Russia assumes UN Security Council presidency despite Ukrainian anger
Russia has taken the presidency of the UN Security Council despite Ukraine urging members to block the move.
Each of the council's 15 members takes up the presidency for a month, on a rotating pattern.
The last time Russia had the presidency, February 2022, it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It means the Security Council is being led by a country whose president is subject to an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.
The International Criminal Court - which is not a UN institution - issued the warrant for Vladimir Putin last month.
Iran’s chief justice says unveiled women will be prosecuted ‘without mercy’
Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei issues threat as growing number of women defy country’s obligatory dress code
Iran’s judiciary chief has threatened to prosecute “without mercy” women who appear in public unveiled, Iranian media reported on Saturday.
Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei’s warning comes on the heels of an interior ministry statement on Thursday that reinforced the government’s mandatory hijab law.
“Unveiling is tantamount to enmity with [our] values,” Ejei was quoted as saying by several news sites. Those “who commit such anomalous acts will be punished” and would be “prosecuted without mercy,” he said, without saying what the punishment would entail.
Hong Kong rejects US report on crackdown on freedoms
A US report argues that Chinese authorities have "undermined the rule of law" in Hong Kong. A Hong Kong government spokesperson said that the report contained "slandering remarks."
The Hong Kong government said on Saturday that it disapproved of a US report on a crackdown on freedoms in the territory.
The report by the US Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs argued that Chinese authorities had "undermined the rule of law" in Hong Kong, while also "directly threatening US interests."
What did Hong Kong say about the report?
A Hong Kong government spokesperson said authorities "strongly" disapproved of and "firmly" rejected the report, adding that it contained "slandering remarks and ill-intentioned attacks."
"[Hong Kong] is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China [and] is a local administrative region that enjoys a high degree of autonomy under 'one country, two systems,'" the spokesperson said in a statement.
Iraq launches new oil refinery to reduce imports
Iraq inaugurated an oil refinery in the central city of Karbala on Saturday, a project the government hopes will reduce its dependency on imports.
Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani announced the refinery had begun "commercial production" after a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
It has the capacity to refine 140,000 barrels per day and "help meet local demand for petrol, kerosene and heating oil, while reducing imports", Abdel Ghani said.
Despite its immense oil and gas reserves, Iraq remains dependent on imports to meet energy needs.
The minister said the refinery, built by South Korean firm Hyundai, can produce nine million litres of fuel a day -- equivalent to more than half Iraq's daily imports of 15 million litres.
Israeli police kill Palestinian man near Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem
The man killed on Saturday was 26-year-old Mohammad Khaled al-Osaibi from Houra.
Israeli police have shot and killed a Palestinian man at an entrance to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, raising fears of further violence.
The man killed on Saturday was 26-year-old Mohammad Khaled al-Osaibi from Houra, a Bedouin Arab village in southern Israel. The incident took place at about midnight near the Chain Gate, an access point to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, police said.
Palestinian worshippers at the entrance to the site on Saturday said police shot the man at least 10 times, after he tried to prevent them from harassing a woman who was on her way to the holy compound.
‘This is not a zoo’ - Why sex workers are protesting in Amsterdam
Overwhelmed by its own popularity, Amsterdam is ramping up its push to re-brand its “go wild” and “no rules” image. Drunken Brits are being told to stay home, there are moves to clamp down on cannabis, and the red lights could be about to go out on its city center brothels.
New rules for sex workers come into force on April 1, according to officials, requiring Amsterdam’s sex work businesses to close their doors at 3 a.m. rather than 6 a.m. to combat what local authorities describe as nuisance behavior by people visiting the red-light district.
The reduced hours come amid an ongoing campaign by the city council to move sex workers into an “erotic center” outside the heart of the city. Amsterdam is also introducing measures to limit waterway cruises and impose restrictions on vacation rentals as well as lobbying for an aviation tax to tackle budget flights.
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