.

The UN yesterday said it had received credible allegations of over 100 extrajudicial killings in Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in August, with most carried out by the Taliban.

At least 50 people were killed when a gas tanker exploded in the Haitian city of Cap-Haitien yesterday morning, according to a local official, with overwhelmed local medics saying the toll was feared to rise.

Indian police are probing a charity started by Mother Teresa, officials said yesterday. Authorities in the western state of Gujarat told AFP they were investigating whether the Missionaries of Charity forced girls in its shelter home there to wear a cross and read the Bible.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a large rebellion among his Conservative lawmakers yesterday in a parliamentary vote over new restrictions to try to curb the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday urged China to cease “aggressive actions” in the Asia-Pacific, speaking during a visit to the region, as Washington seeks to bolster alliances against Beijing.

A truck carrying gasoline exploded in northern Haiti, killing more than 50 people and injuring dozens of others in the latest disaster to hit a country whose troubles deepened greatly this year.