A landmark UN report warned on Monday that time had nearly run out to ensure a "liveable future" for all, detailing a horrifying "atlas of human suffering" and warning that far worse was to come. Species extinction, ecosystem collapse, insect-borne disease, deadly heatwaves and megastorms, water shortages, reduced crop yields -- all are measurably worse due to rising temperatures, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said. In the last year alone, the world has

Social Affairs March 1, 2022

KYIV (AFP) -- A huge Russian military convoy was massing on the outskirts of Ukraine's capital Tuesday as fears grew the invading forces were set to launch devastating assaults aimed at taking control of Kyiv and other major cities. Satellite images showed a long build-up of armoured vehicles and artillery starting 29 kilometres (18 miles) north of the city, as Moscow defied mounting global pressure and a wave of international sanctions that have smashed Russia's economy. Initial ceasefire tal

Foreign Affairs March 1, 2022

KYIV (AFP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that his nuclear forces were on alert sparked outcry in the West as the invading troops faced stiff resistance on Monday. The UN General Assembly will hold a rare emergency session Monday to discuss the conflict, which has claimed dozens of lives and raised fears that it will displace millions of people. Ukraine has also said it had agreed to send a delegation to meet Russian representatives on the border with Belarus, which would be

Foreign Affairs Feb. 28, 2022

A South Korean diplomat was injured after being attacked by an "unidentified man" in New York, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. The man was randomly attacked on a Manhattan sidewalk, according to a report in the New York Post, which said he was "slugged in the face". Seoul confirmed that a diplomat at the country's United Nations mission had been injured. "A diplomat affiliated to the UN mission was attacked by an unidentified man in downtown Manhattan on the

National Feb. 10, 2022

　BRUSSELS -- The European Union on Monday condemned the Myanmar ruling junta‘s jailing of ousted leader Aug San Suu Kyi as “politically motivated” and a “blatant violation of human rights”. 　In a statement from EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on behalf of the 27 member states, the EU said Suu Kyi’s sentence “represents another step towards the dismantling of the rule of law." 　Suu Kyi, 76, has been detained since the generals staged a coup a

World News Dec. 6, 2021

ROME -- Climate change and the relaunch of the global economy will top the G20 agenda as leaders of the world's most advanced nations meet Saturday, the first in-person gathering since the pandemic. Looming over the two-day talks in Rome is pressure to make headway on tackling global warming, ahead of the key COP26 summit kicking off in Glasgow Monday. The stakes are high, with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warning G20 leaders Friday to show "more ambition and more ac

World News Oct. 30, 2021

VATICAN (AFP) -- Pope Francis on Sunday called on the global community to resolve the Libyan migrant crisis, even as EU leaders disagree on how to best manage flows of migrants crossing to Europe. "I express my closeness to the thousands of migrants, refugees and also others in need of protection in Libya. I don't forget you ever. I hear your cry and pray for you," Francis said following his traditional Sunday Angelus prayer on Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican. "So many of t

World News Oct. 24, 2021

BERLIN (AFP) -- Germany's interior minister said Sunday it was "legitimate" to protect borders, after several EU states asked Brussels to pay for barriers to prevent illegal migrants from entering the bloc. The call came earlier this month, as Poland proposed building a 350 million-euro ($410 million) wall on its border with Belarus to keep migrants out. The EU accuses the Belarusian authorities of flying migrants from the Middle East and Africa to Minsk and then sending them into

World News Oct. 24, 2021

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) -- The UN said Friday it feared an even greater human rights catastrophe in Myanmar amid reports of thousands of troops massing in the north of the Southeast Asian country, which has been in chaos since a February coup. “We should all be prepared, as the people in this part of Myanmar are prepared, for even more mass atrocity crimes. I desperately hope that I am wrong,” said UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Tom Andrews. More than 1,100 civilians

International Oct. 23, 2021

ROME (AFP) - Italy will require all workers to show a coronavirus health pass from Friday, one of the world‘s toughest anti-Covid regimes that has already sparked riots and which many fear will cause “chaos”. 　More than 85 percent of Italians over the age of 12 have received at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccine, making them eligible for the so-called Green Pass certificate. 　But according to various estimates, about 2.5 million of the country’s 23 million workers

World News Oct. 13, 2021

WASHINGTON (AFP) - After debt loads surged last year amid the pandemic, governments now must take care to “calibrate” spending, the IMF said Wednesday. 　Global debt in 2020, including public and private borrowing, “jumped by 14 percent to a record high $226 trillion,” according to the International Monetary Fund‘s Fiscal Monitor report. 　Public debt amounts to $88 trillion, close to 100 percent of GDP, and is expected to decline only gradually, said Vitor Gaspar

World News Oct. 13, 2021

STOCKHOLM (AFP) -- US-Japanese scientist Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann of Germany and Giorgio Parisi of Italy on Tuesday won the Nobel Physics Prize for climate models and the understanding of physical systems, the jury said. The announcement came a month ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, where global warming will top the world agenda. Manabe, 90, and Hasselmann, 89, share one half of the 10-million-kronor ($1.1-million, one-million-euro) prize for their research on climate mode

World Oct. 5, 2021

TURIN (AFP) -- Tesla boss Elon Musk on Friday said that a global semiconductor shortage hitting car firms especially hard would be overcome soon. The chip drought is "short term, I think," the billionaire said in an appearance by video at Italian Tech Week in Turin. "There are a lot of chip fabrication plants that are being built," Musk told the audience of startups, investment funds and tech entrepreneurs. "I think we will have good capacity for providing chips by ne

Mobility Sept. 24, 2021

KABUL (AFP) -- Residents of a Hazara-dominated farming community in central Afghanistan say they have been ordered out of their homes by Taliban fighters doing the bidding of Pashtun landlords who want to seize their crops and stores. Mohammad Mohaqeq, a Hazara political leader exiled since the Taliban takeover last month, raised the alarm earlier this week in a letter published on social media. He said more than 800 families had been ordered out of their homes in a remote district straddling

World News Sept. 24, 2021

BEIJING (AFP) -- China's central bank on Friday said all financial transactions involving cryptocurrencies are illegal, sounding the death knell for the digital trade in China after a crackdown on the volatile currencies. The global values of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin have massively fluctuated over the past year partly due to Chinese regulations, which have sought to prevent speculation and money laundering. "Virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial acti

Market Sept. 24, 2021