The UN rights council on Thursday rejected a Western-led motion to hold a debate about human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region after a UN report found possible crimes against humanity. The defeat (19 against, 17 for, 11 abstentions) is only the …
Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to EU mission along border
The European Council on Friday said Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to a civilian EU mission alongside the countries’ border, where the worst fighting between the two ex-Soviet states since 2020 killed more than 200 people late last month. It also s…
Erdogan and Putin discuss improving ties, ending Ukraine war
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about improving bilateral ties. The Turkish leader repeated Ankara’s willingness to do its part to peacefully resolve the war in Ukraine, Erdogan’s office sai…
US approves $3 billion sale of air-defence system to Kuwait
The US State Department on Thursday gave the green light for the sale of a cutting-edge medium-range missile defence system to its Gulf ally Kuwait. The $3 billion purchase will allow Kuwait to own the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, k…
‘She fell from a roof’ is new excuse for Iran’s crackdown
Iranian authorities have claimed a teenage girl reportedly killed during the ongoing wave of protests in the country took her own life. Social media reports and Amnesty International said Sarina Ismailzadeh was killed by security forces when she was st…
For a Palestinian: Translating pain and poetry in exile
Abdul Haleem Hafez’s Ahwak, a song of pained but unwavering love, accompanies the audience as we drift in, to sit before a purpley-blue and softly lit stage. It is empty but for a pile of preserved oranges, a chair over which a blazer is draped, and a …
US accuses Russia of exploiting Africa resources to fund war
The United States accused Russian mercenaries on Thursday of exploiting natural resources in the Central African Republic, Mali, Sudan and elsewhere to help fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine, a charge Russia rejected as “anti-Russian rage”. US Ambassador to…
Two Russians fleeing Ukraine military service seek US asylum
Two Russians fleeing military service have claimed asylum in the United States after arriving by boat in Alaska, authorities said on Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin last month announced a partial military mobilisation for Moscow’s war in Ukr…
Turkey suggests Sweden, Finland can join NATO separately
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday there is a difference in the approaches by Sweden and Finland to meeting Turkey’s security demands for them to join NATO, suggesting they might join at separate times. Turkey had threatened to block …
Biden overhauls marijuana policy, pardons federal offences
President Joe Biden on Thursday took executive action to change US policy on marijuana, pardoning all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. “There are thousands of people who have prior federal convictions for marijuana possession, who…