Joe Biden says Omicron variant spreading in US, 'going to increase'
Dec 17, 2021, at 02:51 pm
Washington/UNI/Sputnik: US President Joe Biden warned on Thursday that the coronavirus Omicron variant has begun spreading in the United States.
Chinese govt cracks down further on religious groups
Dec 16, 2021, at 11:59 pm
Taipei, Taiwan: The Chinese authorities have been pushing forward with their planned move to amend Chinese Communist Party (CCP) doctrine on religious policy as it tightens control on religious groups of all sorts throughout the country.
Pakistan: Minorities seek inclusion in policymaking process
Dec 16, 2021, at 11:47 pm
Peshawar, Pakistan/IBNS: Speakers participating in a consultative meeting on the rights of minority groups on Monday stressed the need for taking non-Muslims on board in the legislative and policy-making process, media reports said.
Pakistan govt spikes tariffs on water and power, triggers protest
Dec 16, 2021, at 11:14 pm
Islamabad/IBNS: Amid deepening economic crisis, the Imran Khan-led PTI government in Pakistan is adding woes for its citizens as tariffs on water and power were hiked recently, according to media reports.
Rights defenders under attack in Asia – UN experts
Dec 16, 2021, at 10:54 pm
New York: Reprisals against human rights defenders were in the spotlight on Wednesday as UN independent experts documented instances of abuse in Indonesia and Pakistan.
UN rights office urges Colombia to reform policing of protests
Dec 16, 2021, at 10:46 pm
New York: Colombia must urgently reform how it polices protests in the wake of demonstrations earlier this year in which several people were killed or injured, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in a report published on Wednesday.
COVID-19 leads to over 50 million more hungry people in Asia-Pacific
Dec 16, 2021, at 10:41 pm
New York: COVID-19 led to rising food insecurity for around 54 million people living in the vast Asia-Pacific region during 2020, according to a joint UN agency report published on Wednesday.
Fundamental freedoms squeezed in Ukraine, Human Rights Council hears
Dec 16, 2021, at 08:54 pm
New York: The UN Human Rights Council heard on Wednesday that fundamental freedoms in Ukraine have been squeezed in Government-controlled areas, as well as across the contact line in eastern territories, held by mainly pro-Russian separatists.
Pakistan: Doctors, nurses baton-charged in Karachi, 23 taken to custody briefly
Dec 16, 2021, at 12:21 am
Karachi/IBNS: Police in the Pakistani city of Karachi on Monday baton-charged protesting doctors and nurses and also prevented them from marching towards the Chief Minister's House.
Counterfeit Afghani bills increasing in Afghanistan market: Merchants
Dec 16, 2021, at 12:15 am
Kabul: Shopkeepers in Afghanistan capital Kabul are complaining that counterfeit currency is spreading in the markets as the value of Afghani is sharply declining against the US dollar.
Nanjing Massacre: Hong Kong school faces backlash after students shown graphic footage
Dec 16, 2021, at 12:00 am
Hong Kong: A primary school in Hong Kong has apologized after students were left crying following teachers' attempt to show them unsettling video footage of the Nanjing massacre ahead of its 84th anniversary on Monday, according to media reports.
Pakistan: Lahore records max rape cases in 2020
Dec 15, 2021, at 11:55 pm
Islamabad: A year after the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway gang rape incident shocked Pakistan, Punjab Commission on the Status of Women has revealed that Lahore city in 2020 reported maximum rape, domestic violence and honour killing cases.
China: Students in schools are now learning a new subject on Grandpa Xi Jinping
Dec 15, 2021, at 11:50 pm
Beijing: Public school teachers in China are in doubt whether to implement the harsh anti-Covid protocol to ensure no student tests positive in the current academic year, which began in September, or to see that no student fails to gain intense knowledge about the latest subject introduced this year, Grandpa Xi Jinping, media reports said on Wednesday.
‘Additional effort and patience’ needed to revive Iran nuclear deal
Dec 15, 2021, at 11:43 pm
New York: Ongoing talks to get the Iran nuclear deal back on track indicate “additional effort and patience” are required for its full restoration, the UN political affairs chief told the UN Security Council in New York on Tuesday.
Chinese boats caught fishing Tuna illegally in Indian Ocean
Dec 15, 2021, at 11:03 pm
Beijing: A Chinese-flagged squid vessel was recently seen in the Indian Ocean catching Tuna, a fish whose hunting is considered as illegal in the region as it is overfished.
‘Restraint, de-escalation and dialogue’ needed to stem war in Yemen
Dec 15, 2021, at 10:49 pm
New York: Yemen is teetering on a new “fragmented and bloody” chapter of war as military escalation and conflict escalates, Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council on Tuesday, calling for “restraint, de-escalation and dialogue”.
Taliban asks China to help them get internationally recognized
Dec 15, 2021, at 10:46 pm
Kabul: The Taliban government in Afghanistan has asked China to help in gaining international recognition.
Afghanistan economy under stress: Value of Afghani drops, prices of essential commodities spike
Dec 15, 2021, at 10:44 pm
Kabul: The drop in the value of Afghanistan's currency, Afghani, against the US dollar has left the already crippled economy of the country in trouble.
Afghanistan: Humanitarian crisis threatens basic human rights
Dec 15, 2021, at 10:40 pm
New York: Respect for fundamental rights and freedoms by the de facto authorities in Afghanistan is critical to ensuring stability in the country, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday in Geneva.
100 people trapped on top of Hong Kong World Trade Centre as fire breaks out
Dec 15, 2021, at 09:05 pm
Hong Kong: Over 100 people are trapped on the top of Hong Kong World Trade Centre and are waiting to be rescued as a fire broke out in the building on Wednesday, media reports said.
Pakistan: Lahore city recorded most rape, domestic violence cases in 2020
Dec 15, 2021, at 07:42 pm
Islamabad: Pakistan's Lahore city in 2020 reported maximum rape, domestic violence and honour killing cases, according to fourth Punjab Gender Parity Report 2019 and 2020, prepared by Punjab Commission on the Status of Women.
UK spy chief warns against China's digital currency renminbi
Dec 15, 2021, at 05:07 pm
Jeremy Fleming, the director of the Government Communications Headquarters, the UK's intelligence, cyber and security agency, has warned against Chinese digital currency renminbi and said it might be used as a tool to surveil users and exert control over global currency transactions.
UN steps up action on sexual misconduct in wake of CAR allegations
Dec 14, 2021, at 11:08 pm
New York: The UN continues to take steps to address allegations of sexual misconduct by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic (CAR) in the wake of the repatriation of Gabonese troops three months ago.
Afghanistan: Mine explosion in Kabul leaves civilian dead
Dec 14, 2021, at 10:56 pm
Kabul: A roadside mine explosion in Afghanistan's Kabul city left at least one person dead on Tuesday, media reports said.
Tackling corruption, important step for ‘inclusive, sustainable development’
Dec 14, 2021, at 10:34 pm
New York: Corruption spreads through societies and erodes people’s trust in leaders and institutions, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told an anti-corruption conference on Monday, stressing that “greed over need, harms us all”.
Bangladesh: Fire breaks out at Bogura plastic factory, five die
Dec 14, 2021, at 08:55 pm
Dhaka: At least five persons died as a fire broke out at a plastic factory in Bangladesh city Bogura, media reports said on Tuesday.
Pakistan: Policeman killed, 2 injured in gun attack in Rawalpindi
Dec 14, 2021, at 08:41 pm
Islamabad/UNI/Xinhua: A policeman was killed and two others were injured in a firing incident in Rawalpindi district of Pakistan's east Punjab province, a police official said Tuesday.
Pentagon says that no US troops will be punished for Afghan drone strike
Dec 14, 2021, at 02:56 pm
Washington/UNI: US officials have said that they will not punish any of the American troops or officials involved in the drone strike that killed 10 people in Afghanistan in August earlier this year, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
Afghanistan now receives second batch of China-donated winter supplies
Dec 14, 2021, at 02:29 pm
Kabul/UNI/Xinhua: The second batch of winter supplies donated by China has arrived in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan on Tuesday.
Dec 14, 2021, at 01:49 am
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), a Tibetan non-governmental human rights organization based in Dharamshala in India, has launched an online database with information on 5,518 Tibetan political prisoners compiled since 1990.