448 killed in Iran protest crackdown: rights group By: AFP on November 30, 2022Iranian security forces have killed at least 448 people in a crackdown on protests that began in mid-September, over half in ethnic minority regions, a rights group said on Tuesday. Of the 448 people confirmed to have been killed, 60 were children aged under 18, including nine girls, and 29 women, the Norway-based Iran Human […]
Christians now a minority in England and Wales By: AFP on November 30, 2022Fewer than half of people in England and Wales identify as Christian, according to census data released on Tuesday, underlining a landmark shift towards secularism in multicultural Britain. The findings from the 10-yearly census, carried out in 2021, came just over a month after Rishi Sunak became Britain’s first Hindu prime minister. They showed rapid […]
S.African anti-apartheid hero Hani’s tomb vandalised By: AFP on November 30, 2022The grave of anti-apartheid hero Chris Hani has been vandalised, days after a South African court ordered the far-right gunman who killed him to be released on parole, city officials said on Tuesday. The city of Ekurhuleni, where the tomb and memorial site of the late Communist Party leader are located, said the authorities had […]
China set to launch Shenzhou-15 spacecraft to its space station on Tuesday By: Reuters on November 29, 2022BEIJING: China will launch the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft to its space station at 11:08 pm (1508 GMT) on Nov. 29, the China Manned Space Agency said on Monday, the final mission in the country’s plan to complete the crewed orbital outpost. Onboard will be three male astronauts: Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu, the agency […]
Washington plans aid to help Ukraine restore power after Russian strikes on grid By: Reuters on November 29, 2022KYIV/BUCHAREST: The United States will announce new aid on Tuesday to help Ukraine restore electricity as its people faced another week of brutal cold and darkness after Russian missile strikes on its power grid caused rolling blackouts. Russia has targeted Ukraine’s power plants, transmission and distribution facilities and water pumping stations since early October, with […]
Comoros ex-president Sambi jailed for life for ‘high treason’ By: AFP on November 29, 2022A court in the Comoros on Monday handed down a life sentence for high treason to ex-president Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, who was convicted of selling passports to stateless people living in the Gulf. Sambi, 64, an arch rival of President Azali Assoumani, was sentenced by the State Security Court, a special judicial body whose rulings […]
Veteran industrialist SM Muneer dies of cardiac arrest By: Agencies on November 29, 2022Renowned industrialist and patron-in-chief of the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) SM Muneer died of cardiac arrest in Karachi on Monday. The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan’s (TDAP) former chairman complained of fever after which he went home earlier from the KATI office. He was then taken to the hospital; however, Muneer couldn’t […]
Hawaii volcano, world’s largest, erupts for first time in decades By: AFP on November 29, 2022Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, has erupted for the first time in nearly 40 years, US authorities said, as emergency crews went on alert early Monday. Flows of lava remained “contained” within the summit caldera of Mauna Loa, but the eruption could pose a threat to nearby residents should conditions […]
Eight civilians killed as hours-long Somalia hotel siege ends By: AFP on November 29, 2022Somali security forces on Monday ended an hours-long siege by Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents who killed eight civilians after storming a prominent hotel in the capital Mogadishu, the police said. Al-Shabaab militants attacked the Villa Rose, a hotel popular with politicians and government officials, in a hail of bullets and explosions at around 8:00 pm (1700 GMT) […]
Ukraine war increases chemical weapons threat: watchdog By: AFP on November 29, 2022Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased the threat from weapons of mass destruction including chemical munitions, the head of the world’s toxic arms watchdog said on Monday. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine, its chief Fernando Arias told the regulator’s annual meeting. “The situation in […]