World News

Forced labour, possible 'enslavement' in China's Xinjiang: UN expert

Minorities have been drafted into forced labour in China's Xinjiang region in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing, a report by an independent UN expert has concluded, in what it said could amount to "enslavement as a crime against humanity".. The nature and extent of powers exercised over the workers -- including excessive surveillance and abusive living and working conditions -- could "amount to enslavement as a crime against humanity, meriting a further independent analysis", it said.

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 2 mins read

World News

Tokyo Olympics exec arrested over bribery allegations

A board member for the Tokyo Olympics was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of taking bribes, prosecutors said, along with three other men connected to the scandal.. The 78-year-old was arrested along with Aoki chairman Hironori Aoki, 83, and two other executives from the retailer, according to Tokyo Prosecutors Office documents seen by AFP. They accuse Takahashi of accepting bribes "with the understanding they were meant as thank-you money for the beneficial and preferential treatment" he bestowed on Aoki.

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 1 mins read

World News

Jihadists spread from the Sahel to coastal West Africa

Their campaign began in northern Mali a decade ago, advanced into the country's powder-keg centre and from there into neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso.. - Recruitment - "The deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso and Mali has made the north of the coastal countries the new front line against armed groups operating in the Sahel," the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a German think tank, said in a report in April.

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 3 mins read

World News

Muscat shrugs off Iniesta threat as Asian Champions League returns

Yokohama F Marinos manager Kevin Muscat said Wednesday his team would not fear Andres Iniesta when they face Vissel Kobe in Thursday's Asian Champions League round-of-16 showdown.. Current boss Takayuki Yoshida -- Kobe's third manager this season -- said Iniesta was likely to play against Yokohama after shaking off an injury.

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 2 mins read

World News

Former Australian PM defends secret power grab

Australia's former leader on Wednesday defended secret arrangements he made to swear himself in to key portfolios including defence and treasury, saying he would only have used the roles in an emergency during the Covid-19 pandemic.. The conservative former prime minister added that he gained "no personal advantage" from being sworn in to administer five portfolios and stressed that the arrangements were only to be used in an emergency, such as if a minister died during the pandemic.

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 1 mins read

World News

South Korea's Yoon says not fixated on record-low approval ratings

Battling record-low approval ratings after just three months on the job, South Korea's conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol said Wednesday he was not fixated on his dire polling numbers.. His predecessor Moon Jae-in enjoyed approval ratings of about 70 percent at the same stage in his term, polling data showed, and Yoon started work with 52 percent of people polled thinking he was doing a good job.

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 2 mins read

World News

Earning its stripes: tech bid to crack tiger trade

In a town in northeastern Scotland, Debbie Banks looks for clues to track down criminals as she clicks through a database of tiger skins.. "We have a database of images of tigers that have been offered for sale or have been seized," Banks said.

Tue, Aug 16, 2022 2 mins read

World News

Journalist found dead in northwest Mexico

A crime reporter has been found dead in northwestern Mexico, authorities said Tuesday -- the latest suspected murder in what is already one of the deadliest years yet for the country's press.. At least 13 journalists have been murdered so far this year in Mexico, one of the world's most dangerous countries for the press, according to media rights groups.

Tue, Aug 16, 2022 1 mins read

World News

Top Republican Trump critic Cheney loses seat in US Congress

Republican rebel Liz Cheney lost her seat in Congress Tuesday to an election conspiracy theorist, US media projected, in the latest sign of her party's break with traditional conservatism to embrace Donald Trump's hardline "America First" agenda.. She even avoided the traditional election day photo op Tuesday, eschewing media at her local polling station to instead cast her ballot in nearby Jackson.

Tue, Aug 16, 2022 3 mins read

World News

Amazon tribe go behind the camera in Nat Geo film 'The Territory'

When Covid-19 reached Brazil's Amazon, and an indigenous tribe sealed off its borders, director Alex Pritz found an innovative way to finish his documentary -- he handed the cameras over to the Uru-eu-wau-wau themselves.. But in fact, the flying cameras were bought and are operated by the Uru-eu-wau-wau themselves.

Tue, Aug 16, 2022 3 mins read