UN human rights expert Yanghee Lee has called upon the United Nations to step up its efforts to protect civilians in Rakhine and Chin states of Myanmar, alleging ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed by the Myanmar military there.

Movies that skip the big screen will be allowed to contend for Oscars this year, the Academy said Tuesday in a significant rule change forced by the coronavirus pandemic.

Britain is on track to record one of the worst coronavirus death tolls in Europe, after data showed nationwide fatalities topped 24,000 nine days ago.

The United States said Monday it was ready to recognize Israel’s annexation of much of the West Bank but asked the new unity government also to negotiate with the Palestinians.

Conflict and disaster forced more than 33 million people to flee within their own countries last year, putting them at greater risk amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, monitors said yesterday.

India was nearing 30,000 coronavirus infections yesterday, second only to China in Asia, a steady rise that would make it difficult to lift a nearly six-week lockdown that ends this weekend, officials said.

More than 211,185 people have died worldwide since the epidemic surfaced in China in December, according to an AFP tally at 1100 GMT

China yesterday went on the offensive against international criticism over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, accusing US politicians of “barefaced lies”.

Pushing hundreds of starving and persecuted Rohingya refugees back out to the sea in the full knowledge that they have no safe place of refuge elsewhere are fundamental violations of their human rights, says Free Rohingya Coalition, a global network of Rohingya survivors and activists.

Sixteen civil society organisations of Bangladesh have urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Gueterres to appeal to the destination countries to refrain from the policy forced repatriation of migrants in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

US President Donald Trump is repeatedly warned about the dangers of the novel coronavirus in intelligence briefings in January and February, The Washington Post reported late Monday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson returned to work on Monday after recovering from COVID-19 with a warning that it was still too dangerous to relax a stringent lockdown hammering Britain’s economy for fear of a deadly second outbreak.

Israeli air strikes near the Syrian capital early yesterday killed three civilians, state media said. Syrian air defences had downed “most” of the

More than 500 civilians were killed in Afghanistan in the first three months of the year as violence raged even after an agreement between the

Saudi Arabia on Sunday ended the death penalty for crimes committed by minors after effectively abolishing floggings as the kingdom seeks to

The UN rights chief yesterday warned that countries flouting the rule of law in the name of fighting the novel coronavirus pandemic risk sparking a “human rights disaster”.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is “alive and well”, a top security adviser to the South’s President Moon Jae-in said, downplaying rumours over Kim’s health following his absence from a key anniversary.

Global military expenditure saw its biggest uptick in a decade in 2019, researchers said yesterday, marking the first year two Asian countries were among the top three spenders.

A total of 206,567 people have died worldwide since the epidemic surfaced in China in December, according to an AFP tally at 1100 GMT

Researchers at a Hong Kong university say they have developed an antiviral coating which could provide 90 days of “significant” protection against bacteria and viruses such as the one causing COVID-19.