Category: World

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday cautioned that recent rollbacks in social media fact-checking and moderation could exacerbate hare speech online. He warned that this toxic environment might deter individuals from engaging freely in on social media platforms “As fast-moving technologies expand into every aspect of our lives, I am deeply concerned about human rights being undermined,” he told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. he UN chief emphasised that while social media can foster respectful debates, it also risks devolving into arenas of conflict and “blatant…

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VATICAN CITY: The Vatican said on Sunday that Pope Francis, battling double pneumonia, remains in a critical condition for a second day running and has shown an “initial, slight insufficiency” in his kidney function. According to the latest medical update, the prognosis for the 88-year-old pope, who required a transfusion of two units of blood on Saturday after experiencing a “prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis,” remains “guarded”. Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14. The Vatican first described his condition as critical on Saturday. “The condition of the…

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DHAKA: Bangladeshi students behind last year’s protests that ousted then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, are set to launch a political party this week, confirmed two sources with direct knowledge of the development. The Students Against Discrimination (SAD) group spearheaded the protests that began as a student-led movement against public sector job quotas but quickly morphed into a broader, nationwide uprising that forced Hasina to flee to India as the unrest peaked in early August 2024. The student group is finalising plans to launch the new party during an event likely on Wednesday,…

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Germany’s conservative election winner Friedrich Merz vowed to get to work Monday on the arduous task of building a new coalition government, warning “the world isn’t waiting for us”. Merz has warned against more paralysis in Berlin at a time US President Donald Trump is driving head-spinning change, the German economy is in recession, and society split after a polarising campaign. Speaking late Sunday, his victory dampened by a far-right surge, Merz said a united Europe must build up its own defences as he had “no illusions at all about…

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Defying Kyiv and its European allies, Washington plans on Monday to submit to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and General Assembly (UNGA) a draft text that calls for a “swift end” to the Ukraine conflict but makes no reference to its territorial integrity, in an early test of United States President Donald Trump’s muscular approach to the crisis. Since Russian forces invaded Ukraine three years ago, the balance of power at the United Nations has been clear: the UNGA, representing all members, has clearly and overwhelmingly supported Ukrainian sovereignty,…

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Most employees at USAID will be placed on leave or fired by midnight on Sunday, the aid agency said, as President Donald Trump’s administration plows ahead in slashing government spending. Around 1,600 workers based in the United States will be laid off in a “reduction-in-force” effort, according to a notice on the US Agency for International Development’s website. All other staff directly hired by USAID will be placed on administrative leave globally, except those responsible for “mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs.” The move is a step forward…

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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated on Sunday that he is prepared to leave office if it guarantees peace for Ukraine, even suggesting that he would trade his departure for the country’s entry into NATO, Reuters reported. “If (it means) peace for Ukraine, if you need me to leave my post, I am ready,” said Zelenskiy, appearing visibly irritated when asked about the possibility of stepping down to secure peace. He added, “I can exchange this for NATO (membership), if that condition is there, immediately.” Zelenskiy’s comments come amid US President Donald Trump’s…

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Germans began voting Sunday in a pivotal election, with the conservatives the strong favourites after a campaign rocked by a far-right surge and the dramatic return of US President Donald Trump. Polling stations opened at 8:00am (0700 GMT) with more than 59 million Germans eligible to vote and first estimates based on exit polls expected after polls close at 6:00pm (1700 GMT). Frontrunner Friedrich Merz has vowed a tough rightward shift if elected to win back voters from the far-right anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is eyeing a record…

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LONDON: As the Ukraine war reaches its third anniversary on Monday, the UK is all set to impose its most extensive sanctions yet on Russia in a bid to weaken its military operations, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has announced. “This is also the time to turn the screws on (Vladimir) Putin’s Russia,” Lammy said in a statement. “Tomorrow, I plan to announce the largest package of sanctions against Russia since the early days of the war — eroding their military machine and reducing revenues fuelling the fires of destruction in…

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WASHINGTON: Billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, has announced that all US federal employees are required to report on their weekly work output or risk losing their jobs, warning that those who fail to do so will be considered to have resigned. Musk’s unexpected bold move comes just hours after Trump called for stronger and “more aggressive” measures to reduce government spending and tackle waste. “Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure…

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