NEWS IN BRIEF 2025-05-20

May 20, 2025 00:00:00

Russia outlaws Amnesty International as

'undesirable organisation'

MOSCOW, May 19: Russia on Monday labelled Amnesty International an "undesirable organisation", banning the rights group's activities and accusing it of being a hub of "Russophobia" and of supporting Ukraine. "The London headquarters of Amnesty International is a centre for the preparation of global Russophobic projects, paid for by accomplices of the Kyiv regime," Russia's Prosecutor General said in a statement. — AFP

Japan's 7-Eleven trials delivery robots

TOKYO, May 19: Japan's 7-Eleven began trialling autonomous delivery robots in a Tokyo suburb for the first time on Monday to test their viability in the rapidly ageing country. The country faces growing labour shortages and changed its traffic laws in 2023 to allow delivery robots on public streets. Other companies, including Panasonic, have also tested new machines to transport goods. The pilot project by 7-Eleven involves a wheeled, cart-shaped robot co-developed by leading automaker Suzuki and Tokyo-based start-up Lomby and covered around 10,000 households in western Tokyo. — AFP

One dead in gun violence in China

BEIJING , May 19: One person has died in an apparent shooting at an outdoor restaurant in the city of Wuhan in what would be a rare case of gun violence in China. A police statement said Monday that two other people were injured on Sunday night in what it called a case of "deliberate injury" resulting from a dispute. Social media posts described what happened as a shooting and shared images of a person slumped in a chair and another person lying on the ground. — AP

Bomb blast kills four in Pakistan

QUETTA, May 19: At least four people were killed while 12 others were wounded in a bomb blast in Pakistan's turbulent southern province of Balochistan, a security official said Monday. An improvised explosive device (IED) was planted in a parked car in Killa Abdullah district of Balochistan, less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the provincial capital Quetta. — AFP