Thousands of riot police were stationed across Hong Kong on Thursday to stamp out any large democracy rallies as the restless financial hub marked China's National Day under the shadow of a growing crackdown on dissent.The People's Republic of China celebrates its founding on 1 October with a holiday and carefully choreographed festivities.But in Hong Kong, it has become a day of grievance for those worried about authoritarian Beijing's encroachment on freedoms.Helicop

Democrat Joe Biden branded election rival Donald Trump a "national embarrassment" on Wednesday for failing to explicitly denounce white supremacist groups, as the president moved to quell the storm sparked by his remarks on the debate stage.The bitter adversaries returned to the campaign trail one day after their off-the-rails showdown in Cleveland made headlines less for the substance than for its unrestrained chaos.The toxic shout fest - with Trump constantly interrupting and Bide

The grim milestone of one million COVID-19 deaths should spur the planet into fighting back against the disease, the WHO insisted Tuesday, saying it was "never too late to turn things around".The World Health Organization's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there were encouraging signs of hope, citing vaccine candidates in final-stage trials.And he said that while the world awaited scientific breakthroughs, the new coronavirus could be effectively contained through proven p

More than one million people have died from coronavirus, according to an AFP toll, marking a grim milestone in the spread of the disease that has ravaged the world economy, inflamed diplomatic tensions and upended lives from Indian slums to New York City.In the nine months since the virus was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, schools, businesses, live entertainment, and international travel have been upended by strict stay-at-home measures designed to curb the contagion.Drastic con

Hong Kong authorities on Monday banned a pro-democracy group from holding a rally on China's National Day, the latest refusal in the semi-autonomous city where protest has been all but outlawed.The People's Republic of China marks its founding on 1 October with a holiday and carefully choreographed celebrations, but in Hong Kong it has become a day of grievance for those worried about authoritarian Beijing's increased control over the city.Last year, the founding's 70th an

On 11 January, the first coronavirus death was officially recorded in China. Eight months after the identification of the disease that appeared in Wuhan in December 2019, the world has recorded over one million deaths.1,000 Deaths In The First MonthThe Sars-CoV-2 virus which causes the illness known as COVID-19 first spread rapidly in China, particularly in the province of Wuhan.

India as the world's biggest vaccine maker will use its resources "for all humanity" in the battle against the coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the United Nations (UN) on Saturday.In his address to the virtual UN General Assembly (UNGA) Modi made no direct mention of climate change or of India's current border tussle with China following a clash in June when 20 Indian troops died, however."As the largest vaccine producing country of the world...

Myanmar's biggest city Yangon has rapidly built new quarantine centres as it scrambles to contain the commercial hub's first significant coronavirus outbreak, with overworked medical staff fearing thousands more cases to come.The Southeast Asian nation has one of the world's most impoverished healthcare systems, but had until recently remained relatively unscathed by the pandemic.Last month there were fewer than 400 total confirmed cases nationwide and just six deaths from the

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issued a rare apology Friday over what he described as the "unexpected and disgraceful" killing of a South Korean at sea, Seoul's presidential office said.Apologies from the North – let alone attributed to Kim personally – are extremely unusual, and the message comes with inter-Korean ties in a deep freeze, and amid a standoff in nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington.Analysts said the North was looking to placate its neighbour aft

China on Thursday lashed out at the United States (US) at a high-level United Nations (UN) meeting over its criticism on the coronavirus, with its envoy declaring, "Enough is enough!"Two days after President Donald Trump used his annual address to the General Assembly to attack China's record, the US ambassador to the UN also took an outraged tone – after which her Chinese counterpart showed palpable anger."I must say, enough is enough!