2020 was the hottest year on record for Europe. At the same time, the year also saw extreme wildfires in the Arctic which was partly attributed to low snow cover. This was disclosed by the European Union’s observation service pinning the blame on climate change whose impact has intensified.  ...

South Korea will stop funding coal-fired power plants abroad, President Moon Jae-in said Thursday at a virtual climate summit. "(South) Korea will stop all government funding for overseas coal-fired power plants," President Moon Jae-in said, speaking at a US-organised climate summit attended by...

Sanctions have been announced against Russia by the United States in reaction to what the US administration claimed were because of cyber-attacks and other hostile actions.   Making the announcement the White House said that the sanctions are targeted at dozens of Russian entities and...

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the country's chief public health watchdog, told CNN about 5,800 US citizens who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but still got sick. A total of 76.7 million US citizens have already received two doses of the vaccine so far, according...

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for a 2022 extension of the deferral of debt payments to poor countries. He said the debt crisis must be solved through debt standstills, debt forgiveness for countries that need it. "I welcome the G20's support for the extension of the Debt...

G20 finance ministers have tentatively backed the US Treasury's idea of a uniform minimum tax rate for businesses worldwide. They plan to reach consensus on the new rules by mid-year. According to Bloomberg, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors said they intend to "reach a global and...

More than 4 million new cases of coronavirus have been detected worldwide over the past week, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported. This is 5% more than in the previous week. The number of deaths in the past seven days has increased by 11% to 71,000. Overall, the number of new cases of...

Japan and cherry blossoms have shares “long historical and cultural” links besides announcing the arrival of spring and providing inspirations to “artists and poets through the centuries”. Kyoto’s famous cherry blossoms that paints a pink landscape came into bloom on “March 26” which marks the...

More than 20 politicians - among them French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel - have called for a new international treaty aimed at combating pandemics and improving preparedness. As the politicians noted in an article published in the German newspaper Frankfurter...