International

By Peter HUTCHISON New York’s top justice official said her investigation into Donald Trump’s family business had uncovered “significant evidence” of fraudulent or misleading practices, intensifying pressure on the former president as he tries to shut down the probe. In a court filing late Tuesday, state Attorney General Letitia James wrote that the ongoing civil […]

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, recently deported from Australia due to his coronavirus vaccine status, is co-founder and majority shareholder of a biotech firm developing a Covid-19 treatment, the Danish company’s CEO said Wednesday. “He is one of the founders of my company we founded in June 2020,” the chief executive of QuantBioRes, Ivan Loncarevic, […]

By Jitendra JOSHI UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday “categorically” denied claims by his former chief aide that he lied to parliament about a Downing Street party held during a strict lockdown. But appearing in public for the first time after days of Covid self-isolation, Johnson also ducked questions about whether he would resign […]

By Mell Chun Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia Sunday having lost a high-stakes legal battle over his coronavirus vaccination status and with his dream of clinching a record 21st Grand Slam in tatters. Hours after a Federal Court unanimously upheld the cancellation of his visa on public order grounds, an “extremely disappointed” Djokovic complied with a direction […]

By Jing Xuan TENG The distressing case of a pregnant Chinese woman miscarrying after a strict lockdown delayed her access to medical treatment has reignited debate over the limits of China’s zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19.The country where the coronavirus was first detected in 2019 is now among the last places still hewing to “zero Covid”, […]

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 Paul RICARD A month after it was first detected in southern Africa, Omicron is now known to be far more contagious than previous variants of Covid-19 but appears to cause a less severe illness than its predecessors.What isn’t clear is how the newest variant will change the face of the pandemic. Just how severe […]