By Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday withdrew his bid to become a senator, the same day his preferred successor quit the presidential race, adding to uncertainty about the mercurial leader’s political future and the scope of his influence. The president filed withdrawal papers at the …
Philippines’ Duterte quits senate race in new election twist Read More »
By Stephanie Nebehay and Emma Farge GENEVA (Reuters) – More than 100 former Afghan national security forces and others have been killed since the Taliban takeover in August, most at the hands of the hardline Islamist group which is recruiting boy soldiers and quashing women’s rights, the U.N. said on Tuesday. Nada al-Nashif, U.N. Deputy …
Taliban rule marked by killings, denial of women’s rights – UN Read More »
WARSAW (Reuters) – A Polish woman has tested positive for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in China, Poland’s health ministry said on Tuesday, after Chinese media reported that the first case on the county’s mainland had been detected in a Pole. The first case of Omicron in mainland China was detected in the northern …
Polish woman tests positive for Omicron in China Read More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – Almost all Afghans do not have enough to eat and a failing economy could tip Afghanistan’s increasingly dire situation under Taliban rule into catastrophe next year, the U.N.’s World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday. WFP surveys showed an estimated 98% of Afghans are not eating enough, with seven in 10 families …
Afghans face “avalanche of hunger and destitution” – UN agency Read More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss tensions in Europe and “aggressive” U.S. and NATO rhetoric during a video call on Wednesday, the Kremlin said. The conversation will take place at a moment of high tension in both countries’ relations with the West, with Beijing under pressure over …
Putin and Xi to discuss ‘aggressive’ talk from U.S. and NATO, Kremlin says Read More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore is considering requiring its residents to get a booster shot to qualify as fully vaccinated against COVID-19, its health minister said on Tuesday, as it seeks to protect its population from the Omicron variant. The city-state of 5.5 million people currently allows only those counted as fully vaccinated – or recipients …
Singapore mulls COVID-19 boosters requirement to qualify as ‘fully’ vaccinated Read More »
By Humeyra Pamuk JAKARTA (Reuters) – Secretary of State Antony Blinken touted on Tuesday a U.S. strategy to deepen its Asian treaty alliances, offering to boost defence and intelligence work with partners in an Indo-Pacific region increasingly concerned over China’s “aggressive actions”. On a visit to Indonesia, Blinken called the Indo-Pacific the world’s most dynamic …
Blinken touts deeper U.S. engagement amid concern over ‘aggressive’ China Read More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s envoy from the former government on Tuesday accused the Taliban of committing a wide range of human rights abuses including targeted killings and enforced disappearances since seizing control in August. “With the military takeover of Kabul by the Taliban, not only we see a total reversal of two decades of advances…but …
Afghanistan’s deposed envoy decries ‘total reversal’ of rights’ gains Read More »
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Private pharmaceutical companies in Indonesia will be permitted to directly import COVID-19 vaccines to “balance the market”, the country’s health minister told parliament on Tuesday. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin made the announcement during an update on the country’s vaccine program. The government was forced to rescind a private vaccine programme earlier …
Indonesian pharma firms to be allowed to import vaccines directly, says health minister Read More »
By Catarina Demony and Miguel Pereira LISBON (Reuters) – When the Taliban seized power, Afghan musicians knew their futures were in jeopardy. Conductor Shogufa Safi, 18, escaped. Now in Portugal, her new home, she feels safe but her dream is to return one day and bring music back to her country’s streets. “I haven’t had …
Afghan orchestra finds hope in Portugal as music dies in homeland Read More »
