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World shares jump as Chinese leaders pledge to support slowing economy

Chinese state media reported that the ruling Communist Party's powerful Politburo agreed at a meeting Friday to step up efforts to boost growth while also curbing coronavirus outbreaks

Hong Kong's John Lee pledges to enact local security law ahead of elections

Lee, 64, is Beijing's only endorsed candidate for the elections and is widely expected to win during the polls on May 8

New gas pipeline boosts European Union's bid to ease Russian supply

The Greek-Bulgaria border is where the European Union is redrawing the region's energy map to ease its heavy reliance on Russian natural gas

South Korea to relax outdoor mask mandate as Covid-19 cases decline

Starting Monday, people will only be required to wear a mask outdoors when participating in gatherings of more than 50 people or attending sports and cultural events with potentially large crowds

Russia's focus remains Donbas region in Ukraine: British defence ministry

The British military said in a tweet: Due to strong Ukrainian resistance, Russian territorial gains have been limited and achieved at significant cost to Russian forces

Turkey prez Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits Saudi Arabia to mend strained ties

Erdogan said his talks in Jiddah will focus on ways to increase cooperation but also discuss regional and international developments

E-commerce firm Amazon reports rare quarterly loss as online shopping slows

Amazon's e-commerce business also reported an operating loss of $1.57 billion in North America and $1.28 billion internationally

Apple delivers strong quarterly results, but warns of trouble ahead

Despite headwinds, the results for the January-March period drew a picture of a still-expanding empire generating massive profits that have yielded the firm a $2.7 trillion market value

Mexico prez Andres Manual Lopez Obrador proposes dramatic electoral reforms

Lpez Obrador's administration argues that the changes would save Mexico $1.2 billion and allow citizens to select honest people to run elections

Elon Musk sells $4 bn in Tesla shares, presumably for Twitter deal

The shares were sold over the past few days, at prices ranging from $872.02 to $999.13

South Africa's latest surge in Covid cases blamed on omicron mutant

So far, there has been only a slight rise in hospitalisations and no increase in deaths, said Abdool Karim, who is a public health expert at the University of KwaZulu-Natal

UN to vote on replacing Russia from Human Rights Council on May 11

Since its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Russia has lost its spot on multiple U.N. bodies, including the executive boards of UN Women and the U.N. children's agency UNICEF

Explosions rock Kyiv again as Russians rain fire on Ukraine amid UN visit

The attack happened barely an hour after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a news conference with U.N. Secretary-General Antnio Guterres

Suspected drug cartel gunmen abduct two female soldiers in Mexico

They were kidnapped for the simple reason that they belonged to the army, Gen. Vicente Prez Lpez said. They had nothing to do with any operational issues

Canada to lift restrictions on gay men donating blood, Trudeau appreciates

Health Canada approved the request by Canadian Blood Services to end the policy that restricts homosexuals from donating blood for three months after engaging in gay sex

Explosions heard in Ukraine's Kyiv after Zelenskyy's meeting with UN chief

At least two explosions were heard early Thursday evening in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv shortly after a meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UN chief Antonio Guterres

Lost for decades, Dorothy's dress from 'The Wizard of Oz' is up for sale

Bonhams has the dress on display this week at the auction house's New York location before it is sent to California for public view and auction

Africa sees rise in measles as Covid-19 pandemic disrupts vaccines

The rise in outbreaks of other vaccine-preventable diseases is a warning sign," Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa, said in a statement

Beijing orders schools closed in tightening of Covid-19 pandemic rules

Students make up more than 30 per cent of total cases, with clusters linked to six schools and two kindergartens in Chaoyang

Simona Halep and Paula Badosa to meet in second round of Madrid Open

Halep beat Zhang Shuai 6-2 6-3 and Badosa defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-3 6-0