Amnesty, HRW among rights groups accusing Israel of apartheid against Palestinians

Amnesty International has joined Human Rights Watch and the Israeli rights group B’Tselem in accusing Israel of apartheid — both within its borders and in the occupied territories.
1 February 2022

Pregnant New Zealand journalist stranded in Afghanistan can now go home

A pregnant New Zealand journalist who was stranded in Afghanistan by her home country’s Covid-19 border policy said today she will return home after NZ government offered her a pathway back.
1 February 2022

US, Britain, Canada issue new Myanmar sanctions

The United States, Britain and Canada on Monday imposed sanctions against additional officials in Myanmar, in measures timed to mark one year since the military seized power and plunged the country into chaos.
1 February 2022

New Zealand defends quarantine system keeping pregnant journo stranded in Afghanistan

The New Zealand government has defended its strict quarantine system known as MIQ after Charlotte Bellis, a pregnant New Zealand journalist, said that she had to turn to Taliban for help as her own country rejected her requests to get back there.
1 February 2022

Attenborough, WHO nominated for Nobel Peace Prize 2022

British nature broadcaster David Attenborough, the World Health Organization and Belarusian dissident Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya are among the nominees for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize after being backed by Norwegian lawmakers who have a track record of picking the winner.
1 February 2022

US, UK threaten sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine

The United States and Britain are prepared to punish Russian elites close to President Vladimir Putin with asset freezes and travel bans if Russia enters Ukraine, Washington and London said on Monday as tensions also spilled over at the United Nations.
1 February 2022

Tensions over ukraine: Russia, US to hold new talks

The Russian and US foreign ministers are set to hold fresh talks today after a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine, with Washington vowing to work with Western allies to beef up sanctions should Moscow decide to invade its neighbor.
31 January 2022

Russia, US to hold new Ukraine crisis talks at UN Security Council

The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet Monday for the first time on Russia’s troop buildup and threatening actions against Ukraine at the request of the United States, and all key players are expected to square off in public over the possibility of a Russian invasion and its global impact.
31 January 2022

‘Brutally ironic’

A pregnant New Zealand journalist denied re-entry to her home country to give birth due to strict Covid-19 regulations said she has been offered refuge by the Afghan Taliban.
30 January 2022

Nuclear, ICBM tests could be next

North Korea yesterday tested its most powerful missile since 2017, ramping up the firepower for its record-breaking seventh launch this month as Seoul warned nuclear and long-range tests could be next.
30 January 2022

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Another thing we’ll do, and so many people have been asking me about it, if I run and if I win, we will treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly. And if it requires pardons we will give them pardons. Because they are being treated so unfairly.
30 January 2022

Russia wants ‘respectful’ ties with US

Russia said yesterday it wants “mutually respectful” relations with the United States and denied posing a threat to Ukraine, as the UK said it was preparing fresh sanctions against Moscow.
30 January 2022

Israeli president on first-ever visit to UAE

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog started his first visit to the United Arab Emirates yesterday, the latest high-profile diplomatic trip since the countries normalised ties.
30 January 2022

Rising cases caused by omicron cousin ba.2: Scientists on alert

The highly transmissible Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus - the most common form of which is known as BA.1 - now accounts for nearly all of the coronavirus infections globally, although dramatic surges in Covid cases have already peaked in some countries.
30 January 2022

51 sentenced to death in DR Congo

A military court in Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday sentenced 51 people to death, several in absentia, in a mass trial over the 2017 murder of two UN experts in a troubled central region.
30 January 2022

‘Bomb cyclone’ batters eastern US

Blinding snow whipped up by powerful winds pummeled the eastern United States into yesterday’s early hours, as one of the strongest winter storms in years triggered transport chaos and power outages across a region of some 70 million people.
30 January 2022

Israel supports security needs of UAE: President on first visit

Israel's president, making his first visit on Sunday to the United Arab Emirates, said his country supports the Gulf state's security needs and wants more countries in the region to join its new detente with the Arab world.
30 January 2022

'Tiger King' Joe Exotic's jail sentence reduced to 21 years

A federal judge resentenced “Tiger King” Joe Exotic to 21 years in prison on Friday, reducing his punishment by just a year despite pleas from the former zookeeper for leniency as he begins treatment for early-stage cancer.
30 January 2022

Trudeau, family moved to secret location as thousands protest vaccine mandates in Canadian capital

Thousands held a loud but peaceful protest in Canada's capital Ottawa on Saturday against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's COVID-19 vaccine mandates, on the streets and snow-covered lawn in front of parliament.
30 January 2022

No plans to send combat troops to Ukraine if Russia invades: NATO chief

NATO has no plans to deploy combat troops to non-NATO member Ukraine in the event of a Russian invasion, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday.
30 January 2022