World

The number of visitors to the world's largest casino hub has plunged nearly 80 percent in the past week, transforming the city into a shadow of its former self.

Michael Bloomberg has attracted criticism for attempting to use his amassed fortune, estimated to be $60 billion, to buy the party's nomination.

Officials said an uncontrolled fire in the ACT's south, on the doorstep of Canberra, had grown to 185 sq km, almost 8% of the territory's land mass.

In an updated travel advisory, the department said any Americans in China now "should consider departing using commercial means."

On the eve of Brexit, there is a strong possibility that the Bank of England will later Thursday announce its first interest rate cut in more than three years, as economic headwinds gather on the horizon.

The new cases were announced as a second evacuation flight from Wuhan landed in Tokyo, and the government confirmed a second case of apparent person-to-person transmission of the virus in Japan.

The death toll from the coronavirus, believed to have originated in a Wuhan market which illegally sold wildlife, rose sharply to 132 on Wednesday, with nearly 1,500 new cases.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is visiting Beijing for talks with Chinese officials on the crisis, appreciated Beijing's efforts in curbing the spread of the virus.

Militants loyal to Islamic State have been waging an insurgency in the north of the Sinai Peninsula and other parts of the country that has killed hundreds of soldiers, police and residents.

The plane was operated by Afghanistan's state-owned Ariana Airlines.

The outbreak has led to the cancellation of Lunar New Year festivities, along with temporary closures of Beijing's Forbidden City, Shanghai's Disneyland and a section of the Great Wall.

News reporters heard loud thuds emanating from the western bank of the Tigris, where most foreign embassies are located.

Young people posted appeals on social media to reduce family gatherings or to at least wear masks when greeting one another with New Year's wishes, which is typically seen as disrespectful in the Chinese culture.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to negotiate Britain's new relationship with the EU, covering everything from trade to security cooperation, by the end of the year.

Now younger writers are keeping the art form alive as a form of dissent under the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi, which has defended the crackdown against the Rohingya.

Among the targets was an arms factory, the army added, stressing that the air raids were in response to the launching of the incendiary ballons towards Israeli territory.