By Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea fired a ballistic missile over the sea to the east of the Korean Peninsula in the early hours of Sunday, the South Korean military said. The move comes not even 24 hours after North Korea launched three ballistic missiles on Saturday. The short-range ballistic missile was fired …
By Martin Quin Pollard and Engen Tham WUHAN/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Thousands gathered in central Wuhan on Saturday night to count down to the start of what many hoped would be a much better year after a “tough” 2022 filled with lockdowns and in December a major new outbreak of the coronavirus. Many released balloons into …
Thousands celebrate the new year in Wuhan amidst China’s COVID wave Read More »
By Philip Pullella and Crispian Balmer VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Former Pope Benedict, the first pontiff in 600 years to resign and a standard bearer for conservatives who yearned for a more traditional Church, died on Saturday, ending an extraordinary period in which two men wearing white lived in the Vatican. Benedict, 95, died in a …
Former Pope Benedict, hero to Catholic conservatives, dies Read More »
RABAT (Reuters) – Morocco will impose a ban on people arriving from China, whatever their nationality, from Jan. 3 to avert any new wave of coronavirus infections, the foreign ministry said on Saturday. Several countries have imposed restrictions on travellers from China due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. Thousands of tourists visit Morocco from …
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By Stella Qiu (Reuters) -Australia celebrated its first restriction-free New Year’s Eve after two years of COVID disruptions, as the world began bidding farewell to a year marked for many by the war in Ukraine, economic stresses and the effects of global warming. Revellers celebrated across Asia from China to the Philippines to Thailand. Sydney, …
Asia rings in the New Year as the world starts ushering out 2022 Read More »
By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY – Former Pope Benedict, who died on Saturday aged 95, was the first pontiff in 600 years to resign, leaving behind a Catholic Church battered by sexual abuse scandals, mired in mismanagement and polarised between conservatives and progressives. Benedict, the first German pope in 1,000 years, had good relations with …
Former Pope Benedict was first pontiff to resign in 600 years Read More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Saturday for more effort and unity as the country enters a “new phase” in its approach to combating the pandemic, in his first comments addressed to the public on COVID-19 since his government changed course three weeks ago and relaxed its rigorous policy of lockdowns and …
Xi calls for unity as China enters ‘new phase’ of COVID policy Read More »
By Martin Quin Pollard and Eduardo Baptista WUHAN/BEIJING (Reuters) -New Year’s Eve in China prompted an outpouring of reflection online, some of it critical, about the strict zero-COVID policy the country adhered to for almost three years and the impact of its abrupt reversal this month. The sudden change to live with the virus has …
New Year Eve spurs hope in China even as censors target online COVID content Read More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Ministry of Defence is arranging to develop multiple long-range missiles with a range of up to about 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles) and aims to deploy them in the 2030s, Kyodo news reported on Saturday, citing a source familiar with the matter. The government is looking to deploy a 2,000-km range missile …
Japan to develop 3,000 km long-range missiles, deploy in 2030s -Kyodo Read More »
HONG KONG (Reuters) -China’s top lawmaking body has given Hong Kong leader John Lee the power to bar foreign lawyers from national security cases, removing the decision from the city’s courts, in a move likely to further fuel concerns over judicial independence. The use of foreign lawyers by both prosecutors and the defence have long …
China gives Hong Kong leader power to bar overseas lawyers in national security cases Read More »
