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The UK's chief medical officers have defended a decision to delay second doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in order to prioritize first doses, saying it will protect as many vulnerable people as possible while the coronavirus is running rampant.

The pandemic may have brought work to a halt on projects around the world, but next year is nonetheless set to welcome an exciting array of new buildings.

The US flew nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the Middle East Wednesday in the latest show of force meant to deter Iran, as defense officials remain divided over the risk posed by the regime and the Iraq-based militias it supports.

In an effort to stem the tide of the coronavirus, Thailand has banned food, drink and any printed materials other than safety information cards on board domestic flights. The airlines will have to follow the regulations or could face possible penalty from their regulator, Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand.

The prospect of finding true love during a global pandemic seems almost impossible, especially if you're stuck in lockdown and hate dating apps.

China approved its first homegrown coronavirus vaccine for general public use on Thursday, with officials promising to provide the general public with free inoculations.

A mob in northwestern Pakistan attacked and set ablaze a century-old Hindu temple on Wednesday, officials said, prompting condemnations from the Muslim-majority country's Hindu community.

Ten people were injured, one of them critically, and 11 were classified as missing after a landslide in southern Norway swept away more than a dozen buildings in the early hours of Wednesday, police said.

Argentina's Senate approved a bill to legalize abortion Wednesday in an historic vote seen as a major victory for abortion rights advocates in the Catholic-majority country.

A leading female Palestinian DJ has been remanded in custody for 15 days after she was arrested by Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces for performing at a party at a Muslim holy site, leading to claims of official over-reaction to an event that sparked furious scenes over the weekend.

To look back at the year in fashion is to look back at a year of crisis. In the first few months of 2020, as the severity and scale of the coronavirus pandemic became clear, businesses around the world faced incomparable challenges posed by the largest global public health crisis in generations. The fashion industry was not immune.

The United Kingdom has become the first country to approve the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine. In a statement, the UK government said the country's regulator had authorized the vaccine after it met "strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness." The approval comes weeks after the UK became the first country in the world to start inoculating its citizens with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

Australia's Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs has threatened to cancel the visas of any visitors caught breaking rules designed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the country, after hundreds of people attended a beach party in Sydney's Bronte Beach on Christmas Day.

A probe into hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate left at Beirut's port began just hours before a massive blast rocked the site, leaving more than 200 dead and devastating the Lebanese capital, caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab told CNN on Tuesday.

Croatia has been hit by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, the government-owned Croatian News Agency HINA reported Tuesday, causing major damage to Petrinja, a town close to its epicenter.

The euphoria of Lebanon's October revolution evaporated in 2020. Economic collapse and the coronavirus pandemic mortally wounded hopes for change, and the final nail in the country's coffin seemed to come with the Beirut port blast. CNN's Ben Wedeman reports from Beirut.