US sanctions 34 companies over China, Russia, Iran ties

The United States yesterday announced sanctions against 34 companies and other entities involved with China’s military and policy towards the Uyghur Muslim minority, and for facilitating exports to Russia and Iran.
9 July 2021

UK police officer pleads guilty to Everard’s murder

A British police officer yesterday admitted murdering Sarah Everard, whose killing sparked anger, protests and soul-searching across the country about what the authorities and society could do to stop male violence against women.
9 July 2021

Quotes of the day

We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build. And it’s the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future. US President Joe Biden
9 July 2021

Deal still possible: UN

An agreement on Ethiopia’s controversial Nile River dam is possible, the UN said Thursday, urging “trust, transparency and open engagement” as Egypt accused Addis Ababa of threatening its existence. 
9 July 2021

Nearly 600 rescued migrants disembark from charity boat in Italy

Hundreds of migrants rescued in the central Mediterranean disembarked on Friday in the southern Italian town of Augusta, in Sicily, after Rome-based maritime authorities agreed to give their ship a port.
9 July 2021

Israeli settlements amount to war crime: UN rights expert

Israeli settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank amount to a war crime, a U.N. human rights investigator said on Friday, calling on countries to inflict a cost on Israel for its "illegal occupation".
9 July 2021

US set to add more Chinese companies to blacklist over Xinjiang

The Biden administration is set as early as Friday to add more than 10 Chinese companies to its economic blacklist over alleged human rights abuses and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang, two sources told Reuters.
9 July 2021

Haiti says 26 Colombians, two Haitian Americans among group that killed president

A heavily armed commando unit that assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moise was composed of 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans, authorities said on Thursday, as the hunt went on for the masterminds of the killing.
9 July 2021

Biden says it's up to Afghans to run their country as US leaves

President Joe Biden on Thursday strongly defended his decision to pull U.S. military forces out of Afghanistan, saying the Afghan people must decide their own future, rather than sacrificing another generation of Americans in an unwinnable war.
8 July 2021

UK lawmakers clear PM of conduct breach over luxury holiday

A British parliamentary standards committee yesterday cleared Prime Minister Boris Johnson of breaching a lawmakers’ code of conduct over a luxury Caribbean holiday, but criticised his handling of the matter. 
8 July 2021

UK lawmakers demand action over China’s alleged Xinjiang abuses

A group of British lawmakers yesterday urged the government to take tougher action against China over its treatment of minority groups, including a partial Winter Olympics boycott and cotton trade ban.
8 July 2021

Tokyo Olympics venues will have no spectators

The Tokyo Olympics will take place without spectators, organisers said yesterday, as a resurgent pandemic forced Japan to declare a coronavirus state of emergency for the capital that will run throughout the event.
8 July 2021

World’s tallest sandcastle built in Denmark

In the small seaside town of Blokhus in Denmark, the world’s tallest sandcastle has been completed, weighing nearly 5,000 tonnes and towering over 20 metres high, its designers said Wednesday.
8 July 2021

Better weather warnings can save 23,000 lives: UN

An estimated 23,000 lives a year could be saved through improving weather forecasts, early warning systems and climate information, the United Nations said yesterday. 
8 July 2021

Trump sues tech giants

Former US President Donald Trump on Wednesday filed lawsuits against Twitter Inc, Facebook Inc, and Alphabet Inc’s Google, as well as their chief executives, alleging they unlawfully silence conservative viewpoints. 
8 July 2021

Rockets fired at US embassy in Iraq

Three rockets were fired at the US embassy in Iraq early yesterday, the Iraqi army said, at the end of a day marked by rocket and drone attacks on bases hosting American forces in Iraq and Syria. 
8 July 2021

Cops kill 4 ‘mercenaries’

Haitian police killed four “mercenaries” they said were behind the assassination of President Jovenel Moise Wednesday and took two more into custody, as the impoverished and crisis-hit Caribbean nation was pitched into uncertainty. 
8 July 2021

Malaysian party withdraws support for embattled PM

The biggest party in Malaysia’s ruling coalition, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), yesterday said it was withdrawing support for the embattled prime minister and urged him to step down.
8 July 2021

Giuliani’s law license in Washington suspended

A US appeals court on Wednesday suspended Rudy Giuliani, a former attorney for ex-President Donald Trump, from practicing law in Washington, DC.
8 July 2021

‘Victory for rule of law’

Jacob Zuma yesterday began a 15-month sentence for contempt of court, becoming post-apartheid South Africa’s first president to be jailed after a drama that campaigners said ended in a victory for rule of law.   
8 July 2021