Exiled Egyptian LGBTQ activist takes her own life in Canada

TORONTO, June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sarah Hegazi, 30, a prominent queer Egyptian feminist, committed suicide in exile in Canada. She bore the scars of torture and assault she endured in prison in Cairo following her arrest for raising the Pride flag at a concert in 2017.“The sky is sweeter than…

Covid-19: European Commission pledges €300m to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

A health personnel holding a vaccine BRUSSELS, June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Commission has announced a pledge of €300 million to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, for the period 2021–2025. The money will help immunise 300 million children around the world and finance vaccine stockpiles to shield against outbreaks of…

US Pres Trump signs sanctions law over China treatment of Uighurs

Two women decorate a grave in a Uighur cemetery on the outskirts of Hotan in China’s northwest Xinjiang region WASHINGTON, June 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump signed into law an act that authorises sanctions against Chinese officials over the mass incarceration of Uighur Muslims. Trump’s announcement came just as excerpts…

Covid-19: South Asia reels from ‘catastrophic’ surge

ISLAMABAD, June 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Early optimism that South Asia might have dodged the worst ravages of the coronavirus pandemic has disappeared as soaring infection rates turn the densely populated region into a global hot spot. After several months trailing the US and western Europe, cases of COVID-19 are surging…

US unrest: Pres Trump says police ‘not treated fairly’ after latest race shooting

US President Donald Trump said police had ‘not been treated fairly’ WASHINGTON, June 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Pres Donald Trump said that US police have “not been treated fairly” and appeared to defend a white officer charged with the murder of a black man. Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe was charged…

Russia says it has removed fuel from river hit by Arctic spill

The pollution spread after 21,000 tonnes of diesel leaked when a fuel reservoir coll MOSCOW, June 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia has finished clearing fuel from the surface of a river hit by a massive diesel spill in the Arctic region, but the full clean-up could take years, officials said. After…

Covid-19: Peru overtakes Italy in total cases of coronavirus

A medical worker holds up a pamphlet that reads in Spanish “Urgent, without medical protection equipment” during a protest outside Rebagliati Hospital amid the new coronavirus pandemic in Lima LIMA, June 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Peru topped 240,000 total cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, surpassing hard-hit Italy, government data showed, even…

Covid-19: New York City set for further reopening

NEW YORK, June 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — New York City’s restaurants and bars — closed for three months due to the coronavirus pandemic — will be allowed to open outside areas next week, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday. America’s financial capital, the epicenter of the country’s coronavirus outbreak, is on track…

Senior Chinese, US diplomats hold constructive dialogue in Hawaii

HONOLULU, June 18 (NNN-XINHUA) – Senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi held a dialogue with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the latter’s request on Tuesday and Wednesday local time in the US state of Hawaii. Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC)…

Record 79.5 million people displaced, over 1% of humanity: UN

GENEVA, June 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nearly 80 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to violence and persecution, meaning more than one percent of humanity is now living in displacement, the UN said. A fresh report from the UN refugee agency found that by the end of…