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Afghan NGO women 'threatened with shooting' for not wearing burqa
The Taliban's religious police have threatened to shoot women NGO workers in a northwestern province of Afghanistan if they do not wear the all-covering burqa, two staff members told AFP.
Ghana probes massive blast after 13 killed
Ghana's government on Friday said it was investigating a massive blast involving a truck transporting mining explosives that killed at least 13 people and wounded dozens more.
Total, Chevron to exit Myanmar amid rights abuses
Energy giants TotalEnergies and Chevron said Friday they would leave Myanmar following pressure from human rights groups to cut financial ties with the military junta since last year's military coup.
China incensed by French parliament's genocide declaration
China condemned a French parliament resolution on Friday that accuses Beijing of carrying out a genocide against its Uyghur Muslim population, a move that has strained ties two weeks before the Winter Olympics.
Taiwan woman faces execution over fire that killed 46
A Taiwanese woman faces the death penalty for allegedly starting the island's deadliest fire in decades in an attempt to get back at a boyfriend she suspected was cheating on her.
UN says Philippine typhoon destruction 'badly underestimated'
The United Nations said destruction caused by Typhoon Rai in the Philippines had been "badly underestimated" in initial assessments, tripling the number of people "seriously affected" to nine million.
Burning bright: Vietnam's gold-plated new year tiger
Vietnamese are paying hundreds of dollars for gold plated tiger models as gifts as Lunar New Year draws near, bucking a major economic slowdown caused by the pandemic.
17 killed, 59 injured by explosion in western Ghana
At least 17 people were killed and 59 injured Thursday in a devastating explosion in a western Ghana town after a truck carrying explosives intended for a mine collided with a motorcycle, the government said.
Bottles clinking, Turkish party train blazes through night
Festive garlands, white tablecloths and enticing bottles appear the moment passengers board the Eastern Express for an epic journey across Turkey's snow-capped Euphrates plateaus.
US charges Belarus officials with air piracy over Ryanair flight diversion
The US Justice department charged four Belarus officials with air piracy Thursday for last year's forced diversion of a Ryanair flight in order to arrest a dissident on board.
Mexico sees drop in murders in 2021
Mexico recorded 33,308 murders last year, marking a 3.6 percent decrease compared with 2020, in a country long plagued by drug cartel violence, official figures showed Thursday.
South Korean plant poacher jailed in US
A South Korean man who traveled around the world stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of plants to smuggle to Asia was jailed in the US on Thursday.
US charges 2nd man in Haitian president's murder
The US Justice Department charged a Haitian-Chilean man Thursday with conspiracy to commit murder for his role in the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise last July.
Probe finds ex-pope Benedict failed to act in German abuse cases
Former pope Benedict XVI knowingly failed to take action to stop four priests accused of child sex abuse in Munich in the 1980s, according to a damning independent report published Thursday that risks shattering the ex-pontiff's reputation.
Release Breivik? Norway court hears closing arguments
Prosecution and defence lawyers presented their closing arguments on Thursday to a Norwegian court which will now decide whether to parole Anders Behring Breivik, just 10 years after the neo-Nazi committed the country's deadliest peacetime attack.
No more politics for Hong Kong barristers, says new Bar chief
The newly elected leader of Hong Kong barristers said Thursday that his profession should avoid politics and build closer ties to mainland China, as concerns grow about rule of law in the financial hub.
Liberian stampede kills 29 people
At least 29 people, including 11 children and a pregnant woman, were killed when robbers triggered a stampede at a religious rally in Liberia's capital, officials said on Thursday.
Benedict XVI: 'Rottweiler' who resigned scandal-dogged papacy
Benedict XVI, accused of failing to act in German sex abuse cases, was the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages after presiding over a papacy beset by Church infighting and outcry over paedophilia.
Beijing Olympics organisers say app security flaws 'fixed'
An app that Winter Olympics attendees must use has been patched, a Chinese official told AFP Thursday, after cyber security researchers said they had found a "simple but devastating" flaw that could allow data leaks.
Afghan women activists go into hiding after Taliban crackdown
Several Afghan women's rights activists said Thursday they are going into hiding to escape a Taliban crackdown, just days after the hardline Islamists used pepper spray to break up a rally in the capital.
Texas synagogue hostage-taker 'prayed for two years' for attack: reports
A British man who took hostages at a Texas synagogue told his family he had prayed for two years to carry out the attack, media reported Thursday, as police made two arrests.
First foreign aid flights reach Tonga
The first humanitarian flights arrived in volcano and tsunami-stricken Tonga Thursday, five days after the dual disaster cut the Pacific kingdom off from the rest of the world.
Peril and promise: gas from 'killer lake' powers Rwanda
The engineers aboard the floating power station on Lake Kivu could only watch nervously as the volcano in the distance erupted violently, sending tremors rumbling throughthe water beneath them.
Thailand to restart quarantine-free travel from February 1
Thailand will resume its quarantine-free travel scheme from February 1, officials said Thursday, after the programme was suspended due to the fast-spreading Omicron Covid-19 variant.
Ex-pope Benedict under scrutiny in German child abuse probe
A potentially explosive report into the handling of child sex abuse in the Catholic Church will on Thursday be published in Germany, with former pope Benedict XVI among those in the spotlight.
Police deploy in Rio to retake gang-controlled favelas
Some 1,200 heavily armed military police launched an operation Wednesday to wrench control of Rio de Janeiro's slums from drug gangs, starting with the notorious Jacarezinho favela where residents took cover.
Justices seek to downplay Covid mask rift at US Supreme Court
Three US Supreme Court justices on Wednesday dismissed a report of a rift over the wearing of Covid face masks during hearings before the nation's highest court.
Israel police demolish Palestinian home in east Jerusalem eviction
Israeli police demolished a Palestinian family's home and arrested at least 18 people as they carried out a controversial eviction order in the sensitive east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah early Wednesday.
Italy's top court upholds Robinho's nine-year rape conviction
Italy's highest court has upheld former Brazil forward Robinho's nine-year sentence for the gang rape of a young woman, the victim's lawyer said on Wednesday.
Flamboyant former Vogue creative director Andre Leon Talley dies at 73
Influential fashion journalist Andre Leon Talley, the first Black creative director of Vogue, died Tuesday in New York at the age of 73, with figures from fashion and entertainment paying tribute.
Psychiatrist says Breivik still a danger, hitting parole chances
A court-appointed psychiatrist on Wednesday said Anders Behring Breivik is as dangerous now as when he carried out Norway's deadliest peacetime attack in 2011, seemingly quashing his already-slim chances of early release.
Germany tries Syrian doctor for crimes against humanity
German prosecutors accused a Syrian doctor Wednesday of torturing detainees and killing one of them while working in military hospitals in his war-torn homeland, on the first day of a landmark crimes against humanity trial in Frankfurt.