World

Lebanon's leaders should not use the explosion that destroyed parts of Beirut earlier this month as an excuse to hide the reality that the country was on the edge of a precipice, France's foreign minister said on Tuesday.

A major search and rescue operation was underway in the eastern Aegean Sea Tuesday night after authorities received an emergency call from a boat carrying an unknown number of migrants, Greece's coast guard said.

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of president Jair Bolsonaro, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to a statement by Flavio's spokesman.

The president of the U.N. Security Council, Indonesia, said on Tuesday it was "not in the position to take further action" on a U.S. bid to trigger a return of all U.N. sanctions on Iran because there is no consensus in the 15member body.

Nigerian Gbemisola Ijigbamigbe's right leg was virtually paralysed after she contracted wild polio aged 11 months. Now the 28yearold leads an active life as a wheelchair basketball player and also enjoys swimming and kayaking.

A Mekong River advisory body urged China on Tuesday to work with its experts in sharing yearround data on the lifeline waterway for the first time, rather than Beijing keeping a separate platform under its own new Mekong organisation.

Sweden is stepping up its defense activities in the Baltic Sea region due to what a highranking official called a deteriorating security situation" as Russia and NATO conduct military operations in the area.

Police in Portland declared a riot late on Monday and made multiple arrests of protesters, ordering them to disperse after fires were lit at the offices of the police association.

But the UN chief said that in the first five months of 2020, because of the pandemic, international tourist arrivals decreased by more than half and earnings plummeted.

Genetic analysis suggested that the first infection was from a strain of the coronavirus most closely related to strains from the United States or England, and the second infection was most closely related to strains from Switzerland and England.

The U.S. military's top cyber official is defending the government's shift toward a more aggressive strategy in cyberspace, saying the mission has evolved over the last decade from a reactive and defensive posture" to keep pace with sophisticated threats.

Democrats used their nominating convention last week to highlight several prominent Republicans who plan to cross party lines and vote for Joe Biden. On Monday, Republicans offered a counter: Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones.

U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off the fourday Republican National Convention on Monday with remarks to Republicans who formally backed his bid for a second term, followed by the main event featuring speeches by "everyday Americans."

Australia's second most populous state of Victoria said on Tuesday eight people died from the new coronavirus in the last 24 hours and reported 148 new cases.

Mexicos president said Monday the United Nations would be welcome to come to Mexico to investigate any rights violation like the Aug. 24, 2010 massacre of 72 migrants in the northern town of San Fernando.

In a notable change, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, will now be regularly tested for the coronavirus as the race heats up, a campaign aide confirmed Monday.