Singapore has admitted data collected for contact-tracing can be accessed by police despite earlier assurances it would only be used to fight the coronavirus, sparking privacy concerns Tuesday about the scheme. The city-state has a programme calle...

South Korea will send a government delegation to Iran "at the earliest possible date" to negotiate the release of a seized oil tanker and its crew, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Monday it had seized the Sou...

An American pharmacist who allegedly destroyed hundreds of coronavirus vaccine doses last month was an "admitted conspiracy theorist" and believed in a baseless rumor about their safety, authorities have said. Steven Brandenburg removed 57 vials of...

The French government, under pressure for lagging behind EU neighbours in rolling out Covid vaccinations, promised on Tuesday to dispense jabs much more quickly and catch up. Health Minister Olivier Veran said more than 2,000 people had been vaccin...

A year after the outbreak started, WHO experts are due in China for a highly politicised visit to explore the origins of the coronavirus, in a trip trailed by accusations of cover-ups, conspiracy and fears of a whitewash. Under the global glare, Be...

Gulf leaders flew to Saudi Arabia Tuesday for a summit that could yield more breakthroughs in a regional crisis, after Riyadh re-opened its borders to Doha despite lingering enmity between the neighbours. Saudi Arabia led a coalition of countries i...

Chinese jets made a record 380 incursions into Taiwan's defence zone last year, a defence official said Tuesday, as a military-linked think-tank warned tensions were now at their highest since the mid-1990s. Democratic and self-ruled Taiwan lives u...

Hong Kong's outgoing top judge made a plea on Tuesday to maintain judicial independence as China state media and a growing host of pro-Beijing figures call for an overhaul of how the financial hub's courts are run. Semi-autonomous Hong Kong owes mu...

After an unprecedented campaign that mobilized Donald Trump and his White House successor Joe Biden, Georgians troop to the polls Tuesday for two closely-watched US Senate runoffs that could shape the first years of the new Democratic presidency. F...

Australian Open organisers were forced to find new quarantine accommodation for players Tuesday after a hotel pulled out, reportedly because of concerns from residents. Organisers of the year's first tennis grand slam confirmed they had secured new...

Australia and India resume their "arm-wrestle" Test series at 1-1 Thursday after a build-up marred by a coronavirus outbreak in Sydney and concerns over a potential biosecurity breach by the Indian team. The four-Test series is finely poised after ...

Under mounting pressure to speed up coronavirus vaccinations, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday said he would not take "unnecessary risks" and emulate Britain's emergency drug approval. While vaccinations are already well underway...

A new Venezuelan parliament will be sworn in Tuesday with the party of President Nicolas Maduro now in almost complete control and the main thorn in his side, Western-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido, out in the political cold. Venezuelans have...

Milwaukee's two-time reigning Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 43 points Monday to power the Bucks to a 125-115 NBA victory over the Detroit Pistons. Antetokounmpo connected on 17 of 24 shots from the field. He made a brace of t...

India's injury-hit squad suffered a further blow Tuesday when experienced wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul was ruled out of the rest of the series against Australia with a sprained left wrist. The right-hander hurt himself while batting in the nets at...