LATEST NEWS

HELSINKI, Finland — Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for the fifth year running, in an annual UN-sponsored index that ranked Afghanistan as the unhappiest, closely followed by Lebanon.

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday opened the world’s longest suspension bridge over the Dardanelles strait in northwestern Turkey — which cuts travel time between Asia and Europe to six minutes.

BANGKOK, Thailand — Travellers to Thailand will no longer have to take a Covid-19 test before boarding the plane, under plans announced Friday as part of efforts to reboot the kingdom’s pandemic-battered tourism sector.

LVIV, Ukraine – Laid out in rank and file under the midday sun, 109 empty prams and baby baskets haunt the market square of the city of Lviv in western Ukraine.

LVIV, Ukraine — Rescuers in Ukraine searched on Friday for hundreds of civilians feared trapped under the wreckage of a bombed theatre, as local forces battled against Russian troops across the country.

WASHINGTON, United States — US President Joe Biden laid out to Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday the “consequences” of any backing for Russia in its war against Ukraine, the White House said, as Beijing showed no sign of joining Western condemnation of the invasion.

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban Friday welcomed a UN Security Council resolution formally extending the world body’s presence in Afghanistan, although the government of the hardline Islamist group remains unrecognised by the international community.

MOSCOW, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused Ukrainian authorities of stalling talks, but added that Moscow was ready to search for solutions as he spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

BANGKOK, Thailand — Travellers to Thailand will no longer have to take a Covid-19 test before boarding the plane, under plans announced Friday as part of efforts to reboot the kingdom’s pandemic-battered tourism sector.

WARSAW, Poland – Poland’s border guards said Friday that more than two million refugees had crossed into the EU member from neighbouring Ukraine since the February 24 Russian invasion.

WASHINGTON, United States — Moderna announced Thursday it had asked the United States drug regulator for emergency authorization for a second booster shot of the company’s Covid-19 vaccine for all adults.

MONTREAL, Canada – Ottawa announced Thursday it is establishing a new immigration program that will offer Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion a temporary Canadian residence permit for up to three years.

KYIV, Ukraine — Bloody new attacks on civilians fuelled accusations Thursday that Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine, as the United States warned it will make China pay for any support given to Moscow’s assault.

HOUSTON, United States – A 13-year-old boy was driving a pickup truck that collided with a van carrying a college golf team in west Texas, killing nine people, officials said Thursday.

WASHINGTON, United States – US President Joe Biden will warn his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday that he will face “costs” if Beijing rescues fellow authoritarian ally Russia from intense Western sanctions aimed at punishing Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

UNITED NATIONS, United States — Russia canceled a UN Security Council vote on a “humanitarian” resolution on Ukraine, scheduled for Friday, due to a lack of support from its closest allies, diplomats said.

BRUSSELS, Belgium — The European Union condemns the “serious violations and war crimes” committed by Russia in Ukraine, the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Thursday.

BEIJING, China – Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday the country will “stick with” its zero-Covid strategy, state TV reported, as the world’s most populous nation battles its largest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic.