ABC News

AUSTRALIAN STATE BANS PLASTIC DRINKING STRAWS AND STIRRERS

An Australian state has become the first in the country to ban some single-used plastic items including drinking straws, stir sticks...

SUGA'S PR CHIEF RESIGNS AFTER MEAL TIED TO JAPAN BROADCASTER

The public relations chief for Japan's prime minister has resigned after she acknowledged she had a $700 dinner paid for by a broadcaster

SYRIA REPORTS ISRAELI MISSILE ATTACK NEAR CAPITAL, DAMASCUS

Syrian state media is reporting that the country's air defenses were activated in the capital Damascus and its southern suburbs to...

ASSOCIATED PRESS JOURNALIST DETAINED BY POLICE IN MYANMAR

An Associated Press journalist has been detained by police while covering protests against the military coup in Myanmar

PURIM CELEBRATIONS THREATEN FRESH VIRUS OUTBREAK IN ISRAEL

Mass gatherings have taken place in Jerusalem as Israelis celebrated the Jewish holiday of Purim in violation of coronavirus restrictions

FIRE KILLS 3 CHILDREN IN SYRIAN CAMP HOUSING IS FAMILIES

The U.N. children's agency says a fire in a camp housing families of members of the Islamic State group killed three children and injured...

THAI MARCHERS LINK THEIR DEMOCRACY CAUSE TO MYANMAR PROTESTS

A new faction of Thailand's pro-democracy movement has staged a protest march, linking their cause with that of demonstrators in Myanmar...

UN SAYS 15 EUROPE-BOUND MIGRANTS DIE AT SEA OFF LIBYA

A U.N. spokeswoman says at least 15 African migrants drowned when their boat capsized off the Libyan coast

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE SAYS THE CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTERS BY MYANMAR AUTHORITIES HAS LEFT AT LEAST 18 DEAD

UN WARNS OF MASS FAMINE IN YEMEN AHEAD OF DONOR CONFERENCE

A U.N. humanitarian agency has warned that more than 16 million people in Yemen would go hungry this year, with already some half a...

POPE PRAYS FOR LIBERATION OF 317 KIDNAPPED NIGERIAN STUDENTS

Pope Francis is praying for the quick release of 317 schoolgirls in Nigeria so they can return to their families

U.S. IS 'GRAVELY CONCERNED' BY REPORTS OF ABUSES IN ETHIOPIA

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is “gravely concerned by reported atrocities and the overall deteriorating situation”...

NEWSPAPER PHOTOGRAPHER ATTACKED, SERIOUSLY HURT IN FRANCE

A newspaper in northeast France says one of its photographers was attacked and seriously injured while reporting on a suspected outbreak...

ROOSTER KILLS INDIAN MAN DURING BANNED COCKFIGHT

A man has been killed by a rooster with a blade tied to its leg during an illegal cockfight in southern India

RUSSIAN HELICOPTER CRASH-LANDS IN NORTHERN SYRIA, CASUALTIES

Russia's Defense Ministry and Syria's state media are reporting that a Russian helicopter has made an emergency landing in northeast...

LONG-TIME MAYOR OF CROATIAN CAPITAL OF ZAGREB DIES AT 65

Milan Bandic, the controversial long-serving mayor of Croatia's capital of Zagreb, has died from a heart attack at age 65, his office...

GUNMEN KILL ISLAMIC CLERIC, HIS SON, STUDENT IN PAKISTAN

Pakistani police say a trio of gunmen have shot and killed a religious cleric, his teenage son and a student on the outskirts of Pakistan's...

ISRAELI-OWNED SHIP DOCKED IN DUBAI AFTER MYSTERIOUS BLAST

An Israeli-owned cargo ship that suffered a mysterious explosion in the Gulf of Oman has come to Dubai's port for repairs

HONG KONG DETAINS 47 ACTIVISTS ON SUBVERSION CHARGES

Hong Kong police have detained 47 pro-democracy activists on charges of conspiracy to commit subversion under the sweeping national...

IN OIL-RICH IRAQ, A FEW WOMEN BUCK NORMS, TAKE RIG SITE JOBS

In Iraq, a handful of women are eschewing the dreary office jobs typically handed to female petrochemical engineers and choosing instead...