A digital artwork by humanoid robot Sophia was sold at auction yesterday for $688,888 in the form of a Non-Fungible Token (NFT). NFTs, a digital signature saved on blockchain ledgers that allows anyone to verify the ownership and authenticity of items, have become the latest investment craze, with one artwork selling this month for nearly $70 million.

India recorded more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases yesterday for the first time since November as a new wave of infections forcing lockdowns and restrictive curbs around the world.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with tackling an influx of migrants on the Mexican border, aiming to take charge of a situation that has energized opponents of the new administration.

Myanmar security forces fired at pro-democracy activists taking part in street demonstrations yesterday, killing at least four people, news reports said, a day after a nationwide silent strike in protest against last month’s military coup.

A Saudi official yesterday denied he threatened UN investigator Agnes Callamard following her probe into journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s 2018 murder, after the United Nations confirmed she was issued a death threat.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has vowed a new approach to work closer with allies, promising Washington would not force them to take sides against China.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said that no Indian was ‘outsider’ in West Bengal and promised the Bharatiya Janata Party, if voted to power in West Bengal assembly poll, would make a “son of the soil” the chief minister of the state.

North Korea fired two short-range missiles at the weekend, US and South Korean officials said, but Washington played down the first such tests under President Joe Biden and said it was still open to dialogue with Pyongyang.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan received a letter of goodwill from his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Tuesday, a Pakistani senior Cabinet minister said, as relations thaw between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

A Singaporean blogger was ordered yesterday to pay almost $100,000 in damages for defaming the prime minister by sharing an article on Facebook linking the leader to a corruption scandal.

A “plague” of the world’s most venomous spiders could swarm Sydney after torrential rain and flooding, the Australian Reptile Park said yesterday, warning that the deadly arachnids could seek refuge in homes as they escape the deluge.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s prospects for retaining power were uncertain yesterday after exit polls in Israel’s fourth national election in two years projected yet another stalemate.

Myanmar’s junta freed hundreds of demonstrators on Wednesday arrested during its months-long crackdown on protests, while businesses in Yangon were shut and streets deserted in response to a call by anti-coup activists for a silent strike.

A consortium of private Japanese firms and a Japanese state entity paid rent on a multi-million dollar hotel and office development that ultimately went to Myanmar’s defence ministry, six company and government officials told Reuters.

Myanmar activists plan more anti-coup protests, including a silent strike with many businesses due to close and calls for people to stay home, after a seven-year-old girl was killed in her home when security forces opened fire during a crackdown in Mandalay.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s prospects for retaining power were uncertain after exit polls in the country’s fourth national election in two years projected yet another stalemate.

Hong Kong and Macau said they were suspending the use of Pfizer/BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine after being informed of a packaging problem with a batch of vials.

US President Joe Biden urged Congress to swiftly pass gun control laws and may take action on his own to stop mass violence, the White House said, a day after the second deadly mass shooting in a week.

The European Commission will extend EU powers to potentially block Covid-19 vaccine exports to Britain and other areas with much higher vaccination rates, and to cover instances of companies backloading contracted supplies, EU officials said.

Scores of people have died in the deadliest suspected jihadist massacre ever to hit Niger, the government said Monday, underscoring the huge security challenge facing new President Mohamed Bazoum.