World

The British region of Northern Ireland on Thursday extended its COVID19 lockdown for an additional four weeks to March 5 and its deputy first minister said the measures might have to be extended again.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Thursday that Russia can be held to account for what judges said were acts of torture and ill treatment carried out in the days after the August 2008 war between Russia and exSoviet Georgia.

The 19yearold smoking with friends in a poor district of Tunisia's capital had a simple explanation for nighttime clashes between youths and police that have shaken the country he has nothing to lose.

Portugal is preparing to shut all kindergartens, schools and universities from Friday to tackle a steep rise in coronavirus cases, Lusa news agency and Publico newspaper said on Thursday.

Malaysia on Thursday extended restrictions on movement in the capital Kuala Lumpur and five states until Feb. 4 as part of a lockdown to combat a surge in coronavirus infections.

The United States under President Joe Biden intends to join the COVAX vaccine facility that aims to deliver vaccines to poor countries, his chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci told the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday.

The manufacture of AstraZeneca and Oxford's COVID19 vaccine has not been disrupted by flooding near a Welsh factory involved in the supply chain, manufacturing partner Wockhardt said on Thursday, adding the site was operating as normal.

Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday offered to help with the United States' efforts involving the COVID19 vaccine, according to a letter addressed to President Joe Biden, seen by Reuters.

The United Arab Emirates has signed an agreement with the United States to purchase 50 F35 jets and up to 18 armed drones, people familiar with the situation told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Dutch government on Wednesday proposed the first nationwide curfew since World War Two and a ban on flights from South Africa and Britain in its toughest moves yet to limit the spread of coronavirus in the Netherlands.

The president of the EU executive said on Wednesday she looked forward to having a friend in the White House who could work with Europe on fighting climate change, quashing the COVID19 pandemic and rebuilding multilateralism.

The incoming administration of U.S. PresidentElect Joe Biden should take steps to settle the immigration status of Mexicans working in the United States, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that some fishermen had experienced problems exporting fish to the European Union, an issue he said had been compounded by a decline in fish eating across Europe due to restaurant closures.

Police in Thailand summoned a political activist for falsifying a statement on Wednesday, after his claim that he was abducted stirred anger on social media and allegations of state harassment of government critics.

Japan's top government spokesman said on Wednesday that the timeline for vaccinating the broader population against the coronavirus would be decided and disclosed to the public after the approval of a vaccine.

Outgoing President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at thwarting foreign use of cloud computing products for malicious cyber operations against the United States, the White House said on Tuesday, Trump's last full day in office.