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Australia will not send officials to the upcoming winter Olympics in Beijing, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday, joining a US diplomatic boycott of the event. Canberra’s decision comes amid “disagreement” with China over a slew of issues, from Australia’s foreign interference laws to a recent decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, Morrison said. He also […]

China has an important part to play in the global economy as it recovers from Covid-19, but its growth is slowing, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Monday. The head of the Washington-based crisis lender held a virtual meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and discussed topics ranging from inflation to the recovery from the […]

A nurse who raped and impregnated a severely disabled woman in his care has been jailed for 10 years in the US state of Arizona, local media reported Friday. Nathan Sutherland admitted sexually abusing his then-29-year-old patient at the facility in Phoenix, where she had been cared for since she was three. The victim, who […]

Two hippos in a Belgian zoo have tested positive for Covid-19, their keepers announced Friday, stressing that the giant animals do not appear to be in danger. The infections at Antwerp Zoo are not the first time that zoo animals have tested positive during the pandemic, but most cases are thought to have been in […]

By Alberto PEÑA Chile’s parliament is set to approve a long-awaited bill to legalize same-sex marriage Tuesday, joining just a handful of countries in majority Catholic Latin America with similar laws.The bill will also enable married same-sex couples to adopt children.Chile, which legalized same-sex civil unions in 2015, has been awaiting this bill since 2017, […]

After a lifetime struggling against Myanmar’s military, 76-year-old Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is once again at the mercy of the generals, facing charges that could land her in jail for decades. The former leader has been detained since a putsch that ousted her government in the early hours of February 1, ending a […]

Several regions in China have extended maternity leave by at least 30 days, in the latest attempt to encourage child-rearing as the country faces a demographic crisis fuelled by a record-low birth rate. The changes follow the relaxation of strict family planning rules this year to allow families to have a third child — as […]

The American dictionary of reference Merriam-Webster on Monday revealed “vaccine” to be its word of the year for 2021, reflecting both the hopes and deep divisions sparked by vaccination as the world wrestled with year two of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The word vaccine was about much more than medicine in 2021,” the dictionary — which […]

It looks like a normal car but the white taxi by the kerb has nobody driving it, and communicates with customers digitally to obtain directions and take payment. Beijing this week approved its first autonomous taxis for commercial use, bringing dozens of the so-called “robotaxis” to the streets of the Chinese capital. The vehicles can […]

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s chosen successor on Tuesday announced his withdrawal from the 2022 presidential race, saying it was “not yet my time”. Senator Christopher Go, a close aide to the president, entered the contest for the country’s highest office two days before the November 15 deadline, after previously registering for the vice presidential race. […]

By Nina LARSON The world could see the Covid pandemic begin fading next year into an endemic disease like others humanity lives with, unless glaring inequality in vaccine access drags it out and worse variants emerge. Even as countries scramble to address a new worrying virus variant and Europe battles a winter resurgence, health experts […]

A rare joint opinion article by the ambassadors of China and Russia has sharply assailed President Joe Biden’s plans for a virtual summit of democratic countries — from which they were pointedly excluded. Calling the US plan “an evident product of its Cold-War mentality,” ambassadors Anatoly Antonov of Russia and Qin Gang of China said […]

The US military will reinforce deployments and bases directed at China and Russia, even while maintaining forces in the Middle East adequate to deter Iran and jihadist groups, the Pentagon said Monday based on the results of a review. The US Defense Department will be upgrading and expanding military facilities in Guam and Australia, underscoring […]

Singapore and Malaysia eased coronavirus travel restrictions on one of the world’s busiest land borders Monday after nearly two years, allowing some vaccinated people to cross without quarantine. Before the pandemic, about 300,000 people used to commute across the border from Malaysia every day to the neighbouring city-state, to work in areas ranging from public transport […]

An episode of “The Simpsons” in which the cartoon American family visit Tiananmen Square is missing from the Disney+ streaming service in Hong Kong, adding to concerns about mainland China-style censorship in the city. It comes at a time when authorities are clamping down on dissent, with curbs on speech becoming a norm in the […]