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DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — Bangladesh police Thursday fired rubber bullets and tear gas at hundreds of mainly student demonstrators who were protesting against an upcoming visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Police said the protest got out of hand as demonstrators marched in the capital Dhaka, with many throwing rocks and stones at officers, injuring at least four. “We fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse them. There were 200 protesters. We have […]
by Andrew McKirdy with Sara Hussein in Tokyo FUKUSHIMA, Japan (AFP) — The Tokyo Olympics torch relay got off to a low-key start after a year’s coronavirus delay on Thursday, with fans kept away as it embarked on a four-month journey across Japan that will end at the opening ceremony on July 23. Spectators were barred from the departure ceremony and first leg over ongoing fears about the coronavirus, which forced the 2020 Games’ historic […]
by Nina LARSON Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The UN Human Rights Council voiced alarm Wednesday at the “disproportionate use of force” in Myanmar since last month’s coup and pushed for a UN rights office in the country. The Council’s 47 members adopted a resolution reiterating the call for Myanmar’s military to restore civilian rule following its February 1 coup and immediately release deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi. More than 260 […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A 5.4-magnitude earthquake that struck in China’s western Xinjiang region before dawn Wednesday left three people dead, damaged roofs and forced the evacuation of hundreds, state media reported. The earthquake hit Baicheng county in the northwestern Aksu prefecture at 5.14 am, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. Footage showed buildings swaying in the dark, leaving some houses with their roofs caved in afterward. “The earthquake caused three deaths and 65 […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong health authorities have ejected a private clinic from the city’s coronavirus vaccination programme after it reportedly recommended the German-made Pfizer/BioNTech shot to patients over the one from China’s Sinovac. The move illustrates the Hong Kong government’s sensitivity to any criticism of the Sinovac vaccine, which has a comparatively lower efficacy rate and was fast-tracked by regulators despite a lack of published data. The city’s health department said […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The vast Russian region of Siberia will face hot and dry weather this year leading to more forest fires, forecasters said on Tuesday, linking the blazes to climate change. Devastating forest fires have ripped across Siberia with increasing regularity over the past few years, which the country’s weather officials and environmentalists have linked to climate change and an underfunded forest service. Speaking to reporters to mark World Meteorological Day by video […]
by Suzauddin Rubel COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AFP) — Fifteen people have died and 400 are missing after a huge fire destroyed the shanty homes of tens of thousands of Rohingya in the world’s biggest refugee settlement in Bangladesh, the UN said Tuesday. Nearly one million of the persecuted Muslim minority — many of whom escaped a 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar that UN investigators concluded was executed with “genocidal intent” — live in squalid conditions […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin will be vaccinated in private on Tuesday evening, the Kremlin said, as Russia looks to boost a vaccination campaign that is faltering despite having produced three home-grown jabs. Putin announced a day earlier that he would be vaccinated on Tuesday, joining other world leaders who have received jabs including US President Joe Biden, Pope Francis and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. But unlike many others who were vaccinated in public […]
by Anuj Chopra with Dana Moukhallati in Dubai RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia on Monday offered Yemen’s Huthi rebels a “comprehensive” UN-supervised ceasefire, as part of a series of fresh proposals aimed at ending a catastrophic six-year conflict. But the Huthis swiftly dismissed the initiative, which comes as the Iran-backed rebels escalate attacks on the kingdom — including its oil facilities — and push to seize the Saudi-backed Yemeni government’s last northern stronghold […]
by Michael MAINVILLE MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin on Monday dismissed foreign criticism of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine and said he would get the jab himself on Tuesday. Speaking at a televised meeting with health officials, the 68-year-old Russian leader described recent remarks in Europe questioning the need for the Russian vaccine as “strange”. “We are not imposing anything on anyone… Whose interests are such people protecting — of pharmaceutical companies or […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The eruption of a volcano on a Russian peninsula has attracted thrill-seeking tourists risking their lives for picturesque photos, prompting concerns in recent days from local emergency responders. The Klyuchevskaya Sopka on Kamchatka, a volcanic peninsula in Russia’s Far East, is the tallest volcano in Eurasia at 4,750 metres (15,580 feet) and one of the largest active volcanoes in the world. It erupted last month on its northwestern slope, seeping lava […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Dozens of dead pigs mysteriously emerged on a riverbank in northern China, state media reported Monday, sparking an investigation and social media speculation about how they perished. China has seen similar scandals in the past which have exposed some of the unsavoury practices in its food industry, including the shocking 2013 incident in which thousands of dead pigs were pulled out of a Shanghai river. The country’s pig population is slowly […]
