- Wednesday, 20 August 2025
Reuters
Tokyo's daily COVID cases cross 30,000 for first time in pandemic
New coronavirus cases in Japan's capital hit a record on Thursday, surging past 30,000 for the first time since the pandemic began, spurring officials to call for more vigilance.
Mario Draghi resigns, plunging Italy into political turmoil
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi handed in his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday after his unity government fell apart, plunging the country into political turmoil and hitting financial markets.
Sri Lanka swears in new president amid worst economic crisis in decades
Veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka's new president on Thursday, a day after winning a vote in parliament and urging the island nation to come together to find a way out of its worst economic crisis in decades.
After warmest night, Britain braces for record temperature
Britain was bracing for temperatures to hit 40C for the first time on Tuesday after it recorded its warmest night on record, forcing train services to stop, some schools to close and zoos to feed animals with large ice lollies.
Cargo plane with Serbian defence material crashes in northern Greece
A Ukrainian cargo plane carrying munitions from Serbia to Bangladesh crashed near the city of Kavala in northern Greece late on Saturday, Serbian authorities said on Sunday.
Wildfires rage in France and Spain as heatwaves sweep Europe
Wildfires raged in southwestern France and Spain on Saturday, forcing thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes as blistering summer temperatures put authorities on alert in parts of Europe.
Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa quits; 'We are the real power' says protester
The speaker of Sri Lanka's parliament formally accepted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation on Friday after he fled to Singapore to escape a popular uprising brought about by his country's worst economic crisis in seven decades.
Zelenskiy sacks Ukraine's envoy to Germany, India, Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that he had dismissed several of Kyiv's senior envoys abroad, including the country's outspoken ambassador to Germany.
Sri Lanka PM offers resignation after protesters storm president's house
Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is willing to resign to make way for an all-party government, his office said in a statement on Saturday, after thousands of protesters stormed the president's official residence in Colombo.
UK think tank calls for global digital currency rules
Global rules would allow central bank digital currencies to operate smoothly cross-border and speed up wholesale payments, a think tank backed by the City of London Corporation said on Friday.
After scandals, Boris Johnson quits as UK prime minister
Scandal-ridden Boris Johnson announced on Thursday he would quit as British prime minister after he was abandoned by ministers and most of his Conservative lawmakers.
WHO reports two new monkeypox deaths, cases in new areas
The World Health Organization reported two new deaths from monkeypox since its previous disease update on June 27, bringing the total to three since the start of the year and said the disease had spread to new areas.
Social unrest over spiralling living costs spreads to France's railways
Railway workers in France went on strike on Wednesday, disrupting travel across the rail network days before the summer holidays begin and at a time of unrest in other areas of the economy as high inflation eats into salaries.
German road traffic agency says 59,000 Tesla vehicles have software glitch
Germany's road traffic agency said it was recalling Tesla (TSLA.O) models Y and 3 because of a fault in the automatic emergency call system that affects 59,000 vehicles globally.
At least five killed in magnitude 6.1 quake on Iran Gulf coast
At least five people were killed and 49 injured by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in southern Iran early on Saturday, state media reported, with the area also hit soon after by two strong quakes of up to 6.3 magnitudes.
