Overview of the Earthquake A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 struck Southern California early this morning, causing widespread damage and panic across the region. The epicenter of the quake was located near the city of Los Angeles, with tremors felt as far away as San Diego, Las Vegas, and even parts of Arizona….

A BBC investigation has uncovered British waste being illegally shipped to Romania and dumped. The Romanian authorities say that the shipments, labelled as second-hand goods, were really just worthless junk destined for landfill. Millions can be made from this so-called waste crime – because it’s cheaper to send junk abroad and dump it, than to…

Many countries have started to roll out fresh restrictions to limit the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant and BBC World News viewers have been sending in questions about the new variant and the Covid pandemic in general. How much more do we know about Omicron? If Omicron is less fatal, but more transmissible than…

The US diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics was not about lecturing China but about “standing up for human rights”, the US climate envoy has said. John Kerry told Stephen Sackur, of BBC News’s Hardtalk programme, that addressing climate change was so important, it should be kept separate from other areas where there is…

Amid growing international concern about China’s human rights record, an unofficial tribunal in London is due to announce its findings on whether Chinese actions in the Xinjiang region amount to genocide. Erbakit Otarbay is one of an estimated one million Kazakhs, Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities held as part of a mass incarceration programme. He…

Ai-da is performing self-composed poetry readings to mark the 700th anniversary of poet’s death.

Pakistan’s national security adviser has said Western governments’ failure to heed his country’s advice has left Afghanistan in crisis. Moeed Yusuf told BBC News’s Hardtalk programme’s Stephen Sackur about the impact the war in Afghanistan has had on Pakistan and warned the cycle of war would repeat itself without introspection by Western governments. Watch the…