World
Biden to drop Trump's military transgender ban
The decision comes as Biden plans to turn his attention to equity issues that he believes continue to shadow nearly all aspects of US life
US announces restoration of relations with Palestinians
U.S. administration believes this remains the best way to ensure Israel's future
China deploys anal swabs to test for Covid-19
The method can increase the detection rate of infected people
Pfizer or Sinopharm? US or China? 'Vaccine diplomacy' in Middle East
The Israeli government made documents public that showed the extent of its collaboration with Pfizer in its vaccination campaign
New Zealand detects first community virus case in two months
It is the second time a returnee has developed coronavirus symptoms after being cleared to leave an isolation facility in New Zealand
Neighbours
China declines to congratulate US President-elect Joe Biden
China has not yet come out with an official reaction to Biden and Kamala Harris' victory
India failed to appoint lawyer to represent Kulbhushan Jadhav: Pak court informed
Islamabad High Court had last month set a new deadline for India to appoint a legal representative for Jadhav
Chinese Covid-19 vaccine maker gets $500 million funding boost
Beijing has largely brought the virus under control, with only 281 active cases still receiving treatment, according to official figures
I don't want to lie: Myanmar sees first openly gay election candidate
Same-sex relations are still illegal in Myanmar - even if space is opening up for the LGBT+ community in the conservative country
China’s revenge tourism to boost economy picks up over Golden Week
Tourism sites were visited by 637 million domestic tourists over the eight-day National Day holiday that started October 1
Asia
At least 34 killed as quake rocks Indonesia
Rescuers were searching for more than a dozen patients and staff trapped beneath the rubble of the levelled Mamuju hospital
Indonesian plane feared crashed after losing contact
Authorities and the airline gave no immediate indication as to why the plane suddenly went down
Opposition in Kyrgyzstan claim power after storming government buildings
Kyrgyzstan is a close ally of Russia and has long been a platform for geopolitical competition between Moscow, Washington and Beijing
Armenia, Azerbaijan agree on cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh
The announcement follows 10 hours of talks between the diplomats in Moscow, which were sponsored by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
Protests in Indonesia against new jobs law enter third day
Met with cautious optimism by financial analysts, the bill has sparked outcry, with labour unions, students and academics criticising it
Middle East
Saudi Arabia to lift Qatar embargo, easing the Gulf crisis
Kuwait, which had been mediating throughout the dispute, was first to announce the diplomatic breakthrough through its foreign minister
Kuwait's emir names security czar Sheikh Meshal as crown prince
The new emir, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, assumed power following the death of his brother Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad last week
Trump announces 'normal ties' between Israel and Bahrain
In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the agreement.
UAE suspends issuance of visiting visas to Pakistan, 11 other countries
Infections has been rising in Pakistan and authorities have declared that the country was witnessing the second wave of COVID-19
Dubai suspends Air India flights for bringing COVID-positive passengers
UAE requires Indian travellers to bring original COVID-negative certificate from RT-PCR test done 96 hours prior to the journey
America
WHO looks at e-certificates for COVID-19 vaccination
Tech-savvy Estonia earlier this year began testing an app that could serve as a kind of digital 'immunity passport'
In a first, US Congress overrides Trump veto of defense bill
Trump had lashed out at GOP lawmakers, charging that 'Weak and tired Republican 'leadership' will allow the bad Defense Bill to pass'
Indian students contributed USD 7.6 billion to US economy last year
India remained the second largest source of international students, despite a 4.4 per cent decline to 193,124 students, a report said
Brazil awaiting two million vaccine doses from India
The delivery on Friday would be a much-needed boost to Brazil's vaccination programme
Trump asked aides about striking Iran nuclear site: Report
Iran has long been Trump's bete noire, and he had reintroduced sanctions and tightened them even further after scrapping the nuclear accord
Europe
Moscow police clash with Navalny supporters as tens of thousands rally
Washington and Brussels condemned the arrests and other tactics used against demonstrators
Prince William's COVID-19 positive kept secret in first wave of UK pandemic
Around the same time in April, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to hospital after testing positive for the virus
Girls Takeover: Finland PM hands her post to teenager for one day
Although Finland scores highly in gender equality comparisons, women are still heavily under-represented in technology firms and boardrooms
Seventeen OSCE nations appoint team to investigate Belarus election
Minsk prevented the deployment of OSCE election observers by not inviting them and has ignored repeated offers by the OSCE chairman to visit
Following India protests closely, says UK after Boris Johnson gaffe
The gaffe occurred during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session in the House of Commons on Wednesday
Africa
Mauritius oil spill: Ship operator to pay $9.4 million to restore marine environment
More than 1,000 tonnes of oil is believed to have leaked from the ship, with the rest siphoned out before it spilled
South Africa to store COVID-19 vaccines from India at secret place for fear of theft
South African government had secured 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from India
South Africa says 12 million citizens 'probably' had coronavirus
Some South African experts suggest that Africa's most developed economy may be approaching herd immunity
UK quarantines travelers from South Africa as one more Covid variant detected
Hancock said the new variant has ‘mutated further’ than the one that recently prompted the British government to tighten restrictions
Somalia names new PM, announces plan for national elections
Somalia had set itself the goal of holding its first fully democratic, one-man one-vote election since 1969
Australia and New Zealand
New Zealand sees first case-free day in five weeks
Friday’s report also marked the fourth consecutive day without any cases of community transmission
New Zealand’s Ardern poised for big win in election, poll says
All recent polls have pointed to a victory for Ardern’s Labour Party, governing in a coalition with the Greens and New Zealand First
Jacinda Ardern wins landslide re-election in New Zealand vote
The mandate means Ardern, 40, could form the first single-party government in decades
Antarctica is still free of coronavirus. Can it stay that way?
Until this year, conversations with incoming visitors focused on preparing the newcomers. Now the advice goes both ways
A koala row might topple the government in Australia's New South Wales
The uniquely Australian political stoush comes months after unprecedented bushfires destroyed vast swathes of koala habitat