The Thai government has lifted its face mask mandate; however, it has advised vulnerable and infected people to still use masks for the sake of personal and public health. The government’s announcement was published in the Royal Gazette on Friday. “The wearing of hygienic or cloth masks shall be voluntary,”[Read More…]

A shooting at a nightclub in Norway’s capital city Oslo which killed two people and wounded 14 is being investigated as an act of terrorism, Norwegian police have confirmed. People were shot at a number of places near the London Pub, which is a popular gay bar and nightclub in[Read More…]

The government of Austria announced this week it will end a controversial law that mandated COVID-19 vaccines, citing the vaccine’s lower efficacy against new variants and the fact that the virus has receded to a manageable point. The government announced its intent to scrap the law in a press conference[Read More…]

A top French court on Tuesday blocked a bid to allow the “burkini” at municipal pools in the city of Grenoble, upholding a government challenge against a move that revived France’s intense debate on Islam. The all-in-one swimsuit, which is used by some Muslim women to cover their bodies and[Read More…]

Afghanistan was hit by a magnitude 5.9 earthquake on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of over 1,000 people and injuring hundreds more. The earthquake, the deadliest in the country in decades, began rocking the eastern region of Afghanistan at about 1:24 a.m. local time on Wednesday (4:54 p.m. ET on[Read More…]

Germany will be turning back to coal amid concerns about possible power shortages caused by a cut in supplies from Russia, its economy minister has said. Robert Habeck said Germany must limit the use of gas to generate electricity, after Russian oil major Gazprom announced it would slash supplies through[Read More…]

Ukrainian authorities have banned the country’s main opposition party and seized all its assets. The move has been perceived by some as Zelensky undermining democracy. The country’s Ministry of Justice announced the move via Facebook, revealing that the Opposition Platform – For Life had been shut down and its assets,[Read More…]

A Moscow court has sentenced U.S. teacher, Marc Fogel, to 14 years in a maximum-security Russian prison for “large-scale drug smuggling.” “The American citizen Fogel has been found guilty,” the Khimki court said in a statement late Thursday, as per CBS News. By crossing the Russian border, Fogel had committed[Read More…]

The sport of rugby league on Tuesday banned transgender players from women’s international matches while it develops a “comprehensive inclusion policy.” Its decision came a day after international swimming effectively banned transgender athletes from women’s races, placing them instead in a new “open category.” Rugby league authorities said they needed[Read More…]

Vladimir Putin was “playing hockey” at the weekend, the Kremlin has said, dismissing rumours the Russian president may be suffering from a secret medical illness. His spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday told NBC News: “I can tell you one thing that yesterday, I know, in the afternoon, actually he played[Read More…]