Afghan government says ceasefire still in place even as skirmishes with Taliban resume
Skirmishes between Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces recommenced in Afghanistan in the day since a three-day ceasefire expired, but government officials said on Thursday that the incidents were minor and the truce could still hold.
U.S., European trade groups press China to allow foreign staff back into the country
U.S. and European trade groups are lobbying China to allow foreign workers back into the country after it shut its borders from late March to non-Chinese nationals to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Cockpit voice recorder found in debris of Pakistan crash
Search teams on Thursday recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the wreckage of a Pakistani airliner that crashed into a city neighbourhood last week killing 97 people on board, a spokesman for the airline said.
China official in Hong Kong calls U.S. outcry over security bill ‘shameless’
China’s foreign ministry branch in Hong Kong said on Thursday U.S. statements that Beijing’s proposed security bill would undermine the city’s autonomy and Washington’s threat of sanctions were “utterly imperious, unreasonable and shameless”.
Musicians in lockdown rage against industry machine
Lockdown bans on live performances have left many British musicians on the breadline, fuelling a campaign for them to get a bigger share of the profits from streaming their songs online.
Siberian zoo sees animal baby boom during lockdown
A Siberian zoo that closed its doors to visitors for over two months due to the novel coronavirus says the lockdown has encouraged a baby boom among its animals.
China’s same-sex couples heartened by property protection rights in new civil code
It was an ambush, said He Meili, a 51-year-old lesbian woman, describing how she met with her dead partner’s step-parents at a police station where they demanded she leave the apartment the couple had shared for 12 years.
China and U.S. should respect each other’s core interests: Premier Li
China and United States should respect each other’s core interests and manage their differences, Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday, adding that a decoupling of their economies is not good for the world.
South Korea coronavirus spike stirs second wave concern, social distancing crackdown
South Korea reported 79 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the most in nearly eight weeks, triggering the return of tougher social distancing curbs amid the spectre of a second wave of disease in a country praised for containing the first outbreak.
China premier says security law will support HK stability, security
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday that national security legislation, which China’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to impose on Hong Kong, would benefit the territory’s long-term stability and prosperity.
