In Japan

North Korea confirmed it had test-fired two "new-type tactical guided missiles"

The two missiles successfully hit their targets in waters 600 kilometres off the coast and the new weapons system can carry a warhead weight of 2.5 tonnes, according to the report.

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake off Fukushima in eastern Japan injured more than 100 people, authorities said on Feb. 14, nearly a decade after the region suffered a devastating quake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown.

Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiadis is due to meet Monday with the committee of health experts advising the government on the management of the coronavirus pandemic to discuss the possibility of gradually lifting certain restrictions starting on February 1.

Japan will consider issuing a new emergency declaration after governors in the capital region urged action to tackle a record surge in COVID-19 cases, the head of the nation's pandemic response said on Saturday.

4,518 new coronavirus infections in Japan on Thursday, means the highest daily count ever, as the country struggles to contain a third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thus was exceeded Saturday's previous single-day record of 3,851 new cases, according to a Kyodo News tally.

Japanese space officials said they are excited about the return of a capsule that landed safely in the Australian Outback on Dec. 6 while carrying soil samples from a distant asteroid, and that they are eager to begin analyzing the "treasure" inside.

The EU drug agency said on Dec. 1 it may need another four weeks to decide whether to grant its first approval for a coronavirus vaccine, even as authorities in the United States and Britain continued to aim for a green light before Christmas.

Three Turkish football clubs have announced that some of their players and staff members tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Pope Francis arrived for his four-day visit to Japan, expected to make a call for nuclear disarmament tomorrow, BTA reported.

The Thai Airways plane with the Pope, accompanied by a Vatican delegation and journalists, arrived in Tokyo after a six-hour flight from Bangkok.

AGERPRES special correspondent Florentina Peia reports: President Klaus Iohannis and his wife, Carmen Iohannis, attended on Tuesday in Tokyo the enthronement ceremony of Japanese Emperor Naruhito. The head of the Romanian state wore a black tail coat and his wife wore a long blue dress.