UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet won’t seek second term after China trip backlash
The United Nations human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, said on Monday that she would not seek a second term for personal reasons, refuting speculation that it was a decision linked to blowback over her trip to China last month.
Bachelet, 70, was criticized by rights groups as well as some Western governments, including the United States, who...
US ‘concerned’ over Pakistan media curbs, attacks on journalists
US State Department spokesman says press freedom undermined after a TV channel sympathetic to Imran Khan was briefly blocked by the government.
The United States has expressed concern over press freedom in Pakistan after a television channel considered to be sympathetic towards former Prime Minister Imran Khan was briefly blocked by the government.
Pakistan says is ready to scrap CPEC, if US offers similar assistance
Amid the growing economic woes and international isolation forcing over-reliance on China, Pakistani officials are ready to scrap the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), if the US could offer a similar deal, local media said.
Pakistani authorities who remain predisposed to the West have even offered to scrap or sideline the CPEC if Washington could...
U.S. concerned after China says it signs security pact with Solomon Islands
China said on Tuesday it had signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, a move set to heighten concerns of the United States and allies Australia and New Zealand about growing Chinese influence in a region traditionally under their sway.
However, Solomon Islands officials earlier appeared to suggest no agreement had yet been...
At least six dead as multiple explosions hit Kabul schools
At least six people have been killed and 11 others injured after multiple explosions rocked a high school and educational center in western Kabul on Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear how many of the dead were students, but seven injured children were taken to a hospital run by the NGO Emergency, the organization...
U.S. approves possible sale of military assistance to Taiwan
WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of military technical assistance to Taiwan worth an estimated $108 million, the Pentagon said on Friday.
China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, and the democratically governed island has complained of increased military...
Meeting John Lee, China’s Xi welcomes ‘new chapter’ for Hong Kong
Chinese President Xi Jinping has hailed a “new chapter” for the former British colony of Hong Kong, after a meeting with the territory’s incoming leader in Beijing.
Sitting far apart around a giant table, Xi praised former security chief and police officer John Lee for his “patriotism” and love of Hong Kong, saying he...
China Eastern plane crash likely intentional, US reports say
Flight data indicates a China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed in March was intentionally put into a nose-dive, according to US media reports.
Investigators have so far not found any mechanical or technical faults with the jet, the reports say, citing a preliminary assessment by US officials.
The Boeing 737-800...
Beijing races to contain ‘urgent and grim’ Covid outbreak as Shanghai lockdown continues
Beijing is racing to track a Covid-19 outbreak that may have been spreading in the capital for a week, city authorities said over the weekend, raising the prospect more stringent restrictions could soon be implemented in line with other Chinese cities.
Chaoyang, one of the city's largest districts, announced Sunday that it would launch...
Guterres warns of terrorism in Afghanistan
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned of the effects of terrorism in Afghanistan, blaming it on a power vacuum.
Guterres who spoke at the Munich Security conference said terrorists were exploiting power vacuums and subverting fragile states.
"The risks of terrorism spillover out of Afghanistan, as well as the...