Turkey retaliated against Syrian military before ceasefire began
Turkey staged an attack with a combat drone against Syrian government forces in Syria’s Idlib on Thursday before a ceasefire went into effect, destroying military equipment and “neutralising” soldiers, the Turkish defense ministry said.
Australian court to hear ex-Vatican treasurer’s final appeal on sex offences
Australia’s highest court will hear a final bid on March 11 by former Vatican treasurer George Pell to overturn his conviction for sexually assaulting two teenaged choir boys in the 1990s when he was archbishop of Melbourne.
Meet the female squad who clear out Vietnam’s unexploded bombs
Two petite women in protective gear walk slowly down an empty field in Vietnam, carrying a large metal detector that clicks and whirrs, searching for unexploded ordnance.
South Korea protests Japanese travel curbs as coronavirus ignites diplomatic row
South Korea issued a strongly worded protest on Friday against Japan’s decision to quarantine South Korean visitors for two weeks, as coronavirus containment measures ignited a fresh diplomatic row between the Asian nations.
South Korea vows ‘reciprocal’ countermeasures to Japan’s coronavirus travel limits
South Korea said on Friday it will consider countermeasures to Japan’s “unjust, unacceptable” travel restrictions barring visitors from areas which have been hard hit by the coronavirus epidemic.
After heavy strikes, tense calm in Syria’s Idlib as ceasefire comes into effect
Syria’s Idlib region was quiet but tense on Friday with a lull in Russian and Syrian air raids that have pounded the last opposition-held enclave in Syria, residents and opposition sources said, after Turkey and Russia declared a ceasefire.
Guyana’s Granger claims victory as U.S. and EU question vote results
Diplomats and foreign observers on Thursday questioned preliminary results of Guyana’s presidential election as incumbent David Granger claimed victory and the opposition denounced fraud, setting up a showdown in the oil-rich South American nation.
Singapore minister says coronavirus outbreak emerging as pandemic
The coronavirus spreading around the world from China is “starting to look like a global pandemic,” said Singapore minister Lawrence Wong, who co-heads the country’s virus fighting taskforce.
Saudi Arabia reopens Mecca, Medina holy sites after coronavirus closure: state TV
Saudi Arabia reopened two of the most holy religious sites in Islam, Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca and Al-Masjid al Nabawy in Medina, after they were closed for sterilization to halt the spread of the new coronavirus, state TV Al-Ekhbariya reported on Frida…
Coronavirus crisis threatens to silence Japan’s tourist boom
The restaurants at the Exitmelsa shopping center in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district are usually packed with Chinese tourists. But on a recent weekday, many lunchtime tables were empty, a sign of the toll that the coronavirus is taking on tourism.
