#Art

by Andrew MARSZAL “Star Wars” may well be set long ago in a galaxy far, far away but it has become a battleground for a very modern debate over race, gender and sexuality that has sucked in fans and stars alike. The new trilogy launched by Disney in 2015 has seen women and characters of […]

by Laurence COUSTAL Europe’s CHEOPS planet-hunting satellite left Earth on Wednesday a day after its lift-off was delayed by a technical rocket glitch during the final countdown. The 30-centimetre (12-inch) telescope has been designed to measure the density, composition, and size of numerous planets beyond our solar system — so-called exoplanets. According to the European […]

by Qian Ye Liu Yantao and six co-workers start toiling on a frozen river in northeast China before dawn, using hand tools and machines to carve large ice blocks for an annual winter sculpture festival. Liu and his team are among more than 100 people who work on the Songhua River to harvest the 170,000 […]

Indonesia’s supreme court has increased the jail term for a Polish man convicted over links to separatist guerrillas in restive Papua, raising the sentence to seven years from five, his lawyer said Wednesday. Jakub Fabian Skrzypski was arrested in August last year, accused of making contact with outlawed rebels in the country’s easternmost territory and […]

Thai police are hunting a convicted serial killer in connection with another murder months after he was released for good behaviour, authorities said Tuesday. Somkid Pumpuang was sentenced to life in 2005 for the killing of five women believed to be involved in the sex and nightlife industry, leading the media to dub him Thailand’s […]

Muslim-majority Indonesia will deploy nearly 200,000 security personnel nationwide ahead of Christmas to guard against potential terror attacks, police said Tuesday. The Southeast Asian archipelago of 260 million has significant numbers of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists who have been targeted by radical Islamist groups. On Tuesday, authorities said some 192,000 police and military personnel would […]

Five US tech giants including Apple, Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet have been named in a lawsuit over the death of child laborers in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Impoverished but mineral-rich DR Congo is the world’s largest producer of the rare metal, which is crucial for making batteries used in mobile […]

A Pakistan court Tuesday sentenced former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in absentia to death for treason, state media reported, an unprecedented move in a country where the armed forces are often considered immune from prosecution. “Special Court Islamabad has awarded death sentence to former President Pervez Musharraf in a high treason case,” Radio Pakistan tweeted. […]

by Nina LARSON Women may have to wait more than two centuries for equality at work, according to a report on Tuesday showing gender inequality growing in workplaces worldwide despite increasing demands for equal treatment. While women appear to be gradually closing the gender gap in areas such as politics, health and education, workplace inequality […]

The cremation ceremony for the late Taiwanese-Canadian model and actor Godfrey Gao was held on Sunday at the Taipei First Funeral Parlour. The 35-year-old had died suddenly of cardiac arrest while filming in Ningbo, China, on Nov 27. His two elder brothers were the first to arrive at the funeral parlour. One of them cradled […]

Ad Astra star Brad Pitt plans to celebrate his 56th birthday tomorrow with three of his children, an insider close to the star has revealed. He will be spending the day with 13-year-old Shiloh and 11-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne. He shares the children with his ex-wife Angelina Jolie after she filed for divorce in […]

Singapore— Former US President Barack Obama told the audience that gathered at Singapore Expo for his talk, ‘In Conversation with President Barack Obama’, that many of the world’s issues have been caused by older men refusing to let go of power, and if women would lead, the world would be a better place. Mr Obama […]

American singer Camila Cabello plans to visit and hang out with her boyfriend Shawn Mendes in his home country of Canada. The Senorita singers had officially announced that they were in a relationship five months ago. Camila has revealed that she will visit Canada at the end of this month and plans to ring in […]

Actor Liam Hemsworth has been in the news with Australian actress Maddison Brown. They have been spotted getting cosy since his split with singer Miley Cyrus. While things may look romantic between the two, marriage is, however, not in the future because Brown has shot down that possibility, shrugging it off in a joking manner. […]

Indonesia has filed a World Trade Organization lawsuit against the European Union over plans to phase out palm oil-based biofuel for cars, the trade ministry said. The action could escalate a trade dispute between Indonesia — the world’s top palm oil producer – and the EU, which plans to end its use of biofuels by […]