World

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Friday he has nominated former finance minister Oksana Markarova as the country's new ambassador to Washington, where she would be close to the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund.

There are signs that coronavirus cases in Britain are starting to flatten as a result of current lockdowns, health minister Matt Hancock said, paving the way for a Christmas period with less stringent restrictions.

The U.S. Supreme Court late on Thursday cleared the way for the Justice Department's plan to execute Orlando Hall, an African American, by lethal injection, overturning a lower court's order that blocked it on the grounds of the method of execution.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis has tested positive for COVID19 and Anthony Tata, one of several senior U.S. defense officials who met him at the Pentagon last week, also tested positive on Thursday, the Pentagon said.

Mexico, the most populous country in the Spanishspeaking world, has now registered 100,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths, a few days after passing one million infections, official data showed on Thursday.

The United States said Thursday it will extend restrictions barring nonessential travel at land borders with Canada and Mexico through Dec. 21.

In response to rising COVID19 infection numbers, the Smithsonian Institution is indefinitely shutting down operations at all its facilities, effective Monday and affecting seven museums, plus the National Zoo.

European Union leaders clashed briefly on Thursday over a veto by Poland and Hungary of the bloc's 1.8 trillion euro plan to recover from the recession caused by the COVID19 pandemic, but agreed in a virtual summit to allow more time for an agreement.

Sweden's health agency said on Thursday a number of people who work in the mink industry had tested positive for the coronavirus.

The European Union unveiled plans on Thursday to transform its electricity system to rely mostly on renewables within a decade and increase its offshore wind energy capacity 25fold by 2050.

Masked servers will deliver plates laden with turkey and fixings to a dozen relatives separated into small pods in Kathleen Williamson's backyard in Maryland, part of her scheme to dish up family togetherness at Thanksgiving.

European Union leaders will discuss on Thursday the Polish and Hungarian veto of the EU's 1.8 trillioneuro financial plan to recover from the recession caused by the COVID19 pandemic, but officials expect no solution this week.

The number of new COVID19 infections in Germany is still far too high but there are signs that distancing measures are working so the positive trend of stabilising case numbers should continue, health officials said on Thursday.

Turkey has to cease provocations in the eastern Mediterranean if it wants to avoid new discussions about European Union sanctions against Ankara at an EU summit in December, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Thursday.

As COVID19 spreads uncontrolled in many places, a coalition of states, health care groups and activists is striving to drum up Obamacare signups among a growing number of Americans uninsured in perilous times.

One of Australia's strictest lockdowns kicked off in the country's south on Thursday with outdoor gatherings, weddings, funerals, takeaway food all coming to a standstill as authorities try to stifle a fresh coronavirus outbreak.