The Booker Prize-winning Indian novelist Arundhati Roy claimed that the world is “witnessing a crime against humanity”, referring to the unfolding Covid-19 crisis in India. In her long-form The Guardian piece published on April 28, she claimed, “The system hasn’t collapsed. The government has failed. Perhaps ‘failed’ is an inaccurate word, because what we are witnessing is not criminal negligence, but an outright crime against humanity.”

Facebook has restored the #ResignModi hashtag, which calls for the resignation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reports CNET.

Britain’s Electoral Commission began an investigation yesterday into the refurbishment of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street apartment, saying there were grounds to suspect an offence may have been committed. Johnson’s opponents say he may have broken British rules by letting party donors secretly contribute tens of thousands of pounds to a luxury renovation of his living quarters.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince on Tuesday struck a conciliatory tone towards the kingdom’s arch-nemesis Iran, saying he sought “good” relations, after sources said the rivals held secret talks in Baghdad.

President Joe Biden was scheduled to use his first address to Congress yesterday to call for an epic effort to make the United States fairer, funded in part by reversing Donald Trump’s tax cuts on the wealthy.

Myanmar’s pro-democracy unity government, formed to oppose the military junta that seized power nearly three months ago, yesterday ruled out talks on the crisis until all political prisoners are released.

The United States has ordered non-essential staff to leave its Kabul embassy, citing increased threats as Washington prepares to end its 20-year war in Afghanistan.

A strong earthquake and nerve jangling aftershocks cracked walls and sent inhabitants pouring onto the streets in several towns across northeastern India yesterday.

The European Parliament yesterday overwhelmingly ratified the EU’s post-Brexit trade deal with Britain, but promised to keep a close eye on London with cross-channel hostility still high.

One dose of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines reduces the chances of someone infected with coronavirus from spreading it to other household members by up to 50 percent, according to a English study published yesterday.

Civil unrest and military exercises pose heightened risk to more than 200 threatened species, including elephant populations and the critically-endangered Eastern gorilla, conservationists warned yesterday.

The United Nations and NGOs said Tuesday that a record 29 million people need humanitarian assistance in the Sahel, noting “unparallelled” insecurity and hunger across six countries in the war-torn African region.

American astronaut Michael Collins, who stayed behind in the command module of Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969, while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin traveled to the lunar surface to become the first humans to walk on the moon, died today at age 90, his family said.

Russia's foreign ministry on Wednesday ordered the expulsion of seven diplomats from Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, in retaliation for the expulsion of Russian envoys.

Russia has imposed a $12.1 million fine on Apple for “abusing” its dominant position in the market by giving preference to its own applications, a government regulator said on Tuesday.

EU lawmakers debated the post-Brexit trade agreement between the European Union and Britain for the last time yesterday, ahead of a vote that is expected to give the accord overwhelming approval.

The US Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a challenge backed by the gun lobby to a New York law that restricts the carrying of firearms outside the home.

Seventeen people were found dead on a boat drifting off El Hierro in Spain’s Canary Islands, officials said, as migrant arrivals to the archipelago surge despite the deadly dangers of the crossing.

Innovation in the clean energy sector has slowed, a report released yesterday found, a worrying development as plans to meet carbon emissions reductions targets rely on yet-to-be-developed technologies.

Iran’s president has ordered a probe into the “conspiracy” of leaked audio in which the foreign minister says the military was too influential in diplomacy, a government spokesman announced yesterday.