Drugs, arms, and terror: A high-profile defector on Kim's North Korea
A former colonel describes a leadership making cash by any means, from drug factories to illegal arms deals.
The rollout of coronavirus vaccines in Europe is “unacceptably slow” the World Health Organization’s director for Europe Dr Hans Kluge has said in a statement. Speaking to BBC World News he said: “Four months ago the WHO approved the first vaccines which means the de facto Covid-19 has become a vaccine preventable disease.” Delaying the…
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said it will work with Japan “before, during and after” the country’s plan to release one million tonnes of contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. The director general Rafael Mariano Grossi told BBC World News that whatever option was taken it was about…
Afghanistan’s former central bank governor has said that he will not return to the country despite assurances from the Taliban that former officials can return with amnesty to their jobs. Ajmal Ahmady told BBC World News that the Taliban had been looking for him, knocking on doors at properties where he had previously lived. Mr…
The Norwegian Refugee Council, which is providing aid in Afghanistan, is in talks with the Taliban in an effort to secure free movement for its aid workers, and to be able to work without interference. The council’s Secretary General Jan Egeland told BBC World News that the Taliban was responding positively. “We as humanitarians will…
The US Capitol police officer Billy Evans, who was killed in a recent attack, was “an amazing guy”, his life-long friend Jason LaForest has said. William “Billy” Evans, who had been a member of the Capitol Police for 18 years, died when a vehicle was rammed into officers at the Capitol. Mr LaForest told BBC…
The mixed messaging over the AstraZenca coronavirus jab is affecting vaccine confidence in low and middle income countries, the co-chair of the African Union’s Africa Vaccine Delivery Alliance for Covid-19 has said. Dr Ayoade Alakija told BBC World News that the vaccine is being rolled out to over two billion people and is often the…