Australia’s spectacular Great Barrier Reef is suffering “mass bleaching” as corals lose their colour under the stress of warmer seas, authorities said yesterday, in a blow widely blamed on climate change.

President Joe Biden yesterday said the US and EU had reached a new agreement on the transfer of personal data that would replace previous arrangements that were struck down by Europe’s top court over spying concerns.

Russian precision-guided missiles are failing up to 60 percent of the time in Ukraine, three US officials with knowledge of intelligence on the issue told Reuters, a possible explanation for the poor progress of Russia’s invasion.

The United States yesterday announced new sanctions against the Myanmar military for “atrocities” against civilians following last year’s coup.

Consuming artificial sweetener could increase the risk of developing cancer, a large-scale study suggested Thursday, but experts not involved in the research said it was not enough proof to consider changing current health advice.

The United States and other Western countries on Thursday condemned the Taliban’s decision to shut girls secondary schools in Afghanistan just hours after reopening them, and urged the hardline Islamist movement to reverse course.

Ukrainian troops are recapturing towns east of Kyiv and Russian forces who had been trying to seize the capital are falling back on overextended supply lines, Britain said on Friday, one of the strongest indications yet of a shift in momentum in the war.

Ukrainian authorities said Friday that about 300 people died when a Russian airstrike blew up a theater where hundreds of civilians were sheltering — a catastrophic loss of civilian life that, if confirmed, is likely to further crank up pressure on Western nations to step up military aid.

Russians have rushed to stock up on anti-depressants, sleeping pills and contraceptives among other products since the conflict in Ukraine began, data released on Thursday showed, with people buying a month's worth of medicine in just two weeks.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that Ukrainians "need to achieve peace" and halt Russian bombardment that has forced millions to flee to countries like Poland, where US President Joe Biden is due to witness the crisis first hand.

Bangladesh is one of the 140 countries that voted for a UN General Assembly resolution demanding aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine on Thursday, and criticized Russia for creating a "dire" humanitarian situation after Moscow invaded its neighbor one month ago.

US President Joe Biden said he thinks Russia should be removed from the Group of Twenty (G20) major economies and the topic was raised during his meetings with world leaders in Brussels earlier on Thursday.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that if Russia were to use chemical weapons in its invasion of Ukraine, the United States would respond.

The UN General Assembly yesterday adopted by an overwhelming majority a new non-binding resolution that demands an “immediate” halt to Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

Russia felt insecure, or should we say President Putin, and so Ukraine had to be invaded, population from major parts of the country had to leave their homes, millions had to become refugees, thousands had to die -- including Russian soldiers, many foreigners and  a Bangladeshi sailor -- a nation needed to be terrorised and the world thrown into turmoil.

Western leaders showcased their unity against Russia’s war in Ukraine yesterday, with Washington seeking more military aid for Kyiv, Nato assigning more troops to its eastern flank and US, Britain imposing fresh sanctions against Moscow.

More than half of all children in Ukraine have been displaced from their homes since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, the United Nations said yesterday.

India has friendly relations with both the United States and Russia that stand on their own merit, the foreign ministry told parliament yesterday, in reply to a query whether the Ukraine war had affected ties.

North Korea conducted what is thought to be its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test ever yesterday, the South Korean and Japanese militaries said, marking a dramatic end to a self-imposed moratorium on long-range testing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday there is a "real" threat that Moscow will use chemical weapons in Ukraine, accusing Russia of having already used phosphorus bombs against civilians in the country.