Commonwealth urged to fortify laws that protect journalists
YEARS of inaction by Commonwealth governments in response to violent assaults and excessive restraints on the work of independent media in the organisation’s 56 member states came under sharp scrutiny at a major United Nations conference in Vienna on Friday (Nov 4). Can Yeginsu, a leading human rights lawyer who is the deputy chair of […]
UN chief calls upon firms to end ‘toxic cover-up’
SHARM EL SHEIKH (Egypt): The United Nations chief called on Tuesday for an end to a “toxic cover-up” by companies as a sweeping report said they cannot claim to be net zero if they invest in new fossil fuels, cause deforestation or offset emissions instead of reducing them. In his address to the COP27 climate […]
Rahul Gandhi hits out on centre’s policies, call it “backbone breaker”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that the policies of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government have “broken the backbone” of small businesses and farmers while benefitting selected businessmen. Rahul Gandhi’s remarks came while he was addressing a gathering in Maharashtra after the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its Maharashtra leg on Monday evening […]
Past eight years on track to be warmest on record, says WMO
ISLAMABAD: The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) says the past eight years are on track to be the warmest on record, fuelled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat. Provisional estimates of ‘State of the Global Climate in 2022” report, released on Monday in Sharm El-Sheikh during COP27, says extreme heatwaves, drought and devastating flooding have […]
Americans to vote tomorrow; results to determine Biden’s future
WASHINGTON: Americans vote on Tuesday to elect all 435 representatives of the House and 35 of the 100-seat Senate. These midterm elections are held near the midpoint of a president’s four-year term in office. The results determine if the incumbent remains effective in the remaining two years of his tenure or becomes a lame-duck occupant […]
Delhi remains under smog blanket for 3rd straight day, AQI “Severe”
Continuing for a third consecutive day, the air quality in the capital remain in the ‘severe’ category on Saturday morning as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of the city stood at 431. Even though a slight improvement was noted, a thick layer of smog blanketed the city, majorly due to unfavourable meteorological conditions and […]
Northern Railway slashes platform ticket prices
Northern Railways on Thursday rolled back the platform ticket prices that were increased to Rs 50 because of Diwali and Chhath Puja. The platform tickets will now be available for Rs 10 as before. Tickets have become cheaper at Lucknow, Varanasi, Barabanki, Ayodhya Cantt, Ayodhya Junction, Akbarpur, Shahganj, Jaunpur, Sultanpur Junction, Rae Bareli, Janghai, Bhadohi, […]
Indonesian football stampede blamed on tear gas use
JAKARTA: Indonesian police firing tear gas was the main trigger for a deadly football stampede at a stadium in East Java last month, the country’s human rights commission found in a report on the incident released on Wednesday. Officials from the human rights commission (Komnas HAM) said 135 people had died, mostly from asphyxiation, in […]
Unpaid wages top Qatar migrant worker complaints, says UN
DOHA: Unpaid wages dominate a growing number of complaints by migrant workers in Qatar, the UN labour agency said on Tuesday, 19 days from the start of the football World Cup. The International Labour Organisation said the number of worker complaints more than doubled in a year to 34,425 with the launch of a new […]
100 killed, 300 injured in Somalia twin blasts
Twin car bomb explosions targeting Somalia’s Education Ministry building here on Saturday killed at least 100 people and injured more than 300 others, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said on Sunday. After visiting the bombing site early Sunday, Mohamud said the fatalities would likely rise. According to police, a vehicle packed with explosives rammed into […]