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GENEVA, Switzerland — Asia suffered its hottest year on record in 2020, the United Nations said Tuesday ahead of the COP26 summit, with extreme weather taking a heavy toll on the continent’s development.

Seoul, South Korea – Former South Korean president and general Roh Tae-woo, who was instrumental in crushing the Gwangju Uprising at a cost of hundreds of lives, died of natural causes on Tuesday aged 88, according to reports.

BRASILIA, Brazil — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro found himself in social media time-out Monday after his video warning of a supposed link between Covid-19 vaccines and AIDS triggered action by Facebook and YouTube.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei — Southeast Asian leaders kicked off an ASEAN summit Tuesday but Myanmar refused to send a representative after being angered by the bloc’s decision to exclude the country’s junta chief.

GUINOBATAN, Philippines — A year after a powerful storm sent an avalanche of volcanic rock and sand crashing down, burying her house, Philippine food vendor Florivic Baldoza still lives in an evacuation centre. As global warming brings increasingly extreme weather, she now fears “nowhere is safe”.

MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Mexico on Monday began COVID-19 vaccinations for adolescents with chronic diseases in the capital, the latest step in an immunization drive in one of the countries hit hardest by the pandemic.

KABUL, Afghanistan — More than 22 million Afghans will suffer food insecurity this winter, they said, as a drought driven by climate change adds to the disruption caused by the chaotic Taliban takeover of the country.

KHARTOUM– The events unfolded as Sudan was navigating a precarious transition to civilian rule, and came more than two years after the end of decades of dictatorship under president Omar al-Bashir.

US biotech firm Moderna said Monday its COVID vaccine was safe and produced a strong immune response in children aged 6-11, adding it would submit trial data to global regulators soon.

The chairman of Sudan’s ruling body General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Monday announced the dissolution of the transitional government and the sovereign council and declared a nationwide state of emergency.

TOKYO, Japan — Japan’s Princess Mako finally marries her university sweetheart Kei Komuro on Tuesday, but it won’t be a lavish affair, with the couple forgoing traditional rites after years of controversy.

NEW YORK, United States– Vaccine-reluctant New York firefighters took to the streets Monday to demonstrate against the city’s requirement that they get inoculated against COVID-19 or risk losing their jobs.

WASHINGTON, United States — COVID vaccine requirements taking effect next month for people entering the United States by air will not apply to children, a senior US official said Monday.

Hospitals and telecommunication services in Haiti have warned that services could be halted due to fuel shortages caused by the growing grip of criminal gangs on the capital Port-au-Prince.

OVDA, Israel — Amir Lazar, chief of Israeli air force operations, told reporters the drills “don’t focus on Iran”, but army officials have said the Islamic republic remains Israel’s top strategic threat and at the centre of much of its military planning.

BEIJING– Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that humanity should overcome difficulties in solidarity and pursue common development in harmony.

SHIMODA, Japan — A boat’s crew casts a net into the seemingly clean waters off Japan’s Izu peninsula, but not to catch fish — they are scooping up microplastics to learn more about the pollution’s impact on marine life.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A strong earthquake struck northeastern Taiwan on Sunday, with residents reporting violent shaking in the capital Taipei but there were no immediate reports of widespread damage.