Grave concerns raised about China at UN rights council

More than 40 countries led by Canada yesterday voiced grave concerns at the UN Human Rights Council about China’s actions in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet -- triggering a fierce backlash from Beijing.
22 June 2021, 18:00 PM

#MeToo movement rocks Sri Lanka press

Sri Lanka’s government yesterday ordered an investigation into sexual harassment in the media after a string of #MeToo allegations from female newsroom staff.
22 June 2021, 18:00 PM

More than 8,500 children used as soldiers in 2020

More than 8,500 children were used as soldiers last year in various conflicts across the world and nearly 2,700 others were killed, the United Nations said on Monday.
22 June 2021, 18:00 PM

This day in history

1956 - Gamal Abdel Nasser was elected president of Egypt.
22 June 2021, 18:00 PM

Quote of the day

Shut your mouth! You are creeps! You practice rogue journalism, which doesn’t help at all. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro slams press for questioning his frequent refusal to wear a mask
22 June 2021, 18:00 PM

Taliban capture key port

The UN yesterday warned of regional chaos as the Taliban captured Afghanistan’s main border crossing with Tajikistan, with security forces abandoning their posts and some fleeing across the frontier.
22 June 2021, 18:00 PM

Ashgabat tops Hong Kong

Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat has overtaken Hong Kong as the world’s most expensive city for foreign workers, a survey showed on Tuesday.
22 June 2021, 18:00 PM

Iran seizes 7,000 cryptocurrency computer miners, largest haul to date

Iranian police have seized 7,000 computer miners at an illegal cryptocurrency farm, their largest haul to date of the energy-guzzling machines that have exacerbated power outages in Iran, state media reported on Tuesday.
22 June 2021, 16:14 PM

Let's talk, says Spain, as jailed Catalan separatists pardoned

Spain's government on Tuesday pardoned all nine separatist leaders jailed for their role in Catalonia's failed independence bid in 2017, expressing hope that the gesture might help end a trial of strength that has sown deep divisions.
22 June 2021, 15:03 PM

China, allies seek probe into indigenous children's remains in Canada

China and its allies called on Tuesday for an independent investigation into the discovery last month of the remains of more than 200 indigenous children at a Canadian boarding school.
22 June 2021, 14:28 PM

Migrant children report overcrowding, spoiled food, depression in US shelters

Migrant children sent to emergency shelters within the United States described crowded living conditions, spoiled food, lack of clean clothes and struggles with depression, according to 17 testimonials filed in a court case on Monday.
22 June 2021, 12:41 PM

Google in EU crosshairs again with advertising antitrust inquiry

Google was in the EU antitrust spotlight again on Tuesday as regulators opened an investigation into whether its digital advertising business gives the Alphabet unit an unfair advantage over rivals and advertisers.
22 June 2021, 12:36 PM

Australia fights UN downgrade of Great Barrier Reef health

Australia said Tuesday it will fight against plans to downgrade the Great Barrier Reef’s World Heritage status due to climate change, while environmentalists have applauded the U.N. World Heritage Committee’s proposal.
22 June 2021, 11:41 AM

'World's happiest country' seeks migrants

Repeatedly dubbed the happiest nation on the planet with world-beating living standards, Finland should be deluged by people wanting to relocate, but in fact it faces an acute workforce shortage.
22 June 2021, 10:24 AM

French woman goes on trial for killing stepdad-turned-husband who repeatedly raped her

A French woman went on trial on Monday (June 21) for killing the man who raped her for years as her stepfather before becoming her husband and pimp.
22 June 2021, 10:17 AM

EU top court hands win to YouTube in user copyright fight

Europe's top court on Tuesday said that Google's YouTube and other online platforms are not liable for copyright-infringing works uploaded by users onto their platforms under certain conditions.
22 June 2021, 08:42 AM

World in worst cascade of rights setbacks

The UN rights chief yesterday called for “concerted action” to help recover from the worst global deterioration of rights seen in decades, highlighting situations in China, Russia and Ethiopia among others.
21 June 2021, 18:00 PM

Ghani to visit White House

Afghan leader Ashraf Ghani and the head of the country’s peace process will meet President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday, as the planned American military withdrawal accelerates.
21 June 2021, 18:00 PM

Armenia PM claims victory

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party won 53.9 percent of the vote in snap parliamentary polls called in an effort to defuse a political crisis after a war with Azerbaijan, official results showed yesterday.
21 June 2021, 18:00 PM

Swedish PM Lofven ousted

Sweden’s parliament ousted Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in a no-confidence vote yesterday, giving the Social Democrat leader a week to resign and hand the speaker the job of finding a new government, or call a snap election.
21 June 2021, 18:00 PM