Months after abolishing capital punishment for juvenile offenders, some death sentences still remain By: Reuters on January 18, 2021Five people who committed crimes in Saudi Arabia as minors have yet to have their death sentences revoked, according to two rights groups, nine months after the kingdom’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) announced an end to capital punishment for juvenile offenders. The state-backed HRC in April cited a March royal decree by King Salman stipulating […]
Will drawdown affect Afghanistan’s security? By: Tahir Khan on January 18, 2021War-weary Afghans are debating if reduction in the US troops in Afghanistan will further deteriorate security as the Taliban and the Afghan forces are involved in fighting despite the Doha agreement. Acting US Defense Secretary Christopher Miller announced on Friday that the US force levels in Afghanistan have reached 2,500. The unclaimed target attacks have […]
Iran’s Zarif tells France: Avoid ‘absurd nonsense’ about Tehran’s nuclear work By: Agencies on January 18, 2021Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday dismissed a claim by France that Tehran was in the process of building up its nuclear weapons, calling it “absurd nonsense”. French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche published on Saturday, said Iran was building up its nuclear weapons’ capacity […]
Europe seeks to ease vaccine concerns as virus curbs intensify By: Agencies on January 18, 2021Officials sought to ease concerns in Europe on Sunday about deliveries of coronavirus vaccines as nations across the world doubled down on restrictions to fight the rampaging pandemic. The contagion is showing no signs of slowing down, with infections surging past 94 million and more than two million deaths, and Europe among the hardest-hit parts […]
Distrust, division and doubt cloud Palestinian election call By: Agencies on January 18, 2021Beset by political infighting, split between three territories and distrustful of their institutions, many Palestinians are sceptical that their first national elections in 15 years will bring change – or even happen at all. President Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday that parliamentary and presidential elections would be held later this year in a bid to […]
Mexico records deadliest coronavirus week yet with 7,000 deaths By: Agencies on January 18, 2021Mexico has registered its worst week yet of the pandemic, with a record number of infections from the new coronavirus and more than 7,000 COVID-19 deaths, government data showed on Saturday. There were 20,523 new coronavirus cases and 1,219 more fatalities on Saturday, pushing total confirmed infections to 1,630,258 and deaths to 140,241, the Health […]
Rocky road beckons as new CDU chair Laschet seeks to fill Merkel’s shoes By: Agencies on January 18, 2021As premier of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous, Armin Laschet has a background in executive leadership lacked by the rivals he defeated on Saturday to become chairman of the Christian Democrats (CDU). A centrist, he had presented himself as the man with the best credentials to plough the same political furrow […]
Biden plans ‘roughly a dozen’ Day One executive actions: aide By: Agencies on January 18, 2021US President-elect Joe Biden will cap a busy day of inauguration pageantry by using the powers of his new office to push policy changes on housing, student loans, climate change and immigration, a top aide said on Saturday. Biden, who campaigned on a raft of promises to undo President Donald Trump’s legacy even before the […]
India hails ‘life saving’ Covid-19 vaccine rollout on January 17, 2021NEW DELHI: India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive had a successful start with more than 190,000 people receiving their first jabs and no one hospitalised for major side effects, the health ministry said, but reports emerged about concerns over the homegrown vaccine. Authorities have given emergency-use approval for two vaccines – Oxford-AstraZeneca and the homegrown “Covaxin”, which […]
US imposes fresh sanctions on Iran in final days of Trump presidency By: Agencies on January 17, 2021The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on companies in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates for doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and on three Iranian entities over conventional arms proliferation. They are the latest in a series of measures aimed at stepping up pressure on Tehran in the […]