- Syrians protest after video of attack on Alawite shrine
- Russian state owner says cargo ship blast was 'terrorist attack'
- 38 dead as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan
- Crisis-hit Valencia hire West Brom's Corberan as new boss
- Suriname ex-dictator and fugitive Desi Bouterse dead at 79
- 35 feared dead as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan
- Pope calls for 'arms to be silenced' in Christmas appeal
- Syria authorities say torched 1 million captagon pills
- Pope calls for 'arms to be silenced' across world
- 32 survivors as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan
- Pakistan air strikes kill 46 in Afghanistan, Kabul says
- Liverpool host Foxes, Arsenal prepare for life without Saka
- Japan FM raises 'serious concerns' over China military buildup
- Pope's sombre message in Christmas under shadow of war
- Zelensky condemns Russian 'inhumane' Christmas attack on energy grid
- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Pope kicks off Christmas under shadow of war
- Catholics hold muted Christmas mass in Indonesia's Sharia stronghold
- Japan's top diplomat in China to address 'challenges'
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- As India's Bollywood shifts, stars and snappers click
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Djokovic eyes more Slam glory as Swiatek returns under doping cloud
- Australia's in-form Head confirmed fit for Boxing Day Test
- Brazilian midfielder Oscar returns to Sao Paulo
- 'Wemby' and 'Ant-Man' to make NBA Christmas debuts
- US agency focused on foreign disinformation shuts down
- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launches holy Jubilee year
- 'Like a dream': AFP photographer's return to Syria
- Chiefs seek top seed in holiday test for playoff-bound NFL teams
- Panamanians protest 'public enemy' Trump's canal threat
- Cyclone death toll in Mayotte rises to 39
- Ecuador vice president says Noboa seeking her 'banishment'
- Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy aware of 'bigger picture' as Liverpool await
- Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- Man Utd boss Amorim vows to stay on course despite Rashford row
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
Chinese city of 21 million shuts down over Covid outbreak
Around 21 million people in the Chinese city of Chengdu effectively went into lockdown on Thursday as authorities raced to snuff out a new Covid-19 outbreak.
China is the last major economy wedded to a zero-Covid policy, stamping out virus flare-ups with snap shutdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines.
Chengdu, in the southwest, became the latest city to announce a shutdown, saying in an official notice that residents must "stay home in principle" from 6:00 pm (1000 GMT) on Thursday to combat a new wave of infections.
Each household will be allowed to send one person out to buy groceries and essential goods per day, provided they have tested negative in the previous 24 hours, the notice said.
It added that all residents would be tested for the virus between Thursday and Sunday, and urged them not to leave the city unless "absolutely necessary".
"The current state of epidemic control is abnormal, complex and grim," the announcement said, adding that the measures aimed to "decisively arrest the spread of the outbreak and guarantee the health of all citizens".
Chengdu recorded 157 new local infections on Thursday, of which 51 displayed no symptoms, the city government said in a separate notice.
Swedish carmaker Volvo said the lockdown had forced it to temporarily close its Chengdu plant, which employs nearly 3,000 people.
Photos of empty supermarket shelves and Chengdu residents scrambling to hoard groceries went viral on social media.
Children in at least 10 cities and provinces across China are facing disruptions to their new academic year as pandemic controls force schools to switch to online learning, according to a report run Thursday in state-affiliated media.
Xining, the capital of western Qinghai province and home to 2.5 million people, has rolled out a mass testing drive and told residents in its main urban area to work from home for three days.
China's southern hub of Shenzhen said new virus restrictions would come into force Thursday evening in its Nanshan district, which hosts the headquarters of tech giants Tencent and ZTE.
The district government said it had ordered entertainment venues including bars, cinemas and karaoke clubs to close, and started requiring residents to produce a recent negative Covid test to enter their housing compounds.
China has stuck to its zero-tolerance virus strategy despite concern that the approach is stifling its economy.
Last month, travellers in the southern island province of Hainan protested after more than 80,000 tourists were stranded in a resort city because of a Covid-19 flare-up.
Social media videos from the eastern megacity of Shanghai showed panicked crowds fleeing an Ikea store and another building as officials tried to impose local lockdowns in response to just two suspected cases.
A.Malone--AMWN