Foreign

382 children killed, maimed in Myanmar since coup, says UN

382 children killed, maimed in Myanmar since coup, says UN

June 15, 2022, 8:00 pm

ANKARA – The UN on Tuesday called for the protection of children from the Myanmar military junta’s brutal attacks which "constitute crimes against humanity." Tom Andrews, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, issued a report saying that at least 382 children have been killed or… Read More

WHO working on changing name of monkeypox virus

WHO working on changing name of monkeypox virus

June 15, 2022, 7:54 pm

ANKARA – The World Health Organization (WHO) is working to change the name of the monkeypox virus, which has been spreading in many parts of the world in recent months, it said on Tuesday. The "WHO is also working with partners and experts from around the world on changing the name of monkeypox… Read More

Around 14.4M people in Myanmar in urgent need of aid: UN

Around 14.4M people in Myanmar in urgent need of aid: UN

June 14, 2022, 7:16 pm

WASHINGTON – Roughly 14.4 million people in Myanmar, or about a quarter of the country's population, "urgently require humanitarian assistance," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' envoy said on Monday. Addressing the General Assembly, Noeleen Heyzer said the military junta's ouster of the… Read More

N. Korean nuclear test will be met by united, firm response

N. Korean nuclear test will be met by united, firm response

June 14, 2022, 1:53 pm

WASHINGTON – South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and his US counterpart Antony Blinken on Monday urged North Korea to refrain from staging additional provocations including a nuclear test, saying that they will only further isolate the impoverished country. The top diplomats also said North… Read More

UN rights chief warns of global food, fuel, financial crises

UN rights chief warns of global food, fuel, financial crises

June 14, 2022, 1:10 pm

GENEVA – Highlighting the horrors and risks of the war in Ukraine, the UN human rights chief on Monday warned of global food, fuel, and financial crises that risk plunging millions into food insecurity and poverty. Speaking at the opening session of the 50th Human Rights Council, Michele… Read More

Global nuke arsenals expected to grow for 1st time since Cold War

Global nuke arsenals expected to grow for 1st time since Cold War

June 13, 2022, 6:45 pm

ANKARA – Global nuclear arsenals are expected to grow over the next decade for the first time since the Cold War, according to an international study released on Monday. The world's nine nuclear-armed states -- the US, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea --… Read More

Over 50 WTO nations voice support for Ukraine at meeting

Over 50 WTO nations voice support for Ukraine at meeting

June 13, 2022, 2:53 pm

GENEVA – More than 50 trade ministers at the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Geneva on Sunday issued a supporting statement for embattled Ukraine and its ability to trade, underlining the importance of maintaining open and predictable markets. The ministers issued the statement… Read More

Tens of thousands rally across US against gun violence

Tens of thousands rally across US against gun violence

June 12, 2022, 5:07 pm

WASHINGTON – Tens of thousands of people demonstrated Saturday against gun violence across the US after a series of mass shootings in recent months. The protests, which call for action on gun control, were organized by the March For Our Lives organization, which was founded by students who… Read More

ILO warns of rising tide of child labor across globe

ILO warns of rising tide of child labor across globe

June 12, 2022, 5:06 pm

GENEVA – Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the globe has seen a rise in the use of child workers, the International Labor Organization (ILO) warned on the eve of June 12 World Day Against Child Labor. ILO figures from numerous countries indicate a rising trend in child labor in the post-pandemic… Read More

US to 'stand by our friends' amid China’s territorial claims

US to 'stand by our friends' amid China’s territorial claims

June 12, 2022, 1:39 pm

BEIJING – The US will stand by its friends as China adopts a more "coercive and aggressive approach to its territorial claims," the country's defense chief said on Saturday. Addressing the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Lloyd Austin said China's expanding fishing fleet in the East China Sea… Read More

France, Australia call submarine settlement 'fair and equitable'

France, Australia call submarine settlement 'fair and equitable'

June 12, 2022, 1:20 pm

PARIS – France on Saturday called the Australian government’s settlement of last year’s abrupt termination of their submarine contract “fair and equitable," saying it would help establish a new working relationship between Paris and Canberra. In separate statements, both countries… Read More

Effects of sanctions less acute than expected: Bank of Russia

Effects of sanctions less acute than expected: Bank of Russia

June 11, 2022, 1:55 pm

MOSCOW – Effects of sanctions against Russia have been less acute than expected so far, Central Bank chief Elvira Nabiullina said on Friday at the press conference. "Yes, we see our export has not plunged as low as we initially expected. Yes, effects of sanctions have probably less acute… Read More

Don't meddle in China’s domestic affairs, Beijing tells Pentagon

Don't meddle in China’s domestic affairs, Beijing tells Pentagon

June 11, 2022, 1:41 pm

MOSCOW – Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe expressed discontent to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin over US interference in China's domestic political issues as they met in Singapore on Friday, China Central Television reported. "The United States shouldn’t interfere in the internal… Read More

Switzerland joins 6th round of EU sanctions vs. Russia, Belarus

Switzerland joins 6th round of EU sanctions vs. Russia, Belarus

June 11, 2022, 1:37 pm

GENEVA – Switzerland has supported the European Union’s decision to adopt the sixth package of sanctions, including an embargo on crude oil, against Russia and Belarus, the government said in a statement on its website. "On June 10, the Federal Council took the decision to adopt new EU… Read More

Ukraine war's effect on food security 'speeding up': UN chief

Ukraine war's effect on food security 'speeding up': UN chief

June 9, 2022, 7:49 pm

WASHINGTON – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that the effect of the war in Ukraine on food security is "speeding up." He was speaking at a news conference to release a report from the UN Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance, which said the ripple… Read More

7 dead, 46 injured in S. Korea office building fire

7 dead, 46 injured in S. Korea office building fire

June 9, 2022, 4:42 pm

SEOUL – A fire broke out at a five-story building populated by lawyers' offices in the southeastern city of Daegu on Thursday, leaving seven dead and some 40 others injured, officials said. Police pinpointed a 50-something man as a suspected arsonist responsible for the fire after a CCTV… Read More

Magnitude 8.4 earthquake recorded in Russia

Magnitude 8.4 earthquake recorded in Russia

June 9, 2022, 1:23 pm

MOSCOW – A magnitude 8.4 earthquake hit the Lake Baikal area near Russia's Irkutsk city, the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, the Emergency Ministry said on Wednesday. The magnitude of the quake at the epicenter was 8.4, while in Irkutsk it felt much weaker and was recorded at 5 on the… Read More

At least 17 killed as train derails in eastern Iran

At least 17 killed as train derails in eastern Iran

June 8, 2022, 7:12 pm

TEHRAN, Iran – At least 17 people were killed and many others injured after a passenger train derailed in eastern Iran, authorities said early Wednesday. Four of the seven cars in the train derailed on the Tabas-Yazd railroad track near Iran’s eastern city of Tabas and all rescue units with… Read More

Matthew McConaughey launches emotional plea for US gun control

Matthew McConaughey launches emotional plea for US gun control

June 8, 2022, 5:44 pm

WASHINGTON – Renowned actor Matthew McConaughey took to the White House podium Tuesday to issue an emotional plea for greater US gun control after a devastating school shooting rocked his hometown of Uvalde, Texas. The shooting at the Robb Elementary School on May 24 is the deadliest in Texas… Read More

S. Korea lifts mandatory self-isolation for all int’l arrivals

S. Korea lifts mandatory self-isolation for all int’l arrivals

June 8, 2022, 4:42 pm

SEOUL – South Korea on Wednesday lifted the mandatory seven-day self-isolation period for all international arrivals in the latest move to return to pre-pandemic normalcy amid a downtrend in Covid-19 cases. The country added 13,358 Covid-19 infections, including 59 cases from overseas, bringing… Read More