Brazil’s Defense Ministry named new commanders of its armed forces a day after the previous three chiefs were sacked as part of President Jair Bolsonaro’s unprecedented attempt to meddle in the military.

Myanmar activists held protests across the country overnight two months after the military seized power, as a United Nations special envoy warned that “a bloodbath is imminent” because of the intensified crackdown on anti-coup demonstrations.

International tourist arrivals fell by 87 percent year-on-year in January due to the coronavirus pandemic, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said yesterday.

A critical component of the immune system known as T cells that respond to fight infection from the original version of the novel coronavirus appear to also protect against three of the most concerning new virus variants, according to a US laboratory study released on Tuesday. Several recent studies have shown that certain variants of the novel coronavirus can undermine immune protection from antibodies and vaccines.

The United States will speak out about human rights everywhere including in allies and at home, Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed Tuesday, turning a page from Donald Trump as he bemoaned deteriorations around the world.

The pandemic has rolled back years of progress towards equality between men and women, according to a report released Wednesday showing the crisis had added decades to the trajectory towards closing the gender gap.

China yesterday slammed “unethical” critics as it faced mounting pressure over origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, after the World Health Organization chief revived the theory that the coronavirus may have leaked from a Chinese lab.

Racism persists in Britain but the country is not “institutionally racist”, according to a much-anticipated study to be published yesterday by a government commission, which drew immediate pushback from racial equality campaigners.

Two Capitol Police officers sued former US president Donald Trump Tuesday for inciting the January 6 insurrection that left dozens of their fellow officers injured and one dead.

Russia yesterday announced it had registered what it said was the world’s first coronavirus vaccine for animals, describing the step as important to disrupting mutations.

Oscar is 12 years old and has just crossed the Rio Grande river from Mexico to Texas in a small, inflatable boat piloted by human traffickers. He is tearful, hungry and afraid after a dangerous month-long journey from Guatemala.

Tropical forest losses hit their third-highest level in almost two decades last year, despite improved conservation in parts of Southeast Asia, researchers said yesterday, warning of rising deforestation risks as nations restart pandemic-hit economies.

Google’s Maps app will start directing drivers along routes estimated to generate the lowest carbon emissions based on traffic, slopes and other factors, the company has announced.

The military launched more airstrikes in eastern Myanmar after earlier attacks forced thousands of ethnic Karen to flee into Thailand and further escalating violence two months after the junta seized power.

Myanmar activists held candle-lit vigils overnight after scores of deaths in recent days from a military crackdown on anti-coup protesters and clashes in ethnic border areas, as the United States ordered non-essential embassy staff to leave.

Malaysia has allowed entry of a container of plastic waste shipped from the United States, reversing previous opposition after finding it held only clean, recyclable material, and did not violate a new United Nations treaty banning trade in contaminated plastics.

Efforts to sketch out initial US and Iranian steps to resume compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal have stalled and Western officials believe Iran may now wish to discuss a wider road map to revive the pact, something Washington is willing to do.

Data was withheld from World Health Organization investigators who travelled to China to research the origins of the coronavirus epidemic, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Several Asian countries sought alternative sources for Covid-19 inoculations after export restrictions by manufacturer India left a World Health Organization-backed global vaccine sharing programme short of supplies.

The United States led a chorus of concern from a group of nations yesterday over a WHO-backed report into the origins of the coronavirus in China, with accusations swirling that Beijing failed to give proper access to the investigators.