Grand Theft Auto’s wildly popular online multiplayer game has become the latest venue for Hong Kong pro-democracy supporters and Chinese nationalists to wage their ideological battles, with protests now breaking out in the virtual world. Over the last fortnight message boards and social media platforms used by gamers have filled with videos and chatter of […]
Thousands of people in typhoon-prone central Philippines have had their Christmas plans ruined after they were told to leave their homes as a severe tropical storm approaches. Officials on Christmas Eve said residents should evacuate coastal areas, and thousands more were stranded at ports with ferry services shut down as the nation hunkered down for […]
by Dmitry ZAKS Queen Elizabeth II described 2019 as “quite bumpy” in a Christmas Day message at the end of a chaotic year which saw Britain bitterly divided over its split from the European Union and her scandal-plagued son Prince Andrew withdraw from public life. The 93-year-old monarch’s address — to be televised in full […]
by Anuj Chopra A Saudi court verdict that exonerated the crown prince’s top aides over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been globally condemned as a travesty of justice, but won the backing of ally Washington. Five unnamed people were sentenced to death on Monday while three others were handed jail terms totalling 24 […]
by Mussa Hattar Just a few years ago it would have been unthinkable to see owners walking their dogs around the streets of Amman. Now pet hotels are sprouting up across Jordan. Where strays were once mostly left to scavenge for food, Jordanians in a new trend in the Arab kingdom are increasingly willing to […]
China Monday denied allegations that prisoners were being used for forced labour, after a British newspaper reported that a London schoolgirl found a message in a Christmas card claiming to be from inmates at Shanghai’s Qingpu Prison. Supermarket giant Tesco said at the weekend it had stopped production at a factory in China after one […]
Eight people died and hundreds were taken to hospitals in the Philippines after drinking coconut wine believed to contain high levels of methanol, authorities said Monday. The victims all attended gatherings over the weekend in the town of Rizal, southeast of Manila, and complained of stomach pains after drinking the wine, known locally as “lambanog”. […]
by Parvaiz BUKHARI In remote Indian Kashmir people have been offline since August, queuing for hours to pay bills or using government “internet kiosks”. As protests rage in other areas of India, it’s something people outside the Himalayan region are also getting a taste of. Indian authorities, who according to activists lead the world when […]
by Abhaya SRIVASTAVA India’s ruling party launched a video with animated Muslim characters on social media Monday as part of a publicity blitz to try to bust “myths” around a new citizenship law that has sparked deadly protests. The law has stoked concerns that Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government wants to marginalise India’s […]
