Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine: - UN team visits endangered atomic plant - A 14-strong team of UN nuclear inspectors visits the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine to ensure its safety amid concern that the war which is raging nearby could spark a nuclear accident.. After a lengthy pause following widespread claims of Russian war crimes in Ukraine he spoke again with Putin on August 19.
Central American journalists can pay a steep price for publishing unflattering stories about governments in the region -- one with a history of civil wars and dictatorships and where poverty, violence and corruption are rampant.. "They seem to be stepping up harassment of journalists investigating corruption, human rights violations and abuses of power," Juan Pappier of Human Rights Watch (HRW) told AFP. Several prosecutors and judges investigating corruption in Guatemala have been subjected to "spurious criminal proceedings," added Pappier.
An Afghan woman has claimed in an online video that a Taliban official beat, raped and forced her into marrying him -- charges which the senior member of the hardline Islamist movement has denied.. Khosty received support online from some Taliban members.
The EU's drug regulator on Thursday approved Covid-19 vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna adapted for the Omicron variant, paving the way for a booster campaign this winter.. The Amsterdam-based EMA said that the two jabs backed for people aged 12 and above on Thursday were the "first adapted Covid-19 booster vaccines recommended for approval in the EU".
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday defended his policy of keeping up a dialogue with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, saying that Turkey should not be the only power talking to Moscow and preparations should already be made for a negotiated peace.. "Who wants Turkey to be the only world power which continues to talk to Russia?"
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the funeral of the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev due to scheduling issues, his spokesman said on Thursday. . "The farewell ceremony and funeral will take place on September 3 but unfortunately the president's work schedule will not allow him (to attend)," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Uyghur activists and exiles had hoped a long-delayed United Nations report into alleged human rights violations by China would make it impossible for the world to ignore their plight.. It is a "signal that humanity is still alive" he said, expressing hope that leaders will now see the report and feel spurred to action.
Ethiopian and Eritrean forces launched a "massive" joint offensive against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in the northern region of Tigray on Thursday, the rebels said.. "The enemy, having already relocated a massive military force to Eritrea, has now begun a joint campaign with the foreign invading force of Eritrea to brutalise and exterminate the people of Tigray," the rebels' military command said in a statement.
Rosmah Mansor, Malaysia's former first lady who was found guilty of graft on Thursday, has been widely mocked in the past over her reported taste for luxury, and is routinely portrayed as being out of touch with ordinary citizens. . Cartoonists have portrayed the glamorous collector of Hermes handbags alongside one-time Philippines first lady and renowned shoe enthusiast Imelda Marcos -- a big-spending woman who for years was a lightning rod for anger in her country over alleged corruption.
A UN report said claims of torture and forced labour in China's Xinjiang are credible and warned crimes against humanity may have taken place, allegations condemned Thursday by Beijing as a "political tool" aimed at containing the country.. "Allegations of patterns of torture or ill-treatment, including forced medical treatment and adverse conditions of detention, are credible, as are allegations of individual incidents of sexual and gender-based violence," the report said.
