WORLD
Surging global electricity demand peaks emissions to record levels: IEA
Driven by the rapid economic rebound, and more extreme weather conditions than in 2020, including a colder than average winter, last year's six per cent rise in global electricity demand was the largest in percentage terms since 2010 when the world was recovering from the global financial crisis.
Indonesia dares China in the South China Sea-will the rest of ASEAN follow suit?
While not inclined to make the spat with China public, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has pursued Jakarta's traditional diplomatic approach of being equidistant from both the United States and China. Like most other ASEAN countries, Indonesia doesn't want to take sides between the two rival powers despite all the Chinese bullying. And he adopted a clever strategy of roping in Britain and Russia to deal with the Chinese pressure.
Under Xi Jinping, China doubled down on repression
Its "zero-tolerance" policy towards Covid-19 strengthened the authorities' hand, as they imposed harsh policies in the name of public health, the report said. Beijing's information manipulation has become pervasive: the government censors, punishes dissent, propagates disinformation, and tightens the reins on tech giants. The once-cacophonous internet is now dominated by pro-government voices that report to the authorities on people whose views they deem insufficiently nationalistic, the report said.
Pakistan expanded use of draconian sedition laws to stifle dissent
In March, Prime Minister Imran Khan met with families of people who had been forcibly disappeared, allegedly by Pakistani security forces, and pledged that their concerns would be addressed. However, his government announced no investigations in any cases.
N.Korea warns of 'stronger' reaction after US imposes new sanctions
In a statement carried by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a spokesperson for the North's Foreign Ministry said the recent launch of what it claims to be a hypersonic missile was an "exercise of right to self-defence".
The day when profit was put before people in Murree
The death toll due to heavy snowfall in Murree Hills has been reported to be as high as 25. A minor girl who had caught cold and overnight had developed pneumonia has also died as she could not be rushed to the hospital in time. People across Pakistan, as well as India, are still in shock after watching the images of dead people lying in their cars. Everyone is trying to figure out how come happy tourists turned into frozen faces of death.
Filibuster showdown in US Senate looms large as House passes voting rights package
The House's 220-203 party-line vote to pass the package came on Thursday, one day after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, announced a new tactic aimed at passing sweeping voting rights legislation in the Senate, where 50 Republicans are uniform in their opposition to legislation proposed by the Democrats.
CSTO peacekeepers begin transferring Kazakh facilities to national law enforcement agencies
"In accordance with the plan developed by the command of the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces and the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the transfer of socially significant objects guarded by peacekeepers to law enforcement agencies of the country began," it added in a statement on Thursday.
Over 30% of Asian-American residents in California experienced hate incident during pandemic: survey
According to the survey report published by two non-profit organisations, Asian Youth Center and Asian Americans Advancing Justice -- Los Angeles, on Wednesday, hate against the Asian community has been on the rise during the pandemic. Nearly half (45 per cent) of respondents to the survey feel less safe in their community compared to before the Covid-19 outbreak, and the majority (59 per cent) of respondents said they have changed the way they feel and behave when they leave home, Xinhua news agency reported.
US takes more actions to cope with soaring Covid-19 cases
President Joe Biden announced on Thursday his administration would make "high-quality masks" available to Americans for free. He also announced his administration would purchase an additional 500 million Covid-19 tests on top of the 500 million tests he previously announced, Xinhua news agency reported. The new announcements came as the US struggles to address record high daily cases, hospitalisations, testing challenges and messaging frustration.
Don't Miss
Advertisement