Worldwide

Zuma accuses lawyers of working ‘to bolster a narrative’ as trial begins over $2.5bn arms deal Jacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa, accused prosecutors of seeking to malign a political leader rather than find the truth as he denied charges of corruption at the first major hearing of …

The European Commission is suing AstraZeneca in a bid to force the drug giant to deliver 90 million more doses of its coronavirus vaccine before July. EU lawyers asked Belgian judges to fine the Anglo-Swedish pharma giant AstraZeneca millions of euros on Wednesday, as a long-running row over the supply …

The European Commission warned the decision will erode EU-Swiss relations. Switzerland on Wednesday canceled talks to salvage a long-delayed cooperation agreement with the EU, saying that it could not accept Brussels’ demands on issues like citizen’s rights and wages. “Taking into account [domestic] consultations and based on the results of …

A California transit employee killed eight co-workers and wounded another before taking his own life on Wednesday, the latest in a spate of deadly U.S. mass shootings, prompting the state’s governor to ask: “What the hell is wrong with us?” Authorities did not immediately offer many details or a possible …

Heavy rain and a high tide lashed parts of eastern India and neighboring Bangladesh on Wednesday as a cyclone pushed ashore in an area where more than 1.1 million people were evacuated during a devastating coronavirus outbreak. At least six people were reported dead. Cyclone Yaas had already caused two …

The Russian state prosecutor’s office banned three German non-governmental organizations on Wednesday after labeling them “undesirable”, the TASS news agency reported. The groups were identified as the Forum Russischsprachiger Europäer, the Zentrum für die Liberale Moderne and the Deutsch-Russischer Austausch, the report said.

Unions and student groups are set to march on the capital cities of Colombia’s 32 provinces on Wednesday to demand government concessions on economic support for the poor and other issues, following almost a month of widespread protests. Demonstrations that began last month have pressured the government and lawmakers into …

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Wednesday a journalist pulled off a plane that was forced to land in Minsk had been plotting a rebellion, and he accused the West of waging a hybrid war against him. In his first public remarks since a Belarusian warplane intercepted a Ryanair flight …

More than 20,000 people are homeless and 40 still missing in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption in eastern Congo that killed dozens and continues to cause strong earthquakes in the nearby city of Goma, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Saturday’s eruption sent rivers of lava streaming down the …

China has slammed the US for “spreading conspiracy theories and disinformation” following Washington’s latest push to wage a new probe into the origins of the coronavirus, even after a recent World Health Organization (WHO) mission to China proved inconclusive. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian once again accused Washington on …

The Afghan Taliban on Wednesday warned nearby nations against allowing the United States to use their territory for operations in the country after they withdraw from Afghanistan. As foreign forces withdraw troops by President Joe Biden’s announced deadline of Sept. 11, experts and diplomats have speculated that Washington’s future role …

The United Nations says the current search and rescue (SAR) operations in the Mediterranean Sea fail to prioritize the migrants’ lives and safety, calling on Libya and the European Union to urgently reform their practices. The comments came after the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) released a report on Wednesday on the protection of people who …

The prosecutor overseeing the criminal probe into former President Donald Trump’s business dealings has convened, a move that signals charges could be coming. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that a special grand jury had been convened to hear evidence against Trump’s close orbit and his company, the Trump Organization, and …

George Floyd’s family members have met with President Joe Biden and US lawmakers on the one-year anniversary of his death to urge passage of police reform legislation stalled by policy disputes. According to Press TV, Floyd, a Black man, died after former policeman Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for …

Syrians vote in a presidential election as the counter-terrorism operation in the Arab country nears an end with government forces winning back control of almost all regions from foreign-backed terrorists. More than 12,100 polling centers opened across Syria at 07:00 a.m. local time (04:00 GMT) on Wednesday and will close …

France’s foreign minister has expressed rare concern over the recent Israeli violence against Palestinians in al-Quds and elsewhere, warning of the risk of “long-lasting apartheid”. “It’s the first time and it clearly shows that if in the future we had a solution other than the two-state solution, we would have …

The Gaza Strip revises up its tally of the casualties that have been left from the Israeli regime’s recent 12-day war on the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian territory. Israel’s Manufacturers’ Association has released a report admitting to the huge economic damage sustained by the regime as a result of the barrage of …

US police have continued to take the lives of a large number of people since the brutal killing of George Floyd by physical force a year ago triggered the mass protests against police brutality and injustice in the country. Agencies on Tuesday cited a rights advocacy group as reporting that …

More than five years after an Italian student’s body was found in Cairo, a Rome judge says four senior Egyptian security officials should face trial over his kidnapping, torture, and murder. Giulio Regeni, a Cambridge University postgraduate student, disappeared in January 2016. His body was so badly disfigured his mother …

Peru’s interim president said on Tuesday there will be “no impunity” for the authors of a massacre of 16 Peruvians in a jungle region known for cocaine production, which authorities attribute to a dissident faction of Shining Path rebels. “We are doing all we can to deploy the police and …