International

Russia — Some kids are such early bloomers that it is astonishing to see them perform some tasks like a pro. It is always delightful to watch videos of such precocious kids. Like this 4-year-old boy from Russia’s Moscow whose skateboarding skills will leave you breathless. The videos of the boy are regularly posted on […]

By Glenn CHAPMAN Fraud convictions this week for Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes will send a chill through Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, insiders say, now they know there is the threat of jail for airy promises that come to nothing.But with billions of dollars washing around the tech industry in search of the next big thing, the […]

Japanese carmaker Toyota led US automobile sales in 2021, according to figures released Tuesday, overtaking General Motors for the first time as a shortage of semiconductors roils the car industry. The shift atop the rankings came after a year in which assembly lines were plagued by scarcity of the crucial computer chips, resulting in steep […]

China Tuesday said it will continue to “modernise” its nuclear arsenal and called on the United States and Russia to reduce their stockpiles a day after global powers pledged to prevent such weapons spreading. In a rare joint statement setting aside rising West-East tensions, the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France reaffirmed their goal […]

The world began ushering in 2022 on Friday after another tumultuous and pandemic-ridden year capped by new restrictions, soaring case numbers, and a slight glimmer of hope for better times ahead. The past 12 months saw a new US president and a new Adele album, the first spectator-free Olympics, and dreams of democracy from Afghanistan […]

A Covid variant-driven “tsunami” threatens to overwhelm healthcare systems, the WHO said Wednesday as AFP data showed cases have surged across the world in the past week to levels never seen before. Highly transmissible Omicron propelled the United States, France and Denmark to fresh records on Wednesday, with AFP’s tally of 6.55 million infections reported […]

Beijing on Tuesday accused the United States of irresponsible and unsafe conduct in space over two “close encounters” between the Chinese space station and satellites operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Tiangong, China’s new space station, had to manoeuvre to avoid colliding with one Starlink satellite in July and with another in October, according to a […]

By Hui Min NEO with AFP bureaus The WHO warned Tuesday that the Omicron coronavirus variant could overwhelm healthcare systems despite early studies suggesting it causes milder disease, as China and Germany reintroduced tough restrictions to stem new infections. Covid-19 surges have wreaked havoc worldwide, forcing many nations to make tough choices between economically punishing […]

More than 6,000 flights have been cancelled worldwide over the long Christmas weekend and thousands more were delayed, a tracking website reported Saturday, as the highly infectious Omicron variant brings holiday hurt to millions. Compounding the travel chaos in the United States, severe weather in the country’s west is due to wreak havoc on roadways […]

Hong Kong university students and graduates on Friday paid solemn tribute to two campus statues marking Beijing’s 1989 suppression of Tiananmen Square democracy protesters, which were removed overnight as authorities steadily erase all remaining tributes to the historical event. The removals come a day after Hong Kong’s oldest university took down a well-known sculpture commemorating the […]

By Xinqi SU Hong Kong’s oldest university launched an overnight operation Thursday to dismantle a statue commemorating those killed in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in the latest blow to academic freedoms as China cracks down. The eight-metre (26-feet) high “Pillar of Shame” by Jens Galschiot has sat on the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) campus since […]

The World Health Organization chief warned Wednesday that the rush in wealthy countries to roll out additional Covid vaccine doses was deepening the inequity in access to jabs that is prolonging the pandemic. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted that the priority must remain to get vaccines to vulnerable people everywhere rather than giving additional […]

World powers on Monday condemned Hong’s Kong tightly vetted legislature vote, saying rules imposed by Beijing that reduced directly elected seats and controlled who could stand had eroded democracy in the Chinese territory. China has overseen a sweeping crackdown in Hong Kong in response to huge and often violent democracy protests two years ago. It imposed […]

Protester numbers outside New Zealand’s parliament swelled Friday as police scaled back efforts to clear anti-vaccine demonstrators involved in violent clashes a day earlier. A festive mood prevailed at a makeshift tent settlement inhabitants have dubbed “Camp Freedom”, with music and dancing as police looked on from behind barricades. It was a stark contrast to […]

A Polish soldier patrolling the European Union’s eastern border with authoritarian Belarus has deserted and asked for political asylum there, Polish and Belarusian officials said on Friday. Tensions on the Poland-Belarus border have been high for months as thousands of migrants have tried to cross into EU member Poland in a crisis the West and […]