Covid-19: Protests as Argentina’s cases pass 900,000
Thousands have joined anti-government protests in Argentina as confirmed coronavirus infections continue to rise, passing 900,000 on Monday. Many Argentines are angry at the government’s handling of the crisis and the economic effect of lockdowns, as well as issues such as corruption. A strict lockdown...
Belarus protests: Police authorised to use lethal weapons
Police in Belarus have been authorised to use lethal force if necessary against anti-government protesters, a senior government official says. The move was in response to increasingly radicalised, violent anti-Lukashenko groups, he said. Separately, EU foreign ministers have said they are ready to impose sanctions...
Cyprus to suspend ‘EU golden passports’ scheme
Cyprus is suspending a scheme that grants citizenship and guarantees visa-free travel throughout the EU for those who invest a minimum of €2m (£1.8m). It comes after Al Jazeera reporters filmed Cypriot officials using the scheme to assist a fictional Chinese businessman with a criminal...
Signs Saudis are edging towards historic Israel peace
Will they or won’t they? It’s a question on a lot of people’s minds in the Middle East right now. Are Saudi Arabia’s rulers, historically critics of Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians, finally edging closer to normalising relations with the country often dismissively...
Amy Coney Barrett: Trump Supreme Court nominee faces questions
US Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett faces a grilling by Democrats opposing her nomination, in day two of her Senate confirmation hearing. They are likely to cast her as a threat to healthcare reforms passed under former President Barack Obama. The conservative judge said...
Covid: Donald Trump and Melania test positive
US President Donald Trump has said he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for coronavirus and are now self-isolating. Mr Trump, aged 74 and therefore in a high-risk group, wrote on Twitter: “We will get through this together.” It comes after Hope Hicks,...
Brexit: PM and EU president to ‘take stock’ of trade talks
Boris Johnson will speak to the president of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday to “take stock” of post-Brexit trade negotiations and “discuss next steps”. The UK and the EU have been holding their final formal rounds of trade talks in Brussels...
Coronavirus: Israel passes law to ban mass protests during lockdown
Israel’s parliament has handed the government the power to ban mass protests during the country’s second nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Demonstrators will be confined to groups of up to 20 people and must stay within 1km (0.6 miles) of their homes. The law should have been...
Coronavirus: Paris poised for maximum Covid alert
French authorities could place Paris under maximum Covid alert from Monday, the country’s health minister warned. Olivier Véran said infection rates in the capital and its suburbs are rising and a decision on imposing new restrictions will be made on Sunday. He added that a...
EU warns Turkey of sanctions over ‘provocations’ in Mediterranean
The EU says it could impose sanctions on Turkey over “provocations and pressures” in a row with Greece over energy resources and maritime borders. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Ankara to “abstain from unilateral actions” in the eastern Mediterranean. She spoke...
Covid-19: What drove India close to 100,000 coronavirus deaths
India is on the verge of reporting 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus – a grim toll that ranks it third in the world behind only the US and Brazil. September was the nation’s worst month on record: on average 1,100 Indians died every day from...
Armenia and Azerbaijan fight over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region
Fierce fighting raged for a second day following a flare-up of a decades-old conflict in the Caucasus region of south-eastern Europe. Dozens of deaths were reported in battles between forces fighting for Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday. At the heart of the conflict is a...
Coronavirus: Global Covid-19 death toll passes one million
The number of people worldwide who have died with Covid-19 has passed one million, researchers say, with many regions still reporting surging numbers of new infections. The tally by Johns Hopkins University shows that deaths in the US, Brazil and India make up nearly half...
Iraq civilians killed in rocket attack near Baghdad airport
Five Iraqi civilians have been killed after a rocket hit a house near Baghdad airport, the Iraqi army says. The victims were two women and three children from the same family. Two other children were wounded. No group has said it fired the rocket. But...
Hathras gang rape: India victim’s death sparks outrage
A 19-year-old Dalit (formerly untouchable) woman has died after she was allegedly gang raped by four upper-caste men, sparking outrage in India. The woman was admitted to a hospital in Delhi two weeks ago with several serious injuries. The attack occurred on 14 September in...
Trump taxes are ‘national security’ issue, Nancy Pelosi says
The top-ranked Democrat in Washington has called President Donald Trump’s alleged tax avoidance a question of “national security”. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, asked whether Mr Trump owed money to foreign interests, following an article on his financial records by the New...
Coronavirus: Rio 2021 carnival parade postponed indefinitely
Rio de Janeiro’s carnival parade, due to be held next February, has been postponed indefinitely, organisers say. The samba schools involved in the parade had previously warned it would be difficult to organise without a vaccine. Rio’s carnival attracts millions of visitors every year. Brazil...
Kim Jong-un ‘apologises for killing of South Korean official’
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has issued a rare personal apology for the killing of a South Korean official, Seoul says. Mr Kim reportedly told his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in that the “disgraceful affair” should not have happened. South Korea has said the 47-year-old...
Cardinal Becciu: Vatican official resigns unexpectedly
High ranking Vatican official Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu has unexpectedly resigned from office, the Holy See has announced. He previously worked as the second most senior official in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. Cardinal Becciu became involved in a controversial deal to buy a luxury...
Global warming ‘driving California wildfires’
Climate change is driving the scale and impact of recent wildfires that have raged in California, say scientists. Their analysis finds an “unequivocal and pervasive” role for global heating in boosting the conditions for fire. California now has greater exposure to fire risks than before...
Navalny says he can walk and recognize people as he eyes ‘clear road’ to recovery from poisoning
Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny says he is still unable to use his phone properly or pour himself a glass of water, but is on a “clear road” towards recovering from his near-fatal poisoning. Navalny posted a picture of himself walking down a staircase on...
Bulgaria court convicts two over 2012 Burgas bus attack on Israelis
A Bulgarian court has sentenced two men to life in jail over a bus bombing in 2012 that killed five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian driver. Meliad Farah, a Lebanese-Australian, and Hassan El Hajj Hassan, a Lebanese-Canadian, were found guilty of helping a Lebanese-French man...
FinCEN Files: Sanctioned Putin associate ‘laundered millions’ through Barclays
One of Vladimir Putin’s closest friends may have used Barclays Bank in London to launder money and dodge sanctions, leaked documents suggest. Billionaire Arkady Rotenberg has known the Russian president since childhood. Financial restrictions, or sanctions, were imposed on Mr Rotenberg by the US and...
New York among three ‘anarchist’ cities named by White House to lose funds
The Trump administration has named three cities that could lose federal funding after the White House accused them of tolerating crime. New York City, Portland and Seattle are on the list of “anarchist cities” that Trump officials say have failed to stem crime linked to...
Ginsburg Supreme Court: Trump to name nominee by week’s end
US President Donald Trump has said he will name his nominee for Supreme Court justice by the end of the week, and urged the Republican-controlled Senate to confirm his choice before the presidential election. The plan has launched a high-stakes battle ahead of the 3...
US West Coast fires: I don’t think science knows about climate, says Trump
US President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns over climate change on a visit to fire-ravaged California, telling an official “I don’t think science knows” about global warming. “It’ll start getting cooler, you just watch,” Mr Trump said after he was urged not to “ignore the...
Alexei Navalny: Poisoned Putin critic ‘will return to Russia’
The poisoned Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny is to return to Russia, his spokeswoman has said. “It’s puzzling to me why anyone should think otherwise,” Kira Yarmysh posted on Twitter. Mr Navalny also posted a picture on Instagram for the first time since he was...
Greece arrests five over Lesbos migrant camp blaze
Greek police have arrested five migrants over the fire on Lesbos which destroyed an overcrowded migrant camp last week, a Greek minister says. The five are young foreign nationals and a sixth is being sought, Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrisohoidis said. About 800 of more...
Essex lorry deaths: Four people jailed in Vietnam
Four people have been jailed in Vietnam for their roles in the death of 39 migrants found in a lorry in Essex, according to state media reports. The men, women and children were discovered in a refrigerated trailer in Grays on 23 October. The four...
Mexico has the world’s 4th highest coronavirus death toll
Mexico has the world’s fourth highest coronavirus death toll, but remains No. 8 on the list of most-infected countries globally. Mexico announced 232 new deaths on Sunday, taking the total death toll to 67,558, the world’s fourth highest count of coronavirus deaths, following the US,...