Ukraine war: Zelensky visits front line near Bakhmut as Russia targets cities
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has returned to the front line near Bakhmut where fighting has raged for months.
The devastated city has long been a focal point of the war as Russian forces try to revive their military campaign in the east.
His visit came as Russian forces launched a series of strikes on Ukrainian cities.
At least eight people were killed near Kyiv and in Zaporizhzhia.
Ukraine's military said it shot down 16 drones, but another five got through.
Seven people died in an attack on student dormitories near the capital in Rzhyschiv. Then a rocket slammed into a block of flats in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, leaving one dead and 25 wounded. Local leaders said the number of victims could rise.
Beijing’s population falls for first time since 2003 as China battles low birthrate
Chinese capital saw more deaths than births in 2022 as high cost of living and education as well as legacy of one-child policy take their toll
Beijing’s population has declined for the first time in almost two decades, new population figures have revealed.
In 2022 there were more deaths than births in the Chinese capital, home to more than 21 million people, resulting in a natural population growth of minus 0.05 per 1,000 people. It is the first time the population has gone
EU plans clampdown on corporate 'greenwashing'
Brussels has proposed rules requiring companies to produce evidence to back up green claims about products. It also wants to give consumers more rights when it comes to having products repaired.
Firms that boast about their environmental credentials will soon need to have their claims independently verified, the European Commission announced on Wednesday.
The proposal comes after a study found that more than half of such claims made in the European Union were "vague, misleading or unfounded."
What are the planned rules?
The plan to prevent "greenwashing" requires companies to respect minimum norms by fully substantiating claims about environment-friendly products and services.
The commission gave examples of the type of claims it means, such as: "T-shirt made of recycled plastic bottles," "packaging made of 30% recycled plastic," or "ocean-friendly sunscreen."
Macron holds firm on pension reform bill as protests escalate
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday defiantly vowed to push through a controversial pensions reform, saying in a TV interview that he was prepared to accept unpopularity in the face of sometimes violent protests, and that he plans to enact the new law by the end of the year. Follow our live updates for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
4:04pm: Macron has left protesters with no choice, MP says
“The French have no other solution tomorrow [but] to come massively to the streets to try to make him understand some sense of what’s going on,” MP Raquel Garrido of the left-wing bloc NUPES told FRANCE 24's Clovis Casali.
“He’s in that castle and no one actually gets to him ... it’s infuriating, it's exasperating, it's contrary to basic democratic standards,” she added.
Harassment leads to review of support service for abuse victims
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Unable to prevent harassment from louts on the street, the Tokyo metropolitan government instructed a charity to halt its mobile bus support sessions for abused teenage girls, citing safety concerns.
Government welfare officials said on March 20 that Colabo’s free drop-in support session scheduled for March 22 should be held in a different manner to protect the young women.
The charity currently cannot provide a safe environment where the girls can seek support with confidence, the officials said.
Uganda parliament passes bill criminalizing identifying as LGBTQ, imposes death penalty for some offenses
Ugandan lawmakers on Tuesday approved some of the world’s harshest anti-gay laws, making some crimes punishable by death and imposing up to 20 years in prison for people identifying as LGBTQ+.
The new legislation constitutes a further crackdown on LGBTQ+ people in a country where same-sex relations were already illegal – punishable by life imprisonment. It targets an array of activities, and includes a ban on promoting and abetting homosexuality as well as conspiracy to engage in homosexuality, Reuters reported.
According to the bill, the death penalty can be invoked for cases involving “aggravated homosexuality” – a broad term used in the legislation to describe sex acts committed without consent or under duress, against children, people with mental or physical disabilities, by a “serial offender,” or involving incest.
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