Putin denies Gorbachev a state funeral and will stay away
Reuters Russian President Vladimir Putin is to miss the funeral of the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, denying the man who failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet empire the full state honours granted to Boris Yeltsin. Gorbachev, idolised in the West for allowing eastern Europe to escape Soviet communist control but unloved at […]
US welcomes UN report on China’s actions in Xinjiang while in Turkey, Uyghurs express disappointment
Washington DC, US Reuters The United States on Thursday welcomed a United Nations report that said China may have committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, saying it deepened Washington’s concerns about what it calls a genocide there against Uyghurs and other ethnic groups. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday released the […]
IAEA experts “not going anywhere” after reaching Ukraine nuclear plant
Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine Reuters The UN nuclear agency chief said his experts were staying put after they crossed on Thursday into Russian-held territory in Ukraine and reached Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, where both sides warn of potential catastrophe. An International Atomic Energy Agency inspection team braved intense shelling to reach the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, […]
North Korea’s COVID restrictions intensify human rights violations – UN
Seoul, South Korea Reuters North Korea’s coronavirus curbs have aggravated the country’s human rights violations, a United Nations report said on Thursday, citing extra restrictions on access to information, tighter border security and heightened digital surveillance. The report, released by the UN human rights office in Seoul and to be presented to the General Assembly […]
Violence against women in Mexico rises to over 70 per cent, study finds
Mexico City, Mexico Reuters Violence against women and girls in Mexico has increased over the last five years, the statistics office said in a survey that found seven in 10 of them reported experiencing some form of violence. “Violence against women continues to be a challenge in the country and constitutes a public health problem,” […]
Health Insight: Seven reasons Nordic walking is better for you than the normal kind
LINDSAY BOTTOMS, a reader in exercise and health physiology at the University of Hertfordshire, looks – in an article first published on The Conversation – at why walking with poles is good for you…
Residents complain of noise, danger as US troops practice in South Korea
Pocheon, South Korea Reuters South Korea and the United States have vowed to step up joint military training to deter North Korea, but for residents outside the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex and other training grounds, that means more noise and possibly more security fears. The complex north of Seoul, less than 30 kilometres from the […]
A year into Taliban rule, ICC prosecutors seek resumed Afghan war crimes probe
The Hague, The Netherlands Reuters A year into the Taliban’s rule, war crimes prosecutors in The Hague have urged judges to rule promptly on their request to resume investigations into atrocities in Afghanistan and warn that crimes are continuing, court documents showed. The International Criminal Court’s Afghanistan investigation has been on hold for more than […]
Brazil’s Amazon sees worst August fires in over a decade
Sao Paulo, Brazil Reuters Fires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest surged in August to the highest for the month since 2010, government data showed on Wednesday, surpassing the blazes in August 2019 that drew global attention soon after President Jair Bolsonaro took office. National space research agency INPE registered 31,513 fire alerts in the Amazon via […]
In Uganda, church leader charged with assault on boy
Kampala, Uganda Police in Uganda have arrested and charged the bishop of the Evangelical Orthodox Church for Central and Eastern Uganda with aggravated assault after he allegedly beat up and injured a 14-year-old boy whom he had accused of stealing sh10,000 ($US2.64). Bishop Jancinto Kibuuka, an excommunicated Catholic priest, was arrested on Wednesday, 24th August, […]