World

The COVID19 pandemic is causing a mental health crisis in the Americas due to heightened stress and use of drugs and alcohol during six months of lockdowns and stayathome measures, the World Health Organization's regional director said on Tuesday.

A Mexicanmade, Mexicandesigned ventilator, meant to overcome an international shortage of the machines and at a lower price, is already in service at hospitals here.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday replaced the defence minister, his former ally Lemma Megersa, as part of a reshuffle ahead of elections in the heavily divided nation next year.

Iran's clerical and military elite is turning up the volume of its rhetoric against a surprise agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Tehran's archfoe Israel to normalise ties. But the bark appears to be worse than the bite.

Vietnam has voiced concern over the Malaysian coast guard's move to open fire on two Vietnamese fishing vessels that led to the death of one fisherman, and demanded Kuala Lumpur investigate the case.

Pupils at more than a dozen Thai high schools raised threefinger "Hunger Games" salutes during the national anthem on Tuesday in a sign of spreading support for studentled antigovernment protests.

The European Union is considering imposing sanctions on Belarusian individuals linked to violence and election fraud, Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said on Tuesday.

Israel's intelligence minister said on Tuesday he knew of no change to a policy opposing U.S. sales of advanced weaponry to Arab states that could diminish Israel's military superiority, after a report the United Arab Emirates could clinch such deals.

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck the Philippines on Tuesday, killing at least one person and damaging roads and buildings including a hospital and a sports complex being used as a novel coronavirus quarantine centre.

China reported on Tuesday 22 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for August 17, same as the tally a day earlier, the health authority said.

A cluster of infections in Melbourne, the Victorian capital, forced authorities two weeks ago to impose a night curfew & tighten restrictions on people.

Nine people with the virus died over the past week in a single nursing home in eastern France, and other French care homes are shutting their doors as the country battles a new rise in COVID19 infections.

Sudanese protesters returned to the streets Monday to call for more reforms a year after a powersharing deal between the prodemocracy movement and the generals.

The Trump administration on Monday issued final approval to allow oil and gas drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a 19 million acre (7.7 million hectares) refuge that has been offlimits to drilling for decades.

An automated measuring system in California's Death Valley reported a temperature of 130 degrees (54.4 degrees Celsius) amid a blistering heat wave on Sunday, a reading that would be among the highest ever recorded globally if it is confirmed.

For eager Israelis, anticipation is mounting that Dubais glitzy Burj Khalifa, the worlds tallest building, will soon join the ranks of the Pyramids in Egypt and the ancient ruins in Jordan's Petra as a onceforbidden destination now within reach.