Police in Myanmar on Friday opened fire on protesters against last month's military coup, killing one man, as international condemnation rained down on the junta ahead of a United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss the crisis.

At least seven soldiers were killed when fighters of the Somali militant group al Shabaab stormed a jail in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland early on Friday, police and the group said.

The Philippines has recorded 52 more cases of a highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa, the health ministry said on Friday, presenting new challenges for a country battling one of Asia's worst outbreaks.

Indian farmers who have been protesting for months against deregulation of produce markets plan to block a major expressway outside New Delhi on Saturday, the 100th day of their campaign, they said.

Australia has asked the European Commission to review a decision by Italy to block a shipment of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, while stressing on Friday the missing doses would not affect the rollout of Australia's inoculation programme.

Nine great apes at the San Diego Zoo - four orangutans and five bonobos - made veterinary history in recent weeks as the world's first non-human primates known to be vaccinated against Covid-19, zoo officials said on Thursday.

Myanmar's junta lost a tug of war over leadership of its UN mission in New York and the United States unveiled new sanctions targeting military conglomerates after the deaths of dozens of civilians protesting against last month's coup.

A powerful series of undersea quakes struck north-east of New Zealand on Friday, but tsunami waves that forced many people on the country's North Island to flee to high ground passed without causing substantial damage.

The small Swedish town of Vetlanda was in shock yesterday, reeling from a stabbing attack that left seven injured, while police said it was too early to determine the motives of the suspected 22-year-old Afghan assailant.

A group of French farmers hung inflatable dolls dressed in overalls from trees outside parliament in Paris yesterday to highlight the growing number of suicides in a profession struggling with debt.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that he will seek a vote of confidence from parliament tomorrow after his finance minister lost his bid for a Senate seat.

The grounds of the US Capitol were ringed with boosted security yesterday after officials warned of an attack plot by QAnon conspiracists, two months after backers of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building.