Fury at UN human rights chief over ‘whitewash’ of Uyghur repression
Dozens of scholars have accused the UN human rights chief of having ignored or contradicted academic findings on abuses in Xinjiang with her statements on the region.
In an open letter published this week, 39 academics from across Europe, the US and Australia called on Michelle Bachelet to release a long-awaited UN report on human rights abuses in...
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...
Pakistan’s rupee sinks as uncertainties over IMF bailout loom
Pakistan’s rupee is poised for its biggest monthly decline in more than two years as deteriorating finances and uncertainty over the International Monetary Fund’s bailout plan weigh on the currency.
The rupee has declined about 7% in May, the steepest drop since March 2020, as the country negotiates a bailout package with the IMF...
China sends 30 warplanes into Taiwan air defence zone
Taiwan says it deployed fighter jets to warn off 30 warplanes sent by China into its air defence zone.
The incident on Monday marked the biggest incursion since January.
It came days after US President Joe Biden warned China against invading Taiwan, and on the same day as a US official...
Liverpool demand ‘unacceptable’ Champions League final scenes are investigated by UEFA
Liverpool chief executive Billy Hogan said treatment of the club's fans attending the Champions League final in Paris against Real Madrid on Saturday was "unacceptable" and demanded a "transparent investigation" by UEFA.
The match, which Madrid eventually won 1-0, was delayed by 30 minutes amid chaotic scenes outside the Stade de France as thousands of Liverpool fans...
What will the UN see as it finally visits China’s Xinjiang?
Human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has been demanding ‘unfettered’ access to the region for years, but experts doubt she will get it.
Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, is finally in China and travelling to Xinjiang nearly four years after first announcing her intention to visit the country amid concerns...
Locked-down Shanghai finds new cases, breaking “zero COVID” streak
SHANGHAI/BEIJING, May 20 (Reuters) - Shanghai announced its first new COVID-19 cases outside quarantined areas in five days on Friday and imposed stricter curbs in two districts, but did not signal any change to the planned end of a prolonged city-wide lockdown on June 1.
The commercial hub of 25 million, in its seventh...
Biden vows to defend Taiwan in apparent US policy shift
US President Joe Biden has warned China is "flirting with danger" over Taiwan, and vowed to intervene militarily to protect the island if it is attacked.
Speaking in Japan, he appeared to contradict long-standing US policy in the region, although the White House insisted there had been no departure.
Mr Biden...
Taiwan fails in bid to join WHO assembly after China pressure
GENEVA, May 23 (Reuters) - Taiwan's bid to attend the World Health Organization's annual assembly was rejected on Monday, the assembly said, after a campaign of diplomatic pressure from China to isolate the island, which it considers to be one of its own provinces.
World Health Assembly (WHA) President Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh, also Djibouti's...
Xinjiang in focus as UN’s Michelle Bachelet visits China
The UN human rights chief has met China’s top diplomat as she began a six-day trip to the country that will include the remote Xinjiang region, where Uighurs and other Muslim minorities face repression.
The tour by Michelle Bachelet, which started on Monday, marks the first by the UN’s top rights official to China...