World News

Calm in Sierra Leone despite contested election outcome

The streets of Sierra Leone's capital were quiet on Wednesday, a day after President Julius Maada Bio was sworn in for a second term following an election his main rival slammed as "not credible.". Sierra Leone has a two-term presidential limit.

Sweden police grant permit for Koran burning protest outside mosque

Swedish police said they have granted a permit for a protest where the organiser plans to burn a Koran outside Stockholm's main mosque on Wednesday, the start of the Muslim three-day Eid al-Adha holiday.. Swedish police had granted a permit for the January protest, which was organised by Rasmus Paludan, a Swedish-Danish activist who has already been convicted for racist abuse.

Ukrainians fly locally-made drones to sharpen artillery aim

Soldiers in eastern Ukraine swiftly unpacked a large grey drone and launched it to check the cloud level and survey the area, just kilometres from Russian positions.. The team includes soldiers with fluent English and backgrounds in IT and marketing.

US actor Kevin Spacey due in UK court for sex offences trial

Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey was due in a London court on Wednesday to stand trial for a dozen sexual offences which allegedly occurred more than a decade ago.. Dozens of photographers and journalists gathered outside the court from 6:30 am (0530 GMT) on Wednesday hoping to catch a glimpse of Spacey, who arrived by taxi with his legal team not long after 8.00am. 

Protests flare up in France after police shoot teenager

Violent protests shook Paris suburbs overnight and celebrities expressed outrage Wednesday after police shot dead a teenager during a traffic stop and appeared to have lied about the circumstances of the killing.. His death sparked immediate protests in Nanterre, a western Paris suburb.

Karabakh separatists say 4 troops killed by Azerbaijani fire

Four Armenian separatist fighters were killed Wednesday in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region by Azerbaijani fire, rebels said, as Baku and Yerevan held peace talks mediated by the United States.. There have been frequent clashes along Armenian-Azerbaijani border, despite the two former Soviet republics negotiating a peace agreement under the mediation from the European Union and United States. 

Russian missile strike kills eight in eastern Ukraine

The death toll from a Russian missile strike on a restaurant in eastern Ukraine rose to eight on Wednesday, as Kyiv played down the effect of a brief mutiny by the head of the Wagner mercenary group on the conflict.. So there was no time for this demoralising effect to penetrate Russian trenches," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CNN in a video published Wednesday.

Lucky to come home: Growing up trans in Brazil can be deadly

Wearing a pink dress that matches the bow in her hair, eight-year-old Agatha flashes a smile that belies all she has been through as a trans child growing up in Brazil.. Last year, she founded an organization called My Trans Child, which has nearly 600 members.

Hong Kong exiles in UK say 'living in fear' of Beijing

When artists Lumli and Lumlong fled Hong Kong in 2021 they didn't tell a soul for fear of being reported and arrested before they could leave.. It was after an exhibition in Hong Kong in May 2021 that they realised that they would have to leave.

South Koreans get younger as traditional age system dropped

Lee Jung-hee was set to turn 60 next year but South Korea dropped its traditional age counting system Wednesday, so the Seoul-based housewife just got a year younger -- and she's thrilled.. "It feels good," Lee, a Seoul-based housewife, told AFP.  "For people like me, who were supposed to turn 60 next year, it makes you feel like you're still young," she laughed.