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On Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide announced North Korea fired two suspected ballistic missiles in the sea near Japan. Japanese authorities said the first missile was launched at 22:04 UTC and another followed at 22:23 UTC. According to reports, the two missiles flew for 420 and 430 kilometers respectively, before falling into the sea. In an article published by Reuters, Harry Kazianis, senior director of Korean studies at the Center for the National Interest in Washington DC, said "This latest North Korean missile launch is

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) ruled Thursday, after thirteen European Union (EU) nations suspended rollouts of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the jab was "safe and effective" and there was "no indication" of correlation between taking the vaccine and blood clotting. The review included safety data from over 17 million people vaccinated in the EU and the United Kingdom and focused on cases of uncommon blood disorders. In a statement on the EMA's website, the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee confirmed "the benefits of

Yesterday, the state government of New South Wales (NSW), Australia announced "Bradfield" as the name for the planned third city in Greater Sydney. Bradfield is located at west of City of Parramatta and Sydney, in vicinity of the then currently in construction Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport. The city is to be named in honour of John Bradfield, the engineer who designed the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney rail line. The name came after a public consultation earlier last year. In a press release on the New South Wal

On Thursday, United States President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act, a USD 1.9 trillion stimulus relief package that provides a maximum of $1400 in direct payments to individuals making no more than $75 thousand annually. The bill was passed in the United States House of Representatives with a 220–211 vote on Wednesday and in the United States Senate with a 50–49 vote along party lines through budget reconciliation. The bill includes $300 billion in unemployment benefits through September and expands the tax credit per child t

On Friday, after three earthquakes hit near both the Kermadec Islands and about 105 km off New Zealand's east coast, people across New Zealand were instructed by the government to stay away from beach and shore areas. The first earthquake hit at 2:27 AM local time at a depth of 10km, and registered 7.1 according to Radio New Zealand. It was felt across the North Island and parts of the South Island. Two 7.4 and 8.1 earthquakes were recorded near the Kermadec Islands by New Zealand's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). Radio New Zea

The Chinese National People's Congress put forward plans on Friday that would mean electoral candidates from Hong Kong would have to be thoroughly vetted before being allowed to run. The plans ensure that only "patriots" to the People's Republic of China would be allowed to run. This comes after protests against the republic over the last two years, with 47 pro-democracy election candidates, activists, and campaigners remaining in jail on national security laws. Premier Li Keqiang said he would "resolutely guard against and deter" interferen

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced the UK's 2021 budget on Wednesday in the House of Commons. This comes amid significant damage to the country's economy from the COVID-19 pandemic, in which over 700 thousand people have lost their jobs, with the economy shrinking by 10%. Sunak announced an extension of the furlough scheme, which had been paying employees who could not work due to the pandemic 80% of their wages. He said it would be extended until September. The scheme also mentioned firms would have to pay 10% of this in Jul

The Jordanian Ministers for Interior and Justice resigned yesterday after they were found violating anti-coronavirus lockdown measures. Both Interior Minister Samir Mobeideen and Justice Minister Bassam Talhouni were found at a public banquet violating the social distancing as well as maximum permissible capacity guidelines which their ministries are expected to enforce. Current capacity is limited to 20 people. This comes days after the imposition of new restrictions on Jordanians, including stay-at-home orders, a military-enforced curfew a

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Wikinews mourns loss of volunteer John Shutt}} On Friday, Wikinews learned Dr John Nathan Shutt, a long-time contributor to both Wikinews and Wikibooks, died on Wednesday. Editing under the name Pi zero, he was at the time the top contributor to Wikinews by edit count, and came third on English Wikibooks. Dr Shutt was 56 years old. Dr Shutt's elder sister, Ms Barbara Shutt, informed Wikinews about his death via email on early Friday. His mother Elsie Shutt had called 9-1-1 emergency services after he had trouble breathing. B

On Wednesday, India's president, Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the world's largest cricket stadium, Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad. Narendra Modi is the current Prime Minister of India. In his opening ceremony speech, President Kovind said "This stadium was conceptualised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat. He was president of the Gujarat Cricket Association at that time". India's Home Minister Amit Shah, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also

Yesterday, Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Luca Attanasio was killed along with two others during an attack on a World Food Programme convoy en route to Rutshuru. Attanasio reportedly was injured and later died in hospital. Attanasio was 43-years-old. According to Virunga National Park, the attack occurred near the town of Kanyamahoro, North Kivu at approximately 10:15am local time (0815 UTC). According to the provincial governor, via the BBC, the attack was perpetrated by six men who took the passengers into Virun

A series of winter blasts have struck the US state of Texas in recent days, leaving at least ten people dead in the aftermath. On Wednesday, the second wave of the storms impacted utilities and water systems, with cities asking citizens to conserve water usage. Reports early Wednesday indicated more than two and a half million homes and businesses were without power. Texas is the only one of the 48 contiguous US states with its own separate power grid. One media source indicated carbon monoxide poisoning killed a mother and her child in the