In an expletive-laden tweet about Chinese vessels in disputed waters, Teodoro Locsin called China an “ugly oaf forcing your attentions on a handsome guy”.

The decision to approve or reject the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines falls at a critical time.

The United States and Iran are in active talks over the release of prisoners, a person familiar with the discussions said as Washington denied a report by Iranian state-run television that deals had been struck.

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

Oxygen in India has been in short supply as it grapples with this latest wave of infections, leaving some dying COVID patients gasping for air in hospital beds.

Officials hailed Moscow’s massive facial-recognition camera network as a benign aid to residents that would enforce quarantine restrictions and catch criminals. Now it’s being deployed to crush dissent against President Vladimir Putin.

Ardern pointed to increasing differences between New Zealand and China as the member of the Five Eyes security alliance country faces increasing pressure over its reluctance to criticise Beijing.

Broadcaster RAI, which plays a central role in Italian cultural life and comes under enormous political pressure, denied trying to censor the rapper.

New data shows limiting access to the country is having its intended effect.

The incident comes as police were already facing serious questions after a woman in a taxi talked her way on to the estate after telling security guards she was a friend of the Duke.

The outcome of an election in Scotland this week might help determine whether the United Kingdom stays together or breaks apart.

Martin Smatana, a former Health Ministry official in Bratislava, said he had been amazed by how many of his friends want the Russian vaccine and say, “Screw the system, use Sputnik.”

The narrow footbridge suspended across a river canyon in northern Portugal claims to be the world’s longest pedestrian bridge and was officially inaugurated on Sunday. 

Hospitals have filled to capacity and crematoriums have been swamped as the country deals with the surge in cases: more than 300,000 daily cases for more than 10 days straight. 

The US has been criticised for focusing first on vaccinating Americans, particularly as its vaccine supply begins to outpace demand and doses approved for use elsewhere in the world but not in the US sit idle.

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

Even as the United States and Europe move away from the darkest days of the pandemic, other countries are engaged in a desperate struggle against the virus.

British ministers let AstraZeneca export UK-made COVID jabs to Australia in exchange for access to up to 10 million doses produced in India.

When the mayor of a Paris suburb and former minister was convicted in February of rape, activists hoped his downfall and imprisonment would send a powerful message. But the case shows much remains broken about the French justice system, they say.

Utah Republicans booed Senator Mitt Romney but ultimately rejected a motion to censure him for his votes at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trials.

A North Korean spokesman accused Washington of insulting the dignity of the country’s supreme leadership by criticising North Korea’s human rights situation.

Indonesian police say they will conduct random checks of labs around the country to ensure that they were not conducting similar frauds to reuse COVID tests.

Britain’s royal family has released a photograph of a smiling Princess Charlotte, one of the Queen’s great-grandchildren, the day before the princess celebrates her sixth birthday.

Australian Ross Dunkley was a media tycoon in south-east Asia until police raided his house in Yangon. He was released and flown to Australia last week.

At least 10 children and teenagers were among 45 ultra-Orthodox Jews killed in a stampede at a religious festival in northern Israel.

Millions of Indians spread across the globe are trying to do what they can to help their country of origin.

India recorded more than 400,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time on Saturday as it battles a devastating second wave, and the country’s massive new vaccination drive was hampered in some areas by shortages of the shots.

The Recording Academy has been fighting allegations of corruption and rigging.

The country’s pandemic response has been marred by insufficient data concerning more than 350 scientists.

Officials announced the massive trucking operation, saying the effort was aimed at ensuring “the highest level of survival for the young salmon on their hazardous journey”.

At least 18 people, including two healthcare workers, were killed in a fire at a COVID-19 hospital in the western Indian state of Gujarat late on Friday night.

“This has taken us by surprise and left us utterly bereft,” Prince Mangosutho Buthelezi said.

Without mentioning China by name, the new Pentagon chief said diplomacy should be used to prevent conflict.

French artist Pascal Convert’s sculpture, a copy of the remains of the emperor’s horse Marengo, is due to be displayed in the hallowed dome of the Invalides.

“Disneyland is like my happiest place, to be totally honest,” said a guest. The major Californian economic engine drew 19 million people a year pre-pandemic.

Europe ended up in a pandemic-induced double-dip recession, the US economy grew 1.6 per cent. The difference? Cash mostly.

A war fought over which political order prevails in Taiwan is not worth the price. Australian diplomacy ought to be identifying the off-ramps that will avoid this nightmare, writes the former foreign affairs minister.

Public figures targeted by the junta are being funnelled out of the strife-torn nation, according to an American whose organisation has helped them escape.

Witnesses spoke of seeing a “pyramid” of people who were asphyxiated or trampled in a passageway around three metres wide at the crowded event in the Galilee.

In Europe, the second straight quarter of falling output confirms the region is in a double-dip pandemic recession after a rebound in growth in the third quarter.

Tens of thousands of people had gathered at the foot of Mount Meron to celebrate Lag B’Omer, a Jewish holiday honouring a 2nd-century sage who is buried there.

As diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Canberra worsened, the ABC’s foreign correspondent and his partner had to leave everything – immediately.

Brazil has registered 3001 new COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours, taking its total since the pandemic began to 401,186.

The four men are documented gang members, according to police. The woman is linked to one of them.

When a hand was raised, I first looked at the armed guard to my right, making sure the question was allowed.

CNN earlier reported possible incidents that appeared similar to a mysterious illness known as “Havana syndrome” that impacted diplomats in Cuba and elsewhere.

This eight-episode podcast series is like eavesdropping on a couple of old buddies as they yak about their lives, their friendship, their ethics and what it means to be American.

Despite his low-key style and pragmatic reputation, Biden is governing for the history books and pursuing the biggest expansion in government in decades.

In a country known for extreme inequalities, the second wave of COVID-19 has been a great leveller, engulfing rich and poor in almost equal measure in a shuddering helplessness.

After more than a year of writing about the pandemic in India, here I was experiencing the story first-hand with the virus firmly settled inside me.