New coronavirus infections soared again in Australia on Friday to a record of more than 32,000 driven by the highly contagious omicron variant and a recent relaxation of restrictions in many areas.
Members of the 15-member Regional and Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, include China, Japan and South Korea. The new trading bloc does not include the U.S. or India.
It was the second time the two leaders spoke this month, as Russia has assembled as many as 100,000 troops along the Ukrainian border, prompting fears of an invasion.
The CDC revised its guidance Thursday, as 91 cruise ships are under investigation for COVID outbreaks onboard. Most cruise lines require adult passengers to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19.
President Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a call Thursday as tensions mount between the Ukraine and Russia. The White House says it's "gravely concerned" about the situation.
The program called COVAX was set up to make sure that all countries have access to COVID vaccines. Two key public health figures talk about what went wrong — and how to fix it.
Hong Kong police on Thursday formally charged two people from a pro-democracy news outlet with sedition, a day after it said it would cease operations after a police raid and seven arrests.
Officials pledged steady deliveries of groceries to residents of Xi'an, a city of 13 million that is under the strictest lockdown of a major Chinese city since Wuhan at the start of the pandemic.
The massacres and scorched-earth tactics represent the latest escalation in the military's violence against both civilians and the growing opposition to the military's February coup.