Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga sent a ritual offering Wednesday to the controversial Yasukuni shrine that honours war dead, including perpetrators of the country's World War II atrocities on its neighbours. South Korea expressed "deep disap...

The head of Sri Lanka's Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday accused the government of stalling investigations into Easter Sunday bombings two years ago that killed 279 people. Nearly 200 people were arrested within days of the suicide attacks on hot...

Instagram started offering users on Wednesday the option to filter incoming direct message requests for hurtful language, a step aimed at showing the Facebook-owned social network is serious about reducing online harassment. "Because DMs are privat...

A Mrs World winner facing criminal charges after an on-stage fracas at a Sri Lankan beauty pageant has relinquished her title, organisers said Wednesday. Caroline Jurie made international headlines after yanking the crown off the winner at the loca...

France plans to lift travel restrictions and ease a nationwide curfew on May 2 on expectations that daily Covid-19 cases will soon begin falling, a source close to the presidency told AFP. President Emmanuel Macron also intends to stick to a goal o...

Leaders of the breakaway European Super League were searching for ways to rescue the ill-fated project on Wednesday after all six English clubs pulled out and Italy's Inter Milan were tipped to follow suit. The withdrawal by Manchester City, Manche...

Oxygen supplies in Indian hospitals were running perilously low Wednesday as daily Covid-19 deaths surged past 2,000 for the first time in one of the world's most brutal ongoing coronavirus waves. Governments remain fearful of similar surges elsewh...

The Myanmar military junta's crackdown on anti-coup protesters has displaced close to a quarter of a million people, a United Nations rights envoy said Wednesday. The military has stepped up its use of lethal force to quash mass demonstrations agai...

Touching artwork is strictly forbidden in most museums, let alone buying it and taking it home. But the Design Museum in London wants visitors to do precisely that. It has transformed its gift shop to create what it describes as "the world's first ...

For the past year, the so-called "adrenaline capital of the world" has been more ghost town than party central. But unlike in most coronavirus-hit tourism hotspots, locals in New Zealand's scenic Queenstown are optimistic their adventure hub is abo...

"I'm a fan of freedom!" says Anders, one of the thousand or so Danes demonstrating twice a month with the 'Men in Black' movement against Denmark's Covid rules. "The restrictions are ridiculous." At a recent Saturday protest, the 45-year-old plum...

With its historic seven hills, crazy traffic, cobbles and notoriously crumbling roads, Rome has never been the ideal city for cyclists -- but with the coronavirus pandemic, things are changing. As elsewhere, streets emptied by Covid-19 restrictions...

Police in the US state of Ohio fatally shot a Black teenager who appeared to be lunging at another person with a knife, less than an hour before former officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd. The shooting occurred at a tense ...

At a rehabilitation centre inside a Madrid hospital, Covid patients drag an oxygen tank with them everywhere, even when exercising on a treadmill. Although the vaccines have raised hopes the pandemic will soon end, many who are battling to get over...

British newspapers hailed a "defeat over greed" and a victory for fans on Wednesday after all six English clubs withdrew from the European Super League, leaving the controversial project in tatters. The Super League promised annual games between th...