Britain's finance minister admitted Monday that ending a pandemic furlough scheme that kept millions employed would mean job losses as the government was set to announce new support for workers. Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the exchequer, will an...

Beijing Winter Olympics organisers said Monday they face "great pressure" because of Covid-19, as China ramps up preparations with a series of test events. February's Games could be the most restricted mass sporting event since the pandemic began, ...

A prestigious Panamanian law firm was named in the so-called "Pandora Papers" as implicated in the creation of offshore shell companies meant to hide money in tax havens for more than 160 politicians and public figures. They included "some accused ...

The Taliban said on Monday they had destroyed an Islamic State cell in the Afghan capital, hours after a suspected IS attack on a mosque killed five people. The Taliban's chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said fighters carried out the operation in...

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern admitted Monday that New Zealand's widely praised "Covid zero" strategy had failed to halt a stubborn outbreak in Auckland and said a new approach was needed. The hardline elimination policy had largely protected the c...

Manchester City have lodged a complaint to Liverpool alleging that a fan spat at their backroom staff during the pulsating 2-2 draw at Anfield, reports say. Liverpool are looking into the claim, the BBC and Sky Sports said, after the Premier League...

A coroner's inquest opens in London on Monday into the mysterious sinking of a French fishing trawler 17 years ago, which the victims' families blame on a submarine. French courts spent years investigating the sinking of the Bugaled Breizh in inter...

Golden State forward Andrew Wiggins has had a change of heart and got the Covid-19 vaccine, making him eligible to play in Warrior home games this season. Coach Steve Kerr made the announcement at Sunday's practice but did not say when the 26 year ...

As Desmond Tutu turns 90 on Thursday, he remains indisputably the moral voice of South Africa. But age is catching up with him. The jovial emeritus archbishop retired in 2010 and rarely speaks in public, in a country that sometimes feels adrift wit...

When Sarah Sallon first thought of cultivating 2,000-year-old date palm seeds from a Roman-era fortress towering above the Dead Sea, she received a less than encouraging response. "The botanical archaeologists said 'you're completely mad. It will n...

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power vowing sweeping reforms that earned him a Nobel Peace Prize, before becoming mired in a brutal internal conflict that threatens to destabilise the entire Horn of Africa region. As the 45-year-old p...

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is due to be sworn in for a new five-year term Monday, but the milestone risks being undermined by growing alarm over the war in the north. Abiy's Prosperity Party scored a landslide win in June elections that fe...

Hong Kong stocks plunged Monday on concerns about the potential collapse of troubled property giant China Evergrande after the firm suspended trading in its shares, though most other markets in Asia rose after a strong lead from Wall Street. The cr...

The Nobel season opens on Monday with the pioneers of mRNA Covid-19 vaccines and immune system research tipped for the medicine prize, which kicks off a week of awards against the backdrop of the pandemic. Breakthroughs in breast cancer, new approa...

From a summer of fire and record floods, to freak frosts and locusts invasions, experts say man-made climate change is wreaking havoc on the world's weather. Here are some of the most devastating climate-fuelled disasters from the past two years: ...