World

China will impose sanctions on four people with links to U.S. democracy promotion efforts, it said on Monday, over what it called interference in the Asian financial hub of Hong Kong, following U.S. strictures on four Chinese individuals.

Taiwan will restrict the number of Indonesian workers coming to the island from this week, following a spike in the number of coronavirus infections among migrant workers arriving from the southeast Asian country, the government said on Monday.

Austria should expect further heavy restrictions when its current lockdown measures expire in just over a week, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told Austrian paper Kleine Zeitung.

A former Trump campaign associate who was the target of a secret surveillance warrant during the FBI's Russia investigation says in a federal lawsuit that he was the victim of unlawful spying.

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades during a protest march against police violence in Paris on Saturday after masked protesters launched fireworks at their lines, put up barricades and threw stones.

Belgium will let shops reopen from Tuesday, but keep other coronavirus curbs over the festive period, including limits on gatherings over Christmas and a ban on fireworks at New Year, the prime minister said.

Malaysia has agreed to buy 12.8 million doses of Pfizer's COVID19 vaccine, becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to announce a deal with the U.S. drugmaker after some expressed reservations over the need for ultracold storage.

Mink that were culled to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus at fur farms in Denmark have resurfaced from mass graves this week, prompting complaints from residents about possible health risks.

Australia is bracing for the first major heat wave of the bush fire season this weekend with temperatures forecast to hit well above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), prompting authorities to urge people to stay indoors.

Burkina Faso President Roch Kabore has won reelection by a comfortable margin, preliminary results showed on Thursday, after an election marred by insecurity that prevented swathes of the West African country from voting.

Russia's largest food retailer X5 is discussing plans for an initial public offering (IPO) for its online business, a company official said on Thursday, honouring a pledge to place online expansion at the heart of its latest strategy.

Germany will probably have to stick with measures to dampen the coronavirus pandemic into January, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday, while her chief of staff suggested that restrictions might be needed until March.

France's foreign minister accused Britain on Wednesday of "dragging its feet" in lastditch Brexit negotiations and said Paris would not yield on the issue of fisheries, one of three key issues blocking a deal.

Poland reported on Wednesday a new daily record of 674 coronavirusrelated deaths, while new daily coronavirus cases surpassed 15,000.

Fighting between Ethiopia's military and regional forces from the northern Tigray region is seriously destabilising the East African region and hostilities should halt, the European Union foreign policy chief said.

Countries and international institutions pledged $3 billion in development support to Afghanistan in 2021, and a total of some $12 billion for four years, Finland announced at the end of a Geneva pledging conference on Tuesday.