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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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