![A Kankara Town road sign is seen, after gunmen abducted students from the Government Science school, in Kankara, in northwestern Katsina state, Nigeria, December 13, 2020 [Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020-12-13T153908Z_254568010_RC2FMK9G7LQ1_RTRMADP_3_NIGERIA-SECURITY-KIDNAPPINGS.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
![With positions rapidly hardening between Washington and Ankara the potential, for a Turkish exit from NATO is now a possibility [File: Francois Lenoir/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020-02-28T105406Z_1564649113_RC2M9F9PD7JV_RTRMADP_3_SYRIA-SECURITY-TURKEY-NATO.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
![Moderna's vaccine does not require specialised refrigeration for transportation or storage, unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which must be kept at -70 Celsius (-94 F) [File: Dado Ruvic/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020-11-13T000000Z_1941184325_RC2C2K9G4NC6_RTRMADP_3_HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-MODERNA-SWISS.jpg?resize=120%2C80)
![Ten years ago, a wave of revolt spread across the Arab world from Tunisia to Egypt, Syria and Yemen [File: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/d510c58594f94e559b92a565e86791f0_18.jpeg?resize=120%2C80)
![The latest incident between the US and China naval forces took place in late August, when Beijing said it had driven an American warship from the Paracel Islands, which is disputed by China and Vietnam [US Navy Handout photo via Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/52631b3299944d15891ce32c0629425e_18.jpeg?resize=120%2C80)
![The number of US cases rose by at least 239,018 on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally [Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/063_1291863858.jpg?resize=120%2C80)
![Part of a village in the southern Viti Levu island was left flooded on Friday following the cyclone [Courtesy of the Fiji Government]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/131623388_3890141751018731_7710174194189134375_o.jpg?resize=120%2C80)
![Foreign visitors in Thailand would be subject to a two-week quarantine period after arriving and are required to undergo three COVID-19 tests [Mladen Antonov/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/000_8WY6Z9.jpg?resize=120%2C80)
![A leaked draft of Iraq's state budget has spurred panic as it confirmed the Iraqi government's intentions to devalue the national currency and slash salaries to cope with a severe economic crisis [File: Nabil al-Jurani/Iraq]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AP_20352679596090.jpg?resize=120%2C80)
![David Sackler, a former board member of Purdue Pharma, acknowledged that addiction to OxyContin, a painkiller made by the company, played a role in the US's opioid addiction crisis [Handout via Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020-12-17T153825Z_332602650_RC23PK9T24N8_RTRMADP_3_USA-OPIOIDS.jpg?resize=120%2C80)
![With positions rapidly hardening between Washington and Ankara the potential, for a Turkish exit from NATO is now a possibility [File: Francois Lenoir/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020-02-28T105406Z_1564649113_RC2M9F9PD7JV_RTRMADP_3_SYRIA-SECURITY-TURKEY-NATO.jpg?resize=120%2C80)
Arab Spring: 10 years on
![A Tunisian demonstrator throws a rock during clashes with security forces in Regueb, near Sidi Bouzid on January 10, 2011 [Fethi Belaid/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/000_Par3704091.jpg?crop=0px%2C0px%2C4200px%2C2801px&resize=270%2C180)
![Mohamed Bouazizi is depicted on a post office facade in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia [Riadh Dridi/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AP_20350602212998-1.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
![In a photo from January 2011, Tunisian protesters demonstrate beneath a poster of Mohamed Bouazizi, near the prime minister's office in Tunis [File:Salah Habibi/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AP_110128121974-e1608200818567.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
![In this file photo from 2011, inhabitants of Sidi Bouzid chant slogans during a demonstration in front of the government palace in Tunis [File: Fethi Belaid/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/201112312544088876_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
![Egyptian men walk past graffiti showing the faces of Hosni Mubarak, right, Hussein Tantawi, Amr Mussa and Ahmed Shafik in Tahrir Square on June 14, 2012 [File: Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/7b6849752b1247cfb553c8958db5f4d3_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Chinese, Vietnamese sailors missing as Panama-flagged ship sinks
Cargo ship Xin Hong was transporting 7,800 tonnes of clay from Malaysia to Hong Kong when it encountered rough seas.
![Sailors had contacted Vietnam for help earlier on Thursday when the ship began to list in rough seas [Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/201251853911377734_20.jpeg?resize=570%2C380)
Biden to nominate first-ever Native American cabinet secretary
If confirmed, Deb Haaland will serve as US interior secretary and will oversee tribal lands and national parks.
![If confirmed as interior secretary, US Representative Deb Haaland would be the first-ever Native American cabinet secretary [File: J Scott Applewhite/AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AP_20352699507573.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Opinion
Canada: Is ‘me first’ COVID vaccine policy hurting other nations?
Richer nations including Canada need to do more to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are equitably distributed, experts say.
![The first Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines were administered this week to health workers and residents of long-term care homes in Canada [Carlos Osorio/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020-12-15T003437Z_448463618_RC2CNK93SRZK_RTRMADP_3_HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-CANADA.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
‘Mental torture’: Pakistan’s Amir quits international cricket
Fast-bowler says he announced retirement in protest over ‘shabby’ treatment he received from management.
![Legendary Pakistan paceman Wasim Akram described Amir, shown above, as 'the most talented fast bowler' [Andrew Boyers/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2019-06-16T095606Z_861676235_RC1FBB87C670_RTRMADP_3_CRICKET-WORLDCUP-IND-PAK.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
![A woman tosses a shovel full of snow while digging out her car, Thursday morning, in Manchester, New Hampshire. [Charles Krupa/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AP_20352502814626.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
A woman tosses a shovel full of snow while digging out her car, Thursday morning, in Manchester, New Hampshire. [Charles Krupa/AP Photo]
![A pedestrian walks past a bus while snow falls in New York as temperatures dropped to 27 degrees fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) with frigid sustained winds up to 56 km/h (35 mph). [Angus Mordant/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/366788163.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
A pedestrian walks past a bus while snow falls in New York as temperatures dropped to 27 degrees fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) with frigid sustained winds up to 56 km/h (35 mph). [Angus Mordant/Bloomberg]
![People walk their dogs on the snow-blanketed Commonwealth Mall in Boston, Massachusetts. More than a foot of snow is expected in the Greater Boston area as the winter storm delivers snow, rain, sleet and high winds up and down the East Coast. [Scott Eisen/Getty Images/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/063_1230179072.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
People walk their dogs on the snow-blanketed Commonwealth Mall in Boston, Massachusetts. More than a foot of snow is expected in the Greater Boston area as the winter storm delivers snow, rain, sleet and high winds up and down the East Coast. [Scott Eisen/Getty Images/AFP]
![Snow and ice are seen on branches in the Boston Public Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. [Scott Eisen/Getty Images/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/063_1230178997.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Snow and ice are seen on branches in the Boston Public Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. [Scott Eisen/Getty Images/AFP]
![A man clears snow off the sidewalk in the Flatbush neighbourhood of Brooklyn in New York City. New York City had its first snowstorm of the year with various parts of the city experiencing six to 10 inches of snow falling overnight. [Michael M Santiago/Getty Images/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/063_1291799153.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
A man clears snow off the sidewalk in the Flatbush neighbourhood of Brooklyn in New York City. New York City had its first snowstorm of the year with various parts of the city experiencing six to 10 inches of snow falling overnight. [Michael M Santiago/Getty Images/AFP]
![A major snowstorm hit the US East Coast during Thursday's early hours, creating extra challenges in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and a mass vaccination rollout taking place across the region. [Joseph Prezioso / AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/000_8XC6NW.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
A major snowstorm hit the US East Coast during Thursday's early hours, creating extra challenges in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and a mass vaccination rollout taking place across the region. [Joseph Prezioso / AFP]
![The winter storm, moving over New York, Pennsylvania and other northeastern states, leaves millions facing more than a foot of snow a week before the Christmas holiday. [Brian Snyder/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020-12-17T173720Z_1559105147_RC25PK9ERDJN_RTRMADP_3_USA-WEATHER.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
The winter storm, moving over New York, Pennsylvania and other northeastern states, leaves millions facing more than a foot of snow a week before the Christmas holiday. [Brian Snyder/Reuters]
![A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks past a restaurant's outdoor dining area as snow falls in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York. [Angus Mordant/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/366788303.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks past a restaurant's outdoor dining area as snow falls in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York. [Angus Mordant/Bloomberg]
![Snow falls during a nor'easter storm in the Manhattan borough of New York City. [David 'Dee' Delgado/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020-12-17T134348Z_700959847_RC21PK97N5A1_RTRMADP_3_USA-WEATHER-1.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Snow falls during a nor'easter storm in the Manhattan borough of New York City. [David 'Dee' Delgado/Reuters]
+5
COVID: Which political figures have tested positive?
French President Macron has become the latest world leader to contract the coronavirus.
![Left to right, top to bottom: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Prince Albert II of Monaco; US President Donald Trump; French President Emmanuel Macron; Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro; the UK's Prince Charles [AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/000_8XC64E.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
