Gunmen opened fire on Monday (December 12) near a guest house popular with Chinese business visitors in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul, an eye witness told the news agency AFP and also stated that a loud explosion was heard.

WION Dispatch: Armed men open fire in Kabul building housing Chinese nationals

Israel and Morocco have signed a landmark defence agreement that aims to lay the foundation for security cooperation, intelligence sharing and arms sales in the future.

Israel and Morocco to deepen intelligence and military cooperation

A Ghanaian man in New York decided to put his time to good use. He sifted through the storage containers and bookshops and has now acquired the world's largest collection of African photography books.

New York: Ghanaian man creates the largest collection of books

Chinese regions deemed at low risk from the coronavirus outbreak should fully resume normal activities and end transport bans, an official at the state planning agency said on Tuesday.

Low-risk Chinese regions must resume activity: State Planning Agency

Two more Iranians infected with coronavirus have died, media website Eghtesaonline said on Tuesday, taking to 14 the toll in the Islamic Republic, which has the highest tally of deaths outside China, where the virus emerged late last year.

Iran's coronavirus death toll reaches 14

Taiwan's parliament approved a $2 billion package on Tuesday to help cushion the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on its export-reliant economy. The package includes loans for small businesses, subsidies for hard-hit tour agencies, tax cuts for tour bus drivers and even vouchers to spend on food in Taiwan's famous night markets, normally a top attraction for foreign tourists.

Taiwan passes $2 billion package to soften coronavirus hit to economy

Iraq on Monday confirmed its first novel coronavirus case in an elderly Iranian national in the southern shrine city of Najaf, according to health officials. Iraq, a country with a dilapidated healthcare system, often hosts pilgrims and religious students from Iran, where 12 people have died of the novel coronavirus since an outbreak there was first reported last week.

Iraq confirms first novel coronavirus case

John Bolton, the former National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump, raised concern on Monday about his unpublished book being "suppressed" by the White House and suggested he should be able to respond to the president's tweets about him.

Bolton hopes his book is not 'suppressed' by White House

Relatives of a seven-year-old girl murdered in Mexico said on Monday the government had failed to protect her despite their pleas, while President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador appeared to blame the crime on neo-liberal economics.

Government accused by Mexican family for daughter's murder in Mexico City

The British monarchy was left ashen-faced on Monday after it emerged that clicking on a link on the Royal Family's website led to a site featuring inappropriate content.

British Royals left ashen-faced after X-rated error on royal website

Though the tech giant Amazon, after much pressure, admitted that conversations recorded by virtual assistant Alexa and transcribed by humans were to check for accuracy and the information is made anonymous beforehand, Robert Frederick revealed that he always turns off his Alexa smart speaker during personal and particularly sensitive conversations.

Former Amazon executive says he turns off Alexa when he needs privacy

In a recent interview with South Africa's national broadcaster, former State President Frederik Willem de Klerk was asked to confirm whether apartheid - the legalised discrimination against non-white people - was a crime against humanity.

Former South African President Klerk says apartheid was not 'genocide' or a 'crime against humanity'

Online content should be regulated with a system somewhere between the existing rules used for the telecoms and media industries, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told global leaders and security chiefs on Saturday.

Zuckerberg asks Facebook to be treated "'like something between a telco and a newspaper"

The number of new cases of a coronavirus in China fell slightly, more than three weeks after the outbreak's epicentre was locked down, and a Chinese tourist died from the virus in France, the first fatality in Europe.

Chinese tourist dies in France as coronavirus cases show slight decline

Like Western feminists of the early 20th century, in an era of social change in Saudi Arabia some women are embracing cigarettes, shisha pipes or vaping as a symbol of emancipation.

'Happy I can choose': New era sees Saudi women light up in public

Storm Dennis swept across Britain on Sunday with the army drafted in to help deal with heavy flooding and high winds, officials warning it could be "life-threatening" in South Wales.

UK issues rare 'danger to life' warning over Storm Dennis

Multiple rockets hit an Iraqi base hosting American troops near the US embassy early Sunday, the latest in a flurry of attacks against US assets in the country. "The Coalition confirms small rockets impacted the Iraqi base hosting (coalition) troops in the International Zone.

Multiple rockets hit Iraqi base hosting American troops near US embassy; no casualties

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Russia of managing the Libyan conflict "at the highest level", local media reported Saturday, as Ankara-Moscow tensions mount.

Turkey President Erdogan says Russia managing Libya war 'at highest level'

Former US Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday criticized the conduct of online supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders, saying his rival for the Democratic nomination for president has "some accountability.

'Disown them:' Biden criticizes Sanders for supporters' online attacks

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement accused the Saudi-led coalition of carrying out retaliatory airstrikes on Saturday that killed at least 30 people including civilians, in the latest flare-up of a five-year war.

'31 civilians' killed in Yemen's air strikes after Saudi jet crash

Another 70 people on board a quarantined cruise ship in Japan have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases from the vessel to 355, Japanese health minister Katsunobu Kato said on Sunday.

Another 70 people test positive for coronavirus on Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan

Twitter said on Saturday that an official Twitter account of the Olympics and the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) media Twitter account had been hacked and temporarily locked.

Twitter says Olympics, IOC accounts hacked

Iran and Saudi Arabia appeared no closer to bridging their differences on Saturday with both sides sticking to their positions and regional facilitator Oman seeing no breakthrough before US elections in November.

No dialogue for now as Saudis, Iranians camp on positions