Rural Daily

UN chief, pope call for nations to end the use of antipersonnel land mines

26Nov

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UN chief, pope call for nations to end the use of antipersonnel land mines

A Cambodian Mine Action Center, CMAC, staff member checks a mine detector at a minefield in Preytotoeung village, Battambang province, Cambodia, Jan. 19, 2023. PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The U.N. head, Pope Francis and others called Monday for nations to end the production and use of land mines, even as their deployment globally grows. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a message to delegates at the fifth review of the International Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, that 25 years after it went into force some parties had renewed the use of antipersonnel mines and some are falling behind in their commitments to destroy the weapons. "I call on states parties to meet their obligations and ensure complianc...

US urges Zimbabwe to double down on reforms

26Nov

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World

US urges Zimbabwe to double down on reforms

Pamela Tremont, the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe, speaks to reporters in Harare, Nov. 25, 2024. She urged the nation to pursue reforms that she said would deliver Zimbabwe’s people the prosperity and dignity they deserve. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA) Harare, ZIMBABWE — The United States is urging the Zimbabwe government to double down on reforms aimed at returning the country to the prosperity it once enjoyed. Speaking to reporters in Harare on Monday, Pamela Tremont, the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe, said her country wants to have cordial relations with the southern African nation. She urged the government to pursue political and financial reforms that she said would deliver Zimbabwe’s people the prosperity and dignity they deserve. "We...

26Nov

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World

Philippine showdown: President says he'll fight vice president's plot to have him killed

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte talks to reporters at the House of Representatives in Quezon City, Philippines November 25, 2024. MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday described a public threat by the vice president to have him killed by an assassin as a criminal plot and vowed to fight it, in a looming showdown between the country\'s two top leaders. Vice President Sara Duterte said Saturday in an online news conference that she has contracted an assassin to kill the president, his wife and the speaker of the House of Representatives if she herself is killed, in a threat she warned was not a joke. The national police and military immediately boosted the security of the president, and the just...

26Nov

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World

Can Israeli strikes in Syria undermine Iran-backed militias?

Firefighters and security officers gather at a destroyed building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Damascus, Syria, Nov. 14, 2024. Strikes carried out by Israel in recent weeks in Syria have significantly weakened Iranian-backed militant groups, though they continue to pose a threat, experts say. Since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, and the ongoing hostilities between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israeli strikes in Syria have become more frequent, according to monitoring groups. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which has researchers across Syria, reported last week it has documented over 150 Israeli strikes in Syria so far in 2024. The strikes have hit targets belonging t...

26Nov

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World

Namibia may elect its first female president this week

Namibia's vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, center, of the ruling South West Africa People's Organization, (SWAPO) attends an election rally in Windhoek, Namibia, Nov. 24, 2024, ahead of elections Nov. 27, 2024. OSHAKATI, Namibia — Namibia\'s Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah could become the country\'s first female president if she wins the presidential election Wednesday. At least 1.4 million people, or about half of the population, have registered to vote in the elections, with 15 political parties running for president and seats in the National Assembly. Results from special early polls held for Namibia \'s foreign missions, seamen and security services announced by the Electoral Commission of Namibia this month ...

26Nov

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World

Pro-Russian candidate creates a surprise in Romanian presidential election

Romanian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Marcel Ciolacu answers questions from the media before the announcement of the first exit polls during the first round of the presidential election in Bucharest, Nov. 24, 2024. BUCHAREST — A Romanian hard-right NATO critic and leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu appeared in dead heat after the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, partial tallies showed, in a shock result threatening Romania\'s staunchly pro-Ukraine stance. After nearly 93% of votes were counted, Calin Georgescu, 62, was at 22%, while Ciolacu had 21%, suggesting they will likely qualify to face each other in the second round, due on Dec. 8. A center-right contender, Elena Lasconi, was running second, behind Georgescu, among the hundreds of t...

26Nov

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World

South Korea holds memorial for forced laborers at Sado mines, a day after boycotting Japanese event

Relatives of Korean victims and South Korean officials offer a prayer during a memorial service for the mine workers from the Korean Peninsula, in Sado, Niigata prefecture, Japan, Nov. 25, 2024, a day after boycotting a memorial organized by Japanese officials. SADO, Japan — South Korea paid tribute to wartime Korean forced laborers at Japan\'s Sado Island Gold Mines in a memorial ceremony on Monday, a day after boycotting a similar event organized by Japan, as tensions over historical atrocities continue to impact relations between the two sides. Monday\'s ceremony at a former dormitory near the 16th century Sado mines, which were listed this summer as a UNESCO World Heritage site, was organized by South Korea\'s Foreign Ministry and ...

26Nov

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World

Israel sanctions oldest newspaper over critical coverage

FILE - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses lawmakers in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Nov.18, 2024. Israel’s Cabinet unanimously voted Sunday to boycott the country’s oldest newspaper, Haaretz, citing its critical coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict and comments by the outlet’s publisher calling for sanctions on top government officials. In a statement on Sunday, the office of Shlomo Karhi, the communications minister, said that his proposal against Haaretz had been unanimously approved by the other ministers. “We will not allow a reality in which the publisher of an official newspaper in the state of Israel will call for the imposition of sanctions against it and will support the enemies o...

26Nov

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World

Pakistan’s capital under official security lockdown due to opposition rally

Paramilitary soldiers stand guard with riot gears at a road barricaded with shipping containers ahead of a planned rally by supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, in Islamabad, Nov. 24, 2024. ISLAMABAD — Thousands of supporters of Pakistan\'s jailed former prime minister, Imran Khan, marched toward Islamabad on Sunday to demand his release, among other political prisoners, prompting authorities to lock down the capital and partially suspend mobile internet services. Khan has urged supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party to assemble at the capital’s D-Chowk public square and remain there until the government addresses their demands. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government has deployed tens ...

26Nov

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World

Khmer Krom group calls on Vietnam to release activists

By RFA Vietnamese2024.11.24 Read more on this topic in Vietnamese An international group representing Vietnam’s Khmer Krom community is calling on the country’s leaders to release five Buddhist monks and four activists before their trial on Tuesday and Wednesday. Abbot Thach Chanh Da Ra and buddhist Kim Khiem have been charged with “abusing democratic freedoms” under Article 331 of the criminal code. Monks Duong Khai, Thach Qui Lay, Kim Sa Ruong and Thach Chop along with activists Thach Nha, Kim Khu and Thach Ve Sanal are accused of “illegally arresting and detaining people” under Article 157. All of the men were arrested in March. About 1.3 million Khmer Krom – ethnic Cambodians and one of Vietnam’s 53 ethnic minorities – live in the southern provinces of Vietnam. The community often ...