Australian Prime Minister gets vaccinated against COVID19 marking 'comeback' from pandemic
Feb 21, 2021, at 09:14 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was among the first people to get vaccinated against the coronavirus in the country on Sunday.
Google fires senior researcher at AI Ethics team amid investigation of diversity policies
Feb 20, 2021, at 10:51 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: Google's chief researcher on artificial intelligence ethics Margaret Mitchell said Saturday she was fired, which comes several weeks after controversial firing of ethical AI team co-leader Timnit Gebru and amid an internal probe of the company's policies on diversity and research.
UN chief to security meeting: ‘2021 must be the year to get back on track’
Feb 20, 2021, at 04:59 pm
New York: By exposing deep fissures and fragilities, “COVID-19 has x-rayed the world”, the UN chief told the Munich Security Conference on Friday, while acknowledging that today’s vulnerabilities go “well beyond” pandemics and public health.
Violence in South Sudan engulfs country, 10 years after independence ‘children all have guns’
Feb 20, 2021, at 04:39 pm
New York: Extreme violence and attacks involving thousands of fighters at a time have engulfed more than three-quarters of South Sudan, UN human Rights Council-appointed investigators said on Friday, warning that the bloodshed faced by civilians are “the worst recorded” since the country’s civil war began in December 2013.
UN human rights office alarmed by ‘attacks’ on judicial independence in Haiti
Feb 20, 2021, at 04:33 pm
New York: The UN human rights office (OHCHR) is “very concerned” over recent attacks against judicial independence in Haiti, as the country is gripped by political and institutional instability, a spokesperson said on Friday.
DR Congo: Lives and futures of three million children at risk, UNICEF warns
Feb 20, 2021, at 04:28 pm
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), on Friday, highlighted the dire situation of some three million displaced children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who face brutal militia violence and extreme hunger.
Sexual Abuse: Pakistani-origin ex-House of Lords member Nazir Ahmed faces trial
Feb 20, 2021, at 04:17 pm
London: A British court has heard that a former Labour peer had repeatedly sexually abused two younger children when he was a teenager, media reports said.
Feb 20, 2021, at 07:38 am
London/IBNS : Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have confirmed to Queen Elizabeth II that they will not return as working members of the royal family, Bukingham Palace has said, according to a BBC report.
UN chief calls for ‘new social contract’ as part of post-pandemic recovery
Feb 19, 2021, at 05:01 pm
New York: With the COVID-19 pandemic exposing social and economic inequalities rooted in racism, discrimination and xenophobia, recovery must lead to more inclusive societies, the UN Secretary-General told Member States on Thursday.
Stop criminalizing civil society, UN rights experts urge Venezuelan authorities
Feb 19, 2021, at 04:52 pm
New York: United Nations independent human rights experts called on Thursday for the authorities in Venezuela to stop “continuous and increasing” attacks and intimidation against civil society organizations and journalists in the country.
UN chief condemns attack on school in Nigeria
Feb 19, 2021, at 04:48 pm
New York: The United Nations Secretary-General has strongly condemned Wednesday’s attack on a boarding school in north-central Nigeria in which one student was killed and several students, as well as relatives and staff, abducted.
Feb 18, 2021, at 06:49 pm
London/IBNS : Britain has asked for proof that Sheikha Latifa, one of the daughters of Dubai's rulers, is alive and doing well after the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC) released a video in which she said she was being held against her will in a barricaded villa, a Reuters report said.
French lawmakers approve bill to combat 'Islamist separatism'
Feb 17, 2021, at 07:57 pm
Paris: French National Assembly on Tuesday approved a law to fight Islamist extremism and separatism, an attempt believed to be taken to tackle the root causes of jihadist violence.
Secretary-General underscores need for peace and stability in Africa’s Sahel region
Feb 17, 2021, at 07:24 pm
New York: The UN Secretary-General has underlined his concern for Africa’s Sahel region, where deteriorating security and violence are aggravating an already difficult humanitarian situation that is unfolding amid the COVID-19 pandemic and climate emergency.
North Korea attempted to steal COVID-19 vaccine technology from Pfizer: Reports
Feb 16, 2021, at 10:44 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: North Korea allegedly tried to hack into Pfizer's systems and steal COVID-19 technology and treatment, Yonhap news Agency reported on Tuesday, citing the South Korean intelligence service.
South Korean military detains suspicious man near demilitarized zone: Reports
Feb 16, 2021, at 10:31 pm
Seoul/Sputnik: South Korean military has detained a suspicious man near the demilitarized zone of the inter-Korean border, where civilians are not allowed, the Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday, citing South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
Egyptian delegation arriving in Tripoli to participate in resumption of Embassy work
Feb 15, 2021, at 03:11 pm
Doha/Sputnik: An Egyptian delegation will arrive in Libya’s capital on Monday to take part in the resumption of the work of the Egyptian Embassy in Tripoli after a six year halt, a spokesperson of the Government of National Accord (GNA) told Sputnik.
Israel to allow 2,000 air travelers to enter every day
Feb 15, 2021, at 02:56 pm
Tel Aviv/Sputnik: Israel's coronavirus cabinet has allowed up to 2,000 foreign air travelers to enter the country every day, the prime minister’s office and the health ministry said Sunday.
Czech Government declares 14-day state of emergency over COVID-19: Reports
Feb 15, 2021, at 02:36 pm
Prague/Sputnik: The Czech cabinet declared a two-week state of emergency at the request of regional authorities due to worsening COVID-19 dynamics in circumvention of parliament's opposition, the Czech Television reported on Sunday.
Myanmar political crisis: Military urged to stop harassing civilians
Feb 15, 2021, at 02:32 pm
Nay Pyi Taw/UNI: Top diplomats of Western nations in Myanmar have called on the nation's military to end arrests of politicians, activists and restrictions on journalists, warning that "the world is watching."
Turkish forces 'neutralize' 48 PKK militants in northern Iraq: Defence Minister
Feb 15, 2021, at 02:56 am
Ankara/Sputnik: The Turkish armed forces have "neutralized" 48 members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), considered by Ankara as a terrorist organization, during an anti-terrorist operation in northern Iraq, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Sunday.
New Zealand imposes 1st COVID-19 lockdown since October amid community transmission
Feb 14, 2021, at 11:28 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: New Zealand is imposing first lockdown restrictions since October on the city of Auckland — its most populous city — for three days after three COVID-19 community cases were reported, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Sunday.
Mali: UN chief says ‘complex attack’ against blue helmets may constitute war crime
Feb 14, 2021, at 09:44 pm
New York: Secretary-General António Guterres condemned on Saturday, a “complex attack” against the UN mission in the West African country of Mali.
Another quake jolts Japan's Fukushima prefecture
Feb 14, 2021, at 09:43 pm
Tokyo/UNI : Another earthquake of magnitude 5.2 on the Richter scale struck off Japan's Fukushima Prefecture on Sunday shortly after the region was hit by a strong earthquake, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Despite Donald Trump’s acquittal, ‘substance of charge not in dispute’: Joe Biden
Feb 14, 2021, at 03:46 pm
Washington/Sputnik: Hours after former US President Donald Trump was acquitted in a 57-43 Senate vote on a charge of “incitement of insurrection” in connection to the Jan 6 Capitol riot, President Joe Biden said that the substance of the impeachment charge remained unquestionable.
Japan’s 7.3-magnitude earthquake leaves over 100 injured
Feb 14, 2021, at 02:00 pm
Tokyo/Sputnik: More Than 100 people were injured as a result of the 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck off Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture on Saturday, the Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday.
Coup: New Zealand severs diplomatic, military ties with Myanmar
Feb 14, 2021, at 06:28 am
Wellington: The New Zealand government has suspended all diplomatic ties with Myanmar as it does not recognise the military-led government of the nation.
Twitter blocks account of Russia's delegation to Vienna security talks
Feb 14, 2021, at 04:23 am
Moscow/Sputnik : Twitter has blocked the account of the Russian delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, the delegation's head, Konstantin Gavrilov, said on Saturday.
Car bomb blast hits busy market near Syria’s Aleppo : Reports
Feb 14, 2021, at 04:15 am
Dubai/Sputnik: A car bomb exploded at a crowded market in the Aleppo countryside on Saturday, Syrian state media reported.
British human rights lawyer elected chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
Feb 13, 2021, at 05:11 pm
New York: Criminal lawyer and human rights expert Karim Khan of the United Kingdom was elected on Friday to be the next Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).