World News

Trans rights bill bitterly divides Spanish left

A transgender rights bill to be voted on this week has sparked bitter divisions within Spain's ruling left-wing coalition, pitting its powerful feminist lobby against LGBTQ equality campaigners.. The law for the "genuine equality of trans people and for the guarantee of LGBTI rights" -- which will be put to a vote on Thursday -- is one of the flagship projects of the equality ministry which is held by Podemos, the radical left-wing junior partner in Spain's Socialist-led coalition.

Wed, Dec 21, 2022 3 mins read

World News

Erdogan fires back at Western criticism of mayor's ban

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday fired back at Western criticism of a political ban imposed on Istanbul's popular opposition mayor ahead of next year's general election.. Erdogan told his ruling party faithful and cheering supporters that foreign powers were trying to use the case to manipulate Turkish politics ahead of the vote.

Wed, Dec 21, 2022 1 mins read

World News

Colombia's ELN rebels end 'armed strike' after holiday ceasefire

Colombian rebel group ELN has ended the forced confinement of around 10,000 people in the northwest of the country, President Gustavo Petro said Tuesday.. The ELN is the last recognized rebel group operating in the country, although dissidents who refused to sign a 2016 peace deal between the FARC guerrilla group and the government also remain active.

Wed, Dec 21, 2022 1 mins read

World News

'Hugs, screams and cries': Afghan women anguished at university ban

Women university students across Afghanistan were in disbelief on Wednesday, barred by the Taliban from studying and condemned to a life of feeling "like caged birds". . "We all felt like caged birds, we hugged each other, screamed, and cried 'why is this happening to us'?"

Wed, Dec 21, 2022 2 mins read

World News

Prepay meters worsen energy inequality in UK

A bitter cold descends on snow-topped terraced houses in the north London suburb of Arnos Grove, as Samantha Pierre-Joseph warms her living room with a small whirring fan heater. . In Arnos Grove, Pierre-Joseph counts every single pound of electricity or gas.

Wed, Dec 21, 2022 3 mins read

World News

Ambulance workers join widening UK strikes

UK ambulance workers went on strike Wednesday, widening a dispute with the government over its refusal to increase pay above inflation after recent walkouts by nurses.. Unions representing both NHS nurses and ambulance workers have threatened further stoppages in the new year if the government keeps refusing to discuss pay.

Wed, Dec 21, 2022 3 mins read

World News

'Life is worse': Kenya's Ruto marks 100 days in office

Kenyan shop attendant Winnie Wanjiru Mwaura was brimming with hope when she signed up to be an election agent for William Ruto during the August 9 polls and elated when he became president.. "They inflated the prices of goods, then give you a 500-shilling loan which can only buy two packets of maize flour," Michael Wafula, a 35-year-old mechanic, told AFP. For shop attendants like Mwaura, who earns just 700 Kenyan shillings a day, the fund will do little to change her fortunes.

Wed, Dec 21, 2022 3 mins read

World News

Philippines 'concerned' over China land reclamation in disputed sea

The Philippines said Wednesday it was "seriously concerned" over a report that China has started reclaiming several unoccupied land features in the disputed South China Sea.. "We are seriously concerned as such activities contravene the Declaration of Conduct on the South China Sea's undertaking on self-restraint and the 2016 Arbitral Award," the Philippine foreign ministry said late Tuesday in response.

Wed, Dec 21, 2022 2 mins read

World News

Afghan women stopped from entering universities after Taliban ban

Hundreds of young women were stopped by armed guards on Wednesday from entering Afghan university campuses, a day after the nation's Taliban rulers banned them from higher education in another assault on human rights.. A team of AFP journalists saw groups of students gathered outside universities in the capital, Kabul, barred from entering by armed guards and shuttered gates.

Wed, Dec 21, 2022 4 mins read

World News

In troubled South Africa, a boys' choir gives cause for hope

A hush grips the auditorium as the long-awaited concert by one of the world's most renowned chorales gets underway.. The music and the dramatic backdrop of the Drakensberg mountains set the seal on the choir's first in-person Christmas concert since the Covid pandemic.

Wed, Dec 21, 2022 3 mins read