Britain’s Electoral Commission began an investigation yesterday into the refurbishment of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street apartment, saying there were grounds to suspect an offence may have been committed. Johnson’s opponents say he may have broken British rules by letting party donors secretly contribute tens of thousands of pounds to a luxury renovation of his living quarters.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince on Tuesday struck a conciliatory tone towards the kingdom’s arch-nemesis Iran, saying he sought “good” relations, after sources said the rivals held secret talks in Baghdad.

President Joe Biden was scheduled to use his first address to Congress yesterday to call for an epic effort to make the United States fairer, funded in part by reversing Donald Trump’s tax cuts on the wealthy.

Myanmar’s pro-democracy unity government, formed to oppose the military junta that seized power nearly three months ago, yesterday ruled out talks on the crisis until all political prisoners are released.

American astronaut Michael Collins, who stayed behind in the command module of Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969, while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin traveled to the lunar surface to become the first humans to walk on the moon, died today at age 90, his family said.

Russia's foreign ministry on Wednesday ordered the expulsion of seven diplomats from Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, in retaliation for the expulsion of Russian envoys.

Russia has imposed a $12.1 million fine on Apple for “abusing” its dominant position in the market by giving preference to its own applications, a government regulator said on Tuesday.

One in seven pregnancies worldwide ends in miscarriage, and eleven percent of women endure a failed pregnancy at least once in their lifetime, experts said yesterday.

Pakistani troops have been deployed in 16 major cities to assist civilian authorities in enforcing measures meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus, including the wearing of masks in public and the closing of non-essential businesses after 6pm.

EU lawmakers debated the post-Brexit trade agreement between the European Union and Britain for the last time yesterday, ahead of a vote that is expected to give the accord overwhelming approval.

The US Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a challenge backed by the gun lobby to a New York law that restricts the carrying of firearms outside the home.

Seventeen people were found dead on a boat drifting off El Hierro in Spain’s Canary Islands, officials said, as migrant arrivals to the archipelago surge despite the deadly dangers of the crossing.

Innovation in the clean energy sector has slowed, a report released yesterday found, a worrying development as plans to meet carbon emissions reductions targets rely on yet-to-be-developed technologies.

Iran’s president has ordered a probe into the “conspiracy” of leaked audio in which the foreign minister says the military was too influential in diplomacy, a government spokesman announced yesterday.

Human Rights Watch yesterday said that Israel is committing the crime of “apartheid” by seeking to maintain Jewish “domination” over Palestinians and its own Arab population, an explosive allegation fiercely denounced by Israel.

People in India are rushing unnecessarily to hospital, exacerbating a crisis over surging Covid-19 infections caused by mass gatherings, more contagious variants and low vaccination rates, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday.

Two Spanish journalists who went missing on Monday in Burkina Faso have been murdered, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said today.

On April 16, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII) -- and part-producer of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine called Covishield -- tweeted to the President of the United States Joe Biden, asking to lift the embargo on raw material exports to vaccine makers outside the United States. His tweet and subsequent pleading by many global leaders have sent ripples across the United States, with an increasing number of US lawmakers joining calls for Biden to approve exports of vaccines, raw materials, and waive IP patents on vaccines. Biden finally agreed, approving export of raw materials and agreeing to share 60 million Covid-19 vaccines with the developing world. However, the cost of months of delay to prioritise Biden’s “America First” foreign policy, in light of India’s Covid-19 woes, provides grim reminders of the costs of American Exceptionalism.

An international rights watchdog accused Israel on Tuesday of pursuing policies of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians - and against its own Arab minority - that amount to crimes against humanity.

The Brazilian health regulator Anvisa rejected importing the Russian-made Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine requested by state governors battling a deadly second wave of the virus that is battering Latin America's largest nation.