AstraZeneca vaccine had been approved by the European Medicines Agency and the WHO.

China will operate bullet trains in Tibet, close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh before July this year, marking the opening of high-speed train services to all Chinese mainland provincial-level regions, a senior official has said.

But health officials cautioned that rising contagions could trigger another lockdown - a possible dampener on Netanyahu's hope of parlaying his pandemic policies to victory in a March 23 ballot.

China's foreign minister warned the Biden administration on Sunday to roll back former President Donald Trump's ``dangerous practice'' of showing support for Taiwan, the island democracy Beijing claims as its own territory.

BEIRUT: A suspected missile strike on an oil-loading facility used by Turkey-backed opposition forces in northern Syria appears to have sparked a massive fire across a large area where oil tankers are normally parked, satellite images show.

Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, one of Shiite Islam's top clerics, told Pope Francis in a historic meeting in Iraq on Saturday that the country's Christians should live in "peace".

KARACHI: Unidentified gunmen attacked a vehicle carrying security forces, killing two personnel of the Pakistan Navy and injuring another in the coastal district of Gwadar in the restive Baluchistan province.

MINNESOTA: Dozens of people gathered in front of the Minnesota governor’s mansion on Saturday to demand accountability for police officers, days before a former Minneapolis officer is scheduled to go on trial in the death of George Floyd.

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan Roman Catholics attended Mass dressed in black on Sunday, with prayers and protests calling for justice for those killed in coordinated suicide bomb attacks on Easter Sunday two years ago.

BEIJING: Shirley Shi has received three offers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 -- through her hometown, her Beijing residential area and her office area -- but the human resources manager is in no rush.