#Art

Chinese human rights lawyers and activists said they have been blocked from leaving their homes this week ahead of events to mark Friday’s UN Human Rights Day. China has seen a dramatic crackdown on civil liberties and freedoms since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012, with hundreds of human rights lawyers and activists detained […]

The United States unveiled a raft of new rights-abuse sanctions Friday on senior officials and entities in eight countries, with targets ranging from a Chinese firm specializing in facial recognition technology to a giant cartoon studio in North Korea. Timed for International Human Rights Day and supported in part by Britain and Canada, the sanctions […]

By Beiyi SEOW Debt-crippled Chinese property giant Evergrande looks headed for a huge restructuring after it defaulted on $1.2 billion in bond repayments and remains mired in further liabilities worth more than $300 billion.What would a restructuring mean for creditors, homeowners and investors? – Who gets priority? – The government is keen to limit any […]

Nicaragua switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China on Thursday in a diplomatic coup for Beijing as it seeks to isolate the democratic island it has vowed to one day seize. The announcement now leaves Taiwan with just 14 diplomatic allies but comes as Taipei strengthens ties with multiple unofficial Western friends including the United […]

France is still considering along with other EU countries its position on joining a diplomatic boycott by Western allies of the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, an official said Thursday, after a minister indicated French officials would be present. Asked about a boycott announced by the United States, Australia, Britain and Canada, Education and Sports Minister […]

China warned Western nations on Thursday that they would “pay the price” for a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as a French minister said they would not be joining the US-backed effort. Washington unveiled its decision not to send a diplomatic delegation earlier in the week, saying it was prompted by widespread […]

A Philippine correspondent has died after being shot Wednesday, a press advocacy group said, becoming the latest in a long line of journalists killed in the country. The archipelago nation is one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, and most of their killers go unpunished. Jesus Malabanan was killed in Calbayog […]

Britain, Canada and Australia on Wednesday joined the United States in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics in February, prompted by what the Western allies argue are widespread rights abuses by China. Britain will not send ministers to the Winter Games in the Chinese capital, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament, as discord over a […]

Australia will not send officials to the upcoming winter Olympics in Beijing, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday, joining a US diplomatic boycott of the event. Canberra’s decision comes amid “disagreement” with China over a slew of issues, from Australia’s foreign interference laws to a recent decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, Morrison said. He also […]

China has an important part to play in the global economy as it recovers from Covid-19, but its growth is slowing, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Monday. The head of the Washington-based crisis lender held a virtual meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and discussed topics ranging from inflation to the recovery from the […]

By Thomas URBAIN The Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing’s announcement that it will delist its shares from the New York Stock Exchange marks the end of a cushy relationship between Wall Street and Chinese tech giants, who are under siege from authorities in Beijing and regulators in America.Only five months transpired between Didi’s going public […]

A nurse who raped and impregnated a severely disabled woman in his care has been jailed for 10 years in the US state of Arizona, local media reported Friday. Nathan Sutherland admitted sexually abusing his then-29-year-old patient at the facility in Phoenix, where she had been cared for since she was three. The victim, who […]

Two hippos in a Belgian zoo have tested positive for Covid-19, their keepers announced Friday, stressing that the giant animals do not appear to be in danger. The infections at Antwerp Zoo are not the first time that zoo animals have tested positive during the pandemic, but most cases are thought to have been in […]

By Alberto PEÑA Chile’s parliament is set to approve a long-awaited bill to legalize same-sex marriage Tuesday, joining just a handful of countries in majority Catholic Latin America with similar laws.The bill will also enable married same-sex couples to adopt children.Chile, which legalized same-sex civil unions in 2015, has been awaiting this bill since 2017, […]

After a lifetime struggling against Myanmar’s military, 76-year-old Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is once again at the mercy of the generals, facing charges that could land her in jail for decades. The former leader has been detained since a putsch that ousted her government in the early hours of February 1, ending a […]