(Al Jazeera Media Network) China has released its much-anticipated position paper on the Russia-Ukraine war, in which it calls for a ceasefire and talks between the two parties.
Conflict and war “benefit no one”, China said on Friday in the 12-point paper, timed to coincide with the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
“All parties must stay rational and exercise restraint, avoid fanning the flames and aggravating tensions, and prevent the crisis from deteriorating...
(BBC News) Canadian privacy protection regulators have launched an investigation into TikTok over its collection of users' data.
The video-sharing platform, owned by Chinese giant ByteDance, has come under scrutiny over concerns that it hands information to Beijing.
Canada's move comes after European Commission staff were ordered to remove the app to "protect" the institution.
TikTok said privacy is "a top priority."
Canada's Office of the Privacy Commissioner said it had launched the probe into TikTok alongside provincial privacy regulators...
(BBC News) A fierce winter storm has caused widespread disruptions in the U.S., while southeastern parts of the country brace for record-high temperatures.
As of Wednesday, about 75 million people in 28 states have been placed under winter weather alerts.
Blizzards in the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have forced many schools and businesses to close.
Meanwhile, high temperatures in Washington DC are expected to break a nearly 150-year-old record.
Some parts of the U.S. will be 100F (38C)...
(BBC News) Vladimir Putin has sharpened his vitriol towards the West as U.S. President Joe Biden, fresh from a visit to Kyiv, praised western democracy for standing up to naked Russian aggression.
In a week heavy with events ahead of Friday's anniversary of Russia's Ukraine invasion, Putin spoke first.
The West had enabled Nazi Germany, he claimed, and had turned Ukraine into a neo-Nazi regime that was "anti-Russia".
Hours later, Biden said autocrats understood only one word:...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) At least eight Nigerian police officers have been killed in attacks by suspected rebels in the country’s southeast just days ahead of presidential elections.
The killings come as more than 90 million people are registered to vote this Saturday to elect a successor to Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Bihari, who is stepping down after two terms in office.
Four officers were killed in an attack on a police station in Anambra state on Monday,...
(BBC News) Russia's economy shrank last year by less than had been expected given its invasion of Ukraine, figures suggest.
The economy contracted by 2.1%, according to the country's statistics agency, but this was less than an earlier prediction of a 12% fall.
While questions have been raised about the reliability of the data, many commentators have been surprised at the Russian economy's resilience.
High oil prices and military spending have helped to support the economy.
After the...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off Japan’s west coast after warning of a strong response to upcoming military drills by South Korea and the United States.
Japanese authorities said the missile plunged into waters today (Saturday) inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), more than an hour after it was launched, suggesting the weapon was one of Pyongyang’s largest missiles.
“North Korea fires an unidentified ballistic missile into (the) East...
(BBC News) Five former Memphis police officers charged with murder over the death of Tyre Nichols have pleaded not guilty in their first court appearance.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith were involved in the arrest of Nichols on January 7.
They were fired after an internal investigation by the Memphis Police Department.
Nichols' death sparked protests against police brutality in the U.S.
The judge confirmed the five defendants had pleaded...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) At least 18 people have been found dead in Bulgaria in an abandoned truck near the capital Sofia, officials said.
The truck was transporting timber and carrying refugees and migrants hidden in a compartment, the country’s interior ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Health minister Asen Medzhidiev said 34 survivors, including five children, were rushed to hospitals in Sofia and some were in critical but stable condition.
“There has been a lack...
(British Medical Journal) High drug prices are not justified by industry's spending on research and development (R&D), argue experts in The BMJ today.
Aris Angelis and colleagues point out that from 1999 to 2018, the world's 15 largest biopharmaceutical companies spent more on selling, general, and administrative activities (which includes marketing) than on R&D, and that most new medicines developed during this period offered little or no clinical benefit over existing treatments.
By refocusing their spending, they say drug...
