Pompeo softens tone after criticism

Facing criticism, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo softened his tone after he voiced confidence that once every “legal” vote was counted, it would lead to a “second Trump administration.
11 November 2020

Rwandan genocide suspect Kabuga pleads not guilty at UN court

A UN court has registered a plea of “not guilty” for Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga at his lawyer’s request after he remained silent during his initial appearance.
11 November 2020

Armenian PM's fate hangs in balance after Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire

The fate of Armenia’s prime minister hangs in the balance after parliament agreed to discuss protesters’ demands for his resignation over a ceasefire that secured territorial advances for Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh.
11 November 2020

In blow to WHO, EU seeks powers to declare health emergencies

The European Commission has proposed rules which would give the EU the power to declare a health emergency and stress test national plans to tackle pandemics, in a potential blow to the World Health Organization.
11 November 2020

Attack on Remembrance Day ceremony in Saudi wounds several: France

A blast at a World War One remembrance ceremony in Jeddah wounded several people on Wednesday, France said, urging its citizens living in Saudi Arabia to exercise maximum vigilance following what it called an attack using an explosive device.
11 November 2020

China urges US to stop increasing ties with Taiwan

China has urged the United States to stop boosting ties with Taiwan, after Washington and Taipei announced they would hold economic talks that Taiwan’s government described as a “major milestone” in relations.
11 November 2020

Russia says its Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine is 92% effective

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is 92% effective at protecting people from Covid-19 according to interim trial results, the country’s sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday, as Moscow rushes to keep pace with Western drugmakers in the race for a shot.
11 November 2020

Behind Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine, an understated Turkish-German husband and wife team

Positive data on BioNTech and US partner Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine is an unlikely success for the married couple behind the German biotech firm, who have devoted their lives to harnessing the immune system against cancer. Pfizer said on Monday said its experimental vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on initial data from a large study.
11 November 2020

Saudi Arabia, Iraq to open border crossing, strengthen bilateral ties: Crown Prince

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed the importance of the Kingdom’s ties with Iraq and the two countries’ determination to strengthen bilateral relations, in a video call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Tuesday, according to Al Arabiya News.
11 November 2020

UNHCR urges states to end limbo for stateless people

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has warned that Covid-19 is worsening the plight of millions of stateless people worldwide.
11 November 2020

Biden brands Trump's refusal to concede an 'embarrassment'

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday called President Donald Trump's refusal to concede his election loss an "embarrassment" but dismissed the standoff as unimportant.
11 November 2020

Thai PM urges calm ‘from all sides’ in protests

Thai Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha yesterday urged calm from all sides as tensions rise between royalist groups and pro-democracy protesters calling for reforms to the monarchy.
10 November 2020

Nobel Peace Prize winners who went to war

Ethiopia’s PM Abiy Ahmed -- who won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize -- has ordered a military offensive on the northern Tigray region of the country. Ahmed, who won it for ending the 20-year conflict with Eritrea, is far from the first laureate to later wage or support war.
10 November 2020

Afghan woman shot, blinded, for getting a job

The last thing 33-year-old Khatera saw were the three men on a motorcycle who attacked her just after she left her job at a police station in Afghanistan’s central Ghazni province, shooting at her and stabbing her with a knife in the eyes.
10 November 2020

US SC takes aim at Unraveling Obamacare

President Donald Trump’s outgoing administration took aim in the US Supreme Court yesterday at razing the “Obamacare” health program his predecessor built, a move which could cancel the health insurance of 20 millions in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.
10 November 2020

Why can’t Trump accept his defeat?

With his defeat in the US presidential election, Donald Trump finds himself fighting against being tagged with a label he frequently applies to rivals but which runs completely counter to his own brand: “loser.”
10 November 2020

UK Lords block Brexit laws

Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a heavy defeat in parliament’s upper chamber on late Monday over proposed laws which would allow him to breach Britain’s EU exit treaty.
10 November 2020

African bloc wants ceasefire in Ethiopia

The African Union (AU) called for a ceasefire in north Ethiopia where federal troops fighting local Tigrayan forces were reported to have captured an airport yesterday and the region’s leader accused Eritrea of sending soldiers across the border.
10 November 2020

Treaty-breaking Brexit laws fail to pass UK parliament

Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a heavy defeat in parliament’s upper chamber on late Monday over proposed laws which would allow him to breach Britain’s EU exit treaty - a plan that has been criticised by US president elect Joe Biden.
10 November 2020

Ceasefire halts fighting

Russian peacekeeping troops deployed to the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh yesterday as part of a ceasefire deal to end six weeks of heavy fighting between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces.
10 November 2020