Return to 'Plan A': England lifts Omicron curbs
Commuters trooped back to the office in England on Thursday, with public transport visibly busier, after the government scrapped restrictions imposed to combat the Omicron coronavirus variant.
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Hong Kong shortens on-arrival quarantine from three weeks to two
Hong Kong on Thursday shortened the mandatory quarantine for international travellers from three weeks to two, even as the city struggles to contain virus outbreaks involving Omicron and Delta variants.
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70 dead from Tropical Storm Ana in southern Africa
The death toll from a storm that struck three southern African countries rose to 70 on Thursday as emergency teams battled to repair damaged infrastructure and help tens of thousands of victims.
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Minimum wage in focus as Portugal heads to polls
Like nearly one in four workers in Portugal, Fernanda Moreira, a food services worker at a hospital in a Lisbon suburb, earns the minimum wage.
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Pressure on UK PM mounts over Afghan pet evacuations
The UK government denied Thursday that embattled Prime Minister Boris Johnson had prioritised pets over people in the chaotic evacuation out of Afghanistan as Kabul fell to the Taliban.
Read moreRussia says US failing on Ukraine but more talks possible
Russia said Thursday that the United States was failing to address its main security concerns over Ukraine but left the door open to further talks to ease tensions.
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Top seed Barty crushes Keys to make Australian Open final
A ruthless Ashleigh Barty swept into her first Australian Open final on Thursday with the top seed outgunning a resurgent Madison Keys in a clinical, straight-sets demolition.
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US ships nearly 1.7 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Uganda
The United States is shipping nearly 1.7 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Uganda, a White House official said Thursday, in the latest wave of jabs donated to stem the global pandemic.
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Singapore Grand Prix gets green light for next seven years
Singapore will host the Formula One night race for another seven years from 2022 to 2028, organisers said Thursday, after the coronavirus pandemic scuppered the event for two years running.
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Colourful Kenyan football fan hacked to death
Kenyans were mourning Thursday the country's best known football fan, a colourful former newspaper vendor who was found hacked to death at his home.
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