The sister of North Korean leader, Kim Yo Jong, criticised ongoing military drills in South Korea and warned the new US administration that the smell of cordite wafting over the border would not help bring peace, state news reported yesterday.

Britain wants to expand its influence among democratic nations in the Indo-Pacific region while preserving strong ties with the United States, a document laying out the country’s post-Brexit foreign policy priorities will say.

Deadly small particle pollution in four of five nations exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations last year despite Covid lockdowns, according to a report released yesterday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Monday to combat violence against women, at the start of the annual Commission on the Status of Women, which is expected to call for greater action against sexual harassment.

Recent summer droughts in Europe were the most severe the region has seen in 2,110 years as climate change has stoked punishing heat waves, according to new research Monday that raises the alarm for ecosystems and agriculture.

Britain is to announce an increase to its nuclear weapons stockpile as part of a wide-ranging review of security, defence and foreign policy, two newspapers said on Monday.

Sri Lanka's government said Tuesday it would take time to consider a proposed ban on the wearing of burqas, which a top security official called a sign of religious extremism.

The UN food agency said on Tuesday rising food and fuel prices in Myanmar since a February 1 military coup risk undermining the ability of poor families to feed themselves.

India has indicated that it disfavours economic sanctions against Myanmar in the wake of military coup there, saying “people on the ground should not suffer.”

The families of dozens of people killed in clashes between Myanmar security forces and anti-coup protesters prepared to hold funerals after candle-lit vigils took place overnight in defiance of a curfew.

Iranian authorities have charged French tourist Benjamin Briere, arrested 10 months ago, with espionage and “propaganda against the system”, one of his lawyers told Reuters.

Icelanders are yearning for some undisturbed shut-eye after tremors from tens of thousands of earthquakes have rattled their sleep for weeks in what scientists call an unprecedented seismic event, which might well end in a spectacular volcanic eruption.

US Representative Deb Haaland has been confirmed as Secretary of the Interior, becoming the first Native American to lead a cabinet agency and securing a central role in President Joe Biden’s sweeping plans to fight climate change.

Protesters angry at men’s violence against women and heavy-handed policing in the wake of the murder of Londoner Sarah Everard protested outside police headquarters, parliament and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office.

More than 400 people from Myanmar, many of them policemen, have crossed into neighbouring India since late February, an Indian police officer said, as Myanmar security forces seek to crush pro-democracy demonstrators after the coup.

The United States should act quickly to revive Iran’s nuclear deal, because once Iran’s presidential election period kicks off it is unlikely much will happen until later this year, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said yesterday.

A ban on girls singing in public imposed by education officials in the Afghan capital last week has been overturned after a social media campaign that included local women uploading videos of themselves belting out their favourite songs.

Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Myanmar has advised Taiwanese companies operating in the country to fly the island’s flag and hang signs stating they are from Taiwan to avoid being confused with China, after Chinese-financed factories were set ablaze.

US President Joe Biden sidestepped questions Sunday on whether New York Governor Andrew Cuomo should resign over sexual misconduct allegations, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the state leader should “look inside his heart” to decide if he can govern.

Hamas elected a woman to its political bureau for the first time ever, the Palestinian Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip said Sunday.