Category Archives: World News

Less Bollywood, more Tollywood: how Indian cinema’s hit machine flopped

Posted on by

Big releases with usually bankable male stars criticised for formulaic storylines as audience taste evolves

The opening of a new big-name Bollywood film was once a national event across India, greeted by weeks of fanfare, long queues outside cinemas and halls packed to the rafters with audiences cheering and singing along.

But this year, with 77% of releases flopping at the box office, cinema halls have been left eerily quiet and Bollywood’s once unshakeable domination of the Indian film industry has begun to look uncertain.

Continue reading...

Scores dead in worst sinking of migrant boat from Lebanon in recent years

Posted on by

At least 77 people drowned and many still missing after shipwreck off coast of Syria

At least 77 people have drowned after the migrant boat they boarded in Lebanon sank off Syria’s coast, the deadliest such shipwreck from Lebanon in recent years, amid fears the death toll could be far higher.

The country, which has been mired since 2019 in a financial crisis the World Bank has described as one of the worst in modern times, has become a launchpad for migration, with its own citizens joining Syrian and Palestinian refugees clamouring to leave the country.

Continue reading...

Saudi foreign minister defends role in securing Ukraine prisoner swaps

Posted on by

Prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud decries as ‘cynical’ accusations his country was trying to improve its image after Khashoggi killing

It would be cynical to see Saudi Arabia’s efforts to secure the release of international prisoners held by Russian proxies in Ukraine as an attempt to improve the country’s image after the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, its foreign minister has said.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud said on Friday that Riyadh had first approached the UK government in April, shortly after Aiden Aslin, a British citizen, and others were captured at Mariupol, and had acted for compassionate reasons, hoping to negotiate their release.

This story was amended on Friday 23 September 2022 to correct the name of the Saudi foreign minister.

Continue reading...

‘Humanitarian crime’: fighting cuts off insulin supply in Tigray

Posted on by

International Diabetic Federation decries reports ongoing war has led to shortages of life-saving drug at Ethiopian region’s biggest hospital

Doctors at the biggest hospital in Tigray say they have just days supply left of insulin, as the resumption of fighting between rebels and Ethiopian government troops once again cuts off supplies to the region.

In what the head of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has branded “a humanitarian crime,” medics at Ayder specialist referral hospital warn they have already run out of one kind of the life-saving medicine and have only a week’s supply of another.

Continue reading...

South Korea president criticised over gaffes at Queen’s funeral and UN

Posted on by

Yoon Suk-yeol accused of discourtesy in London and of swearing after chat to Joe Biden

South Korea’s president has been accused of causing a “diplomatic disaster” after his first major international trip, to the Queen’s funeral and the UN general assembly, was marred by alleged discourtesy and an expletive directed at members of the US congress.

Yoon Suk-yeol, a conservative who was already battling low approval ratings only months after taking office, drew criticism from across the South Korean political spectrum after he failed to attend the Queen’s lying in state despite traveling to London.

Continue reading...

Weather tracker: storms batter Alaska, Caribbean and Japan

Posted on by

Hurricane causes blackout across Puerto Rico while typhoon forces 8m to flee homes in Japan

It has been very active across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in recent days with more than five storms officially named.

Hurricane Fiona in the Caribbean was the first storm of the tropical Atlantic season to strengthen into a major hurricane. Fiona made landfall on Sunday across south-western Puerto Rico, where it dumped 762mm (30in) of rain with sustained gusts of 115mph.

Continue reading...

China sentences man who attacked women at restaurant to 24 years

Posted on by

Assault by Chen Jizhi and his friends on 10 June has sparked a national debate over gender-based violence

The main perpetrator of an assault against a group of women at a barbecue restaurant in China has been sentenced to 24 years in prison, after the case sparked a national debate over gender-based violence.

Chen Jizhi started hitting the women after they rejected his “harassment” in the early hours of 10 June in the city of Tangshan in Hebei province, east of Beijing, the court said in a statement.

Continue reading...

Myanmar model who criticised junta stuck in limbo after being denied entry to Thailand

Posted on by

Han Lay appealed for help on social media after being stopped at Bangkok airport, saying Myanmar police there want to speak to her

A Myanmar model who has spoken out against the military junta that seized power last year says she has sought help from the UN’s refugee agency after she was denied entry to Thailand.

Han Lay, who was stopped at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok this week, asked for help in a Facebook post on Thursday night, saying Myanmar police were at the airport and trying to speak with her.

Continue reading...

China ready for ‘fight’ over international action on Xinjiang human rights abuses

Posted on by

Threat comes as UN member states meet in Geneva amid pressure to take action on a damning report on abuse of Uyghurs

A Chinese envoy to the United Nations has warned western nations and allies that Beijing is ready for a “fight” amid growing pressure for global action against China over its human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

The threat follows the release of a report by the UN office of the high commissioner for human rights which found the government was likely committing crimes against humanity with its abuses of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang.

Continue reading...

Calls for stalking law overhaul in South Korea as woman’s murder shocks nation

Posted on by

Stabbing triggers accusations that authorities are failing to take violence against women seriously

The murder of a South Korean woman who had been stalked by her alleged killer for years has sparked outrage and demands for changes in the law to better protect women.

The woman’s murder in a bathroom at the subway station where she worked earlier this month has shocked South Korea, coming a day before her alleged attacker, named by police as 31-year-old Jeon Joo-hwan, had been due to be sentenced for stalking her.

Continue reading...

Iran president says death in custody of Mahsa Amini must be investigated

Posted on by

Ebrahim Raisi says he has contacted Kurdish woman’s family but laments western double standards on human rights

The death in custody in Iran of a Kurdish woman that led to widespread protests must be “steadfastly” investigated, Iran’s president has said, as he lamented what he claimed were western “double standards” on human rights.

Ebrahim Raisi told a news conference on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York that the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police “must certainly be investigated”.

Continue reading...

Water found in asteroid dust may offer clues to origins of life on Earth

Posted on by

Discovery offers new support for the theory that life may have been seeded from outer space

Specks of dust that a Japanese space probe retrieved from an asteroid about 186 million miles (300m kilometres) from Earth have revealed a surprising component: a drop of water.

The discovery offers new support for the theory that life on Earth may have been seeded from outer space.

Continue reading...

Patience with Putin may be ebbing among friendlier countries

Posted on by

Turkey, India and China respond cooly to news of planned referendums in Ukrainian regions occupied by Russia

Signs that some countries willing to tolerate Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are losing patience have emerged as Turkey, India and China responded cooly to the announcement that four Ukrainian regions occupied by Russia were planning referendums on joining the Russian Federation.

Turkey, which has been at the centre of mediation between the west and Russia, issued a sharp rebuke, saying in a statement that it was concerned by attempts to stage unilateral referendums.

Continue reading...

Pay slips don’t lie: Shakira hits out at ‘false accusations’ she owes tax in Spain

Posted on by

If convicted, the Colombian singer faces an eight-year prison sentence and a fine of more than €23m

The Colombian singer Shakira, who is facing trial in Spain over allegations that she failed to pay €14.5m (£12.1m) in taxes, has accused the country’s fiscal authorities of waging “a salacious press campaign” against her and insisted she owes them nothing.

According to Spanish prosecutors, Shakira and her family lived in Barcelona between 2012 and 2014, meaning she should have paid tax in Spain on her worldwide income for those years. They are seeking an eight-year prison sentence and a fine of more than €23m if she is convicted.

Continue reading...

Ukraine celebrates release of over 200 captives in surprise swap with Russia

Posted on by

Commanders who led defence of Azovstal steelworks among those freed in exchange for Putin ally and 55 Russian soldiers

Ukraine has celebrated the release of more than 200 of its citizens from Russian captivity, including the fighters who led the defence of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.

It was the biggest prisoner swap since the start of Russia’s invasion in February, and came as a surprise during a week in which the Kremlin raised the stakes again in Ukraine, promising to hold sham “referendums” to annex Ukrainian territory and threatening nuclear strikes if thwarted.

Continue reading...

New bill vows to stop kleptocrats ‘treating UK as their safe deposit box’

Posted on by

Proposed reforms previously delayed by Boris Johnson reannounced amid accusations Tories are soft on ‘dirty money’

Companies House will be given new powers to challenge incorrect or fraudulent claims made by kleptocrats and their agents in an economic crime bill that was previously delayed by Boris Johnson a few weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine.

The new bill – the second of two that had to be hurriedly reannounced amid accusations the government had gone soft on dirty money – is backed by the new security minister, Tom Tugendhat.

Continue reading...

Greece urged to address anti-LGBTQI+ discrimination and intolerance

Posted on by

Council of Europe report highlighted need to enhance equality rights for intersex children in particular

Europe’s top human rights watchdog has urged Greece to take action against the “serious forms” of discrimination and intolerance faced by the country’s LGBTQI+ community, especially children in schools.

Equality rights for intersex people often subject to sex “normalising” surgery at a young age must also be enhanced, according to a report released on Thursday by the Council of Europe.

Continue reading...

Church of England bars Desmond Tutu’s daughter from officiating at funeral

Posted on by

Church says same-sex marriage means Mpho Tutu van Furth cannot preside over godfather’s service

The daughter of the late Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu has been barred by the Church of England from officiating at her godfather’s funeral in a Shropshire church because she is married to a woman.

Mpho Tutu van Furth, an ordained priest in the Anglican church, was invited to preside over the funeral of Martin Kenyon, who died last week at the age of 92. The C of E said its actions were “in line with the House of Bishops current guidance on same-sex marriage”.

Continue reading...

Hong Kong journalist allowed to travel to UK after court grants bail

Posted on by

Ronson Chan was arrested in September as part of an ongoing crackdown on dissent and free expression in the city

The head of Hong Kong’s journalists’ association will be allowed to travel to the UK for an Oxford fellowship after a court granted him bail and declined to place restrictions on his movement over a charge of obstructing police officers.

Ronson Chan was arrested on 7 September while he was covering a residence meeting at a Hong Kong housing estate. Police allege he refused to provide ID and behaved in an “uncooperative” way despite multiple warnings, and he was charged this week. Chan has claimed innocence, saying he was within his rights to ask police for identification before he produced his.

Continue reading...