World

Iranian authorities on Wednesday freed Nobel peace prize winner Narges Mohammadi from prison for three weeks on medical grounds, a move supporters decried as “too little too late” with the Nobel committee urging a permanent release.Addressing reporters in Paris, Mohammadi’s 18-year-old son, Ali Rahmani, said he had been able to speak by phone to his mother …

Iran frees Nobel winner for three weeks, sparking calls for ‘permanent’ release Read More »

Minas cheese — a dairy delight from a farming region in Brazil giving it its name — was added to UNESCO’s global list of intangible cultural heritage on Wednesday.The inscription raises the profile of the cheese internationally and helps protect the traditions that go into making it.”This is really a very special way of us …

Brazil’s Minas cheese gets added to UNESCO list Read More »

France’s government on Wednesday faced a no-confidence vote that could spell the end of Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s administration, plunging the country into uncharted waters.The toppling of the Barnier government after just three months in office would present President Emmanuel Macron with the unenviable choice of picking a viable successor with over two years of …

French government risks falling in no-confidence vote Read More »

A second major Myanmar ethnic rebel group has said it is ready for Beijing-mediated talks with the junta to end more than a year of renewed fighting that has ravaged areas along the Chinese border.The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), with about 8,000 available fighters, has fought the Myanmar military for more than a …

Second major Myanmar rebel group calls for talks with junta Read More »

The UK government is banning daytime TV adverts for sugary foods like granola and muffins in its battle against child obesity, branding such popular items as junk food.Under measures unveiled on Tuesday, ads showing “less healthy” food and drinks will only be allowed to be aired after the 9:00 pm watershed from October next year.According …

UK bans daytime TV ads for cereals, muffins and burgers Read More »

Iran has released Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi, jailed since November 2021, for three weeks on medical grounds, her lawyer posted on social media.Over the past quarter century, Mohammadi, 52, has been repeatedly tried and jailed for her vocal campaigning against Iran’s widespread use of capital punishment and its mandatory dress code for women.”Based on …

Iran releases Nobel Peace laureate Mohammadi on medical leave: lawyer Read More »

The UN’s cultural organisation added Aleppo’s famous soap to its intangible cultural heritage list Tuesday with Syria’s second city again wracked by war.Artisans have brewed olive and laurel oil in large pots for some 3,000 years in the city — which fell to Islamist-led rebels last week — allowing the mixture to cool before cutting …

UNESCO grants heritage status to Aleppo soap as Syria war flares Read More »

Thousands of protesters marched on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office in the South Korean capital Wednesday evening, joining a push by the country’s opposition to impeach the leader after his extraordinary but short-lived imposition of martial law.Yoon’s shock bid to suspend civilian rule for the first time in over four decades — before being overturned by …

Thousands march demanding S. Korea president resign over martial law debacle Read More »

Dressed in a white singlet with a scarf tied around his head, Frank crouched near a muddy pit, preparing to plunge his hands into the soil in search of gold.Around him, shirtless men, their bodies smeared with dirt and glistening with sweat, worked tirelessly under the blazing sun, near Ghana’s capital Accra.Some shovelled sand into …

Ghana’s illegal mining boom seeps into presidential election Read More »

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te arrived in the US territory of Guam on Wednesday, the second stop on American soil during a weeklong Pacific tour that has sparked fiery rhetoric from Beijing.Taiwan calls itself a sovereign nation, but Beijing insists the democratic island of 23 million people is part of its territory and opposes any official …

Taiwan’s Lai arrives in US territory Guam on Pacific tour Read More »