THE WIRES

World

Myanmar’s UN envoy dramatically opposes coup in his country

26 Feb 2021, 8:33 PM PST

Medicals students display images of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a street march in Mandalay, Myanmar, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. In the country’s second-largest city, anti-coup protesters took to the streets Friday. By midday, security forces had blocked the main road in downtown Mandalay to prevent the …

Biden: Strikes in Syria sent warning to Iran to ‘be careful’

26 Feb 2021, 3:44 PM PST

In this Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, file photo, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon, in Washington. Kirby announced late Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, that the U.S. military conducted airstrikes against facilities in eastern Syria that the Pentagon said were used by Iran-backed militia groups, …

Officials: 400 escape, 25 dead after Haiti prison breakout

26 Feb 2021, 3:24 PM PST

National police officers search for inmates on the perimeters of the Croix-des-Bouquets Civil Prison in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. At least seven people were killed and one injured on Thursday after eyewitnesses told The Associated Press that several inmates tried to escape from the prison in Haiti’s capital. …

Hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls taken in mass abduction

26 Feb 2021, 2:14 PM PST

One of the students who was not kidnapped from a Government Girls Junior Secondary School following an attack by gunmen in Jangebe, Nigeria, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. Gunmen abducted 317 girls from a boarding school in northern Nigeria on Friday, police said, the latest in a series of mass kidnappings …

WFP: Security protocols, leaks a focus of Congo probe

26 Feb 2021, 12:13 PM PST

United Nations peacekeepers recover bodies from an area near the site where a U.N. convoy was attacked in Nyiragongo, North Kivu province, Congo, on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Luca Attanasio, Italian ambassador to the Congo, an Italian Carabineri bodyguard and a Congolese driver were killed in the area that is …

Dutch poet declines assignment to translate Gorman’s works

26 Feb 2021, 8:46 AM PST

American poet Amanda Gorman reads a poem during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)

Berlin man convicted over threat to blow up British hospital

26 Feb 2021, 8:14 AM PST

In this Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021 file photo, a sign in the interior of the NHS vaccination centre in Robertson House, Stevenage, England. An Italian man living in Berlin has on Friday Feb. 26, 2021 been convicted of attempted extortion for threatening to blow up a British National Health Service …

North Korea has at least eight ICBMs, think tank says

26 Feb 2021, 7:56 AM PST

North Korea has at least eight ICBMs, think tank says

Amnesty report describes Axum massacre in Ethiopia’s Tigray

26 Feb 2021, 7:53 AM PST

In this Monday, Nov. 4, 2013 file photo, the Church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum, in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. A new Amnesty International report issued Friday, Feb. 26, 2021 says soldiers from Eritrea systematically killed "many hundreds" of people, the large majority men, in a massacre …

EXPLAINER: How US airstrike in Syria sends message to Iran

26 Feb 2021, 7:44 AM PST

In this Feb. 17, 2021, file photo, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon in Washington. A U.S. airstrike targeting facilities used by Iran-backed militias in Syria appears to be a message to Tehran delivered by a new American administration still figuring out its approach …

2 US Navy warships in Mideast hit by coronavirus outbreaks

26 Feb 2021, 6:25 AM PST

In this Feb. 15, 2014, photo released by the U.S. Navy, the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea leaves Naval Station Mayport in Mayport, Florida. Two U.S. Navy warships operating in the Mideast have been affected by the coronavirus, authorities said Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, with one already at port in …

German radio host under fire for calling K-pop’s BTS ‘crappy virus’

26 Feb 2021, 6:16 AM PST

German radio host under fire for calling K-pop's BTS 'crappy virus'

Russian diplomats hand-push trolley over North Korea border

26 Feb 2021, 6:13 AM PST

In this image taken from a video released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, a group of Russian diplomats push hand-pushed rail trolley with their children and suitcases to the border with Russia. A group of Russian diplomats and their family members returned to Russia from …

Myanmar protesters injured as police escalate use of force

26 Feb 2021, 5:34 AM PST

University teachers march with the images of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. Supporters of Myanmar’s junta attacked people protesting the military government that took power in a coup, using slingshots, iron rods and knives Thursday to injure several of the demonstrator …

IS bride loses bid to return to UK to fight for citizenship

26 Feb 2021, 5:33 AM PST

This undated photo released by the Metropolitan Police of London, shows Shamima Begum. Shamima Begum who ran away from London as a teenager to join the Islamic State group lost her bid Friday Feb. 26, 2021 to return to the U.K. to fight for the restoration of her citizenship, which …

Rwandan court rules it can try ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero

26 Feb 2021, 4:34 AM PST

In this Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, file photo, Paul Rusesabagina, center, whose story inspired the film "Hotel Rwanda" for saving people from genocide, appears at the Kicukiro Primary Court in the capital Kigali, Rwanda. As the terrorism trial for Rusesabagina is set to start on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, his …

Queen says COVID vaccine is quick, painless and helps others

26 Feb 2021, 4:33 AM PST

In this Thursday Oct. 15, 2020 file photo, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II visits the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) at Porton Down, England, to view the Energetics Enclosure and display of weaponry and tactics used in counter intelligence. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is encouraging people to be vaccinated against …

Asia Today: 1st vaccines reach arms in S. Korea, Hong Kong

25 Feb 2021, 11:33 PM PST

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, top right, watches a doctor receives a shot of AstraZeneca vaccine at a public health center in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. South Korea on Friday administered its first available shots of coronavirus vaccines to people at long-term care facilities, launching a mass …

Vaccination ‘passports’ may open society, but inequity looms

25 Feb 2021, 10:34 PM PST

A man presents his "green passport," proof that he is vaccinated against the coronavirus, on opening night at the Khan Theater for a performance where all guests were required to show proof of vaccination or full recovery from the virus, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

As Somalia’s COVID-19 cases surge, a variant is suspected

25 Feb 2021, 10:03 PM PST

A doctor tends to a patient suffering from COVID-19 in a ward for coronavirus patients at the Martini hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

South Korea starts vaccinating, but people over 65 must wait

25 Feb 2021, 9:24 PM PST

A container containing AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccines is transported at a distribution center in Icheon, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. South Korea's top infectious disease expert has warned that vaccines will not end the coronavirus pandemic quickly as the country prepared to give its first vaccinations this week. (Yonhap via …

Facebook signs pay deals with 3 Australian news publishers

25 Feb 2021, 6:34 PM PST

8 dead, including prison director, after Haiti jail break

25 Feb 2021, 3:44 PM PST

Recaptured inmates are led by police outside the Croix-des-Bouquets Civil Prison after an attempted breakout, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. At least seven people were killed on Thursday after several inmates tried to escape from the prison, eyewitnesses told The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery).

Brazil death toll tops 250,000, virus still running rampant

25 Feb 2021, 3:35 PM PST

Health workers wheel in a patient suspected of suffering from COVID-19 into the Luziania field hospital, a suburb of Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. With the cities on the borders of Brasilia in a state of calamity due to the pandemic and with high occupancy at ICU units, mayors …

Weapons, cellphones seized after deadly Ecuador prison riots

25 Feb 2021, 12:35 PM PST

Soldiers leave the prison "Centro de Rehabilitacion Social Regional Centro Norte Cotopaxi" where deadly riots broke out inside, two days prior in Latacunga, Ecuador, early Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ecuador experienced its deadliest prison riots ever this week when seemingly coordinated fights broke out in facilities in three different cities, …

Armenian PM slams ‘coup attempt’ as political tensions rise

25 Feb 2021, 8:54 AM PST

Police stand in a line to protect the government building against opposition demonstrators during an anti-government protest in Yerevan, Armenia, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Thousands of protesters calling for the resignation of Armenia's prime minister have demonstrated in the center of the country's capital. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/PHOTOLURE via AP)

Fears of political interference roil Beirut blast investigation

25 Feb 2021, 8:46 AM PST

Fears of political interference roil Beirut blast investigation

Reports: North Korean enterprise filed first known lawsuit in the South

25 Feb 2021, 8:46 AM PST

Reports: North Korean enterprise filed first known lawsuit in the South

Kremlin critic Navalny sent to prison outside Moscow

25 Feb 2021, 8:25 AM PST

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny stands in a cage in the Babuskinsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. A Moscow court on Saturday considered Navalny's appeal against his prison sentence as the country faced a top European rights court's order to free the most prominent Kremlin foe. …

Conviction in landmark case over Syrian government torture

25 Feb 2021, 8:04 AM PST

Syrian defendant Eyad Al-Gharib hides his face as he arrives to his hear his verdict in a court room in Koblenz, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. A German court has convicted the former member of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s secret police of facilitating the torture of prisoners in a landmark …

England minorities: Higher COVID-19 cases, fewer vaccinated

25 Feb 2021, 7:14 AM PST

A woman wears protective face coverings as she passes the shutters of a closed shop in West Ealing in London, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. It has been announced that further testing of residents in the London Borough of Ealing will be carried out after additional cases of the coronavirus variant …

El Salvador election could remake political landscape

25 Feb 2021, 6:04 AM PST

In this Feb. 17, 2021 file photo, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele speaks before the start of vaccination of medical staff with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Atlacatl Medical Unit of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute in San Salvador, El Salvador. Since Bukele was elected, the hold that the opposition …

China celebrates official end of extreme poverty, lauds Xi

25 Feb 2021, 5:13 AM PST

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, attendees applaud during a ceremony to mark the official end of extreme poverty in China held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. The ruling Communist Party is celebrating the official end of extreme poverty …

First real-world study shows Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine 94% effective

25 Feb 2021, 4:55 AM PST

First real-world study shows Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine 94% effective

German charged with passing parliament floor plans to Russia

25 Feb 2021, 3:56 AM PST

In this Tuesday, March 10, 2020 file photo, the German parliament building Reichtstag reflected in a puddle in Berlin. A German man has been charged with espionage for allegedly passing information on properties used by the German parliament to Russian military intelligence. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file)

Hunger-striking Ethiopia politicians ‘deteriorating’ in jail

25 Feb 2021, 3:44 AM PST

In this Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019 file photo, opposition politician Jawar Mohammed speaks with The Associated Press at his house in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Lawyers representing jailed Ethiopian opposition politicians including Jawar Mohammed, Bekele Gerba, Hamza Adane and Dejene Tafa say they are concerned for the lives of their clients, …

EU court urged to rule against Hungary’s asylum policy

25 Feb 2021, 3:25 AM PST

Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban, right, and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during a news conference at a meeting marking 30 years of central Europe's informal body of cooperation called the Visegrad Group, at a conference center in Krakow, Poland, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Italy honors slain ambassador, bodyguard and prays for Congo

25 Feb 2021, 3:25 AM PST

The coffins of the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo Luca Attanasio, right, and Italian Carabinieri police officer Vittorio Iacovacci are draped with the Italian flag ahead of their state funeral in Santa Maria degli Angeli church, in Rome, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Italy is pressing the United …

German police raid suspected Islamic extremists in Berlin

25 Feb 2021, 2:45 AM PST

A police walks in front of a car during raids against an Islamist network at the Maerkische Viertel neighborhood in Berlin, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Police searched the apartments of several alleged supporters of a banned Islamic extremist organization in the German capital. (Christophe Gateau/dpa via AP)

Australia passes law requiring digital platforms to pay for news

24 Feb 2021, 10:25 PM PST

Australia passes law requiring digital platforms to pay for news