Brazil recorded 91,097 new COVID-19 infections and 3,769 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking its nationwide tallies to 12,839,844 and 325,284, respectively, the Health Ministry said on Thursday. In March, 66,868 people died of COVID-19 in Latin America’s largest and most populous country. According to the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, the collapse of the hospital […]
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France, Mali govts urged to investigate civilian casualties in French airstrike
Human rights groups have called on the governments of France and Mali to carry out an independent investigation into the French airstrike in Mali that has resulted in dozens of civilian casualties. On Tuesday, the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) published a report claiming that 19 civilians were killed on January 3 near the village of Bounty, when two French fighter jets […]
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Myanmar: Detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi faces new charge under official secrets law
After over two months since the military coup in Myanmar on February 1, the country’s detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi was slapped with another charge on Thursday under the official secrets law. Since her detainment, Suu Kyi is facing a total of five charges, including the latest one, Kyodo News reported. The […]
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BBC correspondent leaves China amid legal threats, intense pressure
A correspondent for the British Broadcasting Agency (BBC) has left Beijing after facing intense pressure and being threatened over British public broadcaster’s coverage of issues like Xinjiang and COVID-19. John Sudworth, who was based in China for nine years, had left Beijing along with his wife, Yvonne Murray, a reporter for the Irish public broadcaster […]
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Myanmar ‘traitors’ hounded in online anti-coup campaign
As Myanmar descends into chaos, smartphone warriors in the anti-coup movement are seeking revenge online against the junta, hounding people with family ties to the military as a form of “social punishment”. The country has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February […]
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Myanmar aid workers arrested, intimidated, hurt, Red Cross says
Myanmar Red Cross workers have been arrested, intimidated and injured on the front lines as they tried to treat mounting civilian casualties, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said today. The agency said it was deeply concerned at the growing humanitarian crisis two months after the […]
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US blasts China over ‘genocide’, Russia for targeting critic Navalny
The United States highlighted a deteriorating picture for human rights across the world, calling out China’s repression of Uighurs and Russia’s targeting of political dissidents among other abuses. The State Department released reports on the rights situation last year in nearly 200 countries, which are required annually by law and […]
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WHO Coronavirus Origin Report Released 14 countries raise concern
A group of 14 countries including the United States and Japan has raised concerns over a report on the origins of COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and China, arguing that the WHO team was “significantly delayed and lacked access to complete, original data and samples.” The WHO released a long-awaited joint report on the origins of COVID-19 on Tuesday. The […]
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HAL denies having business links with Myanmar’s military
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has denied having any business links with the military forces in Myanmar. The statement came after a UNHRC report on Myanmar and Stockholm International Peace and Research Institute Arms Transfers Database claimed that HAL supplied equipment to Myanmar’s military from 2017-19. “The report is factually incorrect. HAL has had no business dealings with Myanmar Defence Forces […]
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Pakistan restarts import of sugar & cotton from India
In a sign of further thawing of diplomatic ties, Pakistan today approved the resumption of cotton and sugar imports from India. Its newly appointed Finance Minister Hammad Azhar announced the Pakistan Economic Coordination Committee’s (ECC) decision to import 0.5 million tonnes of white sugar and cotton from India. Pakistan Prime […]
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Philippines says Chinese ‘militia’ swarm has spread in disputed waters
Hundreds of Chinese vessels believed to be manned by militias in the South China Sea have spread to a wider area, the Philippines said today, defying its demand for the flotilla to be withdrawn immediately. The Philippines has described the presence of the boats inside its 200-mile exclusive economic zone […]
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Turkey’s top court refuses to hear expelled MP’s appeal
Turkey’s top court today refused to hear an appeal by a leading pro-Kurdish lawmaker against his expulsion from parliament over terror charges linked to a social media post. Parliament this month stripped Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) of his seat after he was convicted of “spreading […]
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Air pollution hits alarming levels in Nepal
Nepal has ordered schools to close for four days after air pollution climbed to hazardous levels, forcing millions of students to stay home across the country. Air pollution is a chronic problem in the rapidly growing capital city of Kathmandu and an additional headache for the government that is struggling […]
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Covid-19 cases in Turkey rise by 37,000
The number of registered cases of coronavirus infection in Turkey over the past day was 37,303, this is the maximum since the end of November, the country’s Ministry of Health said in a statement. “Today, 37,303 new cases of COVID-19 were registered, 1,376 patients were hospitalized; 155 patients died, since the beginning of the pandemic – 31,385. A […]
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Kabul welcomes India-Pakistan peace overtures
Afghanistan has welcomed recent peace overtures between India and Pakistan as Kabul believes that a peaceful neighbourhood will augur well for Afghanistan’s stability and prosperity. Afghanistan envoy to India, Farid Mamundzay said, “70 percent of Afghanistan trade with Pakistan happens through Wagah Attari border. If India-Pakistan relations are good, it will benefit Afghanistan and region, we can cooperate in projects like TAPI gas pipeline, Chahbahar port and […]