Australia's NSW state declares state of emergency amid bushfire threat

Australia's most populous state declared its second state of state of emergency in two months on Thursday as extreme heat and strong winds were expected to fan scores of uncontrolled bushfires.

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15 years on, a look back at the Boxing Day tsunami

December 26 marks 15 years since a 9.1 magnitude quake off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and nine other countries.

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Temporary Thai tsunami orphanage becomes a permanent home

An orphanage in southern Thailand has been Watana Sittirachot's home since 2004, when a deadly tsunami killed hundreds of thousands of people, including many of his family members, in one of the biggest natural disasters in recent history.

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Mexican children shiver in tents at U.S. border as temperature freezes

Mexican officials concerned about the health of Mexican asylum seekers including around 200 young children sleeping in the open near the U.S. border in Ciudad Juarez tried to move people to shelters on Wednesday, as temperatures dropped below freezing.

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Trump says court decision on Obamacare won't change healthcare system

President Donald Trump said a U.S. appeals court ruling on Wednesday that a component of the Obamacare law is unconstitutional would not change the current U.S. healthcare system.

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FDA grants accelerated approval for Astellas, Seattle Genetics' bladder cancer drug

U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday it approved Astellas Pharma Inc and Seattle Genetics' experimental drug to treat advanced bladder cancer, about three months ahead of schedule.

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Divided U.S. House nears historic vote to impeach Trump

A bitterly divided U.S. House of Representatives neared a historic vote to impeach Donald Trump on Wednesday after a day-long debate in which Democrats called the president a threat to democracy and Republicans called the proceedings a partisan coup.

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Is the Netherlands becoming a narco-state?

The murder of a prominent lawyer ended a common misconception: that drug cartels only kill their own.

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The Sudanese brides who undergo genital mutilation for love

Women who want to pretend to be virgins before their weddings are opting for "re-circumcision" in Sudan.

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Why India shuts down the internet more than any other democracy

India shut down the internet 93 times this year, and a blackout in Kashmir is the world's longest.

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How the scramble for sand is destroying the Mekong

The Mekong river is being damaged by sand extraction, adding to calls for limits on sand usage.

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UK urges China to open dialogue with Hong Kong on 1984 declaration anniversary

Britain urged China on Thursday to open dialogue with Hong Kong protesters and respect the commitments it made 35 years ago in the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

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Canada's SNC-Lavalin unit pleads guilty to fraud charge in Libya case

A division of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc pleaded guilty to one fraud charge and will pay a C$280 million fine related to projects in Libya, the company said on Wednesday, in a case that engulfed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government in crisis.

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Four to appear in court over murder of Slovak investigative journalist that rocked nation

A Slovak businessman and three others will appear in court for the first time on Thursday charged over the murder of an investigative journalist and his fiancee, a case that triggered mass protests against graft in the central European state.

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U.N. condemns North Korea rights abuses, Pyongyang rejects resolution

The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday condemned "the long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross violations of human rights in and by" North Korea in an annual resolution that Pyongyang's U.N. envoy rejected.

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Japan's workplaces rethink 'drinking with the boss'

In Japan, fears of harassment claims mean some bosses are hesitant to organise after-work drinks.

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Costa Rica calls for aid, grappling with spike in Nicaraguan refugees

Costa Rica's president on Tuesday requested urgent international aid for refugees in the small Central American nation, which has taken in tens of thousands of people from Nicaragua after a political crisis triggered months of violent protests.

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Ship industry proposes $5 billion research fund to help cut emissions

Shipping associations have proposed creating a research fund with $5 billion raised by the industry to develop technology to help the sector meet U.N. targets on cutting emissions.

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