Having withstood the worst effects of COVID-19, Ho Chi Minh City authorities have their sights on an epidemic of a very different kind.

Our leaders in Canberra will need a deft touch to navigate a more robustly competitive diplomatic environment as tensions mount between the United States and China.

Matthew O’Kane and Christa Avery are the latest Australians detained by Myanmar’s military regime since the February 1 coup.

US businesses have been offering their staff incentives to get the COVID vaccine, but one business has gone a step further.

“We know what it would mean for people but we also know that many New Zealanders are nervous,” New Zealand’s Prime Minister says.

The trial of Michael Kovrig, who has been held in China for more than two years on espionage charges, has begun in Beijing in a closed courtroom.

Republican congressman Tom Reed has publicly apologised and abandoned a possible run against Governor Andrew Cuomo after a former lobbyist accused him of sexual misconduct. 

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors

Discussions about hardening Fort McNair began two years ago but recent intelligence has prompted Army officials to renew their request for the restrictions.

Rioters set fire to police vehicles and smashed windows following a rally opposing laws that would place heavier restrictions on protests.

Matthew O’Kane and Christa Avery, a Canadian-Australian, who run an agri-business and consulting firm in the south-east Asian nation, were told to stay in their home.

A Russian surface-to-surface missile also hit the town of Qah while Russian air strikes came close to densely populated refugee camps.

Senior palace staff are understood to have had a human resources briefing on the plans just last week.

The revelations could raise doubts about the effectiveness of the vaccine, which is being widely used around the world as countries scramble to locate vaccines.

A new poll shows one in four Americans, including nearly half of Asian Americans, have seen someone blame Asian people for the coronavirus epidemic in recent weeks.

Visitors “continue to gather and socialise in extremely close proximity to one another without any facial coverings or regard for appropriate social distancing,” the declaration of the state of emergency says.

Health officials say Imran Khan tested positive for coronavirus two days after receiving his first vaccine dose, but it’s likely he was positive before then.

Gallery: Best photos from around the world

A rare legal win in China has offered hope to other who’ve been harassed that China’s laws targeting sexual harassment are growing sharper teeth.

Miami Beach has declared a state of emergency in its entertainment district due to an influx of young holidaymakers who have created more disorder than police can handle.

While many leaders will be judged to have not done as badly as Trump, why did so many Western nations fail so badly in the face of the coronavirus pandemic?

Britain’s special forces to work with spy agency MI6 to counter wide-ranging threat from Moscow in what is a step up in the response to the Salisbury poisonings.

For many Romans and tourists alike, those traffic controllers are as much a symbol of the Eternal City as the Colosseum or the Pantheon.

A father has been arrested on suspicion of child endangerment after he carried his two-year-old daughter into the elephant habitat at the San Diego Zoo to take a photograph with the animals.

The massacre in Bora is another deep stain on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s months-long war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov told Russia to stop spying in his country, a day after prosecutors said they had charged six people on charges of working as spies for Moscow.

Prince Harry says Princess Diana’s death left a “huge hole inside of me” in a moving letter to kids grieving the loss of a parent.

A volcano erupted in Iceland, turning the night sky into a real-life lava lamp. No injuries were reported. Just joy.

Britain is on track to ease lockdown measures in line with its roadmap, health minister Matt Hancock said on Saturday after announcing that half of all adults in the country had now had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose.

Thai police used water cannon and charged toward protesters who had gathered near the King’s Palace in Bangkok on Saturday to call for the release of protest leaders and demand reform of the monarchy.

The magnitude 7.0 quake rattled areas devastated by the 2011 disaster and generated a one-metre tsunami, public broadcaster NHK reported.

As Brazil records almost 3000 COVID deaths a day, four protesters and a YouTube star were arrested last week for calling the controversial president “genocidal”.

Chandro Tomar, a diminutive grandmother from a poor village has become the oldest professional sharpshooter in the world - and a feminist icon.

The eruption 30 kilometres from Reykjavik looked spectacular but did not threaten towns or close the airports.

The superpower’s message to the US at the Alaskan meeting was blunt: the world didn’t need American-style international rules any more.

Biden and Harris were in Atlanta to deliver a message of solidarity after the massage parlour killings as Asian Americans grieve.

The classic board game’s community cards are being overhauled with new rewards for rescuing pets, shopping local and recycling.

Staff at the former president’s golf resort have tested positive, three months after the local government threatened to fine Mar-a-Lago for ignoring mask rules.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman said the first day of the meetings “totally reeked of explosives and was full of dramatic colours”.

A current aide to the New York governor says he makes suggestive remarks and looks down her shirt but Cuomo’s lawyer says he’s just old-fashioned.

From Halston model in the ’70s to Tiffany jewellery designer, Peretti gave the blue-box brand a modern edge. “Women can’t go around wearing $1 million,” she said.

The World Health Organisation urged countries to continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine despite reports of a small number of blood clotting cases, as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson received the shot.

Hong Kongers who fled China’s repressive crackdown have urged British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to consider recognising their qualifications in order to make their resettlements in Britain an easier experience.

While boarding a flight to Atlanta, the US President stumbled slightly about halfway up the stairs, recovered, then stumbled again.

The coronavirus brought a year of fear and anxiety, loneliness and lockdown, but an annual report on happiness around the world suggests the pandemic has not crushed people’s spirits - especially in Finland.

Samia Suluhu Hassan said Tanzania should unite and avoid pointing fingers after the death of John Magufuli, her COVID-sceptic predecessor.

The Scandinavian nation wants to de-segregate its migrant ghettos by capping the number of non-European residents allowed to live in any neighbourhood.

The social distancing measures being imposed from Monday would also remain in force until the end of the declaration of the pandemic.

As a teen, Alexi McCammond posted racist and homophobic tweets. A decade later, they’ve led to her resignation as editor of Teen Vogue before she’d even begun.

The twice-weekly service will begin as soon as a trans-Tasman bubble is established, the airline says.