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Amnesty warns over 'sportswashing' at Beijing Olympics

Amnesty International warned on Wednesday that the international community must not allow China to use the Winter Olympics in Beijing as a "sportswashing opportunity" and must avoid being "complicit in a propaganda exercise".

More protected areas won't save biodiversity, warn experts

Expanding nature preserves will not be enough to stem a rising tide of extinctions, a panel of experts warned Wednesday, taking aim at a draft treaty tasked with rescuing Earth's animal and plant life.

Russian troops leave Kazakhstan amid reported power struggle

Russian soldiers completed their draw down from Kazakhstan, the defence ministry said Wednesday, as the Central Asian country lifted a state of emergency imposed after unprecedented unrest and signs of a power struggle.

Belgian court jails trafficker over migrant lorry deaths

A Belgian court sentenced a Vietnamese man to 15 years in prison on Wednesday after convicting him of being the ringleader in the trafficking of 39 migrants found dead in a lorry.

Israel probes alleged Pegasus use to spy on citizens

Israel's justice minister on Wednesday pledged a full investigation into allegations that the controversial Pegasus spyware was used on Israeli citizens, including people who led protests against former premier Benjamin Netanyahu.

Boris Johnson: Brexit hero under 'partygate' pressure

Boris Johnson has long had a socially distanced relationship with the truth, but the UK prime minister's devil-may-care insouciance was pivotal to his Conservative party's staggering election win in 2019.

Japan brings back virus restrictions over Omicron surge

Japan's government approved new coronavirus restrictions on a large part of the country, including Tokyo, on Wednesday as it battles record infections fuelled by the Omicron variant.

Taliban PM calls for Muslim nations to recognise Afghan government

The Taliban's prime minister called Wednesday on Muslim nations to be the first to officially recognise their government, as aid-dependent Afghanistan faces economic collapse.

Taiwan VP to attend Honduras inauguration with diplomatic ties in balance

Taiwan said Wednesday its deputy leader will go to the inauguration of Honduran president-elect Xiomara Castro as the island faces the potential loss of yet another diplomatic ally in Latin America.

Women's tennis urges Peng Shuai to get in touch

Women's tennis needs to hear directly from Peng Shuai to know that she is safe, two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka said Wednesday, as fears persist for China's former world number one doubles player.

Chinese rights lawyer detained for 'inciting state subversion'

A human rights lawyer has been detained in China on suspicion of "inciting state subversion", according to an official notice obtained by his wife weeks after he spoke out for a hospitalised teacher.

Pets, kids and Christmas: how White House has changed under Biden

President Joe Biden transformed the White House in his first year with policies unrecognizable from the Trump era -- at least regarding the policy on pets, that is.

Cambodia opposition leader calls for treason charges to be dropped as trial resumes

Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha called Wednesday for treason charges against him to be dropped as his trial resumed after two years of delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pakistan's economic woes put PM Khan's future in doubt

Housewife Maira Tayyab has considered begging for money to feed her family in inflation-hit Pakistan, while shop owner Mohammad Hanif finds his thoughts turning to crime.

One year on, the verdict on Biden's Divided States of America

When Joe Biden became president, he inherited an America divided in almost every conceivable way, promising to be a force for unity and reconciliation.

Mandatory Chinese Olympics app has 'devastating' encryption flaw: analyst

An app all attendees of the upcoming Beijing Olympics must use has encryption flaws that could allow personal information to leak, a cyber security watchdog said Tuesday.

US Capitol assault probe subpoenas Trump ally Giuliani

The congressional committee investigating the US Capitol riot issued subpoenas Tuesday to Rudy Giuliani -- a key figure in Donald Trump's failed bid to overturn the 2020 election -- and three other allies of the defeated ex-president.

Hong Kong independence activist Edward Leung released from jail

Hong Kong independence activist Edward Leung, whose now-banned slogan became a rallying cry during the 2019 pro-democracy movement, was released from jail in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday after serving nearly four years.

Mexican presidential recall referendum wins enough support: poll body

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's proposed referendum on his own presidency has secured enough signatures of support from voters to go ahead, the national electoral institute said Tuesday.

US warns Russia poised to attack Ukraine 'at any point'

The United States raised the alarm Tuesday on a potentially imminent Russian attack against Ukraine, ahead of a whirlwind diplomatic mission by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Standoff over Palestinian eviction ends, family says

Israeli police on Tuesday backed down from attempts to evict Palestinians from their home in a Jerusalem flashpoint district, the family said.

Former FARC hostage Betancourt announces fresh presidential bid

Ingrid Betancourt -- who was abducted 20 years ago while campaigning for Colombia's presidency, and held captive by FARC rebels in the jungle for more than six years -- on Tuesday announced a new bid for the country's top job.

Chile's first lady elect to give role feminist makeover

Irina Karamanos, the partner of Chile's president elect Gabriel Boric, announced on Tuesday she would take on the official role of first lady but vowed to make it more feminist.

Iranian-Swedish dissident tried in Tehran for 'terrorism'

The trial of Iranian-Swedish dissident Habib Chaab started in Tehran on Tuesday, state television showed, with charges including terrorism and "spreading corruption on earth" punishable by the death sentence.

Breivik provokes as he seeks parole, a decade after Norway attacks

Right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik made Nazi salutes and lauded white power on Tuesday as he asked for parole just 10 years after carrying out Norway's deadliest peacetime attack, using his court appearance to spread his ideology.

14 dead as coalition bombs Yemen after UAE attack

The Saudi-led coalition killed 14 people in air strikes on Yemen's rebel-held capital, a medical source said Tuesday, after an attack by Huthi insurgents on the United Arab Emirates sent regional tensions soaring.

Hospitals in Ethiopia's war-torn north reel from shortages: ICRC

Doctors in Ethiopia's Tigray region are recycling surgical gloves and using salt to disinfect wounds as essential medical supplies run out, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Tuesday.

Kazakhstan's ex-leader denies conflict with successor

The influential former leader of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev denied any conflict with his successor Tuesday, in his first appearance since unprecedented violence in the Central Asian country sparked rumours of a power struggle.

Sudanese barricade streets, close shops after 7 killed

Sudanese shuttered shops and barricaded Khartoum streets on Tuesday in a civil disobedience campaign to protest one of the bloodiest days since an October coup derailed the country's democratic transition.

11 dead as coalition strikes Yemen after Abu Dhabi attack: witness, medics

Eleven people were killed in coalition air strikes on Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa, a witness and medical sources told AFP Tuesday, after the insurgents launched a rare and deadly attack on the United Arab Emirates.

The big fish caught in Xi Jinping's anti-graft net

A state TV series documenting high-profile officials caught in President Xi Jinping's purge of the Communist Party's upper echelons has captivated millions in China and renewed focus on widespread abuses of power.

Indonesia passes law paving way for capital's move to Borneo

Indonesia's parliament on Tuesday passed a law approving the relocation of its capital from slowly sinking Jakarta to a site 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) away on jungle-clad Borneo island that will be named "Nusantara".

US court awards Warmbier family $240,000 seized from North Korea

A United States court has awarded the family of Otto Warmbier, the American student who died after being jailed by Pyongyang, $240,000 seized from a North Korean bank, court records showed.

Austria raises alarm about 'dramatic' femicide plague

Painted in blood red on an improvised memorial in Vienna, the number 31 is a stark reminder of a grim toll: the women killed by men in Austria last year.

North Korea tests 'tactical guided missiles' in military push

North Korea said Tuesday it had launched two tactical guided missiles, its fourth sanctions-busting test of the year as it seeks to bolster its conventional weaponry while rebuffing offers of talks from the United States.

Photojournalist shot dead in Mexican border city

A photojournalist was shot dead Monday in Mexico's crime-plagued city of Tijuana bordering the United States, authorities said -- the latest such murder in one of the world's deadliest countries for reporters.

Korean director takes on decades of generational trauma

Award-winning filmmaker Yang Yonghi was just six years old when she watched her eldest brother leave Japan for North Korea as one of 200 "human gifts" for leader Kim Il Sung's 60th birthday.

As Shiite rivals jostle in Iraq, Sunni and Kurdish parties targeted

As Iraq's Shiite leaders jostle to secure a majority in the newly-elected parliament, Sunni and Kurdish minorities have been caught up in a spate of warning grenade attacks, analysts say.

Biden's first year score card

US President Joe Biden came in facing extraordinary challenges: a nation divided after the Donald Trump years, the Covid pandemic, and an economy in tumult.

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