A member of Ukraine’s National Guard on Thursday opened fire on his fellow soldiers, killing five people and wounding five more, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said. The serviceman was detained by police but his motives remain unclear.

Western diplomats Tuesday linked humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to an improvement in human rights after meeting a Taliban delegation on a landmark visit to

Russia yesterday hit back at US threats of direct sanctions against President Vladimir Putin, saying moves against the Russian leader would be ineffective and hurt efforts to lower tensions over Ukraine.

Russia warned on Wednesday that imposing sanctions on President Vladimir Putin personally would not hurt him but would be "politically destructive", after U.S. President Joe Biden said he would consider such a move if Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russia yesterday added jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and a number of his allies to a list of “terrorists and extremists”, as authorities further clamp down on the opposition.

Canada’s foreign ministry was hit by a cyberattack last week that is still preventing diplomats from accessing certain online services, federal cyber security agencies confirmed on Monday.

Some Istanbul Airport flights resumed on Tuesday after nearly 24 hours of cancellations as heavy snowfall clogged roads and stranded thousands of people across Turkey and Greece.

NATO said on Monday it was putting forces on standby and reinforcing eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets, and could also send additional troops to its south-east flank, in what Russia denounced as an escalation of tensions over Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered an inquiry into claims by a Muslim former minister that she was sacked from his government because of her faith, a spokesperson said yesterday.

A gunman injured several people in a shooting inside a lecture hall at Heidelberg University in southwestern Germany yesterday, police said, adding that the perpetrator was now dead.

The president of Burkina Faso was arrested yesterday and detained by soldiers along with members of his cabinet, security sources said, one day after troops staged a mutiny in the jihadist-wracked country.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was yesterday given the chance to challenge a decision allowing him to be extradited to the United States to face 18 criminal charges including breaking a spying law to Britain’s Supreme Court.

The head of the World Health Organization yesterday urged countries to work together to bring the acute phase of the pandemic to an end, saying that they now have all the tools available to do so.

A lone gunman wounded several people at a lecture hall in the southwestern German city of Heidelberg on Monday, police said.

People who aren’t vaccinated against Covid-19 are no longer allowed in France’s restaurants, bars, tourist sites and sports venues unless they recently recovered from the virus.

NATO said Monday that it’s putting extra forces on standby and sending more ships and fighter jets to eastern Europe as Russia continues its troop build-up near Ukraine.

The United States on Sunday ordered the departure of family members of staff at its embassy in Ukraine, citing the continuing threat of military action from Russia.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden has cancelled her wedding as the nation imposes new restrictions to slow the community spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant, she told reporters yesterday. 

Russia will face severe economic sanctions if it installs a puppet regime in Ukraine, a senior UK minister said yesterday after Britain accused the Kremlin of seeking to install a pro-Russian leader there. 

Omicron is now the dominant Covid-19 variant circulating in the European Union and European Economic Area (EAA), the bloc’s health agency has said.